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.

Fitness Me In Workout Series #10

Cardio Cooking

My time was completely booked this week due to the holidays, so I really wanted something healthy to eat. That means - you guessed it - veggies! That's why I made an Italian dish.
No, you did not read that incorrectly. For some reason, many Americans associate Italian cooking only with pasta. The reality is that vegetables are an integral part of cooking in many regions of Italy. Here’s a recipe for one of the more famous dishes, Ratatouille, from Toscanos Café and Wine Bar in Puyallup, WA. The restaurant hosts cooking classes that feature many healthy and delicious recipes, such as this one.

Ratatouille

½ cup sliced green and red peppers (cut small)
½ cup sliced carrots
½ cup sliced zucchini
1 small head broccoli, sliced (best with flat edges)
1 small onion, sliced
1 small eggplant, diced
3 small potatoes, boiled, cooled and sliced
½ cup crushed tomatoes
Salt and pepper
¼ cup olive oil

Instructions:

1. Gather and prep your ingredients as you groove out to great tunes.
2. Heat olive oil in large frying pan. Add carrots, peppers and eggplant. Sauté on high heat until vegetables begin to brown. As you stir, use a soup can or hand weight to do bicep curls with the other hand. Do as many as you can and switch hands. Squat down very slightly each time you release your arm, and come up as you curl. Squeeze those butt cheeks together at the top of the movement.
3. Add onions and broccoli, cook until begin to brown. Stand with legs wide apart and do Hula-Hoop circles one way.
4. Add cooled, sliced potatoes along with zucchini. Do hulas in the other direction.
5. Pour in crushed tomatoes, salt, pepper and a little water. You can deglaze now too if desired. Cover and simmer until vegetables are tender and all flavors have blended together. Stir infrequently. Repeat on set of bicep curls on each side along with the small squats.
6. Do walking lunges as you move to and from the table to set it. Stretch and enjoy your healthy cooking!

NOTE: I served this last with a roasted chicken.


Shape-Up Shopping (Grocery Day)


Here’s a workout you can do in the grocery store while you shop for all of those holiday recipe ingredients you need.

1. Walk for 4 minutes.
2. Now stop and look at something interesting while you work your chest with 2 isometric contractions. HOW TO DO THEM: Press your palms together in front of you. Hold for 10-15 seconds and release.
3. Walk down 3 aisles with abs pulled in tight (don’t forget to breathe).
4. Grab a can of food from your cart or the shelf. Hold it straight out in front of you, arm at shoulder height, as you walk down an aisle, pushing the cart with your other arm.
5. Repeat with the other arm.
6. Walk down 3 aisles with tight buns.
7. Do 2 more isometric contractions.
8. Walk down 3 more aisles, and then modify steps 4 and 5 so you are lowering the arm halfway down and raising it to shoulder height as you walk.
9. Walk the store perimeter, then do 2 isometric contractions followed by a repeat of step 8.
10. Pat yourself on the back for all of the multitasking you just did: You worked your abs, upper and lower body at the same time you shopped!


Play Day

I don’t know about you, but this week I needed a break from holiday cheer for a while. That’s why I took my kids on a dragon hunt. Here’s how to do it, according to www.pbskids.org:
1. Set out on a dragon hunt: Stand together have your kids repeat after you as you chant words and perform actions. For example:
I woke up in the morning - stretch -
I decided to find a dragon - show claws and teeth -
I ate a hearty breakfast - eat -
And headed out the door - march -
I walked through the tall grass - push aside tall grass -
I squished through the mud, etc.
Add whatever adventures you and your kids would like.

2. Flee the dragon: When you encounter the dragon in its cave, run home by retracing your steps in reverse order at a much faster pace.

For more information on this activity and other ideas, see http://pbskids.org/arthur/parentsteachers/activities/acts/dragon_hunt.html

Groggy Day

With all of the holiday shopping, cooking, cold-weather school closures, winterizing headaches and other curves life throws at us this time of year it’s easy to get exhausted and stressed. Here are two helpful workouts – one to energize and one to relieve stress – featured in Fitness magazine. Follow the links below:

To energize: http://www.fitnessmagazine.com/workout/express/20-minute/20-minute-energizing-workout/

To alleviate stress: http://www.fitnessmagazine.com/workout/express/20-minute/20-minute-workout-for-stress-relief/

Cleaning Day

Let’s get that kitchen cleaned up.
1. Dance as you clear and scrub the counters, then do as many biceps lifts as you can. HOW TO DO THEM: Reach under the counter. Put your palms against the underside and pretend you are lifting it off the floor. Hold for 10-15 seconds.
2. Got dishes? Scrub them up while you keep movin that body. Then do as many wall push-ups as you can.
3. Now it’s time for the floor. Forget the mop and do “squat and scrubs.” HOW TO DO THEM: Squat down with a cloth, scrub the area around you with your right hand and then your left. Stand up and squeeze your bum as tight as you can. Take a step forward or to the side and repeat. Keep going till your floor is all done.


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.

A Great Family Activity - Volunteering

Tis the season of giving, but if your family is like mine you are feeling the financial crunch.
No worries - giving of your time is especially important this year because volunteer organizations are feeling the pinch, too.
You can even work in a workout with some of the volunteer activities!
For example, you can get out, tromp around and become "frog watchers." That means you collect information about the frog and toad populations in your neighborhood for Frogwatch USA http://www.nwf.org/frogwatchUSA/ which uses the information to learn more about the diversity of frog and toad populations and to emphasize the importance of protecting wetland habitats.
There are, of course, other reasons to volunteer. Volunteering with your kids strengthens your bonds with them as well as your family's ties with the community.
I didn't know this until recently, but there are actually lots of ways you can volunteer from home.

Here are a couple of ideas:

1. Pick up litter at a park, shoreline, mountain, river, beach or wilderness area. Take a few digital photographs of what you've picked up. Have your family e-mail an essay about your experience along with your favorite digital photo, your names, age(s) and address to mail@wildernessproject.org. Your essay will be published on the Web site, your children's names will appear in the Registry of Apprentice Ecologists and you will get an official certificate. Go to http://www.wildernessproject.org/

2. Help animals by baking dog biscuits, making cat toys or donating blankets. Go to http://www.pets911.com/index.php.

3. Make cards for other children, their parents or their siblings who are going through a difficult period in their lives. Go to http://www.makeachildsmile.org/.

For more ideas, go to:

• http://www.familycares.org/

• http://www.thevolunteerfamily.org/

• http://www.doinggoodtogether.org/

For more info on the reasons to volunteer with your family, see my article in The Olympian newspaper, http://www.theolympian.com/living/story/668477.html

Fitness Me In Workout Series #6

Grocery Day


Details:
It is too, too cold to park far away from all of the stores, so here’s another workout you can do inside. This could even work in the Mall on Black Friday. You will need to wear a long shirt or light coat that covers your butt, however.

1. Pull out your cell phone to time yourself.
2. Walk for 2-4 minutes.
3. Stop and grab something with a label you want to read, or peruse the sale rack if at the mall. Suck in you abs and tighten your butt cheeks 20-30 times.
4. Walk for 2-4 minutes
5. Repeat the ab and butt tightening exercise 20-30 times.
6. Walk for 2-4 minutes
7. Look at something on a top shelf while doing calf raises 10-20 times (good to do in a dressing room too). I like to do them very slowly. Go to another location – repeat.
8. Walk for 2-4 minutes.
9. Go to the checkout line. Squeeze your butt and suck in your abs for counts of 20, releasing slowly.

At a glance:
Walk 2-4 min
Tighten abs and butt 20-30 times
Walk 2-4 min
Tighten abs and butt 20-30 times
Walk 2-4 min
10-20 calf raises, walk to a new location, repeat
Walk 2-4 min
Slow butt and ab squeezes for counts of 20 in line


Cardio Cooking


The day has gone by, and now it’s time to cook dinner with no workout in sight.
Here’s the solution: Cardio Cooking and a quick, easy recipe from Deborah Kesten MPH, health researcher, educator, writer, author and Certified Wellness Coach. See her Web site at http://www.enlightened-diet.com/

GARDEN SANDWICH

It’s easy to make your meals abundant with beans and vegetables—without making a salad, or wondering what to do with the beans. Try this tasty medley of fresh veggies as a sandwich.

INGREDIENTS (Serves 1)
2 slices multi-grain bread or whole wheat bread, toasted
2-4 tablespoons Hummus (garbanzo bean) spread (sold in containers in most markets)
1 tablespoon mustard
Handful of salad greens, chopped coarsely
1 thin slice of red onion
2 thin slices of tomato
2 slices ripe avocado
2 thin slices cucumber
1 small roasted red pepper (sold in glass jars in the condiments section in most markets)
1 slice Provolone cheese (available sliced fresh from deli section in many markets)
Optional:
Sliced jalapenos
Chopped olives
NOTE: I love this recipe as is, but also plan on adding some of my leftover turkey for a holiday-after meal.

Instructions:
1. Prep your veggies. Take the opportunity to dance and get that heart rate up.
2. Toast the bread to bring out its natural sweetness, and to better hold sandwich ingredients together. While waiting, do push-ups against the wall.
3. Spread hummus on one slice of bread; spread the mustard on the second slice. As you do this, pull in your abs and squat about halfway. Come up and squeeze your tush. Pulse up and down 20 times.
4. On the slice with hummus, add the greens, red onion, tomato, avocado, cucumber, roasted red peppers, and Provolone cheese. Do rear leg lifts as you assemble. HOW TO DO THEM: For the side lifts, lift your leg straight out to the side until your foot is 6 to 12 inches off the floor. Slightly bend leg you are standing on and keep abs tight. At the top of the movement pause and count to 3.
5. Place the bread spread with mustard on top of the sandwich filling. Gently press down to “hold” ingredients in place. Do walking lunges as you set the table, then stretch and enjoy! On the lunges, try for at least 8 reps each time. HOW TO DO THEM: For proper form, view these instructions on YouTube, http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xYTNEh4r5PI

QUICK FIX
Try an open faced version:
Toast one piece of your favorite whole grain bread. Mash some beans from a can and blend with mustard. Stack any veggies you have on hand, such as greens, tomato, and onion, on the toast. Add a slice of cheese if it’s available.

Play Day

Here’s a fun game from the East Carolina University Department of Exercise and Sport Sciences that you can play to get your heart rate up.
Act out each sentence with your kids for 30 seconds to 1 minute:
1. Jog in place as if a big scary bear is chasing you.
2. Walk forwards as if you’re slogging through chocolate pudding.
3. Jump in place as if you are popcorn popping.
4. Reach up as if grabbing balloons out of the air.
5. March in place and play the drums as if you are in a marching band.
6. Paint as if the paint brush is attached to your head.
7. Swim as if you are in a giant pool of Jell-O.
8. Move your feet on the floor as if you are ice skating.
9. Shake your body as if you are a wet dog.
10. Now have your kids create some of their own sentences!
Find more ideas on the ECU Web site, http://www.ecu.edu/cs-hhp/exss/apl.cfm

Groggy Day

I don’t know about you, but I’m already worn out from all of the Thanksgiving prep (yes, I am hosting for 30 people this year). Here are two options to get the kinks out and give some much-needed energy at the beginning of the day:
If you don’t even feel like you can get out of bed, then don! Try this Yoga in bed routine found on You Tube: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FVIzvsHLFfg
If you want a bit more, or you’re already up and about, dragging your body around, try this one from beYOUtv: http://www.beyou.tv/videos/Hot-Body-Cool-Mind-Waking-Energy-The-5-Tibetans

Cleaning Day

I don’t know about you, but my windows need to be washed before my holiday guests arrive. Unfortunately I cannot do them too far ahead or it will be wasted effort. For some reason my kids like to put hands, faces, tongues, Play-Doh, gum, glue, soap and lots of other things I won’t bother to list on my windows. Might as well listen to great tunes and get in a workout while doing this chore!
1. On the first few windows, exaggerate all the movements you make in tune with the music. If you wash to the right shimmy your hips to the right. If you go low take your whole body with you, etc.
2. Do the doors now – sliding glass or otherwise. While washing the tops do calf raises. While washing the lower part suck in your abs, squat until you feel your thigh muscles engage and hold.
3. Do 4 more regular windows while gettin’ that groove back on.
4. Now, do side leg lifts as you wash the next window – as many as you can stand. Keep count, and do an equal number on the other leg when you clean the next window.
5. Back to dancing – keep that heart rate up!
6. Don’t forget to give yourself a pat on the back and stretch when you are done.

Of course I do!

OK, so you all want to know if I actually do these things. The answer is YES - I squeeze my butt at the grocery store and cook cardio chicken and beans. It gets my kids dancin too when they help set the table.
I will never, ever, ever post something that I have not tried myself in the Fitness Me In workouts - except maybe on April Fool's Day :) So if you are picturing me doing these things and laughing at my expense it's totally justified. Get ready for more laughs this weekend.
I should add that I do NOT work in a workout on every grocery trip or every time I cook.
I do it on days when I can't fit anything else in (that something is better than nothing theory).
Reclaiming a little time for myself makes me happier, and so does being silly. So grab a duster or a grocery cart and try it - I Double Dog Dare You!