healthy living recipes fitness

Staying Healthy During Exam Time

Easy, Healthy Snacks

Issue 2 April 2012

An interview with CHOCOLATE-COVERED

Food-Blogger

KATIE

to get on Campus!

Men’s HEALTH

a letter from the editor... Hello, Western! Welcome to our second issue of Refresh Western, Western’s healthy living Magazine. Exam time is just around the corner so we put together some easy tips to stay healthy during this stressful time of the year. As tough as studying can get, your health should come first because maintaining healthy eating and exercise habits will not only make you feel better, but also help you do better on your exams. Try out some of the awesome healthy living tips put together by students for students so you too can keep your body healthy and refreshed!

CONTRIBUTORSEditor in Chief: Inna YasinskaCopy Editor: Steph Taylor

Articles and Recipes: Steph Taylor, Becca Lewis, Taylor Garbett, Inna Yasinska, Chelsea Brooks, Jes-sica Habib, Gabriel Fillion, Celina Radoi

Want to be apart of the team?Have something to contribute?please email refreshwestern@

gmail.comor Check us out on Facebook for some daily

healthy living tips & tricks! “Refresh Western: Western’s Healthy Living Magazine”

Feedback & Comments always welcome!

- Inna. Y

EAT THIS, NOT THAT!EXAM EDITION

Homemade BananaICECREAM

simply freeze two peeled bananas in a Ziploc bag, and blend them in a food processor the next day. In-stant ice cream; no ice cream maker required!Add in a tbsp of cocoa pow-

der, a few chocolate chips, or even a tbsp of peanut butter to alter the flavor.

VS

Haagen-Dazs BANANA SPLIT

With corn syrup and pectin (a food additive) listed twice on the ingredients list, you are ingesting a lot

of extra chemi-cals.

Roasted Cinnamon & Sugar Chickpeas VS

take 1 can of chickpeas, drain it, and place them on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper. Put them in the oven at 450 F for 30 minutes or until desired crunchiness. Afterwards, place them in a bowl and mix with 3 tsp of olive oil, 3 tsp of cinna-mon, ¼ tsp of salt, & 1 tbsp of brown sugar. B

y: C

hels

ea B

rook

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au naturel: Beauty inside & outThere’s nothing better than taking a nice, relaxing bath during this stressful exam period. Here are some ideas on how to make your own homemade spa!

2. Fill your bathtub up with hot water and add essential oils and epsom salts. The pharmacy in the UCC has epsom salts for 2.99!

3. Place some tea candles around the edges of the bathtub to set a relaxing mood.

5. Get in, sit back, relax, and enjoy!Bonus Points: after you’re done, make yourself a cup of delicious healthy hot chocolate from the last issue of Refresh Western!

Inner beauty: A smile is a smile in every language.

By: Celina Radoi

4. Grab your iPod dock and put on some relaxing or fun songs. Suggestions:

Shake it Out - Florence & The Machine

Skinny Love - Bon IverStarry Eyed - Ellie Goulding

Island in the Sun - Weezer

1. Before you start, put your towels in the dryer for a few minutes and then place them within reach of the bathtub. Add a few drops of essential oils to your towels. Avoid artificial perfumes & fragrances as they don’t provide the same relaxing qualities and they can ir-ritate your skin.

Men’s HealthYour body is a machine and every part needs to function well for optimum performance. This might sound like I’m talking about a car, but this is about your body.

Fitness is one of the many important aspects of a healthy lifestyle and there are so many options out there for men.

Start your morning with some simple stretches. This is going to get you ready for the entire day that awaits you. This is like adjusting your seat in your car; make yourself comfortable at the beginning before going for a long trip. Yoga provides the most efficient stretches and helps you feel energized for the day. Remember to breathe! Your lungs are very important because they carry oxygen to your muscles and help them stretch and relax. Just imag-ine driving down a highway with flat tires, it wouldn’t work; so breathe! While stretching, inhale through your nose and exhale for twice the amount of time also from your nose. Your nose is a filter and it removes dust and other particles from en-tering your lungs; but it also sends oxygen to your brain more efficiently than your mouth.

Stretching your body!

By: Gab Fillion

Remember to

Breathe.

Summer Salsa SaladAllow me to introduce you to a healthy, delicious, and super easy to make dish that can work as a lunch or snack. This Sum-mer Salsa Salad is a delight, as well as a fresh recipe to keep you energized during the exam period.

Summer Salsa Salad1 1/2 cups black beans (you can either find them in the canned foods aisle (be sure to rinse these) or rehydrate your own ac-cording to package instructions)1 1/2 cups frozen corn, thawed1 bunch scallions, chopped1 of each: red, green, and orange red bell peppers, diced

Now, for the easiest recipe instructions you will ever receive: mix all the items together and allow to chill in the refrigerator for at least half an hour so that the flavours really come together. Enjoy with corn chips or with endive spears for a fresh change

1 1/2 cup diced tomatoes (I prefer Roma as the flesh tends to be more firm)1 cup of chopped pickled pep-peroncini - note that the seeds contain the heat, so be careful as to how much you’re includ-ing1/3 cup Light Italian Dressingsalt and pepper to taste

By: Jessica Habib

Would you like to eat an entire bowl of cookie dough? Of course you do. What would you say if I told you that you can while be-ing totally healthy?Adapted from Chocolate-Covered Katie’s recipe, this Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough dip will knock your socks off. Actually. It le-gitimately tastes like good ol’ raw cookie dough, but it is GOOD for you.

Healthy Cookie DoughDIPAdapted from Chocolate Covered Katie

3/4 cup canned chickpeas, drained1/8 tsp of salt1/8 tsp baking soda2 tsp vanilla extract1/4 cup peanut butter, or other nut butter1/4 cup of milk (any kind- regular, soy, almond, etc.)2/3 cup brown sugar1/3 cup chocolate chips3 tbsp oatmeal

Ingredients:

Two Steps to Heaven:Blend all ingredients in a blender (Katie recommends a food pro-cessor instead) until smooth. Stir in the chocolate chips after. And voila, a delectable dessert with a powerful protein punch! Serve with plain cookies, graham crackers, chocolate wafers, or, ahem, shamelessly eat it all with a spoon.Note: to be honest, I play around with the recipe everytime. Doubling the chickpeas lessens the sweetness but makes it more suitable for a large group of people. I usually just throw in pinches of baking soda and salt without measuring them. Similarly with the chocolate chips, just pour them in until you drool--er, until it looks chocolatey enough.

chocolatecoveredkatie.com

By: Steph Taylor

How to Live aChocolate-Covered

Trying to be healthy while fighting those chocolate cravings that just won’t subside? Meet Katie. Katie Higgins started her healthy dessert blog in September 2007. Today, this recent university grad has had her recipes featured in numerous magazines, while her blog Chocolate-Covered Katie has fans all over the world (including a number of us at Refresh West-ern!) From her Candy Corn Milkshake to her Sugar Cookie Oat-meal to her Homemade Chocolate Peanut Butter Larabars, each of Katie’s recipes is not only incredibly original but surprisingly healthy. Yes, you can eat that Ultimate Chocolate Fudge Pie and not feel guilty! Vegan and gluten-free options make her recipes ac-cessible to almost any diet. We can guarantee there is something to make even your pickiest roommate drool. We emailed Katie to get a little more information from her about eating vegan, balanc-ing the student life with healthy eating, and her recommendations for her ultimate chocolate-covered recipes!

Life.

By: Becca Lewis

The name of your blog is intriguing! How did you decide on the name Chocolate-Covered Katie?Chocolate is my absolute favorite food in the world. I could (and sometimes do!) eat it at every meal! How did you balance being a student with eating healthy?I was lucky to go to a vegan-friendly campus my first year of college (Bryn Mawr). And then, when I transferred to SMU (Southern Methodist University), I lived in an apartment with a kitchen. And it was in Dallas, so very close to a lot of Whole Foods and health food stores. What is your process for developing new recipes for your blog?I don’t really have a set process... I have a list of hundreds of ideas I want to try, and I’ll just pick some randomly (or to go with a certain holiday or season) and try the ideas out. More times than not, the first try is not successful at all! But it’s a learning process, and I can usually get a good recipe from the second or third try :) What simple recipe on your blog would you recommend to West-ern students?Hmmm, probably something without a blender or food proces-sor... Maybe my One-Minute Chocolate Cake! [http://chocolate-coveredkatie.com/2012/01/19/single-serving-mocha-chocolate-cake/] What is your all-time favourite recipe?If I *have* to choose just one recipe, probably my Chocolate Bar Pie! [http://chocolatecoveredkatie.com/2011/09/15/chocolate-bar-pie/] Check out Katie’s delicious blog at http://chocolatecoveredkatie.com Refresh Western tested and approved recipes: (include Chocolate Cookie Dough dip etc.)

Healthy, Easy SnacksEditor Steph Taylor asked around to find out what your favourite healthy exam snacks are. Remember, healthy snacking will help maintain your focus and energy during those long library hours! Here are some suggestions:

“I make my own pita chips. Put olive oil on pi-tas with cinnamon and sugar and bake them in the oven. They’re great crispy snacks!” - Dani-elle Currie

My roommates always make kale chips. Throw some kale in the oven and bake it until it’s crispy, then sprinkle on a little salt.” - Becca Lewis

Here’s a few...cottage cheese or watermelon with cinnamon; avoca-do on toast; veggies dipped in Greek yogurt with a bit of dried dill mixed in; and sautéed banana in a frying pan with a small spoonful of butter and a sprinkle of brown sugar.” - Chelsea Brooks

Frozen Greek yogurt honey dipped rasp-berries.” - Inna Yas-inska

Fire ants on a log (celery with peanut butter and crai-

sins). And frozen grapes!” -

Ben McCabe

By: Steph Taylor

I love Greek yogurt with honey, walnuts, and cinnamon. Walnuts are full of good fats and are considered a brain food. Cinnamon boosts metabolism, and Greek yogurt has lots of protein!” (Find Skotidakis Greek Yogurt at Grocery Checkout) - Kierston Dee

to keep YOU going.

RunningBy: Taylor Garbett

With the warm weather upon us and exams around the corner, running is an excellent stress reliever. Sitting indoors at a desk studying or writing papers can stiffen muscles and increase the level of anxiety and worry that students feel. This built-up energy needs an outlet. Going for a run, or even a light jog, will relax those tense muscles and will help improve your sleep, pro-viding optimum conditions for your mind during exam time.

Any form of exercise is a good stress reliever, but running long distance (which depending on the runner can range any-where from 3km to 10 km or more) has been scientifically proven to pick up your mood. This positive mood boost can help students deal with the stress they feel from exams and papers. This mood change is a result of the increased level of euphoria during a run. This happens because during a run, endorphins are released into the runner’s brain. Endorphins are hormones found mostly in the brain that are released when the body is in pain, or in the case of running, under physical stress. The stress your body is under dur-ing a run is not harmful. In fact, due to this stress and the release of endorphins, your body will feel a temporary, natural high that can help you relax and focus for when it comes time to sit down and study.

Going for a run is a great option when in need of stress release and a mood pick-me-up. Running is a perfect break for your body and mind during exam time.

JustRUN.

Reducing Stress with

Naturally improvingthe mind,

body,& soul

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