No More Excuses

Here is the latest email from Dr. Jacobs.

Excuse-Proof Your Life
January 4, 2010 12:00 AM by Mehmet C. Oz, MD, and Michael F. Roizen, MD |

Whether you want to change your weight, your eating habits, or your physical activity level, it's easy to make excuses not to do it. Well, not any more. Use these workarounds to deflate your favorite excuses faster than you can pop a party balloon:

• Excuse: I have no time to exercise.
Bust it: You need only 30 minutes a day to walk and 30 minutes a week to do some resistance training in order to boost your health and possibly reduce your waist. The newfound energy you'll get will enable you to do more than just sing "Celebration."

• Excuse: We're headed to a buffet.
Bust it: No need to lose control and gain weight. About 25 minutes before you eat, have a handful of nuts (6 walnuts works, as does 12 almonds or 20 peanuts) and a glass of water. Then, have 1 or 2 cups of soup before you eat anything else. That will fill you up so you eat sensibly. Limit yourself to one trip to the buffet by using a 7- or 9-inch plate, and keep it to single-story servings.

• Excuse: I have foot pain and can't walk.
Bust it: Try biking or swimming (there's more than one way to get your heart rate up!). See a podiatrist to diagnose what's wrong.

• Excuse: I travel all the time and have to eat on the road.
Bust it: Rely on more snacks instead of pigging out on big meals. Travel with easy-to-carry baggies of snacks, including nuts, cut-up apples, or baby carrots, to take the edge off your hunger.

Oatmeal Raisin Bites

Oatmeal Raisin Bites
By, Weight Watchers

Ingredients
1 1/2 cups rolled oats
3/4 cup whole-grain wheat flour
1/2 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp table salt
1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
1/2 cup unsalted butter, softened
1/4 cup sugar
1/2 cup packed brown sugar
1 large egg
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 cup raisins, chopped

Instructions
• Preheat oven to 350ºF
• In a medium bowl, combine oats, flour, baking powder, salt and cinnamon; set aside. Using an electric mixer, cream butter and both sugars until incorporated. Add egg and vanilla; mix thoroughly. Add oat mixture and mix until just combined; fold in raisins.
• Drop rounded teaspoons of batter onto 2 ungreased cookie sheets, about 1-inch apart each. Bake for 9 to 10 minutes for chewy cookies or 11 to 12 minutes for crispy cookies. Remove from oven and let cookies rest on cookie sheets for about 2 minutes; remove cookies to a wire rack to cool completely. Yields 1 cookie per serving.

Chocolate-Fudge Cookie Bites

Chocolate-Fudge Cookie Bites
By, Weight Watchers

Ingredients
1 spray cooking spray, or more if needed
1/3 cup unsweetened cocoa
1/4 cup margarine, softened
3/4 cup sugar
4 oz unsweetened applesauce
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 1/2 cup(s) all-purpose flour
1 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp table salt
2 tbsp powdered sugar

Instructions
Preheat oven to 375ºF. Coat two nonstick cookie sheets with cooking spray.

Place cocoa, margarine and sugar in a medium bowl; beat with an electric mixer. Add applesauce and vanilla; beat to blend. In another small bowl, stir together flour, baking powder and salt. Stir flour mixture into cocoa batter with a wooden spoon.

Shape batter into 48 marble-sized balls. Arrange balls 1 inch apart on cookie sheets. Bake until set, about 8 minutes. Remove from oven and allow cookies to stand for 1 minute. Remove to wire rack and cool; sprinkle with powdered sugar. (Note: Store extra cookies in freezer-safe containers or plastic bags to maintain their freshness.)

Yields 1 cookie per serving; Point: 1

Teriyaki Salmon with Mushrooms

Teriyaki Salmon with Mushrooms
Source: THREAD70

Ingredients
1/4 cup dry sherry (can use chicken broth)
1/4 cup less-sodium teriyaki sauce (such as Kikkoman)
2 T. light brown sugar
1 tsp. canola oil
1 (8oz.) package presliced baby Portobello mushrooms
4 (6oz.) skinless salmon fillets (about 1 to 1 1/2 inches thick)

Instructions
1. Combine first 3 ingredients in a small bowl; stir to dissolve sugar.

2. Heat oil in a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat; add mushrooms, and sauté 4 minutes or until tender. Add 1/3 cup sherry mixture to mushrooms. Reduce heat, and simmer 1 to 2 minutes or until liquid almost evaporates. Spoon mushroom mixture into a bowl; set aside.

3. Heat pan over medium-high heat; add fish. Cook 3 to 4 minutes on each side or until browned. Add mushrooms and remaining sherry mixture to pan; cook 2 minutes. Transfer fish to a serving platter, and top with mushroom mixture.

4 servings (serving size: 1 fillet and 2 T. mushroom mixture)

Per Serving: Cal. 349, Fat 14.3g, Fiber 0.3g

Pecan-Crusted Chicken Tenders

Pecan-Crusted Chicken Tenders
Recipe By : NCBeaches

Ingredient
16 saltine crackers, finely crushed
1/4 cup pecans, ground
2 teaspoons paprika
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon pepper
1 egg white
Vegetable cooking spray
1 1/2 pounds chicken tenders
1/4 cup all-purpose flour

Instructions
1. Preheat oven to 425°. Stir together crushed crackers and next 4 ingredients.

2. Whisk egg white just until foamy.

3. Place a wire rack coated with cooking spray in a parchment paper-lined 15- x 10-inch jelly-roll pan.

4. Dredge chicken tenders in flour; dip in egg white, and dredge in saltine mixture. Lightly coat chicken on each side with cooking spray; arrange chicken on wire rack.

5. Bake at 425° for 18 to 20 minutes or until golden brown, turning once after 12 minutes.

NOTES : Yield: Makes 8 servings.
CALORIES 152 FAT 4.3g FIBER 0.8g

Getting Your Pace

Here is the latest email from Dr. Jacobs.

Biggest Fitness Mistake

If you have haven’t worked out for a month or even a year, don’t expect to return to your same level of physical activity overnight. Building endurance and strength takes time, find out how you can avoid making the biggest fitness mistake.

The biggest mistake people make when starting a fitness program is starting too fast. It may have taken you 20 years to lose your conditioning, and yet you want to take 20 days to get it back. That approach can be dangerous, particularly for those 40 and older, and may result in major medical problems, both musculoskeletal and cardiovascular. Remember, the older you are, the faster you will lose your fitness and the longer it will take you to get back into shape. In younger people, under 40, it is just the reverse.

If you have been off for six weeks or longer, it should take at least six weeks to get back to your original state of fitness. Shorter periods of being off require less time. A good guideline is one week of retraining for the number of weeks you were off. Of course, these times are primarily for those 40 and older. People under 40 should require approximately half the time.

If you were jogging/running, start back with walking, as laid out in the chart below.
Week Activity Distance (Miles) Time (Mins) Frequency/Week
1 Walk 2.0 30 3-5 times
2 Walk/Jog 2.0 28 3-5 times
3 Jog 2.0 26 3-5 times
4 Jog 2.0 24 3-5 times
5 Jog/Run 2.0 22 3-5 times
6 Jog/Run 2.0 20 3-5 times

With other activities, slowly increase the level and intensity as you slowly improve your fitness.

By Kenneth Cooper, M.D., M.P.H., founder and chairman, Cooper Aerobics Center.

Source: US News and World Report

Kippy's Mini Quiches

Kippy's Mini Quiches
Source: THREAD70

Ingredients
Start with: 1 c egg substitute or 4 large eggs and add-in choices such as:

SPINACH QUICHE: 1 (10 oz) package chopped frozen spinach (squeezed dry); 3/4 c FF or soy cheddar cheese, shredded; 1/4 c diced red/green peppers; 1/4 c onions

QUICHE LORRAINE: 1/2 c Canadian bacon, chopped, cooked until crispy; 1/2 c FF cottage cheese; 1/2 c FF or soy swiss cheese, shredded; 1/4 c roasted peppers; dash of ground nutmeg

CHEDDAR BROCCOLI: 1/4 c chopped onion; 1 (10 oz) package frozen chopped broccoli (squeezed dry); 1 c FF cottage cheese; 1/2 c FF or soy cheddar flavored cheese, shredded

SOUTHWESTERN: 1 c FF cottage cheese; 1 small can green chiles; 1/2 c black beans or Mexi-corn

Instructions
Preheat oven to 350* F. Line 12 cup muffin pan with foil baking cups; spray the cups with cooking spray. Beat the eggs or egg substitute; fold in the add-ins. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Fill the foil cups with the mixture. Bake at 350* F for 20 minutes, testing so that a knife inserted in the middle comes out clean. Remove from cups to serve.

Note: these are sugar and sweetener-free, freezable, microwaveable, portable, full of protein (and fiber when veggies are used)