Back to the Schedule: Tips to Keep You Sane!

Are you ready to get back into the routine with early mornings and busy weeks? Ready or not, here it comes and check out these tips to keep you sane as you get back into the school year schedule:

1. Sneak it in: add in exercise where you can... yoga in the morning, 20 minute run in the evening, 10 minutes toning exercises before bed. If you need resources for at home workouts, check your local TV listings or check out: http://www.exercisetv.tv/ for a variety of DVD's and workouts, and pick-up magazines like: Shape, Fitness, or Women's Health!
   
   



2. Hydrate: keep your energy levels up througout the day by brining a water bottle with you everytime you leave the door! Sip on water throughout the day!





3. Stock up: create a basket or container of grab n' go snacks in your cupboard and include items like: applesauce cups, Peter Rabbit Organics - Fruit & Veggie Snacks, KIND Healthy Snack bars, mini packs of nuts, single serving peanut butter packs and 100% fruit flats. Then when you're flying out the door you can throw a few items in your bag to have on hand for yourself or the kids.
   
   



4. Meal map: minimize your time in the kitchen by creating a weekly 'map' for your meals and snacks to streamline your food preparation efforts. Think of which nights you'll be home, running late, etc... and strategize what foods to make. A favorite tip of mine is make a double batch of a recipe and freeze half for a meal later in the week!

What is in a dietitian's refrigerator?

Blueberries, peaches, asparagus, onions, avocado, yogurt, fat free milk, whole milk, 100 percent OJ, whole wheat bread, yogurt squeeze tubes, coconut water, minced garlic, peanut butter, almond butter, left over tuna, salsa... those are a few of the items in my refrigerator. So many times people wonder what foods I keep in the refrigerator so I thought I would share a sampling. Lucky for me I have husband and two little guys who enjoy eating healthy too! If you are trying to improve your health, take a good luck at what foods you keep on hand and try every shopping trip to 'health it up'. What do I mean by that? Swap out a less healthful item for a better choice. Every little change helps!

Product Hits and Misses

Spending time in the grocery store is something that I love to do! Consequently, I am always exploring new products. Here are a few products that I are tasty (oh! they're nutritious too):
Kashi Tasty Little Cereal Bars - favorite flavor Blackberry Graham or little guy loves them too
Larabars - all the flavors are YUM!
Clif Bar Mojo Peanut Butter Pretzel Bars - grab this for breakfast with a banana
Hodgson Mills Whole Wheat Whole Grain Pasta - any shape

Here is one that I didn't like, the Slim-a-cado. We love avocados and when I bought them last I noticed a new version of the avocado, a slim-a-cado with less fat and calories than the original avocado. So I bought it and we (my husband and I) put it to the test. The result... it's flavorless and most importantly, the fat in a avocado is heart helping and may even help to keep away belly fat so in my opinion, skip this slimmed down version!