Chicken Pita

Chicken Pita

Ingredients

6 ounce boneless,skinless chicken breast

1 whole wheat pita

1-1/2 ounce crumbled feta cheese

1/4 cup tomato chopped

1/4 cup cucumber sliced

1 teaspoon Black Pepper

1 squeeze of lemon

Directions

Grill or bake chicken breast at 350 degrees for about 20 minutes. Cool chicken and cube into one-inch pieces. Place in pita and add all other ingredients. Squeeze lemon over top.

Calories: 490

Total Fat: 13g

Total Carbs: 41g

Protein: 52g

Bacon Wrapped Chicken P90X Style

My son had a soccer game this morning, and man was it cold out!! I am really not looking forward to this winter stuff at all. I appologize for not getting on here and adding more recipes lately, but I have been out sick along with my kids!! Soooo here is something I am making today

Bacon Wrapped Chicken P90X Style :)

Ingredients:

1 package chicken drumsticks (mine had 11 drumsticks in it and weighed in at around 3 lbs), with skins removed

1 package turkey bacon

Doubled delicious chicken marinade recipe from the Bacon Wrapped Chicken Shish Kabobs

Toothpicks

Meat thermometer

 Directions:

At least a half hour before you want to start cooking, place marinade ingredients and chicken drumsticks in a plastic bag. While the meat is marinating, boil water in a saucepan and boil bacon for 5 minutes (this helps it crisp up more under the broiler). Fire up the broiler on High (or you could use the grill). Wrap each chicken drumstick with a strip of bacon over the meatiest part, and secure with a toothpick. Line pan with foil for easier cleanup, arrange drumsticks on a platter, and make sure your oven rack is at least 8 inches from the heat source. Broil breasts for 15 minutes, flip them, pour remaining marinade over the meat, then broil for 15 more minutes. Watch carefully in those last 5 minutes, as broilers burn easily. Stick one with a meat thermometer to make sure it reads at least 180 degrees F.

P90x Nutrition Plan Servings

1 protein serving per drumstick.

P.S. This is a great make-ahead protein source for you folks who want to do your cooking in bulk over the weekend.

P.P.S. I understand that many of you will have trouble respecting me after that bacon haiku. I’m willing to take the risk. BACON. ;-P

Kale Chips

Kale Chips

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Ingredients:
1 bunch kale, washed and dried well
Olive Oil Pam Spray
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
1 teaspoon splenda brown sugar (optional)

Directions:


Preheat oven to 300 degrees FTear the leaves off the center rib of the kale and tear into large pieces. Place leaves in a large bowl and drizzle with olive oil and toss until completely coated.Divide kale between 2 baking sheets lined with parchment. Arrange in a single layer and sprinkle with salt and pepper. Place in the oven and bake for 25 minutes, or until crisp. Place in a serving bowl and sprinkle with brown sugar.

****Be sure to place the kale in one layer on the sheet tray. Overcrowding will steam the kale rather than crisp it.

Bacon and Tomato Chicken

Bacon & Tomato Chicken

Ingredients

8 Chicken Breasts
3 Large tomatoes (or 6-8 roma tomatos) - Seeded and diced
1/3 cup of diced shallots
1 pound of turkey bacon (cooked on the crispy side)
1/8 cup of shredded parmesan cheese
Handful of fresh basil leaves (chopped)
garlic salt(to taste)

Directions

Preheat oven 425 F
Cook the bacon so that it on the crispy side. Drain on paper towels and wash pan throughly to remove bacon grease
Sauté the shallots in pan with a bit of Pam
Chop or crumble up all the bacon
In mixing bowl, toss the diced tomatoes, basil, shallots, bacon, and Parmesan cheese. Add in some garlic salt and set aside.
Place chicken breast between two sheets of plastic wrap and pound thin with the smooth side of a meat pounder. The thinner the better. If you want them really thin, horizontally slice the chicken breast first. Repeat for the rest of the breasts.
Lay the chicken breast bone side up and place a few tablespoons of filling in the center. Rolled up the chicken breast and hold closed with toothpicks. Repeat. There will be a considerable amount of "filling" left over. We'll use that later.
Season the roulades with salt (or garlic salt)
Place on cookie sheet and bake for 20-25 minutes.
Remove toothpicks and plate the roulades topping with the remaining filling.

One of the things you can do with chicken breast is to make them into a roulade. While a roulade can really be anything that you wrap around a filling of some sort (Hostess Ho Hos could be considered a roulade) typically they are some form of meat, usually poultry, wrapped around some tasty ingredients.   

P90X Healthy Yam Protein Muffins

I have been having a hard time blogging today and adding my recipes because my little one is really sick. She is sleeping now, so it's time to get some recipes up.

For those of you sticking to the diets from Beachbody and getting tired of eating the same old same old yam.. Ya know? The ones you bake in the oven and after 60 days of doing this you want to, well barf. Well, my husband gagged on his saying "I can't take it anymore" hehe.. So he still needs his carbs and it is convenient and cheap if you are watching your budget.. Here's a spin off the old yam...

Healthy Yam Protein Muffins

mmmmm :0)

Ingredients 

3 cups mashed yams

6 egg whites

2 scoops vanilla whey protein

1 T cinnamon

2 tsp all spice

1 tsp baking soda

pinch of salt 

Directions

1. Pierce 3-4 yams with a knife a few times and place in microwave for 10 minutes.

2. Place yams in mixer and mix until yams are mashed. The skin usually separates at this point and I take out about half the skin. 

3. Add remaining ingredients and mix well. 

4. Place mixture in muffin tins and bake for 20 minutes at 350. 

This made 12 muffins, each with about 70 calories, 10g carbs and 7g protein. 

Calories. How many should you intake a day?

I wanted to touch base with everyone and their nutrition. I hear way too often that people are going to go on a diet and start counting calories. While counting calories is very important so you know exactly what you are eating, but eating too few calories a day is putting yourself at risk. I was talking to someone yesterday about her nutrition. She hasn't been working out and wants to start and eat healthier. I asked what she was interested in and what her plan was. Her plan was to eat around 1200 calories a day. At her weight and height, this is going to put the body in starvation mode and she will never acquire the results she wants!!! 

Everyone has different caloric needs because everyone is different; genetics, age, gender, body size, muscle mass and activity level.

Everyone has a resting metabolism rate or RMR, which is how many calories are required to keep the brain, heart, lungs and other organs functioning if a person did nothing else. Then you calculate how many more calories are needed to support your daily activities and exercise regimen.

In general it's 25 to 35 percent more than RMR.

If you are only in-taking 1,100 calories a day, sure you will lose weight easy at first, but the pounds will stop coming off or not coming off fast. You will begin to feel stressed, anxiety and sick. Why? Because you were starving yourself. 

When your body goes into this starvation mode, and your body will hold onto any extra fat to survive. Not a great thing if you are trying to lose weight and gain lean, toned muscles.          

Sign up here to go to meal planner to figure out your calories                                                             

1. Calculate your Basal Metabolic Rate (BMR) using one of the equations below:
   Men (Imperial Units/United States): BMR = 66 + ( 6.23 x weight in pounds ) + (12.7 x height in inches ) – ( 6.76 x age in years ) = ________
   Men (Metric Units): BMR = 66 + ( 13.7 x weight in kg ) + ( 5 x height in cm ) – ( 6.76 x age in years ) = ________
   Women (Imperial Units/United States): BMR = 655 + ( 4.35 x weight in pounds ) + ( 4.7 x height in inches ) – ( 4.7 x age in years ) = ________
   Women (Metric Units): BMR = 655 + ( 9.6 x weight in kg ) + ( 1.8 x height in cm ) – ( 4.7 x age in years ) = ________
2. Determine your current fitness level:
   Sedentary: little or no exercise
   Lightly Active: light exercise/sports 1-3 days/week
   Moderately Active: moderate exercise/sports 3-5 days/week
   Very Active: hard exercise/sports 6-7 days a week
   Extra Active: very hard exercise/sports & physical job or 2x training
3. Calculate the number of calories that you require in a day based on BMR and fitness level:
   Sedentary:  Daily calories needed= BMR x 1.2    = __________
   Lightly Active: Daily calories needed= BMR x 1.375  = __________
   Moderately Active:  Daily calories needed= BMR x 1.55  = __________
   Very Active: Daily calories needed= BMR x 1.725    = __________
   Extra Active:  Daily calories needed= BMR x 1.9  = __________
4. Compare. Use a journal to track your caloric intake against your actual weight – this is really the only way to know for sure!

People always tend to "freak" out when they see that they should be consuming the correct number of calories because either they look at the nutritional guidelines on the back of food and it says "based on a 2,000 calorie diet." Obviously not everyone should be eating 2,000 calories. Some more, some less. Or you take for example someone eating to few calories, and they know nothing about nutrition and say to themselves, "What? I'm not eating that much or I'll gain weight!!" 

That's not true! If you are following a proper nutritional diet per say, your metabolism kicks into high gear and burns the extra fat! 

I found that in the past, I was one of those people. I starved myself to a certain extent (not realizing it), and could not get the scale to go down. I did this equation and thought the same thing. After getting frustrated and feeling like crap all day, everyday, I decided maybe I should give it a try. I instantly starting seeing a difference! I not only felt better, but my body was easily able to shed off extra fat and gain lean muscle. 

Beachbody has put a lot of science in all of their nutritional plans. I love the P90X plan because it's simple to follow and I'm not left hungry. I'm eating more and losing weight. If it didn't work, people wouldn't be ranting and raving about their results! 

Remember, if you have any questions, please contact me. I can help you achieve the results you want and answer any questions you may have. I'm not an expert, but based on personal results of my own and helping others and seeing them aspire in their weight loss goals, I know it works.

P90X Banana Scrunch Parfait

I tried this recipe the other day and thought it was absolutely amazing! Breakfasts are sometimes hard for people since most tend to skip it.

Banana Scrunch Parfait 

* 1 Cup plain nonfat yogurt

*1 Scoop vanilla protein powder

* 1/2 cup oats (traditional or quick, not instant)

* 1/2 cup bran flakes cereal, crushed

* 1 Tbsp honey

* 1 banana sliced

Mix protein powder into yogurt and set aside. Mix crushed bran flakes with oats, and heat mixture in skillet on medium heat for about 2 minutes. Drizzle bran flake and oats mixture with honey, stir and heat for about 2 more minutes (until edges of oats are crunchy). You can make as many layers as you like. Scoop some of the bran flake and oats mixture into the bottom of a tall glass, layer with sliced bananas. Scoop some vanilla protein yogurt on top, then repeat the layering process for as many layers as you like… bran/oat, banana, protein yogurt, etc.

P90x Nutrition Plan Portions:

Full recipe provides 1 protein, 1 dairy, 1 carb, 1 fruit, 1/2 condiment.

P90X mini pizza's

Ingredients for Xed Pizza Sauce:

• 1 Roma tomato
• 1 tsp. Italian seasoning
• 1/8 tsp. garlic powder
• 1/4 tsp. red pepper flakes
• salt to taste

Chop tomato into small pieces, put in a microwave-safe bowl, and microwave for 1 minute on High. Transfer tomatoes into blender, add Italian seasoning, garlic powder, red pepper flakes, and salt to taste. Blend on high until smooth. Transfer back to bowl, and microwave for 1 additional minute on High.

P90x Nutrition Plan Portions:

Full Xed Pizza Sauce recipe is 1 vegi serving.

Ingredients for Mini Pizzas:

• Full recipe pizza sauce, above (approx 1/3 cup)
• 1 oz. turkey pepperoni (shy – to account for the egg white, approx 12 slices)
• 2 whole wheat English muffins
• 3 oz. low-fat Mozzarella cheese
• 1 egg white

Turn oven broiler to High. Grate Mozzarella, and combine in a bowl with one egg white. (Usually low-fat cheese has trouble melting, so this technique helps the cheese melt while adding a bit of protein.) Separate English muffins, place the 4 halves on a baking pan. Layer pizza sauce, cheese mixture, and pepperoni slices. Broil on High for 3 minutes or until cheese has melted and started to brown.