PIN IT!- 1/2 cup nonfat buttermilk
- 1 tablespoon Dijon mustard
- 2 cloves garlic, minced
- 1 teaspoon hot sauce
- 2 1/2-3 pounds whole chicken legs, skin removed, trimmed and cut into thighs and drumsticks
- 1/2 cup whole-wheat flour
- 2 tablespoons sesame seeds
- 1 1/2 teaspoons paprika
- 1 teaspoon dried thyme
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- 1/8 teaspoon salt
- Freshly ground pepper, to taste
- Olive oil cooking spray
The Winner!
08.21.10
The winner of a brand new copy of Master your Metabolism Cookbook is…Erin from Sparkle & Hay! Congratulations to Erin for winning this great cookbook! You must share the recipes with us! Thank you everyone else for entering! A new contest will be taking place in a few weeks so please keep your eyes peeled to enter for a chance to win another great health, fitness and nutrition prize!
Meal Makeover: Comfort Food
08.20.10
There’s no better cure to the blues than comfort food, in my opinion. As soon as you take that first bite of Mom’s homemade apple pie, your mind drifts back to the days of your youth, where you had no worry in the world, a life of carefree jubilance. Now, my days are filled with responsibilities, obligations and concerns, and sometimes the only way I can rediscover that childhood joy is through a bite of fried chicken or a piece of apple pie.
Well, it doesn’t take a nutritionist to know that fried chicken and apple pie aren’t too diet friendly [they are diet’s worst nemesis, actually]. So to avoid having to give up those nostalgic foods, I’ve instead found two alternatives that have half the fat, calories, sugar and sodium but have all of the flavor. Call me crazy, but I just refuse to give up on those little pieces of comfort and childhood.
Fried Chicken [KFC versus oven-fried]
- A breast of KFC Original Recipe Fried Chicken has over 320 calories and 15 grams of fat. [And who eats just one piece?] By adding a thigh, you tack on an extra 220 calories and 15 grams of fat!
- Homemade oven-fried chicken has only 256 calories and 5 grams of fat! [But tastes just as delicious!] And two pieces of it don’t even add up to the amount of fat in ONE piece of KFC!
Oven-Fried Chicken [courtesy of Eating Well]
Ingredients:
Preparation:
- Whisk buttermilk, mustard, garlic and hot sauce in a shallow glass dish until well blended. Add chicken and turn to coat. Cover and marinate in the refrigerator for at least 30 minutes or for up to 8 hours.
- Preheat oven to 425°F. Line a baking sheet with foil. Set a wire rack on the baking sheet and coat it with cooking spray.
- Whisk flour, sesame seeds, paprika, thyme, baking powder, salt and pepper in a small bowl. Place the flour mixture in a paper bag or large sealable plastic bag. Shaking off excess marinade, place one or two pieces of chicken at a time in the bag and shake to coat. Shake off excess flour and place the chicken on the prepared rack. (Discard any leftover flour mixture and marinade.) Spray the chicken pieces with cooking spray.
- Bake the chicken until golden brown and no longer pink in the center, 40 to 50 minutes.
Nutritional Facts [FULL]: 226 calories, 7 grams of fat, 258 grams of sodium, 34 grams of protein & 130 m. grams of cholesterol.
Apple Pie Showdown [regular versus low-calorie]
- A piece of homemade apple pie can have 320 calories and 20 grams of fat [at least, depending on recipe!]! Add a dollop of vanilla ice cream and you are adding 150 calories and another 5 grams of fat. That’s 570 calories and 25 grams of fat for just a slice of dessert!
- A slice of this lower-fat, lower-calorie apple struesal pie has just 270 calories and 11 grams of fat! Add a dollop of light vanilla ice-cream for a total of 380 calories and 15 grams of fat [almost the total amount of just the pie above!]
Apple Struesel Pie [courtesy of Group Recipes]
Ingredients:
- PIE FILLING:
- Pastry for single-crust 9-inch pie
- 18 packets Equal or sugar substitute equavelant
- 2 Tbs. cornstarch
- 2 Tbs. lemon juice
- ¾ tsp. ground cinnamonshopping list
- ¼ tsp. salt
- 1/8 tsp. ground nutmeg
- 6 cups peeled, cored, sliced granny smith apples( about 6 medium )
- STREUSEL TOPPING:
- ½ cup all-purpose flour
- 12 packets Equal or sugar substitute equavelant
- ½ tsp. ground cinnamon
- ¼ tsp. salt
- 4 Tbs. margarine, melted
- ½ cup chopped nuts
Preparation:
- Preheat oven to 375 F.
- Roll pastry on a floured surface into a circle 1 inch larger than 9-inch pie plate. Ease pastry into plate; trim and flute edge. Set aside.
- FOR PIE FILLING: Combine 18 packets Equal, cornstarch, lemon juice, cinnamon, salt, and nutmeg; sprinkle over apples in a large bowl. Toss to coat. Spoon apples into pie crust.
- FOR STREUSEL TOPPING: Combine flour, Equal, cinnamon, and salt. Stir in melted butter until mixture resembles coarse crumbs. Stir in nuts. Sprinkle over apples. Bake at 375 for 45 to 55 minutes or until apples are tender and crust is golden. Cool on a wire rack. Serve warm or room temperature.
Nutritional Facts [FULL]: 270 calories, 11 grams of fat, 158 m. grams of sodium, 2 grams of protein & 16 m. grams of cholesterol
A Happy Life Tip: Mind Your Portions!
08.17.10
Photo courtesy of The Mayo Clinic
We live in a supersize nation and when it comes down to it, we are always looking for a chance to upgrade, especially when it comes to our food. When it comes to choice, we are more inclined to choose bigger, just as the picture depicts. Most people pour the big glass of milk and eat a big stack of pancakes to go with them. And that’s not entirely all our fault either. Most of the portions served to us in restaurants, whether they be fast food or 4 star, are up to two times larger than what we should be consuming! So how do you avoid eating double when all you wanted was a single meal? Mind your portions!
Use Visual Cues
Photo courtesy of the Mayo Clinic
Who has time to memorize and measure every single food they eat? I know I don’t! But I also know I must be more mindful on how much I eat, so I figured there had to be another way. And low and behold, there is a simple, easy way to keep track of your portions! Like the picture shows above, food can be measured by comparing it to common household objects. Although many foods don’t match up with every visual cue perfectly, this method can still give you a better idea on the correct portion sizes. Below is a list that compares the right portion with an object you know and can relate to. [List is courtesy of Whole Living]. Talk about easy right?
- 1/2 cup pasta or rice = half a baseball
- 1 teaspoon oil = water-bottle cap
- 3 ounces meat, fish, or poultry = deck of cards
- 1 ounce bread = CD case
- 1 ounce hard cheese = 4 dice
- 1/4 cup nuts = golf ball
- 1 potato (white or sweet) = computer mouse
- 2 tablespoons salad dressing = shot glass
Drinks matter too!
One of the biggest diet pitfalls we make is that we don’t count drinks when we are tallying our calories, fat and sugar grams and in portion control. Not only do drinks now come in super gulp sizes [see above] but they can also blow an entire dinner’s calorie count out of the water. In 7 Eleven’s Double Gulp, there is 744 calories and 186 grams of sugar! That is the equivalent of eating 45 sugar cubes. And has the same amount of calories than a Big Mac AND small fry! So don’t make the mistake of not counting your drink. And remember that the right portion for a soft drink is 8 ounces and less!
Portion control is the difference between a 20 pound weight loss [eating normal size portions] and 20 pound weight gain [eating the portions served to us], so be just as mindful with how much you eat as you are with what you eat!
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Claire
Claire
Categories:Happy Life Tip
Tags:a life tip, how to lose weight, lose weight, mind portions, mind your portions, portion control
Tags:a life tip, how to lose weight, lose weight, mind portions, mind your portions, portion control
Eat Skinny Be Skinny: Stuffed Portobello Mushroom Caps
08.16.10
Although we had some baking/oven issues with the production of this recipe, the turn-out was quite delicious! This would be perfect for an appetizer, a dinner for two or late night snack. It’s full of protein, calcium and potassium, thanks to the mushrooms! This delicious little recipe is also low in calories and fat, making it a perfect treat for a health nut like me! Recipe is courtesy of Eating Well.
Spinach and Cheese Stuffed Portobello Mushroom Caps
Ingredients
- 4 large portobello mushroom caps
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 1/4 teaspoon freshly ground pepper, divided
- 1 cup part-skim ricotta cheese
- 1 cup finely chopped fresh spinach
- 1/2 cup finely shredded Parmesan cheese, divided
- 2 tablespoons finely chopped kalamata olives
- 1/2 teaspoon Italian seasoning
- 3/4 cup prepared marinara sauce
Preparation
- Preheat oven to 450°F. Coat a rimmed baking sheet with cooking spray.
- Place mushroom caps, gill-side up, on the prepared pan. Sprinkle with salt and 1/8 teaspoon pepper. Roast until tender, 20 to 25 minutes.
- Meanwhile, mash ricotta, spinach, 1/4 cup Parmesan, olives, Italian seasoning and the remaining 1/8 teaspoon pepper in a medium bowl. Place marinara sauce in a small bowl, cover and microwave on High until hot, 30 seconds to 1 1/2 minutes.
- When the mushrooms are tender, carefully pour out any liquid accumulated in the caps. Return the caps to the pan gill-side up. Spread 1 tablespoon marinara into each cap; cover the remaining sauce to keep warm. Mound a generous 1/3 cup ricotta filling into each cap and sprinkle with the remaining 1/4 cup Parmesan. Bake until hot, about 10 minutes. Serve with the remaining marinara sauce.
Nutritional Information: 201 calories, 10 g.m. fat, 14 g.m. protein and 2 g.m. fiber
And what goes well with this recipe? A nice batch of cupcakes for my hubby to be!
Which body part is hardest to shape up? [Contest]
08.13.10
I’m currently looking to see what area of the body people find the most difficult to get just right. I’m planning to use these answers to better my Focus, Fix & Flaunt articles so that they are more helpful and effective to you all!
If you vote in the poll and add to the discussion by leaving a comment, you will be entered to win Jillian Michaels’ cookbook titled, Master Your Metabolism Cookbook.
The contest ends at midnight (EST) on August 20. One entry per person, but if you tweet this post and follow me @realnutritioncg you will have an increased chance! The winner will be announced on our site August 21.
[polldaddy poll=3617057]
