FEATURED ARTICLES
- Details
- Written by Lisa Jillanza
Not everything having to do with diet, exercise, and healthy living must be complicated or time-consuming. There are plenty of things that you can easily do to help shift your mindset towards living healthier.

Here are the top 10 things that you can do to live healthier and feel good about yourself.
- Eat Fresh Foods. Eat fresh rather than processed foods. Ask yourself, “Does this come from Nature?” If the answer is NO, then eliminate it from your diet.
- Take up a sport. It doesn’t have to be complicated, just something that you are comfortable with and gets you moving.
- Maintain a healthy lifestyle. If you are a parent always on the go, ensure that your healthy choices fit into your busy schedule
- Start a food diary. Write down everything you eat and once you do you can see where and what you need to cut from your diet.
- Avoid fad diets. Opt for a healthy lifestyle. Fad diets are a quick fix, whereas overall good health will sustain you.
- Set goals. Give yourself a sensible time-period to cut fast food from your diet.
- Get active. Use the stairs instead of the elevator, use the furthest parking spot away from where you are going, and get moving daily in some way.
- Five-a-day rule. Follow the five-a-day rule when it comes to fruits and vegetables.
- Socialize with like-minded people. You’ll start to think like them and be inspired by them.
- Be good to yourself. Take your time and reward yourself regularly for achieving your goals.
- Details
- Written by Lisa Jillanza
November brings Thanksgiving and all that delicious food can mean extra pounds this month. Combat those extra calories by joining in on this “Planksgiving” Fitness Challenge, which takes just mere seconds each day.
 
 
Happy Planksgiving!
Day 1: 20 seconds
Day 2: 30 seconds
Day 3: 30 seconds
Day 4: 35 seconds/l
Day 5: REST DAY
Day 6: 40 seconds
Day 7: 45 seconds
Day 8: 45 seconds
Day 9: 50 seconds
Day 10: REST DAY
Day 11: 1 minute
Day 12: 1 minute
Day 13: 1 minute, 10 seconds
Day 14: 1 minute, 20 seconds
Day 15: REST DAY
Day 16: 1 minute, 20 seconds
Day 17: 1 minute, 30 seconds
Day 18: 1 minute, 30 seconds
Day 19: 1 minute, 45 seconds
Day 20: REST DAY
Day 21: 1 minute, 45 seconds
Day 22: 1 minute, 45 seconds
Day 23: 2 minutes
Day 24: 2 minutes
Day 25: REST DAY
Day 26: 2 minutes, 15 seconds
Day 27: 2 minutes, 15 seconds
Day 28: 2 minutes, 30 seconds
Day 29: 2 minutes, 45 seconds
Day 30: 3 minutes
- Details
- Written by Lisa Jillanza
It’s that time again for Thanksgiving and while Americans eat it nearly every year to celebrate Thanksgiving, how much do you know about turkey?
- Turkey is very low in fat and high in protein. It is also a good source of iron, zinc, phosphorus, potassium, and B vitamins.
- The fat and calorie amounts vary because white meat has fewer calories and less fat than dark meat and skin.
- Turkey is also naturally low in sodium. It typically contains less than 25 milligrams (mg) of sodium per ounce on average.

Recipe: Turkey Chili
- 2 cups chopped onion
- 4 garlic cloves, chopped fine
- 1 cup chopped green pepper
- ¼ cup olive oil
- 2 (35 oz.) cans stewed tomatoes, crushed
- 2 (15 oz.) cans kidney beans, drained
- 2 tablespoons tomato paste
- ¾ cup chicken or turkey stock
- 2 tablespoons chili powder
- 1 tablespoon ground cumin
- 1 tablespoon dried hot red pepper flakes
- 1 teaspoon dried oregano
- 1 tablespoon salt, plus more if desired to taste
- ½ teaspoon black pepper
- 3 to 4 cups shredded, cooked turkey meat
- Sugar
- Shredded cheddar cheese, chopped red onion, sour cream for optional garnishes
In a large, 8-quart thick bottom pot, cook the onion and green pepper over medium heat, stirring until golden, about 5 minutes. Add the garlic, chili powder, cumin, and red pepper flakes, and cook, stirring, for a minute or two more. Add a bit more olive oil if needed. Add tomatoes, tomato paste, stock, beans, oregano, salt, pepper and cooked turkey meat. Bring mixture to a simmer and reduce heat to low. Simmer uncovered for an hour.
Recipe: Creamed Turkey
- 3 tablespoons butter
- ¾ cup sliced mushrooms
- 3 tablespoons flour
- 1 ½ cups milk
- ½ cup hot chicken broth
- 1 small jar diced pimento, drained
- 4 cups diced cooked turkey
- Salt and pepper, to taste
Melt butter over medium-low heat. Sauté mushrooms until golden and tender. Add flour; stir until smooth. Slowly pour on milk and broth, stirring constantly, until thickened and bubbly. Add pimiento, turkey, salt and pepper. Cook until heated through, but do not boil. Serve with rice or toast.
- Details
- Written by Lisa Jillanza
So, you have been working out and eating right, but you still can’t get that scale to move in the right direction? Well, there may be a “strange” reason why you are gaining weight instead of losing weight.

Here are three strange factors that could cause you to be gaining weight, even though you are doing everything you can to lose weight:
- You take antidepressants.
- You have digestive issues.
- Your body is low on Vitamin D, magnesium or iron.
- Details
- Written by Lisa Jillanza
(Continued from Part I…)
 
 
Moisturize your skin. Harsh temperatures can make your skin dry. Also, you still should be wearing sunscreen.
Buy in-season food. Beets, broccoli, cabbage, eggplant, kale, pumpkin, broths, roasted squash, roots and sautéed dark leafy greens are all great choices.
Stay active! It can be easy to just sit around all the time, but it’s important to get in some movement throughout the day. Raking leaves or shoveling snow counts.
Wear layers and protect your body from the dropping temperature. Make sure you have gloves, a scarf, earmuffs, a winter coat, warm socks, and snow boots.
Do some “spring cleaning” in the fall. Clean out your closet, organize that back room, and rid yourself of things you don’t need.
Prepare your home for possible extreme weather conditions. Do you have a shovel and/or snow blower? Do your flashlights have batteries? Is your heat working okay? Being prepared now can cause less stress in the future should situations arise.
Get some books to read and shows to watch. Who doesn’t want to sit by the fire on chilly winter nights and read a good book or binge-watch some Netflix?
Be kind to yourself. The holidays can cause weight gain, the shorter days can cause low mood, and the flu season can cause sickness. Listen to your body and give it what it needs, and don’t beat yourself up! Try reframing negative thoughts into positive ones.

