Here are a couple of tips for you to make your long weekend healthy but still have fun:

Healthy BBQ. If plan ahead appropriately a BBQ can actually be quite healthy. You don’t have to have beef burgers and hot dogs for it to qualify as a BBQ. There are a number of alternative foods you can enjoy during a picnic or weekend party with friends. In fact, we have a entire blog dedicated to ways you can make grilling and BBQing more healthy—check it out here! And always remember that portion control is your best friend!

Exercise. Summer months bring nicer weather conditions to enjoy outdoor activities. Set some goals and take advantage of the nicer weather to get outside more often. Take long walks more frequently or join an amateur sports league; whatever it takes to get you more active. Even though you may be working it doesn’t mean you can’t take walks with co-workers during lunch or even experiment with “walking” meeting which are becoming more and more common.

Alcohol. People tend to let their hair down and indulge more than usual over long weekends, and Memorial Day weekend is certainly no exception. Alcohol can certainly be a part of that, but keep your diet and caloric intake in mind. Enjoy a red wine spritzer with ice instead of a full glass of wine or a cold light beer instead of the heavier stuff. A few cocktails won’t ruin your diet but be sure to keep hydrated with lots of water, especially when drinking outside.

Do you have healthy plans this summer? Do you have any tips that you use to keep healthy? Share them with us here!

You can choose smaller portions of some of the traditional high calorie options, or you can make lower calorie dishes. Weight Watchers, Eating well, Cooking Light, and Hungry Girl have all put out swap suggestions and great holiday tips online. Here are a few links to help you with healthy choices:

• Rick Rodgers’ Best-Ever Slimmed Down Turkey & Gravy
• Thanksgiving Recipe Makeover
• CookingLight’s 13 Great Thanksgiving Meals
• Hungry Girl’s Thanksgiving Recipes

Exercise more before and after the feast. If weather permits, maybe the gang can take a walk together after the meal. Otherwise put on some good music and dance to a few tunes.

If you’re the host, use smaller plates. Research shows we can lose 18 pounds in one year by using 9-10 inch plates.

Don’t leave serving dishes on the table. Guests/family will be forced to get up to get more-so will you.

Give the leftovers to your guests or donate them to someone hungry and  less fortunate.

When you leave the table, be grateful for your family and friends. Enjoy them, and smile, knowing you’ll still fit comfortably in your favorite jeans tomorrow.

Happy Thanksgiving to all!

Ellen is a psychotherapist in private practice in San Francisco and Redwood City, California. She specializes in Cognitive Behavioral Therapy and incorporates the use of mindfulness into the treatment of depression, anxiety, and emotional overeating. She runs a holistic weight loss program called Center for Thoughtful Weight Loss, http://www.thoughtfulweightloss.com. You can email Ellen at ellen@thoughtfulweightloss.com and follow her on Twitter at @thoughtfullellen.
Copyright © 2012 Ellen N. Resnick, LCSW

Quinoa is rich in protein, vitamins, and minerals, which leaves you feeling satisfied, not deprived, making it the perfect diet food with a nutrient dense package. Picture a nutrition powerhouse packed into a tiny seed. Because of this, quinoa is becoming popular as a grain alternative and weight loss food. Let’s take a look at why quinoa seems to have been specifically designed for people who want to eat healthier and simpler at the same time.

Nutrition

Just like spinach, quinoa seeds are rich in all the essential amino acids, making it a complex protein. You’ll also find quinoa to be a good source of magnesium and calcium. Quinoa is also high in iron and vitamin B 12 which are essential for energy production and weight loss. The family of B vitamins control your body’s ability to synthesize nutrients efficiently, meaning if you lack vitamin B you will actually work against your body’s own natural weight loss mechanisms.

Satisfying

If you have ever tried to lose weight conventionally, you quickly understand how empty you feel most of the day. This feeling of never being satisfied is one of the biggest hurdles to overcome when you are trying to lose weight. If this is a familiar feeling, then quinoa just may be the answer to your dilemma. Protein and dietary fiber are known to help the body feel full and satisfied. Quinoa is rich in both, helping you to feel full while still maintaining weight loss goals.

Low Glycemic Index Value

Quinoa is low on the glycemic index which means quinoa doesn’t cause a sharp jump in blood sugar. Your blood sugar levels control cravings. What does that mean? It means that when you eat a food high on the glycemic index, your blood sugars are elevated quickly, and then crash. Then your body sends messages to your brain to eat more sugar and carbohydrates to bring your blood sugar back up again. Eating foods on the low glycemic index (slow and steady blood sugar) means instead of craving bread and candy, you can go about your day eating normally. Again, slow and steady blood sugar levels are important for so many reasons. And quinoa fits the bill.

Low Calorie

Quinoa is also low in calories. One serving of cooked quinoa contains about 170 calories, which may seem like a lot, but one serving of quinoa is also an impressive amount of food. You could eat three servings of quinoa and still have fewer calories than one serving of pasta. This is a great thing if you are on a diet because you don’t have to worry about over-eating your quinoa and blowing your entire day’s worth of calories on one meal.

If you have not tried quinoa yet, and are trying to stick with your weight loss goals, then this may be the perfect food to add to your diet. Because of the high amounts of protein and fiber, as well as the low glycemic index and low calories, you will feel full while reaching your healthy weight loss goals.

Check out the HealthyWage Quinoa Recipe Board on Pinterest for lots of recipe inspiration to get you started!

{Photo Credit}

Know the nutrition facts when you  choose your ingredients.  You can start with turkey instead of roast beef and cut calories in half right there.  Choose an ounce of Jarlsberg  lite over cheddar and save another 46 calories.  Don’t be afraid to add ingredients. It’s always more fun to add, and besides, adding can be good for you. For instance you can add yummy fresh vegetables to a sandwich to bulk up on fiber and nutrients in exchange for some of the more fattening choices.  Add your favorite mustard (there’s so many great one’s to choose from) to any sandwich instead of mayo and save another 90 calories and 10 grams of fat.

Some of the chain restaurants are helping dieters by allowing for this kind of customization through technology. Specialty’s Cafe and Bakery is a great example. When picking dressings for a large salad you can see (on a computer screen you order from) that most of the dressings pack a whopping 300 + calories except for the balsamic vinegarette  which has only 60 calories.  Onto the sandwich–you can pick your bread wisely. One would think the wheat bread would be your best choice, but no….it has 80 calories more than the ciabatta. And then you can add sprouts, cucumbers, pepperocini, and tomatoes  to make your sandwich exciting without adding many calories at all AND  boosting the nutritional value immensely.

My clients at Center for Thoughtful Weight Loss often say things like “it’s impossible to know what’s in the food at restaurants”. Here’s a video taken in Cabo San Lucas Mexico demonstrating how to eat a delicious tortilla soup w/out blowing your #’s–all you have to do is customize it. If you bring your smart phone or a pocket calorie counting guide with you, you’ve got what it takes to stay conscious at all times. Oh, and the skinny margharitas allow for some well needed relaxation without piling on the calories of regular sweet mixed drinks–just beware of how many, or that consciousness will be out in the ocean.

One way to achieve and maintain weight loss is to develop the skills to eat  anywhere. It’s easy once you make customization a ritual.

For a refresher on thinking like a thin person while dining out when you don’t have the calorie counts in front of you, see my earlier healthywage blog, “I’ll have whatever she’s having”http://healthywage.wordpress.com/2010/07/12/ill-have-whatever-shes-having/

Hasta luego!

Ellen is a psychotherapist in private practice in San Francisco and Redwood City, California. She specializes in Cognitive Behavioral Therapy and incorporates the use of mindfulness into the treatment of depression, anxiety, and emotional overeating. She runs a holistic weight loss program called Center for Thoughtful Weight Loss, www.thoughtfulweightloss.com. You can email Ellen at ellen@thoughtfulweightloss.com and follow her on Twitter at @thoughtfullellen.

Copyright © 2012 Ellen N. Resnick, LCSW

Make Eating Simple

Instead of being overly concerned with counting calories, measuring portion sizes, or performing college algebra just to eat your lunch, try thinking of your food in simple terms. Looking at your plate, focus on color variety, for instance. If you make sure you have a plate filled with different colors, your diet will naturally be healthier and more satisfying. If everything on your plate is white, your diet will suffer and your weight loss program will be jeopardized. Rather than measure ounces and calories, just choose portions that are about the size of your fist. Depending on your diet, you will want one or two fist size portions of protein, vegetables, fruit, dairy, and carbs. Put away the scale, the calorie counter, and the list of foods allowed. Keep it simple to stay on track without the frustration.

Don’t Make an Off-Limits List

Try not to think of certain foods as off-limits, rather cut your portion sizes in half or allow a favorite food less often. This allows you to keep the foods you like while still making healthier choices. When you ban certain food groups, it can backfire. You could end up craving those foods even more. Then when you give in to temptation, you feel like a failure and the downward spiral begins. If you over-do it, don’t beat yourself up, just get up and make the next choice a healthy one. If you can’t resist that chocolate chip cookie, just follow it up with a large glass of cold water or milk, and make sure dinner consists of super-healthy choices with extra servings of crunchy vegetables.

Eat Socially

Whenever possible, eat with others. Eating in a group setting allows for healthy eating habits, such as eating slower and taking smaller bites. Mindless over-eating tends to happen in front of a computer or television. Eating in groups creates conversation, which means you’ll be taking breaks between bites. This process over the course of a meal allows time to listen to your body, especially when it tells you it is full.

Take Your Time

When you do eat alone, remind yourself to slow down. Rushing through a meal is never a good idea. It takes about 20 minutes for your stomach to tell your brain that you’re full. Plate up your food in an attractive way. Sit at the table, not in front of the television. Choose foods that take some time to chew and chew that food slowly and savor the flavors. With each slow bite, you are allowing your stomach and brain to catch up so you begin to feel full faster. Now your brain has a chance to tell you to stop eating when you no longer feel hungry.

Eat Breakfast

We’ve all heard that a good day starts with a good breakfast. This is true for several reasons. The term breakfast literally means to “break your fast.” During your sleeping hours, your body went into hibernation mode. Think of a bear in a den during the winter. A bear’s metabolism slows down and their body stores fat for the long winter nap. Your body is doing something similar each and every night; slowing down and storing fat. In the morning, you trigger your body to stop storing fat when you give it some nutrition in the way of some healthy food. Your breakfast jump-starts your metabolism by telling your body that it’s time to burn some fat for energy. Skipping breakfast keeps your body in hibernation mode. It still thinks it has to store fat away for later. It just makes sense to have an egg, a glass of milk, some yogurt, a handful of nuts, a bowl of oatmeal, or a muffin to wake up your metabolism.

Eat Several Smaller Meals and Snacks

We have also heard about having 3 square meals a day. Unlike the breakfast anthem we just discussed, this one isn’t considered a wise move anymore, especially when it comes to weight loss. Rather than eating three large meals a day, having several smaller meals and interspersing healthy snacks throughout the day keeps your body’s metabolism on a steady course which keeps the blood sugar levels on an even keel. Starting with breakfast, then midday snack, then a light lunch, then another snack, then dinner, then another snack; you get the picture. Choose the schedule that works best with your day and just be sure to not allow yourself to get really hungry during the day. That hungry feeling is a sign that your body is scared it won’t get fed and it’s gone into fat-storing mode.

To set yourself up for success rather than failure, think about your healthy diet in these smaller, more manageable steps rather than one big drastic change. People often think of healthy eating as an all or nothing proposition, but a key foundation for any healthy diet is moderation. Your diet is about more than the food on your plate; it is also about how you think about food and how your body reacts. With just a few changes in your eating habits, you could be on your way to that ideal weight.

So how exactly are you supposed to eat a healthy breakfast in four minutes? The short answer is, you can’t. But there is some good news. Instead of driving through the fast food place for a sodium-rich, fat-soaked breakfast, why not plan ahead. With the right plan and a little advanced prep work, those four minutes of your morning can produce a delicious and healthy breakfast for you and your family.

Hit a Grand Slam in Your Own Kitchen

A tasty breakfast doesn’t have to be bad for you. There are a number of different foods you can substitute for the high-calorie breakfast meals we all love. And, they take the same amount of time to prepare, if not less. If you’re trying to reduce the fat, start with turkey bacon or turkey sausage on your plate. Precook these the night before and heat them in the microwave if that helps.

For the other menu items, choose organic, cage-free eggs for the healthiest protein. Scramble up egg whites to get all the protein without the cholesterol. Stir in a dash of hot sauce, red chili pepper flakes or garlic powder for a bit of a flavor kick. Or, scramble up one whole egg and two egg whites to enjoy a filling breakfast packed with protein with a third of the cholesterol but all the flavor and the color.

If hash browns are a part of your favorite breakfast, make them healthier by baking them on a shallow baking sheet instead of frying them. A little olive oil or spritz of cooking spray and shredded potatoes is all you need. A few flips with a spatula and they are ready to enjoy. Again, you can precook these and then just heat them in the oven for a few minutes. The trick is to re-think your favorites and plan ahead. You can prepare anything for breakfast the night before, even scrambling the eggs, so in the morning all it takes is a quick reheat and away you go.

Flapjacks You’ll Flip For

When it comes to the ultimate stack of pancakes, IHOP is definitely hard to beat. But with a few tricks up your sleeve, there’s no competition between you and this breakfast giant; you’ll win every time. To make your flapjacks healthier, you’ve got to start with the main ingredients. Try substituting whole wheat flour for the white flour to help manage blood sugar and reduce cholesterol. If you are not a fan of how the heavier flour weighs your fluffy pancakes down, try adding a small amount of baking powder to your batter to help give your flapjacks a little rise.

If your pancake recipe calls for butter or other fat, you can substitute applesauce or use an oil that’s healthier. Pancakes are made with only a few ingredients, so make those ingredients healthy and you can’t lose!

What about those oh so delicious fancy pancakes, like chocolate chip? If you absolutely can’t contain your desire, there is hope for you, too. Dark chocolate is actually a great source of antioxidants. Start by adding a bit of dark cocoa to your pancake mix. Then you can dress up your pancakes even more by sprinkling a few semi-sweet chocolate chips on top of each pancake after the first flip on the griddle. Just a few will go a long way toward making your pancakes pretty and delicious. Remember, use healthier ingredients to begin with so when you add your little treats, like chocolate, your pancakes aren’t a total disaster to your diet.

Of course, all your healthy choices will go out the window if you smother your stack of pancakes in butter and sugary syrup. Instead, keep mashed fruit in your freezer and spoon a bit out for a delicious and nutritious topping. Applesauce is another favorite, as well as vanilla yogurt. If you still can’t imagine pancakes without maple syrup, make your own imitation syrup at home. Again, you get to control the sugar and fat.

Still tempted to grab a stack of pancakes on the road because you don’t have time in the morning? Again, it’s all about planning. Make your pancakes ahead of time and freeze them for later. When you need a good breakfast in a hurry, take a couple out and pop them in the toaster, microwave, or on a cookie sheet in the oven and you will have perfectly cooked pancakes in minutes.

Drinks Of Choice

When you decide what to drink with your breakfast, think closest to nature first. A glass of juice, whether it’s orange juice, tomato juice, grapefruit juice, or cranberry juice is always a good start. Again, read the labels and watch out for the hidden sugars in prepackaged fruit juices. A tall glass of milk may be perfect for you. Whether you prefer skim or whole, cow’s milk, soy, almond, or rice, read the label carefully and choose wisely according to your diet needs. You won’t be able to be so choosey if you eat at a restaurant. A glass of water is also the perfect start to your day.

Coffee may be on your menu, but be sure to watch out for the added sugar and cream. A little goes a long way. Try honey or raw sugar for a healthier choice. Low fat milks may be a substitute for cream, but watch out for the added sugar in your fat-reduced dairy products. Plain tea may be a better option if you can’t manage coffee without a lot of added sweeteners and creamers. Artificial sweeteners and non-dairy creamers are also worth consideration. The idea is to be aware and choose the best breakfast drinks for your healthy diet.

It’s true that a good breakfast starts the day out right, both for the way you feel and for your metabolism. But what sort of breakfast you eat makes a difference. Re-create some of your favorite breakfast dishes at home so you can control the ingredients. Your healthiest breakfast most definitely can be right at your kitchen table.

So tired...

Ever feel so bone tired you can’t even fathom standing up to make dinner?

That happens to many of us these days with work-life balance being not so balanced.  Knowing that, we need to be prepared for those days instead of being surprised by them, and sabotaging our weight loss efforts as a result.

Why not have a few different options always available to you for that kind of day?

Keep a list in your planner that says “tired day meals.”

Here are a few ideas:

• Healthy take out from a store on your way home.  Identify what you’ll get before you go inside, i.e., broiled salmon and a seaweed salad. Only buy what you need so you can go through the express line;
• Make poached eggs on whole wheat toast (that’s my go-to) or your variety of a  5-10 minute healthy meal. For some it could be a low calorie frozen entree;
• When you do have time, like on weekends, you can cook up a big batch of something to thaw or heat up on tired days.  I regularly bake up some skinless chicken and have it with steamed veggies or a microwaved sweet potato for a couple of days’ worth of meals (can also put them in salads).
• Or I can do what I call “industrial-strength cooking” when I do have the time, and freeze individual portions of more creative healthy meals like hearty soups, or chicken dishes from Cooking Light.
• Identify 3 restaurants on the way home that have healthy options and are quick and/or relaxing. Identify what you’ll have by looking at the website ahead of time. Those last minute “I’m tired decisions” can be costly to your calorie count for the day.  Keep the phone numbers programmed in your phone so it’s right at your finger  tips. The less thinking you have to do, the better in this tired state;
• Order in from the restaurants that offer healthy options.  Only keep the coupons around for delivery options that meet your weight loss needs.

Don’t forget to assess if you are tired or hungry.  If you’re tired,
the best thing on the menu is some ZZZZZ’s.

Ellen is a psychotherapist in private practice in San Francisco and Redwood City, California. She specializes in Cognitive Behavioral Therapy and incorporates the use of mindfulness into the treatment of depression, anxiety, and emotional overeating. She runs a holistic weight loss program called Center for Thoughtful Weight Loss, www.thoughtfulweightloss.com. You can email Ellen at ellen@thoughtfulweightloss.com

Copyright © 2011 Ellen N. Resnick, LCSW  Reprinted with permission by HealthyWage.

Snacking doesn’t have to be an unhealthy habit.  In fact, eating every few hours is a good strategy to keep your energy levels up and to avoid hunger.  Keep healthy snacks around so you won’t be tempted to grab foods that may throw you off your healthy meal plan.

A University of Toronto study found that people who divided their meals into 5 or 6 “mini meals” daily had a lower risk for high cholesterol and heart disease than those “three square meals a day” people who ate the same amount of food.  So, snacking is a good strategy for staying with your weight loss plan, and for staying healthy too.

The following are some snack suggestions for when you’re on-the-go:

1. Best strategy? Space your meals out over the day, taking something from each meal to eat 2-3 hours later.  For example, if you usually eat cereal, milk, fruit and a yogurt, save the yogurt for a snack!
2. If you’re on the run, pack a cup of nonfat or low fat yogurt and a cup of low sugar cereal in a Baggie, (I like Bran Flakes or Cheerios) and when you get to work or school, just mix them together for a crunchy snack.  
3. At home, or at work (if you have an enlightened workplace kitchen), make a fruit smoothie.  Blend a cup of nonfat milk, ¼ cup on nonfat milk, a cup of water, ½ banana and/or a full cup of berries, and some crushed ice—you may add your non-nutritive (calorie-free) sweetener of choice.  Only about 150-200 calories, and creamy and quite satisfying.
4. If you bring a sandwich to work, also bring a baggie of cut of veggies, plus a 60 or 100-calorie yogurt.  Eat half the sandwich at lunch with the veggies and yogurt, and then mid-afternoon enjoy the other half of a sandwich, or as you like.
5. Some low-calorie suggestions:

• Calorie “free” snacks (less than 30 calories) that you can carry with you or keep at your desk are:
  • Cut-up veggies like baby carrots or cut-up carrots, celery, red pepper, cucumber, broccoli, cauliflower…all “crunchy” veggies are great snacks, and very handy.
  • 2 cups of air-popped popcorn
  • 1/2 cup watermelon or cantaloupe
  • 12 pretzel sticks
• About 60 calories per snack:
  • A serving of fruit: 1 medium apple, peach, pear, or nectarine; a small orange, ½ grapefruit, 12 cherries, 15 grapes, ½ banana, 1 cup of berries
  • ½ cup nonfat milk
  • ½ cup of nonfat yogurt
  • ¼ cup of nonfat cottage cheese
  • 4 small shrimp
• About 200 calories per snack:
  • 2 slices of low-fat turkey breast on 1 slice of whole grain bread, lettuce, tomato & mustard
  • 2 rice cakes (about 50 calories each) spread each with unsweetened peanut butter
  • A large Granny Smith apple sliced thin, dipped in a 100-calorie blueberry yogurt
• Keep a large bowl of sugar free jello in your refrigerator, and you can have as much as you want.  Enjoy sodium-free club soda with a squeeze of lemon or lime, and a diet soda now and then is fine.  Don’t forget, drink cool, clear, refreshing plain water, so important for a healthy metabolism.

Also, check out HealthyWage, the incentive experts who pay you to be healthy!

Registered and Licensed Dietitian Susan Burke March, MS, CDE,  is a dynamic speaker, accomplished author, enthusiastic media representative, and committed professional counselor dedicated to helping people learn strategies to improve their health and accomplish their weight goals.  She is the author of “Making Weight Control Second Nature: Living Thin Naturally,” which offers a wealth of practical information, tips and strategies for people who are serious about taking control of their health, fad-free, for life.  She may be reached online at SusanBurkeMarch.com.

If you’re an armchair quarterback, sitting around drinking brews and sodas and chowing down on fatty wings, chips and dips won’t help you make the cut. Score a nutritional touchdown and serve some healthy snacks while rooting your team on to victory.

Here are some quick tips for healthy football-friendly fare and a chili recipe that’s a sure winner:

1. Always choose baked chips instead of fried.  Tortilla chips and potato chips come in different baked flavors and saves up to 30% of the calories of fried chips.  Fat-free or reduced fat does not mean calorie free…watch your portion size.

2. Serve bean dip instead of regular sour cream dip.  Only 46 calories per three tablespoons compared to more than double for full-fat sour cream.

3. Nuts are nutritious, but they add up quickly.  Serve a giant bowl of air-popped popcorn sprayed with butter-flavored cooking spray and sprinkled with dehydrated butter granules…I like Butter Buds or Molly McButter. Delicious with only 60 calories for three cups, only a trace of fat and about 10 grams of sodium. Save 280 calories, 28 grams of fat and 330 milligrams of sodium over the regular microwave popcorn.

4. Replace fried mozzarella sticks with chicken skewers.  They’re really popular and always great party food.  You can buy them already prepared (especially at warehouse grocers), and save 188 calories, 9 grams of fat, and 546 milligrams of sodium over the same sized portion of fried cheese.

5. Serve a healthy submarine sandwich.  Whole-wheat hero rolls give you that extra added fiber and nutrition (not to mention taste!) compared to white bread.  Layer on turkey breast, lean roast beef or lean ham, shredded lettuce and tomato slices; slice into 2 inch portions and serve with sliced onions and pickles.

6. Keep the calories low by using low fat mayonnaise, and naturally low-calorie ketchup and mustard.  Fat-free dressings should be offered…the new varieties are so good, you won’t miss the fat.

7. Imbibe with caution, because those brews add up!  One regular beer ranges between 150-200 calories; instead serve light beer…only about 100 calories per bottle.  A 5-ounce glass of wine has about 100 calories, as does one ounce of alcoholic spirits such as vodka, gin or scotch. Serve a variety of diet sodas, flavored club sodas and keep a big cooler with individual bottles of spring water.

8. Don’t forget…substituting juice for regular soda is like substituting regular sour cream for mayonnaise…you’re not going to save calories.  An 8-ounce glass of juice, unsweetened, has about 120 calories.  Offer club soda with a splash of 100% juice and a piece of fresh lemon or lime for a lower calorie refreshing beverage.

9. Dips:  Any dried dip mix will do, but instead of regular sour cream, add ½ cup of nonfat sour cream, ½ cup of nonfat mayonnaise, and ¾ cup of diced fresh tomatoes, ¼ cup of chopped green onion, and ¼ cup of chopped ripe olives, rinsed and drained.  Mix and refrigerate for ½ hour before serving.

• Crudités: everyone like crunchy veggies, especially with a tasty dip.  Buy pre-washed and cut-up veggies and you’re ready to go…zero prep time.

At half time, get up and do 100 jumping jacks!

Susan’s Weight-Wise Chili Recipe:

• 1 lb of 97% lean ground beef or turkey or firm tofu, drained
• 1 onion diced
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 green pepper, seeded and diced
• 1 tsp olive oil
• 1 ~28 ounce can tomato puree (no salt added)
• 1 ~15 ounce can each kidney beans, white beans, and pinto beans-rinsed and drained
• 3 small-medium baking potatoes, scrubbed and cubed
• 2 Tbsp chili powder
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 1 tsp cumin
• 2 cups water

Directions:

1.    In a large, nonstick saucepan over low-medium high heat, heat olive oil. Add garlic and cook until just softened.

2.    Add the onion and pepper and cook 2 more minutes; then add the ground meat or crumble in the tofu: cook about 5 minutes.

3.    Drain off fat if using meat; add pureed tomatoes, canned beans, potatoes, seasonings, and water.

4.    Reduce heat to low and simmer, covered, for approximately 30 minutes or until potatoes are tender.

5.    For thinner chili, add a cup of broth, wine or water.

6.    Serve with a tossed salad.

~~~

Also, check out HealthyWage, the health incentive experts that pay you to be healthy!

Registered and licensed dietitian Susan Burke March, MS, CDE, is the author of “Making Weight Control Second Nature: Living Thin Naturally,” which offers a wealth of practical information, tips and strategies for people who are serious about taking control of their health, fad-free, for life. She may be reached online at www.SusanBurkeMarch.com.

Who doesn’t love a barbecue?  What would the Fourth of July be without a grill-out?  The smell of grilled food; the beauty and comfort of a summer evening with loved ones.  And that food!  Oh, yum!  Cheeseburgers and hot dogs smothered in ketchup and mustard, potato chips, buttered corn, cookies…  Getting hungry?  Don’t worry!  Your next barbecue’s going to be the hit of the summer…don’t think of it as “healthy and boring” but rather as “exciting with new choices and variety.”

That’s tip number one: you don’t have to send all the old foods packing.  You just have to introduce some new items to balance things out a bit.  Depending on your needs and comfort, you may want to keep the old fatty parts of the barbecue around—some of your guests (especially the kids) might want them!  Whether to keep the old fatty foods around depends on you and your family.  If you’re far enough into your diet that you can resist the temptations while still enjoying yourself, then keep them around for guests.  If not, don’t sweat it: your guests are not going to go hungry!

So, what should you add to the mix to make your barbecue healthy?  Here’s my list:

• Kebabs!  Try chicken or tofu with peppers, mushrooms, courgette, aubergine, any of your favorite vegetables, skewer them, brush with teriyaki sauce, and grill to perfection.  It’s a low fat 4th of July, and it’s delicious!
• Salmon:  grill a whole fillet onto a sheet of foil large enough to fold like a taco.  Slice half a lemon: layer the slices over the top of the salmon and squeeze the other half over the top of the whole thing.  Season and wrap the foil to make a make a generous pocket and marinate overnight in the fridge.  Grill it for about 10 minutes, depending on thickness.  What a super low-cal 4th of July treat!
• Poultry based sausage or burgers, like turkey burgers.  Think these are gross?  Maybe you haven’t tried one for a while…some of the brands have fun flavors, and a few are really delicious!
• Bring out the veggies!  Grilled vegetables are great!  Add salt, pepper and your favorite flavoring (Worcestershire sauce, anyone?), and you’ll be shocked by the flavor of a grilled veggie!  Most vegetables cook in less than ten minutes on direct medium heat.  Give these a try:  Red, white, or sweet onion, sliced into 1/2-inch thick rounds; corn on the cob (take off the husks and silks); whole portabella mushrooms grilled like a burger or cut into thick slices; small mushrooms strung on a skewer or kabob; eggplant, cut lengthwise into 1/4-inch slices; zucchini, cut lengthwise into 1/4-inch slices; asparagus spears—trim off the white end and grill the spears whole; asparagus!
• Remove the fat from your meat before you grill it!  Most of the fat in chicken is in the skin—get rid of it!  Most of the fat in steak and pork chops is in the visible fat—get rid of it!
• Is there a healthy BBQ dessert?  Yep!
  • Try grilled fruit:  pineapple is phenomenal—top it with a low-fat, low-calorie homemade ice cream.  And experiment with some other fruits…  So many possibilities!  If grilled fruit doesn’t work fo you, try a  fruit salad or a light-fruit based sherbet.
  • Remember fruit-flavored popsicles, from when you were a kid?  They are often surprisingly low calorie, and you can make your own!  Pour fresh juice into an ice cube tray.  Cover it with aluminum foil and then poke popsicle sticks or decorative toothpicks (tell your guests to be careful!) through the foil into the juice in each ice cube compartment (the foil should hold the sticks in place until your juice is frozen).  Freeze and enjoy!  You can add different colors to make the pops more “adult”…you can also accomplish this by spiking the popsicles with a little vodka or rum!

Best wishes keeping your Independence Day healthy!  Happy 4th of July!

Don’t forget to check out HealthyWage, the website the pays you to be healthy!