Today is the day we all realize that we have enough leftovers for turkey sandwiches for more days than we care to eat them! That means it’s time to get creative with your leftover turkey and use it up in a healthy recipe which is slightly more inspiring than turkey between two pieces of bread. In most parts of the country something warm is in order at this time of year, so we are passing along this chili recipe from Mayo Clinic to help you stay *f.a.t. with your Thanksgiving leftovers! It’s perfect for a casual, football watching meal!

SERVES 8
Ingredients
1 pound chopped leftover turkey
1/2 cup chopped onion
2 cups unsalted canned tomatoes
4 cups canned kidney beans, rinsed and drained
1 teaspoon sugar
1 1/2 tablespoons chili powder
2 cups chopped celery
8 tablespoons fat-free sour cream
Water, as desired

Directions
In a soup pot, add the turkey and onion. Saute over low heat until the onions are translucent. Stir in the tomatoes, kidney beans, sugar and chili powder. Cover and cook for 10 minutes. Add the celery and cook for another 10 minutes. Add water, as desired, for thinner consistency.

Ladle into warmed individual bowls and top each with 1tablespoon sour cream. Serve immediately.

Nutritional Analysis (per serving)Calories 242 Cholesterol 31 mg
Protein 21 g Sodium 380 mg
Carbohydrate 30 g Fiber 7 g
Total fat 4 g Potassium 784 mg
Saturated fat 1 g Calcium 90 mg
Monounsaturated fat 1 g

Here we go again, folks! I gave you the calorie calculator on Halloween, and now I’m directing you to my new, favorite Thanksgiving tool on About.com. It’s not for the faint of heart; I will tell you that right now! You have got to be brave to use this Thanksgiving calorie counting calculator! Using it will not only allow you to estimate how many calories you will consume in today’s meal, based on each item you eat, but it will tell you how far you will have to walk in order to burn off what you consume!

Considering that most people consume upwards of 2,000 calories in one Thanksgiving meal, many of you may prefer to keep yourselves in the dark, but for those of you that would rather not have to run a 10K just to get back to your pre-Thanksgiving weight, you may want to use this calculator. It might be the difference between you having a *f.a.t. holiday rather than a fat holiday! Knowledge is power, people!

Happy Thanksgiving! 

Since we are all gearing up for our pumpkin pie buying and baking, I thought I would compile the information you need to make some educated choices. I’ve outlined the calorie and fat content of of the top brands of pumpkin pies, and I’ve also found four great, healthy recipes for homemade pumpkin pies, which give you some lower fat and lower sugar options! Happy eating, everyone!

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A few years ago, I worked with a woman who insisted she must have thyroid problems because she couldn’t lose weight despite the fact that she did 30 minutes of cardio every night, and kept tabs on every morsel of food she put in her body. The operative word in that sentence is food. As she plucked yet another carrot stick from her zip lock baggy between slurps from her oversized frozen Starbucks concoction, I suggested she give up her daily liquid addiction for three weeks and see what happens to her excess lbs. 

It’s easy to discount the calories in something we consume with a straw, because our mind associates chewing with appetite and satiety, and satiety is naturally linked with energy consumption in the form of calories, which translates to weight gain and/or loss. Drinking the calories almost convinces us they don’t exist. Sadly, a lot of the beverages that make up a regular part of the American diet not only have more fat and calories than the average fast food chain sandwich, but have less nutrients than those same sandwiches.

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A few years ago I met a guy who was much younger than me, and for whatever reason, he was convinced that I was the girl for him. (I wanted to believe it was my uncanny resemblance to Cindy Crawford, but it could have been my unwillingness to live in reality that he liked).

Anyway, as nice, cute and giving as he was, every time we were on a date, I felt like I was with a boy and not a man, and I just didn’t feel the chemistry. I kept thinking that if I continued spending time with him, my feelings of attraction would grow. After all, as a person, he had a lot of qualities that were appealing to me, so I really wanted to like him in that way. But after a handful of dates, I couldn’t do it anymore. I know you’re wondering what that has to do with cauliflower, so I’ll tell you.

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The economy is in the shitter and all of your investments have gone to hell.  I feel your pain, sister. But this is not the time to turn to every comfort food known to man to make yourself feel better. Well, actually, if there ever were a time to feel justified in doing it, it would be now, but let’s not go there.

You will create an even bigger crisis for yourself in the way of weight gain, sluggish energy, and the inevitable self hatred that will come three months from now when you realize that although your 401K has dwindled to nothing, the rest of you has become more inflated than the cost of every food item you plowed through to get it that way.

Which brings up another point. Since food is so expensive these days, don’t go eating more of it than you need to just because you’re depressed.  Easier said than done, I know.  Believe me, there are many Ben and Jerry’s skeletons in this girl’s closet!

If emotional eating is a problem for you, you are not alone. Emotional eating is one of the main reasons so many women struggle to lose weight, even though they may be exercising regularly!

If you’d like to understand more clearly, your relationship with food, and how your emotions may be affecting your food choices and eating tendencies, I’ve got the tool for you! Psychology Today has an Eating Disorders and Emotional Eating Test that will asses your eating habits. It takes about 35 minutes to take, and when you are done, you will get a personalized interpretation of your score. Now, put down the donuts and go take it!

Healthy snacking is a must for all *f.a.t. women. I don’t care if you are a mom or a single *f.a.t.ty; I have been both. I know how busy life is and how important healthy snacking is to maintain a healthy weight and to stay Fit After Thirty! We all remember the days in our twenties when we could grab any kind of junk food on the go, with no real consequences. Well, guess what? After about 30, our metabolism starts to slow down and decreasing hormones can more easily result in energy slumps. We have to be more mindful of what we are putting into our mouths both at mealtime, and snack time.

Three meals a day with two snacks keeps blood sugar levels on an even keel and keeps you from ever being in a desperately hungry state. (See our Fit After Thirty’s Top 10 Post Pregnancy Weight Loss Suggestions) The key to success is to always have snacks readily available. Snacks should be healthy, satisfying and convenient. And they should be within easy reach. So, pack your shelves, cars, purses, bras - or wherever else you can get to easily when hunger strikes - with healthy eating solutions. I know for me it’s all about convenience. It needs to be easy, nutritious and available at a tummy growl’s notice.

My Top 5 Pics:

1. Bear Naked all natural granola – I like the fruit and nut blend. Homemade granola made from real whole grains and “bearly” (or minimally) processed ingredients.

2. Kashi TLC 7 grain crackers – Just add some peanut butter or hummus and you are set. Kashi’s products are natural, minimally processed, and free of highly refined sugars, artificial additives and preservatives.

3. Snacktrition Smoked almonds – They have added calcium so you get more bang for your calories, so to speak. Each item of Snacktrition is unique in the nutrients that it delivers. Depending on the item, you will find three grams of dietary fiber or more than 100 milligrams of calcium, which translates to approximately 12 percent of the recommended daily fiber needs and approximately 10 percent of recommended daily calcium needs.

4. Luna Bar - I like the Lemon Zest. Luna’s ingredients come from natural sources, meaning they do not have added colors, flavorings, or preservatives, and are processed less than other products.

5. Grab an apple - they are readily available and convenient. They are full of fiber which slows the sugar’s absorption and maintains blood sugar at steady levels. They are also filled with the mineral boron, which is great for bone growth. This is why they are perfect for women and kids.

For your chance to win Kashi snack bags filled with convenient, healthy snacks, please use the Submit a Story button and send us a personal inspirational health or weight loss success story, along with a photo. If chosen we will showcase you on our site and send you Kashi goodies!

I tend to be an all or nothing kind of girl in most areas of life; I want the real deal or nothing at all. Especially when it comes to my sweet tooth. I’ve never been willing to sacrifice taste for the sake of calorie conservation. I’ve always preferred enjoying the full-fat version of ice cream, or other desserts, rather than a fat free, less flavor, lite version, even if it means I have to work twice as hard to burn it off.

In areas other than dessert, I can justify this approach to life because I find more satisfaction in quality rather than quantity. But with sweets, even when I would eat the quality version, I wasn’t really limiting my quantity. I was still plowing through the whole pint of Ben and Jerry’s or Haagen Dazs in a day. Or in the case of my 1993 breakup from What’s His Name, a half gallon of Walgreen’s Mint Chip in the span of two hours. (But don’t worry, my broken heart and clogged arteries recovered). 

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October is breast cancer awareness month, so it’s only appropriate to kick it off with some important information about this deadly disease. I’m not going to talk about all of the horrid statistics, because I think the numbers are startling enough to cause fear and paranoia, and I don’t think that serves us. If you read my Mind Body Medicine interview with Dr. Jacobs, you know that my theory is that by focusing too much on things that make us think the disease is inevitable, it will program our brains to contract it.

Dr. Jacobs says the fear and anxiety around thoughts of getting a disease can weaken our immune system. Because of that, I’d rather focus on the positive. The things we have control over. I’m a huge believer in the old saying our moms and grandmas said – “an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure.”

When I look at the list of the breast cancer risks that we can control, it brought to mind my philosophy towards all things health. It’s what I call the cave woman test. I think it’s what our grandparents would have called common sense, but either way, here’s how it works. Whenever I am having an internal debate about what I want to consume to best care for my body, I think about how closely the choice resembles something people would do in cave man days, when they had no choice but to live more in line with nature.

Here’s an example of the test in action:

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On the West Coast, hummus is pretty popular. I love it, and I  can’t imagine life without it! I didn’t realize how much I took for granted that hummus is readily available in grocery stores in Arizona and California until I spent some time in the South recently, where it wasn’t as easy to find. If you haven’t tried hummus, here’s a great recipe to use as an introduction to it. And if you already love hummus as I do, you’ll love this vegetarian pita recipe.

It comes from Norene Gilletz’s book, Healthy Helpings. If you make them in the miniature version, they are perfect for snacks or appetizers. I took these little guys to a party recently and the plate was emptied! If you have the time, make your own homemade hummus to make them even better!

 Kangaroo Pita Pockets

6 medium pitas or 24 mini pitas

1 c. hummus

½ c. chopped red pepper

½ c. chopped green pepper

3 tomatoes, cored, halved and thinly sliced

½ c. thinly sliced Spanish or red onion

1 English cucumber, thinly sliced

½ c. alfalfa sprouts

Preparation

Cut medium pitas in half to make 12 pockets ( or slit mini pitas open along one edge). Spread insides with hummus. Fill with peppers, tomatoes, onions and cucumbers, top with sprouts.

Yield

Twelve medium pockets or 24 minis. One medium or 2 minis make 1 serving. Do not freeze.