Frugal Living

Easy Ways to Take Care of Your Heart

March 18, 2015 By Sarah Roe Leave a Comment

Are you taking care of your heart? February is Heart Month and the perfect time to take stock of your heart’s health and wellbeing. But what does that mean? We have some easy tips and changes you can start making to insure your heart stays healthy for years to come.

Cut the sodium. Nearly all of us are consuming too much sodium. By cutting back on processed foods and eating at home more, you can cut your diet’s sodium levels considerably. Up to 75% of the sodium in the average American diet comes from processed or restaurant foods, so start by eating one less meal out per week.

Stay away from saturated fat. To help you lower your cholesterol- and keep your heart in tip top shape- avoid saturated fats as much as possible. For someone eating 2,000 calories per day, you should only consume about 13 grams of saturated fat. The majority of saturated fat comes from meats such as fatty beef, lamb, pork and poultry with skin. Full-fat dairy products, such as butter, cream, cheese and products made from whole or 2 percent milk, are also high in saturated fat. Start checking your labels and choose lean cuts of meat and 1% or skim milk to cut back.

Avoid trans fats. Last fall, the Food and Drug Administration announced that it intends to ban trans fats in processed foods. This will help you avoid these unhealthy options, but be aware that trans fats are also found in many fried foods and baked goods such as pastries, pizza dough, pie crust, cookies and crackers.

Stay active. Being physically active is a huge part of preventing heart disease and stroke. Just 30 minutes of aerobic exercise five times a week is enough to stay healthy. Brisk walking, swimming, bicycling or a dance class are excellent choices. Many people don’t exercise at all, so anything active is better than nothing!

Your lifestyle is the key to keeping your heart healthy. These small dietary and exercise changes can help keep your heart healthy and happy for years to come. As long as you are making an effort to make good choices most of the time, you don’t need to sweat the occasional cookie or drive-thru lunch. Moderation and good choices are key to a healthy heart for years to come!

This post is sponsored by Shape Your Future.

5 Healthy Food Switches You Can Make during Christmas #MoreMatters

March 18, 2015 By Sarah Roe Leave a Comment

The holidays are traditionally known for the time when we put on the most weight, we make bad choices, give up exercising, etc. I don’t think that has to be the case, I am very aware of what I am putting into my body all the time and when it comes to our Christmas meal, I am choosing to eat well and stay healthy. My mom always taught us to make switches and remove the unhealthy to make way for the healthy, just a little change here and there can make all the difference!

Of course, mom also did not let us use eggs, butter, salt or pepper but that’s an entirely different story….To make it easy, ShapeYourFutureOk.com has some great ideas for easy switches that will save you calories and won’t sacrifice taste.

Mashed Potatoes — Use skim milk, chicken broth, garlic or garlic powder, and Parmesan cheese to add flavor and cut back on added butter or margarine.

Green Bean Casserole — Cook fresh green beans with chunks of potatoes instead of cream soup. Top with almonds instead of fried onion rings.

Dressing — Use a little less bread and add more onions, garlic, celery, and vegetables. Add fruits such as cranberries or apples. Moisten or flavor with low fat, low sodium chicken or vegetable broth and applesauce.

Gravy — Refrigerate the gravy to harden fat. Skim the fat off. This will save a whopping 56 grams of fat per cup.

Desserts — Make a crustless pie. Substitute two egg whites for each whole egg in baked recipes. Replace heavy cream with evaporated skim milk in cheesecakes and cream pies. Top cakes with fresh fruit, fruit sauce, or a sprinkle of powdered sugar instead of fattening frosting.

These tips are sure to give your yummy meal a healthy twist and keep the taste great!

This message is sponsored by ShapeYourFutureOk.com. For more information and recipes, be sure to check out Shape Your Future on facebook!

Get Creative & Healthy with School Lunches

March 18, 2015 By Sarah Roe Leave a Comment

*As featured on Zulily.com*

If your kids are like mine, they get tired of seeing the same old PB & J in their lunchbox day after day. And honestly? I get tired of making them! So I’ve been really excited to see all of the creative, healthy lunch ideas over on Pinterest.

Start with the idea of a “bento box,” which is a box-shaped container with different sized compartments. You can find these just about anywhere these days-even the dollar store! What I love about the little compartments is that it almost seems like snacking, which we all know, kids love. You can fill the box with a bunch of delicious, healthy options that keep your kids interested and equal a balanced meal.

Here are some options you could pack in your child’s box:

Baby carrots or grape tomatoes and a small container of low-fat ranch dip
Dried fruit and nut mix
String cheese and grapes
Whole grain crackers with peanut butter
Turkey breast or ham with cheese “roll-ups” on whole grain tortillas (you can roll and then slice into pinwheels)
Celery sticks with low-fat cream cheese
Fruit cup or applesauce

Now on to the fun part! Get creative with cookie cutters to make shapes out of melon or cheese slices or a peanut butter and banana sandwich. Maybe go for a theme or idea around a certain holiday. Think Christmas trees out of snow peas or bunny shaped ham and cheese slices above broccoli grass. The ideas are truly endless and your kids will love opening their lunch each day to see what you’ve come up with. The key is to make it fun and keep it healthy!

This post is sponsored by Shape Your Future.

Frugal Summer Fun: Create Your Own Scavenger Hunt

March 18, 2015 By Sarah Roe Leave a Comment

May is National Fitness and Sports Month and Shape Your Future has issued a summer challenge for all of us to get out and get 60 minutes of physical activity a day. This is important for all of us but especially the kids, it’s so easy to let them play video games and watch movies all summer long but really, they need to be outdoors. A breath of fresh air can change your entire day plus, it reduces your risk of heart disease, cancer and diabetes. It’s time to get moving!

Yesterday, I took my kiddos out for a walk. Normally, they would find that boring but I made sure to add a little fun to the mix with a scavenger hunt. It is easy to create your own but, I thought I would give you a few ideas. I also let my kids take pictures of the items they found, this works very well with the older ones if they happen to have an iPad or phone.

Create Your Own Scavenger Hunt:

Wildflower

Nest

Ladybug

Something that begins with a certain letter of the alphabet (whatever let you choose)

Animal Footprints

Moss

Cardinal

Something Square

A Small Insect

Hopefully that list gets you started! Have fun with it and get out and enjoy the fresh air!

For more activities and more information about Physical Activity Month and the Shape Your Future Summer Challenge, visit www.ShapeYourFutureOK.com.

We’re Planking for the #KDChallenge!

March 18, 2015 By Sarah Roe Leave a Comment

Have you read about the KD MVP Challenge yet? Your kiddos can pick a challenge and upload a video of them completing that challenge for a chance to win awesome KD Gear or even meet Kevin Durant in real life!

You can enter as many times as you’d like by posting your challenge on their facebook page. To make it even better, the grand prize is a meet & greet with Kevin Durant! If you’d like to find a challenge to accept, visit Shape Your Future KD MVP Challenge page and grab your video phone!

Kevin Durant is encouraging our kids to get at least 60 minutes of physical activity a day and to fill half of their plates with fruits and veggies at each meal. Our kids need to learn to eat better and move more, these things are wonderful and I think the KD Challenge is great!

My son decided to take the planking challenge, he actually had a lot of fun with it and even challenged me! We had a blast, you can check out his video below, nothing fancy, just my son having a fun time!

Here’s the details on the planking challenge:

To complete this challenge, work on planking for 30 seconds. If you can’t do all 30 seconds, that’s okay, work up to it. Make sure you watch the video to see how to plank correctly. It’s important to remember proper form. Get into a pushup position on the floor. Now prop up onto your forearms and ensure your shoulders are directly over your elbows. Make sure that your body is in a straight line from your head to your feet and your toes are planted firmly.

KD and Shape Your Future is a great example of healthy living made fun and easy. Check ’em out, have your children pick a challenge and then post your video. It’s simple and it’s fun! Stay healthy!