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Diet Tip: Two Weeks of Healthy Dinner Options

FitSugar — Thu, 10 Jan 2008 02:00:00 -0800

There is no question that January equals diet time. Who couldn't use a little outside inspiration in the food department? If you are looking for low cal, healthy recipes USA Today has got you covered. They have created two weeks of sample menus with recipes for their 5th annual Weight Loss Challenge. The recipes are from popular diet plans like Volumetrics and healthy living cookbooks like the Great American Eat Right Cookbook. The menus are a little salmon heavy and are definitely for carnivores, but the recipes all look quick, easy and most importantly tasty.

Visit USA Today to check out the recipes. Trying these recipes is kinda like test driving the cookbooks. If you like the highlighted recipe, you might want to investigate that diet plan a little more thoroughly. And if you don't like the recipe, you know what plans to skip.

Source

Healthy BBQ: South Beach Diet Chimichurri Burgers

FitSugar — Sun, 15 Jul 2007 02:30:00 -0700

I am always looking for healthy foods to make on the grill. These Chimichurri Burgers from the South Beach Diet: Taste of Summer Cookbook really fill that order. Instead of smothering your hamburger with condiments filled with hidden calories, this burger is topped with chimichurri, a thick herb sauce that hails from Argentina. Plus, we all know parsley (the herb in this sauce) is a healthy addition to any meal. I truly appreciate an alternative to the too sweet taste of ketchup

Recipe and Photo courtesy of: The South Beach Diet Taste of Summer Cookbook, by Dr. Arthur Agatston (Rodale, 2007)

To see this tasty and easy recipe, just read more

South Beach Chimichurri Burgers
from The South Beach Diet Taste of Summer Cookbook

Chimichurri Sauce
1 cup fresh Italian parsley leaves
3 scallions, chopped
2 garlic cloves, chopped
2 tablespoons red wine vinegar
2 tablespoons water
1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil
1/2 teaspoon red pepper flakes
1/8 teaspoon salt

Burgers
1 1/2 pounds extra-lean ground beef
2 teaspoons dried basil
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1/8 teaspoon salt
4 whole-wheat hamburger buns - lightly toasted

Make the sauce first by:

Combine all ingredients in a blender or food processor.
Pulse until just puréed, about one minute. Set aside.

For the burgers:

Place all ingredients in a large bowl and combine.
Form beef mixture into 4 patties, about 1 inch thick.
Lightly coat a grill or grill pan with cooking spray and heat to medium high.
Grill burgers 5 to 6 minutes per side, or until a thermometer inserted into the thickest part registers 160 degrees F.
Serve burgers on buns topped with chimichurri sauce.

If you are following the South Beach Diet this recipe is considered a Phase 1 recipe if you forgo the bun. With the bun, it is rated as Phase 2.

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Just in case you are interested in the nutritional information, here it is.

Phase	Calories	Fat (g)	Protein (g)	Carbs (g)	Fiber (g)
One	330	19	36	3	1
Two	450	21	40	25	4

Homemade Baby Succotash

Lil Community — Fri, 13 Nov 2009 06:00:32 -0800

This recipe comes from the group The Children's Table from member lauren.

I have an amazing brother and sister-in-law, who had their first child this last year and in hopes to make sure my niece's diet is full of healthy and tasty things, they have been making homemade baby food. They received the Beaba Babycook as a shower gift and trust me they have been using this handy contraption nonstop! I am sure you could make the same recipe on the stove but this definitely, in my aunt opinion, makes it much easier!

To get the recipe, read more.

Homemade Baby Succotash
Recipe from Cooking for Baby: Wholesome, Homemade, Delicious Foods for 6 to 18 Months

Ingredients

1 tbsp unsalted butter
1 cup lima or butter beans, frozen
1 cup corn kernels frozen
1/4 tsp paprika
1/4 tsp salt

Directions

With the beaba babycook, steam the frozen lima beans and corn kernels. Save the liquid in case, so it can be added back for a smoother texture.
Remove the stemming bowl from the beaba and place the cooked beans and corn in blender portion. Add the butter, salt and paprika and stemming liquid, if needed. Quickly blend to the desired consistency.
Let cool and feed your cute babe!

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Do you have a favorite product or recipe that your tots love? Share it with other lunch making mamas in The Children's Table group over in the LilSugar Community!

Did You Change Your Diet Before Conception?

LilSugar — Wed, 11 Nov 2009 10:00:00 -0800

When couples plan conception they generally prepare by tracking ovulation and take all the helpful hints they can get.

I recently stumbled on Cooking to Conceive: Fertility-Boosting Foods & Recipes to Help You Get Pregnant ($17) at the bookstore and was intrigued by the concept. It focuses on healthy dishes filled with veggies that add extra calcium, folate, and antioxidants to your diet (no champagne and oysters, but chocolate makes the cut!). It's all logical stuff, but I was impressed by the lineup. Did you change your diet when trying to get pregnant, or did you eat the same until you were eating for two?

Healthy Breakfast Idea: 5-Factor French Toast

FitSugar — Thu, 10 Jan 2008 13:30:00 -0800

Harley Pasternak, who is credited for getting Jessica Simpson super toned with his 5-Factor Diet, has given In Touch this yummy recipe for 5-Factor French toast that uses Ezekiel cinnamon raisin bread. While I like the taste (and the nutritional packed goodness) of Ezekiel Bread, it's often too hard for me so this is a great way to use it as it will get less hard when you soak the bread. For the recipe just read more.

5-Factor French Toast (via In Touch)

2 slices Ezekiel cinnamon raisin bread
2/3 cup egg whites
1 cup blueberries
1 tsp. Splenda
1 pinch of salt
Cooking oil spray
Sugar-free syrup

Whisk egg whites, milk, Splenda and salt. Soak the bread in the mixture. Heat skillet with cooking spray. Cook bread one slice at a time until light brown. Top with berries and sugar-free syrup.

*323 Calories per serving.

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Would You See an Unhealthy Doctor?

FitSugar — Wed, 21 Oct 2009 03:47:00 -0700

Whenever I go to the hospital I see a group of doctors and nurses huddled together on the sidewalk smoking. A co-worker recently told me how she was given diet advice from a physician who was visibly overweight. In college I worked at a deli and I can still remember the lunch order of a doctor who came in four times a week - french fries, a Coke, and a pastrami Reuben.

It seems logical that a doctor should be a model of health, but the message some physicians are sending is, "Do as I say, not as I do."

Doctors often work long hours in stressful environments. Top that off with being surrounded by vending machines full of junk food and bad coffee, and you have the beginnings of an unhealthy recipe.

Should doctors be forgiven, then, for picking up a few bad habits? Is it what's "up there" that counts the most? Would you feel comfortable taking advice from a doctor who seems unhealthy?

Reasons People Go Raw

FitSugar — Tue, 13 Oct 2009 10:00:12 -0700

It's World Vegetarian Month and many people are going meat-free for their health, but others are taking their diets to a whole new level - going raw. A raw food diet consists of consuming unprocessed, preferably organic, whole, plant-based foods, at least 75 percent of which should be uncooked.

A raw-food eater might enjoy uncooked veggies, fresh and dried fruits, nuts, seeds, seaweed, soaked dried beans, young coconut milk, and sprouted seeds and breads. The other 25 percent of a raw foodie's diet includes foods that are lightly cooked in a dehydrator, but foods can't be heated above 116° F, because it's believed to destroy valuable enzymes that help our bodies digest and absorb our food. If the good stuff is destroyed, what's the point of eating healthy foods?

Here are some reasons I've heard people give for deciding to go raw:

It's a simple, natural diet, devoid of artificial and processed foods.
For increased energy.
To improve appearance of the skin.
To improve digestion, and prevent constipation.
For weight loss.
To reduce the risk of heart disease.
To eat in a humane way.

Going completely raw may not fit your lifestyle, but it can't hurt to add some raw meals and snacks into your diet. For some raw-food recipes, read more.

	Edamole (substitute minced hot pepper for hot sauce)
	Mango Red Pepper Salsa
	Mixed Nut Butter (use raw nuts)
	Chickpea, Carrot, and Currant Salad
	Corn and Black Bean Salad

If you have a raw food recipe to share, post it in the Healthy Recipe group.

Feel the DailyBurn

FitSugar — Wed, 14 Oct 2009 03:00:43 -0700

I'm becoming a big fan of DailyBurn - a website that lets its users track workout, diet, and health goals in easy-to-read charts and graphs. There's a ton of great health and fitness information on the site and it has a social side that lets users interact with other members.

If you're not very tech savvy, don't be afraid. The site is easy to use and is laid out in a friendly and intuitive way. There are three main areas to DailyBurn - nutrition, exercise, and social networking. To find out how they work, read more.

Nutrition: This is basically an online food journal on steroids. Its food database contains the details of close to 200,000 foods, which makes it easy to track your diet and calorie intake and get a complete nutritional breakdown of what you're eating. There's also a pretty good database of healthy recipes, too.

Exercise: In this area you can design a fitness program for yourself or use one of the 80,000+ existing programs already on the site. If you don't understand an exercise, it's OK, because DailyBurn has tons of videos detailing the exercises. The exercise tracking tool is awesome - you can track your stats for weight loss, muscle gain, strength, and endurance. If you need better improvement in a certain area, it's really easy to adjust your fitness program.

Social Networking: This is where DailyBurn really sets itself apart from other sites. Use this section to find online workout partners and confidants who end up being your biggest cheering section while you reach your goals. And if you like a little healthy competition, you can go up against one another in fitness challenges much like The Biggest Loser. There are also groups members can join depending on their interest.

The basic tools on DailyBurn are free but paid members get access to advanced options like meal planning. The site is a great tool for burning fat and gaining muscle, as well as helping make smarter food choices. I like that I don't need to spend a lot of time inputting information onto DailyBurn because everything I need is already in its databases and navigation tools.

You'll Never Miss the Meat: Conscious Cook Cookbook

FitSugar — Wed, 30 Sep 2009 04:30:09 -0700

We know that eating less meat is a good thing - it reduces your carbon footprint, lowers your grocery bill, and makes sense for your heart. But does it taste good? Vegetarian diets are often associated with a bland menu of tofu, sprouts, and brown rice day after day. Chef to the stars Tal Ronnen sets out to bust this myth in his new cookbook, The Conscious Cook - Delicious Meatless Recipes That Will Change the Way You Eat ($20).

The cookbook is divided into sections by meal courses that include starters, soups, entrées, and desserts. I'm most excited about the entire section devoted to sandwiches because of all the new lunches I get to try. There's a nice intro that covers Ronnen's must haves in the kitchen - from what items he always has in his pantry (agave nectar) to the chef tools he can't live without (food processor). Ronnen touches on the importance of a vegan diet but does it without making you feel like you're choking on someone else's politics. It's obvious the chef's main focus is making food that tastes exceptional.

To hear more about The Conscious Cook and see a killer quinoa recipe, read more.

Each of the 75 recipes features a protein and ranges from the comforting - free-form ravioli with tofu ricotta and arugula pesto - to the sophisticated - peppercorn-encrusted portobello fillets with yellow tomato bearnaise and mashed potatoes. And every recipe has an inspiring photo accompanying it.

What's great about this cookbook is its range and its approach to meatless cooking. No main dish ever feels like a side dish, which can happen a lot in vegan and vegetarian cooking. Instead, each meal is made to be complete and satisfying. There are recipes for a quick or casual meal, but if you want to pull out all the stops, there are recipes for that too. As an added nice touch, there are seasonally driven dinner menus included at the end.

Quinoa, Avocado, and Sweet Potato Timbale With Roasted Tomatillo Dressing
The Conscious Cook: Delicious Meatless Recipes That Will Change the Way You Eat

Ingredients

For the quinoa:
1 cup quinoa, cooked in vegetable stock according to the package directions and cooled to room temperature
1/2 jalapeno, minced
1 tablespoon minced fresh cilantro
1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil
Juice of 1 lime
Salt and freshly ground pepper to taste

For the sweet potatoes:
1 sweet potato, peeled and cut into 1/2-inch dice
2 teaspoons extra-virgin olive oil
Sea salt and freshly ground pepper

For the dressing:
2 tomatillos in olive oil, skins removed
3 tablespoons plus 1 teaspoon olive oil
1 tablespoon rice vinegar
1/4 cup chopped cilantro
1 teaspoon light agave nectar
Sea salt and freshly ground pepper

For the tortilla strips:
Canola oil
2 corn tortillas, cut into 1/4-inch strips
1 teaspoon Cajun seasoning

To serve:
2 avocados, diced
Microgreens

You'll also need 4 salad plates, a food processor, and a 3-inch ring mold.

Directions
1. Make the quinoa: Place all the of the quinoa ingredients in a medium bowl and toss to combine.
2. Make the sweet potatoes: Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. In a small bowl, toss the sweet potatoes with the oil, and season with salt and pepper to taste. Spread in a single layer on a baking sheet and roast for 15 minutes, or until soft in the middle and lightly browned. Be careful not to let the sweet potatoes burn.
3. Make the dressing: Lower the oven temperature to 350 degrees. In a small bowl, toss the tomatillos with 1 teaspoon of the oil. Place on a baking sheet and roast for 15 minutes. Transfer to a food processor, add vinegar, cilantro, and agave nectar, and pulse to combine. With the motor running, pour in the remaining 3 tablespoons oil in a thin stream. Continue blending until emulsified. Season with salt and pepper to taste.
4. Make the tortilla strips: Pour 2 inches of oil into a small, heavy pot and heat until the oil shimmers. Add the tortilla strips and fry until crisp and browned, 1 to 2 minutes. Drain on paper towels and sprinkle with the Cajun seasoning.
5. Assemble the salads: Place a 3-inch ring mold in the center of one of the 4 salad plates. Fill with 1/4 of the quinoa mixture and press down with a spoon to pack the mold, smoothing the top. Place 1/4 of the sweet potato pieces on top of the quinoa and press down gently. Top with 1/4 of the avocado and press down gently. Carefully remove the mold. Repeat on the remaining salad plates.
6. Carefully place 2 tortilla strips parallel to each other about 1 inch apart on top of each timbale. Place 2 more tortilla strips perpendicular on top of those. Top the timbales with the microgreens and drizzle the dressing around the timbales.

Makes 4 servings
Prep time: 45 minutes

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Homemade Smoothies Are Healthy, Easy, and Delicious

partysugar — Thu, 08 Jan 2009 10:15:24 -0800

Since my brother moved to Los Angeles four years ago, he's picked up many stereotypical LA attributes. He thinks driving below 80 MPH is slow, is permanently tan, and starts every morning with a smoothie.

He used to frequent Jamba Juice, but realized a homemade variation was more healthy and cost effective. When he was home for the holidays, he taught me how to make the perfect smoothie.

The first step to making a scrumptious smoothie is to be creative. Start with your favorite frozen fruit and go from there. Although many people put ice in a smoothie, my bro avoids it.

Frozen fruit works fine at keeping the smoothie cold; it ensures a thick, creamy, not watered-down texture. He buys frozen fruit in bulk from Costco and keeps his fridge stocked with a variety of juices like acai berry, pineapple, apple, and mango. Other occasional mix-ins are soy milk, acai berry smoothie packs, protein powder, or flax. To check out two of his ultimate smoothie recipes, read more.

The Basic Classic Smoothie
From Michael Sweeney

Ingredients

6 frozen strawberries*
3/4 cup plain, low-fat yogurt (feel free to substitute a flavored yogurt for plain: strawberry and blueberry work well)
1 banana
1/2 cup orange juice
1 tablespoon of honey
protein powder or flax, optional

Directions

Place the frozen strawberries in the blender. Let sit for 10-15 minutes, so they have time to thaw.
Add the remaining ingredients and blend. Check consistency: if too watery, add more yogurt. If too thick, add more orange juice.
Pour into a glass and enjoy!

Makes 1 smoothie.

*When I made this I thought I had frozen strawberries in the freezer. However I mistook them for raspberries. Instead of running to the store for frozen strawberries, I used the raspberries.

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The K-Gizzle
From Kevin Gigax

Ingredients

5 frozen strawberries
1/3 cup frozen blueberries
1/3 cup frozen raspberries
1 cup orange juice
1/2 cup cranberry juice
1 banana
1 heaping tablespoon vanilla yogurt
1 tablespoon honey

Directions

Place the frozen berries in the blender. Let sit for 10-15 minutes, so they have time to thaw.
Add the remaining ingredients and blend. Check consistency: if too watery, add more yogurt. If too thick, add more orange juice.
Pour into a glass and enjoy!

Makes 1 smoothie.

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