Dr. KwaZ blog
Sharing The Tips And Tricks I Have Learned Through The Years
The Skinny:
Mason Jar Salads are super easy and super healthy. You can cut your meal prep time in half for those days you're in rush.
How do the greens not get soggy?
How do the greens not get soggy?The basic idea when packing salads in jars is to start with the heaviest and most non-absorbent ingredients with the dressing on the bottom of the jar and work your way up through the lighter ingredients until you end up with the salad greens themselves. As long as your jar doesn't accidentally tip over in your bag, the delicate greens will be well-protected from the dressing until you're ready to eat.
How does everything get mixed together?
When you're ready to eat your salad, just unscrew the cap and shake it into a bowl. Everything gets pretty compacted in the jar, so some vigorous shaking may be needed! This shaking also helps to toss the salad ingredients with the dressing. Once the salad is in the bowl, you can toss it some more with your fork to make sure everything is evenly coated.
What's the best jar to use?
Any canning jar can be used, but wide-mouthed jars are the easiest for both packing the salad into the jars and shaking them out again. Pint-sized jars are great for individual side salads of mostly greens with just a few "extra" salad toppings. Use quart-sized jars for larger lunch and dinner salads that have a lot of extra veggies and salad goodies. Two-quart jars (or larger) are great if you're taking the salad to a potluck or cookout.
How long will jars of salad keep in the fridge?
With the lid sealed tightly, these salads can last for several days in the fridge — up to five days or so. If you're making salads with soft ingredients or perishable proteins, like avocados, tomatoes, hard-boiled eggs, or cooked chicken breast, wait to add those ingredients until the day you plan to eat the salad. Also, if you have a vacuum-sealer attachment for your canning jars, vacuum-sealing the salads right after assembling them will keep your greens and veggies even crisper and fresher.
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What is the best source of carbs and nutrient timing post workout?
There are three things we look for in a post workout carbohydrate:
1: High on the glycemic index.
2: High on insulin index.
3: Low in fructose.
You need to spike insulin post workout if you want to replenish your glycogen stores. Foods that you might think are good but are not will include: grapes, mango, banana. Which could have high as 4.9% for fructose content. Also, avocados would be a poor choice because they have a high-fat content. You should be looking for fruits like apricots, Kiwi's, pineapples, figs, white rice and rice cakes. You also must have fast acting protein like whey or iso whey which will increase the amount of glycogen stored by approximately 32%. Having said that, the anabolic window has recently been studied to be a lot larger than originally thought. So don't worry too much about trying to get the carbs in before the 30-minute mark. You have more like 2 hours.
"I was 19 and I started dating someone — it was an unhealthy relationship," McGee, now 26, explained. "I stopped seeing my friends, stopped going to the gym, and started gaining weight."
The Ashford, Surrey, United Kingdom, resident felt like she lost herself. She couldn't look in the mirror without hating how she looked. One night, she was getting ready to go out and something snapped.
"I couldn't find anything to wear. I was dreading going out because I didn't want to be the fat friend. I broke down and cried," McGee recounted. She didn't end up going out that night; instead, she decided she had to make a change.
"I looked at myself (in the mirror) and I said, 'The amount of energy you're spending hating yourself, you could use that time and energy for changing yourself into who you want to be.'"
This was three years ago and McGee hasn't looked back since. She joined the weight-loss program Slimming World and took control of her life.
"I was really excited to start. Joining the plan felt like a glimmer of hope, and like I would gain control of my life again," she said.
Here are the five steps McGee took to start living a healthier lifestyle:
1. Plan your meals ahead of time.
"Back when I was heavier, I was eating less. I would skip breakfast, eat a sandwich for lunch, and then end up binge eating in the evening," McGee remembered. Now, she prepares for her day the night before.
"I learned how to portion my plate, to include veggies, carbs and proteins."
2. Find an activity you enjoy doing.
McGee started by walking more with her dog, then she got a bike and started cycling a lot. But what really worked was finding a fitness class she loved.
"I started taking Zumba classes, and I really enjoyed it!" McGee said. "When you enjoy something, you want to do it more."
3. Realize you're not alone.
"I've had weeks where I cried, but the support network provided by Slimming World gave me a safe place where I could cry, but they would still help me focus on the positives," she said. "They helped me celebrate, even on the weeks that I had gained (weight)."
4. Have hope.
"There are millions of people who struggle to lose weight, if we're all in it together, it makes it less scary," McGee explained. "You should never feel ashamed of where you're at."
5. Continue to live your life.
McGee isn't a slave to the number on the scale.
"I've gone on holidays where I expect to gain weight, and when I return and get back in my routine, it's off again," she explained. "I'm living life in the healthiest way possible — physically and mentally."
