HEALTHY RECIPIES

Asian Tofu Salad

4 servings

Active Time: 25 minutes

Total Time: 25 minutes

 

INGREDIENTS

3 tablespoons canola oil

2 tablespoons rice vinegar

1 tablespoon honey

2 teaspoons reduced-sodium soy sauce

1 teaspoon toasted sesame oil

1 teaspoon minced fresh ginger

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 14-ounce package extra-firm, water-packed tofu, rinsed, patted dry and cut into 1-inch cubes

8 cups mixed salad greens

2 medium carrots, peeled, halved lengthwise and sliced

1 large cucumber, chopped

PREPARATION

Whisk canola oil, vinegar, honey, soy sauce, sesame oil, ginger and salt in a bowl.

Place tofu and 2 tablespoons of the dressing in a large nonstick skillet. Cook over medium-high heat, turning every 2 to 3 minutes, until golden brown, 12 to 15 minutes total. Remove from the heat, add 1 tablespoon of the dressing to the pan and stir to coat.

Toss greens, carrots and cucumber with the remaining dressing. Serve immediately, topped with the warm tofu.

TIPS & NOTES

Make Ahead Tip: The dressing (Step 1) will keep, covered, in the refrigerator for up to 2 days. Whisk just before using.

NUTRITION

Per serving: 236 calories; 16 g fat ( 2 g sat , 8 g mono ); 0 mg cholesterol; 16 g carbohydrates; 4 g added sugars; 11 g protein; 5 g fiber; 454 mg sodium; 749 mg potassium.

Nutrition Bonus: Vitamin A (180% daily value), Folate (41% dv), Vitamin C (38% dv), Calcium (29% dv).

Carbohydrate Servings: 1 1/2

Exchanges: 3 vegetable, 1 medium-fat meat, 2 fat , 1 1/2 Carbohydrate Servings

HEALTHY RECIPIES

Alpine Mushroom

INGREDIENTS

• 8 ounces whole-wheat fettuccine
• 6 cups shredded Savoy cabbage, (about 1 small head)
• 2 teaspoons extra-virgin olive oil
• 4 medium portobello mushroom caps, gills removed, thinly sliced
• 1 small onion, chopped
• 3 cloves garlic, minced
• 3/4 cup dry white wine
• 2 teaspoons all-purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 teaspoon freshly ground pepper
• 1 cup grape tomatoes, halved
• 1 cup diced smoked cheese, such as smoked mozzarella, Cheddar or gouda
• 2 teaspoons chopped fresh sage, or 3/4 teaspoon dried

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PREPARATION

1. Bring a large pot of water to a boil. Cook pasta for 4 minutes. Add cabbage and continue cooking, stirring occasionally, until the pasta and cabbage are tender, about 4 minutes more. Reserve 1/2 cup of the cooking liquid and drain the pasta and cabbage.
2. Meanwhile, heat oil in a large nonstick skillet over medium heat. Add mushrooms, onion and garlic and cook, stirring often, until the mushrooms are tender and beginning to release their liquid, about 5 minutes.
3. Whisk wine and flour in a small bowl. Add to the pan along with salt and pepper; cook, stirring, until the mixture thickens, about 1 minute. Add tomatoes and cook until just beginning to break down, about 1 minute more.
4. Return the pasta and cabbage to the pot. Add the mushroom sauce, the reserved cooking liquid, cheese and sage; gently toss to combine.

NUTRITION

Per serving: 278 calories; 7 g fat ( 3 g sat , 3 g mono ); 15 mg cholesterol; 40 g carbohydrates; 13 g protein;8 g fiber; 536 mg sodium; 633 mg potassium.

Nutrition Bonus: Vitamin C (45% daily value), Vitamin A (20% dv), Potassium (18% dv), Calcium & Iron (15% dv).

Carbohydrate Servings: 2

Exchanges: 2 starch, 1 vegetable, 1/2 medium-fat meat

PREPARATION

1. Bring a large pot of water to a boil. Cook pasta for 4 minutes. Add cabbage and continue cooking, stirring occasionally, until the pasta and cabbage are tender, about 4 minutes more. Reserve 1/2 cup of the cooking liquid and drain the pasta and cabbage.
2. Meanwhile, heat oil in a large nonstick skillet over medium heat. Add mushrooms, onion and garlic and cook, stirring often, until the mushrooms are tender and beginning to release their liquid, about 5 minutes.
3. Whisk wine and flour in a small bowl. Add to the pan along with salt and pepper; cook, stirring, until the mixture thickens, about 1 minute. Add tomatoes and cook until just beginning to break down, about 1 minute more.
4. Return the pasta and cabbage to the pot. Add the mushroom sauce, the reserved cooking liquid, cheese and sage; gently toss to combine.

NUTRITION

Per serving: 278 calories; 7 g fat ( 3 g sat , 3 g mono ); 15 mg cholesterol; 40 g carbohydrates; 13 g protein;8 g fiber; 536 mg sodium; 633 mg potassium.

Nutrition Bonus: Vitamin C (45% daily value), Vitamin A (20% dv), Potassium (18% dv), Calcium & Iron (15% dv).

Carbohydrate Servings: 2

Exchanges: 2 starch, 1 vegetable, 1/2 medium-fat meat

magine that you're exercising. You're working up a sweat, you're breathing hard, your heart is thumping, blood is coursing through your vessels to deliver oxygen to the muscles to keep you moving, and you sustain the activity for more than just a few minutes. That's aerobic exercise(also known as "cardio" in gym lingo); any activity that you can sustain for more than just a few minutes while your heart, lungs, and muscles work overtime. In this article, I'll discuss the mechanisms of aerobic exercise: oxygen transport and consumption, the role of the heart and the muscles, the proven benefits of aerobic exercise, how much you need to do to reap the benefits, and more.

The beginning

It all starts with breathing. The average healthy adult inhales and exhales about 7 to 8 liters of air per minute. Once you fill your lungs, the oxygen in the air (air contains approximately 20% oxygen) is filtered through small branches of tubes (called bronchioles) until it reaches the alveoli. The alveoli are microscopic sacs where oxygen diffuses (enters) into the blood. From there, it's a beeline direct to the heart.

Getting to the heart of it

The heart has four chambers that fill with blood and pump blood (two atria and two ventricles) and some very active coronary arteries. Because of all this action, the heart needs a fresh supply of oxygen, and as you just learned, the lungs provide it. Once the heart uses what it needs, it pumps the blood, the oxygen, and other nutrients out through the large left ventricle and through the circulatory system to all the organs, muscles, and tissues that need it.

A whole lot of pumping going on

Your heart beats approximately 60-80 times per minute at rest, 100,000 times a day, more than 30 million times per year, and about 2.5 billion times in a 70-year lifetime! Every beat of your heart sends a volume of blood (called stroke volume -- more about that later), along with oxygen and many other life-sustaining nutrients, circulating through your body. The average healthy adult heart pumps about 5 liters of blood per minute.

Oxygen consumption and muscles

All that oxygen being pumped by the blood is important. You may be familiar with the term "oxygen consumption." In science, it's labeled VO₂, or volume of oxygen consumed. It's the amount of oxygen the muscles extract, or consume from the blood, and it's expressed as ml/kg/minute (milliliters per kilogram of body weight). Muscles are like engines that run on fuel (just like an automobile that runs on fuel); only our muscles use fat and carbohydrates instead of gasoline. Oxygen is a key player because, once inside the muscle, it's used to burn fat and carbohydrate for fuel to keep our engines running. The more efficient our muscles are at consuming oxygen, the more fuel we can burn, the more fit we are, and the longer we can exercise

Asanas Yoga - Yoga Exercises & Postures

The practice of Yoga Exercises means practicing both your body and your mind. It takes willpower and perseverance to accomplish each Yoga Pose and to practice it daily. But the prize for your perseverance is really worth all the hard work. The practice of Yoga Exercises or Yoga Asanas with your yoga blockscan improve your health, increase your resistance, and develop your mental awareness. Doing the Yoga Poses requires you to have your own yoga kit and to study each pose and execute it slowly as you control your body and your mind. Read on and follow our free Yoga Posture animations to discover more about the different Poses in the following sections:

 

Yoga Exercises - Warm-Up Poses

In general, warming up depends on the Yoga Style that you practice. This section covers some Warm-Up exercises that you can do prior to a Yoga class or session.

Standing Poses

Learn how to practice the different Standing Poses - Triangle Pose, Hands to Feet, Standing Side Stretch Pose, Stand Spread Leg Forward Fold, Warrior Pose, Tree Pose, and Sun Salutation.

Seated Poses

There are poses which can be done while sitting on yoga mats. In this section, know how to do the various Seated Poses such as Spread Leg Forward Fold, Hero Pose, Seated Forward Bend, and Child Pose.

Twist Yoga Poses

Aside from strengthening the back, the Half-Spinal Twist and Sage Twist are Yoga Poses which tone and massage the abdominal area and improve digestion.

Supine Poses

This section covers several Yoga Poses which are done in supine (lying face up) position - Leg Reclining Lunge, Locust Pose, Leg Pulls, Leg Raises, and Wind Relieving Pose.

Inverted Postures and Balance Poses

Shoulderstand, Headstand, and Plough can help increase circulation, stimulate the brain, enhance glandular system functioning, and relieve pressure on the abdominal organs.

Backbends

Backbends are Yoga Poses which promote flexibility in the spine and strengthen the arms, legs, and abdomen. In this section, know how to practice Backbends.

Finishing Poses

The Corpse Pose or Savasana and the Final Corpse are Yoga Poses which are usually practiced as final relaxation at the end of a Yoga Session.

Bikram Yoga Poses

This section will be discussing the various Bikram yoga poses.

Physical fitness comprises two related concepts: general fitness (a state of health and well-being), and specific fitness (a task-oriented definition based on the ability to perform specific aspects of sports or occupations). Physical fitness is generally achieved through correct nutrition, exercise, and enough rest.

In previous years[when?], fitness was commonly defined as the capacity to carry out the day’s activities without undue fatigue. However, as automation increased leisure time, changes in lifestyles following the industrial revolution rendered this definition insufficient. In current contexts, physical fitness is considered a measure of the body’s ability to function efficiently and effectively in work and leisure activities, to be healthy, to resist hypokinetic diseases, and to meet emergency situa

The President's Council on Physical Fitness and Sports—a study group sponsored by the government of the United States—declines to offer a simple definition of physical fitness. Instead, it developed the following chart:[1]

Health related Skill related Sports

Metabolic

Morphological

Bone integrity

Other

Body composition

Cardiovascular fitness

Flexibility

Muscular endurance

Muscle strength

Agility

Balance

Coordination

Power

Speed

Reaction time

Other

Team sport

Individual sport

Lifetime

Other

A comprehensive fitness program tailored to an individual will probably focus on one or more specific skills,[2] and on age-[3] or health-related needs such as bone health.[4] Many sources[citation needed] also cite mental, social and emotional health as an important part of overall fitness. This is often presented in textbooks as a triangle made up of three points, which represent physical, emotional, and mental fitness. Physical fitness can also prevent or treat many chronic health conditions brought on by unhealthy lifestyle or aging.[5] Working out can also help people sleep better. To stay healthy it is important to engage in physical activity.[6]

Training

Specific or task-oriented fitness is a person's ability to perform in a specific activity with a reasonable efficiency: for example, sports or military service. Specific training prepares athletes to perform well in their sports.

Examples are:

400 m sprint: in a sprint the athlete must be trained to work anaerobically throughout the race.

Marathon: in this case the athlete must be trained to work aerobically and their endurance must be built-up to a maximum.

Many fire fighters and police officers undergo regular fitness testing to determine if they are capable of the physically demanding tasks required of the job.[7]

Soldiers of the United States Army must be able to pass the Army Physical Fitness Test (APFT)

tions

It is a fact that if you want something too badly, it is likely to evade you. And this is truer for happiness than anything else. The reason why happiness seems to evade the millions of people searching for it is because they are looking in the wrong place.

Most people look for happiness "outside" themselves and not "inside". Some feel that they would be happy if they could afford a house of their own. Others feel that they just have to own all the latest gizmos to finally find happiness.

There are some who may not seek happiness in material things but they are still not looking in the right place. They feel that they would be happy if they found the right life partner or if their children loved them more. Even in such cases, these people are searching for happiness "outside" themselves.

Have you ever wondered how most infants are extremely happy almost all the time? Physical discomfort can make them cry for a while but such aspects are transient and last for only a few minutes. The reason why infants are almost always in a state of natural happiness is because they are in constant awe of nature and the world around them. Unfortunately, it is the society, parents, friends, teachers and relatives that influence them with regards to what happiness should mean.

It may be difficult to undo all the layers of perception that have formed on the mind over time. However, it is never too late to try and address the issue and train your mind to be happy. There are some tips that can help you in shedding your inhibitions and breaking away from the shackles of predefined definitions of happiness.

• Accept yourself – One of the key reasons why people are unhappy is that they do not really like or love themselves enough. It is essential that you accept yourself as what you are without any caveats and conditions to attain happiness. Don't get too critical about yourself – your looks, your brains, your capabilities or your financial condition. Just learn how to love yourself as you are. You will realize that once you are comfortable with what you are, others will accept you more willingly.


• Happiness is a state of mind – It is important that you understand and appreciate that your happiness lies within. Consider this – no one can make you unhappy if you have decided for sure that you will be happy in every situation. If you have made up your mind to be happy, you can always seek out the positive aspects of a situation and remain happy. Life may throw challenges at you but solutions will come faster and to you if you face them with a smile on your face.


• Prioritize your life
– As we grow older, the demands that various people and circumstances they lay on us increase. While on the one hand your job pressures increase, you may also feel the need to spend time with your family and children. At the same time, you may also want to enjoy life personally by doing the things that you have always wanted like going to the gym or taking off on a mountaineering trek.

It is important that you learn how to balance the various responsibilities that you may have. If any one of these tasks becomes paramount, you are likely to ignore the others. For example, if you get extremely preoccupied with your work, you family life are likely to miss you. On the other hand, if you are too consumed with your plans for your various hobbies, your job and family are likely to suffer. You may achieve momentary happiness but neither of these situations can result in happiness in the long run.


• Take care of your health – an unhealthy body cannot be the home of a happy mind. It is important that you understand the strong link between physical health and mental happiness. If you are fit and healthy, you are likely to exude positive energy.


• Stay in the company of happy people – Ensure that you seek out people who are happy and cheerful all the time. Being in the company of people who have a habit of cribbing and criticizing is likely to divert your mind towards negative thoughts. Avoid getting into the sulk mode by choosing the company of happy people.


• Be grateful – Saying a small "thank you" for what you have can make a lot of difference. When you make it a habit to be grateful, you seek out the things that you do have. This helps you divert your mind from negative thoughts of what you do not have. This does not mean that you give up trying. On the other hand it encourages you to think of future goals and achievements in a positive manner.

Take time off to enjoy nature, life and the small things that we take for granted on a daily basis. A beautiful sunset can bring you joy, if only you would take a few minutes out of your daily schedule and look at i