Veggie and Cream Cheese Omelet

From Shape Magazine: This hot breakfast item is ready in less than 20 minutes!

Serves: 1
Prep Time: 10 min.
Cook Time: 7 min.

• Cooking spray
• 1 cup sliced vegetables (pick any combo: broccoli, mushrooms, tomatoes, peppers, spinach) and fresh herbs (like parsley or basil)
• 2 eggs
• 2 tablespoons water
• 1/4 teaspoon each sea salt and black pepper
• 1 tablespoon lowfat cream cheese
• 1/2 grapefruit

1. Lightly coat a nonstick sauté pan with cooking spray. Add vegetables and herbs; sauté for about 4 minutes or until soft, depending on vegetables. Drain excess water; set aside. Whisk eggs, water, salt, and pepper together in a bowl. Return pan with vegetables to the stove top; pour in egg mixture. Cook for about 3 minutes or until omelet is set.
2. Top omelet with cream cheese and fold in half. Garnish with fresh herbs if desired. Section grapefruit half and serve with the omelet.

Nutrition Information
254 calories
13 g fat
5 g saturated fat
18 g carbs
18 g protein
2 g fiber

Wok-Seared Chicken Tenders with Asparagus & Pistachios

Via Eating Well

Ingredients

1 tablespoon toasted sesame oil
1 1/2 pounds fresh asparagus, tough ends trimmed, cut into 1-inch pieces
1 pound chicken tenders, cut into bite-size pieces
4 scallions, trimmed and cut into 1-inch pieces
2 tablespoons minced fresh ginger
1 tablespoon oyster-flavored sauce
1 teaspoon chili-garlic sauce
1/4 cup shelled salted pistachios, coarsely chopped

Preparation

Heat oil in a wok or large skillet over high heat. Add asparagus; cook, stirring, for 2 minutes. Add chicken; cook, stirring, for 4 minutes. Stir in scallions, ginger, oyster sauce and chili-garlic sauce; cook, stirring, until the chicken is juicy and just cooked through, 1 to 2 minutes more. Stir in pistachios and serve immediately.

Yield: Makes 4 servings
Active Time: 25 minutes
Total Time: 25 minutes

Nutritional information
208 Calories
8 g fat
7 g carbs
30 g protein

Why protein?

Why Protein?…Not to be confused with
“Whey” protein.

I get asked about protein all the time.

How much do I need?

What kind is best?

How often?

And the one above…”Why Protein”?

Well….I had a client ask me the other day, so I thought I’d share with you what I told her. It should help clear up most of your questions and get you headed in the right direction, if you’re not already.

Here you go…….

If you think you need to eat meat all day, that just isn’t accurate or something I’d advise anyway. Ideally, you should be taking in roughly 70-100% of your body weight in grams of protein. So, if you weigh 150lbs, you’d need to be right about 105-150 grams per day divided among all your meals. That’s 20-30 grams per meal. Take your body weight,
multiply it by 70% and that’s your gram total for daily protein.

You have to remember that your primary aim at losing body fat is to control blood sugar and insulin levels. All foods (carbs, protein, fat) affect insulin and blood sugar. Out of those three, carbohydrates elevate circulating blood glucose levels much more than the others. In response to that increase, your body secretes a hormone called insulin to “pull” that sugar from your blood stream and distribute it to your muscle cells and liver for use at a later time and for immediate energy.

Depending on the amount and type of carbohydrates in that meal will dictate how much blood sugar raises and therefore how much insulin your body releases. High circulating blood sugar and high circulating insulin levels trigger your body to release a cascade of hormones responsible for “storage”. That’s not what we’re after.

We’re after a process that enables your body to release fat for energy, not store it….right?

By combining proteins and fats with meals, you create what’s referred to as a low glycemic load. It basically means your blood sugar isn’t as affected by the carbohydrates in your meal as it would be had you eaten only the carbohydrates by themselves.

So, what were trying to do with keeping protein and fats at about 25-30% of your nutrition plan, is to stabilize your blood sugar, keep insulin levels in check and coax your body into increasing it’s secretion of the hormaone glucagon (it helps trigger stored fatty acids into your blood stream for energy).

Let’s put it this way…. Protein “costs” your body more energy because it takes more energy for your body to break it down into amino acids. It also helps protect you from losing muscle, which is the case with most calorically restrictive diets.

= = = > SIDE NOTE < = = =

It’s estimated that weight loss from a severely restrictive eating plan comes 50% from fat stores with the other 50% from lean muscle….OUCH!! That’s not good!

= = = > END SIDE NOTE < = = =

Protein helps you control insulin and blood sugar so your body produces “fat burning” hormones. It helps control hunger more so than carbohydrates. So….as you can see, there’s numerous reasons to get a good clean/lean source of protein at each meal (be it animal or plant derived).

Sources of protein….http://www.webmd.com/fitness-exercise/guide/good-protein-sources

• A serving size of lean meat is 3-4oz or about the size of a deck of cards.
• Cottage cheese serving size is roughly ½ to 1 cup.
• Egg whites have 3 grams of protein while the yolk has the same, but also all the fat and cholesterol.So 5-7 egg whites with one yolk per 3-4 whites would give you roughly 20-25 grams.
• Protein powders are a great substitute or addition. Most are 20-25 grams per scoop and come in flavors. The one I use and have had the most success with getting my clients results is Nutrilite’s Ready-to-drink (RTD) shake.
• I hope that helped clear up most of your questions about protein and it’s role as a fat loss food.

Here’s your takeaway….

Plan your meals to include an evenly divided serving size of protein based on your daily gram goal. Divide your gram goal by the number of meals you’re eating that day and you have your “per meal” serving size.

Example: If my gram goal is 125 grams, I would divide that by my 5 daily meals and get 25 grams. That’s my protein goal for all five of my meals.

Call me at 719-229-2639 for more information. As Always…eat right, stay active and keep positive!

Nutrilite Protein

Protein powder is all about personal preference: what flavors and textures you enjoy. Sometimes it takes some experimentation to find a product that you like, and sometimes you get in a rut of having the same thing day after day and need a change.

I fall in the second category. I like my vanilla GNC powder with soy milk and frozen fruit. It’s more of a meal replacement than a snack, weighing in at about 320 calories, and I can vary what fruit I put in it to keep from getting too bored. But I’ve been in need of some smaller healthy snacks to keep my tummy from hollowing out and imploding, sooo hungry by dinnertime.

Joe let me try some of the Nutrilite protein powder and I have to say: This product is one that doesn’t need any sprucing up with milk or fruit. Shake it up with some water and the shake is still thick and creamy and flavorful all by itself, almost milkshake-like. I’m sure it would be even thicker and richer if you mixed it with milk. And with 120 calories, 1.5g fat, 25g protein and only 3g carbs, it’s the perfect snack or mini-meal for mid-afternoon.

You could have a yogurt (Yoplait light 6 oz. is 100 calories, 0g fat, 5g protein and 17 carbs, plus a whole lot of artificial sweeteners). But for only 20 more calories, you get so much more with this shake. If you’d like to give the Nutrilite protein powder a try, ask Joe for more info.

Don’t let lean times make you fat

According to MSNBC, waistbands tend to expand as the economy contracts, proving wrong that old “tightening the belt” metaphor:

Rising unemployment, higher food prices and dwindling savings may exacerbate the nation’s obesity problem, sending already high rates ballooning as consumers turn to cheaper, less healthful choices ranging from boxed mac ‘n’ cheese to fast-food dollar menus.

“All evidence suggests that obesity is the toxic consequence of a failing economic environment,” said Adam Drewnowski, a professor of epidemiology at the University of Washington in Seattle.

As households struggle with falling incomes and with food prices expected to jump 6 percent this year, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture, families are scrimping on groceries. Nearly six in 10 Americans said they’ve cut back on the quality or quantity of the food they buy, according to an annual hunger survey released this week by Hormel Foods Corp.

But that doesn’t mean they’re dieting, noted Drewnowski, whose research has found a consistent link between poverty and obesity, including a recent study that showed that obesity rates were five times higher in lower-value Seattle ZIP code areas than in upscale neighborhoods.

“It is quite possible to spend less and eat more,” said Drewnowski. “The very cheapest foods are calorie-rich and nutrient-poor. Because they contain refined grains, sugars and fats, they also taste good and, of course, are easy to come by.”

Link to full article here.

According to experts, if you follow the USDA’s five-to-nine suggestion for daily fruit and vegetable servings, your the cost of your diet will increase threefold, so they’re not just whistling dixie when they say your body weight is tied to your wallet weight. So what’s a dieting girl (or guy) supposed to do?

Integrate beans and eggs (mostly whites, of course) to your protein supply. Both are still full of muscle-building protein, but don’t cost as much as chicken, fish or beef. Also, try frozen meats instead of fresh.

Buy grains in bulk. Don’t be tempted by white bread and pasta. Stock the cabinets with large bags/boxes of whole-grain pasta, brown rice and barley or bulk quantities of whole-wheat flour. Uncooked, these items are cheap, and if you cook a large amount in advance and save it, it’s also simple to incorporate them into any meal.

Avoid going out! If you eat at home, you save money AND calories.

Avoid TV dinners. You can make the same thing yourself cheaper and healthier. And again, make enough of your favorite lunch dish (black beans and rice or a terriaki chicken bowl) for a few servings and put them in single-serving containers in the fridge to make life even easier.

Go frozen with fruits and veggies. Frozen at the peak of freshness, frozen veggies retain a remarkable amount of vitamins and minerals at a fraction of the cost of fresh produce.

How about you guys? How do you save money on groceries and yet feed yourself (and your family) healthy, satisfying meals?