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Ten Tips for Staying Healthy Over the Holidays

I just came across this Huffington Post article on ten tips for staying healthy over the holidays.  Great suggestions!

The author suggests setting realistic goals – say two workouts per week, keeping a food and workout journal to track your success and hold yourself accountable, enlisting a workout buddy, limiting your alcohol consumption, and finding healthy stress management techniques.   What are you doing to stay active and stress free over the holidays?

Looking for some new moves?  Check out this month’s “Fluid Five”.

Six Tips For Healthy Winter Skin

Six Tips For Healthy Winter Skin

  • Avoid super hot baths. Long hot showers or baths can dry out your skin.  Shorten your bath time, or try ending your shower with a shot of cold water.  This hot and cold contrast helps to boost your immune system.
  • Hydrate! After your bath slather on shea butter or jojoba oil.  I primarily use jojoba in my massage treatments.  It is suitable even for sensitive or oily skin.  Drink up! – water I mean.  Aim for half your body weight in ounces of water each day.  (So 70 ounces of water per day for a 140 pound person).
  • Feed your skin. Eat foods high in heart-healthy oils like avocados and walnuts to lubricate you from the inside out.
  • Buy a humidifier.  I know here in the rainy Northwest we get plenty of “moisture” but indoor heat dries out your skin and nasal passages.  Humidifiers send small molecules of moisture into the air, which helps to prevent and relieve dry skin.
  • Exfoliate. Dry Brushing is one of the easiest ways to slough off dead skin cells and improve your skin’s texture as well as encourage lymph flow which boosts your immune system.  Start with your hands and feet and move up your arms and legs brushing towards your heart.  I am happy to show you how to do this at your next massage appointment.
  • Get a Massage! I receive at least one massage a month.  This not only reminds me of how good my body can feel, but is part of my health maintenance plan.  Massage increases circulation, improves lymph flow, stimulates nerve endings and leaves your skin with a rosy glow.

Tropical Holiday “Nog”

Here is a healthy enzyme rich frosty beverage that could easily sub for Eggnog at your next holiday party.  I’ll let you decide whether to make it virgin or add your favorite bourbon. Recipe adapted from Jonny Bowden’s “The Healthiest Meals on Earth”

Tropical Holiday Nog

16 oz chilled unsweetened vanilla almond milk

1 1/2 ripe bananas

1/2 cup of coconut milk

3-4 ice cubes

1 tsp raw honey

sprinkle of nutmeg, cardamom, cinnamon or clove

 

Place the almond milk, bananas, coconut milk, ice cubes and honey in a blender an blend until smooth and creamy.  Divide into four glasses, sprinkle with spices and serve!

 

Is Yoga All You Need?

In this New York Times article the author describes her ten year devotion to yoga as her only form of exercise.  As her wedding approached she decided to hire a personal trainer and started doing yoga less frequently.  Adding strength training helped her reach her goal weight in time for her wedding, plus she now feels stronger and leaner.  What I like about this article is her discovery that mixing it up is a good idea.  Whether you are into running, spinning, Pilates, Zumba or Cross Fit adding variety to your routine (cross training) will not only keep boredom at bay but also have you looking and feeling your best.

Are you stuck in a workout rut?  Contact Anne and she will set you up with a program that includes strength, cardio and flexibility.

Healthy Pumpkin “Cheesecake”

I love holiday desserts but have been experimenting with limiting the amount of sugar in my diet for the past few weeks and came across this recipe in a recent Barre 3 newsletter.  I’m going to try it out tomorrow.  What are you making for turkey day?

Pumpkin Cream Cheesecake

recipe provided courtesy of Andrea Nakayama at Replenish PDX (www.replenishpdx.com)

 

Ingredients:
1-1/2 cups raw cashews, soaked one to three hours
1-1/2 cups pureed, cooked pumpkin
1/2 cup full-fat coconut milk *
1/2 cup gently melted coconut butter (Artisana brand or Nutiva Coconut Mana)
30 drops liquid stevia, vanilla flavored or 3 tablespoons raw honey
2 tablespoons liquid vanilla
1/8 teaspoon salt
3 teaspoons cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon ground clove
1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg

Preparation:
1. Drain the soaked cashews, discarding the water. Place the nuts into a food processor and process them until a butter forms.
2. Add the remaining ingredients to the processor and process until the mixture is smooth and creamy. Taste to be sure that it meets your tastebuds. Since all pumpkins will be of varying degrees of sweetness, you’ll want to be sure that you’ve satisfied your taste buds before pouring the mixture from the food processor.
3. When the mixture meets your taste requirements, pour or spoon the contents of the bowl into a rectangular glass container in which you can store the cream “cheese”.
4. Allow the “cheese” to set in the fridge for at least two hours before trying to slice. You can store it covered there for up to four days. (Ours didn’t last so long!)
* Look for Native Forest brand coconut milk which doesn’t have BPA in the cans.