FITNESS FRIDAY!!!!

This is one of my FAVORITE days, as I am very into fitness (just as much as I enjoy my sweets). To my delight, this was one of the kid's favorites too!! They always request another fitness day.........

I love to let them know that it is ok to indulge every once and awhile, but it is important to always include healthy foods in your everyday life.

Also important, is we talk about the importance of BEING HEALTHY in regards to fitness and health, and that everyone has a different body shape and type. It is important that they realize that a healthy self image and confidence should not be based on a "cookie cutter"(pun intended-LOL) model like in the magazines and on TV.
So the emphasis is not on how someone looks, but how making healthy choices makes you feel great and gives you energy for the day.

The students that know me on a daily basis have witnessed my healthy eating habits, and know of my fitness endeavors and that I eat HEALTHY throughout the day in order to keep my energy up and fuel my body.  I am very vocal on them eating a daily healthy breakfast, and that these "treats" that we make are not something that I eat everyday, but I save them for special occasions.

I model this healthy way of eating on a daily basis during the school year.  I also make sure that during this class, we incorporate outdoor play as much as possible, to show that daily activity is important, especially when indulging in desserts and sweets.

We spent the beginning of the class talking about healthy options and how to convert sugar listed on nutrition labels into a visual representation of "sugar grams".  We discussed the amount of sugar in popular items like soda. Students also learned to look at the first 5 ingredients on a food label, and that anything ending in -ose....is just really hidden sugars.

Healthy Smoothies:

(mix and match to your liking)

FRUIT JUICE SLUSHIES:

Frozen Fruit of your choice-

We used various combinations of Strawberries, Peaches & Pineapple

Mix with a fruit juice of your choice-

I like to use Vitamin Water Zero ( lemon or orange flavor)- there is no sugar in this and it is sweetened with Stevia (natural sweetener)

We also tried some other fruit juice combinations-

(you need to watch the sugar content on these- I personally never drink fruit juice because of the amount of sugar)

Citrus Blend

Strawberry Banana

BLEND IN THE BLENDER - ENJOY.....

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YOGURT TYPE SMOOTHIES:

(great for breakfast)

Greek 0% Vanilla Yogurt-
(or plain- plain has less sugar and a more tangy taste)good source of protein

FROZEN FRUIT of your choice

(you could use a flavored yogurt instead of vanilla and skip the frozen fruit, but I find that many fruit yogurts add so much sugar- it's better to add your own fruit to plain yogurt)

small amount of milk- or fruit juice

BLEND IN THE BLENDER - ENJOY.....

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SHERBERT- YOGURT DESSERT SMOOTHIE:

(better alternative to other dessert choices)

Small scoop of sherbert (we used orange)

Orange juice or orange flavored drink (I like orange Vitamin Water Zero)

VARIATION:

Add vanilla frozen yogurt or low fat milk for an Orange Cremesicle

BLEND IN THE BLENDER - ENJOY.....

****Ask you kids what they like... they know the best

Other smoothie ideas:

http://www.smoothieweb.com/



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DELICIOUS FROZEN YOGURT GRAHAM CRACKER SANDWICHES......

So many possibilities......a healthier alternative to ice cream sandwiches

We used the same recipe as above for the YOGURT TYPE SMOOTHIES, except we added:
More yogurt- for a thicker consistency
&
1 or 2 packettes of TRUVIA (stevia natural sweetener- to offset the tang of the extra yogurt)

Use your judgement- everyone's taste is different- you could also add natural honey, or agave nectar (lower glycemic index)

You may also want to add some vanilla extract- depending on what you prefer

Spoon on the fruit yogurt mixture on a graham cracker- top with another graham cracker like a sandwich........ freeze for a couple of hours

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GLYCEMIC--- WHAT????

GLYCEMIC INDEX QUICK GUIDE:

What is the GLYCEMIC INDEX?

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

The glycemic index, or glycaemic index, (GI) provides a measure of how quickly blood sugar levels (i.e., levels of glucose in the blood) rise after eating a particular type of food. The effects that different foods have on blood sugar levels vary considerably. The glycemic index estimates how much each gram of available carbohydrate (total carbohydrate minus fiber) in a food raises a person's blood glucose level following consumption of the food, relative to consumption of pure glucose.^[1] Glucose has a glycemic index of 100.

A practical limitation of the glycemic index is that it does not take into account the amount of carbohydrate actually consumed. A related measure, the glycemic load, factors this in by multiplying the glycemic index of the food in question by the carbohydrate content of the actual serving.

So pretty much- the higher the glycemic index- the faster your blood sugar level will rise, in comparison to a food or sweetener with a lower glycemic level.

(The numbers of the index has a directly proportionate relationship (high number, faster raise), (low number, slower raise in blood sugar level).

So if you were to have your tea with white sugar, your blood sugar raises a lot quicker than if you chose to have your tea with honey..........and even less with raw honey..... and less with agave nectar, etc.

This is imporotant for everyone to be aware of for many reasons and can contribute to that "sugar crash" feeling that we all know about after eating something high in sugar.

Anyone with diabetes also needs to be aware of the glycemic levels of food and sweeteners, as does everyone in order to prevent negative health effects in relation to sugar spikes due to foods.

Link to other glycemic index/glycemic load information:

http://www.health.harvard.edu/newsweek/Glycemic_index_and_glycemic_load_for_100_foods.htm

Interested in more- about better snacks in regards to the Glycemic Index:

http://www.dummies.com/how-to/content/the-glycemic-index-diet-for-dummies-cheat-sheet.html

IN A RUSH?

just use greek yogurt with fruit that you buy in the store and spoon this in graham crackers- freeze

I prefer making my own so I can control the amount of sugar that goes into them.

You could also try these with:

***Sugar Free Pudding
***Sugar Free pudding mixed with sugar free cool whip



ONE OF MY FAVORITE GO-TO SNACKS:
PLAIN GREEK YOGURT (0% or 2%)
Mixed with a small amount of sugar free JELLO mix
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although I don't love the artificial sweetener in the sugar free jello mix, I only use a little. It creates a high protein, low sugar/low carb snack that satifies my sweet cravings

Link to other yummy recipes using Graham Crackers:
http://brands.nabisco.com/honeymaid/pages/recipes.aspx