National Tabboule - Yum - Day!

Tawlet's Souk el Tayeb is an open exquisite kitchen where cooks and producers prepare typical, authentic Lebanese food, every day from their own Lebanese regions. Well, long story short, Tawlet will be celebrating the National Tabboule Day  the most famous and delicious salad in my world and in Lebanon!

This event will take place on the 2nd of July from 9.00 am till 2.00 pm in Biel.

Not only is it fresh and delicious, but Tabboule is also:

• Easy to prepare. You can check its recipe here. It is pretty easy to make, but I just can't seem to master the super finely chopped parsley - so that's where mom comes in!
• Rich in antioxidants and phytochemicals like quercetin, lycopene, allium and lutein >> all these fancy names can actually help your body fight diseases, cancer and aging!
• Rich in fibers - perfect for laxating your gastrointestinal tract, aka intestines
• Rich in vitamin A, vitamin C and vitamin K - helping your gums, skin, intestines - to name a few!
• Contains olive oil = monounsaturated fats that are perfect for your heart, of course in moderation.

So join Tawlet at Souk Beirut to celebrate this fine dish! You can also take place in their best Tabboule competition that will be held in 3 different Tabboule categories: The traditional dish, winter tabboule and creative one!

And yes, this day has been made official by the Ministry of Tourism since 2007 so Long Live Tabboule!

Sources: Beirut.com and Tawlet.com

Your Guide to Smart Ice cream-ing

Ice cream isn't the healthiest treat, but given that it is everywhere during summer, you might want to know how to deal with ice cream bombarding your path! With the summery hot season finally here, you must be overwhelmed by the variety of icy desserts in the market. There are many terms like “low fat”, “diet”, “fat free”, “sugar free”, which could in fact confuse you.

Ice cream is typically made with heavy cream and saturated fat (the kind of fat you want to avoid and that increases your blood cholesterol and your risk of diabetes type 2 and CVD - to name a few of course) and yes you can be shocked to find that some brands can go up to 15 g of saturated fat, 400 calories in only half a cup of ice cream! Now that’s too much for an ice cream snack! So let’s say you went to McDonald’s and had an innocent hot fudge sundae – well you’re in for 340 calories and 9 grams of saturated fat! 

Why all those Calories and Fat?!

• Extra syrups, sauces, nuts, cookies and chocolate chips - A 330 mL cup McFlurry ice cream made with vanilla base (370 cals) + an Oreo mix (200 cals) + hot fudge (150 cals) = 720 cals without even adding nuts, cream, chocolate chips or other extras. Even an innocent spoon of whipped cream can add 50 calories to your treat. Keep in mind that calories are the least of your problems, don't forget all sugars, preservatives, colorants and chemicals added to those extras! So if you would like to add an extra taste to your ice cream, go for freshly cut up fruits such as melons or strawberries as well as some chopped raw buts, but whatever you do, don’t go crazy with your mix-ins!

• Coating - The rich chocolate coating that adds texture to your ice cream stick is mostly made of fat. For example, a Haagen Dazs bar or Magnum can load you up with 21 g of fat, without nuts!

• Know your Cone

A cake cone, usually served with soft ice cream, has 35 cals

A sugar cone, usually served with scooped ice cream, has 60 cals

A waffle cone can go up to 100 to 150 calories alone

A cone (60) dipped with chocolate (120) = 180 calories without having any ice cream served yet!

Well, best choice, ditch the cone and go naked with your ice cream!

Not really:p

The key is to:

Know that by law, the word "light" ice cream must contain at least 50% less fat or 33% fewer calories than regular full fat/original versions. This does not mean that ice creams with “light” on their labels are healthy. There are light versions of ice cream that still contain 200 cals and 7 grams of saturated fat in just ½ cup of this light ice cream so don’t be fooled and check your label! Just keep in mind that when any product is low fat/fat free, it's super processed. The kind of food you would want to have once in a blue moon!

However, it's good to know the lingo!

If you want to make sure that you are having ice cream with low fat content, read “low/reduced fat” on the label. This way you will get 3 g of fat per serving for sure! You also want to stick to the serving indicated on the label because the 3 g of fat and the 120 calories that you just read, are only in 1 serving of ice cream = ½ cup (1 cup = 240 mL) of ice cream.

You can also go for sorbet, which is a frozen fruit dessert made with fruit puree and sugar. It is fat free; usually, also a good source of vitamin C. Sorbet comes in a variety of flavors like lemon, orange, mango and strawberries. However, even though it is fat free, this doesn’t mean that it’s sugar free! Keep in mind that sherbet is different. It has fruit juice indeed but often contains milk, egg white or gelatin to thicken and enrich it. It is actually the creamy version of sorbet.

Popsicles can be regular, fat free to sugar free. Some contain dairy but they are usually made with sugar and ice. It is, however, important to read the nutrition facts label and ingredient list to make sure that they are made from real fruit juice and to ensure that the serving contains less than 120 cals. For a healthier popsicle version, you can make home made popsicles by freezing real fruit juice/fruit puree or sugar free lemonade. Healthy, easy to prepare, icy and a yum treat for everyone in the family!

Look for the label “slow-churned, double-churned or cold-churned”. This refers to a process that reduces fat and calories while retaining the creamy texture of full fat varieties of ice cream. This process distributed the milk fat evenly throughout the product. So 1/2 cup has about 100 calories. Now I’ve looked for this "slow-churned" ice cream in Lebanon, but we still don’t have any so let's keep our hopes high!

While ice cream does contain calcium, it’s a bit ridiculous to recommend it for its calcium content, no? You can get your calcium from broccoli, dairy and dark green vegetables. I mean ice cream contains half the amount of calcium in an equivalent serving of milk so no point there!

I'm no fan of dairy nor of ice creams, but I know lots can't give up this treat during the summer. SO as a rule of thumb: Choose ice cream brands/products that contain per serving:
>> less than or equal to 120 calories
>> a maximum of 4 g of fat
>> 3 g of saturated and trans fats
>> 10 mg of cholesterol
>> 15 g sugar (equivalent to 3 teaspoons of table sugar!)
And the serving is ½ a cup so keep your portion sizes small so don't buy buckets of ice cream but rather, buy individual servings and read your nutrition facts label well!

For many more cartoons, please visit Randy's site @ www.glasbergen.com.

Healthy & Safe BBQ-ing!

If meats are cooked improperly, they may increase your risk of cancers, especially those of the colon and rectum. Char-grilled meats contain HCAs – heterocyclic amines - and PAHs – polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons - that are formed when meats are cooked at high direct temperatures, developing a black smoky layer on them. 

Fish is your healthiest bet!

• To start with, scrub the grill (especially any black bits left) and the utensils you will use to cook food with, and don't forget to clean coolers and other containers with warm water and soap before and after using them. 
• Make sure to have different cutting boards for meats and veggies/fruits.  During food preparation and food cooking, avoid any cross-contamination/contact between raw food and ready to eat ones, those that will not be exposed to the cooking step before eating.
  
• Avoid processed & fatty meats like hot dogs, sausages, ham, bacon and fatty meats. Buy lean meat cuts and lots of fish. This way you will decrease your fat intake as well as processed red meats filled with preservatives and additives that will only increase your cancer risk. Stick with fish for it contains less fat and cooks faster than other meats, this way you will decrease the formation of HCAs. You can also trim all visible fat that smoke and drip during cooking and that increase HCAs. 
• Don't char or burn meat, poultry or fish to blacken them. These black bits on your meat are the HCAs that can damage your genes, raising your risk for stomach and colorectal cancers. Lower the temperature by spreading the coals thin properly on the grill bottom. This reduces the direct heat exposure by increasing the distance between your food and the coals. 
• Moreover, you can also marinade your meats with vinegar, lemon juice, herbs (rosemary, tarragon or mint for example), not only to add a delicious taste to your meats, but also to reduce HCA formation. 
• Keep in mind not to make your picnic meals all about meats! Place one meat and one veggie in a row and forget about that white chunk of fat dad wants to put in all the BBQs. Don't even place it with your meat before grilling because its drips increase HCAs formation! Load up your plates with veggies like grilled onions, tomatoes, zucchini and eggplants in order to increase your fibers and antioxidants. Don’t peel veggies, not even your corn on the cob. Those peels can in fact help keep your vegetables from drying out, keeping them moist and delicious!
• As for your dessert, you can grill fruits sprinkled with cinnamon or honey. You can also cut yourself fresh watermelon/cantaloupe chunks but make sure to clean their outer surface and to use a clean knife to avoid any contamination form its outer surface! 
• Last but not least, clean everything up - especially your grill - with warm water and soap!

Healthier Picnics this Summer!

It’s summer season alright so let the BBQs and picnics begin! Now even though these sure are fun times; it is important, however, to keep your food safe at all times! Many people have a notion on how to keep foods safe, especially those that can be easily spoiled, yet they may still be making small mistakes and thus increasing their chances of food poisoning!

Food Safety 

• When you are packing food at home, pack foods in the same container you are going to use rather than separately. For example, mix all the prepared (chopped) ingredients of your tabboule/salad altogether in a container and the dressing in another container. If the salad contains meats, then these would be in a separate container as well. This way you can mix and eat the fastest – and least food hazardous- possible.
• When handling food, make sure to wash your hands regularly for at least 20 seconds with warm water and soap – before, during and after handling foods. Make sure to take enough water gallons with you, soap, wet wipes and disposable paper towel, not a dish towel because we all know this will end up wet and dirty and spreading germs from hands, towels and dishes. You can also get a bottle of sanitizer, but keep in mind that it does not replace washing with soap, it’s used afterward. 
• Make sure to separate raw meats and ready to eat foods (those that will be eaten as prepared without the extra step of cooking) when packing them at home, when placing them in your car trunk and when preparing the picnic foods on site. This way you will avoid dripping from one container to another, minimize cross contamination and any chance of hazardous food poisoning. 
• Make sure you cook your food to the right internal temperatures using a food thermometer. Now I know that few people use food thermometers for picnics in Lebanon, but it sure is a smart investment to cook meats to the right temperature that kills any lurking bacteria!

Food	Internal temperature (degrees Celsius)
Beef – fish	63
Ground beef	68
Poultry – stuffed meats – left overs	74
Cooked vegetables – gravies	71-82

• Make sure that your coolers are packed with ice, ice packs or icy water bottles enough to keep your cooler's temperature below 4 degrees Celsius while you are driving to your picnic location and going back home as well. 
• Now I know that picnics take all days and are quite enjoyable, so people tend to forget foods out in hot weather for too long, which increases bacteria multiplication, leading to food poisoning. This is why it is important to promptly place foods in your coolers after 2 hours or discard them if they have been out for 4 hours. Make sure your cooler is still below 4 degrees Celsius. Don’t re-pack everything hoping you’ll be fine eating spoiled food: when in doubt, throw it out! 
• Know what not to take to your picnic! If you are not taking coolers with you, meats are out of the question! So asses your picnic location as well as the tools you have in order to know what to avoid taking with you.

These tips will sure give your picnic a healthier and safer make over and don’t forget to hydrate yourself well all day: lay low on fizzy carbonated beverages and replace them with fresh fruit drinks and water and get yourself some physical activity in the afternoon!

Ten Foods for New Moms!

As a new mom, one of the best things you can do for yourself and your baby is to eat a healthy diet. Even though you may be in a hurry to lose that pregnancy weight, regularly eating foods that boost energy will help you provide the right nutrients for your baby and help you lose weight gradually. That's because eating nutrient rich foods at regular intervals throughout the day can maximize the little energy you probably have as a new mom. And for nursing moms, it's important to know that the quality of your breast milk stays pretty much the same no matter what you choose to eat. If you aren't getting the needed nutrients from your diet, your body will provide them from your own stores.

But for your own well-being, it's best to make sure you're obtaining the nutrients your baby needs by incorporating a variety of healthy breastfeeding foods in your nursing mom food plan.

Therefore, make sure to have a healthy rich diet by providing yourself – thus indirectly- your baby with these 10 foods:

Whole Grains – Brown rice, Bulgur and Whole Wheat - If you are attempting to lose the baby weight, you might be tempted to drastically cut back on your carbohydrate consumption. Well that’s a wrong move to take because losing weight too quickly may cause you to produce less milk for the baby and leave you feeling tired and energy drained. Therefore it is best to incorporate whole grains such as brown rice, bulgur and whole wheat in your daily diet to keep on providing fuel source for your nervous system as well as your body!

Whole Grain Cereals and Breads - After yet another sleepless night, one of the best foods to boost energy for new moms in the morning is a healthy breakfast that includes whole grain cereals and breads. Many cold cereals are available that are fortified with essential vitamins and nutrients to help you meet your daily needs. Or go creative and mix yourself a delicious bowl of hot skimmed milk with oatmeal and strawberries. Whole grain breads can also be part of your daily intake in order to enrich your diet with needed fibers!

Leafy Greens – Vegetables are a very important part of your diet but green leafy ones rank top of the list! The benefits you get from eating leafy green vegetables such as spinach, Swiss chard, mloukhiye, hendbe and broccoli are endless. Not only do they fill you up with vitamin A, which your baby needs to get from your breast milk, but they also provide you with calcium, vitamin C, iron. They are also filled with heart healthy antioxidants; they are low in calories and high in fibers! So make sure to have at least 3 servings of veggies per day and focus on green leafy ones!

Legumes - Beans, especially dark colored ones like black beans and kidney beans, as well as lentils are a great breastfeeding food, especially if you are a vegetarian mom. They are rich in iron, high in antioxidants, high in fiber and a great way to provide you with non-animal source of proteins. Just make sure to complement your legumes intake of proteins with other types of legumes or grain in order to get the sufficient amount of proteins you need. For example have your beans or lentils with some brown rice on the side! 

Fruits – Fruits are as well of importance during this time especially citrus ones such as oranges. They are great to boost energy for new moms. Because nursing moms need even more vitamin C than pregnant women, oranges and other citrus fruits such as strawberries, blackberries, mandarins, kiwi and pineapple are an excellent breastfeeding food. And not only do they provide you with the vitamin C you need, but they are also rich antioxidants, fibers and water – all which your body needs right now! Make sure to have at least 2 servings of fruits per day in their whole form in order to get the extra fibers along with your snack!

Salmon – Salmon is a very crucial food for new moms. To start with, it provides you with proteins! However, that’s not what makes salmon among other fatty fish a powerhouse for you. It provides you with omega 3 fatty acids, especially DHA. DHA is important to help you fight inflammation and may also help in preventing postpartum depression. More importantly, DHA is crucial to the development of your baby's nervous system and retina. All breast milk contains DHA, but levels of this essential nutrient are higher in the milk of women who get more DHA from their diets! This is why it is important to have yourself at least 2 servings of fatty fish per week, preferably baked or grilled. It’s is quite important to avoid large fish such as shark, swordfish and king mackerel because they are high in mercury that could be considered as a toxin for you and your baby.

Dairy Products - Dairy products provide you with proteins, B vitamins and vitamin D and calcium. If you're breastfeeding, your milk is loaded with calcium to help your baby's bones develop, so it's important for you to eat enough calcium to meet your own needs. Just keep in mind that dairy products are not the only source of calcium so you might want to limit your dairy intake to 1-2 servings per day.

Lean Beef – Because a deficiency in iron can drain your energy levels and keep you sluggish and fatigue making it harder for you to take care of your newborn, seeking out iron rich foods to boost your energy is a very important move. Having beans, legumes and dark green veggies is important but having lean beef meat as well will provide you with more – and more absorbing type of – iron. Lean beef meats will also provide you with proteins and vitamin B 12, which you are in need of especially during this time.

Eggs - Egg yolk is one of the few natural sources of vitamin D, which is an essential nutrient to keep your bones strong and help your baby's bones grow as well. Eggs are also another way you can meet your daily needs of proteins. So if you are having eggs make sure to have 1 or 2 per day tops - hard boiled or part of a baked omelet with vegetables!

Water - Dehydration is one of the most important reasons for experiencing fatigue especially that new moms who are breastfeeding are at a higher risk. To keep your energy levels and milk production up, make sure you stay well hydrated. Make sure to have at least 8 glasses of water per day but you can also vary your options and meet some of your fluid requirements by drinking fresh juices, part of soups and skimmed milk, but be careful when it comes to caffeinated drinks like coffee and carbonated beverages. Keep your intake to no more than 2 to 3 cups a day or switch to decaffeinated varieties. That's because caffeine enters your breast milk and can cause your baby to become irritable and sleep poorly.

It’s quite important that you provide yourself with a healthy diet especially if you are trying to lose the baby weight you have gained. Research has showed that mothers who breastfeed while having a maintenance diet will lose their baby weight gradually over a year post delivery. Therefore, don’t make a huge fuss about losing weight by cutting down your carbs or fat, just have a heart healthy diet rich with enough calcium, vitamin C, proteins, vitamin B 12, fibers and antioxidants!

Green Peas and Fava Beans - Our Fresh Summer Treats!

Fava beans (foul) and green peas (bazella) are one of the favorites Lebanese treats during this time of year, other than green almonds nuts of course!

Fava beans

Green raw peas and fava beans contain significant amounts of carbohydrates and thus they are considered to be primarily constituted of starch. Their protein content is greater than that of potatoes and is actually close to that of rice even though both rice and peas have different types of amino acids (protein building blocks). So a smart way to go around cooked peas is to have them with rice, this way both their protein content will complement each other.

Peas are also rich in vitamin C, in fact, they have  40 mg for each 100 g, almost as much as lemon while fava beans contain about half of that of lemon.

Moreover, green peas and fava beans supply your body with vitamin A, E, B1, B2, B6, folates, iron and zinc and best of all, they supply you with lots of fiber!

Fresh Green Peas

Now apart from all the benefits listed about green peas and fava beans, can these green treats be considered as veggies and thus it's Ok to nibble on them "freely"? 

Well, not really! The issue we have in Lebanon is that during this time of year, everyone buys kilograms of these fresh greens and enjoy them - mindlessly if I might add - with lunches, dinners, picnics or simply with alcohol! So a very important nutritious advice concerning foul and bazella is to enjoy them in small amounts because to start with, they are high in fibers and might not be well tolerated in large amounts causing digestive disturbances and gases and most importantly because they are considered as starch - just like potatoes/pasta/breads/rice and not as green vegetables! This is why it is best to replace them with green munchies such as carrot, cucumber and bell pepper sticks or if you decide to have green peas and fava beans, make sure not eat them as a surplus to other starches in your diet!

It's Cracking Almond Nuts Time!

 

Packaged almonds are available year around, but now it's time for fresh almonds in Lebanon! We refer to almonds as nuts, but in fact, they are technically the seeds of the fruits of almond trees, which are actually cousins of peach, cherry and apricot trees! The fruits that almonds tree bear have pits or seeds, which, at the 1st stage of maturation, are gelatinous and milky but during this time of year, they become solid white, fully formed, fresh and crunchy! Almonds have been part of the human diet from immemorial times and their intake increase in Lebanon, especially during summery days!

Almonds contain a high percentage of proteins (13.3%) bearing in mind that this is a vegetable product while meat and fish possess between 15 and 20 g for each 100 g. They also contain fat for more than half of almonds weight is formed of predominantly monounsaturated and polyunsaturated fatty acids.

Almonds are relatively rich in vitamin B 1, vitamin B 6 and above all vitamin E as well as almonds are among the richest plant based foods in calcium and phosphorus with significant amounts of magnesium, potassium and iron.

Almonds, freshly picked from the tree and shelled, can be eaten as they are. They are more digestible that dried almonds and I usually use my teeth to open them, but using a nut cracker is definitely safer. As for dried almonds, the moisture content would be reduced and thus they become hard. They can be eaten raw but when very well chewed, or lightly toasted. They can be easier to chew and digest is soaked overnight. The next morning they will have become tender and after removing the skin that covers them, they give the sensation of having been freshly picked from the tree, yet we all know, deep down inside, that it's not the same fresh taste!

During afternoons or night gatherings in Lebanon, most people enjoy cracking almond fruits, along with sipping beer. However, keep in mind that almonds contain 589 calories in 100 grams and therefore you can get around 200 calories in just 1/4 cup!

So think about it! With just 1 beer = 150 calories, and just 1/2 a cup of almonds = 400 calories, you'll end up with - believe it or not - 550 calories worth of mindless munching!

World Environment Day

Photo credit: Davey.com

Trees, forests and any green space provides us with a serene and calm sensation! However, on this World Environment Day, we are ought to look deeper into the "overlooked" benefits of trees!

Trees play a crucial role against battling climate change! By sucking CO2 (carbon dioxide) and storing carbon, forests can help in improving air quality as well as in alleviating global warming. In this process, leaves absorb other air pollutants such as ozone, carbon monoxide, nitrogen oxides, and sulfur dioxide and thus giving off oxygen. Trees also have a windbreak-effect because they can amend wind speed and direction.

Forests also regulate water from many of the world's rivers and help in securing its quality. In fact, roots embedded in the soil can absorb harmful chemicals and thus as forests decrease, water quality declines as well. Natural hazards such as floods, storms, landslides and soil erosion have larger impacts with the decline in trees and forests as well.

Moreover, temperature in tree shades is cooler than that away from trees. The larger the tree, the greater the cooling effect and the water vapor release. By using trees in the cities such as Beirut, we are able to moderate the heat effect caused by pavement and buildings.

Trees are shelter for many species such as apes, birds, bees and squirrels thus helping to preserve biodiversity! And last but not least, forests provide many important natural resources, such as timber, fuel, charcoal, rubber, paper and medicinal plants. 

So what about planting a fruit tree on this day? Check out how to plant a tree and how to take care of it and this way you will increase trees in Lebanon, build eco-friendly/more natural/less artificial urban neighborhoods, increase eye catchy and calming scenery, all while providing yourself with fresh fruit -that I cannot but say provide you with fibers, water and lots of vitamins and minerals - for years to come!

Sources: treepeople.org and UN Environment Program

Introducing the New Food Icon - MyPlate

Since 1992, the Food Guide Pyramid was the main food icon used to represent recommended healthy eating choices. It was then revised into the Mypyramid year 2005, which confused people even more!

MyPlate - USDA's new food icon

So today, the USDA unveiled the new food icon: MyPlate!

"We eat on plates, not pyramids" says Bonnie Taub-Dix, a registered dietitian and a nutrition blogger for food.usatoday.com. So it's logical to use a plate to familiarize people with healthier food choices. From the looks of it, it can help people assess if what they have in their plates (especially when eating out) is in fact the healthy deal or not and adjust accordingly.

It is divided into 4 sections: vegetables, grains, fruits and proteins. It focuses on balancing calories by enjoying food but in the same time eating less and avoiding oversized portions, increasing one's intake of fruits and vegetables, making half of your grains whole, switching to low (1%)/fat free milk, watching your sodium intake and having water instead of sugary drinks.

Moreover, the word protein was used instead of meat such that people can learn to choose from meats, poultry, fish or vegetarian sources of proteins. Meat is not = to proteins although the meat industry wants it to be the case! Note that alcohol, sweets and added fats are all off the plate, implying that these foods should be avoided/used sparingly! One should also keep in mind that the plate illustrates the whole diet, not every meal of the day!

A good thing is that it is kid-friendly in order to help kids adopt healthier lifestyles earlier in life and keep them as they grow up into adulthood! MyPlate also focuses on the word "My" (just like MyPyramid did) to make such healthy choices more personalized into everyone's life. It could suggest as well what your shopping cart should look like so overall it can pass as a food icon to spread the "healthy" word!

Yet, just by looking at it, one can not really know:

• How big is this plate? And what exactly is an oversized portion size?
• How much can we have of each food group? I mean 20% proteins for example? And of course dietitians can assess this, but making such a tool should in fact empower people to easily adapt it in their own eating habits!
• By simply looking at the plate, you can't really know that skimmed milk is advised, that half the grains are ought to be whole or that water is preferred over sugary drinks! I mean why don't we call the grains section whole grains to begin with!
• How much fat can we have? And are there any types better than others (obviously)? We can't really overlook the fat category as small as we hope it to be!
• Most importantly, physical activity is as important as adapting a healthy diet. So why wasn't it mentioned AT ALL?

The plate doesn't really answer every issue tackled in the 2010 Dietary Guidelines so having this tool will not entirely empower people to adapt healthier food choices!I think it's good to have a simple icon, but maybe- just maybe, this icon is too simple? I mean in case you did not have access to http://www.choosemyplate.gov/, will you be able to know what to eat?

Either way, good thing is that MyPlate is also accompanied by MyPlate Brochure, 10 tips nutrition education series, sample menus and healthy recipes!  

When it comes to plates, I prefer the University of Michigan's Great Plate!

It's a plate alright, but with more details - and more importantly real food examples, on what veggies, fruits, carbs, starchy vegetables, proteins, dairy and fat groups are! This could be a great plate with some recommendations from choosemyplate.gov. However, for some reason, all these plates seem to forget how crucial physical activity is as a part of a healthy lifestyle!

Aim to Exercise Regularly - Even Without Brad Pitt!

Having a sedentary life while waiting for Brad Pitt to become your exercise buddy is pretty unrealistic! So don't set impractical goals that keep your from having at least 60 minutes of health hearty, muscle building exercise per day! If you don't exercise at all, start with a simple 20-minute exercise and increase your workout 5 to 10 minutes per day till you reach the 60 minutes you aim for. Then, hold on to this habit!

For many more cartoons, please visit Randy's site @ www.glasbergen.com.