Apricot Smoothie Drink

Ingredients

1 – 13 or 14 ounce can apricot halves, drained

1 – 12 ounce can apricot nectar

1 tablespoon honey

8 ounces plain yogurt

2 medium bananas

1 tablespoon lemon or lime juice

Directions

Place all of the above ingredients into blender and blend until smooth. Place in freezer and chill for 5 minutes and serve.

How to Make Minestrone Soup

Ingredients

4 tablespoons margarine

3/4 cup chopped onion

1/4 cup chopped celery

1/2 cup chopped carrots

1 (19 ounce) can cannellini beans

1/2 cup shredded cabbage

1 (14.5 ounce) can stewed tomatoes

1 tablespoon tomato paste

1 1/2 cups cubed potatoes

1 quart vegetable broth

2 cloves garlic, minced

2 tablespoons dried parsley

1 teaspoon salt

1/2 cup elbow macaroni

Directions

Melt margarine in a heavy pot over medium heat. Add onion, celery, and carrots; saute for a few minutes.

Add beans, cabbage, tomatoes, tomato paste, potato, stock, garlic, parsley, and salt to the pot. Bring to a boil, cover, and reduce heat. Simmer for approximately 1 hour until vegetables are barely tender.

Add pasta, and simmer for 30 minutes more. Correct seasoning, and serve hot.

Low Fat Tropical Smoothie

Ingredients

1 ripe medium banana, sliced

1/3 cup frozen orange juice concentrate

1 – 8 ounce can crushed pineapple in juice, chilled

1 1/2 cups vanilla low fat frozen yogurt

1 cup milk (skim,fat free or 1

Directions

In a blender, combine banana, undrained pineapple and orange juice concentrate. Cover and blend until almost smooth. Add low fat frozen yogurt and milk. Cover and blend until smooth. Pour into chilled glasses. Garnish with a sprinkle of toasted coconut if desired.

Recipe for Sun Dried Tomato Dip

Ingredients

1 cup sun-dried tomatoes, rehydrated

1 tbsp balsamic vinegar

1 cup non-fat cream cheese

1/2 cup non-fat sour cream

basil leaves, for garnishing

Directions

Puree the sun-dried tomatoes and balsamic vinegar in the food processor. Add the cream cheese and process until the mixture is smooth.

Add the sour cream and pulse until combined. (Be careful not to over process or the mixture will liquify.)

Transfer the spread to a serving bowl and garnish with fresh basil.

(Makes 10 Servings)

How to do a stationary lunge

Video: This exercise targets the glutes, hamstrings, and adductors. A great one for your entire leg.

Bench Press

Whilst lifting weights there are several different techniques and lifts that you can use to hone your body into a perfect shape. One of the best for zoning in on your triceps, deltoids and also your pectorals, is the Bench Press. Bench Press is also 1 of the 3 competitive lifts used in Power Lifting competitions. Regardless of your aim, perfecting this lift will allow you to really turn up the volume on your muscles, allowing them to become bigger and stronger. The main focus when using a Bench Press is on your Petoralis Major Muscles but it also has an effect on the surrounding muscles allowing them too to be developed and sculpted, these include;

Triceps Brachii

Scapulae Fixers

Serratus Anterior

Anterior Deltoids

Coracobrachialis

Trapezzii

Biceps Brachii (Long head)

All of these muscles and muscle groups when exercised together allow the person using the Bench Press technique to full develop and strengthen their chest. The basic Bench Press consist of the person in question lying down on their backs whilst they raise from their chests to their full arm extension weights which are graded in Kilograms or Pounds depending on the country in question.

In the interests of your own safety when performing this exercise you should always complete a Bench Press in pairs. One person lies down in the Bench Press board whilst the other stands behind it so that they are able to assist the other if they need it. After several Bench Presses your arms and chest can become sore and weak until the muscles grow so having someone there to help you lift the weight back onto the bar is important as it stops you from hurting yourself. Other reasons include; that you may have tiered to Bench Press too much weight or that you simply just lose your grip. After finishing you can then swap over the roles. Because you use different muscles and groups to help your Bench Press partner it means that you are able to swap places and work with a buddy, you will not be putting the other person in danger.

There is a specific way to Bench Press as this allows the possibility of injuring yourself to become highly unlikely and that it works out the correct muscles that you are zoning in on. You have to ensure that you are lying down correctly, which means that you have to ensure that your shoulder blades are held together tightly so that you are able to ensure that the press will have a solid base to work from, your feet need to be flat on the floor and that your buttocks stay always in contact with the bench itself. When the weight is taken off the rack you need to ensure that your hands are kept in a way that allows your forearms to be at a right angle to the floor. This ensures that you are fully stable in your grounding and able to push up correctly in your arms to maximize your Chest muscles.

Healthy Roti

Ingredients

1 tsp vegetable oil

1 small onion, peeled and sliced

1 cup chicken or vegetable broth

1 sweet potato, peeled and cubed

1 clove garlic, minced

1/2 tsp cumin

1/4 tsp each coriander, cinnamon and turmeric

1/2 tsp hot sauce

1 cup canned chickpeas

1/4 cup coconut milk

2-3 large roti or wheat flour tortillas

Directions

Heat oil in a non-stick pan over medium heat. Add the onion; cook for 5 minutes. Stir in broth, sweet potato, garlic, cumin, coriander, cinnamon and turmeric.

Cover and cook, stirring ever so often for 15 minutes or until potato is tender. Season with hot sauce.

Stir in chick-peas and coconut milk. Bring to a boil. Cook, stirring often, until chick-peas are heated through. Divide mixture between two roti shells. Roll to make a wrap.

(Makes 2 to 3 servings.)

Barbell Biceps Curls

If you thought that the One Arm Dumbbell Preacher Curls is hard, well…let?s just say that the barbell biceps curls is a workout that is not meant for beginners. This exercise combines the use of heavy weights with a special movement that helps to place virtually all the pressure exactly where you want it ? on the muscles of your abs. Some people would prefer to work with a trainer until they get used to the exercise

Yes, everyone wants to Get Ripped, but as mentioned earlier on, this exercise is NOT MEANT for beginners! If you have mastered all the exercises that have been explained to you in the past series, then you are good to go.

What You Will Need to Perform This Exercise

In order to perform this exercise, you will need a large barbell, two weight plates that weigh ten pounds (at least) and two weight clips.

How to Perform the Barbell biceps Curls

First set the weight plates on the barbell, then use the clips to hold the weight plates close to the middle of the barbell as much as possible. These plates need to spin freely ? this way, the barbell will roll (they mustn?t wobble).

Then, kneel in front of the barbell, make sure that your knees are shoulder width apart; you should have a firm grip of the barbell with both hands. Ensure that your hands are a bit wider than shoulder width apart.

You should extend both feet behind you ? this way, your body weight will balance on not just your toes but also on your straight arms as well. Your arms should of course be straight but not locked.

Now, roll the barbell ahead of you in way that your body drops almost to the floor. But you will need to nearly lock your arms to do this. Keep looking forward and down and also make sure that your body is in a straight line.

You will then need to push the barbell and yourself back into the push-up position. Make sure you don?t bend your arms or even arch your back when performing this exercise. Ensuring that you keep your body straight will of course need serious concentration on your part and a lot of abdominal strength.

You can repeat this exercise for as many times as you please. But at first, you should do few repetitions in every set and also make sure that you take note of your body position. As you begin to gain endurance and your comfort level with this exercise rises, then you can go on to increase the number of repetitions. You need to understand that it is a lot better (and safer) to do fewer repetitions and execute them perfectly than to do lots of repetitions and do them incorrectly.

It is important to immediately stop if you feel any back or neck pain while performing this exercise and consult your physician before you even attempt to do the barbell biceps curls again.

A Calorie Counter Helps Your Diet Succeed

Food calorie counters are key to losing weight. Successful dieters will eventually learn that there is only one way to achieve a weight loss. Calorie counting is how a dieter can be sure to lose weight and keep it off. This article will look at the role of food calorie counters in a successful diet.

Weight loss is not found in a pill. The latest diet book won’t offer you a miracle cure. Essentially, you have to burn more calories than you consume. Pills can curb your appetite so that you won’t be hungry when you diet. Diet books can offer you ways to eat fewer calories according to a specific plan. But, essentially, all diets boil down to the same thing: eat less than you burn.

Food calorie counters can help you make smart choices about what foods you consume when you are trying to lose or maintain weight. You must begin counting your calories and capping them at an amount that will allow your body to lose the weight. The use of a food calorie counter can help you to keep track of what you have consumed throughout the day. Don’t guess as to how many calories are in certain foods. A calorie counter will give you the information you need.

You are also advised to use a diet and exercise journal to make sure that you are keeping track of all of your foods eaten. By taking the time to write down everything you consume along with your exercise, you are better able to see where you are having problems and where you are finding success. You may be surprised at the foods that are adding excessive amounts of calories to your diet. The food calorie counter along with a journal will help you find success.

Write down every food item you have for a week. At the end of each day, look up the calories in each food and total the day’s take. At the end of the week, you can analyze where your problem areas are. You may be surprised, for instance, at how many calories you are drinking every day and choose to replace these liquid calories with food. Or, you may find that on days when you eat a hearty breakfast, you eat less food during the rest of the day. Alternatively, you may find that you eat high calorie lunches because nothing else is available. You can plan to pack and bring low calorie lunches to work or school with you.

Between the food calorie counter and the journal, you should be able to find the weight loss success you have been looking for. As I said earlier, there is no magic cure for weight loss. You will have to watch your calories and limit the amount you are eating.

There are a number of free food calorie counters available online. You can also purchase them for your iPhone or PDA so that you will have them on the go. These tools will make your diet much easier.

Exercise Improves the Body in So Many Ways

You hear all the time about the benefits of exercise, but many people don’t understand the specific benefits that can be enjoyed with a good exercise plan. There are more benefits than you might think that come along with a good exercise routine. Not only will you get all of the health benefits including a toned and well muscled body, but you will also restore your confidence and self esteem in the process.

Self esteem is one of the best benefits of exercise that you don’t always hear about. When you begin to get in shape and lose weight with your exercise routine, you will automatically feel better about yourself and work even harder on your healthy routine. For many people, this is the beginning of a whole new way of living. Even if you don’t begin with a healthy diet, the restoration of your self esteem and the boost to your self confidence will inspire you to start watching what you eat as well.

Confidence is one of the most attractive qualities that a person can have. This is another of those benefits of exercise that is not listed often enough. People who are confident hold themselves taller and are not afraid to try new things. This can make you more attractive than the smaller size and weight loss that you will experience from your exercise routine.

Of course, there are a great many health benefits of exercise that should not be ignored. Obesity is responsible for more health problems than almost any other issue. When you begin to include exercise in your daily routine and begin burning calories at a much faster rate, you will begin to lose weight. Add in a healthy diet and the weight will come off even faster. A weight loss can result in a decreased risk of heart disease, diabetes and cancer. These are no small benefits and they are ones that will help you to live a longer and healthier life.

All of these benefits can be use by including exercise in your daily schedule. Even if you have not exercised for a long period of time, you can start off with a brisk walk to get started on your road to good health. Wake up a little earlier in the morning and start off your day with a quick walk around the block. Over time, you can add to your walk and before you know it, you will be racking up the miles every day. Go at your own pace and learn to listen to your body while you are just starting out.

Always start with a good warm up and end your exercise with a cool down. This is the best way to care for your muscles before you begin your harder exercises and it will prevent injury. The benefits of exercise can be yours if you include exercises that you enjoy in your daily routine. Dance, if that is what you enjoy. Go for a swim or just take a walk around the block. It is all up to you.