Vietnamese Spring Rolls with Thai Peanut Sauce

These spring rolls are so easy, and a perfect light dinner for a warm evening. There are different ways to tweak this, according to your family's preference.

Spring Rolls

rice paper*

rice vermicelli*

cooked shrimp, halved

carrots, julienned

cucumbers, julienned

shredded lettuce

fresh cilantro

fresh mint

*You can find these ingredients at an Asian market.

Cook vermicelli according to package instructions. Dip rice paper in warm water until they are just pliable. Layer lettuce, carrots, cucumbers, herbs, vermicelli and shrimp in middle of paper. Fold up ends and tuck tight as you roll them up. If your rice paper feels a little stiff as you roll, don't worry, it will soften up as it sits.

Thai Peanut Sauce

1/4 cup natural peanut butter, no sugar added

2 t soy sauce

1/2 t sesame oil

1T brown sugar

1T fresh lemon juice

1/4 cup coconut milk

1/4 cup water

1 clove minced garlic

* optional - 2 T red curry paste, we don't add it, because we are spice wusses.

Whisk all ingredients together in a small bowl. Pour into a saucepan and stir and heat until thickened.

Fresh Beet Salad

My sister in law makes a variation of this every time they come to the states to visit. I always assumed I didn't like beets, because who likes beets? This is so good and so good for you. I have only ever used the fresh beets. Some say you can use canned, but it will change the taste. Fresh beets are better for you anyway. Just a little warning, beet juice stains. Be careful when you are handling them, especially when they are cooked.

Fresh Beet Salad

3 fresh beets

1/4 cup olive oil

2 tablespoon red wine vinegar

2 cloves minced garlic

salt and pepper to taste

Cut off stalk of beets, but don't cut off root. Keep skins on. Boil in a covered pot for 45 minutes. Remove beets from pot and place in a strainer. Run under cold water. Remove the skins (they should slide right off). Cut off root. Cut the beets. I prefer to dice them, but you can also slice them. Add the rest of the ingredients. Cover and chill for 2 hours. It is important to cover the salad unless you want your entire fridge to smell like garlic.

Beets are full of nutrients. They are an especially good source of folate and fiber.

Gardening Basics

For those who know me, you may laugh that I am giving tips on gardening. I am not a green thumb, however, I am determined that this is the year. I have the benefit of having a dad who graduated with a Masters in Agricultural Science and a brother who has taken after my dad and has mastered the art of growing a perfect garden.

Here are some pretty basic veggies that are easy to grow at home:

Tomatoes (both full size and cherry)*

Green Beans (bush variety)*

Green Peppers*

Herbs*

Sugar Snap Peas

Cucumbers

Squash

Potatoes

Lettuce

The things with the (*) can easily be grown in a big pot on your back porch or patio. You just need full sun. All other things listed grow really well in North Carolina, but they need more space, so they really need to be planted in a garden bed.

All plants need three things:

1. Sun - Make sure that you plant in a sunny spot.

2. Water - Make sure to keep you plants watered. It gets HOT here during the summer, and many a plant have fried due to my neglect in this area.

3. Nutrient Rich Soil - This is the golden ticket as far as vegetable gardening is concerned. You need to have the right balance of topsoil, peet moss and compost. The general rule of thumb is 1 part top soil to 1 part peet moss to 1 part compost. I use any old compost, but my brother is a big believer in mushroom compost.

If you are going to plant in containers, just fill up the container with the soil mixture and plant away. If you are using a garden bed, you need to prepare the beds first. It is fairly easy to build a bed. You just need to decide on your dimensions, and get treated lumber to match the dimensions. It is important to buy treated lumber, so that it won't weather and warp. Once you nail everything together, staple landscaper's fabric to the bottom of the box and then place in a sunny area. Fill with the soil mixture and start planting. By stapling landscaper's fabric to the bottom, you decrease the amount of weeds drastically, if not eliminate them altogether.

Most fresh vegetables and fruits can be preserved by freezing or canning. Here is a great link with lots of information about preserving your harvest - www.pickyourown.org. This is a also a fantastic site for finding "pick your own" farms in your area. If gardening isn't your thing, going to a farm and picking your own produce is a good option.

Gardening is a fantastic family activity. It is a great way to teach your kids about work and healthy living.

Strength Training Basics

Any good workout program will have both a cardio and a strength training component. Why? For the following reasons:

1. Sustaining muscle tissue requires more energy than sustaining fat tissue, therefore the more muscle tissue you have, the more calories you burn.

2. Muscles are what make your skeleton move and keep its proper form. If you have a weak muscle in one area of your body, the skeletal system will not be in balance, which can lead to pain and injury.

3. Stronger muscles allow for more power and better overall fitness.

4. Strength training gives you more energy.

There are some important things you need to know before you start strength training (sorry for all the lists):

1. Definitions:

Reps - The number of times you contract the muscle with an exercise. For example, if I do 10 biceps curls, then I performed 10 reps.

Sets - Groups of reps. Usually you perform 3 sets of an exercise with anywhere from 8-12 reps in each set.

Isometric Contraction - Contraction of a muscle without any change in range of motion. You can see this type of contraction in the isometric biceps curl video.

Concentric Contraction - A contraction where the muscle is actively shortening. Again, think of a simple biceps curl.

Eccentric Contraction - A contraction where the muscle is lengthening while there is tension on the muscle. You can see an eccentric contraction in the calf raises video. As Jonathan lowers down from his toe raise, his calf muscle (gastrocnemius) is still tense, but is lengthening.

2. You need to work out opposing muscle groups. If you focus on your hamstrings and not your quadriceps, then you will have tight, strong hamstrings which can lead to knee and back problems.

3. You need to work out your core. Your core muscles are basically any muscle group that supports the spine (abs, back, hip muscles, etc.)

4. You need to STRETCH after a good workout.

5. You need to learn and practice proper form. For instance, if you perform a squat and your knees go over your toes, or you squat so deep that your knee is less than 90 degrees, you can seriously damage your cartilage.

Packing in the Veggies

Sometimes it is hard for me to get my veggies in throughout the day. With four very active little kids, I am constantly on the move and don't pay much attention to my veggie count. Fruits are easy, because I will grab an apple, banana or orange as I am running out the door. Here are 5 meals that are in our regular rotation, that allow us to pack in the veggies.

1. Omelettes

Most of my kids like scrambled eggs, so this is a great meal for us. Jonathan and I just pile on the veggies.

2. Salad Bar

I have mentioned this before, but this is one of our kids' favorite meals. They love choosing what they want to eat and dishing it out.

3. Pizza

This flat bread pizza recipe is super easy, but any pizza recipe will do. Jonathan and I prefer our pizza packed with as many veggies as we can get a hold of. We rarely put any meat on ours. The kids, on the other hand, love the pepperoni so we have to put their veggies on the side.

4. Veggie Sandwich

This is super simple and super delicious. Today, I had cucumbers, mushrooms, tomatoes, spinach and avocado. I like a slice of cheese (the real stuff) to add a little flavor. I also skip the mustard and mayo, and drizzle on whatever light vinaigrette I have in my fridge.

5. Black Bean or Chicken Burritos

Rather than packing your burrito with a bunch of rice, try shredded romaine, tomatoes, corn, onions, bell peppers, avocado, etc.

Each Saturday I buy:

cherry tomatoes

mushrooms

carrots

romaine

fresh spinach

cucumbers

bell peppers

I also buy random veggies a few times a month, like avocados, celery, broccoli (we use mainly frozen, because little man G doesn't do to well when I eat fresh), zucchini, etc.

Because I already have all those veggies in my fridge, it is easy to add them to our dinners. On nights that the veggies aren't the main attraction, I cut a bunch of them up and put them on a plate in the middle of the table. We just snack on them with our main course.

Sample Workout Schedule

It is important for a good workout to have both cardio and strength training components. My rule of thumb is 20 minutes of a good cardio workout within your target heart rate range, followed by a series of strength training exercises. I like to do cardio first so that 1) you get it over with and 2) it helps warm up your muscles for strength training. As I mentioned in the intro to strength training post, it is important to work all major muscle groups. This sample schedule will give you an idea of how to do that.

Monday :

Cardio 20 minutes (running, walking, biking, swimming, exercise dvd, etc)

Biceps : Isometric Bicep Curls, Bent Over Rows

Back: Back Extensions

Calves: Toe Raises on Step

Core: Super mans, Crunches w/ medicine ball, Bicycle crunches

Wednesday:

Cardio 20 minutes

Triceps: Triceps Extensions, Push ups

Chest: Flies on Ball

Hips: Lateral Leg Raises

Core: Planks, Rotating Abs, Jack Knife Sit Ups

Friday:

Cardio 20 minutes

Shoulders: Arnold Press, Lateral Raises

Quads/Hamstrings: Wall Squats w/ Anterior Raises, Ball Jump

Core: V-ups, Planks, Criss Cross

Target Heart Rate

As a very general rule of thumb, your maximum heart rate can be estimated by subtracting your age from 220 (226 for women, because our heart rate is naturally a little higher). I am 33, so my estimated maximum heart rate is 193. This means that theoretically, my heart can beat at a maximum of 187 beats per minute before I reach complete and total exhaustion. Again, this is a very general formula. There are many tests that can be done in an exercise physiology lab to get a more precise number, but for our purposes, this will do. Once you have that number, we can figure out a range.

The ranges are as follows:

60%-70% Max Heart Rate (MHR) = Fat Burning

70%-80% MHR = Endurance Training or Aerobic Phase

80%-90% MHR = Performance Training or Anaerobic Phase (you don't usually train in this zone for extended periods of time, more for sprinters)

For a basic workout, I tell people to stay within 65%-75% of their MHR. This way you get a little fat burning and a little endurance training. For me, this would mean that for the 20 minutes of my cardio workout, not including warm up or cool down, I would want to keep my heart rate between 126 and 145 beats per minute.

If you don't have a heart rate monitor, just take your pulse for 10 seconds and multiply by 6.

You may notice that your heart rate is super high when you first start working out. It will regulate over time. The reason your heart beats so hard and fast when you first start to workout, is because it is working on overdrive to get the blood pumped to the rest of your body. As you become more fit, your heart will become stronger and more efficient. You will also notice that your resting heart rate will slightly decrease for the same reason.

Hummus

Ingredients:

2 cans garbanzo beans, drained

2 cloves garlic, minced

1/3 cup lemon juice

1/3 cup tahini

1 T olive oil

1 t salt

Place all ingredients in a food process and blend until smooth. Optional - garnish with paprika,fresh parsley or drizzled olive oil.

Whole Wheat Bread

Ingredients:

2 1/2 cups warm water

1T dry yeast

1T salt

6 c whole wheat flour

1/3 c honey

1/3 c oil

Place water, yeast and salt in a bowl and let sit for 5 minutes. Add 3 cups flour, oil and honey (*hint - if you measure and pour the oil first, then the honey will just slide right out of the measuring cup). Mix well. Add remaining 3 cups flour. Knead for 10 minutes. This is important. It needs to be 10 minutes so that the gluten will break down. Form into loaves. Let rise. Bake at 350 degrees for 30 minutes.