Healthy Recipe Tips To Compliment Your Workout

I am continually on the lookout for new ways to eat healthily without sacrificing my natural obsession with eating yummy things. Fortunately, my trainer always encourages me to eat, rather than deprive myself. Any good trainer will do that - too many people think a deprivation diet is the way to keep trim or fit. The body is like a car and needs fuel; you wouldn't put kerosene in a Rolls Royce, though, would you? So let's look at some healthier ways of eating.

Tuna
Remember those great tuna fish sandwiches mom made you when you were a kid? Lots of mayonnaise, sweet pickles and white bread? Mayonnaise is just liquid fat (if you read the label, it says "Calories 100 Calories from Fat 100") and white bread is nothing but sugar. I still like tuna salad, but I use solid white tuna with mustard, diced granny smith apples and a few grinds of fresh pepper and, instead of mashing this salad between slices of bread, I use whole leaves of romaine lettuce to make wraps. You'll be surprised at how fulfilling they are and, trust me, the number of fat calories consumed is cut, in the extreme.

Chicken
We are taught to eat more chicken than red meat, but the ways of preparing healthy chicken dishes can run short after awhile. I'm from Texas, where everything is breaded and fried, and that's a treat that can be hard to shake. I discovered, though, that grinding up almonds in the food processor makes for a great breading option. I roll chicken chunks or filleted chicken breast in egg white and the almond meal and cook it in my Nuwave Oven (if you don't have one, you could use your oven broiler or a George Foreman Grill.) For variety I use different spices in the almond meal, my favourite being Herbs de Provence, but Mrs Dash makes a lot of sodium free spices. Southwest Chipotle is a "must try."

Start Small
Remember, every journey begins with a small step. Matthew Jenkins at New York Fitness offers this advice: Start small. Change something that you don't really mind and you won't change back. These little things add up. Learn one new healthy recipe that you enjoy and make it a regular dish. Those who track their food lose more weight.

I leave you with a favorite recipe, given to me by my friend Brandon, who is super proud of his healthy diet and training regimen. If you saw what he looked like, you'd be proud too.

BREAKFAST/DESSERT:
Strawberry Banana Cherry Protein Pancakes w/ Vanilla Bean Protein Ice Cream, Cherries, Bananas & Chopped Peanuts

Ingredients: (Pancake Mix) � C Oat Flour, � C Vanilla Whey
Protein, 1 t Baking Powder, 2 Egg Whites, 1 Mashed Banana, 1 Strawberry Chobani Yogurt Cup, 1 T Light Brown Sugar (optional), 1 t Cinnamon
(optional).

(Toppings) 2 T Chopped Peanuts, � C Cherries, � Banana, 1 C
Vanilla Bean Protein Ice Cream.

Directions: Mix together all dry ingredients into a separate bowl. Mix together all of the wet ingredients into a separate bowl. Mix together the wet and dry ingredients until the batter is thick like a pancake batter. Heat a pan over a medium low heat and spray with a non-calorie cooking spray as the pan is heating up. I've found that cookie pancakes with bananas is easier over a lower heat to prevent burning! Pour desired amount of batter onto the pan and flip after 2-4 minutes. The pancake is ready to flip when you can get a spatula underneath the bottom of the pancake to flip to its other side.

After the last pancake is ready, let them cool for a minute and assemble your toppings. Chop up the � banana, peanuts and cherries.

Take 1 C of vanilla bean protein ice cream, or any other flavor from the ice
cream section & enjoy!

Nutritional Information: Calories: 800 Protein: 75 Carbs: 95 Fats: 14 Pancakes

Enjoy and remember: Eat no food that has a TV commercial.