Healthier options are available at Starbucks!

Starbucks has started to respond to a growing segment of society that would like to see healthy options on more menus.  As a result, they now offer some great options that are much better for you than the apple fritter (500 calories) or an oatmeal raisin cookie (480 calories)!
Banana Chocolate Vivanno-  At 250 calories and 21 grams of protein with just under 2 grams of fat, this is a great frozen beverage to choose over most frappuccinos.  The strawberry crème frapuccinno runs about 600 calories and 14 grams of fat for a grande!
While their Tazo green teas are very good and come in a variety of choices and contain 0 calories, be aware of the green tea lattes.  These average 280 calories for a grande, and are loaded with sugar and fat.
A regular coffee with a shot of flavored syrup is only 20 calories of sugar.  The sugar-free shots are 0 calories, but contain artificial sweeteners.  Go for the real sugar shot instead of a hot vanilla cappuccino that will run 430 calories and 13 grams of fat.
The new chewy nut and fruit bar is very good, and is only 250 calories with 4 grams of fiber made with real oats, fruit and sweetened with honey.
The perfect oatmeal is a great choice.  At 140 calories, 5 grams of protein and made from only whole grain oats and your choice of fruit or nut topping, this is the lowest calorie choice there!
The multi-grain muffin isn’t a bad choice either.  At 280 calories and 7 grams of protein with only 6 grams of fat, it is made with whole grains and honey.  Choose the almond butter to top it for even more healthy fats and protein.
In the fridge section, the veggies and dip platter is a good choice.  At 140 calories, and virtually no simple sugars or fat, and the fiber should fill you up.
Choose the muffins over the scones.  While a scone comes in at 480-500 calories and is loaded with fat, most of the muffins are only 310-350 calories.  Not the healthiest choice, ingredient wise, but much lower calorie than the scones.  The apple bran muffin is a good source of fiber and fruit, but it is not any lower calorie than the other muffins.

For more info on Starbucks’ nutritional info, visit their site at www.starbucks.com!

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• Tip of the Month

  June 2010

  Abdominal Workouts: Frequency, Intensity, and Duration

  Over the past 15 years, there has been countless advice on how to “properly” train your abdominals, or core.  There isn’t a fitness magazine out there that doesn’t publish a different abdominal workout each and every issue.  Opinions and research may change over time, but there are a few things you should look at before you alter your workout with each Fitness Magazine you read!
  First of all, it is important to know what your overall fitness and health goal is before designing a strength program for any body part, especially the mid-section.  For overall fitness, it is smartest to treat your abdominal muscles as you would any other muscle group.  The tried and true guidelines for most exercise programs is to work specific muscles to fatigue within a 30-60 second set time limit (intensity and duration,) while giving the worked muscle group at least 24-48 hours of rest (frequency) before working it again.  The amount of sets you do in a given workout (frequency again) can vary from as little as 4 sets to up to 12 for the average workout.  The science behind these theories is sound.  While exercising, pushing your body significantly past the 60 second mark without fatigue generally incorporates aerobic energy, thereby not stressing the muscles most efficiently.  And rest is necessary so that your body can properly rebuild the muscle fibers that you have broken down.  Additionally, you want to be at 100% energy levels for your next workout!

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• Recipe of the Month

  June 2010

  Ham and Cheese Breakfast Casserole

  This healthy update of a traditionally rich ham-and-cheese breakfast strata is made lighter primarily by losing a few egg yolks and using nonfat milk. Gruyère cheese has a delicious, nutty aroma and flavor, which means that with the relatively small amount in this recipe you still get a big impact. To finish the makeover use nutritious, fiber-rich, whole-grain bread instead of white. The results: plenty of flavor, half the calories and one-third the fat of the original.

  4 large eggs
  4 large egg whites
  1 cup nonfat milk
  2 tablespoon Dijon mustard
  1 teaspoon minced fresh rosemary
  1/4 teaspoon freshly ground pepper
  5 cups chopped spinach, wilted (see Tip)
  4 cups whole-grain bread, crusts removed if desired, cut into 1-inch cubes (about 1/2 pound, 4-6 slices)
  1 cup diced ham steak, (5 ounces)
  1/2 cup chopped jarred roasted red peppers
  3/4 cup shredded Gruyère, or Swiss cheese
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