A Moderate Approach to Diet and Fitness

Slow and steady wins the race, so focus on everyday food and exercise habits.

• Assess your daily food and exercise routines, and find practical areas for improvement.

• Look at your daily eating pattern, and find ways to add more vegetables.

• Find foods from each food group that you enjoy eating. A well-balanced diet should contain a variety of fruits and vegetables, whole grains, low-fat dairy or other high calcium substitutes, and a variety of protein foods, including plant proteins like nuts and beans. 

• Plan meals and snacks in advance to avoid having to eat whatever is around. You will get hungry throughout the day, and that’s good because you have to feed yourself to stay alive. :) Plan meals and snacks according to your hunger signals.

• Find time for exercise. Look for times in your daily schedule where a workout would easily fit in. 

• Choose exercise that you enjoy, and you will be much more likely to stick with it.

• Have realistic expectations. Exercise for 30 minutes to an hour most days of the week. Do more if you have the time, but don’t worry if you can’t devote 8 hours a day to exercise like an Olympic athlete. 

• Don't get frustrated. As long as you're trying, that's what matters. If you have a busy day and can't workout or one day you don't eat all your vegetables, it's okay, sometimes we have days like that. Your usual routine and the choices that you make most of the time are much more important than that one day where you felt like you weren't perfect. 

Is Moderation Boring?

Falling for diet fads is tempting because they’re always sold in a sensationalized manner. It sounds exciting to completely overhaul your everyday routine for something new and revolutionary. In reality, the new wears off in a week or so, or maybe a few days. Then you’re left back at square one with no real, useful lifestyle changes. 

The good advice that a large number of people don’t want to hear is that moderation and everyday changes to your routine produce sustainable results. It’s similar to the story of The Tortoise and the Hare. Slow and steady wins the race. The nutrition version would end with the tortoise being in great shape while the hare is asleep, exhausted from constantly chasing fads.

Fads may seem exciting while moderation may seem boring, but if you really want to be healthier in the long-run, focus on everyday changes to your routine and habits. 

Cucumber Sandwiches

  These cucumber sandwiches are delightful. They remind me of the appetizers that were served at weddings when I was a child, and I love going to weddings. They're also a great way to enjoy the fresh cucumbers in abundance throughout the summer, and the leftover cream cheese spread can be used as a dip for other seasonal vegetables. Enjoy! 

Ingredients: 

1 8-oz. package 1/3 less fat neufchatel cream cheese

3-4 Tbsp. dried chives

1 medium cucumber

4-6 slices dense texture whole grain bread

Directions:

Mix the cream cheese and dried chives by hand in a small mixing bowl. Use 3-4 Tbsp. of dried chives, depending on your taste preference. 

Use a whole grain bread with a dense texture so it doesn't fall apart with all the cream cheese and cucumber slices on it. Bakery style breads work really well for these sandwiches. 

Cut the cucumber in half and then slice it longways. It can be peeled or unpeeled, depending on your preference. 

Spread some cream cheese mixture on 2 pieces of bread. Then place the cucumber slices. 

Sandwiches can be served whole or cut into halves or thirds. 

Save any leftover chive cream cheese to use as a dip for tomatoes, carrots, or any of your favorite seasonal vegetables.  

Tomato Pie

  Look at this pretty tomato pie! I decided to make this today because I had a yellow and a red tomato, and I thought it would look really pretty. It tastes amazing, too, and is low in saturated fat, with an oil pastry crust and vegetable oil topping. 

  Some of the ingredients are a little flexible. You can use your favorite oil for the topping or a few pats of butter. Remember, everything in moderation! An Italian seasoning blend can also be used in place of the dried basil. 

  Tomato Pie can be served alone or with soup or salad, similar to how you would serve a quiche.

Ingredients:
1 9-inch pie crust (I used the recipe for Oil Pastry from the Southern Living cookbook.)

2 large tomatoes

1 Tbsp. vegetable or olive oil

1 tsp. dried basil

1/4 tsp. black pepper

1/4 cup shredded or 2 slices part-skim mozzarella cheese

I bought this cookbook in college for a food composition class, and it's now a staple in my kitchen. I use the Oil Pastry recipe on page 355 anytime I need a pie crust.

Directions:
Slice tomatoes and place in colander to drain. 

Prepare pie crust, but don't bake it yet.

Layer the sliced tomatoes, you should have 2 layers. 

Drizzle with oil. 

Sprinkle with basil and then with pepper. 

Top with cheese. 

Bake according to pie crust directions. (I did 450 F for 14 minutes.)

Serve immediately.

Breakfast Bread or Biscuits

   Homemade bread is wonderful, but yeast breads can be exhausting to make and bread machines are kind of expensive. I developed this recipe to be a quick bread with the taste and texture (soft inside, crunchy outside) of good homemade bread. It is ideal as a breakfast bread as it is a little too sweet and crumbly for sandwich bread. The consistency of the dough also makes it great for biscuits. Plus, it has a boost of healthy whole wheat flour.

Breakfast Bread

   I have baked with whole wheat flour in the past and had products that turned out bitter. I wasn't sure if it was just the taste of the flour or if there was something wrong with the bread, so I googled bitter whole wheat bread and found the answer. The top search results, including a post by Cooking Light magazine, said that whole wheat flour spoils faster than white flour because the oils in it go rancid quickly. The fact that grocery stores often don't sell as much whole wheat flour can also mean that it has been setting on the shelf longer. 

   There are a few things you can do to remedy this problem. First, always check the expiration dates on the flour. Don't buy anything that is close to its expiration date and throw away any flour you may have at home that has reached its date. Second, if you can, buy whole wheat flour from a store that keeps it in a cooler, and store it in the refrigerator once you get it home. These tips should ensure that you have fresh, good tasting flour to work with. 

   Another noteworthy thing about this dough is that it contains sorghum molasses. The main difference between sorghum and regular molasses is that sorghum is the delicious stuff that you buy from farmers at roadside stands. It’s viscous like honey. You can eat it on toast or use it in baking. Molasses is the runny, slightly bitter stuff that you buy in major chain grocery stores. If you can't find real sorghum molasses, honey is an acceptable substitute.

Sorghum Molasses

Ingredients:

1 1/4 cups self-rising white flour (White Lily is the best)

1 1/2 cups whole wheat flour

1/4 cup sorghum molasses

1 cup skim or 1% milk

2 tsp. baking powder

1 tsp. salt

4 Tbsp. vegetable oil, divided

Directions:

Preheat oven to 400F. 

Combine all ingredients in a large mixing bowl, leaving out 1 Tbsp. of vegetable oil to use to coat the pan. 

Knead dough until mixed well. 

-For bread, add 1 Tbsp. vegetable oil to a loaf pan. Shape the dough into a loaf shape, roll it in the oil in the pan, and bake for 20-30 minutes. 

-For biscuits, lightly coat a baking sheet with oil, drop the dough by heaping tablespoons onto the baking sheet, and bake for 15-20 minutes.