Keep your Figure During This Holiday Season: Tis the season of giving, enjoying special moments with friends and family, and reflecting on all you have accomplished in the past year. Why not give yourself one of the best gifts you can give: a lifetime of living a healthy lifestyle. We all know how the holidays…
Foods and Recipes for Younger Looking Skin Who doesn’t want to look younger than they are? The vitamins and minerals that are found in our food can help protect our skin from UV damage, decrease fine lines and wrinkles, and increase its color and elasticity. Here are some foods rich in the essential…
Why is cholesterol important for your health? Cholesterol is a waxy substance that is measured in the fat of your blood. You can’t live without cholesterol, nor would you want to. Cholesterol is important for healthy cell membranes, producing hormones (no cholesterol means no sex drive), vitamin D levels, and your memory. In fact, cholesterol is so important for your health, that your…
Keep Your Figure This Holiday Season Sticking to a fitness routine around the holidays can be challenging. Schedules become busy and time seems to pass quickly each day. It’s always good to set expectations for yourself when you may be surrounded by tempting treats, festive foods, and family/ friend…
Hearty Vegetarian Soups To Keep You Warm This Fall It seems as though fall was made for soup. The cooler nights make you crave something warm and savory and the flavors of the in-season vegetables shine brighter together than on their own. In fact, soups are an excellent way to sneak in nutrient…
What To Do With Bruised Tomatoes Tomato season is upon us. You may have gotten some tomatoes from the farmer’s market, your neighbor’s garden, or perhaps you grew your own. Either way, you may encounter some tomatoes that appear less-than-perfect on the exterior, especially if they are at their peak of ripeness. Keep…
Incredible Healthy Pumpkin Recipes Rachel from Clean Food Crush is back at Total Gym Pulse with another amazing recipe for health and fitness enthusiasts alike! Today, she introduces her Pumpkin Protein Oat Muffins which are perfect for breakfast, snacks, lunch or even before a great workout on The Total Gym.…
Why Is There So Much Hate For Potatoes It’s really unfortunate that potato myths are so prevalent. The lowly white potato has been given a bad rap by many nutritionists. Because of this, people tend to think that this low-cost staple is nothing more than a source of cheap carbohydrates.…
A few years ago I was working with a client named Sarah who was hands down the busiest person I had ever met. She wanted to make changes to her health but she felt that she simply didn’t have time to make her meals. So instead of tackling all of her meals, we just started with lunch.
First we discovered that she was spending an average of $10/day at lunch. Not a huge amount at each sitting, but when we added it up for the entire year she was spending $2,600 just on lunch! Next, we estimated the calories of what she was eating. Even though she was trying to make sensible choices, the average eating out meal contains over 1000 calories. That is nearly twice as much as what her body needed at lunch. This added up to an extra 265,000 calories per year! Not to mention the additional sodium, fat, and cholesterol.
Now that we had both financial and health reasons, Sarah was motivated to make a change. Here were the three most important steps that helped her make bringing her lunch a healthy habit.
Avocados are a nutrient-dense fruit belonging to the drupe family, which are one-seeded fruits with a firm exterior, often resembling berries. Avocados provide more than 20 vitamins and minerals, and are a rich source of heart-healthy monounsaturated fats; so consider if it’s time for you to start getting the health benefits of avocado by regularly enjoying this delicious fruit.
When choosing an avocado, color is not an indicator of ripeness. Choose avocados that are free of bruises and heavy for their size. If the avocado is hard to the touch, it is unripe. To ripen, place them in a brown paper bag at room temperature until they are slightly soft; this usually takes from 2 to 4 days. Once the avocados are ripe, place them in the refrigerator and enjoy them within a couple of days.
Avocados can be used in a myriad of recipes ranging frombreakfast (like an avocado smoothie) to lunch recipes (such as an avocado stuffed with chicken salad). You can even enjoy sandwiches with avocado, such as the BLAT sandwich found in trendy delis. In case you didn’t know, that is a bacon, lettuce, avocado and tomato sandwich. Some great avocado recipes for dinner might include an avocado dressing on your salad or a delicious avocado pasta recipe.
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