Enjoy some lentils

Lentils are an ancient food. They’ve been cultivated and consumed in the middle-east for thousands of years. Lentils are mentioned a number of times in the Bible. They’re now widely eaten throughout Europe, and North America.

I never really gave lentils much though until our nutritionist pointed out some of their benefits. She recommended that I eat them on a regular basis.

That was when I began eating them. I found an organic canned soup that offered a wide variety of different flavors. They are supposedly organic.

Then one day it dawned on me that it couldn’t be that difficult to make our own lentil soup. We began throwing some lentils, chicken stock, and veggies in the slow-cooker, and viola. See the recipe below.

When you think of the health benefits of lentils, think beans. While not a complete protein, they are an excellent source of lean protein.

You can also expect to get iron, folic acid, and soluble fiber. Iron is an important mineral for women, and vegetarians, as they typically have an iron deficiency.

The fiber helps regulate the digestive system, blood sugar (important for diabetics), and helps decrease cholesterol levels.

Recipe

Lentil Vegetable Soup
8 servings

This soup is a staple for us. We make a big batch on Sunday, and I eat it for lunch pretty much everyday.

For a heartier version, add in one cup of brown rice. For a vegan version, replace the chicken broth with vegetable broth.

Ingredients
2 cups of lentils, rinsed
4 carrots, chopped
4 celery stalks, chopped
1 clove garlic, minced
1 medium onion, chopped
10 cups chicken broth

Steps
Combine all ingredients in the slow cooker, and cover. Allow to cook for 10-12 hours on low, or 5-6 hours on high.

Nutrition Info
Cals 49.3
Fat 1.5 g
Saturated fat .4 g
Polyunsaturated fat .5 g
Monounsaturated fat .5g
Cholesterol 0 mg
Sodium 1886.7 mg
Potassium 191.8 mg
Carbohydrate 6.9 g
Protein2.3 g

Nutritional information was calculated using SparkRecipes.com.

Also check out

Some facts about lentils

Health Benefits of Lentils

Why Playing a Sport Makes the Best Fitness Workout

Photo: Bruno Girin CC-By-2.0

There comes a time in your life when you realize that you’re putting on weight and that you need to do something about it – you may have changed your routine or food habits, your lifestyle could have become more sedentary, or your metabolism may have slowed down because you’re growing older or losing muscle mass. Whatever the reason for weight gain, there is no excuse for not trying to burn off those excess pounds. However, not everyone is able to stick to a regular gym routine or afford a personal trainer. If you don’t make exercise a routine aspect of your life, you’re definitely going to keep putting on weight.

In the two years following my marriage, I found to my horror that I had added more than 40 pounds to my already large frame. I took to playing tennis, a game that I loved when in college, as a way to stay fit. I found that it was easy to stay on course and also get a good workout every day because:

• It’s a group event: I could not call and cancel just because I felt lazy and did not feel like playing – when you know that others depend on you for their daily game, you are responsible for showing up unless you’re ill or otherwise indisposed. Come rain or shine (the indoor courts helped), I was there, playing my heart out and sweating off the extra pounds that I carried. When you get involved in a sport, there are other people involved in your workout too, so it’s harder for you to shirk responsibility.
• Each day brings something new: Gym routines get stale after a while because you do the same thing every day. You may change the order of things once in a while, but still, it’s all an old hat. A sport however offers you something new every day. Every game is different, every point is different; so each day brings something new and this eggs you on to come back the next day and see what it holds. Playing a sport is a great way to stay motivated about your exercise routine.
• You’re motivated to excel: It’s not easy to play a sport at any level on a regular basis if you’re unfit and unhealthy. Your sense of competitiveness and innate nature to want to win drive you to focus on your fitness and the skills you need to play the game harder and better. You train in other ways too, to boost your stamina and learn sports-specific skills. When I started playing, I was advised by a well-meaning friend to go jogging three days a week and work out with light weights twice a week so that my fitness and muscle strength improved. Also, when you’re fit and able to move fluidly on court or on the field, you avoid injuries that put you out of the game indefinitely.
• The camaraderie is great: No matter how great the company at the gym, nothing beats the camaraderie you share with your teammates and the opposition when playing a sport. The good-natured ribbing, the healthy competition, the bonding with teammates, and the victories you taste help boost your mood and improve your spirits. Your mind gets a good workout too even as your body loses weight.
• It is addictive: I’ve had two knee surgeries in the course of two years (to repair torn ligaments), and the only thing that pushed me through the intense rehab routine was my love for the game of tennis. If I hadn’t been such an addict, I would have lost the will to exercise my thighs and knees, strengthen them and improve my range of motion, and build up my stamina and fitness so that I could return to the court. Only the thought of never being able to play again drove me to do all that it took to get back to the game. A sport does that to you – it gives you reasons to exercise instead of making you find excuses to avoid it.

About the author:

Paul Hench writes on the topic of master in public health programs. He welcomes your comments at his email.

Photo: La Febbra CC-By-2.0

There are just too many excuses why we don’t exercise. “I’m tired.” “I don’t feel like doing it.“ What about why we should exercise?

Exercise helps us to get and stay fit. It’s good for our hearts, lungs, and circulatory system.

Exercise results in increased energy levels. That will enable you to do more activities without becoming tired or short of breath.  An increased endurance, and lower blood pressure  wouldn’t hurt.

Of course when regular exercise is done there is improvement in muscle tone and strength. Improvements in balance and joint flexibility, strengthened bones, and reduction in body fat will help you reach a healthy weight and maintain it, help reduce stress, tension, anxiety, and depression, and improve sleep.

Simple Fitness Solutions mentions that aerobic exercise increases insulin sensitivity. Combined with proper nutrition this helps restore normal glucose metabolism by decreasing body fat.

Believe it or not, according to arthritis.org, exercise reduces joint pain and stiffness, builds strong muscle around the joints, increases flexibility and endurance. It reduces inflammation from arthritis and related conditions and reduces the risk of other chronic conditions.

According to Overcoming Depression, exercise releases endorphins. These are our bodies natural pain-killers and can provide relief from some of the aches & pains that accompany depression, as well as enhancing our mood.

Wow! The list goes on and on. In my opinion, the list of why we should exercise far outweighs any  list of why you may not want to exercise,. You decide.

Becca is a Certified Personal Trainer at Motivational Personal Training, in San Antonio, TX.

It’s that time once again. Time to update my progress in the P90X review.

In the last installment I mentioned that I dropped the ball with crazy life stuff. I resolved to pick up where I left off this week. And that’s just what I did, this is week number 4, the last week of phase 1 of 3.

The first three weeks are intense combinations of resistance training mixed with cardio and stretching type workouts. The fourth week is basically a decompression time. Workouts still consist just of the cardio and stretching components, i.e. kickboxing, yoga, etc.

Time is very short for me at the moment because of work. While I managed to get the sessions in, each had to be shortened. Yoga is 90 minutes long. In my opinion, that’s too much, so I had to cut it back to about 45 minutes.

Kenpo-X

This weeks DVD review is the kickboxing workout, titled Kenpo-X. Essentially this is the P90X version of Taebo.

Punch-Kicking-Block

Repetitions of various combinations of punches make up the first part. Tony Horton starts it off with some simple body movements. Then works in combinations of jabs, crosses, hooks, and uppercuts.

Next we move on to kicks. Front kicks, side kicks, and back kicks. Once you have these down, you’ll do a couple of combinations of kicks.

The third section is all about blocking. Here you will do high, inside, outside, and low blocks. Of course, these are followed by a crazy combination using all of them. If you have trouble chewing gum and walking, this part could be tricky.

The last part of the session uses elbow strikes. As you can probably guess, strikes from different directions are in order. Up, in, and out, followed by the combos.

Due to my past martial arts training, this is one of my favorite workouts. I may not be able to kick as high as I was, but the action of doing the work is a blast.

Photo: Mole-Volio CC-By-2.0

“Knowledge is knowing the tomato is a fruit. Wisdom is not putting it in your fruit salad.” I don’t know the origin of that quote, but it made me chuckle. The funny part is that in researching this post, I found a number of recipes for fruit salad using tomatoes. There always has to be a rebel in the bunch, doesn’t there?

I remember as a kid that I couldn’t stand tomatoes. They were gooey, and I wanted nothing to do with them. As I grew, I found that I rather liked them. Not enough to eat one like an apple, but enough to put them on my list of favorite fruits.

So, is it a fruit or vegetable? I’ve had this “discussion” many times. According to Oxford Dictionaries it is definitely a fruit. The reason is that true fruits are developed from the ovary at the base of the flower. They also contain the seeds of the plant.

Here’s a fun fact that I didn’t know–the tomato is part of the “nightshade family”. These are a family of plants, some of which are very poisonous. The potato, eggplant, and tobacco are also members of this family of plants.

Tomatoes contain Lycopene. This is what’s responsible for the color of the tomato. Lycopene is a powerful anti-oxidant. For those who have been asleep under a rock for the last twenty years, anti-oxidants fight free radicals, which cause cell damage… which in turn lead to bad things such as cancer.

The tomato is also high in Vitamin A, C, potassium, and iron.

Recipe

Pico de Gallo & Salsa

Ingredients

4 Roma tomatoes
2-3 Jalapeno peppers
1 Habanera pepper (this is optional)
1 Red onion
¼ Cup cilantro (diced)
Juice from ½ of a lemon (lime can be a nice touch)
1 dash of sea salt

1 Garlic clove

Directions

• Dice tomatoes into small pieces. The sharper the knife, the better. Dice onion. *Hint* Wash the knife and cutting board, and breathe through your mouth to keep from tearing up.
• Chop the peppers. Remove the seeds and ribs if you don’t want heat. Leave them in if you’re a brave soul.
• Finally dice garlic.
• Wash the cilantro (usually about half of a bunch) in a colander. Dry it between two towels. Remove any big pieces of stem. Mince the cilantro.
• Squeeze in the juice of ½ of a lemon, making sure not to let any seeds in the mixture.
• Mix everything up really well, and add sea salt to taste.

For a traditional salsa, roast the tomatoes, onion, and peppers over an open flame. A gas grill works beautifully. Rotate often, and remove when skin is darkened, and starting to fall off. After you remove, add ingredients into a food processor. Pulse until a desired consistency is reached.

A guest post by Taryn Perry.

Photo: Tamas Meszaros CC-By-2.0

We all have them. We have all used them. Let’s unite and admit it….EXCUSES!!!  And they are just that, EXCUSES!

How about we all recognize how invaluable EXCUSES are. To not allow them to be a part of our “TO-DO” list, especially when it comes to making time for Exercise.  I mean, this IS about YOUR life and living it fruitfully, isn’t it?

So be done.  No more EXCUSES.  Here’s why:

As busy moms, dads, corporate executives, entrepreneurs, and/or all of the above, there is always an excuse why you should put your fitness on the back burner.  Sound familiar?

Much like anything we do in our lives, most of it involves a COMMITMENT.  Your job.  Your family.  Your hobby.  Your future.  Why shouldn’t exercise be a part of that?  It does affect most aspects of your life and its future.  It sets an example for your children and determines the longevity of your life.  Isn’t that worth the COMMITMENT, in itself?

To know that taking care of your body by good nutrition and fitness can save you money on health care, would you make time for it?

If being fit meant that you could eliminate some of your daily medications, would you make time for it? Likely, YES!

Carving out time for your exercise program can take as little as 20 minutes a day.  Those 20 minutes a day can easily be fit into the busiest of schedules.  The key is to SCHEDULING it and COMMITTING to accomplish it.  Make it as part of a daily TO-DO list.  We all have those, right?  Check it off as you work through your day.

“But when?”, you ask yourself.

Well, what works for my husband and I, is scheduling our workouts first thing in the morning.

Yup, that’s 5:30 am.  The alarm clock goes off at 5:00 am and I have 30 minutes to wake up and prepare myself mentally for my planned workout (which is currently P90X® or TurboFire®).  That way, nothing can get in the way or provide an excuse to push it further and further back, risking it never happening.  As a bonus, I have an elevated amount of energy t get through my day.  I can use plenty of that chasing around my 2 kids all day!

The biggest misconception is that you need to exercise for hours on end to get any results.  NOT THE CASE.  Just get up and get moving.  Go for a brisk walk.  Play a pick-up game of basketball.  Hop on the elliptical at your gym for 20 to 30 minutes.  Press play with your favorite at home fitness trainer (we are huge fans of Tony Horton’s workouts).  Do an interval workout.  In fact, interval training is the best, when short on time and wanting to maximize the results of your exercise commitment.

Whatever it takes to motivate you to get your body moving and elevate your heart rate for a short period of time, do it.  The trick is finding something you enjoy doing that is active.  There should be NO EXCUSE for the future of your health.

Please contact me if you’d like a consultation on a program that may be suitable for your fitness ability and time commitment.  There is always something for everyone.

About the author:

I’m a stay-at-home mom of two wonderful and VERY active children. They truly are a blessing in my life and I’m so fortunate to raise them with my husband, my best friend. They inspire me to do great things in life and be a role model to help mold their future. After an 8-year career in Commercial Real Estate, I decided it was time for a change. It was also time for a change in my health and fitness.  After having 2 kids, I wasn’t going to “settle” for the figure these blessings left me with.  It was time to take charge and do something about it.  As a busy Mom, it’s easy to find excuses to why I can’t workout or find time to make a better lifestyle.  TRUST ME!  I’VE USED THEM ALL! Once I found success in my own health and fitness, I became a Personal Fitness/Nutrition Coach and Group Fitness Instructor.  I find the greatest enjoyment in helping others find a fun outlet for getting healthy.  My mission is to help others find a better quality of life. I want to help pave the way for a healthier future. I strive to help combat the rising trends of obesity, one child, one mother, one friend, at a time.  Join me in this effort.  It starts with YOURSELF!

Website: choose2befit.com
Contact Taryn by email email or Twitter

Welcome to week four in PhitZone’s P90X review.

I hate excuses. They serve no purpose. The following is not meant as an excuse, but I want to explain what’s going on.

Bottom line, work and family demands have kept me from working out at my usual time (right after work). I could have done it later in the evening, but that just didn’t happen.

I owe you (and myself) all of the workouts for last week of phase one. My pledge to you (and myself), is that I will do all of week number four next week.

Yoga X

Who here thinks that yoga is just posing, so how hard can it be? I was one of these people.

This stuff is hard. It is a workout-and-a-half. I’ve done some difficult training. 90 minutes of Yoga X will whoop your butt. I promise.

In fact, the length of the video is my only complaint. 90 minutes is a LONG time for this stuff.

One of the things that I enjoy about this workout is that they offer modifications to poses. These are for those of us that just don’t bend or fold so easily.

Tony Horton is also pretty good about letting you know that if you need a rest, take it. That doesn’t mean to go sit down and watch t.v. while eating a cheeseburger. It does mean to stand up and stretch, get a drink of water, and then get right back to it.

Actually, that’s a constant theme throughout all of the videos.

P90X-Week 3

Photo: Athena CC-By-2.0

Guest posting policies

I get the occasional email from people that want to know if we accept guest posts for PhitZone, and if so, what are the guidelines. I’m lazy, and didn’t want to answer each email with our guidelines. So, I created this post to refer them to.

The answer

In short is yes, we do accept guest posts. Typically we only publish one guest post per week.

What kind of content do you accept?

Quality–This is nonnegotiable. Good quality will get you published. Poor quality will not.

Useful information, and helpful to our readers, we’re interested. The subject matter has to be related to our subject matter–fitness and health. That means exercise, nutrition, supplements, etc. It can also be from your own personal experiences. In fact I encourage this type of post over authoratative lecturing posts.

Length–Post length isn’t a deal breaker. Typically we see in the range of 500 words. Longer is fine. Shorter, if outstanding content, is okay.

Guidelines

We’re pretty flexible on some stuff. The following does not fall into that category.

• Posts must be original and must have never been published before on the Internet.
• You agree to not publish the post anywhere else (i.e., in your own blog or as a guest post in other blogs).
• You can include up to two links in the byline, which will be displayed at the bottom of the post.
• Links—Absolutely no affiliate links, or links to unrelated sites. Links that are not related to health and fitness will not be accepted.
• Keep your byline short. I don’t need to know who your 4^th grade teacher was. The byline will appear at the bottom of the post.
• We reserve the right to edit the posts as needed (for example, to fix spelling or grammar errors) and to reject posts that I feel are not appropriate for this web site.
• Images—Pictures help to make a post pop. If you own the rights to a photo that you want used, I need to have that in writing. If there is a person in the photo, a copy of the model consent form will need to be sent. If you are using a Creative Copy licensed photo, please include a link to the site so that the photo can be properly attributed. If you can not legally use a photo, do not send it.

How do I submit my guest post?

If you have a post that meets the criteria above, send me an message using the form below, with “Guest Post” as the subject line. Please, do not include your article in this message. It is simply a query message. Introduce yourself, and tell me what your post is about. We’re busy, so please be brief and to the point.

I try to reply within 48 hours, stating if we are interested or not.

Nutritional benefits of coffee

Photo: Tonx CC-By-2.0

Growing up, I could not stand the taste of coffee. When I started my first job in my career, everybody else was drinking it. I figured I might have to give it a try.

Office coffee is the worst thing to be starting out on. Unless you work in an office that shells out for good coffee, the stuff in the pot is bitter, and nasty.
You don’t know what you don’t know. I thought it was okay–especially with half of the cup filled with cream, and a bunch of sugar.

Then Becca got a job working for a highend coffee roaster in Seattle (no, not that one). She would get to bring me home coffee now and again. Not the cheap stuff, but fresh roasted specialty coffee.

And that’s how I became a coffee snob.

Coffee may not be a super-food, but it has its benefits.

Coffee contains antioxidants, which fight free radicals. These are a major cause of cell damage, which can lead to cancers, etc.

Studies have shown coffee to be an effective in reducing the risks of Alsheimers, Parkinsons, Type II Diabetes, Cirrhosis, and heart disease.

I say it all the time when it comes to foods with so-called miracle benefits–consume them in moderation. While coffee has some good sides, when abused, it can show you a darker side.

You can get good specialty coffees at most grocery stores. There are roasters in many cities throughout the U.S. Like most everything else for sale, you can purchase it online. I really like Mystic Monk Coffee. Yes, they are affiliate advertisers, and yes, that’s an affiliate link. These mystic monks know how to roast some good coffee though. Give it a try. I promise that you won’t be disappointed.

Mom was right! Breakfast is the Most Important Meal of the Day.

Guest post by Angelique Kronebusch

Photo: waterlilysage CC-By-2.0

Many people are confused as to how to make healthy choices for meal ideas. Most of us do not pack food which is the first mistake, because then you are forced to eat out and make poor decisions. I always prep my food on Sunday so I can have healthy options all week and all you would have to do is open your fridge!

The first thing that everyone should do is start their day off right with a healthy breakfast. I know so many people that do not eat breakfast and will not eat until lunch time, or they just drink coffee in the morning.  There are others who will go through the drive through and get a coffee and a raisin bran muffin, unaware that their “healthy muffin” is not so healthy. A bran muffin can cost you up to 360 calories, 10 grams of fat and 37 grams of sugar! Not a great option in my books.

Here are some healthy breakfast options that will keep you satisfied and energized , and does not take long to make.

Rolled Oats

I eat the rolled oats in a bag, not the instant option. Rolled oats are loaded with fiber and will keep you full longer. I will microwave ½ cup with water, cinnamon and stevia. This will only take 1 ½ minutes on high. Top with 2 tablespoons of unsweetened apple sauce for an apple pie taste!

Plain Non Fat Yogurt

I choose plain yogurt over the sweetened kinds out there because yogurt these days too much preservatives, additives and sugar. I will add stevia to sweeten, blueberries and a handful of bran buds to give it some crunch!

Whole Wheat English Muffin

For a fast breakfast, toast a whole wheat English muffin and top with 1 tablespoon of natural peanut butter. This will give you the carbs, fiber, protein and healthy fats you need to start your day off right.

Scrambled Eggs

Always a good breakfast choice loaded with protein. I will scramble ½ cup of egg whites with 1 whole egg. Throw in some chopped onions, mushrooms and peppers and you could not have a healthier breakfast! Make extra and you can have this as a snack for later on in the day.

Healthy Smoothie

Make a healthy smoothie to go with 1 cup of skim milk or soy/almond milk. Add some ice cubes, frozen strawberries, ½ a banana, blend and go! If you want some extra protein, add your favorite vanilla protein supplement.

These are some great, healthy options for those out there who really do not want to spend a lot of time preparing breakfast. Fast food is definitely not your only option and these breakfast ideas are low in fat, and have healthy protein, carbohydrates and fats. A healthy lifestyle does not have to be hard, most people just make it hard on themselves. This is a start to your healthy and happy lifestyle for you and your family. All you have to do is start and the rest will come to you easier than you realize!

Angelique Kronebusch

About the Author

Angelique Kronebusch is a certified personal trainer, weight loss expert, group fitness instructor, fitness model & figure competitor, and a fitness/health columnist. You can find her at AngeliqueKronebusch.com, and be sure to follow her on Twitter.