Tuesday, April 16, 2013 at 12:20 PM
When my girls were little, they were like most kids and happy to be active. They could entertain themselves with a bucket of water and a stick. They could spend hours on the swing set and in the sandbox. They put miles on their tricycles and scooters. As they grew older, I noticed their activity levels changed.
Organized sports and activities became the norm. However, in the process of learning team sports, our girls seemed to forget how to just hop on a bike or shoot some hoops in the driveway. Unless there was a team, a coach and a cheering section, they just didn’t seem to engage in as much physical activity.
Now, don’t get me wrong. I love organized sports. I am a huge fan of Community Ed, school sports, club sports and all of the wonderful opportunities available through these programs. They teach teamwork, social and athletic skills. Yet, while our girls gained these valuable life skills, they seemed to lose their creativity and desire to “just play outside.”
As a parent, it was frustrating to see my “bored” kids sitting in the house with a garage full of bats, balls, jump ropes and bikes. Was society to blame? Did we program them to need a coach, a snack and a team t-shirt for motivation? What was my role in their attitudes toward activity? As a Mom, where did I drop the proverbial ball?
They saw me pack a cooler of snacks and a lawn chair before we DROVE 5 blocks to softball where I would SIT and watch them play. Gee, no mixed messages there! I had to make a change in MY attitude before I could expect them to change theirs. I realized I had to model the behaviors I wanted to see in my kids.
Used with Permission from our friends at BLEND.
Posted by: Rob
Posted in: Uncategorized
Thursday, April 11, 2013 at 09:12 AM
The last time I blogged for ABBOG – I talked about the book “The Power of Habit” written by Charles Duhigg. It has been an eye-opener for me.
In the book Duhigg talked about an experiment with rats fitted with electrodes to measure brain waves. They put the rats in a maze and triggered the start of the study with an audible “click.” At the end of the maze was a treat. In the beginning, the “click” was the cue to their brains that something new was happening. The brain activity kept up while they learned how to navigate the maze. Brain activity stayed high when they reached their rewards. After learning the maze, scientists discovered that the “Click” became the cue that initially increased brain activity – but during their journey through the maze, brain activity went down, because they were used to the routine. Brain activity stayed down until it reached the reward. Then the brain activity SPIKED again. It was as though their brains were on auto-pilot. No thought – just a cue and reward.
Such is our life. Cues like stress or anxiety might mindlessly trigger the craving for a cookie. Cues like co-workers getting up for a coffee break might lead to automatically reaching for the goodies that people bring into the break room. The routine is so mind-numbing and automatic, that it becomes difficult to be “mindful” of the choices we make and things we stuff into our face.
Duhigg suggests “Choose a cue, such as going to the gym as soon as you wake up, and a reward, such as a smoothie after each workout. Then think about that smoothie, or about the endorphin rush you’ll feel. Allow yourself to anticipate the reward. Eventually, that craving will make it easier to push through the gym doors every day.”
The key is changing the routine! Be mindful of the cues and triggers that shape your habits. We can do that, can’t we? We can change! Change our Habits!
Here’s a recipe I think you may like to try. When I was dating my new bride – I was hip deep in the middle of my transformation from a 588 lb. brontosaurus to a healthier man of steel! The evangelist inside of me wanted to share all my new discoveries with the people I love. I think the first dinner I ever made for Nadine was this “White Bean Turkey Chili” from my favorite healthy on line cook-book SkinnyTaste.com.
It was simple and I got to actually use a basil leaf in cooking, which I had never done before. (my previous experience in cooking was a book called “A Man, A Can and a Plan.”)
The Skinny Taste white bean turkey chili tastes better when it gets to sit a day – and in my experience, go easy on the red pepper flakes. It’s hearty, especially in our seemingly never-ending winter in Minnesota. Most of all, it’s truly Nu-Val-umptious!
Have a mindful week transforming the cues of your life into healthy habits.
Monte
Posted by: Rob
Posted in: Uncategorized
Friday, April 5, 2013 at 07:00 AM
Recently, the “Get Moving” blog on Boston.com published a piece on fitness trends where the author, an accomplished strength and conditioning coach (and former player) with the New England Revolution, made a surprising admission: he wasn’t a fan of elliptical machines. “The elliptical machine motion is neither a run nor walk. It basically teaches you to shuffle your feet. How is that useful?” he wrote. “I don’t endorse people getting on these because it doesn’t look like anything we do in everyday life.”
Now, I’ll admit that he has probably forgotten more about exercise than I will ever learn, but if the effectiveness of our exercise regimen is linked to how closely they mimic movements in everyday life, I guess we can chuck each and every exercise video on the market today into a landfill. I don’t know about you, but I typically don’t lie on my back and pedal an invisible bicycle in 90-second intervals. And don’t even get me started on the Gazelle (although I suspect the blog author isn’t a big fan of that one either).
Not surprisingly, this blog post has brought in a heavy amount of reader feedback, a lot of it defending their use of elliptical machines. My gut tells me to agree with them; Every time I’ve started a running regimen, it ended with a sore knee and a limp. One time, I went in for x-rays, convinced I had fractured something (turns out I’m just a hypochondriac with the pain threshold of a newborn, but still). Using an elliptical was the first exercise regimen I actually stuck with, which was instrumental to how I lost more than 20 pounds a couple of summers ago.
Do you find these useful?
Another advantage of the elliptical? They are quiet. I swear, there was one guy at my old gym who would hit the treadmill so hard with this heels that it sounded like someone dumped a truckload of cinder-blocks down an “up” escalator. I actually turned around to see what the racket was, and I was a good 100 feet away and wearing headphones.
Are ellipticals perfect? Hardly. Because they are “easier” to use, I’ve felt that it takes a while to get your heart rate to where it should be (and the more fit I became, the harder it was to get my heart rate up). I’ve also long suspected that the calculations these machines use to determine your calorie expenditure were… generous, to say the least (really? I burned 5 calories hitting the “cardio” button?).
But I’ll still take an elliptical over a treadmill. Why? Because after an hour, I’d feel like I accomplished something without being injured. After trying treadmills and stationary bikes, ellipticals were the first machines I felt I could stick with and get rewarded for using.
How do you feel about elliptical machines? Do you have another type of exercise contraption you swear by?
Posted by: Rob
Posted in: Uncategorized
Wednesday, April 3, 2013 at 07:00 AM
I’m a lucky woman! I have a walk-in pantry.
For some girls, it’s diamonds. For others, it’s pearls. For this girl, it’s clean white shelves, glass jars and lots of space for canned goods, cereals, baking supplies and, of course, snacks.
What do the Radi’s snack on?
Well, let’s see… We like nuts …peanuts, almonds, and sunflower seeds. We (especially Marty) like raisins. He actually has them on his cereal every morning. I like plain old Cheerios. Notice I said “I” and not “we.”
We do like chocolate. Especially M&M’s, which is why they are rarely in our pantry. If I buy them, they disappear quickly! One snack we all agree on is GORP. I have absolutely no idea who came up with the name or what it means, but that is what my aunt called it when we were kids.
GORP Ingredients:
- Food Club Dry Roast Lightly Salted Peanuts (NuVal Score 23)
- Good Sense Whole Natural Almonds (NuVal Score 81)
- Planters Dry Roasted Sunflower Kernels (NuVal Score 38)
- SunMaid Raisins (NuVal Score 87)
- Cheerios (NuVal Score 37)
- Plain M&M’s (NuVal Score 2) I know…a 2. But, sometimes you just need some M&M’s!
Basically, GORP is a snack mix that consists of the above ingredients in various amounts, tossed together, eaten with your fingers. I recommend pairing it with an ice-cold glass of skim milk (NuVal 91).
Happy snacking!
Kelly
Passionate about food and good nutrition, Kelly, a BLEND Program Specialist for CentraCare Health Foundation, is also a mom who wants to set her kids up for a lifetime of good health. The opinions expressed in this blog are the opinions of the writer and not the opinions of NuVal LLC, Coborn’s, Inc., BLEND, and the CentraCare Health Foundation. This blog post is used with permission from our friends at BLEND.
Posted by: Rob
Posted in: Uncategorized
Monday, April 1, 2013 at 07:00 AM
Today’s post comes to us courtesy of Michelle Kobernick, founder of Gourmet Everyday, a company specializing in delivering freshly prepared, healthy-eating meals to the Metro-Detroit area. Take it away, Michelle!
SPRING HAS SPRUNG….
As we emerge from our long winter hibernation, we step out of our homes to witness signs of the world coming back to life. The days get longer and the sun is brighter and more intense than any other time of the year. The new angles of the rays fill us instantly with warmth, giving all living things a new sense of life and energy.
Renewal is the theme this time of year. Each day the landscape changes, adding leaves to trees while flowers pop up out of everywhere. The leaves seem to unfold overnight adding a tender green color to the previously empty branches. Spring is the transition time between the long winter and a season of bountiful locally grown produce. We start with tender green asparagus and greens and transition to heartier fruits and vegetables that will grace our summer barbecues.
This spring, tender new vegetables will adorn every chef’s menu. They know that using an ingredient in season will improve the flavor exponentially, with very little effort.
This menu celebrates one of spring’s first crops, Asparagus. Asparagus contains B6, A, C, E and K and is dense with niacin, folic acid, iron, and potassium. The trace minerals found in asparagus help to enhance insulin’s ability to transport glucose through the blood stream. The mushrooms are hearty and filling. They contain riboflavin, niacin and pantothenic acid- nutrients that help to break down proteins, fats and carbohydrates.
This delicious dish will offers an excellent canvas of flavors and satisfies the heartiest appetite. Try this spring celebration recipe to kick off the long awaited season in a special way:
Pan seared Chicken Breast with Asparagus and Wild Mushroom Sauté
For the chicken:
- 4 Boneless skinless chicken breasts
- 2 Tbs of Olive oil
- Kosher salt and fresh ground pepper
Preheat oven to 350. Season chicken with salt and pepper. Heat Olive oil in a large skillet. Place the chicken, presentation side down, in the skillet and cook until golden brown, approximately 3-4 minutes. Turn breasts over and cook another 3-4 minutes. Place the chicken on a lined oven sheet and bake until cooked through, approximately 10-12 minutes depending on the thickness.
For the Sauté:
- 1 Pound of wild mushrooms such as cremini, oyster, shitake or chanterelle, sliced
- 1 Large shallot, minced
- 1 Pound asparagus trimmed and cut into 1 inch pieces
- 2 Tbs Olive oil
- ½ cup dry white wine
- 1 Tablespoon chopped parsley
- ½ Tablespoon of chopped fresh thyme
Heat oil in a large skillet. Add the shallot and sauté approximately 5 minutes. Add asparagus and sauté 5 minutes. Add the mushrooms and continue to cook until they begin to brown. Once asparagus and mushrooms are tender, add the wine and cook until it evaporates. Add the thyme cook until fragrant, 1-2 minutes. Add the parsley and stir to incorporate. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Spoon over chicken breasts as a topping or serve as a side dish.
Posted by: Rob
Posted in: Uncategorized
