Diet – Chicken Spinach Pizza

Looking for a quick, easy power meal? Try this recipe for Chicken Spinach Pizza. It’s high protein, low carbohydrate, and healthy fat – is perfect for that big meal after your workout!

Chicken Spinach Pizza

3 tbsp Marinara sauce
1 ready made flat bread or pita
1/3 cup frozen spinach, defrosted and drained.
¼ cup crumbled feta cheese
¾ cup chopped precooked chicken
1 tbsp sliced fresh basil
Salt & Pepper to taste

Spread the marinara sauce over the flatbread, then top with feta, spinach, chicken & basil, and finally season to taste with the salt & pepper. Bake it at 375
for 6 minutes.

Serving: 1 serving
Protein: 62g
Carbs: 24g
Fat: 21g (10 saturated)
4g fiber

Healthy Lifestyle–How To Get More Protein In Your Diet

We all know that your body needs protein. Every time you work out, you break down your muscles a little bit, and you gain muscle as your body rebuilds itself – and compensates for your newly increased activity level. Not to mention that your body also needs protein to maintain bone mass and your immune system. And, the main building block for all of this - is protein!

Yet, at the same time, the protein that you may be getting in your diet up until now, may not be enough to fuel the “rebuilding”. How, then, can you increase the amount of protein in your diet – in a healthy way?

Well, one way of increasing your diet’s protein is to look at how some vegetarians have done it! And, if you are a vegetarian, the following ideas are of even greater importance.

Eggs – That’s right – add an extra egg to your breakfast! And, if you’re worried about how healthy that might be, don’t. A quick and easy solution is to buy Egg Beaters (or their equivalent). These aren’t egg substitutes – they are 100% real eggs. Yet, they are low in cholesterol, easy to store & use, and allow you to truly measure the protein you’re adding to your diet. And, they don’t cost that much more – check Trader Joes or Costco for great deals on eggs!

Cottage Cheese – It seems that every time we try to improve our diets, one of the first things that gets cut out is cheese, due to the fat content. But, that doesn’t mean you shouldn’t pick up some non-fat cottage cheese! Cottage cheese actually has a full complement of amino acids – and is a great source of protein.

Legumes – This includes beans, peas, and lentils. These not only provide a good secondary source of protein, but also are a good source of fiber for your diet as well. And, they are nutrient-dense, which means you get a good source of nutrients without having to over-eat! For example, 1 cup of black beans gives you 15gm of protein, and if you really want to go high on the protein scale – try cooking up some soybeans! (Think edaname – simple, healthy, and tasty!) 1 cup of cooked soybeans can give you up to 31gm of protein – similar to what you would get from a small chicken breast – and they make for a great snack between meals!

Keep in mind that if you are a vegetarian, you can risk deficiencies in certain dietary minerals and vitamins, such as iron, calcium, vitamin D and vitamin B12, which is found only in animal products. Vitamin B, including B12 and folate, is found in green leafy vegetables, fortified cereals, grains and soy milk. Some experts recommend that vegetarians take a multivitamin to get enough B vitamins. Calcium can come through green leafy vegetables, including mustard and collard greens and broccoli. It's also found in soy milk and soy products. Iron-rich foods include dark green vegetables, dried fruits, nuts, seeds, whole grain and fortified breads, and cereals.

Diet – Nutrition Myths

There is quite a bit of information out there about what makes up a healthy diet – and quite a bit of misinformation as well! And, it’s tough – every time you put together a new diet plan, you either read something, or hear from a friend, that some aspect of your new diet is going to be bad for you. The problem is, sometimes the information you get is accurate, and other times – it’s a nutrition myth. So, here’s a few nutrition myths to help you separate “truth from fiction”.

Nutrition Myth #1 – That white potatoes are bad for you, and you should eat sweet potatoes instead. This myth probably came about because white potatoes are what are commonly used in really unhealthy processed versions of snack foods, such as potato chips or French fries. The reality is, they compliment each other. White potatoes have more essential minerals like iron, potassium and magnesium, and sweet potatoes have more fiber and Vitamin A. So, what’s important to remember is that both can be healthy for you to eat, just make sure the form you eat them in is healthy (i.e. – don’t deep fry them, or smother them in cheese, butter or sour cream!)

Nutrition Myth #2 – Salt Causes High Blood Pressure. Nope – not really. Large scale scientific studies have shown that there’s no reason healthy people need to cut back on salt. Keep in mind that if you already have high blood pressure, your sensitivity to salt may mean you do need to cut back on your sodium intake. But, if you’re worried, just eat more foods with potassium such as fruits, veggies, and beans. The issue is more that we need a balance between sodium and potassium, and we normally get about 1,600mg less that the 4,700mg of potassium we need daily.

Nutrition Myth #3 – High Protein Diets Damage Your Kidneys. The story behind this myth is that researchers found out back in the mid 80’s, that increased protein in your diet increases the amount of blood your kidneys filter. And from that came the assumption that this increases the stress on your kidneys. Yet, those same Dutch researchers also found that there were no adverse effects on the kidneys from the increase protein in ones diet. Keep in mind that the more of anything you ingest (whether it’s protein, carbohydrates or fat) – if you take in more than you burn, you’re body will convert it to fat stores. Your goal for daily protein intake should be around a gram of protein per pound of body weight per day.

Diet-Healthy Low-Carb Protein Pancakes

Everybody loves pancakes. But, if you’re on a low-carb diet, pancakes are definitely NOT on your diet! With our Healthy Low-Carb Protein Pancake recipe, you can stay on your low-carb diet, while also enjoying pancakes like you used to! Light and fluffy with a nice flavor. A bit of work, but I think worth the effort.

Pre-Made Mix
1 cup protein powder (french vanilla or vanilla praline are both good)
1 cup spelt flour
2 tablespoons Splenda sugar substitute
5 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
cinnamon to taste

Pancake Batter
2 eggs
1/2 cup low fat ricotta cheese
1 cup milk
4 tablespoons olive oil
2 cups pancake mix (see pre-made mix above)
cooking spray (to grease pan)

If making mix ahead of time, combine all ingredients listed under Pre-Made Mix in an air tight container, shake or whisk until well mixed; seal and store until ready to use.. Beat eggs until fluffy; beat in all remaining ingredients, except for butter, just until smooth (if you over mix they won't turn out light and fluffy). Heat skillet thoroughly over medium heat and lightly grease. Pour about 1/4 cup batter into pan for each pancake; cook until edges are dry and pancake starts to puff (golden brown on bottom), then flip and cook until other side browns. Grease pan again before cooking each batch.
Makes about 18 pancakes.