Memorial Day Picnic Food Ideas

looking for something to bring to that Memorial Day picnic?
Don't have a lot of time but want something that stands out and tastes good too?
Here are a few suggestions:

Red, white and blue strawberries

Ingredients:

strawberries

white frosting

granulated sugar with blue food coloring

Dip the strawberry into the can of frosting (any kind will work as long as it is white). You might need to heat up the frosting for a few seconds in the microwave oven to soften.

Add blue food coloring to some granulated sugar.

After the strawberry has been dipped into the frosting, dip it again into the blue sugar.

ENJOY!

Red, white and blue pound cake

Photo, Courtesy- Taste of Home

Ingredients:

Frozen pound cake thawed

Bludberry pie filling

Strawberry or raspberry pie filling

Whipped topping

After thawing the pound cake, cut length wise into three segments.

Place bottom segment on serving tray.

Add blueberry topping to the bottom segment (don't overfill to avoid spillage).

Add middle pound cake segment.

Add strawberry or raspberry filling (do not overfill).

Place top pound cake segment on top.

Cover entire cake with whipped topping.

Stars and stripes crispy treats

Ingredients:

Butter

Marshmellows

Rice Crispies

Blue and red food coloring

Mix butter and marshmellows and melt slow and low so it does not burn.

Separate into threes.

In one bowl (third of the mixture) add a few drops of blue food coloring and Rice Crispies, gently mix.

In a second bowl, to another third of the mixture, add a few drops of red food coloring and Rice Crispies and gently mix.

To a third bowl and the last third, add Rice Cripies and gently mix.

Grease a 8 x 8 inch pan.

Add the red crispy mixture to the bottom of the pan and spread evenly.

Add the plain colored Rice Crispies on top of the red and spread evenly.

Add the blue Rice Crispies on top of the plain colored Crispies and spread evenly.

Let set to harden.

Thank you to all of our armed forces past and present and happy Memorial Day!  

Low Calorie and High Cardio - Not The Way to Go

If you workout to burn Calories and you do not lift weights, you will burn fat and drop weight.  However, you will just be the same shape (smaller version).  

People think that women should not lift weights because they will bulk up.  That is not the case.  Women just are not capable of building bulk like men are because women do not have enough testosterone.  Women can lift weights and they should lift weights.  

It is proven that muscle burns more than fat.  To burn more fat at rest, muscle is necessary.  You also need to feed the muscle so that you don't burn muscle instead of fat.

You need to fuel the muscles but the idea of eating MORE protein is a MYTH.  You do not need more protein.  You just need lean/low fat types of protein.  The muscles can only metabolize so much protein and then any extra is essentially wasted and too much will store as fat just as any excess number of Calories.

toning-myths-truths-to-lose-fat

Try a protein shake with healthy carbohydrates and sugars after a workout.  

I recommend:

Jay Robb protein powder, banana, milk or almond milk.  Make sure to eat within an hour after a hard workout.  

Workout each body part on separate days rather than doing an entire body workout everyday.  Concentrate on chest, back, legs, arms, abs on different days.

• “Superset” – two exercises back to back with no rest in between.
• “Dropset” – once the set is complete, immediately perform another set with the same amount of reps in order to exhaust the muscle.
• “Burn Out” – continually lifting the weight until the muscle is fatigued.
• “Run the Rack” – a dropset. Complete reps to failure of each weight along the length of the weight rack.  For example, lift a ten pound dumbell as many times as possible.  When too tired to continue, pick up the next highest dumbells and do it again.  Keep doing this until you reach a dumbell that you cannot lift.

Best Snack!

I tried this Fiber One Protein bar today and it was super yummy!  It was coconut almond flavor.  Now, I am not a huge coconut fan but it was goooooooooood.  

Calories= 140

Total Fat= 6g

Saturated Fat=4g (most people do not realize this but coconuts have saturated fats)

Trans Fats=0g

Cholesterol=0mg

Sodium=115mg

Total Carbs=17g (under 20 so I consider that good)

Dietary Fiber=5g (25-35 is the RDA)

Sugars=7g

Protein=6g

Now this does have sugar, corn syrup and fructose but the low carbs and the 6 grams of protein and 5 grams of fiber should counterbalance that.

I recommend!

Fit Like A Queen

One of my science students created this blog.  Her name is Camille Schrier and she is a gorgeous beauty queen.  That is obvious.  She is the senior class president and intelligent- going to a great university to major in biochemical engineering.  I am so proud of her.  

Her blog Fit Like A Queen is full of advice on nutrition and healthy eating.  I am going to get some PB2 just based on her advice!  Follow her with me.

Always feel hungry?

Do you crave carbs or sweets?

Do you feel tired, nauseous or short-tempered when you do not eat every few hours?

Do you take one bite of a carb and need more and more?

When digesting carbohydrates, your body does not really know the difference between metabolizing a piece of bread versus a candy bar because they both convert to glucose (sugar).

When you eat something that is a simple sugar (lolliopop) or needs to be broken down more (cupcake), the pancrease releases insulin, which is a hormone that is needed in order to metabolize sugar in the blood stream. Insulin is needed to convert these foods to glucose and carry it to body cells (muscles) where is can be used.

Trying to keep insulin levels stable and close to normal ranges can be a challenge in the world of fast food, frozen food, processed food, etc.  I understand because I was diagnosed with having reactive hypoglycemia in 1986.  

Our foods have tons of hidden salt, sugar and fat in them which are known to be addictive components.  Did you know that studies show that the brain reacts to these foods in the same way that it reacts to drugs? No wonder it is addictive!

Our food is made to be fast, convenient, and TASTY!  Salt is addictive.  Sugar is addictive.  Fat is addicative.  This book, Salt, Sugar, Fat is about the histoy of farming practices, food production, laws in the US and the ethical and moral implications of this.  

Read this book by New York Times reporter, Michael Moss- he won a Pulitzer Prize.  Learn more about from where your food comes and its impacts on the body.  It is a fabulous book!

Love Mama McLaughlin and her blog!

http://www.mamalaughlin.com

This is her now but she has had quite the journey-

Her blog is real and funny and downright honest.  She talks about her weight loss and her workouts and I even love her make up tutorials and outfits!  

Here she is before and after her weight loss-

What a great inspiration!!!!

Trying this diet!

A friend of mine started this only a few months ago and he already lost 40 pounds!

I think the idea is to trick your metabolism so that it doesn't ever feel like you are starving yourself but that you are cutting back your Calories.  

Here is the link!  Good luck....let me know if it works for you!

http://www.cartercountymarket.com/html/cardiac.html