I just turned another year older and celebrated my wedding anniversary — the numbers are getting higher and are making me uncomfortable.  I hate to admit it, but this year, my birthday stung.  My bedside table is now covered with self help books, discussing the meaning of life, happiness, staying in the moment, what it all means, etc.  I find myself running from one thing to the next and never really enjoying the present.  Looking back, I also now realize that life is accelerating and time is racing past — and my kids are getting so big.  I am in desperate need of slowing down time. Motivated by the feeling that life is slipping away, I decided to create my Stay Young list.  It is a compilation of all the research studies I read everyday, the philosophical books I’ve read, the things that fulfill me, and my life’s lessons learned along the way.  I thought maybe other moms may be grappling with the same issues, so I thought I would share my list. If you feel the same way, I hope my list will help motivate you to slow down and create a list that works for you.

These activities are not in order of importance –

1. Simplify my life — drop any unnecessary commitments, say no, plan out the week

2. 20 minutes of quiet everyday — either meditate, listen to music, close eyes, read book

3. Wake up 15 minutes earlier and pray and meditate

4. Eat at least 5 servings of foods that help with blood flow everyday - these include the flavonoid containing foods, omega-3’s and monounsaturated fats

-berries, soy, garlic/onions, dark chocolate (10g), grape juice made with skin (Welch’s) or red wine 1 glass, olive oil 1 Tbsp, salmon or tuna, green tea…etc.

5. Yoga at least once a week

6. Swim twice a week (other days jog, spin and weights)

7. Play with kids for at least 20 minutes everyday

8. Write my husband a gratitude or love thought everyday and seal with perfume

This is what I am going to do to stay young — let me know if you have your own staying young list.

Tags: antiaging, baby fat diet, health, moms, nutrition, stay young, wellness

I love fresh food and decided last year to begin growing my own produce.  Now, I do not have a green thumb and am sorry to admit that I have contributed to the demise of many beautiful flowers and plants.  In trying to figure out why, I read that it might not be me at all, it may be that my soil is not nutrient rich.  So, for the past year, I have thrown all my produce scraps, lawn clippings and stinky organic fertilizer on my soil plot to get the soil rich with nutrients and ready to plant seeds this fall.  I know, It is a very lazy way to manage a compost heap, since all I do at the end of each day is toss my produce scraps over the fence, hoping it hits the soil.  I also occasionally spread some putrid smelling organic fertilizer and my husband dumps all the lawn scraps on my pile.  Well, I am surprised and overjoyed to report to you that about two weeks ago my mom discovered that my soil plot/compost heap was already growing tomatoes, cantaloupes and butternut squash.  We could not stop laughing as I have not planted anything yet.  They are growing from my table scraps.  So, if this is something you have dreamt about — maybe try it yourself.  I call this method, “gardening for dummies.”  As a result of the many tomatoes that I pick from my garden every other day, we eat tomato and fresh mozzarella salad every day – I want to share the recipe with you.  Let me know what you think.

Fresh Tomato and Mozzarella Salad Recipe

1 cup organic cherry or plum tomatoes cut in half

2 oz fresh mozzarella cut into cubes

1 tbsp fresh basil leaves chopped

1/4 cup balsamic vinegar

1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil

1/2 tbsp kosher salt

Tags: baby fat diet, compost, family health, fresh mozzarella, fresh tomato salad, gardening, healthy eating, weight loss

A new study from Johns Hopkins University finds that eating a high fat diet when nursing may lead to an overweight baby and potential health problems, like diabetes, later on.  The research, done on rats, is preliminary, however, knowing that breastmilk composition varies based on the mom’s diet, it seems feasible that too much fat would impact baby’s weight. Interestingly, the researchers found that the diet during nursing made more of a difference on the baby’s weight than the diet during pregnancy. Bottomline: Eating a high fat diet isn’t good for you or your weight loss efforts anyway. So, if you’re nursing, stick to a healthy, well balanced diet, like the one we recommend in The Baby Fat Diet. You’ll get leaner and your baby will be healthier for it.

Tags: baby fat diet, baby's weight, breastfeeding, diet, high fat diet, Johns Hopkins University, nursing

I am in love with my new lunch recipe and wanted to share it with you.  It’s rich in protein and healthy fats.

1 pouch or can of tuna or salmon

1 tbsp low fat mayo

1 tbsp sunflower seeds

13 whole wheat baked pita chips

Mix first 3 ingredients and eat with pita chips — it’s that easy!!!!! (it’s also good with chopped red onion)

Tags: baby fat diet, healthy eating, healthy fats, healthy recipe, protein, recipe, salmon, sunflower seeds, tuna, weight loss

I always try to get my family and clients to eat more sweet potatoes - they are easy and nutritious (and very versatile).  You can eat a very filling, medium-sized sweet potato and only eat 100 calories.  And these calories are not empty -for those 100 calories, you get no fat, almost 4 g fiber, and satisfy 38% of your daily needs for vitamin C, 730% for vitamin A (yes, that is supposed to say 730%), and a lot of beta carotene ( there is no set recommended daily intake for this provitamin A carotenoid).  So, eat your sweet potatoes!  Other than just heating and eating - you can get fancy and try other ways of preparing.  We like to make a sauce (some might consider this a soup) to add to our chicken or pasta (we like it with whole wheat orzo).  Try this and get creative –

Saucy Sweet Potatoes serves 4

Ingredients

3-4 medium sweet potatoes

3-5 cups chicken or vegetable broth

1minced garlic clove

onion powder to taste

(kosher salt if you need it)

Directions

heat 3-4 sweet potatoes in microwave until soft and remove skins

Place in sauce pan and add stock

blend using hand held blender (or put in counter top blender before sauce pan if you do not have one) — if you do not have one, you should get one - they are great

bring to simmer and add garlic and onion powder

cook for about 3 minutes and add to chicken, pasta, etc. (use your imagination)

Let us know what you think!

Tags: baby fat diet, healthy eating, healthy recipes, recipes, sweet potatoes, weight loss

Okay - I have to share this program with you — I evaluate diet and exercise programs for my clients often.  And one that is really hot right now is P90X.  From a dietitian’s and exercise instructor’s perspective, it is a great program.  The eating plan is pretty balanced and the exercise regimen is great.  I am not a huge fan of supplements, so based on my advice my clients and friends did not purchase any of the supplements and just followed the eating plan. Not only have people lost weight and improved their muscle strength, stamina and flexibility on the program, but some have improved their blood pressure, triglyceride and cholesterol.  If you are looking for something to help you lose weight and get fit, P90X might work for you.  You can also buy it used on Amazon.

Tags: baby fat diet, healthy eating, nutrition, P90X, weight loss

The Easter Bunny’s basket is full of heart healthy flavanols…well, as long as the basket is carrying chocolate.  A recent study, once again, showed that as little as a square of dark chocolate (about 7-10 g) can have a significant impact on your cardiovascular health.  In the study, 19,357 people between the ages of 35-65 were assessed.  Those who at an average of 7.5 g of chocolate per day over a ten year period had lower blood pressure and an estimated 39% lower risk of having a heart attack or stroke compared to those who ate the least amount of chocolate (average 1.7 g/day).  So, what’s the take away?  You can enjoy a moderate amount of dark chocolate (45%cocoa or more).  What is moderate? Keep it to no more than 20 g/day (about 85 calories).  That is half of a regular sized 40 g candy bar.  Help yourself to not overeat chocolate by either breaking the bar into pieces before you dig in or buy the individually wrapped squares of chocolate.  One of my favorites is the 60% cocoa Hershey’s Extra Dark Pomegranate - each square is 10 g and 43 calories.

Tags: baby fat diet, chocolate, dark chocolate, health, healthy eating, Hershey's, Hershey's Extra Dark, nutrition, weight loss

I just ran across and interesting study - taxing soda is estimated to help people drop 5 pounds a year.  At the University of North Carolina researchers looked at price, energy intake and weight and found that if the proposed 18% soda tax is implemented, people would consumer 56 fewer calories each day, which amounts to 5 pounds/year for young to middle-aged adults.  As the price of foods increase, the consumption of those foods decrease.  For now, New York has tabled the soda tax discussion.  However, it is interesting to note that soda had the largest price decline over a 20 year period, second to pizza. The price of a liter of soda went from $2.71 to $1.42, a staggering 48% decrease.  So, these foods are actually getting cheaper and (we already know) people are eating more.  Don’t fall prey to unhealthy choices because of cheaper prices — in the long run, it can end up costing you your waistline and health.  In my practice, one of the ways that I help my clients lose weight (and it is the easiest way to lose weight), is to have them cut down on their sugary drinks.  By cutting down your regular sodas by two 12 oz bottles a day - you can lose a whopping 29 pounds in one year!  Each 12 oz can has 140 calories.  Now, if you drink the 20 oz bottles, you can lose 54 pounds in one year.  It is really that easy — challenge yourself today to cut down by two.

Tags: baby fat diet, health, nutrition, soda, soda tax, weight loss

I am constantly trying to create and find healthy and quick recipes that my kids will eat between baseball games and gymnastics and basketball and dance…you get me.  Well, last night before baseball we created another winner that I want to share with you –

Turkey and Sweet Potato Tacos

Pre-cooked white turkey breast (or if you have the time, cook it yourself)

Sweet potatoes

Whole wheat/low fat tortillas

Start the sweet potatoes in the microwave — cook for 10 minutes or until they are soft.  Meanwhile, cut turkey into strips and heat (stick in microwave with the sweet potatoes for the last 3 minutes of cooking).  Put tortillas between two humid paper towels and heat for about 20 seconds, depending on your microwave.  Once everything is heated, cut open sweet potatoes and mash the insides with a fork (no skins). Then put the mashed sweet potato and cooked turkey in the tortilla.  Add a glass of low-fat or non-fat milk and you have a great meal.  My family loved it.

Tags: baby fat diet, health, healthy recipes, nutrition, weight loss

For one of my healthy cooking classes in Houston, TX, I am covering the topic of how to eat healthfully at your favorite restaurants and am helping attendees prepare a quick, healthful and yummy recipe for dinner. I want to share some of what we cover in class with you.  So, below are some smart and healthy alternatives for eating at Mexican restaurants (adapted from our book, The Baby Fat Diet) as well the sweet potato chicken recipe.

It’s easy to eat too many calories, fat and salt when you dine out.  Most restaurants want to provide great value with big portions and tasty food, and so, end up adding a lot of extra fat and salt.  Here are some easy ways to save calories when eating out at a Mexican restaurant.

Instead of chips eat three corn tortillas and dip in salsa

Stay away from cream and cheese sauces and stick with pico de gallo and salsa - you can also add extra flavor to your food with Ranchero beans or black beans.

Eat whole beans instead of re-fried

drink water

Example meal -

1 Chicken Fajita (load with veggies)

1/2 cup Mexican rice

1/2 cup black beans

510 calories, 11 g fat, 4 g sat fat

Sweet Potato Chicken Nuggets (or strips) Recipe

1 lb boneless, skinless chicken breast cut into strips or chunks

1 cup whole wheat bread crumbs

1/2 cup wheat germ

1/2 tsp onion powder, 1/2 tsp paprika, 1/2 tsp garlic salt

2 medium sized sweet potatoes

1 large egg, lightly beaten

1 Tbsp olive oil

non-stick cooking spray

Start by making holes in sweet potatoes with fork and cook in microwave until tender (depending on your microwave about 10-15 minutes, check after 10 minutes).  While sweet potatoes are cooking, cut chicken and place to the side.  Next, mix bread crumbs, wheat germ, onion powder, paprika, and garlic salt in large zip lock bag.  Once sweet potatoes are done cooking, take off skin and mash flesh in bowl and add egg, stir together.  Dip chicken pieces in sweet potato and egg mixture then put chicken pieces into zip lock bag, close and shake until pieces are covered with ingredients.  Spray nonstick skillet, add olive oil and when hot add coated chicken pieces.  Cook until golden (about 4-5 minutes) and then turn pieces and cook until cooked all the way through.  Optional - serve with ketchup for the little ones and make a side of black beans and salad.

Tags: baby fat diet, eating out, healthy cooking, healthy recipes, losing weight