Nature Hikes You'll Never Forget

So you love nature and strolling through the great outdoors, but living in the humid Sunshine State puts a damper on that. Autumn is the perfect season to get out on those nature hikes without having to change shirts every mile. We have a few fun ideas for making your hikes even more fun and entertaining!

• Scavenger Hunts: These are a great way to get you looking closely at nature and paying more attention to everything around you which can help center, relax and ease you. This can be fun with friends, family or alone. Bring a light sack, bag or even a pillowcase or paper bag with handles and collect things from a list. We've provided a fun Autumn Scavenger hunt list below, but don't be afraid to make your own. Challenge yourself with things you have seen before but don't see as much to ensure you stay entertained for the duration of your hike. be careful not to remove things that might break park rules or endanger nature.

• Photography Scavenger Hunts: Don't feel like carrying around a bag? Take a camera and make sure it's fully charged with extra batteries and a lot of storage. Use this to capture the items on your list without taking them from nature and no hauling the items around. You can use this as a chance to test out some photography skills. Try to make the photo as pleasing to the eye as possible, don't just shoot and snap, really play with angles and maybe even pick the item up and put it somewhere else to change the scenery of it's natural habitat. 

• Bird watch: Almost every park has benches and even if they don't, bring yourself a bag chair or even a blanket to sit or lay on and watch the sky. Through the trees and into the sky you can find a wide variety of different birds. This is another one you can bring your camera for. Watch their activity, how are they acting? Which bird makes which sound and which other birds respond? This takes you back to focusing on nature and gets you connected with the earth and away from the chaos of life.

• Don't hike... run!: Running through a nature park can be one of the most relaxing type of runs. Make sure to watch the trail ahead of you because the ground may not be smooth and could have obstacles such as tree roots and other nature derived objects. Ensure you have proper running shoes on and someone knows where you are. Accidents can happen to anyone at anytime and you want to make sure if you were to become injured you wouldn't be stranded out in the woods with no cell reception!

• Barefoot Hiking: Yep, exactly what it sounds like! Just go out to a nature trail and hike with no shoes or socks on! (We suggest packing some shoes just in case, regardless of what the following link says, especially when trying it for the first few times, but try not to wear them.) Check out this site for a few short and very helpful tips about Barefoot Hiking for Beginners ! (you could do all of the ideas above while barefoot hiking as well!)

Scavenger Hunt List

• something that is alive
• a leaf with jagged edges
• an interesting weed
• a dry leaf
• The sound of tree branches crackling
• a leaf with smooth edges
• three acorns
• a seed from a tree
• a twig
• a pinecone
• a handful of grass
• a feather
• a branch with leaves on it
• a red leaf
• a yellow leaf
• a green leaf
• a smooth stone
• three little pebbles
• wild berries
• a seashell (for those who apply)
• a leaf turning colors
• a leaf bud
• a piece of bark
• the sound of an animal rustling
• snake skin
• an old cocoon
• a tiny bit of moss
• a piece of fallen tree bark

Spruce Up Your Family's Wardrobe This Autumn!

Spruce Up Your Family's Wardrobe This Autumn!

As the temperatures get colder, families start packing up their shorts and sundresses and pulling last year’s warmer garments from boxes. And inevitably, many of last autumn’s clothes no longer fit or are too worn.

Replacing entire wardrobes can create unneeded stress, but there are ways to dress the whole family without breaking the bank.

* Look for versatile wardrobe staples. Women and girls should build their wardrobe with a nice skirt or dress, dress pants, jeans, sweaters and a jacket. Men and boys need khaki pants, jeans, sweaters and collared shirts.

* Skip fancy department stores. You’ll save time and money by shopping at your local discount retailer or even thrift shops, consignment stores or yard sales. You’ll find inexpensive basic apparel, often for less than $16 a piece and sometimes like new or never worn.

* Look for deals on denim. Everyone in your family is going to want several pairs of jeans, and those price tags can add up quickly. There are inexpensive lines available today that still offer quality and value. Look for 2 for 1 specials or buy one get one a certain % off.

* Stock up on basics. Fall is the perfect time to assess your undergarments. Toss old or ill-fitting underwear, t-shirts and socks. Replace these pieces inexpensively with value packages of underwear and socks, which can be found at your local discount retailer.

* Find fun, useful accessories. Scarves, hats and gloves allow you to express your personality or embrace the newest trends in colors and patterns without breaking the bank. Better yet, they can help dress up wardrobe staples that will last for years, so you won’t spend money on a jacket or dress that will be unwearable by next fall.

* Sell old clothes. If your children are still growing, chances are there are some gently used, outgrown items taking up closet space. Take old clothes to a consignment store, thrift shop or hold your own yard sale to make a little extra money to put towards updating their wardrobe.

We Challenge YOU!

The 10% Challenge

Cor Fitness recently teamed up with the Suncoast Co-op to create a highly beneficial challenge for our community! We are challenging all of your to switch only 10% of your weekly groceries to locally grown food or products. 

The Suncoast Co-op has an easy way to get what you will need, their website is full of anything you could get within our area and you can ensure it's fresh, chemical free, hand picked and giving back to our community! They sell live plants, herbs, veggies, fruits, homemade foods and even offer gardening classes, tours plus more! The possibilities are endless. What more could you want?

Visit their website to sign up for an account (free) and do all of your shopping online! Don't worry about entering personal finance information, they only take payment at pick-up.

The Market opens Sunday through Wednesday Night. They obtain the orders from local growers Friday-Saturday and have them available for pick-up for customers on Saturday, currently at the Habitat for Humanity Restore at 4131 Madison St. in New Port Richey from 12-2PM. 

Convenient, healthy, reassuring and building our local economy while supporting local farmers, growers and businesses!

 Click here to visit the online store!

Send them to College, Guilt Free!

Avoid the College Carb Trap

A Low-Carb Guide to College Eating

By Laura Dolson, About.com Guide

Updated August 15, 2011

About.com Health's Disease and Condition content is reviewed by our Medical Review Board

Salad Bar at U.C. Berkeley

Photo: Justin Sullivan/Getty Images

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Are you starting or returning to college? Do you worry that you'll end up carrying more weight around with you than just those textbooks? One way to avoid the "Freshman 15" is to pay attention to the amount of carbohydrate you're eating.

The College Carb Trap

When you're suddenly away from home, it's easy to indulge in lots of sugary and starchy foods, both because they are "fun foods" and also because they are often convenient. For a late-night study break, you could find yourself hitting the vending machine for a snack. In the morning, those bagels are an easy thing to grab on the way to class. There are unlimited desserts in the cafeteria, and the snack bar is stocked mostly with muffins and cookies. These refined carbs can really pile on the weight at an alarming rate. Especially when trying to establish new routines, you may easily fall into bad habits which can be harder to change later on.

On the other hand, my daughter, a college freshman at this writing, tells me that she thinks it can be easier in some ways to follow a special diet at college, because a relatively large selection of foods is available and already prepared for you. If you make wise choices, you can avoid the College Carb Trap.

New Choices in the Cafeteria

When I was in college 35 years ago, the choices in the cafeteria often weren't all that varied, let alone appetizing. More recently, I've had the opportunity to visit the cafeterias in 10-12 colleges in the U.S. On the negative side, there is more of a presence of fast-food outlets oncollege campuses. On the other hand, I'm happy to report that on most campuses there are many positive trends. There is more of an emphasis on fresh fruits and vegetables, and less processed food in general on many campuses. Also, there is a trend of breaking foods down into components so you can mix and match to your liking. For example:

Salad Bars - Almost every cafeteria has them now, with more and more choices. Stay away from the potato and macaroni salads, and go for a rainbow of fresh vegetables and lots of greens. Tip: Many low-fat and fat-free dressings are loaded with sugar - often over a teaspoon for sugar in every tablespoon of dressing! You can ask one of the people in the cafeteria for information on which dressings have less sugar. Or, even better, just use olive oilwith lemon or vinegar and salt and pepper. Some oil on your salad is a good thing, as it turns out that some oil on your salad will help your body absorb many of the nutrients. If you want a "light" salad, toss it with an oil-based dressing (instead of just dumping dressing on the top) and you'll find it doesn't take much to coat the leaves. On the other hand, when cutting carbs you'll want to be increasing your fat intake somewhat, and salads are a good place to do this. More on Healthy Salad Dressings

Stir Fry Bars - This is perhaps the most exciting recent development for students who are watching their carbs. In these set-ups you can choose which proteins and vegetables you want to combine. Some cafeterias let you cook it yourself, while in others the staff will cook it for you. This Low-Carb Vegetable List can help you choose.

Pasta Bars - If there's no stir-fry bar, there might be a pasta bar, where you can choose what to put on pasta. The good news is, you can choose to have those things NOT on pasta! Or, if you can't bear to imagine life with no pasta, ask for a small amount of whole wheat pasta.

Six General Rules for College Eating

If you follow these guidelines, you will greatly reduce your intake of problematic foods. Of course, if you are following a specific low-carb diet plan such as Atkins or South Beach you'll want to follow the rules of that plan.

1. Focus on the basics: protein, vegetables, and some fruit. If you make sure you are getting enough of these foods, it will make it much easier to avoid the sundae bar.

2. Foods to avoid: basically, sugary and starchy foods: desserts, candy, sweetened beverages, breads, potatoes, rice, pasta, cereal, etc. Check out my Low-Carb Food Pyramidfor more help.

3. Don't be afraid of fat. With all the low-fat and fat-free versions of foods prevalent today, this can be a challenge at times. Look for foods such as avocado, olives and olive oil, nuts, peanut butter, and, yes, even butter. As Dr. Richard Feinman, an expert in nutrition and biochemistry, states, "The deleterious effects of fat have been measured in the presence of high carbohydrate. A high-fat diet in the presenceof high carbohydrate is different than a high-fat diet in the presence of low carbohydrate." In other words, if you watch your carbs, don't worry about eating more fat.

4. Get a small refrigerator for your room. A refrigerator, as well as a few well-chosen staples, can be an enormous help in staying away from the chips and pizza. For example, if you keep a jar of mayonnaise and some lettuce in your fridge you can make tuna salad and wrap it in lettuce.

Flax seed meal is a great food to keep in your fridge. Put some in a small zip-type bag, and then at the cafeteria you can put it in a bowl and add hot water, and some peanut butter (if it's too goopy, just add more water). Or add it to plain yogurt with some nuts and fruit.

Check this Low-Carb Snack List for more ideas of food to keep in your room.

5. Use the kitchen if available. If you can prepare simple foods such as hard-boiled eggs orlow-carb pizza, you can greatly expand your food choices.

6. Be extra-careful about beverages. Almost all of the "healthy" beverages sold these days have a lot of sugar in them, so read labels carefully. Also, bottled sugary cocktails are popular these days. If you are going to drink alcoholic beverages, get familiar with the carbs in them.

In addition, if you are new to low-carb eating, you'll want to get support. Sign up for our newsletter and join us in our Low-Carb Forum. That way you'll always have someone to turn to with questions or help with the special challenges that college can bring. And above all else, have a great and healthy semester!

Guilt Free Pasta the Whole Family will Enjoy!

This pasta will change the way you see spaghetti! This recipe is for tomato & basil pasta but don't be afraid to experiment with your own sauces or just stick to traditional sauces. We hope you enjoy this recipe! We sure do! We even picked the microwave version to make your life easier and feed you and your family faster, aren't we sweet?

Microwave Spaghetti Squash with Tomatoes & Basil

By SteamyKitchen / 22 comments »

If you ask Nathan what his most favorite recipe to cook is, he’ll tell you, “p’skeddi squash and steak!” He’s taken quite a liking to p’skeddi squash, and we’ve never tried to correct his pronunciation ofspaghetti squash, it’s just too darn cute! Though I can imagine one day, when he’s older and cooking a romantic meal for a special gal, calling it p’skeddi may ruin his chances of a second date.

Due to a little goof while gardening with 35 seed packets and 2 over-zealous kids, we planted 12 spaghetti squash plants in the garden, enough to supply our entire zip code with spaghetti squash for life.

Thankfully, the chickens have a taste for the leaves and the happy-yellow flowers – and we haven’t stopped them from consuming most of the spaghetti squash plants, so now we’re left with 3 plants, one of which is barely hanging on.

The hens are my heroes!

microwaving the spaghetti squash

The fastest way to cook the spaghetti squash is to microwave it! If microwaving a solid, heavy squash intimidates you a bit, you can also bake the spaghetti squash in the oven, which takes an hour to do, but is just as easy.

You’ll take a sharp paring knife and carefully, very carefully, pierce the squash in several places all over. It’s a hard squash, so it takes a bit of effort to do this. I guess a better instruction would be to say STAB the squash. But do this carefully, k?! The squash is a round, rolly, hard object.

Microwave on high for 10-12 minutes, rotating the squash halfway during cooking.

After cooking, just let the squash sit there for a few minutes to cool down a bit. Put on some oven gloves and remove the hot squash.

I highly suggest a thick towel or oven gloves – remember you stabbed the squash? Well inside the squash is steaming hot squash and some liquid which may leak through the stab marks.

I use these Pit Mitts – okay, so I look like a dork, but they are amazing – soft gloves that actually fit my hand with rubber grippy grip lines all over. I highly recommend them as I’m not a fan of those traditional oven mitts that make you feel like you’re cooking with Barney the annoying purple dinosaur hands.

The squash should cut open very easily, with no resistance. If not, return it back to microwave and let it go for another couple of minutes.

Once you cut it open, it should look like this. Remove the seeds. If you’re only cooking for a small family, just use half the spaghetti squash, and save the other half for another recipe (see end of post for links to other great spaghetti squash recipes)

Use two fork to scrape out the strands of spaghetti squash. Try a piece of squash – if you feel like it needs to be cooked a little more, don’t worry – we’ll be saute’ing in a pan and you can cook the squash further in the pan. Just make a mental note that you’ll need to add a couple minutes of cooking time in the pan.

Okay, now it’s time to saute the rest of the ingredients – fresh basil, garlic and tomatoes.

Add in the spaghetti squash, toss with tongs. Season with salt, pepper and balsamic vinegar.

Throw in the cheese! Toss again.

Serve right away!

spaghetti squash with tomatoes and basil recipe

Servings: 8-10 Prep Time:8 minutes Cook Time:15 minutes

If you're only feeding 4-6 people, I suggest cooking the spaghetti squash whole, then only using half of the squash when you're ready to saute with the tomatoes.

I like my spaghetti squash not too hard, not too soft. It shouldn't be mushy, you should be able to still separate the strands of squash.

ingredients:

1 spaghetti squash1 tablespoon olive oil4 cloves garlic, minced2 tomatoes, choppedfew basil leaves, choppedsalt and pepper1 teaspoon balsamic vinegar1/4 cup grated pecorino or parmesan cheese

directions:

1. Using a sharp paring knife, carefully pierce (I really mean stab) the spaghetti squash in a few places (about 6 slashes is good). Microwave on high for 10-12 minutes, turning/rotating the squash halfway during cooking. A fork should very easily pierce through the squash, if there is resistance - microwave for an additional 1-2 minutes.

2. Let squash cool for a few minutes before handling. Carefully (the squash will be steaming hot!), use a chef's knife to cut the squash in half, lengthwise. The squash should be soft and easy to cut. Remove and discard the seeds. Use two forks to scrape apart the strands of the squash. Compost or discard the skin.

3. Heat a large saute pan over medium heat with the olive oil. Add in the garlic and cook for 1 minute. Add in the tomatoes and basil and cook for 2 minutes. Turn heat to medium-high and add in the spaghetti squash and toss. Season with salt and pepper and drizzle in the balsamic vinegar. Taste the squash - adjust seasoning and if the squash still needs a bit more time to cook through, cover and cook for 2 minutes. If the squash texture is perfect, toss in the grated cheese and serve immediately.

http://steamykitchen.com/19385-microwave-spaghetti-squash-with-tomatoes-and-basil.html

Guilt Free Pizza the Whole Family will Enjoy!

Great for back to school! The kids want pizza and you're thinking not only about the price but also of the negative health benefits of feeding it to them, but it's so easy... what do you do? We have the perfect solution! Don't worry, everyone will enjoy the taste.

We know what you are thinking, "Pizza! How is pizza a guilt-free, healthy recipe?!" Well, we promise this recipe is, so read on! 

The crust is made out of cauliflower and egg, so not only does it sneak some veggies and protein into you and your family but it also tastes amazing! Follow this link to get the full recipe, please let us know what you think! 

cauliflower crust pizza

I topped mine Hawaiian style. This entire thing is incredibly simple to make!

Just use a cheese grater to “grate” your cauliflower into very small pieces. You can grate a whole large head of cauliflower and make two 9-inch pizzas.

Microwave those cauliflower crumbles for 8 minutes. No water or anything needed. Just microwave it for 8 minutes to soften it up, and then let it cool a little bit.  See the recipe below for how to proceed if you do not have a microwave.

Mix 1 1/2 cups of the cauliflower crumbles with egg, cheese and spices. (I used mozzarella, but imagine using different varieties of cheeses in the crust! Yum!)

Shape it into a 9 to 12-inch round. Bake the crust. Top it with desired sauce and toppings.

I went so simple and just used Classico Tomato- Basil marinara sauce, mozzarella cheese, Canadian bacon and pineapple (our favorite).

All that happens next is just a quick broil in the oven to melt the cheese and heat the toppings.

That is all!  The pizza can be cut into 6 slices.  You’ll probably want to eat two slices.  Each slice is 151 calories and 4 Weight Watcher’s Points Plus.  And if you’re watching your carb intake, each slice has 9.2g carbs. In the recipe below- I also include nutritional info for just the crust (in case you’d like to create your own toppings).

I was able to make two pizzas from one large head of cauliflower.  My husband, my 10 year old and I all really liked the pizza and agreed that you can’t tell at all that the crust is made out of cauliflower.  It doesn’t taste like “real” pizza crust, but it doesn’t have the flavor or texture of cauliflower either.  You’ll have to try it out for yourself and let me know what you think!  Thanks so much to Beth and her Cauliflower Pizza Crust post for inspiring me to make this myself and share it with my readers!

Other pizza topping ideas:
Marinara or pizza sauce with your favorite toppings
Pesto with thin sliced tomato and fresh mozzarella
Alfredo with sausage, mushrooms, Provolone & Asiago cheese
Barbecue sauce with shredded chicken, green onions and smoked gouda

How do you like to top your pizza?

 print recipe
 save recipe

cauliflower crust hawaiian pizza

Yield: One 9 to 12-inch pizza (feeds 2 to 3 people)

Prep Time: 25 min

Cook Time: 18 min

Ingredients:

CRUST:
1/2 LARGE head cauliflower (or 2+ cups shredded cauliflower)
1 large egg
1 cup finely shredded mozzarella cheese (or try another kind!)
1 teaspoon dried oregano
1/2 teaspoon dried minced garlic (or fresh garlic)
1/2 teaspoon onion salt

TOPPINGS:
1/2 cup tomato-basil marinara sauce (or pizza sauce)
1/2 cup finely shredded mozzarella cheese
3 slices Canadian bacon, cut into strips
1/2 cup pineapple tidbits

Directions:

1. Shred the cauliflower into small crumbles. You can use the food processor if you'd like, but you just want crumbles, not puree. You'll need a total of about 2 cups or so of cauliflower crumbles (which is about half a large head of cauliflower. Place the cauliflower crumbles in a large bowl and microwave them (dry) for 8 minutes (see Tips below if you do not have a microwave). Give the cauliflower a chance to cool.

2. Prepare the crust: Preheat the oven to 450 degrees F. Spray a cookie sheet or pizza pan with nonstick spray (or use a nonstick surface). In a medium bowl, mix the cauliflower crumbles (about 1 1/2 cups since they shrink after cooking) with the remaining crust ingredients. Pat the "crust" into a 9 to 12-inch round on the prepared pan. Spray the crust lightly with nonstick spray and bake for 15 minutes (or until golden). Remove the crust from the oven and turn the heat up to broil.

3. Prepare the pizza: Spread the sauce on top of the baked crust, leaving a 1/2-inch border around the edge. Sprinkle 1/4 cup cheese on top. Add the bacon and pineapple, spreading it out around the pizza. Sprinkle the remaining cheese on top. Broil the pizza 3 to 4 minutes, or until the toppings are hot and the cheese is melted and bubbly. Cut into 6 slices and serve immediately.

Tips:

From Eat, Drink, Smile (tip from Beth): For those who don’ t have a microwave: You can steam the florets just until they are tender (not mushy) on the stove and then let them cool before grating them. The texture/consistency won’t be the same (It will be more like a puree) but it still works fine once you mix all the ingredients together.

*Other topping ideas:
Marinara or pizza sauce with your favorite toppings
Pesto with thin sliced tomato and fresh mozzarella
Alfredo with sausage, mushrooms, Provolone & Asiago cheese
Barbecue sauce with shredded chicken, green onions and smoked gouda
*This pizza is best served on a plate with a fork.

Nutritional Information per serving FOR THE WHOLE PIZZA- per slice:
Serving size: 1 slice
Calories per serving: 151
Fat per serving: 7.2g
Saturated Fat per serving: 4.1g
Sugar per serving: 3g
Fiber per serving: 2.2g
Protein per serving: 12.6g
Cholesterol per serving: 53mg
Carbohydrates per serving: 9.2g

WW POINTS per serving:
Points Plus Program: 4 Old Points Program: 3

Nutritional info per serving for JUST THE CRUST- per slice (if you want to do your own toppings):
Serving Size: 1 slice (pizza cut into 6 slices)
Calories 84, Fat 4.3g, Sat Fat 2.6g, Cholesterol 40.8mg, Sodium 166mg, Carbohydrates 4.6g, Fiber 1.9g, Sugar 0g, Protein 7.1g
WW Points Plus: 2 Old Points Program: 2

Source: RecipeGirl.com (inspired by and adapted from Eat, Drink Smile)

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Want to join our COR-mmunity and Save 70% at the same time?! 

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f you also share the deal on Facebook, Twitter, Email or another accepted sharing form, you can get a discounted monthly rate of only $25 a month instead of $39 for the year! 

Follow this link, Save money, Get Healthy!