Fantastic Food Friday

Fresh, Flavorful and Fantastic!

Adding fresh herbs to your recipes is a quick and easy way to transform ordinary dishes into exciting meals without adding extra fat, salt or sugar. 

Lemongrass Cilantro Chicken

Adapted from: Food & Wine 2012
Serves 4 | Prep Time: 15 minutes | Cook Time: 15 minutes

Ingredients:
4 boneless chicken breast halves with skin

Marinade:
2 stalks lemongrass, white part only, cut into 1-inch pieces, pounded and bruised
1 cup packed chopped cilantro
4 large shallots, coarsely chopped
8 tablespoons (~120ml) vegetable oil

Honey Dipping Sauce:
5 tablespoons (~75ml) water
1 1/2 teaspoons sugar (if desired)
2 teaspoons honey
1/4 teaspoon crushed red pepper
1 tablespoon white vinegar
1 tablespoon fish sauce
Salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste
1 cup small mint leaves for garnishing
1 lime, sliced for garnishing

Method:
Combine the ingredients for the Marinade in a shallow dish. Transfer the chicken into the dish and coat well with the Marinade. Cover the dish and marinate overnight.
Prepare the Honey Dipping Sauce by combining the water, sugar and honey in a small saucepan and heat it over medium heat. Stir until sugar dissolved. Pour the mixture into a bowl and add the crushed red pepper. Let it cool to room temperature before adding the white vinegar and fish sauce. Add salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste. Refrigerate until use.

To grill the chicken, scrape the marinade off the chicken breast. Season the chicken with salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste. Grill the chicken with skin side down for about 3-4 minutes, until the skin is lightly burned and crisp. Reduce the heat or move the chicken to another part of the grill with lower heat. Let it cook for another 2 minutes. Turn the chicken over and cook until desire tenderness, about 4-5 minutes.

Let it rest for 3-5 minutes before slicing the chicken. Serve with warm steamed rice.

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What Are You Eating?

Do you REALLY understand the things that you are eating?

Do you REALLY understand the “foods” that you are putting in your body?

The best goal to have is to consume foods that will nourish and fuel the body.

Yes we are all human and may crave some of the most unhealthy things to eat…BUT there is a time and a place to enjoy them in MODERATION!

Reaching your health and fitness goals can be done best by eating right and sticking with your workout schedule.

Happy Wednesday!



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Soup's On

Fantastic Food Friday

With chickpeas for fiber to keep hunger at bay -- nearly 11 grams per cup, in fact -- Rich basil pesto for anti-inflammatory properties, blood sugar regulation and amazing flavor, and fire roasted tomatoes loaded with the cancer fighting antioxidant powerhouse, lycopene; this fantastic soup will fuel your run, jump start weight loss and help maintain all around wellness. 

Tomato Chickpea Pesto Soup

Ingredients
1/2 diced medium onion
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 minced garlic clove
1 28-ounce can fire-roasted crushed tomatoes
1/3 cup water
1 teaspoon sugar
1/2 teaspoon salt
black pepper
1 15-ounce can drained, rinsed chickpeas
basil pesto - jarred or make your own basil and walnut pesto

Directions
1. In a pot, saute 1/2 a diced medium onion in 1 tablespoon olive oil over medium heat till soft. Add 1 minced garlic clove; cook 30 seconds. Add one 28-ounce can fire-roasted crushed tomatoes and cup water; bring to a boil. Add 1 teaspoon sugar, 1/2 teaspoon salt, and black pepper.

2. If you like a smooth soup, puree mixture in a blender. Transfer back to pot. Add one 15-ounce can drained, rinsed chickpeas. Cover and simmer 10 minutes. Top each serving with a dollop of jarred basil pesto or, even better, go here  for my favorite homemade pesto recipe!
 
Nutritional Facts per serving CALORIES 299.6 CAL
FAT 8.9 G
SATURATED FAT 1.5 G
CHOLESTEROL 1.7 MG
SODIUM 1117.7 MG
CARBOHYDRATES 48.7 G
TOTAL SUGARS 2.2 G
DIETARY FIBER 10.5 G
PROTEIN 11.2 G
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Fantastic Food Friday

Wrap up dinner with this low cholesterol, high calcium, high fiber, protein packed recipe courtesy of Eating Well.

Creamy Avocado and White Bean Wrap

  

Ingredients

• 2 tablespoons cider vinegar
• 1 tablespoon canola oil
• 2 teaspoons finely chopped canned chipotle chile in adobo sauce, (see Note)
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 2 cups shredded red cabbage
• 1 medium carrot, shredded
• 1/4 cup chopped fresh cilantro
• 1 15-ounce can white beans, rinsed
• 1 ripe avocado
• 1/2 cup shredded sharp Cheddar cheese
• 2 tablespoons minced red onion
• 4 8- to 10-inch whole-wheat wraps, or tortillas

Preparation

1. Whisk vinegar, oil, chipotle chile and salt in a medium bowl. Add cabbage, carrot and cilantro; toss to combine.
2. Mash beans and avocado in another medium bowl with a potato masher or fork. Stir in cheese and onion.
3. To assemble the wraps, spread about 1/2 cup of the bean-avocado mixture onto a wrap (or tortilla) and top with about 2/3 cup of the cabbage-carrot slaw. Roll up. Repeat with remaining ingredients. Cut the wraps in half to serve, if desired.

Nutrition

Per serving: 346 calories; 17 g fat ( 4 g sat , 9 g mono ); 15 mg cholesterol; 44 g carbohydrates; 12 g protein; 13 g fiber; 462 mg sodium; 491 mg potassium.
Nutrition Bonus: Vitamin A (60% daily value), Vitamin C (45% dv).
Carbohydrate Servings: 2
Exchanges: 2 1/2 starch, 1 vegetable, 1 lean meat, 2 fat

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Wednesday Wisdom -Sometimes you just need to Take a Break

For most of us, the hardest thing to do when we have an injury is to TAKE A BREAK!  Especially when we're on track and really sticking to a workout routine.  Mentally, we want to keep going.  We want to push through the pain and hope it goes away.  I am personally guilty of this regularly. 

BUT...

the truth of it is - if you give your body the time it needs to heal, you will be helping yourself in the long run.  For example, if you jack your back (I did this two weeks ago riding a bike that wasn't fitted properly) you can keep exercising through the pain and you'll slowly feel like the pain is decreasing, until one wrong move and you jack it again.  This cycle can go on for weeks, even months.  Whereas if you take a couple weeks off and let it heal properly (which I ended up doing ... not by choice, but by circumstance), you can get back at your workouts full force when you're better.  Now you've only missed 2 weeks instead of the off and on for eight months of trying to fight through.  I really believe it takes more strength to hold back and rest than to push through and hurt yourself.  But what do I know ... I'm just a trainer ;-)

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Fantastic Food Friday

Got Smoothie?

Interested in boosting weight loss with meal replacement shakes, but not so hip on the chemicals, additives and mystery ingredients hiding in the commercially manufactured products?  Making your own healthy meal replacement smoothie at home is fantastically simple and delicious!  Two to try:

From TODAY show nutrition expert, Joy Bauer:  

"My homemade Power Protein Smoothie works perfectly as a stand-alone breakfast or lunch. It has plenty of filling protein to curb your appetite, plus lots of colorful frozen berries for fiber, vitamins, minerals, and natural sweetness. To make it, simply blend together ¾ cup milk (skim, soy, or almond), ½ banana, 1 cup frozen mixed berries, 1 scoop vanilla whey protein powder, and 3 to 5 ice cubes until smooth and frothy. One generous, 2-cup serving provides 305 calories and 31 grams protein."


Energy Boosting Smoothie via Dr. Oz:

Ingredients  
Makes 2 servings  
2 tbsp 100% pure cocoa powder  
2 tbsp creamy natural peanut butter  
1 medium ripe banana  
8 oz non-fat vanilla Greek yogurt  
4-6 ice cubes  
Dash of cinnamon  

Directions  
Pour peanut butter, cocoa powder, Greek yogurt and ice cubes into blender and mix at high speed.  Slice banana, add into mixture, and re-blend. Pour smoothie into two cups and serve. Sprinkle dash of cinnamon on top for extra flavor.

Nutrition Facts  
245 calories per serving  
16 g protein


TIP:  To give your smoothie an extra energy kick, try adding concentrated green tea or 1/2 cup brewed coffee before blending (brew up your own tea and coffee the night before and store in the refrigerator for the next day's smoothies.) Pin It

Motivational Monday

Motivational Monday…

Starting YOUR health and fitness journey is about YOU

It is not about ANYONE ELSE BUT YOU!

YOU have to work hard.

No it will not happen overnight…

yes there are some days you will feel like slacking or giving up…

YOU CAN DO IT!
Keep your eyes on your goal and make it happen!

 

One Day at a Time…

one day at a time…

one workout at a time…

one meal at a time…

one pound at a time…

You CAN achieve your health and fitness goals!

It takes time but you can do it!

 

Happy Monday!

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