My Wellness Warriors

Stuffed Zucchini Boats

I promised some recipes for your zucchini crop.  Here's a classic.

These are Stuffed Zucchini Boats from Dinner at the Zoo

Give them a try and let us know what you think!

Healthy Zucchini Bread

Most Zucchini Bread recipes out there should really be renamed Zucchini Cake.  That's what they are.  Filled with refined sugar and transfat.  But Ambitious Kitchen has a 5-star amazing recipe that you might want to try if you enjoy using up all your zucchini from your garden into a sweet treat with less of the bad stuff and all of the good stuff.

Yum.  Doesn't that look tasty?

Check out The Best Healthy Zucchini Bread by Ambitious Kitchen.  Share your pictures below.  Better yet, send me some. ;)

 

Zucchini Overabundance

I support my local farm.  If you haven't done this yet, I highly encourage it.  This last week, our farmer Patti sent out an alert that the zucchini and summer squash crop was producing an overabundance of vegetables.  She was offering them at 25 pounds of zucchini/squash for $20.  That's quite a bargain. If they didn't sell, they would be used for compost.  That's always such a shame.  (She does offer them to the local food banks, etc, but often people don't even know what to do with fresh produce.  That will be a post for another day).

I must confess, I had no idea how many zucchinis/squash I'd get with 25 pounds.  Wowza!

So now I'm trying all sorts of healthy ways to use up my veggie haul.  I thought I'd can them, but every recipe I googled had a warning from the USDA cautioning against canning them.  So over the next few days, I'm going to share recipes and ideas for healthy ways to use your bumper crop.

I'll confess, I'm going to be eating zucchini and squash all summer because my own backyard garden is also set to produce a ton of veggies in the next several weeks.  

Please comment with your favorite healthy recipes for zucchini and summer squash.  Let's share our collective knowledge!

Exercises to Tone Your Legs and Strengthen Your Calves

A lot of people are telling me that during this pandemic they're spending too much time sitting - whether it's working from home and spending even more time at their desk and computer or they're playing too many video games or bingeing too much Netflix.

Remember to get up and move.  Go for a walk.  Do some exercises.  Jump rope.  Don't have a jumprope?  Use an imaginary rope (safer and cheaper and equally as effective!).  But I want to show you a quick and easy exercise you can do while brushing your teeth, talking on the phone, cooking dinner.  These are calf raises.  There are 3 ways to do them:

1. Feet facing forward (calf raises)
2. Toes facing outward (duck calf raises)
3. Toes facing inward (pigeon toed calf raises)

SAFETY:  Remember to hold on to a chair, the wall, a counter, a door, or anything else for support.

 

 

Holiday Food Tips for 4th of July

Holiday Food Tips: Are you ready for the holiday weekend? I hope you'll find some way to celebrate. I splurged by making some BBQ ribs last night for dinner. Wowza. I forgot how much sugar is in BBQ sauce. Yikes. It's OK as a treat. But next time you're celebrating - google healthier recipes. Unfortunately, most of the holiday celebrations revolve around foods that are incredibly high in sugar, refined carbs, or too many carbs (and by that I regularly see people post pictures with 5-8 servings of carbs on a single plate!) or highly processed foods (buns, hot dogs, all those desserts, and so much more!).

While I'm not a fan of following the KETO diet long term, I do find that many recipes fit the bill for low sugar, low carb, low processed foods. Google "Keto 4th of July recipes" and see what pops up. then pick one or two dishes that you might be able to implement into your rotation.

Here are some great recipes from Healthful Pursuit for 4th of July.  

Dessert? The very best dessert is nature's candy - have some fresh fruit. It's the best time for berries and melons. Enjoy some yummy fruit!

Enjoy!  Find a way to celebrate safely.  Be grateful for what you have today.

Remember that Laughter is Important to your Health!

What are you doing to laugh on a daily basis?  

I recently discovered Graham Norton.  I watch the highlight reels of his talk show and I inevitably laugh so hard I almost pee my pants.  You can sign up on YouTube.

What is your favorite source for a good belly laugh?  I think it's true - laughter is the best medicine.