Pasta Sauce

I thought I'd add to the healthy recipe collection. Shop-bought pasta sauce seems to have a lot of sugar in it, so I sometimes make my own.
This makes enough for two people.

1 chopped onion
1 tin of chopped tomatoes
As much chopped garlic as you want*
A bit of chopped chilli
Optional extra - Any fresh tomatoes that have gone a
little squooshy but are still good, chopped up

We also usually add some low-fat bacon, either very lean pork bacon or turkey bacon.

Grill the bacon. Cook the onion, garlic and chilli in a little oil
or low-fat cooking spray, then cut up the grilled bacon and add to the pan along with the tin of tomatoes and the fresh tomatoes, if using. Simmer until it thickens.

*We use these. The ginger is very good for curries too.

The other good thing about ths recipe is that since we generally have dried pasta, garlic, chilli and onions already in the kitchen, the only necessary extra expense is a tin of tomatoes, which costs 21p. This is a good meal for the end of the month when there's nothing left in the bank!

Recipes to try!

Okay, so I said I would be trying to find some yummy healthy recipes. I've got a couple here that are supposed to be helpful with flattening one's belly (and they look pretty tasty, too!) One is a salad (that could maybe be a main dish) and the other is a dessert. I plan on trying these out as soon as I've got grocery money, so probably this coming weekend. Meanwhile, if anyone else tries them, let us know what you think!

Without any further ado, here they are (with nutrition facts at the end of each):

Spinach and Nectarine Salad:

Total time: 13 minutes
Makes 2 main-dish servings

(Tip--if you're taking salad for lunch, toss the nectarines with dressing and pack separately from greens.)

2 Tbsp. orange marmalade
1 lg. shallot, thinly sliced
2 tbsp. balsamic vinegar
2 tsp. olive oil
Salt and pepper
1/4 c. slivered almonds
1 pkg. (7 oz.) baby spinach
2 ripe nectarines, pitted and cut into wedges

1. In microwave-safe small bowl or 1-cup liquid measuring cup, combine marmalade and shallot. Cover with vented plastic wrap and cook in microwave on High 1 minute. Stir in vinegar, oil, 1/4 teaspoon salt, and 1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper.

2. In small skillet, cook almonds on medium 5 minutes, stirring until toasted. Set aside to cool, about 2 minutes.

3. To serve, toss spinach, nectarines, and marmalade mixture until combined. Place on 2 dinner plates; scatter almonds on top.

Each serving: About 285 calories, 8g protein, 37g carbohydrate, 14g total fat (1g saturated), 14g fiber, 0mg cholesterol, 420mg sodium.


Peachy Frozen Yogurt
In food processor with knife blade attached, process 1 bag (10 to 12 oz) frozen sliced peaches until finely shaved. Add 2 containers (6 oz. each) low-fat peach yogurt and 1 Tbsp. sugar. Process just until smooth. Serve immediately. If not serving right away, pour into 9" by 9" metal baking pan; cover and freeze 1 hour for best texture. Makes about 2 1/2 c. or 4 servings.

Each Serving: About 130 calories, 4g protein, 28g carbohydrate, 1g total fat (1g saturated), 2g fiber, 6 mg cholesterol, 50mg sodium.

Lunches

I know that I have a problem when it comes to lunches when at work. I tend to be lazy and grab a sandwich from the supermarket, and they are all scarily fatty.
So, I've been trying to be good this last while, and do better.

So!

Monday and Thursday I bought sushi packs from Boots. Low fat, and very yummy (although they don't include enough wasabi paste).

On Tuesday, I brought a salad from home - spinach, tomatoes, spring onions, sweet orange peppers, chicken breast, croutons and a spoonful of garlic salad dressing.

Wednesday was pasta day. I made a pasta with a red pesto sauce, with grilled peppers, tomatoes, lean bacon and mange tout.

Ok, I have to admit that, on Friday, I bought shop-made macaroni cheese. It was ludicrously fatty, but delicious.

Stomachs

Does anyone else have a problem with a particular part of their body?
I can definitely see a difference in my thighs, hips, bum, etc., but my stomach seems to be sticking out even more. I've been doing crunches plus the Callanetics.
Has anyone got any ideas for an effective stomach-flattening exercise?

The arrival

Yay, my Callanetics dvd arrived today!

I'd ordered it a while back from Amazon after Boo described in great detail the benefits she's noticed since doing it.

I've just watched all the intro material that covers basic techniques and forms and then I jumped into the one hour workout.

Some of the exercises I'm going to need a lot of work with as I'm just not coordinated enough to get with just one run through. I keep on moving in the wrong directions and the pulsing just isn't natural for me yet. Other exercises I don't think I can do properly as I'm just not flexible enough yet. There's one where you sit cross legged on the ground and walk your hands out in front of you, then out to the side and then you pulse to the side. My knees don't touch the ground when I sit crossed legged (never have, even as a kid) and so I'm finding it hard to actually walk my hands forward as I have trouble even touching the ground in front of me.

And I always forget to hold my pelvic floor muscles tight. It's a good thing the instructor lady keeps reminding you! lol

Now I've read all the articles with the supposed results you can get from doing Callanetics and even though Boo has assured me she has lost a remarkable amount of inches, I'm still not entirely convinced that this is the be all and end all of exercises. Some of the reviews have people stating that they'll never pay for a gym membership again as this is the only kind of exercise they'll ever need to do again.
Now, fair enough this tones and helps with muscle definition but it's not exactly an aerobic exercise. I still think you need to combine it with another form of exercise to actually lose body fat and so I'm hoping that in conjunction with gyming and walking and playing squash I'll see results soon.

I took some measurements last week and I'll perhaps measure myself after a month and then let you know the results. Fingers crossed.

And pulse.

xxx

G'Day

Rightio then, well I'm Nettie and I'm 28 (we'll just keep the fact I'll be 29 in a month or two a secret shall we?) and like the others I'm here to keep motivated and get healthy.

I've always had fluctuations in my weight, I've been super skinny at times and extremely big. When I was a kid I spent most of my time in hospital with really bad asthma and my weight at those times would drop dramatically and so when I got out I would be fed like a horse to try and regain some weight before I was hospitalised again. Then as a teen I got big again only to stop eating in my final year of high school and my weight plummeted. Then I got big again (tipped the scales at 95kgs - ouch). About a year ago I started counting calories and got serious with my exercise and I lost 15kgs. I've recently had some really crappy months and now I'm trying to get back on track.

Did you know that the majority of Australians are overweight or obese? I guess you probably do since most of the Western world is overweight or obese.
Well, my main goal in all of this is I don't want to be a friggin statistic.
Obviously I want to be healthy, I want to have kids, and yes I do want to look great in tight fitting clothes, but above all else, I don't want to be that anonymous fat person chowing down a hamburger in Murray St Mall caught on camera by some stupid film crew doing a 'fat Australians' segment for Today Tonight.

So lets step on board and see where this journey takes us :)

Hiya!

Hi, I'm Shawna, pleased to meetcha! Or, wait, I think I did that already...

Bear with me, please, it's my day off and I'm feeling a bit loopy! : )

By the way, I'm 34, and I'm also here because I want to lose some weight, tone up, and be somewhat skinnier. Not tons, but it would be nice to be able to buy smaller clothes.

So far, my exercise consists of walking Tex 2 or 3 times a day (each walk is generally 10 minutes or so) and walking a LOT around my work. I have cut way back on the amount of soda I drink, and generally cut down on food portions. I've got some yummy sounding healthy recipes that I'll be testing and sharing with y'all.

Introduction

Hi there.

I'm Boo, I'm 27, and I live in Scotland.

I'm part of this blog because I want to tone up and lose some size. I don't weigh myself, though, as it takes me to a bad place - it tends to make me want to stop eating altogether.

Currently, I do a Callanetics class twice a week, walk quite a bit (although perhaps not as briskly as I might), and have a relatively physical office job.

I do try to eat healthily, but a lot of the time convenience wins over, and I end up eating something bad for me.

I am addicted to cheese, which doesn't help, but I don't have much of a sweet tooth.

Here Goes...

Well, I suppose I'd better try to write an introductory post.

I'm Mouse, I'm 31, and I decided that I really need to lose some weight and tone up. Before I started I weighed 12 stone 2 and was a UK size 14-ish.

At the moment, I do callanetics on a Monday and my Cher exercise video 'hips, thighs and bums' workout on Wednesdays and Fridays. I bought a new bike last week and intend to go out cycling regularly once I buy a padded seat cover - my delicate little bottom really hurt after the first time I used it!

I've been trying to eat a lot more fruit and veg recently. My weekday diet is usually
(No breakfast)
Lunch - sandwich, tub of grapes/blueberries/mango etc.
Snack - A couple of oatcakes, a bit of cheese, an apple
Dinner - something like pasta/stirfry/veggie chilli/grilled fish and potato
Snack - Usually something sweet, often more than I should eat...
I usually have a cereal bar on my way home from work too, to give me enough energy to do my workout before dinner.

My main goals are to tone up my legs, hips and bum, and to flatten my stomach.