Blog Entry 10.6.09

Fitness Tip: Stretching
Guilty! I don’t stretch enough. I am terrible at making the time. Plus, I am not very flexible and we all gravitate toward things we are good at. I am good at lifting weights. But I do warm up for about five minutes before I work out. You should too. Even if you don’t know how to stretch, walking quickly will loosen your muscles so that you are injury proof. You don’t need to stretch during workouts, unless you feel like it. But the key is stretching after a workout. So here is an idea- when you are watching TV later, grab a couple of pillows and sit on floor. If you are sitting on floor you will want to stretch, mainly because it’s uncomfortable. I am not saying torture yourself like Dick Cheney would say. I am saying that if you sit on the floor for a few minutes you will think about stretching more than you would if you were comfy and curled up on your sofa. So make it a point to sit on floor and work out those muscles you worked out today. And if you didn’t work out, stretch anyway for tomorrow.

Food Tip: In my endless search to find low-card recipes, it occurred to me that my mother knew something. Okay, we never ate low-carb when I grew up. In fact, we made bread with our pasta dishes for dipping. But there is one recipe that is low-carb that Mom used to make. I never thought I’d but a dish from my youth on this blog. But I am sure glad that I can. And besides, this recipe is pretty easy and will suffice your need for starch.
Cabbage Rolls,
· 1 large head of cabbage
· 1 pound lean ground beef
· 1/2 cup instant brown rice or cooked rice
· 1 egg
· 1/2 cup finely chopped onion (fine is the key word)
· 1 teaspoon cinnamon,
· 1 can tomato soup
· 1 can tomatoes, diced (14oz)
Preparation:
Tear the leaves off the cabbage and cook in boiling water or steam until wilted enough to be flexible. Cool so that you can use. Mix ground beef, rice, egg, onion, and salt, pepper, and cinnamon together. Make little balls of the mixture and roll into cabbage leaf. Secure rolls with toothpicks cause they will open. Combine the soup and tomatoes in a Dutch oven or crock pot. Add cabbage and simmer for 2 hours if using Dutch oven or 4 hours if using crock pot on low.