7 Tips for Exercising Outdoors Year-Round and in All Weather
Have you decided that exercising outdoors in nature is going to be a year-round pastime for you? This is a great goal to have, for a few reasons. It's nice to get outside and breathe the fresh air. Getting a break from people can be good for your mental health. And being in nature is a great way to slow down, increase mindfulness and soothe your nervous system.
But how will you stay true to your commitment to outdoor exercise when the weather does wacky things? This will take some extra effort, but lots of people do it and are all the healthier and happier for it.
Plan ahead
Committing to an exercise routine means making room in your life. If you know that you like to exercise at a certain park or field that’s a certain distance away from your home or work, then scheduling factors in.
Be prepared
Your favorite park to walk, run or play sports in is 4 minutes from your work but fifteen minutes from home. Packing a back of workout clothes, a healthy snack, running shoes and hydration will ensure that you head straight to your outdoor exercise destination after work if that works best with your daily schedule.
Pivot as needed
Sometimes the weather derails our plan. So do those mini emergencies, like one of your kids texting in that they need a ride home at the exact time when you planned to be out exercising.
Have a backup plan
If Plan A comes undone, you’ll still have Plan B. So maybe you were asked to stay late at work which means you missed your time slot for taking a run through the neighborhood. Now it’s dark. You don’t like running in the dark, but you’re committed to a workout – so exercise video and free weight at home it is.
Be safety-minded
Exercising outdoors requires taking extra safety precautions. A fanny pack can keep your keys on your person so you don’t end up having to hold them while jogging or accidentally having them fall out of your jacket pocket. It’s also a smart idea to avoid desolate areas like the park, if you’re running after hours. Proper running shoes factor in, as does dressing for the weather.
Dress for comfort and function
Choose active wear that’s snug fitting, wicks away perspiration, and has some give so you can move freely. Microfiber works well for this purpose. Choose running shoes that offer good arch support and that will cushion impact as you run.
Choose your seasonal sport or activity
You’re not limited to running outdoors if that bores you. Many people hit the paths at the park to walk, ride bikes, skateboard and rollerblade. You can also do yoga, shoot some hoops, play soccer or baseball with your kids, Hula hoop, or do any number of outdoor sports to keep things interesting.
Exercise is great for your body and mind. But there’s no question that if you're doing it outdoors, sometimes extreme temps can derail your plan. Or, at the very least, inclement weather can make outdoor exercise seem like something you’d prefer to avoid.
If you’re lucky enough to have four seasons where you live, then exercising in the spring and fall are usually the most desirable and likely times to do it outdoors. Fifty to 80° temperatures seem like the ideal reason to get up, get out there, breathe the fresh air and get your body moving.
Well, nothing at all if it suits you. There are plenty of opportunities to move your body indoors such as getting a gym membership and actually going, purchasing exercise equipment that will let you burn calories and get fit in your own home, or taking a class like Zumba or karate indoors.
However, exercising indoors also means breathing that recycled air from vents – air conditioned or heated air, depending on the time of year. A lot of us can feel pretty wiped out, huffing and puffing away on our cardio machines, inhaling air from the ceiling vents which may contain dust and mold particles as well as other potential irritants.
For that reason alone, outdoor exercise holds its appeal –and quite frankly once you get into it, there is nothing quite like it.
Another reason many people prefer to exercise outdoors: the sense of peace and freedom.
Being at the gym, working out in the company of other, fitness-minded folks can be fun. So can hopping on the elliptical or doing a zoom from the comfort of your basement or rec room at home. But if outdoor exercise feels like a great escape and needed alone time for you, then by all means keep it up even in those extreme weather seasons.
Do you wish you could replicate some of the fun meals you have enjoyed at restaurants? Eating dinner at home does not have to be boring. Meals that taste great and are fun to eat need not become a long and complicated project. You also don't have to spend a lot of money to prepare foods for your family that rival restaurant quality fare. Keep reading for how to make DELICIOUS dressings and dipping sauces at home!
Let's Get Creative with Condiments
You're probably thinking that to make food like what you would get served in a restaurant requires that you run out for all kinds of complicated ingredients.This is not the case! In fact, if you get into the habit of stocking some basic ingredients, you can whip up all kinds of tasty and exciting sauces and dressings to liven up any meal.
Pantry Essentials
Here are some staples to keep on hand when you want to turn an ordinary meal into something creative and fun.
Mix all ingredients. You may need to warm the honey slightly by popping it in the microwave for a few seconds. Use a rubber spatula to transfer to ramekins for dipping chicken fingers or other fun foods.
How to Make Spicy Mayo:
Spicy mayo is a fun way to kick your fries up a notch with a zesty dipping sauce. You can also spread it on your sandwiches or have it with sushi.
Start by sauteing the onions in a saucepan. Add all other ingredients and stir well. Bring to a boil then reduce heat. Simmer for about 20 minutes. Use a basting brush to mop your homemade barbecue sauce over chicken before grilling. You can also bake it in the oven if you like.
How to Make Italian Dressing at Home
¼ cup olive oil
1/8 cup red wine vinegar
One smashed garlic clove
One teaspoon dried thyme
One teaspoon black pepper
Combine all ingredients in a glass jar and cap tightly. Shake well. Let your dressing marinate for at least a half an hour before serving it with a fresh salad. Shake again before each use.
How to Make Homemade Cocktail Sauce
Feeling like a shrimp cocktail? Whip this up in a hot minute.
Heat an oven to 500°F (260°C) and line a baking tray with aluminum foil. Roast the peppers (whole) for about 20 minutes, or until nearly blackened on all sides. Remove from the oven and either wrap the peppers in aluminum foil or place them in a sealed bag and allow them to steam for a few minutes.
In the meantime, toast the almonds in a dry pan over medium-low heat, until golden brown. This will take about 5 minutes, take care not to burn the nuts. Set aside.
Now unwrap the peppers and remove and discard the skin, stems, and seeds.
Place the flesh of the peppers into a food processor or blender along with the toasted almonds, olive oil, lemon juice, garlic, salt, and chili flakes.
Blend until creamy and smooth then taste and adjust the flavorings, adding more lemon, garlic, salt and chili flakes to taste.
Once cooled, store this salsa in an airtight container in the refrigerator for 5-7 days.
When you think of your favorite meals, you probably immediately associate these comfort foods with weight gain. It is true that if you eat traditionally hearty, stick-to-your-rib types of meals prepared in the way that one would expect them to be made, you will be overloading your system with fat and simple carbs. Both of these cause weight gain. So today we will discuss a favorite meal healthy makeover: classic cheeseburgers.
But just because you won't generally experience weight loss and improved health by gorging yourself on diner-style cheeseburgers does not mean that you must avoid a cheeseburger meal all together. Even if you're targeting weight loss goals – yes, you can indulge in a burger every now and then!
Here's a meal makeover for you to model after the next time you crave a cheeseburger:
Reduce your meat portion. If your super-sized meat meal consists of a half-pound cheeseburger, then make it a quarter pound or even smaller portion if possible. Again, if you don't like to measure, you can just estimate the meat portion that you would normally expect served and then divide it in half. Another option is to make the full restaurant serving but eat it for THREE different meals instead of one! Remember, leftovers are your friend.
Choose higher quality meats.
Saturated fats are worse for you when they come from animals that have been fed a high sugar diet. The beef that you get on your grocery store shelves comes from cows that were fed corn which is not a proper diet for cows. This causes the meat to taste sweeter and actually raise blood sugar levels.
Choosing meats from grass-fed animals means that you will have a better-quality beef when you do treat yourself to some beef in the form of a juicy burger. Even though beef is sometimes publicized as not being good for you, good quality red meat contains iron which is an essential nutrient.
Trade American cheese for aged cheddar or any other aged cheese.
American cheese is really not cheese. It's some whey-based “cheese food” product that is heavily processed. American cheese is more like butter and may create digestive difficulties for people who are allergic to milk or who do not tolerate dairy products. The digestive complications that come with eating cheeses like American or mozzarella which is made from whole milk, can cause bloating and gas which may mimic weight gain. If you're striving for healthy meals, you're better off eating and aged cheese which does not contain lactose.
Reduce your serving of complex carbs.
When we think of that delicious diner burger, we envision the meat sitting atop a thick hamburger bun made of enriched white flour.
If you have no other carbohydrate alternatives and enjoy your burger on a bun, every once in a while, you can treat yourself to a burger on a bun by at least reducing the size of the bun.
How to do this? One trick to try is to hollow out the middle of the bun. What you have left is a thin breadbasket that can hold your burger meat and other toppings. So, you still get the sandwich, but you aren't consuming as many carbs.
Another way to reduce carb intake is by replacing that enriched white bun with a whole wheat roll or a roll made of some other type of whole grain. If you can find smaller rolls to serve your burger on or choose a flatbread alternative, you will be reducing the amount of carbs and helping yourself by choosing a healthy alternative.
Go bunless.
This is the better option especially if you plan to enjoy some starchy sides in addition to your burger bun.
For example, some people enjoy a potato salad side with their cheeseburger. A half a cup serving of potato salad can be your healthy carbohydrate alternative to the high sugar burger bun.
Ditch the fries.
Another typical side that you'll get with your diner burger is French fries made from white potatoes and a lot of them. Swap out that giant pile of fries for a variety of healthy veggie toppings.
Also: fried foods add weight gain and clog your arteries… and the white flour from the large portion of fries is something a healthy weight watcher could do without.
If you're really craving that side of fries, you have some alternative options. One, you can make a side of white potatoes with skins on, drizzled with olive oil and oven bake until crispy.
Just be sure that you stick to a small portion, no more than 3/4 of a cup if you're really digging those potatoes. If you choose potatoes as your white starch then skip the burger bun entirely.
Other foods to give you a healthier French fry experience are oven roasted parsnips, turnips, sweet potatoes, or a combination of these types of healthy root vegetables. Again, choose to bake instead of fry and drizzle with a healthy oil such as olive which is rich in Omega fats.
If you're opting out of a starchy side for your burger, you can fill your plate with fresh veggies and healthy toppings.
Here are some ways to make your healthy burger meal really delicious. Fill your belly and round out the meal with balanced nutrition are toppings such as…
sauteed onions and peppers
sauteed mushrooms
pickles
lettuce
tomato
raw onion
hot peppers
green peppers
cucumber and onion salad
pickled beet salad
a side of vinegar slaw
Better yet, switch to turkey (my favorite) and try some lowfat feta cheese. Check out the delicious recipe below. Be sure to tell us what you think! oxoxo
Keyword: feta, lightened hamburgers, sun dried tomatoes, turkey burger
Servings: 4servings
Calories: 553kcal
Author: Deborah Hanyon, MPH, RDN, ACE-CHC
Ingredients
4tbsp.sun dried tomatoes
4kale leaves
1lb.450g ground turkey
¼cup40g feta, crumbled
4whole wheat burger buns
4tbsp.mayonnaise
1avocadosliced
1 totomatosliced
lettuce leaves
Instructions
Preheat the oven to 450°F (230°C). Line a baking sheet with baking paper.
Place the sun dried tomatoes and kale into a food processor or high-speed blender and blitz until minced.
In a large bowl, combine the ground turkey, minced sun dried tomatoes, kale and crumbled feta cheese. Form the mixture into four burgers and lay them on the baking sheet. Place the sheet into the hot oven and bake for 7 minutes, then flip the burgers over and cook for an additional 5-7 minutes or until cooked through. Remove the burgers from the oven and assemble the buns.
Toast the buns and spread each bun with 1 tablespoon of mayonnaise. Place ¼ of avocado on the bottom of each bun and add the burger. Next top the burgers with tomato and lettuce leaves, before covering with the top bun. Serve immediately.
Who doesn't love a BLT? The classic bacon, lettuce and tomato sandwich never goes out of style and is a perennial favorite with bacon lovers. Well now's your chance to give your BLT sandwich a healthy makeover!
So, you love bacon, but you are also trying to watch your fat intake and lose weight. How can you make over your bacon, lettuce, and tomato sandwich?
Cut your normal portion of bacon that you would typically eat in half. Bacon is loaded with flavor. You honestly don't need much at all to get a big burst of bacon to dance on your taste buds. So instead of taking a huge bacon portion that leaves you sluggish and over-satiated, have a smaller amount of bacon and savor it slowly.
Avoid white bread; choose whole grain instead.
Everyone pictures the classic BLT on white. But it can be just as delicious eaten on whole grain bread which is much better for your digestion. Whole grain bread contains complex carbs thanks to the fiber. This means it won't send your blood sugar soaring the way that white bread does. Whole grain bread also contains vitamin B6, Magnesium, and other nutrients lost in the milling process.
Eat less bread.
There are many ways you can accomplish this. You can decide to have an open-faced sandwich on one slice of bread instead of two.
Or you can do two slices but make them thinner. There are many brands of healthy whole grain bread that are also sliced thin. This way, you're eating less carbs but still able to enjoy a sandwich that you hold in your two hands and bite into.
Go for spring greens or another type of dark green lettuce instead of the usual iceberg lettuce that you see on a BLT. Iceberg lettuce is fresh and crisp but is also devoid of nutrition. If you love the crunch of iceberg, then you can still have some on your BLT as it is more or less like crunching on water. But it's also a smart idea to add some fiber-rich, vitamin-packed green lettuce to your bacon, lettuce, and tomato sandwich. You can put the two distinct types of lettuce together for a good balance and flavor.
Go for quality tomatoes.
Hot house tomatoes are rushed through ripening using artificial means. This is why they look pinker or orange instead of the deep red color of homegrown tomatoes and seem flavorless. The lack of flavor also points to a lack of good nutrition from your tomatoes!
The best tomatoes have great flavor and color and are high in vitamin C and other beneficial nutrients. If you can get farm fresh or garden-grown local tomatoes that have ripened on the vine, you can ensure that your BLT sandwich will contain the most nutritionally superior tomatoes possible!
Add avocado.
Avocado and bacon make great companions. Plus, if you're eating less bacon than you normally would because you're trying to cut back on saturated fat, you should really add in a healthy fat. Avocado is ideal for this purpose. In fact, speaking of fat, mayo is a common addition to a BLT. You can cut or entirely eliminate the mayonnaise if you really want to enjoy that savory sandwich without a lot of guilt.
Want your BLT to have health-giving superpowers? Pile on some sprouts. Fresh sprouts are packed with nutrition. Take your sandwich to the next level of healthy. Add fresh sprouts to your BLT sandwich for more crunch, flavor, and some vitamins to boot.
For the final healthy addition, mix up a quick homemade vinaigrette with red wine vinegar olive oil, a little bit of salt and a shake or two of dried thyme. Top your sandwich with a few shakes of that and you have the ultimate healthy BLT!
And if you up for a real health challenge, try this vegetarian chickpea, lettuce, and tomato sandwich. Let me know what you think!
Place the chickpeas in a bowl and mash with a fork, leaving some of the chickpeas a little chunkier for added texture. Add the tahini, mustard, sriracha, maple syrup, onion and season with salt and pepper. Mix well to combine.
Toast the bread and spread the chickpea mixture onto two slices. Top the chickpea mixture with lettuce and sliced tomato. Now cover with the second slice of toasted bread and serve immediately.
Tacos are all the rage these days, and for good reason. You can even find t-shirts that express your love of tacos to the world. And while the American tradition of boxed taco kits featuring a crunchy hard corn tortilla shell lives on, these days the taco bar has been raised. That means you've got plenty of healthy options while getting your taco on. In other words, it's easier than ever to get a healthy taco makeover.
First things first: let's take a look at that tortilla shell.
Non-fried is the better option and if it doesn't have white flour you're ahead of the game. Pick up a plain corn tortilla for your taco. Compared to the wheat ones they may smell a little funny it's true. But if you brush with a bit of olive oil for that good fat and pop in the toaster oven for a few minutes, you will soon have a much-improved corn taco which counts as whole grain.
If you really want to go low carb, replace your taco shell with a big lettuce bowl made from a couple of leaves of crunchy iceberg lettuce. Granted, there really is no nutritional value to iceberg lettuce. But it makes a nice edible holder for your taco ingredients, and you can mix in some spring greens for a burst of good vitamins.
Looking to reduce fat?
Then make your taco meal something other than ground beef or shredded pork. These are meats that are higher in saturated fat. If you're striving for improved heart health and weight loss, look for some nutritious alternatives.
You still have plenty of options to fill that taco shell. Some include black beans, vegetarian refried beans, lean shredded chicken, or fresh fish such as salmon, tilapia, or shrimp.
Another way to ensure that your taco is as healthy as possible is to avoid any fried ingredients. Keep in mind that if a crispy tortilla is your jam, there's always the air fryer option for those who love a little crunch.
Choose fish that has been gently broiled in the oven or on the stove top rather than coated with breading and fried.
Swap out half the meat!
If you love meat on your taco and would feel sad without it, try this healthy work around. Cut down your portion of meat that you plan to serve with your taco. Add in a half a can or so of organic black beans to complete your portion serving while still managing to reduce the amount of meat that you're eating.
Go crazy with the fixings. There's plenty to get happy about when making a healthy taco and that includes tomatoes, onions, peppers, and green, leafy lettuce.
You get your choice of fresh or jarred salsa — either will work and both will be healthfully delicious. But fresh is superior because the vitamin C will still be available. (See recipe below for delicious homemade salsa).
You can also be generous with your serving of jalapenos if you're into extra spicy tacos. Olives get the nod of approval for being a healthy fat, so slice up a few black or green ones. While you're at it, top your taco with a few sprinkles of chopped fresh cilantro for a burst of color and vitamin C.
Fun fact about hot sauces: some actually contain butter as part of the recipe.
If your hot sauce is more light orange in color, then likely there has been butter mixed in to create a savory smoothness. Tabasco sauce is a basic recipe that does not include added fat. Our favorite, Cholula, comes with a little garlic. When in doubt, check labels.
For your taco cheese, this is considered a saturated fat. But if plan to enjoy a black bean taco, then it's okay to add a modest serving of cheddar or other aged cheese which will balance out your protein along with the beans.
Add in a healthy fat in the form of fresh avocado.
Chop it up or mash into a quick guacamole seasoned with some finely chopped onion, fresh cilantro bits and a squirt of lime if you have it.
To replace the saturated fat laden sour cream, choose Greek yogurt which will balance out any spiciness from the hot sauce or jalapeno peppers if you eat those on your taco.
A final way to ensure that you won't be veering into the unhealthy fattening taco territory is to watch your portions.
You can get your fill of a single taco, going lighter on the protein and cheese and going heavier on the fresh veggie fix ins. Make sure to eat your taco mindfully to get the full enjoyment while managing to avoid going on a wild taco eating binge.
And don't forget to try our own delicious taco recipe here. We eat this almost weekly!
This homemade salsa is made with fresh tomatoes, onions, jalapeno peppers, and cilantro, and is rich in Vitamin C. Combining this recipe with bean burritos (or other meat burritos or tacos) will increase the iron in the foods served with (beans, tortillas, chicken).
Prep Time15 minutesmins
Total Time15 minutesmins
Course: Appetizer, Side Dish, Snack
Cuisine: Mexican
Keyword: easy, healthy
Servings: 8Servings
Calories: 8kcal
Author: Deborah Hanyon, MPH, RDN, ACE-CHC
Ingredients
1cupRoma Tomatoesabout 2 large, diced
1/4cupOnionsdiced
2tbspCilantrofinely chopped
1wholeJalapeno or AnaheimJalapeno (Medium Heat); Anaheim (Mild Heat)
1tbspLemon Juice
1/2teaspoonSaltTo taste
Instructions
Chop all vegetables to desired size (remove seeds from pepper) 2) Add lemon juice and salt 3) Mix all ingredients together4) Chill 2 hours and Serve
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