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Heat and Exercise. Keeping Cool In Hot Weather

Posted on by Sarah Kesseli

While the summer season is loved by many, the hot temperatures don’t always fare well with outdoor exercise. In certain situations, it can be downright dangerous to workout in the heat. Having said that, there are active measures you can take to keep cool during the summer months, along with warning signs to look out for if you’ve pushed it to far. We’ll break down all this — and more — now.

How Heat Impacts The Body

When you exercise in hot temps, the heat places extra stress on your body since the air temperature, humidity, and the exercise itself all contribute to increasing your core body temperature.

To help keep cool, your body will send more blood to circulate throughout your skin. While this initially is helpful, it also leaves less blood for your muscles and can lead to an increased heart rate. If it’s extra humid out, your sweat won’t actively evaporate from your skin which can push your body temperature even higher.

To avoid your body temperature from increasing to dangerous levels, follow these tips to stay safe (and keeping cool in hot weather) all summer long.

Check the Forecast

It’s important to know exactly how hot it’s going to be when you exercise. There’s a big difference between going for a run at 75 degrees with low humidity and 85 degrees at high humidity! As we mentioned before, exercising in warm weather will increase your core body temperature. If your temp gets too high, serious health risks could occur.

It’s not just what the thermometer reads, either. When the humidity is low, your body is better at cooling itself (since sweat won’t evaporate) and you can safely run in higher temperatures. When the humidity is high, your sweat doesn’t evaporate as quickly and you body can’t cool itself as effectively, making your core temperature rise. So check the humidity, too: If it’s over 82 degrees out and the humidity has reached 90-100 percent, skip the outdoor workout. However, is the humidity is 40 percent or lower, you can safely exercise outdoors until the thermometer reads 90 degrees.

Also check for cloud cover, sun, or chances of rain and thunderstorms. While the rain might sound refreshing, that means the humidity level is high. Cloud cover helps with the heat, but you should still wear sunscreen just as you would with the sun beating down overhead.

Dress Smart

What you wear really matters when you’re working out in the heat. If it’s warm, choose clothes that are lightweight, can wick sweat, and are light-colored. The darker the color and heavier the materials means the shirt or shorts could absorb more heat and raise your internal body temperature. Remember: You can always shorten your workout — both how long you exercise and how intense the workout is. Keeping cool in hot weather should always be the most important thing for your safety.

Hydrate Before, During, and After

Staying hydrated is a key element of safely exercising in the heat and keeping cool. If you’re planning on exercising later in the day, drink enough fluids throughout your morning and afternoon. This can obviously look like water, but could also mean chomping on watermelon, tomatoes, celery, and other fruits and veggies that are rich with water.

Bring water with you while exercising, too; you can carry a handheld water bottle or a hydration pack. If it’s humid, add electrolytes to your water to replace the sodium and other nutrients that you sweat out. After the workout, chug a big glass of water and continue to hydrate in order to replace the water weight you may have lost while working out in the heat.

Avoid the Midday Sun

Whenever possible, choose to exercise in the morning or evening, when it will probably be a lot cooler out with the sun not as strong. For added coolness, try to workout in the shade or do a workout in a pool!

Wear the Right Protection

Before every outdoor workout, apply water-resistant sunscreen to any exposed skin (including things like ears and elbows!) and make sure it’s at least SPF 30 and says “broad spectrum” or “UVA/UVB protection” on the label. Place it on about 30 minutes before going out and read the label to know how often you need to reapply. Wear UV-blocking sunglasses and a hat to keep your face from getting direct sunlight as well.

Have a Plan B.

If you’re concerned about the heat and humidity, it never hurts to take an outdoor workout inside. Head to a gym, workout class, or even climb stairs inside a building that has the air conditioning blasting.

Know the Warning Signs: Heat Exhaustion and Heat Stroke

Exercising in hot and humid weather can put you at risk of heat exhaustion or heat stroke. Heat exhaustion is a less-dangerous form of a heat-related illness that can form after being exposed to high temperatures for a few days. It can also be caused from dehydration. Signs of heat exhaustion include heavy sweating, muscle cramps, fatigue, dizziness, headaches, and nausea or vomiting.

If heat exhaustion is untreated, it could lead to a heat stroke, which is a serious heat-related illness that needs to be addressed as soon as possible. A heat stroke occurs when the body temperature rises up to 105°F or higher. Symptoms of heat stroke include:

  • Dry, hot skin
  • A rapid and weak pulse
  • Confusion
  • Seizures
  • Unconsciousness

If you see someone with any warning signs of heat stroke, call 911 immediately.

Is Your Breakfast Really Dessert in Disguise?

Posted on by Sarah Kesseli

When you hear the word ‘breakfast,’ think about what foods come to mind. Is it sugar-loaded cereals, thick pancakes, melt-in-your-mouth french toast, bakery-style muffins, glazed donuts, or creamy yogurt? Is so, then you’re probably used to an Americanized version of breakfast. While these options are delicious, they’re probably filled with about as much sugar as the foods you’re eating for dessert. It’s time we ask the question: is your breakfast really dessert in disguise?

The American Heart Association recommends that women should eat a maximum of 25 grams of added sugars and men 37.5 grams per day. The average American eats upwards of 70 grams of added sugar per day. Those amounts don’t include the sugar you’re getting from natural sources such as fruits, milk, or honey. You’d expect these added sugars to be in your sweet desserts like cakes, brownies, or ice cream but your breakfast might have as much (or even more) sugars as your desserts.

Breakfast or Dessert?

Look no further than America’s breakfast chain restaurants for your indulgent worthy desserts for breakfast. At fast food options, you could pick up a blueberry muffin with 47g of sugar or one chocolate glazed doughnut with sprinkles for 22g. Or there are coffee cake or breakfast loaf options in which one slice has 42g of sugar. It’s not uncommon to see many people order a sugar loaded coffee with one of these breakfast options. A medium frozen coffee can have a whopping 92g of sugar (almost 3x your recommended amount). Your medium coffee flavored frappuccino can have upwards of 50g of sugar. CRAZY!? If you are like many Americans and enjoy a sugary coffee and a blueberry muffin you could have three times the amount of sugar the AHA recommends for breakfast.

If you browse the breakfast selections at your local grocery store, you will see brands pretending to be ‘healthy’ when they have a lot of sugar. Granola is thought to be a healthy option yet the second ingredient is probably sugar and can have 20g in one serving. Yogurt is now accepted as a healthy breakfast option because of its high protein and live cultures of probiotics, yet most are full of added sugar. A serving size of vanilla flavored Greek yogurt might have 13g of sugar. Granola bars are also widely accepted as a quick form of breakfast to grab and eat on-the-go. These ‘healthy’ bars are also loaded with sugar. A honey flavored oat breakfast bar could be packed with 13g of sugar.

A muffin starts to look like a cupcake without the frosting and yogurt will begin to remind you of creamy ice cream when they’re loaded with all of that sugar. Granola bars look more and more like candy bars disguised as a breakfast option. Of course, these breakfast options might be delicious but if eaten on a regular basis would be considered sugar-overload.

Sugar Overload

For a lot of these ‘healthy’ breakfast options, the second ingredient listed is sugar. The order in which the ingredients are listed is required to be listed from the heaviest ingredient usage to the lightest. So when you see sugar listed in the first five ingredients on a product you should question why so much sugar is added. Are these sugary product trying to trick us into being ‘healthy’? The more you start to realize how much sugar is in some of these breakfast options, the more you’ll start to see the parallels between Americanized breakfast options and desserts.

We should be aware of the amount of sugar we’re consuming per day because after a while it will start to take a toll on your body. It can lead to weight gain, heart disease, increases your chance of diabetes, and drains your energy (just to name a few). Sugar is also addictive as it is proven to stimulate the same areas of the brain as drugs of abuse.

How To Cut Back on Sugar

The good news is that once you start to become aware of the sugar content of these breakfast foods you can start to take small steps towards reducing your daily sugar intake.

Option One

Start checking the nutrition label on food in the store or by looking at the restaurant’s website before ordering. This will help you make a more informed decision before you buy. This is the first step in making sure your breakfast isn’t really dessert in disguise.

Option Two

If you decide to opt for another option, try a savory breakfast option. Savory breakfasts are packed with more protein and nutrients. It will also have little to no sugar. While a savory breakfast might take more time and effort than a store-bought muffin it will be more filling. Your body will definitely thank you.

Option Three

If you’re tight on time in the morning there are ways to prevent yourself from reaching for that sugary breakfast option. You could opt for a meal prepped breakfast, by prepping all the food on the weekend. The only thing you’ll need to do during the weekdays is heat it up.

Option Four

Keep nutritious breakfast options in the freezer that only needed to be microwaved. Nowadays freezer food is just as healthy as freshly cooked food and doesn’t require any prep. Try keeping a Scramble Bowl on hand at home or at work so you won’t have to stop by a drive through on your way in and be tempted by those sugary breakfast options.

Option Five

If you do wake up with a sweet tooth, there are ways to fulfill your cravings without overloading on sugar. If you’re craving a blueberry muffin, opt for Blueberry Waffles with only 6g of sugar instead of 47g. Or if you’re craving your local diner’s pancake stack, opt for a quick option like Pancake Puffs for 6g of sugar instead of 20g. Opt for a fruit topping or natural option like pure maple syrup or honey.

 

If you’re craving a specific sugary breakfast option, your best option is to fulfill that craving. As long as you’re not eating it consistently it’s perfectly fine. It’s okay to indulge occasionally (we all get sugar cravings). But we need to be aware of how much sugar we are eating on a regular basis. From now on you’ll be sure that your breakfast isn’t dessert in disguise.

The ONLY Meal Prep Hack You Need To Make Life Easier

Posted on by Sarah Kesseli

These days life is crazier than it has ever been. We work full-time jobs, possibly have a side-hustle, cook, clean, take care of our families, our pets and somewhere amongst it all try to find a minute or two to relax. Taking time to flip through cookbooks and spend hours in the kitchen to make breakfast and lunches for the next couple of days is not happening after a long day. Side note, do people even own cookbooks anymore?

More often than not, we find ourselves grabbing for one of our 3 favorite restaurant takeout menus for dinner and then trying to squeeze in homework while we wait for dinner to arrive. But, then we still have breakfast and lunch to consider for the next day, right? Or is that a leftover takeout meal or school bought lunch too? Don’t worry, we’ve got you covered!

Instead, we are here to share The ONLY Meal Prep Hack You Need To Make Life Easier, guaranteed! This one hack is the key to making life healthy, easy, affordable AND delicious. Can you guess what it is?

Nope, it’s not a new set of meal prep containers. It’s not a fancy new lunch box or even a whole kitchen full of shiny appliances. It’s a simple stash of FROZEN FOOD! If you don’t think that frozen food is a meal prep hack then we are here to prove otherwise! These 7 meal prep ideas come together in just minutes, are exceptionally delicious, and affordable. It’s the perfect trio.

Are you ready to get into the kitchen and start meal prepping? Here we go!

Blueberry Waffle Meal Prep

Ingredients:

Method:

  1. Toast your blueberry waffles.
  2. Slice your hard-boiled eggs in half.
  3. Add your waffles, fresh fruit, and hard-boiled eggs to your meal prep containers.
  4. Seal and enjoy for a fast breakfast during the week.

*To heat your waffles, you can remove them from the container and toast until warmed or pop them unto your microwave.

Turkey Sausage Scramble Bowl Quesadilla Meal Prep

Ingredients:

Method:

  1. Cook your turkey sausage scramble bowls each for 2 minutes or until just thawed.
  2. Layer 1 scramble bowl onto 1 large tortilla.
  3. Repeat with the second scramble bowl.
  4. Evenly divide cheese onto of the two tortillas topped with the scramble bowls.
  5. Heat a non-stick skillet on medium heat.
  6. Place the filled tortilla into the skillet and top off with the second tortilla.
  7. Cook 2-3 minutes or until golden.
  8. Gently flip and cook until heat through and cheese is melted.
  9. Repeat with the second tortilla.
  10. Slice each tortilla in half and divide between your meal prep containers.
  11. Serve with fruit and veggies of choice.

Make Ahead Egg White Patty Freezer Breakfast Sandwiches

Ingredients:

  • 5 whole grain English muffins
  • 1 package Egg White Patties 
  • 5 thin slices of lean ham or Canadian bacon
  • 5 slices cheddar cheese
  • salt and pepper, if desired

Method:

Find the full recipe instructions HERE.

Almond Butter & Jelly Oats In A Jar

Ingredients:

  • 1 puck Good Food Made Simple Oatmeal
  • 1/3 cup yogurt
  • 2-3 tbsp. fresh fruit preserves (or jelly)
  • 1 tbsp. chia seeds
  • 1-2 tbsp. almond butter (or nut butter of choice)
  • whole almonds, if desired

Method:

Find the full recipe directions HERE.

How To Meal Prep Oatmeal 8 Ways

Find all of the ingredients (by flavor combination) and the directions HERE.

Southwestern Veggie Breakfast Burrito Meal Prep

Ingredients:

  • 3 Southwestern Veggie Burritos
  • 1 cup black beans, drained and rinsed
  • 1 cup frozen corn
  • 1 cup diced fresh tomatoes (or salsa)
  • 3 cups baby spinach
  • fresh cilantro, if desired

Method:

  1. Cook your Southwestern Veggie Breakfast Burritos according to package directions.
  2. (Optional Step) Heat a skillet over medium heat and lightly toast your burritos to get a golden and crispy outside.*
  3. Evenly divide your baby spinach, corn, black beans, tomatoes and burritos amongst 3 meal prep containers.
  4. Seal and enjoy for a fast weekday meal.

*We highly recommend this for both texture, flavor, and longevity of the pre-prepared burritos.

**To reheat, simply place your meal prep container in the microwave for 1-2 minutes or until heated.

Steak & Black Bean Bowl Meal Prep

Ingredients:

  • 2 Steak Black Bean Bowls, cooked according to package directions
  • 1 cup broccoli, steamed
  • 1 cup bell peppers, sliced

Method:

  1. Evenly divide ingredients between two meal prep containers.
  2. Seal and enjoy for a fast and balanced meal during your busy week!

 

Packing meals for yourself and your family can be a challenge. Eating the same meals on repeat can get boring and make takeout options look much more appealing. Being prepared with one of these 7 meal prep recipes made with nutritious and delicious Good Food Made Simple frozen food can be just the meal prep hack you need to make eating more enjoyable.

Looking for even more easy meal inspiration? Check out these 21 Quick & Easy Breakfast Recipes For Busy Mornings!

Gluten-Free Eating. A Guide For Beginners

Posted on by Sarah Kesseli

One of the most popular food trends the U.S. has seen over the last few years is eating a gluten-free diet. For many, they’ve ditched gluten even before it was trendy. About 1 perfect of Americans have celiac disease, an autoimmune disorder that affects the digestive process of the small intestine. People with celiac cannot consume gluten, and often experience abdominal pain, bleeding, diarrhea, fatigue, or anemia.

Another portion of the population is gluten insensitive, which is not as severe as celiac but also leads to various health problems if gluten — a protein found in wheat, barley, or rye — is ingested. Insensitivity symptoms are similar to those with celiac and include digestive problems, headaches, rashes, brain fog, and fatigue.

So what about the rest of the population that medically can eat gluten? One in five Americans says they try to eat gluten-free and one in six avoid it altogether, even if they don’t have a sensitivity or disease.

While it’s largely up for debate, many health experts say eating a gluten-free diet isn’t necessarily healthier, nor is it recommended for weight loss. That said, if you eat a balanced diet and still consume healthy carbs, there’s no reason eliminating gluten can harm your body. It’s all about adding foods that are nutritious, versus only thinking about what you are eliminating.

So whether you are celiac, have a gluten sensitivity, or simply are interested in seeing what your body will feel like if you eliminate wheat, barley, and rye from your diet, here are some tips to do it the right way.

 

6 Healthy Tips To Eat Gluten-Free The Right Way

Know what’s off limits. The first step is to understand the basics: where does gluten typically live? Gluten is a protein, and the following grains and starches that naturally contain the gluten protein include:

  • Wheat
  • Wheat germ
  • Rye
  • Barley
  • Bulgur
  • Couscous
  • Farina
  • Graham flour
  • Kamut Matzo
  • Semolina
  • Spelt
  • Triticale

Read the labels carefully. Gluten can be tricky. While it’s easy to identify certain foods are gluten-filled, like bread, pasta, and baked goods, gluten tends to hide in a lot of unsuspected places, such as soy sauce, soups, and salad dressings. Make sure to read every label closely, and also familiarize yourself with ingredients that are “code words” for gluten. These include dextrin, yeast extract, and caramel color (which is often made with barley).

Some additional, surprising foods that can contain gluten include:

  • Imitation meat
  • Gravy
  • Canned beans
  • Trail mix
  • Vodka
  • Oats

 

Talk directly to chefs. If you’re going out to eat and could get very sick if you eat gluten, the best thing you can do is talk directly to the chef or cook in the kitchen. Even if certain meals on a menu sound gluten-free, oftentimes foods are cooked in pans or pots that have contained gluten for other dishes, and cross-contamination can occur. This applies to the bar as well. If a pint glass that had a beer in it wasn’t thoroughly rinsed, even something safe like an apple cider could contain hints of gluten. The best thing you can do is to dine at an establishment where the entire restaurant is gluten-free so you run into no risk of becoming contaminated. Luckily, these eateries are becoming more and more popular.

Get creative with your own cooking. If you love carbs but hate gluten, don’t worry. With a little creativity and practice, you can make satisfying meals that contain healthy carbohydrates. For starters, grains like brown rice, quinoa, millet, oatmeal, and teff are naturally gluten-free. Make a stir fry or salad with any of these. For baking, there are gluten-free “flour” alternatives for bread and baked goods, but often need a few special ingredients and some practice to get the texture just right. Gluten-free flours also exist and often contain a combination of modified tapioca starch, potato starch, whole brown rice flour, whole sorghum flour, and cornstarch. It won’t taste exactly like the real thing, but it will be pretty darn close. Add some avocado on top and you won’t notice the difference!

Make a plan when going out. If you’re heading to a wedding, dinner party, or another outing that will involve food, plan ahead. If it’s a restaurant, call the establishment to find out if there are foods for you to eat. If you’re attending a wedding or another event, see if you can find out details about the menu. It’s always better to be safe than sorry, so carrying emergencies snacks is key if you aren’t able to eat what’s offered. Bring a handful of raw nuts, a sandwich in a gluten-free wrap, or a homemade quinoa salad with fresh veggies.

Think about what you can add, not what has been taken away. If you’re being forced to go gluten-free, it’s easy to get stuck in thinking about what you no longer can eat, versus new opportunities for foods to add to your diet that you might be neglecting. Use a gluten-free diet as the chance to cook with newer-to-you gluten-free grains. Try making a veggie quiche with a gluten-free crust or even a frozen meal. Cook more veggies and eat more fruit smoothies. And don’t neglect healthy proteins either. With a little planning and prep, you’ll be adding way more nutritious foods into your diet while keeping gluten at bay.

 

Whether you have celiac disease, are gluten-intolerant, or simply feel healthier when eating a gluten-free diet, there are ways to eat well in order to stay healthy and full of energy. By planning ahead, getting creative in the kitchen, and knowing what’s on or off limits, you’ll be surprised to learn that gluten-free eating isn’t as hard as it might sound.

9 Ways A Frozen Meal Can Simplify Your Life

Posted on by Sarah Kesseli

Eating frozen foods has numerous benefits. The biggest one is in regards to good health. Contrary to popular belief, frozen meals and food can be super healthy. Nowadays, buying frozen meals is more nutritious than it used to be, as more and more food brands are offering healthy freezer foods that contain good-for-you ingredients that are limited in preservatives and processed ingredients. Freezing your own foods, like veggies and fruits, is a surefire way to stay in control of what’s in your own freezer while helping to reduce food waste too.

Frozen foods can make your life a lot easier as well. Here are nine ways healthy frozen food can simplify your life, reduce stress in your routine, and make you and your entire family satisfied at the kitchen counter.

 

9 Reasons Frozen Foods Ease Your Day

There’s hardly any prep time. We’ve all been there: You come home from work starving and the last thing you want to do is start chopping veggies, boiling water, and sauteeing meat or tofu. Not all meals can be whipped up at a moment’s notice. This is why frozen food is amazing! If you want a healthy meal in minutes, look no further than your freezer. If you’re buying frozen meals, all that’s required is defrosting time. Remember to preheat a conventional or toaster oven if you’re not using a microwave.

You can take better control of your budget. If you’re buying frozen meals you know exactly how much it costs. If you’re cooking something from scratch it can be really difficult to know how much you’re spending per portion. Considering healthy frozen meals are affordable and much cheaper than ordering take-out or going out to a restaurant, you can manage your food budget with ease.

The portions are perfect. Eating a frozen meal takes out any guesswork when it comes to portion size. Americans are notorious for over-eating, which typically happens when we go out to eat. It’s also tricky to nail portion size when cooking from scratch. Frozen meals do the work for you and portion everything out so you know you’re eating the right amount.

You get variety. Is it just me, or do you stick to making the same two or three meals when in charge of the kitchen? Get out of the habit of cooking the same thing time and time again and eat frozen meals to add variety into your diet. Enjoy a breakfast burrito for breakfast, heat up frozen soup or a veggie pizza for lunch, and defrost a frozen stir fry or another entree for dinner. When purchasing a frozen meal, try to pick different kinds that will help you get all different types of vitamins and minerals in your diet.

It’s easier to manage calorie intake. If you’re counting calories for health reasons, frozen meals make it super simple to know how many you’re eating at every meal. Take a breakfast burrito as an example. It might be really hard to know how many calories it is if you make it from scratch. At the very least, you’ll be doing a lot of math. If you eat a packaged frozen breakfast burrito, the label will tell you all there is to know while preventing overeating.

There’s something for every picky eater. If you’re cooking for a family, chances are not everyone likes the same types of foods. There is where frozen meals are a godsend; have your family members request the types of healthy foods they want for dinner, and they can have that for dinner! The sky is the limit when it comes to types of frozen meals available down the freezer aisle that makes everyone around the dinner table satisfied.

The shelf life is nearly endless. Frozen meals combat food waste since there’s no chance it will go bad in the freezer. Just make sure to keep food stored in the back of the freezer (avoid the door) and eat the meal in a reasonable amount of time — usually 6-12 months. Stocking up on a bunch of freezer meals is also a smart idea since you never know when you’ll need a healthy meal, and fast.

You can feed an army. If you’re feeding a large family or hosting a party, frozen healthy foods can come to the rescue. Consider stocking up on healthy frozen pizzas or tasty entrees for dinners. Hosting a breakfast? Frozen steel-cut oats, waffles, or breakfast burritos will be your next best friend.

They’ll help you stay healthy. It’s worth reiterating that adding frozen meals to your life can also help you live a healthier life. With frozen meals, you’ll know exactly what you’re putting into your body by reading the nutritional label. There are now tons of options for healthier food options, too, so you can eat what tastes good while also fueling your body right.

 

Frozen meals are tasty, healthy, easy to prepare, and will satisfy any picky eater. They’ll also help reduce food waste and save you time in the kitchen. What’s not to love about healthy frozen food? Make the freezer aisle your new best friend and reap the multiple benefits of doing so.

 

 

How To Transition Your Indoor Workouts Outside

Posted on by Sarah Kesseli

With spring in full force, many people are saying so long to treadmills, gym floors, and boutique classes in favor of outdoor workouts. While exercising outside might not seem complicated, there are certain key things to be aware of in order to have a productive, safe, and fun workout.

15 Tips for Outdoor Exercise

Here are 15 pieces of advice to ensure an easy shift from indoor workouts to exercising outside:

Continue to dress in layers. Even though the temperature is indeed heating up, you’ll want to bring layers with you. Consider bringing an underlayer to wick the sweat away from your skin, along with an outer wind and waterproof shell to protect you from the rain. Outside, the weather and temperature can shift quite quickly, especially in the spring, so it’s better to be safe than sorry!

Check the weather. Speaking of the weather, you no longer have a roof over your head to protect you from the elements. You also don’t have access to air conditioning to keep you cool. Check the weather ahead of time in order to dress and hydrate properly.

Wear sunscreen. Even if it’s not scorching out, or if it’s overcast, the sun is still in the sky and its UV rays are shining down on your exposed skin. It never hurts to wear sunscreen. SPF 50 on your face, shoulders, neck, arms, and legs will do the trick. Look for sports sunscreen that won’t drip away when you sweat, too!

Consider a visor or sunglasses. Another way to protect your face from the sun and to keep the sun out of your eyes is to wear a visor or a pair of sports sunglasses. For anyone with long hair: I find that wearing a hat helps keep my ponytail securely tight and all the hair out of my face too!

Look up sunrise and sunset times. The days are getting longer, which means you have more time to exercise outside while it’s still light out. Still, it’s important to pay attention to when the sun is setting so you don’t get caught in the dark. Check when the sun is rising as well; if you are a super early exerciser, bring reflective gear and let a friend know you’re heading out for a workout.

Carry food and/or water. Exercising outside means you no longer have the luxury of water fountains and vending machines at the gym! Depending on the length of your workout, you can leave water or a snack in the car or carry it with you. I enjoy carrying a handheld water bottle that has a zipper pocket for a small granola bar or a handful of nuts and dried fruit. Instant energy and hydration!

Preplan your route. If you’re going for a run, map out your route instead of winging it. This way you can avoid lots of street lights, a busy road without a sidewalk, or desolate areas. Planning your run ensures you go the exact distance you have planned as well. Use running or bike trails whenever possible for safety and to avoid getting lost.

Change your footwear. After a long winter inside, you might have put more miles and wear on your sneakers than you realize. Runners should change their shoes every 300-500 miles. This includes miles spent walking, too! Start spring off fresh with a new pair unless yours was a recent purchase.

Bring an ID. It never hurts to carry your personal identification card with you just in case. It’s rare, but if you fall and get knocked out, or faint while exercising, having your ID on you will make emergency care go much more smoothly and will help to let a loved one know right away that you are at the nearest clinic or hospital.

Grab a buddy. Working out in the great outdoors is always more fun with a friend. It also helps keep you accountable when it might feel easier to sleep in or got to an outdoor happy hour after work. Pick a friend and set a weekly date when you both go for a run and do bodyweight exercises in a park.

Join a club. If the buddy system works for you, why not get a whole community to workout with? These days there are tons of local run clubs you can join to help get you outside. The best part is you’ll meet new people and they often end up going out for dinner or drinks after. Win-win.

Learn bodyweight exercises. If you want to take what you do at the gym and bring it outside (without carrying a ton of dumbells with you…) bodyweight exercises are the way to go. Think pushups, lunges, burpees, squats, mountain climbers, planks, and scissor kicks. These are just a handful of workouts you can do to strengthen muscles, no equipment needed.

Find a park with exercise equipment. That said, if you want some equipment but want to stay outside, a lot of local parks have exercise machines, pull up bars, and stretching stations for park goers. Check to see if your local park also includes this type of equipment.

Be patient. Even though you might have worked out inside all winter, your body will feel different running or doing strength workouts in a new setting. It might take a few weeks to feel normal, which is totally okay! Trust the process and kudos yourself for getting out and taking care of your health.

With the sun heating up the day, getting outside for a workout is amazing for both the body and mind. Say so long to the indoor gym and make your neighborhood, park, or local trail system your new outdoor exercise haven. With a little bit of planning and patience, your outdoor workouts will have you sweating and feeling great in no time.

3 Ways to Heat Frozen Food Without a Microwave

Posted on by Sarah Kesseli

Maybe you don’t have space in your small city apartment or maybe you have an aversion to cooking foods in a microwave. But there has to be more than one way you can cook a frozen breakfast burrito or entrée meal without a microwave. Don’t worry because we have you covered with these 3 ways to heat frozen food without a microwave, no matter what type of food you’re cooking.

Say you’re browsing the frozen section and you came across some nutritious meals that you’d love to keep on hand for the days you really don’t feel like cooking or just don’t have the time. You know, those mornings when you didn’t get much sleep and have no energy to cook? A scramble bowl would be so helpful to have on hand. Or those evenings after a 10 hour work day that you just want to kick your feet up and watch Netflix while eating some buffalo style chicken pasta without doing any work. Plus it’s a more wallet-friendly option than most take out places you typically turn to. There’s just one thing stopping you from buying it, you don’t have a microwave.

Oven

If you’re like most people, you have an oven built in to your kitchen. Overall microwaves and ovens may seem similar but they actually heat foods very differently. Conventional ovens heat food from the outside in while microwaves actually heat everything at once. The problem that comes with heating everything at once is that each ingredient heats very differently. Water and liquids heat quickly, while proteins and fats heat slowly. This can result in pockets of frozen meat while the sauce is burning (you know that popping sound that makes you think your food is burning but it’s still frozen solid). With a conventional oven your food will actually come out more evenly cooked.

The downside that comes with cooking a frozen meal in an oven is that it takes a lot longer to heat the food. With a microwave, you can zap food and within three to five minutes it’s typically ready to be eaten. While cooking frozen food in an oven will take the longest amount of time to heat out of the following 3 ways to heat a frozen meal without a microwave. Which is important to note if you’re tight on time. It also has the potential to dry the food out because each oven is different, despite the settings, digital ovens are more accurate than turn knobs.

So what kind of frozen frozen meals should you cook in the oven? Well to tell you the truth, pretty much all frozen meals can be cooked in the oven. This includes breakfast burritos, waffles, entree meals, pasta, burgers, or pot pies. Whatever your preference, the oven can cook it!

Let’s say you want to have a frozen breakfast burrito before work, but need to get some things done before you head out the door. Preheat your oven to 350 degrees. Wrap the burrito in foil and place on a baking sheet. When the oven is up to temperature, bake the burrito for 45-50 minutes. During this time feel free to take your morning shower, play at https://lincoln-casino.org/, workout, get dressed, or feed the kids! Once you’ve finished your morning routine, the burrito will be melt-in-your-mouth ready.

Or maybe you want to cook some of that delicious buffalo style chicken pasta mentioned earlier. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Remove the food from the packaging and put it in an oven-safe container. Cover the container with foil so the food doesn’t dry out. Once the oven is up to temperature, bake for about 30 minutes or until the bowl reaches an internal temperature of 170 degrees. You can then remove the foil, stir it, then place it back in the oven for 5 more minutes. By the time you’ve changed into your lounge clothes, poured yourself a glass of wine, and opened 7bitcasinosite.com, your meal will be creamy and ready to eat.

Non-Stick Skillet

Surprisingly, a non-stick skillet can actually be a great go-to option to heat up a frozen meal. It takes slightly less time than an oven will yet requires more maintenance. Depending on what your cooking, a non-stick skillet will be your best option if you’re running slightly behind, but have time to keep an eye on your skillet.

What should you cook in a non-stick skillet? Foods such as burritos, pancake puffs, waffles, or egg white patties are your best answer. Heating a burrito requires no oil, takes about 10-15 minutes on a low temperature setting. Make sure you flip the burrito occasionally browning it on all sides. Once it’s heated thoroughly it will have a nice crispy outside with a soft, warm inside.

You should always monitor your skillet to make sure that it is not too hot otherwise, it will quickly burn your food. Also good to note that you might want to add a drop of oil to the skillet if you feel that the meal is getting a little dry. Most frozen meals cooked on a skillet will require monitoring and a little bit of testing to really get it right if the packaging doesn’t mention a way to cook the meal with a skillet.

Sauce Pan

Another way to heat a frozen meal without a microwave is in a saucepan. We recommend heating frozen food such as oatmeal, scramble bowls, or even some entrée bowls in a saucepan. Make sure to keep the temperature on low so as to not burn the food. Remember the food is already cooked, we’re just looking to reheat it.

The key is to keep a close eye on your food and keep stirring so the food is heated evenly. Feel free to add a tiny bit of water if you think your food might be getting dried out. After about 10-15 minutes your food should be heated through, but we always take a test bite to double check.

So don’t fret if you purchased food that doesn’t have alternative heating instructions on it, you should be able to heat it up with one of these 3 ways to heat a frozen meal without a microwave. It might take some trial and error to get the food heated exactly right, but consider it a challenge! Nutritious frozen meals are great to have on hand for any time you don’t feel like cooking or don’t have the time to prep all the ingredients.  So, don’t be afraid to browse that frozen aisle with confidence next time even though you don’t own a microwave.

10 Tips For Controlling Your Portion Sizes

Posted on by Sarah Kesseli

Overeating is a huge problem in America. It is also one of the leading cause of obesity. As of 2016, about 93.3 million people in the U.S. are considered obese, which comes out to nearly 40% of the population. Obesity is a serious health concern and can increase the risk of heart disease, stroke, type 2 diabetes and certain types of cancer. (It’s important to note that obesity is a complex topic and genetics and other socioeconomic factors also influence the disease.)

Other people in America simply suffer from eating more than they should, which leads to gaining unnecessary amounts of weight and could trigger numerous physical and mental health issues.

A big reason we overeat is because we’ve learned to eat more than necessary. In fact, a survey that measured serving sizes from takeout, eat-in, and fast food chains found that America’s favorite carb — the bagel — was 195% larger than the standard size established by the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA). They also found that muffins were 333% larger and the amount of pasta served to patrons was 480 percent bigger than what the serving size says on the box. We’re literally biting off more than we can chew.

 

Portion Versus Serving Size

In order to control portion sizes, people need to understand serving sizes. A serving size is an amount of food an individual should consume, which is calculated by government agencies like the USDA and the Department of Health and Human Services.

Serving sizes don’t need to be memorized, and in most cases just require reading nutritional labels. However, things can get hairy when we go out to eat, since most restaurant meals don’t come with a thumbs up from the USDA. It happens at home, too; in most cases, people eat a larger portion than the correct serving size, which is what causes overeating and an influx of health problems.

 

10 Ways to Avoid Overeating

Luckily, there’s a way to control portion sizes beyond having better self-control (though that’s important, too!) Here are ten tips to portion your food out correctly, and as a result, feel healthier and more confident in your body.

Use smaller plates and bowls

There have been a handful of studies that found that the sizes of our plates, spoons, and glasses actually affects how much food is consumed. For starters, eating dinner on a large plate can make the serving look smaller, which can lead to going back for seconds (or thirds!). One study found that people eating pasta from a large bowl ate 77% more than those eating from a smaller bowl, while another experiment revealed people ate 31% more ice cream when it was out of a large bowl, while others ate 14.5% more when using a larger spoon. The most interesting part is people don’t even realize they are eating more when consuming food from larger dishware. So, a surefire way to eat less — and not notice! — is to ditch the larger plates and bowls you’re used to eating with and start using smaller sizes.

Stock up on healthy packaged meals

The beauty of frozen meals is they are portioned out for you. So instead of making your own stovetop oatmeal (and being generous with the amount of honey or syrup poured on top) consider a ready–made oatmeal bowl as a portion-controlled option with the correct serving already inside. Other delicious portion-controlled options could include breakfast burritos or buffalo mac n cheese as a way to control over eating more indulgent options— excess sugar and preservatives nowhere to be seen. Frozen healthy meals taste delicious and are a great replacement over more indulgent options — like restaurant burritos — which more often than not exceed the recommended serving size.

Don’t skip meals

This one is super important! People like to think that by skipping a meal, they will ultimately eat less and lose weight in the process. The problem with that is our hunger will eventually catch up with us, and we actually may end up eating more at lunch after fasting through breakfast. Stick to three, portioned meals a day to prevent overindulging or reaching a point where the body feels like it’s starving.

Start each meal with water

Another way to avoid overeating is to begin each meal by drinking a glass of water. Oftentimes we mistake hunger for thirst, so drinking some H20 helps the body identify what it really wants and needs.

Ask for half portions when out to eat

Remember those scary restaurant stats we mentioned earlier? Avoid getting served nearly five times the amount of pasta you should be eating at an Italian restaurant and ask for half of your meal to be packaged up when served to you. This way, you’re eating closer to what is the correct portion size and you have leftovers for the following day. Win-win.

Fill your plate the right way

When cooking at home, the best way to ensure a balanced meal is to actually proportion out the amount of protein, grains, and veggies you’re eating. USDA’s MyPlate recommends that half of the plate should be filled with fruits and vegetables, a quarter should be whole grains (like brown rice or quinoa) and the other quarter should be protein. Actually placing the food on a plate like this helps ensure you’re eating the right amount of everything.

Don’t eyeball portions — measure them

Get in the habit of actually using measuring cups and spoons. It’s easy to want to eyeball everything, but you would be surprised by what a ½ cup serving of cereal actually looks like, along with what two tablespoons of peanut butter ends up being on toast.

Chew slowly

Eating slowly ensures that our stomachs catch up with our minds and signals that we’re full before it’s too late. Not only does eating at a slower pace help us eat less, but it also supports better digestion and hydration, along with allowing us to actually enjoy what we eat. Think about it: How often do we take notice of each bite of a burger or salad, appreciating the taste versus biting into it again before we have even swallowed? One study found that women who ate quickly consumed a whopping 646 calories in nine minutes, while women who ate slowly consumed only 579 — in 29 minutes!

Ditch containers and bags

Never ever, ever eat straight from a bag or box. I’ve been known to bring a bag of chips with me to the couch, and before I know it the eight servings in the bag are now all in my stomach. Always measure out the snack you want to munch on and place it in a bowl to avoid eating way more than you should.

Keep a food journal

Keeping track of how much you’re eating will also help you with portion control. If you write down everything you eat throughout the day, including what you graze on, you might realize you’ve almost capped out on your calories even before dinner! This could help you cook a smaller portion since you know the body doesn’t need a big meal.

Pre-portion snacks when on-the-go.

Traveling can sometimes wreak havoc on our food choices. Instead of relying on food at rest stops, bus stations, or airport terminals, bring an array of snacks with you that are portioned out correctly. Things like popcorn, yogurt, sliced veggies, and individual packages of nut butter are great to always have on hand so you’re eating doesn’t get out of control.

 

Overeating doesn’t have to consume our lives. By making a few small shifts and habit changes, we can be eating less than we ever thought, while still satisfying our stomachs and sticking to what nutritionists believe is the correct amount of food we need to live a healthy life.

Combat Food Waste With Your Freezer

Posted on by Sarah Kesseli

Here’s the problem when it comes to food. According to the Natural Resources Defense Council, roughly 40 percent of the food we produce in the U.S. is — chew on this — never gets eaten. Not only does that mean the food is wasted, but the blood, sweat, and tears that went into growing that food (along with water and fuel) has gone unused as well. To understand this on a global scale, the United Nations reports that roughly one-third of the food produced in the world for human consumption each year — approximately 1.3 billion tons — gets lost or wasted. They also report that fruits and veggies have the highest wastage rates of any food.

Not only is this downright wasteful, but it’s also costly too. The U.S. Department of Agriculture estimates that this food waste amounts to $162 billion lost every single year, while families lose up to $2,275 worth of food they end up tossing too.

If these numbers scare you, you’re not alone. Yet luckily we also know a few surefire ways to solve the food waste problem. The first way is right through our freezer door.

 

Freeze Away Food Waste

Here’s the solution: Frozen food. Freezing uneaten food ensures it doesn’t end up going bad in the back of the fridge and eventually uneaten in the trash. Meanwhile, buying frozen food means you can cook only as much as you need! Science backs this up, too: One study in the British Food Journal found that frozen food produces 47 percent less food waste at home than non-frozen food, while another study in Australia says that food waste can be reduced by six-fold if we cook and consume frozen foods. All of this also means you will save money, while still eating healthy (more on that below) and cutting down of food waste. Win-win-win.

Like I just mentioned, frozen food can indeed be good for you. This is especially true for fruits and vegetables that are sometimes more nutritious than their fresh counterparts because they are picked at their peak ripeness. In fact, a study that looked at four different vitamins among eight different fruits and veggies found that the vitamin content of the frozen commodities was similar to and occasionally higher than their fresh versions.

As far as meals and snacks go, more and more brands are bringing health-conscious practices into the freezer aisle. Do a quick read of the nutrition and ingredient label to make sure the meal isn’t packed with hoards of salt and sugar. You’d be surprised at the healthy options you can now find.

 

3 Tips to Reduce Waste in Your Freezer

Here are three tips you can take to make frozen foods a new part of a healthy diet, while also combatting the food waste problem in the U.S.

 

Freeze it till you need it

If you accidentally buy too much of something, or live alone and still can’t figure out how to buy produce for one (you’re not alone) then simply follow this rule: “freeze it till you need it.” It turns out most things can be put in the freezer and end up just fine once thawed; this includes things from vegetables and homemade sauces to bread and yes, even milk! Some of the best things to freeze include starchy veggies (think: potatoes and squashes), nuts, and fruit. That said, there are a few types of foods that should avoid the freezer. If you want to freeze cheese, shred it first, to avoid it changing texture and becoming crumbly once thawed. Eggs are okay to freeze, but make sure to remove them from their shell first. Same goes for canned goods; whatever is inside the can is fine to freeze. Avoid delicate vegetables too, like arugula and herbs, along with other veggies that have a high water content, like radishes, cucumbers, and celery.

 

Keep a list

In order to keep track of everything that’s in your freezer — and to ensure you don’t buy something you already have — keep a list of what’s in the freezer and when each item was frozen. You can stick it right on the freezer door to easily reference at any time. This also helps with meal planning as well!

 

Make a food plan so you thaw ahead of time

While it’s great to have things stored away in the freezer, food also needs proper time to thaw out before eating. Avoid having to wait until midnight to eat the frozen chicken breasts and broccoli; make a plan in the morning so you can defrost and thaw what you need in time for dinner.

If you’re interested in cutting back on your own contributions to food waste, look no further than your freezer. Freezing food ensures it doesn’t get neglected in the back of the fridge to rot while allowing you to control the portions and quantity of what you plan on eating. And considering that frozen food is just, if not more nutritious than many fresh versions, you’re doing your own body a healthful favor too.

What Happens When You Sit All Day

Posted on by Sarah Kesseli

It turns out that sitting all day is more dangerous than we thought. For those of us who work a desk job, even going for an hour run or doing some other sort of exercise might not negate the effects. We’re not kidding: a team of cardiology experts found that no amount of physical activity can combat the dangerous health effects of sitting all day. Yikes.

Americans sit a lot, too. While some say we sit on average six hours a day, others say this figure is closer to 10 hours. Think about it: We sit at least eight hours at our desk in front of computer screens, working in excel sheets, replying to e-mails, making calls, or sitting in meetings. Most of us eat lunch at our desks, too. Then we come home (we’re lucky if we squeeze in a gym session beforehand) to sit in front of the TV or at the kitchen table.

 

The Health Effects of Hunkering Down

The list is not short when it comes to adverse health effects of sitting all day. Staying sedentary on our seats can produce both short and long-term effects on your body, making what seems to be a pretty passive activity potentially really harmful to our health.

Medical researchers have connected excessive sitting with an increased risk for chronic health conditions like heart disease, type 2 diabetes, and even cancer. In some cases, long bouts of sitting can also increase stress and anxiety levels. Some scientists have boldly said that excessive sitting is worse for you than smoking.

People often experience muscle and joint problems too. Sitting for long periods of time can make your hip flexors super tight, which causes our butt muscles to lengthen (in order to compensate weak hips). Over time, this affects our gluteal muscles, which will soon have a hard time activating. This leads to pesky soreness, muscle pain, and an increased risk of injury while exercising. Tight hip flexors also make it harder for your pelvis to rotate properly, which can cause compression and lower back pain.

 

How to Combat the Sitting Disease

On a grand scale, the best way to combat the dangerous effects of sitting all day is to truly rethink the way we work. It could be to our benefit in more ways than one, too; a few studies found that when people stood and moved around more often during work hours, both health and productivity improved.

To get down to some numbers, sports medicine experts say we should allocate two out of the eight hours in our workday to movement. While this might seem hard, talking walking breaks, using the stairs, and run lunches (when you go for a run during your lunch break, not eat lunch on the run…) can easily fill this time.

The small changes you can make really do add up — we promise. Here are some ways to get more movement into your day to combat all the sitting we do.

Set reminders to stretch. Sometimes it’s too easy to get lost in your work and not realize you’ve been sitting for…hours. A way to make sure you’re regularly getting up and moving is to simply set reminders for yourself. You can do this easily on your phone, or download one of the handfuls of apps, like Move, Standup!, and StandApp, that do the work for you. Some allow you to set your reminder interval to any five-minute increment between five minutes and two hours, while others even suggest small exercises to do while you stretch your legs.

Change up your commute. If you drive to work every day, consider what would happen if you could walk, ride a bike, or take public transportation instead. Not only is this good for the environment, but it’s super beneficial for your body. If your work is far away, see if you can walk or bike to a public transit station. If you’re only a few miles away, squeeze in your morning exercise by using your own two feet to get to the office.

Invest in a standing desk. Standing desks are huge! You can literally negate all of the sitting by having a desk set up where you can stand instead. If applicable, see if your company is willing to invest in a desk for its employees. If not, we promise it’s worth the investment. You can also DIY your own desk by placing your computer on top of a large box and a stack of books.

Host walking meetings. Whether on a call or in person, why not take a meeting around the block? If no powerpoints or excel sheets are necessary, use a meeting to also get your legs moving.

Take the stairs. In every possible scenario, skip the elevator and take the stairs. This small change will certainly add up; not only will you get more steps in, but you’ll strengthen your muscles too!

While the sitting epidemic is becoming more and more serious, if we can commit to some lifestyle changes, we can keep ourselves healthy and strong. Even if you don’t totally notice how sitting all day is affecting your body, it most likely is. Focus on moving, standing, and walking whenever possible to do yourself — and your health — a huge favor.