4 Skills That'll Make You a Healthy Home Cook

by Leta Shy for fitsugar.com 

The first step to eating healthier is to nix the three-times-a-week delivery habit. But the second step is a little more difficult; if you're not used to cooking your own meals, knowing how to whip up a healthy meal in your kitchen takes effort. Master these four skills and you'll be a healthy home cook in no time.

• Keep the nutrients in: Boiling, peeling, and steaming can strip those veggies of their nutrients. Instead of peeling potatoes and carrots or throwing away the leaves of your radishes, scrub your veggies until they are clean and use them with skin and leaves on to keep vitamins intact. And when you are done boiling or blanching a pot of vegetables, save the nutrient-rich water to use later in stocks, stews, or sauces. Get more tricks on how to keep the nutrients in your food here.
• Stay well stocked: A kitchen well stocked with healthy supplies will ensure that you have practically all you need for a quick and healthful meal. Keep this printable poster of healthy pantry staples on your fridge and take it with you to the store when it's time to restock.
• Swap the fat: Sautéing in butter and oil can make even the most vegetable-filled dinner high in calories or fats. And even if you're cooking with healthy fats like olive oil, there can be too much of a good thing. Instead of dumping more butter and oil into your pan, use one to two tablespoons of low-sodium broth when you sauté. You can also invest in a qualitycast-iron skillet to cook without the need of a potentially chemically laden nonstick pan or too much butter or oil. Keep Reading. . .

Creamy Pea & Chicken Stew

Soups are a quick and yummy meal, check out this take on one that may be a little different then what you've been making. 

INGREDIENTS

• 
  
• 1 14-ounce can reduced-sodium chicken broth, divided
• 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
• 2 teaspoons Dijon mustard
• 1 pound boneless, skinless chicken breasts, trimmed and cut into bite-size pieces
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 teaspoon freshly ground pepper
• 1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil
• 3 cups small cauliflower florets
• 1/4 cup finely chopped shallot
• 2 cups frozen peas, thawed
• 1/2 cup dry white wine
• 1 cup shredded Gruyère cheese
• get the how to from foodnetwork.com 

Weekend Challenge

10 vertical jumps  
10 push ups
10 sit ups
4 rounds

The Top 10 Workout Songs for January

Do you turn on the tunes when running?  Here are some to add to your playlist from runhundred.com


Top 10 Workout Songs for January

• Nicki Minaj -- "Va Va Voom" -- 128 BPM
• Coldplay -- "Charlie Brown" -- 138 BPM
• Icona Pop & Charli XCX - "I Love It" -- 126 BPM
• Pitbull & TJR -- "Don't Stop the Party" -- 126 BPM
• 50 Cent, Eminem & Adam Levine -- "My Life" -- 89 BPM
• The Wanted -- "Chasing the Sun (Danny Verde Remix)" -- 129 BPM
• Macklemore, Ryan Lewis & Wanz -- "Thrift Shop" -- 96 BPM
• Fun. & Janelle Monae -- "We Are Young (Betatraxx Remix)" -- 106 BPM
• Will.I.Am & Britney Spears -- "Scream & Shout" -- 131 BPM
• One Direction -- "Live While We're Young (Dave Aude Remix)" -- 130 BPM

Cauliflower and Tuna Salad

Andrew Scrivani for The New York Times

I love cauliflower and tuna but before this I never imagined they could go so well together.  What do you think-will you try this recipe from the nytimes.com?

1 large or 2 small or medium cauliflowers, broken into small florets

1 5-ounce can water-packed light (not albacore) tuna, drained

1 plump garlic clove, minced or pureéd

1/3 cup chopped flat-leaf parsley

3 tablespoons capers, drained and rinsed

1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice

3 tablespoons sherry vinegar or champagne vinegar

6 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil

Salt and freshly ground pepper

get the how to at nytimes.com 

Weekend Challenge

10 rounds
10 Squats
10 pushups
1,2,3,4,5,6,7,8,9,10 burpees

Soda Consumption Linked With Higher Depression Risk In Study (And The Opposite Goes For Coffee)

from huffingtonpost.com 

What you drink could be linked with how you feel, according to new research.

A study presented at the annual meeting of the American Academy of Neurologysuggests an increased risk of depression from drinking sweetened beverages, as well as a decreased risk of depression from drinking coffee.

Specifically, researchers found an association between drinking four cups/cans of soda daily and a 30 percent higher risk of depression, as well as an association between drinking four cans of fruit punch daily and a 38 percent high risk of depression. The effect was more pronounced with diet fruit punch/soda, compared with non-diet versions of the drinks.

Meanwhile, researchers found an association between drinking four cups of coffee daily and a 10 percent lower risk of depression.  keep reading . . .

Prep Once Eat All Week!

It sounds great; get all your stuff ready to roll Sunday and eat well all week.  When I read this article on shape.com, I   thought "that is doable."  Check it out the ingredient list and click through for the recipes:

Prep!

CHOP
2 cups broccoli florets
1 cup lettuce
3/4 cup plus 2 tbsp yellow onion
1/2 cup plus 1 1/2 tbsp fresh Italian parsley
1/2 cup plus 2 tsp fresh basil
1/4 cup plus 2 tbsp white onion
1/4 cup cauliflower florets
4 cloves garlic

COARSELY GRIND
1 tbsp pecans

DICE
3/4 cup tomatoes
1/3 cup mango, peeled
1/4 cup sweet potato, peeled

HALVE
2 plum tomatoes (lengthwise)
1/2 cup cherry tomatoes

MARINATE
1 link (3 1/2 oz) turkey sausage, pierced with a fork, in 12 oz light beer

POUND
4 oz chicken breast until 1/4 inch thick

RINSE AND DRAIN
1/2 cup chickpeas
1/3 cup low-sodium black beans
1/3 cup cannellini beans

SLICE (lengthwise)
1 sweet potato (for fries)
1/4 bell pepper

SLICE (widthwise)
1/4 sweet potato (thinly)
1/4 yellow onion (3 thin slices)
1/8 eggplant (two 1/4-inch thick wheels)

TOAST
2 tbsp slivered almonds (Toast in a small skillet over medium heat, shaking occasionally, until fragrant, 10 to 12 minutes.)

ZEST AND JUICE
1 lime
1/2 lemon

SHAPE.com for the recipes.  

Weekend Challenge

25 squats
1 min jumping jacks
10 burpees
10 jumping squats
20 reverse lunges
30 seconds high knees

5 rounds

6 January Superfoods

Eating in season isn't only delicious, it's also cheaper!  Check out the slideshow on huffingtonpost.com to see what's best this month.

Skillet Eggs With Squash

The weekend is a great time to take breakfast to the next level.  Try this take on eggs and get a full servings of veggies.

Ingredients

from foodnetwork.com

• 3 pounds (6 medium) summer squash and/or zucchini
• Kosher salt
• 2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
• 4 scallions, thinly sliced, white and green parts separated
• 1 jalapeno pepper, seeded and minced
• 3 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley
• 1/4 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg
• Freshly ground pepper
• 1 tablespoon unsalted butter
• 6 large eggs
• 1/2 cup grated pepper jack or sharp white cheddar cheese

get the how to from foodnetwork.com

Weekend Challenge

20 squats
20 burpees
20 hand release push ups
20 sit ups
20 push ups
20 burpees
20 squats

4 Tips For Traveling To An Athletic Event

Maybe 2013 has some races in your future-check out these tips from Maile Keone for the huffingtonpost.com to make your travel races easy!

Sweating and getting your heart pumping on vacation is an amazing opportunity, but it can take special preparation to make it a success. My job requires me to travel, so I'm naturally very particular about my leisure travel planning. I enjoy traveling for a fitness or athletic event because it creates an experience you wouldn't ordinarily have in that destination. Taking a trip for a fitness or athletic event is different in many ways than a regular getaway, so I'll share a few of the things I do to make fitness travel great.

Luckily, I have a best friend who is much more of a fitness fanatic than I am. She loves the idea of traveling for road bike races, mountain biking, running and pretty much any other fitness event. We recently traveled to Moab, Utah to participate in the Winter Sun 10K Run. Moab is in red-rock country with ruggedly beautiful canyons and vistas. It's a breathtaking backdrop for a run to say the least.

Don't stress or take yourself too seriously. Please take special note that it was a "run," and not a "race." I mention this because we didn't train, but rather than excusing ourselves from running, we laughed and decided to enjoy ourselves anyway. Some people go to seriously compete -- we are not those people. You don't have to win to have a good time. The Moab run started out on a gorgeous December morning and wound through the town and local parks. We ended at the local high school with a lap around the track, welcomed in by the hundreds of folks who had trained and already finished.

Arrive early and take your time. Give yourself enough time to scope out the town and have a good dinner the night before the event. Try to hit a museum or squeeze in a hike to see a destination from all perspectives. The day after our run we chose to hike Slick Rock. It was painful doing post run, but great views made the day. Going somewhere for a fitness event allows you to see things you might not have seen and to go somewhere you might never have considered.  Keep Reading.