Coaching Corner: Serve More, Eat More, Lose Weight

Does it sound too good to be true?  Serve more AND eat more… and still LOSE weight?  It’s true… when it comes to fruits and veggies.  When you have a variety of options at a meal, you tend to eat more; a disappointing truth when we think about buffets, cookouts, or the dessert table.  But think about 3 veggie options at dinner instead of only one… with appetites drawn to variety, your plate will fill up on veggies leaving less room for other more calorie-dense elements.  Try out a new recipe from H3Daily!  My favorite veggie recipes are listed below:

• Edamame Salad


• Brussels Sprouts Hash


• Roasted Vegetables


• Cream of Broccoli Soup

Healthy Recipes: Potato Souffle

You can feel good about serving this healthier potato side dish on your dinner table.

 

INGREDIENTS:

3 each            Eggs, whites only

½ teaspoon   Butter, unsalted, melted

¼ cup            Panko bread crumbs

4 cups            Potatoes, mashed

1 cup              Gruyere cheese, grated

1 teaspoon    Thyme, fresh, chopped

½ teaspoon   Salt and pepper mixed

1 ½ Tbsp        Cornstarch

1 1/3 cups      Skim milk

 

PREPARATION:

• Preheat oven to 400 degrees.


• Lightly spray 4- 8 ounce ramekins with non-stick pan spray.


• Sprinkle the ramekins with the bread crumbs


• Place the ramekins on a baking sheet


• In medium sauté pan, add butter, and mashed potatoes, and seasonings.


• Then add skim milk, and corn starch slurry (cornstarch and cold water)


• Bring to light boil over medium heat while whisking frequently.


• Reduce heat, and stir in gruyere cheese.


• Once cheese is melted pull of heat and let mixture cool.


• In separate bowl whip the egg whites with electric mixer until firm peaks form.  Then carefully fold vegetable milk mixture in with the firm egg whites.


• Place equal portions of the egg mixture into the ramekins.


• Reduce the heat of the oven to 375 degrees.


• Bake for about 20 minutes or until the center is firm and slightly golden brown.


• Garnish with scallions.

 

NUTRITION:

Number of servings:                     6

Serving size:                                    1 each

Calories:                                           150

Fat grams:                                        4

Fitness Friday: TRX Suspension Training

Make your body your machine.

The TRX Suspension training (Total body Resistance eXercise) is a highly portable performance training tool that leverages gravity and the user’s body weight to complete 100s of bodyweight exercise that develops strength, balance, flexibility and core stability simultaneously.

TRX was originally designed by a Navy Seal who needed to be able to stay in shape with limited space and something small enough for sea bags. Since then, TRX has made its way into the fitness industry and is used by many pro sports teams, coaches, and top trainers around the world.

Here are a few examples of many ways you can use the TRX:

Mobility and Flexibility :  TRX helps you focus  on stabilization and increase range of motion.  You can perform stretches to increase your flexibility and focus on strengthening the muscles around your joints. The TRX Suspension Trainer allows you to unload and leverage your bodyweight while performing strength, mobility and flexibility exercises. This enables you to instantly modify any exercise to your available range of motion and safely and appropriately improve your functional mobility and flexibility over time.

Example: Chest stretch



Strength: Muscular strength plays a part in every movement you make.

TRX gives you a fun, functional way to develop strength and give yourself an advantage in whatever endeavors you pursue. TRX also works your body the way it’s built to move as an integrated, interconnected unit. You can easily progress the difficulty of each TRX exercise, sequence or workout to find the challenge that’s just what you need to safely develop strength.

Example : Row (back strengthening exercise)



Core :TRX training engages the core on every exercise  because it requires that you brace and stabilize with your abs, obliques and lower-back so you can leverage your own bodyweight as resistance. TRX trains for reactive stability, “forcing” you to tighten your core so you don’t lose balance on the straps. Bracing your core before you move becomes second nature.

With the TRX you can also perform specific exercises that  focus on the muscles to stabilize your spine and strengthen your core.

Example: Reverse crunch



Cardio: With the TRX you can also perform cardio exercises to help increase your metabolic rate, reduce stress level, increase blood flow, boost immune-system and improve cholesterol levels.

TRX is a great tool for interval training and also allows you to take regular exercises to a more challenging level.

Exemple : Mountain climbers

Don’t Sweat It: Summer Snacks

Summertime is here and snacking is at its finest! We have a variety of fresh fruits and vegetables at our fingertips this time of year. This is the season that fruits and vegetables are loading up the shelves at markets delivering; tasty, healthy, and affordable snacks.

To switch up your typical snacking routine, I challenge you to try new fruit varieties that you haven’t tried yet or try freezing some of your favorite fruits. Varying your snacks, will keep you on-track and excited about continuing your healthy choices. Here are some of my favorite sizzling summer snacks;

• Fresh fruit is perfect this season! Watermelon, peaches, cherries, grapefruit, strawberries, or kiwis served with pumpkin seeds or pistachios.


• Frozen treats! Fruit pureed popsicles, frozen grapes, freeze non-fat greek yogurt.


• Grill it! Grilled pineapple drizzled with honey, grilled vegetable kebobs, or grilled asparagus and tomato salad.

Remember to have some fun this summer and enjoy the huge variety of produce at your local farmer’s market or grocery store.

Wellness Wednesday: The Art of Listening

I have always been a great admirer of skilled listeners. While many people are enamored with talented orators, it is the active and compassionate listener that always gets my attention. You see, most people are not good listeners. Most people wait to speak. We are frequently hijacked by our thoughts and the desire to respond. While others are talking, we spend our mental energy formulating our advice, our judgments, how to express our interpretation of what they are saying, or how we want to relate it to our own experiences. When this happens, as it so often does, our ability to listen atrophies.

The attached video on compassionate listening, featuring Thich Nhat Hanh, is a powerful reminder of how listening can give way to transformative healing. Thich Nhat Hanh tells us that when we truly listen, and suspend our need to respond or judge, we allow others to release their suffering. When suffering is released, our reflex to judge converts to compassion. In our moment of stillness, that moment of compassion, we connect in a profound, human way. This type of listening can restore even the most damaged relationships.

In my personal life, I have found that active listening allows me to know people I love in a deeper way. In my professional life, compassionate listening aids me in building an immediate trust with clients and is vital to facilitating the healing process. One of my favorite unintentional consequences of active listening is how it helps me to escape one of the more annoying manifestations of my food addiction – the obsessive food thoughts.

With all the benefits that compassionate listening has to offer, it is a worthwhile skill to develop and hone. Start noticing your wandering mind as you converse with others and bring your attention back to what they are saying. Keep training your mind to do this and you are on the road to becoming a gifted listener.

Coaching Corner: Resolve Dissolves in Alcohol

Here at H3 we have many, what we call, “Bob-isms” (mantras created by our very own Nutrition Guru, Bob Wright). One of those phrases is Resolve Dissolves in Alcohol. I think most of you already know that alcohol has the ability to impair a person’s judgement. And for those of you who have taken some of Bob lectures, you learned that a little bit can go a long way; especially when you are going out to eat and trying to generate healthier habits. A few popular strategies to overcome the Resolve Dissolves in Alcohol dilemma are;
- order your beverage with your meal
- order your beverage as a desert after your meal
- don’t order a beverage
Please enjoy the video below with a jingle about how Resolve Dissolves in Alcohol! =D

Healthy Recipes: Balsamic Maple Glaze

This week's recipe is our balsamic maple glaze. It’s a super simple way to add lots of flavor to a dish with out adding lots of extra calories or fat.

 

INGREDIENTS

4 cups            Vegetable stock

5 Tbs.             Honey

2 cups            Maple syrup, sugar free

2 cups            Balsamic vinegar

2 Tbs.             Dijon mustard

¼ cup             Shallots

1 Tbs.             Garlic

1 Tbs.             Butter

4 sprigs          Thyme

 

PREPERATION

• Pour balsamic vinegar into a medium saucepot, on medium-low heat.


• Allow balsamic vinegar to reduce. About 30 minutes. (It will thicken, into a syrup consistency.)


• Sauté shallots and garlic in butter; then add balsamic, vegetable stock, honey, maple syrup, mustard, and thyme.


• Continue to cook for 5 minutes, or until heated through.

 

 NUTRITION

Serves: 30

Serving size: 2 ounces

Calories: 15

Carbohydrates: 4 grams

Sodium: 0 milligrams

Fiber: 0 grams

Protein:  0 grams