Summer side dish!

I'm always on the hunt for a different, delicious and nutritious summer side salad! This one is sooooo refreshing and flavorful, it can even star at the main attraction on your dinner plate!

Corn never tasted SOOOO GOOOD!

 

Southwestern Corn Salad

 Ingredients

• 8 ears fresh corn in husks
• 1 red bell pepper, diced
• 1 green bell pepper, diced
• 1 red onion, chopped
• 1 C. chopped fresh cilantro
• 1/2 C. olive oil
• 4 cloves garlic, peeled and minced
• 3 limes, juiced
• 1 tsp. white sugar
• salt and pepper to taste
• 1 Tbs. hot sauce

 

• Place the corn in a large pot with enough water to cover, and soak at least 15 minutes. Preheat grill for high heat. Remove silks from corn, but leave the husks. Place corn on the preheated grill. Cook, turning occasionally, 20 minutes, or until tender. Remove from heat, cool slightly, and discard husks. Cut the corn kernels from the cob, and place in a medium bowl. Mix in the red bell pepper, green bell pepper, and red onion. In a blender or food processor, mix the cilantro, olive oil, garlic, lime juice, sugar, salt, pepper, and hot sauce. Blend until smooth, and stir into the corn salad.

 

5 Things you can do today!

There are so many ways to get healthy these days....let's see, if  you have dancin' feet, you got the ZUMBA exercise craze, right? OR You could lift weights, get a trainer, run a marathon, take a walk with a friend, skip carbs, avoid gluten, jump through hoops and still lose nothing. UGH, right? With so many diet fads, crazes, and exercises to figure out, how do you know what will work for you??
SO let's break it down to 5 things you can do this week to get going to health! Sure you can still try every exercise out there until you find what works for your lifestyle and time management, schedule, etc, and you should, GET MOVING! BUT when it comes to food, you have to be consistent and the best way to get in the mindset to do just that is to start like this:

5 THINGS TO A HEALTHIER YOU!

1. Get some SLEEP (yes, lose your shut eye and it's one slippery slope to bad food choices)
2. Drink WATER (flush the fat, keep yourself hydrated, and stop drinking unwanted calories!)
3. Avoid SUGAR (sugar turns to fat, enough said ;)
4. FRUITS AND VEGGIES (nobody got overweight eating fruits and vegetables, get my drift? good for you in so many ways!)
5. Avoid ALCOHOL (it's a metabolism slower, now why would you want that? moderation is key here!)

Support System

Weight loss shouldn't be a SOLO journey....you need a SUPPORT SYSTEM to get through those bumps in the road, right? Of course you do! Whether it's your friends or family, you want to build a strong support system around you when it comes weight loss, why? Because times can get tough! You might want to quit, you might want to eat a bag of Lay's potato chips instead of a salad, and then you want to cry because you thought you had it all under control, then the guilt sets in, so you wash it all down with a diet coke, but then you realize you read on this blog how "diet" sodas are the enemy, so you throw that can of soda to the side and think, "what have I done? is there a diet out there that will ever work for me? where is my willpower?" You see....weight loss can sometimes turn an otherwise happy day into crazy SO get that support system to help you SNAP OUT OF IT!!!
This is a JOURNEY, I repeat JOURNEY! There is no wrong way or right way, but there is a B-eingFIT4U way, and that's first loving yourself enough to WANT to be HEALTHY. (and we know swimming in a bag of chips, well just not all that healthy ;) SO call your mom, your dad, your brother/sister, your best friend, your one true love and say..."Listen, having a bad day, week, month of eating crazy...can you help me to stay on track?" YES, find the right people who love and respect you and your decision to get healthy, and you will have SUPPORT! And take it! Grab that friend to exercise with you, or just to check in once a week with to talk about your food choices. A SUPPORT SYSTEM is just as important and you taking that first step to HEALTHY! You know you're worth it and your support system does, too!

Happy Weekend B-Fitter's!~ FoodieGIRL

POWERHOUSE Smoothie!

Still not a fan of "greens"? Kale, Spinach, Swiss Chard.....they all have the power to unleash a fury of good for you vitamins and minerals to take over your body and transform it into a powerhouse of healthy! So why are you still shying away from them? Listen, if you don't love them sauteed on your dinner plate, or crunchy in your salad, it doesn't me you have to avoid them all together. And why would you? They are sooooooo good for you, that finding a way to eat them has never been simpler with this tasty POWERHOUSE SMOOTHIE....blueberries round out the antioxidant power and bananas add a smooth texture and that much needed potassium to get you through the day, and the kale, well you'll never even know it's there, but your body will!
 Eat WELL, Drink WELL, Savor those GREENS! (and take a quick peek below as to why KALE in particular is SO GOOD FOR YOU!)


THE POWERHOUSE SMOOTHIE RECIPE
Blueberry Kale Smoothie
2 cups kale, de-stemmed and chopped
1 cup blueberries
1 banana, sliced
3 cups almond milk
Place all ingredients in blender and pulse until smooth and delicious :)


"Why is Kale so healthy? It has to do with all the nutrients it contains": (courtesy of J. Davenport Ezine art)
1. Kale contains indole-3-carbinol, a substance that can help your body fight against industrial chemicals known as Xenoestrogens that can be cancerous and also lead to increased abdominal fat storage. Kale actually helps you maintain a slim waist line.
2. 1 cup of Kale can supply you with all of your recommended daily dose of Vitamin A which is a powerful element and great for your eyes and teeth health. It takes just a tine supply of this special herb to give you this massive benefit.
3. Kale contains various sulfur rich components that were found to fight cancerous elements in your body. In various animal studies, these types of sulfur elements were found to help reduce the size of tumors in animals.
4. Kale contains vitamin C which is useful in fighting off infection and aids the healing process whenever you suffer wounds.
5. Kale is rich in vitamin B12 which helps the function of the nervous system and is important for various internal body functions.
6. Kale is a tasty addition to many dishes and salads. It's super low in calories with just 36 calories for a whole cup of the herb and so it's an excellent diet food.
7. Rich in calcium, Kale assists in maintaining bone strength and proper structure. Its high vitamin A content also helps in this respect.
8. Manganese, which is found in great quantities in Kale, is also an excellent fat burning elements as it helps in the energy production process from carbohydrates and protein.

The Positive Mind!

Feeling down, feeling blue, wish life would bring you something new?

 DID YOU KNOW that your thoughts hold the POWER to your weight loss success, or lack there of......yes! You see, if you're going to constantly beat yourself up over those pounds you have gained, you're doing nothing but causing a constant feeling of negativity to inhabit your being. YOU in a sense are the WALL standing between your success and your failure. And LOOK, we ALL (yes everyone!) is going to fall off the "food wagon" sometimes. We're all going to be going along, minding our own business, eating well and working out, and then there's going to be a cupcake, or maybe two, or a Mexican night out with a 1/2 lb burrito that consumes you. We all do it! BUT that's no excuse to keep doing it, or to speak negatively about yourself, to yourself for overeating. Stop beating yourself up!

If you want to lose weight, YOU must start with your mind! You see you're already beautiful! That soul inside of you, it's not skinny or overweight, it's brilliantly bright. So give it some LOVE. Take each step in life, as just that, "a single step" towards something good for you. Today, eat an apple, tomorrow avoid those chips, the next day, try something new. It's all about the choices we make each day that help us to lose the weight in the long run. Small goals, big results. You want to create for yourself small changes that help you to reach your larger goal~ To be HEATHY inside and out! And that starts with being kind to your mind.

Positivity is a powerful tool in your weight loss journey, use it!

 

Peace and Positivity Thinking~ FoodieGIRL

Empanadas!

It's Taco Tuesday at B-Fit4U, and we thought we would turn that taco filling upside down with a delicious EMPANADA! Traditionally empanandas are fried and filled with beef....hmmm not quite figure friendly if you want to eat more than one! So we've switched that filling for some lean ground chicken and we're going to bake our version. Still sooooo yummy and crispy, it will be your new favorite "taco" ;)

 

Cheesy chicken Empanadas

3 cups chopped, cooked chicken

1 (8-ounce) package shredded cheddar cheese (lowfat)

4 ounces lowfat cream cheese, or neufatel cheese,  softened

1/4 cup chopped red bell pepper

1 jalapeno, seeded and chopped

1 tablespoon ground cumin

1 1/2 teaspoons salt

1/2 teaspoon pepper

1 (15-ounce) package refrigerated pie crusts

Water

Directions

Preheat oven to 400 degrees F.
Lightly grease a baking sheet. In a large bowl, combine the chicken and next 7 ingredients. Unroll 1 piecrust onto a lightly floured surface. Roll into a 15-inch circle. Cut out rounds, using a 3-inch cookie cutter. Re-roll dough as needed. Repeat procedure with remaining piecrusts, making 12 to 15 circles total. Arrange 1 round on a clean, flat surface. Lightly brush the edges of crust with water. Place 1 heaping teaspoon of chicken mixture in the center of the round. Fold the dough over the filling, pressing the edges with a fork to seal. Repeat with the remaining rounds and chicken mixture. (Up to this point, the recipe can be made ahead and frozen for up to 1 month). Arrange empanadas on the prepared baking sheet. Bake for 15 minutes.

Gazpacho~2 ways!

Back from vacation and better than ever! Yes, you have to rejuvenate that mind and body every once in awhile, and hoping you're doing the same this beautiful summer! And with keeping with our B-Fit4U theme of taking care of yourself, let's start the week out strong with a good for you recipe that's slimming, filling and oh so delicious!! GAZPACHO~2 ways!

 

Peach Gazpacho
 (courtesy of M. Stewart)

• 1/2 to 3/4 cup water
• 6 ripe peaches (about 2 1/2 pounds), peeled, halved, pitted, and cut into chunks
• 1/2 medium cucumber, peeled, seeded, and cut into chunks
• 1 small garlic clove, minced
• 1 tablespoon champagne vinegar, plus more to taste
• 2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil, plus more for drizzling
• Coarse salt and freshly ground pepper
• 2 tablespoons coarsely chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley or cilantro
• Garnish: finely chopped red bell pepper and Hass avocado

Directions

1. Pulse 1/2 cup water, the peaches, cucumber, garlic, vinegar, oil, 1/2 teaspoon salt, and 1/4 teaspoon pepper in a food processor until coarsely pureed. Thin with more water if desired. Refrigerate for at least 2 hours.
2. Season with vinegar, salt, and pepper. Stir in herbs. Garnish with bell pepper and avocado. Drizzle with oil, and sprinkle with salt.

**Gazpacho (without herbs) can be refrigerated overnight.

 

Traditional Tomato Gazpacho

(courtesy of Spanish recipes.com)

 

Ingredients

• 10 oz of bread
• 21 oz. of tomato
• 2 cloves of garlic
• 2 onions
• 2 red and green peppers
• 1 cucumber (optional)
• 7 tablespoons of oil
• 2 tablespoons of vinegar
• 1 1/2 tablespoon of water
• Cumin (optional)

Preparation

In a big mortar mash the cumin, the garlic and the soaked bread, in a plastic bowl mix the chopped onion, the chopped tomato, the oil, the vinegar, the salt and the contents of the mortar, mash it with the mixer and add very cold water to mix everything. Add salt and strain it. Keep it in the fridge until served.

Serve with the tomato, the cucumber, the pepper and the toasted bread cut to dices.