Fit Cuisine Enterprises

This weekend launched what is about to become Fit Cuisine Enterprises. I was hired by a great client to cook up and plan out breakfast; lunch; dinner; and snacks for just about 1 week. It was GREAT! I got to cook up some dishes that I have shared here on the blog and ones not yet posted. It was time consuming I will admit but if you know what the client likes and dislikes it makes the process that much easier. I realized that this is what I love to do with my clients. Not only make them feel better through proper exercise but teaching them how to eat better, and by cooking up healthy meals they can see you are not depriving yourself of foods you like you are just making better choices planning meals out and watching portion sizes. I want to thank my client for the opportunity to let me help her and do what I enjoy. I also want to thank my loving husband Frank for his support, cutting skills and encouragement to do what I love. I am looking forward to more Fit Cuisine ventures to come. Speaking of which.... Please Join My Very First Fit Cuisine Cooking Class: Space is limited so please reserve your space: October 15th 6:30pm My Home RSVP October 1st at fitness121@aol.com Cost $25 Meal TBA in one week.

Eat Real 100 or 200 Calorie Food for Energy

So my clients ask me all the time about what they can snack on that is healthy, good, and will give them energy. Since I am not a big fan of the 100 calorie packs I did some research and came up with this: I do eat these and recommend them to my Nutrition Clients.

100 CALORIES

1 hard-cooked egg;with half a slice of toasted wheat bread

1⁄2 cup ice milk or sherbet 1 large rectangular graham cracker; with 11⁄2 tsp peanut butter 1⁄2 cup wheat-flake cereal ; with 1⁄2 cup nonfat milk 1 small (4") whole-wheat pita; with 1 Tbsp hummus

1⁄2 cup cranberry juice cocktail; and 1⁄4 cup nonfat plain yogurt blended with ice

1 slice whole-wheat bread; with 1 oz sliced turkey breast and mustard

1⁄2 cup 1% lowfat cottage cheese;with 1 cup cherry tomatoes

1 cup baby carrots, celery and bell peppers with 2 Tbsp light dressing

1⁄4 cup 1% lowfat cottage cheese with 1 cup berries

200 CALORIES

6 oz nonfat yogurt;mixed with 1 TBSP fruit spread

1 slice whole-wheat bread;with 1 Tbsp peanut butter; and 1 tsp jelly

One 8" flour tortilla; with 2 oz sliced turkey;lettuce, tomato and balsamic vinegar

1 medium baked potato; with 1⁄4 cup 1% lowfat cottage cheese

Pomegranate Marinade

I am not one who gets creative in using fruits and oils to make a marinade, but I was inspired by watching Rachel Ray the other morning so I tried it. Not so bad so here it is. FYI I gave the basic formula I used but taste it and see what you want to add more of. Enjoy!

3 Whole Pomegranates (or 1 cup POM Juice)

1 Bay Leaf

3 Cloves

4 Tbsp of Balsamic

2 Limes Juices

1 Lime Rind (grated)

1 Squirt of Honey

1 Lemon juices

1 tsp Extra Virgin Olive Oil

In a small sauce pan or pot, juice your whole pomegranates by rolling it on the side so the seeds burst and pop. Then make a small slice on the side and squeeze the juice out into the pot. (or you can just use the POM juice) Place your bay leaf and clove into the pot along with all the rest of the ingredients. Place over medium low heat and cook stirring the mixture together. About 5 minutes. Before you pour onto over your meat, or fish, remove the bay leaf and cloves.

Tips:

I used this marinade on chicken, and served it over salad. I took my the chicken and placed it in a Tupperware container. Then I poured the marinade over the chicken, and placed it in the fridge for about 30 minutes. Bake in a 400 degree oven (which I did) or grill them which ever you prefer.

Stuffed Zucchini Boats

I absolutely LOVE zucchini and I always wanted to do something different with it other them roasting. So I wanted to try something that was flavorful and healthy. The only problem was I didn't make enough for Frank to eat. When you slice the whole zucchini in half you get two small pieces...let just say that wasn't enough. So I gave him mine (he ate 1 1/2 stuffed boats). Gotta luv him. These boats are so quick and easy they are sure to impress your guest or family. So give it a shot and let me know what you think. Ingredients: 3 Zucchini sliced in half ½ lb of ground turkey 3 Tbsp Quinoa (cooked) 1 Tbsp olive oil 2 Squirts of pesto Jarred Marinara Sauce 3 Chopped Roasted Peppers (jarred) 1 Palm full of baby spinach chopped Handful of Low Fat Mozzarella (shredded) Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. In a sauté pan heat up your oil, cook ground turkey, peppers, spinach, and quinoa till turkey is no longer pink. Add you marinara (eyeball till the meat is just about coated) and pesto; stir together. While that is finishing up scoop out your sliced zucchini halves (make sure that you leave some zucchini flesh on the bottom for taste and texture) and place on a sprayed baking sheet. Once they are hollow place your meat mixture inside the boats, pour a Tbsp of marinara on top and sprinkle with a your cheese. Place in the oven for about 20 minutes and serve. Tips: I served this dish with an arugula salad and roasted asparagus, and of course white wine.

100 Calories of Nuts

So when I am talking to people and they ask for a healthy snack, I always say Nuts. The next question people ask is how many, and are they fattening? Well I did some research and found out how many are in a 100 calorie serving. Use this to make some healthy trail mix for yourself or for your kids. Almonds: 14 (whole unsalted) or Dry Roasted with salt Cashews: 10 (raw) Cashews: 9 (oil-roasted with salt) Hazelnuts: 10 (dried unsalted) Macadamias: 5 (raw) and dry salted Peanuts: 17 (raw) Peanuts: 16 (salted) Pecan halves: 10 (raw) Walnuts: 13 (raw) Pine Nuts: 77 Dried Pistachio Nuts: 29 (dried and Salted) So use this info to mix up a trail mix, just make sure to read the serving size when doing so. I have made one with Frank that includes plain Cheerios 1/3 cup, dried cranberries 1 TBSP, and almonds 6. We broke it up in little sandwich bags (about 2-3)Just try not to make any with chocolate, stick to dried fruit and nuts. Enjoy

Lemon Pepper Panko Salmon

This recipe I really liked, it was the first time I used Panko Bread Crumbs. My original idea here was to go with panko chicken, but Frank and I had just finished walking NYC for 4-5 hours and our legs were tired so I went with Omega 3 Salmon instead. Better for muscle recovery. Ingredients: 2 Salmon Fillets 2 Cups Panko Bread Crumbs 1/3 cup TBSP Lemon Juice 2 TBSP Ms Dash (Lemon Pepper Seasoning) PAM Baking Spray Preheat the oven to 375 degrees. In a dish place your panko and lemon pepper seasoning and mix together. Take another dish and place your lemon Juice in it. Now with each salmon fillet dip it into the lemon juice first then the panko, make sure that both sides are coated well, and place on a sprayed baking tray. Once both pieces are done and coated well place in to the oven for 20 minutes. Serve. Note: I love how clean this dish tastes. I made it with a side of broccoli rabe, and if you want put some sliced avocados on top or greek yogurt sauce.

Healthy Whole Wheat Pizza

Sorry it took so long to post but my schedule has been crazy. So here was Saturday's creation, whole wheat pizza...made the dough myself. I was very excited I always wanted to try to make dough but a healthy kind. That same day I watched Tyler Florence make pizza he kicked the idea into high gear. It started out pretty good the dough was rising the sauce was heating the oven was on, all the ingredients were in order. There was just one problem, how do we get the dough on the pizza stoned without getting it all over. Minor problem, I wanted to use the baking sheet like Tyler but NOOOOOOOOOOO, Frank wanted the stone, so lets just say it made for some interesting pizza making, with a yummy turn out. FYI: For this use the baking sheet, not the stone. This dough makes 2 small personal pizzas. (83 calories 1g Fat, 196 Sodium) Ingredients: Dough 1 (.25 oz) Active Dry Yeast 1 Cup of Warm Water 2 Cups of Whole Wheat Flour 1/4 cup of Wheat Germ 1 tsp Salt 1 TBSP Honey Preheat oven to 400 degrees. In a small bowl combine your yeast and water. Let it stand till it is creamy (about 10 minutes). In a large bowl add your flour, wheat germ, and salt. Make a well in the middle of the mixture and add the yeast along with the honey. Stir altogether and let it sit covered for about an hour. Frank's Pizza 1 Piece of Dough Tomato Sauce (on bottom) Fresh Buffalo Mozzarella (3 Pieces) 1 Palm full of Shredded Low Fat Mozzarella Note: This was on the stone a bit messy dripped all over Francesca's Pizza 1 Piece of Dough Tomato sauce (on Bottom) 3 TBSP cooked up Ground Turkey 3 Stalks of Asparagus (chopped) 2 Slices of Avocados (placed after cooking) sprinkle of crumbled goat cheese Note: This was on a baking sheet sprayed and pressed with my hands, worked much better. Both Pie's cooked for 20 minutes. They were good but obviously mine was better. I served this with a large salad and of course some chilled Vino.