Spring ahead, fall back?

While many people make commitments to take better care of themselves in the spring and summer, take heed not to fall off of your goals as the weather changes cooler.  Take it outdoors at different times and make note of how the environment changes.  Our bodies naturally will change with the seasons even here in California where the seasons are not so drastic as in other parts of the country.  Take time on your hike or walk or ride to stop and with your eyes open or closed make yourself one with your environment.  Choose your excursion places carefully for their beauty and difficulty.  Know that you will want to nest in a bit more as the days grow shorter so that you can plan to be outdoors and active midday.  If possible, take a night away hiking/camping.

Our natural tendencies switch from salads to meatloaf as the weather gets cooler.  The key is awareness and being prepared for it.  The more you can remind yourself about your commitment and why you made it, the better prepared you will be for the pull to “hanker down” for the winter to come and make the right food choices.

By Melissa Beaugrand

Personalized Chef

This entry was written by mbeaugrand, posted on October 11, 2009 at 6:24 pm, filed under Fitness, Food, Life is Fitness, Nutrition, Outdoors, Santa Barbara and tagged Melissa Beaugrand, SOMA GET FIT. Leave a comment or view the discussion at the permalink.

Day hiking meal planner

Day hikes are one of my favorite things to do on a day off for the sheer joy of being out in the beauty of nature and for the goodness it does for my body, mind, and spirit.  I consider a day hike to last between 3-6 hours…

Guide book/map, check.

Shoes, check.

Hat, check.

Water, check.

Phone/gps, check.

Now, what to bring for sustenance?  Here is my favorite…

Chewy sweettarts. (For a quick burst of energy!)

Peanut butter and honey or jam sandwich on whole wheat muffin with nuts.

Trail mix with extra dried fruit.

Fruit – good suggestions – grapes, apples, firm pears, oranges, tangerines, plums.   Bad suggestions – peaches, most berries, bananas.  See where I am going with this?  Sometimes I bring raw broccoli florets if I am in the mood for savory.

A chocolate bar (for emergencies only, it is always in my camelback backpack with extra trail mix and a few other things).

Wayyyy more water than I think I will need.

Enjoy!

By Melissa Beaugrand

Personalized Chef

This entry was written by mbeaugrand, posted on at 6:20 pm, filed under Food, Hiking, Nutrition, Outdoors, Santa Barbara and tagged Hiking, Melissa Beaugrand, Outdoors, SOMA GET FIT. Leave a comment or view the discussion at the permalink.

Hot hot HOT!!

Summer is not quite over. I think we will still have some hot ones to come for this year. Stay cool and take advantage of summers’ bounty of fruits in one fell swoop while getting heaps of vitamins and anti-oxidants! Buy extra berries at your local farmers market. Wash and cut fruits into bite sized bits and freeze in ziploc freezer bag. (If desired, dust lightly in turbanado sugar or other brown sugar, but I think a bit of tartness is nice!)

When it gets hot, simply take a few tablespoons out and suck on the fruit bits and voila! Frozen vitamins!

By Melissa Beaugrand

Personalized Chef

This entry was written by mbeaugrand, posted on at 6:14 pm, filed under Food, Nutrition, Santa Barbara and tagged Fruit, Melissa Beaugrand, Nutrition, Seasonal Fruits. Leave a comment or view the discussion at the permalink.

Cool Summer Soup

WATERMELON SOUP
Soups in general are one of my favorite things to cook. They can be as easy or as difficult as you want them to be. Cold soups can be a bit of a challenge because eating cold foods need more flavor – the tastebuds have to work a bit harder! Take advantage of the summer produce to overcome this and eat healthy at the same time. Often you can create a meal with little or no added fat and do it in as little as 10 minutes! It is as easy as cutting up a watermelon, putting it in your blender with a little orange juice or lime juice and blending it. Garnish with a sprig of fresh herbs and you are in for a delicious, nutritious cool meal.

by Melissa Beaugrand

Personalized Chef

This entry was written by mbeaugrand, posted on August 14, 2009 at 4:46 am, filed under Food and tagged Melissa Beaugrand, Personalized Chef, SOMA GET FIT. Leave a comment or view the discussion at the permalink.