Snacking

January 2, 2010

Shakes and Smoothie recipes for weight loss

Shakes and Smoothie Recipes for weight loss

I love the convenience of making a shake—they’re easy to make and easy to take. Here are some ideas to get you started with your own creations!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M6j0aqovoCs

Creamy Berry

Cold water and ice cubes
Fresh or frozen mixed berries
One ripe banana
A scoop of vanilla protein shake mix

Mocha Madness—a perfect pick-me-up for an energy burst before a workout!

One cup of iced coffee
One frozen banana
12 almonds
Chocolate shake mix

Chocolate Peanut Butter—my favorite!

One cup of ice water or almond milk
One frozen banana
A glob of peanut butter or 12 almonds
Chocolate shake mix

Strawberry Banana

Cold water
Fresh or frozen strawberries
One ripe or frozen banana
A scoop of strawberry protein shake mix

Remember that protein does not exist in a vacuum; it requires other nutrients, such as carbs, for your body to be able absorb and use it. I like to include fruits and raw nuts to add nutrition to my shakes and end up making more of a meal out of them. Experiment to find other ingredients that work well in your mixes, but be sure to watch out for too many extra calories—it’s easy to drink them down!

Here are some things to try adding to your own recipes:

Any other fruits you can think of
Orange juice concentrate
Yogurt (plain, avoid added sugar)
Herbal or green tea
Flax seeds (fiber and good fat)
Cocoa nibs
Goji berries
Raw nuts
Green super-food power
Acai juice or powder

Have fun experimenting and share your favorite finds!

Filed under Nutrition and Diet, Recipes, Snacking, Video by admin on Jan 2nd, 2010. Comment.

Snacking for fat loss

Snack Attack! Davey Anderson is a Huntington Beach personal trainer.

You may have found that since we’ve started working out together, the hunger pangs are hitting harder and earlier. You may even feel like you’ve been eating more food at meals. “What’s going on?” you might be asking. Well, that is your metabolism starting to kick it into high gear—and that is exactly what we want it to do!

It’s pretty unrealistic to ignore hunger. And for some it’s almost impossible to overcome impulse with sheer will power. I know I’m not very disciplined and often succumb to my impulses for instant gratification. So let’s snack instead of suffer!

You may think that the old school idea of eating between meals is a no-no. But don’t think that by not eating you will help yourself lose weight. That only turns on “starvation mode” which holds on to the fat stores. Plus, we get so hungry we then devour the dinner table and overeat. Eating sensible snacks between smaller meals will stave off hunger and keep your blood sugar at a good level and prevent this type of situation. In fact, studies have shown that eating several small meals a day instead of three large ones is better for your health and helps your weight loss by keeping your metabolism revved up! To shed pounds, we have to turn up our metabolisms by burning more calories with exercise, and then refuel with clean, healthy, quality foods.

All snacking is not necessarily bad; we simply need to make sure we are snacking on healthy foods that will fuel our bodies for energy.

Here are some excellent snack choices:

• Raw veggies
• Fruit
• Raw nuts
• Dried fruit
• Low-fat dairy products
• Hardboiled eggs
• Whole-grain crackers

Try combining a couple of these, too. An apple with a small handful of nuts and a bottle of water is a great, healthy snack that will tide you over until dinner.

Tip: Keep your snack foods readily available and easily accessible because if you’re like me when you get hungry, you’ll eat the first thing you can get your hands on!

Don’t: satisfy your hunger with junk foods and empty calories that will add weight with no nutritional benefit

Do: When hungry, grab some healthy snacks that will give you the energy and nutrition you need to feel great all day