Super “Be Realistic and Healthy” Bowl
After reading several tips this morning on how to make my Super Bowl healthier, I read one tip that made me literally laugh out loud. Run on the treadmill while watching the game..HA..HA..HAAAAA. Urban Girl don’t think so.
So ever since reading that I have been on a mission to find healthy tips that are realistic, healthy and enjoyable. After all that’s what the Super Bowl is for right!
Pass the hummus puh-lease…
I know veggies are the last thing you think of when enjoying sinfully delicious snacks that crunch, pop and melt in your mouth. Hummus is easy to make (don’t forget the tahini) and pairs perfectly with your favorite fresh veggies and wholewheat pita bread (even better when warmed).
Here is a recipe I tried:
2 cans of chickpeas (FYI Garbanzo beans and chickpeas are the same, so don’t let that confuse you)
4 teaspoons olive oil
1/2 cup tahini sauce
Dash of Salt
Dash of Pepper
3-4 Cloves Garlic chopped
Mix it all together and what do you get..hummus!
Beer Bitch…
Alright so the guilt sets in and a treadmill is no where in sight (and who says you want to get on it anyways!) Offer your services as beer bitch of the evening and you didn’t even lose a drinking game! When you notice everyone’s drink getting low get your butt of the couch and fill everyone up. That way you aren’t just sitting there yet you are helping your friends enjoy their most favorite Super Bowl past time. You are bound to burn a little, tiny bit of calories.
Rah..Rah..No Runner…
While your up will you grab me some more..? Instead of taking the easy way out and asking others to bring the food to you, do it yourself! First of all, you will have more control on your portion control as well as getting up and moving (even if it’s to the spread of snacks).
Good luck and may the “healthy” force be with everyone!
Urban Girl Fitness Quote of the Day:
Never eat more than you can lift.
Super “Fitness” Bowl
With Super Bowl Sunday just around the corner, you can guess we are all in deep fried trouble! The Super Bowl equals super snacks (and super commercials!). Make sure to bring the following healthy concoctions to your Super Bowl party and you are sure to have a healthy touchdown dance!
Chicken Cheer…The following chicken poppers recipe will make everyone at your party cheer with delight!
Ingredients:
3 spray(s) cooking spray
1 pound(s) uncooked boneless, skinless chicken breast, cut into 1-inch cubes
1/2 cup(s) fat-free egg substitute
1/2 cup(s) dried bread crumbs, plain or whole wheat, toasted
1/4 cup(s) uncooked cornmeal
1/4 tsp garlic salt
1/4 tsp table salt
1/4 tsp paprika
1/4 tsp black pepper
1/4 cup(s) salsa
1/4 cup(s) fat-free mayonnaise
1 tbsp cilantro, fresh, minced
Directions:
Preheat oven to 425°F. Coat a baking sheet with cooking spray. Place egg substitute in a shallow bowl. In another shallow bowl, combine bread crumbs, cornmeal, garlic salt, salt, paprika and pepper. Dip chicken in egg substitute and then in bread crumb mixture; turn to coat. Place chicken on prepared baking sheet; coat with cooking spray. Bake for 5 minutes, flip over and bake until chicken is cooked through, about 5 minutes more. Meanwhile, to make sauce, in a small bowl, combine salsa, mayonnaise and cilantro; stir well. Yields about 6 nuggets and 2 tablespoons of sauce per serving.
This recipe is 5 Weight Watchers points.
Recipe and photo courtesy of Weight Watchers.
Straight from heaven…Take the edge off during fourth quarter by satisfying your sweet tooth. The solution is angel food cake, a typical box package is roughly 72 calories per piece. Add your favorite fruit as a delicious topping or try the following recipe.
Cake ingredients:
1 1/2 cups sugar,
Divided 1 cup sifted cake flour
12 large egg whites (about 1 1/2 cups)
1 1/4 teaspoons cream of tartar
1/2 teaspoon salt 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 1/2 cups fresh or frozen blueberries
2 tablespoons sifted cake flour
1 tablespoon grated lemon rind
Glaze Ingredients:
1 cup powdered sugar
3 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
Directions:
Preheat oven to 375°. Sift together 1/2 cup sugar and 1 cup flour. In a large bowl, beat egg whites with a mixer at high speed until foamy. Add cream of tartar and salt; beat until soft peaks form. Add 1 cup sugar, 2 tablespoons at a time, beating until stiff peaks form. Sift flour mixture over egg white mixture, 1/4 cup at a time; fold in. Fold in vanilla and blueberries. Combine 2 tablespoons flour and lemon rind; toss to coat. Sprinkle over egg white mixture; fold in. Spoon the batter into an ungreased 10-inch tube pan, spreading evenly. Break air pockets by cutting through batter with a knife. Bake at 375° for 40 minutes or until cake springs back when lightly touched. Invert pan; cool completely. Loosen the cake from sides of pan using a narrow metal spatula. Invert cake onto plate. To prepare the glaze, combine powdered sugar and lemon juice in a small bowl; stir well with a whisk. Drizzle over cooled cake.
Nutritional Information Calories:
297 (1% from fat) Fat: 0.2g (sat 0.0g,mono 0.1g,poly 0.1g) Protein: 6.6g Carbohydrate: 68.2g Fiber: 1g Cholesterol: 0.0mg Iron: 1.1mg Sodium: 232mg Calcium: 8mg
Recipe and photo courtesy of Cooking Light and www.find.myrecipes.com.
Four Cheese Baked Penne Pasta
Last night I was once again on the hunt for something to fix for dinner. Given that my personal recipe book doesn’t contain a lot of healthy options I needed to search the web to find something that would suit my taste buds. Well I was looking through the healthy section on Food Networks site and I came across an Italian dish. In my opinion you can never go wrong with Italian and when it says it healthy, even better.
Four Cheese Baked Penne Pasta
Ingredients
1 lb Whole wheat pasta
1 1/2 c Small curd low fat cottage cheese
1 c part skim ricotta cheese (I used fat free)
1 1/4 c Shredded part skin mozzarella cheese
3 Tbs Chopped parsley
2 tsp Olive oil
1 Medium onion, chopped
4 Clove garlic, finely chopped
1 (15 oz) Can of low sodium crushed tomatoes
1 (8 oz) Can of low sodium tomato sauce
1 tsp Dried oregano
1 tsp Dried rosemary
1/2 tsp Chili flakes
3/4 tsp Salt
1/4 tsp Pepper
1/4 c Grated parmesan
Direction:
1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees
2. Combine the cottage cheese, ricotta cheese, 1/2 c mozzarella cheese and parsley in a bowl and stir with a fork to incorporate and set aside. Cook pasta until tender but stir firm, approximately 2 minutes less than the package states.
3. Heat the oil in a pot over medium heat. Add the onion and cook while stirring occasionally for about 5 minutes. Add the garlic and cook for about 30 seconds more. Add the tomatoes, tomato sauce, oregano, rosemary, chili flake, salt and pepper. Bring this to a boil and then reduce heat to a simmer for 10 minutes.
4. Add sauce to the cooked pasta and then add in the cottage cheese mixture and combine. Spray a 9 x 13 baking dish and transfer ingredients. Top with the remaining 3/4 c of mozzarella cheese and the parmesan. Bake until heated through and cheese is melted or about 30 minutes.
I want to thank food.com for this recipe because it will be something I fix many times over.
Healthy Steak Tacos
So if you’re anything like me, you hate that when you’re on a diet you can’t always eat the things you love. Well one of the things I love is mexican food. Once you add all the cheese and sour cream to your dish it is not exactly good for the waistline. I have a great recipe for steak tacos that I fixed last week that is different but a much healthier version than most of us are used to.
Chili- Rubbed Steak Tacos
1 Tbs Chili powder
2 Cloves garlic, minced
1/4 tsp Ground Cinnamon
1/4 tsp Salt
A pinch of Cayenne pepper
1 1/4 lbs Top Sirloin cut 1/2 in thick (I used a flank steak)
12 small corn tortillas (I used a whole wheat tortilla)
3 C shredded red cabbage
1/2 C Chopped Cilantro
1 Lime cut in wedges
2 C Avacado Lime Salsa (recipe below)
Directions
1. In a small bowl stir together chili powder, garlic, cinnamon, salt and cayenne pepper. Rub spice rub on both sides of steak. Grill or broil steaks for 5-6 minutes on each side for medium rare. Remove from grill and let sit covered with foil for 10 min. Cut steak into thin strips.
2. Warm tortilla by placing them on the grill for 30 seconds turning once. Or you could place 6 tortillas in between 2 moist paper towels and microwave for 45 seconds.
3. Last just place the steak, warm tortillas, cabbage, cilantro, lime and avocado lime salsa in serving dishes and lets everyone create their own taco.
Avocado Lime Salsa
1 large cucumber peeled, seeded and cut into small cubes. (I didn’t seed mine but you can buy seedless cucumbers)
2 Avocados, cut into chunks
1/2 Red onion, diced
2 Limes, Juiced (about 1/4 C)
Salt
1/4 C Chopped Cilantro
2 Jalapeno chiles, chopped
Directions:
1. Place cucumber, avocado and onion in a large bowl. Add the lime juice and salt. Then add the cilantro, chiles and then toss gently.
Special thanks to Food.com for this recipe.
Herbed Tofu Lasagna With Zucchini
Occasionally I like to try some new recipes for dinner. I get tired of cooking the same thing over and over again, but it’s also hard to find a good recipe that is actually good for you. Here is one that I came across and fixed last night and will probably be fixing again in the Future.
Herbed Tofu Lasagna With Zucchini
Ingredients:
2 - 14 oz packages of Firm Tofu
1/2 c Chopped fresh basil
1/3 c Fresh chopped Italian Parsley
1/3 c Pine nuts, toasted
2 Cloves garlic
2 Tbs Lemon juice
1 tsp Salt
1/2 tsp Red pepper flake
1/4 tsp Sugar
1 Tbs Olive oil
4 - Medium sized zucchini cut into 1/2 inch slices
5 c Marinara sauce
16 No cook lasagna noodles
Directions:
1. Preheat oven to 350F. Coat 13×9-inch baking dish with cooking spray. Combine tofu, basil, parsley, pine nuts, garlic, lemon juice, salt, red pepper flakes and sugar in food processor; blend until smooth and similar to ricotta in texture.
2. Put oil and zucchini in large nonstick skillet. Sauté 3 to 5 minutes over medium-high heat, or until just tender.
3. Spread 3 Tbs. marinara sauce over bottom of prepared baking dish. Cover with layer of noodles, overlapping slightly, half of tofu mixture and half of zucchini mixture. Top with another layer of noodles, remaining tofu and zucchini, and 1/2 cup sauce. Finish with another layer of noodles and remaining sauce.
4. Cover with foil, and bake 1 hour. Let rest 10 minutes before serving.
So if you decide you want to try fixing this one night for dinner let the rest of us know what you think. Leave us a comment.
Thank you vegetariantimes.com for this recipe
Crunches and Cocktails…say it ain’t so!
Did you know one 10 oz. Long Island Iced Tea has the same number of calories as a McDonald ’s Big Mac? Yeah, a Big Mac. Instead of pounding down those Big Macs, how about finding some healthy alternatives? Yes, drinking and dieting can coexist.
Here are some healthy options that won’t leave you guilt-ridden:
Spritz me!
Instead of fruity beverages make your own spritzer of half of your favorite wine and spritzer.
In the words of Homer Simpson…mmmm beer
If beer is your forte, keep in mind that not all light beers are created equal. For instance, try a Beck’s Premier Light at 64 calories (compare that to a Bud Light which is 110 calories!).
Mo Mojitos Por Favor
A Mojito is a godsend compared to Long Island Iced Tea at 160 calories.
Rockin’ Recipe:
The Blueberry-Lime Margarita
Makes 2 servings
ACTIVE TIME: 10 minutes
TOTAL TIME: 10 minutes
EASE OF PREPARATION: Easy
2 cups ice
1 cup frozen blueberries
1 cup blueberry nectar
1/4 cup seltzer
2 tablespoons frozen limeade
1 tablespoon lime juice
3 ounces tequila, optional
1 lime wedge
Coarse salt
Combine ice, blueberries, blueberry nectar, seltzer, limeade, lime juice and tequila, if using, in a blender and blend until smooth. Rub rim of 2 glasses with lime wedge and dip in salt. Divide the margarita between the prepared glasses and serve.
NUTRITION INFORMATION: Per serving: 125 calories; 1 g fat (0 g sat, 0 g mono); 0 mg cholesterol; 31 g carbohydrate; 0 g protein; 2 g fiber; 6 mg sodium; 147 mg potassium.
What you get: Potassium, vitamin C, phytochemicals.
2 Carbohydrate Servings
(Thanks to eatingwell.com for the great recipe!)
Urban Girl Fitness Quote of the Day:
Everything I like is either illegal, immoral or fattening. ~Alexander Woollcott
