Kids Corner...Apple Cookies

Welcome to the first ever Kids Corner! My kids are the ones that actually came up with the idea of Kids Corner.  They were excited that I was starting this blog and wanted to be a part of it. So each week they are going to help me find a healthy snack and then make it.   My kids are the reason why I decided to get  my degree in nutrition and it is very important for me to help guide them in knowing how to eat healthy.   I not only want them to eat healthy but I want them to know that eating healthy can be fun.  One of the best ways to do this is to get them involved in preparing food.  So this week we decided to make apple cookies.

I found apple cookies on Pinterest.  Here is the link https://www.pinterest.com/pin/14777505005047653/ or you can follow me on Pinterest at https://www.pinterest.com/kelejoe23/.  I will have all of the Kids Corner ideas under Kids Corner...pretty easy!
 
So let me introduce you to my kids.

Baileejo 

KyleeJo 

                                                                                                 



                                                                                                                                                       

Aiden 

So the first thing that they did was gather up the ingredients:

I let them pick their favorite apples which are Gala and Granny Smith.  We used two apples.
Peanut butter
Chocolate chips. (We know that dark is the healthier option but this family loves milk chocolate.)
Coconut
Almonds

 Now the fun part.  Each one took an apple slice and spread peanut butter on the apple and added coconut, chocolate chips, and almonds. 










Here are the finishing results.

 

They were so proud of themselves and had such a great time making them.  

Getting past the dreaded plateau.

Hitting a plateau can be so frustrating.  At first, you are losing weight and seeing big results.   You are working out hard and eating healthy, then all of a sudden, nothing.  Do not despair because you can overcome this.

First things first, do not get discouraged and give up.  Hitting a plateau is common, its annoying but it is common.  To get over it and start reaching your goals you just need to figure out why progress has seemed to come to a screeching halt. 

1) Get your nutrition in check.  I have learned that there are a couple different things when it comes to nutrition and plateaus.  It might be that you need to increase your calorie intake.  Now that you are burning more calories your body needs to know that you are not starving it.  If the body thinks that you are starving it than it will store fat.  Try increasing your calorie intake by 200 for a couple weeks and see if you get any results. If that doesn't work you could try to decrease your calorie intake.  As you lose weight your metabolism will decrease because you do not need to burn as many calories. Remember to never go below 1200 calories per day if you are female and 1500 calories per day if you are male so you can keep that lean mass.

Keep record of what you are eating. This may seem to be a pain but it really is beneficial.  You may be surprised that you are not eating enough or eating too little.   

Eat a variety of food that is loaded with nutrition.  When you have a variety of food then you are making sure that you are getting all of your nutrients like carbs, fats, proteins and vitamins.  I have never dieted and do not believe in diets.  I do believe in eating whole foods and eating with a purpose.  Good sources of food with great nutrition are: vegetables, fruits, nuts, whole grains, dairy, and lean meats.

2) Change up your exercise routine.  When you keep doing the same exercise routing the body gets used to it.  When this happens the body uses less energy so you plateau.  I start changing up my workout once it feels too easy.  When you work out you want to WORKOUT.  You need to sweat and really feel the burn and when you wake up the next day you should be sore.  There are some many different types of exercises out there that you should not have a hard time changing it up.  I change my workouts by doing weight lifting, cardio, yoga, and at home workouts. 

How much carbs, fats, and proteins do you need?

      We all know that we need a balance of carbohydrates, proteins, and fats in our diet, but how much do we need each day? All three of these are important and have their roles to help our body function. Carbohydrates gives us energy and fuels our brains,  proteins are needed for structure, function, and regulation of the body’s tissues and organs, and fats insulate our body, cushions organs and can also be converted into energy.  There are also many other functions that they have but that is another topic!  But since they are all equally important it is crucial to have them in your everyday diet and to make sure you are not getting too little or too much. So, an easy way to remember is 60/20/20.  That means you need 60 percent of your daily calories to come from carbohydrates, 20 percent of daily calories from protein, and 20 percent of daily calories from fat. 

^{Now you do not have to have those exact numbers every day.  The Dietary reference intake recommends:}

^{45-65% of carbohydrates}

^{20-35% of fat}

^{10-35% of protein}

^{So, if I use a 2000 calories diet it would be broken down to:}

^{900-1300 calories of carbohydrates}

^{400-700 calories of fat}

^{200-700 calories of protein}

^{I like to know how many grams of day I need because it is easier to keep track of.  This is easily done by knowing that there are 4 grams per calorie in carbohydrates and proteins and 9 grams per calorie in fats.}

^{To break down calories to grams just divide the calories by 4 or 9.}

^{Carbohydrates 225-325 grams per day}

^{Fats 44-78 grams per day}

^{Proteins 50-175 grams per day}

Finding your target heart rate

When you work out you want to work out at your target heart rate zone. This will help you to determine if you are working out too little or too much. As a trainer I would find that clients would think that they were working out at their target heart rate on their own but when I would take them out on a work out they would find that they were not pushing themselves hard enough.    In order to figure out what your target heart rate is you first need to figure out what your maximum heart rate.

Step 1) How to calculate maximum heart rate

For males take 220 and subtract your age (220-33=187)

For females take 226 and subtract your age (226-33=193)

This equals your maximum heart rate.

Step 2) Next determine what your resting heart rate is.  To get your resting heart rate all you need to do is take your pulse for 1 minute when you first wake up in the morning.  It is best to take your pulse 2 to 3 days in a row so you can get an average heart rate.  The average resting heart rate for adults 18 and older is 60-100 beats per min.  The best places to find your pulse are the wrist and neck.

For the example I will use 70 for the resting heart rate.

Step 3) Now that you have your resting and maximum heart rate subtract them.

Male 187-70=117

Female 193-70=120

Step 4) Depending on how hard you want to work out depends on where you need your target heart rate.  If you are having a moderate workout you need to be 50-70 percent of the maximum heart rate. For a more vigorous workout you need to be 70-85 percent of maximum heart rate.

How to calculate:

Male 117x 0.50+70=128 bpm moderate workout

Male 117x.85+70=169 bpm vigorous workout

Target heart rate is between 128-169 bpm

Female 120x.50+70=130 bpm moderate workout

Female 120x0.85+70=172 bpm vigorous workout

Target heart rate is 130-172 bpm

Now during your workout stop and take a “quick” break a take your pulse for 15 seconds and time that by 4 and see if you are at your target heart rate.