Salmon Salad

This recipe is as easy to make as your basic tuna or chicken salad.  You can have it alone or as a sandwich.  For lunch one day I brought just the salad to work.  I had some leftover Kellogg's Savory Herb Crackers so I added a little of the salad to each cracker.  This helped fill me up more and they went very well together.  You could also probably make this into a sort of spread instead of salad as well by adding more olive oil and mustard.  This would keep the salad on the crackers better.  For those that aren't a fan of capers, a nice substitute could be some chopped up olives, green or black.  I think the flavor of olives would go just as good with this salad recipe.

The recipes calls for:

1 cup flaked salmon
1 tbsp olive oil
3/4 tsp dijon mustard
1/2 tbsp capers
fresh dill, chopped

-- Cook the salmon, let it cool and then use a fork to make it flake,
-- Mix all of the above ingredients in a bowl.  Add as much dill as your taste buds prefer.
-- Pair the salad with something you like or eat it by itself and ENJOY!

Interview with Foodie Nick

For all the Bethenny Frankel fans out there who watch her show "Bethenny Ever After" on Bravo, I have a special treat for you! I am sure you know who Nicholas Feitel is, aka Foodie Nick, who has appeared on her TV show multiple times. He's definitely one to stand out, from his awkwardness to his intellect of food, it's easy to fall in love with his cameos on the show. He has worked for Bethenny by writing for her blog and participating in a food crawl with her. In his every day life he also does a lot of improv at places in NYC. After reaching out to Nick on his blog & through Twitter, this amazing writer/foodie agreed to do a question interview for me. I am so honored that he took his time to make me a very happy fan! Below are the questions I asked and his responses. 

ME: Hey Nick! It's great being able to talk to you. I'm a huge fan! I really want to check out some food trucks in the city. What is your favorite food truck to get something healthy to eat? What do you order there?

NICK: I really love The Bistro Truck, though I guess I am not a subscriber of so-called "healthy foods". Bistro Truck features cous-cous with different Moroccan-style meats on top, with a side mesclun salad. The clarity of flavor is really awesome here, the meals are incredibly filling for the price and nothing is fried. Even cous-cous as a grain is comparatively lighter than other such carb-heavy options you might find.

ME: What is your favorite food truck when calories just don't matter? What do you order?

NICK: Big Gay Ice Cream for dessert (try their store!) where I routinely get the Bea Arthur and I guess if I could eat anything lunch-wise, maybe the full super-shawafel platter from Freddy's King of Falafel/Shawarma. Just greasy and huge and filling and Freddy always packs in some extra.

ME: I know you did The South Beach Diet, you look amazing! How do you keep the weight off? I know with being a foodie and having such a passion for all kinds of foods, it must be hard.

NICK: Thank you. The diet itself was pretty easy and works well for men particularly (especially those who don't drink coke or beer often to begin with). It's easy losing the weight because there are regimented rules and noticeable results from those rules. It's the maintenance part that's tricky. There are no rules in phase 3 of SB, just your best judgement and as we all know that can change from day to day. Eventually you get more confidence in yourself, you know when to let loose and eat that extra meal or that 8-topping fro-yo and know to adjust the next day. Eventually I'll get more confidence in myself but for now I weigh myself every other day and use the shame/pressure of that to motivate my eating habits.

ME: Lastly, I know you venture out to so many different places in the city to eat, but do you have a love for cooking as well? If so, what's your favorite meal to make?

NICK: Nope. Don't even have a working stove in my very small apartment. Back when I did cook though, I made a mighty good turkey bolognese that I learned from my spectacular cook of a mother and a mustard vinaigrette salad that I learned from my pops. Maybe if someone ties me down or I grow up a bit I'll start cooking again.

ME: Thank you so much for your time. I really appreciate you doing a question interview with me. Good luck with all that your future has to offer! :)

I am very excited for Nick's food truck recommendations. A visit to the city will be planned in the future to check out all the places he mentioned. I will be sure to post all about it. Thanks for reading!

Check out Nick on Twitter:  https://twitter.com/Feitelogram

Check out Nick’s Blog:  http://feitelogram.wordpress.com/

30 Day Ab Challenge

So whose ready to challenge themselves?  To make a goal and stick with it? I know I am! I am not one to work out all the time or be a gym junkie. It's harder for me to get motivated and stick with a work out regimen then it is to eat healthy. But this is something I think I can do, NO, that I WILL do.

My friend and I are going to partake in a 30 day work out challenge. It concentrates on your abs. Every day for 30 straight days we will be doing 300 ab reps. You could simply do 300 regular crunches/sit ups every day if that's what you like or you can add many different variations to the 300 reps.  You can do them all in the morning, all after work or at night. You could spread them out a little, do 150 in the morning and 150 at night. Do whatever works for you and whenever works for you. I like crunches, but I definitely think throughout the month I will try a bunch of different ab exercises. Crunches/sit ups don't work out your whole stomach so its best to do different variations so that your sides and lower stomach benefit as well as your core.

You won't have a six pack or look like some famous athlete after 30 days, but you will see results. For me it's more about setting a goal for myself and following through. I rarely challenge myself in this way and it's about time I do.

Try to go through this 30 day journey with a friend or co-worker to help you if needed.  I know my friend will help me succeed within the next month. Tomorrow our challenge begins, JOIN US!

Happy Tuesday!

"Health is the greatest gift, contentment the greatest wealth, faithfulness the best relationship." - Buddha

Craving Ice Cream?

A great substitute to a pint of Ben & Jerry's or buying a tub of ice cream is something I started doing years ago.  Shoprite has there own brand of cool whip.  There is a fat-free kind that when you freeze it tastes like you're eating ice cream.  You could use any brand of cool whip & even use light or the regular kind, all better than the  1,000 calorie pints people buy.  And we all know when we buy them it's very hard to not eat the whole thing in one sitting, myself included.  Sometimes you need to splurge, but with summer right around the corner this is a great way to enjoy ice cream more frequently & to stay cool.





Some toppings you can add are fruit, granola or one of those 100 packs of cookies crumbled up.  You can also just use sprinkles or chocolate syrup since the "ice cream" itself isn't very high in calories or high in weight watcher points.



Graham Cracker Ice Cream Sandwich:

-- Break one graham cracker in half.  Any kind of your choice, regular/cinnamon/chocolate.  They also have light options at Shoprite.  I prefer the chocolate Shoprite brand.
-- Add a spoonful of the fat-free cool whip to one of the halves & put the other half on top.
-- Wrap the sandwich in saran wrap & place them in the freezer until frozen.  It's a great treat!

A Summer/BBQ Classic

Macaroni salad without the extra calories & fat of the actual macaroni.  I know pasta is such a big comfort food of so many & no one really wants to give it up, but this recipe has ALL of the same flavors & ingredients in a lot of macaroni salads you see being sold in stores or made by your friends/family.  It's great for the warmer weather & would be perfect on your plate next to a yummy burger or hot dog.  Get grilling & enjoy this salad at your next BBQ!

The recipe calls for:
3 cups spaghetti squash
1/2 cup light mayo
1/2 tbsp yellow mustard
splash of white vinegar
1/2 cup chopped baby carrots
1/2 cup chopped celery
1/2 cup white onion
1 hard boiled egg chopped
1/2 tbsp stevia extract
salt & pepper to taste

-- Boil the egg for about 10 minutes then let it sit in cold water.  Peel & cut it up into small pieces.
-- Cook the spaghetti squash.  See my blog post "What Is Spaghetti Squash?" for instructions.
-- Chop the carrots, onion & celery.
-- Add all the ingredients to a bowl & mix.
-- Put the "macaroni" salad into the fridge until cool.

Healthy Baked "Eggplant Parm"

This recipe came from one of Gordon Ramsay's cookbooks.  I changed it a little bit based on preference & a couple healthy alternatives.  No breading or frying in oil required to still keep this classic dish delicious.  It obviously looks like a very different dish then the classic version you see in restaurants.  The taste & texture are also different, but it's just as flavorful.  It's a great unique version of eggplant parmesan.  I think it would make a great side dish as well as a full meal maybe paired with some homemade garlic bread.  I have never eaten eggplant without it being fried or topped with lots of marinara sauce & cheese on it because of course it's so good that way, but this recipe really came out great.  I highly recommend it for vegetarians or lovers of eggplant.

The recipe calls for:

2 medium eggplants

10-12 oz container cherry tomatoes

fresh basil

4 cloves of garlic

spray oil

spray butter

1/2 cup grated parmesan cheese

-- Preheat the oven to 400 degrees.
-- Peel then cut the eggplant into thin slices & place them on a baking pan sprayed with oil.  Bake them for 5-8 minutes.
-- Spray a medium sized saute pan with oil.
-- Cut the cherry tomatoes in half & mince the garlic cloves.
-- Add the tomatoes, garlic & butter to the pan.  You can use about a tablespoon of regular butter if preferred, but I used "I Can't Believe It's Not Butter" spray butter. Saute in the pan until the tomatoes start to make some liquid & the garlic brown a little bit.
-- Once this is cooked, rip the fresh basil into pieces & add it to the pan. Mix!
-- Put wax paper into two round 8 inch baking pans & add a layer of baked eggplant until it covers the bottoms.
-- Then add 1/4 of the tomato, basil & garlic mixture onto the top of the baked eggplant in each pan.
-- Sprinkle the layer with some grated parmesan cheese & then continue adding another layer of eggplant & the mixture.
--The last layer should be baked eggplant with some parmesan cheese on top.
-- Bake for another 10 minutes then let it sit for a few minutes before serving.

ENJOY!

White Pizza: Final Product

Here's a photo of the yummy, but healthy white pizza I made the other day.  It smells & tastes just as good as it looks.  It's become one of my new favorites. It's easy & quick to make.  I admit I have made it three times already. If you like white pizza you will love these english muffin pizzas, I promise!  For me, pizza is a huge weakness & it's something I definitely crave a lot.  Now with this healthier recipe I can enjoy pizza guilt free & so can you!  Want to know the ingredients & how to make it?  See blog post "White Pizza With A Healthy Twist".

What do you crave?

What's For Dinner Tonight?

The recipe calls for:

brown rice
asparagus
minced garlic
garlic powder
soy sauce
tofu "chicken" patty (optional)




-- Spray a cooking pan & add all of the ingredients above, except for the patty.  I didn't use measurements. I added about a tablespoon of minced garlic, sprinkled some garlic powder as well (I LOVE GARLIC!) & just a little soy sauce for taste.
-- The tofu "chicken" patty is the Morning Star brand.  I put it in the toaster oven on 375 degrees for 18 minutes or follow the cooking directions on the box.  Most people aren't fans of tofu, but these really do taste like chicken.  They are 140 calories each.  You can put a little soy sauce on top of the patty to give that more flavor too or you can substitute the patty with whatever you prefer, a chicken breast or any other meat.

The total calories for this meal is about 350 or 6 points on the old Weight Watchers points system.

White Pizza With A Healthy Twist

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White Pizza

Set the oven to 350 degrees.  Cut the english muffin(s) in half then place them on foil on a baking pan.  Spread some of the savory garlic Philadephia cooking creme on each half & top it with some shredded mozzarella cheese.  Put it in the oven for about 10 minutes or until the cheese is melted & the english muffins are toasted.  The recipe is about 425 calories or 6-7 points on the old Weight Watchers point system for 4 halves.

It's a great way to get your pizza fix!

Leftovers Inspiration

The recipe calls for:                                                                                        

1 1/2 cups spaghetti squash                                                                                                  

1 cup chopped spinach                                                                       

1/4 cup savory garlic cooking creme                                                    

salt & pepper                                                                                    

grated parmesan cheese

                                                                                                       

-- Heat a little olive oil in a medium size pan.

-- Add the squash, spinach & cooking creme to the pan.  Mix until the creme has melted into a sauce.

-- Add some salt & pepper to taste, give it a stir then it's ready!

-- Sprinkle some grated parmesan cheese on top & enjoy.

This is a very easy & fast meal to make or it could even be just a side dish.  I came up with this idea when I had some homemade leftover creamed spinach.  "Use what you have."  I wanted to make something different then my normal spaghetti squash recipes.  Since the creamed spinach already had cheese in it, nothing needed to be added to it.  It became a sauce just like this recipe did.  Since I had no more leftovers I decided to make my own version of it.  Other options could be to use a different cooking creme by Philadelphia or use your favorite Laughing Cow flavored cheese triangles.  There are a quite a few different flavors to choose from, just check your local grocery store.  You could also replace the squash with a pasta of your choice. 

An Exciting Friday Night

I have to share that yesterday I tweeted to Fabio Viviani, a well known chef who appeared on the show Top Chef on Bravo, about his pasta carbonara recipe.  He replied back to me.  For fans of the show or any chef you love, you can know how excited I was! :)

Healthy Baked Chicken Parm

This baked chicken parm recipe is a great way to enjoy a classic favorite of many, but with a healthy twist that still manages to make it taste completely delicious!  If you follow the original Weight Watchers, each piece is 5.5 points if you cut a full breast in half, less points if you use the thin chicken cutlets.  The cutlets I used were only 100 calories each piece.

The recipe calls for:

4 chicken breasts (sliced in half) or thin chicken cutlets (which I used)

3/4 cup seasoned bread crumbs

1/4 cup grated parmesan cheese (optional)

2 tbs of melted butter or I Can't Believe It's Not Butter Spray (which I used, less calories) 

3/4 cup of shredded part skim mozzarella cheese

1 cup of marinara sauce

-- Preheat the oven to 450, spray the baking dish with cooking oil.

-- Combine breadcrumbs & parmesan cheese in a bowl.

-- Lightly brush or spray the chicken with butter then dip them into the breadcrumb mixture.  Place the chicken in the baking dish & repeat with the rest of the chicken.

-- Lightly spray the top of the chicken with cooking spray & put it in the oven for 20 minutes. (or less for the thin chicken cutlets)  After the time is up, turn the chicken over & bake for another 5-10 minutes.

-- When time is up, take the chicken out of the oven, spoon a little marinara sauce on each piece of chicken & top it with a little bit of the mozzarella cheese.

-- Put the chicken back in the oven until the cheese is melted & then it's ready!  Serve it with a vegetable on the side to keep the meal healthy.