Thrifty Thursday; Grilled Cod Sandwiches with Homemade Tartar Sauce

Today's recipe is not only thrifty in terms of price, but also time.  When I get home after a long day of work (working around food, no less), I like to have options for quick dinner recipes.  I know I'm not alone in this desire.  You agree, right?  I also like to have options that I can provide to Nick, just in case one night he decides he wants to make dinner.  This recipe would definitely be something Nick could prepare (I hope he's reading this....hint hint Nick!)

Grilled Cod Sandwiches

Serves 4 

Time: ~20 minutes total

Price per serving: ~$3.00

Ingredients

1/4th cup light mayonnaise

1/4th cup plus 2 tsp. fresh lime juice, divided

2 tsp. finely chopped dill pickle

2 tsp. finely chopped red onion**

2 tsp. chopped fresh Italian (flat-leaf) parsley

4 6-ounce cod fillets

1 Tbsp. olive oil

1 tsp. lemon pepper seasoning**

4 sandwich rolls, split and toasted

Toppings (optional):  Spinach, Tomato, Red Onion

Directions

1.  Make the tartar sauce by combining mayo, 2 tsp lime juice, pickle, onion and parsley in a small bowl.  Set aside

2.  Place fillets in a shallow dish; drizzle with oil and remaining 1/4th cup lime juice.  Season with lemon pepper, and salt to taste

3.  Coat grill rack with nonstick cooking spray.  Preheat grill to medium (300 degrees or 350 degrees F).  Grill fillets, covered, 4 to 5 minutes per side or until fish flakes easily with a fork.

4.  Spread cut sides of rolls with tartar sauce.  Place 1 fillet on each roll, top with your optional toppings.

NOTE: If you would like to make this a Low FODMAPs "cod-wich", use a lemon pepper seasoning without onion or garlic (or, since I am not aware of one that exists, use fresh pepper and some lemon zest).  Also, omit the red onion.  And, of course, use a wheat-free bun.

NOTE:  You can reduce the calories by only doing 3-4 ounces of cod, and using less oil to cook the cod.  This can easily cut the calories by 100 or more.  That's exactly what I did when I made my sandwich.  I used less oil and only ate about 4 ounces of cod (Nick, on the other hand, ate his double decker-style with the full 6-ounce pieces cut in half and topped on top of one another).

Homemade tartar sauce.  So easy!  And it was great on a simple grilled piece of cod, even without the bun.

Nick gave this sandwich two thumbs up (and that was amazing, considering it's seafood and Nick isn't a huge fan of seafood!).

We had our sandwiches with a side of vegetables, of course.  The entire meal was very filling.

Estimated Nutrition Facts for 1 sandwich, with 6-ounces fish and a 100-calorie whole grain sandwich roll/bun

Nutrition Highlights:  Excellent source of protein and fiber (from the particular rolls we chose).  A good source of calcium, iron, and vitamin C.  Not seen on the nutrition facts are the Omega-3 fatty acids, which would be about 350 mg/6-ounces of cod.  Not bad!



QUESTION:  What's your favorite fish to eat as a sandwich?  Mine is definitely cod, but I also like turning fish/seafood into burgers!

Thanks for reading!

The Candid Rd

When Nick Wants a Quesadilla...

Nick's idea of a quesadilla used to be two white flour tortillas loaded with chicken, cheese, salsa, and sour cream. Not anymore. Nope. Now he actually enjoys my updated versions of his old favorites, such as this chicken and spinach quesadilla.

Chicken and Spinach Quesadilla
(Serves one very hungry person or two people)


Ingredients
2 soft whole grain tortillas (gluten free options are available)
2 cups raw spinach
5 ounces grilled chicken
1/2 avocado
1/4 cup shredded reduced fat cheese
2 slices nitrate-free bacon
1/2 cup black beans, strained and rinsed

Directions
1. Preheat oven to 300 degrees
2. Layer one tortilla on a baking sheet and layer ingredients in order of the list above (with the beans going on last)
3. Top with the second tortilla
4. If you want, add more cheese on top
5. Bake for 15-20 minutes

Wow, that's a lot of white in the photo above. Sorry. I'm still learning how to use my new camera. It's awesome, but I still need work on my nighttime photos! You still get the idea that this was delicious, right?!

Estimated Nutrition Facts
(Serving size: 1 entire quesadilla)
(** Note, I used tortillas that were only 60 calories each **)

Nick loved this quesadilla, by the way, and I did too (I had mine with some plain Greek yogurt as the "sour cream", and I only ate half and saved the other half for the following day). It surely beats this "quesadilla" below, which is from a certain company who makes frozen meals.....gross.

Question: What's your favorite ingredient in a quesadilla? Did you know that some restaurant quesadillas ("appetizers") provide over 1000 calories?! And on top of that they provide more than a day's worth of sodium. No bueno.

No-Bake Tuna Noona Casserole (Gluten Free)

When I was young I called tuna noodle casserole Tuna NOONA Casserole. For many years of my life I truly believe that was what it was called. It was actually one of my favorite meals as a child, but until recently I hadn't tasted it in years. Grace of Food Fitness FreshAir, posted this recipe for tuna casserole on Mother's Day of this year. I thought it was pretty neat that this recipe didn't require any baking, and therefore took much less time to prepare than most casseroles. Below is my version of Grace's recipe, which I modified to make gluten free

Gluten Free Tuna "Noona" Casserole

Ingredients

-1 onion, chopped
-3 Tbsp. oil
-3 1/2 Tbsp. brown rice flour
-2 1/2 cups almond milk
-1 large can tuna in spring water or 2 small cans, drained
-Salt to taste (start with 3/4 tsp)
-Pepper to taste ( start with 1/4 tsp)
-1 lb. brown rice penne pasta

(** There are many different varieties of gluten free pastas, so you can choose whichever you'd like. You can also choose a gluten-containing variety. Egg noodles were used in the original recipe. **)

- Dried basil to garnish

Directions

Saute onion in the oil until onions are translucent. Add flour and mix. Gradually add almond milk stirring to incorporate and to break up lumps. Continue to cook on low heat, stirring, until sauce thickens. Then add tuna, salt and pepper. Gently mix, trying to maintain some of the tuna chunks. Stir in noodles. Serve, garnishing with dried basil.

The picture below isn't the best. I still have not mastered the art of taking good pictures at 8pm, with no natural light.


Despite the not-so-good picture, this casserole was fantastic. Nick, the "tuna hater" even loved it! He took a bite and had a huge smile on his face, but then he still insisted on adding Red Hot..... gross. I think I would have been happier had he just added a bit of parmesan and maybe some cayenne pepper. I mean, I love Red Hot, but not on this!

QUESTION: Do you like tuna noodle casserole?? Have you ever seen a no-bake version of this casserole?

And now for this week's health and nutrition news;

Institute of Medicine Recommends "Energy Star" For Food Labels

(What are your thoughts on the Institute of Medicine's label proposal? I think it sounds simple enough, and it sure beats the current and very confusing food/nutrition labels!)

Stuffed Tomatoes (A Quick After Work Meal!)

Many times when I get home from work I have no desire to make dinner. Wait, I take that back, I never have a desire to make dinner when I get home from work. Let's face it, I work around food all day long, and many times I cook and bake while at work, and when I get home between 6pm and 7:30pm all I want to do is sit on my butt. However, I know that in order to eventually raise children I will have to learn to just suck it up and prepare a good dinner on most nights, so I might as well practice now, right!? I'm lucky Nick is always willing to help (always as in most of the time).

I like to prepare proteins (fish, chicken, lean beef) over the weekend and then freeze them so they are ready to be incorporated into my random meal creations during the week. I let the proteins thaw in the fridge during the day, then use them in my "quick meals" in the evening. The other day I used this summer's bounty of fresh tomatoes from our garden to make stuffed tomatoes;

Simple Stuffed (Homegrown!) Tomatoes

Ingredients

3 large tomatoes
6 T dry minute brown rice
1/2 avocado
3 tsp hot sauce
1 T extra virgin olive oil
2 t dried or fresh basil
1/2 tsp low sodium soy sauce
1/2 tsp garlic powder (I omitted this from my own)
Parmesan cheese, salt, and pepper to taste

3 ounces grilled chicken
OR
3 ounces grilled salmon




Directions

Preheat oven to 350 degrees

1) Hollow out the tomatoes and put the flesh into a bowl

2) Mix the flesh of the tomato with the spices, hot sauce, and soy sauce in the separate bowl

3) Add 2 T of the rice to each tomato

4) Add the tomato flesh/spice mixture to the tomatoes, filling the tomato a little under half-way full

5) Add about 1/2 T EVOO (extra virgin olive oil) to the bottom of a a glass baking dish

6) Place the filled tomatoes in the dish and cook for about 40 minutes

7) Add the cooked chicken or salmon and avocado and cook for another 10 minutes.

8) Take out of oven and shave some fresh parmesan on top and drizzle with the rest of the EVOO

9) Let sit for ~10 minutes to allow extra juices to soak into rice and tomato.

*** Serve this in a bowl as it will likely be watery, yet delicious!! ***

Nick added extra rice to the top of his.

Sorry, bad picture, the lighting is never good at 8pm...

Estimated Nutrition Facts
(Serving Size: Two stuffed tomatoes, with chicken)

QUESTION: Have you tasted any homegrown tomatoes this year?? What are some of your favorite tomato recipes? I would love to make tomato soup, do you have any good recipes to share?

Tempeh Sloppy Joes & House Updates

I haven't posted any life updates in a while, so today on the "post agenda" I have some house updates, then next week I will post some things I have learned thus far at my new job.


As some of you know Nick and I purchased our first home at the end of May. The house we purchased was (and still is) in need of some updates (we chose a really nice neighborhood, so in order to afford a house we had to purchase one that needed some work....). The last time you saw our bedroom it looked like this (Boring!).

My mom hired a decorator for us (love you mom) who has helped us pick out paint and a few other key decorations around the house (thanks Joyce!). Nick and I picked this comforter out ourselves, then Joyce (the decorator) picked out the paint.

Our bedroom is still a work in progress, as I would like to get a nice lamp and an area rug, and we still need to hang our giant mirror above the chest of drawers. Once we get that all finished I will provide a final picture of the room.

Before I started my new job I spent endless hours painting over this ugly green color in our living room.

Now we have yellow walls with a contrasting "clay" color on the back wall, which leads into our kitchen (painted the same color).

This room is also a work in progress, as we plan on moving the dining room table out, and putting it in our kitchen. Then we want to put a tv in the corner to make this the "hang out for friends", instead of the basement. We also need an area rug and a coffee table (Joyce suggested we get some decorative cubes instead of a coffee table. I love that idea!). We are also getting new wooden blinds next week, which we desperately need.

Ok, now it's food time.

Finally, a New Recipe!

Soy is a very healthy food for many reasons, but did you know it's good to consume soy about 2-3 weeks before your period?! Studies show it helps prevent PMS symptoms. Because of this, I often choose to buy tempeh during this time of my cycle (it's my favorite source of soy because it's not processed, and unlike tofu it doesn't give me foul gas). For the longest time I was simply marinating it in EVOO and low sodium soy sauce, then sauteeing it on the stove top. Then about a month ago I read Mari's blog and got the idea to make tempeh sloppy joe's!

I didn't follow her recipe exactly, but I still give her credit for the idea because I never would have thought to do this. I bought two blocks of tempeh and cut them into ~1 inch cubes. I added about 2 T canola oil to my pan and got the oil nice and hot before adding the tempeh.

After sauteeing the tempeh for about 10 minutes over medium heat, I started to break it up into even smaller pieces so it almost mimicked the look of ground beef. Once the tempeh was cooked I turned off the heat and waited for the pan to cool a bit before adding THIS:

SLOPPY JOE SAUCE!!

NOTE: This is not the healthiest sauce in the world, by any means, which is why I only used about 3/4 of the can. Can you spot the nutrient that really makes this unhealthy?

Sodium.

Ugh.

Oh well, despite the high sodium content, this sauce rocks. I added it to the chunks of tempeh and mixed it up so the sauce was integrated nicely with the tempeh.

Hellllllo goodness!

I served it on a plate with some melted cheese (for me, no bread), and on some whole wheat toast with cheese (for Nick). I was in heaven. Nick.....was in hell. He liked it, but the texture was too difficult for him to get past. Will I make this again? Heck yeah! I could eat this every single day.



Before I leave today I just wanted to thank all of my friends and family who have recently told me they read my blog. It means so much to me and I'm so glad you enjoy it!

Katie L.
Michelle S.
Addy (check out her blog; My Life As a Pastry Student)
Sarah C.
Claire K.
Amanda
Renee
Cathy
Cathy M.
Dasi
Kate
Annie

I love you guys!


Question: Do you eat tempeh? Tofu? How do you like to prepare them? If you want more tempeh, check out this tempeh-oatmeal meatloaf posted by my friend Amanda. Also check out Rachel's tempeh burgers!

Happy Friday everyone!

Sweet Potatoes + Avocados = Heaven

Before I begin today's post, I would like to address a couple questions I have received in my comment section:

1) Someone asked me where I get my nutritional analysis from when I supply the nutrition facts on my posts. I get them from the CALORIE COUNT website! You have to create a member name and password, then you will have access to the recipe analysis.

2) I was asked how I make my frozen yogurt/ice cream. I use a Cuisine Art ice cream maker (the best investment I've made in my life) and all of my recipes are on my side bar under "Desserts", with the rest of my recipes (not the 2010 cookbook recipes, but further down).

Ok, now on to today's post!

When Jessica posted this recipe for chili cheese sweet potato fries, I knew I had to make it! Lately Nick has been telling me he's sick of all the sweet potatoes I keep making (SICK OF THEM?! No way. Not possible). So when I saw this recipe on Jessica's blog I knew I could suck Nick back into the world of the fabulous sweet potato. And I did.

Here is my modified version of Jessica's Chili Cheese Sweet Potato Fries

Ingredients
(serves 2)

2 large sweet potatoes
4 ounces lean ground beef (90/20)
1/2 cup reduced fat cheese
1/2 cup black beans
1/4 cup avocado slices
1/4 cup sliced marinated bell pepper
1 tsp. pepper
1 tsp. cumin powder
1/2 tsp. cayenne pepper
10 sprays of EVOO

Directions

1) Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Cut the sweet potatoes into thick, long steak fries (or chunks of that's what you prefer). Spray with EVOO, sprinkle with pepper, cumin, and cayenne. Put into the oven for about 35-45 minutes.

2) Prepare the ground beef however you'd like. Meanwhile, slice the avocado, open the can of beans, the jar of marinated bell pepper (or use plain sliced bell pepper), and measure out the shredded cheese.

3) Once the sweet potatoes are finished baking, take them out and lay them in a bowl or on a plate. Top them with the meat, beans, avocado, peppers, and cheese. Zap in microwave for about 1 minute (or put these all in the oven and heat for about 10 minutes, if you don't like to use the microwave!).

Nutritional Benefits

- Beta carotene (precursor to vitamin A)

- Calcium

- Fiber (insoluble and soluble)

- Monounsaturated fat

- Lignans (a type of phytoestrogen that may prevent the growth of hormone-sensitive cancers)

Rating: 10 out of 10

Avocado Nutritional Benefits

Sadly I can't eat avocados because they are high in fructose (and on the FODMAP list). However, avocados are such a healthy food so I manage to sneak them in my diet on occasion (when I don't plan on being in public afterwards). Here are some reasons to eat avocados!

- They are available all year round

- One ounce has about 5 grams of fat, most of which is the "healthy monounsaturated fat"

- Research suggests avocados may help improve blood lipids, benefit weight loss attempts, and help maintain glycemic control

- Avocado is a great substitute for spreads, as it contains significantly less saturated fat and calories than butter or mayonnaise

- Avocados contain folate, potassium, vitamins C, and E, vitamin K, and fiber

- Avocados contain zeaxanthin and lutein (two types of carotenoids), which benefit the eye (similar to spinach)

Question: What's your favorite way to use avocado? And, have you tried sweet potatoes with avocados?!

GIVEAWAY

SPEAKING OF nutritional benefits....win some Clif red wine here!

Coming Up

Later today I'm subbing for someone at my old job, The Central Ohio Nutrition Center. I'm actually pretty excited, as it was a fun part-time job (and a great job for any new RDs out there!).

Thanks for reading everyone, and have a great day!

Loaded Potato, and a Supplement Drink Review

Happy Hump Day everyone! I hope this week is going well for you. My week has been much better than the previous weeks, that's for sure. Buying a new house has been a lot more stressful than I thought, and Nick is also changing jobs and starting with a new company soon, which adds to the stress. It's a risky move, but I think it will be a good one (more information to come, as well as some updates on my own work life..more stress....).

On Monday night I made a sweet potato recipe that I found on Jessica's blog, which I will post another day, but today it's loaded baked potato time!

Quick, Healthy, and Cheap Recipe #23
Loaded Baked Potato

Ingredients

1 medium potato
1/2 cup broccoli
1/4 cup avocado
1 T blue cheese dressing
3 ounces grilled chicken
Pepper for taste

Possible Modifications

• Use any vegetable you wish, to replace the broccoli
• Use any dressing you wish (sour cream or plain Greek yogurt maybe?)
• Use more or less chicken, or even tempeh or tofu!
• Add any spices you wish
  

Instructions
- Poke some holes in a plain potato. Pop it in the microwave for 10-13 minutes, or until it's soft to your liking (you could also bake or boil the potato, but the microwave is much faster). Once it's finished, put it on a plate and cut it into four sections (or you could just cut it in half).

- Prepare the avocado by slicing it on a cutting board. Cook your broccoli (I buy frozen broccoli and steam it) and cook your chicken (I like to marinate mine in a little EVOO, then cook it on the stove until it's cooked all the way through).

- Add all the toppings in whatever order you wish. Then enjoy!

Nutrition Facts

Ratings

Nick and I both gave this a 9 out of 10. Why had it been so long since we had made a baked potato?!?! They are so healthy, when prepared the right way (ie not deep fried or drenched in sour cream and cheese).

Coming Up

Tomorrow I will post about a new summer/spring spinach salad I've been making lately. Mmm, it's so good! I will also post some of the great nutritional benefits provided by the wonderful spinach plant (and when I say great, I mean it).

Thanks for reading everyone, and have a wonderful day!

New Kitchen, New Creations!

Thanks for all of your kind comments about our new house! We clearly have a lot of work to do, but like most of you said, it's important to stay positive and make it fun. We are really trying to enjoy every step of the way.

Did you think I had forgotten about my 2010 Cookbook?! I'll admit I've been slacking, but I'm still coming up with some good recipes, which are quick, cheap, and usually very healthy. I say "usually" because some, like the recipe below, should be served with a side of fruit and/or vegetable to increase the nutrient density.

Cheap, Quick, and Healthy Recipe #21
Not Your Typical Grilled Cheese

Ingredients
2 ounces (Processed) Swiss cheese
2 slices whole grain bread
1/2 cup spinach
2 slices turkey bacon (nitrate free)

Possible Modifications

• Use any cheese you wish! I used processed because that's all I had at the time!
  
• Add tomatoes or any other vegetable
• Use regular bacon (more fat, but some people prefer it)
  

Directions

1) Spray a large skillet with PAM or extra virgin olive oil (I prefer the latter). Heat the pan to medium.

2) Place the two slices of bread on the heated pan, and top with all of the ingredients (I put a majority of my ingredients on one side, but this isn't necessary).

3) After about 3-4 minutes, close the sandwich and heat one side at a time.

4) After about 2 minutes (depending on how crispy you like your bread) flip the sandwich.

5) Remove the sandwich from the heat once your cheese is nice and melted.

Sorry for the blurry picture!

Serve!

Because this recipe wasn't the healthiest (see nutrition facts below), it's best to serve it with some healthy components. Nick ate this with a side of sugar snap peas, broccoli, and a half of a sweet potato. The ketchup, well, I wouldn't recommend using as much as Nick! Even after I showed him that 2 T has 8 grams of sugar (that's ~1/4 of a man's total daily needs) and ~400 mg sodium (that's ~ 1/6 of your total sodium needs) he still insisted on using it. I'm buying the "low sugar" ketchup once we run out of this stuff! I hear Trader Joe's makes a nice one (thanks for the tip Evan!).

Nutrition Facts

With the addition of the broccoli, peas, and sweet potato, I'd be willing to bet this meal was at least a "B"!


Here is one of my latest random kitchen creations. I grabbed some cooked spinach, broccoli and carrots, then topped them with 3 ounces canned tuna (Albacore), 1 T nutritional yeast, 1/4 cup peach Chobani Greek yogurt (yes, I said peach!), and ~2 tsp Red Hot sauce. You know how the combination of salty and sweet is so perfect? So was this meal.

Here is my new favorite breakfast combination. It's oat bran, Truvia, ~2 T raspberry flavored soy yogurt, ~1/4 cup organic plain yogurt, ~1 T ground flaxseed, and ~ 1/4 cup frozen blueberries.

This keeps me full for a good 2 hours, which is fantastic for me!

Coming Up

I already showed you the inside of our fridge, so tomorrow you will get a peak inside our cabinets and freezer. Our new house has a lot more storage space, so I'm a happy foodie :)

Thanks for reading everyone, and have a great day!

Food Revolution Review, and My Tuna Salad Recipe!

This month has been crazy, and it's getting crazier each day! This week I have the 5k race I've been planning for the past several months, and then we are going straight to Cincinnati (down south) for one of Nick's friend's 30th birthday. We're going to the river boats, which are packed with crazy casinos. I probably won't do a lot of gambling, but it will still be fun to get out of town for a night. Then the following week we MOVE! I'm excited, but also very nervous. We're going to be very poor for a while. Oh well, we'll be so busy working on the house it won't even matter!
Did you watch Jamie Oliver's Food Revolution last week? I finished watching it on Saturday morning. It wasn't quite as interesting as the last episode, but I've still got a few things to say.

Likes

• I love how Jamie decided to go straight to a major source of entertainment and information for the community. Not the senators, but the most popular radio DJ, Rod. What a great idea. Even though Rod was completely against the idea at first (although I think that might have been an act for the show....) he got everyone on Jamie's side eventually and he helped get 1000 people involved in the revolution. Fantastic.

• I love how Jamie dressed up like a green bean (or a pea pod??) at the beginning of the show. As stupid as he looked, it's actually suggested that in order to get your children to eat more fruits and veggies you should make it fun and entertaining. Associating fruits and veggies with cartoons or other fun characters is actually a great idea. Heck, it worked for McDonald's!

• The trip to the morgue was a great way to open Rod's eyes (and America's eyes) to the seriousness of the obesity epidemic. Did you see that casket?! Goodness.
  

• Jamie was pushing the use of frozen vegetables. I loved it. Jamie is a well known and respected chef, so to see him using frozen vegetables is really fantastic. I love frozen vegetables. They are so delicious, convenient, and they are frozen at their peak freshness.
  

• That dance they did in the park. WOW!!! I wanted to be in the dance myself!! It looked like so much fun!

Dislikes

• I've only got one dislike, but it's a big one. Where are all the tips and suggestions?? This entire show has been about what is wrong with the city and what needs to be done to help people get healthier, but I have not heard any tips on cooking and eating healthier. Yeah, Jamie throws out a few suggestions here and there, but I want him to teach the TV audience too! He keeps saying, "you can cook cheap and healthy meals that don't take very long", but how?? Jamie, you need to provide more tips! I kept waiting for some fantastic information about what to buy, how to save money when shopping for ingredients, how to choose a good recipe, how to choose a lean cut of meat/poultry, but I heard nothing! Maybe this is coming up in future episodes?? I saw him use a real block of parmesan cheese, but is this something that people in this city (and other cities in America) can afford to buy? I know that sounds odd, but real parmesan cheese is expensive, and it goes bad fairly quick! He needs to throw out tips such as, "try the already shredded parmesan cheese if you wish! The taste is similar, and the price is lower, and it lasts much longer!".

Question: What were your thoughts on last week's episode?

Quick, Healthy, and Cheap Recipe #20
Tuna Fish Sandwich

Ingredients
(1 Serving)
6 ounces Albacore tuna
6 t plain Greek yogurt
2 t regular mayo
1/4 cup chopped walnuts
1/4 t pepper

Possible Modifications

• Use any kind of tuna you wish (in water please). Albacore has more omega-3, but light tuna may have less mercury. Choose your battle.

• Use regular yogurt instead of Greek

• Use light or fat free mayo

• Add more walnuts or use almonds, peanuts, or pine nuts

• Add any spices you wish

• Add avocado, celery, egg, raisins, or dried cranberries (I didn't do this because these ingredients give me stomach problems. Bummer, I know)
  

My Rating: 8 out of 10
It would have been better on a piece of bread, but since I have yet to find any bread that I can eat, the bread in the picture was just for show. I ate this on it's own.

Nutrition Facts
(These nutrition facts do not include the bread)

Coming Up

Tomorrow I will post about some foods that you may think are "healthy" but which may not be as healthy as you thought. The point is not to discourage you from eating these foods, but to make you more aware of the ingredients on food labels and how companies try to trick you into thinking their foods are superior.

Have a great day everyone! Thanks for reading.

New Recipe and My Thoughts on Body Fat Percentage

Happy Saturday! Is it nice weather where you are? Yesterday morning I woke up to SNOW and ICE on the ground. WHAT?? It was almost 65 degrees last weekend, and this weekend it snows? Crazy. Today is nice and sunny, but still pretty chilly.

Today I wanted to bring some attention to a comment I received from an anonymous reader yesterday, regarding my last post. In that post I reported my body fat percentage (21.6%) and claimed that I am very happy with this percentage because it puts me in the range of "healthy and fit". I then proceeded to disclose that when I was anorexic I had been 11% body fat, which was definitely not something that I was proud of ( I made reference to the fact that this is an unhealthy body fat percentage, and it's no wonder I felt like crap all the time). The comment is written in black writing, with my comments in red:

I love your blog (thanks!), but there were a few things here that frustrated me a bit. Since your are an RD I have tremendous respect & appreciation for your knowledge, but nutrition for sport & fitness varies from the standard healthy diet. (Yes, I agree, depending on what type of training you are doing). Clearly a marathon runner needs to eat differently than a football player, etc. (Well, yes, but maybe not the offensive line. They do a lot of endurance training, similar to marathon runners. The defensive line, however, would clearly have a different diet and training protocol). Maybe you didn't mean to come off this way, but how you discuss the not-so-preposterous idea of being at 40% protein suggests being closed minded. Many people operate better and have more energy with a lower carb, higher protein diet. And as you know, loosing weight would have to do with the amount of calories from protein, not just from eating more protein vs. carbs or fat. (This is correct. What I should have said was that if that trainer was to suggest that in order for me to gain more muscle, I need to consume 40% of my calories from protein, he should have also said that I need to consume more calories that I burn. You cannot build muscle simply by eating a lot of protein, you have to be eating so as to create a positive calorie balance). What bothered me the most though was your statement about your body fat %. The way you suggest that 11% is unhealthy, I believe, is sending the wrong, perhaps irresponsible, message. There is a big difference between being anorexic at 11% and being healthy at 11%, which is very possible. That is actually around what I am, and I am very healthy & energetic, and in no way excessively skinny. (If you read any respectable and reliable journal, magazine, book, or talk to any professional RD or personal trainer, they will tell you that 12% is the lowest percent of body weight for women that is considered "not risky". I have two references right here in front of me, Sports Nutrition, A Practice Manual for Professionals by Marie Dunfor, PhD, RD, and The Complete Food and Nutrition Guide by Roberta Larson Duyff, MS, RD, which clearly state that this is the case. I also took several sports nutritional classes both while in undergraduate and graduate school, where 12% was cited as the lowest possible percentage of body fat for women that is considered not risky. That being said, I do believe you can reach 11% body fat while having a healthy diet. I should not have implied that those who have an 11% body fat are obviously anorexic or have disordered eating. But I will stick to my opinion that 11% body fat is simply too low. At that percentage of body fat you are putting yourself at risk, and I would never recommend staying that low for long periods of time. Some people may remain at that low of a body fat percentage while they are competing in a body competition, but otherwise they are likely to gain some back once they are not competing. That is always suggested. Even the not so reliable magazines report that the range of healthy body fat percentage for women should not go as low as 11%. You are at risk for infertility, heart problems, and improper insulation and cushioning of your organs and bones) Thanks for your comment, I really do appreciate it. If you would like to e-mail me and talk with me more about this subject I would be glad to hear your thoughts.

Quick, Tasty, and Healthy Recipe #19
Chicken Quesadillas

Ingredients
(Serves 1)
1 whole wheat tortilla
1/4 cup black beans
3 ounces chicken
1/4 cup red and green bell pepper
1 ounce shredded American cheese

Possible Modifications

• Use any type of meat/poultry/tofu you wish
• Add extra veggies
• Add extra spices
• Use different cheese
  

Directions

Preheat oven to 300 degrees. Place the tortilla on a baking pan and cover the tortilla with the above ingredients (don't add too much or it won't fold properly). Fold the tortilla in half, then place in the oven for 10-15 minutes (depending on your oven and how you well done you prefer your quesadillas to be). If you want, you can add a bit more cheese on top!

Nutrition Facts

Rating: 10 out of 10 for both of us!
I used a wheat free tortilla, since I do not eat wheat.

I served this with a side of steamed veggies. You can never eat too many veggies! I also served it with a dollop of plain Greek yogurt and red hot (not shown in picture).

Coming Up

I've been so busy lately, I don't even have time to watch TV anymore! That being said, I may or may not have time to watch Jamie Oliver's Food Revolution today (we have it saved on Tivo). If I do, I will write a review, if I don't....well...you'll have to be surprised I guess!

Have a great weekend everyone, and thanks for reading :)

Grass-Fed Beef and a Bean Burger Recipe

I hope everyone had a fantastic weekend. This was a particularly exciting weekend for me. Nick and I are officially in contract for our house! We put an offer in and it was counter-offered, then we counter offered the owner's counter offer, they counter offered again, and we accepted! We are moving in on April 23rd. I may take a couple weeks off from blogging while we get settled. But BOY are we excited!

Now I'm diving right into today's blog post topic:

Grass-Fed Beef

If you've read any of the posts by Evan at "Food Makes Fun Fuel", you have at least heard of grass- fed beef. Heck, you have probably heard of it anyway. Truth be told, I've never tried it.

A couple weeks ago The New York Times' "Well Blog" posted a great article about the benefits of grass-fed beef, compared to grain-fed beef.

Pros

• Lower levels of unhealthy saturated and trans fat

• Higher levels of Omega-3 (EPA/DHA)
  

• More vitamins A, and E

• Twice the levels of Conjugated Linoleic Acid (CLA), which may have chemoprotective properties and also may help prevent other chronic diseases.

• May be better for the environment, compared to grain-fed beef.

• 100-percent grass-fed beef is typically free of antibiotics and hormones (not always...).
  

Cons

• Regarding the "lower levels of saturated fat and trans fat", well, you can buy lean grain-fed beef (90 percent lean and 10 percent fat), which also has incredibly low levels of unhealthy fat.

• The levels of Omega-3 found in grass-fed beef are still far lower than that found in salmon and tuna.

• Some grass-fed beef may have a "grassy taste". I don't think Nick would like that a whole lot....

• It's almost three times as expensive as regular, grain-fed beef.

• When the label says "grass fed" it may not mean the cattle were fed grass their entire life. It could mean they were fed grass just at the beginning of their life. The article said to look for the label from the American Grassfed Association for assurance that your beef was likely on a 100% grass diet, throughout their life.
  

** Check out this fantastic article about the difference between grass-fed and grain fed beef; CNN.com (article) **

Quick, Cheap, and Healthy Recipe #17
Bean Burgers

Ingredients
1/2 diced onion
1 can drained black beans
1/2 cup wheat flour
1 slice cubed whole wheat bread
1 tsp. cumin
1/2 tsp. pepper
1/2 tsp. garlic powder
1/2 tsp. onion powder
1/2 tsp. salt
Canola oil for frying the onions and the burgers

Possible Modifications

• Use any spices you wish
• Use any type of bean (pinto, red, etc.)
• Use any type of flour or bread
  

Instructions
Sautee the onions until they are soft to your liking. Puree the beans in a blender, or mash them with a fork in a medium (don't make them too smooth, chunks are good!). Add all of the ingredients to the mashed/pureed beans.

Form the mixture into 6 medium sized (~1/2-3/4 inches thick) patties (or you can make them larger and make 4 or 5 patties). Add a bit of canola oil to a pan and heat the oil on medium. Disperse the oil throughout the surface area of the pan, and then fry away! Cook until they are slightly brown on both sides. Cut through to the middle to make sure they are hot inside. Then enjoy.

I served Nick's burger with some cheese and pickles, with extra pepper on top.

Nick's Rating: 9 out of 10

I didn't try one because they contained wheat, plus I don't really eat beans because they give me awful gas (I would have to take about 5 expensive Beano in order to prevent the gas.....). So Nick had the pleasure of enjoying these babies. He loved them.

Nutrition Information

Coming Up

Tonight I am heading over to Urban Active for a couple hours, to market our services some more. As for tomorrow's post, well, I'm fairly certain it will be focusing on body composition. What is a healthy weight and body fat? What are the factors that effect our weight status?

Have a great evening!