Tag: Nutrition

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Another Healthy Recipe from Food Network: Fajitas! Olé!

Notes

Marinating chicken and peppers and onions in a highly flavored marinade and then grilling gives it all the flavor without fat. A spiced creamy yogurt sauce and avocado sauce wrapped in a corn tortilla with fresh cilantro keeps the fajitas healthy and fresh tasting.

Ingredients

  • 1 cup packed cilantro leaves, plus extra for serving
  • 1/4 cup lime juice, about 2 limes
  • 1/4 cup low-sodium chicken broth
  • 3 scallions, cut into 1-inch pieces
  • 2 cloves garlic
  • 1 jalapeno, seeded if desired
  • 1 tablespoon honey
  • Kosher salt
  • 1 1/2-pounds boneless skinless chicken breasts
  • 1 red onion, sliced into 1/2-inch thick rounds
  • 2 orange and/or yellow bell peppers, quartered, seeds removed
  • 1 ripe avocado, halved, seeded and peeled
  • 1 1/2 teaspoons olive oil
  • 1/8 teaspoon ground cumin
  • 1/8 teaspoon ground coriander
  • 1/4 cup fat-free Greek Yogurt
  • 12 corn tortillas
1. Put the cilantro, lime juice, broth, scallions, garlic, jalapeno, honey, and salt in a blender, puree until smooth. Reserve 2 tablespoons; do not wash out the blender.
Put chicken breasts in a medium bowl and the peppers and onions in another. Divide the remaining cilantro puree evenly between the chicken and the peppers and onions. Toss well to coat the chicken and vegetables and let stand, at room temperature, for 30 minutes.
2. Add the avocado, 1/2 cup water, and the reserved 2 tablespoons cilantro sauce to the blender. Puree until smooth and season with salt. Set aside.
3. Heat the oil in a small skillet set over medium heat until hot. Add the cumin and coriander and continue to cook until fragrant, about 30 seconds to 1 minute. Pour the spices over the yogurt and set aside for the flavors to blend. Stir before serving.
4. Preheat a grill for medium-high/direct heat cooking. Oil the grill grates. Grill the chicken and vegetables, turning, until the vegetables are tender and the chicken reaches an internal temperature of 160 degrees F, about 5 to 8 minutes for the vegetables and 12 to 15 minutes for the chicken. Let chicken rest 5 minutes. Place the tortillas on the grill until just warmed through, about 30 seconds.
5. To assemble the fajitas: slice the onions and peppers into thin strips and then slice the chicken. Place some peppers, onions, chicken and cilantro in a tortilla topped with the spiced yogurt and the avocado sauce.
Copyright 2010 Television Food Network, G.P. All rights reserved
Nutritional analysis per serving: (2 fajitas)
Calories 347; Total Fat 8g (Sat Fat 1g, Mono Fat 3g, Poly Fat 1g) ; Protein 31g; Carb 37g; Fiber 5g; Cholesterol 66mg; Sodium 157mg

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Healthy Recipe Ideas

Honey Soy Grilled Salmon with Edamame

Ingredients

  • 1/4 cup packed cilantro leaves
  • 2 scallions
  • 2 teaspoons vegetable oil
  • 1 teaspoon grated ginger
  • Kosher salt and freshly ground pepper
  • 4 center cut skin-on wild salmon fillets, about 6 ounces each
  • 2 teaspoons fresh lime juice
  • 2 teaspoons low-sodium soy sauce
  • 2 teaspoons honey
  • 1/4 teaspoon black sesame seeds
  • 1 1/3 cups cooked edamame
  • Lime wedges, optional garnish
Preheat the grill over medium-high direct heat. Oil the grill grates. Finely chop the cilantro and scallion and mix in the oil and ginger. Season with salt and pepper.
Cut two 3-inch long slits through the skin lengthwise on the bottom of the salmon fillets, going about halfway into the salmon. Evenly stuff the slits with the herb mixture. Season the fish with salt and pepper.
Stir together the lime juice, soy and honey until smooth. Place the salmon, skin side up, on the grill and cook until well marked, 3 to 4 minutes. Turn the salmon and continue to cook, brushing the tops with the sauce, until the fish is cooked through, about another 3 to 4 minutes. Transfer to a serving plate and sprinkle the tops with the sesame seeds. Serve with edamame and lime wedges.
Broiler directions: Position an oven rack so that a baking sheet set on the rack is about 4-inches below the heat source. Preheat the broiler. Prepare the salmon as above and place the fillets, skin down, on a foil lined baking sheet coated with cooking spray. Broil, basting 3 to 4 times with the sauce, until just cooked through, about 6 to 7 minutes.
Nutritional analysis per serving (analysis not including optional lime wedges)
Calories 345; Total Fat 15g (Sat Fat 1.8g, Mono Fat 4.1g, Poly Fat 5.8g) ; Protein 39g; Carb 10g; Fiber 3g; Cholesterol 93.5mg; Sodium 306mg

For more healthy recipe ideas visit the food network website!
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Water: Use it Wisely

We’ve all been told how important it is to drink water, but did you know that sweating out as little as one percent of your body weight can put unnecessary stress on your cardiovascular system?  Next time you plan to workout step on the scale before you get started and then step on it again after you’re done.  Did you lose anything?  Chances are you lost water, and in a 150 pound person losing just a pound and a half is enough to get you off your game.

If your weight is fluctuating more than just a little after a workout due to dehydration, your physical performance may begin to suffer.  Reduced hand-eye coordination, decreased mental sharpness, and enhanced physical fatigue are just a few repercussions of not drinking enough water.

In addition to drinking the recommended 2-3 liters of water each day, The American College of Sports Medicine suggests the following:

  • Drink at least 16oz of water two hours before physical activity.
  • Drink 5-10oz of water for every 15-20 minutes you workout.
  • Drink 16oz of water after a workout for every pound you’ve lost.

Over the coming weeks challenge yourself to drink those 2-3 liters of water daily.  Try out the ACSM guidelines for hydration before, during, and after exercise.  Making these changes should not only help improve the way you feel and workout, it may also help curb your appetite throughout the day.  Good luck!

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Dairy Dos and Don’ts

The intent of this post is to clear up any myths you may have heard about dairy products being unhealthy.  It seems as though more and more people are under the impression that dairy causes weight gain and does more harm than good to the average person’s diet.  After doing the research, I can say in confidence that those ideas are myths and that dairy is an important part of a balanced diet.  While there are certainly dairy products that are high in fat, cutting the entire food group from your meal plan is not the answer.
THE MYTHS:
  • You must stop eating dairy products in order to lose weight
  • Milk is for kids and does not need to be included in an adult diet
  • If you take calcium tablets you do not need to drink milk
  • Spinach is as good of a calcium source as milk
  • Dairy will lead to health problems like heart disease and asthma
THE TRUTH:

Dairy products such as milk, yogurt, and cheese provide essential nutrients such as protein, carbohydrates, vitamins A, B12, and riboflavin, and minerals like calcium, phosphorus, magnesium, potassium, and zinc.  These nutrients are essential for adults and children, alike.  While you can find these things in other food sources, dairy products are often a good way to get several nutrients knocked out at once, so to speak.  Adding just a glass of milk per day to your diet will provide you with a strong start!   
Contrary to popular belief, the consumption of calcium rich dairy products actually has a positive correlation with weight loss.  When our bodies aren’t getting enough calcium they begin to release a hormone called calcitriol.  Calcitirol promotes the production and storage of fat and also reduces the process of fat breakdown.  For this reason, among the obvious others, it is important that we are getting enough calcium in our diets.  There is more calcium in a 250ml glass of milk than there is in 16 cups of spinach.  In addition, milk and other dairy products provide other essential nutrients that calcium tablets, alone, can’t provide.  These facts make dairy the clear choice for getting calcium.
In regards to dairy products playing a part in things like heart disease and asthma, there are a few facts that debunk these myths.  While heart disease can be caused by diets high in fat, eating low fat dairy products have no correlation with the ailment.  The cause of asthma, on the other hand, is rarely ever food related.  While most people who suffer from asthma struggle with things like dust, pollen, and exercise, less than 2.5% of those people are effected by food and drink.
Keeping these things in mind, I encourage you to keep a balanced diet that includes dairy.  Be smart about your dairy choices and try to look for things that are lower in fat or fat free.  While saturated and trans fats are something we should all try to avoid, unsaturated fats will make up about 20% of a balanced diet.  Take a chunk of that 20% and dedicate it to dairy.  You may be pleasantly surprised in the way that you look and feel!
EAT YOUR DAIRY OR YOUR ARMS WILL FALL OFF!
 

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Helpful Tool to Help You Track

Earlier this week a client shared www.loseit.com with me.  (Thanks Rachel!)  I have seen this type of site before but thought this one was particularly helpful due to some of its features.  You can enter a goal of losing, gaining, or maintaining your weight and the website helps you do just that!

By logging your food and exercise online you receive the number of calories you’ve eaten and burned for the day, along with a break down of where those calories are coming from.

If you’re serious about reaching your weight goals calorie counting is often a necessary evil.  This website not only makes things easier on you (because of its food database that helps you determine how many calories you’ve eaten) but it can also help you to understand the flaws in your diet and how you can fix them.

Finally, the site allows you to “friend request” other people which is a GREAT way to establish accountability!

A membership through Lose It! is completely free and totally worth checking out.  It can help you keep the diet portion of your new year’s resolution on track.  Visit www.napfitpt.com for exercise accountability. 🙂

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How to Choose Your Booze

First of all, don’t worry – the beer below is not really *my* beer, I’m just posing next to it for scale.  🙂  I hope that through this blog entry some of you can learn to implement healthier drinking habits into your weekly routine.  For those of you who don’t drink…skip to “The Truth About Carbohydrates” or another entry that’s more applicable!
It starts with the nice weather and a glass of wine on your back porch.  Before you know it football season is here and you’re drinking beer all day long.  Then come the holidays, which just wouldn’t be the same (or in some cases tolerable) without a fully stocked liquor cabinet.  The bottom line is that there is always a reason to drink!  Since all of this talk about fitness and new year’s resolutions is probably driving you to drink right now I figure it’s the right time to examine different types of alcohol and how they can effect your diet.  Realistically, there are a lot of us who aren’t willing to cut these drinks out of our diet completely.  However, there are ways to make smarter decisions when we’re picking our poison.
Alcohol, when consumed in any form, will be processed by your body before fats, proteins, and carbohydrates.  This means that drinking any kind of alcohol will slow down our fat burning process and thus our ability to lose weight.  While cutting cocktails completely out of your diet would be ideal, I am a strong believer in the power of moderation if and when you do choose to drink. 
Let’s take a look at calorie comparison first.  Below is a list of different kinds of alcohol and where they stand in comparison to one another when contemplating calories.
  • Regular Beer (one can)  ~  150 Calories
  • Light Beer (one can)  ~  100 Calories
  • Most Liquor (one shot/no mixer)  ~  95 Calories
  • Dinner Liqueurs (one ounce)  ~  190 Calories
  • Red Wine (one glass/half cup)  ~  80 Calories
  • Dry White Wine (one glass/half cup)  ~  75 Calories
  • Sweet White Wine (one glass/half cup)  ~  90 Calories
  • Wine Cooler (one bottle)  ~  150 Calories
  • Hard Cider (one bottle)  ~  200 Calories
Unfortunately, calories are not the only thing we have to consider when choosing a beverage.  If you were at all relieved to be on the low end of the calorie spectrum with your drink of choice you may be unpleasantly surprised at how many carbs you’re taking in.
  • Beer may be fat free but it can have anywhere from 2 to 20g of carbohydrates in a single can.  Light beers are usually lower in carbs, but that’s not always the case so be sure to check out the nutrition facts.
  • Most wines range from 0.5 to 8g of carbs.  Sweet wines tend to have a higher carb content than dry wines.  You can definitely get away with having a glass of wine for under 3g of carbs if you stay away from the sweet stuff.
  • Many liquors do not have carbs due to the distillation process.  However, some liquor such as tequilla and rum can have up to 5g of carbs per ounce.  The real concern with hard liquor is the nutrition facts of the mixers you may use to sweeten things up.
  • Dinner Liqueurs are usually higher in carbs and average around 17g per 1.5oz.
  • Hard ciders contain around 20g of carbs per bottle and wine coolers sit right around 30g of carbs a piece!
In conclusion, drinking in moderation is your best bet if you’re going to drink.  Every calorie you drink is a calorie you’re taking away from breakfast, lunch, or dinner, so don’t overdo it!  Not to mention, drinking daily will slow down your metabolizing process and make it tougher to lose weight.  This year try to cut your drinking back a bit by lowering the frequency of which you drink or lowering the amount of which you consume.  Wine, light beer, or hard liquor without a sugary or high calorie mixer are far better choices than sweet ciders, wine coolers, and dinner liqueurs.  It’s time to start living by the toasts we propose.  Make a change and stay committed.  Salud! 
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The Truth About Carbohydrates

Contrary to popular belief carbohydrates are NOT the spawn of Satan!  In fact, they’re used for energy. Those of us who stay active should reserve anywhere from 50% – 65% of our daily caloric intake for carbs.  This is why diets like Atkin’s and South Beach are not only unrealistic, but unhealthy as well.
There are two types of carbohydrates.  Things like white bread, white rice, cake, and candy fall under the category of “simple carbs”.  In contrast, things like whole grain breads and pastas, brown rice, fruits, and green veggies are considered “complex carbs”.
While simple carbs can often become a source of weight gain, complex carbs are imperative to energy and good health.  These carbs are suitable for a pre-workout meal.  They will provide you with the energy you need to make it through a tough session at the gym.  In addition, complex carbs can be a great source of fiber.  A person should include about 25 grams of fiber in their daily diet and the right kind of carbohydrates are a good way to fit that fiber in.  
While taking all of this into consideration one must also realize that even good carbs can be misused.  Whether it’s an apple or a bag of chips eating carbohydrates after supper can be as destructive as feeding a gremlin after midnight.  A guaranteed way to jump start your weight loss or avoid weight gain is to cut out ALL carbs after you eat your last meal.  If you’re feeling really brave try to avoid eating carbs during supper too.  Most of us aren’t in need of much energy at night.  For that reason, eating the bulk of your carbohydrates for breakfast and lunch makes more sense and can ultimately lead to weight loss and increased energy levels during the day.
So next time you reach for the beer and popcorn after dinner think of this clip:
…and think again!