Healthy Monday

Hospitals Put Health on the Menu with Meatless Monday

The connection between diet and disease is not lost on the medical community, which is why many hospitals have started offering Meatless Monday meals in their cafeterias. Each week staff, patients and visitors alike get a delicious lesson in healthier habits.

“Each Monday, [Mt. Sinai's] Plaza Cafe serves more meatless products to encourage employees and visitors to reduce their risk of chronic preventable diseases, including cancer, cardiovascular disease, diabetes, and obesity. Reducing meat consumption has been shown to; Limit cancer risk, including risk of breast cancer, prostate cancer, and colon cancer; reduce risk of heart disease; fight obesity, curb diabetes [and] allows you to improve your diet and live longer.”

This week's Meatless Monday Recipe: 

Go To Pasta (courtesy of Chez Us )

• 2 cups fresh vegetables
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 1 medium shallot, minced
• 1 clove of garlic, minced
• 1/2 lemon juiced
• 1/4 cup white wine
• 3 tablespoons of fresh herb minced, used thyme for this dish
• zest from one lemon, optional (it went well with favas)
• cheese, your choice, be creative
• kosher salt, to taste
• fresh cracked black pepper
• 1 lb pasta, cooked according to directions ( you can use multigrain pasta )

Bring water to boil and cook pasta according to directions.  If using fresh, it will not take as long.  After cooking the pasta, drain it very well, and then lightly toss with a drizzle of olive oil to prevent sticking.  In a large frying pan heat the olive oil over medium heat.  Add the shallots, stir and cook over low heat, until soft;  about 3 minutes.  Add the garlic, stir.  Add the vegetable of choice along with the lemon juice and white wine, cook until slightly soft but still a little crisp;  3 – 5 minutes.  Add the fresh herb, stir.  Season with salt and pepper.  Remove from the heat.  Toss with the pasta.  Sprinkle in the cheese, and gently stir.  Serve.  Eat. Enjoy!

Healthy Monday - Monday Motivator :  

Time for a Change of Pace? 

If you’re getting bored with your exercise routine, switch it up this week! 

 Varying your activity 

means you’ll work new muscle groups, plus you’ll be more likely to stick with it.

Have a great Monday and remember : One step at a time....we can achieve optimal wellness!

Keep moving with Small Steps and have fun!

Best in health always,

Lisa

LQ Wellness

973-383-0955

Wellness Thoughts for Thursday

Are you curious about things that you can do to build yourself a blueprint for wellness?  A blueprint for wellness can be done on a few different levels.  Perhaps you’d like to lose ten pounds, or just develop more stamina or better cardiac health.  This leads us into the first step of building your new plan.

Determine what you want to accomplish – Your job is to figure out, in detail, what it is you’d like to achieve.  Goal setting is a key factor in being successful at anything and this is no different.

Gain Knowledge – Once you have your goals figured out go online and find others who have accomplished what you’re trying to do.  If you’re not able to do as much as them, that’s fine, start at your own pace.  There are plenty of websites out there that will help you.

Put Yourself On A Schedule – Organization is a wonderful thing and that includes your time as well.  If you need to get up in the morning to get some exercise done to get it out of the way, give yourself an extra hour in the morning before you have to go to work.

Diet Will Make Or Break You – You’re going to have to get to it sooner or later, so why not now.  Start replacing at least one thing that you like to eat with something healthy.  Something I did was to eat vegetables with ranch dressing.  No the ranch isn’t good and you should replace it eventually, at least you’ll be eating vegetables instead of junk food.

Start A Journal – Documentation will serve several purposes.  It will make your goals seem more real to you, allow you track your progress, show you where you can do better and keep your eye on the prize.  A blueprint for wellness is exactly that, a visual representation of what you want to accomplish.

Take Your Lunch To Work – I know all too well how easy it is to fall into running through the drive through at lunch at work when you’re rushed.  Making your own lunch will be more healthy for you, save you money, and you’ll also find that you have more time to just slow down during the day and truly take a break.  Making your lunch does not mean a TV dinner or preservative filled box of stuff.

Tell Others About Your Plan – Telling your friends or relatives will give you some accountability.  Find at least one person that you can hold yourself accountable to.  Sticking with a program like this is almost the hardest part.  We can all do things for a few days, a week, or even a month.  If you want it to last, you’ve got to stick with it.

Building a blueprint for wellness isn’t a tough thing to do.  You’ve got to have a little creativity and the willpower to get those first steps done.  Steven Covey, author of “The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People” said it takes about 30 days to make something into a habit.  If you can stick with things that long, then you’ll be well on your way to a healthier, happier life.

One step at a time...I can help you develop a blueprint for optimal wellness.

Let me show you the way!

Please share this blog with your family, friends and coworkers.                                                                                                                                   

Wishing you health and wellness from the inside out,

Lisa
LQ Wellness
973-383-0955

Eat Healthy on Mondays

Starting today – eat less, eat leaner and move more! – as your new approach to improve eating behaviors. Eat Healthy On Mondays builds upon Monday as a motivating weekly start to encourage consumption of fewer calories, more nutritious calories, and more calories burned off. By adopting Meatless Monday individuals can improve their health and potentially reduce demand for meat products, particularly industrially produced meat, which use huge amounts of natural resources and pose significant public health and environmental risks.


You may ask : Why Eat Healthy on Mondays?

Going meatless once a week may reduce your risk of chronic preventable conditions like cancer, cardiovascular disease, diabetes and obesity. It can also help reduce your carbon footprint and save precious resources like fresh water and fossil fuel.

It's the January of the week, the perfect time for a fresh start. People are more likely to begin exercising, start a diet or quit smoking on Monday than any other day. It’s a call to action built into every calendar – offering 52 chances a year to live a longer, healthier life!

Read about these benefits below. But keep in mind that just going meatless is not enough. That’s why I give you the information you need to add healthy, environmentally friendly meat-free alternatives to your diet each week. 

Health Benefits

• LIMIT CANCER RISK: Hundreds of studies suggest that diets high in fruits and vegetables may reduce cancer risk. Both red and processed meat consumption are associated with colon cancer.
• REDUCE HEART DISEASE: Recent data from a Harvard University study found that replacing saturated fat-rich foods (for example, meat and full fat dairy) with foods that are rich in polyunsaturated fat (for example, vegetable oils, nuts and seeds) reduces the risk of heart disease by 19%
• FIGHT DIABETES: Research suggests that higher consumption of red and processed meat increase the risk of type 2 diabetes.
• CURB OBESITY: People on low-meat or vegetarian diets have significantly lower body weights and body mass indices. A recent study from Imperial College London also found that reducing overall meat consumption can prevent long-term weight gain.
• LIVE LONGER: Red and processed meat consumption is associated with modest increases in total mortality, cancer mortality and cardiovascular disease mortality.
• IMPROVE YOUR DIET. Consuming beans or peas results in higher intakes of fiber, protein, folate, zinc, iron and magnesium with lower intakes of saturated fat and total fat.

Environmental Benefits

• REDUCE YOUR CARBON FOOTPRINT. The United Nations’ Food and Agriculture Organization estimates the meat industry generates nearly one-fifth of the man-made greenhouse gas emissions that are accelerating climate change worldwide . . . far more than transportation. And annual worldwide demand for meat continues to grow. Reining in meat consumption once a week can help slow this trend.
• MINIMIZE WATER USAGE. The water needs of livestock are tremendous, far above those of vegetables or grains. An estimated 1,800 to 2,500 gallons of water go into a single pound of beef. Soy tofu produced in California requires 220 gallons of water per pound.
• HELP REDUCE FOSSIL FUEL DEPENDENCE. On average, about 40 calories of fossil fuel energy go into every calorie of feed lot beef in the U.S. Compare this to the 2.2 calories of fossil fuel energy needed to produce one calorie of plant-based protein. Moderating meat consumption is a great way to cut fossil fuel demand.

Healthy Monday Tip: Pick a Petite Plate

Oversized plates lead to oversized portions, so slim your serving size this week by eating your meals on a salad plate. Your dish will seem just as full- that way you’ll be satisfied with less.

Eat Healthy on Monday Recipe: Enjoy this wonderful, vegetarian pasta courtesy of Chef Nathan Lyon any day of the week. 

Ingredients:

1 lb angel hair pasta, preferably imported 

2 very packed cups fresh basil leaves, plus more for garnish

2 medium garlic cloves, peeled

1/2 cup pine nuts, plus more for garnish

1/2 cup Extra Virgin Olive Oil

1/2 cup freshly grated Parmigiano-Reggiano, plus more for garnish

Kosher salt, as needed

Freshly ground black pepper, as needed

Instructions:

In a food processor, process to combine: basil, garlic, and pine nuts. Scrape down the sides, then add 1/4 cup oil. Process once again. Add the remaining ¼ cup oil, and process one last time until the desired texture is achieved. Stir in the cheese, until combined.

In a large pot bring some water to a rolling boil. Add enough Kosher or sea salt to the water until the water tastes like the ocean. This is the only time that you are able to season the pasta properly. Add the pasta, stir, and cook according to package directions for “al dente”. Reserve about a cup of the cooking water, then drain the pasta and quickly toss with the pesto while pasta is still very hot. Add back some of the pasta cooking water if the sauce gets too thick. Garnish with Parmigiano-Reggiano, a few pine nuts, a light drizzle of olive oil, and some fresh basil.

Happy Monday, Happy Reading and remember to share this healthy blog with family, friends and coworkers!

Eat Well, Eat Healthy, Enjoy Life!

To your health always,

Lisa

LQ Wellness

973-383-0955