Diet – Hoisin Chicken Canapes

Every time you turn around, there’s another holiday party on your calendar. Sure, they’re a ton of fun, but it’s hard to stick to your diet when you’re surrounded by tempting foods that aren’t in your plan. Next time you head out for a get-together, bring along your own healthy fingerfood. Try this recipe for Hoisin Chicken Canapes – everyone will love them!

2 T. Hoisin sauce

2/3 C. cabbage/carrot mix, shredded

1 T. peanuts, chopped

2/3 C. cooked chicken, finely chopped

Dash of hot sauce

2 medium cucumbers, halved lengthwise, seeded and cut into thirds

In a medium mixing bowl, stir together Hoisin sauce, cabbage mix, peanuts, chicken and hot sauce. Spoon mixture evenly onto cucumber slices. You can refrigerate until ready to serve. Enjoy!

Labels: fitness 4 home superstore, healthy diet, healthy eating, healthy food, low calorie, low fat, low-fat, healthy party recipes

Diet – Chilled Pineapple Gazpacho

Looking for a quick, easy, and refreshing recipe that’s also no-fat? Try this recipe for Chilled Pineapple Gazpacho!

1 fresh pineapple, slightly under-ripe
½ cup peeled, diced red bell pepper ( ¼ in. pieces)
½ cup peeled, seeded diced cucumber ( ¼ in. pieces)
¼ cup finely chopped minced red onion
½ Serrano chile, seeded & minced
1 tbsp chopped, fresh cilantro
2 tbsp fresh lime juice
Pinch of sea salt

Juice pineapple, or peel & core the fruit, then puree in a blender and strain.Pour juice into medium bowl.Stir diced red bell pepper and peeled, seeded diced cucumber. Add minced red onion, Serrano chile Add cilantro, season to taste with fresh lime juice and sea salt.
Cover & chill until very cold, about 2 hours. Serve garnished with cilantro leaves.

Makes 4 servings.

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.

Diet – Eating Myths, and how to avoid them.

With all the food choice available to us, how do you tell the “good from the bad”? Well, based on what the top US nutrition experts have to say, here’s a number of ways that we make bad food choices, and how we can make better ones.

“If you ‘feel’ hungry – you must be hungry” - Truth is, if you don’t know when you’re hungry, you won’t know when you’re full…and you won’t know when to stop. Too many times, we “guess” we’re hungry, and go from there. A better solution is to rate how hungry you think you are (try a scale of something like 1 to 10) – then, eat slowly and as you eat, think about how your hunger changes. If you use a 1 to 10 scale, try to stay between 4 and 7. You don’t want to be too hungry when you start, nor too full when you stop.

“Supersize Me – is a value!”- We always seem to look for a “value” when we’re eating out, and that creates the false impression that if we supersize a restaurant meal, that we’re saving money. Yet, in doing so, we’re loosing our health. A better way to look at meal size is by judging with your palm, not your pocketbook. A good rule of thumb for serving size is, if it fits into the palm of your hand – that the right size. Make sure that your serving has one protein, one starch, one veggie, and one fruit, based on the serving that fits in the palm of your hand.

“Fat is Bad” - We have a mentality that fat is bad, which isn’t true. What is more important, according to the American Heart Association, is telling the difference between saturated and trans fats (the bad fats), and eat the good, monounsaturated and polyunsaturated fats. You can find these fats in fish, nuts, avocados, soybean and canola oils. If you track total calories, you don’t have to worry about how much fat you eat, just what kind of fat.

“If it’s liquid, it has no calories” – Most sugared drinks – including soda’s and juices -have a high concentration of high-fructose corn syrup as it’s sweetener. But, fructose contains no enzymes, vitamins or minerals and also interferes with the heart’s ability to use key minerals vital for a healthy heart. So, instead of sugared drinks, try drinking water or tea. Tea is calorie free, promotes heart health, strengthens bones & teeth, protects the skin – and may help you avoid several types of cancer!

“Frozen Entrees are healthy” – Many times, with our hectic schedules, it seems as though throwing a frozen entrée in the microwave seems the best way to take care of a meal. But, eating too many processed foods like the types you find in the frozen food isle of your nearby supermarket may leave you short on fiber and important antioxidants such as vitamin C. So, if you do find yourself in a situation where having a frozen meal is your only choice, compliment it with a green salad, a whole wheat roll, and some fruit for dessert.

Health - Carbohydrates and Fat Burning

With all the confusion out there about "carbs" vs. "no-carbs" - what works best for burning that fat off your wasteline?

No matter what you eat - if you eat more calories than you burn during the day, your body will convert it to fat - and store it. And, you'll burn more calories processing protein, than you will carbohydrates. And, everybody has heard about the Atkin's diet, and wondered if a low-carb diet is healthy.

Surprise! Cutting back on the carbs in your diet, may help you burn more fat during exercise! In a recent study done in Australia, researchers fed trained cyclists a low-carb diet for 5 out of 6 days. And, to compare, they fed another group of trained cyclists, a high carb diet for 6 days straight. On Day 7 - they exercised, and the cyclists that were on the low-carb diet burned 45 percent more fat than their low-carb bretheren.

Why? Well, the researchers found that the low-carb group's muscles had increased their ability to pull energy from fat stores in their body. And, another fringe benefit - a new review in the Journal of Nutrition found that since 2003, all 13 studies that compared low-fat and low-carb diets found that low carb eating was superior in reducing heart-disease risk factors!

And, what's the best way to make sure you stay on a low-carb diet? Let yourself have one "cheat-day". You'll keep burning the fat, and may be more likely to stay on your low-carb diet!