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Recipe of the Week: Veggistrone

Makes 10 servings
Ready in 1 hour 45 minutes

Ingredients:

  • 2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
  • 2 cups chopped onions (2 medium)
  • 2 cups chopped celery (4 medium stalks)
  • 1 cup chopped green bell pepper (1 medium)
  • 4 cloves garlic, minced
  • 3 cups chopped cabbage
  • 3 cups chopped cauliflower (about ½ medium)
  • 2 cups chopped carrots (4 medium)
  • 2 cups green beans, cut into 1-inch pieces, or frozen, thawed
  • 8 cups low-sodium vegetable broth or chicken broth
  • 2 cups water
  • 1 (15 ounce) can tomato sauce
  • 1 (14 ounce) can diced tomatoes
  • 1 (15 ounce) can kidney or pinto beans, rinsed
  • 1 bay leaf
  • 4 cups chopped fresh spinach
  • ½ cup thinly sliced fresh basil
  • 10 tablespoons freshly grated Parmesan cheese

Directions:

  1. Heat oil in a large soup pot or Dutch oven (8-quart or larger) over medium heat. Add onions, celery, bell pepper and garlic; cook, stirring frequently, until softened, 13 to 15 minutes. Add cabbage, cauliflower, carrots and green beans; cook, stirring occasionally, until slightly softened, about 10 minutes more.
  2. Add broth, water, tomato sauce, tomatoes, beans and bay leaf; cover and bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer, partially covered, until the vegetables are tender, 20 to 25 minutes. Stir in spinach and simmer for 10 minutes more.
  3. Discard the bay leaf. Stir in basil. Top each portion with 1 tablespoon cheese.

Nutrition Information:

Serving size: 2 cups
Per serving: 162 calories; 5g fat; 9g fiber; 24g carbohydrates; 7g protein; 10g sugars

 

Original recipe from Eating Well can be found here!

Recipe of the Week: Chicken & Brussels One-Pot Pasta

Yield: 5 servings

Ingredients:

  • 8 ounces whole-wheat linguine or spaghetti
  • 1 pound boneless, skinless chicken thighs
  • 4 cups sliced mushrooms
  • 2 cups sliced Brussels sprouts
  • 1 medium onion, chopped
  • 4 cloves garlic, thinly sliced
  • 2 tablespoons Boursin cheese
  • 1¼ teaspoons dried thyme
  • ¾ teaspoon dried rosemary
  • ¾ teaspoon salt
  • 4 cups water
  • 2 tablespoons chopped fresh chives

Directions:

  1. Combine pasta, chicken, mushrooms, Brussels sprouts, onion, garlic, Boursin cheese, thyme, rosemary and salt in a large pot. Stir in water. Bring to a boil over high heat. Boil, stirring frequently, until the pasta is cooked and the water has almost evaporated, 10 to 12 minutes. Remove from heat and let stand, stirring occasionally, for 5 minutes. Serve sprinkled with chives.

Nutrition:
Serving size: about 1½ cups
Per serving: 353 calories
10g fat; 8g fiber; 42g carbohydrates; 27g protein 4g sugars; 568 mg potassium

 

Original recipe can be found here from EatingWell.com!

Maintaining Your Current Weight

Most of the time when people looking to lose weight, they are thinking about fat loss and gaining muscle mass. Let’s talk about what happens when you reach your goal weight or are happy with your current weight. The time and energy put into reaching your goal are very important; in order to maintain your goal weight, an equal amount of work still needs to be put forth.

You have worked so hard to get to this goal weight and sometimes it’s a little difficult to change the diet you were keeping and not go back up in weight. Also, look at the exercise side of things-  if you were working out 7 days a week to hit your goal, that may not realistic for your everyday life. It might take time in order to find what works best for you, but the great thing about being at a point where you are healthy and happy with yourself, is you don’t have to work quite as hard to maintain. These changes have become a part of your lifestyle and sticking with a balanced diet and regular exercise will allow you to remain healthy. By continuing to be mindful, you are less likely to lose track and eat poorly – you would not want to fall in reverse with your health and fitness.

Keep in mind that keeping a healthy, balanced diet is half of the weight loss battle. As for exercise, 3 days a week minimum should be enough to maintain your weight as long as you get a quality workout in. if you have an occasional week where you only work out once, you will not gain weight as long as you are living a healthy lifestyle. This means walking a little more during everyday activities, eating smart, and continuing to make healthy decisions everyday.

Throughout your journey to your goal weight, the healthy lifestyle habits are the habits you want to always maintain.  Adapting this lifestyle for the long term will allow you to lead an overall healthier life- not solely for weight reasons, but for health concerns, too.

 

By Corynne Duprey

 

Recipe of the Week: Red Lentil Butternut Squash Soup

Prep Time: 5 minutes
Cook Time: 20 minutes
Makes: 4+ servings

 Ingredients:

  • 1 cup red lentils (raw, uncooked)
  • 1 yellow onion, diced
  • 4 cloves garlic, diced
  • 2 cups butternut squash, cubed
  • 1 tsp olive oil
  • 4 cups vegetable broth
  • 1 tsp coriander
  • 1 tsp cumin
  • 1/2 tsp paprika
  • 1/2 tsp salt

Directions:

  1. In a large pot over medium heat, add olive oil, onions, and garlic. Sauté for 2-3 minutes.
  2. Add all remaining ingredients. Bring to a boil, then reduce to a simmer. Cook for 20 minutes.
  3. Once done cooking, allow soup to cool. Carefully pour all ingredients in a blender and blend until smooth. *Do not blend hot soup!

 

Original recipe from TIU can be found here! 

Recipe of the Week: Turkey Pumpkin Meatballs

Prep Time: 15 minutes
Cook Time: 25 minutes
Total Time: 40 minutes

Servings: 6

Ingredients
Meatballs:

  • 1.25 lbs ground turkey
  • 1/2 cup organic pumpkin puree
  • 1/4 cup blanched almond flour
  • 3/4 tsp salt
  • 1/8 tsp black pepper
  • 1 egg
  • 1 tbsp fresh thyme minced
  • 1 tbsp fresh sage minced
  • 1 tbsp fresh rosemary minced

Sauce:

  • 2 Tbsp organic coconut oil or ghee
  • 15 oz can tomato sauce
  • 1 1/4 cups organic pumpkin puree or remaining amount from a 15 oz can
  • 1/2 cup full fat coconut milk see note**
  • 1/2 cup chicken bone broth or homemade bone broth
  • 1 small Onion chopped
  • 3 cloves Garlic minced
  • 2 tsp Italian seasoning
  • 1 tsp pumpkin pie spice optional
  • 1/2 tsp dried sage
  • 1/2 tsp dried crushed rosemary
  • Salt and black pepper to taste
  • Crushed red pepper optional, for spice
  • Chopped parsley for garnish

Instructions
To make meatballs:

  1. Preheat your oven to 425 degrees F and line a large baking sheet with parchment paper.
  2. Mix all meatball ingredients in a large bowl with your hands until well combined. Form mixture into 18 balls
  3. Bake meatballs (makes 18) on baking sheet at 425 for 15-18 minutes or until no longer pink on the inside, turning once midway.
  4. Transfer to pot with the sauce (instructions below), allow to simmer in sauce on low heat for about 5 minutes

To Make Sauce:

  1. Meanwhile, melt the coconut oil or ghee in a large saucepan or stock pot over medium heat. Add the onions and cook until translucent and fragrant, then add the garlic and continue to cook for 2 minutes or until soft and fragrant.
  2. Lower the heat, then add the tomato sauce, pumpkin, broth, coconut milk, Italian seasoning, pumpkin pie spice, dried sage, dried rosemary and stir to combine well. Season with salt, black pepper or crushed red pepper, if desired. Stir to combine flavors, then cover and allow to simmer for 5 minutes prior to adding the meatballs.  After adding meatballs, continue to simmer on low heat about 5 minutes prior to serving.
  3. Serve over your favorite veggie noodles- I love sweet potato noodles with these!

 

Recipe Notes

**Blend your coconut milk to a smooth consistency before adding. If you prefer a slightly thinner sauce, use 1/4 cup coconut milk and 3/4 cup broth instead of 1/2 and 1/2.

Nutrition

Calories: 275kcal, Fat: 13g, Carbs: 13g, Fiber: 4g, Sugar: 6g, Protein: 27g

 

Original recipe from Paleo Running Momma can be found here! 

Can You Out-work a Bad Diet?

The golden rule of weight loss is, “If you burn more calories than you take in, your weight will decrease”. It has been engrained in human lifestyles dating to thousands of years ago. Our ancestors led active hunting and gathering lifestyles in order to survive. They would gain weight when food was abundant; and during dry seasons or harsh winters, their caloric intake would severely decrease, to no choice of their own.  Now, progress this conversation to present day. You can hear the “gym bro” logic resonating off the walls of the locker rooms, “Look at the cavemen! They ate a TON! If you just workout a lot, you can eat whatever you want! It works for me!” Not quite the case, Chad.

Let’s break it down… According to Chad, he eats whatever he wants and just works out to keep his body in tip top condition. How’s the math add up? To start: Let’s say Chad is a 21 year old male, weighing about 180 lbs and standing about 6 feet tall. His parents are of average height and weight for their age group. Chad’s young metabolism keeps him burning approximately 2200 calories a day, or 15,400 calories a week. He hits the gym with his bros for an hour a day, four to 5 days a week for some moderate intensity weight training, in hopes that developing his body will help him to finally score a date with the cutie in his algebra class. This is a healthy move for Chad, giving him an additional 260 calories burned each day, or an additional 1300 per week. Back to the golden rule: If Chad wants to keep his impressive physique, he will have to consume right around 16,700 calories per week! Seems like a lot, doesn’t it?

Not until we take a look at Chad’s diet. Since moving out of his parent’s house, he’s had to do a lot of cooking for himself. The term “cooking” is unheard of in Chad’s vocabulary so he eats whatever is available, often going to the same takeout places and pubs for his meals. During the week, he does okay. He makes somewhat healthy decisions, consuming about 2,400 calories per day, or about 12,000 for the work week. Not that much over what he is burning during that given time. Enter: Friday, Saturday and Sunday. Chad meets up with his bros for some casual beers after a big week at work, bringing his total to 12,900. He grabs a late night pizza afterwards, Bumping his consumed calories to 14,900. After a big breakfast consisting of 800 calories Saturday morning, he hears that the cutie from algebra is going to his local pub. After repeating something similar to Friday’s debacle, he is now at 17,800 calories for the week, or well over what he would need to maintain his current weight. After several months of this, he goes back to visit his parents, who can’t help but notice that Chad has put on some weight. He couldn’t out work his poor choices after all.

Put simply, a slip up every once in a while is okay for someone’s fitness journey. Its what makes us human and keeps us sane during an often difficult time. But regular overeating is difficult to overcome, based on the sheer time involved in negating it. A 300 calorie donut equals out to a 2.5 mile run. So, what’s easier to do? Not eat that break room donut every day, or stomp on the sneakers and head out for an additional 20-30 minute run every day? There is no right answer to the question, but it should resonate that exercising self-control in the kitchen will require less exercising in the gym.

 

By Matt Rhodes, M.S.

Recipe of the Week: Savory Beet Soup

Yield: 8 servings
Serving Size: about 3/4 cup

Ingredients:

  • 1 teaspoon olive oil
  • 1 cup chopped onion
  • 4 cups fat-free, less-sodium chicken broth
  • 2 cups water
  • 1/2 teaspoon salt
  • 1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
  • 3 medium beets, peeled and halved
  • 1 medium potato, peeled and halved crosswise
  • 1 bay leaf
  • 1 teaspoon lemon juice
  • 8 teaspoons reduced-fat sour cream

Directions:

  1. Heat the oil in a Dutch oven over medium-high heat. Add onion; sauté 3 minutes or until tender. Add broth and next 6 ingredients (through bay leaf). Bring to a boil; reduce heat, and simmer, uncovered, 20 minutes or until beets and potato are tender. Discard bay leaf.
  2. Place one-third broth mixture in blender or food processor; process until smooth. Place puréed mixture in a large bowl. Repeat procedure twice with remaining broth mixture. Return pureed mixture to pan. Warm soup over low heat for 5 minutes or until thoroughly heated. Remove from heat, and stir in lemon juice.
  3. Combine 1/2 cup soup and the sour cream, stirring with a whisk. Divide soup evenly among each of 8 bowls. Top each serving with 1 tablespoon sour cream mixture; swirl sour cream mixture using the tip of a knife.

Nutrition:
Calories per serving: 74
Fat: 1.3g
Protein: 3.3g
Carbohydrate: 12.3g

 

Original recipe from Health.com can be found here!

Weight Loss Benefits

Many people across the world struggle with controlling their weight. In America, more than 1/3 of America’s adult population is obese. People who are severely overweight have an unfortunately high risk of developing other health complications; heart disease, diabetes, and joint injuries, along with several others. Losing weight can have several benefits to improving one’s health- and a little bit can go a long way. Studies have shown that losing just 5-10% of your body weight can lead to a noticeable improvement in ones’ health. Positive changes in your diet and an increase in exercise can get you started on your weight loss journey. Here are a few of the many benefits you may see when losing weight:

Losing weight can…

  • Lower your blood pressure and improve “good” cholesterol levels (HDL), both contributing to a decrease risk of heart disease.
  • Improve blood glucose levels and decrease your risk of getting diabetes
    • If you already have diabetes, losing weight can decrease your reliance on medications
  • Decrease your risk of developing certain cancers
  • Decrease your risk of having a stroke
  • Decrease your risk of inflammation caused by chemicals released from fat cells
  • Decrease stress on joints, leading to a reduction in joint deterioration
    • If you already have damage within the joint (osteoarthritis), losing weight can improve your symptoms and slow the progress of joint deterioration
  • Improve mobility
  • Improve quality of sleep
  • Improve mood and quality of life

 

By David McCalla