Two Weird Recipes

Hey there.


So my last post spoke about how hidding veggies in your meals is a great way to increase your vegetable intake and a tricky way to lose weight. Today I have a great way you can sneak more beans into desert. I know this sounds weird and even gross but give it a shot. Swap out the fat for fiber in your favorite brownie mix by substituting a 15.5oz can of liquified black beans for the eggs and oil. Just add water to get the right batter consistency before baking. Give it a try and post below what you think. (Source January 2011 IDEA Fitness Journal)

Here is another black bean desert for fudge:



1 15-ounce can cooked black beans, drained and rinsed (or about 13/4 cups cooked beans)

3/4 cup carob powder

6 tablespoons (tbs) melted coconut oil

4–6 tbs maple syrup or agave nectar

1 teaspoon (tsp) vanilla extract

1 tsp cinnamon (optional)

1/2 tsp sea salt


Place all ingredients in food processor fitted with “S” blade, and blend until totally smooth. Mixture will be thick.

Line 8- by 4-inch loaf pan with plastic wrap, and transfer fudge mixture to pan, spreading mixture to edges. Refrigerate until totally firm. Use plastic wrap to lift fudge from pan. Cut into squares and serve. Store in refrigerator. Makes 24 pieces or 12 servings.

Per Serving: 146 calories; 6.9 grams (g) fat; 2.5 g protein; 18.4 g carbs; 4.9 g fiber; 0 milligrams (mg) cholesterol; 101 mg sodium.

Source: This is an original recipe by certified natural chef Sarah Kruse.

A Tricky Way To Get More Veggies

I was watching the show Tosh.O the other day. If you haven't seen the show it is on Comedy Central and it is comic who finds crazy videos online and shows them on TV. If you are easily offended this is not the show for you.

Anyway, one clip he was showing was of a young kid each green beans. You could tell by the look on his face that this was not his favorite thing to eat. You hear the dad's voice on camera counting as he pops them into his mouth. After a few the young boy starts to gag trying to hold them down. He then has to try and wash them down with his chocolate milk. Well unfortunately everything comes back up and onto the plate. If you want to see it just click here.

Why am I sharing this lovely scene with you? Well I think it is pretty common. Most people, and not just kids, hate vegetables. I think this is a serious problem, knowing how bad the obesity epidemic has gotten. We seem to either force people (usually kids) to eat veggies or they are just ignored altogether.

One of the main reasons we are so overweight is because we choice energy dense food. When we over consume energy dense foods it will lead to excessive energy intake. It simple terms we eat too many high calorie foods. Energy dense just means there are a lot of calories in a small amount of food. Look at a Snickers. There are 271 calories in a candy bar. And most of these calories are not things the body wants. Compare that to carrot which is similar is size but only 35 calories and will give you your entire daily requirement for Vitamin A. Yes I would also rather have a Snickers than a carrot stick but is it worth it?

A new study just came out in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition on this very topic. We know that most people do not like the taste of vegetables. So what these researchers did was puree veggies to hide them into meals and see what it would do. They made participants eat breakfast, lunch, and dinner in the laboratory and in each meal hid vegetables in the entree.

What they found was that those who consumed the pureed veggies ate more veggies than those who were just served them in the dish, consumed less calories (almost 400 calories less), claimed that they felt full after meals, and enjoyed their meals.

So just by using this little trick you can significantly reduce the number of calories you consume and increase your vegetable intake. Try this out. One thing I always recommend is to make a smoothie and throw some leafy green vegetables in it with fruit. You will never know there is a vegetable in it. Or you can make your own sauces for entrees and puree it with veggies.

You Stay Healthy San Diego,

Mike Deibler MS, CSCS

Healthy Superbowl Recipes

I hope you are having a great week so far. Superbowl Sunday is just a few days away. This day is full of overeating and drinking. Remember that even healthy foods and snacks can lead to an increase in stomach size, but choosing the right snacks is a great start. Here is a guest blog post from Nutritionist Dr. Chris Mohr from www.MohrResults.com. He has some VERY simple and healthy snacks you can have this Sunday. Just watch how much you are consuming.


Healthy Superbowl Snacks:

80 million. That’s the amount of pounds of avocados estimated to be eaten on Superbowl Sunday.

30 million. That’s approximately the number of pounds of five popular snack foods (potato chips, tortilla chips, pretzels, popcorn, and nuts) Americans will eat on Superbowl Sunday.

2.5 million. That’s how many nuts will be eaten on Super Bowl Sunday.

1,200. That’s the approximate amount of calories people will eat on Superbowl Sunday in snacks alone. Not counting the meals (or drinks)!

20%. That’s the increase in sales of antacids on Superbowl Sunday alone.

Startling facts, huh? Think we overdo the high fat, high calorie foods and alcohol a bit too much?

Is it possible to still be “heart healthy” and enjoy the Superbowl?

OF COURSE!

Here are a few ideas…

We talked about avocado earlier in the week – well with 80 million pounds eaten on Superbowl Sunday, it’s one food we do pretty well with. Here’s a recipe for homemade guac – a favorite Superbowl snack at the Mohr House (even Ella loves mashed avocado)!

Guacamole

We won’t revisit the nutrient benefits of avocados – check out our article on the health benefits of avocado here if you missed it earlier in the week.

Instead, here’s a super simple guacamole recipe you can try for the game tonight:

Ingredients

2 fully ripened Avocados, halved, pitted and diced
1 tsp salt
1 TBS fresh lime juice
2 TBS, chopped cilantro
Dash cayenne pepper (optional if you want some added kick)

Directions:
In a bowl, combine all ingredients. Cover and chill until ready to serve (NOTE: the avocado might get slightly brown in the fridge. No problem, just stir it up.
Prep time: 5 minutes. Yields 1 ½ cups

Nuts

Nuts can be fantastic for you, but at the same time they can be way too easy to overeat.

That’s where in shell pistachios come into play – take off the shell, enjoy the pistachio, but then don’t discard the shells. Leave them visible in a bowl – research published in the Journal of Consumer Research showed that when people saw the “residue” of foods they’d eaten, they ate 27% less overall!

That’s an incredibly simple way to eat less fat and calories.

Pizza

It’s estimated that at least 58% of Americans order pizza on Game Day.

Save some money. Save the hassle. And save a ton of fat and calories by making your own – with a tortilla base rather than a thick, doughy, fiber free crust.

Try this super simple recipe – or watch our video on how to lose fat eating pizza!

Ingredients
Sprouted grain tortillas
Favorite tomato sauce
Mozzarella cheese
Favorite toppings (ideally choose veggies over meats)

Directions
Preheat your oven to 500 degrees
Top each tortilla with sauce, cheese, and your favorite topping
Place in oven for about 10 minutes, or until the cheese starts to brown. Enjoy!

Moral of the story – enjoy the game, eat foods you love, and may YOUR team win!

Practical, yet still healthy.

Dr. Chis Mohr

Well enjoy the game and the great recipes. I hope you all have a great weekend.

You Stay Healthy San Diego!

Mike Deibler MS, CSCS