Beyond Folders : healthy eating

What's for Dinner? Four Tips for Healthy Weeknight Meals

Community Manager — Tue, 12 Mar 2013 15:11:00 GMT

Getting a healthy, delicious dinner on the table each night is the Holy Grail of working parents. Our four simple tips help answer the nightly "what's for dinner?" question.

Greatest Hits: Do yourself a favor and commit to a weeknight rotation of four to six basic recipes that can be easily assembled and altered for variety. Roast chicken is simple; dress it up with an array of sides. Ditto grilled lean meats and fish. Chopped salads are also easy; just vary the ingredients for a fresh take. Shop on Saturday, prep foods Sunday (chopping veggies for the week or roasting a chicken for use in weeknight meals) and keep a running grocery list during the week so you can fill pantry holes during next weekend's shop.

Teen Chefs: Turn meal-planning over to your teens once a week. In My Sons, The Sous-Chefs, NYT reporter Leslie Kaufman recounts how with some prep work (i.e. providing basic kitchen training and guidance on recipe selection) she was able to outsource two meals a week to her teen sons. Even tweens can help pitch in; have them assemble ingredients, defrost meats and prepared foods, make a simple salad and set the table so you save time each night.

Prep Work: Who has time to plan in advance? You do that's who. Take an hour each week to plan meals, grocery shop online and prep the basics (chopping, roasting) over the weekend. An ounce of preparation is worth a pound of take-out. You will be amazed at how small investments of pre-planning yield delicious meals. For menu ideas read, Easy Weeknight Dinners.

Fake It: Who says dinner needs to be made from scratch? Savvy weeknight chefs rely on pre-made and store-bought ingredients to get dinner from to-do to done. Read Fake-It, Don't Make it: 25 Recipes to see how simple short-cuts can put dishes like chicken tostadas and fish tacos on your dinner table quickly and easily.

5 Tips for Combating the Office Flu

Community Manager — Fri, 01 Mar 2013 14:45:00 GMT

Hey groundhog, what early spring? Much of the East Coast is still getting walloped by wintery weather: cold and flu season is dragging on for the time-being. Read on for tips for dodging winter illnesses while at work.

Wash, Rinse, Repeat: Your mother was right. Washing your hands is the best source of defense against flu and cold germs. Make hand-washing a regular habit when you first arrive at the office and throughout the day. Lather up and scrub for at least 20 seconds-sing the A, B, Cs in your head to gauge proper scrubbing time-and you are good to go. In a pinch, use a hand sanitizer but make sure it contains at least 60 percent alcohol for maximum effectiveness.

Rest Up: A good night's sleep is clinically proven to help ward off cold germs so log at least seven, or better yet eight, hours of shut-eye on a regular basis. A rested body is a healthier body.

Colorful Diet: Add bright berries and colorful veggies to your workday diet to boost your immune system with powerful antioxidants. For more immune boosting eats, read 10 Flu Fighting Foods. And maintain optimum energy levels all day long with the ideas from our past post Healthy Office Eats. Yup, It's Possible.

Reduce Stress: Take steps to reduce stress which can undermine your immune system. Add regular, moderate exercise to your daily routine and consider relaxation techniques such as mediation or journaling. Even a brisk 15-minute walk midday can be enough to boost your energy levels and reinvigorate your immune system. For other ideas, read Stress Less: Seven Simple Ideas to Cut Stress.

Add Tea, Subtract Wine: Even moderate consumption of alcohol can compromise immune response, so consider teetotaling during cold and flu season. Instead, add green or herbal teas to your evening's routine for both their antioxidant and relaxing properties.

App-itizing Tools to Help with Your Weight Loss Resolution

Community Manager — Wed, 30 Jan 2013 22:27:00 GMT

Dear Dieting Resolution:

It was fun while it lasted.

Sincerely, the End of January

Ah, dieting; you always start strong but somewhere near the end of the month, your resolve starts to fail you. This year, stay strong with a host of electronic tools that will keep your weight loss resolution on track.

Women's Health Magazine: Best Apps for Weight Loss: This useful article features three weight loss apps and makes the case that their real time feedback helps you make smart food choices. Plus, when you track what you eat, it's difficult to lie to yourself or overlook indulgences. The proof is in the pudding!

Shape Magazine: The Best Free Apps to Help You Lose Weight: Weight loss is not just about diet, exercise is a must as well. Shape Magazine rounds up 10 must-have exercise and diet apps that will have you fit as a fiddle (and with a smaller middle!) in no time flat.

Finally, what good are all these weight loss apps if your diet is easily derailed by the office pastry platter? For healthy office snacks, that keep your engine humming and your diet on track, read our past post Healthy Office Eats. Yup, It's Possible.

Healthy Habits for the Holidays

Community Manager — Thu, 29 Nov 2012 14:29:00 GMT

No sooner does the last slice of Thanksgiving pumpkin pie disappear, when eggnog and holiday cookies dance onto the scene. If you're not careful, too much holly jolly can wreak havoc on your waistline and your health.

This holiday season commit to five simple steps to keep the healthy in your holidays.

Bottoms Up: Make water your go-to beverage throughout the holiday season; when you quaff lots of water along with holiday cocktails, you lessen the chance of overindulging and will feel better the next day. Plus water bottles also make a fun, useful hostess gift. For shopping ideas, click here and here.

Think Veggies: Hitting the veggie platter helps you resist the siren song of baked brie and holiday chocolates. When you fill up on crudités, you take the edge off your appetite, making it easier to say no to temptation. If your party is potluck, offer to bring the veggies to ensure a low-calorie, high fiber snack is on hand. For creative presentation ideas, this article has you covered.

A Long Winter's Nap: Too many late nights of holiday revelry or rushing around the mall can quickly take its toll. Do yourself a favor and protect your shut-eye so you can truly enjoy the season. Find it difficult to get your zzz's during the holiday hubbub? Better your odds of a good night's sleep by relaxing for an hour before bed rather than doing chores or working and by sticking to a regular sleep routine. And use power naps to make up for lost slumber. For more tips on healthy holiday sleep habits, read 6 Ways to Sleep Better During the Holidays.

Ice Skating Anyone?: Increase your holiday stamina by devoting time to activities that recharge your batteries such as exercise and mediation. When you can, incorporate exercise into your holiday plans; instead of cocktails with friends, suggest an ice skating outing. Or have your family take a hike instead of seeing the latest holiday blockbuster. Schedule blocks of solo exercise each day as well. Even a brisk 20 minute walk daily will improve your mood, help with sleep and keep the pounds and stress at bay.

Indulge When You Can: Deprivation is never any fun, especially around the holidays. Allow yourself to indulge in those little treats that make the season special. After all, the holidays only roll around once a year and treating yourself to small luxuries can help stave off overindulgence later on. And many holiday treats - such as red wine and dark chocolate - also have health benefits - as long as they are consumed in moderation. So go ahead, enjoy, it's good for your health!

Healthy Office Eats. Yup. It's Possible

Community Manager — Wed, 22 Feb 2012 17:15:00 GMT

Healthy office eats may sound like an oxymoron. After all, office snacks are as common as paperclips: pastries at breakfast meetings, chocolates in the break room. Unless one is careful, waistlines advance as quickly as careers.

But with careful planning, the savvy office worker can refuel throughout the day with healthy, energizing snacks that keep productivity high and calories low.

Keep away from the office vending machine with these eight healthy snack ideas, all under 200 calories. Parmesan popcorn, whole wheat crackers and peanut butter and mini pitas with hummus are some of the toothsome options.

Tired of the typical fruit and nut healthy snack ideas and in search of variety? This wonderful post has 49 out-of-the box snack options including eggplant spreads and homemade split pea crisps. We are also drooling over their double dark chocolate and ginger biscotti recipe. A delicious treat to combat the midday slump!

Don't forget to give your office lunch a makeover. Try not to wolf down lunch on the run, or to skip lunch altogether. Missing a midday meal will lead to poor food choices in later in the afternoon.

If possible, combine lunch with a brisk 15-minute walk or time on the office stairs. Simple stretches help get the blood flowing and reinvigorate energy. Ideas for healthy office lunches can be found here.

Finally, consider enlisting your colleagues' support for healthy office eating. When it's time to order lunches for meetings, ask your HR manager or boss to order a salads or a Mediterranean tray of healthy spreads such as hummus, tabbouleh and yogurt dips rather than high sodium and fat meat sandwiches. Request fruit baskets, granolas and yogurt for breakfast meetings rather than pastries.

Every little bit helps.

How do you incorporate healthy snacks and lunches into your work day? Share your thoughts here and on the Pendaflex Facebook page.