Curried Chicken with Mango Salad

Curried Chicken with Mango Salad

If you don't want to heat up your kitchen you can cook the chicken on the grill instead; grill on high heat, 6 to 8 minutes per side. Make it a meal: Serve with a fragrant brown basmati rice.

4 servings, 1 thigh & about 1/2 cup salad each
Active Time: 30 minutes
Total Time: 45 minutes

Ingredients
1/2 cup low-fat plain yogurt
2 tablespoons mango chutney
2 teaspoons garam masala (see Note) or curry powder, mild or hot
4 bone-in chicken thighs, (1 3/4-2 pounds), skin removed, trimmed of fat
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt, divided
1 mango, diced
1/4 cup finely diced red onion
2 tablespoons finely chopped fresh mint
2 tablespoons red-wine vinegar
2 teaspoons brown sugar




Preparation
Position rack in upper third of oven; preheat broiler. Coat a broiler pan with cooking spray.
Whisk yogurt, chutney and garam masala (or curry powder) in a medium bowl. Add chicken; turn to coat. Remove the chicken from the sauce and transfer to the prepared broiler pan; sprinkle with 1/4 teaspoon salt.
Broil the chicken until the coating is charred in spots, 12 to 15 minutes. Turn the chicken over and continue cooking until it is slightly charred and cooked through, 12 to 15 minutes more.
Meanwhile, combine mango, onion, mint, vinegar, brown sugar and the remaining 1/4 teaspoon salt in a medium bowl. Serve the chicken with the mango salad.
Tips & Notes
Note: Garam masala is a fragrant blend of ground spices commonly used in Indian cooking. It's in the spice section of most supermarkets and specialty stores.
Nutrition
Per serving: 289 calories; 12 g fat (3 g sat, 5 g mono); 101 mg cholesterol; 16 g carbohydrates; 29 g protein; 1 g fiber; 308 mg sodium; 403 mg potassium

Healthy Lifestyle – Seven Tips for Healthy Dieting

Every diet that comes along promises “quick weight loss” or “loose fat now”. And, no matter which diet you choose – in the short term, many of these diets can be successful at fulfilling their promises. But, maintaining healthy eating habits in our society is a life long challenge, not a three-month program. Its a challenge in which the payoffs are well worth the effort.

So, once you’ve started your diet and exercise program, how can you make sure that in the long run, you keep your weight down to where you want it? Well, here’s some simple tips to help you accomplish this!

1. Get organized. Plan snacks ahead so when the urge to eat hits you there is something "good and easy" to reach for.

- Peel carrots, cut celery or cucumbers ahead of time so they are handy.
- Place no more than 10 (50 calories) pretzels in a baggie for a snack.
- Drink water, ice tea, V-8 when you feel like snacking. Tell yourself if you're still hungry
when you finish the drink that you'll have a snack.
- When the urge to snack hits you, go out and walk around the house five times.

2. Get rid of all (or most) junk food in the house or ask a family member to hide it.

3. Don't let yourself use the old excuse at the grocery store, "The cookies are for the kids. They're not on a diet." Remember if they end up in the house, they will probably end up in your mouth.

4. If you blow it at lunch, don't write off the rest of the day.

5. Try to plan your meals at least one day ahead. The more decisions you leave to the last minute, the more chance you have of grabbing something quick and fat.

6. If you find yourself becoming very hungry mid-afternoon, or in the evening, eat a bit more nutritious food at mealtime, or anticipate the in-between-meal hunger and plan a nutritious snack.

7. Don't be too hard on yourself. Occasionally, feel free to reward your hard efforts with a treat once in awhile - one treat here or there won't be the end of you. Just be reasonable!

Healthy Living - Avoid Fast Food Dieting Problems!

Have you been trying to watch your diet, but seem to be having problems staying dedicated to it? We've all been there...when life gets crazy, and your running out of time, a quick stop at a fast food restaurant is convenient - especially when your tired! Yet, stopping by the local trive through burger joint for a quick burger and fries...is well known to be bad for a healthy diet - especially if you're trying to drop a few pounds!

Researchers at New York's Baruch College recently reported that having a bad nights sleep makes you much more prone to stopping by for a grease-burger during the day. Seems that one night of tossing and turning can make you crave fast food! When they reviewed the food and sleep journals of their study group's participants, those that had a hard time falling asleep (or staying asleep) had a much greater tendancy to eat fast food the next day.

Additionally, there is an additional reason for men to avoid shoveling down that order of fast food fries - greasy fries have been linked to an increased rate of prostate cancer!

Now, that doesn't seem like a big surprise. Nobody feels like cooking when they're irritable and tired. Yet, 60 percent of the US is overweight, and 30 percent is considered obese. So, the next time you're tempted to break your diet for just one night - keep in mind that men who have only two fast-food meals weekly gain an extra 10 pounds over 15 years, compared to those that went home to eat a healthy meal!

Healthy Lifestyle - Don't Forget About Your Kids!

by Bob Lachniet
President - Fitness 4 Home Superstore

So, you try to eat healthy while keeping your weight down. But, what about your kids? Sure, when they’re at home, you have some control over how they eat. But, how can you make sure that when you’re not around, that they still follow healthy eating habits?

Now, of course, you can’t always keep an eye on them when they’re away from home. But are your pantry shelves have high-fat snacks and sugar-filled cereals that you’d never buy for yourself? And, have you worried about what the combination of peer pressure and your kids desire for fat-and-sugar filled snacks might be doing to their health?

Well, if you haven’t started to worry – you should. Kids today are fatter and less fit than previous generations. Between the mid-1960s and the late 1970s, obesity increased 54 percent among young children (ages six to 11) and 39 percent among adolescents (ages 12 to 17). Food companies spend millions of dollars on television advertising to convince children that high-fat, high-sugar, processed foods are worth eating. Food is consumed because it's cool, fun or comes with a free toy rather than for its impact on health or even for its taste!

You know where the easiest place to start is? Simpe - eat your words! The fact is that parents who have adopted a lifestyle that includes healthful foods and regular exercise are living role models for their children. The habits and behaviors that you exhibit at home have the proven benefit of carrying over to your kids. But, it won’t happen overnight.

The first step is to stop battling with your kids about food. Take it slow, and introduce reasonable alternatives as you gradually reduce those high-fat, high-sugar foods. Be sure to include some of their favorite foods in daily meals.

Make sure that the majority of the items you have in your pantry are healthy. Keep cut up veggies in your refrigerator, for example. Cut back on butter – if they want popcorn, either air pop it, or purchase plain microwave popcorn – and sprinkle it with low-fat, grated parmesan cheese.

Also, get them involved with both shopping and cooking. Look for cookbooks that have their favorite recipes, but in a healthy format – if they learn how to cook healthy, those habits will stay with them.

And, don’t forget to let them have their favorite foods on occasion. If they’re never allowed to eat them, they’ll look for every chance to sneak them behind your back (just like we all did when we were kids!). Having them once in awhile might actually make them feel a little bit guilty once in awhile – and over time, can help keep them following healthy dietary habits!

Healthy Living – Get A Good Night’s Sleep!

We’ve all heard for years that we should all get 8 hours of sleep per night. And yet, sleep is one of those areas that we seem to short-change ourselves. In fact, one in four Americans don’t even get 6 hours per night. Yet, you need 8 hours of sleep nightly to function at your best.

Lack of sleep is bad for your health. Your body needs that time to rebuild damage that occurs during the day. And, in a 15-year longitudinal study of nearly 2,500 women, those who had disturbed sleep turned out to be much more likely to have cognitive decline as they aged – your brain needs sleep just as much as the rest of your body!

Unfortunately, too many people are seeking the help of prescription sleep aids. IMS Health, a pharmaceutical research company, said that in 2005, 42 million sleeping pill prescriptions were filled, which is an increase of nearly 60 percent since 2000.

It gets difficult trying to marry a busy schedule with a good nights sleep. And many times, our crazy lives keep us from getting to sleep in the first place. How then, can you get to sleep, and get a restful sleep, without resorting to prescription medication?

First, make sleep a priority. You can’t “make up” for lost sleep by sleeping in (and…sometimes, sleeping in on a weekend isn’t an option anyway). Make sure that you establish sleep as a priority in your life.

Second, avoid caffeine after noon. Not only does this mean avoiding that afternoon trip to Starbucks, but also watch your soft drink intake, as well as what types of tea you drink (herbal tea or green tea is a great substitute).

Third – exercise! That’s right – getting a good, regular workout in is a great way to make sure that the sleep you do get is a deeper, more restful sleep! Plus, those regular workouts are a great way to relieve stress, helping you get the “sweet dreams” that you need!

In the end, if you get your “8 hours” nightly, you’re going to be more efficient during the day – once you get into a good sleep routine, you should find that you can still get everything accomplished that you need!

Healthy Lifestyle - Running Can Make Your Bones Stronger

by Bob Lachniet
President - Fitness 4 Home Superstore

A weekly run around the park may not put an individual into the same league as Michael Johnson or other Olympic runners, but it may help keep bones healthy, study findings suggest.

In a recent National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey of 4,454 Black, Mexican-American and white males show that people who run on a regular basis have fewer chronic health problems, weigh less, are usually non-smokers – and, have stronger bones as well!

"This finding may have public health significance, since thigh bone mineral density is a strong predictor of hip fracture, which is the most devastating consequence of osteoporosis from a public health standpoint,'' according to Michael E. Mussolino, from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, and his colleagues.

In addition, average bone mineral density in the thigh was 5% higher in joggers than in non-joggers. And bone density was almost 8% higher among joggers, compared with men who shunned exercise altogether.

And, it doesn’t take a lot for this to happen. Those that reported jogging 20 or more times per month had similar bone density amounts as those who jogged less than 20 times per month. (Although the study looked only at men, Mussolino told Reuters Health that previous research has suggested the same holds true in women) So, getting on your treadmill, or hitting the road nine or more times a month helps you strengthen your bones.


Note - Information for this article can also be found within the American Journal of Public Health 2001;91:1056-1059.