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Black Forrest Banana Split
July 16th, 2010 
Melanie Light Yummy Desserts Make a Great Treat!
Just when you asked yourself… “Is there nothing more?”.. along comes dessert! Dessert makes you feel decadent and like you aren’t depriving yourself.. so what if you can’t snack after dinner… you’ve got dessert! Yummy, low calorie, low fat cookies, cake, pies puddings, and more!
So go ahead indulge yourself a little… spoil yourself this weekend.. make up a yummy dessert from one of the resources below.. I have also picked one for you that I hope you will enjoy.
Black Forrest Banana Split
2 cups nonfat ricotta cheese
2 bananas, split lengthwise
16 halves walnut halves
1 teaspoon unsweetened cocoa powder
2 teaspoons cherry concentrate
Directions
Spoon ricotta into a dessert dish and place a banana half on each side of the cheese. Put the walnut halves on top and dust with the cocoa powder. Drizzle the cherry concentrate on top.
Above Recipe from: http://www.fitnessmagazine.com/recipes/desserts/low-calorie/low-calorie-dessert-recipes/?page=5
Healthy Dessert Recipes
Low Calorie Dessert Guide
CalorieKing – Low Fat Recipes
Appetizers and Snacks to “Diet” For
July 16th, 2010 Melanie Appetitizers and Snacks to Diet For!
Appetizers and Snacks make a Great Treat!
I love appetizers.. you know the ones you see when you go to parties.. so many of them are loaded with fat and calories though…. sigh.. what’s a person to do when faced with this dilemma? How about taking some yummy ones of your own to share that you know won’t hurt your waistline but everyone else will rave about?
The trick is… not to eat them all yourself! Remember your goals and only take one small plate and load it with just one portion of your appetizers and load up with lots of yummy fruit and vegetables that are either there or take a plate yourself. This way you don’t feel deprived and others will appreciate your efforts too.
This way people will compliment you on your weight loss and comment on how you do it while still being able to eat. 
Healthy Appetizers Using Pita Bread
100 Calorie Snacks
Quick and Healthy Appetizer Recipes
Charred Steak and Veggies with Orzo Pasta
July 16th, 2010 Melanie Go Ahead and Beef It Up!
Ok, so you shouldn’t eat beef everyday of the week but like I say.. you can have anything you want in moderation.. if you love beef like I do and can’t live without your red meat.. go ahead and enjoy it once or twice a week. Just try to choose lean cuts and use the palm rule.. your serving shouldn’t be any bigger than the palm of your hand. Mix it up with lots of grilled vegetables, whole wheat pasta or rice and you have an awesome dinner.
Charred Steak and Veggies with Orzo Pasta
1/2 cup 125 mL sodium-reduced chickenbroth
1/4 cup 50 mL liquid honey
2 tbsp 30 mL oliveoil
1/2 tsp 2 mL EACH dried Italian herb seasoning, salt and pepper
2 sweet red peppers cut into chunks
2 cups 500 mL mushrooms, halved
1 small zucchini, thinly sliced
1 lb 500 g Canadian beef Top sirloin Grilling steak, about 1-inch (2.5 cm) thick
1 cup 250 mL frozen cornkernels
1-1/2 cups 375 mL dried orzopasta
2 greenonions, thinly sliced
1/2 cup 125 mL thinly sliced oil-packed sun-dried tomatoes
1/4 cup 50 mL grated parmesancheese
1/4 cup 50 mL liquid honey
2 tbsp 30 mL oliveoil
1/2 tsp 2 mL EACH dried Italian herb seasoning, salt and pepper
2 sweet red peppers cut into chunks
2 cups 500 mL mushrooms, halved
1 small zucchini, thinly sliced
1 lb 500 g Canadian beef Top sirloin Grilling steak, about 1-inch (2.5 cm) thick
1 cup 250 mL frozen cornkernels
1-1/2 cups 375 mL dried orzopasta
2 greenonions, thinly sliced
1/2 cup 125 mL thinly sliced oil-packed sun-dried tomatoes
1/4 cup 50 mL grated parmesancheese
Preparation:
Prep: 20 min • Cook: 20 min
1. Whisk together chicken broth, honey, olive
oil and Italian seasoning in bowl. Season with generous pinch of each
salt and pepper. On large rimmed parchment paper-lined baking sheet,
toss red peppers, mushrooms and zucchini with half the broth mixture.
Set remaining broth mixture aside.
2. Season beef with remaining salt and pepper;
place on vegetables. Place under broiler about 3 inches (8 cm) from
heat; broil until lightly charred, about 7 minutes. Remove from oven;
toss vegetables and turn beef over. Return to oven and broil for 7
minutes. Remove steak and let rest. Stir corn into vegetables; broil
until vegetables are charred and softened, about 5 minutes.
3. Meanwhile, cook orzo according to package
directions; drain and toss with remaining broth mixture, green onions,
sun-dried tomatoes and Parmesan cheese. Spoon onto warm deep platter;
top with charred mixed veggies. Thinly slice beef across the grain and
arrange over veggies.
Source: Canadian Living – Food section
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Linda’s Lasagna
July 16th, 2010 Melanie You can eat pasta!
As you know, I am a firm believer that we can eat anything we want as long as we make wise choices. I love pasta and try to plan to have one meal with it every week.. now the difference this year is that we have a large salad before the meal and a smaller pasta serving with dinner. There are lots of healthy ways to make your pasta as well.. use less meat or no meat.. many people love pasta with just sauce or vegetables. Use lean beef.. or even ground chicken. Consider using less cheese or low fat cheese alternatives. Put crushed tomatoes, onions and peppers cooked with your favorite spices over your noodles instead of spaghetti sauce. Use whole wheat or spinach pasta instead of white flour pasta. So go ahead and enjoy your pasta! I know I will.. and remember you can change any recipe to suit your own tastes.
Of course you can always make a bigger batch of sauce, shred extra cheese or keep leftover pasta in the freezer for a quick meal on a night you are rushed or too tired to cook a meal from scratch… and remember you can modify a recipe to lower the calories and fat!
Linda’s Lasagna – 8 servings
1 pound lean ground beef (I use 1/2 pound… or no meat at all!)
1 onion chopped (when rushed, I use a can of pasta sauce instead of these four ingredients)
2 cans tomato paste
1 (14.5 ounce) can crushed tomatoes – (It is nice to put a fresh tomato in even if you used pasta sauce)
2 cups water
1 tablespoon dried oregano
2 teaspoons garlic powder
2 teaspoons salt – (no salt needed if you used pasta sauce)
1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper
1 tablespoon sugar – (Skip the sugar if you used pasta sauce)
12 ounces cottage cheese
1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese
1 egg
9 lasagna noodles
1 pound shredded mozzarella cheese
Directions
- In a large skillet over medium heat, cook beef until brown. Drain. In
another skillet over medium heat, cook onion until translucent. Combine
beef and onion in a large saucepan with tomato paste, crushed tomatoes,
water, oregano, garlic powder, salt, pepper and sugar. Cook over medium
heat until mixture comes to a boil. Reduce heat to low and simmer 1
hour. - While sauce is simmering, blend cottage cheese, Parmesan and egg until smooth. Set aside.
- Bring a large pot of lightly salted water to a boil. Add pasta and cook
for 8 to 10 minutes or until al dente; drain. - Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).
- Spread 1 cup of sauce in the bottom of a 9×13 inch baking dish. Cover
sauce with 3 noodles. Cover noodles with one-third of remaining sauce.
Top with half the mozzarella. Place another layer of noodles and one of
sauce over the mozzarella; top that with the cottage cheese mixture.
Top with remaining 3 noodles and remaining sauce. - Bake in preheated oven 30 minutes. Sprinkle remaining mozzarella on top
and bake 15 minutes more, until golden and bubbly.
Serve with a nice large salad and a slice of garlic bread for a yummy meal!
Recipe originated from: http://allrecipes.com – Go there for lots of great dishes!
Baked Halibut
July 16th, 2010 Melanie Recipe Week – Baked Halibut
I love fish and it is extremely good for you, but sometimes it gets a bit boring.. one thing I do sometimes is coat my fish with coconut milk and then crushed whole grain cheerios.. which is very tasty, but I don’t always want a batter on my fish. Here is the recipe I have selected for today.
Baked Halibut
Halibut: 4 filets, 6-8 oz. each
Capers with juice: 1 tbsp
Dill pickle relish: 1 tbsp
Lemons: 2
Canola mayonnaise: 3/4 cup
Black pepper
Directions:
1. Preheat oven to 400 F and arrange the halibut in a canola-sprayed baking dish; sprinkle with capers and relish.
2. Squeeze the juice of one lemon over the fish, then spread mayonnaise over the filets.
3. Sprinkle generously with black pepper and bake till barely done – about ten minutes for inch-thick filets.
4. Split one open with a fork and check; if the fish is still translucent, it’s not done. When fish is done, it’s opaque.
SOURCE: 1001 Recipe.com – Go there for some excellent recipes!
Butter vs Margarine- Which is Better?
July 16th, 2010 Melanie Butter vs Margarine – Which is Better?
Well, you all know that I believe everything in moderation and at the beginning of this year, we switched from margarine to butter, much to the hubby’s delight and we use it sparingly.. a one pound block of butter lasts at least 2 weeks, where before we started our program, I was probably going through a pound of margarine in just over a week.
But really, which is better for you? Well, if you do a search, there are tons of sites which take sides but when it boils down to it, neither in great quantities is good for a person.
One of the many articles I read says 4-5 teaspoons is probably all you should have in a day… which doesn’t take long.. you butter a piece of toast, there’s one.. you have a sandwich for lunch there’s one or two more and then if you put a teaspoon on your veggies or a potato at dinner.. you are done for the day.
So, you decide for yourself..and have an awesome weekend!
Butter is healthier than Margarine?
Butter or Margarine, the debate continues
Margarine or Butter?
What happens to Your Body When You STOP Exercising??
July 16th, 2010 Melanie What Happens to your Body when You Fall off Your Exercise Wagon and Stop Exercising Regularly
Well, as much as I hate to admit it, I feel off my treadmill after Sunday this week and didn’t get back on it.. sad but true, and was feeling terrible about it.. guilty and depressed would be good words to describe it, because not only did I feel I was letting myself down, I was also letting all of you down, so today I have given myself chance to redeem myself and renew my own commitment to myself and to you all. I had many excuses this week.. I have a headache, my leg hurts, my other leg hurts, I have too much to do, I have an early business meeting.. of which none of these things deterred me for the first 8 weeks…. terrible excuses and I know it! So today I am looked up the effects of stopping exercising on a person and it was not terribly surprising..
People that stop exercising after just one week feel depression, fatigue, and your body degrades much quicker than it took you to get to that level of fitness to begin with.. on top of this, in many cases once the depression sets in, also fall off their healthful eating wagon and this sets the pace for more weight gain and more depression. It becomes a vicious circle. Even stopping for 2 days after a regular routine, affects your body’s insulin and within a week, the muscle you spent so much time building starts to degrade.
The MOST IMPORTANT THING TO REMEMBER, is that you are human and sometimes your mind does get in the way of your best intentions.. forgive yourself for this little stumble in your routine and then boot your sorry butt back into gear.. which is exactly what I am going to do the minute I finish this email..
I refuse to let my mind dictate what my body can do! .. there is a sign on my fridge that says “Whether you think you can or your can’t.. you are right” So… tell yourself once again that you can and have a better day. Just think how good you will feel once you complete the exercise.
Here are some links for you to read about this topic.
Stopping Exercise has Adverse Psychological Effects
Skipping Exercise for two days has adverse effects
How Quitting Exercise can affect your body
Live a Heart Healthy Lifestyle
July 16th, 2010 Melanie Live a Heart Healthy Lifestyle
Thanks to Janet for sending me inspiration on today’s tip. Let’s face it, we need to keep our heart healthy.. it is the only one we have and if we abuse it by being inactive and eating an unhealthy diet, it may decide to rebel, and we know this isn’t a good thing.. the last thing you want to do is end up in the hospital with a heart attack.
You can’t do one thing without the other.. you can’t exercise to take care of yourself and then eat a diet rich in salt, fat and sugar and expect to be healthy.. or you can’t eat a fairly healthy diet and be a couch slouch…. it all has to work together to give you the best chance at living a long and healthful life.
Today I am sending you all to the Heart and Stroke Foundation Website.. for great (and EASY) resources on how to keep your heart healthy! I want you all around for many years to come so we can all be fit and have fun being healthy together.
Register for their Action Plan
Heart Healthy Recipe File
Healthy Living
Health Information
Lose Weight Using Canada’s Food Guide
July 16th, 2010 Melanie Lose Weight Using Canada’s Food Guide
I remember reading an article a while back how a guy lost his weight simply by following Canada’s Food Guide. According to him, if you follow the food guide, first of all, you will never be hungry, and secondly, you will be heating all healthy foods.
Just remember serving size portions are important! Here’s some great resources to check out.
Canada Food Guide – Webpage version
Canada Food Guide – PDF version
What others are saying about it
Some interesting tips on this site about making the Canada Food Guide work for you
Exercise For Busy People
July 16th, 2010 Melanie Exercise for Busy People
Being so busy the last couple weeks at work made me realize how much value I place on running my business. Things got really busy and I felt it was my responsibility to my clients and others to work for them for them starting at 6:00 a.m.
f you are a parent, you may want to argue and say, no my kids come first.
If you are an adult child taking care of a parent, you may say, your parent comes first because they are old and can’t take care of themselves so you need to already divide your time between them and your family.
If you work for an employer, you may say, your job comes first because you need to make an income for your family.
If you are a student, you may say, your studies come first so you can get a good grade.
Ok, so all of these things It also made me realize that we cannot allow anything to come before our health. Is there anything so important in the world that you should let your own health go?
The answer to this question is always, always, ALWAYS … NO .. and here’s why… It doesn’t matter if you are in business, an employee, a parent, a caregiver, or a student, if you don’t take responsibility for your own health first, you will feel terrible and when, NOT IF, you get really sick yourself, then what? Who will take care of everything then? The very best thing you can do for others is to take care of yourself so you can be there for them. It doesn’t take much time to exercise and there are creative ways you can workout without actually getting down and dirty.
Here’s some great resource tips for busy people that also want to be healthy and feel good!
Exercise for Busy People
Exercise for Energy Get More out of Your Day
10 Minute Timesaver Workouts
10 Minute Strength Training Workouts
Fitness Routines and Exercises for People Who have No Time
Weight Loss for People too Busy to Diet