Tips for Running in Cooler Weather

by Fitness Coach Chris Varano

Now that the heat of summer is almost over, getting back outside and doing some longer runs will be much more enjoyable.  Even with the cooler weather, there are still important training tips to follow:

1. Even though the days are not as hot, staying hydrated is key.  You may not feel as thirsty but remembering to drink every couple of miles or planning your runs around drinking fountains is a good plan of action.


2. Dressing appropriately for the longer run can be a challenge too.  You might feel a bit chilly when you first head out the door but be careful to not overdress.  You should wear clothing that you will be comfortable in for the end of your run, not the beginning.  Wearing light, removable layers will enable you to dress down as your body warms up.


3. The shorter days can mean you might be running in the dark of early morning or twilight.  Making sure you’re visible to traffic and other people are important.  Wear reflective clothing, use glow sticks or carry a flashlight with you.

Running in cooler weather is always more fun and can enable you to increase your miles, build endurance and stamina following these great tips will keep you on the right track.

Healthy Halloween Recipe: Severed Ear

Nothing screams Halloween like a dismemebered body part or two. With some inspiration from our Severed Fingers and Halloween Eye recipe, we came up with our newest creation: a Severed Ear! It's amazing to see what can happen in the Healthy Kitchen with a little peanut butter mousse, some raspberries and creativity will create. Add this eerie but delectable treat to your Halloween spread.



Ingredients: 

Ear (Peanut butter mousse):

8 ounces Cream cheese, fat free

1 ½ cups Confectioners’ sugar

½ cup Creamy peanut butter

1/3 cup Milk, skim

16 ounces Cool Whip, fat free, thawed out

1 teaspoon Molasses (optional)

For the “blood”:

1 pint Raspberries, frozen or fresh

Method:

Ear:

• In a mixing bowl combine cream cheese, confectioners’ sugar and peanut butter. Mix well.


• Slowly add milk and beat at medium speed until smooth.


• Fold in thawed cool whip.


• Add molasses if a darker, more realistic “skin tone” is desired.


• Cover and freeze until firm in a pastry specific ear mold.


• Once you remove the ear from the mold, enhance it with cocoa powder to add shape and dimension.

Blood:

• Add raspberries to a small sauce pot turn on to medium heat and let cook for about 10-15 minutes or until raspberries soften. Cool


• Add raspberries to blender and blend until smooth.


• Strain seeds out of blended raspberries creating a smooth consistency, use cold.

Nutrtion: 

Serves: 20

Serving Size: ¼ cup

Calories: 130

Fat: 3 grams

TRX: Side Bend

Today, it's all about that core! The TRX move of the Week is the Side Bend. The Side Bend targets your obliques; it's a simple move but it's super effective. You'll be using your obliques to pull your body weight in and out.

A video posted by Hilton Head Health (@hiltonheadhealth) on Oct 23, 2015 at 7:28am PDT

Now that you know the Reverse Lunge, Push Up and Side Bend, you have a go-to, full body TRX workout. Enjoy!

Healthy Trends: Infused Water

by Lauren Dearing, Hilton Head Health Food and Beverage Manager

Infused water is a delicious way to stay hydrated and a great alternative to sugary sodas and other unhealthy beverages. Here at Hilton Head Health, we've actually switched out our H3 Lemonade for infused water to help promote infused water as a healthier option for our Guests;  and to encourage them to make this refreshing drink at home. We're even sharing a few, simple tips to give our subscribers and our Guests ideas to help make their own infused water creations!

Prepare It In Advance

The longer the infused water sits the more the flavor develops and depending on your fruit it can last in your refrigerator for a couple of days.

Fruit Preparations  

Cut your fruit into smaller pieces for a stronger flavor, whole strawberries have a milder flavor compared to strawberries that have been quartered.  Fruits with a skin, such as grapes or cranberries, should be cut in half so the water can infuse with the juices.

*If your water tastes a little too bitter try cutting off the rinds of your fruit.

Get Creative

You can start with 2 parts water and 1 part fruit if you'd like a more specific plan of attack but I've found that infused water is basically like soup; you just keep adding ingredients until it taste just right for you.

You don’t have to just stick with fruit for wonderful infused water, get creative.  Try adding herbs with your fruit such as mint, basil, cinnamon sticks, rosemary or if you feel you need some extra pizzazz add some sparkling water.  But most importantly HAVE FUN; there are no wrong answers when it comes to making infused water!

Here are a few of my favorite combinations:

• Strawberries and pineapple


• Oranges, cranberries, and rosemary


• Lemons, limes, and mint


• Strawberries and jalapenos


• Apples and cinnamon sticks

What's your go-to combination for infused water?

Healthy Halloween Recipe: Broken Glass Cupcake

This Halloween recipe is a trick and a treat, all in one. The Broken Glass Cupcake looks dangerous and delicious at the same time. But no worries, the "broken glass" is the 'trick'- so no one will get hurt eating it. Your waist line is safe, too; these cupcakes are under 200 calories and only 5 grams of fat. Happy Halloween!



Ingredients: 

For the cupcakes:

All-purpose flour 2 cups

Wheat flour ½ cup

Sugar 1 1/2 cups

Cocoa powder 1 tablespoon

Baking soda 1 teaspoon

Salt 1 teaspoon

Buttermilk, nonfat 1 cup

Vegetable oil ½ cup

Plain yogurt, nonfat ½ cup

Eggs, large 2 each

Vanilla extract 1 ½ teaspoon

White distilled vinegar 1 teaspoon

Red food coloring 2 tablespoon

For the frosting:

Heavy whipping cream 1 cup

Powdered sugar ¼ cup

Vanilla extract 2 teaspoons

Fat-free cream cheese 8 ounces 

For the “glass”:

Sugar 1 ½ cups

Water ¾ cup

For the “blood”:

Raspberries, fresh or frozen 1 pint

Method:

Cupcakes:

• Preheat oven to 350°F.


• In medium size bowl, sift all dry ingredients.


• In stand mixer bowl or other mixing bowl; add buttermilk, vegetable oil and non-fat plain yogurt.


• Alternate between adding the dry mix and the two eggs.


• Then add the vanilla extract, red food coloring, and vinegar.


• Mix until batter is well mixed; scrap the sides of the bowl to make sure all dry ingredients are incorporated.


• Spray two 8 inch cake pans with non-stick pan spray or a cup cake pan.


• Pour batter as evenly as you can into each cake pan (batter will be slightly runny).


• Bake in oven for about 30 to 35 minutes.

Frosting:

• In a large mixing bowl, add heavy whipping cream. Using an electric mixer, whip cream on high, until soft peaks form. (About 3 minutes).


• In a separate mixing bowl, add cream cheese. With the paddle attachment mix on medium-high speed until cream cheese is softened.


• Add powdered sugar and vanilla extract to cream cheese, combine well


• Add cream cheese mixture whipped cream, fold cream cheese mixture into whipped cream. Be careful to not over mix, folding will help keep the fluffy whipped cream consistency.


• Once combined, the frosting is ready to be served, otherwise store in refrigerator for up to 7 days.

Glass:

• Bring sugar and water to a boil in a small sauce-pan. Stirring until sugar dissolves.


• Reduce heat to medium-high and cook until mixture just starts to turn pale gold around edges.


• Remove from heat and immediately pour onto silicone mat. Working quickly, tilt mat to spread caramel edges to make a thin layer.


• Let cool to harden.

Blood:

• Add raspberries to a small sauce pot turn on to medium heat and let cook for about 10-15 minutes or until raspberries soften. Cool


• Add raspberries to blender and blend until smooth.


• Strain seeds out of blended raspberries creating a smooth consistency, use cold.

Nutrition: 

Serves: 20

Calories: 180

Fat: 5 grams

 

TRX: Push Ups

Last week, H3 Fitness Coach Camila Pacheco focused on a lower body move on the TRX with the Reverse Lunges. This week, it's an upper body TRX exercise: Push Ups. The TRX takes this simple body weight exercise to the next level. Here's a few tips to help you execute this move perfectly.

• Put your arms out in front of you, a little higher than shoulder height;


• keep your body straight with your core tight and


• try to hold your same hand placement during your entire set.

The TRX move of the week is the Push Up! TRX expert, @camppacheco shares tips for perfect this move on tomorrow's #fitness blog! Check the link in our bio. #workout #TRX #pushups #upperbody #upperbodystrength #hiltonheadhealth #hiltonhead

A video posted by Hilton Head Health (@hiltonheadhealth) on Oct 15, 2015 at 11:55am PDT

Now you have 2 parts of our 3 part TRX workout: upper body and lower body. Next you'll learn a core focused workout to finish off the series.

What's your favorite move to do on the TRX?

How to Use Mindfulness to Reduce Cravings

We are rolling into the Bermuda Triangle of food holidays and the sweetest of them all, Halloween, kicks off the craving madness. Just weeks away, the Halloween candy invasion is unescapable. It’s about this time when your sweet-tooth begins to behave more like a sabre-tooth. How can you sooth the savage beast?

Mindfulness vs. Chocolate Cravings

It turns out that exercises in mindfulness have proved very effective in reducing candy cravings. Julien Lacaille, a psychologist at McGill University in Quebec, organized a study to see how mindfulness skills training can reduce chocolate cravings. Her surprisingly positive results were published in the May, 2014 edition of the journal Appetite.

Lacaille enlisted 196 self-proclaimed chocolate fiends for the study and divided them into five groups. Four of the groups received training in specific mindfulness techniques and were directed to practice them for two weeks whenever a chocolate craving arose. Members of the fifth group were told to distract themselves as a way to fend off cravings.

The Mindfulness Trifecta

The three mindfulness techniques used were:

Awareness: Simply noticing one's thoughts, or just noticing the craving.

Acceptance: Not passing judgment on one's thoughts, or noticing the craving and not judging it good or bad in any way.

Disidentification: Distancing oneself from the cravings by thinking of craving-related thoughts as separate from oneself. In other words, the candy craving is actually not real because it is separate from who you are. It’s as if you refuse to own it.

The Crucial Technique

The group that became skilled at practicing the disidentification mindfulness technique, which involved distancing themselves from their craving after acknowledging it, had a significant decrease in chocolate cravings. “They developed less-intense cravings for chocolate because they now perceived it as generally less desirable,” Lacaille said.

As you battle the onslaught of candy cues this month, use disidentification mindfulness to help bolster willpower.

What steps are you taking to stay mindful for the holidays?