PB&B Steel Cut Oats (peanut butter & banana)

This is the absolute best pre-workout breakfast. Especially on cold mornings like this morning.

Steel Cut oats are similar to regular oats they are just cut and not pressed and they have a nuttier flavor. You can find steel cut oats in bulk at your health food store(wholefoods, sprout's or central market). They normally take quite awhile to prepare but I found a shortcut :)

Shortcut to preparing Steel Cut Oats
place 1 cup of steel cut oats in pan with 3 cups of water. Cover and let soak overnight.
In the morning, place on the stove and let boil until thick. (about 15 minutes)

Banana & Peanut Butter Steel Cut Oats
1 C prepared steel cut oats
1 tsp organic peanut butter
1/2 of a 6-7" banana

Place banana in oats and smash with a fork.
Add peanut butter and stir until the peanut butter has melted.

grab a spoon and enjoy!

233 calories, 41 carbs, 7 fats, 8 proteins

Black Bean, Chicken & Salsa Soup

This is so easy to make and absolutely delicious! I threw this together in the crock-pot Sunday morning and it was ready by dinner time :)

Ingredients:
1 lb frozen white meat chicken (I used breast)
2 C Low Sodium chicken broth
2 C Salsa- homemade or in a jar with all natural ingredients
1 TBSP Cumin
2 Cans of black beans rinsed and drained
1 package frozen corn or 1 can of canned corn, drained
1 C light sour cream
shredded cheese I used mexican blend made with 2% milk

put all ingredients in crock- pot except for sour cream & shredded cheese. Stir and cook on low for 8 hours.

take out chicken and shred with fork. Add chicken back to crock-pot, add sour cream and stir.

serve topped with shredded cheese and enjoy!

Planning our Thanksgiving Dinner- The Clean Way

We are going to have a house full this year for Thanksgiving and I'm really looking forward to it. The way I see it, I have 2 options here.

1. I can ditch all of my hard work and eat like the rest of the people in this land that I love and wrestle the guilt & put in extra gym time after Thanksgiving day.

or

2. I can incorporate my healthy eating habits into the Thanksgiving meal that I prepare. And hopefully encourage my loved ones to live and cook healthier :)

I think you know which option I've chosen. If it were option 1, I wouldn't be writing this blog :)

So, here is the menu for the Jameson household Thanksgiving day- twenty ten:

• Pumpkin Hummus with Pita bread
  

• Oven Roasted Turkey with Rosemary(of course)

• Cranberry Sauce

• Roasted Brussels Sprouts with Butternut Squash & Chestnuts

• Mashed sweet potatoes

for the mashed potato lovers- cauliflower garlic mashed potatoes

and for dessert, CLEAN Pumpkin Pie :)

All of these recipe's can be found in the Eat Clean Diet Cookbook & Cook Yourself Thin.

I hope this has inspired you to cook healthy for your families this year. Cheers!

Quick Lunch in a bag

on Sunday's I cook several chicken breasts & make a big pot of brown rice, quinoa or couscous for the week. On a day when I don't have a lot of time to prepare my lunch, like today. I make what I call my 'quick lunch in a bag'. It goes a little someth'n like this:

1 cup broccoli*
1/2 cup cooked brown rice, quinoa or couscous
3 oz. cooked chicken breast cut into cubes
1 garlic glove, minced
1tsp extra virgin olive oil
sea salt to taste
1 ziplock steam bag

I throw all ingredients in the ziplock steam bag, shake it and microwave for 2 1/2- 3 minutes. Open & dump into bowl. And there you have it! "quick lunch in a bag"!

On days I have to go into the office , I throw all ingredients except for olive oil in ziplock steam bag the night before and refrigerate. In the morning on my way out, I put it in my insulated lunch bag. When lunch time rolls around, I add olive oil & pop in the microwave. You'll be finished eating by the time everyone else is still microwaving their processed frozen weight loss cuisine's ;)

*you can also use frozen broccoli- just place frozen broccoli in ziplock steam bag and microwave for 1 minute. Then add the rest of the ingredients and microwave for 2 additional minutes.

"Green Drink"

I usually make this the morning after my 'cheat meal'. Awesome detox drink.

1 scoop organic wheat grass powder
8 oz apple juice
1 banana (I recommend frozen if using fresh pineapple)
1/4 c pineapple (frozen works good)
1 kiwi (chinese goosberry), peeled and sliced
1 scoop whey protein powder

place all ingredients in magic bullet (or blender) blend and enjoy!
(need a little more liquid: add juice from pineapple or a little more apple juice)

Benefits of wheatgrass: source: provided by Amazing Grass

For the majority of people, consuming processed foods along with stresses of every day life create an acidic balance in the blood. This causes the body to store water and build up fat in the arteries (cholesterol) as protection from acidic blood.

By restoring alkalinity and neutralizing acid production your body can recover quicker, metabolize faster, reduce food cravings and achieve your optimal health. Click pH level.

Wheat grass is believed to have many unexplained natural healing qualities. Many of the phytonutrients (plant nutrients) contained in cereal grasses have yet to be identified and it is not completely known how they provide such great benefits to our health. We do know that cereal grasses contain large amounts of chlorophyll (the “blood” of plants), which is amazingly similar to hemoglobin, the molecule that carries oxygen in the blood.

Chlorophyll is soluble in fat particles, and since fat particles are absorbed directly in to the blood via the lymphatic system, there is evidence that chlorophyll can also be absorbed easily in this way. Essentially the “blood” of plants is easily absorbed into human blood, which transports nutrients efficiently to every cell of the body.

This explains why chlorophyll is so readily assimilated into our blood stream and our bodies are able to utilize its powerful properties. With the addition of Chlorophyll into our diet, we are consuming the very essence of life’s energy. Essentially the “blood” of plants is absorbed into human blood, which transports nutrients to every cell of the body.

for more information on wheatgrass go to
http://www.amazinggrass.com/about-wheat-grass.html

Chicken Cherry Salad

was out of town for a few days and had TWO cheat DAYS. I think it was really more like 3 cheat meals. got home and was watching live with Kelly & Emeril. Emeril prepared a meal that inspired my Chicken Cherry Salad. Got me back on track. Great for summer dinners and really quick!

1 cup fresh raw spinach (washed)
10 fresh cherries, cut in half and pitted
4 oz cold grilled chicken, cut into cubes
1 Tbsp. Brianna's blush wine vinaigrette (or homemade vinaigrette dressing)
2 TBSP sliced almonds

toss all ingredients in a small bowl, grab a fork and enjoy!

calories: 293
carb:22
fat: 13
protein:29

Chicken Salad

my new favorite lunch dish...

Makes 2 servings

Ingredients:

6 oz of left over grilled chicken- cut into small chunks
2 Tbsp. light miracle whip
1 Tbsp. dijon mustard (I like grey poupon's mild & creamy)
2 celery stalks, diced
1, chunk of red onion, diced
1, hard boiled egg (white ONLY), diced
fresh ground pepper to taste

mix all ingredients in a bowl.
serve on a bed of greens, wasa crackers, Ezekiel or whole grain bread (depending on your carb intake for the day)with tomato slices...yum!

nutritional info for chicken salad only(per serving)
180 calories, 4g carbs, 5g fat, 26g PROTEIN