Month: April 2013

05
Apr
2013

Zucchini Noodles with Asparagus Tips & Portobello

categories: Low Carb, Main Dishes

zucch noodles portAt the end of a long day of school drops offs, pick ups, housework, volunteering, soccer and tennis, I love entering my kitchen for a bit of stress relief.  My reprieve is cooking.  Making a delicious, healthy meal is just as fun as eating it.  Granted, I’ve been doing it a long time and have my flow going.  But, even when I had no clue what braise really meant, I still found the kitchen to be therapeutic.

Kitchen gadgets make cooking even more fun.  I recently acquired a new one.  It was love at first sight.  I first spotted this darling on another food blog.  I admired the curves and lines, and kept going back to fawn over the green beauty again and again.  I told my husband, “If you ever need a gift idea for me, this is it!”.  I showed him where to buy it on Amazon.  Then I waited.  He didn’t take the hint.  The green beauty didn’t arrive on my doorstep.  Then, something better happened.  Amazon local deals had my beautiful green goddess on sale for half price, for one day!  That was it.  Within 5 minutes, it was bought and a few days later I had her in my hands.  I bet you want to know what it is by now.  What I have been gushing over.  You will probably think I am strange for obsessing over this tool, but here it is…519iNCw1aJL

If you are looking for the proper wording for this bad boy, it is a vegetable processing device.   In simpler terms, it makes veggies into noodles.  I have chopped vegetables trying to get them to resemble noodles, only getting an o.k. result.  The results you receive with this bad boy are perfect.  There are two blades, one for angel hair type noodles, and one for wider noodles.  In this recipe I used the angel hair blade, but it really doesn’t matter.  I piled my plate as high as I wanted, because everything in this recipe is good for you.  So go ahead and stuff yourself silly with this dish.

Oh and by the way, the price is even lower than what I bought it for on Amazon now.  For $6, this  —–> beauty can be yours!  (click on pic for a direct link).

Now for the recipe:

1 lb boneless chicken thighs, visible fat trimmed, cut into 1 inch strips

1 Portobello mushroom cap, cut into 1 inch strips

1/4 sliced brown onion

6 asparagus spears, snap woody bottom off and cut into 4 pieces

1/2 cup bruschetta (click for recipe)

2 zucchini, cut into pasta like noodles (you can use a knife, it just won’t be uniform)

salt, pepper & garlic powder for seasoning

olive oil

Pre-heat broiler.  Cover a cookie sheet with foil.  Sprinkle chicken with salt, pepper and garlic powder and put on cookie sheet.  Broil for 7 minutes.

While chicken is broiling, sprinkle mushrooms, asparagus, and onions with salt and pepper and saute in 1 tsp, of olive oil over high heat for 5 minutes.  Remove to a bowl and set aside.

Put another 1 tsp. of oilve oil in saute pan and saute zucchini for 3/4 minutes, moving constantly.  Add in bruschetta, saute for another 2 minutes.  To serve divide the zucchini noodles, veggies, and chicken into to bowls.  Serve hot

05
Apr
2013

Fit Tip of the Day 4.5.2013

categories: Fit Tips

“Vinegar is a traditional folk remedy long valued for its many health benefits. Recent research shows at least three ways in which the traditional healers were on the right track at least when it comes to weight loss. A 2006 review article in the “Medscape Journal of Medicine” concludes vinegar may have a role in blood sugar control and appetite suppression. Other studies show vinegar may also promote weight loss by preventing fat accumulation through its impact on insulin secretion”.

By adding organic vinegar into your daily routine it can aid in your weight loss and health goals.  Just make sure it is organic and has the ‘mother’ abundantly floating in it.

(Source:  www.naturalnews.com)
04
Apr
2013

Fit Tip of the Day 4.4.2013

categories: Fit Tips

“Avoid white foods. There is some scientific legitimacy to today’s lower-carb diets: Large amounts of simple carbohydrates from white flour and added sugar can wreak havoc on your blood sugar and lead to weight gain. But you shouldn’t toss out the baby with the bathwater. While avoiding sugar, white rice, and white flour, you should eat plenty of whole grain breads and brown rice. One Harvard study of 74,000 women found that those who ate more than two daily servings of whole grains were 49 percent less likely to be overweight than those who ate the white stuff”.

(Source:  http://www.rd.com)
03
Apr
2013

Fit Tip of the Day 4.3.2013

categories: Fit Tips

mfpiphone1Keep track of what you consume, even liquids.  Yes, even that little square of chocolate counts too.  You would be amazed at how quickly calories, fat, sodium, and carbohydrates can add up for your daily allotment.  There are apps that can do it for you, like My Fitness Pal and MyPlate.  Once you start logging in your food choices (all of them), the app will tell you how much fat, calories, carbs, cholesterol, protein you have consumed.  It will gauge if you have stayed within your limits or if you have exceeded them.  After a week of tracking you will be more comfortable with making healthy choices quickly.  Think of it as a teaching tool.  Once you learn how to eat healthy you will never have to go on a diet again.

(Please note:  When calculating how many calories a day you need, make sure you are realistic with your exercise level so the app calculates correctly.  1100 calories a day is not a healthy amount for a person who works out).

02
Apr
2013

Simple Bruschetta Chicken

categories: Low Carb, Main Dishes

bruschetta chickenThere are some recipes that are best left untouched.  In their purest form they are perfect, pristine almost.  Bruschetta chicken is just that.  My mouth is watering just thinking about the basil, garlic and tomato melding together in perfect harmony.  It can be used in a multitude of applications, but this time it was perched atop a roasted chicken breast.  If you are in a hurry to make dinner, still want to impress and eat clean and healthy, this is the dish.  It goes from prep to oven within 10 minutes.  I served it with a whole wheat spinach pasta and roasted broccolini.

Side note:  The bruschetta topping can be used to make a traditional bruschetta (toasted bread with the bruschetta on top), or could be used like a salsa to dip veggies or pita chips in.  Or you can toss it with pasta.  Any way you use it, you will love it.  It’s actually quite addicting.

Warning:  Make sure everyone in your house has some.  Guaranteed garlic halitosis will invade everyone’s mouth after eating this.  BUT, If everyone eats it, the aroma cancels itself out.  Pretty cool, huh?

1 container grape tomatoes, washed

2 large garlic cloves

2 tablespoons dried basil

2 tablespoons olive oil

1 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon black pepper (red pepper if you want it spicy, use less first, the garlic has a bite too)

1 lb, boneless chicken breasts, washed and pat dry with paper towels

salt, pepper and garlic powder for seasoning the chicken

Pre-heat the oven to 400 degrees.  Sprinkle chicken with salt, pepper and garlic on both sides.  Spray both sides with olive oil (use a misto sprayer).  Roast chicken for 20 minutes or until all the juices running out are clear.  Internal temp should be 165 degrees.

For the bruschetta:

In a food processor put garlic, olive oil, salt and pepper.  Process till the garlic is finely chopped.  Scrape the sides of the processor and push all of the ingredients to the bottom of the bowl.  Add the tomatoes in and pulse 4-5 times.  They should still be chunky.  Set aside.

When the chicken has about 7 minutes left, pull out of the oven and distribute the bruschetta topping evenly among all the breasts.  Put back in the oven for the remaining time.