LEAN Team Tips for November

Now that we are getting ready for the holidays, we have even less time to for meal planning, exercise and of course, losing those last few pounds we've been working on all year. So with less time for all these things, what can we do to keep ourselves on track? PLAN AHEAD!

Here are some easy ideas that will help everyone in your family plan better and eat better, no matter how busy we get. Remember, relying on fast food and pizza may seem like your only choice on the busiest nights, but it doesn't have to be.

- Cook up a whole load of skinless, boneless chicken breasts and keep them in the fridge. This is great for cutting up on salads, throwing into soup and making sandwiches. Making a quick chicken and cheese sandwich on whole wheat bread can be the perfect solution to a pre-football practice snack so your child does not come home starving after practice and start to graze on junk food while they are waiting for dinner to be pulled together.

- Take those same chicken breasts and cut them into smaller pieces, toss them into a ziplock bag with some shake and bake and cook for about ten minutes. Cook up a whole bunch and freeze them - much healthier (and cheaper) than the frozen store bought version.

- Set aside some time on the weekend to prepare a few meals that can be eaten during the week. You save a lot of time making lasagna with the no-cook noodles. Brown up some lean ground beef or ground turkey, purchase the pre-grated part skim mozzerella cheese, part skim ricotta cheese and a jar of spagetti sauce - you have yourself an easy lasagna. Better yet, make 2 and freeze one! By using the part skim cheese selections you save quite a bit of fat and still get all the bone building calcium. Other ideas that work are meatloaf, chicken or bean soup and spaghetti sauce with frozen turkey meatballs. If you have small children, many of these meals can be spearated. My seven year old loves meatballs, but will not eat them
mixed with sauce on top of macaroni - I just place them in separate bowls and he eats them right up. Another idea is to heat up turkey meatballs in spagetti sauce and place in sub rolls for a quick meatball sub.

- On those nights when you think there is nothing apart from take out, scramble up some eggs, mix in some lowfat cheese and toast up some toast or bagels. Quick to prepare, filling, high protein and loads of calcium. If your mornings are like mine, eggs are not an option due to the time crunch, so my kids are happy to see eggs on an occasional night.

- Providing a healthy, protein rich snack after school or work, can take the edge off hunger on those nights when dinner may be a litte late. Sliced apples with peanut butter, cheese and whole wheat crackers, yogurt or a bowl of cereal are a few ideas. Mixing a higher sugar cereal with a low sugar alternative is a great way for the kids to get the taste they want without all of the sugar. For example, cheerios mixed with honey nut cheerios or rice chex mixed with cinnamon toast crunch. Many of these cereals are fortified with vitamins and minerals and combined with low fat or skim milk make a very healthy, well balanced snack.

Hopefully some of these ideas will help you out during these crazy weeks! If any of you are struggling, please feel free to send me a message via the blog, or by email. I look forward to providing more tips and ideas that will help us all live healthier lives.