Little Time, Big Reward
It doesn’t take much time to prep a meal or several meals for that fact, it just takes concentration and some dedicated effort. Once you get in the habit of prepping, you won’t be able to do without it. What you end up with is less stress about food and more items marked off your “to do” list.

Prep Steps for Success
Here are the steps that you will need to put in place to become a prepping master.

1. Decide what you are going to eat
Start with the next week or 7 days and choose what you’ll eat for breakfast, lunch and dinner for each day. If your family is small, one meal can double as dinner and lunch. You’ll also need to decide on snacks. If you leave them out, you’ll be making trips to the nearest vending machine to satisfy that “hunger monster.”

2. Create your list
Now that you have the meals down, you’ll need to create your shopping list for the ingredients. Use coupons to help you keep down the cost and score even bigger savings. Also include the stores you’ll visit and what you will purchase from each store.

3. Mark the date to shop
Choose a day, date and time to shop for the food on your list. Leave the kids at home or give them their own list of specific items to pick up.

4. Cook ahead
Once you’re home, choose which parts of each meal can be cooked ahead of time. The meats can usually be prepared way in advance and then warmed up when ready to eat. The most important thing is to plan how much time each meal will take to fully complete, then you can break down the different parts accordingly. You don’t want to plan to have a crockpot meal that takes 2-3 hours to start cooking when you get home at 6:00pm.

5. Pack and go
Each morning you’ll wake up happy to know that at least food won’t be a stressor for you. Simply go to the kitchen, choose your meals and go.

Now wasn’t that simple, easy and productive? The only thing better is to do it again for the next 7 days and the next. After about 3 weeks, it’ll get easier and become more a way of life than a task.

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Good afternoon fellow fitness followers!

This is Carol Dunlop of Optimum Body Sculpting bringing you this Friday Afternoon Fit Minute. These fitness tidbits will help you focus on fitness and put your wellness back in your hands so that you ARE the boss.

In today’s Fit Minute we’re talking about: 5 Ways to Eat Better Today

A recent study showed that most people don’t follow the healthy advice they know that they should adhere to. Somehow life always gets in the way.

The solution:  By making just a few changes in your daily life, you can be headed towards the healthier lifestyle you were meant to live. Follow these simple suggestions for living healthier and get started today.

1. Shop for Colors: The next time you’re in the grocery store, make sure you pick up a couple of different colored vegetables. The various colors not only look good, they also provide needed nutrients. So go ahead, have a rainbow in your plate.
2. Keep a Food Journal: You won’t know how you’re doing with eating better unless you track it. Keep a journal so that you know when you’re on track and when you can use a little boost. You can do it!
3. Cut Back on Salt:  You need salt and sodium in your diet, but most people get way too much. Too much sodium intake can lead to bloating and can cause health problems like high blood pressure. When you are shopping be sure to read the labels and check the sodium levels. Choose low salt or no salt added seasonings. Better yet, allow herbs and spices to season your food; this will let the true flavor of the food come right out. One more trick, take the salt off the table, you’ll be less tempted to add more salt if it’s out of sight.
4. Cook Once, Eat Twice: Cook enough food so that you can eat leftovers for lunch. The best part about that is the great meal you cooked the night before can be enjoyed all over again the next day. And, you’ll save money by not having to buy lunch.
5. Count to 3: Make your last meal at least 3 hours before bedtime. This way your tummy will be empty when you go to sleep. This allows your body to concentrate on fat burning and rebuilding tissue all while you dose, instead of trying to digest all that food you just ate.

Do you have questions about how to live the Fit Life? Join me each Tuesday and Thursday on Fit4Life Radio at 1:00pm EST and get answers, tips and real solutions. Log on to www.optimumbodysculpting.com and click on the Fit4Lfe Radio banner at the bottom of the page. Each week we’ll talk about how you can be more fit next week.

That’s it for today; remember you can eat better today and tomorrow, so get started right now. See you next time with another Fit Minute.

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Creating the Plan for Your Garden

First, you’ll need to decide what foods you will plant and grow in your garden. My suggestion is to create variety; plant vegetables that you like and some that you want to try. Also include herbs and spices; they’ll give your garden a wonderful and fragrant scent. If you team up with some neighbors, each of you can plant different things, then exchange and swap out at harvest time.

Commit to “Workin” it

Plan to work or tend your garden for 30 minutes every day. You’ll reap the benefits by having a bountiful harvest and build some strong muscles in the process. All that weeding, hoeing, picking and watering will strengthen your core, back, arms and shoulder muscles. Not to mention burning some serious calories. For 30 minutes of work, you could burn around 115 calories. You can burn more by either working your garden longer or more strenuously.

Spice Up Your Lunch

One of the best benefits of creating your garden is that you get to eat your results. Use this time to experiment with new recipes. Because you will be taking your lunch regularly, you’ll not only save money, but I bet you’ll lose some excess fat in the process.

Water, Weed and Pick

Make sure you give your garden plenty of water when needed. Conserve water by using a rain barrel to capture rain water and set up a drip irrigation system. Instead of using tonics to get rid of the weeds, pick them yourself. Be careful of your back and all that bending, but you will notice a stronger, flatter core before long. Pick edibles often. Be conscious of when your garden stares to bear fruit. You can prolong your growing season by keeping veggies from getting too large before you pick them.

Can Them for Later

Now that you’ve got all that great food, don’t waste it, can it! With the economy as it is, canning is coming back in style. You can purchase a kit or go on the Internet to search for all the info you need.

Good luck with your new garden and your new body!

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Walmart, the largest food seller in the United States, is starting a ripple effect in the grocery industry. Recently, they announced they are ready to begin rollout of their “Great for You” program.

The “Great for You” program is one more tool in Walmart’s efforts to show consumers that they can make healthy, low-cost choices for food to feed their families. The designation that a food has made it into the program is a prominent green and white logo. Consumers can be assured that products that sport the logo meet Walmart’s standards that regulates the amount of total saturated and trans fats, added sugars and sodium levels a product can contain. Fresh fruits and vegetables and lean cuts of meat qualify, as do brown rice and 1 percent milk. After a lengthy debate, eggs are also included in the program.

“There are no candy bars,” said Andrea Thomas, the company’s senior vice president of sustainability.

The logo also appears on 20 percent to 25 percent of Walmart’s Great Value brand food. Brand name foods and some of Walmart’s own Marketside items may also qualify for the program.

This move will help consumers to make informed choices about what foods to put on their family’s tables. The ability to make more healthy choices is “a key piece of solving childhood obesity,” says First Lady Michelle Obama, who was on hand at the unveiling of the program in January 2011.

In their efforts to continue to keep prices low, Walmart will introduce new packaging that contains the seal of approval as the old packaging runs out.

Image Source: Google

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If you don’t read the labels you won’t know what you are putting in your body. But what does all that mean? Learn about portion size, calorie counts and nutrients from Lee and Carol.

Plus you’ll learn why it’s important to read the labels ahd how companies fool you with those big words and hide ingredients you are trying to stay away from. Tune in and you will become a label expert.

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Please enjoy this guest post by fellow colleague Tanya Stroh

We should all strive to eat healthier. A lot has been written about how we should eat only organically grown foods. We have all heard about the benefits, but what exactly is Organic? Experts define Organic food/farming as ‘food that has been grown, raised and transported without chemicals, pesticides, hormones, fertilizers, or other additives on land or in soil that conforms to the standards of the organic certification board of the U.S. Department of Agriculture.’ WebMD advises not to confuse “free-range,” “hormone free” or “natural” with Organic and be sure to look for the Organic Seal which means the food is grown according to USDA standards. The one great drawback to foods that bear the above labels is that they can cost as much as double the price of conventionally grown foods. So how do we eat healthy on a budget?

Start with the basics; keep it fresh, whole grains are best, avoid processed foods and eat lots of fruit and veggies. When you are tempted to grab the fast food “2 for $5” deal because it seems cheaper and easier than eating healthy give one or two of the below solutions a try.

1. Having a game plan is essential, plan your meals and snacks for the week, then make up your grocery store list. It is easy to save money and to avoid impulse buys, even if they are healthy, when you stick to your list and purchase only what you are going to eat.

2. Buy in bulk; in this case I am referring to anything that is not prepackaged. Not just produce, but also foods like seeds, nuts, grains, cheeses, rice and even pasta. This kind of bulk purchasing saves money because you are not paying extra for someone else to measure, pick, package and wrap it up. You also have control of the amount and the quality of the food you select. For fruits and veggies, always opt for whole and uncut, not only are they less expensive but they tend to be fresher, contain more essential nutrients and last longer.

3. Buying organic, as I mentioned earlier, is pricey, so only purchase it when necessary. The following is a list from WebMD of foods that are less susceptible to pesticide residue; papayas, broccoli, cabbage, bananas, kiwi, peas, asparagus, mangos, pineapples, corn, avocados & onions. Whether you are eating organic or conventionally grown fruits and vegetables, always wash ALL of them under running water, even if you are not eating the skin. It is also a good idea to scrub them with a vegetable brush.

4. Fresh produce is always less expensive when it is in season. Local farmers markets are a great source for in season foods. When possible preserve, can, jar or freeze fresh fruits and vegetables.

5. Frozen food is a great money saving alternative. Some experts even go so far as to say that frozen food has as much if not more nutritional value then fresh because it is picked and immediately flash frozen and packaged. Save even more when you stock up during a sale.

With just a little planning you can eat healthy on a budget. I would love to hear your money saving tips for healthy eating!

Be Fit, Be Healthy, Be Happy! ~ Tanya

Workout for a Fitter, Healthier You, it’s easy @ tanyastroh.com

Tanya Stroh, B.S., NSCA, ACE

Tanya is the founder and creator of Tanya Stroh Training Solutions, an on-line, fitness and personal training website, featuring uniquely, individualized workouts and the proprietary software technology, TS Trax. Tanya’s philosophy has always been that exercise along with a healthy diet & lifestyle produce the best results. Tanya’s clients, ranging in age from 12 to over 70 years old, have successfully improved and achieved their health and fitness goals because of her highly individualized approach to fitness. And now with Tanya Stroh Training Solutions so can YOU!

Tanya has dual national certifications from the National Strength and Conditioning Association (NSCA) and the American Council on Exercise (ACE). She also holds a Bachelor’s of Science degree in Education/Physical Education from West Chester University.

As a contributing writer, Tanya is the fitness expert for the “Chester County Women’s Journal” and has provided fitness articles to Lance Armstrong’s Livestrong.com. She is a regularly featured fitness guest on the radio show “Mission Nutrition” which airs live and on-line. With her passion for fitness, Tanya has also spoken at numerous charity events including; cruiser weight boxer champion, Steve Cunningham’s Kids Camp.

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