Eat More Spinach, Casserole, Medicine Ball

Tip of the Day: Eat More Spinach
I don't even know how to begin to say how fabulous spinach is! First of all, it's yummy. You can flavor it how you want either in a salad, or on a sandwich. That's not all though! It naturally makes you feel full for hardly any calories! You could eat 1/2 cup of brown rice for 100 calories, but for that amount of calories you could eat 20 cups of spinach! Crazy, right? On top of that it is a great weight loss weapon. In the diet book Cinch! they talk about how 69% of Americans do not get the minimum amount of green produce they should be getting each week (3 cups). So add more spinach to your diet! It's not like you'd be hurting your calorie intake.

Healthy Recipe: Hamburger Noodle Casserole

I love casseroles because they are easy to make and save for later!

• 2 bunches scallions, trimmed
• 8 ounces 90%-lean ground beef
• 1 1/2 teaspoons canola oil
• 1/2 cup bulgur, (see note at bottom)
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 2 8-ounce cans tomato sauce
• 1/2 cup water
• 1/4 teaspoon salt, divided
• Freshly ground pepper, to taste
• 6 ounces no-yolk whole-wheat egg noodles
• 1 cup low-fat cottage cheese
• 1 cup reduced-fat sour cream
• 1/4 cup shredded extra-sharp Cheddar cheese

1. Preheat oven to 350°F. Coat a 2-quart baking dish with cooking spray. Put a large pot of water on to boil.
2. Separate white and green parts of scallions; thinly slice and reserve separately.
3. Cook beef in a large skillet over medium-high heat, breaking up clumps with a wooden spoon, until no longer pink, 3 to 5 minutes. Transfer to a plate lined with paper towels.
4. Wipe out the pan, add oil and reduce heat to medium-low. Add bulgur, garlic and the reserved scallion whites. Cook, stirring, until the scallions soften, 5 to 7 minutes. Add tomato sauce, water and the beef; bring to a simmer. Cover and simmer gently until the bulgur is tender and the sauce is thickened, 15 to 20 minutes. Season with 1/8 teaspoon salt and pepper.
5. Meanwhile, cook noodles until just tender, 6 to 8 minutes or according to package directions. Drain and rinse under cold water.
6. Puree cottage cheese in a food processor until smooth. Transfer to a medium bowl; fold in sour cream and the reserved scallion greens. Season with the remaining 1/8 teaspoon salt and pepper.
7. Spread half the noodles in the prepared pan. Top with half the cottage cheese mixture and half the meat sauce. Repeat with the remaining noodles, cottage cheese and sauce. Sprinkle Cheddar over the top.
8. Bake the casserole until bubbly, 30 to 40 minutes. Let stand for 10 minutes before serving.

Bulgur is made by parboiling, drying and coarsely grinding or cracking wheat berries. It simply needs a quick soak in hot water for most uses. Look for it in the natural-foods section of large supermarkets, near other grains.

Recipe from Eating Well

Exercise: Medicine Ball
What's awesome about exercising is that there are so many tools you can use! I like this routine because it totally switches things up from using a plain, old dumbbell.

http://www.womenshealthmag.com/fitness/body-workout-routine