Just in time for Halloween I found this great post over at PinkLemonadeLife.com. 5 Healthy Snack ideas great for any Halloween get together.

Healthy Halloween Treats

Black Bean Cat Crudite´s
No bones about it, this kitty skeleton makes a healthy centerpiece for Halloween parties or school gatherings. Just arrange assorted fresh vegetables and a bowl of your favorite black bean dip in the shape of a spooky cat.

Edible Eyeballs
Set out a platter of these creepy peepers, and your party guests are bound to do a double take. Simply slice carrots into 1-inch-thick chunks, top each with a blob of cream cheese and one half of a pitted black olives, and they’re ready to serve.

Salty Bones
It wouldn’t be Halloween without a skeleton—in this case, one that’s been disassembled into a pile of tasty bones to pick. Unroll a tube of refrigerated breadsticks we used an 11-ounce tube to make 12 bones) and separate the rectangular pieces. Working with one piece at a time, stretch the dough to lengthen it a bit and then use kitchen scissors or a knife to cut a 1K-inch slit in the center of each end. Shape the resulting four flaps of dough into knobs that look like the ends of a bone. Place the dough bones on an ungreased baking sheet, spacing them a few inches apart, and sprinkle on a little coarse salt. Bake the bones at 375° until they are light golden brown, about 12 minutes.

English Mummies
These yummy mummy pizzas make a quick and fun Halloween lunch or dinner. To create one, first spread a tablespoon of pizza sauce onto half of an English muffin (toast it first, if you like). Set olive slices in place for eyes and add round slices of green onion or bits of red or green pepper for pupils. Lay strips of cheese (we used a pulled-apart cheese stick) across the muffin for the mummy’s wrappings. Bake at 350° until the cheese is melted and the muffin is toasty, about 10 minutes.

Pumpkin Roll-Ups
Here’s a wholesome snack to serve before the kids head out to trick-or-treat. Lay American cheese slices or spread cream cheese on sun-dried-tomato tortillas, then roll them up and cut them into 1-inch sections. Use a toothpick to secure each roll-up, topped with a sprig of cilantro or parsley.

Melon Brain
Created from nothing more than a small, round seedless watermelon, this spooky cerebral creation is bound to turn heads. First, use a vegetable peeler to remove the entire green rind, exposing the inner white rind. Then slice off the bottom of the melon to make a flat base that will keep it from rolling. With a toothpick, outline squiggly furrows that resemble the folded surface of a brain. Finally, carve narrow channels along the tracings with a sharp paring knife (a parent’s job) to expose the pink fruit beneath the rind.

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It’s been a few weeks since I did a magazine round-up but I couldn’t let October go by without taking a look at some of the great articles for Breast Cancer awareness month.

Fighting Breast Cancer (Essence, October 2009, p.125)

Essence has a compelling 4 and half page feature on living with and fighting breast cancer. Told through the stories of actual Breast Cancer survivors Essence gives you insight on what to do if you’re diagnosed, coping with recovery, and of course prevent and detection. There’s even a very informative section on reading the Pathology Report

Breast Health Handbook: The Cancer Fighting Foods (Shape October 2009, p.20)

Shape has a full page mini magazine with a variety of articles related to Breast Caner, one of the most interesting one is the Cancer Fighting Superfoods. Shape shows you the 6 foods that researchers have found may have vitamins and minerals that protect the body and prevent cancer. Each food is also shown with a mini recipe to help you start incorporating it into your diet.

The Truth about Stress and Cancer (Self, October 2009, p.118)

Like Shape, Self has also dedicated a fully mini mag to Breast Cancer for the month of October. One article in particular connects Stress and it’s effects on Cancer patients. We talk a lot about stress and weight but it interesting to read it’s effect on other aspects of your health.

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After completing my post a few weeks ago Don’t Let Travel Bring your Works Down, I started to here a lot of buzz about Bodyweight Workouts.

Bodyweight workouts are routines that require no equipment and the resistance is based purely on the weight of your body. These workouts seem to be growing in popularity due to the Recession and people cutting back on extras like gym memberships. Body weight workouts are perfect for home even if you have limited space, which also makes them great for travel routines  we discussed a few weeks ago they are perfect for travel.

I found a few videos from our friends at www.diet.com of a great bodyweight workout and if you want to up the intensity try the advanced bodyweight workout. Enjoy!!!!

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It’s Fall again and a perfect time to take the kids apple picking on the weekend. Bundle up and enjoy a nice hay ride, watch the leaves change, sip some cider, and pick apples til the hearts content.

But what do you with all of those delicious apples after you’ve spent a day of picking? Well, to help you stay away from the high calorie homemade apples pies and the sugary jams I’ve found these great recipes o help you rid your house of those apples with out letting your diet fall with the leaves.

Try one or all and tell me what you think:

• Apple Cinnamon Raisin Oatmeal
• Chicken Breasts with Curried Apple Stuffing
• Autumn Apple, Pear, and Cheddar Salad with Pecans
• Chicken Thighs with Roasted Apples and Garlic
• Low Fat Low Cal Apple Turnover (only 50 cal)

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I was surfing through blogs last week and I ran into this post about travel conflicting with weightloss , the author describes how frequent travel for work has become a constant road block in her weight loss journey. This brought me back to my days as frequent traveler in a previous job I was traveling at least 1-2 times a month. Sometimes I would be lucky enough to go to a major city like Philadelphia or Las Vegas but more often I was in more remote areas like Wisconsin. Either way over the time I developed a few strategies to help keep up my fitness regimen and reading her post inspired me to share them here on the guide.

• There are plenty of great fitness podcast available for free on ITunes. Download work out Podcast to your IPod
• YouTube is another great source for free workouts. Create a favorites list of workout videos on YouTube. Check out the Fitness category here on GreedyGirlsGuide.com for a few of my favorite picks
• Pack lightweight equipment like jump rope, resistance bands, water inflatable weights, etc.
• Try to pick hotels with a gym preferable with early and/or late hours so no matter what time you’re working and having co-worker dinners you can commit to at least 30 mins. I find the mornings are the best time so it’s out of the way; the hotels are usually close to the job site so I still wake up at my regular time and I replace what would be my commute time with a workout.
• Purchase a few workout DVD’s and play them on your laptop. Most travel assignments require you to take a laptop, so while hotels rooms don’t usually have DVD players when all else fails you can play your DVD on the laptop.
• Check your destinations weather before you go if it’s going to be nice pack your sneakers and ask the hotel desk staff for good area to go for a brisk run or walk close to the hotel. Use a site like mapmyrun.com to help you map out a good route to ensure you get your full workout.
• When you are joining a gym look into a chain gym like Balleys or Lucille Roberts that allows you to use other branches, and when you travel research where is the nearest location.
• Check on-line for great workouts like this one http://exercise.about.com/library/bltravelworkout.htm or try diet.com’s Workout Builder to make your own.

Technorati Tags: destination, exercise on the go, exercise routine, fitness on the go, hotel gym, hotel room exercise, hotel room workout, jump rope, podcast, resistance band, workout when traveling

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