Tag Archives: health

Blake Dykes, Columns, Forum

Fitness Friday: peanut butter yogurt balls and hummus flat bread recipe

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By Blake Dykes

Another week gone, which means you are one week closer to achieving your goal. Now maybe you’re completely satisfied with your health, and you only want to eat better and exercise more, that’s fine as well.

I know for me, I get sucked into eating the same things for breakfast, lunch, and dinner, and that’s a really bland diet. Having a bland diet is dangerous in the way that you’ll get bored sooner or later, and then end up just eating a gallon of ice cream, desperate for flavor. So I want  to give you a few recipes to spice things up every now and then.

Keep in mind, these recipes are all my own creations, so what taste good to me may not taste good to you. Also, you can modify the recipe to your own liking.

Peanut butter- yogurt balls

Creative name I know. I got a small Yoplait blueberry Greek yogurt parfait. Then I got my peanut butter out of the fridge (this only works with cold peanut butter). Take around ½ tsp of peanut butter and roll into a ball. Then, dip the peanut butter in the yogurt and roll it around in the granola that comes with the parfait. Place the balls on a pan with wax paper. Place in the freezer until frozen. Once they are frozen you can eat them or store them in a gallon bag in the freezer. Don’t just leave the balls on the pan because they will pick up the flavors of everything in the freezer.

Those personally are one of my favorite things to eat for breakfast or just as a post-workout snack. This next recipe is something I always turn to for a quick and easy meal when I don’t like what my mom makes for dinner.

Flatbread hummus

Take a piece of whole wheat flat bread, spread some hummus on there (red pepper is my favorite), then put some feta cheese on top with roasted pecans. Then, I just toast it in the oven for around five minutes on 350 degrees. If you only want your bread toasted, and don’t want warm humus, then you can toast the bread then put on the secondary ingredients. Fresh basil also taste very good sprinkled over the top.

All those recipes are really great to incorporate into your diet for some life and flavor, but let’s not forget this weekend’s challenge.

Weekend Challenge:  Don’t eat out. I know how tempting it is to go by the drive thru on Friday nights after a football game, or going out with your friends. But let’s face it, not many of us can say “no” to that buttery loaded baked potato. Or that Caesar salad loaded with croutons and bacon. So make it easier on yourself and forget dining out and make something much more cheaper, and something that your body will thank you for. Also, remember, each weekend try to build on the previous weekend’s challenge, don’t just forget about the one prior. This should be building on your overall wellness and health.

Now I don’t have a workout for you this weekend. That’s not because you get a free day, though — that’s because I want you to do what you want to do, without being told. You know what works best for you, no one can tell you what workout or running route challenges you more. But, I am going to give you a quote to ponder over the weekend.

“Most people give up just when they’re about to achieve success. They quit on the yard line.” – Ross Perot.

Blake Dykes, Columns

Motivational Monday: Killin’ cardio with rejuvenating smoothie recipe

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By Blake Dykes

Well, it’s that dreaded day of the week again. I hope you all had a great weekend, and were able to steer clear of those foods we talked about on Friday. Since weekends are a pretty big downfall to most people’s health, today’s workout is going to be a little harder than usual, but make sure you stick with it.

Killin’ Cardio

  • 100 jumping jacks

  • 50 jump squats

  • 100 mountain climbers

  • One- minute wall it

  • 100 jumping jacks

  • Five minutes of running the stairs

  • 50 crunches

  • 75 jumping jacks

  • Two minutes of high knees

  • 20 push ups

This workout is more than likely going to leave you drained, so make sure you fuel your body with the right foods. Try this smoothie recipe:

– one cup frozen fruit (no added sugars, just simple, organic, frozen fruit) your choice

– ½ cup almond milk (add more or less depending on your liking)

– one TBs peanut butter or peanut butter powder

– one and ½ TBs of Stevia or honey

* Keep in mind that you can adjust the following ingredients to your desired taste, this is just the recipe that I like.

You get all your nutrients with this recipe; calcium, fruits, and protein.

One more thing I wanted to share with you. To find out how your weight fluctuates based upon the food you are eating, take your current weight, multiple it by 12. If you eat more than that number you are more apt to gain weight, if you eat less than you are more likely to lose weight. Keep in mind that’s not taking into count the amount of exercise you get.

Lastly, keep this in mind when you’re considering skipping a practice or a workout this week, or any day for that matter.

“Good, better, best. Never let it rest. Until your good is better and your better is best.” – Tim Duncan.

Blake Dykes, Columns, Forum

Fitness Friday: Weekend fitness plan

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By Blake Dykes

You managed to make it through the week and maintain your healthy diet (hopefully), so don’t ruin it this weekend at Lanesville Heritage. As appetizing as fried butter may sound, it doesn’t look good on you, trust me. Here are some tips to follow when picking foods at Heritage:

Say no to the food if it’s…

– Fried

– Coated in sugar

– Coated in chocolate

– Has skin

You can eat it if it’s..

– Grilled

– All natural (corn with no butter, fruit, etc.)

– Grilled chicken

If you plan on staying all day pack your own snacks so you won’t be tempted to spend your money on overpriced, heart-attack causing foods. Saying no may not seem worth it at the time, but when Monday rolls around, and you’re trying to zip up your pants, you’ll be thankful that you didn’t eat that funnel cake.

Now as far as workouts go, I’m not going to make one for today, I’m going to give you a little weekend guide.

Friday- Run for three minutes, walk for two. Repeat this 10 times.

Saturday- Pick one of the workouts I have posted, or your own modified version, and complete it one time in the morning and once before you go to bed.

Sunday- Jog (or as fast as you can) up and down a staircase for 10 minutes straight. Then, enjoy the nice weather this weekend is forecasted to have and go on an hour walk at a reasonably fast pace. Bring your friend, mom, or dog. Just go out and get some fresh air. Exercising doesn’t always mean running and doing intense cardio, it’s important that you enjoy what you do so you don’t get burnt out.

Weekend Challenge: Each breakfast you eat this weekend has to have less than three grams of sugar. Most people mistake breakfast as a ticket to eat a dessert in the morning, when in reality it should be the best meal you eat to start your day off right. Natural sugars you don’t have to count, like from fruit and yogurt (only organic cane juice or Stevia though, not plain sugar though). There are plenty of options, I’ve given you recipes to banana bread and oatmeal that each have no sugar, or you could stick to a banana and a greek yogurt, or an egg and whole wheat toast.

Blake Dykes, Columns, Forum

Motivational Monday: healthy recipe and sweaty cardio circuit

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By Blake Dykes

I know today is Monday, and it’s hard to do anything to get yourself to do anything, much less workout, so I have a quote for all the people that are considering skipping today’s exercise:

“You can’t get much done if you only workout on the days when you feel good.” – Jerry West.

With this being said, I hope you all were able to successfully complete the weekend challenge. If not, no worries, there are plenty of other weekends to come.

Today I want to give you guys one of my most favorite recipes. For all you health freaks that have tons of bananas, this one’s for you. Every once in awhile we forget that our bananas are ripe, and then when you go to eat one you realize they’re brown and overly ripe. DON’T  throw them away. Make some low calorie banana bread.

This weekend I was really craving some, so I threw some ingredients together to create this masterpiece:

– three overly ripe bananas

– one cup self-rising flour

– one cup whole wheat flour

– one tsp. baking powder

– ½ tsp. baking soda

– one tsp. cinnamon

– one tsp. ginger

– ¼ cup of Stevia or honey

– four tbs. peanut butter powder

– six tbs. almond milk

-½ cup pecans

one tbs. raw sunflower seeds, sesame seeds, or flax seeds

Preheat oven to 320 degrees. Combine dry ingredients, mix well. Mash up the bananas in a plastic bag and pour in a bowl. Add the almond milk and honey (if you use that sweetener), and mix together. Add pecans.  Mix the wet ingredients with the dry and pour into an olive oil-coated  pan lightly floured. Then sprinkle your choice of seeds on top. Bake for 1 hour. It will be very dense, but you will know when it’s done because the inside should not be too gooey, and the outside should be crunchy. Let the banana bread cool and sweeten before eating it, and remember to not cook it until the entire inside is set because it will set and get firm as it cools, if you cook it too long it will be crunchy bread and no one wants that.

Homemade healthy banana bread.
Homemade healthy banana bread.

Don’t forget to workout today, whether it’s a run, bike ride, or one of the workouts you have, just make sure you get it done.

Sweaty Cardio Circuit

  • two- minute high knees

  • two- minute plank

  • two- minute jump rope

  • two- minute wall sit

  • two-minute mountain climbers

  • two-minute wall pushups

  • two-minute jog in place

  • two- minute squats

After that, do round two with the same exercises, except only for one minute. Then, once you complete that, do the same exercise for 30 seconds.

Tips:

  • Go at your own pace, if you can’t do two- minute mountain climbers at a fast pace, slow it down, but do it for the full amount of time.

  • This is one of those workouts that you don’t get to have a few second break between, you need to go right from one exercise to the next. It’s completely doable, I designed the workout to where after each vigorous cardio exercise there is a more muscle specific exercise.

Be sure to let me know how you liked the banana bread, any suggestions you may have to make it better, and give me a rating from one to 10 on how hard the workout was.

Bryce Romig, Features

Long term tanning leads to harmful consequences

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By Bryce Romig

Ever since Coco Chanel accidentally became tan on a yacht in the Mediterranean, people around the world have adopted it as one of the many signs of beauty and health.

Everywhere you go across the United States, you are almost guaranteed to find a tanning salon. The tanning salon industry has been booming since the nineties, and the industry continues to grow each year. According to the American Academy of Dermatology, the tanning industry brings in a surprising revenue of over 2.6 billion dollars. With tanning popularity on the rise, many dermatologists are trying to get to the root of the problem; teenagers.

“I feel more comfortable tan. It gives me a confidence boost,” said freshman Alexus Potts.

Coco Chanel made the tan a popular trademark of beauty and health. The irony of that statement is evident, tanning destroys health. When skin is exposed to UVA and UVB rays, the light penetrates the skin and stimulates melanocytes to produce melanin. Your skin absorbs these rays to protect them from penetrating deeper and doing further damage. Melanin is a dark brown color, and it acts as a wall so more UVA and UVB rays cannot pass through. This is what develops the dark color.

“Tanning is really relaxing and a good stress reliever. I can’t stand being pale.” said senior Margo Becht.

According to the Skin Cancer Foundation, tanning raises your chances of getting skin cancer by 75 percent. When you expose your skin repeatedly to ultraviolet light without protection, your body develops moles due to the excess melanin. These moles, can be cancerous.

“I do plan on stopping soon. I don’t want my chances of getting cancer to go up. I don’t want to age prematurely either,” said sophomore Kortney Graham.

Tanning can also have numerous effects on your appearance as well. While your tan may look fantastic now, down the long road you could develop wrinkles and sun spots faster than the average human. According to the FDA Promote Health website, the UV rays break down the collagen in your skin. Collagen is responsible for keeping your skin from sagging. When collagen is depleted, wrinkles form.

“According to doctors, it’s really harmful to your skin. Tanning too much can cause your skin to look and feel leathery,” said FC nurse aide Earlene King.

Dermatologists strongly recommend buying a sunscreen with an SPF of fifteen or higher. It should be used year round according to dermatologists at the American Melanoma Foundation.

“I think people go overboard with tanning. I think not enough people are informed with the risks they are taking to achieve what society perceives as beautiful,” said sophomore Kaydi Marler.

If you want to achieve a nice glow without the harmful effects, try getting a spray tan or using a self tanning lotion. While most people believe they will have pumpkin orange palms, self tanning has come a long way since then and updated and improved their formulas.

“If you are confident in you as a person, your skin color shouldn’t affect your confidence. If you want to be tan, be tan. Just don’t forget to remember the harmful effects that come along with the tan. If you are truly confident with yourself as a person, you will realize skin doesn’t matter,” said Marler.