Ingredients:

6 slices of fat free deli ham
12 stalks asparagus
Fat free Ranch dressing

Instructions:

Place the asparagus in a microwave dish.  Add enough water to cover the bottom of the dish.  Microwave on high for approximately 5 minutes or until asparagus is crisp tender.  Place 2 pieces of asparagus on a piece of ham.  Roll.  Secure with a toothpick.  Serve with the ranch dressing as a dip. 

Nutritional Information (Approximate Values):

Calories 37.4; Total fat 1.1 g; Saturated fat 0.5 g; Cholesterol 15 mg; Sodium 240.6 mg; Carbohydrates 1.5 g; Dietary fiber 0.7 g; Sugar 1.0 g; Protein 5.7 g; Vitamin A 3.7 %; Vitamin B-6 2/1%; Vitamin C 7.0%;  Vitamin E 3.2%

A recent study conducted by the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center in Seattle, WA investigated the effects of yoga on weight, which is the first study to investigate the role between the two.

More than 15,000 participants were asked to recall their physical activity patterns and weight history between the ages of 45 and 55. The study found that during this period, most people gain about 1 pound each year. The people who practiced yoga at least 30 minutes once a week for four or more years gained 3 pounds less weight than the non-yoga participants.

This is not necessarily staggering results but it gets better! Both men and women who were overweight at the beginning of the period and who started to practice yoga lost about five pounds, while those who were yoga free gained an average of 14 pounds within the next ten years. Now that is news! Imagine what the results would be for people practicing yoga 2-3 times a week.

The researchers have not concluded why the yoga participants lost more weight especially when most of them were not in advanced levels. More studies are needed at this time to give us more insight into the topic.

Participating in regular yoga classes and even getting good enough to venture into some advanced classes, has so many benefits. Here is what yoga can do for you.

* Physical Benefits: Creates a toned, flexible, and strong body…yes, it helps to build muscle which will also help to improve your metabolism. It also promotes cardio and circulatory health.

* Mental Benefits: Helps you relax and handle stress more easily. Teaches you to quiet all that chatter in your mind so you can focus on how you want to direct your energy. Encourages positive thoughts and self-acceptance. This alone can do a lot for those emotional/stress eaters out there.

* Spiritual Benefits: This is a nondenominational value that helps to build awareness of your body, your feelings, and the world around you. It also helps you to learn patience, forgiveness, and the value of gentleness. We all could use some regular reminders of this!

So why not join a yoga class? It can add so many benefits to your life and now you can add weight management to the list! Take action and sign up for an introductory class today!

Related Natural Product

Enjoying Weight-Loss – You make a plan, choose a diet, and try to exercise – but somehow it’s impossible to stick to it. Turn your weight loss program around with the power of hypnosis. Using the latest weight loss research combined with cutting-edge hypnosis techniques, this 4-CD program helps you follow any healthy eating and exercise plan for real results. Begin planning your meals, exercising regularly, drinking more water, and craving healthy meals. This is our most popular program, used by thousands of customers. Learn more about Enjoying Weight-Loss now!

About the author

Meri Raffetto is a Registered Dietitian and a recognized professional in the area of nutrition and wellness. Learn about her online Balance Weight Loss Program and sign up for her free monthly newsletter to receive nutrition tips, inspirational stories, and healthy recipes.

Making these changes to your diet using heart healthy recipes will help to decrease your risk of heart attack, stroke and immune mediated disease and will improve your cholesterol and triglyceride levels. And the best part is that when you have a great basis of flavenoids, omega 3 fatty acids, vitamins, and folate the occasional chocolate, processed foods and desserts wont be as detrimental to the health of your heart.

Most of your current recipes can be made into heart healthy recipes with a few basic changes. You can begin by changing the oils you use. Instead of using vegetable oil, lard or even canola oil the best oil to use is Olive oil. The difference is in the way in which the oil is processed. The olive oil is cold pressed while other oils are heat-treated which changes the chemical make up of the food. Using a light extra virgin olive oil will decrease the flavor to almost nothing and you wont notice the difference in any of your cooking but your heart will.

Next try another substitution. After dinner each night eat a serving of seasonal fruit such as pineapple, berries, cherries, melons, or watermelon. The additional natural sugar will stave off your cravings for ice cream, candy and chocolate while delivering a high vitamin packed punch to your diet. After you have decreased your sugar, changed your oils and increased your fruits you begin to eat a salad with each dinner or lunch. This will increase the amount of green leafy vegetables you eat.

Instead of snacking on chips and dips try using raw nuts and seeds with organic raisons. Mix them together for a great trail mix that will kill your hunger pangs in the afternoon and give your heart protection against clots and arrhythmias. Try to get rid of all of the processed chips and snack foods in the house. Substitute ice cream for sherbet or homemade Popsicles made with real fruit juice.

When you are cooking meals dont deep fry but oven bake instead. Get rid of the sour cream, heavy whipping creams and butter from recipes. Instead substitute whole foods using baked potato for French Fries, brown rice instead of white or vinegar and oil based salad dressings instead of mayonnaise-based dressings.

Using heart healthy recipes to boost your nutrition will help your heart, your energy, decrease your cholesterol and triglycerides as well as decrease your risk of diabetes, stroke, heart disease and immune mediated illnesses. Keeping your heart healthy keeps the rest of your body healthy too.

Here are a couple of heart healthy recipes to get you started.

BAKED DIJON CHICKEN

1 pound boneless, skinless chicken breasts, all visible fat removed

1 tablespoon Dijon or coarse-grained mustard

2 teaspoons lemon or lime juice

1/2 teaspoon minced garlic

1/8 teaspoon black pepper

Preheat oven to 375:F.

Rinse chicken or turkey and pat dry.

In a small bowl, stir together remaining ingredients. Arrange chicken or turkey in a single layer in a baking dish. Spread the mixture over the top of each piece.

Bake, uncovered, 15-20 minutes, or until chicken or turkey is tender and no longer pink. If you want flavored broth for rice or potatoes add approximately a cup of water or chicken stock to the chicken approximately 10 minutes into cooking and cover the cooking dish.

BAKED CHICKEN PARMESAN

Olive oil spray

6 boneless chicken breast fillets (approximately 4 ounces each), skinned, all visible fat removed

4 slices whole-wheat bread

3/4 teaspoon garlic powder

1 1/2 teaspoons paprika

6 tablespoons grated Parmesan cheese

1 1/2 tablespoons finely chopped parsley

1/2 teaspoon thyme

1/2 cup low-fat buttermilk

Preheat oven to 4500F. Lightly spray with olive oil spray a rectangular baking sheet and a rectangular cake-cooling rack of a slightly smaller size.

Place rack onto baking sheet. Set aside.

Rinse chicken and pat dry. Set aside. Place bread in blender or the work bowl of a food processor. Process into fine crumbs.

Pour crumbs into a shallow bowl. Add garlic powder, paprika, cheese, parsley and thyme. Stir to mix well.

Pour buttermilk into a shallow bowl.

Dip fillets into buttermilk, shake off excess and then dip into crumbs.

Place fillets on prepared rack. Drizzle each with a teaspoon olive oil.

Bake 15 minutes; turn fillets over and bake 10 minutes more.