I guess there is something about the way we are wired that is drawn to the orderliness of beginning on the first day of a new week or the first day of a new year.  I remember when I gave up smoking cigarettes thirty years ago, I picked a Monday to quit.  I didn’t even think about picking any other day.  I just knew – Mondays are the only days you can begin a new habit.

I have to wait until Monday to start my diet

I have decided in 2016 to do something different.  To jump start going back to eating healthy after a month of eating rich casseroles (sweet potato pecan casserole, pineapple bread pudding, corn pudding . . . ) and decadent desserts (pecan pie, pecan pie, and then some more pecan pie), I have decided to do the following:

 Go on a clean eating cleanse for seven days.  For seven days I will give up all sugar and processed foods.  I will eat only whole foods: veggies, fruit, whole grains, and lean protein.  I won’t eat any fish because fish is gross. I won’t eat any dark chocolate because dark chocolate is also gross.

Up my regular 30,30,30 exercise routine that I start every New Year to 60,60,60.  With the craziness of the holidays, I have a tendency to slack a little bit on my exercise routine.  I work out only 3 or 4 days a week instead of my normal 6 or 7.  I rationalize this by thinking that I have all those gifts to make and wrap, food to cook, and cards to make, that I can’t possibly find the time to work out.  For the past several years I have started the new year with a 30,30,30 promise to myself:  I will work out for at least 30 minutes, for 30 days, and those days have to be 30 consecutive days.  This year I will up it to 60.  Which will be hard because 60 minutes on the elliptical machine seems like an eternity.

Start both of these things on January 3rd.  It’s a Sunday.  Why Sunday?  Because Monday is complicated because it is a work day, and I need to make sure I have planned my lunch meals ahead of time.  I will spend Saturday working on a menu for the week and going grocery shopping.  My menu planning will take hours because I will be using Pinterest and will have to weed through all the recipes I know I won’t be able to do.  For example, I know any attempt to make baked eggs in a red pepper will end up looking like the photo on the bottom:

Mine will definitely look like the ones on the bottom

So assuming I am coherent and able to communicate after the week is over and I went an entire week with no sugar or Dairy Queen, I’ll let you know how it went.

Our new address is  http://www.ydr.com/blog/nosweatyork/. So please bookmark it to see new stories and photos.

Apples are easy-to-grab locally grown snacks that are rich in nutrients and give the body energy for play! Photo credit: Seth Nenstiel

Have you heard the old adage, “An apple a day keeps the doctor away”?  Apples are nutrient-rich fruits that are high in Vitamin C and other immune-boosting antioxidants, so eating apples regularly could in fact keep you from getting sick.  Apples are free of sodium, fat and cholesterol and are considered “heart-healthy” food.  The dietary fiber in apples helps prevent the bad cholesterol in other foods from being absorbed into the body.  It also slows the release of the apple’s natural fruit sugars into the bloodstream, stabilizing blood sugar levels and decreasing hunger cravings.  The B vitamins in apples are important for healthy metabolism.  Apples are a great food for healthy weight management!

Apples are plentiful during the fall and into the early winter months.  Pennsylvania hosts many apple orchards across the state, growing 26 varieties. York, Lancaster and Adams counties are among the top producers in the state and therefore buying locally grown apples is a simple as visiting a Farmer’s Market, an orchard farm stand, or shopping at the grocery store.

There are many creative ways to add apples to your daily diet.  I prefer to eat an apple au naturale.  What is easier than wash, dry and bite? I also enjoy adding chopped apples to green salads or mixing them into a savory quinoa dish.  For the apples that are sort of soft, I shred the skin and apple and mix it into my hot oatmeal or sauté it in a little olive oil and toss it onto grilled chicken breast.  Check out the unique recipes offered by the Pennsylvania Apple Marketing Program and Market Basket of the Month.  Choosing low fat, low sugar options will provide the most health benefits!

Pennsylvania Apples Recipes
Market Basket of the Month Apple Family Recipe Newsletter
Market Basket of the Month Apple Fact Sheet
Market Basket of the Month Apple Serving Ideas
Market Basket of the Month Apple Activity Page

It feels like every year, this stretches longer and longer. At this point, the holidays basically last the third week of October through New Years. Pumpkin muffins lead to Halloween candy leads to turkey dinners and then holy crap Christmas cookies!

It’s intense.

It comes out of nowhere, and it lasts forever.

It’s also getting chillier, and instead of going for brisk walks and bike rides, people just want to sit in their sweats and house some chili. I get that.

The struggle to not gain 20 pounds is real.

I have both won, and lost in this struggle depending on the year.

I thrive on structure so for me, setting a goal can help. And now, (before all the Halloween candy you said was for trick-or-treaters but really have been eating by yourself in the dark starts to accumulate in a soft, smushy layer of fat all over your body), is a good time to start.

Goal #1. Sign up for a turkey trot.

Thanksgiving is about a month away. Which is long enough to get in a little training and maybe PR that pre-turkey 5K. York’s got a big and fun turkey trot put on by the York YMCA. If you’re traveling, turkey trots are super popular and chances are, you can find one within a short drive of your turkey destination.

Goal #2. Try a new fitness class.

Fall weather not your thing? Try a fitness class at your gym you’ve never done before. This is my plan to spice up my fitness this winter. If you’re doing the same thing over and over your body gets comfortable. So branch out, and try something you might fail at. Even if you fall on your face, you’ll still burn calories laughing at yourself.

Goal #3. Up the ante.

Maybe you’re in a routine you like. Increase your time, frequency, or intensity to counteract the holidays. You’re going to have some candy, because what is life all about if you can’t have some candy? Add an extra workout to your weekly routine, tack on an extra mile to your walks, add a few sprints to your spin workout and enjoy that candy guilt-free.

So avoid that horrible realization when you discover the only thing you fit into is sweatpants. Set a goal now to carry you through this quarter of the year we call The Holidays.

Submitted

By Julie Stefanski, Clinical Dietitian at WellSpan Health, Twitter: @foodhelp123

1,440 minutes. Everyone gets the exact same number of minutes each day to devote to healthy pursuits that benefit your body or to waste on lost opportunities for self-improvement. We all can probably think of one person that is super busy, whether it is that teacher who also coaches basketball or your surgeon who still managed to train for a marathon last year. Believe it or not, there are super busy people that still manage to eat healthy despite a full schedule.

Eating healthy really takes a change in your mindset, not a change in your schedule. We often put major changes in our eating habits off, imagining that someday we’ll have more time, more motivation, or more money. In reality there won’t be a time where choosing healthy foods become easier. Instead of putting changes off, why not focus on how you can eat healthier today or tomorrow? If you’ve tried focusing only on what to cut out of your diet, maybe it’s time to think about what to actually include.

Nutrition research can get pretty complicated sometimes. Everyone has their own advice of where to get started. One change though that outshines most recommendations again and again is moving towards a more plant based diet. Adults need at least 3 to 4 cups of vegetables per day. What is this based on? This is the amount needed to meet basic vitamin and mineral needs for your immune system, metabolism, and to prevent deficiencies.

Instead of hoping to eat healthy someday, why not start with meeting minimal veggies this week? In order to actually meet your vegetable servings there’s just 3 easy steps: Buy them, cook them, eat them.

Yes, of course making a shopping list itself would be a step in the right direction, but if you can’t manage that, just jot down a few items as possibilities. When you head to the store start by purchasing enough vegetables to cover the needs of your family at supper.

Begin with a reasonable number. If you’re currently not including vegetables at all, then start with what is doable for you. Whether it be fresh, frozen, or even low sodium canned, buy enough vegetables to cover your meals. Multiply the number of home cooked meals you plan to make by the number of people in your family. 4 people multiplied by 5 suppers would equal 20 cups of vegetables you need in order to serve 1 cup per person.

Sound like a lot? A medium size bag of frozen broccoli contains four cups of broccoli. That makes enough for 1 cup of broccoli for each person for supper. Still think you’re too busy? The entire bag takes 5 minutes to steam in the microwave. That can easily be done while you’re doing something else. Even if you’re having the same old standbys you make as entrées, it will significantly improve the quality of your families nutritional intake.

In terms of costs, that frozen bag is only $2. Using frozen vegetables as an example, it would cost about $10 to buy enough vegetables to cover all the supper meals. If you opt for fresh, use them the night you get home from the store or the next day. Don’t let vegetables wither away in the crisper drawer.

Is there a way for you to get more plants into breakfast? Eggs with fresh salsa, a healthy smoothie that includes vegetables, or even supper foods for breakfast are all acceptable ways to bump up the veggie power of your first meal.

Let’s face it. Most of us don’t need more high carbohydrate, otherwise known as starchy foods in our diets. Consider potatoes and corn in the same category as bread, noodles, or rice, not in the green vegetable category. Keep that type of food as only a quarter of the plate unless you’re extremely active.

If you pop a cup of frozen vegetables like a California mix (cauliflower, broccoli, & carrots) or a mix of colorful green beans in a microwavable container, they’ll thaw in your lunch bag and become very quick to cook at lunch time. Flavor it up with some Mrs. Dash or pepper.

Add a salad in for lunch. Pack a small salad or head to the grocery store for lunch rather than fast food. It will take you just as much time to walk in, make a salad at the salad bar, and check out. Yes, the darker greens are packed with more vitamins and minerals, but if you only like iceberg then go for it. Improve your diet from where it’s at right now. There’s always time to make it healthier once you get the basics in place.

Are you a mindless eater? By definition mindless eating equals food you’re eating while doing something else. Since you’re not even paying attention to the food or enjoying it, why not put something in your mouth that actually helps your health? Bag up one cup of baby carrots, grape tomatoes, cucumbers, or pepper strips and feel free to gnaw away.

Are there any holiday vegetable dishes your family could enjoy more often? Sweet potatoes, green beans, and asparagus don’t need to be limited to only holiday celebrations, but can also provide the healthy building blocks our bodies need to help ward off illnesses.

Roughly clockwise, from top left: Green beans, lettuce, kale, red cabbage, radishes, bell peppers, parsley, scallions, onions, garlic, sweet potatoes and red gold potatoes in the center. Photo by Chris Dunn.

Every now and again, I’m struck by the desire to make soup. A friend of mine once produced an insanely delicious, savory, balanced vegetable soup from random produce he had in the fridge, so it’s been a dream of mine to one day be able to throw a bunch of stuff in a pot and serve a fabulous soup a few hours later.

Hasn’t happened yet. Especially when I’m not just making up some Chinese chicken broth, I still need a recipe.

So, we used four of our veg to make Southwestern clam chowder:

Southwestern clam chowder. Photo by Chris Dunn.

We used Cooking Light’s recipe, with several alterations/modifications:

• We used two stalks of celery instead of corn that we added to the Dutch oven after the onions had cooked down a bit.
• We added about 2 tablespoons of butter to help cook down the onions and celery, before adding the flour.
• About 10 minutes after adding the potatoes to the Dutch oven, we removed about 1.5 cups of liquid, onions, celery and potatoes and blended it on high until it was a smooth mixture. We added it back to the Dutch oven and gave it a thorough stir before again removing 1 cup of liquid, onions, celery and potatoes and blending that. This really helped thicken the chowder, and helped reduce the enormous amount of onions and celery that seemed to be sticking to the bottom of the Dutch oven.
• We used two 10-ounce cans of clams — one can did not seem sufficient with all the other ingredients in there.
• We had to aggressively salt-and-pepper the whole thing toward the end.

Soup is hard, y’all. But the best thing about soup is, it gets better the longer it sits in your fridge — as long as it’s not in there long enough to expire.

I suggested we pickle our half of the red cabbage (Brandie had the other half) to use in sandwiches, like the chicken banh mi we’ve had at Rotisseur in Philadelphia. Jeff then took it upon himself to make the whole damn sandwich, using our red cabbage and radishes in this roasted chicken banh mi:

Roasted chicken banh mi sandwich. Photo by Chris Dunn.

Now, banh mi can be pretty narrowly defined, especially if you consider yourself a foodie. (If you just like eating/making food whenever the urge may strike, you are not a foodie.) But if it makes you feel better to hear me admit this is more banh mi-influenced, then I hope you feel better and we can all move on with our day.

So, here’s our banh mi-influenced chicken sandwich, shamelessly inspired by Rotisseur (this is sufficient for three full sandwiches, via one long baguette):

Use four chicken thighs:

• Place a large cast iron pan in the oven and preheat oven to 425 F. Once the pan is heated, remove the skillet and add oil.
• Rub the chicken thighs with olive oil, salt and pepper. Place the chicken, skins down, in the pan and cook in the oven 25-30 minutes until the skin begins to turn golden brown. Flip the thighs over and cook 20 more minutes until the skin begins to crisp.
• Remove the skin from the thighs, pull the meat off the bones and discard the bones. Toss the pulled chicken with a splash of fish sauce and lime juice.
• Return the skins to the skillet on the stove to further render the fat until the skins are crispy (resembling pork rinds). Sprinkle lightly with salt and remove to a plate.

Vegetable accompaniments:

• 1/4 red cabbage — Slice as thinly as possible with a knife. Stir together with 1 tablespoon of rice vinegar, 1 tablespoon of red wine vinegar, 1 teaspoon of olive oil. Let sit in the refrigerator until the cabbage turns red all the way through.
• Fresh cucumber — Slice thinly into 1-inch strips.
• Jalapeno — Remove the seeds and inner membrane and slice into thin strips.
• Carrot and radishes — Julienne or slice thinly, and mix with a splash of rice vinegar and sugar.
• Fresh cilantro, chopped

To assemble the sandwiches:

• Cut a long baguette into three pieces of equal length. Slice each piece lengthwise (don’t slice all the way through — keep it intact). Warm in the baguette in the oven at 300 F for 5 minutes.
• Hollow out the inner portion of the bread to make room for everything else. Spread mayo on both sides.
• Layer capicola, pulled chicken and vegetables. Top with the crispy chicken skins.
• Eat!

Roasted chicken banh mi sandwich. Photo by Chris Dunn.

Check back later to find out our plans for our next CSA share. And if you have any ideas or suggestions (we’re always open to new recipes!), feel free to contact me at cdunn@ydr.com.

October is the season for Halloween and spooky things — right? Recently, I read some pretty scary statistics. Did you know that more people died of drug overdoses in York County in 2014 than in almost any other Pennsylvania county?

Last year, York County saw 120 deaths from drug overdoses — the highest number in our county’s history. Pennsylvania now has the 14th-highest drug overdose mortality rate in the United States.

According to Beth Berk of Community Prevention Initiative, drug deaths now outnumber traffic-related deaths in the U.S. for the first time since the government started tracking drug-induced deaths in 1979.

Millions of Americans suffer from substance abuse. Think you know what that looks like? Substance abuse includes underage drinking, alcohol dependency, non-medical use of prescription drugs, abuse of over-the-counter medications, and illicit drug use. This abuse touches all aspects of our communities, from drug-related crimes to negative impacts on health and lost productivity costs.

So, how big is the problem of substance abuse in the United States? According to SAMSHA (Substance Abuse and Mental Health Association), approximately 23 million Americans — roughly the population of Australia — are current illicit drug users.

Marijuana use and non-medical use of prescription medications are the most common types of drug use in America. What’s more, an estimated 10 million people ages 12 to 20 report drinking alcohol during the past month. To put that into perspective, there are more Americans who have engaged in underage drinking than the number of people who currently live in the state of Michigan — scared yet?

So, with all these frightening statistics, the question then becomes: Why aren’t our school-based drug prevention programs better viewed as a weapon in the war against illegal drug? Why are these programs not seen as much-needed tool to decrease the adverse effects of illicit substances?

The need for substance abuse prevention is clear. Yet, many in the prevention field continue to face challenges as they advocate for prevention’s benefits. According to the ONDCP (Office of National Drug Control Policy), prevention strategies targeting the root of the problem are essential to curb drug use and help people lead healthier lives. The ONDCP director says early intervention is particularly important. Youth substance abuse has a direct negative impact on the user and their community — so prevention programs benefit everyone.

Over the past two decades, a solid research base has been established to support the effectiveness of substance abuse prevention.

Many studies show that prevention programs that are based on a strong research design will provide significant deterrence from the use of alcohol and other drugs. This, in turn, will reduce crime rates, will increase productivity, and will reduce dollars spent on health care.

According to NIDA (National Institute of Drug Abuse), when our youth perceive drug abuse as harmful, they reduce their drug taking. Thus, education and outreach are the key in helping youth and the general public understand the risks of drug abuse.

So then, what are the barriers we face in presenting our much needed prevention programs? Restricted government financing, lack of prevention training in professional communities, and restricted knowledge or support for prevention in the general public and in our schools.

And that is the scariest statistic of all.

Find an exercise partner

Me and my awesome strength buddy, Paige

Choosing a like-minded partner with similar fitness goals will keep you motivated.  I have different exercise partners, each one focused on a particular type of exercise.  My husband, Brian, is my hiking partner.  We have a similar passion for the outdoors, we have like goals regarding our workouts and we have complimentary fitness levels.  We push each other to hike longer distances, climb higher altitudes and trek faster speeds.  My husband could care less about lifting weights because he is a cardio junkie.  My oldest daughter, Paige, on the hand, loves strength training, graduated with a minor in Kinesiology and therefore is my muscle pumping partner.  Regardless of the activity, I use my partners to push me beyond my limits and they rely on me to do the same for them.  We have agreements that we do not cancel the workouts.  Generally when one of us is feeling a bit like backing out, the other one is feeling especially excited for the session.  That energy is contagious and we both complete a great workout!

Hire an expert

Personal trainers and wellness coaches are certified fitness professionals who develop exercise programs specific to the needs of individual clients.  These professionals provide safe, effective, and measurable fitness plans designed to provide desired results.  Trainers and coaches are extremely motivating and will keep wavering exercisers on track.

Find a virtual buddy

Fitness apps for smartphones are great ways to track workouts.  These apps are motivating because they provide instant measures of workout time, distance and intensity.  Many apps provide points for “levels” or offer challenges to motivate participants to keep exercising.  Apps also provide the ability to post workout success to social media outlets such as facebook and twitter.  These posts earn additional gratification and continued motivation as social media friends “like” and post comments.  Creating a closed facebook group for friends, family and coworkers is another way to stay motivated.  Setting group goals such as “walk 30 minutes daily for 30 days” and then expecting participants to screen shot and post the workout summary from a fitness app will keep everyone in the group on target to exercise regularly.

Suggested buddies

When hiring a trainer, be sure that he or she is certified from a reputable fitness organization such as American College of Sports Medicine (ACSM), American Council on Exercise (ACE), National Academy of Sports Medicine (NASM) and National Strength and Conditioning Association (NSCA)

Popular fitness tracking apps include, MapMyFitness, Fitocracy, Strava, Endomondo, Nike+ and My Peak Challenge.

There is no right or wrong workout buddy.  The best partner is the one that works best to motivate you!

The event is part of its month-long Starts with Apples campaign. Family First staff and volunteers will also be handing out information on how to take control of your health as part of October being National Healthy Literacy Month and National Apple Month.

For more information about the initiative, visit www.startswithapples.com.