Chocolate Chip Oatmeal Banana Pancakes

by

www.minimalistbaker.com

www.minimalistbaker.com

Since Aphrodite is featuring foods that are mostly Vegan , this is a great way to start your day off right and for the entire recipe go to:

http://minimalistbaker.com/chocolate-chip-oatmeal-cookie-pancakes/

High Protein Breakfast Cookies

by

MyWholeFoodLife.com

to find the rest of the recipe go to :

www.MyWholeFoodLife.com

]]> http://fitaphrodite.com/high-protein-breakfast-cookies/feed/ 0 http://fitaphrodite.com/kids-fitness-by-craig-nielson/ http://fitaphrodite.com/kids-fitness-by-craig-nielson/#comments Sat, 15 Jun 2013 22:33:38 +0000 Editor http://fitaphrodite.com/?p=2923

Happy, Healthy Kids

photo by www.123rf.com

The greatest influence in your child’s life is you.  With that in mind the old clichés ring true, a chip off the ole block and the apple doesn’t fall far from the tree.  To place your children on a path to happiness and health it is important to understand that what you model for them as well as where you lead them is crucial to their development.

About food

Your relationship with food and the way you communicate with your children about healthy eating will greatly affect your children’s eating habits.  For example, I once worked with a woman who’s mother continuously battled with weight issues.  She remembered how her mother would routinely tell her “don’t eat that, you’ll get fat.”  For her at a young age this created a fear based relationship with food.  Later she developed an eating disorder during her teenage years by becoming rebellious.  She would secretly eat whatever she wanted and then throw it up.  This way she was able to overindulge in the foods she was always told not to eat and avoid the weight gain.

It is important to note that her mother’s intentions were good.  She simply did not want her daughter to become overweight.  Her mother just failed to offer her an alternative for eating healthy and did not talk positively about food.

Begin talking positively about food with your child early.  For example, tell them it is important for us to make healthy choices about what we eat because healthy foods give our bodies good energy and we want good energy in our bodies so we can do all the fun things we like to do.

Your children will eat what you eat when you give them choices and boundaries. For instance, “you can have pees or carrots with dinner, which would you prefer.”  Giving them a choice gives them a sense of empowerment because it gives them a voice.  Stick to what was agreed to and that is what will be served.

If your child comes back with “I don’t like it”, respond with “OK, you don’t like it, however you made the choice in what you wanted.  You don’t have to eat it if you don’t want to, but if you are hungry, this is all that we are having tonight.”  Don’t yell or get upset, again this is about giving them a choice.  If they chose not to eat, they will not starve overnight.

If your child demands something else and throws a tantrum, let them, and stick to what you agreed to.  Tell them you know they are upset, and they can get upset all they want but you are not changing your mind.  Remain calm and don’t yell.  This is where they will begin to learn where the boundaries are.  The minute you give in to their demands, they have moved the boundary.  They now know what works.  I don’t like what is for dinner, I refuse and get mad, then I get what I want.  You are the parent, you decide.

Exercise

Consider getting your child involved with an organization that promotes fitness. Girls on the Run is one example of a great choice for girls.  Along with fitness they teach skills for goal setting and building positive self-esteem.  For more information visit www.girlsontherun.org

Boy Scouts of America is a great choice for boys. The scouts promote fitness and teach skills in leadership and citizenship.  There is even a merit badge for fitness.  For more information visit www.scouting.org

Help your child discover ways they like to get moving.  Is it running, biking, swimming, dancing, gymnastics, martial arts?  Go explore with them.  Hiking can be made fun by making it an adventure.  Make it a treasure hunt by going geocaching.  Visit www.geocaching.com for more information.

Many gyms now offer programs for kids.  Check out the programs in your area.  Take your child to the gym with you.  I believe you will find more than anything, your child wants to spend time with you.  Do what you can to make it quality time.

Use these tips to get your child on a path towards positive, healthy living.

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My Summer Makeup Tips & Products

by Tina Mokuau

The Makeup Artist

My Favorite Summer Products & Tips
It’s finally hot! Seriously HOT! Today here in Reno the temperature is
gonna reach 99 degrees and depending where you are on this sweet
earth it may be even hotter. So, have you given any thought to
adjusting your beauty routine to work better with warm weather?
Here are a few products and tips that can help you stay beautiful,
instead of looking like a wilted flower.
First off, let’s start with the amazing Anti-Shine Mattifying Gel by Eve
Pearl. It comes in 2 color choices, Fair/Light/Med or Tan/Dark/Deep. I
love this product because it helps control the shine that warm
weather brings. If you’ve ever been out and about town and caught a
glimpse of your shiny nose then you know exactly what I mean!! Use
this product after moisturizer but before your foundation. (pictured
on the left)
Next up is another sun worshippers must have – Physicians Formula
Healthy Wear SPF 50 Tinted Moisturizer – Delivers maximum SPF 50
broad spectrum UVA/UVB protection while providing sheer and
natural-looking color. SPF 50 protection without residue or
greasiness. (pictured at top) you’ll want to replace your regular
foundation with this.
Last and oh so fantastic, is a huge fave of mine! Amazon Bronze -
Amazonian Clay and Annatto Body Bronzer by Tarte. If your In need
of a quick and easy way to add some color to your face and body, this
is the ticket!! No need to freak out when you put on those shorts and
see your white legs in the mirror, a few swipes of this lovely product
and you’ll be on your way out the door!! (pictured on the right)
Hope you enjoyed these quickies, now go enjoy the great weather!Feel
free to contact me on my Facebook page – https://www.facebook.com/
tinamokuaumakeupartist with any makeup and beauty questions!

Dressing your Curves

by Larissa Thornton

]]> http://fitaphrodite.com/dressing-your-curves/feed/ 0 http://fitaphrodite.com/aphrodite-june-2013-nicole-cook-photography/ http://fitaphrodite.com/aphrodite-june-2013-nicole-cook-photography/#comments Wed, 12 Jun 2013 04:34:09 +0000 Editor http://fitaphrodite.com/?p=2886

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What’s So Great about the Vegan Lifestyle?

by Lindzie St. Martin

I must admit if you’d have asked me, even just a year ago, if I’d ever consider the Vegan lifestyle, my answer would have definitely been, “No way!”  I was conditioned with the mentality that something was missing in a recipe if there wasn’t any meat or eggs with it.  Even though for a short time in my twenties, I flirted with the idea of incorporating more vegetarian meals into my regimen.  Not for any other reason than to develop a better relationship with vegetables, AND of course, find what I thought might be part of the secret formula to losing weig

Vegan

ht. . . My intrigue was very short lived!

This year has shed some new light for me on the concepts and philosophy behind a TRUE “plant based diet”.  Through the last few years, my love and passion for ultimate health and well-being has heightened quite a bit, and with my drive to constantly find new inspiration in the kitchen, I’ve found myself attracted to several vegan blog sites.  When I came across veganblogger.com, everything started to make sense.  Originally I was searching these blogs for no other reason than to find alternatives for cooking without eggs.  Suddenly my eyes had been opened — this is a much deeper philosophy for many vegans, more than just not liking animal products, or avoiding them solely for weight loss.

To the true Vegan, it is a lifestyle!  This isn’t just about avoiding meat and dairy.  If that were the case, people could call themselves vegan while they run around with a bag of potato chips and a smoothie.  This lifestyle of eating  is driven by the desire for optimal health and the freedom from disease.  And for many, it is for much deeper ethical reasons — A passion and love for animals, and a refusal to contribute to the inhumane treatment for mass production.  As I’ve researched deeper for myself, the reasons have become very clear, and I discovered that not all vegans are created equal.  So, without much experience in this area myself, I decided to gather some feedback. . .

I asked a young lady named April, to share a bit about her Vegan lifestyle with me.  She is twenty-eight years old, and has a Master’s Degree in Public Health, and works as a Wellness Coordinator at an employee health center for a major tech company.  After sixteen years as a vegetarian, she recently decided to eliminate the last few animal products, like cheese, from her diet.  Here is her story:

“I became vegetarian sixteen years ago, after I watched a video in the seventh grade on how animals were raised for meat.  I was disgusted and saddened by what I saw, so I vowed to stop eating it.  I did so successfully for many years, and about three years ago became disgusted again with the concept of drinking milk from an animal or eating an animal’s unfertilized egg.  I had read, ‘Vegan:  The New Ethics of Eating‘, which compelled me to start flirting with Veganism.  So, I went on to read, ‘Veganist‘ and ‘Skinny Bitch’.  I had always thought it was so extreme, and something only extreme people did, but the more I read and learned, the more I felt I needed to see if it was possible.

My sister and I started with a week of Vegan eating.  We prepped a little and planned meals, so the week went well and we felt pretty proud!  That week was preparation to see if we could do a full 30 days.  We planned for the month as well, and used each other as motivation, and someone to check in with and share recipes.  We successfully completed the month, and I began thinking it would be much easier than I thought to live on a plant based diet.  I also noticed that by only eating vegan foods, I had stopped eating many of the foods and snacks, that were less healthy, I had eaten either daily or from time to time before.  I still occasionally went back to some of my favorite foods with cheese (it was essentially the only animal product I was eating) but definitely began to feel GI issues, as well as feeling not super proud of the food I had eaten, for health and ethical reasons.  Then I read ‘The China Study’, a book a physician I work with shared with me, about the greatest study on nutrition ever.  It shows strong correlations between the increase in initiation and growth of cancer in rats who consume casein (milk protein),  and decreases in cancer growth for those who ate a diet with less than 5% casein (far less than the typical American).

I don’t see any difference in the dogs we have as pets compared to cows or pigs.  I have also learned how significantly the production of animals for meat and dairy harms our planet.  It is unbelievable all of the unintentional consequences that come from raising, breeding, milking, and consuming these animals.

As for eating a healthy diet, if you eat a variety of fruits, vegetables, whole grains, lentils and nuts, you can get all of the protein, fiber, and fats necessary to be healthy and feel well.  I have never not felt great eating this way!

And lastly I would say, it’s great being Vegan because you are eating the best foods for your body for optimal health, you are respecting animals and not contributing to the grossly inhumane treatment they receive, and you are eating a diet that contributes far less to global warming, and will help sustain our world resources for ourselves and our children and their children.”

As you should realize now, Veganism is much more than just deciding not to eat meat and dairy.  This is an ethical way of life, and one that can bring you to the source of some of the most nutrient dense foods on the planet.  Furthermore, is has been brought to my own understanding , that not all vegans arrive at Veganism for the same reasons.

So, what about you?  Have you had some curiosity. . . tired of feeling just not right?  Perhaps you’re frustrated, like many others, with the industry of animal production, and feeling like you want to see a change.  So if you have the same questions I believe most of us have in the early stages of considering a new philosophy of eating — “Where do I begin?” — There is a wealth of information to help you consider if Veganism is for you, and an abundance of bloggers who can guide you through the healthiest way to live on a plant based diet, while they share amazing recipes to inspire you.  Like April’s story, read a few books and decide where your passion lies.  Find some great recipes and make a plan, and perhaps find yourself an accountability buddy who’ll try this new lifestyle along with you.  You’ll discover new fruits, vegetables, roots, sprouts, herbs, grains, nuts and seeds of every variety, as well as bringing an abundance of optimal  wellness to your life.  The sky is the limit, and to the dedicated vegan, it’s simply ALL of this that makes the Vegan lifestyle so great!

Beige, brown, fair skin, olive tones, red undertones, are just some of the categories some of us fall into when it comes to make-up. However what do you do when you find yourself in more than one of these? When you are a mixed individual and it’s not so simple to find what works for you. All skin tones are not created equal so if you find yourself like many,we have found brands that work well.

The Good, the OK and the Ugly

The Good

Bare Minerals- Bare Minerals have a great starter kit which includes fair, light, medium, dark, and deep. Their site includes a self assessment and guide to help you create which foundation works best for your skin type. The starter kit gives you TWO foundation shades in case one does not fit your skin tone, or to alternate with the seasons when you tan or winter months when your skin becomes paler.  Lipcolor blushes and eye shadows are very unique and cover a range of colors that flatter different skin colours. Their color combinations are perfectly matched for everyday wear to a night on the town.

photo courtesy of Bareescentuals.com

Becca Cosmetics

On Becca’s website it is stated that their cosmetics are created to be layered, mixed and blended. These combinations make a great foundation for women who have trouble narrowing down to one foundation. The shimmer eye shadow is fan favorite which really brings out eye colors from brown to green. 

photo courtesy of Beccacosmetics.com

The OK

MAC- MAC has great assortment of foundations that range in a variety colors. These foundations can also be blended to create the perfect skin match. MAC consultants are also available to help assist and provide tutorials for all their products. However some complaints have been MAC makeup is too thick and creates more a mask feeling. MAC eye colors carry the brand along with the lip color. MAC carries a wide selection of vibrant and rich colors. Their eye shadow is highly pigmented and applies evenly. 

photo courtesy of MAC Cosmetics.com

The Ugly

Covergirl- everything is not so easy breezy Ms. Covergirl. While Covergirl tried to reach out and create such lines as the Queen with endorsement with Queen Latifah; they never figured out the source of their problem, the undertones. They have been found to have too much red or warm undertones which creates a more pinkish or orange appearance. The other products such as blush and eye shadow are a little better however seems to not last the day and needs to be reapplied more. 

photo courtesy of Cover Girl Cosmetics.com

Rimmel-  Rimmel only really has 3 different foundation colors which does not work at all. They also have the problem with the orange undertones which make your face look more like a character from Charlie and the Chocolate Factory.  Their eye makeup is very chalky and smears  very easily. This make-up appears also cakey and does not apply smooth. It is fine if your day job is at Ringling Bros but most of us do not work for a circus.

photo courtesy of Rimmel Cosmetics.com

photo courtesy of www.123rf.com

We’re Better Together

by Chip Schrager

So you and your significant other have decided to take the plunge, decided to push all your chips to the center of the table, decided to…work out together! Mazel Tov!  You like running and biking. He likes basketball and lifting. You hate basketball and lifting and the last time he ran was after eating a questionable taco…so what do you do? You have to find a middle ground or else you’re going to both get frustrated and walk away from the entire deal.

Clearly there is at least one way to work up a sweat and burn calories that you both probably enjoy and by all means you should continue to enjoy that as frequently and vigorously as possible. It’s good for your heart, head and muscles. But what else can you do?  Try some of these activities:

• Doubles tennis is a fun way of meeting both his need for competition and your desire to run around. It’s also something you can do with friends and build regular group outings around.

• Rock climbing is very strenuous, great for building lean muscle in your arms and legs and, assuming you’re both starting out, you can design a vacation around it. Start training this summer and by December you’ll be ready to take a mountain climbing vacation together. Just please – get professional training.

•  Take some dance classes. Oh I hear the snickering, but seriously, some of those dances are as aerobic as spin could ever be. And again, it’s another fantastic way to meet other couples.

•  Skiing is fantastic, builds up the legs and is more of a work out than you would think. It’s not always great for conversation, but it is something you can do together.

The answer is that there are tons upon tons of fun activities that you and your partner can do together to get in shape and bring your relationship closer together. The key is finding the ones that work for you as a couple. As always, the morale is that if you’re having fun doing something you’ll probably get more out of it than if you think of it as a chore.