Featured Recipe: Kale, Cranberries, Almonds and Pine Nuts Salad

Ingredients


2 bunches kale leaves, stems and tough ribs removed, leaves very finely chopped

½ cup cranberries

½ cup  almonds

¼ cup pine nuts

1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil

1/4 cup freshly squeezed lemon juice

1 teaspoon chili powder

1/2 teaspoon sea salt

Or ½ cup of fat free/low fat honey mustard dressing



Directions

Place kale leaves, cranberries, almonds and pine nuts in a serving bowl. In a small bowl, (whisk together olive oil, lemon juice, chili powder and salt or honey mustard). Pour over kale mix and toss to combine well. Taste and add more salt or chili powder if desired.

Tip: The key to this salad is finely chopping the kale leaves. The finer they are, the more they will absorb the dressing and the easier they will be to eat. This salad is a great opportunity to practice good knife skills.

Serves 6

Contact us for nutritional information

Ask the Experts: Grocery Shopping Tips

Question:

I know that I am supposed to eat better but I have such a hard time grocery shopping. Every time I step inside a grocery store I get completely overwhelmed! By the time I leave, I am usually over my allotted budget and have bags of crap I wasn’t intending to buy. Can you please help me get it together?

Response:

Grocery shopping is a very important part of your quest for a healthier lifestyle. It is so easy to abandon the list or promise to eat less baked goods when the aroma fills your nose as soon as you step inside the store. The marketing departments at these stores are well aware of our weaknesses. The look, smell and even checkout stations are designed to get you to spend more even if it is on the wrong items. Don’t beat yourself up and falling prey to their well designed marketing campaign. Here are some tools that we use to keep us on track before and while grocery shopping.
How to grocery shop effectively:
1. Plan ahead

     a. Select the healthy meals that you would like to prepare.

     b. Discuss with roommates/ family members. This can help you generate ideas for the menu and also keep
     you from buying things that other people will not eat. Don’t forget to share your quest for a healthier
     lifestyle and smaller waist line. Enlist their help because just as quickly as they can help, they can also
     knock you off your health wagon.

     c. Make a calendar for meals. You can use a monthly calendar to indicate what you are going to make on
     which day so that you will know what you need to purchase

     d. Create shopping list. This list should be make using the calendar of menus

2. Select basic items that you will use frequently. What to buy:

Pantry

     • Low-sodium chicken broth and broth-based vegetable and bean soups. Always read the labels to
     ensure sodium levels are less than 500 milligrams per serving.

     • 100% Whole grain pasta, whole grain couscous and brown rice. Whole grain or multigrain does not
     mean it is healthy. The label must read 100% whole wheat

     • Canned wild fish, including salmon and tuna, contain omega-3 fatty acids.

     • Low sodium canned tomatoes and beans are great to have on hand

     • Whole grain cereals and oatmeal. Make sure it has at least 3 grams of fiber and less than 10 grams of
     sugar. Do not buy fast-cooking oatmeal, as it raises your blood sugar too quickly.

     • Natural style peanut butter or other nut butters

     • Olive oil and canola oil

     • Breads made with flax. This is an excellent source of protein and good fats and it lowers the percentage
     of carbohydrates in the bread.

Refrigerator and freezer

     • Variety of fresh fruits and vegetables. If you pick lots of bright colors you are most likely to get a variety
     of nutrients. Bright colors, especially reds and greens, indicate high antioxidant content.

     • Frozen fruits and vegetables

     • Low-fat milk, yogurt, nut milks, reduced fat cheese

     • Eggs (especially omega-3 enriched), egg whites, egg substitute

     • Choose skinless chicken or turkey breasts, pork tenderloin and lean cuts of beef for healthy meat options.

     • Fish is the king protein from animal sources.

Snacks

     • Pre-portioned whole grain cookies, crackers, and baked chips. The best thing to do is to put them in
     small baggies so you don’t eat the whole bag.

     • Dry roasted nuts.

     • Fresh and dried fruits. A small box of raisins can provide a healthy energy boost. Make that there is no
     sugar added to the dried fruit.

     • Microwavable popcorn. Don't butter it. Flavor it with spices instead, such as garlic or onion powder or
     herbs. I have put cayenne pepper on my pop corn for an extra kick.

     • Dark chocolate in small quantities will satisfy any sweet tooth. For all you chocolate lovers out there,
     buy low-fat chocolate with the highest percentage of cacao you can find for the antioxidants.

2. Stick to plan. It doesn’t matter if all the items on the cookie aisle are seductively calling your name (“Suuuuussannnnn, buy me”), do not go down that aisle if it is not on your shopping list.

3. Reward yourself. Designate one “reward” item that you absolutely love to put on your reward list. If you follow your list and diet accordingly, reward yourself with that item. Don’t fool yourself of how it will effect your overall diet. If that item is the chicken wings in the deli section, don’t down a whole bucket and expect it not to effect your waist line. Try and grab a healthier alternative like the baked and skinless version.

4. Keep an ongoing list on your fridge or close by where you can jot down depleted items.

How can BWell Fit Help? We can provide the following:

• Assessment for needs, wants and goals. We will assess you to determine where you are currently. Whether it is your weight, health issues or fat level.

• Customized programs. We use the assessment to customize a fitness, nutrition and motivation program.

• Meal by meal menu. This customized program includes a meal by meal menu using your assessment, goals, likes, health issues, allergies, etc…

• Grocery list. Each menu comes with a grocery list so you will know exactly what you need to buy to prepare the created menu

• Motivation and questions answered. We offer many events and incentives to keep you motivated during your journey. And if you should ever have a question, please call, email or schedule an appointment with us. Your questions will be answered quickly and effectively.

This month, we are offering our online program for $59.99 per month. This offers all the Services above for a very low price. The original price is $99 for set up and $199 per month.

Good luck and happy shopping. Please contact us if you need more tips or have any more questions: info@bwellfit.com or 877 319 1133.

Ask the Experts: Rebounding After the Holidays

Question:

I did my best to watch my food intake during the holidays but think I may have gone a bit overboard. Should I eat less now?

Response:

We love the holidays!! Some favorite things about the holidays are spending time with family and friends and the abundance and variety of food. ..lots and lots of food. Once the dusts clear from the festivities, we notice that we packed on some extra pounds and fell off our fitness wagon. The average American can gain up to 15 pounds during the holidays. Some people experience the post holiday blues or worst, completely give up on their fitness and health quest because they feel that recovery is impossible. Being a little loose with your workouts and nutrition during the holidays does not mean that your are doomed for failure. Here are a few tips that will help you get back on track:

· Get moving. It may be the last thing you feel like doing, but getting the blood flowing is the perfect remedy for a food hangover and getting motivated again. In order to avoid being too sore, start off slowly. Do a walk/run interval or walk the distance you normally run. Reduce the amount of weights that you are used to doing before your hiatus. Reduce the number of reps and sets. Do more stretching or take a yoga class. Add a little more every month until you reach the level you were at before the holidays. Even a few minutes spent working out can boost your mood and your energy levels.

· Drink water. Drinking water can help flush out some of the toxins from your system and excess salt from all the holidays food. Overload of salt can lead to a feeling of bloating which makes you feel heavier than you really are. Water is a catalyst for weight loss, so the more you drink, the more weight you could potentially lose.

· Eat lightly. After eating too much, you may be tempted to declare, "I'll never eat again!" Surprisingly, you may feel hungrier than before but starving yourself is an injustice to your goal. Replace your starchy foods with more vegetables, fruit and lean protein. This also means controlling your portions to keep from over eating. You can eat all the green vegetables you want, keep protein to about 4 ounces per meal and eat fruits with less sugar and more water such as grapefruit.

· Make a plan. One of the worst side effects of eating too much is the guilt that comes after. Guilt is sometimes inevitable, but you can use that feeling to motivate you into something better. Make a plan for the next few days for how you'll get back on track with your eating and exercise. Just the act of planning can make you feel better.

· Act. Remember that all the planning means nothing if you do not act on it. Get off the couch and put your plans in play.

· Contact BWell Fit. If you need a customized plan to help you meet your goals, contact BWell Fit.

Tip to Your Health: New Year, New You - Keep That Resolution this Time

Yes, it is that time of the year for New Year’s resolutions. Millions of people use the New Year to attempt a positive change in their lives. 7 million of those resolutions are health related. Some of the more popular resolutions are:

· Exercise more
· Eat better
· Stop smoking
· Drink less alcohol

We have put together 7 tips to help you stayed motivated and achieve your resolutions this year. We refer to these tips as the “SMARTER” method.

· Specific – it will be easier to act on a resolution if you know exactly what you have to do. Do yourself a favor and define exactly what you wish to do. i.e.:
o Smoke one cigarette less per week vs. Smoke less
o 10 lbs by June 1 vs. lose weight
o Eat oatmeal for breakfast

· Measurable – It should be very clear whether you met the objective or not. Quantitative methods are easiest to assess. Instead of judging how skinny you look when standing next to your sister, measure how many pounds you have lost the last four weeks. Keep a journal to track progress

· Attainable/Achievable – Stating that you will go to the gym 7 days a week may be difficult to follow. Even the best athletes in the world have rest days for their body to recover. You can safely and comfortably lose 2 pounds a week. To set a goal that you will lose 10 pounds a week is possible setting yourself up for failure.

· Realistic – Being realistic means recognizing factors that cannot be controlled. I often talk to people that want to look like models or Hollywood stars. No matter how great the results, it will never get you a job as a body double for a Victoria Secret model or Matthew McConaughey…sorry, even the experts at BWell Fit can’t work those kinds of miracles.

· Timed – Making your goal time based gives you something to strive for. It is not enough to say I will lose 10 pounds, try “I will lose 10 pounds by June 1st or my 10 year reunion in October”. That extra boost will help you stay on track.

· Expect struggles – Achieving anything can be difficult including changing your fitness and nutrition status quo. You will experience some not so good days and great days. Use the great days to keep you going on the days that you slip a little. Know that failure is not when you fall but it is when you stay down. If you fall, get up, brush yourself off and get on with it.

· Reward – Reward yourself when you do something great or reach a mile stone. I have heard some people saving the money saved kicking their smoking habit. They later used that money to do something they love such as a great vacation. Looking forward to something great will help you stay focused during the tough times.

The New Year gives us an opportunity and motivation to reflect on things that we would like to do better. Use these tips as tools to help make these positive changes.

New Year Resolution + SMARTER Method = Success