Stir-Fried Chicken with Gingered Vegetables
This recipe serves: 4

Easy to fix, fast to cook…very low in calories and carbohydrates!

Preparation time: 10 mins
Cooking time: 10 mins

Ingredients:
2 boneless, skinless chicken breasts, about 6 ounces each, sliced into strips
salt to taste
freshly ground black pepper
2 teaspoons vegetable oil or peanut oil
2 cups broccoli florets
2 teaspoons sesame oil
2 1/2 cloves garlic, peeled
4 teaspoons freshly grated ginger
1 1/3 cups sliced carrots
1 1/3 cups snow peas
2/3 large red bell pepper, sliced into strips
1/8 teaspoon (or to taste) hot pepper flakes
4 teaspoons rice vinegar or sherry vinegar
2 teaspoons low-sodium soy sauce

Cooking Instructions
1. Bring a medium pot of salted water to a boil.

2. Meanwhile, season the chicken with salt and pepper. Heat the vegetable oil in a nonstick wok or large nonstick skillet over high heat. When the oil is hot, add the chicken and cook, tossing with a wooden spoon, until the chicken begins to brown. Turn off the heat and transfer the chicken to a plate.

3. Blanch the broccoli in the boiling water until the stems just begin to get tender, about 1 or 2 minutes. Drain and set aside.

4. Add the sesame oil and garlic cloves to the wok. Turn the heat to medium and cook until the garlic is fragrant and lightly golden. Remove the garlic, add the ginger and cook for another minute.

5. Turn the heat to high, add the carrots and cook, tossing with a wooden spoon, for 2 minutes. Add the peas, red peppers and hot pepper flakes, continue tossing with the spoon and cook for 1 minute more. Add the chicken, broccoli, vinegar and soy sauce and cook for 2 minutes more. Serve immediately over a bed of rice.

Nutrition Facts
Serving Size:about 2 1/2 cups of chicken and vegetables

Amount Per Serving:
Calories200
Protein22 g
Total Carbohydrate13 g
Dietary Fiber4 g
Soluble Fiber1 g
Insoluble Fiber1 g
Sugar4 g
Total Fat7 g
Saturated Fat1 g
Monounsaturated Fat3 g
Polyunsaturated Fat2 g
Cholesterol210 mg
Percent Calories from Fat31 %
Percent Calories from Protein43 %
Percent Calories from Carbohydrate26 %

Courtesy of FoodFit.com

Roast Chicken with Citrus and Thyme

A great, and healthy, baked chicken recipe perfect for any dinner.

This recipe serves: 4

Ingredients
1 whole chicken, about 5 pounds
salt to taste
freshly ground black pepper
1 lemon, halved
1/2 onion
1 tablespoon olive oil
1/2 cup roughly chopped celery
1 orange, halved
4 sprigs fresh thyme

Cooking Instructions
1. Preheat the oven to 350°F.

2. Rinse the chicken inside and out with cold water. Pat dry with paper towels. Season the cavity of the chicken with salt and pepper.

3. Squeeze the juice from the lemon and orange halves all over the chicken. Stuff the lemon and orange halves into the cavity, along with the onion, celery and thyme.

4. Place the chicken on a rack in a roasting pan. Drizzle the olive oil over the skin and season with salt and pepper.

5. Roast the chicken in the oven for 1 1/2 hours or until a thermometer inserted into the thickest part of the thigh registers 160°F.

6. Let the chicken rest for 15 minutes. Remove and discard the skin before carving.

Nutrition Facts
Serving Size:1/4 skinless chicken

Amount Per Serving
Calories323
Protein47 g
Total Carbohydrate11 g
Dietary Fiber3 g
Soluble Fiber0 g
Insoluble Fiber0 g
Sugar6 g
Total Fat10 g
Saturated Fat2 g
Monounsaturated Fat5 g
Polyunsaturated Fat1 g
Trans Fatty Acid (tfa)0 g
Omega-3 Fatty Acid0 g
Omega-6 Fatty Acid0 g
Cholesterol148 mg
Percent Calories from Fat28 %
Percent Calories from Protein58 %
Percent Calories from Carbohydrate14 %

Grilled Tenderloin with Warm Vegetable Salad

It’s Summer and that means it is time to fire up the grill!  Here is a simple recipe for a delicious dish that makes for a great weekend dinner.

Yield
4 servings (serving size: 1 steak and 1/2 cup vegetable mixture)

Ingredients
4  (4-ounce) beef tenderloin steaks, trimmed (about 1 inch thick)
1/2  teaspoon  salt, divided
1/2  teaspoon  black pepper, divided
2  small zucchini, halved lengthwise
2  small yellow squash, halved lengthwise
2  plum tomatoes, halved lengthwise
2  green onions
2  tablespoons  red wine vinegar
2  teaspoons  bottled minced garlic
Cooking spray
1  tablespoon  commercial pesto
Oregano sprigs (optional)
Preparation
Prepare grill or broiler.

Sprinkle steaks with 1/4 teaspoon salt and 1/4 teaspoon pepper.

Combine 1/4 teaspoon salt, 1/4 teaspoon pepper, zucchini, and next 5 ingredients (zucchini through garlic) in a large zip-top plastic bag. Seal and shake to coat.

Place the tenderloin steaks on grill rack or broiler pan coated with cooking spray; cook for 4 minutes on each side or until desired degree of doneness. Place the zucchini and yellow squash on grill rack or broiler pan coated with cooking spray; cook 3 minutes on each side or until tender. Place the tomato and onions on grill rack or broiler pan; cook 2 minutes or just until tender.

Coarsely chop the vegetables, and place in a bowl. Add pesto; stir gently. Serve with steaks. Garnish with oregano, if desired.

Nutritional Information
Calories:245 (39% from fat)
Fat:10.5g (sat 3.7g,mono 4.3g,poly 0.6g)
Protein:27.2g
Carbohydrate:10.4g
Fiber:4.1g
Cholesterol:72mg
Iron:4.4mg
Sodium:385mg
Calcium:85mg

**Recipe courtesy of CookingLight.com

Salmon is one of the best foods you can put in your mouth if you are trying to get in shape.  It is one of the best sources for protein and omega 3s.  Here is one of the best recipes for grilled salmon I’ve found (courtesy of Cooks.com):

2 salmon fillets (3/4 lb. each)
1/2 c. orange juice
1/2 c. oil
Dried Paste
2-3 tbsp. fresh rosemary

DRIED PASTE:

1/2 tsp. rosemary
3 cloves garlic, crushed
1 1/2 tsp. salt

Prepare dried paste, mixing rosemary, garlic and salt. Rub paste on salmon (if you use steaks, rub on both sides). Place salmon in a plastic container. Pour orange juice and oil mixture over salmon. Turn salmon over and be sure both sides are marinated. Refrigerate for 2 hours, basting and turning frequently.

When ready to cook, heat gas or charcoal grill to a very hot temperature. Just prior to putting salmon on, toss 2-3 tablespoons fresh rosemary on the coals or grill irons. (Fresh is best, but you can use dried rosemary.)

Grill salmon 5-10 minutes on first side (important: until meat starts to flake). Grill 5 minutes on second side (until meat flakes). Don’t overcook, will dry out or burn.

Fresh salmon is best. To obtain 3/4 pound fillets, ask your fishmonger to prepare them for you.

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How many times have you heard someone say, “Boy, I really feel my workout yesterday?”  What they are referring to is DOMS (delayed onset muscle soreness) or just “sore as hell” for short.  I’ll make this really simple: Soreness is not an indicator of the quality of your workout.   It is an indicator that you just did something your body isn’t used to doing.

Being sore can be caused by a few things.  You may be new to working out or you just added/changed exercises in your routine working muscles in a way that they haven’t been worked in a while.  It can also be caused by significantly upping the load on your normal lifts.  This is not, by any means, and exhaustive list of causes.

So, what really causes soreness?  Here is a great explanation from About.com

Delayed onset muscle soreness is thought to be a result of microscopic tearing of the muscle fibers. The amount of tearing (and soreness) depends on how hard and how long you exercise and what type of exercise you do. Any movement you aren’t used to can lead to DOMS, but eccentric muscle contractions (movements that cause muscle to forcefully contract while it lengthens) seem to cause the most soreness.