Forks Over Knives

September 6th, 2011 | Posted by Alison Spath in Motivation - (6 Comments)

The documentary Forks Over Knives was in select cities this spring and just recently became available through NetFlix and their “Watch Instantly” option –

Forks Over Knives Documentary

and oh yes, I watched it instantly!

The premise of Forks Over Knives is to show how the foods we eat play a role in the diseases and conditions that plague so many people who live on the Standard American Diet – the Big Ones of course being obesity, heart disease, diabetes and cancer.

(Notice the “knife” in “Forks Over Knives” is at the bottom of the movie poster – a scalpel!)  Read more...

, , ,

Welcome Back Flax

September 5th, 2011 | Posted by Alison Spath in Healthy Habits - (38 Comments)

Do you remember when flax seed was suddenly the new and hip seed to eat? Flax seems like old news to most of us now, and it’s a kitchen staple among many health conscious foodies.

But for me, this seed has been nothing but a giant pain in the flax.

It seems well known that it’s important to eat ground flax seed. Their little hulls are so hard, if you eat them whole they’ll pass right through your body undigested and you miss out on their rich supply of essential fatty acids, Omega-3 in particular.  Read more...

, , , , , , , , , ,

Steamtown or Bust (except hopefully not bust)

September 4th, 2011 | Posted by Alison Spath in Fitness - (2 Comments)

About a month ago, my crazy running friend Shawn got the crazy idea that we should put our names on the waiting list to run the Steamtown Marathon in Scranton, Pennsylvania.  This is the same dude we watched participate in the Lake Placid Ironman this year – thus confirming his insanity.

Steamtown is known for being one of the fastest marathon courses in the country, which makes it a really popular race.  Many people want to run this race to increase their chance at qualifying for the Boston Marathon – and I totally get that.  Read more...

, , ,

Naan Pizza

September 3rd, 2011 | Posted by Alison Spath in Dinner Time - (3 Comments)

Tonight we had the BEST and EASIEST pizza ever – but that’s NAAN of your business.

Naan for Pizza Crust

Kidding. I’m nice – really. Please don’t go. I really do want to tell you about the best and easiest pizza ever.

“Best” thanks largely to naan, Indian flat bread.

Garlic Naan for Grown Ups

Garlic Naan

Plain Naan for Pip Squeaks

Traditional Naan

Pre-heat oven to 500 degrees. If you’ve got a pizza stone, slip that sucker into the oven while it’s getting hot and then start working on your pizza toppings.  Read more...

, , ,

Calorie Counting for Weight Loss Success

September 2nd, 2011 | Posted by Alison Spath in Weight Loss - (7 Comments)

This is the first post in a three part series about measuring the various aspects related to weight loss to improve your chances of weight loss success.

I’m starting with food journaling because in my experience, it was the changes in my diet that had the most significant impact on my weight loss when compared to exercise alone.  Whether or not you count calories – true weight loss comes down to consuming fewer calories than you burn.  Read more...

, ,

Fat is Your Friend

September 1st, 2011 | Posted by Alison Spath in Healthy Habits - (4 Comments)

I just read a study published by the New England Journal of Medicine from June of this year concerning the changes in diet and lifestyle and long-term weight gain in women and men.

More than 120,000 healthy men and women were observed over the course of 20 years.  Their change in weight was evaluated at 4 year intervals.

The results of the study showed that within each 4-year period, study participants gained an average of just over 3 pounds.  (Ever notice how easily your weight can creep up over the years?)  With a 3 pounds gain being the average – a 4 lb weight loss at one end of the spectrum and 12 lb weight gain at the other end.  Read more...

, , , , ,