Still Tasty: The Ultimate Shelf Life Guide

Here is another fun website for everyone to checkout. Have you ever wondered how long your favorite foods and beverages will stay safe and tasty?? This website has thousands of foods in their database to help you save money, eat better and help the environment! Check it out: http://www.stilltasty.com/

Advertisement

Metabolism Hacks: Tap Into Your Calorie Burning Power

Great article from WebMd…worth the read and it answers all those questions regarding metabolism and calorie consumption. Check it out:

http://www.webmd.com/diet/features/metabolism-hacks?ecd=wnl_din_092809

Gluten-Free Dining Out

An updated gluten-free restaurant list for Austin:

1. The Steeping Room (GF Sandwiches + Dessert)
2. Brick Oven on 35th (GF Pizza + Dessert)
3. Wildwood Art Cafe (All Gluten Free)
4. The Grove Wine Bar (GF Pizzas + Pastas)
5. Craig O’s Pizza & Pastaria (Pizza)
6. Mother’s Cafe & Garden (GF menu)
7. Shady Grove Cafe (GF menu)
8. Maudie’s (GF menu)
9. East Side Cafe (GF menu)
10. Guero’s Taco Bar (GF menu)
11. North By Northwest (GF menu)
12. Hyde Park Bar & Grill (GF menu)
13. Mirabelle Restaurant (GF menu)
14. Z’Tejas (GF menu)
15. Fire Bowl Cafe (GF menu)
16. Jade Leaves Tea House (GF menu)
17. Dominican Joe Coffee Shop (GF Cookies)
18. Rolling in Thyme and Dough (GF Muffins, Bread on Tuesdays until they last)
19. Zen (GF menu)
20. The Clay Pit (GF menu)
21. Carraba’s Italian Grill (GF menu)
22. Waterloo Ice House (Ask for ingredients binder)
23. Case de Luz (Gluten Free-Macrobiotic)
24. Outback Steakhouse (GF menu)
25. PF Changs (GF menu)
26. Pei Wei (GF menu)
27. Maria Maria (GF menu)
28. Vivo (GF menu)
29. Corazon (GF menu)
30. Pluckers (All sauce GF – GF menu)
31. Sago (GF menu)
32. Cafe Josie (GF menu)
33. Portabla (GF menu)
34. Hyde Park Bar & Grill (GF menu)
35. Southside Flying Pizza (GF Crust)
36. Peoples Rx (GF Sandwiches)
37. Wild Wood Art Café (GF)
38. Cups & Cones (GF cones)
39. Thom’s Market (GF treats)
40. Hai Ky
41. Ruta Maya International Headquarters
42. Mr Natural
43. Cookie Lounge (GF Cookie)
44. Kerbey Lane Café (GF pancakes)
45. Titaya’s Thai Cuisine
46. Taste of Ethiopia
47. TerraBurger
48. Trio & Four Seasons
49. FINO (GF Menu)
50. Taco Deli (GF)
51. Fogo de Chao

It’s On Like Donkey Kong!

I know this has NOTHING to do with healthy living…but GO COLTS!!!!! Come on Peyton…show Arizona who’s boss!!!

Sunday Bake-Day

I was in a baking mood today so I made gluten-free chocolate chip cookies using my favorite baking mix: Pamela’s (http://www.pamelasproducts.com/) Keith and I use this mix to make pancakes, waffles, muffins, cookies, etc…it is a very versatile mix and it tastes AWESOME!

PAMELA’S CHOCOLATE CHIP COOKIES

1/2 cup butter
1/4 cup light brown sugar
1/4 cup white sugar
1 egg, large
1 tsp vanilla
1 1/2 cups Pamela’s Mix
1 1/2 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips (I used 1 cup of mini chips)
1/2 cup chopped walnuts, optional

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Cream butter and sugars, add egg and vanilla, the beat together. Add Pamela’s mix, chocolate chips, and nuts (if using) and mix thoroughly. Place scoops of dough (1 TBSP scoop) on a lightly greased cookie sheet. Flatten with a spatula. Bake for 12-15 minutes, or until edges begin to brown. Let cookies cool slightly and then EAT!!!

Saturday Bliss!

So today was the PERFECT running day! I got up and ran at about 7:30am and it was nice and cool with a slight breeze. Welcome Fall…I’ve been waiting for you!! 🙂

I wanted to let all you runners and walkers know that RunTex’s website is AWESOME and they have a lot of great tips and tools for runners, including pace calculators. So, anytime I want to know my exact pace I go to that website and plug in the information to see…today was a good day: 10 miles at 8:20 pace. Not too shabby!! Anyway, here’s the link: http://www.runtex.com/tools.asp

HAPPY FOOTBALL SATURDAY!

Fast Food Rules

You can still make healthy food choices even when fast food is your only option. Here are 3 tips to help make it easier to eat on the run:

Healthier Fast-Food Rule No. 1: Be Cautious About Condiments
Half the fat grams in Arby’s Southwest Chicken Wrap and their Ultimate BLT Wrap come from the ranch sauce or mayonnaise. Believe it! Some fast food condiments add a lot of fat and calories — like mayonnaise- and oil-based sauces. Others are lower in calories and have no fat, though they will add some sodium. Use a little catsup, mustard, marinara, or BBQ sauce instead of creamy sauces and spreads. Half a packet of BBQ sauce or honey-mustard sauce from most fast-food chains, for example, will add about 23 calories, no fat grams, and about 80 milligrams of sodium.

Healthier Fast-Food Rule No. 2: Watch Out for Side Dishes
Anything on the side that’s fried is suspect, like French fries and onion rings. If you need something to keep your entree company, look for fresh fruit cups or side salads (and use half a packet of the reduced-calorie dressing). The other option is to bring your own fruits and vegetables from home. Don’t laugh — I’ve done this plenty of times!

Healthier Fast-Food Rule No. 3: Look Out for Liquid Calories
The last thing you need when eating at a fast-food chain is to drink something that gives you calories without nutrients, like soda, sweetened tea, lemonade, and fruit drinks. It’s even worse if your drink is also loaded with fat — like shakes. Choose either a no-calorie beverage (like water, unsweetened tea, or diet soda) or one that contributes some nutrients along with its calories (like low-fat milk or 100% orange juice).

Everything You Wanted to Know about VINO!!

I will be the first to admit that I know next to nothing about wine. Although Lindsay, my vino expert, is trying her hardest to expose me to the exciting world of wine. I am definitely taking an interest and hope to start learning more about it with her help. I found this GREAT article about wine in my this month’s Women’s Health magazine and I wanted to share! Enjoy!!

THE ULTIMATE WINE LIST
by Loren Chidoni

Treat Wine Like A Condiment
If the wine you’ve chosen has lemony undertones, like a pinot grigio or a sauvignon blanc, drink it with something you would squeeze lemon on, like fish. If butter would enhance the flavor of your dish, choose a buttery chardonnay.

Mix Sweet and Spicy
When you’re in the mood for savory takeout (think Thai or Indian), pair it with a semi-sweet, fruity wine, such as a Riesling, to allow the flavor to calm your palate.

Bring A Neutral Bottle
If you don’t know what your host is serving or if you are in charge of ordering wine for the table at a restaurant, choose a pinot nior. It isn’t too heavy or too light, and it pairs well with many different foods, including fish like salmon or tuna and lighter meats like veal or chicken.

Serve at the Perfect Temperature
People almost always drink whites too cold and reds too warm. Chill reds in the freezer for 10 minutes before pouring (it should be between 55 and 58 degrees Fahrenheit). Take whites out of the refrigerator 10 minutes before you serve them (the ideal temperature is between 40 and 45 degrees).

Let It Breathe
Serving wine immediately after you’ve popped the cork may make the flavor fall flat. Pour a glass and the bottle and the glass sit for at least 15 minutes before serving. This gives oxygen a chance to mix with the wine, which will enhance the flavor.

Sniff It Out
Being handed a glass of wine that’s been filled to the brim may seem like a stroke of luck, but it actually causes you to miss out on some of the flavor. As a rule, a glass shouldn’t be filled more than halfway – you need the extra space for swirling which releases the scent of the wine. After swirling take a whiff (studies show that 80% of what we taste is relayed to our brains via our nostrils). You can taste flavors like sweet or sour on your tongue, but it’s harder to taste a wine’s undertones, such as blueberries or peaches, if you can’t smell them.

If You Wouldn’t Drink It, Don’t Cook With It
This doesn’t mean you need to spend $30 on a bottle the next time you’re whipping up shrimp scampi, but you should avoid “cooking wine” in grocery stores because it’s typically loaded with preservatives, food coloring, and other poor ingredients. Cook with the wine you plan to serve. It’s interesting for people to taste a wine in their glass and also see how it tastes in their food. But, don’t make a sauce from an already opened bottle that’s been stashed in your fridge for a few weeks – old wine will add a bitter flavor to your meal.

Make It Last
At most, an open bottle of white or red will last about three days if you keep it in the fridge. Oxygen is wine’s biggest enemy, and investing in a vacuum seal (a tool that sucks air out through a rubber stopper) will make your wine last a few extra days.

Look Toward The Future

Wine on tap may be the next big innovation. Stored in kegs, vino lasts longer, saving restaurants the expense of having to toss half-full opened bottles. Tap wine works much like draft beer: Gas pushes the wine out of the cask; this prevents oxygen from getting inside the keg and oxidizing the booze. The technology is already being used in some California restaurants and it becoming more popular elsewhere across the country.

Don’t Be A Chicken!

This is the easiest recipe in the entire world that I am not sure it is even considered a real recipe! haha! But it is a great way to make chicken in a hurry. Albeit it isn’t one of my healthiest recipes (GASP) but Keith loves it! The butter crisps the chicken up and makes the skin taste really good! Everything in moderation…so go ahead…and use the real stuff!

BAKED CHICKEN

4 chicken breasts, with bone and skin
1/4 cup butter, melted
1-2 teaspoons Season-All salt (I used McCormick’s)

Preheat oven to 400°F. Spray a shallow baking dish with non-stick cooking spray.

Rinse chicken breast under cool running water. Pat chicken dry with paper towels.

Place chicken in dish. Brush the melted butter over the chicken, using all the butter. Sprinkle with seasoned salt.

Bake for 50-60 minutes or until cooked through. DON’T OVER COOK!!

Serves: 4
351 Calories; 24.9g Fat (11.1g saturated fat); 123mg Cholesterol; 173mg Sodium; 0g Carbohydrates; 0g Fiber; 0g Sugar; 30.4g Protein

My Funny Socks

Okay so many of you have asked me about the “weird looking socks” you see me wearing while running on the treadmill. Those knee-high tube socks are my compression socks. They are snug-fitting, over-the-calf socks aimed at improving oxygen delivery to muscles, speeding lactic acid removal and stabilizing the lower leg for greater muscle efficiency.

Compression socks and wraps have been widely accepted in clinical and post-surgical settings for the treatment of edema, lymph edema, phlebitis, varicose veins, spider veins and deep vein thrombosis. Most theories about how the socks can improve running performance focus on the physiological and biomechanical support of the lower extremities.The primary rationale behind wearing compression socks in a race is that they may enhance venous return to the heart through a more efficient calf muscle pump, leading to increased endurance capacity. And there is the notion that because muscles are kept more compact, balance and proprioception are improved and muscle fatigue is minimized. They also aide in faster lactate recovery rates after exercise when wearing the compression socks, suggesting that compression socks might speed recovery after a strenuous workout or a race.

My favorites are by a company called CEP (http://www.cepsocks.com/) Go check them out!

So…still think I am weird?? HAHA!