Wednesday, February 27, 2008

Nutrition: High Protein night-time snack

This is a simple snack to make as you after dinner, pre-bedtime snack; It's sweet, low in carbs and high in protein.
1 cup of low fat organic cottage cheese
1 packet of splenda or 2 packets of Z-sweet
ground cinnamon
1 tablespoon of roasted flaxseeds or 1/4 cup chopped walnuts, almonds or pecans
(be sure to put whole flaxseeds, not ground- the purpose is for the crunch!)

place cottage cheese on a small desert plate
sprinkle splenda, cinnamon and flaxseeds or nuts on top

Cottage cheese contains Casein protein, which is a slower digesting protein; mixed with the fat from the nuts or seeds, it will take longer to digest and your body will utilize the protein for rebuilding through the night.

Sunday, February 24, 2008

Nutrition: Turkey Burgers

I like to purchase the turkey burgers from Costco; they are the leanest that I have seen (only 5 grams of fat). You can find them in the freezer section.
I cook them all at once in a large tin pan from Costco, of course. You can cook them from frozen or thaw them, and season them with dry spices. Cook them for 30 minutes at 400 degrees; they do not need to be covered. Take them out of the oven and out of the pan to cool- that way they don't sit in the grease. Slice them when they are cooled and portion them out into 4 oz servings in snack bags. These are a great protein snack to eat with raw carrots or apple slices in the car.

Nutrition: Yummy, freezable Organic Chicken Breast Recipe

What you will need: (you can purchase all items at Costco or Trader Joes)

1 package organic, boneless skinless chicken breast
Marinade: I like to use jalepeno mustard and rosemary; you can use any low sugar marinade that you like, and you can water it down with organic chicken broth.



PREPARATION AND COOKING:
Filet the chicken breasts
Cover and Marinate4 to 5 hours or overnight.
Cook, covered in 350 degree oven for 40 minutes.
Put serving sizes of chicken in Ziploc Freezer bags and store in freezer and fridge.
I like to make mini frozen meals with the chicken; take 1/2 cup cooked brown rice or whole wheat pasta and steamed veggies of your choices, place sliced chicken on top with 1/4 cup of the cooking sauce, and freeze. When you are ready to eat cook on medium power for approx. 4 minutes. This is great when I come home from work starving and wanting a comforting meal in a few minutes. You can also skip the starch and make it low carb with just the meat and veggies and sauce. Yum Yum!