Lynbrook | New Hyde Park | NY

recipe

Recipe of the Week: Pumpkin Spice Superhero Muffins

“Superhero Muffins” are a staple from the cookbook Run Fast, Eat Slow written by elite runner, Shalane Flanagan, and chef & nutrition coach, Elyse Kopecky. This week, Shalane announced her retirement from professional running; so to celebrate her career, we are sharing this fall ready version of their famous muffins. (Learn more about Shalane here!)

Since it is Turkey Trot Training season here at Peak Performance, this week’s recipe is ready to fuel your body for a long training run on a Saturday morning (or Sunday if that’s your preference).

Makes 1 dozen

Ingredients:

  • 2 cups almond meal
  • 1 1/2 cups old-fashioned rolled oats
  • 1 tablespoon pumpkin pie spice
  • 1 teaspoon baking soda
  • 1/2 teaspoon salt
  • 3 eggs
  • 1 1/2 cups pumpkin puree
  • 6 tablespoons butter, melted
  • 1/2 cup pure maple syrup
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
  • 1/2 cup raisins, walnuts or chocolate chips (optional)

Directions:

  1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line a 12-cup standard muffin tin with paper muffin cups.
  2. In a large mixing bowl, stir together the almond meal, oats, pumpkin pie spice, baking soda and salt.
  3. In a smaller bowl, whisk together the eggs, pumpkin puree, butter, maple syrup and vanilla.
  4. Add the wet ingredients to the dry ingredients and stir until completely combined. If using raisins or chocolate chips, fold them in.
  5. Scoop the batter evenly into the muffin cups, filling them to the top.
  6. Bake for 32-35 minutes, until cooked through in the center and browned on top.

 

 

Recipe adapted from “Run Fast. Cook Fast. Eat Slow.” by Shalane Flanagan and Elyse Kopecky.

Recipe of the Week: Zucchini Linguine in JETS Sauce

Shout out to Peak Performance Fitness member, Wendie, for sharing her family’s recipe this week! Serve up this zucchini linguine with shrimp for Sunday night dinner. It’s prepared in homemade sauce, appropriately named for some Sunday football – JETS Sauce!

Ingredients:

  • 2 cans crushed tomatoes
  • 5 cloves of garlic (whole)
  • 5 cloves of garlic (minced)
  • ½ minced onion
  • 2 Tbsp olive oil
  • 10 basil leaves (fresh)
  • 24 large shrimp (peeled & deveined)
  • 2 large zucchinis (spiralized or shredded)

Directions:

  1. In a large pasta pot, pour in 2 Tbsp of olive oil on low heat. Once the oil is hot, toss in the whole garlic cloves. Cook until lightly browns. Toss in the minced garlic and onions and cook for 5 minutes.
  2. Toss in the crushed tomatoes. Add in 10 basil leaves and cook uncovered for 45 minutes on medium heat mixing occasionally so that the sauce doesn’t burn.
  3. Add in the zucchini and mix together so the sauce covers it all. Place a lid on the pot and cook for 15 minutes, stirring occasionally.
  4. Add in the shrimp, mix together and keep covered for 5 minutes or until pink.
  5. Serve it hot & enjoy!

 

 

Recipe of the Week: Cabbage Soup

Peak’s gym is full of healthy chefs!!

Shout out to Peak’s gym member, Vinny S., for sharing this week’s recipe!

Ingredients:

  • 1 large head cabbage
  • 6 large onion or scallions
  • 1 or 2 cans (16-28 oz) tomatoes
  • 2 green peppers
  • 1 stalk to 1 bunch celery
  • 6 carrots (optional)
  • 2 cups green beans (optional)
  • 1 package soup mix (onion or vegetable)
  • Small can V-8 juice (optional)
  • Salt, pepper, curry, parsley, bouillon and/or hot sauce, to taste

Directions:

  1. Slice vegetables and cover with water in a large pot. Add soup mix.
  2. Boil gently for 10 minutes, cover.
  3. Lower heat and simmer until vegetables are soft.
  4. Season to taste & enjoy!

Nutrition:
Serving Size: 1 cup
34 calories
Protein: 1 gram
Carbs: 8 grams
Sodium: 64 mg

Recipe of the Week: Chicken Lettuce Wraps

Big thanks to Peak Performance Fitness member, Anne F., for sharing her recipe!

A great way to enjoy the taste of a Chinese restaurant in your own home- these copy cat lettuce wraps are just like the real thing!

Ingredients:

  • 1 lb. ground chicken
  • 1 tbsp. olive oil
  • 2 finely minced cloves of garlic
  • 1 small onion, minced
  • ¼ cup hoisin sauce
  • 2 tbsp. soy sauce
  • 1 tbsp. rice wine vinegar
  • 1  tbsp freshly grated ginger  (I use less; the flavor can overpower)
  • 1 can diced water chestnuts
  • 2 sliced scallions
  • ¼ red pepper finely chopped
  • 1 head of lettuce

Directions:

  1. Heat olive oil in a saucepan over medium high heat. Add ground chicken and cook until browned, about 3-5 minutes, making sure to crumble the chicken as it cooks; drain excess fat.
  2. Stir in garlic, onion, hoisin sauce, soy sauce, rice wine vinegar, ginger until onions have become translucent, about 1-2 minutes.
  3. Stir in chestnuts and green onions until tender, about 1-2 minutes; season with salt and pepper, to taste. At the last moment, stir in the red pepper.
  4. To serve, spoon several tablespoons of the chicken mixture into the center of a soft lettuce leaf, (like Boston lettuce) taco-style.

 

Recipe of the Week: Italian Sausage Bean Soup

Peak Performance has some excellent chefs!

Thank you to our gym member, Helen, for sharing her recipe this week.

Prep: 20 minutes
Cook: 1-1/2 hours
Serves 8

Ingredients:

  • 1 lb. bulk Italian chicken or pork sausage
  • 1 medium onion finely chopped
  • 3 garlic cloves sliced
  • 4 cans chicken broth, 14-1/2 oz reduced sodium
  • 2- 15 oz cans pinto beans, rinsed and drained
  • 1 can diced tomatoes, undrained (14-1/2 oz)
  • 1/2 cup medium pearl barley
  • 1 large carrot sliced
  • 2 celery ribs sliced
  • 1 tsp. minced fresh sage
  • 1/2 tsp. minced fresh rosemary or 1/8 tsp. dried rosemary crushed
  • 6 cups chopped fresh kale or spinach
  • Salt and pepper, if desired

Directions:

  1. In a pot, cook sausage and onion over medium heat until meat is no longer pink.  Add garlic; cook 1 minute longer. Drain.
  2. Stir in the broth, beans, tomatoes, barley, carrot, celery, sage and rosemary. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat; cover and simmer for 45 minutes.
  3. Stir in the kale or spinach; return to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer for 25 to 30 minutes or until all the vegetables are tender and the kale or spinach is wilted.
  4. Small pasta may be substituted for the barley and added during the last 10 minutes of simmering or pasta can be cooked separately and then added before serving.
  5. Enjoy!

 

Planning Healthy Meals for the Week

We asked Peak Performance’s own Exercise Physiologists about how they have created routine in their lives. From working out, to meal prepping to staying hydrated, read on for their best tips!

 

  1. Create a menu for the week by working around your schedule.

Which meals are going to be eaten at work/school? Are there any events where you may be home too late to cook? Any mornings where breakfast will be on-the-go? I try to pick one recipe for breakfast, maybe two for snacks, and three or four to cycle through for lunch and dinner. This helps create variety in my menu so I’m not bored of salads by Tuesday at dinnertime.

  1. Make a shopping list (and stick to it).

Once you have a menu of meals to prepare, it’s time to hit the grocery store. Do your food shopping from a specific list based on the recipe you are cooking and stick to that list – this will help avoid ice cream from ‘magically jumping’ in your cart. According to the Natural Resources Defense Council, the average American ends up wasting 25% of the food and beverages they purchase. By making that shopping list specific, you purchase just what you need to cook for the week based on your meal plan.

  1. Prepare your meals ahead of time to save time.

Ever hear of ‘Meal Prep Sunday’? Give yourself an hour or two over the weekend to cook in bulk so you have food prepared for a few days. Start by prepping all of the ingredients together, i.e. if two recipes call for chopped onion, chop it all at once; this will save time instead of going back to chop another 1/2 cup of something. When it’s time to get cooking, look at the recipes and stagger how they are going to be cooked in order to multitask. See what’s going to take the longest in the oven and get that going while work on another dish.

  1. Pack snacks (just in case).

I am a big fan of the second breakfast and always make sure I have something for the ‘witching hours’ between lunch and dinner. When packing your lunch box, add a healthy snack just in case that late morning or afternoon hunger strikes. If you have meals prepared, you will be less likely to reach for treats in the break room at work or head straight for the kitchen when you get home.

 

By Louise Mills-Strasser, MS

Recipe of the Week: Tomato Vegetable Gazpacho

The gym members at Peak Performance Fitness are also excellent chefs!

Thank you to JoAnn for sharing her recipe this week.

 

Ingredients:

  • 4 or 5 tomatoes (may be from a can)
  • 1 cucumber, peeled and seeded
  • 1 small onion
  • 1 pepper (I prefer red)
  • 1 clove garlic
  • 1 ½ cups tomato juice
  • 1 cup beef broth
  • 1 cup water
  • ¼ cup vinegar (I add some balsamic)
  • ¼ cup olive oil (I add to individual bowls on serving)

 

Directions:

  1. In food processor, start with onion then add garlic, peppers then cucumber then tomatoes. When pulverized put in bowl, add liquids and refrigerate.
  2. Serve cold with drizzle of olive oil.
  3. The longer it stays in the fridge the stronger the flavors. Will last at least 10 days.
  4. Enjoy!!

Recipe of the Week: Herbed Lentil Quinoa Burgers

Big thanks to Peak Performance Fitness member, Barbara W., for sharing her recipe!

A great way to enjoy BBQ season and have a vegan meal that tags all your micro nutrient needs!

 

Ingredients:

  • 1 15 oz can red lentils
  • 1 cup Cooked Quinoa
  • 1 Small Carrot
  • ½ Bell Pepper, minced
  • 1 Scallion, Chopped
  • 2 TBSP Cilantro, Chopped
  • 2 TBSP Parsley, Chopped
  • ¼ TSP Salt
  • Fresh Ground Black Pepper
  • ½ Cup Cornmeal
  • 2 TBSP Olive Oil

Directions:

  1. Pulse the lentils and quinoa in a food blender until it holds together, if the mixture is too dry, add a tsp of water
  2. Transfer the mixture into a bowl and stir in the carrot, bell pepper, scallion, cilantro and salt and pepper
  3. Shape the mixture into 4 patties, refrigerate for an hour
  4. Spread the cornmeal into a shallow dish and dredge the burgers to coat
  5. Add the olive oil to a heated nonstick skillet
  6. Cook burgers until golden, about 5 minutes each side
  7. Serve however you like, on buns, over salad or plain as is!

Nutrition Facts:
Serving Size: 1 patty

  • 282 calories
  • 9g Fat
  • 42g Carbs
  • 12g protein