H3 Recipe: Fruity Sangria

 

This is a special summer drink that really quenches your thirst and adds flavor to your summer hydration.  Using a variety of fruit results in  many different flavors and vitamins.  Look for more refreshing (and low- calorie!) summer drink recipes like our Mango Citrus Lemonade.

 

H3 Fruity Sangria

 

Ingredients:

            2 cups              Grape Juice, no sugar added

            ½ cup              Cranberry Juice, no sugar added

            1 cup               Orange Juice, no sugar added

            1 cup               Splenda

            1 each              Orange, fresh, sliced, for inside sangria

            1 each              Lemon, fresh, sliced, for inside sangria

            1 each              Lime, fresh, sliced, for inside sangria

            1 pint               Raspberries, or strawberries fresh for inside sangria

            1 gallon           Water

            4 cups              Ice

            Optional          Orange, lemon, and lime slices for garnish

            Optional          Raspberries, strawberries, or grapes for garnish

 

Preparation:

In large pitcher, place all ingredients.  Stir until well incorporated.  Let mixture sit for an hour in refrigerator.  Serve in individual glasses with fresh fruit for garnish.  Enjoy on a hot summer day!

 

Serves:  8

Serving Size:  8 ounces

Total Calories:  38

Friday Fitness: FitBall Finale

 

FitBall, stability ball, swiss ball, whatever you may call it.  Today marks the day to cap off our first exercise ball video series.

 

We’ve certainly had a ball over the past couple weeks, not only covering a core carve up, but safely targeting the lower body with several FitBall exercises to strengthen the muscles around our knees.  However, we can’t stop there – let’s finish it off with a FitBall video focusing on our upper body. After watching  (and of course taking detailed notes), go ahead and combine each week’s video for an efficient and effective total body workout using the FitBall!

 

Keep in mind there are hundreds of exercises we can do using the ball so go ahead and keep exploring. Lastly, remember that the benefits are in the ball:

 

-  Forces us to use more muscles at one time (a.k.a a better workout!)

-  Total core focus: engages abdominal and back muscles

-  Improves flexibility, balance, and promotes good posture

-  Comfortable and allows for marvelous support

-  Accessible, great for home or office workouts!

-  Allows us to take pressure off our knees

-  Most importantly the benefit to FitBall is the F-U-N Fun!

           

Hope you enjoyed the FitBall Finale, only 7 days and counting till more Friday Fitness!

Tip of the Day

Keep yourself engaged with daily journaling!  Journaling lets us see in black and white the awesome, healthy things that we do for our bodies, so write it down!

You've got questions - We've got answers!

Next Thursday, H3 Daily will begin it's newest weekly feature Ask the Expert. 

 

Ask the Expert is a designed to give our readers (YOU!) the chance to ask questions, get answers and advice from our Healthy Lifestyle experts.

 

With over 30 years of experience in lifestyle changes, our Health Specialists are experts in the areas of fitness, nutrition, stress management and behavior modification.   

 

Have a question?  The healthy lifestyle experts are here to help!  Email cmaddox@hhhealth.com with your question and check back every Thursday for our feature column.

 

Meet our Healthy Lifestyle experts.

Tip of the Day

Feeling unmotivated?  Set some rules for yourself!  “I will jog three days a week…even when I don’t feel like it.” You are the only one holding yourself accountable and you are the only one who can make you do it.  Go and get it!!

Top 10 (FREE) iPhone Apps for a Healthy Lifestyle

Many times I get asked, ‘What are a few good iPhone apps for weight loss?’  And unfortunately, because I am still part of the Blackberry crowd, I have no idea what to tell them.  And after reading this article, I am starting to think it’s time for me to jump ship.

 

There are lots of new gadgets for you to help track, motivate and educate you about fitness and nutrition – but here are the top 10 (FREE) apps for the iPhone to help you manage your diet, weight, and fitness goals.

 

1. Calorie Tracker

Users can look up and track daily caloric, fat, carbohydrate, and protein intake.  The app pulls from LIVESTRONG.com’s Daily Plate nutritional database with over 450,000 food and restaurant items.  If you want to also track physical activity, you can also use the app to calculate burned calories for various exercises.

 

2. Lose It!

Set goals, create a daily calorie budget, record food and exercise, and view graphs of progress.  After you enter your stats, you can create a custom plan, with an end date in mind, based on how much weight you want to lose per week.

 

3. 40 – 30 – 30

Calorie trackers are great, but how do you make sure that you’re getting the right nutritional balance? The 40·30·30 app allows you to calculate the percentage of carbs, protein, and fats in your meal.

Just scroll through the weight (in grams) options for each nutritional element to view your ratio.

 

4. iPump Free Workout

Created by an Exercise Physiologist, this free alternative to iPump, has two full body workouts targeting major muscle groups, as well as sample exercises from each of the other iPump apps.

Each workout is designed specifically for maximum results, and lets users listen to music, watch video demonstrations for each exercise, and record activity to a workout log as they go.

 

5. StepTrackLite

When logging activity just doesn’t cut it, use StepTrackLite as a simple pedometer to measure and track physical activity while strolling, walking, or running.

The app works whether your iPhone is in your pocket, on your belt, or even in your backpack, and you can listen to music as you workout.

Tip of the Day

Exercise Routine getting boring? Then challenge yourself! Register for a local 5K and time yourself at your current level.  Next, set a time goal.  Try to beat your personal best and feel the staleness disappear as race day approaches!