Fitness experts know that a person can improve muscle mass as an adult just as efficiently as a youngster; proving age vs. metabolism to be incomplete. It may come down to the simple fact that as a child we enjoy our exercise and do it more often because we were playing just for the pure joy of it. As we age, exercise takes on new meaning and associations and we may feel we are forced to do it instead of wanting to do it.

Act Like a Kid

Want to have an active lifestyle and a youthful body that you genuinely enjoy? Then act child-like! Run, climb, jump, hang, roll, bounce and cartwheel! But don’t start trouble with your siblings. Forget how to play? If you have young children you have the template in front of you.

Simon says, “Watch an active, healthy child play and do what they do.” Why?

• Inverting the body is a great way to improve digestion and circulation.
• Hanging strengthens the wrists and reduces pain from chronic overuse for those who type a lot.
• Bouncing stimulates the lymphatic system to remove toxins and rolling in a ball helps the action of peristalsis, the unconscious contractions in the intestines that help move food through and then out of the body.

Slow digestion, poor circulation, chronic repetitive movement pain, excess fat, a rapidly aging body and in the end metabolic syndrome is not a curse for all who age, just those who stop acting young when they play. You decide, not your metabolic clock.

There is another reason why playing like a child is so good for you. Kids play when they can, not just when they are in a playground and spreading the activity through the day has an accumulated net effect that can be greater than all at one go.

Here is How it Works

Run (not jog, kids don’t jog,) jump, crawl. They are all bodyweight resistance movements that are proven to make the metabolism burn an increased amount of calories for an extended time past the actual workout. A 5 minute burst can give an hour of hyper-burn. So turn on your boosters for a 5 minute burst, four times a day and you can keep the metabolism at an accelerated rate longer, just like a child. It is an anti-aging formula.

Find a game or activity you like to play that doesn’t require a lot of tools or other people to depend on and enjoy! If you don’t enjoy it keep searching.

Of course if you have children that are active and love to play there is such a wonderful bonding opportunity that only horsing around can cement, please don’t pass it up. Do not be an overweight adult who talks on the phone while the kids play in the playground. That would be acting far too grown up.

Rory Thomas
Change your body, keep the changes: www.Mywellnessmentor.com

Healthy but Not Deprived

If you want to eat healthier but don’t want to feel deprived, try The Food You Crave: Luscious Recipes for a Healthy Life by Ellie Krieger.  Krieger’s philosophy is that no food is off limits; she just creates recipes that are delicious, but also healthy. The book includes 200 recipes, a lot of photos, and nutritional information if you are trying to count calories.  I like her Lemon Chicken Soup with Orzo, am a big fan of the Pumpkin Pie Muffins, and am in love with the Carrot, Green Apple and Mint salad.  On my list of things to try are her homemade and healthier Ranch dressing and the Pesto Potato Salad.  These recipes may be too sophisticated for little kids, but with things like Steak Tacos with Cucumber Avocado Salsa, Crispy Chicken Fingers with a Honey Mustard Sauce, and a meatloaf made with ground turkey, you will be able to find some dishes that will work for the whole family.

Convenient Healthy and Homemade

If you don’t have time to cook every night but still want to eat healthy and homemade: try cooking on the weekends or on days when you do have a little time in the kitchen, putting meals in the freezer to eat later. A good cook book to check out is Cook and Freeze by Dana Jacobi.  Jacobi’s book is not just a collection of recipes, it is a good primer how to freeze meals to eat later: the best way to package food for the freezer, how long foods will last when frozen, the best ways to defrost, what freezes well and what doesn’t.  She also has a chapter on how to plan a cooking session where you cook several things for the freezer, with suggestions on what to cook, and how to organize it. As you would expect, there are casseroles, soups and stews, but you’ll also find appetizers, side dishes, and breakfast dishes like toaster waffles, breakfast burritos, and oatmeal banana bread.  My family likes the Creamy Corn Pudding with Cheese and Broccoli, and the Southern Pork Chop Casserole.

The Slow Cooker

Another way to save time and cook ahead is by using a slow cooker.  Take a look at a new cookbook from America’s Test Kitchen:  Slow Cooker Revolution.  They set out to revitalize old slow cooker standbys and to invent some new possibilities like risotto, enchiladas, and red beans and rice.  To get around the need to sauté veggies for flavor, they have you microwave them in a tablespoon of oil and then add to the crock pot. It works, and it saves you from dirtying up another pot.  There are also clever flavor booster and shortcuts.  We love the Chicken Curry in a Hurry.  I froze the leftovers and it was just as delicious the second time around.

Food for Family Time

If you are trying to get the whole family to eat together, take a look at a blog called Dinner: A Love Story.  I now read this almost every day and have tried many of the recipes, but I also like the book suggestions for children, the ideas for birthday parties, and the theme that runs through everything: that it is important to eat together, and it’s fun to be a family — with the acknowledgement that it is also sometimes difficult and annoying to come up with a meal that everyone will like.  This blog is rich with humor and coping strategies (including recipes for cocktails.)  I have made the Porcupine Meatballs, the barbecued chicken, and the Pretzel Chicken (which we all LOVED,) and copied the idea of a Dunkin Doughnuts hole birthday cake.  This blog just kind of keeps you company on many of the aspects of being a wife and mother.

Delicious Gluten Free

If you can’t eat wheat or are just trying to avoid it:  Look at a blog called Adventures of a Gluten Free Mom which has menu plans as well as recipes.  I made the gluten free Southern Cornbread dressing for Thanksgiving, and it was excellent — even if you aren’t trying to avoid wheat.  Also check out Gluten Free Mommy, with a huge list of recipes, as well as a recipe swap and menu plans.

Quick Healthy Meals

If you want ideas for weeknight meal that come together quickly, a favorite of mine is Martha Stewart’s Great Food Fast, recipes from her Everyday Food magazine. I like the organization: by seasons– with each season having recipes for soups, salads, main dishes, pastas, sides, and desserts.  I also like the fact that is it focused on family friendly meals, that each recipe has a prep time, and that nutritional info is included.  The Pork Quesadillas are unusual and delicious.  Also good in this area is Cooking Light’s Fresh Food Fast: Weeknight Meals, which promises five ingredient 15 minute recipes. It also includes nutritional info.  My family loves the Whole Wheat Pita Pizzas with Spinach, Fontina and Onions.

Healthy Recipes for Picky Eaters

If you have picky eaters and want to try out “sneaky cuisine” smuggle in a copy of Deceptively Delicious by Jessica Seinfeld or The Sneaky Chef by Missy Chase Lapine. The idea behind both books is to make vegetable and fruit purees, and then conceal them in foods that your children like: butternut squash puree in mac and cheese, spinach puree hidden in chicken nuggets, carrot puree mixed in with the ground beef of a burger. A friend tried both and reports that she has had success with Deceptively Delicious. She recommends the twice baked potatoes with cauliflower puree, the peanut butter muffins, and says, “The girls also really like the rice cakes which have brown rice, chicken, sweet potatoes, and spinach. They are a real pain, but I make them because they always eat them up!”

Whatever it takes! Here’s to happy and healthy eating in the New Year.

Caroline Baxter Lambert likes to read, think, and write about parenting issues.  She is the mother of two ever-evolving children.