Fajita Frittata

Ingredients

• F.O.C. (fat of choice)
• 1 red onion, diced
• 1 bell pepper, any color is fine, chopped
• about 1/2 of a rotisserie chicken, pulled into shreds
• 2 green onions, sliced
• 1/2 handful of cilantro, chopped
• 1/2 c salsa, we used tomatillo, but any flavor will work
• 6-8 eggs
• salt

Method

Preheat your oven to 375ºF. Heat a large cast-iron or (gasp) non-stick pan over medium-high heat. Melt your F.O.C. and add the red onion and bell pepper. Let them soften up and maybe even brown just a smidge. Add the chicken to the pan and let it sit on the bottom of a pan for a while, so it’ll brown up a bit too. Now stir in the green onions, cilantro and salsa. Turn the heat off of the range.
In a medium bowl, whisk together the eggs with a pinch of salt. Pour the eggs over the chicken & veggie mixture. Using the residual heat from the range, take a spatula and stir everything around until you see about 1/4 of the egg cooked.
Place the pan in the oven and bake until the eggs are cooked through–about 10 minutes. Now, I’m not trying to be a nag, but because I’ve done this more than once, I’m going to share a learning experience with you. When you take the pan out of the oven, the handle will be hot–and when you place the pan on top of the stove, the handle will still be hot. Pleaseeeee don’t use your bare hand to pick up the pan, that is just not fun for anyone.

From Health-Bent.com

Weekly Challenge

10 Corkscrews (Right & Left)

Work THESE!

10 V-Sits

10 Oblique crunches with a double pulse on each side

30 Seconds of Plank

Repeat 5X

Farmed Seafood: What’s Safe and Nutritious

Learning about the various types of aquaculture setups is interesting and useful, but we’re ultimately interested in whether they can produce safe, nutritious, affordable seafood. Wild seafood can be pricey, unavailable, and of questionable merit or sustainability. Certain wild species are definitely worth pursuing – Alaskan salmon, sardines, herring, mackerel, to name a few – but there are environmental (overfishing, collateral damage to other important species, structural damage to the marine environment) and health (accumulation of heavy metals like lead and mercury, polychlorinated biphenyl/PCB, dioxin) issues that the conscious fish eater must stay abreast of. Healthy and safe farmed seafood, then, would be a welcome alternative, if it’s out there.

Okay. Let’s get down to it.

Which farmed seafood is safe to eat? Is there anything like grass-fed beef or pastured chicken available in scales or shells?

Shellfish

As a whole, farmed shellfish, when compared to wild shellfish, are very good bets for the simple fact that both lead very similar lives. Every marine shellfish, whether farmed or wild, spends its life in the ocean attached to something – rocks, a rope, a pillar, coral, the ocean floor. The only difference is that farmed shellfish are deliberately placed there by farmers, while wild shellfish are distributed by the hand of Poseidon (actually, the Nereids do all the work while he gets the credit, but such is the life of a sea nymph). Most importantly, they all use the same sea water. They all obtain their food by sifting through that same sea water. Farmers don’t have to provide food. They’re not scattering corn and soy across the water, because it would be a waste. Shellfish, you see, are filter feeders.  Keep Reading . . .

Pan-roasted Rosemary Pork Tenderloin with Crimini Mushrooms

From ChowStalker.com 

What you'll need:

-  1 pork tenderloin

-  4 sprigs of fresh rosemary

-  Avocado oil

-  Coconut oil
-  Sea salt (for taste)
-  Freshly ground black pepper (for taste)
-  1 bag/box of sliced crimini mushrooms 



1.  Place tenderloin on piece of plastic wrap (plastic wrap must be large enough to wrap the tenderloin like a burrito!)

2.  Season all sides with salt and pepper and oil.  Place sprigs of rosemary on top (make sure to place some rosemary on the bottom too!)

3.  Wrap the seasoned tenderloin up like a burrito and let marinate in fridge until about 30 minutes before cooking time

4.  Preheat oven to 425F.  Add some coconut oil to skillet over medium-high heat

5.  Brown all sides of the tenderloin

6.  Once all sides have been browned, throw the whole thing (pork tenderloin + skillet) into oven for about 5 - 10min (or until internal temperature is 145F)*

 I have to mention that my meat thermometer gave me a reading of 160F about five minutes after I placed the tenderloin into the oven to roast.  I let it roast for another 5min before letting the whole tenderloin rest for about 10minutes.  There was a littlelittle bit of pink left in the thickest part, but everything else was cooked perfectly so I just nuked the barely pink pieces for about 30sec in the microwave and it came out just right.  :)

7.  Remove tenderloin from the oven and tent it with some foil.  Let rest for about 10minutes.

8.  Remove tenderloin from skillet and heat the drippings in the skillet over medium-high heat

9.  Add mushrooms to skillet and saute until mushrooms are browned and softened

10.  Carve up the tenderloin

11.  Pour mushrooms over the sliced up pork and serve!

get ready for the pool!

20 Full Sit-ups with feet on the ground the whole time
20 Bicycles
1 minute of Plank
Repeat Series 4 times (Plank total = 4 minutes)

Sleep Deprivation Spurs Hunger

STORY HIGHLIGHTS

• People tend to eat more calories on the day after they've had short sleep -four hours
• Overweight people often have sleep problems
• The study offers "one more data point that sleep-deprived people have more weight issues"

RELATED TOPICS

• Sleeping and Sleep Disorders
• Obesity
• Health and Fitness

(Health.com) -- Sleep deprivation can leave you feeling drowsy and slow-witted, but that's not all: New research suggests it may also rev up your appetite.

After sleeping for only four hours, people tend to eat more calories on the following day than when they get a good night's sleep, the study found. This was especially true of women, who consumed an average of 329 more calories when sleep deprived than when well rested. By contrast, men consumed just 263 more.

These findings may explain the link between insufficient sleep and overweight that has been shown in previous studies, says the lead researcher, Marie-Pierre St. Onge, Ph.D., a research associate at Columbia University's New York Obesity Research Center. "This study shows a possible causative effect," she says. Continue Reading

Spring Onion Salmon in Parchment Pouches

 by megan keatley of HealthBent.com

Spring Onion Salmon in Parchment Pouches

Ingredients

• 1 lb (about 4) salmon filets
• 1 leek
• 3 green onions
• thumb size piece of ginger, peeled and minced
• olive oil
• salt

Method

Get your oven to 350ºF. Tear off 4 sheets of parchment paper, making sure they’re all rectangular in size. Place a salmon filet on each piece of parchment, positioning it like the image/illustration to the left.

Cut off the green stalk of the leek, along with the root tip. Slice the leek lengthwise and continue to do so until the leek has been cut into thin ribbons (like the picture). Do the same to the green onions. Toss the leek and green onion ribbons in a bowl along with the ginger, olive oil and salt. Mix with your hands to combine.

Drizzle a bit of olive oil on top of each salmon filet and sprinkle with a bit of salt. Top each filet with a handful of the onion mixture.

To seal the salmon pouches:

1. Referring the illustration above, at the bigger, horizontal dotted lines, join the ends of the parchment paper around the salmon filets.

2. Now, fold down the edges, either by crimping them (lazy way) or folding them over each other, like closing a coffee bag (fancy pants way), all the way down, until you’ve reached the top of the salmon.

3. Refer back to the illustration above, the vertical, thin dotted lines are where you’re going to fold and tuck in the sides of the parchment paper.

Place all the pouches on a baking sheet. Bake for about 15 minutes. My filets were quite thin, as you can see from the picture. I did mine at 17 minutes and they were a bit overdone. Be careful when you open the pouches since they’ll have a bit of steam in them.

Oprah's Ultimate Weight Loss Challenge-featuring an OBC instructor!

Be sure to tune in today to catch a glimpse of OBC's own Bridget Seng as she shows off her before pants and her new OBC bod!  Oprah.com

Read Bridget's story below:

It was April of 2009, I had just arrived home from a beach vacation with my family and I was
downloading photos from our trip.  I sat at my desk looking at the photos—the cute ones of the kids in the sand, my husband holding our daughter in the ocean and then…sheer horror!  It was a picture of me, or someone who looked vaguely like me—me, wearing a FAT SUIT.  What was even more mortifying was that I had just lost 30lbs!  Always choosing to be the one holding the camera and not being the one photographed—clearly this one had slipped past me.  I would have fallen out of my chair if it hadn’t been for the fact that I was so fat and wedged into the chair I probably couldn't have fallen out if I tried.  I have titled that photo as "Oh NO!  I can't possibly be this fat.  My face, my back, my arms-- the sheer girth of me was disgusting.  Who was this fat person?!  I had to remind myself that I had survived two very difficult pregnancies.  With my second pregnancy, I was at a very high risk of not making it or of my son not making it. I was depressed, scared and in so much pain I couldn't sleep, walk, or sit.  Honestly, there were days I hurt so bad I wanted to die.  I still remember overhearing my doctor tell my husband that he should not be prepared for Post Partum depression but for Post Tramatic Stress Syndrome… it was *that* kind of bad.  But here I was now on the other side of all that pain and fear with two beautiful children and a husband that loved me yet feeling empty and horrible inside.   

I use to walk around thinking “Where are all the other fat moms hiding?!”  I can’t be the biggest fatty in town, right?  But it sure seemed that way.  At the park.  Fat Mom.  At the preschool picnic.  Fat Mom.  Grocery Store.   Fat Mom.  Even stuck on a slide in a bouncey house.  Yes, that’s me.  Fat Mom.

And then that was IT…

Without hesitating one more minute, I sat there (still wedged in my chair) and called Jenny Craig.  I had just seen adorable Italian Valerie Bertinelli on Oprah & the cover of People magazine and if she could do it… then this Italian girl could do it!  I’ll never forget stepping on the scale that next day.  210 lbs. There were no words.  34 years old, 5’ 3” tall and 210 lbs. Every week, I went and weighed in… sometimes it was 2 lbs, sometimes it was ½ lb.  Every week, I said goodbye to those pounds.  Fat take note “You are not coming back”.  And it was hard.  Really hard.  In fact, one day my wonderful Jenny Craig consultant told me that I had “to date” lost close to 30 lbs.  I must have had a funny look on my face because she looked at me and said, “Aren’t you happy with that?”  I said “I am… but I just realized that I’ve lost 30 pounds and not ONE person has noticed.”  You know you are fat when you lose 30 pounds and no one even notices!  I knew this new goal of mine to lose these additional 60 lbs was my goal.  It was about me, not anyone else. But even still it felt like another blow.  I was *still* realizing just how far I had to go.  And I knew that if I didn’t find a way to keep going, I would quit.   

I found another way.  C’mon Valerie—talk to me, girlfriend.  And there it was in her book.  Her trainer had told her she was going to run.  To which she responded “Oh no, I’m not a runner.”  Something I had told myself too many times to count.  And then she ran down the block, a 5k, a 10k, a half marathon… AMAZING!  Slowly I started setting small goals:  walk a 5k, check.   Walk/run a 5k, check.  Just move!  I walked and pushed that double stroller up and down what felt like every hill in Atlanta.  And all the while I felt my body changing but s-l-o-w-l-y.  Finally, at about 35 lbs, people started asking me if I’d lost “a few pounds”—it took all my will power not to scream “NOOOO, I haven’t lost a *few* pounds, I’ve lost 60 pounds”.  Again, I felt deflated.  And at that point, still another 30 lbs from my goal I needed another challenge.  I was stuck.  It was a few weeks and my weight had stabilized.  I started thinking about the last time that I felt like I was in good shape.  College.  Sadly, that might have been the best shape of my life.  Playing women’s Football at Notre Dame.  Having a coach “encourage” me to run, hit, sprint, push up, sit up.  That was the last time.  And so it hit me like a lightning bolt…  I would sign up for Boot Camp.   

There I went signing up for Boot Camp within 5 minutes and then not sleeping that entire night I was so sick with worry.  What was I thinking?  Will I get hurt again?  What if I can’t do it?  And who in the hell wakes up at 5 am in the morning to work out?!

That morning came and I went.  I almost died during our 1 mile run.  I had NEVER run a mile in my life.  I came home and laid on the floor. I was so nauseous I couldn’t get up for 30 minutes.  My sweet husband saw my “green” face and took the kids to the other room.  The next day I went back.  And I went every day for 8 weeks.  Every day I was so sore and so out of breathe I wasn’t sure I could make it.  And every day I was the last person to “finish”.  But slowly things started to change. I started to change.  I started realizing how strong I was.  How all the crap that life had handed me didn't make me a victim it had only made me stronger.  I just kept putting one foot in front of the other.  And in the end, I realized I was only competing with myself.  As long as I was setting goals and meeting those goals for myself, I was winning my own race.   

Next the realization came that we make all these assumptions about what we can and can’t accomplish.  That somehow because I wasn’t a morning person or because I had children or because I was never a “runner” meant that I couldn’t still decide who I was going to be in this life.   I got in my own way, I’d allowed food to get in my way, and I’d allowed other people to get in my way.  And it was right there, doing pushups in the park with grass in my mouth and covered in mud— that I found my way to the person I wanted to be.   

In August of 2010, I ran my first 5k.  Next it was a 10k.  Slowly but surely, month after month of boot camp, I continued.  On February 27th I ran the Disney Princess Half Marathon.  13.1 miles.  Something I never dreamed I could do.  EVER.  I will never forget the look on my daughters face when she saw me at mile 12.  I realized at that moment, I had changed all of our lives.  After the race, I went to take my medal off and she said, “No, Mom.  Let’s wear our medals so everyone knows we are runners”.  I had to laugh—it was a good reminder to me, that I was, in fact, a runner.  

Today, I have lost over 100 lbs, run 2 half marathon and am a Boot Camp Instructor!  More importantly I am the accountability contact to two new campers this month who are over 250 lbs and have asked me to be help them and guide them on their journey.  I have never been more honored.  Ironically, they are inspiring me to keep going.   My next stop—the 2011 Chicago Marathon.

Someone recently said to me you are “half the person you use to be”…well, just about.  What I have lost, gave me my life back.  I realized that I might be in the best shape of my life at 35 years old and I want to keep going. I like myself better.  I like the mother and partner I am better.  And I'm not going to stop.  I am a fighter.  I found my way to the person I am meant to be.  And my advice to anyone out there like me… set a goal, find a pack of friends who will have your back and just start.   

Start.  Right.  Now.

Super Snacks for Runners

Runner-friendly munchies satisfy your cravings and offer surprising health benefits.

By Nicole FalconeImage by Jonathan KantorFrom the May 2011 issue of Runner's World It's the middle of the afternoon, dinner is hours away, but your stomach is growling. Should you have a snack? Yes, as long as you choose wisely. When done right, snacking can be a key component of a runner's daily diet, says sports nutritionist Deborah Shulman, Ph.D. "Eating every three or four hours can help control your appetite." It can also provide nutrients you need before and after a run, says Pamela M. Nisevich Bede, M.S., R.D., a nutrition consultant for Swim, Bike, Run, Eat! But be judicious with your mini-meals. Constant grazing can lead to weight gain; have just one or two snacks a day (each between 150 and 250 calories). Avoid prepackaged junk foods, and stick to whole or minimally processed options, which will not only satisfy your hunger and cravings, but also provide surprising health benefits, too.

YOU CRAVE SALT
EAT: POPCORN
High in fiber and low in calories, popcorn is also a heart-healthy food. In a study presented at the 2009 American Chemical Society national meeting, University of Scranton researchers tested a wide range of whole grains for polyphenol count. Polyphenols are antioxidant plant chemicals that may protect your body from cell and tissue damage linked to heart disease and certain cancers. Researchers found that among snack foods, popcorn has the highest polyphenol level.

YOU CRAVE SWEETS
EAT: DARK CHOCOLATE
Juggling family, work, and training is challenging, and too much stress may raise your heart-disease risk. According to a 2009 study, dark chocolate may help. Researchers gave participants 1.4 ounces of dark chocolate (the size of a matchbook) daily for two weeks. The chocolate reduced stress-hormone levels in anxious participants. There's also evidence dark chocolate may help lower blood pressure—another key to reducing heart-disease risk, says Shulman. But keep an eye on calories. "It's like red wine," says Nisevich Bede. "It can provide health benefits but should be consumed in moderation."

YOU CRAVE SOMETHING CRUNCHY
EAT: ROASTED PEANUTS
A study published in the journal Food Chemistry discovered that the longer peanuts are roasted, the higher their levels of antioxidants. The extra-long roasting preserves more manganese and vitamin E (which helps protect your bones and red blood cells, respectively) than lightly roasted or even raw nuts. Peanuts are rich in protein, fiber, and healthy unsaturated fats—three nutrients that help keep you feeling full. Store small bags of peanuts in your desk drawer, or make your own trail mix with peanuts, dried fruits, cereal, and pretzels, says Nisevich Bede.

YOU CRAVE A COLD DRINK
DRINK: TART CHERRY JUICE
Tart cherries have been shown to help relieve soreness; they might also be good for your heart. In a study in the Journal of Nutrition, participants drank about eight ounces of tart cherry juice or a placebo twice a day for two weeks. Researchers found the juice reduced oxidative damage, which can contribute to heart disease. The juice's protective qualities come from its high level of antioxidants. "Your body creates antioxidants," says Shulman, "but it's important to eat and drink foods rich in them, too." Although juice lacks the fiber of whole fruit, "it's an excellent source of carbohydrate," says Nisevich Bede, making it a good choice for recovering after a run.

YOU CRAVE SOMETHING FILLING
EAT: CEREAL AND MILK
Turns out the breakfast of champions can help speed recovery after a tough workout. In a study published in 2009 in the Journal of the International Society of Sports Nutrition, cyclists rode for two hours and then ate whole-grain cereal with fat-free milk or drank a carbohydrate sports drink. Several days later they repeated the test. Researchers found the pantry staple replenishes energy stores equally as well as sports drinks. Milk also provides qualityprotein, which is ideal for muscle recovery postrun, says Shulman—making this less-expensive (and less-processed) option a smart postrun snack.

EAT BETTER: When buying cereal, skip brands that have sugar listed as the first or second ingredient. Those products contain too much sweetener to be healthy.


Shop Smart
Use these tips to find healthy snacks at the grocery store

Popcorn
POP YOUR OWN
Plain kernels contain no extra calories and taste fresher. Add herbs, spices, or nuts.
WATCH THE FAT
Choose prepackaged popcorn that's 90 percent fat-free. Or go with nonbuttered brands and add a touch of butter spray.

Dark Chocolate
BUMP UP CACAO
The higher the percentage, the more antioxidants.
AVOID ALKALI
Also called Dutch-processed, alkali destroys nutrients.
PASS ON OILS
Bars with vegetable or hydrogenated oils are of poorer quality.

Roasted Peanuts
GO FOR DRY ROASTED
Other methods that add oils or sugar up the fat and calories.
LOOK FOR SKINS
Peanuts with their skins contain high levels of antioxidants.
SKIP THE SALT
Presalted peanuts often have added oils.

Tart Cherry Juice
STICK WITH CHERRIES
Tart cherry juice is often blended with sweet fruits. For the most cherry antioxidants, choose brands without other fruits.
AVOID SUGAR
Buy "100 percent fruit juice" so there's no added sweetener.

Cereal
UP THE FIBER
It should have at least three to five grams of fiber per serving.
GO WHOLE
Look for whole wheat or other whole grains in the ingredients.
AVOID SUGAR
It should have fewer than seven to nine grams per 100 calories.