What’s for dinner tonight?

Well, let’s see… there is so much to consider after all. There are four children in the family, two of whom are eating anything that does not move faster than they do. There is a nursing mom, and a newborn benefiting from her nutrient intake. Then there is that whole thing about eating 9ish fruits and vegetables per day, and the history of cancer in the family. A boot camp trainer who also eats like a teenager and is lactose-intolerant… I can’t spend all day in the kitchen, oh, and it’s meant to be tasty…

How about this: Fish tacos, avocado and grapefruit salad, and roasted sweet potatoes. Here’s the plan:

FISH TACOS

INGREDIENTS

• 1 1/2 pounds of tilapia – boneless, skinless
• 2T olive oil
• Salt and pepper
• 1 lime, zest and juice
• Jalapeño pepper
• Hot sauce
• Spinach tortillas
• Head of red cabbage
• ½ cup sour cream (lactose free if need be)
• 1 cup cilantro
• 1 small white onion, chopped

PREPARATION

1. Heat olive oil in sauté pan. Add chopped jalapeño. Sauté for about two minutes and remove. Add seasoned tilapia to pan. Let brown and flip.
2. Meanwhile, in small bowl combine sour cream, lime zest, and a few dashes of Tabasco sauce. Mix in cabbage. Season with salt and pepper. Heat tortillas in foil in oven. Divide fish evenly among tortillas; top with cabbage, cilantro, and finely chopped onion. Serve with lime wedges.

AVOCADO & GRAPEFRUIT SALAD

Remove grapefruit sections from 2–3 grapefruit (depending on size), squeeze remaining juice into the bowl, cut avocado into roughly the same size pieces as the grapefruit. Dice ¼ of a red onion. Drizzle some olive oil over the mixture and add salt and pepper. Top with those cute little green pumpkin seeds.

ROASTED SWEET POTATOES

Peel sweet potatoes and cut into wedges. For the five of us who currently eat food, I make four large potatoes. Drizzle with olive oil and dust with salt, pepper and paprika to taste. Place on roasting pan and throw them into preheated 400 degree F oven. They should take approximately 30 minutes.

Done! I fed the family fish (good for them) and they had exposure to at least six different fruits and veggies (more if you count onions and jalapeno peppers, and the spinach in the tortillas). There was bulk to fill them (potatoes) and I didn’t give Brandon a stomachache with milk. It was quick. Oh, and it was pretty tasty!

Supplement boot camp with ab work!

Daily Ab Workout is a great 5 to 10 minute daily ab routine for men and women that steps you through ten of the best ab-sculpting exercises. These proven exercises, demonstrated by a certified personal trainer, target all major abdominal muscles. Spending just minutes a day can strengthen your core and tone your abs.

The routine’s simple interface, complete with video and timer, allows you to easily follow along and understand each exercise.

Compatibility
iPhone
iPod touch
iPad

Cost
FREE

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We are proud sponsors of this event, featuring human powered amusement!

Join us Sunday, May 20th on North Highland Avenue from 2pm-6pm. Two miles of North Highland will be closed to cars but open to feet. Atlanta Streets Alive takes a valuable public space – our city’s streets – and opens them up for people to play, walk, bike, breathe, and make their own. Atlanta Streets Alive is an event inspired by open streets projects all over the world. The idea originated in Bogotá, Colombia, where neighborhood activists open 70 miles of streets every Sunday for over 800,000 people to bike, skate, or use any human powered means of transportation.

Exercising in the heat and humidity of Summer can be unbearable, not to mention, it can be a health risk. So when the clouds roll in and rain starts to sprinkle from the sky, it can offer relief. If you’ve never considered exercising in the rain, it’s time to give it a try. You just need to arm yourself with these tips:

• Check the weather map. A little drizzle is much easier to run in than a full on downpour. Be patient and wait for a bad storm to pass before heading outside.
• Just because it’s raining, doesn’t mean you need to get wet. Wear a water and windproof lightweight raincoat made of breathable material that will keep you dry on the outside and cool on the inside.
• Get a pair of shorts or pants made of waterproof material that will repel droplets from the sky and splashes from puddles.

For more essential tips, read on →

Description
Tap & Track implements Apple’s philosophy of simplicity, but at the same time offers hundreds of amazing features that you’ll love to use every day. The app never requires internet access, so you can keep track anytime, anywhere!

• Over 400,000 food items
• Over 2000 food brands
• Over 700 restaurants
• Over 180 different exercises
• Daily info on calories, fat, saturated fat, protein, carbs, sugars, sodium & fiber
• Track calories and Food Score
• 40:30:30 Pie Charts Reports
• Displaying your daily calorie needs/limits
• Full screen graphs
• Exercise tracking
• BMI calculator
• Weight tracking
• Sync between iPhone, iPad and web!

Cost
$4.99

Compatibility
iPhone
iPad

Learn more →

Getting up is worth it!

The good news for morning people is that people who exercise in the morning gain more benefits than people who work out at other times of day.

1. Morning Exercisers Stick With It
Studies have shown that people who exercise in the morning, or being a morning exercise routine, are more likely to still be exercising one year later, when compared to those who exercise at other times of the day.

2. Morning Exercisers Have More Energy
Although you may have to drag yourself out of bed in the morning, the energy you create by exercising in the morning will sustain you through the day. You will have more energy to go to work, take care of the kids, or do whatever it is you do all day.

You also have more energy to exercise in the morning, than after a long day of work or childcare.

3. Morning Exercisers Sleep Better
Exercising in the morning will help you sleep better at night. By getting up earlier, you will go to sleep earlier, hopefully finding your natural sleep cycle. Working out in the evening hours can create an adrenalin rush that may be hard to come down from and get some sleep.

4. Morning Exercisers Eat Better
A psychological and nutritional benefit that comes with morning exercise is a day of eating better. When wake up early to exercise, and spend an hour or more actually exercising before doing anything else, you willapproach eating with a different mentality than if you exercise in the evening.

It is easier to avoid temptation and talk yourself out of eating unhealthily when you spend your waking hours sweating away the pounds. The fact that you got up and did something healthy andpositive for you body will keep you from indulging or making the wrong food choices.

5. Morning Exercisers Are in a Better Mood
Another added benefit of a morning work out is enjoying the positive mood you have created. You will be proud of yourself for getting up an exercising. You will feel clear and calm by exercising in the morning. Exercise makes you feel good mentally as well as physically, and that feeling can last all day after a morning exercise routine.

1. Cleaner Skin

Unfortunately, sweating has gotten a bad reputation. But sweating is actually your body’s way of helping to keep your skin clean. Every day, toxins build up in your pores that need to be released. If they’re not, then your skin can break out and cause pimples, rashes and other skin infections. By sweating out these toxins, your skin stays cleaner and, over time, it will appear to look healthier than ever.

2. Lowers Body Temperature

If you never sweat, there’s a good chance that you have a very high body temperature. In order to prevent this from happening, your body needs to sweat to avoid overheating. It’s one of the reasons that you start sweating when you exercise. Your body heats up to burn calories and keep your energy levels high. At the same time, your body starts to release sweat through your skin to help keep it from getting too hot. You need to stay hydrated if you exercise for this very reason. Without an adequate supply of water, your body cannot sweat and your internal temperature will be too high for you to workout normally. If you do not sweat enough, you can also suffer from heat stroke or heat exhaustion.

3. Helps Fight Sickness

Getting a fever is no fun. So when you get a fever, the first thing you do is run to the medicine cabinet to reduce it. However, a fever is actually your body’s way of fighting off sickness by trying to help you sweat it out. If you are sick, it could actually be beneficial for you to try working out (provided, of course, you are able to do so) because sweating can help your body to get rid of your sickness.

Sweating is one of the best things that your body can do to help keep itself healthy. Though you probably do everything you can to stop your body from doing it, the physical act of sweating is therapeutic for your body. It helps your skin, which is your largest organ, to stay active (especially during the winter months) and it helps your internal organs to stay cool by lowering your overall body temperature. If you do not exercise or workout regularly, you probably do not sweat much. You should try to change this. At the very least, there are saunas and spas available to you that allow you to enjoy the benefits of sweating without ever setting foot in the gym. Try to sweat more often to help your body stay healthy.

Ingredients

• 1/2 lb whole wheat pasta, cooked according to package
• 1 cup strawberries, washed + sliced
• 1 small cucumber, cubed
• 1 can navy beans, drained and rinsed
• 1/3 cup strawberry pesto (or just regular!)
• Greens to served it on, optional
• 10 fresh basil leaves, chiffonaded

Garnishes: Avocado, feta cheese, goat cheese, walnuts, almonds or pecans <—necessary mix-ins to take the salad to the next level

Method

• Toss first 5 ingredients together in a bowl.
• Chill for 30 minutes or longer.
• Serve over greens.
• Top with basil leaves.
• Add garnishes.

Massaged Baby Greens

Ingredients

• 1 giant salad spinner of baby mixed greens like kale, collards, turnip greens, chard
• 1 tsp kosher salt
• 2 tsp olive oil

Method

• Wash and spin dry greens.
• Top with salt and oil and rub with hands until greens get shiny and slightly wilted.

Andy Abend, this one’s for you!

Description
Pushup Warrior is the most challenging push-up app in the AppStore. With over 120 different push-up variations and 60 workouts to choose from, you will be sure to burn fat, build muscle and get fit.

Key Features

• Pushup of the Day
  Each day you can spin the wheel to see what your pushup of the day will be. This is a great start or finisher to every workout.
• Help Videos
  Watch as Martin Rooney shows you how to do over 120 different kinds of pushups. Instructional text is also featured with each video.
• Track Your Progress
  Every rep is recorded to your personal profile. As you reach milestones, your belt color will change to reflect your pushup warrior status.

Compatability
iPhone
iPod Touch
iPad

Cost
$0.99

Learn more →

May’s starting out HOT HOT HOT. Don’t forget water!

From Mayo Clinic

Exercising in hot weather puts extra stress on your body. If you don’t take care when exercising in the heat, you risk serious illness. Both the exercise itself and the air temperature increase your core body temperature. To help cool itself, your body sends more blood to circulate through your skin. This leaves less blood for your muscles, which in turn increases your heart rate. If the humidity also is high, your body faces added stress because sweat doesn’t readily evaporate from your skin. That pushes your body temperature even higher.

When you exercise in hot weather, keep these precautions in mind:

Watch the temperature. Pay attention to weather forecasts and heat alerts. Know what the temperature is expected to be for the duration of your planned outdoor activity.

Get acclimated. If you’re used to exercising indoors or in cooler weather, take it easy at first when you exercise in the heat. As your body adapts to the heat over the course of one to two weeks, gradually increase the length and intensity of your workouts.

Know your fitness level. If you’re unfit or new to exercise, be extra cautious when working out in the heat. Your body may have a lower tolerance to the heat. Reduce your exercise intensity and take frequent breaks.

Drink plenty of fluids. Dehydration is a key factor in heat illness. Help your body sweat and cool down by staying well hydrated with water. Don’t wait until you’re thirsty to drink. If you plan to exercise intensely or for longer than one hour, consider a sports drink instead of water. Sports drinks can replace the sodium, chloride and potassium you lose through sweating. Avoid alcoholic drinks because they can actually promote fluid loss.

Dress appropriately. Lightweight, loosefitting clothing helps sweat evaporate and keeps you cooler. Avoid dark colors, which can absorb heat. If possible, wear a light-colored, wide-brimmed hat.

Avoid midday sun. Exercise in the morning or evening, when it’s likely to be cooler outdoors. If possible, exercise in shady areas — or do a water workout in a pool.

Wear sunscreen. A sunburn decreases your body’s ability to cool itself.

Have a backup plan. If you’re concerned about the heat or humidity, stay indoors. Work out at the gym, walk laps inside the mall or climb stairs inside an air-conditioned building.

Understand your medical risks. Certain medical conditions or medications can increase your risk of a heat-related illness. If you plan to exercise in the heat, talk to your doctor about precautions.

Heat-related illnesses are largely preventable. By taking some basic precautions, your exercise routine doesn’t have to be sidelined when the heat is on.