Commit yourself to lifelong learning.
You've heard the saying Read, read and when you’re done reading, read some more.
You're probably thinking by now, how could something like reading have affected my weight loss so dramatically? If I would have stopped so feverishly researching and reading all of the latest and most up to date nutritional information that I did, while I was on my own personal weight loss journey.
I would not have found all of the incredibly helpful information about fat loss that I am able to share with you today.
Actually, since those days I have never stopped continuously reading and researching because there is always new nutrition information becoming available every day.
Some of it may be good, some may be bad, but I have made it a lifelong commitment to help as many people as possible to change the direction of their health, and their weight and in order to do that, I have to keep up with all the latest and most up to date information.
Now I know with so much information out there, it can sometimes become overwhelming. That’s why I focus my reading efforts on a few trusted sources that I really enjoy and know are just as passionate about nutrition as I am.
One of those trusted authors is my good friend Mike Geary, he is author of the popular The Truth About Abs program. I think most of you would agree that his articles are jam packed full of useful information and tips (not to mention tons of delicious recipes that are perfect for our healthy way of eating).
Today I want to share with you 2 of those great articles. The first is a definite “eye opener” and an article that may completely change the way you look at fat loss.
Excess Abdominal Fat is Extremely Dangerous –
Details Here
The second is a delicious chocolate pudding recipe that I’ve made several times and have passed on the recipe to family members and friends.
Healthy Chocolate Pudding – Recipe Here
Showing posts with label cooking recipes. Show all posts
Showing posts with label cooking recipes. Show all posts
Wednesday 13 July 2011
Monday 11 April 2011
Two yummy recipes with minimal ingredients.
Food Recipes have been my hot topic of the week recently, and is one of the most favorite things I love to talk about. I really love trying new and creative ways to keep my meals fresh, delicious and interesting, and of course I enjoy passing on that information to all of you.
Today I’ve got 2 fantastic recipes for you, whose claim to fame is going to be “delicious with minimal ingredients”. The first is my all new favorite pregnancy snack (and, NO, you don’t have to be pregnant to enjoy it), and the second is a recipe I have all set to make this evening as a treat for my family.
In my search for new and creative recipes, I actually chose these two because they have very few ingredients and are super quick to put together while still being delicious (of course!).
As many of you have realized by now, I really LOVE trying new foods, and finding new ways to make meals tasty while still fitting into my healthy way of eating. I also got very much into cooking, once my son started getting older because I realize that if I want him to continue to eat healthy, it’s really up to me to make his food YUMMY. This is also true for adults who want to continue to keep a healthy way of eating…if your food tastes good, a healthy way of eating is easy to follow. If your food tastes bad, well, then you know what’s going to happen…frustration, abandonment and a possible quick trip to the closest fast food joint.
These 2 recipes came straight out of Dave Ruel’s Metabolic Cooking cookbooks. His cookbooks are really great and you’ll see below that his recipes are a great complement to our principles of healthy eating.
Without further ado, here are 2 great recipes for you to try this weekend:
Apple No-Crisp (1 of my new favorite snacks!)
INGREDIENTS - RECIPE MAKES 1 SERVING
• ¾ cup Greek yogurt
• 2 tablespoons unsweetened apple sauce
• 1 apple, sliced or diced
• Pinch of stevia
• Pinch of cinnamon
• Pinch of nutmeg
DIRECTIONS
Mix all the ingredients together in a bowl, stir well and enjoy!
LEMON-HERB STUFFED SALMON
(I picked this one because it sounds delicious)
INGREDIENTS - RECIPE MAKES 2 SERVINGS
• 2 salmon fillets (4 oz each)
• 1 lemon, thinly sliced
• 1 scallion, sliced
• 1 tablespoon fresh oregano leaves, minced
• 1 tablespoon fresh thyme leaves
DIRECTIONS
1. Preheat the oven to 425F. Make a horizontal cut in the salmon fillets, for 2/3 of the fillet’s length.
2. Lay the salmon on a baking dish (I prefer a glass dish for fish).
3. Stuff the salmon (in the horizontal cut) with lemon slices.
Do the same with the scallion.
4. Mix together the two herbs and stuff them into the salmon as well.
5. Bake the fillets for 15 minutes.
Today I’ve got 2 fantastic recipes for you, whose claim to fame is going to be “delicious with minimal ingredients”. The first is my all new favorite pregnancy snack (and, NO, you don’t have to be pregnant to enjoy it), and the second is a recipe I have all set to make this evening as a treat for my family.
In my search for new and creative recipes, I actually chose these two because they have very few ingredients and are super quick to put together while still being delicious (of course!).
As many of you have realized by now, I really LOVE trying new foods, and finding new ways to make meals tasty while still fitting into my healthy way of eating. I also got very much into cooking, once my son started getting older because I realize that if I want him to continue to eat healthy, it’s really up to me to make his food YUMMY. This is also true for adults who want to continue to keep a healthy way of eating…if your food tastes good, a healthy way of eating is easy to follow. If your food tastes bad, well, then you know what’s going to happen…frustration, abandonment and a possible quick trip to the closest fast food joint.
These 2 recipes came straight out of Dave Ruel’s Metabolic Cooking cookbooks. His cookbooks are really great and you’ll see below that his recipes are a great complement to our principles of healthy eating.
Without further ado, here are 2 great recipes for you to try this weekend:
Apple No-Crisp (1 of my new favorite snacks!)
INGREDIENTS - RECIPE MAKES 1 SERVING
• ¾ cup Greek yogurt
• 2 tablespoons unsweetened apple sauce
• 1 apple, sliced or diced
• Pinch of stevia
• Pinch of cinnamon
• Pinch of nutmeg
DIRECTIONS
Mix all the ingredients together in a bowl, stir well and enjoy!
LEMON-HERB STUFFED SALMON
(I picked this one because it sounds delicious)
INGREDIENTS - RECIPE MAKES 2 SERVINGS
• 2 salmon fillets (4 oz each)
• 1 lemon, thinly sliced
• 1 scallion, sliced
• 1 tablespoon fresh oregano leaves, minced
• 1 tablespoon fresh thyme leaves
DIRECTIONS
1. Preheat the oven to 425F. Make a horizontal cut in the salmon fillets, for 2/3 of the fillet’s length.
2. Lay the salmon on a baking dish (I prefer a glass dish for fish).
3. Stuff the salmon (in the horizontal cut) with lemon slices.
Do the same with the scallion.
4. Mix together the two herbs and stuff them into the salmon as well.
5. Bake the fillets for 15 minutes.
Saturday 20 March 2010
Potatoes and "White Foods" - for a Lean-Body?
by Mike Geary
I think it about time we started a little discussion about carbohydrates... and in particular, so called "white foods" including potatoes. One reason I wanted to talk about this is because so many health and fitness professionals trash talk potatoes about being a bad carbohydrate choice because of the high glycemic index. Some people are saying such ridiculous things as "avoid any and all white carbohydrates".
Now while I agree that white bread and refined white sugar are two of the worst things we can be feeding our bodies. I don't believe in avoiding any and all "white carbohydrates".
Believe it or not "White Foods" aren't always the enemy.
It's true that colourful foods are great, but it is also a big mistake to specifically avoid white foods! There are plenty of white foods that have specific nutrients that are hard to find elsewhere. Let's take a look at a few examples...
Onions & Garlic
What about onions and garlic? They are both white and they are chock full of protective phytonutrients, vitamins, and trace minerals that aren't easy to find elsewhere in a normal diet... such nutrients as allicin, quercetin (an important flavonoid), chromium, and other unique anti-inflammatory nutrients.
Cauliflowers
Here is another example of something white, that is great for you is cauliflower. Cauliflower is full of vitamin C, trace elements, fiber, and special compounds such as glucosinolates and thiocyanates, which are specifically abundant in cruciferous vegetables such as broccoli, cauliflower, and cabbage. A little-known fact is that some of the compounds in cruciferous vegetables help to counteract other estrogenic compounds in our food supply and environment and can help prevent excess belly fat. So eat up that cauliflower!
Mushrooms
Not many people realize this, but surprisingly, even white mushrooms have high levels of unique nutrients and antioxidants. White mushrooms are high in a couple types of antioxidants called polyphenols and ergothioneine.
Potatoes
Now that also leads us to another example - white potatoes. Many health professionals claim that potatoes are a bad carbohydrate because they are thought to have a high glycemic index. If you've read my Truth about Six Pack Abs book, you will understand that glycemic index is not necessarily the most important factor in choosing your carbohydrates.
While making the assumption that most low glycemic index carbohydrate choices will help you lose body fat easier than high glycemic index choices, it is not all that it's cracked out to be. There are many other factors that determine how your body will react-to and process the carbohydrates you ingest, such as glycemic load and also how you combine the high GI food with other foods.
For example, using glycemic load as an example... it is known that watermelons have quite a high glycemic index. However, the glycemic level of a normal serving of watermelon is just way too low for your body to start packing on body fat just because you ate a high glycemic index fruit. You would have to eat such an enormous quantity of watermelon just to get enough grams of carbohydrates to have any negative glycemic effect, that's just not logical.
Not to mention that watermelon is also a great source of vitamins, minerals, and lycopene. There's just no reason to avoid it simply because it has a high GI. The point that I am trying to get across is... candy bars, cupcakes, and donuts etc make you fat... NOT watermelons, carrots or potatoes... French fries excluded of course.
Also, as i mentioned, food combinations are important in how your body processes the carbohydrates and the associated blood sugar and insulin response you receive. E.g if you mix a high glycemic index carbohydrate with an extra source of fiber, healthy fats, or even certain proteins, many times the blood sugar and glycemic response will be slowed down considerably by the way you combined the food. I talk in great detail about this topic in my book.
Back to my point that white potatoes are actually a healthy carbohydrate as long as you eat them in the right form... with the entire skin, and please don't ruin them by deep frying them into french fries either! French fries or Chips whatever you want to call them, are one of the most evil things ever invented for your health, but only because we ruin them by soaking them in a scorching bath of trans fats in the deep fryer from the hydrogenated oils that are typically used.
Keep in mind that potatoes contain so many vitamins and minerals that the list is way too long to even try. Also, as long as you eat the skins, you get a decent shot of fiber too.
Will eating 8 potatoes per day make you fatter? of course not.
On the topic of potatoes not being so bad after all, I don't remember where I saw this referenced, but I recently saw a particular study that had participants eat something like 7-9 whole potatoes per day for several weeks.
At the conclusion of the study, the potato eaters had actually consistently lost weight! I'd venture a guess that the reason the people lost weight is that they were probably so full from eating all of those damn potatoes, that they actually consumed less calories than normal! An average sized potato only has about 100-120 calories, and I can surely imagine you'd be full constantly from eating 7-9 potatoes each day.
Now I would never recommend going to those extremes, but my point is that an occasional potato is not going to hurt your efforts to get lean, especially if you combine it with some other fibrous vegetables and maybe a healthy fat and some protein. On that note, here is one of my favorite recipes for you to try, using potatoes.
* 1 red pepper
* 1 green pepper
* 1 yellow pepper
* 1 or 2 onions
* a couple cloves of garlic, finely chopped
* 1 or 2 Tbsp extra virgin olive oil and / or coconut oil
* a little salt and pepper to taste (I like using a sea salt instead of normal commercial salt)
Cut the baby potatoes into smaller pieces and place in a steamer until soft all the way through. Slice up the peppers and onions into strips and add with the chopped garlic into a pan with the olive oil. Cook the peppers, onions, and garlic until tender, and then add the steamed baby potatoes. Mix together and serve. Its is a delicious and healthy side dish that goes great with chicken or red meat.
I hope you've enjoyed this little topic today about potatoes, healthy carbohydrates, glycemic index, and my healthy potato recipe idea!
Mike Geary
Certified Personal Trainer
Certified Nutrition Specialist
Truth about Abs
I think it about time we started a little discussion about carbohydrates... and in particular, so called "white foods" including potatoes. One reason I wanted to talk about this is because so many health and fitness professionals trash talk potatoes about being a bad carbohydrate choice because of the high glycemic index. Some people are saying such ridiculous things as "avoid any and all white carbohydrates".
Now while I agree that white bread and refined white sugar are two of the worst things we can be feeding our bodies. I don't believe in avoiding any and all "white carbohydrates".
Believe it or not "White Foods" aren't always the enemy.
It's true that colourful foods are great, but it is also a big mistake to specifically avoid white foods! There are plenty of white foods that have specific nutrients that are hard to find elsewhere. Let's take a look at a few examples...
Onions & Garlic
What about onions and garlic? They are both white and they are chock full of protective phytonutrients, vitamins, and trace minerals that aren't easy to find elsewhere in a normal diet... such nutrients as allicin, quercetin (an important flavonoid), chromium, and other unique anti-inflammatory nutrients.
Cauliflowers
Here is another example of something white, that is great for you is cauliflower. Cauliflower is full of vitamin C, trace elements, fiber, and special compounds such as glucosinolates and thiocyanates, which are specifically abundant in cruciferous vegetables such as broccoli, cauliflower, and cabbage. A little-known fact is that some of the compounds in cruciferous vegetables help to counteract other estrogenic compounds in our food supply and environment and can help prevent excess belly fat. So eat up that cauliflower!
Mushrooms
Not many people realize this, but surprisingly, even white mushrooms have high levels of unique nutrients and antioxidants. White mushrooms are high in a couple types of antioxidants called polyphenols and ergothioneine.
Potatoes
Now that also leads us to another example - white potatoes. Many health professionals claim that potatoes are a bad carbohydrate because they are thought to have a high glycemic index. If you've read my Truth about Six Pack Abs book, you will understand that glycemic index is not necessarily the most important factor in choosing your carbohydrates.
While making the assumption that most low glycemic index carbohydrate choices will help you lose body fat easier than high glycemic index choices, it is not all that it's cracked out to be. There are many other factors that determine how your body will react-to and process the carbohydrates you ingest, such as glycemic load and also how you combine the high GI food with other foods.
For example, using glycemic load as an example... it is known that watermelons have quite a high glycemic index. However, the glycemic level of a normal serving of watermelon is just way too low for your body to start packing on body fat just because you ate a high glycemic index fruit. You would have to eat such an enormous quantity of watermelon just to get enough grams of carbohydrates to have any negative glycemic effect, that's just not logical.
Not to mention that watermelon is also a great source of vitamins, minerals, and lycopene. There's just no reason to avoid it simply because it has a high GI. The point that I am trying to get across is... candy bars, cupcakes, and donuts etc make you fat... NOT watermelons, carrots or potatoes... French fries excluded of course.
Also, as i mentioned, food combinations are important in how your body processes the carbohydrates and the associated blood sugar and insulin response you receive. E.g if you mix a high glycemic index carbohydrate with an extra source of fiber, healthy fats, or even certain proteins, many times the blood sugar and glycemic response will be slowed down considerably by the way you combined the food. I talk in great detail about this topic in my book.
Back to my point that white potatoes are actually a healthy carbohydrate as long as you eat them in the right form... with the entire skin, and please don't ruin them by deep frying them into french fries either! French fries or Chips whatever you want to call them, are one of the most evil things ever invented for your health, but only because we ruin them by soaking them in a scorching bath of trans fats in the deep fryer from the hydrogenated oils that are typically used.
Keep in mind that potatoes contain so many vitamins and minerals that the list is way too long to even try. Also, as long as you eat the skins, you get a decent shot of fiber too.
Will eating 8 potatoes per day make you fatter? of course not.
On the topic of potatoes not being so bad after all, I don't remember where I saw this referenced, but I recently saw a particular study that had participants eat something like 7-9 whole potatoes per day for several weeks.
At the conclusion of the study, the potato eaters had actually consistently lost weight! I'd venture a guess that the reason the people lost weight is that they were probably so full from eating all of those damn potatoes, that they actually consumed less calories than normal! An average sized potato only has about 100-120 calories, and I can surely imagine you'd be full constantly from eating 7-9 potatoes each day.
Now I would never recommend going to those extremes, but my point is that an occasional potato is not going to hurt your efforts to get lean, especially if you combine it with some other fibrous vegetables and maybe a healthy fat and some protein. On that note, here is one of my favorite recipes for you to try, using potatoes.
Mikes's Lean-Body Potato Side Dish
* Desired quantity of baby potatoes (I like to use this mixture I found recently at a health food store... it is a mixture of white, red, yellow, and purple baby potatoes)* 1 red pepper
* 1 green pepper
* 1 yellow pepper
* 1 or 2 onions
* a couple cloves of garlic, finely chopped
* 1 or 2 Tbsp extra virgin olive oil and / or coconut oil
* a little salt and pepper to taste (I like using a sea salt instead of normal commercial salt)
Cut the baby potatoes into smaller pieces and place in a steamer until soft all the way through. Slice up the peppers and onions into strips and add with the chopped garlic into a pan with the olive oil. Cook the peppers, onions, and garlic until tender, and then add the steamed baby potatoes. Mix together and serve. Its is a delicious and healthy side dish that goes great with chicken or red meat.
I hope you've enjoyed this little topic today about potatoes, healthy carbohydrates, glycemic index, and my healthy potato recipe idea!
Mike Geary
Certified Personal Trainer
Certified Nutrition Specialist
Truth about Abs
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