Mexican Pita Pockets

Mexican Pita Pockets

½ pound white meat skinless turkey
½ cup chopped onion
1 can (16 ounces) ranch pinto beans (undrained)
2 cups shredded lettuce
½ cup salsa or taco sauce
1 cup tomato, chopped
3 whole wheat or white pita bread loaves, halved
1 cup grated non-fat cheddar cheese

Mock Sour Cream:
8 ounces fat-free cottage cheese, drained
1 tablespoon lemon juice
1 tablespoon plain fat-free yogurt
Blend until smooth

Brown turkey meat and onion in a bowl in the microwave about 3-4 minutes. Cover with a piece of waxed paper as you cook them. Drain. Add beans and salsa, heat thoroughly. Spoon ½ of the mixture into each pita pocket half. Top with lettuce, tomato, cheese, mock sour cream and additional salsa if desired.

Serves:  6                                                        Fat grams:  2.0
Phase:  3, 4                                              Protein:  29.6

*Drop us a line and tell us what recipes you’d like to see in upcoming  Healthy Hope issues.  We can’t wait to hear from you! Email us at: thinandhealthyezine@thinandhealthy.com

This recipe can be found in our Thin&Healthy Forever Cookbook. Pick up your copy from your local Thin&Healthy Center or order it now by clicking here

Foods That Help Reduce Your Stress Level

Asparagus: This green veggie is high in folic acid, which can help stabilize your mood. When you’re stressed, your body releases hormones that affect your mood. Eating certain vitamins and minerals like folic acid and B vitamins can help keep your mood steady because they’re needed to make serotonin, which is a chemical that directly affects mood in a positive way.

Cottage cheese and fruit: Cottage cheese is high in protein and calcium. Foods with high protein content that aren’t loaded with sugar won’t cause a spike in blood sugar and will keep you satiated for a longer time. Try mixing the cottage cheese with a fruit that is high in vitamin C like oranges. Vitamin C plays a role in fighting stress because it’s an antioxidant that fights the free radicals that get released when you’re stressed. These free radicals have been shown to cause cancer.

Blueberries: Very rich in antioxidants, blueberries offer a high- fiber, low-calorie fruit option that is also rich in stress-fighting vitamin C. Try them with cottage cheese or as a snack on their own.

Tuna: A great lunch option, tuna is high in stress-fighting vitamins B6 and B12. Tuna is also a good low-fat protein source. Don’t load tuna down with fat by using a lot of mayonnaise-choose a fat free mayo or add the tuna to a nice salad without adding the mayo.

One Exercise Best Attacks Belly Fat

Women who lift weights just twice a week for an hour can fight middle-age spread, that buildup of tummy fat that seems to take hold–and rarely let go- -as we age, reports The Associated Press of new research from the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine. Best of all, they flattened their tummies without dieting.

This is more than an issue of vanity. The kind of fat that weightlifting fights is that deep, intra-abdominal fat that wraps around internal organs and is linked to heart disease. Belly fat is also the No. 1 complaint of women as they go through menopause. “It’s the apple-shaped person I’m most worried about,” Dr. Tracy Stevens, a cardiologist who directs the women’s heart center at St. Luke’s Hospital in Kansas City and was not involved in this study. “The more central the fat, the more it’s laid down in the arteries.”

The study: More than 160 overweight and obese women between the ages of 24 and 44 were divided into two groups. One group participated in a two-year weight-training program using both free weights and machines with a focus on the chest, back, shoulders, biceps, triceps, lower back, buttocks and thighs. The other group was given a brochure that recommended they exercise 30 minutes to 60 minutes a day most days of the week. Neither group was asked to change their diets in a way that would lead to weight loss, reports Reuters.

The results: Those who lifted weights for two years experienced a 7 percent increase in intra-abdominal fat, compared with a 21 percent increase among the group that was given exercise advice. Even more encouraging, the weightlifters decreased their body fat percentage by almost 4 percent, while the other group remained about the same.

Want more tips to help decrease your belly fat? Just click here!

Vegetable Bean Soup

*Drop us a line and tell us what recipes you’d like to see in upcoming  Healthy Hope issues.  We can’t wait to hear from you! Email us at: thinandhealthyezine@thinandhealthy.com

Vegetable Bean Soup

3 cans (15-½ ounces each) great northern beans, rinsed and drained
1 package (16 ounces) frozen corn
1 can (15 ounces) crushed or diced tomatoes, undrained
1 can (10 ounces) diced tomatoes and green chilies, undrained
1 tablespoon dried cilantro flakes
1 teaspoon ground cumin
1 cup (4 ounces) fat-free cheddar cheese
4 cups water
2 cans (15-½ ounces) hominy or 2 cans (15 ounces each) garbanzo
beans rinsed and drained.
1 can (11-½ ounces) condensed bean and bacon soup, undiluted
1 medium onion, chopped
1 medium green pepper, chopped
1 tablespoon dried parsley flakes
2 bay leaves

In a Dutch oven, combine the first 13 ingredients. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat; cover and simmer for 15 minutes. Discard bay leaves. Sprinkle with cheese.

Serves:  12                                                      Fat grams: 3.5
Phase:  3, 4                                                     Protein:  17.0

This recipe can be found in our Thin&Healthy Forever Cookbook. Pick up your copy from your local Thin&Healthy Center or order it now by clicking here

Portion Size VS. Serving Size

Remember that a portion size is the amount of a single food item served in a single eating occasion, normally a meal or a snack. People often confuse portion size with serving size, which is a standard unit of measuring foods (a cup or an ounce are good examples). Portion size is the amount offered in the packaging of prepared foods, or the amount a person chooses to put on his or her plate.

For example, bagels or muffins are often sold in sizes that constitute at least 2 servings, but consumers often eat the whole thing, thinking that they have eaten 1 serving. They do not realize that they have selected a large portion size that was more than 1 serving. Portion sizes have increased over time, so make sure you check the serving size on the label.

How To Step Up Your Workout

To add strength to leg muscles and get a cardiovascular workout at the same time, try climbing plain old stairs. This can be done at home, in your office, apartment building, or on stair-climbing machines in the gym. Climbing two steps at a time is good for building the quadriceps (thigh muscles) and the gluteus (butt). Going down steps builds strength in the quadriceps and to a lesser extent, the hamstrings.

Don’t Keep It A Secret

Tell your family. You’re not going to lose the weight alone, even if you ARE alone in losing the weight.

If you’ve got a family at home, talk to them about it – initially, not incessantly. Let them know what you’re going to do, and that you want (and need) their support. If you don’t let them know, you’re running the risk of them inadvertently sabotaging your efforts. You want them to help you get to your goal(s). You want them to share in your happiness when you’ve made it past a certain mark. Who knows? Maybe some of your new habits will rub off on them and they’ll become healthier people, too?

Tips on Eating Out

Eating out is a part of everyone’s life, it’s fun, quick and easy and it can be healthy. Everyone enjoys going out to eat for special occasions, or with family or friends, but many worry about overdoing it with the wrong kinds of foods. There are several simple things to keep in mind when eating away from home.

Helpful Hints:
Restaurants are now offering healthy food items on their menus. Ask the waiter for their lighter items or vegetarian options. Also do not be afraid to request low-fat or non-fat condiments, smaller portions of food, and dressings on the side. To help keep you from over-eating, split the meal with a friend or put half in a box to take home.

Look to the menu for help:
Be aware of words that indicate high fat, like crispy, fried, scampi, breaded, creamed, au gratin and gravy. Look for items that include boiled, charbroiled, broiled, steamed, poached, tomato sauce, marinara and in its own juice when choosing from the menu.

Breakfast:
When eating breakfast on the go, avoid high fat choices like croissants and biscuits, sausage and bacon. Instead grab low-fat options like pancakes, low-fat muffins, toast, bagels, fruits, and cereals.

Lunch:
When going out to lunch with co-workers order lean fat meats like chicken, turkey, or grilled fish sandwiches. Ask for extra tomato, lettuce and add barbecue sauce and spices instead of mayonnaise.

Be aware of breaded or fried meats that are higher in fat and instead go for broiled, grilled and baked.

When ordering soups keep in mind that creamy soups have more calories and fat than broth-based soups. Choose vegetable, chicken, rice and noodle soups

Dinner:
Choosing healthy alternatives for dinner at restaurants is simple. When choosing salads, include leafy greens, vegetables and fruit. Top with turkey, tuna, grilled chicken, low-fat cheese, croutons and low-fat or fat-free dressing. Avoid potato salad, macaroni salad and pasta salad. They are made with mayonnaise and are high in fat. Ask for whole grain items like whole wheat bread to increase dietary fiber. Substitute a baked potato for French fries and top with chili or salsa or vegetables instead of butter and sour cream to reduce fat grams.

“WORKING” It Out–Non-traditional Exercises

“WORKING” IT OUT
Working in the yard may not be your favorite past time, but did you know it’s a great way to burn some calories? You can tidy or liven up your fall flowerbed while getting a little exercise at the same time.

Here are a few activities that will help:

• Mowing the lawn for half an hour = 150 calories burned.
• Gardening for 30 to 45 minutes = 150 calories burned.
• Raking leaves for a half an hour = 150 calories burned.

The Weight Loss Secrets Behind Dairy and Water

Water and milk are essential fluids for good health, but they can also help with shedding pounds.

The body needs water to keep properly hydrated and individuals vary widely in how much water they need. Joints need it to stay in motion, and vital organs such as the heart, brain, kidney, and liver need it to work properly.

If you don’t get enough water, the body goes into emergency mode, and clings to every single water molecule it can find, reports the University of Minnesota Water Resources Center. The stored molecules appear as extra weight. The weight is only released once the body gets enough water.

The calcium in dairy, on the other hand, is known to be important for strong bones and teeth.

Studies have also shown it can help prevent high blood pressure, kidney stones, heart disease, and colon cancer.

In the weight loss arena, two serviings of low-fat or fat-free milk appear to encourage body fat loss while maintaining muscle mass, according to the ADA. The dairy consumption must be part of a balanced reduced-calorie meal plan.