Archive for June, 2010
Posted on June 27, 2010 by admin
My Half Marathon!! Ok so day started out good. Not too much heat and not too humid. Should’ve known better when I realized I forgot my iPod at home!! Fit fan and uber runner Bean Wrenn described the course as “rolling”. Ok y’know how real estate agents call small homes “cozy”? “Rolling” is english for REALLY FRIGGEN HILLY!!!! So I didn’t have my iPod and no Nike+ to pace myself so I situated myself behind some Fidelity runners who kept talking about their pace. They were running an 8:30. I kept with them until I realized that one of the runners apparently had a serious sweating problem and what I thought were mists from the showers strategically placed along the run were actually drops of his sweat hitting me. Ugh!!! So I ditched them and followed this nice old lady who was kicking my butt and probably running a 7:30. She was like 80! Go girl power!! She ditched me at around mile 6 when I was dry heaving on the side of the road because of the intense incredible heat. Where the hell did it come from?!! I choked down a Gu and it seemed to help. Never ended up finding my nice old lady though 
My Gu lasted til about mile 11 when I started dry heaving again from too much Gatorade. Btw the paramadics were seriously busy with heat exhaustion cases. I just kept running under the showers 
. The only music that kept me going were the rocking bands that stayed with me for a while. They’re really helpful!! Especially to drown out the huffing and puffing and complaining of fellow runners. Misery totally did not love company in this case!! Anyway I ended up sprinting at the end with this really long legged black woman who pushed me to probably decrease my time by 1 minute! Go girl power! I don’t think I made my sub 1:50 (I think I finished around 2:00) but I’m so psyched to have done it and so pissed that everyone was eating pizza at the end (I’m allergic to wheat) lol! But the orangeade was yummy!
So I’m really hooked on half marathons and I’m planning the next race. Anyone down?!!
Xoxo
L
Posted on June 25, 2010 by admin
Fried chicken has always held a place in my heart. It’s so succulent, juicy, and delicious, but full of fat and calories. The question is how do we get the all the goodness of fried chicken without all the downsides. The answer comes from rice crispies and bagel chips, yogurt, and your oven. The yogurt is used to bind the crispies and crushed chips to the chicken and then it’s baked at high heat to really crisp things up. Granted, the chicken loses the fatty, greasy exterior that we all love, but it also loses about a bazillion calories and grams of fat. (It might be slightly less than a bazillion, but you get the point.) Pair this chicken with some braised collard greens to give the dish an authentic southern feel.
Eat On!
Chef Poppy
Unfried, Fried Chicken
Ingredients
* Cooking spray
* 1 1/3 cups crispy rice cereal
* 2 1/4 cups bagel chips or Melba toasts
* 5 teaspoons extra-virgin olive oil
* 3/4 teaspoon hot paprika
* Kosher salt and freshly ground pepper
* 1 1/2 cups plain Greek yogurt (2%)
* 1 teaspoon dijon mustard
* 4 skinless, bone-in chicken thighs or halved bone-in breasts (about 6 ounces each)
* 2 bunches scallions
* Harissa, chili sauce or ketchup, for the sauce
Directions
Preheat the oven to 475 degrees F. Set a rack on a foil-lined baking sheet and generously coat the rack with cooking spray.
Finely grind the cereal and bagel chips in a food processor and transfer to a large resealable plastic bag. Add 3 teaspoons olive oil, the paprika, 2 teaspoons salt, and pepper to taste and toss.
Whisk 1/2 cup yogurt and the mustard in a shallow bowl. Add the chicken and turn to coat, then transfer to the bag; seal and shake to coat. Place the chicken on the rack and mist with cooking spray.
Toss the scallions with the remaining 2 teaspoons olive oil and place alongside the chicken. Bake until the chicken is crisp and a thermometer inserted into the thickest part registers 160 degrees F, about 30 minutes.
Make the dipping sauce: Mix the remaining 1 cup yogurt and harissa to taste in a bowl. Serve the chicken and scallions with the sauce.
Posted on June 21, 2010 by admin
Y’all know how much I dig green tea and here’s why. Green tea contains catechins which boost your health and burn lots of fat. Typically your body likes homeostasis (it doesn’t like change) so it’ll fight any weight loss but the catechin in green tea (EGCG) makes sure that the enzymes responsible for burning stored energy (fat) get moving! And the caffeine in green tea works with EGCG to heighten the fat burning process. New studies have shown that not only drinking tea is effective, but you can also take 500 mg of green tea extract 3 times a day before meals to really reduce your waist size and body fat. I’ve never taken green tea supplements. I drink 2 cups a day-one in the morning and one at around 4 and find that this keeps my metabolism kicking!!
Xo
L
Posted on June 11, 2010 by admin
Is there anything better than picking your own peas and snapping into them right off the plant? Probably not. These sweet and tender morsels are a part of Spring like strawberries, asparagus, and blueberries. Honestly, I used to hate peas. Eating them would make me shiver. But, over time I grew to like them and now I can’t wait to pop ‘em in my mouth. Raw or cooked they’ve become a staple in my kitchen. A popular accompaniment for peas is mint. They always seem to go hand-in-hand. Today’s recipe is a Spring pea salad that incorporates mint, lemon juice, and goat cheese. Quick and delicious!
Eat On!
Chef Poppy
Spring Pea Salad
Ingredients
- 1/2 cup fresh mint leaves, torn
- 1 tablespoon capers, roughly chopped
- 1 small shallot, thinly sliced
- 1 teaspoon grated lemon zest
- 1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil
- 1/8 teaspoon kosher salt
- 1/4 teaspoon black pepper
- 1 pound green peas, blanched 1/2 cup (4 ounces) crumbled goat cheese
Directions
- In a medium bowl, combine the mint, capers, shallot, zest, oil, salt, and pepper.
- Add the peas and goat cheese and toss gently. Serve at room temperature.
Posted on June 7, 2010 by admin
It’s a known fact that women are continuously pissed off at men for their ability to drop weight ridiculously fast. I can tell you first hand that nothing ticks me off more than when my husband and I diet together and he loses 6 lbs the first week and I’m begging for 1.5! So what is it? Part of it is definitely that they have more testosterone which give them more muscles leading to higher metabolisms. But here is what it really is. They don’t emotionally eat when dieting. Believe me, guys can put it on like the best of them, but it’s my experience that when they decide to diet..it’s a done deal. There’s no veering from the written script. They don’t take bites of their kids’ macaroni and cheese, they don’t sneak in chocolate when they pms, they don’t feel guilty that they aren’t having a bite of their coworkers birthday cake. They just don’t. And that’s why they lose. So, we ladies really could take a tip from the guys, and put our emotions aside when trying to fit into our skinny Levi’s. Of course, it would be so much easier to do that if they weren’t pissing us off so often 
Xoxo
L
Posted on June 4, 2010 by admin
Tis the season for going over to friend’s houses and outdoor parties. Potato salad is always a staple, but, personally, I don’t like creamy potato salad. Today I’m providing you with an alternative the creaminess that everone expects. This warm German potato salad is tangy and bacony. (Bacon makes everthing better.) When making it, be sure to salt the water the potatoes are cooked in. Finally, dont be afraid to serve the salad cold, its delicious either way. This will for sure be a crowd pleaser!
Eat On!
Chef Poppy
German Potato Salad
Ingredients
3 pounds new potatoesIngredients
3 pounds new potatoes
1 yellow onion, quartered
1/2 pound bacon, diced
1 large red onion, diced
3/4 cup cider vinegar
1 tablespoon mustard seeds
1/4 cup canola oil
Salt and freshly ground pepper
8 green onions, thinly sliced
1/4 cup chopped fresh parsley leaves
Directions
Preheat the grill to high. Place potatoes in a large pot with the onion and cover with cold water. Cook, on the grates of the grill, or on a burner, until tender. Drain, discard the onion, and cut the potatoes into cubes when cool enough to handle. Place the potatoes in a large bowl and cover to keep warm.
Place a large saute pan on the grates of the grill. Add the bacon and cook until crisp. Remove the bacon with a slotted spoon and drain on a paper towel-lined plate. Add the onions to the rendered bacon fat and cook until soft, about 3 to 4 minutes. Carefully add the vinegar and mustard seeds and cook for 2 more minutes. Whisk in the canola oil and season, to taste, with salt and pepper. Add the hot dressing to the potatoes and toss gently to coat. Fold in the green onions and parsley. Season again with salt and pepper, to taste.
Posted on June 2, 2010 by admin
A new study of US health data has linked pesticides that are eaten, breathed or consumed to ADHD in kids. 94 percent of children with higher levels of pesticide residues in their urine had higher levels of hyperactivity.
This is a serious concern. At the top of the most heavily “pesticided” fruits and veggies were frozen blueberries, strawberries and celery (not sure who eats frozen celery??). So what’s the answer? Don’t take a chance on your child’s developing brain. Try to buy organic whenever possible. Here are lists of produce with the most and least amounts of pesticides:
Most
1. Peaches
2. Apples
3. Sweet bell peppers
4. Celery
5. Nectarines
6. Strawberries
7. Cherries
8. Pears
9. Grapes
10. Spinach
11. Lettuce
12. Potatoes
Least
1. Onion
2. Avocado
3. Sweet corn (frozen)
4. Pineapples
5. Mango
6. Asparagus
7. Sweet peas (frozen)
8. Kiwi
9. Bananas
10. Cabbage
11. Broccoli
12. Papaya
Xoxo
L
