One Taste & You'll Happily "Eat Your Greens"

You know, you know... dark leafy greens are supposed to be so good for you. But no matter how healthy a food is, if you don't like it, you aren't going to eat it. Enter Bok Choy, a type of Chinese cabbage. Prepared properly, this stuff is so good, I ate a giant bowl last night and couldn't wait until lunch today to polish off the leftovers!

Why it's good... & good for you!
The mild flavor, crunchy stalk and tender leaves of Bok Choy make it fun to eat and a versatile side dish. Bok Choy is an excellent source of vitamins A, C and K, as well as a very good source of vitamin B6, calcium, iron, potassium, manganese, fiber and folate.


What to look for
At the market, look for Bok Choy that has tightly packed, firm white stalks and crisp, bright green leaves. Avoid wilted, bruised and discolored Bok Choy. I prefer the bite-sized "baby" Bok Choy.


How to clean it
Don't wash your Bok Choy until you are ready to prepare it. (Bok Choy will typically last 3 days to a week in your vegetable crisper.) This article from eHow.com, How To Clean Bok Choy, explains how to wash your new favorite "green" in 5 insanely easy steps.

How to cook it
My favorite way to enjoy this vegetable is to order Baby Bok Choy, sauteed with a little oil and garlic, at my favorite traditional Chinese restaurant but you can make your own using this super simple recipe from Martha Stewart: Baby Bok Choy with Chile and Garlic. The red pepper flakes and soy sauce are totally optional. You can also choose to use low-sodium soy sauce.

Cheers!
Diane


Image: MarthaStewart.com

You know, you know... dark leafy greens are supposed to be so good for you. But no matter how healthy a food is, if you don't like it, you aren't going to eat it. Enter Bok Choy, a type of Chinese cabbage. Prepared properly, this stuff is so good, I ate a giant bowl last night and couldn't wait until lunch today to polish off the leftovers!

Why it's good... & good for you!
The mild flavor, crunchy stalk and tender leaves of Bok Choy make it fun to eat and a versatile side dish. Bok Choy is an excellent source of vitamins A, C and K, as well as a very good source of vitamin B6, calcium, iron, potassium, manganese, fiber and folate.


What to look for
At the market, look for Bok Choy that has tightly packed, firm white stalks and crisp, bright green leaves. Avoid wilted, bruised and discolored Bok Choy. I prefer the bite-sized "baby" Bok Choy.


How to clean it
Don't wash your Bok Choy until you are ready to prepare it. (Bok Choy will typically last 3 days to a week in your vegetable crisper.) This article from eHow.com, How To Clean Bok Choy, explains how to wash your new favorite "green" in 5 insanely easy steps.

How to cook it
My favorite way to enjoy this vegetable is to order Baby Bok Choy, sauteed with a little oil and garlic, at my favorite traditional Chinese restaurant but you can make your own using this super simple recipe from Martha Stewart: Baby Bok Choy with Chile and Garlic. The red pepper flakes and soy sauce are totally optional. You can also choose to use low-sodium soy sauce.

Cheers!
Diane


Image: MarthaStewart.com

Stay safe! Prevent foodborne illness from crashing your holiday dinner.

Christmas is nearly here. Many of us will soon be celebrating with friends and family and sitting down to big delicious meals on Christmas Eve and Christmas Day. Big meals usually involve a lot of prep work done in advance, organizing the kitchen to accommodate all the food and giant serving dishes, coordinating the oven schedule, thawing and reheating, and packing leftovers. This provides many opportunities for bacteria and other organisms to grow, travel & contaminate food and makes it an excellent time to talk about food safety. Don't be fooled though: Food safety should be practiced year-round, on a daily basis. 

FoodSafety.gov provides a thorough, easy to read, and easy to navigate checklist of food safety tips broken down into four steps: clean, separate, cook & chill.

Here are the basics of food safety but please check out FoodSafety.gov!

Christmas is nearly here. Many of us will soon be celebrating with friends and family and sitting down to big delicious meals on Christmas Eve and Christmas Day. Big meals usually involve a lot of prep work done in advance, organizing the kitchen to accommodate all the food and giant serving dishes, coordinating the oven schedule, thawing and reheating, and packing leftovers. This provides many opportunities for bacteria and other organisms to grow, travel & contaminate food and makes it an excellent time to talk about food safety. Don't be fooled though: Food safety should be practiced year-round, on a daily basis. 

FoodSafety.gov provides a thorough, easy to read, and easy to navigate checklist of food safety tips broken down into four steps: clean, separate, cook & chill.

Here are the basics of food safety but please check out FoodSafety.gov!

Make a Fitness Tradition

The holiday season is probably the biggest time of year for traditions. Just yesterday, my family and I gathered together for the traditional Christmas-time assembling of the pasteles (a Latin American dish typically comprised of a soft, savory green banana mixture wrapped around a meat filling). We make enough for all the households to split, store in our freezers and eat throughout the year. 

Traditions can be very hard to resist. Once we get in the habit of doing something at the same special recurring moments, those habits come to represent the moment and we may come to view them as inseparable from the time. While long-held traditions play an important role in our histories, families & memories, my favorite kind are the new traditions. The ones we are inspired to create somewhere along the way, as we move through life.

Today I'm inspired to share a tip with you for making fitness easy and fun by harnessing the irresistible power of traditions. Traditions can be about anything. They can be made for any reason, at any time. So then, why not make a fitness tradition?

The holiday season is probably the biggest time of year for traditions. Just yesterday, my family and I gathered together for the traditional Christmas-time assembling of the pasteles (a Latin American dish typically comprised of a soft, savory green banana mixture wrapped around a meat filling). We make enough for all the households to split, store in our freezers and eat throughout the year. 

Traditions can be very hard to resist. Once we get in the habit of doing something at the same special recurring moments, those habits come to represent the moment and we may come to view them as inseparable from the time. While long-held traditions play an important role in our histories, families & memories, my favorite kind are the new traditions. The ones we are inspired to create somewhere along the way, as we move through life.

Today I'm inspired to share a tip with you for making fitness easy and fun by harnessing the irresistible power of traditions. Traditions can be about anything. They can be made for any reason, at any time. So then, why not make a fitness tradition?

Season of Giving: Everyone Wins!

With the passing of Thanksgiving and the start of December, the Season of Giving has officially begun. This year, with the holiday season in full swing, in the wake of Hurricane Sandy and on my second year of cancer-versaries, I feel that Giving Feeling in the air, now more than ever. 

Every year around this time we see, hear and read countless messages proclaiming the importance of giving back and urging us to give. This year, for example, the 92nd Street Y in New York launched its nationwide, social media-based, philanthropic movement, #GivingTuesday, in which more than 2,000 organizations participated. Lately it's gone a step further, with theories and research studies suggesting physical, mental & emotional health benefits of giving (as illustrated by this 2009 Forbes.com article). 

Whether or not there are health benefits to giving is completely beside the point. Giving a little of your self every now and then may not necessarily make you a happier or healthier person overall but at the very least, it certainly helps the person or organization you are giving to and most likely will make you pause just long enough to put your own life and problems into perspective. Not to mention, giving can be contagious and inspiring or at least just make others smile (by now you must have seen the story of the police officer who bought the shoeless homeless man all-weather boots on a cold November night). 

There are a number of ways you can give.

With the passing of Thanksgiving and the start of December, the Season of Giving has officially begun. This year, with the holiday season in full swing, in the wake of Hurricane Sandy and on my second year of cancer-versaries, I feel that Giving Feeling in the air, now more than ever. 

Every year around this time we see, hear and read countless messages proclaiming the importance of giving back and urging us to give. This year, for example, the 92nd Street Y in New York launched its nationwide, social media-based, philanthropic movement, #GivingTuesday, in which more than 2,000 organizations participated. Lately it's gone a step further, with theories and research studies suggesting physical, mental & emotional health benefits of giving (as illustrated by this 2009 Forbes.com article). 

Whether or not there are health benefits to giving is completely beside the point. Giving a little of your self every now and then may not necessarily make you a happier or healthier person overall but at the very least, it certainly helps the person or organization you are giving to and most likely will make you pause just long enough to put your own life and problems into perspective. Not to mention, giving can be contagious and inspiring or at least just make others smile (by now you must have seen the story of the police officer who bought the shoeless homeless man all-weather boots on a cold November night). 

There are a number of ways you can give.

Piece o' Pumpkin Pie: 10 Tips for Tackling Thanksgiving Dinner

Thanksgiving is less than a week away and all around me people are starting to put their holiday plans into action, heading out of town and picking up their groceries for the big meal. The long holiday weekend and going back home can mean slipping back into old habits, for better or worse, but spoiling all the work you've done for your body and health doesn't have to be a requirement of Thanksgiving Day. In fact, it's a great time to practice enjoying yourself while still maintaining your healthy habits. You should absolutely enjoy the foods you have been waiting for all year long but that doesn't mean you need to end up feeling bloated & regretful a week from now! So, let's check out some of my tips for Turkey Day. 

Thanksgiving is less than a week away and all around me people are starting to put their holiday plans into action, heading out of town and picking up their groceries for the big meal. The long holiday weekend and going back home can mean slipping back into old habits, for better or worse, but spoiling all the work you've done for your body and health doesn't have to be a requirement of Thanksgiving Day. In fact, it's a great time to practice enjoying yourself while still maintaining your healthy habits. You should absolutely enjoy the foods you have been waiting for all year long but that doesn't mean you need to end up feeling bloated & regretful a week from now! So, let's check out some of my tips for Turkey Day. 

Join Me on the Next Step of This Voyage!

Hello Friends,

I hope that you and your loved ones made it through Hurricane Sandy safely and are receiving the support you need.

It has been a few weeks since my last post so I'll catch you up on what's been going on.

At the end of October I took a short break from posting to focus 100% on studying for my Dietitian Registration exam. That break was extended when my husband and I ended up temporarily moving out of our apartment as an indirect result of the hurricane. My test was initially canceled due to the storm but eventually I did take and pass the RD exam. So, now I am officially a Registered Dietitian!

It has been a long road to get to this point.

Hello Friends,

I hope that you and your loved ones made it through Hurricane Sandy safely and are receiving the support you need.

It has been a few weeks since my last post so I'll catch you up on what's been going on.

At the end of October I took a short break from posting to focus 100% on studying for my Dietitian Registration exam. That break was extended when my husband and I ended up temporarily moving out of our apartment as an indirect result of the hurricane. My test was initially canceled due to the storm but eventually I did take and pass the RD exam. So, now I am officially a Registered Dietitian!

It has been a long road to get to this point.

The Food That Tames My Dark Side

Believe it or not, I have a little bit of a dark side. Yes, I do my best to stay positive at every turn but when the cold weather and the frenzy of the holidays comes around, I have to admit, even I can get a little cranky.

That said, there are definitely some things that get me excited for the holiday season. I don't know about you, but many of the things that get me in the wintertime mood are food-based (of course!). As my boots and sweaters get folded back into my regular wardrobe, I start fantasizing about fireplaces (a rare treat), red wine and traditionally cold-weather produce like sweet potatoes & brussels sprouts. I know, I know, it's not cookies or cakes or giant birds, but I really do just melt at the thought of a bowl of mashed sweet potatoes - - nature's candy! 

Believe it or not, I have a little bit of a dark side. Yes, I do my best to stay positive at every turn but when the cold weather and the frenzy of the holidays comes around, I have to admit, even I can get a little cranky.

That said, there are definitely some things that get me excited for the holiday season. I don't know about you, but many of the things that get me in the wintertime mood are food-based (of course!). As my boots and sweaters get folded back into my regular wardrobe, I start fantasizing about fireplaces (a rare treat), red wine and traditionally cold-weather produce like sweet potatoes & brussels sprouts. I know, I know, it's not cookies or cakes or giant birds, but I really do just melt at the thought of a bowl of mashed sweet potatoes - - nature's candy! 

So Long Summer...

The long Labor Day weekend means that many of you are away on vacation or closer to home, enjoying barbecues and dinners with friends. But if you're checking in with the POC blog, then you are probably looking to maintain your healthy habits while enjoying yourself over this end-of-summer holiday. Wherever you are, whatever you are doing, I've accumulated some great tips for incorporating healthy eating and physical activity into your vacation and holiday time. Take your pick of tips and have a Happy Labor Day weekend! 

And remember:

Fill up half your plate with fruits and vegetables
Stay hydrated
1 drink for women and 2 for men is the recommended daily limit for alcoholic beverages
Enjoy these last days and weeks of warm weather by getting out and playing outdoors

Guacamole recipe
I Dare You: Healthy Holiday Fun
Healthy Vacations: In Flight & Around Town
Hit the Road... & Have Your Cake Too!

The long Labor Day weekend means that many of you are away on vacation or closer to home, enjoying barbecues and dinners with friends. But if you're checking in with the POC blog, then you are probably looking to maintain your healthy habits while enjoying yourself over this end-of-summer holiday. Wherever you are, whatever you are doing, I've accumulated some great tips for incorporating healthy eating and physical activity into your vacation and holiday time. Take your pick of tips and have a Happy Labor Day weekend! 

And remember:

Fill up half your plate with fruits and vegetables
Stay hydrated
1 drink for women and 2 for men is the recommended daily limit for alcoholic beverages
Enjoy these last days and weeks of warm weather by getting out and playing outdoors

Guacamole recipe
I Dare You: Healthy Holiday Fun
Healthy Vacations: In Flight & Around Town
Hit the Road... & Have Your Cake Too!

I Dare You: Healthy Holiday Fun

Is it even possible to have a healthy 4th of July? Summer holidays are all about hamburgers, hot dogs, chips and beer. These celebrations are fun and often create lasting memories. So, how do you keep to your healthy diet and exercise habits without feeing like you're missing out?

Here are just some of the ways I've found of enjoying a great summer holiday or backyard barbecue without falling off track or feeling deprived of the full experience. I challenge you to see how many of these tips you can incorporate into your celebration and still have a blast this July 4th!

Is it even possible to have a healthy 4th of July? Summer holidays are all about hamburgers, hot dogs, chips and beer. These celebrations are fun and often create lasting memories. So, how do you keep to your healthy diet and exercise habits without feeing like you're missing out?

Here are just some of the ways I've found of enjoying a great summer holiday or backyard barbecue without falling off track or feeling deprived of the full experience. I challenge you to see how many of these tips you can incorporate into your celebration and still have a blast this July 4th!