How To Stay Healthy This Labor Day Weekend

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For many Americans, Labor Day Weekend is the final hurrah before kids head back to school. It’s time to celebrate friends, family, food and some of the last warm days of summer. Whether you’re soaking up the last strong rays of summer sunshine or gearing up the grill, there are ways to enjoy the weekend without sacrificing your health.

Health experts Cristina Rivera, a registered dietitian and president of Nutrition In Motion PC, and Dr. Shawn Allen, spokesperson for The Skin Cancer Foundation share their tips for surviving the Labor Day Weekend sun and BBQs.

Choose your foods wisely:

• Veggies such as asparagus, zucchini, corn, peppers, onions, and portobello mushrooms are great grilling choices to have on their own, as a side dish, or part of a kebab, instead of red meats, which are high in fat.
• If you want meat-based protein, chose leaner ones like chicken breast, bison burgers, salmon, tuna, or shrimp as alternatives to meats with higher saturated fat content.
• Fruits cooked on the grill add sweetness to any meal and complement most proteins. Try cutting up pineapple, mango, or peaches and grilling them for a few minutes on each side .

(MORE: Tips For a Fitter, Happier, Summer Vacation)

Pass on the chips and dip. High calorie snacks like chips and dip can add 300 calories or more to your daily total. Instead, bring your own low calorie summer snack foods, including:

• Frozen Greek yogurt with berries: Mix 6 oz plain fat free Greek yogurt with ¼ tsp vanilla extract and place in freezer for about 2 hours.  Serve with 1 cup berries or fresh fruit (150 calories).
• Shrimp cocktail: Serve 7 medium shrimp with 1 Tbsp cocktail sauce (120 calories).
• Diet root beer float: Add ½ cup no sugar added low fat ice cream to 1 cup diet root beer (70 calories).
• Strawberries and cream: 1 cup sliced strawberries (8 medium berries) with 2 Tbsp low fat whipped topping (100 calories).
• Cucumber pita pocket: Slice ½ medium cucumber into thin circles, combine with 2 Tbsp tzatziki sauce and add to a DVD-sized whole wheat pita (120 calories).
• Baked peaches: Cut a medium size peach in half and scoop a small circle in the middle.  Sprinkle ¼ teaspoon cinnamon and bake at 350 for 10 minutes. When cooled, fill middle with ¼ cup low fat cottage cheese (120 calories).
• Berry smoothie: mix ½ cup skim milk or fat free plain yogurt with 1 cup berries and ½ cup ice in a blender (120 calories).
• Caprese salad: Slice low fat mozzarella into thin slices (should look like a domino) and place them in between a tomato slice and a fresh basil leaf. Serving size is three pieces (130 calories).

(LIST: 5 Ways to Improve Your Diet on the Cheap)

Eat every three hours:

• Not skipping meals and sneaking in snacks throughout the day will keep your blood sugar steady, which means more energy for holiday festivities.
• Eating every three hours will keep you satisfied throughout the day so you won’t get hungry and make poor food choices later.
• Stay hydrated. Drinking enough water will curb cravings and keep you hydrated even when you’re out in the sun.

Keep Your Food Safe from Contamination: 

• Keep raw meat away from fruits, vegetables, or any other dishes that may be served cold to prevent cross contamination with microbes that can grow in raw meats.
• Keep a meat thermometer handy to ensure all proteins are cooked thoroughly (aim for 145-160 degrees Fahrenheit depending on the type of protein and how well done you prefer it).
• Perishable foods should not be left out for more than 2 hours.  If it is above 90 degrees outside, no more than 1 hour.

Get Moving: 

• If you plan on indulging, be sure to plan more physical activities  so you can balance the amount of calories you eat with number of calories you burn off.
• Go swimming or organize water games at a local pool.
• Try riding your bike or walking to your labor day destination.
• Look into local races such as a 5K. Many towns and organizations host runs on Holidays.

(MORE: 6 Products To Keep You Sunburn Free This Summer)

Seek the shade:

According to Allen, forgetting to cover up during the outdoor family party can significantly increase your risk for sun burns. “A person’s risk for skin cancer doubles if he or she had had five or more sunburns at any point in life,” he says. Here are some ways to stay sun-burn free:

• Find shade between 10 a.m. and 4 p.m. when the sun is strongest.

• Cover up with clothing, including a broad-brimmed hat and UV-blocking sunglasses. “Clothing can be your most effective form of sun protection, so make the most of it with tightly woven or knit, dark or bright colored fabrics, which offer the best defense,” says Allen.

Use sunscreen for outdoor activities:

• The sunscreen label should say water-resistant, broad spectrum (meaning it protects against UVA and UVB rays) and have an SPF of 30 or higher. Look for sunscreens with The Skin Cancer Foundation’s Active Seal of Recommendation, which means it has been proven to protect the wearer from extended sun exposure.

• Apply one ounce (about the size of a golf ball) to your entire body 30 minutes before going outside so the sunscreen has time to absorb into the skin. Be sure to reapply every two hours or immediately after swimming or sweating.

• “A tan, whether you get it on the beach or in a tanning bed, is bad news,” says  Allen. “If you have one, you’ve sustained skin cell damage, just as you would if you had burned.” Up to 90 percent of the visible changes commonly attributed to aging are caused by the sun, including wrinkles, leathery skin and brown spots.

What the Steelers eat

They look invincible. Yet beneath those steely, confident exteriors, the Pittsburgh Steelers struggle just like the rest of us schlubs — at least when it comes to their diets.

The underweight players are attempting to pack on a few extra pounds. The heavier ones are working on losing some. And those who fit into their black and gold uniforms just right are doing their best to maintain.

Not an easy proposition when everyone’s eating three meals a day of the same food, practice leaves you starving and everything on the all-you-can-eat buffet tables looks soooo delicious.

Actually, it got a whole lot easier for players this year at the Steelers’ 47th annual summer training camp at Saint Vincent College in Latrobe, which wraps up its three-week run tomorrow with an open practice from 3 to 5 p.m.

Those who cook for the team before the season commences initiated a new program that makes meal portioning as easy as filling Heinz Field with fans on a Sunday afternoon.

Rather than guess how a plate of kielbasa and sauteed veggies stacks up nutritionally to one that holds homemade pierogies or a piece of grilled fish — or in the case of those with the biggest appetites or caloric requirements, all of the above — a sign at the head of the buffet line spells it out for them in black and white: number of calories per serving, plus total grams of fat, protein and carbohydrates. But what really drives the point home is a side-by-side comparison of actual plates.

It’s one thing to mentally measure up that perfect portion, but it’s another thing entirely to see it right there in front of you, down to the exact tablespoon of steamed rice or ounce of grilled turkey. Do you want to gain, maintain or wane? Simply choose the serving suggestions that correspond.

“It’s a reference for them,” said general manager Reggie Esmi, who with executive chef Rick Laskie oversees the preparation and serving of meals in the college dining hall, which is operated by Parkhurst Dining Services. “That way, they know the number of carbs, fat, protein and calories before they build their plates.”

Also new this year is an emphasis on performance drinks. They’re made with fresh fruits such as pomegranate or kiwi and given a boost with flax seed.

Because they’re so much bigger than your average Joe, NFL players often are thought of as meat-and-potatoes kind of guys. What they really like is their vegetables — along with whole grains such as quinoa and wheat berries. That’s because like most professional athletes, they have become much more conscious in recent years of the connection between healthy eating and performance. In order to maintain the high energy levels for pre-season training and games, they fuel their bodies with all the healthful, nutrient-rich food they can get.

There’s still a fair amount of pasta on the daily menu, said Chef Laskie, who has been cooking for the team for 10 years. There also are higher-fat dishes such as ribs and hot wings (a favorite late-night snack). But not as much as you might think.

Today, fish — loaded with omega 3 fatty acids, which helps bodies recover after strenuous exercise — is a big crowd pleaser, along with lean grilled meats, fresh fruits and a wide array of vegetables, cooked and otherwise. Most meals include a trip to the massive salad bar in the middle of the dining room, where at least three greens vie for attention along with eight vegetables and array of homemade dressings and bacon bits.

One of the most popular menu items, says Chef Laskie, who graduated from Westmoreland County Community College’s culinary program, is the turkey burger. Served with a zesty Asian-style slaw, it’s made from a mixture of ground, brined turkey breast and chicken thigh, and cooked on a charcoal grill right outside the dining room. It’s not unusual for the team and their guests to go through more than 1,000 a week.

“I can’t eat a lot of stuff in the summer, but I eat the turkey burgers every day,” said veteran backup quarterback Byron Leftwich.

Another team favorite is the wood-fired pizza oven at the opposite end of the dining room. Most days it cooks up a choice of at least four pizzas and cheesy bread, all crafted from dough made fresh each day in the kitchen. There’s also a deli station with made-to-order sandwiches and paninis, a grill station featuring everything from bison to chicken, and a “Park Side” station with hot food items such as mashed potatoes and spicy ethnic dishes. Soup comes from house-made stocks.

“It’s a lot better than previous years,” said veteran starting linebacker Larry Foote. “Different stuff. They have this black-eyed pea curry that’s really good.”

In addition, four bakers crank out a tempting display of desserts, though players as a rule aren’t too big on sweets. On a recent Tuesday, selections included a flaky fruit tart brimming with fresh berries, pumpkin cake, oatmeal raisin cookies and for the players’ kids, Ho Hos Cupcakes. To help replace nutrients sweated out during practice, the kitchen employees, which this year included 50 seasonal workers in addition to the regular staff of 75, also served up glass after glass of orange, apple and other juices — some 530 gallons over the course of the four-week camp, or nearly 8,500 8-ounce servings.

Breakfast at training camp entails nearly as many choices. In addition to an omelet station where players can choose from more than a dozen kinds of fillings, there’s homemade oatmeal, cereals and a variety of baked goods. Smoothies made by whirling together fresh fruits and yogurt get a nutritional push with protein powder.

Because the menu needs to be approved in advance by team nutritionist Leslie Bonci and other staff, Chef Laskie and Mr. Esmi start planning early in May. By July 15, everything is confirmed, though not set completely in stone: Menu offerings are continually tweaked based on players’ likes and specials requests. To keep things exciting for players (and themselves), the culinary staff also cooks up a “surprise” every two or three days. Last week, for example, the team enjoyed a Brazilian barbecue of rubbed beef sirloin and brined turkey breast kebabs. Another night it was sushi.

“This is the players home for four weeks, and we want to do our part to make sure they’re happy,” said Chef Laskie.

Besides, he added, hospitality is part of the St. Vincent tradition. Which is why the culinary team also is responsible for preparing the concessions that feed the 5,000 to 10,000 fans who visit camp on any given day: hot dogs, pretzels, nachos.

Given all their workouts, it’s not unheard of for an NFL player to consume 5,000 calories or more each day during training camp. Multiply that by 90, plus what the 15 coaches, other staff and invited guests end up eating, and the end result is a grocery list that rivals that of a big restaurant. This year’s food order included 1,600 pounds each of chicken and beef, along with 1,100 pounds of fish. By the time camp concludes tomorrow, players also will have eaten their way through 1,200 pounds of cheese, 1,500 pounds of fresh seasonal veggies — a majority of it sourced locally — and two tons of fresh fruit. That’s 120 pounds of bananas, peaches, oranges and apples each day.

Parkhurst continues the program at the UPMC Sports Performance Complex on the South Side once the season gets underway.

Feeding the Steelers during the annual pilgrimage to St. Vincent’s requires a herculean effort, with the morning crew arriving at 4 a.m. and the night crew working well past midnight. But no one’s complaining. Not even when there’s barely a second to catch your breath, let alone take a coffee break.

“When you enjoy what you do,” explained Mr. Esmi, who’s been doing it at St. Vincent’s for more than three decades, “you never go ‘Whew.’”

Tony Little: Safeguard your success

It’s the big day. You’ve managed to score a meeting with one of the biggest companies in the world to talk about your brilliant, one-in-a-million business concept. You can’t wait to talk with their executives and share your vision for your ideas — ideas that are guaranteed to change the face of business forever, while earning billions of dollars in the process.

One problem. Unless you’ve been diligent in protecting yourself, you might well find yourself taken advantage of, or even have your ideas stolen altogether.

Sad to say, but there have always been people out there just itching to pick your brain and take your original thoughts without paying for them. Sometimes it’s inadvertent — they may not realize that your ideas have monetary value — and at other times it’s purposeful and with ill-intent. Either way, it’s important to recognize this reality and do everything you can to safeguard yourself.

Earlier in my career, I would often find myself in a meeting, and with my inherent enthusiasm (It’s for real, folks!), I’d elaborate on everything from product concepts to marketing and sales strategies. The next thing you know, the people I was meeting with would all be whipped into frenzy and we would verbally agree to continue the dialogue and develop our business plan in the weeks and months ahead. We’d have numerous phone calls and even some follow-up meetings.

And then suddenly … nothing. When I finally managed to get hold of them again, I’d be told they had changed their minds and were not going through with the project. Yet months later, I’d find they had actually gone ahead with the product without me — and using all the ideas I had given them in our meetings. Think I wasn’t royally peeved?

Because I knew that what I had to say was worth something, after this happened to me one time too many, I decided that I needed to start protecting myself. So here’s what I’ve learned to do now: If I’m coming to someone with an idea for a product I’ve developed, before I take the first meeting, I make sure I protect my ownership. I file for a patent, trademark or copyright — everything and anything that is appropriate for what I’m offering. I also ask the people that I’m meeting with to sign a nondisclosure agreement and make it very clear from the beginning that I’m prepared to protect myself.

This doesn’t necessarily mean that others won’t still try to take my idea without my permission — patents are worked around all the time — but it does mean that I have some leverage. Without it, I’d be dead in the water.

At the moment, I have a product line that I’ve been developing for several years, for which I have four or five patents, eight to 10 trademarks and 10 to 15 copyrights. These protections give my product value for a possible third party sale in the future. When you come right down to it, if I can’t protect the ownership of my product, it has absolutely zero value.

Besides my ideas for an invention or product are the thoughts I have for developing business strategies, which I present in a meeting or conference call. This is a more difficult situation because I can’t patent, trademark or copyright these ideas. Yet, the success or failure of the product or business idea will hinge to a large degree on how it is presented to potential customers.

These days I proceed with much greater caution that I ever did before. If I’m approached by a company that wants to meet with me because of my expertise in an area, I often charge an engagement fee upfront. I won’t share my best ideas until I know we have an agreement that protects me. Half of the money is paid up front with the balance paid out of royalties or perhaps as a straight licensing fee if we decide to go ahead with a product.

You’ll never be able to stop people from trying to take advantage of you. But whether you’re talking about your idea for a new product or the strategy for how to make it a success, keep in mind that what you have to offer carries genuine value, so never let your excitement override good judgment.

Amanda Beard 

@AmandaRayBeard

         

July 28, 2012 07:34 PM EST | 

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GOSHEN, Conn. — Dozens of Native Americans wore the traditional garb of their ancestors, sang songs and beat drums on a western Connecticut farm Saturday in celebration of the birth of one of the world’s rarest animals – a white bison.

The miracle calf was officially named Yellow Medicine Dancing Boy at the elaborate ceremony at the Mohawk Bison farm in Goshen in the state’s northwestern hills. It was born June 16 at the farm of fourth-generation farmer Peter Fay.

Many Native Americans consider white bison a symbol of hope and unity; some consider their births sacred events. Experts say white bison are as rare as one in 10 million.

Yellow Medicine Dancing Boy is not an albino, and Fay said DNA testing confirmed the animal’s bloodlines are pure and there was no intermingling with cattle.

Lakota tribe members from South Dakota were among the hundreds of people who gathered at the celebration. Other tribal elders from the Mohawk, Seneca and Cayuga tribes participated.

Crowds patiently waited by the roadside before slowly marching into the pasture and lining up alongside a fence as the ceremony began. Children squeezed up against their parents and peered through the fence.

Some women were dressed in colorful tunics and other items indigenous to Native American culture, including bracelets, feathers and boots. Men also wore traditional costumes. Those leading the ceremony wore plain and small headdresses.

“I’m almost like the calf to them because I’m the caregiver. They’ve been here almost every day, teaching me,” said Fay, who has a herd of bison tattooed on his right shoulder.

Fay attended a sweat lodge ceremony with the elders on Friday night in Cornwall. The nearly two-hour ceremony was a way to repair damage done to their spirits, minds and bodies. It acted as a prayer for a name for the calf to come to them through the spirits.

Saturday’s ceremony was held under an arbor next to a large fire, amid thunder and large dark rain clouds. Marian and Chubb White Mouse, members of the Oglala Lakota tribe in South Dakota, traveled to Goshen from Wanblee, S.D., to lead the ceremony.

Marian White Mouse told the crowd the birth of a white bison is a sign from a prophet, the White Buffalo Calf Woman, who helped them endure times of strife and famine.

“We come with one prayer, one heart and one mind,” she said tearfully. “This is truly a miracle. I hope that this one prayer will keep my people together, keep all of us together.”

Barbara Threecrow, an elder from the Naticoke tribe who lives in Hudson Valley, N.Y., sat holding a sacred Canupa of beaver skin containing a pipe.

“I believe this is an awakening,” Threecrow said. “This is a way of telling people to remember the sacredness of all of life.”

In addition to July being National Blueberry Month, it’s also National Bison Month! Who knew? While blueberries may be a much more common food than bison, the two can be used in equally adventurous ways in the kitchen with a little education on their flavor profiles and versatility.

Bison is seen as a much more health-friendly meat as it’s much leaner than beef. The most common dishes featuring bison are burgers . I had one myself at a restaurant years ago that was topped with bleu cheese crumbles, and the flavor pairing was mind blowing. While some expect it to taste gamey, I found the flavor to be very similar to beef but much richer and higher quality.

Health benefits: For meat lovers, bison is where it’s at when it comes to lean, delicious meat since bisons typically have a healthier lifestyle and diet than that of a cow. Because of this, many people consider it the “better red meat” with one 3-ounce serving of bison steak only running 150 calorie and serving up nearly 25 grams of protein.

Bison also offers much in the way of vitamins and nutrients, including Vitamin E, B12, B6, niacin, riboflavin and folate. One serving of bison also provides nearly 50 percent of your recommended daily value of selenium, in addition to plenty of iron, phosphorus, zinc, and even omega-3 fatty acids.

Nutritional statistics: One 3-ounce serving of bison contains approximately 202 calories, 13 grams of fat, 0 grams of saturated fat, 25 grams of protein and 0 grams of carbohydrates.

Cooking methods: Depending on the cut of bison, there are many ways to prepare it. For one, it’s great ground up as a burger or in dishes like tacos or lasagna. It can also be served plain or lightly seasoned as a steak or tenderloin. Really, the options are limitless when it comes to this lean meat – it just depends on how adventurous you want to be. Check out a few of our favorite bison recipes below for some inspiration on how to get started.

A Bison So Rare It’s Sacred

Douglas Healey for The New York Times

A white bison at the farm of Peter Fay in Goshen, Conn. The birth of the bull calf a month ago drew attention from some as an auspicious event.

By PETER APPLEBOME

Published: July 12, 2012

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Douglas Healey for The New York Times

Peter Fay’s farm seemed an unlikely epicenter of the bison universe.

Douglas Healey for The New York Times

Peter Fay with an adult bison.

The New York Times

But when Bison No. 7 on Peter Fay’s farm gave birth to a white, 30-pound bull calf a month ago, it made the Fay farm below Mohawk Mountain, for the moment at least, the unlikely epicenter of the bison universe.