February 10, 2005

Prairie Fare: Resist Being a Couch Potato

By Julie Garden-Robinson, Food and Nutrition Specialist
NDSU Extension Service

With cold weather outside and hot sports on TV, it’s hard to resist being a couch potato. Unfortunately, lounging on the couch with a bowl of chips and a beverage of choice can pack on a few pounds over the winter months. It only takes 3,500 extra calories to add a pound of body fat, which is hard to subtract.

Many Americans fall in the “sedentary” category. In fact, one in four American adults did not participate in any leisure-time physical activity, according to published 2002 reports.

Long-term health news for the sedentary is not good. Being sedentary is linked with greater chances of becoming obese and/or getting heart disease, high blood pressure, type 2 diabetes, osteoporosis and certain types of cancer. Inactivity also is linked to higher levels of depression.

If you want to prevent the gradual weight gain that often goes with age or if you have pounds you’d like to lose, the latest health guidelines recommend 60 to 90 minutes of moderate physical activity. If you’d like to lower your chances for chronic diseases, 30 minutes is still the recommendation. Even three 10-minute daily walks will benefit your health.

Whatever your goals are, start slowly. Consult your physician before embarking on a vigorous physical activity regimen.

Can you combine TV with fitness? Some people station their exercise equipment, such as treadmills or exercise bikes, in front of the TV. It’s also important, of course, to use the equipment once it’s in place. If you don’t have exercise equipment, walk in place as you’re entertained or exercise during commercials. The important thing is to move more.

Food, of course, is another part of the health equation. Healthier food choices can help prevent us “armchair quarterbacks” from becoming fluffy couch potatoes. The snack tips and following recipe are from the Wheat Foods Council (www.wheatfoods.org):

• Toast fresh pita bread and cut into triangles. Serve with salsa.
• Layer slices of pumpernickel or rye with slices of lean turkey and low-fat colby cheese, shredded lettuce and tomato slices. Add a dab of spicy mustard, a sprinkle of oregano, a dash of vinegar and serve.
• Spread graham crackers with a thin layer of low-fat cream cheese. For sweetness, add slices of banana and kiwi.
• Surround a crockpot of soup or chili with a variety of lower-fat whole wheat, cheese, onion and saltine crackers.
• Spread flour or whole-wheat tortillas with salsa, sliced jalapenos, black beans and low-fat cream cheese. Roll them up and slice into pinwheels. Hold with toothpicks.

Everyone deserves a little treat now and then, especially during February, American Heart Month. Here’s a lower-calorie, lower-fat recipe for chocolate cake made with whole-wheat flour. Instead of frosting it, place some powdered sugar in a flour sifter and sprinkle over the top.

Whole Wheat Chocolate Sheet Cake

2 1/2 c. whole-wheat flour
1 c. sugar
2 tsp. cinnamon
1/4 c. cocoa
1 c. water
1/2 c. vegetable oil
1 1/2 tsp. baking soda
1 c. buttermilk
2 eggs, beaten
1 tsp. vanilla

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Mix flour, sugar and cinnamon together in a large bowl. In a saucepan, bring cocoa, water and oil to a boil. Pour over flour mixture and mix 1 minute, scraping bowl. Dissolve soda in buttermilk, adding to mixture in bowl along with eggs and vanilla. Mix an additional 2 minutes. Pour into a greased and floured 10 by 15 by 1-inch jellyroll pan.

Makes 24 servings. Each serving has 130 calories, 5 grams of fat, 19 grams of carbohydrate and 2 grams of fiber.

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Source: Julie Garden-Robinson, (701) 231-7187, jgardenr@ndsuext.nodak.edu
Editor: Rich Mattern, (701) 231-6136, richard.mattern@ndsu.nodak.edu

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