YAY!!! THE SUN IS SHINING IN NEW YORK – we hope everyone enjoyed Mother’s Day! But now it’s time to get back on track and get moving and losing in the right direction. Regardless of where you are right now – the big question is where do you want to be? Some of you are just super amazing and in such a great place. Others wish you would have gotten there already, and some even wish they didn’t put it off until now. But unfortunately there is no turning back and you must either continue on or start on the path to where you want to go.

Ginger is a flowering plant that has been used for centuries as a spice and a natural remedy. Though many of us don’t incorporate ginger into our daily lives, its numerous health benefits should earn it a place in our kitchens. It is so easy to add ginger to our day – add slices of ginger root or ground ginger to a mug of boiling water, or ginger teas are a great alternative and come in many flavors. It can also be added as a dry spice to numerous recipes. Here are just a few reasons to give it a try.

Prevention. When it comes to cancer prevention, ginger is an amazing and relatively unknown source of benefits. Ginger has been shown to help battle certain types of cancer, including ovarian cancer by destroying cancer cells and even causing the cells to then attack and kill each other. It may also prevent the growth of colorectal cancer cells according to recent research. Ginger can also help prevent Alzheimer’s Disease by helping to slow down the loss of brain cells. Ginger can also boost your immune system which means you will get sick less often and will help you recover faster when you do get ill. And a strengthened immune system means that when everyone around you is getting sick, you will be more resistant.

Treatment. Ginger has long been used to help treat gastrointestinal issues. It has been known to help alleviate gas and it relaxes and soothes the intestinal tract, which can provide relief for people with IBS. This comes from its antioxidants, which has anti-inflammatory effects. People who suffer from arthritis have found relief with ginger – it can help with inflammation, swelling and pain. It is also a common treatment for nausea, and is even safe for pregnant women experiencing morning sickness. It can also help with motion sickness, vomiting, dizziness and cold sweating.

Overall Health. Ginger is extremely soothing and healing for anyone suffering from a cold or the flu. It can also promote healthy sweating as a way to rid our bodies of toxins. It can also be a natural way to help open up airways for people who suffer asthma and can help alleviate other symptoms. Another great benefit of ginger is improved circulation, which can open your pores and make you feel energized. The list goes on and on – ginger can provide pain relief, clear your sinuses, heal frostbite, block acid heartburn and more.

Weight Loss. While the numerous health benefits are enough of a reason to start incorporating ginger into our diet, the weight loss aspects make it even better. Ginger is a fat burner, and it ensures that when you are losing weight you are burning fat and not just losing water weight. It also stimulus your appetite and digestive system, so it can be a great way to boost your metabolism before a meal. Some research suggests that ginger can help keep blood glucose levels in check and keep us from crashing during that low energy afternoon time when we look for caffeine and snacks. It even helps with exercise by relieving tired muscles after a workout so you can stay active. One of the best aspects is that it helps your body absorb nutrients. When you are losing weight and making a healthy change, our bodies can really benefit from the maximum absorption.

~Love to Live Healthy with Josephine Fitzpatrick

Innovation Weight Loss and Fitness

8031 Jericho Tpke Woodbury, NY 11797

469 7th Ave Manhattan, NY 10018

This evening begins the Jewish holiday of Passover. This week long holiday is a celebration of freedom in the Jewish faith, with traditions including celebratory meals and symbolic foods and restrictions. This can be a tough time for many of us, trying to navigate the dietary changes and also being faced with huge feasts. Luckily you can fit two cheat days into the Passover week, so take advantage of that and try to stay as clean as possible the other days. Plan ahead and find healthy and clean alternatives that fit into your Passover plans, such as these suggestions and recipes below.

For Passover ONLY, some breakfast, lunch and dinner options:

1)  MATZAH: 1/2 sheet original Matzah with 1 tbsp of peanut butter (or sunbutter if you can’t do the peanut for Passover)
2)  MATZAH AND FRUIT: 1/2 sheet Matzah with 1 tsp of peanut butter or sunbutter with 1 piece of fruit or 1 cup of fruit
3) EGGS: 4 egg whites and 1 cup of veggies or 2 regular eggs with garden salad
4) Basic grilled chicken or turkey with 1 sliced cucumber and 1 chopped pepper – in a bowl you will have the 4 oz of protein with a sliced cucumber and 1 slice pepper. Salt pepper lemon – always yummy
5)  Light tuna or chicken salad or egg white salad with 1 matzah (1 tbsp light mayo)
6) 1/2 cup cottage cheese with 1/2 cup fruit
7) Chubby Potato:  1 large white potato with 1 cup of veggies on top and 1/4 cup of melted cheese and bake 
8) For dessert you can do any fruit with peanut butter
9) Peanut butter ice cream cups – combine 1 tbsp of peanut butter and 2 tbsp of whip cream and place in cupcake pan and freeze.  Makes 12 – you can have 1 for a dessert or snack.

Squash Kugel

This is a super healthy recipe that puts an delicious twist on a classic dish.

Ingredients:

•2 medium butternut squash, cut in half, seeded

•3 tablespoons vegetable oil

•2-3 egg whites

•1 teaspoon vanilla extract

•1 teaspoon cinnamon

•¼ teaspoon ground nutmeg

•½ teaspoon sea salt

Instructions:

1. Rub squash with a dab of oil.

2. Place cut side of squash down on metal baking sheet.

3. Bake squash in the oven at 350 degrees for 40-60 minutes (until soft).

4. Scoop out the squash, discard the skin.

5. Place squash in food processor with the rest of the oil, egg whites, vanilla, cinnamon, nutmeg and sea salt. Puree until smooth and creamy.

6. Place in a 9-inch tart pan or casserole dish and bake for 40 minutes at 350 degrees.

7. Serve!

Charoset

This traditional dish is already a great recipe for eating clean.

Ingredients:

•2 apples, peeled, cored and cut into cubes

•2 cups walnuts, chopped

•1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

•½ cup orange juice

•1 tablespoon lemon juice

•¾ cups currants

Instructions:

1. In food processor, combine all ingredients until desired texture is achieved.
2. Serve!

Make Your Own Maror

Combine 1 horseradish root (about 4 inches) peeled and chopped with 1 tablespoon of apple cider vinegar in a food processor. Pulse until horseradish is well ground. Store in a glass container until ready to serve.

Bitter Herbs Salad

Combine 2 hearts of romaine lettuce, 1 small head of radicchio, 2 cups arugula, 1 stalk of celery, 2 scallions (chopped), 1/4 cup chopped parsley, 1/4 cup chopped dill, 1 tablespoon chopped fresh mint (optional) and dressing (1 garlic clove, salt to taste, 3 tablespoons lemon juice and a drizzle of olive oil).

Coconut Macaroons

One of the biggest concerns for people about to start a weight loss program and people trying to reach their goals is hunger. If we could eat healthy and correct size portions and not feel hungry, losing weight would be significantly easier. Many of us enjoy eating healthy foods, but when we are left feeling unsatisfied we go off plan. The physical hunger pangs affect us mentally – we think we need to eat as soon as we feel even a little bit hungry. Fighting these feelings can be some of the hardest moments on our weight loss journey. But often times, over eating and constant snacking are just bad habits we need to break.

When it comes to weight loss and eating healthy, feeling hungry a couple times a day is normal. This doesn’t mean feeling starving or constantly hungry – your meals and snacks should leave you feeling full for a reasonable amount of time. Meals should leave you feeling satisfied and energized for 3-5 hours and they should never be skipped. Drastically reducing your food intake and going to extremes is never good. Under eating can cause you to feel feeble and frail, can deprive your muscle of the nourishment they need and can also cause you to binge. You should never feel weak or lightheaded, but eating as soon as you feel mild hunger isn’t necessary. Feeling hungry lets you know when it’s time to refuel and it also lets you know that you are balanced.

It can be hard to understand, but mild hunger actually is a good thing because it also indicates that you aren’t over eating. Many of us have been over eaters, either eating huge meals or constantly snacking all day, or both. This is unhealthy for many reasons, and feeling hungry lets us know that we aren’t over eating anymore. Eating meals that leave us feeling stuffed will stretch out our stomachs and make it harder to eat the right portions. It makes it so every time we eat, it feels like we haven’t eaten enough because our stomachs are used to eating more. It takes some time, but soon your stomach will adjust. Your body should be able to digest and use up the food you eat, otherwise you are gaining. That’s why even eating too much of a healthy food isn’t good for weight loss. If you are constantly consuming you can’t lose.

A healthy and disciplined eating routine will keep you nourished and keep you from over or under eating. Feeding your body clean foods for fuel and staying hydrated is the best thing for your weight loss. You will feel lighter and fitter, and soon it will show on the scale. So next time hunger happens, don’t immediately feed into it. Try and control it and remember it’s one of the challenges of making a healthy change.

~Love to Live Healthy with Josephine Fitzpatrick

Innovation Weight Loss and Fitness

8031 Jericho Tpke Woodbury, NY 11797

469 7th Ave Manhattan, NY 10018

Eating the right foods is one of the foundations of losing weight, but eating the right portions is also a huge part of the story. You can eat the cleanest foods all day long, but if your portions aren’t the right size or you eat the right portions too often, you won’t lose weight. Eating out or eating on the go can be the hardest to navigate – what does one serving really mean? When a plate comes your way, how may ounces are on it? We can have control at home but it can sometimes be just as hard – eating out of the bag can mean taking one or two handfuls more than you should, or when cooking for ourselves we can sometimes over do it a little. The worst part is, many of us make mistakes without even knowing it. Here are some tips for the different situations we find ourselves in.

Eating At A Restaurant

When we dine out we really have to be on our toes. It’s best to prepare ahead of time to get as much information as we can. You may not always know the serving size or the portion size of the meal in advance, but it’s always good to plan what you will order and you never know what other information you will find. Don’t be afraid to be thorough and ask questions when you order  – how many ounces something is, how many items come per meal, the approximate size of a dish. If you can’t get any of this information you can always eyeball it. 6 ounces is the size of your hand (from wrist to finger tips and from thumb to pinky) and 4 ounces is the size of your palm (not including fingers or wrist). Salad dressing is also a huge issue. When we are making a salad at home or we can portion it ourselves when ordering in or at a salad bar we are more in control, but when we are out to eat it can be harder. Don’t order dressing on the side – it doesn’t matter if it’s on the side you will end up using it anyway. Order your salad with no dressing and use fresh lemon and salt and pepper. If you need red vinegar and oil, use two tablespoons total. In general, 2 tbsp of liquid looks like a ping pong ball.

Once you see that most restaurants actually give you double or even triple of a normal portion, and some snacks and other food products are packaged with instructions that are too generous, you will understand why portions are an important thing to keep in mind. When eating out, don’t feel the need to clean your plate – bringing home leftovers is a great option and it gives you a healthy meal you can reach for when you can’t or don’t have time to cook.

Ordering In

Though ordering in and eating out seem identical when it comes to portion sizes, things are a little different. When you are at home you can measure things out with measuring cups, spoons or a scale. When you are at the office or on the go, you can use your hand or you can picture certain items as visual aids. For example, when it comes to quinoa, 1/3 cup would fill a small baking muffin cup. Or when it comes to popcorn chips or other healthy chips, 1 ounce would fill a tea cup. For meat or other protein such as fish or tofu, 2 decks of cards is about 6 ounces or the size of your hand as mentioned above. 4 ounces is your palm, or about the size of a hockey puck.

Plates at restaurants can be deceptive, and ordering in can be just as generous and over portioned. Don’t feel guilty or obligated about finishing your plate – it’s always good to have leftovers.

Eating or Cooking at Home

When we are preparing our own meals or someone in our house is cooking it is just as important to pay attention to the portion we are making. When we are in control we should be just as vigilant, but sometimes we are a little too generous with ourselves. We skip the measuring because we want to just use our eyes, and that is where we get in trouble. You can still measure using your hand for comparison, but you should also use measuring spoons, cups, packaging or even a scale when you can. It may seem silly to measure out each and everything thing you eat, drink and cook but once you see how different real portions are compared to everyday portions we make or order, you will realize how important it is to pay attention. Some more helpful measurements can be used for cooking, such as 1 cup of raw vegetables or chopped fruit is equivalent to your fist (including all your fingers, from the wrist up). Once vegetables are cooked, 1/4 cup is about equal to a light bulb. Even when it comes to fruits like apples, not all are equal to one portion. The best measurement to use for a piece of fruit is a baseball. For cheese, 1 ounce is about the size of two dice. For oil, 1 tbsp is about the size of your thumbprint.

One of the biggest mistakes coffee drinkers can make is creamer or milk. Packets of sugar are portioned, but what does a tablespoon of liquid really look like? Most of us have a different definition of what a “splash” of milk or creamer looks like, so it’s a good idea to measure it out at least once so you know for the future how much it is, what it looks like in your coffee or tea, and what it tastes like to give yourself a reference. When it comes to skim milk or fat free creamers, a little more than a tablespoon or two won’t make a huge difference, but that doesn’t mean it should go unchecked.

It’s important to note that we are all different and depending on size and age our hands are all different, and sometimes we can’t measure things perfectly without the help of kitchen tools, but that doesn’t mean we shouldn’t try. Losing weight is hard work. If it wasn’t everyone would do it. But when it comes to portions, all it takes is that extra thought or effort to make a healthy choice.

~Love to Live Healthy with Josephine Fitzpatrick

Innovation Weight Loss and Fitness

8031 Jericho Tpke Woodbury, NY 11797

469 7th Ave Manhattan, NY 10018