Prep time: 5-10 min
Cook time: none
Ingredients:
6 cups baby spinach
½ cup crumbled feta or goat cheese
1/3 cup sliced almonds, walnuts or pecans
1 cup fresh raspberries
2 Tbsp. raspberry vinegar
2 Tbsp. raspberry jam
½ tsp. Dijon mustard
½ tsp. raw honey
In large salad bowl, combine the spinach, cheese, nuts, and raspberries.
In a small bowl, whisk the vinegar, jam, mustard, and honey. Drizzle dressing over the top of salad and toss gently to coat. Serve immediately
Wild salmon blends beautifully with sauteed spinach, and when both are lightly cooked in the best coconut oil on the planet, the resulting taste is superb. I love the organic spice pack that comes with the salmon I get from Vital Choice, but you can make your own spice mix or use salt and pepper– just don’t forget the turmeric. Turmeric is the superspice of all time, having both serious anti-inflammatory properties and some anticancer activity as well.
Ingredients:
1 ½ tablespoons (25ml) Barlean’s coconut oil
4 Vita Choice Wild Alaskan Skinless Salmon fillets (6 ounces or 170 g each), thawed
2 Vita Choice organic spice packs (included with salmon order, or use salt and pepper to taste)
1 bag (6 ounces or 170 g) triple-washed baby spinach
1 teaspoon on turmeric
¾ teaspoon lemon pepper
2 tablespoons (28 ml) water
2 teaspoons butter
Instructions:
Heat the coconut oil in a large Dutch oven over medium-high heat. Add the salmon fillets to the pan and sprinkle Vita Choice spice packs to taste over the surface or fillets. Sear for 1 minute or until lightly browned. Flip and sear the uncooked side for 1 minute, sprinkling the spice packs on the seared sides, to taste. Reduce the heat to medium low and add the spinach.
Sprinkle the turmeric and lemon pepper over the spinach and add the water. Cover for 2 minutes. Remove the cover, add the butter, stir, and recover for about 1 to 3 minutes or until the salmon is cooked to your liking, Do Not Overcook!
A British study looked at popular breakfast cereals and concluded most of them were so loaded with sugar, they belong in the candy aisle.
Of the 50 cereals the study examined, 32 were high in sugar. That included 12 of the 14 cereals aimed at kids.
Before you dismiss this as an irrelevant study because it occurred on the other side of the pond, I want to point out American breakfast cereals are just as bad and probably worse.
Don’t believe me? Take a stroll down the cereal aisle at your local supermarket and check out a few labels.
The study winner for added sugar was Kellogg’s Frosties, which packed an astounding 37% sugar. Store-brand chocolate rice cereals pulled a close second with 36% sugar. And several store-brand honey nut cornflakes had nearly 34% sugar.
Even so-called healthy cereals in this study, such as Kellogg’s All-Bran Flakes and Special K, had 17 – 22% sugar.
This study also found inconsistent nutrition labeling and serving size among cereals.
What particularly drives me nuts (other than the high sugar) is that researchers neatly concluded since these cereals are fortified with vitamins and minerals, they could play a part in a “healthy balanced diet.”
I want you to define the term “healthy balanced diet” for me. And while you’re at it, explain to me the “everything in moderation” theory.
Chances are, I’ll get as many definitions as I have readers.
Dieticians and other professionals like to throw these terms around like they actually mean something. Sorry, but they’re useless phrases that sound good on paper.
But back to breakfast cereals.
Despite whatever nutrients and even protein manufacturers add, cereal is predominantly a carbohydrate. Whether that cereal is chocolate nutty fruity pellets or Special K, it converts to mostly glucose in your body.
So here’s a particular scenario. (When I say “you,” I mean hypothetically, since I know you’re smarter than to fall into this trap.)
You see an ad that Special K can help you lose a certain amount of weight in two weeks. So your mornings start with a big bowl of this cereal in skim milk with a banana and a tall glass of orange juice.
All in all, about 300 calories with almost zero fat. And probably some nonsense about whole grains too. What’s not to love about this breakfast?
Plenty.
For one, you’ve raised your blood sugar levels. That triggers your pancreas to release insulin, which among its other duties, stores fat.
Around mid-morning, your blood sugar levels will crash, leaving you cranky and hungry.
Chances are, you’ll visit the snack machine for low-fat chips or whatever. Maybe you’ll head to Starbucks for a 600-calorie low-fat muffin with a skim-milk latte. Or you’ll pull out a 100-Calorie pack, which again spikes and crashes your blood sugar and releases insulin. You might be so ravenous that you cave to those jelly donuts your receptionist brought in.
Can you see the vicious cycle that’s playing out?
There’s more. Your body can’t store protein. Let’s say you got sufficient protein for dinner the night before. You’re looking at about 12 hours your body has gone without fuel. Guess where your body’s going to get that protein? From the precious muscle you worked so hard to build at the gym.
To put things succinctly: when you eat cereal for breakfast, you’re setting yourself up for metabolic disaster all day. Fat burning is the last thing happening in your body.
I think most people habitually eat cereal because it’s a fast, easy breakfast. So I want to propose some healthy, fat-burning alternatives that take about the same amount of time as breakfast cereal:
The following recipe is from “The Healthiest Slow-Cooker Recipes on Earth”, by myself and Jeannette Bessinger, available on Amazon.com – order here.
Turkey is a great, healthy source of protein (over 20 grams per serving) and turkey drumsticks are always a favorite. And you don’t have to wait till the holidays to enjoy them. This recipe is super easy, super fast, and when you use the slow cooker it cooks to a delicious tenderness in its own juices –no added fat calories. Yum. Seriously.
Perfectly healthy fat replaces the conventional gravy or commercial cream of mushroom soup that generally smothers a dish like this. (Note: a can of commercial cream of mushroom soup has an astonishing 1995 mg of sodium. Need I say more?)
Onions are a rich source of sulfur, so good for the skin, not to mention that they are one of the richest sources of a flavonoid called quercetin which is one of the most anti-inflammatory plant compounds on the planet. (Quercetin has also been shown to have significant anti-cancer properties.) Something to remember: Turkeys are frequently raised under horrific factory farmed conditions, so if possible, get the free-range variety. They’re almost always better for you anyway.
Yield: 4 servings
From time to time I hear from people who absolutely love the whey protein powders we sell on our website like Dream Protein, Whey Cool Protein and Paleomeal, but are stuck for ideas on how to use them.
Sure, you can just add water, or some frozen berries, but after a while that can get kind of boring. So I asked my cookbook writing partner, chef Jeannette Bessinger, to come up with a few original whey protein shake recipes that taste terrific. Here are three she specifically designed for the book of meal plans and recipes that are included in our sensational new program: Unleash Your Thin.
As a bonus, one of them is dairy-free, while the other two are gluten-free:
Yield: 1 serving (Dairy-Free)
Ingredients
Instructions
Combine all ingredients in a powerful blender and blend until very smooth.
Yield: 1 serving (Gluten-Free)
Ingredients
Instructions
Add all ingredients to blender and blend until very smooth.
Yield: 1 serving (Gluten-Free + Dairy-Free)
Ingredients
Instructions
Combine all ingredients in a powerful blender and blend until very smooth.
The following recipe is from the forthcoming book, “The 150 Healthiest Slow Cooker Recipes on Earth“, by myself and Chef Jeannette Bessinger.
Those who read my book “The 150 Healthiest Foods on Earth” may remember my rhapsodic waxing about a superspice called turmeric.
In case you missed it- or need a reminder- here’s a short list of the wonderful things it does.
One, it’s among the most anti-inflammatory foods on the planet, (which matters because inflammation is a major part of every degenerative disease we know of).
Two, it’s extremely good for the liver, that poor overworked organ that has to rid your body of all the toxins it’s exposed to on a daily basis.
And three, it’s got significant anti-cancer activity.
The thing of it is, turmeric goes beautifully with all sorts of dishes (besides, of course, the Indian food it’s best known for). This dish is a perfect example. Rich in fiber from the lentils, and with a ton of nutrients like iron, potassium, calcium and magnesium from the spinach, the dish goes together beautifully. A rich, fragrant vegetarian curry with a warming bite. You’ll love it.
Yield: 6-8 servings
The concept for this recipe comes from my friend, Mary Weaver, owner of the gourmet cooking school Newport Cooks in Newport, Rhode Island. She is an ethical vegetarian and always on the lookout for hearty meatless meals that taste great and provide a great balance of macronutrients.
Serving Suggestion: This curry is delicious served over brown basmati rice or Thai-style rice noodles. To cool the heat a bit and add additional protein, spoon a dollop of plain, low fat Greek yogurt into each bowl.
This fabulous summer recipe comes to us courtesy of my good friends at the National Association of Nutrition Professionals. It’s just too good not to pass on!
The following recipe is just for readers of this newsletter—it’s from “The 150 Healthiest 15-Minute Meals on Earth” by myself and my co-author, chef extraordinaire Jeannette Bessinger. Enjoy
My friends make fun of me when I suggest having beans for breakfast, but when they try this dish they see what I’m talking about! To me, the secret of managing weight (and eating less food in general) is to keep your blood sugar from going on a roller coaster ride. (When blood sugar shoots up- as it does when you eat high carb foods, it also crashes back down, leaving you ravenously hungry.) The best way to keep your blood sugar even (and keep cravings at bay) is to eat high fiber foods. They enter the bloodstream slowly and keep you full and satisfied longer. And no food accomplishes this better than beans! Mix with some cheese, seeds and apples and you have an amazing breakfast.
PS This also makes a quick but hearty snack with great staying power!
Yield: 4 servings
This quick and easy recipe is from my latest cookbook, “The 150 Healthiest 15-Minute Recipes on Earth“, co-authored with Chef Jeannette Bessinger. Enjoy!
Once you taste what blackstrap molasses does to food, you’ll want to find more ways to use this healthy sweetener. Molasses is actually the byproduct of sugar refining. It contains all of the nutrients found in the raw sugar-cane plant (those same nutrients that are completely lost in processed white sugar). Blackstrap molasses actually has a low amount of sugar—and a high amount of nutrients. (You might even call it the “anti-sugar.”) A good source of iron, calcium, magnesium, potassium, manganese, and copper, it makes a sweet glaze, which Chef Jeannette used to liven up this simple steak. Note: Pan frying is a simple way to get some good lean protein on your plate and save some grill-heating time. Don’t forget to choose high quality grass-fed beef!
—Dr Jonny
Ingredients:
Directions:
Yield: 4 servings
From Chef Jeannette
To Complete the Meal: slice the steak into thick strips and serve it over a chunky salad. Combine 4 cups of baby spinach (or chopped red lettuce), 4 quartered plum tomatoes, half a red onion sliced into rings, and chunky slices of peeled cucumber to make a bed for the steak.
If you have 10 more minutes: Slice a whole yellow onion into rings and sauté until soft in 1 tablespoon olive oil with pinches of salt and pepper over medium heat (cooked onion will replace the raw red onion in suggested side).
This raw chocolate fondue recipe is from the book, “The Healthiest Meals on Earth” by myself and my co-author, chef extraordinaire Jeannette Bessinger. Enjoy!
Prep Time: 10 minutes
Cook Time: None
In a blender, place the banana, almond butter, almond milk, agave nectar (or sweetener of your choice) and cocoa and blend well until the mixture forms a smooth cream. You can serve it as is or add any one of the following optional ingredients and lightly blend or stir in well: Cinnamon, orange extract, salt, vanilla, or Grand Marnier. Scrape the fondue into an attractive serving dish. Arrange the strawberries, kiwi, mango and cherries or any other cubed fruit you like, in bowls with accompanying toothpicks or fondue forks for dipping, and serve.
Your Valentine will love this raw chocolate fondue recipe.
Yield: About 6 servings (makes 1 cup of fondue)