Tag: Healthy

Healthy Simple Vegetarian Lunch… Veggies and Za’atar Yogurt Dip,and a Rest Day

On By Thinks with SpinksIn Fitness, Food, Martial Arts, Muay ThaiLeave a comment

Today I made a quick easy lunch because I had to work in the morning, and have to work again tonight. So quick, healthy, and easy is the name of the game for today’s food.

I just got done with a two day Muay Thai seminar. I am giving my body a rest day. Normally I would do my run and weight lifting workout today.

So today’s lunch was cut up veggies (radishes, sweet peppers), boiled eggs, dates and a 1/2 cup of yogurt with Za’atar mixed in.

Za’atar Yogurt Dip

Ingredients:

  1. 1/2 cup plain yogurt
  2. 1 tsp of Za’atar seasoning/herbs
  3. Salt to taste

Directions:

Mix all ingredients together in a bowl.

Stats for Yogurt Dip

Calories 75, Fat 4 g, Fiber 0 g, Carbs 5.7 g, Sodium 56.3 mg, Protein 4.3g

Stats total meal

Calories 328, Fat 14.7 g, Fiber 4 g, Carbs 32.5 g, Sodium 180.8 mg,
Protein 18.4 g

Over all I am feeling great. I have not had a D.O.M.s hit at all. I am a little tired. I can feel the fatigue in my muscles but not a lot of pain.

I am thinking this is great. I loved the seminar, and learned so much.

Thanks for reading, and I will be back to my regularly scheduled program soon. Keep being awesome, and keep working to be the best you that you can be.

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Healthy Vegan Snack… Sweet and Spicy Tropical Salad

On By Thinks with SpinksIn Fitness, Food3 Comments

I wanted a sweet and spicy snack so I “made” this. Made is such a grand word for what I did. I cut up some fruit and put it together added spice, and coconut and ate it. But made it I did. It is beautiful and so very tasty as well. You eat with your eyes first so it if is beautiful, it is more appetizing.


Sweet and Spicy Tropical Salad
Yield 1 serving

Ingredients:

  1. 1 mango diced ( about 2 cups)
  2. 1 dragon fruit diced ( about 2 cups)
  3. 2 tbs desiccated unsweetened coconut
  4. Cayenne Pepper to taste

Directions:

Cut fruit, add to bowl, add cayenne to mango, add unsweetened coconut. Mix and serve.

Calories/Stats

Calories 374, Fat 10.6 g, Fiber 13.7 g, Carbs 71.2 g, Sodium 9.1 mg,
Protein 6.1 g

Thank you for reading. If you get a chance to try it let me know. Be good to yourself, and always strive to make yourself a better you.

Healthy Vegetarian Quinoa, Cheddar, and Jalapeno Stuffed Portobello Mushrooms

On By Thinks with SpinksIn Fitness, Food1 Comment

I am amazed at what my kids will eat. I like to cook mostly vegetarian meals, because that is what my body likes. I have noticed I have greater output, and less tummy troubles when I eat vegetarian and add lean meats, like fish, chicken, and eggs once in a while.

My baby girl… I call her baby girl but she is now 9 years old and not so much a baby any more. She wanted stuffed mushrooms, so I obliged. I decided to do a stuffed portobello. I wanted to stuff it with something that was not all starch and bread related. So I made a quinoa, cheddar, and jalapeno stuffed portobello mushroom.

I am happy to say the kiddos ate it up. They loved it, and so did the husband. It is family approved. It is vegetarian, high in protein, high in fiber, and it can be gluten free if you omit the bread crumbs on the top.

Recipe: Quinoa, Cheddar, and Jalapeno Stuffed Portobello Mushrooms

Yield 4 servings

Ingredients:

Pre-heat oven to 425 degrees F or 218 degrees Celsius

  1. 1 cup (210 grams) of quinoa ( cooked makes about 3 cups of cooked quinoa, each person will get about 3/4 cup of quinoa)
  2. 1/3 (30 grams) cup jalapeno de-seeded and chopped (of course adjust if you don’t like spicy)
  3. 1 cup (45 grams) shredded mild cheddar cheese
  4. Salt and Pepper to taste
  5. 2 tablespoons of olive oil
  6. 1 teaspoon granulated garlic
  7. 1/3 (45 grams) cup pine nuts toasted
  8. 1 tsp of butter
  9. 1/3 (46 grams) cup panko bread crumbs

Directions:

  1. Cook quinoa per directions on package.
  2. Stem and remove the gills of the portobello mushroom.
  3. In a small bowl mix olive oil, garlic powder, salt and pepper.
  4. Brush the portobello mushrooms inside and out with oil mixture
  5. Bake in oven for 10 minutes and remove from oven
  6. Take cooked quinoa in a bowl, add cheese, toasted pine nuts, and jalapenos, salt and pepper to taste.
  7. Stuff the mushrooms with mixture.
  8. Cut softened butter into crumb mixture add a pinch of salt and pepper ( you can add some other spices like oregano, cilantro, garlic, etc, if you prefer. But for this I just went with butter, salt and pepper.)
  9. Sprinkle crumbs on top of mushrooms
  10. Bake for another 15 minutes, then serve.

Calories/Stats for 1 serving

Calories 512, Fat 25.1 g, Fiber 7.1 g, Carbs 50.2 g, Sodium 399.2 mg,
Protein 19.2 g

I hope you like this recipe as much as my family did. If you get a chance to try this let me know what you think. Thanks for reading.

Healthy Lunch…Coconut Sticky Rice and Cayenne Shrimp

On By Thinks with SpinksIn Fitness, Food3 Comments

One of my favorite things is coconut sticky rice. It is a wonderful dish most of the time a dessert from Thailand. However, today I wanted it for lunch.

I am an adult I can do what I want. Hussshhh! So dessert for lunch is what it was today.

I made this in a quicker easier way, not the traditional way it is made in Thailand, or at your local Thai restaurant. This is a quicker, more loose dish, much more like a rice pudding.

This recipe is gluten free, nut free (coconuts are not nuts, technically its a drupe, or stone fruit), and vegan.

This is my simplified quicker version of this dish. There is a more authentic way to make this but this took me 20 to 30 minutes including rice cooking time.

Coconut Sticky Rice with Mango, Kiwi, and Pineapple

yield: 1 serving

time: 20 -30 minutes including cooking time for rice

Ingredients

  1. 240 g or about 8 oz Cooked sticky rice
  2. 80 g or 1/3 cup coconut milk canned
  3. 16 g or 1 tbs of honey
  4. 1 whole or 171 g mango
  5. 1 whole or 66 g kiwi
  6. 117 g or 1 cup of pineapple
  7. pinch of salt to taste
  8. Desiccated coconut for garnish

Directions

  1. Cook rice to instructions
  2. Dice the mango, kiwi, and pineapple.
  3. Mix the rice with coconut milk and honey. Add diced fruit on top, top with desiccated coconut.

Stats for the recipe as written:

Calories 644, Fat 18.4 g, Fiber 8.7 g, Carbs 117.5 g, Sodium 30.7 mg,
Protein 8.7 g

For the shrimp its really simple. No I mean really simple and really good.

Cayenne Shrimp

Yeild: 1 serving

Time: 5 minutes

Ingredients

  1. 6 Shrimp with tail on
  2. 1 tsp olive oil or butter
  3. Sprinkle cayenne (to taste)
  4. Salt to taste
  5. Green onion

Directions

  1. Heat up the pan and add fat for
  2. Cook shrimp about 3 minutes total, 1 minute on one side and flip.
  3. Sprinkle with cayenne, and salt
  4. Serve sprinkle on green onion.

Stats for the recipe

Calories 111, Fat 5.5 g, Fiber 0 g, Carbs 1 g, Sodium 535 mg, protein 13 g

That is all… I hope you get a chance to try it. Perhaps be a little crazy like me and have dessert for lunch. Or just have it for dessert. =) Thank you for reading and have a great day!

Meal Prep Lunches… Spaghetti Squash and Chicken Not Pasta, and Sweet Potatoe Coins

On By Thinks with SpinksIn Fitness, FoodLeave a comment

I often meal prep just for our lunches. I make our breakfasts and Dinners a la minute. This is a fancy schmancy way of saying, prepared to order, or not made in advance. (Gotta use my fancy degree for something. =) ) I just meal prep our lunches. Lunches are the hardest meals to get in, and I will often just not eat if I am to busy. So here is a lunch I prepped for this week, for me and my husband.

This weeks lunch is gluten free, nut free, but has animal protein and dairy.

If you have never had spaghetti squash before you are in for a treat. The flesh is mild in flavor, but pulls apart in strings, much like spaghetti. I am guessing that is where the name comes from. (said tongue in cheek =) )

Everything in this recipe is roasted. Also people season your food! I get a lot of my friends saying oh I don’t like X, or I don’t like Y. Then I get a hold of them, cook for them, and their tune changes. Why you might ask?… 99% of the time people don’t know how to season their food, and don’t know how to prepare their food. Eat well, eat healthy, and make your pallet happy as well as your body.

Enough talking/writing on to the recipe.

Spaghetti Squash and Chicken Not Pasta
(yeild – 6 portions, or 3 meals for two adults)

Ingredients:

  1. 10 lbs or two good sized Spaghetti Squash
  2. 3 large chicken breasts, cut in half width wise
  3. 1 jar of pasta sauce you like, or a can of tomato sauce works as well ( I used pre canned sauce to make my prep a little easier)
  4. Parmesan shredded
  5. 3 large sweet potatoes pealed and cut in to coins for roasting
  6. Olive oil for roasting
  7. Salt and Pepper to taste
  8. Seasoning you like for your chicken ( I used the Mrs. Dash original, salt free seasoning we have here in the states. I like salt free cause I can control the salt in my food better that way.)

Directions:

  1. Pre heat oven to 425 degrees F, or 218.33 degrees C
  2. Cut the squash in half, scoop out seeds, drizzle cut side with olive oil, sprinkle salt and pepper, and place them cut side down on a pan prepared with parchment paper. Be sure to oil the skin of the squash so it does not burn in the oven. No need to salt the skin of the squash.
  3. Cut each breast in half, drizzle oil on breasts, add salt and pepper, sprinkle with other seasonings, and place in a oven proof pan.
  4. Peel and cut sweet potatoes into coins, drizzle with oil, salt and pepper, and sprinkle with cinnamon.
  5. Place each of these in the oven, and cook for 45 minutes to an hour.
  6. For the chicken I cut one open to see if it is cooked. For the squash I poke it with a fork and see if it is soft and done cooking. For the sweet potatoes I poke with a fork and see if they are soft to the touch.
  7. Portion out and save for the week days and enjoy.

Thanks for reading and I hope you have a great weekend. Let me know if you tried this and how you liked it.

Healthy Snack or Dessert…Chocolate Chia Pudding

On By Thinks with SpinksIn Fitness, Fitness Links, Food3 Comments

Looking for a healthy snack or dessert, or if you are me you will eat it for lunch, instead of lunch, cause it is easy and you can just grab it and go. Looking for that chocolate fix. That time when you just want something a little chocolaty, but full of vitamins, fiber and protein. Try this out. Also this is vegetarian, gluten free, and can be vegan if you leave the honey out and replace it with another sweetener.

Chia seeds are amazing…

If you have never had chia seeds before they are an ancient seed, used by the Aztecs and the Mayans. They a jam packed with nutrients, and are simply amazing despite their diminutive size.

“A one-ounce (28 grams) serving of chia seeds contains :

  • Fiber: 11 grams.
  • Protein: 4 grams.
  • Fat: 9 grams (5 of which are omega-3s).
  • Calcium: 18% of the RDI.
  • Manganese: 30% of the RDI.
  • Magnesium: 30% of the RDI.
  • Phosphorus: 27% of the RDI.
  • They also contain a decent amount of zinc, vitamin B3 (niacin), potassium, vitamin B1 (thiamine) and vitamin B2.”

https://www.healthline.com/nutrition/11-proven-health-benefits-of-chia-seeds#section1

If you want to read up more about them see the link above. There is a lot to love about these tiny power packed seeds. They are high in fiber, contain omega 3 fatty acids (so if you don’t or won’t eat fish, they are a great alternative source), and plant based protein. I will leave you to read about them if you want. On to the recipe.

Chocolate Chia Pudding
yield: two servings

Ingredients:

  • 1 and 1/2 cup or 6 oz of Almond milk (you can use, soy, coconut, or even dairy if you want)
  • 2 tbs or 1.4 oz of Honey (or to taste, also if vegan, you can use stevia to taste)
  • 2 tsp or 2 cap full of vanilla ( you can use any extract you like, I often change it up, sometimes adding Kirsh just for a cherry flavor, or Calvados)
  • 4 tbs or 2 oz of chia seeds
  • 2 tbs or 0.66 oz of unsweetened dark chocolate cocoa powder (note: I use a heaping tbs, cause I like chocolate)
  • Pinch of salt to taste
  • Fruit that you like. (e.g. Berries, apples, oranges, etc.)
  • Mini dark chocolate chips for garnish

Recipe:

  1. Mix all the wet ingredients first
  2. Add the dry and stir till all of cocoa powder is incorporated.
  3. Let set for 15 minutes, then stir again.
  4. Cover with lid and let refrigerate for at least 4 hours. This is great to do overnight.
  5. After set, serve with garnish and fruit.

Calories/Stats

Calories 274, Fat 13.1 g, Fiber 14.5 g, Carbs 40.3 g, Sodium 141.9 mg,
Protein 6.8 g

I also make a version that is a Chai Chia pudding. Try saying that five times.

You have to add the Chai spices to the mix.

1/2 tsp of cinnamon
1/2 tsp of ground ginger
1/4 tsp of ground cardamom
1/8 tsp of ground cloves

Let me know if you are interested in any of my other versions. Thanks for reading.

Healthy Lunch…Breezy Caprese Salad

On By Thinks with SpinksIn Fitness, FoodLeave a comment

This my take on a fast Caprese salad. I used tomatoes, cucumbers, dried basil because I forgot to get fresh basil at the store, and mozzarella pearls. For the dressing I used balsamic vinegar and a garlic olive oil, seasoned with salt and pepper to taste.

This is quick, easy, healthy, and most importantly delicious.

Recipe:

  • Tomatoes diced
  • cucumber diced
  • pearl mozzarella
  • balsamic
  • garlic infused olive oil you can sub regular olive oil
  • basil fresh preferably or dried
  • salt and pepper to taste

Directions:

  • Chop veggies to bite size
  • Toss veggies and mozzarella
  • in a separate bowl lightly mix oil, salt, pepper, and basil. Drizzle with dressing and enjoy

Stats:

Calories 253, Fat 17.7 g, Fiber 3.7 g, Carbs 11.6 g, Sodium 146 mg, Protein 17.1 g

Thanks for reading this far. Let me know what you think if you get to try this.