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Farmers Market Vegetable and Penne Pasta

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After a long day or a vigorous workout, I love this abundant mix of veggies over pasta. The colors are amazing and will dress up any table. It’s great to have for lunch or dinner.

2 red peppers
1 small onion
2 garlic cloves
2 cups zucchini
1/2 cup carrots
12 cherry tomatoes
1 large eggplant
2 Tbsp fresh basil
2 ounces, 2 Tbsp olive oil
Fat-free or low fat Feta cheese, crumbled
Whole wheat penne pasta, cooked according to directions

Directions:

1. Coat large skillet with cooling spray and olive oil.
2. Saute onion and garlic until golden.
3. Add all cut-up vegetables.
4. Place over medium heat, 12 minutes or until tender.
5. Cook pasta.
6. Serve vegetables over pasta.
7. Add Feta cheese on top.
8. Can serve as a meal or side with chicken breast. Also good cold the next day.

Health Benefits:
Low in fat, low in cholesterol, low in sodium, low in sugar. This dish is full of antioxidants, vitamins and nutrients. High in fiber and easily digestible, this farmer’s feast is a great choice for a healthy and successful diet to live by.

Lose Weight By Eating More Often

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The best way to lose weight is to eat every 21/2 to 3 hours. Eating frequent, small meals will help to keep you from overeating at any meal and from making unhealthy food choices.

Going for long periods of time without eating causes your metabolism to all but shut down to conserve fat and energy. A slower metabolism burns less calories. When you eat three large meals per day, you will tend to eat more at each meal and with a slower metabolism, it will be more difficult to burn off those calories.

Large meals will make you feel more sluggish than small, healthy meals. The idea is to keep your body satisfied with food, but not overindulge yourself which leads to weight gain.

Plus, if you are active, five meals will sustain you better, keeping sugar levels from falling and rising which may cause you to become hungry, tired and irritable.

The best way to succeed with this way of eating, is to plan your meals each day. If you work away from home, pack a lunch with healthy snacks of fruit, vegetables, cheese or crackers. Make sure you are getting enough protein, too.

When eating five times per day, keep the portions small—each serving about the size of the palm of your hand.

The key to portion control is to stop eating when you are full. Learn the language your body is speaking. Don’t take another bite past that satisfied feeling. Remember: your next meal is only a few hours away.

That’s the clincher, knowing you will be eating again in less than 3 hours, really does keep you from overeating. You can be free to enjoy your food, not have to worry about counting calories, and feel satisfied all day long. It really is the secret to eating more and weighing less.

My meal schedule works best this way: 7 am: breakfast. 10 am: snack. 1 pm: lunch. 4 pm: snack 7pm: dinner. I’ve eaten this way my whole life, and never had a weight problem or a significant health problem.

Give it a try. Nutritious food, in sensible portions, eaten several times a day really will keep your hunger satisfied and help you to lose those excess pounds.

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Its Who You Are, Not How Much You Weigh

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Have you ever stepped onto the scales and just hated the number that appeared as your weight? Many of us have felt that disappointment. However, for some women, they are so ashamed of their weight that they experience self-loathing or depression.

That number on the scale is not who you are! You are so much more than just the number that is your weight. To all of those around you, it’s who you are, not how much you weigh that defines you to them.

If you’ve got a mind and have the ability to make a commitment, you can change that number on the scale to one that will be more satisfactory to you. All it takes to change that number is the desire, the drive and faith in yourself. You must believe it to achieve it.

Never throw the baby out with the bath water! By this I mean, don’t get discouraged with your weight and become depressed. Rather, make up your mind to do something about it.
No matter how many times you may have tried and failed before, you do have the power to change your life.

Making changes in your life will be necessary if you want to lose weight. You’ll need to make amendments to your diet and your exercise practices. That doesn’t mean you can’t eat foods that taste good, or that you have to succumb to boring exercise routines. There are many tasty treats that are low in calories that make great substitutions to other high fat snacks and fun aerobic activities that help you lose weight in just 30 minutes a day.

If you need help getting started with your women’s fitness program, join Fitness4Her today. You’ll get free access to mouth-watering menus and recipes that you can prepare for yourself or your family. Plus, you can join in the fitness fun with easy to follow exercise routines designed specially for the female body.

It’s who you are, not how much you weigh that makes you special. But if you aren’t happy with your weight, start taking the necessary steps to change it. It’s your life and it’s much too precious to spend any time feeling disappointed in yourself.

Join Fitness4Her and learn to love food, regain the essence of youth and recapture your confidence. Think it, believe it and achieve it!

Inspiring Thoughts To Help You Get Fit

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Women are so beautiful and most don’t even realize it. We spend so much time dissatisfied with our own bodies that we neglect to appreciate how gorgeous we truly are. There has always been a fascination with the female body and our femininity has been a source of great pleasure.

When you are carrying more weight on your body than you are comfortable with, you begin to feel less than beautiful. Sure you can see your curves, but there is a layer of fat hiding some pretty awesome muscles.

Exercising without dieting, can result in less than desirable weight loss. If you really want to drop the pounds, you will need to adjust the foods that you eat. First off, you need to examine your portions. Next you want to watch the types of food that you eat.

The best way to do this is to write down every thing you eat and drink along with all of the exercise that you do. This will help you to keep track of what works for you when it comes to losing weight and what does not.

Make a commitment to exercise for 30 minutes a day at least 6 days a week. The best exercise program should include aerobics and strength training exercise. This will ensure you get the healthy heart benefits of a cardio workout coupled with the benefits of a resistance-training workout that builds muscle and improves your range of motion.

By making a decision to get fit, you will improve your mental and physical health. It is believed that a sensible diet and exercise plan can offset diseases such as diabetes and heart disease. You may find that exercise helps to improve your sex life and that can render many benefits for a healthy and happy life.

If you are looking for inspiration and hoping to find healthy ways to lose weight and get fit, then join Fitness4Her today. Fully dedicated to women’s fitness, Fitness4Her is an online diet, exercise program and women’s fitness blog that strives to inspire and educate women about the wonderful benefits of a healthy lifestyle.

It’s never too late to get in shape. No matter your age or fitness level, Fitness4Her will work for you. It begins with a sensible diet and healthy recipes that will help you lose weight without ever having to count a single calorie, and an exercise program designed for the beauty of the feminine physique. But in order to get access to all of this free stuff, you must sign up to become a member. It’s free and it’s fun. Best of all, it’s a great way to get inspired and get fit for life.

Ladies who Lunch

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You are cordially invited to sample some of these delectable meals for your dining pleasure.

Lunch: 1:00pm
Lunch should follow about 2 1/2 to 3 hours after your mid-morning snack.  This will ensure that your body has had enough time to process your last meal and before you become too hungry.

Lunchtime can be a very satisfying and sociable occasion. But many times, it means something grabbed and gobbled quickly in order to get back to everyday tasks. This makes it hard to eat healthy, but it is still possible to take control over your diet by following these helpful hints and meal plans. {+}

Plan what you will eat ahead of time. In the same fashion as my sample meals, make a meal plan at least a week in advance. Make a list of all the ingredients you need for preparation and purchase them at the same time you do the rest of your groceries. This way you will have less chance of swaying from your diet.

Some people complain that healthy foods are too expensive. As I talked about in the post Fitness4Her Diet Part 2, inexpensive processed foods, containing excessive sugar, salt and fat can result in costly health problems later in life.

Do you ever get hungry at the supermarket? Eating a small meal before you leave the house will help to keep you from tossing too many impulse purchases in the grocery cart.

When going out shopping, try to have a healthy meal already prepared and in the fridge for when you return. This will keep you from having to grab a quick lunch somewhere on the run. If you do eat lunch out, be sure to read my post Dining Out on a Diet—Don’t Pout!

As often as possible, eat your meals on a real plate. Melamine is okay, but try to avoid eating from a paper plate or bag. I stress this because eating from a plate allows your brain to interpret this eating ritual as a meal. This will help to satisfy your appetite and keep you from getting hungry before your next meal.

Make your mealtime as relaxing as possible. If you must eat at your desk in the office, bring your own cutlery and pretty accents. This might sound crazy and impractical but you might be pleased to find that you don’t have indigestion afterwards.

I’ve gathered seven meals that I eat regularly and that are nutritiously balanced. Enjoy an 8 oz. glass of water or tea with each of these delectable meals.

Now remember, just because I’ve labeled them Monday through Sunday doesn ‘t imply that you must eat the meals in this order. Rather, it is a way to help you visualize your own healthy meal plans. By designing your own diet, based on healthy suggestions, you will have a better chance of making it a permanent way of life.

Monday: Grilled chicken breast (5 oz.), with one-half sweet potato, and one-half cup of broccoli. You can grill the chicken the night before or even a couple of days ahead of time. If you do cook it earlier in the week, be sure to refrigerate it promptly, to keep food safe.

Tuesday: Grilled salmon (5 oz.), with one-cup fresh spinach and garlic, complemented with a sliced tomato. This is an excellent dish! You can cook the salmon the night before, but use extra caution, as with all cooked seafood, when storing it for longer than a day.

Wednesday: One can of water-packed tuna, or a 5 oz. filet of seared tuna, with a small salad topped with a non-fat dressing, lemon juice, or balsamic vinegar. Now this is quite yummy. A shift from the traditional mayonnaise laden tuna salad, this fresh tasting, healthy meal can be put together in less than five minutes. This is a great lunch to have at home or at the office.

Thursday: One bowl of white bean turkey chili with a bowl of brown rice, and one cup of raw carrots. The recipe for this scrumptious meal can be found in my post Recipes4Her. A fiber-rich dish that’s low in fat and calories … for those of you who are counting.

Friday: A half-dozen sushi rolls or California rolls, accompanied by a bowl of edamame. Pronounced ed-a-mommy, this boiled green soybean snack can be enjoyed anytime. Rich in vitamins A,B, and C, a ½ cup of these little beans packs a whopping 9 grams of fiber. Now, that’s healthy!

You can find edamame at any grocery store. Check the frozen food section, for cooked varieties that you can just thaw and serve.

Saturday: A tasty sandwich of avocado, lettuce, and tomato on whole grain bread, with a small cucumber salad. Now, you might be saying, “Whoa there Karen, I don’t see any meats in this dish—what about protein?” Well ladies, you may or may not be surprised to find that an avocado has 2 grams of protein, that’s almost as much as milk. It’s also high in fiber and digestible fats. It’s a no cholesterol substitution for meat with a healthy dose of vitamins A, B, C, E, and K along with beneficial nutrients such as potassium, magnesium and copper.

Eating avocado with a cucumber salad or other leafy greens will trigger the digestive process by enhancing the secretion of digestive enzymes.

Tomatoes are another fruit that is almost magical when it comes to health benefits. High in vitamins A, C, B-complex, and E. These ruby red beauties contain lycopene, a carotenoid that has been hailed for its anti-oxidant and cancer fighting powers.

Sunday: A bowl of miso soup with tofu, celery, seaweed, and carrots. A handful of whole grain crackers and hummus on the side will provide you with a crunchy accompaniment that will add a bit of interest to your meal.

Eating tofu, also referred to in some circles as the “perfect food,” will provide you with a high level of protein, calcium and vitamin E. Cholesterol-free, it’s a great substitute for meat.

Hummus, derived from chickpeas, is an excellent source of fiber. Made with olive oil, a monounsaturated fat, that’s actually heart healthy. Combined with whole grain crackers, they provide a whole protein.

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