Healthy Eats in Washington, D.C.

I have lived in D.C. for about 3 years now. My hubby and I are always on the lookout for new healthy places to eat here. We are fortunate that D.C. has quite a few healthy takeout and dine in options. So if you are in the D.C. area be sure check out one of the many salad bars like Chop't and Sweetgreen. These restaurants have tons of healthy options like Kale and Quinoa. Also, most of the restaurants below are chains so you can find them in several areas (around D.C.). My favorite Chop't salad is the Harvest Cobb.  Most of the sites below have calorie info online.

I think a key to staying healthy is doing research about your food (e.g., nutrition info). So if you have not done so already take sometime to see what healthy options there are in you city. That way when you need a meal in a hurry you know exactly where to go.  Check out the list below for healthy eats in D.C

What are your go to healthy take out spots in your city ?
 I have a trip to Atlanta in a few weeks, so if you know healthy places there please share!

Fitness Goddess Faves

1. Chop't  - Try the Harvest Apple Cobb

2. Sweet Greens - try the guacamole green, and the Fro-Yo!

3. Mixt - design your own

4. Chix- try a brown rice bowl

5. Chicken Out - you must try the baked sweet potato wedges

6. Teaism - you must try the brunch here, it's delicious

7. Hot Food Bar Whole Foods

Product Revew & Giveaway: EatStrong

We love keeping you guys informed on easy ways to stay fit and healthy. We also love sharing free products with you all. Today we have two yummy and healthy snacks for our Goddesses to try. Check out our review and then be one of the first 10 Goddesses to LIKE this post on Facebook or comment on this post and you will receive free EatStrong Snacks! After you LIKE the post or comment email us at nubianfitnessgoddess@gmail.com.

EATSTRONG Trail Mix

This yummy sweet and salty trail mix has flax and sunflower seeds to make it even healthier. It also has small chocolate drops so you can get your chocolate fix too. It's a decent sized bag for 260 cals (plus 5 gm protein and 7 gm of fiber). I was able to divide it up and have half as my after gym snack and the other half as my mid-day snack. I love the portion control because it's so easy to eat more nuts than you planned. This is the perfect addition to your healthy snack options.

EATSTRONG Energy Boost

Many of us do not get enough protein in our diets. Nuts are a good source of protein but again portion control can sometimes be difficult with nuts. EatStrong's perfectly portioned energy bar packs 12 gm of protein with a low sugar content (7 grams) and no artificial ingredients. I was surprised to see how low the sugar content was. Most energy bars have 20+ grams of sugar , so this is definitely a good alternative.

My favorite was the trailmix but if you are looking for more protein the bar is a good option too.

Have you tried them?

Soul Food Sunday and Healthy Eating Tips

This week's Healthy Soul Food Sunday recipe comes from Black America Cooks . It is Roasted Eggplant, Greens, and Okra. I know sometimes I struggle to get enough veggies in my diet so I figured I would share this dish loaded with vegetables. Check the Black America Cooks site for even more ideas!!


Healthy Eating Tips:
If you are looking to eat healthier try cooking two to three healthy dishes over the weekend. It may sound like a lot of work but it will make it easier to eat healthy during the week. Try to prepare baked chicken to go with the Eggplant dish and one more entree (such as turkey meatloaf). Then during the week you add a side of brown rice and frozen veggies to one of you entrees for a quick dinner.

To make dinner even quicker pick up a a bag (or box) of frozen brown rice from trader joes (and some local grocers).

Roast Eggplant, Greens and Okra (EGO)

1 package (16 ounces) frozen chopped turnip, mustard or collard greens
1 package (20 ounces ) frozen okra slices
1 large eggplant, unpeeled, trimmed, cut into 1 1/2-inch chunk
1 large yellow onion, trimmed, quartered, broken into wedges
1 package (6 to 8 ounces) sliced mushrooms, or to taste
1 can (6 ounces) tomato paste
1 package (6 to 8 ounces) cocktail tomatoes, halved

Heat oven to 425 degrees. Place half the frozen okra and greens on a foil-lined rimmed sheet pan sprayed with oil. Repeat with the second pan. Top each sheet evenly with eggplant, onion wedges and mushrooms. Add tomato paste by teaspoons over the vegetables. Toss with your hands or use a wooden spoon to blend in tomato paste. (The brilliance of the tomato paste is how well it blends with the small amount of liquid given off by the defrosting frozen vegetables.) Top with tomato halves. If using a larger pan, such as a paellera or any huge, deep casserole, place everything in one deep pan.
Place on top and bottom oven racks, if using two baking pans. Place paellera or casserole on a rack in the center of the oven. Bake, checking and stirring with a wooden spoon every 15 minutes, until vegetables are tender and beginning to brown, about 30 to 40 minutes. Remove from oven. Let sit about 20 minutes before adding to recipe or refrigerating for later use.

Have a Healthy Week!

Soul Food Sunday

Soul Food Sunday: Feed Your Soul Without Packing on the Pounds

We all love a good Soul Food Dinner but unfortunately one dinner can be 800+ calories and loaded with sodium. So we decided that we would share weekly Healthy and Tasty recipes for you all so you can enjoy your Soul Food and keep your figure tight. We also want you to share your healthy recipes with us.

Today's Recipe: Sweet Potato Pie
Sweet Potatoes have a ton of health benefits. They have low gylcemic index and have anti-oxidant properties. Today's Soul food recipes come from the Black Women Losing Weight Forum. It is low calorie and low fat but full of flavor. Give it try and let us know what you think!

Sweet Potato Pie

Yield: 16 servings
Serving size: 1 slice
Each serving provides: Calories: 147, Total fat: 3 g, Saturated fat: 1 g, Cholesterol: 40 mg, Sodium: 98 mg, Total fiber: 2 g, Protein: 4 g, Carbohydrates: 27 g, Potassium: 293 mg

For the Crust

• 1¼ cup flour
• ¼ tsp sugar
• ⅓ cup skim milk or soy milk
• 2 Tbsp vegetable oil

For the Filling

• 1/4 cup white sugar
• ¼ cup brown sugar
• ½ tsp salt
• ¼ tsp nutmeg
• 3 large eggs, beaten or egg substitute
• ¼ cup canned evaporated skim milk
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 3 cups sweet potatoes, cooked, mashed

To start:

1. Preheat oven to 350° (Fahrenheit).

To prepare crust:

2. Combine flour and sugar in bowl.

3. Add milk and oil to flour mixture.

4. Stir with fork until well mixed. Then form pastry into smooth ball with your hands.

5. Roll ball between two, 12-inch squares of waxed paper, using short, brisk strokes, until pastry reaches edge of paper.

6. Peel off top paper and invert crust into 9-inch pie plate.

To prepare filling:

7. Combine sugars, salt, nutmeg, and eggs.

8. Add milk and vanilla. Stir.

9. Add sweet potatoes and mix well.

Putting it together:

10. Pour mixture into pie shell.

11. Bake for 60 minutes or until crust is golden brown.

Cool and cut into 16 slices.

Share your recipes! Email us at nubianfitnessgoddess@gmail.com

Tisha Campbell-Martin Shares her Healthy Experience in Partnership with Yoplait

As many of you know, we recently talked to Tisha Campbell-Martin, you may remember her as Gina from the 90's TV show "Martin" or most recently from "Everybody Hates Chris".

Today, she's on a mission with Yoplait and Essence.com to encourage African American women to lead healthy lifestyles. "I'm so excited to be a part of this campaign with Yoplait," says Campbell Martin. "Many African-American women tend to juggle a lot at once, so we put off taking care of ourselves until tomorrow. That's why I support the idea that the best time to make our health a priority is today. The small manageable changes make all the difference."

We love her passion and enthusiasm for this new initative and thrilled to have the opportunity to chat with her one-on-one!

First, we had to ask, what can Yoplait do for us? She said that Yoplait can help us make that small change today for a big impact tomorrow. She carries Yoplait in her purse with nuts, cranberries, or a granola bar to replace her craving for junk food. A smart way to prepare for the sudden cravings!

Being an African American woman, we had to ask how does she keep her mane in check while working out? She recommends putting your hair up really, really high with an old-school scrunchie to avoid damage and then let the hair breathe, i.e. avoid using clothe on your hair as that will make it sweat and then lock the sweat in.

Some of you wanted to know if Tisha is into the "Power of Positive Thinking" and, if so, how has this affected her life? "Absolutely!" She approaches her healthy lifestyle without looking at the obstacles ahead. She points out that if you already look at the negative, then you've already lost. For example, she gained 65 lbs during her first pregnacy and then 90 lbs during her second pregnancy, but instead of looking for the easy way out or settling with what she had, she worked hard and found a support system with family members and friends.

So, how does she stay so fit? She works out twice a day, starting off with some light walkingo n the treadmill, doing 300 sit-ups in the morning (go girl!), and then using free weights.

I think its also important that Tisha has to work hard at being healthy just like the rest of us. When she was younger, she was not very fit but she was motivated to get in shape for the long haul and she's a working progress each day.

Want to stay updated on Tisha's lastest tips and progress? Be sure to check out more from Tisha here. Here you can find tips, videos, and even score a free sample of Yoplait (yum).

Want more encouragement to increase your calcium intake with Yoplait or other calcium-enriched foods? Check out what the government has to say!

Healthy Vegetarian Greens

I would like to share my Healthy Receipe for Vegetarian Greens.

Vegetarian Greens.
My church had a farmers market on Saturday and Sunday. I was able to buy fresh organic greens. This is how I prepared them.

2 bunches of Organic Greens
1 Onion
3 cloves of garlic
1 turnip
4 cups of water
No Salt Seasoning

I learned to prepare greens from my Liberian sisters. Wash and chop greens. Chop the stems instead of pulling the leaves from the stem. The stem contain most of the vitamins and minerals. Peel and dice the onion. Smash and press the garlic. Peel and dice the turnip. Boil water add Knorr chicken buillion cube if you want meat flavor. Add all veggies to pot. Add No Salt Seasoning to flavor. Boil for 10 minutes. Stir and reduce heat for anoither 10 minutes. Turn off when greens are dark green and tender. Enjoy healthy no high blood pressure greens!

How to eat Fast Food

Let's face it, it's tough to avoid fast food. Balancing work, school, relationships, family, etc. is tough enough. Trying to squeeze in exercise and cooking can make things really difficult. I know I preach the importance of cooking and eating healthy all the time but let's be realistic sometimes you just can't pass up the convenience of grabbing some fast food on the way home. Now I am by no means advocating eating fast food over cooking. But if you are going to stop by a McDonalds on the way home, lets figure out a way to make the healthiest decisions possible.

I did an article on the lack of healthy options in our communities a while back called "Popeyes or KFC." I think the lack of options in our communities is terrible. It is unfortunate but just because they put that poison (food) in our communities, doesn't mean we have to make terrible choices......

Maintaining my weight loss is super important to me right now but eating fast food is sometimes unavoidable. I have developed a few strategies to be sure that I stay within my calorie limit and maintain my weight loss. I typically eat fast food for lunch 3-4 x a week. I also eat at restaurants like every weekend. I love trying new restaurants, but I refuse to undo all my hard work. So here are some tips I hope you find useful.

1. Just eat the sandwich/entree ---- Don't believe the hype, there is no value in a "value meal" Unless you see value in Type 2 diabetes. You can really save on the calories by cutting out the fries or chips. Now I know that may not seem easy because the fries/chips fill you up. But give it a try eat your sandwich and see if you are still really hungry. If you are bring your own side (yogurt, fruit, string cheese). Bringing your own side will also save on $$$$. This is the most important rule. *You can also get a side salad, you can one at McDonalds/Wendys/Burger King/KFC for just a $1.


2. Drink Water with lemon or a flavored water----- I did an article about the unnecessary calories that pop/soda adds to your meal. Check out the post...."You are what you drink." If you don't feel like reading the post, then just trust me cut those drinks and substitute water.

3. Drink Green Tea---I could write a whole post about the benefits of green tea (in fact I might). Drinking green tea everyday has helped speed up my metabolism. It's especially great for after eating heavy meals.

4. Grilled---This is an obvious one but you should always choose grilled over fried.


5. NO MAYO--- Mayonnaise can add over a 100 calories to your sandwich. It is so not worth it. Have mustard instead. This applies for dressings too, especially creamy ones. Always choose the vinaigrette over a creamy dressing.

6. Plan Ahead---check out calorie count websites like Calorie Lab before you eat. You can easily access must calorie sites from you cell phone.

7. Satisfying a sweet tooth--- Of course adding a sundae or candy bar to your lunch/dinner can really add the calories. For dessert there are a couple healthy options. I like to a have Yoplait/Dannon yogurts (Key Lime, Orange Creme). They are just sweet enough to fulfill my craving. Sometimes I will crumble up graham crackers and mix them with the yogurt. Also, you are usually pretty safe with lowfat frozen yogurt. At McDonald's you can get it for $1 and 120 calories....not bad.

Eating healthy does not have to be difficult. It just takes a little bit of thought. These are a few of my tips I may add more, so check back!

Comment!!!

What suggestions do you have for eating healthy in this fast food nation

Popeyes or KFC?

This choice is made on daily basis in our community because there are several locations where KFC and Popeyes are right next to each other ( don't believe me, check out the southside of chicago). If you don't want fried chicken you have several other local fast food options around. Want to eat something healthy? Looking for a Trader Joes, Whole Foods, Panera, Jamba Juice, a Sushi Spot? You won't find one in most areas that are heavily populated by Blacks.

So, how exactly are we supposed to eat healthy? In most cases, you have to drive 15 minutes to find food that is slightly healthy. You really don't have much of chance at eating healthy unless you have the 4.50/gallon to drive somewhere and get some "healthy food" or prepare all your own meals.

It really seems like our people are set up for failure. Even if healthy food was a little more accessible we still have the problem of the ridiculous cost.......(next post)

Well, I just had to get this off my chest. I'll probably add more to this post.

Please Comment
I can only speak from my experience in Chicago neighborhoods. So please share your experiences!!