Author Archives: Donna Hoffmeyer

About Donna Hoffmeyer

Just a gal in this world that truly believes we need a paradigm shift on the idea of "preventative health".

Roasted Vegetables

This has to be one of my favorite fall recipes. Use it as a side or the main event. Be sure to make enough for leftovers; it reheats well.

Vegetarian Pumpkin Chili

Vegetarian Pumpkin Chili
There is nothing better than smelling a crockpot of chili cooking when you come in from the cold. This is so easy it is nearly shameful. The recipe is inspired from a college friend that gave me the recipe for Turkey Pumpkin Chili (thanks Beth). I replaced the Turkey with Morning Star Meat Crumble and I have fooled many folk into believing it was a meat chili...surprise!

Avo-Choco-Chip Cookies

AvoChoco Cookies
Granted, too much of any sweet treat is not the best for us. However, if you are going to indulge then why not try to get as much nutrition out of it as possible. This recipe was inspired by a recipe from Live Better America (www.livebetteramerica.com). I replaced the white sugar with honey and the canola oil with pureed avocado. (Yes, you heard right). Don't worry if the batter has a green hue...it won't look that way after it is cooked.

This morning after my workout, getting myself ready for work, I overheard two ladies in casual conversation, talking about their methods of sustaining themselves during a marathon.  One lady took gel packs and washed it down with water, while the other one stopped at every water station, drinking half and pouring half on her head.

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IvanHi Everyone!

I am so excited to introduce you to our newest edition to the team, Dr. Ivan Edwards!  He is a board certified Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation specialists (the fancy dancy name is a Physiatrist) that has interest in electrodiagnostics, musculoskeletal medicine and minimally invasive pain management.  Now that’s a mouthful…bottom line, this guy looks at all of you “medically, socially, emotionally and vocationally” (to quote the AAPM&R website) and treats accordingly.  He also has a deep interest in overall health and wellness.

I met him during my time as a Air Force Reserve nurse working at Lackland AFB here in San Antonio.  He’s is one of the most diverse and interesting people I have met.Â

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Flower in desert“Resiliency is accepting your new reality, even if it is less good than the one you had before.” – Elizabeth Edwards

As many of you know, my full time job is in the Air Force as a nurse.  We have all kinds of training that is required every year; one of them being “Wingman” Training.  The military lifestyle definitely has a higher than normal stress level and rates of depression, suicide and divorce are higher than our civilian counterparts. We take a half day to focus on our co-workers and discuss the importance of recognizing signs of distress and helping each other out.  One of our topics was on resiliency.  The question was, what is it about you that makes you resilient?  I can honestly say I had just come back from a week of vacation, had a ton of work to catch up on and really didn’t put any thought into it at the time.  However, later that week I found myself thinking about it.

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 We here at TruPrevention can think of a host of reasons people should live a healthy lifestyle.  So, we have complied a long list of benefits.  However, we don’t want to overwhelm everyone with an ongoing list…so we’re going to send it out in a series.  Oh, and just to show you that it is not some random list, we have put links to each reason, so you can read up on the “why” and “how” this is fits into the big picture of Health.  To start, here is a list of 20 physical (and a couple mental) reasons to live a healthy lifestyle.  Enjoy!!!

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Hey LeBron and Peyton…could you endorse broccoli please?

As I was perusing the latest and greatest health research, I came upon this article on athlete endorsements. The Oct 2013 Yale study, published in the journal Pediatrics, showed that some athletes endorse energy dense, nutrient depleted foods and how that could influence our children’s food choices. The stats were a bit shocking.

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Dad and son walking

When I pull out the Yoga mat, I can pretty much guarantee what will happen next.  My daughter will come around the corner and say “I want to do Yoga mommy” and proceed to go into the cutest downward facing dog I have ever seen…right in the middle of my mat.  So, I attempt to do some semblance of a routine around her climbing around me, through me and over me.   It doesn’t matter that I don’t get through a routine…what matters to me is that my kids are seeing that I place an emphasis on taking care of myself.  And, I’m proud to say they get it.  They love to show me how they can flip, roll, jump, race, do push-ups, yoga moves…you name it.  If they see me or my husband doing it, they want to try it.  In the end it is a win-win, we get family time, they burn off energy, I get a workout (albeit a light one) and they learn that being active is not only a priority in our house, but fun too!

Starting family workouts doesn’t (and shouldn’t) have to be super organized or structured.  It should be a little spontaneous and entertaining.  Here are some ideas below to get you started on family fun.

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