Recipe: Stuffed Mushrooms (Health Program approved!)

 

I love to make these stuffed mushrooms for appetizers when entertaining. 

People just love them and they are easy to throw together!
{CLICK HERE FOR THE RECIPE}

Recipe: Tofu Pumpkin Pie

 

Pumpkin pie is a staple at most holiday meals. For most pumpkin pies, you will pay the price in calories (usually 300+ calories per slice), tons of fat and empty carbohydrates. This pie is about 90 calories and one third of the fat and complex carbohydrates, and three times the protein and fiber. You can't beat it!

 

The secret? Tofu replaces the eggs and condensed milk, making this pie vegan-friendly too!

{CLICK HERE TO VIEW THE RECIPE}

Story of Inspiration: Monique E.

Monique is working so hard to maintain her health for many reasons. She feels better physically when she is healthy. She is 43 (she said I could share that with you) and has a permanent neck injury and her knees are also starting to bother her. She has so much more energy and less pain without all the extra weight! Like most of us women, to her, it is also very important how she looks. She loves clothes and loves being able to wear what she wants with confidence.

Monthly Health Challenge for November 2012!

WHAT ARE MONTHLY HEALTH CHALLENGES? These health challenges are designed to empower you to create health in your life. Anyone is welcome to join at any time, and the challenges are absolutely free! What do you have to lose? Email me at HealthyandFitLife@gmail.com or leave a comment below to let me know you've joined!

As always, I will give the winner of this month's challenge a $25 visa debit card and that person will be featured on my Health Challenges & Royalty page!

Here is November's Health Challenge:

{CLICK HERE TO READ MORE}

Spooky Tips for a Healthy Halloween

Halloween is just around the corner.  Overindulgence is abundent, which is only matched with opportunities to choose health if a zombie hasn't devoured your healthy mind.  If you looked at every craving as an opportunity to enhance your health, would you give in? 

Often times, adult goblins can avoid sugary treats until it is brought into their home.  Parents undoubtedly feel like candy is a part of the traditions we hold in our households for our kids.  When you chose health, you changed many things about your life: the way you do things, avoiding things inconsistent with your health goals, grocery shopping differently, and even the way you think about food, work, stress, sleep and exercise.  So, what is stopping you from thinking differently about holidays?  If you joined the health revolution, don't deviate over that piece of candy.  It is not worth it! 

Here are some tips to successfully bring you through Halloween in health:

Turkey Taco Soup in the Slow Cooker (Health Program approved!)

It's soup season!  This is a great soup recipe because everything is cooked when you put it into the slow cooker, so you don't have to worry about low food temperatures.  The kids really love it too!

{CLICK HERE FOR RECIPE}

Recipe: Spaghetti Squash Dessert Bars (Health Program approved!)

We are all looking for healthy ways to manage our way through the holidays.  It can be a scary time if you're not prepared or don't know how to plan a healthy holiday meal. 

Pumpkin pie is one of the historical staples of Thanksgiving, but the calories and fat probably don't align with your health goals.  After searching long and hard, I modified a great recipe for a dessert that is approved on my health program and I am so excited to share it with you!

 

 {CLICK HERE FOR THE RECIPE}

Greek Yogurt

Most of us have heard Greek yogurt is better than regular yogurt, but do you know why? 
 

Monthly Health Challenge for October 2012!

WHAT ARE MONTHLY HEALTH CHALLENGES? These health challenges are designed to empower you to create health in your life. Anyone is welcome to join at any time, and the challenges are absolutely free! What do you have to lose? Email me at HealthyandFitLife@gmail.com or leave a comment below to let me know you've joined!

As always, I will give the winner of this month's challenge a $25 visa debit card and will be featured on my Health Challenges & Royalty page!

Here is October's health challenge:

{CLICK HERE TO READ MORE}

Announcing August's Health Challenge Winner: Anita L.

August's Health Challenge Winner is Anita L.!

August's Health Challenge was to drink lots of water.  (Click here to read August's Health Challenge).

Anita is working hard to get healthy because she was diagnosed with diabetes about five years ago. Two of her sisters had gestational diabetes and they still have diabetes. Anita dreams that one day, she'll be free from diabetes.

Healthy Tailgating

I received an email from Dr. Wayne Anderson with some great tips on healthy tailgating and thought I would share it with y'all.  Here are some tips from Dr. Anderson:

{CLICK HERE TO READ MORE}

Exercise Accessories

Ever wonder what exercise accessories could make your life easier?  Well, here are a few of the things that I use when I am exercising, with my brand recommendations:

Monthly Health Challenge for September 2012!

WHAT ARE MONTHLY HEALTH CHALLENGES? These health challenges are designed to empower you to create health in your life. Anyone is welcome to join at any time, and the challenges are absolutely free! What do you have to lose? Email me at HealthyandFitLife@gmail.com or leave a comment below to let me know you've joined!
 

The winner of this month's challenge will win a $25 gift card and will be
featured on the Health Challenges & Royalty page for this blog!

Here is September's health challenge:

{CLICK HERE TO READ MORE}

Healthy tip: salad dressing

Ask for your salad dressing on the side and pour a little at a time. 

Project: Reward Marbles

I think we can all agree that health does not depend solely on the number on the scale.  If you choose to create health in your life, you should focus on creating your healthy body, mind, emotions, spirit and finances.  All of those things are interdependent.  When we focus on only reaching our healthy weight, without regard to the reasons we got into the position we're in, we cannot truly be healthy.

One of my clients is on her journey to health and needed a good visual of all the things she was accomplishing to give her a little boost in her journey.  Most of us have seen the "Pounds Lost/ Pounds to Lose" jars.  For every pound you lose, you move a marble from the "Pounds to Lose" jar into the "Pounds Lost" jar.  They look like this:

Those jars are a good idea, but I have a hard time accepting that our only goal is to lose pounds.  Instead, shouldn't we focus on all of our healthy accomplishments?

One of my clients was struggling with focusing only on the scale and not on all the other healthful things she was doing.  I gave her an assignment and here is what my client created:

FREE LIVE WEBINAR!

Healthy Living

Tuesday, August 14, 2012

7:00 PM Pacific Time  

Link to webinar: http://www.anymeeting.com/meganberg1

Conference Call : Toll Number: (309) 944-9515

Conference Call Access Code: 896 6652

This will be a fun evening with friends and a 30 minute presentation on creating health in your life and ideas for weight loss, weight maintenance, high blood pressure, high cholesterol, type 2 diabetes, and other health concerns you may have.

Feel free to pass this along to a friend if you know someone that needs help in creating health in their own life!

First time using AnyMeeting? Take the www.anymeeting.com/SystemTest to make sure that your computer is ready to go.    

If you encounter any technical difficulties viewing the online meetings, please submit a ticket at our support site: support.anymeeting.com

Announcing July's Health Challenge Winner: Angie B.

 July's Health Challenge Winner is Angie B.! 

July's Health Challenge was to dream for at least 10 minutes every day.  (Click here to read the full post.)

Angie and I have been best friends for 17 years. She has been there for me during all my various attempts to find a healthier me, and has joined me in some of them.  A few months ago, I told her about my health program and she honored me by allowing me to be her health coach.  Since then, she lost 30 pounds and reached her healthy BMI!

Monthly Health Challenge for August 2012!

WHAT ARE MONTHLY HEALTH CHALLENGES? These health challenges are designed to empower you to create health in your life. Anyone is welcome to join at any time, and the challenges are absolutely free! What do you have to lose? The winner of the challenge will reign on the Health Royalty page of this blog as the king or queen for the following month until the next challenge winner is chosen. Email me at HealthyandFitLife@gmail.com or leave a comment below to let me know you've joined!

August's health challenge was inspired by this quote:

"Water is life's mater and matrix, mother and medium. There is no life without water."

~Albert Szent-Gyorgi (Hungarian Biochemist who won a Nobel Peace Prize in medicine in 1937)~

Here is August's health challenge:

Mirror Lake, Oregon before & after picture

Here's the story behind this picture:

Announcing June's Health Challenge Winner: Lisa M.!

Lisa M. is the Health Challenge Winner for June's Health Challenge!

Lisa is working so hard to get healthy because her health began failing her three years ago and she had arthritis and depression. Her picture of health includes having energy, thriving without arthritis, running her first marathon, and having low blood pressure, low cholesterol, and low c-reactive protein. Her biggest influence has been her health coach, who inspires her to keep growing and maintaining!

New feature on my blog!

I've added a tab to the top of my blog called "Links and Resources."  (Click here)  I added all my blog recipes, the Restaurant Guide and some other helpful links like a BMI calculator.  

I am constantly adding restaurants to the Restaurant Guide, so check back often.  If you have a favorite restaurant you would like to have added to the Restaurant Guide, email me and I will review the menu and add it to the Guide. (I just added Ruth's Chris Steakhouse and Sayler's).

Email me with any questions at HealthyandFitLife@gmail.com.

Healthy Tips for Social Events

When you choose to create health, you don't choose to give up your social life -- and you shouldn't!  With so many summer parties, BBQs, get-togethers and potlucks, healthy choices are not always easily available without some prior planning.  Planning ahead can put you ahead of the game and leave you feeling satisfied. 

Here are five fantastic tips to survive your social soirees:

Monthly Health Challenge for July 2012!

WHAT ARE MONTHLY HEALTH CHALLENGES?
These health challenges are designed to empower you to create health in your life. Anyone is welcome to join at any time, and the challenges are absolutely free! What do you have to lose? The winner of the challenge will reign on the Health Royalty page of this blog as the king or queen for the following month until the next challenge winner is chosen. Email me at HealthyandFitLife@gmail.com or leave a comment below to let me know you've joined!

July's monthly health challenge was inspired by this quote:

“Keep your dreams alive. Understand to achieve anything requires faith and belief in yourself, vision, hard work, determination, and dedication. Remember all things are possible for those who believe.”

~Gail Devers~

Here is July's monthly health challenge:

Stir fry and rice (health program approved)

Here is a recipe that one of my best friends made and I loved it, so I am sharing it with all of you!  This is approved on the health program I coach. 

Disney is getting health-a-fide!

I found this story on KPTV that was posted June 5, 2012.  Here is a copy of the story:
 

Disney says its programming will no longer be sponsored by junk food.

The Walt Disney Co. said Tuesday that it will become the first major media company to ban such ads for its TV channels, radio stations and websites intended for children. That means kids watching Saturday morning children's shows on Disney's ABC network will no longer see ads for fast foods and sugary cereals that don't meet company's nutrition standards.

Restaurant Guide (Health program approved!)

Let's face it, we all like to eat at restaurants.  If we choose to eat healthfully, we typically opt for the safe choice -- a salad.  Salads are a great choice, especially if you don't want to spend 30 minutes dissecting the menu.  If you choose a salad, you should beware of the common salad pitfalls: cheese and salad dressing.  Request your server leave off the cheese and request a low-fat dressing or Italian dressing.

Salad isn't your only choice though!  Here are some alternate menu choices that also follow the health program I am a health coach for:

{CLICK HERE TO READ MORE}

Pounds vs. Inches

When I was in the weight loss phase (Step 2 on the six step health program I coach), I would get discouraged when I wouldn't lose any pounds on the scale.  It made me feel like I was doing something wrong, even when I knew I was doing everything right.  On those weeks, I would measure myself and discover I was still losing inches. (I suggest measuring on those weeks to help guard against that disappointed feeling.)

Ever wonder why sometimes you aren't losing the pounds on the scale, but you continue to lose inches?  This picture is exactly the reason: 

{CLICK HERE TO READ MORE}

DIET is a four letter word!

I think we all cringe when we hear the word "diet."  It leads us to impressions of diets that are short-term unhealthy food restrictions, and are sometimes only for vanity.  When we eat meals with others, we are embarassed to let them know we are on a "diet."  People naturally react to someone on a "diet" with ridicule, jokes or disappointment.  It's no wonder diets fail.
{Click here to read more}

Monthly Health Challenge for June 2012!

WHAT ARE MONTHLY HEALTH CHALLENGES?

These health challenges are designed to empower you to create health in your life.  Anyone is welcome to join at any time, and the challenges are absolutely free!  What do you have to lose?  The winner of the challenge will reign on the Health Royalty page of this blog as the king or queen for the following month until the next challenge winner is chosen.  Email me or leave a comment below to let me know you've joined!

June's monthly health challenge is a fun one, and is brought to you with this quote in mind:

Goals are dreams with deadlines. 

~Diana Scharf Hunt

Too often, we don't allow ourselves to dream out of fear of failure.  What if we believed in ourselves enough to speak our dreams and follow them through to accomplishment and possibility?  It's not too far fetched, we just don't allow it.

Here is June's monthly health challenge:

My interview on Good Day Oregon!

Mission Possible: Sugar Addict Detox

Are you a sugar addict like I am?  I have learned the right way to struggle with those cravings, but I still struggle with them.  The books tell us to keep sight of WHY we chose to avoid sugar in advance of our cravings -- it could be losing weight, controling diabetes, or simply feeling better. Sometimes, keeping your eye on the prize isn't good enough in the moment that craving is overwhelming you beyond your control.   After you have avoided sugar-ridden treats for a while, your cravings will subside enough to bring your motivation back into focus in those moments.  But, clearly, getting to the point where you can chose your motivation over sugar is a bigger struggle than a lot of us can handle when we first make our choice to avoid sugary treats and get healthy.  That struggle to detox from the sugar is why a lot of us fail. 

A friend forwarded me an article that I thought had some great ways of avoiding cravings... and here they are:

No one gets in the way of your goals!

There's nothing more frustrating than someone telling you "You're not good enough." What's more frustrating is when people don't acknowledge your achievements when you have been working so hard towards your goals. We all need a little affirmation while we're achieving our goals, even the small steps are important to be acknowledged -- whether that's stepping on a scale and watching the number drop three pounds from last week, making the choice to go for a walk instead of eating that cookie, or going to a movie and choosing not to have butter on your popcorn. Not everybody recognizes how important those things are to us. What's worse, sometimes people sabotage you and the self esteem that you've been working so hard to create for yourself by doing things like taunting you with treats at work because they think it's funny to watch you squirm.  

Discovering ways to deal with those situations head-on, instead of letting them sabotage your hard work is key! People have no idea how effective encouragement and discouragement are. Here are ways I deal with those discouraging comments:

Lasagna (health program approved!)

I just tried this recipe my health coach sent to me.  It was so, so good.  The kids even asked for seconds!  This is a perfect dish for leftovers! It is extremely filling -- you might need to split your Lean & Green serving for the day.

Also, a word to the wise, you'll need to start the lasagna about 90 minutes before you want to eat.  It takes about 20-30 minutes of prep time and 60 minutes to cook and cool.  You could do the prep work the night before to save some time.

Nervous on weigh in day

Today was my weigh in day.  I gained a little at my weigh-in last Sunday because I induldged a little on my date night the Friday before (just living' life!).  After staying focused all week, I was able to take it right back off -- and more -- without dieting! 

Crockpot Chili (health program approved!)

This is my own version of an old family recipe for chili. 

(This picture is chili with beans, which is not health program approved, but the recipe below tastes the same without the beans.)

I usually throw all the ingredients together in the crockpot the night before, stick it in the fridge, then pull it out in the morning and start the crockpot.  It's super easy and the kids love it!

Meatballs & Mash (health program approved!)

I made up this recipe the other night and thought it was good enough to share!

This recipe is health program approved too!

Healthy Sundaes

For those of you who have decided to join me in reaching your optimal health, here are some dessert recipes that use brownies and soft bakes from my health program.  They taste as good as they look!

Spicy Garlic Shrimp Stir Fry (health program approved!)

What's important to you?

Just a thought for the day...

Taco Lettuce Wraps (health program approved!)

If you love mexican food as much as I do,
you will love these HEALTHY "tacos!"

You can also make these on a smaller scale as finger foods for a party!

Recipe by Megan Berg

{CLICK "Read more >>" BELOW TO VIEW RECIPE}

Yesterday, you said tomorrow...

I recently heard this quote:

"Yesterday, you said tomorrow."