Happy St. Patrick's Day! - March 2016

[Alex Brecher 10,515]

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Hey BariatricPal Members! Happy St. Patrick’s Day! Hey, it’s okay if you’re not Irish! Anyone can still use it as an excuse to Celebrate. Or, you can celebrate the start of Daylight Savings Time, the beginning of spring, or a new chapter in your weight loss surgery journey. Why not? Here’s what you’ll find in this newsletter to give you a few ideas and food for thought. Green Foods You Can Eat Get Moving This St. Patrick’s Day Spring Break: Home and Away Hope you have fun with this newsletter and whatever comes next in your journey! Have a wonderful spring, and see you on the boards! Sincerely, Alex Brecher Founder and CEO, BariatricPal Green Foods You Can Eat St. Patrick’s Day revolves around green food and green beer, at least for many of us in the U.S. who just like to enjoy the day without worrying about being Irish. There’s nothing really wrong about green food, as long as you have no problems with artificial colorings from food coloring, and calories from green cupcakes, green beer, corned beef, and green Irish soda bread.< /p> Okay, there clearly are some problems with these St. Patrick’s Day choices if you’re trying to eat healthy and lose weight! There are plenty of other ways you can get your green on – err..in – you! Here are a few greenish ideas that will keep you on your weight loss surgery diet. Feel free to experiment with the ingredients and textures…the only right way to make these is however works for you. Green frittata: grated zucchini mixed with egg, a bit of cheese, and herbs. Try dill and a Greek yogurt topping, or use oregano and basil as a seasoning and top your baked frittata with Tomato sauce. Pesto: Use a food processor to blend basil and arugula leaves, lemon juice, pine nuts, black pepper, and olive oil. It’s a little high in calories, so just use it as a condiment like you would with Peanut Butter or hummus. It goes great on chicken and salmon. Green dip: The name’s pretty vague, and that’s because you can put pretty much anything you want into to. Make the base out of pureed cooked peas, broccoli, and/or lima Beans, and you can even add a little avocado for creaminess. Add spices and herbs like garlic, onion powder, cilantro, and cumin, and use it for dipping – what else – green veggies such as broccoli florets, green pepper strips, and celery. Green smoothie: The sky’s the limit. Try any combination of arugula, pear, avocado and kale for a deep green color, and add Protein with soy milk and Greek yogurt. Flavor it up with berries, ginger, half a banana, or even mint leaves. Cucumber rolls: Peel a cucumber and slice it thinly lengthwise. Spread non-fat cream cheese and dill, or feta cheese and sliced green olives, and roll up your cucumbers. Mint frozen yogurt: This may be the healthiest fro-yo you ever have. Blend and freeze Greek yogurt – try no sugar added lime if you like – with almond milk, your choice of sweetener, and a few fresh mint leaves. Get Moving This St. Patrick’s Day Any good holiday starts with a chance to burn a few extra calories. What better way to get energized, work up an appetite, hang out with friends and family, and – oh, yeah – lose a little extra weight than to get moving? Hop in a 5K There’s no shortage of road races around the country on St. Patrick’s Day and the weekend following it. If you’re in shape for one and your doctor thinks it’s a good idea, sign up! Most let you sign up online a few days in advance, or you can register on the spot an hour or so before starting time. Grab a friend to join you or make a friend on the starting line, and get ready to have fun for 3.1 miles! Hold Your Own Event You can get moving in other fun ways if you’re not quite ready for a 5k or you can’t find one near you, Hold your own race series with any kids and other relatives who are around. You can hold events like the 1-block run, relay races where you team up, and contests to see who can jump the furthest, throw a ball furthest, hop on one foot for longest, balance on one foot with eyes closed for longest, or make up the best dance to whatever song’s on the radio. Have fun – it’s all about burning calories and loving life in your new, healthier body. Spring Break: Home and Away It’s the time of year when a lot of us have spring break. It can be an official vacation with time off and a trip to somewhere warm and exotic, or it might just involve a day or two when you get to relax for the first time in a while. Even if you don’t have a formal day off, you can put yourself in the spring break mode by enjoying the changing of the seasons. Spring Cleaning to Lose Weight How do your home and kitchen look after a long winter? Be honest with yourself, now. You don’t have to tell us. A little cluttered? Yes, that happens, especially when the weather’s gloomy. Now that winter’s on its way out and the sun is starting to make its presence known again, you may find you have a little more energy to do things again. And one of those things may be cleaning. A clean home, and especially a clean kitchen, can lower stress and give you more energy to prepare the food you need to prepare to lose weight. There’s another perk to cleaning. The more you clean, the more calories you’ll burn. Weeding can burn 300 calories an hour, while dusting and taking out the trash can each burn 200 calories. And if you’re still getting rid of the snow around your property? Carrying a snow blower around can burn 300 calories an hour. Deep Cleaning for Your Kitchen Clean your counters so there’s space to work in your kitchen, and go a step further. Take inventory of what’s accumulated in your fridge, freezer, and pantry over the past few months, and get rid of anything that’s not on your WLS diet. Throw it away or donate it, but don’t let it end up inside of you. After cleaning out the bad stuff from your kitchen, don’t forget to restock with the good stuff! Take a trip to your supermarket or a farmer’s market to look for greens and other vegetables, strawberries and other fruit, and eggs, fresh fish, and yogurt. Pack Your WLS Extras If you’re lucky, your spring break might involve a trip. We’re betting there’s no way you’ll forget to take nicely fitting clothes in your new smaller size! Don’t forget to take the other new items that you didn’t need before deciding to get healthy. Along with your bariatric Vitamins, plus a pair of good walking shoes and some comfortable clothes for walking and any other activities you’ll be participating in, you made need to take some emergency Snacks and meals, depending on where you’re going. Pack a few non-perishable, high-protein options if you’re going to a foreign country, an isolated resort, or anywhere else you’re not sure you’ll be able to purchase the foods you need on the spot. You can find what you need at The BariatricPal Store. It’s also a great choice because you can get the lowest possible prices on everything we sell, plus free shipping with qualified orders. Check it out today! You might want to take some of these items when packing for your trip. Instant low-carb, high-protein oatmeal – just add hot Water and have a low-cal Breakfast anywhere! Protein bars to stash in your purse or pocket so you never have to choose between starving, going off of your diet when you’re out and about. Protein shakes, smoothies, and hot chocolate, so you can stay nourished even if your pouch, sleeve, or stomach is acting up a little. Protein pretzels, so you can crunch and munch along with everyone else, but still lose weight. Enjoy your spring break, St. Patrick’s Day, and entire spring! Thanks for making BariatricPal part of it and continuing to support us.

[Debbie3sons 1,936]

Very good suggestions & a few of these I really like as I will be traveling on a train , Thank-you .

Debbie3sons