Into Healthy Living

Approximately 3,500 calories adds up to about 1 pound.  This rule applies whether you are intaking food calories (“calories in”) or burning calories through exercise (“calories out”).  According to The Department of Health & Human Services, climbing up 1 flight of stairs (the equivalent of 12 steps) 3 times per day burns 15 calories.

 
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I work on the 3rd-floor of a 15-story office building with 6 elevators that are consistently crowded.  When packed into the elevator like sardines, I often feel guilty pressing “level 3″ amongst my fellow patrons who must endure stopping at lower-levels floor before ascending to the “elevator worthy” upper levels.  Lately, I’ve been hoofing it up the stairwell despite the discomfort in my high-heeled shoes to take advantage of the “mini workout” and to shift my feelings of lazy guilt to accomplishment.  I also realized that it only takes me about 1-minute to take ascend the stairs, which pales in comparison to the several minutes I often waste just waiting for an empty elevator.

According to my calculations, if I ascend 3 flights of stairs 3-times-a-day, I burn 45 calories.  This results in 10,890 calories burned for a typical year of work (~242 days) or 3-pounds!  Not too shabby for 3-minutes of exercise/day! 

I challenge everyone to make this lifestyle change and incorporate taking the stairs for ascents less than or equal to 3-flights.  Stairs…a free, healthy, and fast workout!

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How long does it take you to slap together some peanut-butter & jelly into 2-slices of bread?   By the time you find the jars in your pantry/refrigerator, unscrew the lids, find a clean knife for spreading, and cut off the crusts, I’m going to predict one-and-a-half minutes. Oh wait–you also need to wash the knife and put away the bread, so total process is roughly 2 minutes, max.  Well, the nice people at Smuckers realized the impact, distraction, and workload of making a PB&J, and now sell the famous frozen sandwich they term “Uncrustables” in your frozen food aisle.  Is this really a sign of the times?  Are people too busy and/or lazy to take 2 minutes out of their day to pull together the simplest of foods?  My top 5 laziest frozen foods are listed below, but I’m especially curious to hear about what you’d add to the list.

(1) Gold Medal in Laziest Frozen Food: Smuckers Uncrustables

Traditionally: Spend 2 minutes assembling sandwich.

Frozen Directions: Per the instructions, “Let frozen sandwich defrost for 30-60 minutes at room temperature.”

(2) Silver Medal in Laziest Frozen Food: Cheese Quesadilla

Traditionally: Place tortilla on warm skillet with cheese.  Wait 2 minutes until cheese melts.

Frozen Directions: Place frozen quesadilla in microwave for 2 minutes.

(3) Bronze Medal in Laziest Frozen Food: Scrambled Eggs

Traditionally: Crack egg in warm skillet and push around pan for 2 minutes until eggs are done.

Frozen Directions: Place frozen eggs in microwave for 2 minutes.

(4) Honorable Mention: Angel Hair Pasta with Marinara Sauce

Traditionally:  Cook pasta in boiling water for 3-4 minutes and top with canned marinara sauce.

Frozen Directions: Place frozen meal in microwave for 3-4 minutes.

(5) Honorable Mention: Garlic Toast

Traditionally: Spread bread with butter and garlic salt and place in broiler for 2-3 minutes.

Frozen Directions: Microwave frozen garlic toast for 1-2 minutes.

Technorati Tags: frozen food, lazy, healthy living

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Good exercise doesn’t always equate to the treadmill at the gym. My favorite weekend exercise is spending time outdoors with my dogs. Its good for the body and mind to get a workout in the natural terrain. Hiking works your body in ways a treadmill never can with the constant variability in slope, headwind, and type of surface you are walking on (e.g., sand, dirt trail). How many of you actually set your treadmill to at least a 6% grade every time you get on the machine to simulate a normal outdoor workout?

This weekend, we headed to Pacifica, CA–a coastal city about 15 minutes south of San Francisco. It’s refreshing to get some exercise without constantly looking at the clock or how many miles you’ve covered. Make a commitment to yourself to get outdoors every single weekend and workout in the environment au naturale.

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I attended the San Francisco ‘Slow Food Nation’ this Labor Day weekend and came away with a bag full of my new favorite fruit: the elephant heart plum. One main goal of ‘Slow Food’ is to improve access and encourage the enjoyment of foods that are local, seasonal and sustainable. Slow Food is the idea that food is created with care from healthy plants and animals. For more information on this organization or to find out events in your neighborhood, visit the Slow Food USA web site. A large Farmer’s Market was featured during the San Francisco event; each vendor was allowed to showcase just one product. The result: each farm picked their best tasting item for the season for everyone to sample. Blossom Bluff Orchards brought the best tasting fruit I have ever tasted in my life–the elephant heart plum.

In appearance, the plum is a mottled variation of green/purple and is comes off the tree somewhat dusty.  These plums will most likely NOT be carried by any supermarket because they do not ship well (they bruise easy and are very delicate).  Did I mention the fantastic taste of the plum yet?  They are much more tart than your average plum, but still bursting with sweet juice.   Perfect as a healthy snack… or if you are me– have a few and call it lunch!  Trust me– the elephant heart plums are simply divine!

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