Get The Skinny on Snacking

With our endlessly hectic lifestyles, healthy snacking seems to fly out of the window and when you do stop to eat, the temptation to go the quick and easy route is strong and go for a bag of crisps or chocolate becomes incredibly tempting.

To ensure that you have the right snacks at hand it’s best to prepare them in advance – that way you can avoid being tempted by the high fat snacks.  Having the right snacks to hand will ensure your energy levels remain consistent and that you have the fuel you need to keep you going throughout the course of the day – vital if you have a tough meeting!

Myth: 'Snacking caused weight gain.' 

Fact:  If choosing the wrong snack foods and eating more calories than needed, weigh gain can be the result.

What are the right type of snacks ?

Here are some great and healthy snack option to keep in mind:

Fruits : high in fiber, water and low in calories and sugar.

Nuts : consumed in reasonable portions, they provide protein and fiber that can help suppressing your appetite.

Low Sodium Soup

Vegetables: unlimited amount of course.

Cheese and yogurt: low in carbohydrate and rich in protein.

Edamame: rich in fiber and protein.

Choose one or two of the below list for snack per day:

1 cup fresh berries or melon cubes

1/2 grapefruit

1 whole apple, nectarine, or plum

6 to 12 almonds or cashews, 10 to 20 small peanuts, or 4 to 8 walnuts halves

4 ounces 1% cottage cheese

8 ounces low-fat artificially sweetened yogurt, preferably Greek Yogurt

1/2 cup fat free, sugar free pudding

2/3 cup edamame or raw vegetables

2 wedges Laughing Cow Light Cheese on two celery sticks

1 cup of carrot or celery sticks with 2 tablespoons hummus

1 slices of apple with 2 teaspoons peanut butter

1 pear and 5 whole cashews

1 ounce part-skim mozzarella cheese and 4 Triscuits

1/2 cup 1% cottage cheese with cinnamon and 4 walnut halves

1 ounce reduced-fat cheddar cheese with 1 cup fresh berries

1/2 cup 1% cottage cheese topped with 1 sliced kiwi and cinnamon

8 ounces artificially sweerened yogurt and 1 1/2 tablespoons trail mix

12 ounces non fat cafe latte sprinkled with cinnamon and 6 almonds on the side

1 Wasa cracker with 1 cup canned ready-to-serve soup

1 cup salad greens with 1/4 cup each chickpeas and kidney beans with 1 tablespoon vinaigrette.

Remember you can indulge sometimes –we, at Peoria Club Fitness, say make the indulgence the exception rather than the rule and then you’ll be able to have your ‘sweets’ and eat it too. 

Fail to Plan & You've Planned to Fail

Easy Tips for Change

In today's world we are always rushing, which leaves little time to eat a regular meal. Here are a few helpfulideas, such as planning, how often to eat, etc., to help you on your way to a healthier lifestyle!

Your alarm goes off at 6 AM every weekday morning. You hit the shower, quickly dry your hair and get dressed before making a mad dash for the door. Once again you have no time for breakfast and at your 8 AM meeting the donuts and danishes begin to beckon until you finally cave in. Sound familiar?

Always Rushing

Morning comes and you are lucky to grab a cup of coffee, lunch time consists of fast food while catching up on emails, and by late afternoon you find yourself snacking on sugary snacks and empty calories from the vending machine.

Finally, at dinner, you opt for a quick bowl of cereal or a frozen dinner before positioning yourself in front of the TV to finally unwind. Sadly, as you reflect on your day, remembering the foods you ate, you rationalize that you only had about 3 meals and you never really pigged out, so it could have been worse.

News flash! Your diet stinks! You are destroying your metabolism and sabotaging much needed energy. After a day like that, with such poor food choices, you can forget about staying motivated to work out. You are setting yourself up to fail if you do not learn to plan ahead.

Planning Ahead

Any time you do something profound in life, to really create change, you make a plan. You don't go into a business presentation to land the biggest deal of your career without planning. If you move from city to city, generally, you have a plan.

We plan weddings and vacations, so why not plan your meals to make healthy changes? Designate a day to do your grocery shopping for the week. It may take 15 - 20 minutes to plan a menu and up to an hour at the grocery store, but make time and make it a routine.

Make a shopping list that includes healthy breakfast options such as quick cooking oats, corn tortillas for breakfast tacos, and Ezekiel bread with natural peanut butter. Load up on protein like eggs, which you can hard boil for easy packing, fat-free string cheese, fat-free cottage cheese, nuts and a good low-calorie, low-sugar protein powder.

Do not become a slave to calorie counting, but be aware of portion control. When eating 5 - 6 times a day, instead of your usual 2 or 3, you will likely be able to resist the urge to binge. However, we are all only human, so that means in times of stress or fatigue, when we are in need of a pick me up, you must be prepared with healthy options on hand.

Eating for optimum health is like a marathon, you have to set a pace and stick with it to reach your goal. Slack off too much and you will never get there. Make it a sprint by going too hardcore and you will burn out before you reach the finish line.

Day By Day

Take it day by day, and make fixing your eating habits a priority. The benefits you will experience will touch other areas of your life, perhaps motivating you to maintain your exercise routine or at the very least, encourage you to get out and enjoy your friends and family more.

Article by Jessy Hamawi, Club Fitness Nutritionist and Personal Trainer

Healthy Low-fat Breakfast Quiche cupcakes!

Makes 12 servings

With a busy lifestyle, mornings can be rushed, and getting in a healthy and nutritious breakfast can be difficult. Whip up a batch of these low fat quiche cupcakes on Sunday evening, and you have an easy go-to breakfast for busy weekday mornings. They’re also really versatile – this version features spinach and mozzarella, but cooked broccoli and low-fat cheddar can easily be substituted or added!

Ingredients:

3/4 cup liquid egg substitute (or 3/4 cup egg whites)
1 package (10 ounces) frozen chopped spinach
3/4 cup shredded reduced-fat mozzarella cheese
1/4 cup diced red or green peppers
1/4 cup diced onions
A pinch of sea salt and pepper, your favorite dried herbs or spices, or a dash of hot sauce for flavoring

Directions:

Heat oven to 350F. Line a 12-cup muffin pan with foil baking cups and spray the cups lightly with cooking spray. Thaw and drain spinach, then squeeze out the excess liquid. Mix everything – spinach, egg substitute, cheese, peppers, onions, and whatever flavoring you like – in a bowl. Pour into the foil cups and bake for 20 minutes or until a knife inserted in the middle comes out clean.

A note on seasonings: you can go minimalist, with just a little salt and pepper. You can try a dash or two of hot sauce for more kick. Or, you can get savory with your favorite herbs and spices. (We like a bit of paprika and oregano.)