Cheers To Weight Loss: Drink Up!
Liquid pounds put a damper on any diet–it doesn’t make you full, it doesn’t satisfy your chocolate cravings, it shouldn’t count, right?
Wrong. A simple glass of orange juice sets you back at 122 calories!
Researchers have concluded that we drink 10 percent to 15 percent of our daily calories. Unfortunately, all of those sodas, juices, energy drinks and (gasp!) Starbuck’s do quite the number on our waistlines.
How do I quench my thirst, you might ask? Stay hydrated with water and this fun, low-calorie drink, thanks to Chicago’s Red Eye Weekend Edition. It will satisfy all of your sugary, bubbly, say ahhh beverage cravings!
Homemade Orange Cream Soda
Get This..
6-ounces of pulp-free orange juice concentrate, thawed
1 liter club soda
1/2 teaspoon orange extract
1 cup fat-free frozen vanilla yogurt, thawed
1 orange, seeded and thinly sliced
Do This..
Combine orange juice, club soda and orange extract in a pitcher. Blend in thawed frozen yogurt. Add orange slices and serve over ice.
**Shopping Savvy Tip: When searching for yogurt, try to stay clear of the artificial sweeteners. If you can pronounce the ingredients then throw it in your cart.
Urban Girl Fitness Quote of the Day:
I come from a family where gravy is considered a beverage. ~Erma Bombeck
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Dreamin’ Purple: Eggplant Recipes
It’s beautiful. It’s odd shaped. It’s purple. And as the bagboy at my grocery store said, “Why do they call it an eggplant? Why not a purpleplant?”
Not only are eggplants in season, they are loaded with fiber and antioxidents! As for the name, who knows! One thing I do know is here are some fabulous eggplant recipes that will have you asking for more…
Eggplant Cannelloni
Get this..
Sauce:
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 4 large shallots, sliced
- 4 cloves garlic
- 2 jars (12 oz each) roasted red peppers, drained
- 1/2 cup fresh squeezed orange juice (juice of 1 orange)
Eggplant:
- 2 medium eggplants, cut lengthwise into 1/2-inch slices
- olive oil cooking spray
Filling:
- 4 oz goat cheese
- 4 kalamata olives, pitted and minced
- 1 teaspoon capers, chopped
- 2 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley
Preppin’..
For sauce: Heat oil in a medium skillet over medium heat. Cook shallots and garlic until soft, about 1 minute. Reduce heat. Cook until golden, 3 to 5 minutes. Add peppers and juice; bring to a boil. Lower heat; simmer until peppers are soft, about 5 minutes. Cool. Puree in a blender. Pour into a 9″ x 13″ baking dish.
For eggplant: Coat eggplants with cooking spray and broil on a baking sheet until golden on both sides, about 15 minutes. Heat oven to 400˚.
For filling: Mash cheese, olives, capers and 1 tbsp of the parsley in a bowl. Place 1 tbsp of filling at the end of each eggplant slice; roll up. Lay seam side down in dish. Bake 10 to 15 minutes. Top with remaining 1 tbsp parsley.
Here’s the skinny scoop: 259 calories per serving, 10.7 g fat (4.7 g saturated), 32 g carbs, 10.8 g fiber, 10.5 g protein
Grilled Vegetable Flatbreads Stuffed With Zucchini, Eggplant and Tomato
Get This..
- 2 zucchini, cut into 1/3-inch slices
- 2 eggplants, cut into 1/3-inch slices
- 2 beefsteak or heirloom tomatoes, cut into 1/4-inch slices
- 2 roasted red bell peppers, cut into 2-inch slices
- 1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil
- 1/4 cup olive oil
- 1 onion, chopped
- 2 cups lima beans
- 1/4 cup grated Parmesan
- 1 tablespoon chopped parsley
- 1 teaspoon lemon zest
- 1/4 teaspoon fresh thyme
- 1/4 cup vegetable or chicken broth
- 4 flatbreads or pitas, uncut
Preppin’..
Brush zucchini, eggplants, tomatoes, and peppers with extra-virgin olive oil and season with salt and pepper. Grill until each is tender. Put 2 tbsp olive oil and onion in a nonstick pan and sauté over medium-low heat, stirring until onion becomes brown and syrupy, about 15 to 20 minutes. In a food processor, puree onion, lima beans, Parmesan, parsley, lemon zest, and thyme. While machine is running, add remaining 2 tbsp olive oil and broth. Season with salt and pepper. Grill or toast both sides of each flatbread. Remove from heat and spread with bean puree. Layer on vegetables. Cut in half.
Urban Girl Fitness Quote of the Day:
How can people say they don’t eat eggplant when God loves the color and the French love the name? I don’t understand. ~Jeff Smith, The Frugal Gourmet
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The Meal Deal: Healthy Meals Under $10
A little chicken here.
Some salad and veggies there.
Ring it all up at the grocery store and you think to yourself, no way that’s not possible!
These days every penny counts and spending $50 plus dollars every time you make a visit to the grocery store can be costly and detrimental to anyone’s wallet.
Thanks to Health.com here are four healthy meals under $10, your stomach and wallet will thank you for it!
Baked Rigatoni
You’ll need:
Rigatoni or penne pasta (16-ounce box from Barilla): $1.59
Lean ground beef (1 pound): $3.99
28-ounce can plum tomatoes: $2.49
Onion: 99 cents
Garlic (for the entire head): 75 cents
Total: $9.81
Do this:
Cook beef in a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat until browned; stir to crumble. Drain well. Combine beef, cooked rigatoni, tomatoes, and onion and garlic to taste. Bake at 350° for 20 minutes or until thoroughly heated. If you have some in your fridge, you can add mozzarella or parmesan cheese on top.
Black Bean Chili
You’ll need:
Onion: 99 cents
Garlic (for the entire head): 75 cents
Bell pepper: $1.64
15.5-ounce can low-sodium black beans: $1.09
14.5-ounce can chicken broth: $1.09
14.5-ounce can stewed tomatoes: $1.49
Ground turkey (1/2 pound): $2.40
Total: $9.45
Do this:
Heat a large saucepan over medium heat. Add first 3 ingredients and turkey; cook for 6 minutes or until turkey is done, stirring frequently to crumble. Rinse and drain the canned beans. Stir in beans, tomatoes, and half of the can of chicken broth; bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer 30 minutes.
Potato Broccoli Casserole
You’ll need:
Red potatoes (1 pound): $1.29
Frozen broccoli (Birds Eye, 10 ounces): $1.59
Low-fat milk ($2.99 for 1/2 gallon): $2.39
Shredded low-fat cheddar (Richfood, 8 ounces): $2.79
15-ounce can bread crumbs: $2.19
Total: $10.25 (only 25 cents over, not bad!)
Do this:
Preheat oven to 375°.
Place potatoes in a saucepan; cover with water. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat; simmer 20 minutes or until tender. Drain potatoes in a colander over a bowl, reserving 1 cup cooking liquid. Return potatoes and liquid to pan; mash with a potato masher until slightly chunky. Steam 1 cup of broccoli, according to packaging instructions. Add broccoli and milk to pan; stir well. Spoon potato mixture into an 11×7 baking dish coated with cooking spray; bake at 375° for 35 minutes. Sprinkle with cheddar cheese and bread crumbs; bake an additional 5 minutes or until cheese melts.
Vegetarian Tacos
You’ll need:
15.5-ounce can low-sodium kidney beans: $1.09
Taco shells: $1.29
Salsa (12 ounces): $2.59
Romaine lettuce (1 head): $1.99
Shredded Mexican blend cheese: $2.79
Total: $9.75
Do this:
You don’t really need a recipe for this one. Just rinse the beans and heat them in a pan with a few shakes of ground chipotle pepper. Heat the taco shells in the oven, then fill with the beans, salsa, lettuce, and cheese.
There you have it, four recipes that just trimmed the fat off of your grocery bills. Now get cooking!
Urban Girl Fitness Quote of the Day:
You’ve got bad eating habits if you use a grocery cart in 7-Eleven ok? ~Dennis Miller
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Mamma Mia!: A Healthy Italian Meal
There’s no better comfort food than the comfort of Italian pasta, meat and cheese. Yum!
There’s only one problem. Calories. Calories. Calories.
I found the key to making healthy Italian food that will hit the spot and have you singing mamma mia to your heart’s content.
The key is the sausage. Typical Italian spicy sausage has 286 calories whereas chicken sausage (my favorite is Trader Joe’s garden vegetable, mushroom and chicken sausage) has only 150 calories.
Here’s my favorite healthy Italian recipe. Mangia! Mangia!
Parmesan Penne with Chicken Sausage and Asparagus
Ingredients:
- 8 ounces penne pasta, whole wheat pasta works best for the healthy factor
- 2 tablespoons truffle oil
- 3/4 pound of chicken sausages, feel free to find a flavored version like the one I found at Trader Joe’s
- 1 pound asparagus, cut into 2 inch pieces
- 1/4 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese
- Fresh pepper, season to taste
Directions:
Bring a large pot of water to boil. Season with salt, and cook the penne according to the package directions. Drain the pasta and set aside.
In a large saute pan, heat 1 tablespoon of oil over medium heat. Add the sausages and brown on all sides. Remove the sausages from the pan, and slice on a diagonal. Return the sausage to the pan, and saute to thoroughly cook the sausage.
Steam the cut asparagus as well.
Once everything is ready mix it all together with the truffle oil in a large pot. Then add fresh parmesan, pepper and mamma mia!!!
Urban Girl Fitness Quote of the Day:
The trouble with eating Italian food is that 5 or 6 days later you’re hungry again. ~George Miller
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Guiltless Fried Chicken
No picnic is complete without beautiful weather, a red and white checkered table cloth, iced tea and most importantly fried chicken. It’s too bad that those of us on the healthy bandwagon can only dream of the sweet, juicy, crispy taste of fried chicken–unfortunately the word fried itself signals a red flag.
So thanks to Shape Magazine here’s to crispy chicken! The healthy alternative that tastes like the real deal.
Ingredients:
1 cup nonfat buttermilk
1 ½ pounds boneless, skinless chicken
2 ½ cups corn flakes
¼ teaspoon cayenne pepper
½ teaspoon Italian seasoning
½ teaspoon coarse salt
¼ cup panko (Japanese bread crumbs)
Directions:
Place buttermilk and chicken in a zip-top plastic bag. Make sure each piece of chicken is coated. Refrigerate for at least 30 minutes. All day is better.
Preheat oven to 350°F. Line a baking sheet with aluminum foil.
Combine corn flakes with Italian seasoning, salt and cayenne in a food processor. Make sure these ingredients are coarsely ground. Transfer crumbs to a shallow dish and mix with panko. Drain buttermilk from each piece of chicken and coat both sides with seasoned crumbs. Bake 30 minutes or until juicy and cooked through.
Pair this with a nice, green salad and you will have the best picnic!
Urban Girl Fitness Quote of the Day:
I don’t even butter my bread; I consider that cooking. ~Katherine Cebrian
Sweet Tooth Solutions
On Valentine’s Day it seems that cupid has it out for me and the sweet tooth cravings insist to be fulfilled. What’s an urban girl to do?!
Dieting and healthy eating doesn’t mean you have to skip out on desserts, it simply means you have to opt for healthy alternatives. I know, I know…an apple is nothing compared to a melt-in-your-mouth chocolate cake with warm fudge.
Here are some healthy alternatives for curbing those cravings:
You can enjoy your favorite desserts but that doesn’t mean you can eat the entire tub of Ben & Jerry’s Phish Food. Two words. Portion. Control. Make your Valentine’s Day even more romantic and share a dessert, satisfy your sweet tooth cravings with your sweetie.
Choose low-fat or low-sugar alternatives to your favorite desserts.
Try fresh or dry fruits to curb your cravings. If you are a real choco-holic like me drizzle some chocolate over your favorite fruit. This works great with bananas.
Urban Girl Fitness Quote of the Day:
Life is uncertain. Eat dessert first. ~Ernestine Ulmer
More Healthy Pancakes Please…
There’s nothing more I love on weekends than sleeping in and waking up to make fresh, warm pancakes drizzled with melt-in-your-mouth syrup. Sounds delicious, right? Sounds like a diet crasher, right? Nope. Not when you turn to whole wheat pancakes. The taste is just the same, if not better, and it’s only 67 calories per pancake compared to 170 calories for a regular buttermilk pancake.
I personally prefer Aunt Jemima’s Whole Wheat Blend. Plus I add some blueberries to create my own special blend. Slice some bananas for a garnish and add two pieces of turkey bacon. Voila! Part of a complete breakfast!
For those of you who like to spend more time in the kitchen than I do, try this whole wheat pancake recipe to make yours from scratch (if you dare!).
Ingredients:
Whole wheat flour
Baking soda
Brown sugar
Milk
Maple syrup
Directions:
Mix everything thoroughly. You can use a fork, but if you use a mixer you’ll be infusing a little air and making them lighter and fluffier. Someone who is used to the emptiness of white flour pancakes might want to mix their batter with a blender or an electric mixer.
