Transitioning from Winter to Summer
By the time summer rolls around, many people are ready for the warmer weather and days filled with more sunlight. As we can all admit, winter and spring sometimes don’t bring out the best in us regarding what we eat and how much we move our bodies. Now that we can expect warmer, sunnier weather in the forecast, we will have more opportunities to move more, eat healthier, and get outside to soak up some Vitamin D!
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If you’ve decided to start eating healthily, congrats because that’s a great decision. If you’re not traveling frequently, or you’re not prone to eat outside too often, then this shouldn’t be too difficult for you.
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Obesity and diabetes are two of the most common chronic medical conditions from which people suffer. It is important for everyone to keep an eye on their weight because this plays a critical role in their overall health. At the same time, it can be challenging for people to make dietary changes. That is why everyone needs to take a look at the resources that have been made available on GoEatRightNow.com. If you are looking to lose weight, you need to burn more calories than you consume. What can you do to cut calories from your diet? It may be helpful to take a look at a few of the most common sources of hidden calories.
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Omg! I drop off little, sweet, Angels at school in the morning & come 3:30pm I’m picking up cranky, hangry, feral animals! Like seriously, as soon as we step foot in the house they are trampling over one another to get to the kitchen…if I didn’t unlock the door fast enough I’m pretty sure they would knock it down or eat it, lol!!
1. Prepare snacking foods ahead of time
We want our kiddos to make healthy choices when it comes to their afterschool snack. We would much rather have them reaching for celery sticks & peanut butter or hummus than that processed bag of chips. However, convenience plays a huge role. If the celery isn’t cleaned and cut, ready for consumption, then chances are they will grab that bag of chips instead. Prepare healthy snacking foods ahead of time. Clean and cut fresh fruits & veggies and have them in easily accessible containers.
2. Don’t bring it in the house
Speaking of that bag of chips, lol! If we don’t want our kiddos consuming high-sugar, trans-fat-laden, processed foods, we can’t bring them into your house…let’s be honest, if we do it’s just too darn tempting.
3. Watch portion sizes
Even the healthiest, organic, GMO-free snacks can sabotage healthy eating when portion sizes are not monitored. Encourage kiddos to read the nutrition labels and take special consideration of the serving size.
4. Provide variety
Children, like adults, get bored with food easily. Have a variety of snacking foods on hand—whole fruits, veggies, hardboiled eggs, smoothies, mixed nuts, frozen bananas covered w/Pb & sprinkles, potato wedges w/ketchup, trail mix, yogurt parfaits, fruit kabobs, etc.
These almond flour, sugar-free, homemade waffle corners are a huge hit in our house:
3 cups almond flour
1/4 tsp. baking soda
1/4 tsp. vanilla extract
2 eggs
1 cup buttermilk
2 Tbs. olive oil
Mix ingredients together and follow waffle maker directions. Makes 6 waffles.
5. Choose healthy fast foods
Despite our best efforts, sometimes we do forget the snacks at home and find ourselves with a car full of hungry kiddos with back-to-back extracurricular activities. A fast-food chain might be your only option. When this happens seek heathier choices, like Chick-fil-a grilled nuggets, McDonald’s oatmeal and/or yogurt parfaits, etc.
Are your kiddos hangry after school? What’s your go-to after school snack?
You booked the babysitter weeks ago; you’ve got on that pretty dress, even did your makeup, and yet, still haven’t decided where you’re going. Classic Date Night dilemma! So you’ll debate where to go for twenty minutes, each vetoing the other’s ideas, and eventually arrive at the “usual” spot. Date nights becoming a bit too predictable? Sick of the “usual” spot!? Want to venture off the restaurant chain path? Go somewhere more exotic? Want to feel like you’ve gone on a mini vacation? Then Rasa is the Date Night game changer you’ve been looking for!
I had the pleasure of dining at Rasa for my birthday and it was an experience like none other. From the moment you enter Rasa you can feel your blood pressure lowering, the atmosphere is like nothing else in the city. It’s like, if a high end farm-to-table establishment in a big city and a spa had a baby, it would be Rasa! Lol! Honestly, I fell in love with the atmosphere first and then the food. And the food, omg, it is REAL food, none of that frozen crap reheated or fried. But I’m getting ahead of myself. After all, Date Nights are meant to be savored!
First things first, beverages! Rasa takes beverage to a whole new level & encourages those dining to broaden their beverage palette to that beyond just Coke or Pepsi products. Sparkling water, seasonal Kombucha, Turmeric Horchata, Lemongrass Fresca, etc. in addition to the wine, beer, & amazing cocktail menu.
And the food, oh my gosh, it is seasonal, fresh, & prepared to perfection!! Or at least the 3 meals I sampled were, yep, I’m one of “those” people, I want to try it all! Lol! What I really appreciate is the fact that food, along with beverages, & some of the décor are local. The conscious community connection with local businesses & farms adds a layer of comfort to the meal.
I will warn you, it is hard to leave the little magical oasis that is Rasa and walk back into reality. But leave you must, even though the closing time is flexible for dinner they frown upon bringing in your sleeping bag. But the good news is Rasa isn’t just limited to Dinner, there is also a Brunch & Lunch menu! So call up the girls, for a ladies day brunch!
Location: 2633 West Bancroft Toledo, OH 43607
Email: CONTACT@RASATOLEDO.COM
Phone: (419) 725-0525
Website: https://www.rasarestaurantandbar.com/
LUNCH
TUESDAY – FRIDAY: 11.00AM – 2:00PM
DINNER
TUESDAY – SATURDAY: 5:00PM – until…
BRUNCH
SATURDAY & SUNDAY
11:00AM – 2:00PM
Why is it that those inevitable words, “Mommy, I’m hungry” always seem to strike at the most inconvenient moments? In our house it seems like those words are always uttered moments before we have to drop off a child at school, pick up a child from school, go to an after school activity, doctors appointment, playgroup event, and/or whenever mommy gets a moment to do anything for herself, whether that be using the restroom, brushing her teeth, you name it and they come running. It is like they have this sixth sense and they can tell when mommy is suddenly not doing something for someone else but surprisingly doing something for herself. It is as if they have mommy detectors that go off in their little heads when mommy is no longer in mommy mode. Saying, warning, warning, mommy is enjoying a moment of solitude, must intervene. Like we will lose our title as Mrs. Mommy or something? (In case Mrs. Mommy can’t fulfill her duties then the first runner-up will be crowned). But, I digress….
So there you are, a mom on the go, and there is your little one(s) asking for a snack, what to do? Well, you could prepare a healthy, nutritious snack for your little one which might take a few minutes or you could grab convenience foods thus making the solution rather, well, convenient. More than likely, since you do have a tight schedule, you will choose the more convenient route, and who could blame you? Those darn companies making the individually packaged serving sizes so darn appealing, just grab it and go. Now that is something the modern-day mom can get on board with, am I right ladies? I know I for one personally enjoy the convenience of the Late July peanut butter crackers and the cheddar cracker snacks. The prep and cooking time are just my speed. The directions are as follows, open box, remove individually wrapped cracker package and place in diaper bag, done. True, that was way convenient but at what cost?
Here is a riddle for you, what is inexpensive to get but expensive to treat? Answer: Heart Disease and Type II Diabetes.
As moms it is important that we teach our children healthy eating habits. Thus, in an effort to have healthy growing foods available for your children to have as snacks I propose that you make healthy food convenient. And this is how…..
The day you get home from the grocery store clean and prepare fruits and vegetables. I realize you may be tired and that you have much more to do during the remainder of your day but trust me, you will thank yourself.
Side Note: When purchasing produce remember the dirty dozen, these are the fruits and vegetables with the highest levels or pesticides. The following are the dirty dozen and you should make a special point to purchase these organic.
1. Apples
2. Celery
3. Strawberries
4. Peaches
5. Spinach
6. Nectarines (Imported)
7. Grapes (Imported)
8. Sweet Bell Peppers
9. Potatoes
10. Blueberries
11. Lettuce
12. Kale and Collard Greens
Roast butternut squash, spaghetti squash, and sweet potatoes preparing each as your family likes. I prefer to have the butternut squash with a little olive oil and sea salt, the spaghetti squash plain so the kiddos can place their own topping on it (parmesan cheese and marinara sauce), and I slice the sweet potatoes into sticks and mix with olive oil, nutmeg, and cinnamon.
Slice cucumbers into sticks and divvy out serving sizes of hummus for dipping. Slice up broccoli, cauliflower, and green peppers too, all taste great with hummus.
Place a serving size of grapes, carrots, apple slices (with a few drops of lemon so it doesn’t turn brown) in containers. I also like to have salsa (or cowboy caviar, sooo good!!), hummus, Greek yogurt, and peanut butter in smaller containers for dipping. Children seem to really enjoy dipping their fruits and vegetables.
You could also make a few yogurt and granola parfait, these are another fun and delicious treat.
Voila, you just made healthy food convenient. Now, depending on how old your little one(s) is, you can even place these items at their level in the refrigerator and allow them to choose their snack. I have even added a container with filtered water that my 4 and 6 year-old can reach and help themselves to, which is really awesome when they are thirsty and I am not near the kitchen.
So, while I realize those prepackaged foods will more than likely still be in your pantry (and mine, I am still buying the Late July crackers and the TLC crackers because let’s be honest, we can do it all, just not all at once, and sometimes we get by with a little help from our conveniently prepackaged friends, am I right ladies?).
Mom on the go in Holy Toledo 