Superbowl 2012: Slash Calories Without Sacrificing Taste

  

 Email Article  

Tweet  

  

  

  

 delicious  

  

  

                                                             Loaded Nachos

Stacked atop a mound of fried tortilla chips, nachos piled with fatty ground beef, cheese sauce, refried beans and sour cream can weigh in at over 1200 calories and 74g fat. Reduce the calories by 700 and the fat grams by 50 with some simple substitutions that still pack in the classic flavors.

Makes 6 servings, 517 calories per serving (serving size: 1 ounce chips, ½ cup beans, 1/3 cup pork, ½ cup topping)

Ingredients

Meat:

1 (1-pound) pork tenderloin, trimmed

2 tablespoons olive oil, divided

1/2 teaspoon salt, divided

21/4 teaspoon black pepper

Cooking spray

2 tablespoons fresh lime juice

1 teaspoon minced garlic

Beans:

1 can chipotle chiles in adobo sauce

2 tablespoons water

2 teaspoons fresh lime juice

¼ teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon chili powder

2 (15-ounce) cans pinto beans, rinsed and drained

4 applewood-smoked bacon slices, cooked and crumbled

Topping:

1 1/2 cups chopped plum tomato

1 cup diced avocado

1/2 cup chopped jicama

1/3 cup chopped onion

2 tablespoons fresh lime juice

1 tablespoon olive oil

1/4 teaspoon salt

Remaining ingredients:

6 ounces sturdy tortilla chips (8 cups)

1 1/4 cups (5 ounces) shredded reduced-fat Colby and Monterey Jack cheese blend

1/4 cup chopped fresh cilantro

1 jalapeño pepper, thinly sliced

 Preparation

1. Preheat oven to 500°.

2. For meat, rub pork with 1 tablespoon oil, 1/4 teaspoon salt, and black pepper. Place pork in a shallow roasting pan coated with cooking spray. Bake at 500° for 23 minutes or until a thermometer registers 160°. Remove from pan; cool 10 minutes. Shred pork with two forks to measure 2 cups; place in a small bowl. Stir in remaining 1 tablespoon oil, remaining 1/4 teaspoon salt, 2 tablespoons juice, and garlic.

3. For beans, remove 2 chipotle chiles and 1 teaspoon adobo sauce from can; reserve remaining chiles and sauce for another use. Drop chiles through food chute with food processor on; pulse 3 times or until coarsely chopped. Add adobo sauce, water, and next 4 ingredients (through beans); process 5 seconds or until smooth. Stir in bacon.

4. Preheat broiler.

5. For topping, combine plum tomato and the next 6 ingredients (through 1/4 teaspoon salt); toss well to coat.

6. Arrange tortilla chips in a single layer on a large rimmed baking sheet. Top evenly with bean mixture; top with meat mixture, and sprinkle with cheese. Broil 4 minutes or until cheese melts. Top evenly with topping, cilantro, and jalapeño. Serve immediately.

Cooking Light , OCTOBER 2009

Superbowl 2012: Slash Calories Without Sacrificing Taste

  

 Email Article  

Tweet  

  

  

  

 delicious  

  

  

                                                                  Superbowl Chili

People love chili because it’s a simple one-pot meal that feeds a hungry crowd. Preparing with fatty ground beef and topping with cheese, sour cream, and corn chips can really bump up the fat and calories. This version cuts 70% of the calories from traditional chili recipes without eliminating any of your favorite flavors. With just a few simple substitutions, this chili will become a new crowd favorite.

 Makes 6 servings, 278 calories per serving

Ingredients

1 bacon slice, finely chopped

2 1/4 cups finely chopped onion, divided (about 2 medium)

2 garlic cloves, minced

1 pound coarsely ground turkey breast

1/2 pound coarsely ground sirloin

1 (12-ounce) can beer (such as Budweiser)

3 tablespoons chili powder

1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce

1/2 teaspoon kosher salt

1/4 teaspoon ground cumin

1 (14 1/2-ounce) can diced tomatoes, undrained

1 (8-ounce) can no-salt-added tomato sauce

1 (15-ounce) can pinto beans, rinsed and drained

1/2 cup (2 ounces) reduced-fat shredded cheddar cheese

Whole grain crackers such as Hint of Salt Wheat Thins or Triscuits (optional)

Preparation

1. Cook bacon in a large Dutch oven over medium heat 5 minutes or until browned. Stir in 2 cups onion; cover and cook until onion is tender (about 5 minutes). Uncover and stir in garlic; cook for 1 minute.

2. Increase heat to medium-high; add turkey and sirloin to pan. Cook 5 minutes or until browned, stirring to crumble. Add beer; cook until liquid is reduced to 1/3 cup (about 7 minutes). Stir in chili powder and next 5 ingredients (through tomato sauce). Cover, reduce heat, and simmer 30 minutes or until mixture thickens. Stir in beans; cook 10 minutes or until thoroughly heated. Ladle 1 cup chili into each of 6 bowls. Top each serving with 4 teaspoons cheese and 2 teaspoons onion. Serve with crackers, if desired.

Cooking Light
SEPTEMBER 2008

Step Ahead's Get Fit & Fuel Up Event

  

 Email Article  

Tweet  

  

  

  

 delicious  

  

  

Join Step Ahead Wellness Center’s Special Winter Event! 

 GET FIT & FUEL UP with 

Certified Trainer, Noelle Lusardi

&

Registered Dietitian, Sari Greaves 

Thursday, February 9^th

5:30-7:00 pm

Exercise Class 5:30-6:30 pm

Cooking Demonstration 6:30-7:00 pm

This event is free but space is limited. Please RSVP to drneiman@stepaheadnj.com or call 908-470-2235.

For a sneak peak on waist-friendly foods to fuel your workout, 

view Sari’s latest health video on Fox News at:

 http://www.foxnews.com/imag/Food?auto-play=true&video-maven-id=g1363351703001

Recipe corner: Crunchy Kale Chips

  

 Email Article  

Tweet  

  

  

  

 delicious  

  

  

Looking for a healthy alternative to potato chips? Try these scrumptious bites, exploding with nutrients!

Preheat oven to 250 degrees.

Wash 1 bunch of fresh kale (about 6 cups), cut off stems and slice into bite-size pieces.

Toss kale leaves in a bowl or a ziploc bag with a drizzle of olive oil (1 Tablespoon oil maximum). Add a pinch of salt, pepper, garlic powder.

Bake in a single layer on a cookie sheet for 30 minutes.

Makes 6 servings: 1 cup kale chips = 56 calories. Optional: sprinkle each serving with 1 tablespoon of grated parmesan cheese, adds 20 calories

For more information on health benefits of kale check out. http://www.webmd.com/food-recipes/features/the-truth-about-kale

Tips For Setting Your New Year’s Weight Loss Resolutions

  

 Email Article  

Tweet  

  

  

  

 delicious  

  

  

Tips For Setting Your New Year’s Weight Loss Resolutions

One more year is coming to a close, the pads come out and the resolutions begin. January is actually the busiest time in the fitness and gym industry. February and March are probably the quietest with most people having given up on the weight loss and fitness effort…well until the bikini time comes around again. Setting New Year’s weight loss resolutions is no different than setting other goals. Your goals need to S.M.A.R.T, in other words: Simple-Measurable-Achievable-Realistic-Timely, but most importantly you need to have the desire and willpower to work hard towards your targets. In this article we share 7 tips for setting your New Year’s resolutions in such a way so they are achievable and realistic.

1. SET LIFE GOALS

Instead of making a resolution list of the things you want to do make a list of the things you want to have and/or achieve in your life. For example a resolution list of the things you want to do could look like this:

Resolution List 2012

1. Lose weight

2. Join the gym

3. Change my job

Instead think ‘what do I want to have in my life’? For example:

Life Resolution List 2012

1. Look good and feel healthier

2. Be happier in my job

3. Be less stressed

Then think how you can achieve each one of them. Weight loss and exercise can then be a process of achieving to look good and feel healthier but is not the end to all means. In addition, there are other ways to achieve your goal such as eat healthier, or cut down on takeaways and sweets.

If you just concentrate on losing weight you will join the gym and get the next diet regime in the hype of the times. Then you will soon lose sight of why you are torturing and depriving yourself from food. No surprise most gym memberships are sold in January to never be used again by February with maybe small exceptions when preparing for the bikini season.

2. COMPARE YOUR LIST WITH LAST YEARS

What did your resolution list look like last year? Do you automatically list the obvious things which are expected to be in your list? For example I used to be a smoker and for about 10 years in the top of my list was I will cut smoking. Smoking was bad for me and I knew I had to give up so every year I expected myself to try and stop smoking and then feel depressed as I had failed myself.

In addition think why you didn’t follow your last year’s resolutions. Did something affect you? Did something change? Finding the reasons why you didn’t do what you wanted last year it may be a way to help you avoid the same mistakes or help you plan for this year.

3. BE REALISTIC

Christmas and New Year can be emotionally charged times. The end of an era and the beginning of a new one it can make us make decisions based on emotions and not reality.  Don’t forget to also ask yourself if you are realistic in what you want. My resolution could well be finding a gold bucket at the end of a rainbow but no matter what I do it may not quite reach fruition.

4. GET OFF THE DIET WAGON.

Another problem with concentrating with dieting is that you are likely to grab the next diet regime, book etc that looks good. Does it work? You may lose some weight in a few weeks but you will have to stop dieting at some point and then what? Have a break until the next diet or is it that you never stopped.

The weight loss industry is a very lucrative business and it does bank on the fact that you are looking for quick solution. I will go back to my first point which says make life goals and not a dieting commitment. Therefore, weight loss would be part of the life changes you want. Undoubtedly not everybody can do it by themselves, however try to pick that weight loss solution which will help you to learn about healthy eating, give you tips for your everyday life and support in what you are trying to achieve.      

5. GET SUPPORT

Studies have actually shown that people who have support tend to lose more weight and adhere to diet regimes. Support which comes from your immediate family environment is always the best. However, if for any reason you can’t make that work support could come from friends, weight loss buddies, and even weight loss clubs and online weight loss services.

There are plenty of choices out there so you can find the one that works for you.

6. MOVE EVERYDAY

Physical activity and exercise is a bonus for your health and weight management. Make a pledge to move every day. You don’t have to necessarily pay big monthly subscriptions to a gym. Make a pledge to move a little bit every day.

Go for a walk, or run in the park, go shopping and walk around the shops, have a spring clean, play a game with the kids, have a swim and so on. All you need is commitment and imagination.

7. START LIVING

Once you set your life goals and resolutions all you have to do is start living. This is my new year’s mojo. Stop dieting and start living. I am sure I’m not the only one who says that but I am loving it.

HOW STRONG IS YOUR HEART?? The "talk test" will tell you!

  

 Email Article  

Tweet  

  

  

  

 delicious  

  

  

When you do an aerobic workout, are you working hard enough to get the cardiovascular benefits? There are a variety of ways to measure exercise intensity. You could use a heart rate monitor, but if you don’t have one, there’s a simpler way. Use the “talk test.” The talk test is a way to measure exercise intensity that doesn’t require fancy gadgets or technology.

What is the Talk Test?

The talk test has been around for years, but it was further validated as a method to measure exercise intensity in 2004 by a study carried out at the University of Wisconsin at Lacrosse. When researchers used this method on 16 volunteers working out on treadmills and exercise bikes, they found the results of the talk test were remarkably consistent for measuring exercise intensity in individuals exercising on different machines.

The talk test is based on the idea that when you reach a level of exertion where it’s difficult to comfortably carry on a conversation or string sentences together, you’re around your ventilatory threshold. When it becomes hard to complete even a single sentence, you’re exercising beyond that threshold. For building cardiovascular endurance through steady-state exercise, exercising at an intensity that makes it challenging to carry on a conversation or recite a poem is appropriate. If conversation is easy, you’re not pushing yourself hard enough to get the full cardiovascular benefits.
What’s so important about ventilatory threshold? At lower exercise intensities, you increase your ventilation or rate or breathing proportionally to the amount of work you’re doing. How fast you breathe is directly correlated with how hard you’re exercising. When you go beyond your ventilatory threshold, your breathing rate rises disproportionately to the amount of work you’re doing. This is because anaerobic metabolism is kicking in, and you’re starting to build up lactic acid. Lactic acid is acidic, and you compensate for that increased acidity by breathing harder. This helps to restore normal acid-base balance. At the point where you have difficulty speaking in sentences, you’re usually exercising above your anaerobic threshold, although some fitness experts will say that ventilatory threshold and anaerobic threshold aren’t always reached at precisely the same time, but it’s usually pretty close under most conditions.

How Can You Use the Talk Test?

If you’re trying to stay within the aerobic zone, recite your favorite poem while you’re exercising. If it’s challenging to do, you’re working out at an intensity that’s high enough to build cardiovascular endurance. If you can easily recite a poem or speak in complete sentences, you’re probably not pushing yourself hard enough and need to increase the intensity until conversation is difficult. If you can’t complete a sentence, you’re exceeding your ventilatory and anaerobic threshold and will build up lactic acid and become fatigued quickly. Time to slow down. It’s a good idea to test yourself with the talk test every 15 minutes or so when you’re working out. It’s a low-tech way to make sure you’re working hard enough.

For more information about the "talk test" or any fitness questions you may have, please contact our fitness director, Noelle Lusardi, at noelle@stepaheadnj.com.

References:

ACE Fitness. “Validating the Talk Test as a Measure of Exercise Intensity”
IDEA Personal Trainer. 14(1) 36-42.
Exercise Physiology. Fifth edition. McArdle, Katch and Katch. 2002.

What does Sari eat for breakfast?

  

 Email Article  

Tweet  

  

  

  

 delicious  

  

  

What Do Nutritionists Eat for Breakfast?

Top nutrition experts give us a peek at their delicious morning meals!

You don't need us to remind you that breakfast is the most important meal of the day. But you might need a few fresh ideas for your run-of-the-mill morning meal. We asked nine top nutritionists to snap a photo of their breakfast and give us the lowdown on their wholesome choices. Check out their delicious dishes—and adjust your grocery list accordingly.

Recipe Corner: Southwestern BBQ Tofu

  

 Email Article  

Tweet  

  

  

  

 delicious  

  

  

The spicy, smoky sauce also goes great with 1 lb. of skinlless boneless chicken breasts or shrimp.

1 block of  extra firm tofu

½  cup orange juice 

1 chipotle in adobo sauce, minced (found in canned mexican food aisle)

3 garlic cloves, minced

1/3 cup ketchup

1 Tbs. brown sugar

1 avocado, chopped

1 can no-salt-added black beans, drained and rinsed

¼ red onion, diced

1 Tbs. lime juice

¼ tsp. kosher salt

4 cups salad green

Fat-free cooking spray

Cut the tofu block across its width into 6 slices, then cut each slice diagonally to make 12 triangles. Blot with paper towels.

In a large bowl, make the sauce: mix the juice, chipotle, garlic, ketchup, and sugar. Add the  tofu and coat each piece with the sauce. Coat a large non-stick skillet with fat-free cooking spray, simmer the tofu with sauce until the sauce thickens and becomes sticky, about 5 minutes. If using chicken, make sure chicken is cooked through (no longer pink).

In a medium bowl, combine the avocado, beans, onion, and lime juice and season with up to ¼ tsp. of salt. Serve over the salad greens with the tofu.

Serves 4.

PER SERVING (3 pieces of tofu or 4 ounces chicken/shrimp with ½ cup salsa & 1 cup salad greens)

• Calories: 400

Source: Nutrition Action Healthletter, April 2011

Check out Step Ahead's Healthy Eating Videos

  

 Email Article  

Tweet  

  

  

  

 delicious  

  

  

1) Step Ahead's Registered Dietitian, Sari Greaves reveals her waist-friendly holiday eating tips on Fox News. Click below to view tv clip: http://www.foxnews.com/imag/Food/How+to+Stay+Slim+this+Holiday+Season 

Noëlle shares tips on staying energized thru all your work outs!

  

 Email Article  

Tweet  

  

  

  

 delicious  

  

  

Some days working out feels easier than others. There are times where you feel like you could go for hours, and other times where you feel like stopping 30 minutes into a workout because you’re wiped out. Sometimes there are physiological reasons why you’re experiencing fatigue. In other cases, “fatigue” can be psychological. It may be your brain’s way of telling you you’re overtraining or your workout has become “stale” and needs some shaking up. What causes early fatigue with exercise, and what can you do about it?

Dehydration

Exercise performance becomes impaired when you reach a dehydration level of 2% or more. According to research, dehydration causes premature fatigue by its effect on muscle metabolism, temperature regulation and by the additional burden it puts on your heart. It also reduces the motivation to exercise, possibly as a protective mechanism to ensure that you don’t lose more water. To avoid this problem, drink between 5 and 10-ounces of fluid every 15 minutes during a workout. If you’ll be working out for more than an hour, an electrolyte-rich sports drink is a better choice to replace lost sodium and electrolytes.

Glycogen Depletion

For moderate to high intensity exercise, muscles depend on carbohydrates and fat as their primary fuel source. The more vigorously your work out, the more important carbohydrates are. If you exercise in a fasted state at a moderate intensity or greater for a long period of time, your muscles can become prematurely fatigued as carbohydrate stores in the form of glycogen are depleted. At this point, the liver steps up to the plate to form glucose from amino acids, a process called gluconeogenesis, but during long exercise sessions, the liver may not be able to produce enough glucose to meet the needs of the hardworking muscles. This can lead to a drop in blood glucose level and premature exercise fatigue. That’s why exercising in a fasted state makes a workout seem harder.

If you work out in the morning at a moderate intensity or greater, eat a snack containing around 0.5 grams of carbs per pound of body weight an hour or so before lacing up your exercise shoes. If you plan on working out for longer than 90 minutes, take along an energy bar or sports drink containing carbohydrates to refuel. It’ll help you train better and reduce the fatigue that comes from glycogen depletion.

Other Reasons for Premature Exercise Fatigue

If you notice a drop off in performance and are feeling more fatigued when you work out, check an iron level. Low iron levels can lead to iron-deficiency anemia that can cause reduced exercise tolerance and fatigue. Iron deficiency is a relatively common problem among young female athletes, especially those that restrict calories. Other medical problems such as diabetes, an underactive thyroid and some medications can cause early exercise fatigue.

Fatigue and decreased performance can also be a sign that you’re overtraining. When you’re overtraining, a workout that would typically feel easy becomes a challenge. Overtraining not only causes fatigue, it reduces immunity to infection, so you’re more likely to catch a cold or flu virus. How do you know if you’re overdoing it? Check your heart rate first thing in the morning before getting out of bed. If you heart rate is elevated by 5 or more beats per minute above its usual range, you may be overtraining. The solution? Rest for a few days, and then return to training at half your usual volume and intensity for a week or so. Also, make sure you’re getting 7 or more hours of sleep a night and practicing good nutrition.

Sometimes exercise fatigue isn’t physiological but a sign of boredom with your current exercise routine. If you’re doing everything else right and you’re not overtraining, try doing a different routine, and see if it reinvigorates you. For example, try doing one of my  exercise DVD s  that you haven’t tried in along time for a change. If you usually strength train using machines at the gym, do a bodyweight circuit workout instead. When your workout becomes stale, you’ll feel less motivated and your workout will feel harder.

The Bottom Line?

Keep these factors in mind if you’re not performing as well as you should and you’re feeling fatigued during a workout. Sometimes something as simple as drinking more water and eating more carbs before you start can make all the difference.

For more information and/or fitness tips, please contact our fitness director/personal trainer, Noëlle Lusardi at noelle@stepaheadnj.com.