Summer Tips to Stay Slim!

Hello Indianapolis Fashionistas,

This is your Indianapolis Personal Stylist. If I may, I am going to divert to a different subject this week. It’s not directly related to fashion, but does impact fashion…It’s our weight. I know this is a sensitive subject because many of my clients bring it up immediately when we discuss wardrobe and style.

First, I want to give you permission to accept your present weight. Many times, it is our silhouette type that dictates how we look in clothing — beyond weight. For instance, I am a bigger on the bottom silhouette. When I lose weight I first lose it there and then the rest of my shape. Anyway, I do feel better when I am closer to my ideal weight. For me, that is the weight I can maintain when I am watching what I eat 80 percent of the time.

With summer coming up and vacations and as well as those fun cookouts, many of us are tempted by many things — ice cream, candy, too many chips, not to mention soda.

At Jenny Craig this am, I found this great page of tips on how to survive this candy-plentiful holiday we all love. (On a side note, I learned in Jenny Craig that I wasn’t eating enough, and I certainly wasn’t eating a balanced diet with veggies, fruit, dairy and protein. Jenny says limit your protein to 6 ounces a day. And, that you need some fat in your diet. I was a slave to the non-fat craze of the 90s. Both of those principles were eye opening to me.)

  • Have some lower calorie snacks you like to nibble on during the long summer days and vacations.
  • Having a small healthy, satisfying snack before those summer cookouts and you won’t be as tempted to over eat.
  • Buy summer snacks for your children that you don’t love. Then there is less temptation!
  • Write down the pros and cons of sticking to your usual eating instead of gorging on summer treats.
  • Count the candy wrappers because bite-size candy bars add up.
  • Consider having a healthy snack around with some calorie-free sparking water and fruit juice for summer snacks for the children.

For more information about just how healthy popcorn is, read this great article from the Health Ambition blog:

www.healthambition.com/eating-popcorn-bad/

 

Here’s a treat you might want to make for something special…

PB Chocolate Chip Popcorn Balls

A fun, sweet, and salty snack, popcorn balls are a pretty healthy Halloween option, says registered dietitian Lauren O’Connor. Popcorn is a whole grain food that is high in fiber, naturally low in fat and calories, and packs in more antioxidants than some servings of fruits and veggies! Plus, this easy recipe from Nutrition Babes Kathy Siegel, RD, and Lauren Harris-Pincus, MS, RD, is packed with salty-sweet flavor!

Ingredients:
5 cups air-popped popcorn
3 tablespoons honey
4 tablespoons natural peanut butter
3 tablespoons mini semi-sweet chocolate chips

Directions:
Mix together popped corn and chocolate chips in a large bowl. Fill a smaller bowl with ice and water and set aside. In a small saucepan over medium-high heat, stir together honey and peanut butter until bubbling. Pour the honey peanut butter mixture over the popcorn and chocolate chips, and combine well with a spatula. Dip hands in ice water and roll popcorn into 2-inch balls (dip hands in ice water in between balls). If your popcorn ball becomes too fragile, dip it in the ice water briefly and then reshape it. Once all the balls have been rolled out, place them on a sheet of parchment paper to cool.

Makes 10 popcorn balls

Nutrition score per serving (one 2-inch ball): 90 calories, 2.5g fat (1.5g saturated fat), 1g fiber, 21mg sodium, 2g protein

Recipe provided by Kathy Siegel, RD, CDN and Lauren Harris-Pincus, MS, RD of NutritionBabes.com

I hope you enjoyed these tips and recipe from your Indianapolis Personal Stylist.