Wednesday, June 22, 2011

Delicious & Low-Fat Sugar Cookies!

You absolutely must try these! I made a few changes to a sugar cookie recipe that my family has used. I made them low-fat (so they are VERY diet-friendly), and they turned out incredible!

3 egg whites
2 whole eggs
1 1/3 cups canola oil
4 tsp vanilla
1 tsp lemon juice
1 1/2 cups sugar
4 cups flour
4 tsp baking powder
1 tsp salt

Heat oven to 400' F. Beat egg whites and eggs with fork. Stir in oil, vanilla, and lemon juice. Blend in sugar until mixture thickens. Stir together flour, baking powder, and salt; blend in. Drop dough by teaspoonfuls about 2" apart on an ungreased cookie sheet. Flatten with oiled bottom of glass dipped in sugar. Bake 8-9 min, until golden brown. Remove from cookie sheet immediately.

Tuesday, June 7, 2011

Best way to lose weight. . .

I find it interesting that there is always a new "diet" that everyone (wanting to lose weight) is willing to try. A few popular diets that I can think of are the HCG diet, Atkins diet, and South Beach diet. It seems that most people want a quick fix. . . they are looking for an "easy" way to lose weight. Unfortunately, if you are wanting to improve your health by losing weight and keeping it off, there is no "easy" way.
Weight loss is important on several levels. Doing cardio workouts on a regular basis (I recommend at least 3 times per week for 30 minutes) improves your cardiovascular system. This means that you decrease your risk for heart disease, stroke, diabetes, and high blood pressure to name only a few of the benefits. You improve your breathing (some people experience cessation of seasonal allergies and asthma symptoms) and also decrease your heart rate (which simply means that your heart is stronger, so in turn does not have to beat as fast to deliver blood to the body). Doing resistance/weight workouts (I recommend 1-2 times per week for 30-60 minutes) improves strength, range of motion, and builds lean muscle mass (which results in a lower BMI and Body Fat Percentage).
But, how exactly does one lose weight the "healthy" way. You MUST decide that this will be a LIFESTYLE CHANGE. Eat a balanced diet of carbohydrates (from fruits, vegetables, and whole wheats/grains), protein (beans, lentils, meat), and fat (the healthy kind that can be found in nuts, olive oil, and avocados). To begin weight loss, you must burn more calories every day than you consume. There are several free programs on the internet that can be used to log and track calories.
Implementing the above recommendations of a balanced diet and exercise WILL make you lose weight. It takes dedication, but it does work!
Remember, diets are a temporary fix that don't teach the correct tools needed to keep the weight off after the diet is over. Making a lifestyle change and choosing to eat a balanced diet, while implementing an exercise program, will help you lose weight and teach you how to keep it off.
If you have ANY questions, feel free to message me. I will be more than happy to assist you. Best of luck!