Toomey Treasures

 I had people ask me what kind of air fryer I have.  I have a simple one.   I bought it for when I was going on a trip for a week and leaving my young adult kids home to cook.  They like to turn on the oven for a few items so an air fryer was something to try.  My kids loved it and very easy to work.  They use frozen food most of the time. I use fresh vegetables when I use it and a few other things.  The temperature for the air fryer is the same as what you use the oven for and then use half the time.  Sometimes if the item is thick it might still be cold so I decrease the temperature to about 350 and cook for a little longer so it does not get too dark. Air Fryer on Amazon

 I get this question asked about water shoes:  Do I need to wear shoes when I am in an aqua class?                                                  Yes If we think about this, we are working out on the concrete in the pool.  Would we run barefoot?  As a kid, I did do everything barefoot but not now.  Choosing a proper shoe  can help to protect you against common injuries associated with your type of workout .  We can stub our toes etc. I was getting shin splints when I first was doing aqua.  We are taught to wear  Good shoes so they can lessen the impact of our steps and cushion the foot from heavy landings even if in the pool.  Once I started wearing shoes it helped so much with the shin splints.   I started with the lighter shoe and it felt really good.  I have now gone to a thicker sole when I do ...

 I have been cooking again.  I got some good-looking asparagus.  It is crazy that I am talking about a vegetable that looks good but it did.  I like my asparagus to be on the thinner side but medium size is okay.  The thick asparagus just don't cut it for me but I see others that like it. I am talking about asparagus because I saw a demonstration on how to cook asparagus and she did not cut off the hard ends and cooked the whole thing.  If you do that, you will not like this vegetable.  It will be the hardest and not the tastiest vegetable that you have ever eaten. Here is the great-looking asparagus. I am showing that you bend the asparagus and it breaks and that is where you cut it. Here is how much this asparagus needs to be cut off.  It is hard to waste that much but the hard stem does not taste good. Here is the asparagus cut and then air fried.  I sprinkled it with some seasoning salt, Lawry's, or  Red Robin.

 I was talking to a friend and she has lost about 50 pounds.  She hates vegetables and I told her I used to until I learned a few recipes to cook great vegetables. Zucchini in an air fryer has become one of my favorites. All you need is a couple of zucchini and of course the air fryer.  I have tried this with the regular size zucchini and also the zucchini that gets lost in the garden and become huge.  Both sizes of zucchini taste good. Cut up the zucchini into small chunks  Sprinkle with Red Robbin, Lawry's, or any other seasoned salt. Cook 375 for about 10 minutes. It is ready to eat! The regular-size zucchini is in the middle in the first picture.  The second picture is the size I like to cut the zucchini in.  Enjoy?

 I get this question asked a lot.  Should I stretch before or after a workout or do I need to stretch?   It's a good idea to stretch, says the American College of Sports Medicine. They recommend   stretching   each of our major muscle groups at least two times a week for at least 60 seconds per exercise. A warm-up of the muscles before you start exercising is also a good idea.  The best time to do a nice stretch is at the end of the workout.  Stretching helps you stay flexible so you can do crazy fun stuff as you age.  I like to do traditional stretching with a little bit of yoga after I have a great workout in the pool or on land. I think about muscles in each part of the body so I don't forget to stretch something.  I like to stretch my back  sides  neck   forearms and wrists   triceps chest buttocks groin (adductors) thighs (quadriceps and abductors) calves shins hamstrings You can find diagrams to do so...

 I get questions about weight loss all the time.  How can I lose weight and how much can I lose while doing aqua aerobics?  The saying still holds about calories in and calories out.  To lose a pound we need to decrease our food or burn 3,500 calories to lose a pound.  For aqua, they say you can burn about 400 to 600 calories.   I get about 3,000 steps an hour in the water and there is some disagreement about how many calories that is.  My counter says 300 calories and others say 30 to 40 calories for 1,000 steps.    Water also has greater resistance than air, which means walking in water requires more effort and ultimately burns more calories than walking on land. Expect to burn between 400 and 500 calories per hour in a  water aerobics class , according to the Aquatic Exercise Association.   Aqua is great exercise but we still have to watch what we eat which I say darn because I love to eat like we all do.  We just need ...

 I started doing aqua aerobics in 2014 so that was about 8 years ago.  I was in a car accident and it was either keep taking pain pills or do something about it.  I did aqua a couple of years ago when I hurt my toe when a bench fell on it while I was carrying a plate of pancakes.  I had forgotten about the good exercise in aqua.  I also enjoyed it with all the friends that I meet.  I was going 6 days a week and feeling so much better.  We were having teachers not show up and one teacher told me I would be great at it.  Thank you, Donna.  Since I was a dental hygienist, I could get my certification a little bit faster since I had so many biology, health and nutrition classes.  I am so excited about being an aqua teacher and love teaching and sharing my love for exercise in the water.  My back is so much better because of aqua.  Here is a class I substituted for. Here is a connection to my aqua website.