That's Fit

I've often said that I could be a vegetarian. While I like meat, I just don't crave it. And the health and ethical reasons for going veg are tempting. Yet, knowing everything that I know, I still haven't made the leap. But I do cut down on my family's overall meat intake. For example, this week we only have three dinners that contain meat -- the rest of our dinners will be vegetarian. And, when I do purchase meat, I make sure it's lean.

John's Hopkins has some good tips on how to choose lean meats. Their picks for the leanest choices in each category are:

• Beef: Round steaks, roasts, top loin, top sirloin, chuck shoulder, arm roasts, ground round, and ground sirloin (at least 90% lean).
• Poultry. Chicken, turkey, and Cornish hen without skin.
• Pork. Tenderloin, center loin, pork loin, sausage with 1 gram of fat per ounce or less, and Canadian bacon.
• Lamb and Veal. Chop or roast.
• Sandwich meats. Lean turkey and lean ham.

Creating a relaxing mood at the dinner table is half the battle when it comes to relieving tension and connecting to each other as a family, but it's often easier said than done. The key to setting any kind of mood is details details details! Here are 4 tips for getting a mellow mood off and running, or rather, relaxing at your next meal:

• Minimize background noise Namely the TV as it 's distracting and can even help spark disagreements.
• Set the mood Depending on your family the options are endless -- try setting up nice matching plates and a pretty centerpiece, light candles, have dinner out on the porch or deck, or even plan a picnic-style meal on the floor on pillows and blankets. Whatever will get everyone the most comfortable and relaxed.
• Get in the right mindset Take a moment before the start of the meal (and encourage everyone else to do the same) to clear your mind of the day's clutter and focus on the positives in the food and family around the table.
• Make cleanup a family affair Everybody should chip in when it comes to cleaning up, even little kids can help bring their dishes into the kitchen when the meal is over.

Summertime, and the livin' is easy... the kids are home, and the snackin' is high....

I know in my house, all of the outdoor activity promotes an insatiable hunger in my skinny three-year-old, and I want him to get the fuel he needs so he can enjoy riding his bike and playing in the sprinkler. Junk foods just aren't going to cut it.

CBS News shares some healthy and fun snack ideas as seen on the Today Show. Frozen orange pops, turkey sliders, and peanut butter banana bites are just a sampling of the recipes you'll find.

By now, we've probably all heard that we're supposed to be getting 5-10 servings of fruit and veggies a day. But knowing this guideline is one thing; Making sure we meet it day in and day out is another. Do you get 5-10 a day? Come on, be honest with yourself. Truth be told, many people find it hard to get all those greens, but Diet Blog has some fantastic suggestions. One of the top recommendations? Every time you have a plate or container of food, make sure it is at least half veggies.

I struggle with this too, so here are some of my own suggestions: In the morning, I sneak a handful of spinach into my fruit protein smoothie. It sounds gross but seriously, I can't taste the difference. And in the evening I drink a big cup of V8 juice to curb any pre-bedtime hunger.

How do you sneak in greens?

AOL Health likes this Self magazine Eat Like Me blog. After checking it out, I do too. I like how the blogger details everyday occasions, like working and vacationing, and offers me, the reader, specifics on how healthy meals can easily be incorporated into busy days. Ever stuck on what to bring to the beach for lunch? How about leftover food from the house, like romaine, cucumbers, carrots, red onion, chickpeas and kidney beans? Thrown all together, they make a tasty and nutritious treat.

Need a mid-morning snack? How about yogurt, a toasted bagel, and a peach? Works for this blogger. Might work for you too.

The bonus with this site is that photos are included -- I got to see the actual yogurt, the bagel with raisins, the peach. And all nestled underneath the photo is serving size information. For this snack, it goes like this: This Meal Provides Approximately: Grains = 3 ounces (-whole), Fruit = 0.75 cup, Milk = 0.75 cup, Discretionary Calories = 40 kcals (sweetened yogurt).

I like this blog. Check it out and see if you do too.

Travelling this summer? Anticipating jet lag? You might be surprised to hear that new research suggests that a great way to cure jet lag is by skipping meals

I don't recommend the sort of happy meal you'd find at McDonald's and other fast food joints. But I do suggest you try some of the happy foods Redbook magazine features in its June 2008 issue. For the whole run-down -- there are 15 of them in all -- head on over to this site. For a little taste, keep on reading this post.

First, let me tell you why these foods are considered "happy." It's because they do more than fuel the body -- they help fight stress, fatigue, even the blues. They make us feel good. They make us feel, well, happy. And here they are.

Oatmeal: Ever met a dieter who is angry and tense all the time? It's likely a lack of carbohydrates causing such irritation. We need carbs. Not doughnut carbs, but carbs rich in fiber so the body absorbs them slowly and allows serotonin to flow steadily. Oatmeal fits the bill. So do whole-wheat pasta and beans.

As I've been leading you through the paces of enjoying the best Walt Disney World has to offer, without trashing your health and fitness habits, this is one of the easiest days to master. On our second day of vacation we headed to the holy land of wholesome family fun, The Magic Kingdom. Ahhh yes! This is the place where children squeal, Mommies well up with tears of joy on a regular basis, and Daddies shout like kids themselves on the roller coasters. It's also a place where every last visitor is likely to do a ton of physical work. In fact ... read on and you'll learn exactly how many calories we burned during this day. It's insane!

So! Our day consisted of pushing the kids in the double stroller, then watching the castle show. Did I mention each of my children weigh almost 40 pounds? Then we pushed the kids in the double stroller some more, and rode some rides in Fantasyland. In fact, before we even stopped for lunch, we pushed the double stroller again and rode rides in: Fantasyland, Tommorowland, back to Fantastyland, Mickey's Toontown Fair, Adventureland, back to Tommorowland and finally landed back in Adventureland for lunch. Then we ran circles in the water squirters at both Ariel's Grotto and Pooh's Corner to cool off for about an hour. The latter half of the day resembled the first half, except it seemed even busier.

When one decides to stop eating meat, it's easy enough to turn to vegetarian recipes. However, many people aren't willing to give up meat in their meals, but would be willing to cut back.

The problem with this is that using half the amount of meat but not changing up the way you look at your meal can leave you feeling hungry -- if meat is still the main dish, but you're eating less, you won't feel satisfied.

Fortunately, The New York Times had a great article on how to eat less meat without feeling like you're missing out. Seven suggestions are made -- for the whole thing, click here, or check out our gallery to get a quick overview. And remember, you don't have to be a vegetarian to give vegetables the starring role in your dish!

In addition to coaxing our kids to eat their vegetables, it seems my husband and I are forever correcting our kids at the dinner table. "Sit up straight." "Don't play with your food." "Chew with your mouth closed." The coaching never ends. We keep at it because we want our boys to be polished when eating in public or dining at friends' houses. It's a tough job, though, as it should be.

For us, table manners are automatic -- as simple as chewing and swallowing, say the editors at Scholastic Parent & Child magazine. For a child, learning to behave at mealtime is big stuff. It takes a whole new set of skills to master manners. And it's our job to teach those skills, no matter how hard the job. Here are a few tactics we all might employ during our respective mealtime madness moments.

• Role play table manners during a tea party or while playing "restaurant." You'll have fun, while practicing and teaching lessons all at the same time.
  
  

• Keep rules simple and positive so your kids can remember them. "We sit." "We eat with our forks."
  
  
• Reinforce rules during mealtime. Hand your child a fork and napkin, and remind him to use them.
  
  
• Set a good example. Role model the manners you want to see your child display. Eventually, he will follow in your footsteps.
  
  
• Get silly. Practice bad manners and ask your child to identify what you're doing wrong.

I met a woman the other day while waiting to get my annual mammogram. She had a suspicious something she was waiting to have examined and during our discussion about her concerns, I told her about my history with breast cancer. At some point during our chat, she shared that she wasn't so sure diet plays any real role in preventing cancer. Maybe no one can be entirely sure but it does seem a worthy endeavor to clean up your diet just in case. If it turns out diet and cancer have no link -- most evidence, however, supports that fact that they do -- then at the very minimum, you've stepped up your health a bit. There's no harm in that.

Back to the cancer connection, and the evidence that says meals really do matter.

What you eat counts, say the American Cancer Society experts. Food choices not only provide vital nutrients that can help prevent cancer, but they also help people maintain healthy weights. Research suggests that one-third of U.S. cancer deaths each year can be attributed to poor diets and inactivity. Another third is due to tobacco use. The last third: genetic variations and environmental factors.

I'm just back from a Memorial Day beach getaway that featured time on the sand, time at the pool, time with family, and time with ... food. For two nights straight, my family of four dined with cousins, aunts, uncles, and friends, and the home-cooked meals we were served were simply scrumptious. They were no doubt loaded with ingredients we rarely consume too. This had me worried.

I scarfed down plenty of healthy goods this weekend -- like right-from-the-ocean King Mackerel, fresh-from-the-garden lettuce, freshly-made salsa, broccoli, and fruit salad. The iffy, and downright yummy dishes, were cheesey scallop potatoes one night, once baked-once fried potatoes the other, clam chowder, and all sorts of chips for the fresh salsa. These items were bound to add a few numbers to my scale, and when I returned home yesterday, I hopped on that thing to see just what I'd done.

Nothing. No change. My weight is the same. I'm shocked. Well, maybe I'm not. It just goes to prove that I don't have to be hard-core all the time. I can take a break. I can indulge for a day. I can go for broke occasionally without actually breaking the bank. And now that the holiday weekend is over, I can get back on track and pick right up where I left off, without have to whittle away at a few extra pounds.

I adopted my son at age 10. Which means that he had 10 years of developing food preferences before he ever met me. Ten years of not-so-great habits that he developed. When he first moved home our family dinners were accompanied by the sound of him gagging and pretending to throw up. Suffice it to say, his reactions weren't terribly motivating for me.

In time, I learned that he was completely unfamiliar with a home-cooked meal. Thankfully, he enjoys many healthy snacks like fruit, vegetables, and yogurt. But when it came time to actually eat a meal, if it didn't come out of a box he didn't want anything to do with it.

Both he and I have had to give a little bit, but we've finally found our groove. He eats home-cooked meals without complaint (and without gagging noises) now and I've learned to make healthy foods that are more kid friendly. Some of the winning meals at our house include:

An easy way to lose weight is to include more fruits and vegetables in your diet. Produce is famous for jamming massive amounts of vitamins, nutrients and fiber into very few calories. With most produce, you can consume lots of food for a very low caloric price. More bang for your buck that is!

I ask my personal training clients to try to include at least five meals per week consisting of pure produce. No meat. No grains. Most folks eat at least 21 meals per week, so this five meal plan doesn't deter anyone from getting enough protein. What it does do though, is get them to try new fruits and learn new ways to turn veggies into a meal.

Another benefit to this effort is that by keeping a few meals to just produce, you will more than likely be cutting quite a bit of calories out of the day. Over time, the more you rely on fruits and vegetables for snacks and meals, the more likely you'll be to achieve and maintain your ideal weight.

Ever feel like you're running on empty as you power through your hectic days? Likely, you do. And it's likely you find it difficult on your busy days to sit down and enjoy healthy meals and snacks. Parade magazine wants to help and offers these handy tips for eating on the run.

About 75 percent of office workers eat at their desks two to three times per week. If you fit this profile, try these tricks: Stock the office fridge with low-fat yogurt, low-fat cheese and whole-grain crackers, hummus, natural peanut butter, and raw veggies. Take sandwiches to work or salads with canned tuna, salmon, lean meats, and skinless turkey. Microwave oatmeal, carry along some apples, and fill your desk candy jar with the soybean snack edamame.

While driving in the car, take along peanut butter sandwiches -- especially for the kids -- and fruit and veggies such as apples, oranges, bananas, and baby carrots.. Control your portions by using small plastic bags, and if you must swing through the drive through, opt for grilled over fried foods, chicken over burgers, salad over fries, and milk or water over soda. Other good-to-go snacks include: Energy bars high in fiber and low in fat and sugar, nuts, and dried fruit.

For more guidance on how to stick to your diet in the face of stress and chaos -- AOL Body calls this "regrouping" -- jump on aboard the America Takes It Off train.