Simple Fish Recipe

May 23, 2013 in Food, Protein, Recipes with 0 Comments

fish

Too often people are scared to cook fish.
Why? I honestly don’t know.

Fish is very simple and easy to cook and is so good for your when prepared properly. Today’s recipe is a simple fish seasoning to make a pan-fried fish fillet.

What fish should you cook?
I recommend buying frozen fillets at your local grocer because they are cheaper and are typically less fishy tasting because they were frozen immediately after being butchered. Jordan and I love Swai, a white fish with a natural sweetness. I also recommend salmon fillets or orange roughy. All of these fish are not too expensive are not “fishy” tasting.

SIMPLE FISH SEASONING

Ingredients

2 fish fillets, about 4 oz each
Salt
Pepper
Thyme, about 1 tsp per fillet
Olive Oil

Directions

1. Let frozen fillets thaw in the fridge or on the counter before cooking. This will allow your fish to cook more evenly.

2. Season fish using salt, pepper, and thyme. Use just enough salt and pepper to flavor your fish and then sprinkle about 1 teaspoon of thyme over the fillet. Flip fillets and season the bottom of the fish as you did with the first side.

3. Heat olive oil in a skillet over medium-high heat. Put the fish in the skillet when the oil is extremely hot so the first side of the fillet sears and crisps. Turn heat to medium and cook fish for 4 minutes on each side or until cooked through.

 

You can be sure fish is cooked through when the inside is flaky. If you prefer to use a meat thermometer, fish should hit 145 degrees when it is cooked through.

Nutrition:

One 2-4 oz fish fillet can be anywhere from 100 to 170 calories. It contains at least 20 grams of protein, and fish like salmon are loaded with Omegas.

Don’t let fish scare you! It is one of the best proteins you can eat a couple of times a week, and it really is easy to cook once you give it a try. This recipe may look too simple and boring, but I assure you, the flavor profile is fantastic!

 

6 Tips to Stay Healthy Every Day

May 20, 2013 in Calories, Food, Info, Intervals and Circuit Training, Organic, Recipes, Running, vegetarian burger, Weight, workouts with 0 Comments

healthy living

This week I was asked to guest post on a friends website. These ladies created Coast to Coast Challenge, an organization that focuses on helping women feel beautiful and feel confident. The ladies at Coast to Coast Central have recently initiated fitness challenges through their organization, and I feel honored that they asked me to write about how being healthy can go from temporary to permanent.
Today I want to share the blog I wrote for these ladies. I hope you enjoy.

6 TIPS TO STAY HEALTHY EVERY DAY

My name is Nicole Covarelli. I am a wife, elementary school teacher, and self-taught health enthusiast. Let me give you a little background on how I got started down the healthy lifestyle road because I have not always been fit and healthy.

From spring of 2010 to fall of 2011, I went from close to 200 pounds down to 150 pounds (yes, it took 18 months to lose all the weight I wanted), and at 5’ 9”, I am proud to still weigh 150 pounds.

How did I do it? I became an avid exerciser and began counting calories, which turned into a passion for reading about health and consuming foods that my body needs and loves. I have fallen in love with being healthy every day and hope you will too.

 

Today I want to share 6 tips that I live by every single day. These tips will help you live a healthy lifestyle and stay fit while still allowing you to eat foods you love and enjoy your life.

 

How do you make healthy living permanent?

  1. Think forever- the word “diet” is not in your vocabulary.
    The moment you tell yourself that you are on a “diet,” you have just told yourself this is not permanent. Thinking short term leads to more extreme eating habits that are not sustainable. Don’t eat healthy foods that make you gag. Who wants to gag when they eat? Find healthy foods you love and eat those often.
  1. Find your “niche” in healthy living.
    While some people only eat organic, others are vegetarian or vegan. We all have our “thing” when it comes to staying healthy. My thing is being an avid calorie counter because it helps me keep my food intake in perspective.
    Find what works for you and stick to it. It’s okay if your “niche” is different than your friend’s.
  1. Make time to exercise- it won’t just happen.
    If you don’t make time in your day to exercise, it won’t happen. It just won’t. Pick the days each week you will exercise and stick to it! People often ask when the best time of day is to exercise. Guess what… it’s the time YOU DO IT. And you should do it 4-5 times a week.
    Exercise hard. I mean really hard. Your body will reflect the amount of effort you invest in it.
  1. Find a few healthy recipes you love and cook them often.
    When you become confident cooking healthy recipes, you will cook them again and again. Don’t stress about a huge variety of healthy meals. Find a few you love and cook them. In my house, my husband and I regularly eat homemade pizza, black bean burgers, pan seared fish, and sweet potato chips. (All of these recipes are on my blog). Find recipes you love and cook them!
  1. Measure the crap out of your food.
    If you have never used measuring cups when serving yourself food, you are doing your body a major disservice. You have to learn to recognize portions, and the easiest way to do this is to actually measure. When the serving size is ½ cup, get out your ½ cup measurement.
    You will find a serving size of ice cream or cereal is much smaller than you were pretending it was. Measure and measure and measure some more!
  1. Splurge at one meal each week.
    When I say splurge, I mean it. ONCE a week at ONE meal, eat the food you want. Make the food worth it so that you feel satisfied after your splurge meal. If you love pizza, eat pizza. If you love ice cream, eat that too. When you only blow it one meal during the entire week, your body gets rid of what it doesn’t need rather than storing it.
    Pick the meal you will splurge on during the week, and it gives you something to look forward to all week, a glorious prize for all of your hard work!

 

In closing, a few tips and encouragement:

Health should be in moderation but consistent.
Don’t be too extreme. It’s not sustainable.
Don’t look to other individuals to tell you how you should look. We are all different.
Don’t let fear of failure keep you from trying. Not trying is failure.
You are beautiful. Start with believing that and the rest will fall into place.

Baked Black Beans

May 16, 2013 in fiber, Food, Recipes with 1 Comment

baked black beans

Sweet, Savory, Delicious.

Today’s recipe is baked black beans. These black beans mimic a traditional baked bean that you would eat with BBQ, but I find these to be much tastier! The prep time for these is around 30 minutes and then they cook for about 45 minutes more- the time spent on these is well worth it! So worth it in fact, my family eats this recipe often.

BAKED BLACK BEANS

Ingredients

1 TBLSP olive oil
1/2 pound turkey bacon, chopped
1/2 yellow onion, diced
2 garlic cloves, minced (2 tsp)
2 medium jalapenos, seeded and chopped
1/2 tsp salt
1 cup reduced-sodium beef broth
1/4 cup brown sugar, firmly packed
1/4 cup ketchup
3 TBSLP honey
2 tsp Dijon mustard
2 TBSLP apple cider vinegar
1/4 tsp black pepper
2 15 oz cans black beans, rinsed and drained
1/4 cup chopped cilantro

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees Fahrenheit. Spray an 8 inch by 8 inch pan with nonstick cooking spray.

2. Heat oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add bacon, onion, garlic, jalapenos, and salt. Cook 7 to 8 minutes until vegetables start to soften and bacon crisps.

3. Reduce heat to low and add the beef broth, brown sugar, honey, Dijon mustard, ketchup, cider vinegar, and black pepper. Stir until well combined. Add the beans and stir to coat.

4. Transfer the beans to the 8 inch by 8 inch pan. Bake uncovered for 45 minutes to 1 hour, until the beans are hot and a dark crust begins to form on the top.

5. Sprinkle the cilantro over the top. Serve and enjoy!

 

This recipe is a great side dish during the summer or winter, rain or shine! I encourage you to try new recipes with the changing seasons- it keeps your palette fresh and your stomach happy!

The 9 Dirtiest Places in Your Kitchen

May 13, 2013 in Food, Info, Organic, Recipes, Tools with 1 Comment

kitchen

I often blog about what to eat, what not to eat, what exercises to do, and how to cook. Today’s blog is about the dirtiest spots in the average kitchen. I almost didn’t share this article, but then I thought to myself “we use our kitchen to support our healthy lifestyle… why not!?” After reading this article, I bet you will be heading to your kitchen to do some cleaning in some spots you never really thought about cleaning…

I found this article on Organic Authority’s website, which I highly recommend for all types of health related information. You can find the original article HERE.

 

THE DIRTIEST PLACES IN YOUR KITCHEN

1. Vegetable Compartment in the Refrigerator
Because of all the veggies that visit this compartment weekly, this compartment was found to contain listeria and salmonella. Be sure to wash this compartment with soap and water monthly. Organic Authority also recommends storing your veggies above your raw meats.

2. Meat Compartment in the Refrigerator
Once again, this compartment is likely to house bacterias! Be sure to clean this container monthly, at minimum.

3. Blender Gasket
This is the rubber part of the blender at the bottom where it seals the blender. This study found yeast, mold, E. coli, and salmonella. Gross! To avoid these awful germs, authorities recommend disassembling your entire blender before cleaning to clean the hard to reach places.

4. Can opener
I have to be honest, I don’t know the last time I cleaned my can opener. Because this is used to open foods off all shapes and sizes, this utensil should be rinsed with soapy water every time you use it!

5. Rubber spatula
If your spatula can disassemble into handle and spatula, watch out! Be sure to take apart your spatula each time you use it to be sure it is entirely clean. If cleaned improperly, this too can house yeast, mold, and E. coli.

6. Water Dispenser in the Refrigerator
Because of the amount of moisture constantly living in this compartment, mold grows all to easily. It is recommend that you clean your dispenser by running a water and vinegar solution through the dispenser, a “how to” you can find in your refrigerator manual.

7. Ice Dispenser in the Refrigerator
This too is moist and an easy place for mold to grow. To clean this compartment, turn off the ice, pull out the ice container and clean with hot soapy water, and allow it to dry completely before putting it back in the freezer.

8. Knife Block
If you do not wash and DRY your knives properly, your knife block can grow some nasty mold in the tiny slots. Be sure to clean knives in hot water and allow them to dry standing up and dry completely before putting them back in the knife block. You can also clean the knife block by cleansing with hot soapy water and letting it dry upside completely.

9. Rubber Seals on Food Storage Containers
We probably all have wonderful storage containers that have a rubber seal or some difficult groove to reach at the top of the container. Be sure to clean these containers completely and dry them before putting away!

 

After reading this article, I am thankful I clean my kitchen as often as I do. When you use your kitchen as often as most of us do, you want to be sure you are cleaning food and containers properly so that the healthy food you are consuming does not contain unwanted germs and dangerous bacterias.

Sweet and Spicy Sweet Potatoes

May 9, 2013 in Calories, fiber, Food, Recipes with 0 Comments

sweet-potato-cubed

Sweet potatoes and more sweet potatoes!

This delicious orange food contains fiber and so many wonderful nutrients. I recommend eating them as often as you can, as many ways as you can think to cook them. One sweet potato has around 120 calories and 4 grams of fiber.

This recipe is from All Recipes. The ingredients, directions, and picture below are all courtesy of All Recipes. You can find the original recipe HERE!

 

sweet potatoe spicy

SWEET AND SPICY SWEET POTATOES

Ingredients

2 large sweet potatoes, peeled and cubed
3 TBLSP olive oil
2 tsp packed brown sugar
1 1/2 TBSLP paprika
1/2 tsp black pepper
1/2 tsp onion powder
1/2 tsp garlic powder
1/2 tsp poultry seasoning
1/2 tsp chili powder
1 pinch cayenne pepper

 

Directions

  1. Preheat an oven to 425 degrees F.
  2. Place the sweet potato chunks into a large mixing bowl. Drizzle with the olive oil, then sprinkle the brown sugar, paprika, black pepper, onion powder, garlic powder, poultry seasoning, chili powder, and cayenne pepper overtop. Toss until the potatoes are evenly coated with the seasoning. Spread onto a baking sheet.
  3. Bake in the preheated oven for 15 minutes, then turn the potatoes over with a spatula, and continue baking until the sweet potatoes are golden and tender, 10 to 15 minutes more.

 

Honestly, savory sweet potatoes my be my favorite way to eat sweet potatoes.
This recipe is sweet, savory, and oh so good.

 

7 Reasons to Exercise Outside Rather than Inside

May 6, 2013 in Calories, Intervals and Circuit Training, Running, Weight, workout in heat, workouts with 0 Comments

forest trail

 

As spring is filling the air and the weather is absolutely fantastic, I am exercising outside as much as possible. Exercising outside not only feels wonderful this time of year, but it has some wonderful health benefits that exercising indoors cannot always fulfill.

Women’s Health Magazine can take credit for these great tips. You can find the link to the article HERE and a link to their full website in my recommend websites on my blog.

 

outside exercise

7 REASONS TO EXERCISE OUTSIDE

1. You’ll go for longer.

When you change up the scenery, you usually spend more time exercising. Run a new route, find a great hiking park that requires you to hike a few miles in and then a few miles back out. Try something new so you end up exercising longer.

2. You blast more calories.

Changing up your routine outdoors helps you blast calories because you surprises your muscles by doing new exercises. Plus exercising outside usually means a varied terrain, so you’re climbing hills rather than running flat on a treadmill.

3. You’ll save money.

Gyms are expensive. I do not own a gym membership and still find plenty of ways to get in the exercise I need through outdoor running and circuit training. Exercising outside is free! Who doesn’t love free?

4. You will feel happier.

Studies show that people who spend time outside more often tend to have a happier demeanor. The fresh air coupled with doing something good for your body can’t help but make you feel great! Exercising gives you energy and helps clear your head, which causes a more positive outlook.

5. You will fight germs.

Know why people get sick more in the winter? It’s because the germs get cooped up in the locked buildings with the windows shut. Being outside gives you fresh air! Gyms also contain germs, bacteria, and according to Women’s Health, MRSA (a strand of staph). If exercising at the gym, always use gym manners and disinfect your machines.

6. You will think clearly.

Pick your favorite playlist, audio book, or sermon. (I love to catch up sermons on my runs because it’s easy to pay attention.) Exercising outside in any capacity can help you clear your head and lessen stress.

7. You will workout whenever you want.

I love this reason because as Women’s Health puts it, “The outdoors is always ready to go. No class schedules, no waiting in line for machines. You can fit fitness in whenever you have a chance.”
Exercising outdoors leaves little room for excuses- it’s always right there!

I encourage you- get outside and exercise!

Activities:
Ride bikes
Job a new route
Walk a new neighborhood
Play sports with your kids or a group of friends
Hike a nature park near your home
Do yoga on the porch

What are your favorite outdoor activities?
How will you get active this spring and summer?

Tex Mex Sloppy Joes

April 25, 2013 in Food, Protein, Recipes with 0 Comments

sloppy joe

One of my favorite magazines is Rachel Ray’s Magazine. She always has great recipes and party hosting tips, not to mention great information about food.

This recipe is from the March issue of Rachel Ray’s Magazine, and it is fantastic!

TEX MEX SLOPPY JOES
Servings: 4

Ingredients

4 slices bacon, chopped
1 lb ground beef, seasoned with salt and pepper
1 onion, chopped
1-2 jalapeno peppers
1 TBLSP garlic, chopped
1 TBLSP chili powder
1 1/2 tsp cumin
1 1/2 tsp coriander
1 cup beer (you can buy non-alcoholic beer if you prefer not to cook with alcohol)
1 cup tomato sauce
1 TBLSP brown sugar
2 TBLSP worcestershire sauce
1 TBSLP cider vinegar
1 TSBLP hot sauce

4 hamburger buns

Directions

1. In a large skillet, drizzle olive oil over medium-high heat. Add bacon and cook until crisp. Using a slotted spoon, transfer the bacon to a paper towel to drain.

2. Add the ground beef to the skillet and cook until browned. Season beef with salt and pepper. Return the cooked bacon to the pan and add the onion, chiles, garlic, chili powder, cumin, and coriander.
Cook stirring, until the onion is softened, about 5 minutes.

3. In a medium bowl, stir together beer, tomato sauce, brown sugar, worcestershire, vinegar, and hot sauce. Pour the mixture over the meat. Lower the heat and let mixture simmer for 5-10 minutes or until ready to serve.

 

This recipe is excellent eaten even without a bun if you are looking to cut calories there. I highly recommend this delicious and healthy version of sloppy joes!

2 Reasons to Pack Your Meals

April 22, 2013 in breakfast, Calories, Food, Protein, Tools, vegetarian burger with 5 Comments

healthy lunch

Here’s yet another simple trick to stay healthy and save money: pack your lunch!

Pack a lunchbox (stylish or not) and prepare your meals at home for the next day and coming work week. By packing your own meals, you get to regulate what enters your mouth and how healthy it is.

WHY SHOULD I PACK A LUNCH?

1. You will save money.
Eating out at $10, 5 days a week, adds up to $200 a month, just on LUNCH. Packing your lunch will never hit that astronomical number unless you start packing rare exotic animals to eat.

2. You will save calories.
Eating out uneducated will cost you about 1000 calories per meal, while packing a lunch should cost you only 500 each day. Do the math here, and in one month’s time, you’ve eaten an extra 10,000 calories.
That’s 3 pounds my friends!

3. You will never regret saying no to unhealthy foods.
Too many of us watch coworkers and friends eat out for lunch almost every day and make terrible choices. It can be tempting to go out and enjoy what seems to be “better” food, but  feeling disgusting is never better.

EXCUSES

1. I don’t have enough time in the morning.
PACK IT THE NIGHT BEFORE. Packing my food the night before, helps me make good food choices and causes me to carefully measure out my food portions. Packing last minute in the morning would either cause me to be late or throw pre-packaged unhealthy food in my lunchbox.

You can ask my husband- come 9 o clock I make sure my lunch is packed in the right containers, fruit is washed, portions are measured, and it is stored in the fridge. I even go as far as getting my coffee in the filter so I only hit “Brew” when I get to the kitchen on my way out to work.

2. I don’t know what to pack.
LET ME TELL YOU WHAT I PACK:

Breakfast-a banana and instant flax oatmeal
Midmorning snack- 2 oz chicken and string cheese (both for the straight protein), usually accompanied by a piece of fruit
Lunch- 200 calories of either soup, chili, or a veggie burger, and a container of Greek yogurt with Chia seeds
Mid afternoon snack- CLIF Builder’s bar

This all puts me at only 1200 calories going into dinner.

 

In addition, if I know there’s an event later with unhealthy food I don’t enjoy spending my calories on, I will pre-pack a dinner. Packing my dinner ensures that I enjoy what I eat and intake foods my body loves, all while saving money and calories.

 

Quinoa Chickpea Sweet Potato Burgers

April 18, 2013 in Calories, fiber, Food, Protein, Recipes, vegetarian burger with 1 Comment

chickpea burger cooked

This weekend was a new recipe experiment. I thought to myself “what is in my pantry that I can make into dinner?” And when I found chickpeas and quinoa I quickly searched for a yummy vegetarian burger recipe. Much to my delight, I found this one, tried it, and it is delicious!

I found this recipe on the Ambitious Kitchen’s blog. A big thanks to this writer for sharing her adventures so I can now share them with you. You can find a link to the Ambitious Kitchen’s blog, the complete recipe, and step by step photos HERE. I did not list it here, but this blogger also has a spicy yogurt sauce for her burgers.

QUINOA CHICKPEA SWEET POTATO BURGERS

Ingredients

  • 1 teaspoon olive oil
  • 1 small onion, diced small
  • 3 cloves of garlic, minced
  • 1 teaspoon garlic powder
  • 1 teaspoon cumin
  • 1 teaspoon chili powder
  • 1 teaspoon salt
  • freshly ground black pepper
  • 1 medium to large sweet potato
  • 1 -15 oz can chickpeas, rinsed and drained
  • 1/2 cup fresh cilantro leaves
  • 1/4 cup fresh parsley
  • 2 1/2 cups cooked quinoa
  • 1 egg
  • Buns and veggies to garnish

Directions

1. Cook quinoa by following directions. 2 1/2 cups cooked quinoa is 1 1/4 cups dry. While cooking quinoa, microwave the sweet potato 3-4 minutes until soft and easily mashed.

2. Dice the onion into small pieces and saute with minced garlic in light olive oil until onions are soft and translucent.

3. Combine chickpeas, onion saute, sweet potato, salt, pepper, garlic powder, chili powder, cumin, cilantro and parsley in the food processor. Pulse until chunky and taste. Add seasonings as desire. Then add 1 egg to soften the mixture. Pulse ingredients until slightly chunky but smooth overall.

4. Combine above mixture with quinoa in a large bowl. Stir together to make one homeogenous mixture. Divide mixture into patties, about 8 or 9 total.

5. Heat olive oil in skillet over medium high heat. Cook burgers 4-5 minutes per side, keeping the heat at medium so they cook through without over cooking on the outside.

Nutrition

If you make 9 burgers, 1 patty only has 165 calories and is loaded with protein and fiber.

 

Enjoy!

When Can I Splurge?

April 15, 2013 in Calories, Food, Weight with 0 Comments

pizza

As much as I love eating healthy, I truly love to splurge.

Not that I need to define it, but splurging is when you have a meal and you eat whatever you want, not taking into account how healthy it is.

How Should I Splurge?

1. Splurge ONCE in the entire week.
Do NOT, I repeat, Do NOT, splurge for an entire day and especially not an entire weekend. Pick one day of the week and one meal during that day that you will splurge. It makes it easier to eat healthy all week when you have something really awesome to eat as your reward.
My splurge night is Friday night. Jordan and I go out to dinner and usually out for ice cream after that. It’s always worth the wait.

2. Splurge by eating food you love.
Pick foods that you absolutely love but almost always so no to. If you love pizza, eat pizza. If you love a greasy hamburger, eat a greasy hamburger. Be sure your splurge is worth it. If you eat something unhealthy that you don’t really love, it’s likely you will splurge again to make yourself satisfied.

3. Splurge knowing the next day is back to normal.
Too many people think that blowing it for one meal gives them the right to blow it for an entire weekend. One splurge day will not be likely to make you gain weight, but two or three days will easily pack on 5 pounds. Get back to your healthy eating the next meal after your splurge!

4. Splurge and then compensate with a workout.
I either work out hard the same day as an unhealthy meal or I get right back to it the next day with an intense workout.

However you splurge, make it 100% worth it. Eat the foods you love and really enjoy the meal while you eat it. It’s okay to eat unhealthy once a week. I actually recommend it. It makes self-control so much easier when there’s a reward at the end of the week.

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