COOLING SNACK: CUCUMBERS WITH RANCH GREEK YOGURT DIP

Get your healthier Superbowl on!  


from fitsugar.com

This dip will complement any raw vegetable, so be sure to try it on bell peppers, carrots, and broccoli florets.

Ingredients

1-2 cucumbers, cut into 1/2-inch wedges
1 clove garlic, mashed into paste
1/2 bunch chives, thinly sliced
1/4 bunch flat-leaf Italian parsley, chopped
1 6-ounce container of strained Greek yogurt
Lemon juice to taste
Salt to taste

Directions

1. To make garlic paste: chop garlic then add a generous pinch of coarse salt. Mash the garlic and salt mixture with the flat side of your knife.
2. Stir garlic paste, chives, parsley, and lemon juice to Greek yogurt until well combined. Salt to taste.

Weekend Challenge

7 squats, 7 burpees, seven rounds, for time.  Now do it!

When Fatty Feasts Are Driven by Automatic Pilot

By TARA PARKER-POPE

“Bet you can’t eat just one” (as the old potato-chip commercials had it) is, of course, a bet most of us end up losing. But why? Is it simple lack of willpower that makes fatty snacks irresistible, or are deeper biological forces at work?

Some intriguing new research suggests the latter. Scientists in California and Italy reported last week that in rats given fatty foods, the body immediately began to release natural marijuanalike chemicals in the gut that kept them craving more.

The findings are among several recent studies that add new complexity to theobesity debate, suggesting that certain  foods set off powerful chemical reactions in the body and the brain. Yes, it’s still true that people gain weight because they eat more calories than they burn. But those compulsions may stem from biological systems over which the individual has no control.

“I do think some people come into the world, and they are more responsive to food,” said Susan Carnell, a research associate at the Columbia University Institute of Human Nutrition. “I think there are many different routes to obesity.”

In the recent rat studies, by a team from the University of California, Irvine, and the Italian Institute of Technology in Genoa, the goal was to measure how taste alone affects the body’s response to food. Among rats given liquid diets high in fat, sugar or protein, the ones who got the fatty liquid had a striking reaction: As soon as it hit their taste buds, their digestive systems began producing endocannabinoids, chemicals similar to those produced bymarijuana use.  

Complete the article at NYTimes.com  

photo by Stuart Bradford

Light Chicken Pot Pie

Ingredients

For the Crust:

• 1 cup all-purpose flour, plus more for dusting
• 1/4 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/4 teaspoon fine salt
• 4 tablespoons cold unsalted butter, cut into small pieces
• 1 large egg
• 2 tablespoons 2% milk

For the Filling:

• 2 small russet potatoes
• 4 1/2 cups low-sodium chicken broth
• 5 medium carrots, cut into large chunks
• 1 to 2 teaspoons chopped fresh thyme                                                                Photo: Light Chicken Potpie Recipe
• 2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
• 1 large onion, finely diced
• 3 tablespoons all-purpose flour
• 1/3 cup 2% milk
• 3 stalks celery, sliced
• 3 cups shredded rotisserie chicken, skin removed
• 1/2 cup fat-free plain Greek yogurt
• 1 cup frozen peas
• 1/2 cup minced fresh parsley
• Kosher salt and freshly ground pepper

Get the how to and complete recipe from FoodNetwork.com  

Weekend Challenge

Run 1/2 mile 50 air squats - 3 rounds.

It's All in Your Gut! How to Enhance Mood, Immunity and More Through Digestion

by  Dr. Isaac Eliaz

Your body's many systems work closely together to maintain optimal health, so when one system is off balance it can trigger a domino effect, potentially igniting a cascade of chronic health complications. One system that is particularly responsible for overall well-being is your digestive system -- a strong, yet delicate ecosystem that controls the presence of harmful invaders and maintains digestive and overall health. To achieve this impressive feat, your GI tract relies on the presence of "good bacteria," specialized immune cells and a complex network of neurological and hormonal components. In fact, this 30-foot long tract is a major headquarters for immunity, neurological health and more. Digestive health directly impacts your immune health, and vice versa. Your gut is also home to the largest concentration of mood-altering neurotransmitters such as serotonin. And now researchers are discovering how beneficial microflora (friendly bacteria) do so much more for our state of being than we previously believed.

When your digestive system is not functioning properly, it can result in poor nutrient absorption/malnourishment and lead to a number of chronic problems and symptoms, including acid reflux, indigestion, irritable bowel disease and others. But it can also directly impact overall health as well as the health of your immune system, nervous system, hormonal health and more. In order to truly enhance your health -- physical, mental and/or emotional -- it's important to also understand how your digestive system is connected to immunity, energy, mood and even behavior.

keep reading and find the original post HERE.  

Two-Bean Soup with Kale

• 3 tablespoons olive oil 
• 1 cup chopped onion 
• 1/2 cup chopped carrot 
• 1/2 cup chopped celery 
• 1/2 teaspoon salt, divided 
• 2 garlic cloves, minced 
• 4 cups organic vegetable broth (such as Emeril's), divided
• 7 cups stemmed, chopped kale (about 1 bunch)
• 2 (15-ounce) cans no-salt-added cannellini beans, rinsed, drained, and divided 
• 1 (15-ounce) can no-salt-added black beans, rinsed and drained
• 1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper 
• 1 tablespoon red wine vinegar
• 1 teaspoon chopped fresh rosemary

Photo: Kana Okada; Styling: Sara Quessenberry

Get the how to and tips from CookingLight.com  . .

Weekend Challenge

10-9-8-7-6-5-4-3-2-1 
sets of sit-ups and a 100 meter sprint between each set

6 January Superfoods

Tangerines 

Why we love them:
The clementine, another seasonal superfood, is everywhere this time of year, but oft-overlooked tangerines are also plentiful and pack a serious nutritional punch. They're sweet, slightly tangy and a good source of Vitamin C (according to Livestrong, nearly 40 percent of the amount the Food and Drug Administration recommends you consume daily ).

How to enjoy them:
Just peel and go! Tangerines are a great snack food and are also nice for a bit of sweet juiciness in winter salads.

Get the other 8 . . .

Salad Shakers

One of the biggest things I have had against salads is that they take too long to prepare when they have a lot of good veggies in them.  If you have to cut all the veggies up, add dressing, and mix it can take a while.  I get 30 minutes, at the most, for my lunch.  Usually something else cuts into my lunch, making every second absolutely precious to me.  Thus, finding this method has literally saved the salad’s place in my lunch rotation.

The secret of this method is that the dressing doesn’t touch the greens until right before you eat them, keeping the greens fresh and unwilted for a long period of time.  First, your pour in the amount of dressing you want for each salad – which is less than you might think.  Since you will be shaking these up, the dressing goes farther than a typical salad where some things are coated and the bottom bits have nothing.  Afterwards, you add your vegetables.  This mix in particular has carrots and cucumber chunks in the bottom, because both are hardy enough to stand up to being soaked in dressing for a pretty long time.  Any more sensitive ingredients, like proteins (which can get waterlogged in dressing), egg crumbles, or celery can be layered on top.  The last thing to go in is the lettuce mix of your choice.

When you are ready to eat, you simply shake the jar and eat.  Instead of having to cut all the veggies right then, or have them go soft in a plastic bag, you can have a fresh-tasting salad in seconds.  For ease of access I suggest you pour the salad into a bowl or put it on a plate, but you don’t have to.  If you don’t want the extra dishes (or don’t have them) just a fork will do.  keep reading . . .

Weekend Challenge

30 Push-ups 
40 Sit-ups 
50 Squats
3 Rounds for Time

Sodium-Saturated Diet Is a Threat for All

By JANE E. BRODY

Maybe you think you don’t have to worry about salt. After all, you don’t have high blood pressure, you’re not overweight and you exercise regularly.

Enlarge This Image

Yvetta Fedorova

Well, think again. A major study, based on data from more than 12,000 American adults, took into account all those risk factors for death from heart disease. The researchers found that while a diethigh in sodium — salt is the main source — increases your risk, even more important is the ratio of sodium (harmful) to potassium (protective) in one’s diet.

When people whose meals contained little sodium relative to potassium were compared with those whose diets had a high sodium-to-potassium ratio, the latter were nearly 50 percent more likely to die from any cause and more than twice as likely to die from ischemic heart disease during a follow-up period averaging 14.8 years.

Although there has been on-and-off controversy about the value of limiting dietary salt, there is no question that a high level of sodium in the diet raises blood pressure and the risk of chronic hypertension by stiffening arteries and blocking nitric oxide, which relaxes arteries. Hypertension, in turn, contributes to heart disease and stroke, leading causes of death.  keep reading . . .

Easy Paleo Crock Pot Chicken Curry with Peppers and Cabbage

Ingredients:

• 1 to 1.5 pounds of boneless chicken thighs – I pick these over chicken breasts because I find them tastier, and they are often cheaper.
• 1 or 2 cans of coconut milk – I used 2 cans because Trader Joe’s has them for 99 cents and I love coconut milk more than you know. One could get away with a single can if it is pricey for you, yet you will simply have a thicker curry
• Curry paste – Types and amounts obviously vary 3 tbsp of Red Curry.
• 1 small yellow onion
• 1 medium red bell pepper
• 1 medium green bell pepper
• 1/2 head of cabbage. You could use more if you wanted to.

get the how-to . . .