Winter Garden Inspiration

It’s cold outside and there isn’t much green outside, even down here in the South, this time of year.

However, when you just want to cozy up inside and have a hot bowl of soup, it can give you time to prepare for the Spring and Summer months; after all, there are bathing suits in the stores already!

I’ve been trying out a few different apps (Noom, Endomondo, and MyFitnessPal to name a few) to monitor my nutritional intake and my physical activity. I’ll post in the future about my reviews on those. Like many others, I take January to re-assess my needs and focus on my weaknesses (again, did I mention the bathing suits?!?!). I’ve stumbled upon a few free fitness websites I’d like to share if you’re getting ready for the warmer seasons like I am: Fitness Blender on Youtube and ToneItUp.com (which is really geared towards the female population but trust me, if you can look past all the girly marketing, there are some great workouts for anyone!). I don’t get anything from anyone to share these; I just like to share anything I come across that might be helpful (and especially if it’s free!).

I’ve been telling myself every morning my new mantra “Summer bodies are made in the winter”. So, I’ve changed some workout habits and as I have posted previously, I’ve been working to shift to a ‘clean eating’ lifestyle. Which brings me to two topics I want to share: 1. Clean eating recipes I will start to implement as I try them out and 2. Updates, occasionally, on my own garden in which I will include some form of nutritional tips to accompany those posts (recipes, what’s in season, tips on storing them, etc).

To ensure I have a long growing season of delicious vegetables to eat, I had to start some seedlings, early, indoors.

Speaking of, let me introduce you to my favorite soup recipe during the winter months:

Cabbage & Garden Vegetable Soup

Ingredients:

• 1 potato
• 1 medium cabbage (we like red but green tastes delicious too)
• Tomato paste to taste
• 1 turnip
• 3 medium carrots
• 3 cups diced vegetables of choice
• Salt and black pepper to taste.

Directions:

• Boil 2 quarts of water in a large pot. Add olive oil, as desired.
• Peel potato. Dice it up and boil in 2 quarts of water until tender. Once tender, mash it up in the water, as desired.
• Add tomato paste, salt, and black pepper to taste.
• Dice up all vegetable, as desired (you might like chunky or smaller pieces), and put in pot of boiling water.
• Add cabbage last, putting in as much as will fit. Let it boil down and add more, as able.
• Add water, if needed.
• Approximate cooking time is 1 – 1.5 hours. Taste broth and add seasonings as desired.

Healthy Holiday Substitutions and Cold Weather Workouts

Healthy Substitutions for Healthier (Holiday) Eating

If you eat this	Consider this instead
Dairy
Whole Milk	1% or Skim
Ice Cream	Frozen Yogurt, Sherbert, Sorbet, or Italian Ice
Sour Cream	Low-fat plain yogurt
Cream Cheese	Neufchatel or low-fat cream cheese
Whole Milk Cheese	Part Skim Cheese
Coffee Creamer	2%, 1%, or Skim Milk, Milk Substitutes, or   low-cal/low-fat versions OR consider rich flavors while using very small   portions- you can be surprised how far that flavor goes
Cereal, Grain, Pasta
Fettuccine Alfredo	Pasta with Marinara Sauce
White Rice	Brown Rice or Wild   Rice
Meat, Poultry, Fish,   & Eggs
Chicken or Turkey with skin	Chicken or Turkey   without the skin (white meat)
Pork or Ham	Pork Tenderloin or Ham (trimmed, lean, smoked)
Breaded or Fried Fish	Fresh, Frozen, or   Canned Unbreaded Fish- consider grilling or baking
Whole Eggs	1:1 or 1:2 ratio (whole egg to egg whites), use all egg   whites, egg substitutes
Sweets
Cake (pound, yellow, chocolate)	Angelfood, Ginegerbread
Cookies	Reduced fat and   calorie versions such as Graham Crackers or Ginger Snaps
Custard	Pudding made with skim milk
Hot Chocolate using syrup and whole milk	Pure cocoa heated   with 1% or skim milk
Fats, Oils,   Dressings
Butter	Whipped butter,   ‘diet’ margarine (just watch for trans fats and hydrogenated oils)
Mayonnaise	Mustard
Baking using oil, shortening,   eggs,  or lard	Applesauce can be   used in place for some recipes
Other
Cream Soups and Gravies	Broth-based soups or   homemade soups using low-fat milk

Just Because It’s Cold, Doesn’t Mean YouCan’t Fit in Your Exercise

“It’s only cold if you’re not moving”

Using the WebMD Calorie Counter, a person weighing 130 lbs can *potentially* burn the following calories with these winter or indoor activities for 1 hour:

Activity	Calories per   Hour
Ice Skating	414
Skiing, General	414
Sledding	414
Snow Shoeing	473
Building an Ice   House	355
Aerobics Class	355
Walking, Treadmill,   Brisk	295
Light Weight Lifting	177
Dancing	325
Cycling/Spinning, Moderate	473

As you can see, there are still plenty of ways to burn calories despite the cold weather. There are more activities to do than are listed here. The number of actual calories you will burn depends on a lot of factors including your weight, gender, etc. so this calculator can be a fun estimator but it may not be accurate. How are you going to stay active during winter?

Recipe of the Month: Japanese Yam or Sweet Potato Pie

ingredient list

Serves 10

• 1 medium sweet potato, peeled and cut into 1-inch      pieces (about 2 cups)
• 1/2 cup sugar
• 1/2 cup light coconut milk
• 2 large eggs
• 2 Tbs. cornstarch
• 1 tsp. ground cinnamon
• 1/2 tsp. ground ginger
• 1/2 tsp. salt
• 1 9-inch prepared graham cracker crust

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 325F.
2. Place yam/sweet potato in medium pot, and cover with 1      inch water. Bring to a boil, and reduce heat to medium. Simmer 10 minutes,      or until soft. Drain, cool to room temperature, and mash. (You should have      1 cup.)
3. Whisk together potatoes, sugar, coconut milk, eggs,      cornstarch, cinnamon, ginger and salt in large bowl. Pour into piecrust      and bake 50 to 60 minutes, or until set.
4. Cool on rack until ready to serve.

1. Per SERVING:

Calories	194
Protein	3g
Total Fat	6g
Saturated Fat	1.5g
Carbs	32g
Cholesterol	42mg
Sodium	241mg
Fiber	2g
Sugar	16g

DISCLAIMER:

This article is for informational purposes only, and is educational in nature. Statements made here have not been evaluated by the FDA. This article is not intended to diagnose, treat, cure or prevent any disease. Please discuss with your own, qualified health care provider before adding in supplements or making any changes in your diet or exercise routine.