Healthy Resolution Ideas to Set for Your New Year
Posted: January 1, 2015 Filed under: Health, Wellness | Tags: 2015, body, fitness, goal setting, health, healthy, ideas, lunch, meatless monday, mind, New Years, Resolution, weight loss Leave a comment
Happy New Year, LifeVest friends! We’re excited to kick off 2015 with you, and want to take the time today to help you create some healthy goals for the year ahead. Goal-setting is important for driving motivation and focus so you can stay on the path towards a healthy, happy you. As they say, New Year, New You. Determine the “you” that you want to become, and then set the goal(s) that will take you there. A dream written down becomes a plan you can achieve.
While resolution-making is a common New Year tradition – 40% of Americans will set one this month – we know getting started can often feel like a challenge. We’ve got some ideas for you below to help get the wheels spinning. Choose one, or use it to inspire your own goal-making for finding health and happiness this year. Let’s see those dreams to reality, together!
Your 3-step plan:
- Choose a goal.
- Make it specific. Perhaps your over-arching goal is to “lose weight” or “get healthy” or “be happier”. To make that objective achievable, break it down into smaller goals. Consider setting a different goal to focus on for each month of the year that will take you towards your larger goal.
- Write it down. Putting pen to paper is proven to make you more successful in actually achieving your plan.
Healthy Ideas to Get You Started: Read the rest of this entry »
Traveling This Holiday Season? Foods Finds for Healthy Fuel
Posted: December 18, 2014 Filed under: Food | Tags: Breakfast, easy, fast food, healthy, holidays, low calorie, low fat, lunch, nutritious, on the go, on-the-road, options, quick, road trip, travel Leave a comment
Like your car, you need fuel when traveling, and not just any fuel will do if you want to function at your best. We know sometimes packing up your lunchbox just isn’t going to happen, so we’re bringing you our top food finds to be found on-the-road.
Let’s make that next pitstop a healthy stop. Below, find an array of just-as-convenient, but better-for-you-than-junk-food options to reach for on your next trip.
For Breakfast:
5 Healthier Holiday Cookie Recipes
Posted: December 15, 2014 Filed under: Food, Recipes | Tags: beans, christmas, cookies, easy, flourless, gluten-free, healthy, holiday, ideas, oats, pumpkin, quick, recipes, round up, whole wheat Leave a comment‘Tis the season for holiday carols, cookies, and sugar-crashes.
Errr, wait a minute. Scratch that last part.
Let’s replace that with holiday cheer instead, with five healthier cookie recipes that make it easy to do just that. From protein-packed chickpeas, to naturally sweet dates, to fiber-filled oats, the following recipes include some magical ingredients that’ll take your holiday baking to the next (and better-for-you) level. While they’re probably not your grandma’s cookies, we promise that they’ll be just as tasty!
Pumpkin Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookies via Sweet Treats & More
6 Ways to Have a Healthier Thanksgiving
Posted: November 25, 2014 Filed under: Health, Lifestyle | Tags: Breakfast, calories, casserole, dishes, exercise, health, healthy, ideas, skip, thanksgiving, walk, ways, weight loss Leave a commentThis Thanksgiving, we encourage you to give thanks to your health, your greatest asset in life.
Below, find six ways you can be mindful of that, and create a healthier, happier Thanksgiving for you and your waistline.
Make the Most of Your Morning: Yoga & Yogurt
Start off strong by fitting in an a.m. stretch session when you wake up. This will leave you feeling relaxed, yet energized for the day ahead. Then follow it up with a healthy breakfast. Skipping this meal to save calories for later in the day can end up leading to an even higher intake overall, since hunger often results in overcompensation at the main meal. Try adding sliced bananas, cinnamon, walnuts, and a slight drizzle of honey to a bowl of plain, low fat Greek yogurt. Six ounces of Greek yogurt contains around 15 grams of protein, which will not only fill you up but also help keep you feeling satisfied until later in the day.
Link Love: Healthy Thanksgiving Recipes
Posted: November 14, 2014 Filed under: Food, Health, Recipes | Tags: appetizer, cooking light, gravy, health, healthy, holiday, ideas, light, mashed potatoes, meal plan, menu, recipes, renovate, revamp, roundup, sweet potatoes, thanksgiving, transform, vegan, vegetarian, weight loss 4 Comments4,500 – The average number of calories eaten per American on Thanksgiving.
Rather than take on that fitness feat, this year we’re making a commitment to give thanks to our health. Join us as we celebrate Thanksgiving both by practicing moderation, and also by revamping some of our favorite holiday dishes. The menu below allows you to dig into many of the classics with a slightly healthier spoon, mashed potatoes and pumpkin pie included.
Green Sans Bean Casserole: Baked Greens Casserole with Crusty Crumb Topping via Cia Chow Read the rest of this entry »
7-Day Sit Up Challenge
Posted: November 11, 2014 Filed under: Fitness | Tags: 7 day sit up challenge, 7 minute, abdominal, abs, bicycle, crunch, fit, fitness, getfit, health, healthy, jack knife, side, sit up, sit up challenge, work Leave a comment
Join us in our 7-Day Sit Up Challenge!
At LifeVest, we place a lot of value on a strong core. We value the passionate team that keeps us afloat. We value others who hold a healthy set of core values – like facilitaing enouragement and compassion for one another. We value that sturdy apple core that won’t collapse on us as we bite towards its center. Today, we’re acknowledging the high value we put on our own inner abdominal core, an area that literally affects all aspects of our day-to-day movement.
From maintaining good posture to reducing lower back pain to simply enabling us to easily bend over and tie our shoes, we know how important our abs are to us. This week, we’re going to give them the attention they deserve.
All you need is 7 minutes per day to join us (which we know you can spare)! Print out our routine that’ll help you hit all areas of your abdominal region. Then set a calendar or phone alert so you don’t miss a day! We recommend choosing a time you can keep consistent, such as in the morning before work, on your midday lunch hour, or before bedtime. Then, get ready to see your way to your own abs of steel!
Spiced Oven-Baked Rutabaga Fries
Posted: November 4, 2014 Filed under: Food, Health, Meatless Monday, Nutrition, Recipes, Weight loss | Tags: broiled, chili, chili powder, food, french fries, fries, health, healthy, ideas, low calorie, low fat, low-carb, oven, oven-baked, recipe renovation, recipe renovator, recipes, roasted, rutabaga, simple, spiced, tips, transformed, tricks, turnip, vegan, vegetarian, weight loss 1 Comment
“They’re like French fries but without as many of the calories and fat,” said LifeVest member Laura Meier.
Bingo. Laura’s description of rutabaga fries sounded great to us, and it didn’t take us long before we set out to discover its truth.
Since joining the program, LifeVester Laura is over halfway to her goal of losing 50 pounds, and now has a new goal of maintaining a healthy lifestyle for the long run.
“We’re going to keep encouraging each other and thinking smarter so we can remain feeling good,” says Laura who set out on her journey to health in partnership with her husband. “You have to think long-term. Otherwise, it’s all for nothing. Why go back when you could feel good for life?”
Laura told us she loves finding new ways to transform some of her favorite recipes into healthier versions. It keeps her feeling both satisfied and excited about continuing on.
She has always loved french fries, and we do too, so we were thrilled to hear about her latest version that enables her to remain on the right track toward her goals.
Rutabagas have just 1/2 the calories and 1/2 of the carbs that potatoes contain. So, inserting them into the standard oven-baked fry equation sounded like a genius idea to us.
Often mistaken for a turnip, the root veggie has that same sweet bite of a turnip with the starchiness of a potato. This makes them perfect for slicing up into flavorful fries, ones that luckily come without too much detriment to your diet.
At just 65 calories per cup, the winter veggie (in season Oct. – March) has become no small fry in our recipe book. Rather, thanks to Laura, it’s our new fry-making go-to.
We were thrilled with the crispy results upon our first batch, and are excited to experiment with other spices and herbs. We’d encourage you to do the same after first trying the chili powder version below.
As Laura shares, “It makes us, especially my husband, think we’re having a burger and fries.” She serves her ruta-fries alongside turkey burgers with lettuce swapped for the bun, a combo we can get behind.
Let us know in the comments, how do you make your favorite comfort foods healthier? We’d love to hear what you’re doing to transform some of your favorite recipes, and thank you to Laura for sharing this idea with us!
