Move Your Body

I get the “Active Insider” newsletter delivered to my inbox every so often.  I can’t remember when I signed up, but the newsletter is created by active.com, and usually has some pretty cool fitness tips and advice.  Active.com is a great site with tons of fitness, nutrition and sport-specific information.  It even has a section for families and tips and information on helping your children be healthy and active.  This month’s newsletter had an article that I found particularly helpful, so I thought I’d share it with you.

The article is titled, “Pre- and Post- Workout Meals in 15 Minutes.“  It’s written by an author from Runner’s World, so it’s written with runners in mind, but a healthy recipe is a healthy recipe – whether you’re a runner or not.   We had a request recently for some more healthy eating tips – so this article is a start.

The recipes are supposed to be fast, easy and give you the energy you need for a workout.  I skimmed these recipes, and hopefully I will have some time to try them in the near future.  But I actually found the very end of the article the most helpful to me.  The last part lists staples to have on hand to make healthy dishes, fast.

The key to preparing fast meals is to stock your kitchen with nearly ready-to-use foods, such as frozen produce, which is just as healthy as fresh.

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A list of staples for making healthy, tasty dishes-fast.

Frozen Fruit
Blueberries (or mixed berries, cherries, or peaches)

Frozen Vegetables
Broccoli florets, bell peppers

Fresh Produce
Prewashed and precut romaine hearts, preshredded cabbage,limes, scallions

Dairy
Plain yogurt, feta cheese

Nuts and Seeds
Walnuts, peanuts, almonds,cashews, sunflower and sesame seeds

Dried Fruit
Dates, raisins, coconut

Oils
Olive, sesame

Herbs
Basil, parsley, and mint

Grains
Fresh or dried pasta, part whole-grain pancake mix, oats, whole-wheat pita chips

Meat
Precooked chicken sausages, precooked flank steak or roast beef cold cuts

Seasonings and Condiments
Soy sauce, red-pepper flakes, tahini, natural peanut butter

Sweeteners
Maple syrup, honey, vanilla

I always find it frustrating when I find a great recipe only to find that I don’t have any of the ingredients on hand.  This list will help you know what basic things to have in your house if you want to start eating healthier.

I’m usually starving when I get home from work.  I have skipped many workouts because although I finally have free time after work to head to the gym or go for a run, I’m too hungry to go.  Sometimes I scarf down some oreos or lunchmeat that I might scrounge up from the fridge, but I don’t like the idea of eating on the fly just to have enough energy to workout.  I’ve been looking for some ideas for quick things to eat that might boost energy and help tide me over for a workout before dinner.

This article had some ideas!

• Handful of low-fiber cereal
• A bagel with honey or jelly
• A few graham crackers with a teaspoon of honey
• Banana and a few nuts or teaspoon of peanut butter
• Cup of fat-free yogurt

Apparently the idea is to go for about 150 calories of low-fiber, low-fat foods that will boost energy fast and won’t upset your stomach.  Try one of these out when you’re feeling hungry before a workout – it should do the trick.