10 Foods Fit Women Need: Your National Nutrition Month Shopping List!
How many of these items are regularly on your grocery list? (Photo by Peter Ardito)
We’re right in the middle of National Nutrition Month—the perfect time for a pantry raid! We asked Allison Enke, R.D., a dietitian with Whole Foods Market, to help us examine our kitchen shelves and shopping lists to see if we’re picking the proper fueling foods. Keep reading for her picks for the 10 essential items active women need in their pantries, refrigerators and freezers. “These foods that are packed with vitamins, minerals, antioxidants and other nutrients,” says Enke.
1. Oatmeal. Soluble fiber from oatmeal, as part of a diet low in saturated fat and cholesterol, may reduce the risk of heart disease. Click here for 11 fun ways our readers jazz up a usual bowl of oats!
2. Berries. A handful of frozen berries adds antioxidants and fiber to your morning smoothie or oatmeal. Blueberries are only 80 calories per cup, Enke notes, and they pack a powerful nutrition punch by supporting brain, eye and heart health.
3. Fish. Fatty fish are one of the best foods sources of essential omega-3 fatty acids and also provide vitamin D, a critical nutrient that many women lack (it works with calcium to preserve bone strength). Enke keeps cans of ready-to-serve 365 Everyday Value Wild Alaskan Red Sockeye Salmon in her pantry to add to salads or to make salmon patties for a quick, healthy dinner.
4. Flaxseed. Not a seafood fan? Flaxseeds are also rich in omega-3 fats, and they’re also filled with fiber. Mix a spoonful into oatmeal, Greek yogurt or smoothies to add flavor, texture and nutrition.
5. Quinoa. It contains all 9 essential amino acids as well as bone-boosting minerals like copper, phosphorous, iron and magnesium. Try it in one of these FITNESS fan-favorite meals.
To see the other five foods you should always have on-hand for quick, nutritious meals and snacks, click below.
Categories: Healthy Eating, Nutrition, The Fit Stop | Tags: greek yogurt, grocery shopping, healthy foods, National Nutrition Month, whole grains
7 Comments
Fit Blogger We Love: Cait Plus Ate
Cait is a pro at eating healthy on-the-go. We’re in awe of her daily salad creations!
We’ve all probably had our fill of “Kate Plus 8.” But Cait Plus Ate? That’s a completely different story. Just like that other Kate, Cait is a master at juggling: she rocks her job, her school work (Cait’s working toward her MBA!) and her active lifestyle—and with way less conflict than on a reality show.
Read on for Cait’s can’t-miss gym class, her super-powered snack pick and more.
My favorite way to work out: A well-choreographed, intense step class! My gym has an amazing one during which a routine is taught (broken down into combos) and dispersed throughout are tough cardio peak intervals. The step routine includes kicks, jumping knees and more heart-rate elevating workouts. It’s fun to try to hit every move and the class flies by because I’m so busy concentrating on learning the combos! Top 40 hits on the playlist are the cherry on top.
On my fit life (fitness bucket) list: Aerial yoga! I have read so many cool reviews of these classes on blogs and would love to try one out for myself, but none are offered in my area. I enjoy yoga and any workout that switches it up and keeps things interesting is one for me—how much more unique can you get than aerial yoga?!
My fave fit snack: Fruit with plain Chobani. I prefer to flavor plain Chobani with chopped fruit than purchase the flavored Cho varieties. Bananas are my favorite fruit to combine with the Greek yogurt but I also love doing blueberries, strawberries, raspberries and blackberries. Sometimes I also throw PB into the mix.
My fitness mantra: Do what I enjoy, not what I “should.” I have forced myself to attend plenty of group fitness classes that absolutely crawled by simply because I thought that they were the classes I should be doing. I’ve realized that I reap so many more mental benefits of exercise when I go with the form of fitness I’m feelin’ on a given day. If I want to do Zumba, I’ll enjoy my workout and it’ll go by faster if I do that and don’t make myself run on a treadmill just because running seems like it might burn more calories. Movement should be fun and the enjoyment-not-should mantra is something I am actively working on learning each day, but I have made great progress!
My gym bag must-have: My Big Banjees running wallet by Sprigs! I actually use it to hold my iPhone, case and all, when I lift weights because I use my phone as my iPod too. It’s the only running wallet I’ve ever found that will a) stay fixed on my arm and b) hold my iPhone with the case still on. I used to try to stick the iPhone in my waistband or sports bra, but you can imagine how cumbersome that was. My strength training sessions are easier now!
Do you have a favorite fit blogger you want us to highlight? Leave a comment below or email blog@fitnessmagazine.com
Categories: Fitness, Motivation, The Fit Stop | Tags: Cait Plus Ate, greek yogurt, step aerobics, Yoga
5 Comments
Top Chef All-Star Winner Richard Blais Trims Down Thanksgiving Dinner
If only we could get Blais to cook dinner for us every night. Sigh. (Photo courtesy of Dannon Oikos Greek Yogurt)
While Thanksgiving is one of the most delicious meals of the year, it’s also usually the heaviest. Instead of chowing down on foods filled with oil, butter and mayonnaise, we searched for lighter fare that was still super tasty. What (or who) did we find? Bravo’s Top Chef All-Star winner, Richard Blais. We met the cooking extraordinaire at a recent Dannon Oikos Greek yogurt event, where he wined and dined us with dishes that left us feeling full and satisfied, without the “oh my gosh I need to go run 10 miles” feeling.
So what’s Blais’ big secret? Aside from the fact that he’s a top-notch chef who blows our aprons out of the water, he subbed the aforementioned ingredients with Dannon’s Oikos Greek nonfat yogurt. We didn’t miss any of the heavy-calorie items, and got to keep all the flavor. Win-win for us!
It wouldn’t be right to brag about the decadent meal this marathoner whipped up without nabbing some recipes, though. Check out the appetizer and dessert dishes below, then use them to start and end a perfect Thanksgiving meal in your own home.
Malted Panna Cotta
Serves: 4
Ingredients
- 5 fl. oz. heavy cream
- 2/3 cup Dannon Oikos vanilla Greek nonfat yogurt (or use a 5.3 oz. single-serve container)
- 1 oz. sugar
- 1 oz. malted barley
- 1 gelatin sheet
- Clementine slices for garnish
- Candied ginger for garnish
- Chocolate dusted almonds for garnish
Directions
- Heat the heavy cream and sugar together until the sugar dissolves. Remove liquid from the heat and add malted barley. Let steep for 1 hour.
- Strain mixture into a clean pot and stir in Greek yogurt.
- Bloom gelatin in an ice bath. Meanwhile, bring strained mixture to a simmer.
- Remove strained mixture from heat and add gelatin.
- Pour liquid into four small containers. Let chill for 2 hour or until panna cottas have set.
- Garnish each with a few slices of clementine, a scattering of candied ginger and chocolate dusted almonds.
Categories: Healthy Eating, Nutrition, The Fit Stop | Tags: dannon oikos, greek yogurt, healthy recipes, richard blais, Thanksgiving, top chef, top chef all-stars
1 Comment
Iron Chef Bobby Flay’s Favorite Secret Ingredient
You’ll find Greek yogurt on the menu at many of Flay’s restaurants. (Photo courtesy of Fage)
On Iron Chef, Bobby Flay has slayed the competition using ingredients as varied as buffalo, bananas and blue foot chicken. Clearly, this is one man who knows his way around the kitchen (or grill!). So what’s this Food Network star’s dream secret ingredient? “Greek yogurt. It’s good for so much more than just eating straight topped with honey and berries,” Flay says.
In fact, the tangy dairy item has made an appearance in several of his Iron Chef battles, including a grilled lamb dish with pomegranate and mint yogurt sauce that “takes 60 seconds to make.” [Editor's note: Can we be on the tasting panel?]
Flay loves the versatility of Greek yogurt, using it as a meat marinade, substitute for heavy cream or creme fraiche as a soup-topper, and in dessert, of course. “Frozen yogurt is nothing new, so why not frozen Greek yogurt?” he suggests. “Think of it as a vanilla base and add berries, cinnamon or ricotta cheese.”
Flay, who dreams of taking on Gordon Ramsay in Kitchen Stadium one day, has teamed up with Fage Total to host a recipe contest. They want to see your most innovative, flavorful Greek yogurt ideas. The winner will see her recipe featured on the menu at a special Plain Kitchen event (not to mention a trip to New York City to meet the chef himself)!
To get things rolling, Flay shared one of his favorite snack recipes that includes Greek yogurt: hummus with pita chips. Click below for the recipe, and find more at fageusa.com/plainkitchen.
Categories: Healthy Eating, Nutrition, The Fit Stop | Tags: Bobby Flay, bobby flay fage yogurt recipe contest, cooking tips, Food Network, greek yogurt, Iron Chef
No Comments
