Making Holiday Recipes Healthier

Hey guys! Substitution is the key to making your holiday recipes healthier!

My pumpkin pie is made with almond meal pressed into a pie plate instead of a white flour crust, and I also substitute maple syrup (or you could use agave nectar) for the white sugar in the pumpkin filling.

See my South Beach Pumpkin Pie recipe on foodgeeks.com. The easiest way to get there is to go to my blog
www.hartkeonline.blogspot.com and look on the right column at the top. Click on:

My Recipes on Foodgeeks.com.
It will take you to all my healthy recipes!

Happy Holidays!

Healthy Side Dish Option

Broccoli Flowers Sauteed in Olive Oil

2 cloves garlic, peeled and sliced widthwise
1/2 red pepper chopped into medium size bits
1 TBL Olive Oil
2 handfuls broccoli flowers (if large cut in half through the flower and
stem)

I used an electric skillet, but you can do this saute on the stove, saute on med-low till broccoli is cooked through, about 10 minutes.
*This is great served with fish, beef or chicken.

Turkey Soup--Nourishing and Delicious!

Don't forget to save that turkey carcass and make some soup! Saved in individual serving containers, this can be a great one pot meal for taking to the office or on a night when you choose not to cook! I am having some for lunch, today, as a matter of fact!

Happy Holidays! Kimberly

Greetings from Alana, our Nutritionistl

Dear Balance Members,

Christmas is almost here but you would never know it by the weather! Today, Santa could have been in a pair beach shorts and a tank top it was so warm!!!

I have seen a few of you lately and I can’t believe my eyes… your results are already amazing, and I am so happy to see you all looking so tight and fit and firm. I should have joined the program myself! Yes, I am so impressed with all that I have seen in such a short amount of time.

And speaking of being impressed: Today I got hungry at lunch so I made a couple of great recipes that I want to share with all of you. Perhaps Kimberly can post them to the blog as well. First, I grilled a chicken breast and drizzled it with warm hazelnut vinaigrette. I passionately consumed it with a spinach salad and a couple of thyme and cheese crisps – and I added a bit of wild rice pilaf that I had leftover from a party I went to yesterday.

Putting together a healthy, well balanced (and decadent!) meal does not have to take a lot of time or effort at all. You can get great ideas from looking in fun cookbooks or browsing the internet. The key is to plan your meals around plenty of veggies, some protein, a little bit of healthy carbohydrates, and a good quality fat like olive oil, walnuts, olives, avocadoes, and real butter. I hope you like these recipes as much as I do.

We will all meet again in late February or early March depending on Dr. Ashry’s schedule. In the meantime, keep up the good work, and don’t let the holidays get you too stressed out.

Have a wonderful Christmas and a VERY HAPPY New Year!

Warm Regards,

Alana

Warm Hazelnut Vinaigrette:

¼ cup extra virgin olive oil, or walnut oil, or hazelnut oil

2 cloves finely minced fresh garlic

¼ cup coarsely chopped lightly roasted hazel nuts

1 Tbsp balsamic vinegar

Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper

Warm the oil over medium-low heat. Add garlic and hazelnuts, and gently cook for just a minute or until garlic is very fragrant and golden. Stir in the balsamic vinegar, sea salt, and pepper. Drizzle this over grilled chicken, shrimp, fish, or lean beef for a delicious dish! If you like, you can also drizzle it over baby spinach or steamed veggies, of brown or wild rice for that matter!!!

Thyme and Cheese Crisps

1 cup grated parmesan or Romano cheese

2 tsp fresh thyme leaves

Preheat your oven to 350 degrees F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Mix cheese with thyme leaves. Spoon heaping teaspoons onto the baking sheet, spacing a couple of inches apart, and lightly pressing down with your fingers to flatten into circles about 2-inches in diameter. Bake about 6-8 minutes or until lightly browned and crisp. Slide the parchment paper off the cookie sheet. With a spatula, loosen the crisps and cool on wire racks. They will firm up as they cool down (just like us after exercising!!!!!!) Let them cool completely. Then store them in an airtight container, layered between parchment or waxed paper. These are fantastic on salads, and take the place of croutons! They are wonderful! Enjoy!!!!

Exercising In The Cold

The weather is changing, but we can't let that debilitate our livelihood! I found these great tips on staying warm from The Weather Channel finess section and thought I'd share ...


The biggest concern for exercising in the cold is hypothermia, or too much heat loss. When you exercise in a cold environment you must consider one primary factor: how much heat will your body lose during exercise?

Heat loss is controlled in two ways:
1. Insulation, consisting of body fat plus clothing.
2. Environmental factors, including temperature, wind and whether you're exercising in the air or in the water. Each of these factors plays a role in the body's ability to maintain a comfortable temperature during exercise.

Insulation
Although many people aspire to have a lean figure, people with a little more body fat are better insulated and will lose less heat. Clothing adds to the insulation barrier and is clearly the most important element in performance and comfort while exercising in the cold. One study showed that heat loss from the head alone was about 50 percent at the freezing mark, and by simply wearing a helmet, subjects were able to stay outside indefinitely.

Clothing is generally a good insulator because it has the ability to trap air, a poor conductor of heat. If the air trapped by the clothing cannot conduct the heat away from the body, temperature will be maintained. Unlike air, however, water is a rapid conductor of heat and even in the coldest of temperatures, people will sweat and risk significant heat loss. With this in mind, you want to choose clothing that can trap air but allow sweat to pass through, away from the body.

By wearing clothing in layers, you have the ability to change the amount of insulation that is needed while many new products can provide such a layered barrier, it is important to avoid heavy cotton sweats or tightly woven material that will absorb and retain water. Because these materials cannot provide a layer of dry air near the skin, they can increase the amount of heat your body loses as you exercise.

Keeping the hands and feet warm is a common concern when exercising in the cold. Lower temperatures cause blood to be shunted away from the hands and feet to the center of the body to keep the internal organs warm and protected. Superficial warming of the hands will return blood flow to prevent tissue damage. Blood flow will not return to the feet unless the temperature of the torso is normal or slightly higher (.5-1.0 degree Fahrenheit (F) above normal). So, to keep your feet warm you must also keep the rest of your body warm at all times.

Check with the weatherman
Always check the air temperature and wind chill factor before exercising in the cold. Data from the National Safety Council suggest little danger to individuals with properly clothed skin exposed at 20°F, even with a 30 mph wind. A danger does exist for individuals with exposed skin when the wind chill factor (combined effect of temperature and wind) falls below minus 20°F.

That can be achieved by any combination of temperatures below 20°F with a wind of 40 mph and temperatures below minus 20°F with no wind. If you are exercising near the danger zone for skin exposure, it also is advisable to warm the air being inhaled by wearing a scarf or mask over your nose and mouth to warm the air being inhaled.

Rules for exercising in the cold
1. Check the temperature and wind conditions before you go out and do not exercise if conditions are dangerous.
2. Keep your head, hands and feet warm.
3. Dress in layers that can provide a trapped layer of dry air near the skin (avoid cotton sweats and other similar materials).
4. Warm the air you are breathing if temperatures are below your comfort level (usually around 0°F).

A BALANCE LUNCH by Alana

The weekend is here, why not make a homemade soup for lunch! Double or triple the recipe and freeze in individual servings for taking in your lunchbox to work or for future quick lunches!

Black Bean and Chicken Soup

½ cup chopped carrots
½ cup chopped onions
1 cup fresh or frozen cut green beans
1-2 cups chicken broth (I use the organic – chemical free)
1 15-ounce can black eyed peas, drained and rinsed
2 boneless, skinless chicken thighs - cut into bite size pieces
Seasonings:
Sea salt
Freshly ground black pepper
Salsa
Garlic
Chives
Hot sauce
Etc…

Place all ingredients except chicken in a saucepan. Use 1 cup of broth if you want a thick soup and 2 cups for a slightly thinner soup. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat to low and simmer for 10 minutes, covered, until veggies are tender. If any foam rises to the top, skim it off. At this point, you can puree the soup and add the chicken. Continue to cook until chicken is done, or you can add the chicken before pureeing the soup, then puree after the chicken is done. Or, leave the soup chunky.

Season the soup to taste with sea salt, freshly ground black pepper, salsa, garlic, and/or chives, etc. Serve with a fresh salad with an extra virgin olive oil dressing.

Stressed!

I don't know about you, but lately I've been living a high stress lifestyle. That doesn't even include the fact it's the holidays, either! My job works in 'feast or famine' modes, and it just so happens I'll be very busy December through February, at least that's what I'm told. All that stress turns into protein and carb cravings, and even when I satisfy them with the 'right' things, I can still wake up in the middle of the night hungry! Grrr!

Going to the gym three times a week for the past month has definitely helped. You can tell the difference between the novice and the seasoned trainers, but each seem to have their own style on what will work best. I'll be honest to say, I HATE THE GYM -- ANY GYM! I was never into the fitness club experience, no matter how thin I'll get. It helps to have the personal trainer as a distraction, though, the one-on-one time helps make all the other people in the room fade away.

It's unfortunate I continue to have negative experiences with the staff at the Reston office. I realize this program is new to everyone, so there's a learning curve here, but some things I think are just common courtesy. Like I don't think it polite to refer to me (or any Balance participant) as 'the diabetics' ... I really didn't care for that label, especially in front of other members walking in and out of the gym. That's personal, and I don't want my blood pressure monitored while I'm in the middle of the cardio equipment, either. Then there was this evening ... my Wednesday personal trainer is no longer working at this location, but no one notified me, no one replaced him with another trainer, and no one assisted me with my workout. I'm now coming down with a cold (I can't remember the last time I've been sick, it's been so long), didn't really feel like going this evening, and then to have that experience of being 'abandoned' -- in a full gym no less -- didn't make my day. Frankly, I don't really care to reschedule for next Wednesday, but I'm not giving up my commitment to the program.

It's really not a wonder my glucose levels are all over the place with everything I'm dealing with. I still don't have a support system established in my personal life, so dealing with things like this is really difficult. I'm sharing this with you all in case someone else may be so unfortunate to have a lot on their life plate as well and think they're alone in their experiences. Just to talk sometimes would be nice, so THANK YOU, BALANCE BLOG!

Over and out.

What to do with the rest of your turkey?

With leftovers from Thanksgiving, a creative way of making use of that leftover turkey is Turkey Stock.

The following link, provides a recipe on how to make the stock. This can be used in stews and soups. This is also a healthy alternative, because you can refridgerate the stock overnight and skim the fat off the next day.

http://www.recipezaar.com/Rescued-Turkey-Stock-24576

South Beach Pumpkin Pie

Kimberly has a wonderful recipe for Pumpkin Pie. With Thanksgiving just passing, and Christmas, Kwanzaa, and Hanukkah on the rise this recipe helps you stick with your diet while also providing taste.

The secret is replacing the crust with almond meal, pressed into a pie plate! This eliminates the white flour! Kimberly also replaced the white sugar with maple syrup a whole sugar that is lower on the glycemic index! A South Beach diet pumpkin pie!

Click here for recipe:

http://foodgeeks.com/recipes/recipe.phtml?recipe_id=20366