Try This Low-Fat French Toast

I love making breakfast for my family on the weekend. During the week, it's a wonder that everyone gets to eat an egg, cereal or even a piece of toast as they're flying out the door — you know what I'm talking about. On the weekends, I set out nice plates and make cocoa for the girls and a big pot of coffee for me and Jeff. Then I put together this super-fast, super-easy take on French toast, and we all relax and enjoy. I hope you like it as much as we do!

Whole-Wheat French Toast With Fresh Strawberries

Ingredients

3 tablespoons sugar-free raspberry or strawberry spreadable fruit
2 cups sliced strawberries
1 large egg
1 large egg white
2/3 cup low-fat (1 percent) milk
1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract
Pinch ground nutmeg
1 tablespoon unsalted butter, divided
8 slices thin whole-wheat bread

Preparation

Preheat the oven to 200°F. Place a serving platter in the oven to hold the French toast.

Place the fruit spread in a medium bowl and stir until smooth. Stir in the strawberries. Set aside. In a pie plate or shallow bowl, beat the egg, egg white, milk, vanilla extract, and nutmeg with a fork until blended. Melt 1/2 tablespoon butter in a large nonstick skillet over medium heat. Dip a bread slice into the egg mixture, letting it soak briefly on both sides. Place the soaked slice in the skillet; add 1 or 2 more soaked slices. Cook, turning once, until lightly golden, about 3 minutes per side.

Place the cooked French toast in the oven to keep warm. Repeat with the remaining bread slices, adding the remaining 1/2 tablespoon butter as needed. Serve the French toast hot with the strawberry mixture on top.

Makes 4 servings

Per serving (2 slices): 270 calories, 38g carbohydrates, 11g protein, 10g total fat, 70mg cholesterol, 4g dietary fiber, 300mg sodium

Can You Party Without Food?

How do you typically celebrate birthdays, graduations, and other occasions with your family and friends? Let me guess — by going out to eat or throwing a party, right? Turns out, people usually eat a lot more when they're in a group and surrounded by delicious food!

Think about the last big gathering you had — with all the laughter and chatter and good-natured teasing, did anyone pay any attention to how fast the nachos or garlic bread disappeared? The longer you sit around the table, the more you eat, and the more the people around you are eating, the more you eat, too! So the truth is, the more often you socialize at restaurants and parties, the harder it may be to maintain a healthy weight.

Starting this weekend, plan social events that are fun, active, and do not involve food. You might find you really enjoy these outings — maybe even more than going for dinner or drinks! So how about inviting the gang out to play miniature golf or take a weekend hike in a pretty area nearby? Doesn't that sound like fun? You can all sign up for a dance class or a sports team together to make it a regular event, like your weekend dinners. If you don't want to do something super active, that's okay, but you should still try to think of ideas that don't involve food — painting pottery together, for example! It's relaxing and fun, and because your hands are occupied, you can't keep throwing chips in your mouth!

How Menopause Affects Your Weight

Question:

Does menopause impact weight gain?

Answer:

After menopause you begin to store fat in your abdomen rather than in your thighs, butt, and hips — thanks to a drop in a type of estrogen called estradiol. On the bright side, because these abdominal fat cells are smaller, it's easier to lose extra tummy fat! Still, many women do gain weight after menopause. Part of the reason is that during menopause you maintain levels of another type of estrogen, called estrone, which slows your metabolism and encourages fat storage. Many women also lose muscle mass, which further slows metabolism. But don't throw your hands up in despair! You don't have to gain fat after menopause! A simple 15-minute muscle-building routine done five days a week can reverse this muscle loss, and my Fitness Plan can help boost your metabolism permanently!

Fast Food, Quick Information!

Gone are the days when you'd order from a fast-food menu and keep your fingers crossed that what you were eating didn't have too many calories. Now it's easy to find out how many calories are in that fried fish sandwich or vanilla shake. You'll be amazed at how many calories can be packed into one little bun!

Fast food doesn't automatically equal bad food! Chain restaurants are doing more these days to make their meals healthier. They're also providing a lot more information about the nutritional content of the food so that you can make the best choices. Here's the latest on fast food — and what you should look for when you eat out:

• Most fast-food chains now offer complete nutritional information on their Web sites. How's that for a great tool? Before you hop in your car, hop online and plan your order!
• McDonald's, Burger King, KFC, Taco Bell, and Wendy's are all taking steps to reduce dangerous trans fats or completely eliminate them from their menus. Nice work! (Keep an eye out for foods containing these fats, though — just in case.)
• Need nutritional information while you're in the restaurant? Look around! Some chains are posting it on place mats, in brochures, and even on the food packaging.
• Some cities have laws requiring fast-food chains to post nutritional information on the menu board, so it's front and center while you order. All you have to do is look at the sign — it's that simple!

What's Your Communication Style?

When you communicate with others, what's your style: aggressive, passive, or assertive? All styles of communication are useful in certain situations, but using any one style at the wrong time or overusing it can cause problems. See the descriptions below to determine whether one of these styles is your primary method for communicating:

Aggressive style: You tend to believe that you know best. You often feel that you need to "stand your ground" against the opinions of others. You may not understand other people's feelings or may not think that they are as important as your own, and you may expect others to know what you need or want. You often feel emotionally isolated or cut off from others.

Passive style: You avoid conflict at all costs, and you have trouble asserting your point of view. You may believe or act as if other people's feelings are more important than yours. You may downplay what you really think or feel, pretending that it isn't important even when you believe it is. You often feel taken advantage of and have a hard time saying no to others. You may feel anger at someone, but find it difficult to express your anger or confront the person directly.

Assertive style: You demonstrate an understanding of the needs, wishes, feelings, thoughts, desires, and opinions of others while being able to state your own views and opinions in a healthy, respectful manner. You can empathize with what another person is feeling without giving up your own opinions and beliefs. You feel comfortable communicating how you feel, and can do so in a way that builds respect and trust and fosters cooperation. You feel understood, and you feel you can understand others.

The way we communicate with our spouses, family, friends, and coworkers can play a big role in our efforts to get healthy. If you communicate too aggressively, you may be missing out on valuable input and support from others. If you communicate too passively, you may not be able to put your needs on an equal footing with the needs of others.

Often, the best approach to communication is an assertive one. This week, analyze your communication style and think about how it may be affecting your weight-management goals. Strive for a healthy, assertive style when appropriate, and try to break communication habits that aren't working for you.

Get the Best Workout Gear!

Unsure about what to wear to the gym, or feeling reluctant to shop for exercise clothes? It's not uncommon. Good news! You can wear anything you want to when working out — whatever you feel most comfortable in! Just make sure your clothing isn't too baggy or tight, so that you can move around properly. If you want something new, ask a friend to go shopping with you, or talk to a saleswoman at a department store. Some exercise clothing is specially made to absorb sweat or give your body enough air circulation so that you don't overheat. In general, cotton is an excellent fabric for exercise clothes because it is super-absorbent, comes in a huge variety of thicknesses and is easy to care for. You may want to layer your clothes or tie a sweatshirt around your waste — the air conditioning in the gym might be cold; the sun outside can get hot — even in the winter — especially when you start working up a sweat!

Old sweatpants, your husband's extra large T-shirt (ask him first!), a pair of cargo shorts? It doesn't matter! It's all 100 percent acceptable attire for working out. There is one standard rule, though: for safety reasons, you'll probably want to wear athletic sneakers, which have good support for your feet and ankles.

Self-talk and Exercise

When you work out, what messages are running through your head? How you think about exercise greatly influences how you feel about it — and how likely you are to stick with it. If your self-talk during exercise is all negative, your experience with exercise will be negative, too.

Do any of the following thoughts sound familiar?

• I don't like exercise.
• I'm not a natural athlete.
• I'll never get better at this.
• Everyone is looking at me.
• I missed a workout, so I may as well give up.
• I'm too tired for this.
• I'm never going to reach my goal.
• If I exercise, I'll feel exhausted afterward.

If any of these — or any other — negative messages come to mind during your workouts, try replacing them with the following:

• I will keep trying until I find an activity I enjoy.
• My body is made to move.
• I will gain skill over time.
• Others can think what they like — I won't let it stop me.
• I may have missed a workout, but I can get back on track today.
• I'm tired, but I'll aim for just 10 minutes of exercise and then see how I feel.
• I can and will reach my goal.
• After I exercise, I really feel good about myself.

This week, pay attention to the thoughts you're having during exercise and focus on replacing negative thoughts with positive ones. Doing so will make your workouts more productive and enjoyable.