By Sara Baker
The following are 5 ‘tools’ that I have been loving lately. None of them are particularly new to the market so I am sure many of you have heard or currently use them but for some reason I am loving them lately and using them often. Listed in no particular order :)
- Roasted Seaweed Snacks. Someone asked the other day on the JillFit Lifestyle Facebook page for more snack ideas besides the usual nuts, berries etc. I mentioned these as they are my new favorite for helping with salty, crunchy cravings. They are simply roasted seaweed sheets made up of only seaweed, canola and sesame seed oil and salt. You can eat an entire package for only 60 calories and 2 g carbs! They come in a variety of brands and flavors. They are also high in minerals.
- TRX Suspension Trainer. Again, nothing new on the market but I just received one for my birthday last month and have been using it very frequently when I am working out at home. I love all the body strength work you can do with it not to mention the flexibility training. I find it particularly useful if I am sore from another workout and want something different than lifting dumbbells.
- Shiritaki Noodles. Umm, where have these been all my life? I am not a huge pasta fan but I think that is mainly because I know that pasta is just a carb bomb that is going to sit in my stomach and not help me reach any of my goals. However, noodles are just delicious sometimes, I especially like Asian dishes with noodles. Enter shirataki noodles. They are now in different types of pasta. I have tried spaghetti and fettuccine. The entire package is 40 calories and 8 g of carbs! Check them out at http://www.miraclenoodle.com
- Foam Roller. Again, been around for years but I have found myself using this much more often lately. Though I do treat myself to a massage every month, there are times I need some deeper stretching and fascia work. For around $15 you can give yourself mini massages with the foam roller. I even recently bought my father one to help work out the kinks in his back after playing golf.
- Potato Starch. As many of you know I love to cook. Asian and Indian foods are my two favorite types of ethnic food. Often times when making clean stir fries and curry, they can be a bit runny. White Flour or corn starch is most often used to thicken these types of dishes. I have been looking for a cleaner way to thicken these dishes. Yesterday, I found Bob Red Mills (one of my favorite brands) Potato Starch. 1 tablespoon had 40 cals and 10 g of carbs but all you need is one tablespoon to thicken an entire dish. This is great thickener that is gluten free and is much cleaner than white flour. I will be even using it in my homemade falafel this week!
Do you have any favorite tools that you are using lately? I would love to hear about them!
Related: Post-workout Fruit Sorbet Recipe
