Spring has sprung!

There are plenty of healthy options in the spring. Fresh produce is the order of the day and now is the time to get your hands on freshly grown asparagus, spinach and spring onions. Choose meats such as beef and quail to go with the seasonal veg, or pair them with fish like sole or plaice.

Juicy fruits like gooseberries and rhubarb are coming out too, so why not knock up a nice spring crumble with oats for dessert!

Salads for the summer

It’s getting hot outside and you want to eat healthily to keep your figure in shape. Salads are perfect and you can use leafy vegetables to make a cold or warm salad. Make a new potato salad and use yoghurt instead of mayonnaise to make a lower fat version.

Barbecues are good for the summer, so go for seasonal lamb and grill it with minimal oil to eliminate the saturated fats. You could also cook seasonal mackerel and mullet on the barbecue. Both have great health benefits, as well as being delicious.

Autumnal advice

Autumn is a good time for seasonal fruit and vegetables. As well as getting the overlap of the end of summer produce, root vegetables like parsnips and carrots are everywhere. Plums, blackberries and pears are flourishing too. In certain parts of the country, rabbit is in season and this lean protein source is ideal for stews. As far as fish is concerned, you’ll find that cod and sole are good options.

Winter warmers

When you think of winter food it’s easy to think of stodgy, comforting dishes. It doesn’t have to be like that, though, as you can still go for casseroles and hearty dishes without making them really heavy. Beef is a great option for casseroles as you can cook it slowly and for a long time so that it develops fully. Go for cuts that are not covered in fat and combine them with winter carrots, leeks and turnips.

Year-round advice

For really healthy eating you should stick to fresh produce all year round, as you know it will hold its nutrients and goodness for longer. The seasons change and new foods become available – if you can, you should opt for quality seasonal foods at UK suppliers like Forman and Field. Whether you’re looking for ingredients for a summer barbecue, provisions for a winter get together, or Christmas hampers to celebrate the festive season, it’s always best to go with fresh seasonal produce.

Eating healthily is also about the preparation and methods of cooking. Use the grill or barbecue in the spring and summer with little oil, and go for slow cooking in the colder months, rather than frying and deep frying.

Article Content:
We have a new puppy who hasn't let me get a solid night of sleep since December 17 . . . and that was the week I traveled to New York and slept a total of 9 hours over three days.

Will I ever sleep again?

In other news, I have been working out at the YMCA almost every day.  Today I was trained to use the Fitlinxx tool which keeps track of my program on the weight machines.  (It's pretty cool, really–it's like having a personal trainer without the personal part.) And then tonight I went back with my teenagers for some cardio (treadmill and then exercise bike).

And . . . I lost 6.4 pounds.  Which, of course, is to be expected the first week but still!  A weight loss is gratifying after working hard to change my direction.

I'm like a gigantic ship which takes a long, long, long time to actually steer in a huge circle until I'm heading the opposite direction. 

That's how it feels anyway.

I have to go sleep now.  I hope my farting puppy will sleep until dawn. 

Look, she's cute, which is why I don't cook her in butter and eat her.




———————

Article Content:
Is it possible that I've already said everything there is to say about losing weight? 

And not losing weight?

I don't know, but I will continue to post here, hopefully more regularly than I've been doing. 

Here's how things are at the moment.

I am not being as strict as I was when I first started losing weight back in 2006.  Maybe it's just not realistic to cut out every speck of sugar and white flour and white potatoes and white rice.  I don't know but I can't seem to be perfect, a problem which has plagued me my whole imperfect life.

I have, however, been going to the YMCA regularly since the beginning of the year and I have to say that I feel so much better physically.  My wonky tendon has even stopped its continual aching.  I have enjoyed the various cardio machines and two or three times a week, I do weight machines.  

My weight loss is holding steady at 7 pounds, which sadly enough, almost brings me to my initial starting weight when I began this blog in April 2006. 

Anyway, I'll be around.  Hope you will be, too.

Except for you spammers.  You can go away.


———————

Article Content:
Here is a pretty good list of the Best and Worst Superbowl Party foods. . .

 

 

 

And now for an abrupt transition . .  .

I have the common cold . . . and ridiculously enough, my eating plan has suffered and I haven't been to the gym for a week.  I can't stop coughing and I didn't think anyone would appreciate my mucusy germs being spewed all over the cardio machines.

Ewww.  Sorry for that visual.

Anyway, hope you're well . . . I hope to be well again soon!


———————

Article Content:
Last night before bed, I found myself standing in the kitchen spooning Nutella directly into my mouth from the jar while I stood watching Jimmy Fallon on the television.  It was 1 a.m. and I thought to myself that normal-sized woman do not stand in their kitchens at 1 a.m. and eat Nutella from the jar.

Why am I doing this to myself?

I can tell you that I am going to stop, that I am going to turn this ship around . . . and then I think how accurate that image is.  I am a gigantic ship, plowing steadily in one direction and there is no easy way to turn this enormous ship around. 

But I have to turn.  I have to turn around, so completely around that I am pointing in the opposite direction from what I'm doing now.

What am I doing now?

Skipping breakfast. Drinking Diet Coke and eating granola bars at my desk because I don't have anything easy and healthy to grab for lunch.Not exercising. Sitting in my desk chair for 9+ hours a day, working and plotting my next snack.Not planning ahead and then getting so desperate I eat whatever I can find.

The key to weight loss is planning ahead . . . and creating an enivornment where you can succeed.  I know this because I've done it before.

Tomorrow I'm going to get produce and I'm going to clean out my fridge and we're going to start the process of making a 180 degree turn.  Time to walk, time to get to the YMCA, time to stop eating Nutella from the jar.  Seriously.


———————

Article Content:
School dinners meeting Mid Day SupervisorsView more presentations from Jackie Schneider.

———————

As we were having dumpling after a longtime we enjoyed our foods a lot. Previously I said that the foods of the Yum Cha are delicious. As they have the greater demand of their food they open online service system. They have made their own websites. If you have time visit www.chansyumcha.com.au.

In the current world, the reason why blood sugar has been rising or going down is not because the body has failed to do its part, but actually because the living styles that we have taken these days do not allow the body to that. However in the better part of this article, we will try to give some of the most important reasons why a normal blood sugar level is very important. To start with normal blood sugar will prevent your form diabetes. The results of the disease or condition depending on your point of view can be death. Furthermore treating diabetic conditions can be very expensive and life determining.

The process of maintaining normal blood sugar levels will all be down to the individual concerned, in other words what this actually means is that, provided you observe some of the healthy practices in modern living, you can be free from fluctuations in your sugar levels.  The basic step however towards achieving this important goal is down to the fact that you know ion a regular basis the level of sugar in your blood. Regular check ups by leading medical practitioners is very important in deciding the approaches to be taken in getting to the normal level of sugar.

If at all the level is normal, then that will be a very good eye opener for you to take in to account the best ways possible to maintain that level. The financial implication of high or low sugar levels in the blood can be very huge. As noted earlier treating the conditions is very expensive and if at all you would want to save some of these financial commitments, it is important that your normal sugar level is maintained or for that matter kept in check.

Article Content:
So, I had one fantastic week!  Lost five pounds.  Then along came Halloween.

It was like an avalanche of mini-candy bars buried me.  It was bad, very, very bad. 

I gained those five pounds back.

Today, though, I am 100% committed to myself and my weight loss plan because I just found out that once again, I am flying to New York in December for the office Christmas party.

So I am deterrmined to use this as the impetus I need to get serious and get some weight off! 

Today I ate a 'clean' diet.  For breakfast, old-fashioned oatmeal.  Lunch was a big salad at Souplantation.  Dinner was green beans and some barbecued chicken breast.  Snack tonight was a Granny Smith apple and some fat-free popcorn.

Earlier in the day, I laced up my sneakers and went on a two mile walk with my 9-year old daughter.  I used the RunKeeper app on my iPhone.  I loved having the feedback about our time, distance and speed. 

I'm thinking I'll ride my exercise bike tomorrow, then on Wednesday, go to the YMCA to get a lesson in using the equipment there.  (We joined recently but I haven't yet actually exercised there.)

Wish me luck!  I'm going to try to lose as much as I can in the nearly six weeks I have before my trip to NYC!


———————