Katie’s Kitchen

This recipe is one of Greg’s favorites.  I like to make some oven fried veggies for myself at the same time.  This time I used zucchini and thick sliced Roma tomatoes from Nick and Liz’s garden!

Ingredients:

• 3 lbs boneless skinless chicken tenders, or breasts cut into strips
• 2 cups whole wheat breadcrumbs
• 1 tablespoon Italian seasoning
• 1 teaspoon garlic powder
• 1 dash pepper
• 1/3 cup grated parmigiana cheese
• 2 egg whites, beaten
• 1 cup plain nonfat yogurt
• 1 cup flour

Directions:

1.  Combine the bread crumbs and the spices and seasonings.
2.  Combine the egg white and the yogurt.
3.  Roll each chicken piece in the flour, then the yogurt, then the bread crumbs.
4.  Spray an oven dish with Pam.
5.  Place the chicken in the dish, and then spray lightly with Pam.
6.  Bake 40 minutes to 1 1/2 hours, at 400 degrees, until the chicken juice runs clear.

Notes: I have also made this without the flour and without the yogurt and it works out fine, just a little less crispy coating, but in that case I use whole eggs, not just the whites.

Here’s a veggie version:

Oven Fried Vegetables

Ingredients:

• 3 zucchini, cut into spears
• 3 Roma tomatoes
• 3/4 cup whole wheat breadcrumbs
• 1/4 cup grated parmigiana cheese
• 1 tablespoon Italian seasoning
• 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
• 1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil

Directions:

1.  Cut zucchini into spears and tomatoes into thick slices
2.  Toss veggies in a bowl with the olive oil.
3.  Mix dry ingredients in a plastic bag.
4.  Place veggies, a handful at a time, in the plastic bag, and shake to coat.
5. Spray baking sheet with Pam and spread veggies out on baking sheet. Spray lightly with Pam.
6.  Bake 20 minutes at 400 degrees, or until golden brown.

Katie’s Kitchen

This is a great end of summer recipe that takes advantage of all of the beautiful produce still available in the grocery store and in your home gardens (Special thanks to Liz and Nick for the awesome peppers and cucumbers used in this recipe!)   You already know that cayenne pepper is a fat burning food, which you can read about here, so apply that liberally to your shrimp and the fresh flavors of the salsa will satisfy any appetite

P.S. This salsa is so delicious you will want to put it on everything so you may want to make extra.  I found it to be an awesome way to dress up a meatless chik’n patty from my freezer!

Mango Salsa
                                                                                                                                               

• 2 small, ripe mangoes
• 1 cucumber, peeled and diced
• 1/2 red or green bell pepper, diced
• 2 tablespoons minced fresh cilantro
• 3 scallions, sliced thinly
• 1 jalapeño or hot cherry pepper, seeded and minced
• 1 tablespoon fresh lime juice, more to taste
• Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper

Directions:

1. Dice the mango into small chunks.
2. Dice the remaining vegetables and mince cilantro and combine with the mango in a bowl.
3.  Add the lime juice, salt and pepper to taste. Toss, taste, and adjust the seasoning.  Serve immediately, or refrigerate for up to 12 hours.

*The best way to cut a mango:

 http://www.mango.org/en/about-mangos/how-to-cut-a-mango.aspx

Spicy Shrimp

• 1 lb jumbo shrimp, peeled and deveined
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 2 tablespoons butter
• 2 garlic cloves, crushed
• 1 teaspoon ground cumin
• 1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
• 2 teaspoons paprika
• 1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper
• lemon wedges

Directions

1. Heat the olive oil and butter in a large frying pan. When the butter begins to sizzle, add the garlic and cook until just starting to brown.
2. Add the spices (cumin, ginger, paprika and cayenne pepper) to the pan. Cook, stirring, for a few seconds.
3. Add the shrimp. Cook shrimp for 2-3 minutes over high heat, stirring to avoid burning the spices, until all shrimp are pink. 
4. Transfer shrimp to serving dishes. Pour the spicy butter mixture over each serving. Garnish with lemon wedges.
5. Top with Mango Salsa and serve immediately.

Cayenne Pepper contains capsaicin, a compound that heats your body and increases the amount of calories you burn. It also helps with meal satiety (how full you feel after eating), which helps many people from overeating.

Green Tea Not only is iced green tea an extremely refreshing drink in the summer, but it also contains caffeine and EGCG, which have been shown to increase your fat burning potential. However, the green tea must be brewed. Most store brands contain tons of sugar that cancel out the positive effects.

Cinnamon Many of you may be surprised that cinnamon can enhance your lean body mass (make you more ‘toned’) and reduce your body fat. Putting cinnamon on foods will help you regulate blood glucose levels and increase your sensitivity to insulin, which are both important in keeping you lean.

As ‘magical’ as these foods are, it takes hard work and the right exercise regimen to acquire the lean body most people desire.  For more info on our popular bootcamp programs, check out  Monmouth County BootCamp.

I am sure you have all heard of at least some of these ingredients being included in some sort of “SUPER DIET”.

 I wanted to quickly dispell some of the myths associated with these kinds of fad diets. First off, I will not argue that these diets help you lose a good amount of weight pretty quickly; however, none of these will provide you with lasting results.

 Here’s why…

 1. Most of these diets include foods that repeat themselves over and over again, or even require you to eat one food exclusively. Tell me how long you can stick with that!

2. Most of these diets lack the proper nutrients and minerals that your body needs to stay healthy.

3. Most of the fad diets also lack the protein needed to support muscle repair, which makes it nearly impossible to workout and get good results

4.  There is no mention of exercise or fitness.  It is all about the numbers on the scale.

So, today I want to share 3 often forgotten high protein, lower calorie snack options for mid morning or mid afternoon snacks.  Adding these in will help you stay fuller, be more productive and also help build a lean body.  Oh yea, these are all very convenient and easy to pack in your bag.

1. Beef Jerky.  This snack makes it simple to get about 10-12 grams of protein in, while only getting hit with about 70-80 calories.  Try picking this up at a health food store instead of opting for the highly salted convenience store brands. 

2. Lentils.  This was even surprising to me.  Lentils are packed with close to 20 grams of protein per cup, which is a great way for vegetarians to get their protein in.  It also has about 225 calories per cup, but that is relatively low if you sprinkle it on a salad or eat it as a soup. 

3. Hard Boiled Eggs.  Sure, these may stink up the room, but each egg has about 8-9 grams of protein.  Yolks are ok in moderation and will give you an extra 4-5 grams of protein per egg.  Cut them up on a salad or eat them whole.

The ultimate accountability system will help you stay on track with healthy eating, which will help you tone your body to look awesome by Summer. You will also get great ideas from friends and total strangers on what is working for them.  Oh yea,  I will also be giving away 1 Free Month of Carbone Fitness Boot Camp in Monmouth County…or the home version for those of you outside of the area.

Here’s the deal…

Starting Tuesday April 13, I will ask you to start logging your foods and drinks for each day until May 12.  By sharing your information, you will not only keep yourself in check to know what you are eating, but you will also be held accountable by myself and everyone else on the site.  It has been shown that food logs dramatically increase the results for people looking to lose wieght and look amazing.  Now it’s your turn!

I am asking you to log 24 of the 28 days to be elgible to win the Free Month of Boot Camp.  You don’t have to have the best diet during this time to be elgible, you just have to log.  I think there will be a strong enough correlation though to make your results great if you are logging consistently.

Here are all the rules:

- Start logging Tuesday April 13 – May 12 for 24 of the 28 days

- You DONT’ HAVE TO LOG EVERY DAY.  Feel free to log 3 days at a time (just log your foods in a word document and paste it into the comment section below every third day if you choose)

- Be honest. You will only hurt yourself if you lie.

-I will be posting as well, so feel free to steal ideas or foods that I am eating.  I will throw some recipes your way throughout!

For those of you who are entering the contest. Just a little side note. I will be following the 10-12 calories per pound of body weight diet guidelines:

• Simply multiply your current weight by 10 to get your daily calories you should consume
• 1 cheat meal per week (meal, not cheat day-there is a huge difference. For your cheat meal, you will probably be going over your daily calories, which is totally fine.
• Little to no processed sugars and carbs (except on your cheat meal)
• Eat every 3-4 hours
• Drink .5 ounces of water x your body weight (200 lb person drinks 100 ounces)
• Consume a multivitamin and fish oil daily

1. Feel free to follow the same guidelines, but don’t feel like you have to. Remember this is strictly to keep you accountable and get you in the habit of writing down your food.
2. Good luck to those of you entering. This is the opportunity to change your body and your life.

Post below in the comment section…  Right down here

One question I get all of the time is “What should I eat for snacks if I am hungry for something sweet?”  So, today I will answer that question for you.

1. Greek Yogurt with Blueberries.  Greek yogurt is a great pudding-like consistency that has a good amount of healthy protein and is pretty low in calories.  Toss in some blueberries (or any kind of berry) for sweetness and healthy antioxidants.  You can also feel free to toss in some walnuts for a little extra protein.  Stir and eat.

2. Trail Mix/Gorp.

I will be honest.  I had never heard of gorp until just recently..and am still skeptical if this is really the name of this mixture.  In Ohio, we always called this trail mix, but call it what you like.  This is a mix of nuts, seeds, craisins, dark chocolate bits, etc.  I like to put unsalted cashews, walnuts, sunflower seeds, craisins and a few tiny bits of dark chocolate in a large tupperware and scoop out a half cup for dessert.  Just be careful!  This can get addicting, so it is important to scoop out a small cup and cover it back up and walk away.

If you are looking for weight loss in Monmouth County but are short on time, you are going to want to check out the new class we have coming very soon. A quick, 30 minute, fat shredding workout that meets 3 times per week.  Look for the email coming soon!

You should definitely check out the show if you get a chance.  It’s amazing how little many people know about what is in their food and how unhealthy it is for your body.

Combining a healthy diet with a high calorie burning workout program will get you ready for Summer in no time!

Here are 7 tips to use in the future when you make your weekly trip…

Tip 1: When making your list, think in terms of ‘meals’, not just individual foods.  This will be a big help when you quickly realize the Oreos don’t go with chicken and broccoli.

Tip 2: Stop thinking low fat!  Not all fats are bad.  Unsaturated fats keep you healthy.  These are in things like olive oil, nuts, and fish.

Tip 3: Plan to buy snacks.  You should be eating every 2-3 hours, so your body needs something small to fill up on with healthy snacks.  Cottage cheese, almonds, yogurt are great alternatives to not eating or eating that donut in the office.

Tip 4: Get a healthy dessert.  Dark chocolate contains a ton of antioxidents and can suppress that sweet tooth. 

Tip 5: Shop the outside aisles.  Vegetables, fruit, dairy, meat, grains. If the foods package is too colorful and looks ‘exciting’, chances are that you shouldn’t buy it.  Processed foods are quite possibly the worst things you can eat.

Tip 6: Buy fresh.  These are the foods that are the healthiest and contain the most nutrients for you.

Tip 7: Don’t be perfect!  No ones diet is perfect.  Everyone has their certain food weakness.  Indulge in yours in moderation and make food shopping fun.

Do you ever feel like your workouts and nutrition program are totally on the wrong path?  There are so many tips and myths that flood that internet about weight loss these days that many of them contradict one another.  It is no wonder so many people are confused as to what to do to actually lose weight and get in amazing shape.

To clear up some confusion, I have put together 3 tips you should be doing that you may not be.  Following these 3 tips will make reaching your goals 10x easier than you ever imagined.

1)  Work Hard During Workouts

As obvious as this may seem, many people have been tricked into doing long slow cardio sessions as they watch Oprah, or read the latest Shape magazine while they slowly pedal their way to obesity.  It has been proven over and over again that shorter bouts of high intensity weight training and metabolic exercises are extremely effective in burning fat and losing weight. 

What is high intensity, you ask?  You should not be able to talk about the latest and greatest episode of Dr Oz or Rachel Ray.  You should be huffing and puffing  and barely able to talk.  Sign language is optional.

2) Eat More To Lose

Starvation diets are finally becoming a thing of the past because….they make you fat.  Your body goes into starvation mode after you start decreasing your calories to a certain point when your metabolism shuts down and saves every last calorie you ate of that pretzel rod and rice cake.  You can literally eat bowls of greens with some lean protein and never get fat.  Better yet, you will be pretty full and satisfied throughout the day.  You may even be able to reward yourself with a Baby Ruth every once in a while.

3) Don’t Always Fit In

Remember the old saying, “Would you jump off of the Brooklyn Bridge just because you saw someone else do it?”.  Hopefully you answered no.  If not, google ‘Living Life for Dummies” and pick up a copy.  If you answered yeswhich 99% of you surely did, use this with your workouts.  Ihave seen some of the dumbest exercises over the past 10 years that you could not even imagine.  Unfortunately, human nature programs us to follow a lot of what we see…even really bad things.

Just because Johnny Juicehead is doing bicep curls for 45 minutes 4x a week, doesn’t mean you should follow.  Use common sense and focus in on full body workouts that consist of complex exercises that work multiple muscle groups at a time.  Bicep curls will not give you a flat stomach.  Nor will it make your butt look like J-Lo.  Neither will doing leg lifts for 90 minutes.  Try big exercises like squats, deadlifts, pushups, pullups and planks.  Sound fun yet?

For a Personal Trainer in Colts Neck area or high intensity Fitness Boot Camp in Ocean Township area, contact us.