Recipes from Alana

Breakfast:

1 or 2 boiled eggs
1 slice cheese
1 slice whole wheat toast with olive oil butter spread (below)
¼ cup (a handful) of berries or ½ green apple


Lunch:
1 whole-wheat pita bread stuffed with shrimp or chicken or tuna salad made with Canola or Safflower Mayonnaise and chopped vegetables

A side of prepared salad (leafy greens, celery, tomato, cucumber, baby spinach, carrots, etc) with an olive oil dressing


Dinner:

Baked, broiled, or grilled salmon steak
2 or 3 new potatoes, or 1 small sweet potato with cinnamon and butter spread (below)
Steamed broccoli and/or green beans and/or zucchini with extra virgin olive oil



After dinner snack:

Handful of roasted cashews and almonds
1 square of dark chocolate
1 cup of mint or herbal tea with lemon



If you need to snack:

Hummus with cut up vegetables
A small handful of nuts
1 or 2 whole rye crackers with natural peanut or almond butter
½ green apple with a slice of string cheese

Recipes from Alana

Breakfast:

1 or 2 boiled eggs
1 slice cheese
1 slice whole wheat toast with olive oil butter spread (below)
¼ cup (a handful) of berries or ½ green apple


Lunch:
1 whole-wheat pita bread stuffed with shrimp or chicken or tuna salad made with Canola or Safflower Mayonnaise and chopped vegetables

A side of prepared salad (leafy greens, celery, tomato, cucumber, baby spinach, carrots, etc) with an olive oil dressing


Dinner:

Baked, broiled, or grilled salmon steak
2 or 3 new potatoes, or 1 small sweet potato with cinnamon and butter spread (below)
Steamed broccoli and/or green beans and/or zucchini with extra virgin olive oil



After dinner snack:

Handful of roasted cashews and almonds
1 square of dark chocolate
1 cup of mint or herbal tea with lemon



If you need to snack:

Hummus with cut up vegetables
A small handful of nuts
1 or 2 whole rye crackers with natural peanut or almond butter
½ green apple with a slice of string cheese

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.

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!!!!

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.

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

Easy Breakfast

Here is another idea for a BALANCE breakfast, super easy! Scramble up 2 or 3 eggs, serve with slices of 1/2 or a whole avocado. Avocado is a form of healthy fat, which is very filling. It is mono unsaturated fat similar to olive oil. It stabilizes blood sugar and for diabetics, helps your tissues use blood sugar more easily!

Hot sauce spices it up and speeds up your metabolism for burning fat. We also like Herbamare, a wonderful celtic sea salt and herb mix!

Throw out your cereal and start eating a hot breakfast every day!

A BALANCE Breakfast

Veggie Scramble with Salsa

Two Slices Turkey Bacon
Fresh Berry Garnish

Veggie Scramble Recipe:

• 1 tsp chopped onion
• 2 TBL chopped green pepper
• 4 cherry or grape tomatoes halved
• 2 eggs
• 1 tsp water
• desired seasonings: pepper, sea salt, hot pepper sauce, etc...
• 2 TBL medium or hot salsa (optional)
• 1 tsp olive oil for cooking the veggies and eggs

Saute onion and green pepper on medium heat until soft, place tomatoes face down on skillet, warm. Scramble eggs in bowl, add a tsp of water, and seasonings. Add to other ingredients in warm skillet. Serve with salsa drizzled on top, turkey bacon and fresh berries as a garnish!


Beverage Ideas: herbal tea (iced or hot), mineral water with lemon or lime, hot tea with lemon, hot water with lemon, coffee (preferably decaf or half caf/half decaf)


Cooking Tip: Chop extra onion and green pepper the night before when you are making dinner (let's say you need these ingredients for your salad or entree). Save in the refrigerator in an airtight container. That will give you a headstart and cut down on the steps to make the veggie scramble the next morning.