Smoothies

Here is a link to the Men's Health Smoothie page. You can find all kinds of Smoothies here for breakfast, pre and post excersise etc.

http://www.menshealth.com/smoothies/#

I like smoothies because you can tailor them to your excersie needs. I want to add mass so I use whey protein in my smoothie. I also use a banana for the potassium (helps muscles recover from a work out faster). Milk and yogurt add calcium which is important for just about everything in your body.

JW

Mark Bittman recipes

If the Abs diet meals are starting to become a little boring, here is a book that uses a lot of the same foods in its recipes. It's called "Food Matters" by Mark Bittman. The vegetable cassoulet is from this book. His recipes can also be found on the New York Times website. I think for the most part all the food used in his recipes is healthy. However, there are opportunities to substitute lean meats in some of the recipes. Just keep the Abs diet in mind when you look at these recipes and make the necessary adjustments.

http://query.nytimes.com/search/sitesearch?query=mark+bittman&srchst=cse

http://www.amazon.com/Food-Matters-Conscious-Eating-Recipes/dp/1416575642/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1255035691&sr=8-1

Recipe #7: Vegetable Cassoulet

This Recipe is from A friend (CT). We made it this weekend and it was awesome. I doubled the amount of cayenne pepper for extra heat. I also used the heart healthy (AHA label on pkg.) Turkey sausage (Kroger) and cooked it in a skillet as per the directions with a little olive oil. The meats listed below are a little fatty so I would substitute a low fat meat of your choice. Enjoy!

Alright this is a Mark Bittman recipe, who by the way has some really great recipes that can be found on the New York Times website if you search his name. You can even watch him make every dish that he has on the site.

Cassoulet with Lots of Vegetables:

2 tablespoons olive oil
1 pound Italian sausage, bone-in pork chops, duck breasts, or chicken legs, or 1 pound of any combination of meats
1 tablespoon garlic, chopped
2 leeks or onions, washed and sliced
2 carrots, peeled and cut into 1-inch pieces
3 celery stalks, cut into 1-inch lengths
2 medium zucchinis, cut into 1/2 –inch pieces
Salt and pepper to taste
4 cups canned tomatoes (and juice), chopped
¼ cup fresh parsley leaves, chopped
1 tablespoon fresh thyme leaves, chopped
2 bay leaves
4 cups canned white beans, drained and liquid reserved in case needed
2 cups chicken or vegetable stock
1/8 teaspoon cayenne pepper

Heat oil in large saucepan over medium-high heat. Add meat and cook, turning until browned on all sides, about 10 minutes. Remove from pan and drain off all but two tablespoons of fat. Turn heat to medium, add garlic, leeks or onions, carrots, celery, and zucchini; season with salt and pepper. Cook 5 minutes, or until softened. Add tomatoes and juice, meat, and herbs. Bring to a boil. Add beans and boil again, stirring occasionally; reduce heat so mixture bubbles gently. Cook for 20 minutes, adding stock or bean liquid when mixture gets thick. Fish out meat; remove bones and skin and chop into chunks. Return to pot and add cayenne. Warm through. Serves four.

Calories per serving: 580 Carbs: 82 g Protein: 40 g Fat: 11 g

My notes (CT): Okay, there is quite a bit of flexibility with this, I didn’t use fresh herbs because I didn’t have them but I used dried thyme and that is the key herb. I also hate celery so I left it out. If you use canned chopped tomatoes, it doesn’t get thick so there is no need to add stock or bean juice. I used Andouille sausage and removed the casing and it was phenom. Finally, it says that it serves 4 but it serves more like 7 or 8. Okay, enjoy!

Trans Fat Article

Here is a link to an MSN health article that explains what Trans fat is and what things contain the most Trans fat. I know I have posted about trans fat before, but its important to avoid these fats when you can. It is really hard to say no to a cookie especially on a cheat day, but try to remember that these things are usually trans fat bombs.
http://health.msn.com/health-topics/cholesterol/articlepage.aspx?cp-documentid=100244915&gt1=31007

JW

Abs diet Foods

I have had a couple of questions about what the Abs diet is and why it works. I will do my best to answer those questions in this post. The Abs diet is based upon some basic science. Protein will be the bulk of your diet. Monounsaturated and Polyunsaturated fats are next and then carbohydrates. You can eat as much or as little of any of the foods on this list but if you look closely you will find that protein is the key ingredient to the diet then fats and carbs. The recommended foods are as follows:

Almonds and other nuts - get raw Almonds or lower sodium nuts.

Beans and legumes - I like black beans, watch out for sugar coated beans like baked beans or high fat beans like refried beans

Spinach and other vegetables - Just eat vegetables, you can't go wrong. Spinach and Broccoli are very powerful in the nutrition and benefits they provide.

Lowfat Dairy - lowfat cottage cheese, lowfat milk, reduced fat cheese, lowfat yogurt...you get the idea.

Instant oatmeal - get the plain kind, not the stuff loaded with sugar. Add fruit to flavor

Eggs - There is a lot of conflicting evidence about the health benefits of eggs. Some say the cholesterol content is too high and some say it doesn't matter. I like to use one whole egg supplemented with egg whites when I cook myself a serving. This way I get the benefit of the egg without the worry of to much cholesterol.

Turkey and other Lean meats - I get the 4% fat beef when I shop. I also eat a lot of Deli turkey (low fat, high protein). Other good meats are chicken breasts, tuna, salmon.

Peanut Butter - Eat all natural peanut butter to avoid added sugar.

Olive Oil - cook/substitute with this oil whenever possible - high in mono and poly unsaturated fat (heart fuel) and low in saturated fat. Canola and Peanut oil are decent alternatives if olive oil won't work. Avoid butter when you can and Margarine always (Margarine is Trans fat).

Whole grains- These carbs are loaded with vitamins and are low on the glycemic index. That means energy all day and no crashing late in the day from a high glycemic index meal.

Extra Whey protein - If you work out you want to build muscle. Plus, protein requires more calories to digest.

Raspberries and other berries - Good, low in calories, full of antioxidants that protect you from aging, cancer, etc.


If you eat these foods 6 days a week for every meal (make sure to eat breakfast it is very important) you will lose weight, you will be healthier, and if you work out you will get faster and stronger. There is no calorie counting, just eat.

I will talk about why these foods work to make you healthy and lean in my next post.

JRW

Exercise of the Day- Bicycle Crunch

Exercise: Bicycle Crunch
Target Muscle: Abs











1- Lie with your back flat against the floor and your hands placed behind your head.
2- Bring your shoulder blades off the mat into a basic crunch.


3- Lift your legs off the mat and place one leg in a 90-degree angle and the other leg in a 45-degree angle.
4- Move your legs in a bicycle motion, like you are pedaling, bringing your left one up to a 90-degree angle as the right one moves back into a 45-degree angle.
5- Meet your right knee with your left elbow as it comes closer to your upper body. As your left knee comes close to you, meet it with your right elbow.

Tiff

Recipe #6 Pizza Snackers

These things taste great!! They make great quick meals for children and adults.


Ingredients (bold indicates power food):
1) Multigrain English Muffins or
Arnold Select Multigrain Thins

2) Hunts garlic, oregano, basil tomato sauce/paste













3) Turkey Pepperoni
4) Black Olives
5) Lowfat mozzarella cheese

Preparation:
1) Split the muffin or thin in half and spread the tomato sauce on the open side of the bread.
2) Sprinkle on some mozzarella cheese, Pepperoni, and olives
3) Bake at 400 until cheese is melted (about 5-10 minutes)
4) Eat!

JRW