Chicken Stir-Fry With Garlic and Greens

This is another fabulously nutritious recipe!

1 pound skinless, boneless chicken breasts
Salt and pepper
1 package (10 ounces) frozen greens*
4 garlic cloves**
1/2 teaspoon Tabasco sauce, or to taste

*I like spinach but you can use any type of frozen greens.
**I use already minced garlic because I am lazy.

Cut chicken into thin strips and season lightly with salt and pepper. Thaw the greens in a microwave on High for 1-2 minutes. Drain greens in a colander and press out most of the liquid. Chop the garlic (or not, if your like me).

Heat the oil in a wok or large frying pan over high heat. Add the chicken and stir-fry until just cooked through, 2-3 minutes. Reduce the heat to medium, add the garlic and cook, stirring, for 1 minute.

Add the greens and cook, stirring, until tender, about 2 minutes. Season with the Tabasco and salt to taste and serve.


If you use turnip, mustard or collard greens and Tabasco, this dish is Southern-y. I like to use plain old spinach and season to taste with Sun Luk La Yu Chili Oil. That makes it more Asian-y. Not that I don't like turnip, mustard or collard greens. Actually I love collard greens.

Fat Burning Zone?

The myth still prevails but there is no such thing as a fat burning zone. I know, it says so right there on those cardio machines at the gym. Ignore those charts.

The myth probably began when reports came out about 20 years ago stating that during very low intensity exercise (walking) fat accounts for the highest percentage of energy expenditure, while during high intensity exercise carbohydrates account for the highest percentage of the energy expenditure. If you read that without qualification it sounds like all you have to do is walk and you will lose fat.

Here's a closer look. Let's say you burn 200 calories walking for an hour and fat accounts for 75% of that energy expenditure, so you have used 150 calories of fat during your walk. Now let's say you run for 30 minutes and burn 400 calories and fat accounts for 25% of your total energy expenditure, so you have used 100 calories of fat during your run. BUT the total calorie expenditure when you exercised shorter and more intensely was higher. The fat calories you used to fuel both workouts was pretty close but you burned the equavilant of a Starbucks grande latte during your walk. During your run you burned the equivilant of a Starbucks double chocolate brownie. You also spent less time working out. It would take TWO hours of walking to equal 30 minutes of running. Yes, it's uncomfortable but the pay off is worth it. And don't you have a lot more important stuff that you could be doing with that extra hour and a half?

Overall calorie expenditure is more important then fat percentage used during your workout. Low intensity workouts will not get you to your fat loss goals. Walking has many benefits but fat loss is not one of them.

Chicken in Garlic Green Sauce

This is a really easy chicken breast recipe. The cilantro and green salsa make it very fresh and tasty.

4 skinless, boneless chicken breast halves
2 chopped or minced garlic cloves
3 tablespoons vegetable oil
1 cup green salsa or taco sauce
1/4 cup chopped cilantro


Pound chicken until it is flattened evenly. Season chicken with pepper.

Heat oil in a large frying pan. Add the chicken and cook over medium heat until the chicken is browned and almost cooked through, about 3 minutes per side. Remove to plate and leave drippings in pan.

Add garlic to the pan and cook over medium heat, stirring, until softened but not browned, about 1 minute. Add the salsa along with 1/2 cup of water. Bring to a simmer. Return the chicken and any accumulated juices on the plate to the sauce. Simmer, uncovered, over medium heat until the chicken is cooked through, 1 to 2 minutes. Stir in cilantro.

Serve with warm whole grain tortillas and fresh lime.

Great, Easy Way To Lose Fat

Here is a great way to 'diet'. Using this simple eating guide developed by Alan Aragon, M.S., a nutritionist in Thousand Oaks, California you don't even need to count calories or weigh and measure food. All you have to do is eyeball your portion sizes and eat.

Step 1 - Divide your daily menu into the six food groups below, which include every category except 'junk'.

Step 2 - Eat two servings a day from each food group, split any way you want into four meals. Also, regularly drink 50 ounces of water, or 80 ounces on the the days you workout.

Here are the food groups:

PROTEIN - 1 serving
Meat (beef, pork, poultry, fish), eggs or protein powder.
A piece of meat the area and thickness of your palm; one egg; two scoops of protein powder.

FRUIT - 1 serving
1 fist size piece of fruit or a heaping cup.

FAT - 1 serving
Oils, butter, nuts, seeds and avocados.
2 tablespoons of oil; butter (regular, peanut or almond), or avocado; a handful of nuts and seeds.

DAIRY - 1 serving
Milk, yogurt, and cheese.
1 cup of milk or yogurt; 1 slice of cheese.

VEGETABLES - 1 serving
Any fiber-rich vegetable that's green or that you'd eat raw.
It doesn't matter - feel free to eat as much as you want.

STARCH - 1 serving
Any plant food not categorized as a 'fruit' or 'vegetable'.
1 cup of cereal or cooked pasta, rice or other grain; two slices of bread; one medium potato.

Step 3 - Two meals a week, eat whatever you want.

That's it. Now go and lose some body fat, will ya?

Portions

Here we are in the midst of New Year's resolution time which usually includes fat loss goals and I want to write a little bit about food intake.

Don't let other people dictate how much you eat. You wouldn't let someone in a clothing store tell you how much to buy, right? Sales people love to try though because it increases their sales and sometimes it is very hard to say no. The same thing applies when you go out to eat or buy food. Just because a restaurant sells an amount of food to you doesn't mean you have to eat that amount. They chose that specific amount, you didn't. A manufacturer makes a product that's '20% larger' because it increases their sales. You do not need to eat all of it just because it is served (or sold) to you that particular way. You don't need to eat a whole candy bar or muffin or even an apple because that's the way it comes. There is no law against eating whatever is left over at a later time. It's your body. You decide how much, and what, goes into it.

I really believe that you can eat what you want as long as you eat only the amount that will satisfy you. That takes practice, focus and awareness - things we aren't used to when it comes to eating. We usually eat without thinking about it at all. We snack on what's around, eat what's served to us and grab whatever is handy. When something tastes really good it's hard to stop eating it. I understand that. But who says you can't have it again later in the day or tomorrow? I can almost guarantee that it is not the last chance you will ever have to eat chocolate. Or french fries. Or a donut.

Think before you eat. Think WHILE you eat. Don't let someone else think for you.

Country Captain Chicken

Here is a great recipe that's a little bit different. It's really tasty during the winter months.

Here's what you'll need:

1 pound boneless chicken breast
1.5 teaspoons curry powder
2.5 tablespoons vegetable oil
1 can (14-16 ounces) stewed tomatoes, with juice
.5 cup raisins
.5 teaspoon salt
.25 teaspoon freshly ground pepper

Cut each piece of chicken crosswise in half. Sprinkle the curry powder over both sides. Heat the oil in a large frying pan. Add the chicken and cook over medium heat, turning once, until lightly browned, about 2 minutes per side.

Add the stewed tomatoes, raisins, salt, pepper and 1/3 cup of water. Cover the pan, reduce the heat to med-low and cook until the chicken is white throughout, 3-5 minutes.

Remove the chicken to a serving dish. Boil the sauce until slightly reduced, 1-2 minutes. Pour over the chicken and serve.


This dish goes really well with arugula salad.

Drink your water!

I know. You've heard it a million times. Drink more water. Drink 8 glasses a day. Replace other fluids with water. Blah, blah, blah.

I don't really care if you are sick of hearing it, you need to drink more water. Period. Essentially, water is about as much of a cure-all as is exercise. Dehydration is the NUMBER ONE cause of fatigue. So if your energy is low, drink more water. Don't drink more energy drinks. Your body does not need more sugar and caffeine, trust me.

Here are other symptoms of MINOR dehydration or, simply not drinking enough water:

Extra body weight. People tend to confuse thirst for hunger and eat instead of drink.

Constipation. Without enough fluid you can't get the toxic stuff out of your body.

Low and high blood pressure. Without water blood volume is insufficient to fill all your arteries, veins and capillaries.

Problems with respiratory system. Without enough moisture your mucous membranes cannot filter out the bad stuff from the air you inhale.

High cholesterol. When you cells lose too much moisture your body tries to stop the loss by producing cholesterol.

Headaches and dizziness. Lack of water constricts the blood vessels impeding blood flow to the brain. This also makes blood more likely to pool in your lower extremities and that can cause dizziness and fainting.

The general rule is that you need to drink enough water that your pee should be almost clear or a very pale yellow.

I know it's a pain in the ass but buy a couple cool stainless steel or aluminum water bottles. Fill them up in the morning and vow to finish BOTH of them by the time you leave work. Fill one up again and drink it before you go to bed. If they are 24 oz bottles then that will get you just about enough of what you need. Any other water you happen to drink will just be a bonus. Pop, juice, coffee, tea, wine, beer, etc. Those do not count. If you choose to flavor your water with any lo-cal drink mix that's fine for one of your daily bottles. Your kidneys process flavored water differently then they do regular water. You need to drink plain water. Learn to love it. Don't complain to me that it's boring or that you hate the taste. Water has no taste. Deal with it. You know the benefits of exercise and the reasons you have to get uncomfortable in order to meet your goals. Apply those principles here and just like exercise, drinking water will be a habit.

When I leave the house it's keys, phone and water bottle. If I don't have one of those things with me I don't go anywhere.

PS - Here is a good trick to get yourself to drink more water, if you use it wisely. Take small bites off of a nutrition bar throughout the day. Those bars always make you want to drink water so if you snack on ONE bar throughout the day and drink water after every little bite you will probably drink your daily allotment without even realizing it. Uh, just don't eat bar after bar. One will suffice.