Healthy Recipes-Whole Wheat Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookies

Although we don't usually consider cookies when we're talking about eating healthy, anyone who's ever been treat deprived knows that they key to success is having a few yummy treats when the cravings hit. These cookies are full of oatmeal and made with white wheat flour. My kids devoured them and had no idea they were even healthy. This will be the only post for this week because I will be out of town. See you next week!

Whole Wheat Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookies

Picture and recipe from My Kitchen Cafe

*Makes about 4 dozen cookies

1 ¼ cups brown sugar

1 ¼ cups sugar

1 ¼ cups butter

3 eggs

1 ¼ teaspoon baking soda

1 ¼ teaspoon baking powder

1 teaspoon vanilla

1 ¼ teaspoon salt

2 ½ cups white wheat flour

2 ½ cups oats (you can use either rolled oats or quick oats - I prefer the texture of quick oats in this recipe)

2 ½ cups semisweet chocolate chips (you could even use dark chocolate chips)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.Cream butter and sugars together. Beat in eggs and vanilla extract. Stir in dry ingredients and mix well, then stir in chocolate chips. Scoop rounded tablespoonfuls of cookie dough onto greased (or lined) baking sheets. Bake at 350 for 10 minutes.

Sincerely,

The Fit Mamas

Fitness Book Reviews-Abs Diet For Women

It's no surprise that there are so many diets, products and workouts geared toward abs. We all want our stomachs to look good. I really love reading fitness books and this is another one I picked up.

This book is written by David Zinczeno the Editor in Chief of Men's Health. He originally wrote the abs diet and then later came out with this women's edition.

We all know that too much fat on our bodies is bad but just in recent years is when we have discovered that belly fat is more dangerous than the fat in other areas of our bodies. In this book the author goes into detail about the dangers of being overweight--diabetes, high blood pressure, high cholesterol, increased risk for heart attacks, etc.

The Abs diet focuses on some simple principles

1- Eat six small meals daily- Every time you eat, your body has to work to burn those calories off. Also, keeping your energy levels constant with small frequent meals keeps you from getting too hungry and keeps your energy level more balanced.

2-Make the Abs diet Power Foods the staples of your diet-

Almonds

Beans and legumes

Spinach and other green vegetables

Diary (fat free and low fat)

Instant oatmeal (unsweetened & unflavored)

Eggs

Turkey and other lean meats

Peanut butter

Olive Oil

Whole grain breads and cereals

Extra-protein (whey) powder

Raspberries and other berries

3. Incorporate Smoothies into your diet- They keep you full longer and are low in calories and high in nutrients.

4. Stop counting calories- The nice thing about this diet is that the calories are already counted for you. This eliminated a lot of time and energy devoted to figuring out calories which can get very tiring.

5-Avoid or seriously limit empty calories from beer, soda, wine and all those other high sugar drinks that add empty calories and don't feel you up.

He goes into detail about the benefits of each of the power foods and what they can do for your body.

Included is a meal plan section with 5-6 recipes in each category and a list of snacks to choose from. He goes over how to include the diet in your everyday life. On this diet you are allowed one cheat meal (not day).

The last part of the book focuses on exercise and toning up your abs. The abs diet workouts focus on circuit training- performing different exercises one right after another and compound exercises- exercises that use multiple muscle groups instead of just one.

Here's a sample of a weeks workout:

Monday- total body strength training workout with ab emphasis

Tuesday-(optional) light cardio exercise such as walking at a brisk pace for 30 minutes

Wednesday- Total body strength training workout with ab emphasis

Thursday- (optional) light cardio for 30-45 minutes

Friday- Total body strength training workout with leg emphasis

Saturday(optional) abs workout plus interval workout

There are photos and explanations of each exercise and also home versions in case you don't have a gym. The workouts aren't super long, great for busy people.

I like that this book focuses on healthy eating and not counting calories. I also like the stressed importance of strength training. The more research I do, the more I believe you have GOT to strength train.

I also like the cheat meal. After eating really healthy all week, it's nice to get a little break.

I would recommend this book to anyone trying to clean up their diet and incorporate some good exercise into their life. If not, at least take a look at the power foods above and make a commitment to eat them on a daily basis.

Sincerely,

The Fit Mamas

Workout Move of the Month-Squats and Lunges

This month I'd like to focus on legs. I know they may seem old school but lunges and squats are two of the most effective leg exercises. Also, since your leg muscles are some of the biggest muscles you have they take a lot more effort to use, which burns more calories. Studies have shown than people that work their legs also have more upper body strength.


Squats work multiple muscle groups -- the quadriceps, hamstrings, and gluteals -- at the same time.


How to: Keep your feet shoulder-width apart and your back straight. Bend your knees and lower your rear as if you were sitting down in a chair, keeping your knees over your ankles.




Like squats, lunges work all the major muscles of the lower body. Lunges also help improve your balance.


How to do it: Take a big step forward, keeping your spine straight. Bend your front knee to approximately 90 degrees. Keep weight on your back toes and drop the back knee toward the floor-- but don't let it touch the floor.



Start out just doing the exercises with no weights. A good rule of thumb is 3 sets of 10 for size and strength and 2 sets of 12-15 for toning. Once you feel comfortable try adding small weights like 3-5 lbs. As you get stronger you can increase your weights. Do this 2-3 times a week.



Sincerely,

The Fit Mamas

Healthy Recipes- Garden Style Lasagna

Just because you're eating healthy doesn't mean you can't eat delicious food. I love Recipe Girl's website. She has so many yummy recipes. She has specific sections for Low Carb, Low Fat, and Weight Watchers too. Everything from breakfast to dessert. If you've never tried a veggie lasagna this is a great one!

GARDEN- STYLE LASAGNA
www.RecipeGirl.com

2 cups chopped onion
4 cloves garlic, minced
2 tsp olive oil, divided
2 cups chopped zucchini (about 8 ounces)
2 cups chopped yellow squash (about 8 ounces)
2 cups thinly sliced carrot (about 8 ounces)
2 cups chopped broccoli (about 6 ounces)
1 tsp salt, divided
½ cup flour
3½ cups 1% low-fat milk
1 cup (4 ounces) grated fresh Parmesan cheese, divided
¼ tsp freshly ground black pepper
dash of nutmeg
10 oz package frozen chopped spinach, thawed and squeezed dry
1½ cups 1% low-fat cottage cheese
2 cups (8 ounces) pre-shredded part-skim mozzarella cheese, divided
9 pre-cooked lasagna noodles, divided

1. Preheat oven to 375°F.
2. Heat a large Dutch oven over medium-high heat. Coat pan with cooking spray. Add onion to pan; sauté 4 minutes or until lightly browned. Add garlic; sauté 1 minute. Spoon onion mixture into a large bowl.
3. Heat 1 teaspoon oil in pan over medium-high heat. Add zucchini and yellow squash; sauté 4 minutes or until tender and just beginning to brown. Add to onion mixture.
4. Heat remaining 1 teaspoon oil in pan over medium-high heat. Add sliced carrot; sauté 4 minutes or until tender. Add chopped broccoli; sauté 4 minutes or until crisp-tender. Add to onion mixture. Sprinkle with ½ teaspoon salt; toss well to combine.
5. Place flour in a medium saucepan. Gradually add milk, stirring with a whisk until blended. Bring to a boil over medium heat; cook 2 minutes or until thick, stirring constantly. Remove from heat. Add ½ cup Parmesan, remaining ½ teaspoon salt, pepper, and nutmeg; stir until smooth. Stir in spinach.
6. Combine cottage cheese and 1½ cups mozzarella; stir well. Spread ½ cup spinach mixture in bottom of 13×9-inch baking dish coated with cooking spray. Arrange 3 noodles over spinach mixture in dish; top with half of cottage cheese mixture, then half of vegetable mixture, and about 1 cup spinach mixture. Repeat layers, ending with noodles. Spread remaining spinach mixture on top of noodles; sprinkle with remaining ½ cup Parmesan and remaining ½ cup mozzarella.
7. Cover and bake for 20 minutes. Uncover and bake an additional 20 minutes or until cheese is bubbly and beginning to brown. Let stand 10 minutes before serving.
Servings: 12

Nutrition Facts
Amount Per Serving
Calories 286
Calories From Fat (26%) 75
Total Fat 8.32g
Saturated Fat 4.52g
Cholesterol 26.10mgS
odium 704.12mg
Potassium 529.39mg
Carbohydrates 33.45g
Dietary Fiber 2.99g
Sugar 7.77g
Net Carbohydrates 30.46g
Protein 20.01g
WW POINTS: 7
Recipe Source: Adapted from Cooking Light

Sincerely,

The Fit Mamas

The Benefits of Yoga

I first tried yoga when I was pregnant with my second child. I didn't work out at all with my first pregnancy and felt terrible and fat! I vowed to change that the second time around but wanted to take it slow. I found a cardio pregnancy workout and also one called Yoga Mama. Surprisingly I really liked it and always felt rejuvenated afterwards. Sadly, after the pregnancy I went back to walking and yoga went by the wayside. That was 8 years ago. I kept the videos and during my next two pregnancies was faithful about my yoga but once again after I delivered I just felt the need for all that cardio and weight training and yoga was once again forgotten. That was until I started a program called P90X. Yoga was included as a weekly workout. I was excited to give it another shot. Not surprisingly, it became one of my favorite workouts. I am done with the P90X program but have kept up the yoga. After doing the yoga workout I feel less sore, more calm and just more relaxed in general. I have gained flexibility and balance and am ready to go for my workout the next day. I still struggle with the fact that Yoga is "not a real workout" and have to mentally tell myself it's okay to take a break and that my body needs this. If you need some convincing like I did here are some of the benefits of yoga.

Flexibility

The series of yoga poses called asanas work by safely stretching your muscles. This releases the lactic acid that builds up with muscle use and causes stiffness, tension, pain, and fatigue. In addition, yoga increases the range of motion in joints. It may also increase lubrication in the joints. The outcome is a sense of ease and fluidity throughout your body.
Yoga stretches not only your muscles but all of the soft tissues of your body. That includes ligaments, tendons, and the fascia sheath that surrounds your muscles. And no matter your level of yoga, you most likely will see benefits in a very short period of time. In one study, participants had up to 35% improvement in flexibility after only eight weeks of yoga. The greatest gains were in shoulder and trunk flexibility.

Strength
Some styles of yoga, such as ashtanga and power yoga, are more vigorous than others. Practicing one of these styles will help you improve muscle tone.
But even less vigorous styles of yoga, such as Iyengar yoga, which focuses on less movement and more precise alignment in poses, can provide strength and endurance benefits.
Many of the poses, such as Downward Dog, Upward Dog, and Plank pose, build upper-body strength. This becomes crucial as people age. The standing poses, especially if you hold them for several long breaths, build strength in your hamstrings, quadriceps, and abdominal muscles. Poses that strengthen the lower back include Upward Dog and Chair pose. When practiced correctly, nearly all poses build core strength in the deep abdominal muscles.

Posture
With increased flexibility and strength comes better posture. Most standing and sitting poses develop core strength. That's because you're counting on your deep abdominals to support and maintain each pose. With a stronger core, you're more likely to sit and stand "tall." Another benefit of yoga is the increased body awareness. This heightened awareness tells you more quickly when you're slouching or slumping so you can adjust your posture.

Breathing
Because of the deep, mindful breathing that yoga involves, lung capacity often improves. This in turn can improve sports performance and endurance. But yoga typically isn't focused on aerobic fitness the way running or cycling are. Taking an intense power yoga class that gets you breathing hard in a heated room, however, can provide an aerobic benefit.
Most forms of yoga emphasize deepening and lengthening your breath. This stimulates the relaxation response -- the opposite of the fight-or-flight adrenaline boost of the stress response.

Less stress, more calm
Even beginners tend to feel less stressed and more relaxed after their first class. Some yoga styles use specific meditation techniques to quiet the constant "mind chatter" that often underlies stress. Other yoga styles depend on deep breathing techniques to focus your mind on the breath. When this happens, your mind becomes calm.
Among yoga's anti-stress benefits are a host of biochemical responses. For example, there is a decrease in catecholamines, the hormones produced by the adrenal glands in response to stress. Lowering levels of hormone neurotransmitters -- dopamine, norepinephrine, and epinephrine -- creates a feeling of calm. Some research points to a boost in the hormone oxytocin. This is the so-called "trust" and "bonding" hormone that's associated with feeling relaxed and connected to others. That may be why so many romances start in the yoga studio.

Concentration and mood
Harder to pin down and research scientifically, concentration and the ability to focus mentally are common benefits you'll hear yoga students talk about. The same is true with mood. Nearly every yoga student will tell you they feel happier and more contented after class. Recently, researchers have begun exploring the effects of yoga on depression , a benefit that may result from yoga's boosting oxygen levels to the brain. Yoga is even being studied as an adjunct therapy to relieve symptoms of obsessive-compulsive disorder.

Heart benefits
Perhaps one of the most studied areas of the health benefits of yoga is its effect on heart disease. Yoga has long been known to lower blood pressure and slow the heart rate. A slower heart rate can benefit people with hypertension, heart disease, and stroke. Yoga was a key component to the heart disease program designed by Dean Ornish, MD. This was the first program to partly reverse heart disease through lifestyle and diet rather than surgery. On a biochemical level, studies point to a possible anti-oxidant effect of yoga. And yoga has been associated with decreased cholesterol and triglyceride levels as well as a boost in immune system function.

Effects on other medical conditions
As yoga has become more popular in the West, medical researchers have begun studying the benefits of therapeutic yoga. This is also called integrative yoga therapy or IYT. It's used as an adjunct treatment for specific medical conditions, from clinical depression to heart disease. Yoga benefits other chronic medical conditions, relieving symptoms of asthma, back pain, and arthritis. Most worldwide clinical studies are happening outside of the United States. But even the NIH has funded clinical trials on yoga and its health benefits for insomnia and multiple sclerosis.

The Stats:

People who suffered from chronic lower back-pain had less pain and depressing after practicing yoga twice a week for 6 months.

People who suffer from asthma reported fewer symptoms after doing 2 1/2 hours of yoga a week for 10 weeks.

Binge eaters who participated in a 10 week yoga therapy program reduced the number of weekly binging episodes from five to an average of less than two. The reason? Yoga teaches you to be present and helped participants develop healthier strategies to deal with emotions that previously would have led to a binge.

People at high risk of developing diabetes lowered their risk factors for the disease after doing yoga for three months. They also had improved body mass index, blood pressure, insulin, and total LDL cholesterol levels.

There are many different types of yoga suited to all kinds of fitness levels and body types. Don't think that you're going to have to be super flexible your first class. Research the different types of yoga and try a few classes or videos to see what works and what you like.

So next time you're tempted to skip that yoga workout, remember all of the wonderful benefits it has to offer!

Sincerely,

The Fit Mamas

Sources: Web M.D. and Prevention Magazine

Fitness Book Review- Run Less Run Faster

A couple of years ago when my husband took up running and decided to run the St. George Marathon, he wanted a training program to help him. Some friends were talking about a new book from Runner's World called Run Less, Run faster The First Training Program so we decided to give it a shot. I also used this program when I ran a half marathon last year. The theory is, running less means more energy when you do run, and less chance of injury. Also, running with a purpose. Specifically designed runs to promote speed.

What I liked about the book: First off, they have a chapter explaining their philosophy and why this training program is so effective. A quote directly from the book "The FIRST program makes running easier and more accessible, limits over training and burnout, and substantially cuts the risk of injury while producing faster race times." Sounds good to me. The plan? Three quality runs each week plus two cross training workouts. The three runs are divided into track repeats, a tempo run and the long run. They are designed to work together to improve endurance, lactate-threshold running pace and leg speed. Let me tell you, the track workouts are brutal and some of the tempo runs are tough too, but it works.

Included in the book is everything from novice training plans to How to Qualify for the Boston Marathon. Everything is individualized. Based on a 5k time you can calculate exactly what pace you should be doing all of your runs. Also, they have a brief chapter on nutrition and chapters on runner specific strength training, form and flexibility, injury and performance factors.

The bottom line: I could tell after just a few weeks this program was working. Most noticeably on the hills. The track workouts get your heart, lungs and muscles used to working at a higher pace. My recovery after a hill was greatly improved. I also ran a lot faster than I ever had previously and have never been able to repeat again since finishing the program. (I'm sure if I did the program again I would be able to build back up to the same pace.)

I liked the fact that you were only committed to running 3 days a week. I like variety and this program provides it. I felt more motivated and looked forward to my runs much more when I only had 3 runs a week.

The only caution I have through personal experience and experience of friends, not to devote all your energy (above what your body can handle) in too short of a time period for the training runs. This can deplete your body of stored energy and hinder muscle recovery, thus resulting in overtraining. By the time race day comes unfortunately you'll have used up all your body has to give and won't be able to perform your best. If you are going a lot faster than the prescribed times, maybe back off a little and gradually build up speed or better yet, save it for race day!

I would recommend this book to anyone from beginner to experienced runner. Whether you're just looking to mix up your workouts at the gym or want to take on a new fitness goal --like running a 1/2 or full marathon this book is bound to have some helpful information.



Sincerely,

The Fit Mamas

Exercise Equipment- Stability Ball

Besides my dumbbells, my stability ball has got to be my most used piece of home exercise equipment. They are widely available and affordable. You can get one for $20-$30. They add an extra challenge and variety to your everyday workouts. You can even use them just for sitting for a good core workout or just to get some wiggles out.

How to Choose the Right Size Fitness Ball for You
Select a ball based on your height:

45cm ball = under 5 ft tall

55cm ball = 5’ to 5’7”

65cm ball = 5’8” to 6’3

”75cm ball = over 6’3” tall

Some, even come with a DVD workout or charts showing you exercise moves. If not, there are lots of resources on the Internet. Just google exercises on stability ball. Here is one of my favorites moves.

Squat with a Ball
Yes, this is an awesome thigh and butt toner. Find a larger wall space than you think you'll need before hiking up the ball to the wall.

Do it:

Place an exercise ball between the wall and the curve of your lower back.
Stand with your feet shoulder-width apart.
Bend your knees and lower 5 to 10 inches, keeping your shoulders level and your hips square. Hold this position for 3 seconds and then stand back up.
Start with 5 reps and work up to 12. Rest for 30 seconds and do another set.


Smile. You're already one step closer to looking great in that swim suit!
Sincerely,
The Fit Mamas