Here are some tips for making soups that contribute to a healthy lifestyle:

1.  Load up on the veggies. Vegetables in soup provide bulk without the calories.  Vegetables also create negative calorie deficits (where it takes more energy to burn off the food than the food itself contains).  Veggies give you lots of vitamins and nutrients, too!

2.  If you like “Cream Of” soups, substitute fat-free or skim milk for the cream.

3.  Try a crusty crouton on top instead of bread on the side. Everyone loves soup and  homemade bread, but it’s easy to overdo the bread.  Take your favorite whole grain bread and cut it into cubes or slice off one thick slice of sourdough.  Toast the bread in the oven until crunchy and crumble it into your soup.  This limits your portion, gives texture to your soup, and still allows you that bread-and-soup tradition you love.

4.  If you want cheese, use it as a garnish, not a main ingredient. The stronger the cheese, the less you need.  A sprinkle of parmesan goes a long way in enhancing a soup and has fewer calories than the melty kinds of cheese used in thicker soup bases.

5.  Beans are a great addition to any soup. They are packed with protein and give the soup real “weight” that won’t show up on your waistline later.  Try making a bean-based soup for real healthy benefits.  There are lots out there:  lentils, pintos, navy beans, so many kinds.  How about black bean soup garnished with cilantro and a small dollop of fat-free sour cream?  Num!

Try making a pot of soup this week and having it a few times for lunch or dinner.  It’s easy on the budget, warm in the tummy, and great for your body!

With Halloween just a few days away, some of us are feeling the urge to indulge in sweet treats…

Here are 10 expert tips to help you avoid the temptation of Halloween goodies, at home and at the office.

1. Buy candy you don’t love. If the candy in your pantry is stuff kids like but that you don’t enjoy, it will be easier to resist opening those bags and diving in. For most of us, that means anything but chocolate. “Sour candy, gummy-textured [candies], hard candies and the others that are not chocolate are lower in fat and calories and typically not the candy we overeat,” says Sandon.
2. Out of sight, out of mind. Ask your co-workers to keep their candy jars and bowls inside their desks or stashed in a cabinet in the break room so you won’t be tempted every time you see it. If they want to keep candy on their desks, ask them to use a colored container with a lid so you can’t see inside.
3. Savor one piece of your favorite candy a day. Decide what time of day you most relish the sweet stuff, and save your special treat for that time. Then sit back and slowly savor the taste sensation. “It is so easy to pop a piece of candy into your mouth mindlessly and not get the full enjoyment you would get if you saved it and ate it when you know you will enjoy it the most,” says Sandon. Indulge your sweet tooth on occasion, because denying yourself completely could lead to an all-out binge.
4. Chew gum. Sugarless gum gives your mouth a burst of sweet sensation for very few calories. “Studies have shown that gum chewing can also help [you] relieve stress, mentally focus on tasks, satisfy a sweet tooth, overcome the urge to eat candy, and help manage hunger pangs to hold you over until your next meal,” says Sandon.
5. Replace the candy with better choices. Make the see-food diet work in your favor by putting out a bowl of colorful fruit or veggies in place of the candy.
6. Move the candy jar. Wansink and colleagues have done studies on how frequently people eat candy when it is within reach, out of sight, or requires them to get up to reach the jar. “If you have to get up to get a piece of candy, it is not always worth the effort, whereas when the candy is convenient, consumption is higher,” says Wansink.
7. Count the empty wrappers. It’s so easy to pop fun-size candy bars into your mouth that you can lose track of how quickly the calories are adding up. “If you keep the wrappers on your desk, it will remind you of how many you ate and hopefully inspire you to exercise moderation and stop after one or two,” says Sandon.
8. Take a walking break. Getting away from your desk for a breath of fresh air can invigorate you and help you get over the mid-morning or mid-afternoon slumps that are often mistaken for hunger. 
9. Manage your hunger. Eat breakfast before coming to work and plan for a few healthy snacks along with a satisfying lunch. Your preplanned meals with keep you feeling satisfied and make you less likely to raid the candy bowl.
10. Sip on a low-calorie beverage. Keep your hands and mouth busy by drinking a zero-calorie cup of hot tea (rich with disease-fighting antioxidants) or big glass of water. And light hot chocolate can satisfy your sweet tooth for few calories than most fun-size chocolate bars.

 To read the entire article from Health & Diet go to http://www.webmd.com/diet/features/10-tricks-avoid-halloween-candy-temptations

Have a slimming Halloween! 

Kelly

According to Marc David, a health and nutrition author, in his CD series “Mind/Body Nutrition”, he said that in his 20+ years of nutrition practice, he has seen many of his clients who were at least 25 pounds overweight lose weight by simply following his deep breathing exercises.  These clients lost an average of 6-7 pounds in a matter of just a couple of weeks without even changing their diets or engaging in any other form of exercise.

So here’s what he had them to do and why.  Burning calories is just like a burning fire.  The more oxygen the fire has the hotter and faster it burns.  So, if we increase the oxygen available to our bodies we automatically
burn more calories.  To accomplish this he asked his clients to do three sets of deep breathing exercises each day where they simply took 10 deep breaths– you know the ones where your diaphram or belly moves up and down–not your chest.  This simple activity stoked their metabolisms and helped them to lose an average of 6-7 pounds in a short time!!!

Wow, now that is really a Kaizen step indeed!!!  Everyone can certainly find the time to breathe deeply three times a day.  An added benefit is that this kind of deep breathing is also a de-stressor, too.

So breathe deeply and live better!!!

* * * * * * * * * * * *

*This Better Living announcement brought to you by James Anderson, CEO.

With Halloween just a few days away, some of us are feeling the urge to indulge in sweet treats…

Here are 10 expert tips to help you avoid the temptation of Halloween goodies, at home and at the office.

1. Buy candy you don’t love. If the candy in your pantry is stuff kids like but that you don’t enjoy, it will be easier to resist opening those bags and diving in. For most of us, that means anything but chocolate. “Sour candy, gummy-textured [candies], hard candies and the others that are not chocolate are lower in fat and calories and typically not the candy we overeat,” says Sandon.
2. Out of sight, out of mind. Ask your co-workers to keep their candy jars and bowls inside their desks or stashed in a cabinet in the break room so you won’t be tempted every time you see it. If they want to keep candy on their desks, ask them to use a colored container with a lid so you can’t see inside.
3. Savor one piece of your favorite candy a day. Decide what time of day you most relish the sweet stuff, and save your special treat for that time. Then sit back and slowly savor the taste sensation. “It is so easy to pop a piece of candy into your mouth mindlessly and not get the full enjoyment you would get if you saved it and ate it when you know you will enjoy it the most,” says Sandon. Indulge your sweet tooth on occasion, because denying yourself completely could lead to an all-out binge.
4. Chew gum. Sugarless gum gives your mouth a burst of sweet sensation for very few calories. “Studies have shown that gum chewing can also help [you] relieve stress, mentally focus on tasks, satisfy a sweet tooth, overcome the urge to eat candy, and help manage hunger pangs to hold you over until your next meal,” says Sandon.
5. Replace the candy with better choices. Make the see-food diet work in your favor by putting out a bowl of colorful fruit or veggies in place of the candy.
6. Move the candy jar. Wansink and colleagues have done studies on how frequently people eat candy when it is within reach, out of sight, or requires them to get up to reach the jar. “If you have to get up to get a piece of candy, it is not always worth the effort, whereas when the candy is convenient, consumption is higher,” says Wansink.
7. Count the empty wrappers. It’s so easy to pop fun-size candy bars into your mouth that you can lose track of how quickly the calories are adding up. “If you keep the wrappers on your desk, it will remind you of how many you ate and hopefully inspire you to exercise moderation and stop after one or two,” says Sandon.
8. Take a walking break. Getting away from your desk for a breath of fresh air can invigorate you and help you get over the mid-morning or mid-afternoon slumps that are often mistaken for hunger. 
9. Manage your hunger. Eat breakfast before coming to work and plan for a few healthy snacks along with a satisfying lunch. Your preplanned meals with keep you feeling satisfied and make you less likely to raid the candy bowl.
10. Sip on a low-calorie beverage. Keep your hands and mouth busy by drinking a zero-calorie cup of hot tea (rich with disease-fighting antioxidants) or big glass of water. And light hot chocolate can satisfy your sweet tooth for few calories than most fun-size chocolate bars.

 To read the entire article from Health & Diet go to http://www.webmd.com/diet/features/10-tricks-avoid-halloween-candy-temptations

Have a slimming Halloween! 

Kelly

Here’s to a great team and a great journey ahead!  Go 10 FOR 10 !!

~M.W.

Ten To Win

Go ADMIN!

Welcome to the 10 For 10 blog for the 2008-09 FRAGA Biggest Winner Challenge.  I’ll be emailing all of you the login and password along with the website address in the morning so that you, too, can contribute to this joint effort in self-creation and motivation!

What can you use a blog for?  Lots of things!  Swap ideas and tips, share successes and neat finds, exchange ideas and suggest activities.  You can even post how your day went – good or bad! – and respond to each other’s questions.  Check back regularly to read posts by other team members and read the comments received.

I hope this will be a useful tool for all of us as we take this 13-week journey towards better health and wellness!!

~M.W.