Yummy Autumn Recipes

October's cooler days and nights call for a revamping of the fridge and kitchen cupboards. Make way for yummy, hearty, comfort foods! My summertime breakfast of smoothies, berries and nectarines turns autumnal with oatmeal, tart apples and omelettes. I like to wake up to something warm and filling. Evening meals fill the air with scents of holidays and home. Here are some of my favorites.

PUMPKIN OATMEAL is a super way to start the day heated up and energized. Yum!

Ingredients

    1/2 cup old fashioned oatmeal, uncooked
    1/2 cup canned pumpkin
    1 cup nonfat milk
    Pinch of ground cardamom
    1/4 tsp pumpkin pie spice
    1 tbsp sugar
(Add a drizzle of your favorite maple syrup!)


Directions

Mix all ingredients.
Cook over low heat for 20 minutes, or until thick.

Number of Servings: 2 About 250 calories per serving.

STUFFED ACORN SQUASH is a great substitute for summer's stuffed pepper. I use ground turkey or soy to lower the calories and brown rice to add fiber and nutrition.


Ingredients

    3 Acorn Squash
    1 Small onion, chopped
    1 clove garlic, minced
    1/2 lb of ground turkey
    1/2 cup chopped tomato
    1/4 cup of water
    1/2 cup of cooked brown rice
    1/2 teaspoon of thyme leaves
    Salt and pepper to taste


Directions

1. Cut squash in half and scoop out seeds. Place squash, cut sides down, in baking pan; add 1/2 inch water. Bake, covered at 400 degrees until flesh is fork-tender, about 30 minutes. Drain.

2. Spray large skillet with cooking spray; heat over medium heat until hot. Saute onion, garlic, and crumbled lean beef/turkey/soy for 2 - 3 minutes. Add tomato, water, rice, sage, and thyme. Cook over medium to medium-high heat until mixture is almost dry, about 5 minutes, stirring occasionally. Season to taste with salt and pepper.

3. Fill squash halves, sprinkle with parsley and serve. Spoon squash from shell to eat with filling.

Number of Servings: 6 About 150 calories each
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Fall into Fitness

I absolutely love this time of year. The beautiful colors and cooler nights just beg for an afternoon run or walk. Each new season brings a chance to make changes and take out a fresh lease on our lives. This is also a great time to change up our workouts and try something new. After the bbq closes up think about all the yummy fall foods and test out some great healthy recipes, think - pumpkin, pecans, sweet potatoes, apples!

Take advantage of this delicious season to get out an enjoy the fresh air, take a hike or a bike ride. Learn a new sport, take a new class. (I'm teaching a super fun Spin Class every Monday night from 6-7pm that is sure to both challenge and reward you) Enjoy great outdoor activities and prepare to move inside for great winter workouts! The gym is a great place to keep up your momentum and increase your motivation. Ask a trainer to help you set up a new program for the fall. If you've never tried yoga drop in on a class.

Make like a leaf and change! And don't forget to drink more water. The cool dry air can dehydrate just like the heat and we all know how important water is to a healthy diet.
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Food for thought

This week some food for thought. I have a feeling we are all pretty healthy eaters. At least we try. Fruits here, veggies there, making sure to eat healthy proteins and filling our plates (not too full)with things that taste good and make us feel good. But it isn’t always easy to avoid the wrong stuff. It often takes planning and will-power. (I didn’t plan for the éclair incident on Friday night, tasty at the time but not so much in the morning-lard hangover! – BUT I do plan to make good choices this week and take it easy on sweets this weekend)

Do you pay attention to what goes in your mouth? “Awareness” is an essential part of yoga and spiritual practices that creates a strong sense of self and hopefully the ability to better roll with our live’s currents. Are you aware when you sit down to eat? Are you even sitting? To avoid mindless noshing and keep the junk out of the trunk take control of your eating habits. Here are some tactics from the sparkpeople site you can use to adopt this habit:

Stop skipping meals

A regular eating routine keeps you balanced and helps you digest food more efficiently. Plus it helps eliminate the starve-starve-starve-binge cycle many dieters suffer throughout the day.

Eat only when hungry

Not when you’re bored, sad, nervous, angry, upset or stressed. If you’re at a party with an appetizer buffet, socialize on the other side of the room, so you don’t habitually graze while talking. Listen to your body, not your mind or emotions.

Cut back on late night snacking

Prime time for television is also prime time for calorie-heavy comfort foods. Snacking at night is often another example of eating to relax or as something to do.

Plan for snacks

If you’re going to get the munchies – and you will – you might as well make the best of it. Keep raisins, carrot sticks, granola bars, and other healthy snacks within arms’ reach wherever you are.

Have a purposeful eating environment

This is especially important at home. Choose a regular time and place for your meals. Cut out distractions, take a little extra time preparing and pay attention to your meal. Don’t eat over the counter, while watching TV or while on the phone.

By paying more attention to what and how you’re eating, you’ll not only have more control over what goes in your mouth, but you’ll also notice how often you previously ate and didn’t even realize it. The best part is that you’ll naturally start to make better choices.
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Time Management

A day of scattered thoughts! - sitting, standing, hungry, thirsty, tired and ready-to-go. Slowly bouncing through my day, I never felt entirely grounded. What does "grounded" even mean? Rooted? Solid? Firmly footed on this planet? Today I felt like a helium balloon oozing it's air - touching gently down and up again a little sideways. When the rains came mid-afternoon I felt truly grateful - a sign of which direction I should go: directly to the couch. Finally deciding to make some dinner, not just graze the kitchen cupboards, I took an uneasy glance at my to-do list. I had checked everything off! Somehow I managed to wanderr my way through the day with enough brief focus to actually get things done. My list was short, specific and do-able. And I am glad. Today was not the kind of day to tackle the 5 year plans like a mortgage or a trip to Iceland. But every little thing I did, every gold star I earned, puts me on my way. Do what you can everyday. Don't worry when it seems like just a little - take comfort, relax, listen to the rain. Set small goals everyday and every week and smile at yourself when you complete them. You are gaining the skills and confidence and momentum to tackle those big ones.
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Beat the "Betcha can't eat just One" challenge!

New studies suggest it isn't all in our heads - but most of it is. A curious client gave me a copy of the Nutrition Action Healthletter - Thanks! What an interesting read. The small informative magazine is published by the Center of Science in the Public Interest. The cover article probed the question of Why we overeat? You know you're not hungry, but you still have that urge to nosh. Is it because the food tastes so good? Because of your sweet tooth? Your genes? Your mood?

Author David Kessler investigated this bloated issue for his book The End of Overeating: Taking Control of the Insatiable American Appetite. Here are some bits from his recent interview with NPR corrospondant Michelle Harris.

Kessler based most of his research around restaurant foods - the place we most often eat beyond simple satiation.

He says restaurant food is rich in calories and is loaded with fat, sugar and salt. And while the ingredients by themselves may not be harmful when combined with other ingredients and marketing campaigns, they stimulate millions of Americans.

"I give you a package of sugar and I say, 'Go have a good time.' You're going to look at me and say, 'What are you talking about?' Now to that sugar I add fat, I add texture ... I add color, I add temperature, I add the emotional gloss of advertising.

"I put it on every corner and I tell you, 'You can do it with your friends.' So what's happening for millions of Americans ... they get bombarded with foods. Their brains get activated. No one's explained to them that they are constantly being stimulated."

"Kessler says it is possible to create virtually anything with chemicals. In his book, he writes that a piece of meat can be made to taste like it has been seared, braised, roasted or grilled. And, he tells Norris, much of our food today — because it's so highly processed — is enormously palatable."

"Pick an appetizer. What's in Buffalo wings? You start with the fatty part of the chicken. Many times it's fried in the manufacturing plant first. It's fried again in the restaurant. That red sauce? Sugar and fat. That creamy sauce? Fat and salt.

"So what are we eating? Fat on fat on fat on sugar on fat and salt."

Kessler says that food is excessively activating the brains of millions of Americans to get them to come back to eat more. Still, he says, that doesn't mean people bear no responsibility for their actions.

"Once you understand you are being stimulated, then you can begin to fight back to prevent being manipulated," he says.

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Goals produce results!

After completing my first triathlon a couple weeks ago I am ready to set myself some new goals. It is important to keep challenging ourselves and pushing our limits - or at least stave off boredom! Is the treadmill getting old? Are you running the same route everyday? What about your exercise program excites you to keep it up? Goal setting is a very personal thing - but some tactics for defining them and achieving them can be learned. Your goals will depend on where you are on your individual journey. Are you aiming for weight-loss, improved cardio-ability, lower blood pressure, completing a marathon, keeping up with the kids? Whatever it is be very clear about it. Write it down. Write a few down, some small, some grand. Goals inspire and motivate us. Goals help us create our lives instead of just letting it happen to us. Manifest the best! The good feeling and confidence that come from a steady stream of progress are great motivators. Setting and reaching a string of goals, no matter how small, is a regular dose of satisfaction that may one day bloom into pure inspiration.
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The Sundays...

I firmly believe the Sunday slumps can be avoided with any sort of adventure! This weekend our friends invited us out to beautiful spot by the Salmon River to spend the day climbing and swimming. It's been years since I've strapped on a climbing harness and attempted any challenging rock problems. Andrew has some gear but I had to rent shoes - so tiny my toes still ache! But those tight shoes sure help you cram yourself into even tighter cracks. By the time we arrived the morning shade has slipped off the slab leaving the face exposed to the bright summer sun. We all sprayed on sunscreen in sloppy streaks trying not to get it on our hands and goo up the ropes. I ascended 3 times and each one felt more difficult than the last -not out of shape but certainly out of practice. The strenuous shimmying had me sweating but it was belaying my husband that cause the beads to run down my face. I didn't want to drop him!! He put out a solid climb and made it down to me smiling. All high-fives and hugs before we plunged into the chilly river and cool our dusty skin. I can't wait to do it again. What will we do next Sunday?!
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