Grilled Shrimp Kabobs

Ingredients:
Shrimp
Mushroom
Pineapple
Sweet Peppers
Bacon
Salt
Lemon pepper marinade
Lemon pepper seasoning

Directions:
Marinade shrimp in lemon pepper marinade (Lawry's).
Wrap shrimp with bacon.
Place ingredients on kabob. 
Sprinkle with lemon pepper seasoning and salt to taste.
Grill 10-15 minutes or until shrimp are pink. 
Serve hot!

Beef-Stuffed Zucchini (Turkey works well too)

Ingredients

4 medium zucchini
1 pound ground beef or turkey
1/2 cup chopped onion
3/4 cup marinara or spaghetti sauce
1 egg, beaten
1/4 cup seasoned bread crumbs
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon pepper
1 cup (4 ounces) shredded Monterey Jack cheese, divided
Additional marinara or spaghetti sauce

Directions

Cut zucchini in half lengthwise; cut a thin slice from the bottom of each with a sharp knife to allow zucchini to sit flat. Scoop out pulp, leaving 1/4-in. shells.
Place shells in an ungreased 3-qt. microwave-safe dish. Cover and microwave on high for 3 minutes or until crisp-tender; drain and set aside.
Meanwhile, in a large skillet, cook beef and onion over medium heat until meat is no longer pink; drain. Remove from the heat; stir in the marinara sauce, egg, bread crumbs, salt, pepper and 1/2 cup cheese.
Spoon about 1/4 cup into each shell. Microwave, uncovered, on high for 4 minutes. Sprinkle with remaining cheese. Then broil it for 4-5 minutes, watch it carefully to be sure it doesnt burn. A thermometer inserted into filling reads 160° and zucchini are tender. Serve with additional marinara sauce. Yield: 4 servings.

Nutritional Facts

2 stuffed zucchini halves (calculated without additional sauce) equals 394 calories, 21 g fat (10 g saturated fat), 134 mg cholesterol, 602 mg sodium, 19 g carbohydrate, 4 g fiber, 33 g protein.

The New Coconut Craze

A medium sized coconut yields 1400 calories, with 13 grams of protein, 60 grams of carbs, and a whopping 133 grams of fats. You’ll also get 36 grams (144% RDV) of dietary fiber.

Coconut 101


In Sanskrit, coconuts are called“Kalpa Vriksha”, which translates roughly as: the tree that gives all that is necessary for living.[1] This is an appropriate description for this plant that can keep you going, no longer how far your race.
Nutritional Data

The coconut is one of the most nutritionally dense whole foods in existence. There is good reason to associate them with desert island survival – Gilligan and the professor had all they needed to last as long as they did. It is not just a cliche. In short, these burly stone fruit will keep you alive.


Source: USDA, Google
Health Benefits
Boost your metabolism. – A study reported in the Journal of Nutrition [2] found that coconut oil boosts your metabolism. In brief, study participants who consumed two tablespoons of coconut oil per day burned more kilojoules per day than a control group who did not.
Can kill germs and viruses. Almost half of the fatty acids found in coconut oil are composed of lauric acid. Lauric acid kills bacteria, viruses, and fungi, thus helping you to stave off infections before they take hold. An increased resistance to cold and flu is yet another reason to put this fruit in your rotation.
How to Eat a Raw Coconut
Get/drink the water inside - wash your screwdriver, awl, or spear. Look for a soft spot in one of the coconuts eyes. Pound your solid, sharp object of choice through one of those targets. You want that coconut water you hear sloshing around so be careful not to spill it. Pour into glass and enjoy.


Breaking open the coconut - We suggest you just put the coconut in a plastic back, take your hammer/hatchet, and smash it against the floor. Or, without a hammer, go outside and find a sharp ledge or corner and do some smack smack rotate, smack smack rotate. Take advantage of the weakness you just made by punching a hole into the shell.


Scraping the coconut meat – This is nothing that can’t be achieved with a spoon, wrist strength, dexterity, and persistence. Work the spoon behind the white flesh meat portion, and use the shell as your leverage to pry the coconut meat away from the shell in pieces. This is pretty time consuming. Heating the coconut at 400F for 20 minutes, and then letting it cool will help.


Other Cooking Methods

The white fleshy part of the coconut is known as the ‘meat’, and can be used either fresh or dried in cooking and baking.

In addition to the meat, you can use the coconut to obtain coconut water, milk (different than the water inside), flour, and oil. Coconut oil is a wickedly nutritious alternative to olive oil, much better than butter, and far superior to margarine.


Coconut flour is a healthy way put a coconut flavor into your baking, while allowing you to go gluten-free. Coconut flour contains 5 grams of fiber per 2 tablespoons, while at the same time only having 2 grams of total and saturated fat. Adding coconut flour to baked goods lowers the glycemic index, which is the measurement of the rate that a food increases blood sugar. Foods with a low GI value are less likely to cause sugar spikes and crashes.
Sources

[1] http://www.coconutrepublic.org/quotable_notables.php

[2]Fife B. (2004). The Coconut Oil Miracle. New York: Avery.
Papamandjaris A, MacDougall D, Jones P. Medium chain fatty acid metabolism and energy expenditure: obesity treatment implications. Life Sciences 1998;62: 1203-121.

[3] http://www.spartan.com/food-of-the-day/food-of-the-day/coconut/

Lemon and Apple Pasta Salad

15-20 minutes

4 servings
240 calories per serving
Vegan, gluten-free

Ingredients
4 cups of sugar peas
1 cup gluten-free small noodles
3 red apples
15 fresh basil leaves
1 lemon
2 tbs coconut oil
Sea salt
White pepper

Directions
Boil water, cook the whole wheat (grain) pasta as directed, drain, then set aside to cool.
Steam the sugar peas 8-minutes, then set aside to cool.
Zest half of the lemon (cut out little strips of the outer layer of the peel). Press the lemon and set aside.
Slice the apples into long and thin pieces. Place in a bowl, add the 2 tbs of melted coconut oil, juice from the lemon, the zests, salt and pepper.Toss together with the basil leaves, sugar peas, and pasta. Enjoy.

5 Cinco de Mayo Recipes That Scream Fiesta!

    Cinco de Mayo—a holiday we celebrate primarily to, well, celebrate! Usually abound with tortilla chips and dip, a myriad of taco choices, and those oh-so-tempting margaritas, it’s easy to stray away from the healthy path on this day. Fear not! We have five (or should we say “cinco”?) fiesta-themed Shakeology recipes that will allow you to partake in the festivities while leaving the calories behind!

Piña Colada

• 1 serving Vanilla Shakeology
• ½ cup water
• ½ cup 100% pineapple juice
• ½ tsp. coconut extract

Strawberry Tango

• 1 serving Greenberry Shakeology
• 1 cup water
• ½ cup fresh or frozen strawberries
• ½ cup fresh or frozen mango

Strawberry-Watermelon Surprise

• 1 serving Strawberry Shakeology
• ½ cup water
• ½ cup    diced watermelon
• 2 Tbsp.  chopped fresh mint

Mojito

• 1 serving Tropical Strawberry Shakeology
• 1 cup water
• 2 Tbsp. chopped fresh mint leaves
• 1 Tbsp. fresh lime

Sweet and Spicy

• 1 serving Chocolate Vegan Shakeology
• 1 cup unsweetened rice milk
• 2 tsp. pure maple syrup
• ½ tsp. cayenne pepper

For the best taste experience, use a blender and add ice. The more ice, the thicker it gets. Feel free to use any kind of milk or milk substitute (almond, rice or coconut milk)—the more milk, the creamier it gets! Enjoy!

Easy Stuffed Sweet Peppers

Last night I wanted something healthy and my fridge is getting pretty bare, time to go grocery shopping. I decided to just wing it and make up a recipe with what I had. It turned out so good, I wanted to share it

Ingredients:
1 can crushed pineapple
1 jar of Bruschetta (spaghetti sauce)
1 can of Rotel tomatoes
Meat balls
Sweet peppers
Cheese

Preparation:
I took the meat balls and placed them in the pot along with the tomato sauce, pineapple, and spaghetti sauce and cooked them on lo-medium for about 30 minutes (I used meatballs that were already fully cooked). While the meat balls were cooking, I cleaned and cut my sweet peppers in half. I put them on a pan ready to throw into my toaster (is you do not have a toaster the oven will work just as well). After the meatballs and everything were cooked and ready to go, I cut them up and placed them inside the sweet peppers, I added a little sauce from the pot and sprinkled cheese on top. I toasted/broiled the peppers until the cheese was melted.

I served it with a fresh green vegetable salad and vinaigrette dressed.

My Idea Of Clean Eating

What is Clean Eating?

Part of the problem with getting to the bottom of what clean eating is, is that everyone seems to have a different definition of what actually constitutes ‘clean’. You’ve got your bodybuilder definition, your paleo definition, your vegan definition, your celebrity doctor definition and on and on and on. Not only that, but those definitions can vary wildly from individual to individual.

What follows is my definition of clean eating, I don’t claim that it’s the ‘right’ definition; these are simply the personal guidelines I use to stay healthy.

What Clean Eating is NOT!

So, with that in mind, let’s go over some things clean eating isn’t: it’s not a diet, it’s not calorie-restriction, it’s not about meal frequency, it’s not about depriving yourself of things you love and it isn’t about perfection.

People often equate clean eating with sacrifice, but it’s actually about finding healthy alternatives to unhealthy food. 

Sure it takes more work, but the results are certainly worth it. Also remember that as you clean up your eating habits, your tastes change and you get to the point where you actually crave healthy food. Sounds crazy, but it’s true.

MY CLEAN EATING GUIDELINES

So, I really believe in keeping it short and sweet! I do not think it takes a lot of "knowledge" to eat clean. My motto is: Anything God created to eat, I can eat! With the exception of the things that man has altered. For example: things may say "wheat," but it is soft and squishy....guess what, God did not make it, it has been altered by man! You need to look at the ingredients, if it says bleached or enriched...it is not made by God :) It has to say "whole wheat" etc. The less ingredients it has the better! Also, if you cannot read the ingredients, chances are God did not create it. 
So here it is in a nut shell: if it is man made...do not eat it! 

I used the 21 Day Fix to help me learn exactly how to do this! It really helped me to focus in on portion control and eating clean. I highly recommend this for beginners. Please contact me if you would like more information about this program.(21 Day Fix)

This is the bread I buy and you can buy it at sprouts. They have several different kinds and they even have tortillas but they have to be refrigerated because they have no preservatives in them. 

What to do:

Eat more- eat six small meals each day.
Eat breakfast every day, within an hour of rising.
Eat a combination of lean protein and complex carbs at each meal
Eat sufficient (two to three servings) healthy fats every day.
Carry a cooler packed with clean foods each day.
Depend on fresh fruits and vegetables for fiber, vitamins, nutrients and enzymes.
Adhere to proper portion sizes.

Avoid these most of the time…

Like we said earlier, clean eating isn’t about perfection – any way of eating which requires perfection is going to be hard to sustain in the long run; eating is also a social affair, so it’s nice to be able to join in with friends and family. That said, to eat clean, you want to avoid the following most (90%) of the time:

Avoid processed food.

Convenient, but you pay for that convenience because processed foods are usually high in chemical additives, trans fats, salts and refined sugars.

Avoid most refined foods.

This means refined flour, sugars (high-fructose, white, brown, and the rest), trans-fats etc. If you’re interested in cutting down body fat, of special importance is to cut out refined sugars, which due to their affect on insulin levels and hormone sensitive lipase, aids in fat loss.

Avoid artificial ingredients and preservatives.

As the saying goes: if you can’t pronounce it, don’t eat it. If it’s made in a lab, don’t eat it. This includes artificial sweeteners!

Avoid alcohol.

The long and short of it is: alcohol is a toxin. It’s also an excellent social lubricant, so if you’re going to drink, make sure you keep it low to moderate.

Avoid soda, high calorie creamers, energy drinks and fruit juice.

Don’t drink your calories: soda is loaded with sugar, diet soda is loaded with artificial sweeteners and fruit juice is also often loaded with refined sugar and of course, natural sugars.

If you just stick to the above guidelines most of the time, you’ll be well on your way to a clean eating lifestyle. As said before, it’s not about perfection, but the more you can cut out the above factors, the healthier you’ll be.

Do this most of the time…

Account for individuality.
First and foremost, whatever eating habits you choose to make, you need to make it about you. In other words, you need to tailor your diet to:
1) your own food sensitivities and intolerance's (if any)
2) your personal preferences.

For example: if you are gluten and lactose intolerant, then clean eating, for you would mean, that you would have to avoid wheat and dairy products.

Eat according to your goals.

Eating to lose weight, maintain your weight, or gain weight (in the form of lean muscle, hopefully!) have different calorie requirements.

Eat plenty vegetables.

Veggies, veggies, veggies! Get as many veggies as you can.  The idea is to make sure you have a variety of veggies on your plate (as many colors of the rainbow as you can get) and to vary the veggies you eat as often as possible.

Eat fruits in moderation.
Fruits are a sweet treat and a nutritious alternative to candies and other refined sugars, but it is possible to eat too many. Fruit can make you gain weight! Also, modern day fruits are generally much larger and higher in sugar than they would have been naturally (hybridization).

Eat high-quality meats.

If you’re a vegetarian or vegan you have plant-based alternatives. For the meat eaters, aim to get lean meat and limit your red meat to 2 times a week.

Eat healthy fats.

Healthy fats don’t make you fat, they’re good for you! Yes, even some healthy (i.e. from a high-quality source) saturated fats. You can get healthy fats from, for example, fish (e.g. anchovies and sardines), nuts and seeds (e.g. walnuts, almonds, chia seeds), avocados, eggs, oils (olive oil, coconut oil).

Use high-quality supplement(s).

I highly recommend Shakeology! It has done wanders for me and I use this rather than the daily vitamins.

Drink mostly water and enough of it.
Your daily water consumption should be half of your body weight in ounces. 

For instance: If you weight 100lbs, then you should be dring 50oz. 

Now, if you weigh more than 260lbs, then your goal (in my opinion) should be a gallon (128oz) a day, instead of half your weight.

Pure, unadulterated water is the best way to stay hydrated, chuck the soda, chuck the fruit juice and stick to water most of the time, herbal teas and moderate use of coffee (remembering that caffeine has a 6 hour half-life in the body, so it’s best to drink it earlier in the morning). 

(Credit: FitbodyHQ)