3 Top Superfoods for Healthy Living

By Team eLifestyle Fitness and Lifestyle Expert Robb Armstrong

Last week we gave you the lowdown on how our customizable Workplace Wellness programs can have a positive affect on the bottom line of your business.

In this week’s Fit Tip we give our top three “superfoods” to supercharge your nutrition for healthy living.

What makes a "superfood"?

When it comes to healthy eating, there are foods that are so exceptionally nutrient dense and the benefits of eating them so amazing, that they are often referred to as “super foods”.

What’s more, they have more nutrients per calorie than most other foods and have also been proven to contain vitamins, minerals and other nutrients that work to prevent many types of disease such as cancer and heart disease among many others. They are also perfect for low-fat and heart-healthy diets.

Superfood #1

Berries

Extremely rich in antioxidants (noteably ellagic acid), vitamin C and soluble fiber, berries help protect the cells in our bodies from damage, and in doing so prevent disease and aging. Blueberries in particular contain more disease-fighting antioxidants than any other fruit or vegetable.

Superfood #2

Broccoli

The vegetable you need to learn to love, broccoli’s nutritional benefits boast high levels of vitamin A, beta carotene, B vitamins (especially B3 and B5), folic acid, phosphorus, potassium, iron, chromium (which is an easily absorbed form of calcium), zinc, loads of fiber, and is also packed with carotenoid antioxidants.

Superfood #3

Nuts – Walnuts & Almonds

If you think that nuts are too high in fat for a healthy diet, guess again. These nuts help lower cholesterol due to the amount of antioxidants, phenols, vitamin E, ellagic acid and gallic acid they contain.

Cardiovascular Health – The monounsaturated fat in walnuts has a beneficial effect on cardiovascular health and is associated with a reduced risk for heart disease.

Heart Disease – Omega-3 essential fatty acids (a special type of fat that is essential for our bodies, but that the body cannot produce) found in these nuts protect us against heart disease and help to prevent irregular heart rhythms.

Omega-3 also helps reduce LDL (bad) and total cholesterol levels, provide anti-inflammatory benefits and are helpful if you suffer from asthma, rheumatoid arthritis, eczema or psoriasis.

UP NEXT ... How to defend against muscle cramping during and post-exercise. We tell you next week!

Note: Check back every week for more helpful health and fitness tips from eLifestyle's Fit Tips by Robb!

Pump Up Your Employees

The Power of Workplace Wellness

By Team eLifestyle Fitness and Lifestyle Expert Robb Armstrong

In our last Fit Tip we showed you how to show off your BBQ skills with a grilled Chicken and Vegetable Pizza recipe.

In this Fit Tip we take you from the backyard to the office. Here’s the lowdown on how our customizable Workplace Wellness programs can have a positive affect on the bottom line of your business!

Workplace Wellness is divided into four complimentary offerings:

1. Interactive Employee Involvement

A unique, interactive forum is created using a micro-website that is run by our team of experts. The goal – to encourage employees to become involved within a company-wide health and wellness community, incorporating fitness and wellness challenges and personal goal-setting.

2. Lunch and Learns

Used on their own or as a compliment to any challenge, Lunch and Learns can be customized to fit any challenge. A few topic examples covered are: Nutrition, Exercise, Stress Management, Executive, and Team Building.

3. On-Site Health Programs

A certified instructor/trainer will deliver a dynamic fitness program that motivates and reduces stress, enabling your employees/staff to re-energize and improve their overall health and productivity. Some classes are, but not limited to, the following: Pilates, Yoga, Tai Chi, Beginner running, Aerobic classes, Sport-specific (Golf, Tennis, etc.).

4. Interactive Micro-Website

This interactive website will be customized and available to each employee. The micro- website will include:

Competitions/Challenges: Length – 12 wks (90 days): Ensures employee’s long-term success

Focus on Charity: Within each challenge the company may choose to donate money in the winner’s name to a specific charity

• eLifestyle Points: Collect points to be “cashed in” for prizes for accomplishing the following examples: Walk to and from work, physical fitness, lowering cholesterol, etc.
• Weekly FitVid: Highlights fitness and lifestyle tips.
• Weekly Fit Tips: Fitness and lifestyle tips emailed to employees
• Monthly lifestyle e-newsletter: Highlights winners of challenges and showcases profiles of individuals within the company that have accomplished other personal fitness challenges such as triathlons, marathons, etc.

Contact us today to help improve employee health and streamline the efficiency of your business!

UP NEXT ... We give you our 3 best "superfoods" for a healthy lifestyle. Find out next week!

Note: Check back every week for more helpful health and fitness tips from eLifestyle's Fit Tips by Robb!

BBQ Bonus: Grilled Chicken & Vegetable Pizza – Fast!

By Team eLifestyle Fitness and Lifestyle Expert Robb Armstrong

In our last Fit Tip we served up our top-5 fat-burning foods to healthfully increase your ability to shed unwanted pounds.

This week we take advantage of the continuing good weather and show you a great low cal, high protein meal jam-packed with flavor. It preps in no time so you can feed hungry mouths after your busy day with ease!

With summer’s end still producing good weather, we keep your BBQ blazing! Today we’re using your grill for the true taste of a wood-burning pizza oven for Grilled Chicken & Vegetable Pizza. It takes just five minutes to prepare and only five minutes to grill!

Grilled Chicken & Vegetable Pizza

Ingredients (2 servings)

1 pre-cooked seasoned chicken breast

1 small zucchini

2 ripe, firm plum tomatoes

1 Spanish onion

Generous pinches of salt, pepper, dried basil and oregano

3 tbls extra virgin olive oil

1 large or 2 small Greek-style flat pitas (or pitas of your choice)

½ cup (125ml) goat cheese or crumbled feta

Directions

1. Lightly oil grill and heat barbecue to medium-high. Cut chicken into pieces as desired. Thickly slice tomatoes. Cut Spanish onion to desired thickness. Cut zucchini diagonally into long ovals. Place in a large bowl. Drizzle with just enough olive oil to coat. Sprinkle with seasonings. Stir to evenly coat toppings. Brush bread with olive oil.

2. Place vegetables on grill and barbecue until tender and lightly charred, 2 to 5 min per side, removing them as they are done.

3. Then, place bread on grill and barbecue with lid closed, just until grill marks form, about 1 to 2 min per side. Crumble goat cheese over hot bread, then arrange tomatoes, chicken and zucchini on top. Scatter onions overtop. Add a little goat cheese on top if desired and voila!

Nutrients per serving:

• 20 g protein
• 21 g fat
• 71 g carbohydrates
• 4 g fibre
• 131 mg calcium
• 1355 mg sodium
• 552 calories

Bon appetite!

Note: Check back every week for more helpful health and fitness tips from eLifestyle's Fit Tips by Robb!