Recipes and Shopping Tips!

Date: 2/22/2012

Workout: 5:45am Kickboxing/Strength Combo at Fitness One

Food:

Breakfast: Breakfast Burrito (3 Egg Whites, spinach, 1/4c. Black Beans, 2 Tbsp. Salsa, and 1/4c. Reduced Fat Shredded Cheese on a Multi grain Tortilla) and 3 strawberries: 342 Calories, 41g Carbs (31 net), 26g Protein, 10g Fiber, 9g Fat, 1,000mg Sodium, 7g Sugar
Morning Snack: 2 White Cheddar Rice Cakes and a Clementine: 125 Calories, 25g Carbs (24 net), 3g Protein, 1g Fiber, 1g Fat, 321mg Sodium, 9g Sugar
Lunch: Mu Shu Vegetables (recipe below) and 1/2c. Brown Rice: 453 Calories, 57g Carbs (52 net), 31g Protein, 5g Fiber, 9g Fat, 381mg Sodium, 13g Sugar
Afternoon Snack: Greek Yogurt, 1/4c. Kashi Go Lean Crunch, 1/2c. Blueberries: 169 Calories, 25g Carbs, 19g Protein, 4g Fiber, 1g Fat, 76mg Sodium, 16g Sugar
Dinner: Tilapia and mixed baby green salad with 2 Tbsp. Ken’s Light Touch Ranch, 1/4c. Peas, and 1/4c. Corn: 256 Calories, 18g Carbs (14 net), 24g Protein, 4g Fiber, 10g Fat, 480mg Sodium, 4g Sugar

Total Nutrition Intake:

1,345 Calories
166g Carbs (142 Net Carbs)
103g Protein
24g Fiber
30g Fat
2,258mg Sodium
49g Sugar

I came into work so happy today. I’m not sure what the heck is going on with me but I was thinking what a beautiful day it was and how good I felt. I guess that’s a good sign J

Today’s blog topic is a couple healthy recipes and shopping tips. I hope you enjoy it!

This recipe below (Mu-Shu Vegetable Stir-fry) is probably my favorite at the moment. I love everything about this meal. Its nutrition info is really good and it’s so yummy! I look forward to eating this every time I make it. Plus if you want to change your meal routine up, this is a great option. You can make a batch of it and have it for left overs too.

Mu-Shu Vegetable Stir-fry Recipe

Ingredients:
4 Tbsp. Iron Chef Mu-Shu Hoisin Sauce (you can find this in the International Aisle of most groceries store)
2 Skinless Boneless Chicken Breast
1 12 oz. Bag Frozen Vegetables of your choice (I used a snap pea stir-fry mix)
1c. Bean Sprouts
1c. Water Chesnuts
2 Tbsp. Ground Ginger
2 Tbsp. Minced Garlic
3c. Cooked Brown Rice

Directions:

Scramble Eggs and then set aside. Cook Chicken however you would like and using minimal oil and other extra ingredients. Dice Chicken and set aside with eggs. In a large frying pan at medium heat, add ginger and garlic and cook for about 2 minutes at medium heat. Then add frozen vegetables and cover. Cook vegetables until thawed and soft and add bean sprouts and water chesnuts. Once vegetables are cooked and warm, add 4 Tbsp. of Mu-Shu Sauce. Reduce heat to low and stir sauce in with vegetables. Let simmer for 5 minutes and then add eggs and chicken back in.

Cook rice according to package. Combine 1/3 of Mu-Shu Vegetable and Chicken Mixture to 1c. Cooked Brown Rice.

Recipe makes 3 Servings.  Each serving is 460 Calories, 60g Carbs (53 Net Carbs), 33g Protein, 7g Fiber, 9g Fat, 381mg Sodium, 13g Sugar

**If you want to just eat the Mu-Shu Vegetable and Chicken and skip out on the rice, here is the nutrition info per serving for that: 285 Calories, 21g Carbs (18 Net Carbs), 27g Protein, 3g Fiber, 7g Fat, 381mg Sodium, 13g Sugar

Bean Salad—this is a great side to fish or chicken

Ingredients:
1/2c. Drained and Rinsed Black Beans
1.2c. Drained and Rinsed Pinto Beans
1/2c. Corn (thawed if from the freezer)
2 Tbsp. Ken’s Light Touch Ranch
Directions:
Basically, combine and mix everything together into a bowl. This makes two servings so just split it in half.
Nutrition per serving: 155 Calories, 27g Carbs (19 Net Carbs), 7g Protein, 8g Fiber, 4g Fat, 300mg Sodium, 2g Sugar

Shopping Healthy

Tip: Try to stick to shopping around the perimeter of the store. Some things you will have to go into aisles for but if you use this tip you will be buying mostly all fresh healthy food.
I put some suggestions of what to get for each category. Obviously, there are other healthy options but these have been ones that I have found to be good. Explore and experiment on your own for what you like and just make sure to check the nutrition info.

Fruit: Bananas, Apples, Oranges, and what is on season and on sale (strawberries, blueberries, and grapes)

Vegetables: Fresh mixed green salad, cucumbers, carrots, celery, onion, tomatoes
Bread: Nature’s Own Whole Wheat Bread
Peanut Butter: Skippy’s Natural Peanut Butter—I love this because it doesn’t have that gross oil that you stir around. It’s just like regular peanut butter and tastes the same but without the bad ingredients!
Chicken: Purdue Boneless Skinless Thinly Cut Chicken Breast-I have found these to be easy to cook
Fish: Tilapia—at walmart, you can buy a frozen bag and it’s a really good deal, tastes great, and easy to make.
Sandwich Meat: Healthy One’s Turkey—Compared to the other options, I found this one to be the best with sodium.
Yogurt: Oikos Greek Individual Cups—I like how these are portioned. Try to stay away from flavored yogurt and it has sugar and carbs in it. Plain yogurt does not have that and you can always add things to it.
Milk: Organic Low Fat Milk—there are several brands of this but I have found the organic brands to last the longest and have a little better nutrition like protein and fat then other brands of milk
Eggs: I just get the cheapest Grade A eggs I can.
Cheese: Try and find cheeses that are labeled “low fat”. They are a little bit better for you. I really like the Low Fat Mexican shredded cheese because it mixes in well with a lot of things. Frigo Light Mozzarella Cheese stick is a great snack option.
Juice: Minute Maid Light Orange Juice—I wouldn’t suggest drinking a lot of juice but this kind has reduced sugar so is a little better of a choice
Freezer Aisle: Try to stay away from the frozen dinners and pre-made anything. If you must, check the nutrition info and get the healthiest kind you can watching closely for sodium and carbs. Kashi offers decent frozen dinner options. In the freezer aisle, make sure to get frozen vegetables and fruit of your choice. They come in handy with a lot of stuff.
Pasta: Whole Wheat Pasta because it has more fiber in it so it’s better for you and keeps you feeling fuller. When cooking, pay close attention to your portion sizes.
Rice: Uncle Ben’s Boil in a Bag Brown Rice—I love this because it is so easy to make and store and I think it tastes really good. 1 bag makes 2 portions so it’s easy to split up.
Cereal: Kashi Warm Cinnamon Oat. Tastes good and has awesome nutrition info. Kashi rocks in the whole grain and fiber department so when it comes to picking anything dealing with grain, you know Kashi is a great choice.
Granola Bars: Kashi TLC Bars and Nature Valley Peanut Butter Dark Chocolate—just tried the Nature Valley one and it is soo good!! Plus makes a great healthy snack!
Salad Dressing: Vinaigrettes (Balsamic, Raspberry, Italian, etc). Of course, look at the nutrition info. One that I really like is Marzetti Roasted Garlic Italian Dressing. A little more expensive but it tastes great. If you have to go creamy, I actually found a pretty good one—Ken’s Light Touch Ranch Dressing. Compared to the other ones, it has pretty good nutrition info.
Hummus: You can’t go too wrong here. I like Tribe Garlic Hummus. Hummus is great for snacks and to put on sandwiches.

 This probably doesn’t complete your grocery list but it gives you some ideas. These are some essentials and ideas on what to get for each category if you aren’t sure.