Monday, January 26, 2009

Fitness Me In Workout Series #15

Cardio Cooking

Here’s another recipe from those fantastic Meal Makeover Moms. My kids absolutely loved this one.

Cheesy Fish Sticks

Ingredients
1/2 cup cornmeal
1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese
3/4 teaspoon garlic powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
3 tablespoons canola oil
1 pound catfish fillets, cut into 1-inch strips (or any other mild white fish)

Directions
1. Preheat the oven to 475°F and assemble your ingredients. Lightly oil or coat a large baking sheet with nonstick cooking spray and set aside. Crank those tunes and rock out as you do so.
2. Combine the cornmeal, Parmesan cheese, garlic powder, and salt in a medium bowl and mix well. As you do so, do some side lunges. Try for at least 10. HOW TO DO THEM: Start with feet shoulder width apart. Step out to the right and squat with wide legs. Come back to center, then step out to the left.
3. Place the oil in a small bowl. Lightly coat each piece of fish in the oil and then roll in the breading mixture until well coated. Arrange the fish on the prepared baking sheet. Meanwhile, do “ski bunnies.” HOW TO DO THEM: Start with feet shoulder width apart, knees slightly bent. Jump and rotate to the left, landing with feet at about a 45-degree angle from center. Jump back to center, then jump and rotate to the right. Keep going in a consistent motion.
4. Bake until golden brown, 10 to 12 minutes. After you put the fish in the oven, do a set of rear lunges. Try for 16. HOW TO DO THEM: Extend one leg back. Lower body on other leg by flexing knee and hip of front leg until knee of rear leg is almost in contact with floor. Return to original standing position by extending the hip and knee of the forward leg. Make sure the knee of the front leg does not come out over your ankle. Repeat with opposite leg.
5. Get back to dancing as you set the table or do other kitchen chores.

Makes 4 servings. Nutrition Information per Serving: 350 calories, 22g fat (4.5g saturated, 1.4g omega-3), 360mg sodium, 14g carbohydrate, 2g fiber, 23g protein, 10% calcium

Find more kid food makeovers at: http://www.mealmakeovermoms.com/recipes/kid-food-makeovers/

Shape-Up Shopping (Grocery Day)


Here’s another workout you’ll want to have your kids join in. I’ve actually found it’s easier to shop with them when we work in a workout. I get less whining and fewer requests for items off the shelves. I get lots of smiles from other moms too.
1. Walk around the store for 2 minutes to warm up.
2. Find an aisle without other folks in it and jump all the way down it with your child (they love this).
3. Walk back down the aisle, then go to another one and hop on your right foot.
4. Walk back down the aisle, repeat with the left foot.
5. Find another aisle, then go down it doing knee ups with quick feet. HOW TO DO THEM: Raise leg with bent knee so thigh is parallel to the floor. Hop onto other foot, raising knee of the leg you were standing on. This does double duty, getting your abs and legs.
6. Walk back down that aisle. Now, point your toes out and walk down 3 aisles. This is a great inner thigh workout.
7. Walk with abs tight for as long as you can stand it. Don’t forget to breathe!

Cleaning Day

OK – if you’ve been following this blog you’ve worked up to this. If not, I bet you can still do it! Our overseas neighbors at the NHS feature an “Olympic Cleaning Workout” on their Web site. Go to http://www.nhs.uk/Livewell/olympics/Pages/Olympichousework.aspx to try it out!


Play Day

If you’ve got school aged kids, here’s a great activity you can do with them once or twice each week or even each school day: Start a “Walking School Bus.” You can walk with just your kids, invite some neighbors to participate or even organize a school- or community-wide effort. Even if you don’t live near your school, you can walk to and/or from an alternate bus stop. To learn more about organizing a Walking School Bus, see http://www.walkingschoolbus.org/.

Groggy Day
I like to do yoga to refresh myself when I am feeling groggy and out-of-sorts. It almost feels like I’ve treated myself to a massage! You can get a free trial that allows access to some yoga routines on this Web site: http://www.totalyogapractice.com/LearnYogaOnline.php

Legal junk/Disclaimer: The information provided on this site is for informational purposes only and is not intended as a substitute for the advice or care of medical professionals. Consult with a healthcare professional before starting any diet, or exercise program, or if you have or suspect you might have a health problem.

Sunday, January 25, 2009

Keeping your self, kids, family active

Even though it's winter, there's still plenty you can do as a family to stay active.
I want to be a positive role model for my kids. I also want to be around to enjoy my grandchildren someday. And by enjoy I mean I want to actively play with them. Those are two of my top reasons to stay fit.
As a mom, sometimes it's really hard to work in a workout. But if you do family activities that include exercise you can multitask in many ways:
* as a role model,
* by building strong bonds with your kids,
* by getting your exercise in
* by actively helping your family stay fit.

One great Web site is from our Canadian neighbors in Alberta. It has 101 ideas for keeping your family active.
For more, see: http://www.healthyalberta.com/ActiveLiving/173.htm

You can also check out an article I wrote for The Olympian newspaper at: http://www.theolympian.com/living/story/737984.html

Unfortunately, childhood obesity is a real concern for everyone.
Recently I spoke with Dr. Carl Lindgren of Healthy Future Pediatrics in Olympia, WA.
During his 19 years of practice, Dr. Lindgren has seen the rise in childhood obesity firsthand. And it’s coming on at younger and younger ages, according to the Centers for Disease Control.
The prevalence of obesity increased almost tripled for all ages of kids between 1980 and 2006, according to the CDC.
Ages 2-5: To 12.4 percent, up from 5 percent
Ages 6–11: 17 percent, up from 6.5 percent
Ages 12–19: 17.6 percent, up from 5 percent.
That’s worrisome because obese children and adolescents are more likely to have risk factors associated with cardiovascular disease (such as high blood pressure, high cholesterol, and Type 2 diabetes), asthma and sleep apnea. They also face social discrimination and are more likely to become obese as adults.
Kids don’t need to be classified as obese, either, for concerns to arise. Lindgren often sees patients’ body mass indexes – ratio of height to weight – trending the wrong way at a checkups.
It’s a touchy subject, but reversing the trend in the early stages can make all the difference in a child’s health and well being, he says.
Want to check whether your child has a healthy body mass - or whether you do? The CDC offers a BMI calculator for children and teens. There’s also a link for tips on measuring a healthy weight at accurately at home. There are many factors to consider – the BMI is a screening tool but does not measure actual body fat -- so if you have concerns contact your doctor. The site is http://apps.nccd.cdc.gov/dnpabmi/Calculator.aspx