Here are some delicious and nutritious recipes so you can add some greens to your meal:

Brazilian Collard Greens
Spinach, Mustard Green and Potato Soup
White Bean, Kale and Roasted Vegetable Soup
Baby Spinach and Raspberry Salad

These dishes are great as healthy choices for your Thanksgiving meal or for any night of the week - don't forget to save these recipe to your MY ND Recipes.

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Squat circle-

I'm really digging the moves from Self's "Slim down this weekend" workout in the November issue (p.154). Today I created a great workout by incorporating the Sunday tone up moves and a few moves of my own. And since the moves were fun, I was able to entertain my boys while I got in some toning time. Here's what I was up to:

I grabbed a 4lb. medicine ball for me and a bunch of soft Nerf balls for the boys and we played "Can you do this?". I started with some of the basic moves from the magazine (the belly bridge was the best), then I let them make up a few moves with the ball, and at the end I went back for the second set while they played catch.

1.  Twist or Lunge

2. Belly Bridge

3. Ball Serve

4. Squat Toss

*Go to http://www.self.com/fitness/workouts/2008/11/slim-down-this-weekend to see the slide show of these moves. 

These are my add-ons:

5. Squat Circle- Stand with feet slightly apart. Squat down with the ball in one hand. Then pass it from one hand to the other making a circle around your ankles five times.Stand back up and repeat for 2 sets of 12 reps changing direction of the circle after each set. 

6. Figure 8- Stand with feet shoulder width apart. Squat down with the ball. Then pass it from hand to hand in and out of your legs in a figure eight pattern five times. Stand back up and repeat for 2 sets of 12 reps changing direction of the figure eight pattern after each set.

*Pictures of my moves to follow when a photographer gets home:)

Well, if that's the case, I have good news for you.

As long as your doctor hasn't diagnosed you with degenerative knee issues or any other ailment preventing you from lunging, you may want to try this version of the lunge.

It's called a backwards lunge and allows you to sit more into your hip and put less pressure on the front knee and leg. This is important because often times the only reason lunges hurt exercisers is due to the fact that their form is off. They end up lunging forward and landing on the ball of the foot and keeping all the pressure forward on the foot causing their knee to stretch past their toes.

If you only allowed your weight to shift back into your front hip you could alleviate most, if not all, of your knee discomfort.

But before you try forward lunges again, you can start practicing your form with the backwards lunge. If you already know how to do them, then go ahead and give them a shot as part of your lower body routine for strengthening and toning your glutes and thighs.

If you want a refresher on the form, I'll take you through this exercise tomorrow in my "Exercise of the Week."

Now if you're jonesing for the fruits of summer. Remember, autumn ushers in a bounty of delicious fall vegetables.

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Implement both aerobic and weight bearing exercise with your weight loss plan. Cardio burns more calories while exercising and usually for a few hours after activity. Building muscle with weight training helps metabolism because muscle burns more calories, even while at rest. Do both.

Water supports every single metabolic function in your body. Water is a must for a strong metabolism.

Lack of sleep may lower metabolism because it “can reduce the capacity of even young adults to perform basic metabolic functions such as processing and storing carbohydrates or regulating hormone secretion,” report some researchers.

Now this one may just sound plain weird but it does make some sense. Learn to fidget! By just moving more you are increasing your metabolic rate. A study from the Mayo Clinic says it just might help.

Cold water may burn more calories but I personally don’t endorse it as I believe it may cause problems with the digestion process. Indian and Asian medicine maintain this philosophy as well.

Lastly I want to say I am aware that some people really do have slower metabolisms in general. And, yes, it is just not fair.  But you will have to accept that you will just have to work harder than those who have faster metabolisms. And you can boost it some by the suggestions I have made these past two days.

A. You're right: Grains and fruits are two groups of foods that, although wholesome, are counted as inflammatory, mostly because of the high carbohydrate content.  That doesn't mean that you should eliminate these foods from your diet.  Just take care to balance their effects by consuming plenty of anti-inflammatory foods.

Olive oil and olives, salmon and other oily fish, flax seeds, avocadoes, almonds and brazil nuts are all calorie-dense foods that are also anti-inflammatory.  Including foods like spinach, broccoli, carrots, tomatoes, berries, garlic, onions, chili peppers, ginger, and turmeric (e.g., curry powder) will also help.  Although these foods are low in calories, they are all highly anti-inflammatory.