Sweet New Year’s Tradition
Food is ready, tamales are served, champagne is chilled and the only thing that I can’t forget is a large bowl of California grapes for the New Year’s celebration. They make a beautiful centerpiece and they are such a juicy refreshing snack. This post is sponsored by my friends at the California Table Grape Commission. Read more
Eat more of these
Choose good foods such as all fruits and vegetables because they nourish your body and help prevent diseases.
When to eat
“When to eat?” is a question that many often ask. It’s good to eat when you start to feel hungry. If you wait too long to eat you may feel irritable, moody, you may have a lack of energy or even a headache. Another consequence of waiting too long is that you may not make good food choices or overeat!
Eat at regular times, in moderate portions. A general recommendation is to eat every three to five hours. Many find that eating three balanced meals a day, as well as one or two healthy snacks, is easiest for them. Others eat five or six smaller meals a day. Finding what works best for you and your family may take some practice, but don’t give up! You will soon find that you have the energy you need to stay active!
Love Sports
Swimming is my favorite sport! If you get children to love a sport (any sport), statistics show that they will be in better shape, have better grades, continue school, and learn that there is discipline for everything they do in life. Beside the fact that it will help them develop great bodies. As much as I say, limit TV time for children and get them moving outside, turn the TV on and let them watch the Olympics to get them dreaming. Get them thinking that they could be there and help them visualize that they can be the best in any sport they like!
For my Denver friends, here is the link to take them swimming: Denver Public Swimming Pools
Children learn from you
If you have a child with a weight problem, don’t put them “on a diet”. Instead, begin to make changes for the whole family in what you buy, prepare and eat. Good decisions start the moment you add food to your shopping cart. Also, encourage them to exercise a minimum of one hour every day. Even better, make time to exercise with them! Healthful eating and exercise habits must be for the WHOLE family.
Have you walked today?
Walking is an excellent aerobic exercise that will improve your health, help manage stress and weight. Walk at least 30 minutes every day or divide this time throughout the day. If you want to control weight, walk more and eat less.
Salads with homemade dressings
Salads are made to be paired with a great dressing. Did you know that it is easy and healthier to make your own at home? All you need is extra virgin olive oil, vinegar (balsamic, red wine or rice are great), salt and pepper. Other ingredients that are great to add, and will change depending on your salad ingredients, are finely chopped onion, scallions, shallots, crushed garlic, fresh lemon juice, fresh herbs such as basil, oregano and thyme. Dried herbs also work well. At the end, you can add a little mustard, honey or chopped orange (or tangerine) for a little sweetness.
As a rule of thumb, the ratio is 1 tablespoon of vinegar to 3 or 4 tablespoons of oil, but you can use less oil. When you add the oil to the vinegar and spices, add it slowly and whisk to emulsify them.
If you are in a hurry, just drizzle the oil and vinegar to your salad, as I did in the photo above. ¡Salud!
Eat a salad a day
Have you ever had vegetables go bad because you didn’t eat them in time? Make it a habit to eat one salad a day, inventing your own recipe with whatever ingredients you have in the fridge. This is a chopped chicken salad with lettuce, tomato, slices of mozzarella, sun dried tomatoes, sliced almonds and chopped basil. For a simple, light dressing I use a little extra virgin olive oil, balsamic vinegar, salt, pepper and fresh lemon juice. Do you eat a salad a day?
Use a food thermometer
One of six people gets sick each year from contaminated food. Use a food thermometer to ensure your foods are cooked to a safe internal temperature: http://homefoodsafety.org/cook.