More Veggies Needed

I recently started a boot camp class and have been talking with the trainer about nutrition. I am down to my last 10 pounds, and as everyone knows, those are the hardest to lose. So, one thing we discussed after going over my daily intake (which he agreed was highly nutritious) was that I was eating too many grains and not enough veggies. As I looked, I had to admit that he was right. I was getting about 4-5 servings of "fruits AND veggies" but most of my servings were coming from the fruit side rather than the veggie side. Well, I struggle with this and have a hard time adding variety into my diet. So, when the trainer started posting his smoothie recipes online, I was of course interested because I DO love my morning smoothies. Well, he posted one recently, raspberries, blueberries, non-fat milk, protein powder, and SPINACH. What? Was that a typo? No, he was serious. Claimed you couldn't even taste it. The next day, a similar recipe was posted - again with spinach and all these other sweet ingredients. Well, as I said, I've been struggling with the veggie servings so this morning, I did a little experiment of my own. I took my favorite smoothie recipe: 1 c skim milk, 1 banana, 1 TB natural peanut butter, 1 scoop chocolate flavored protein powder, and 5 ice cubes and mixed it up. Only this time, I also added a handful of spinach leaves. And know what? I couldn't taste the spinach at all. And bam, one veggie serving down. It was the perfect way to start the day.

yummy pears...

after being disgusted at the pear selection where i buy my groceries, i decided to give it another go when a friend of mine suggested this little snack:

1 pear, chopped
feta cheese
walnuts

that's it! i'm not big on cheese, but i buy that crumbled feta and just put a few chunks on top of the pears and then add some walnuts. yum!!!

instead of using the whole pear, get a handful of strawberries and add them to the mix with half the pear.

Enjoy,
liz :)

It All Starts with Breakfast!

If we've heard it once, we've heard it a hundred times: Breakfast is the most important meal of the day. Well, I'm here to remind you how true that is. If you want to maintain your health, your body needs fuel. It's important to remember that although YOU may be asleep, your body is still working for you all night long... pumping your blood, keeping you alive. Right? But it's doing all that on no fuel, no food - for a good 6-8 hours. So, in general, breakfast is just important for a good "fill up."

But especially if you are changing your eating habits because you want to a) change the shape of your body and/or b) lose weight... there is nothing you can do better than to fill up first thing in the morning. The key to weight loss (that took me 45 years of hearing, not believing, then waking up and realizing I was wrong) is not simple reduction in calories. It's absolutely, first and foremost changing your metabolism (and eating enough, not too many, calories). And you know what comes next, right? To boost the metabolism, you start out by feeding that body that has already been starving during those sleep hours. Just go ahead and give it a kick start every single morning.

So, not having been a fan of the breakfast previously, I find my breakfast choices tend to get boring. This morning I experimented a little and I loved the result. Perhaps you do this already, perhaps not. I do love hot oat bran cereal - reminds me of my childhood Cream of Wheat days. But of course, here is a healthier version:

1/2 c oat bran

1 1/4 c water

1/2 banana (sliced)

dash of salt

1 tsp pure maple syrup (optional)

Combine the oat bran, water, salt and sliced banana in a bowl. Microwave on high for 3 minutes. It will look like it's still watery when you take it out but once you stir up the bran from the bottom it will be fine. While stirring, mash the banana so that it mixes in with the hot cereal. If desired, add 1 tsp pure maple syrup for added flavor.

Grilled Chicken and Mango Salsa

Grilled Chicken:

1. season thawed chicken breast tenderloins (or whole breasts) with a little sea salt and some fresh ground pepper.
2. grill until done.

Mango Salsa:

1 whole mango, chopped
1 whole avocado, chopped
a few sprigs fresh cilantro, chopped
1/4 red onion (you can use more, but mine was super hot)
1/2 jalapeno (again, you can use more but mine was HOT!!!)
1/2 small can super sweet white and yellow corn
about 6 cherry tomatoes, chopped
lime juice (about 3 Tbsp?)

chop all the above stuff up. mix it all together and stir in the lime juice. Add to your cooked chicken.

This is my favorite thing i've made so far! and the best part is you can use this salsa on just about anything else...wraps, salads, pork loin. i don't know what else, but if you think of something good to put the salsa on, leave it in the comments section :)

Enjoy!

shim-han cho-un su-reg-i

that means "serious good garbage"...well this isn't garbage, it's chicken. and it's pretty darn good and easy, to boot.

Honey Balsamic Grilled Chicken Breast:

marinade: balsamic vinegar, honey...don't ask me for measurments. just go easy on the honey and make a thick liquid while stirring in the balsamic vinegar.

marinade the chicken with it for about an hour. and grill. super easy. i'd say i used about 3 Tbsp honey and about 1/4 cup of balsamic vinegar over 4 medium sized chicken breasts.

it was excellent. i served with my fave bag of 50/50 mix lettuce...topped with feta, dried cranberries, and kalamata olives. the dressing i made using 2 tsp olive oil, balsamic vinegar, a few shakes of onion powder and italian seasoning, and one clove pressed garlic. again, not really a measuring kind of person.

next time i make it, i'll post a pic. it looked pretty!

Once You Go Clean

I feel like I've been introduced to a whole new level of taste since eating clean. I didn't really notice it until this weekend though. Not only have I been eating clean, but I've also been pretty committed to buying Farmer's Market fresh and organic produce. This has been my way for almost three months now. But this weekend the kid went to the grocery store and bought some food, including apples. I was hungry, and an apple's and apple, right?

W.R.O.N.G.

One bite into that grocery store, non-organic apple and I wanted to spit it out. It tasted almost plastic, fake. I couldn't believe that a poor apple could really be so tasteless. But I was hungry, so I ate that plastic, fake tasting apple. But half-way through it, my stomach turned into a knotted, cramped mess. I was so sick! I mentioned something to the kid tonight at dinner about it and she looked at me and admitted that she had gotten a stomach ache from eating the apples too!

It just goes to show you how desensitized our bodies become to the crap, the wax, or the sprays or whatever. But after you rid your body of all that junk, it doesn't want it back, not in the teeniest tiniest bit.

Salmon and Spinach Pasta

yummy! super easy and super fast...

2 salmon fillets (i buy the individually packed/frozen fillets)
1/4 pound whole wheat pasta
1/2 bag fresh baby spinach leaves
2 tsp. olive oil
1 Tbsp. McCormick Perfect Pinch Mediterranean Herb Natural Seasoning
1 clove garlic, pressedPrepare pasta as suggested on package.

1. Sprinkle herb seasoning on both salmon fillets. Grill salmon or cook in skillet in 1 tsp. olive oil until done. Remove from pan
   
2. Add another tsp. olive oil to skillet and add pressed garlic. Add spinach leaves and saute until wilted.
3. I usually get 3 meals out of this. If you want to do the same, cut up salmon fillets and add spinach and salmon to pasta and separate into equal portions.
   
4. Enjoy!