Overcome Emotional Eating

Fitness author Jon Benson sent this out and I thought it was both hilarious and powerful.

Ready?

"A study in Psychosomatic Medicine has confirmed that people tend to consume food in order to self-medicate their feelings of stress or anxiety. They call it "emotional eating."

I know... it's a real shocker. ; )

But this isn't meant to be cute or light about this diet-wrecker.

This is the number one reason diet- plans fail... I've seen it way too many times.

In case you missed it, here's Jon's short story about overcoming emotional eating and getting in touch with a better way to make food work for you... not against you...

http://bit.ly/13UJ6n

More in a few days,

Arthur M.

P.S.  Jon is continuing his fund-raising efforts for St. Jude Children's Hospital. One week was not long enough.

Ten percent of all book proceeds will go to St. Jude.

Thanks to all of you who have participated!

Healthy Homemade Soups on the Go

In this day and age it can be hard to eat healthy. With your busy schedule, especially if you have children, many people find it easier to grab whatever is available and the quickest and deal with the health consequences later. With the following tips for soups on the go you’ll learn how to make sure that the food you grab is of the healthy variety.

The problem with dealing with the consequences of unhealthy eating habits is that later is actually closer than you might think. Later is right now. Sadly, we are a nation of obese adults and just as many, if not more, obese children. Our unhealthy eating choices have caught up with us. You might be asking yourself, “How can I eat healthy when I’m crunched for time already?”

One way is to make foods that can be taken with you on the go. One of those foods is soup. Soup is tasty, filling, and good for you anytime, but especially on a cold fall or winter day. There are hot soups and believe it or not even cold soups. Many of the warm soups are even good eaten cold or lukewarm.

First, choose your favorite soup. A popular choice of many is the infamous chicken noodle soup. There’s nothing better when you are under the weather than the warm chicken broth soothing your throat. Campbell’s has a wonderful soup in a microwave container perfect for eating on the go, but we are going to make our own soup for an even healthier choice.

The one thing that is best about homemade food is that you know what is and is not in it. Since we are concerned with health, preparing your own soup creations at home is the best way to go. No matter which type of soup you choose to make, be sure to use fresh ingredients. The other items you’ll need are plenty of cups with lids and a blender.

Now it’s time to actually create your time saving soup. A good soup always starts with the stock. For chicken soup, make the broth by boiling the remains of the chicken you had for dinner. Add the herbs and seasonings of your choice and boil until the chicken bones come out clean. Any remaining meat will be included in the broth. Once the broth cools completely, ladle it into air-tight jars or containers for storing.

If you’re more of a beef and vegetable soup lover, you can use commercial canned broths or bouillon cubes for the base of your soup. Season the stock really well and boil before adding any other ingredients. Once the stock is ready, all that is left to do is toss in your favorite veggies. Again, wait until the soup is completely cooled before pouring into storage or serving containers.

Now, what about that blender? It’s a bit difficult to eat soup the traditional way while driving and if you are serving to your kids, the combination of a car and soup in a bowl is a disaster waiting to happen. Here’s where the blender comes into the picture.

Pour some of the soup into the blender and blend until the pieces are small enough for you to swallow without choking. You can even puree the soup completely if you’d prefer. For a thicker texture, add a bit of cream soup. Now, your soup is ready for distributing in your to-go cups.

The ideal cup would be a coffee mug with a lid. These types of cups have a wide opening perfect for drinking soups from. Be sure to prepare enough soup for the entire week. You can take the soup with you while you’re out shopping, working in the garden or to work. A cup of soup is packed with healthy nutrients and it won’t mess up the car or cramp your busy lifestyle. The next time you don’t have time to eat, reach for a cup of healthy homemade soup instead of pulling into that fast food drive thru.

Ode To Oatmeal

Just added a short little report that will hopefully encourage you to incorporate oatmeal into your family’s breakfast routine. Includes several recipes.

http://www.ebotek.com/oatmeal.pdf

Veggie Snacks

What is the one food that is most often fed to the dog at the dinner table? Nine times out of ten, someone is going to say vegetables. They really aren’t that bad and they are good for you. Vegetables come in so many shapes, sizes and flavors that you are bound to find at least one you like.

Veggies don’t need any dressing up to make them taste good. Nature has done that all by itself. They are picked fresh from the earth filled with sweet and succulent taste. The best veggies are the ones found fresh in stores, at farmer’s markets, or even better, your own garden.

Vegetables can keep without freezing or refrigerating them which is good for snacking on the run. You can grab a bag of veggies and hit the road. Most vegetables will do well when sliced into sticks, cubes, or chips. In this form, they are easier to manage.

One of many people’s biggest problems is eating while driving. We tend to try to do everything while driving and eating seems to be the hardest. No one wants to end up in a tree or someone’s yard because of a sandwich. To avoid these and other eating mishaps, pack your vegetables in plastic bags or small containers.

Carrots can be cut into sticks or a veggie slicer can cut them into chips. Don’t waste time buying baby carrots. It is easy enough to take a regular size carrot and fix it up. The same goes for cucumbers, beets, peppers, squash, zucchini, and other rigid veggies.

Tomatoes are classified as fruits, but we will consider them vegetables here. Many people just eat them like a fruit. Add a pinch of salt and bite in. Broccoli and cauliflower can also be eaten raw. Celery is a good veggie because it is filled with water. It can relieve thirst and hunger at the same time.

What are vegetables without dip? Dip adds a flavor to veggies and even kids who turn their noses up to vegetables will eat certain ones if they are dipped in something. My kids love carrots and broccoli with ranch dressing dip. Many dips can be made at home with dry seasoning packets and fat free sour cream. For a different taste add your own fresh herbs. Sweet dips, like yogurt based ones, are also good with veggie snacks. Dip can be stored in a container or a two-piece salad bowl. With the salad bowl, the dip doesn’t mix with the vegetables until you are ready to eat them.

Vegetables can be excellent snacks for those times when you are hungry but it is not time to eat a full meal. You can sit in front of the television and eat an entire bag of carrot sticks or cucumber chips without guilt. Take them in the car, on the job, or outside for a quick energy pick-me-up. No matter what way you choose to eat them, vegetables make healthy snack foods for everyone.

Snacks – How Many and How Often are Good for You

There are many schools of thought about how many snacks are ok to eat and how often to eat them. Snacking has long been thought to be a bad thing. If, like me, you disagree and feel that snacking is the best way to avoid overeating keep reading. Whether one is trying to maintain their current weight, trying to lose weight, or eat healthier overall here are some tips and suggestions for snacking the healthy way.

When most think of snacking, things like French fries, candy bars, ice cream cones, or potato chips, come to mind. It’s no wonder the majority of people associate snacking with something negative. All of these “bad snacks” can add just as many, if not more, calories than a regular meal. Don’t despair, however. It is possible to snack without adding all the fat and calories.

Think of the examples named above. Instead of giving up their favorites, snack lovers need only change their snack choices to a better for you substitute. For instance, a bag of fast food fries can easily become a baked sweet or russet potato fries with fresh herbs or cinnamon sprinkled on top. Now, that sounds like a tasty snack and it’s healthier.

As for that candy bar, it’s really the chocolate most are after when they grab their favorite one. The nougat, peanut butter and caramel are good but don’t be fooled, it’s the chocolate craving that gets candy bar lovers. In place of those pound adding candy bars, make some granola bars. Use rolled oats, bran, crunchy clusters, and chocolate chips. Dark chocolate is supposed to be better for us, so try some dark chocolate pieces inside or drizzle a bit of dark chocolate on top. Anytime you need a snack, grab a granola bar instead of a candy bar.

For many die hard snack addicts, ice cream is a big one to overcome. If this sounds like you, have confidence in yourself and try something just as cool and sweet, but even better for you. Whip up some smoothie mix and freeze it in a container for at least twenty-four hours. When that ice cream craving hits, scoop some smoothie into a bowl and top it with nuts and a dab of whipped cream. Before you know it, you’ll be craving yummy fruit or veggie smoothies instead of that fattening ice cream.

Next, let’s talk about how often to snack. The more times you eat, the more revved up your metabolism will be. However, it’s necessary to eat the right foods in order for this not to backfire. Unfortunately, this is where many people go wrong. If you keep only the freshest and healthiest foods in your home, all of your choices will be good. So, as hard as it may be, curb that urge to load up on sweet, junk food on your next trip to the grocery store.

Ideally you should have 3 snacks a day; one during the middle of the morning, another mid-afternoon, and lastly, one after dinner. That’s three snacks to complement three meals. Also, remember that quantity matters when it comes to snacks, just like it does meal portions. Snacks are not meant to be entire meals but they are supposed to be delicious or you won’t eat them. By not snacking at all you actually make yourself too hungry. This leads to overeating at meal times. Beyond that, you will opt for dining out more often if you feel starved because you haven’t munched on a few healthy snacks throughout the day.

Contrary to popular belief, snacking is good for you, but only if you make your treat choices healthy ones. Keeping good for you snacks on hand will make snacking healthy even easier. So, snack away, but make them good snacks in order to reap the most benefits.

Healthy Do it Yourself Finger Foods

They are great at parties and family get-togethers. They are a wonderful alternative to a filling meal at important functions of just about any type. For those who don’t know, I’m talking about finger foods. Easy to prepare and even easier to eat, make some healthy finger foods for yourself and see how versatile they can be.

Finger foods make great snacks on the go. Take cheese for instance. It provides calcium and protein which we need each day. At about ten in the morning, it’s not quite time for lunch, but it is a good time for cheese snack. Cut a slice off of a block and enjoy. Buying a block of cheese is more economical than a bag of cheese sticks if you plan on using it as a snack quite often. Saving money is just one more reason to turn to cheese as a healthy snack.

When it comes to finger foods, think about how you can recreate some of your own favorites at home. There are two benefits to making your own. One, you save money. Two, your foods are fresher. If you’ve eaten a lot of processed food, it might take a bit of getting used to when it comes to eating fresh fare. The taste is like no other. Even beans have a sweet taste when they are fresh. Fresh foods are not only better for you, but they taste better, are crunchier and taste clean.

Chicken is the most all around food you can find. You can bake, broil, roast, sauté, and fry (but because we are aiming for healthy, we won’t do that) it. It can be cubed, sliced, julienne, and diced. Cut it into strips and bread them to make chicken fries. These are great for those days when you should eat lunch but you don’t really feel like it. A few chicken strips and a piece of cheese will replenish your protein.

Crackers are also a perfect snack food. They are good on their own, but taste even better with some type of topping. For instance, a piece of cheese between two crackers with a little slice of ham is a handy and tasteful snack. You can also spread some cream cheese or peanut butter on your crackers. Kids may enjoy strawberry jam or grape jelly between two crackers. This is definitely a healthy alternative to cake or a piece of candy. Make up a few of your favorite cracker snacks the night before and chill them for the next morning.

If all else fails, go for some snacks that you can pick up in the store. Be careful though. Read food labels to check fat, cholesterol, and sodium content per serving. Some excellent choices are baked chips, granola bars, and roasted nuts. Low fat luncheon meats can be wrapped around cheese or fruit slices for a healthy little snack.

Don’t forget fresh fruits and veggies. For a vegetable treat, cut up some broccoli, cauliflower, cucumbers, carrots, or other favorites and serve with ranch dip. Mix it up by cutting up some fresh fruit such as apples, pears, strawberries, and watermelon and serving with a bit of cream cheese for dipping.

These are great finger foods to keep around for those days when you’re busy and don’t have time to prepare something. Keep fresh fruits in a bowl on the counter to grab as you’re going out the door or for the kids when they get home from school. Keep containers of vegetables and your favorite dip or dressing in the refrigerator to do the same.

Finger foods aren’t reserved just for parties. Choose quick and healthy finger foods and eat them anytime you get the urge for a snack.