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Recipe of the Week: Crispy Carrot Chips

The entire batch of carrot chips contains only 79 calories and offers 4.1 grams of fiber; regular potato chips have 160 calories and only one gram of fiber. Don’t forget the Vitamin A benefits!

Yields:  1 serving
Cook Time: 1 hour
Calories per serving: 79

INGREDIENTS

  • 2 large carrots (or 3 medium)
  • 1/2 teaspoon olive oil (or melted coconut oil)
  • 1/8 teaspoon sea salt
  • Any other seasonings you like!

DIRECTIONS

  1. Preheat oven to 350°F.
  2. Wash and peel the carrots. Using a mandolin slicer or a knife, tilt the carrot, and thinly slice diagonally to make oval-shaped pieces — if they’re too thick, they’ll be soft instead of crunchy.
  3. Place the carrot slices in a bowl, and toss with olive oil and salt.
  4. Lay the carrots in a single layer on a cookie sheet lined with a Silpat or parchment paper.
  5. Bake for 15 to 20 minutes, or until the carrots are dry and crisp. Watch them carefully toward the end, as they can burn quickly.

 

Find the original recipe here!

Warming Up for Recreational Sports

March Madness is here and spring is right around the corner! Baseball has started Spring Training and the weather is starting to get nicer as the days get longer. For all of the avid basketball fans and recreational players, it’s exciting to watch the college basketball season come to a close. Many of us don’t do as much physical activities in the winter as we do when the weather starts to get warmer. We all can reminisce on the “good old days” when we were able to just go for a run or play a sport without warming up. However, the more time you’ve spent away from an activity should mean more time that you spend on a quality warm up and cool down. This is important to help prevent injuries and ensure you’re feeling great for the next days.

Taking 5-10 minutes to go through some light stretching and dynamic movements is important for your well-being. Here’s an example of a simple warm up you can do before most physical activities:

1) Light Jogging ~3-5 minutes

2) Walking Quad stretch (kick your heels up to your butt while stepping forward)

3) Frankenstein’s (lightly kicking leg straight in front while walking forward)

4) Lunge with Reach (step forward with one leg then bend both knees to 90 degrees and lift arms to the sky)

5) Side Lunges (with toes facing forward, step sideways bending one leg while keeping the other straight then step to the other side)

There are many different warm ups and ways to make it more for your activity. Your Exercise Physiologist can develop a specific program for you. Remember the goal of a warm up is to get your body ready for the activities it will soon be doing. Increasing your heart rate and increasing blood flow to skeletal muscles will decrease your chance for injuries during sports. Most importantly, have fun out there and be safe!

 

Corynne Pereira

Muscle Madness: Trapezius

The Exercise Physiologists at Peak Performance know all the muscles in the body, but which ones are our favorite?! Every week we will feature a different muscle- so you guys get an anatomy lesson and learn how to work that muscle. It’s Muscle Madness!

Tyler, what’s your favorite muscle?

My favorite muscle is the Trapezius also known as your “Traps.” I love this muscle not only because they look awesome when developed but it is a muscle that you must earn. The ‘traps’ are a true sign of strength and you must diligently work hard to develop them.

Where is it located?

The trapezius is located on your upper back. This muscle extends from your neck out towards the shoulders and down your thoracic spine.

What does this muscle do?

The trapezius is one of the major muscles of the back and is responsible for moving, rotating, and stabilizing the scapula (shoulder blade) and also supporting/tilting/twisting the head, neck and arm.

What’s a good exercise to strengthen my trapezius?

Some great exercises to help develop them would be: Deadlifts, dumbbell shrugs and face pulls. Overhead presses are also a good way to help build your traps!

Recipe of the Week: Seven Vegetable Couscous

Prep Time: 1 hour 5 minutes

Ingredients:

Seven-Vegetable Stew:

  • 3 cloves garlic, smashed
  • 2 small turnips, peeled and quartered
  • 1 medium yellow onion, quartered lengthwise, root end intact
  • 1 large carrot, peeled and cut into 2-inch chunks
  • 1/2 fennel bulb, thickly sliced lengthwise, root end intact
  • 1/3 cup golden raisins
  • 1 tablespoon peeled, chopped, fresh ginger
  • 1 tablespoon kosher salt
  • 2 teaspoons each ground cumin, paprika, and sugar
  • 1 1/2 teaspoons ground turmeric
  • 1/8 teaspoon ground cloves
  • 1 cinnamon stick, snapped in half
  • 2 cups water
  • 1 pound butternut squash
  • 1 small zucchini, cut into 2-inch rounds
  • 1 (15 1/2-ounce) can chickpeas, rinsed and drained
  • 4 sprigs fresh flat-leaf parsley, tied together with kitchen string
  • 1 cup canned whole peeled tomatoes, with their juices

Couscous:

  • 2 cups cold water
  • 1 tablespoon unsalted butter
  • 1 teaspoon kosher salt
  • 1 1/2 cups uncooked couscous
  • 1/2 cup sliced almonds, toasted

Directions:

For the stew:

  • Put the garlic, turnips, onion, carrot, fennel, raisins, ginger, salt, cumin, paprika, sugar, turmeric, cloves, and cinnamon in a large soup pot with a tight-fitting lid. Add 2 cups water and bring to a boil over high heat; cover, reduce the heat, and simmer until the vegetables are somewhat soft, about 10 minutes.
  • Halve and seed the butternut squash and cut it into wedges. Tie parsley sprigs together with kitchen string. Add squash, zucchini, chickpeas, and parsley sprigs to the pot. Using your fingers and working over the pot, tear the tomatoes into big pieces and add them to the pot with their juices.
  • Simmer the stew, covered, until it is slightly thick and fragrant, and the vegetables are fork tender but not mushy, about 15 minutes. Remove cinnamon sticks.

 For the couscous:

  1. Bring water to a boil with the butter and salt in a small saucepan. Stir in the couscous, pull the saucepan off the heat, cover, and set aside until the water has been absorbed and the couscous is plump, about 5 minutes. Transfer to a bowl and fluff with a fork.

To serve, spread the couscous over a large serving platter and, using a slotted spoon, mound the vegetables in the center. Pour some of the broth over the vegetables and sprinkle with the almonds. Enjoy!

 

Original recipe from the Food Network 

Simple Exercises to Strengthen Your Ankle

As the weather gets warmer, the desire to get outside to exercise naturally increases. If you’re like most people then you’d much rather get your cardio done by doing something fun and distracting like sport, rather than being on a treadmill inside. That’s great, and sports are the best way to burn a ton of calories without even thinking twice about how long you’re playing. Unfortunately playing sports comes with its own risks and one of the most common injuries a sprained ankle. Although it doesn’t sound like much, a sprained ankle varies in severity and can be anywhere from a slight roll to nasty, crippling injury.

Speaking from personal experience, not less than a week ago I was playing basketball, jumped up for the ball and came down with all my weight and ended up rolling my ankle. Not only is this terrifying but an eye-opener as well. Escaping with just a bad “grade 2 sprain,” I could have easily fractured a bone or worse. Why wasn’t it worse? Luck, maybe. The fact that I have a strong muscular foundation surrounding and supporting my ankle is what kept me from completely shattering it. The muscles around your ankle hold it together, think of it like a house; you wouldn’t want your house built out of sticks. Same premise applies.

Here are some exercises to help keep your ankle strong and supported:

1) Single Leg Medicine Ball Toss:

Square off with a partner and toss a medicine ball back and forth while standing on one leg. Make it harder by balancing on a foam pad. Shoot for 60 seconds, 5 times.

2) Balance Foam:

Use one foot to stand on a balance foam for as long as you can without toppling over. Focus on stabilizing at the ankle. Do 5 sets for maximal time.

3) Resisted Ankle Pumps:

Sit down and place a mini resistance band around both feet. Strengthen your ankles by rotating your feet upward and outward, against the resistance. Do at least 3 sets of 15.

4) Calf Raises:

This exercise teaches your ankles to have control when your body shifts weight. Stand with your feet about hip-width apart, shift weight onto your toes, and slowly lift your heels off the ground. Keep your ankles in a neutral position to prevent them from rolling out

 

By Tyler Palmquist

Muscle Madness: Gluteus Medius

The Exercise Physiologists at Peak Performance know all the muscles in the body, but which ones are our favorite?! Every week we will feature a different muscle- so you guys get an anatomy lesson and learn how to work that muscle. It’s Muscle Madness!

Matt, what’s your favorite muscle?

My favorite muscle is the gluteus medius, or glute med for short.

Where is it?

The glute med sits underneath the gluteus maximus, and starts on the rear of the ilium (round part of your hip) and ends on the outside of the femur.

What does this muscle do?

This small muscle helps to abduct the leg from the hip, and acts as a stabilizer during squat movements. The glute med also acts to stabilize the body while on one leg, particularly in day to day activities like walking, running, and balancing. A weak gluteus medius can result in catastrophe for your gait and balance!

What’s a good exercise to strengthen my gluteus medius?

A great hip training exercise is a single leg stand or balance. I like to throw in a twist for my clients to make it more challenging. For this exercise, keep a main portion of your weight on the outer foot of the outside leg, and don’t let the band pull you over!

Recipe of the Week: Shrimp and Veggie Stuffed Zucchini

Prep: 20 minutes
Cook Time: 35 minutes
Serves: 4

Ingredients:

  • 1 extra large zucchini
  • ¼ c olive oil
  • 6 garlic cloves, finely chopped
  • 1 shallot, finely chopped
  • ½ lb. large shrimp, shelled, deveined, & halved
  • 1 large tomato
  • 8 cremini mushrooms
  • ¼ c grated Parmesan cheese
  • 8 leaves fresh basil, torn
  • Salt & Pepper, to taste
  • Garlic Powder, to taste
  • ¼ c grated Parmesan cheese, divided

Directions:

  1. Preheat the oven’s broiler and set the oven rack about 6 inches from the heat source. Grease a baking sheet.
  2. Cut the zucchini in half the long way, and scoop out the seeds and pulp, leaving a thick shell of flesh. Brush both halves of the zucchini with about 1 tablespoon of olive oil, and place them, cut sides down, onto the prepared baking sheet. Bake until the zucchini are hot and beginning to release beads of moisture, 5 to 10 minutes. Remove the zucchini from the oven.
  3. Reduce the oven heat to 450 degrees F.
  4. Heat 2 tablespoons of olive oil in a skillet over medium-low heat, and cook and stir the garlic and shallot until translucent, about 5 minutes. Remove from the heat and let cool.
  5. Place 1 tablespoon of olive oil, the shrimp, diced tomato, mushrooms, 1/4 cup of Parmesan cheese, basil, and the cooked garlic and shallot into a bowl, and stir to mix. Season to taste with black pepper, salt, and garlic powder. Stuff the mixture into the zucchini halves, and sprinkle each zucchini with about 2 tablespoons of Parmesan cheese.
  6. Bake the stuffed zucchini in the preheated oven until the cheese is browned and the filling is cooked through and hot, about 20 minutes.

 

Motivation v. Discipline

The road to success is paved with many stones; they may be labeled as: right place- right time, effort, discipline and motivation. Motivation and discipline often get lumped together as the same thing; however, they are very different from one another.

Motivation is your fuel on the road. Motivation is what helps you get going; it’s the fire in the beginning, the light at the end, and the helping hand along the way. Motivation attributes to the start of a journey and serves as a break from the day to day grind; it can come in the form of a number on a scale, a bigger paycheck, or a smile from someone you’ve helped.

Call it guts, grit, effort, fortitude or whatever you want- just don’t call it lazy. Discipline is the metaphorical meat and potatoes of success. Discipline comes into play when you wake up at 5:00 AM to make the train; it’s staying late at work to finish up that big project; it shows up at midnight when those cookies in the kitchen are calling your name; and it’ll be with you when you lose that extra pound, get that promotion or beat that mile time. Simply put, discipline is the ability to stick to the program, put in the work, and travel the long road to success.

The successful person uses both motivation and discipline to their advantage. Motivation is easy to find- we want our clients to set small goals throughout the week or month and set small rewards accordingly. Often a new pair of sneakers or some well fitting jeans after a month of weight loss usually does the trick! Find joy in going the extra mile to help someone out or put on your favorite song while heading to work or the gym. Discipline is tougher to hold on to; there are no tricks to discipline and it takes practice. When temptation rears its ugly head, remember why you started, how far you’ve come, and how far you can go.

 

Matt Rhodes, M.S., C-EP