#hip tips

Ever since our HIP 90 Day Challenge, I’ve been eating up all the information I can get about clean eating and modern food. I’ve always ate health conscious, like I was conscious of what was bad for me and ate it anyway through most of college and a bit after. I always thought if I worked out enough, I could eat whatever I wanted. False.

After I cleaned up my diet, I noticed how much better I felt. Some nay-sayers have told me it’s just a placebo effect, but I think there is a lot of hard evidence to say that it isn’t.

Years ago I read, Fast Food Nation, and for several months after I didn’t know what to eat. I probably dropped 10lbs because I was too scared to eat anything. I didn’t have the proper education and the culinary skills to figure out what was good for me. As a result, my diet suffered and although I was health “conscious,” I wasn’t 100% practitioner.

I’m usually influenced by powerful research, I haven’t had any fast food since I saw Super Size Me 9 years ago. Okay well… I tried In n Out when I moved here, but it didn’t sit well.

Researchers, enthusiasts, and documentarians have learned a lot about food since a Morgan Spurlock almost gave himself a heart attack eating only McDonalds for a month. Some of them put themselves to the test like in Fat, Sick, and Nearly Dead to show dramatic changes based on diet. Others present some hard to swallow facts as in Hungry for Change.

Personally, I prefer to live my life out of the fog of processed foods. It’s an unbelievable difference, but I do like to hear the research to back it up. Here is a list of a few documentaries that have changed my thoughts on food. Most are available for instant streaming on Netflix.

Fat, Sick, and Nearly Dead

Hungry For Change

Super Size Me

Food Fight

Food Matters

Vegucated

Just to name a few. There are many more. Please let me know if I forgot your favorite.

-Kayte Walsh

Avid spinner? Super cyclist? Mountain biker? Beach cruiser? Leisure looper? Slow and fast peddlers can each take these tips to get a little more out of a ride, even if it is just to getting you from point A to point B.

Safety first! Your bike needs regular tune-ups too. Any bike shop will be happy to educate you on care for your bike. Also make sure you have a helmet that fits snugly and know the hand signals for driving on city streets.

Peddle to the metal. Think about pushing and pulling in a smooth circular motion rather than laboring on the down peddle. This engages more muscles giving you leaner legs and helping you from having a quad heavy ride.

Get in gear. Even if you only have a few gears, play around. 5 mins on the heaviest gear, 2 mins on the lightest. Turn a ride from one end of the strand to another into a hidden workout.

Eyes on the road. Resist the urge to look down or too low. If your head drops too low you can slow your oxygen intake and you’ll feel tired faster. Same goes for a spinning class.

Get to the core of it. Sometimes you can get carried away and start leaning into your peddling. Try to keep your torso upright by engaging your abs. It’s a lot harder to peddle a beach cruiser because of their clunky heavy frames, but it’s a great ab workout if you pay attention!

4th of July has got to be one of the most fun holidays in the US. Summer heats up, enjoy long weekends with friends and family, and the kids stay up past their bedtimes to enjoy the fireworks display. There are BBQs, potlucks, and incredible smorgasbords across the nations to do what Americans seem to do best.

Let’s change the menu and get back to the founding roots of our foods this year. If you’re hosting a weekend celebration ask guests to bring something organic, or clean eating. Support your local farmers by shopping for the best ingredients at the farmer’s market. Make your burgers from grass fed beef instead of corn fed. Making a fruit salad might require a little more elbow grease than opening a bag of chips, but it also shows more love and care for your guests.

If you’re stumped on what to bring to the plate, what is clean eating and American try this apple pie recipe from our favorite thegraciouspantry.com.

**the crust comes together quickly, so don’t be afraid to get your rolling pin out and try it!

Clean Eating Apple Pie

(Makes one 8 or 9 inch pie)

Ingredients:

1 batch of clean eating pie crust (You’ll need two crusts, top and bottom)

Apples, cut and seeded – Enough to fill the pie tin. (About 2-3 cups)

2 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1/4 cup honey

1 tablespoon organic cornstarch or tapioca starch

1 tablespoon lemon juice

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

In a large mixing bowl, combine your apples, cinnamon, honey or agave, cornstarch and lemon juice. Stir well to coat the apples thoroughly.

Pour the apples into your pie crust (which should be IN the pie pan already… just sayin’…).

Top the pie with the second crust and pinch all around the edge to seal it.

Cut a vent in the top so steam can escape and transfer the entire pie to the oven.

All the way from the foothills of the Himalayas these salt crystals range in color from pale pink and white to deeper hues of pink and red. The color is a result of a high mineral content, a spectrum of 84 minerals. From ancient sea salt, it remains unrefined, free of additives and hand mined, making Himalayan Pink Salt among the purest salt available. 

  The salt is harvested from ancient sea beds and by tradition, it's hand selected, hand crushed, hand washed then sun dried. You can use Himalayan Pink Salt in any recipe requiring salt, as well as to season even the most basic dishes. It's high mineral content makes the salt less "saltier" to taste than table salt but that doesn't change the portions. You may actually find yourself using less salt because of it. 

  Pink Salt is more than just seasoning. You can use it external to stimulate circulation, relax the body and soothe sore muscles, lower blood pressure, and remove toxins from the body. It can be used in various spa applications like homemade soap, soaks, scrubs, bath salts and aroma therapy.  

You're a weekend warrior! You stay fit and train hard during the week so you can hit the beach and play hard on the weekends. You've even have group of friends who are active and outdoorsy. This seasons recreation is beach volleyball, but the only balls you've served lately have been turkey meat ones with a side a marinara.

We've gotsome HIP Tips for you to start the season off right so you can see your game improve. Who knows, maybe a tournament is in your future come August! 1. The Basics: Your team can hit the ball up to 3 times to get it over the net. The same player cannot touch the ball twice in a row. If the ball hits the ground inbounds on your side, the other team gets a point. 2. The Sand Factor: The sand will slow you down and tire you out more than you may expect. You will also notice your jumps more labored, and your hang time far less. But look on the bright side, diving for that game saving bump will hurt a lot less in the sand! Take small steps when setting up for a play to conserve energy. Long strides will diminish power. Stay on your toes too. Trudging around flat footed will slow your reactions. Another great thing about sand is that it's forgiving on your joints. 3. Communication: It's a team game and most of the team is looking up at the ball. If you're going for the ball call it (mine!). If the ball is headed out, get vocal. Let your teammate know so they don't run for it. It's also great encouragement for the other players, especially if you don't know each other that well. Volleyball makes people fast friends. 4. Ball Contact: Serving is the backbone of this game. Grab a ball and head out with a friend on a weeknight to get some practice point your toes hips and shoulders in the direction you want the ball to go. Even if your main jam is an underhand serve most people who are playing for fun will encourage you to keep hitting it over the net. Practice your bump making contact with the insides of your forearms and your set tossing the ball up with your finger tips. 5. Beach V-Ball Etiquette: A match is 3 sets or games. The first team to reach 21 points wins the set, 2 sets wins the match and the third tie breaker set is usually only played to 15. If you're looking to join a net with a group who has already claimed the space, you can ask for a challenge, but best to asses the competition before asking. If you've claimed your net with your group, keep the games continuous if the beach is busy. It's in bad taste to leave the net empty for long periods of time while taking breaks if others are waiting to play.

Spring begins to fade into summer and although the weather might be a little warmer, I still feel myself giving into the grind. At my house we are trying to take advantage of the extra daylight and challenge ourselves to NO TV TUESDAYS. It seems like almost every night of the week I can be found on the couch getting hooked on another show or searching for another movie. 

While the weekends tend to be more active, the weekly routine gives way to a post supper couch session. My better half and I have settled on changing our habits in the beginning of the week for more variety in our lives. We put together a list of activities to be enjoyed in recreation, none of which involve the boob-tube. 

Leisurely Bike Ride

Take a walk to get staple grocery items

A game of scrabble

Reading session

Trying out new music 

Watching the sunset

Mid-week power cleaning

Quality time with the dog, fetch!

Exploring new recipes

Painting/crafts or household projects (go back through your Pinterest Boards)

baking for a friend or neighbor

April showers bring May flowers and those blooms and sprouts lead to a June that starts out summer with a great crop! 

On the fruit list we start to see berries. Blackberries, blueberries, strawberries top oatmeal, cakes, yogurt or just plain eat them as a snack. Toss peaches and plums into your lunch box or the perfect on the go snack. Melons like honeydew and watermelon beg to be sliced and shared. June is also a good time for peanuts if you're looking to pair your fruit with a nut. 

The long list of vegetables start off the season with a burst of green. Green beans, green onions, green peppers, leafy greens, mustard greens, swiss chard, kale, asparagus, arugula, brussels sprouts, cabbage cucumbers and zucchini bring the rich color of summer. Round out your color and taste pallet with squash, sweet potatoes, hot peppers, garlic, eggplant and early harvest sweet corn.