2011 is all about the tweak. I am tweaking my workouts to increase muscle tone and I am tweaking the family diet to increase our general well-being. Overall, we eat quite healthy but there is some fine tuning that needs to be done. First up, the chicken nugget. I cannot exactly say why I started my kids on veggie chicken nuggets except for the fact the packaging looks great and it just felt like a healthier choice. Unfortunately, it was not. I have recently made the switch from Morning Star Farms Veggie Chicken Nuggets to Applegate Organic Chicken Strips. My end goal is to get away from the nugget all together but right now that is not realistic. Read the ingredients in each of the products and you will understand why I am satisfied with my product swap.

General nutrition rule: If you can’t pronounce it – don’t eat it!

By comparison, these ingredients make me feel like I am at a Farmer’s Market:

Organic Chicken, Water, Organic Rice Starch, Sea Salt, Natural Flavor, Breading: Organic Wheat Flour, Organic Evaporated Cane Syrup, Sea Salt, Torula Yeast, Organic Soybean Oil, Organic Paprika, Batter: Water, Organic Wheat Flour, Sea Salt, Organic Garlic, Organic White Pepper, Organic Flavorings (Organic Rosemary Organic Sage And Organic Marjoram), Organic Cayenne Pepper, Breading Set In Organic Expeller Pressed Vegetatble Oil, Contains Wheat And Soybean Oil.

Written by Lea Barlow • 2 Comments

You should know by now what the super-foods are but may not be quite as knowledgeable about super-spices. Here are three spices that you should to start incorporating into your diet starting today…

Cayenne Pepper

Capsaicin, the main ingredient in cayenne pepper, may help boost metabolism and relieve an overactive bladder. A powerful anti-inflammatory, cayenne pepper is currently all-the-rage for cleansing and detoxifying regimes such as the Master Cleanse, which uses the spice’s health boosting properties to stimulate circulation and neutralize acidity in the body.

Everyday use: I use it to spice up my scrambled eggs and always include it in my steak rub.  Add it to soups, dips, spaghetti sauces, pizza—anything that could use a little kick.

Cinnamon

Cinnamon may actually help people with Type 2 diabetes control blood sugar levels, and may significantly lower LDL “bad” cholesterol, total cholesterol and triglycerides (fatty acids in the blood). Cinnamon is also an excellent source of manganese, dietary fiber, iron and calcium. Another added bonus? Most kids LOVE cinnamon so it is quite easy to incorporate it into one of their daily meals.

Everyday use: I sprinkle cinnamon on my coffee grounds every morning. The aroma of the spice can make a chilly morning feel warm and cozy and can actually boost brain activity. You can also shake it on fresh fruit, oatmeal and toast—or add a pinch to your favorite chili recipe.

* I’m a fan of ceylon cinnamon. It is a little more expensive but has the sweeter taste that I prefer. You can typically find it at specialty markets.

Turmeric

The orange-yellow spice turmeric, best known for its role in Indian curries and other Asian dishes, fights cancer because of an active ingredient, curcumin, that’s a powerful antioxidant.

Everyday use: Make curry! Honestly, I was quite stubborn until a couple months to even try curry. But thanks to my wonderful amateur chef of a husband we are eating it at least once a week.  You can also try sprinkling it into soups or stir-fry, or mix a quarter-teaspoon into a mug of hot tea and sip just remember to add a little honey to sweeten up the spice!

Written by Lea Barlow • Leave a comment

2011 is the official H&H year of toning. Last year I was very focused on getting to and maintaining a certain weight. While in that pursuit, I let a few other areas go to pot. Specifically, my rear end. I have a very contentious relationship with my butt. It wants nothing more than to melt into the back of my leg. I, on the other-hand, demand it look like Jessica Biel’s even though I only average doing 2-5 squats a week. I figure in Florida time, I have 2 1/2 months to literally get my ass into shape before bikini season arrives. If you are lucky enough not to live in Florida, you have closer to 4 months.

I am banking on the kettlebell to do the trick. Here’s why I think I am going to give Ms. Biel a run for her money:

1. Kettlebells are highly efficient and allow you to do fitness and weight training in one workout at the same time. Efficiency & time - two things highly sought after in mom world.

2. Swings develop the important posterior (aka: butt) chain muscles of the body such as the hamstrings, glutes, core and back. These muscles are often overlooked with traditional weight training but they are crucial for a large number of sports as these muscles are heavily involved in sprinting, jumping and tackling movements. Okay, I don’t know how much tackling I’ll be doing but I would love an increase in strength for my sprinting.

3. Swings work the abs and strengthen the core muscles as they provide a stable platform for other muscles to pull from. Traditional crunches are useless and do nothing for you, hit your abs with functional abdominal training that actually has benefit in the real world.

4. A key benefit of kettlebell swings is that they train all parts of the back from the lower back all the way to traps. They train all the muscles together giving you a great functional workout.

5. High rep swings also develop back endurance which has a very positive effect on the reduction of back injuries. Example: No more back strain from toddler lifting!

6. Swings are a fantastic conditioner and body fat burner. More and more studies are concluding that greater body fat burning occurs when training is performed at higher intensity levels rather than long slow endurance type training.

Getting Started:

Stand straight with your legs shoulder width apart.

Lean forward at your waist slightly and bend your knees so as to go into a semi-squat. Keep your back arched and head facing forward steadily.

Try a light kettlebell first. I picked up a 20 lb. bell at my local used sporting goods store for $40. Let you arms hang loosely and raise the weight with both hands over your head and inhale. Then, swing the weight with both hands in between the legs towards the back of you while exhaling. Move the kettlebell using power thrusts from the hip, thigh, and lower back muscles. Powerful hip snap on every rep are musts.

Work your way up to 5 sets of 20 reps of kettlebell swings with a minute pause between each set of repetitions (3x a week). I started with 3 sets of 20 and am definitely feeling the effects. With heavier weights, inhale on the swing between your legs and exhale when you raise it above your head.

Give the kettlebell a try and let me know how it works for you. If you are a kettlebell fan already, share your workout!

Written by Lea Barlow • Leave a comment

Over the holidays I always get my hair and make-up done professionally for parties. I do this for 2 reasons: 1. I am quite inept at doing my own ‘fancy’ makeup without looking like a clown  2. It makes me feel sooo purty. I highly recommend that you go to the pros occasionally as well. I leave the salon feeling like a super-model and only light in the wallet $75. Totally worth it. Anyways, during this year’s party beautification, I came away with a new amazing mascara. By her own admission, my makeup girl is a Laura Mercier snob. It’s the only product she uses religiously. I am very aware of this fact so I was slightly alarmed when she pulled out the ultra-yellow Maybelline mascara. I guess I had become a snob too. Turns out to be a fabulous volumizing product and super-cheap. I went out and scooped up the Maybelline Colossal Mascara in Classic Black and Glam Brown for $5.94 a pop at Target. Comparatively, my old trusty Clinique mascara is $14.00 and only available inconveniently at the mall makeup counter. Sometimes you have to be reminded to keep things simple. I am loving rediscovering drugstore makeup.

Written by Lea Barlow • Leave a comment