Posts Tagged ‘Recipe’

A Healthy Tropical Alternative

When you think of coconuts the image of palm-lined beaches and clear blue water surely comes to mind, but did you know coconuts also may help protect your heart? Because coconuts contain more saturated fat than butter, at one time many health experts believed that consuming this sweet treat would result in clogged arteries and heart disease. However, studies show that the benefits of coconuts outweigh the possible risks, which should please those with tropical fever. In a study published in Clinical Biochemistry, 2004 1, researchers looked at coconut oil as a component of diet in laboratory animals (Sprague-Dawley rats). In this study, virgin coconut oil, which was obtained by wet process, had a beneficial effect in lowering total cholesterol, triglycerides, phospholipids and low-density lipoproteins (LDL).Even though coconuts do have a high saturated fat count, more than 50% of that is lauric acid. A study in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition reported that although lauric acid raises LDL (“bad”) cholesterol, it raises HDL (“good”) cholesterol even more. The other 50% of the saturated fat content is made up of fatty acids that have little or no effect on cholesterol.

Lowering your cholesterol levels is one of the easiest ways to reduce your risk of heart disease, so it looks like coconuts are back on the menu! This tasty tropical treat is still high in calories, so don’t overdo it. Instead, buy a bag of shredded coconut and have just a handful as a mid-morning snack or mixed into your trail mix. Try to avoid a sudden spike in your blood sugar by making sure you consume bagged coconut that is free of added sweeteners. If you’d like to try cooking with coconut milk, try a delicious grilled coconut shrimp or coconut-crusted chicken on a balmy summer evening for a change of pace. If you’re really in the coconut tropical mood, go ahead and plant a palm tree, buy a set of tiki torches, have a Caribbean cookout, because you’ll be jam’in to a healthier you!

Recipe (serves 2)Coconut Crusted Shrimp

20 medium shrimp

1 tsp. garlic and herb seasoning

1/2 tsp. black pepper

3/4 cup flour

2 medium eggs, well-beaten

1 cup shredded coconut

Directions:

Preheat oven to temperature 400°F. Spray a large baking sheet with nonstick spray. Sprinkle garlic and herb seasoning and pepper evenly over the shrimp. Place the flour, egg, and coconut in three small separate bowls. Dip shrimp into the egg, then the flour, then the egg again, and then into the coconut. Place shrimp on the baking sheet at least 1 inch apart. Bake for about 12-15 minutes, or until they are crisp and golden brown.

Serving suggestion: dip in mango sauce.

1.    Beneficial effects of virgin coconut oil on lipid parameters and in vitro LDL oxidation. K.G.Nevin and T. Rajamohan, Clinical Biochemistry 37,2004;830-835).Recipe is adapted from Chefs.com

Beth Aldrich, mother of three, is an Integrative Health and Nutrition Coach, writer and public speaker, http://www.RestoringEssence.com. She is the publisher of, http://www.ForHerInformation.com, the online magazine for women and is the host of the Seattle and online radio show, A Balanced Life with Beth Aldrich. Her favorite treat is chocolate cream pie!
Rocket French or Bust

Some Cooking Recipe for Your Children!

Cooking for toddlers and growing children presents some unique challenges along the way. While you want to provide them with those ever so important nutrients, it is often difficult to get them to eat those foods that are best for their growing bodies. We are all probably well aware of the food pyramid and the number of servings our children need of healthy grains, proteins, fruits, vegetables, and calcium products.

Getting them to eat these nourishing products is another matter all together unfortunately. The good news when cooking for children is that you do not necessarily need to incorporate all the important nutrients into dinner food. The truth of the matter is that raw cucumbers, which are thinly sliced and sprinkled with salt, make a much healthier snack than potato chips and many little ones, for more details visit to www.chicken-wing-cookbook.com love this for a snack. You get a vegetable in their system and they are getting a treat at snack time. The same holds true for melon and cantaloupes. These make excellent snacks and are a much-needed fruit in these important diets for little ones.

When it comes to cooking for little ones, however man, woman, and child cannot live on macaroni and cheese alone. It’s been tried and tested and failed miserably. Try mixing things up whenever you can while keeping meals kid friendly. It is important that you try to introduce whole grains, proteins, for more details visit to www.chef-123.com and vegetables whenever possible at meal times around your home. The good news is that there are many prepackaged convenience foods that are introducing whole grains like never before in order to meet the growing demand of consumers for healthier meals that can be prepared with little fan fare or fuss.

Cooking healthier meals for kids is now easier than ever before. Fresh fruits and vegetables are best whenever possible. However, if you cannot manage fresh, you should avoid canned (fruits especially as they are often swimming in sugary sweetness) whenever possible. Frozen is far preferable to canned when it comes to both fruit and vegetables, as there are often fewer additives.If you need some great meal ideas that are kid friendly and easy on the budget, you can often find recipes readily available online. You can meet your child’s calcium and dairy product needs by adding milk as the drink of choice for meals or a slice of cheese melted over their favorite vegetable. Ice cream, yogurt, and pudding also make excellent calcium rich treats, in moderation of course.

Encourage your children to try new things rather than cooking the same few meals over and over again that you know they are likely to eat. This prevents two things from happening. First of all, it helps you not to get bored when cooking for your children. Second, it allows your children to try new flavors and textures and form opinions about them. By trying new things they will learn not only about the things they dislike but also the foods they really enjoy.You should also keep in mind that your children are people too when cooking for them. Just as you have foods you like and dislike they also will develop tastes over time. Those tastes may also change in time as well. It’s frustrating, I know, to spend time and money preparing a meal only to have your child push the plate away and refuse to even try the meal.

For this, I recommend enlisting their help in the kitchen. Children are much more likely to eat the things they had a hand in preparing as a matter of accomplishment and pride. Its psychological warfare I know but all is fair in war and dinnertime.Perhaps the greatest gift you can give yourself (much greater than the help in the kitchen) by ‘forcing’ your little ones to help prepare dinner is that they will learn to better appreciate your culinary efforts and eat peacefully rather than sullenly. This tactic has met with great success in my household when cooking for little ones. I hope you will enjoy the same degree of success as well.

Recipes for Homemade Protein Snacks

Looking for something to take with you on the road, or a snack to munch at your desk? Forget about those awful Powerbars and other various soy bars. Granola bars are OK, but they do not have much protein. High quality protein bars are available at the store, but for $5 a pop! We are looking for something cheap and easy, and here it is. Do-it-yourself, homemade protein bars.

Homemade Protein Bars: The Recipe

3 1/2 cups rolled oats
1 1/2 cups dried milk
1 tablespoon cinnamon
1 cup lite syrup
2 scoops protein powder
2 large egg whites or 1 egg
1 1/4 cup orange juice
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 cup raisins or dried fruit

Start by preheating the oven to 325 degrees. Line a cookie sheet with waxed paper, or spray on some non-stick butter flavored Pam spray. In a large metal bowl, mix all the ingredients until the oats are well coated. Spread the mix onto the cookie sheet and press down to make 10 cutting lines so you can separate them into 10 protein bars later. Bake for 15 minutes or until golden brown. While still warm, cut them apart and allow to cool before wrapping. The bars can be stored airtight at room temperature for up to 2 weeks.

Optional Upgrades

Nutty Bars – use 1 cup chopped nuts instead of dried fruit or raisins.

Fruity Bars – experiment with various extracts other than vanilla to change up the flavor.

The Protein Bar Diet – make a whole bunch of these bars with various fruits and nuts, and various flavors of protein powder. Eat the bars for 3 out of 5 meals each day and make the other two meals small. Do this for a month and see if you don’t drop a couple pounds.

Who likes peanut butter?

Who likes brownies?

If you are anything like me or the rest of the bodybuilding / powerlifting / weightlifting world, you answered ‘ME ME ME!’ to both questions. If so, this recipe is for you. I could not post an easier recipe and prepping a meal can’t be quicker unless you are unwrapping a protein bar. That said, on with the recipe!

Peanut Butter Protein Brownies : The Recipe

1 scoop of protein powder; chocolate, vanilla, or peanut butter
1 tablespoon natural peanut butter
milk or water

Mix all ingredients together in a small glass bowl; do not use plastic. If the resulting mixture is too thick add a couple drops of milk or water to loosen it up until it reaches your desired consistency. Since it is already in a glass bowl, microwave on high for 30-45 seconds. Mixture should come out to a cake/brownie like consistency.
Many friends of mine have doubted this recipe, thinking the peanut butter protein brownies would be mediocre at best. Instead what they find is a protein party in their mouths. Give this one a try for a quick high protein, high ‘healthy-fats’ snack.

Today’s Lesson About Plastics

The reason I make a big deal about the use of a glass bowl, is because you do not want to be cooking anything in microwave safe plastic containers. Plastic containers contain trace amounts of phytoestrogens, which seep into food when it is stored or cooked inside such containers. A lifetime of these estrogens can have a negative impact on testosterone levels and they tend to promote cancer in laboratory animals. It might not kill you, but your best bet in today’s toxic society is to avoid anything that could possibly be related to cancer. Every little bit helps.

Steve Hanson has 10 years experience in the fields of exercise science and sports nutrition. He writes articles on all forms of athletic training and nutritional theories. View the blog to learn more about your favorite exercise and nutrition topics.

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