Eating Your Way Right – The Rubber Hits The Road!

About 5 weeks ago we started our “Eating Your Way Right Through The Holidays” challenge, and now that Thanksgiving (Holiday 2 of 4) is upon us, we want to take this opportunity to celebrate your achievements.

There are many of you that are working diligently, planning and prepping and being ready for the inevitable pitfalls to healthy eating that come with office parties, candy dishes, and family feasts.

Keep up the great work!

We want to specifically congratulate some of you who have made tremendous progress over the last 5 weeks in not just maintaining your weight, but actually dropping significant pounds and inches.

Here are the top 5 individuals and their % lost so far:

1. Debbie Berwick 5.58%
2. Lynne Marston 5.26%
3. Beth Garcia 4.19%
4. Linda Bucknam 3.21%
5. Rachel Blumenthal 3.13%

We also have two teams tied for highest percentage of checklists returned:

6:15 Epsom & 8:30 Concord

It’s not too late to get in the game, there are still 7 weeks left until the end of the year – that is a lot of time to make tremendous progress.

Make It Happen!

Nancy & Dean

Beet It – Linda D’s “Beets and Bean” Side Dish

When someone tells me a recipe is their family’s “Go To” side dish, I listen and take notes.

A “Go To” dish is a recipe everyone in the family loves, including the cook. If the cook loves to make it and the family loves to eat it, we should listen up.

Linda D. of 8:30am Concord fame sent in this recipe. She didn’t just tell me that the contrast in color is delightful and the taste is really excellent, she told me this was her family’s “Go To” dish. Guess who wrote it down to make? You should too.

 Beets and Beans

• 1 thinly sliced red onion
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• pinch of fresh ground pepper
• 1 Tablespoon cider vinegar
• 1 pound green beans, trimmed
• 1 large beet

1.Scrub and quarter beet; wrap in foil and roast at 450 for about 30 mins. Cook until tender.

2. Place onion in a bowl, cover with boiling water, let stand 15 mins.

3. Blanch green beans in boiling water for about 3-4 mins.; plunge into cold water.

4. Drain onions, toss with salt, pepper and vinegar; set aside.

5. Skin and slice cooled beets.

6. Whisk together:

• 1/2 teaspoon sea salt
• 1/8 teaspoon cayenne
• 1 small clove garlic, crushed
• 1 Tablespoon Dijon mustard
• 1 teaspoon honey
• 2 Tablespoon fresh lemon juice
• 2 Tablespoon Olive Oil

7. Now: drain onions and squeeze dry. Toss half with beets, other half with beans. Arrange the beets and beans on a serving platter–very lovely, the contrast! Pour dressing over veggies, let stand 15 mins before serving. This will serve 4.

Give this recipe a try – you’ll be glad you did!

To your best health,

Nancy

A Festive Feast for the Eyes, and It Tastes Good Too!

I am eating this as I edit. Delicious! – Coach Dean

Although it is almost Labor Day, don’t let this summer pass you by without sinking your teeth into this incredibly colorful tasty meal.

The fantastic zing of mango with lime and red pepper drizzled over grilled salmon. A tomato salad sprinkled with feta cheese – I just love the combination of tomatoes and feta. Contrasting the color of the tomatoes and beets with green beans. I am making myself hungry as I write this. You’ve got to try this one out.

Salmon With Mango Salsa

• 1 mango peeled, pitted, and diced
• 1 bunch cilantro, chopped
• 1/2 teaspoon of red pepper flakes
• 1/4 cup olive oil
• 2 Tablespoons lime juice (about one lime)
• salt and pepper to taste
• 6 skin on salmon fillets (about 2 pounds)

Stir together the mango, cilantro, rep pepper, oil,  and lime juice. Heat a grill to medium high. ( If you can hold your hand 3 inches above grill grates for 4-5 seconds its medium. If you can’t hold it there that long you’ve got medium high or high heat. Be careful when testing heat of grill this way.) Season salmon with salt and pepper and lightly brush with olive oil. Grill skin side down for 4-6 minutes. Turn them over and grill for another 4-6 minutes. Remove from grill and spoon salsa over top.  Serves 4

(I buy fresh mango salsa pre made. I squeeze a bit of lime juice, add a bit of cilantro, and a few red pepper flakes to the premade salsa.)

Tomato Beet Salad

• 1 pound of beets
• 2 pound of tomatoes
• 1 pint of cheery tomatoes
• 1/4 cup feta cheese
• fresh cilantro, optional
• 2 teaspoons olive oil

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Scrub the beets until clean. Roast on a baking sheet for 75 minutes. Cool. When they are cool to touch you can rub the skins together slightly to remove. Slice beets into rounds. Slice the tomatoes and halve the cherry tomatoes then arrange on platter with beets. Top with feta cheese and sprinkle with cilantro. To finish, drizzle with olive oil. Serves 4

Braised Green Beans

• 1 cup chicken broth
• 5 peeled garlic cloves
• 1 pound green beans, trimmed
• 2 teaspoons fresh thyme leaves
• salt and pepper to taste
• 2 teaspoons olive oil

In a large skillet, bring chicken broth and garlic cloves to a simmer. Add in the beans and thyme. Cover. Cook for 8 minutes. Season to taste with salt and pepper and drizzle olive oil on top. Serves 4

To your best health (while satisfying your taste)

Coach Nancy

Don’t Lock Your Car This Summer

The summer time joke is that you need to lock your car or someone with a green thumb and a garden will leave zucchini in your car while you’re not watching.

Well don’t lock your car!

Here is a wonderful recipe sent in from Judy at 6:15 in Epsom

• 2 medium to large zucchini
• 2 medium to large summer squash
• 6 large leaves fresh basil
• 1/4 cup fresh lemon juice
• 1/4 cup olive oil
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 1/4 tsp pepper
• 1/2 cup chopped pecans (can substitute slivered almonds)

Use vegetable peeler lenghtwise on zucchini & squash (stop at seeded core – can chop up core for spaghetti sauce, etc.) & put in large bowl. Remove basil leaves from stalks (discard stalks) & chop leaves & add to bowl. In separate small bowl whisk together lemon juice, oil, salt & pepper. Drizzle over salad & add chopped nuts. Serve immediately
3 servings, increase all ingredients to serve more. Great topped with grilled chicken or turkey!

Try it! Quick & Easy!

Thank you Judy. In case you are over run with zucchini Judy comes to train at 6:15 in Epsom, I’ll point out her car to you. 🙂

To your best health,
Nancy

My Mom Comes Through – Thanks Mom!

And there you have it, a fast delicious veggie recipe from my mom in Indiana.

Let me know what you think. I will pass all the praise onto her.

Coach Nancy

S3 Winners Eating Ice Cream

Sizzlin’ Summer Slimdown otherwise known as S3 successfully ended with many losing weight and making life-long changes. Winning our team challenge, the 6:15 crew in Epsom, enjoyed a cookout complete with summer’s favorite dessert – Ice Cream.

The menu they enjoyed looked like this:

Grilled Chicken

Marinated Steak

Greek Summer Salad

Watermelon

Spinach Salad with Cranberries

Veggie Platter

Peach Melba Sundaes

While they enjoyed being pampered with a meal Dean and I fixed, you can also enjoy these same foods. Don’t tell them, but this cookout was simple recipes. (What you can do though, is ask how it tasted. 🙂 )

Grilled Chicken

• 3 pounds chicken breast
• 1/4 cup olive oil
• 1/4 cup rice vinegar
• 1/4 cup McCormick’s Grill Mates Montreal Chicken seasoning
• I put this in a ziploc bag for 2 hours before Dean put it on the grill

Marinated Steak

• 2 pounds Steak
• 2 Tablespoons olive oil
• 2 Tablespoons balsamic vinegar
• 2 -3 Tablespoons McCormick’s Grill Mates Montreal Steak seasoning
• This too went into a ziploc bag for 2 hours before Dean took it over on the grill

Greek Summer Salad

• 1/2 red onion, cut into small rings
• 1 tomato, diced (I use cherry tomatoes, cut in half)
• 1 green pepper, chopped
• 1 small zucchini, thinly sliced
• 1/2 cup feta cheese
• 1/4 cup white wine vinegar
• 2 Tablespoons olive oil
• 1 clove garlic, minced
• 1 teaspoon basil
• 1 teaspoon oregano
• 1 teaspoon sea salt
• Pepper to taste

In a glass bowl combine the onion, tomato, zucchini, and feta cheese. Add in vinegar, oil, basil, oregano, salt and pepper. Stir and then refrigerate to allow the flavors to develop.

Spinach Salad with Cranberries  (this is one of my favorites, Thank you Helen from FLAG)

Salad:

In a large bowl, toss together:

• 10 cups baby spinach
• 1 ½ cups sliced celery
• ½ cup dried cranberries
• ½ cup chopped walnuts, toasted

Dressing:

Whisk together:

• ¼ cup cider vinegar
• 1 Tbsp. Dijon mustard
• ¼ cup olive oil
• ¼ tsp. each salt and pepper

I served the dressing on the side but you can toss it lightly to coat if you’d like. Good news is that I now have this fabulous dressing for other salads! It made a ton.

Serves 4.

Peach Melba Sundaes, without any guilt!

• 1 cup of 1/2 and 1/2
• 4 cups of ice
• 3 scoops of vanilla UMP
• 1/4 teaspoon vanilla

No Name… but It’s Great!

I love seafood. Grilled, baked, sautéd, in some cases raw, seafood is yummy.  Of course you won’t find me on the ocean trying to catch them myself. (You might have to be in the ladies training at 9 in Epsom to get the reason). Oh sorry – too far off course – back to fish.

One of my favorite side dishes along with seafood is coleslaw. Ah, but coleslaw contains mayonnaise, and on a hot summer’s day, mayo will not last long. I came across this recipe and modified it just a bit to meet my needs. It’s cool. It’s refreshing. And it goes great in place of coleslaw.

Now to think of a name for this recipe. (Maybe someone could help me out?)

• “In Place of Coleslaw Recipe”
• 1 can red kidney beans, drained and rinsed
• 3 cups cabbage, finely chopped
• 1 red pepper, chopped
• 2 green onions, chopped
• 1/2 cup feta cheese
• 3 Tablespoons parsley, chopped
• 2 Tablespoons lemon juice
• 1 Tablespoon olive oil
• 2 cloves of garlic, minced
• 1 teaspoon basil

In a large bowl, combine beans, cabbage, red pepper, onions, feta cheese and parsley. In a jar with a tight lid, combine the rest of the ingredients. Shake the dressing ingredients well. Pour over the cabbage mixture and toss lightly. Cover and refrigerate until chilled.

Remember this recipe needs a name. What is a snappy name that will fit the bill?

Coach Nancy

Greek Summer Salad Recipe

Salads and summer go hand in hand. Often the sun’s heat makes cooking dinner just too much.  Instead of heading out to your favorite take out, take time to make this dish. By adding it with grilled chicken, it can easily become an entire meal. Voila! You’re a summer sensation!

Greek Summer Salad

• 1/2 red onion, cut into small rings
• 1 tomato, diced (I use cherry tomatoes, cut in half)
• 1 green pepper, chopped
• 1 small zucchini, thinly sliced
• 1/2 cup feta cheese
• 1/4 cup white wine vinegar
• 2 Tablespoons olive oil
• 1 clove garlic, minced
• 1 teaspoon basil
• 1 teaspoon oregano
• 1 teaspoon sea salt
• Pepper to taste

In a glass bowl combine the onion, tomato, zucchini, and feta cheese. Add in vinegar, oil, basil, oregano, salt and pepper. Stir and then refrigerate to allow the flavors to develop.

Every time I make this recipe, someone asks me to send it along to them. Give it a try. But don’t say I didn’t warn you – you’ll be sharing this link constantly!

Make it happen,

Coach Nancy

Ice Cream, We Scream, We All Scream for Ice Cream

It’s hot and it’s summer, so of course we are thinking of dipping up some of the cool stuff to enjoy.

Guess what? It doesn’t have to be bad for you! Try this delicious and easy to make recipe next time you need a cool treat.

Peanut Butter Chocolate Ice Cream

• 1 cup almond milk
• 1 Tablespoon Cocao nibs
• 2 Tablespoons Natural peanut butter
• 3 Scoops of Chocolate UMP
• 4 Cups of ice

Add all the ingredients into a powerful blender. (we use a Vitamix) Using a dampe,  blend for 30-45 seconds. Going longer will melt your ice cream. Scoop this out and enjoy – it is really good!

Look for more new recipes soon. The S3 winners are going to enjoy their cookout, served up by none other than Coach Dean and I, on July 28th. At the cookout we are going to serve Peach Melba Sundaes with a recipe I created. Watch out, it is fantastic!

Enjoy your summer,

Coach Nancy

Fantastic Recipes from Fantastic People for Fantastic People

Sizzlin’ Summer Slimdown is almost over, and we have some amazing recipes to share from 4 amazing clients who are Making It Happen with their nutrition, and shared these healthy and tasty recipes with us.

Try it, you’ll like it!

Roasted Chick Peas

Kris in Epsom says this recipe is her ‘go to’ when she needs something quick.

• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 1 tablespoon ground cumin
• 1 teaspoon garlic powder
• 1/2 teaspoon chili powder
• 1 pinch sea salt
• 1 pinch ground black pepper
• 1 dash crushed red pepper
• 1 (15 ounce) can chickpeas, rinsed and drained

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Combine the oil, cumin, garlic powder, chili powder, sea salt, black pepper, and red pepper together in a small bowl; add the chickpeas and toss to coat or use a Ziploc bag. Spread into a single layer on a baking sheet.

Roast in the preheated oven, stirring occasionally, until nicely browned and slightly crispy, about 45 minutes.

Be creative with the spices. If you don’t like it hot try a curry mix, or go a bit European with a coriander blend. Why not try them with only sea salt and pepper?

***

It’s So Easy, Its Like Cheating – bean recipe

Liz in Concord has this as a super easy dish.

• ½ cup kidney beans
• 1 teaspoon of balsamic vinegar
• 1/2 cup of cottage cheese

Mix it all together. This is really good- and easy 😉

***

Anna’s Addicting Chickpea Salad

Anna said this recipe is addicting, hence the name, she wasn’t kidding. It is that good. She took that picture of her lunch when she sent me this recipe. Now doesn’t that picture look yummy?

• 2 cups cooked chick peas
• 1/2 c. diced celery
• 1/4 c. diced onion
• 1 c. diced carrot
• 1/2 c. diced red pepper
• 1 T. vegenaise (mayonnaise)
• 1/2 c.cilantro
• 1/2 c. toasted sunflowers
• 1 T Ume Plum Vinegar
• 1 teaspoon cumin
• A pinch of sea salt
• 1 clove mashed garlic
• Pepper to taste

Mash the chickpea with a fork, add the rest of the ingredients and mix well. Salad taste best next day.

(For a different taste you can add mustard, use curry powder, or add 1/4 cup of raisins.)

Easy Ratatouille (with a beany bootcamp twist)

Veronica in Epsom made up this dish when S3 kicked in Habit 4. Great way to tackle veggies and replacing grains with beans all in one!

• 1 sliced summer squash
• 2 sliced zucchini
• 1 cubed small eggplant
• 1 diced medium onion
• 1 28 ounce can of diced tomatoes (READ LABEL!)
• (If you use all the juice it will be more watery so I poured a little out)
• 1 can black beans rinsed
• 2 sliced garlic cloves
• 2 sprigs fresh thyme
• salt/pepper to taste

Heat over to 375. Put everything in a dutch oven, cook covered for 30 minutes. Stir & cook uncovered for 15 minutes more. Delicious!

Keep those recipes coming. I love making new dishes. Adding new recipes keeps nutritional habits easier to incorporate. From the look of Anna’s lunch, foods can be yummy to eat, great to look at, and fantastic for you.

Coach Nancy