Antioxidant Salad

Phew! Between moving, deadlines at work and my sister-in-law's bachelorette party I haven't had a minute to breathe! However, breathing or not, I have still made time to eat healthy.

Here is a quick and simple salad I came up with to eat as a snack/meal four, at my desk. It includes two of my favorite antioxidants, as well as my favorite condiment:) If you follow my blog you've read about the amazing healthy properties of beets. But if you're wondering why I'm recommending something as fatty as avocado you'll be happy to know that avocados contain "good" fat and are essential to our diet!

Good fats are mono-unsaturated fat (olive oil, canola oil, seeds, nuts and avocado) and poly-unsaturated fat (fish, walnuts, seeds, flax seed/oil). One "bad" fat is saturated fat (animal products like red meat and whole milk dairy products, some vegetable oils.) Saturated fat increases our chances of heart disease and increases "bad" cholesterol levels while lowering good cholesterol levels.) Another "bad" fat is transfat (fast food, vegetable shortening, margarine, cookies, candy, fried foods). There is no need to consume saturated or transfat as long as we're getting enough mono and poly-unsaturated fat in our diets.

You're welcome to use fresh beets but, to save time, I used roasted beets from Trader Joes. 

Ingredients

4 medium beets (about 1/2 pound each), scrubbed

2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil

Salt and freshly ground white pepper 

1/3 cup finely chopped white onion 

2 tablespoons red wine vinegar 

2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice 

1 teaspoon Dijon mustard (I used yellow because I'm not that fancy)

1 teaspoon honey 

1/2 cup grapeseed oil or other mild vegetable oil 

2 avocados, cut into 3/4-inch pieces 

Directions:

In a blender, combine the chopped onion with the red wine vinegar, lemon juice, mustard and honey. Season with salt and white pepper and blend until smooth. With the machine on, add the grapeseed oil and the 2 tablespoons of olive oil in a steady stream.

 Add the avocado to the roasted beets. Pour the onion dressing on top and toss gently to combine. Season the salad with salt and pepper and serve.

Cherry Chard Salad

My mom served this around the holidays and I couldn't stop complimenting her on it. "I know" she said. "It's always a hit." Always? I wondered.

I finally got around to requesting the recipe and she forwarded the email she had sent to her Bunko group. Ha. I guess she wasn't kidding. 

I forgot to add walnuts to mine. (Whoops.) But at least I didn't forget the most important ingredient - dried cherries.

Enjoy!

Ingredients:
5-6 large chard leaves
Olive Oil
Feta cheese
Quinoa (cooked)
Toasted walnuts
Dried cherries

Directions:
Cut steams out of chard leaves, then cut leaves into thin strips approx three inches long. Toss leaves in equal parts olive oil and lemon juice. Top with remaining ingredients.

Garlic and Parmesan Kale Chips

Tell a kale enthusiast that you don't like kale you will no doubt be told that you OBVIOUSLY haven't tried kale chips. Even during my "fat phase" I was more of a salad girl than a potato chip girl and now find myself preferring kale salads to any other form of kale. But if you are craving a salty, crispy snack ditch the buttered popcorn and whip up a batch of these delicious and guilt free chips.

Ingredients:
1 bunch kale
2 tsp olive oil
1 tsp sea salt
1/2 tsp garlic powder
2 tbsp grated Parmesan cheese

Directions:
Preheat the oven to 300 degrees. Tear the kale into bite size pieces, removing stems. In a large bowl, toss the kale leaves with the olive oil, sea salt and garlic powder, then spread into an even layer on a parchment-lined baking sheet. Bake for about 20 minutes or until crisp. Remove, sprinkle Parmesan cheese and serve.

Fat Burning Swim Workout

Swimming. . . . once the bane of my existence has become something I somewhat enjoy. (And may really enjoy once I get more confident in my ability.)

Why should you try it? For one thing, swimming is one of the best exercises for burning calories and firming your muscles without stressing your joints. An easy swim burns 500 calories an hour while a strenuous swim will burn almost 700. (More than running!) Water also provides a resistance workout for your whole body. This means you will build lean tissue and muscle, which also helps you burn fat because each pound of muscle burns between 40 and 50 calories a day.

Proper form isn't something that comes naturally. (You want me to keep half my forehead and one eye in the water at all times? How will I breathe??) But with the drills below there's no need to worry about form or breathing. Just concentrate on getting your heart rate up and burning calories!

Lower body:
Your community pool should have kick-boards available for you to use. Grab a kick-board and kick the length of the pool (25 yards) four times. This is much harder than it looks and will get your heart rate way up.

Upper body:
Your pool should also have buoys. Tuck a buoy in between your thighs to keep your lower body afloat. Non swimmers should use a snorkel and mask (this can be purchased at a sporting goods store) in order to breathe easily. Using a freestyle stroke swim four laps.

Freestyle:
Remove the buoy from between your legs but keep the mask and snorkel on. Swim four laps.

Backstroke:
Remove the snorkel and mask and backstroke 2 laps. If you have trouble swimming in a straight line begin with one shoulder up against the lane line. Circle the arm closest to the lane line over your head and into the water. Right before it leaves the water (as the other arm is beginning to circle) feel for the lane line with the palm of your hand.

Bulgur....it's whats for breakfast

Oatmeal is a go-to for breakfast because it's quick and delicious lending itself nicely to brown sugar, raisins and fresh fruit. However for those who crave more savory breakfast items bulgur is a great option.

Bulgur is very similar to oatmeal nutrition-wise. It contains a few more calories (80g per half cup vs 70g in oatmeal) but makes up for it by providing twice as much fiber (4g vs 2g.)

The difference in calories is a bit more dramatic at dinner time as 1/2 cup brown rice contains 110 calories and only 2g of fiber. However, all whole grains are superior to refined grains (white rice, crisped rice cereal, cream of wheat) as they lower your risk for heart disease, diabetes and colon cancer while improving digestion.

I whipped this up in my kitchen this morning before work so I can vouch for its quick and easiness. Feel free to add carrots, bell peppers or any other veggies.

Ingredients:
Two stalks celery, chopped
1 cup bulgur
1/2 onion
1 tsp minced garlic
1 tbsp olive oil

Directions:
Bring 2 cups of water to a boil. Add bulgur reduce to a simmer and cover. Cook for 12 minutes
While bulgur is cooking sautee onions, celery and garlic in olive oil. Once onions begin to brown add 1/2 cup of water and cover until celery softens (a minute or so).
Remove bulgur from stove, fluff with a fork and add to onion mixture.

Peachy Pork Loins

Several friends have asked me to feature a Paleo recipe. I thought my recipes were pretty Paleo-friendly. No grain, sugar or dairy right? I have plenty of recipes like that. Then I attended a lecture given by a well known Paleo blogger and realized the diet is a lot more involved that I had thought. No beans, peas, olives, peanut butter, soy sauce, tofu etc etc etc. You're right...my blog is a Paleo's worst nightmare!

Until now. I can guarantee that this recipe is 100% Paleo-friendly. In fact, you can serve it to Dr. Cordain himself when he drops by your house unannounced. For the non-paleos feel free to add sugar to the peaches and top the zucchini with romano cheese :)

Ingredients:
2 Pork Loins
3 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
1/2 cup chopped white mushrooms
3 medium shallots, diced (Or 1 shallot, 1/2 onion)
3 garlic cloves, crushed
1/2 cup chopped peaches
1/4 cup dry white wine
2 cups zucchini (sliced)
1/2 tsp dried oregano and basil
Salt and pepper

Directions:
Preheat over to 350 degrees. Heat 1 tbsp of the oil in a skillet over medium heat. Add mushrooms and saute for five mins. Toss in one shallot  and 2 garlic cloves and continue to saute for two mins. Add peaches and wine. Bring to a quick boil, then reduce heat to low. Simmer until liquid has evaporated, remove from heat.
Cool mixture for five mins then place in a food processor and puree until smooth. Cut a slit in the middle of each pork loin and spread mixture into it. Place the other half on top.
Add 1 tablespoon of olive oil to a roasting pan. Place loin in pan and bake for fifteen minutes. Turn over and bake for an additional fifteen.

While pork loin is cooking add remaining tbsp of olive oil to skillet and sautee 2 shallots (or 1/2 onion) until tender. Add zucchini, oregano, basil, salt and pepper. Cover and simmer for 15 mins or until zucchini is tender.