Watching your sodium intake? Have you checked your chicken breast?

As Americans we consume close to 90 pounds of chicken per year!  With the trend of healthier nutrition, chicken breast consumption has been on the rise.  To keep up with these consistently increasing demands producers have begun to "enhance" their poultry.  I'm sure you have seen this on labels for fresh chicken as well as in the nutrition facts.  What does this really mean?

Well, enhanced chicken is actually injected with salt, water, and "other additives." Why? We buy chicken by weight; so pretty much what you are paying for is extra salty water that will just leave you a bit more bloated after consumption :(.  And who knows what other elements are in the "other additives" description, I guarantee they probably aren't that good for you.

This salty injected breast is about 440mg of sodium for just 4 oz, about 1/5th your daily sodium dose!  Lovely.

So stop eating chicken breast?  No, thank goodness there are some good producers out there that don't stuff their chicken, and they are worth the price difference!  Start checking the nutrition labels.  The non-injected chicken should weigh in at about 70mg of sodium per serving.

Seared yellowtail with onions and tomatoes

This is one of my favorite new recipes!  Fish is a great source of protein that is also low in calories and low in fat...perfect for those on the weight loss regime.

When buying fish be sure to buy fresh not farmed.  Make sure that the fish does not smell fishy...big sign that the fish is old.  Flash frozen is another great way to buy fish.

Ingredients:

• cleaned and defrosted yellowtail fillet
• 1 large onion
• 1 1/2 c chopped cherry tomatoes
• garlic powder
• lemon pepper
• paprika
• 2 tbsp olive oil
• 1 lemon
• 2 tsp minced garlic

Directions:

1. Chop onions and tomatoes.
2. In a large fry pan heat 1 tbsp olive oil, chopped onion, and minced garlic on medium high.
3. Rinse and pat dry fish.  Coat evenly with 1 tbsp olive oil.  Season fish evenly with lemon pepper, garlic powder, and paprika.
4. Stir ingredients in fry pan, add chopped tomatoes and fresh squeezed lemon juice.
5. Once onions have cooked down, turn pan to high place fish in pan cover for two minutes with a stainless steal bowl to keep in the heat.
6. Cook each side for two minutes, replacing the bowl as a lid.
7. Remove from pan, slice, top with onions, tomatoes and garlic from fry pan.

Progress of those New Year Resolutions fading???

Every January people around the world make the yearly resolutions.  For many people the new year is a fresh start for to create a new and improved self image.  To read more, to lose ten pounds, to eat organic, to go for a walk every day, to begin meditation, to get more sleep, to spend more time with the family, to eat less fast food, to be more organized, to be less stressed, to spend less money.....sound familiar?

All these high expectations can become quite cumbersome.  And sadly often times most individuals jump off the new years resolution train within the first month.

But as human beings we strive for perfection and of course we all feel great once we accomplish a goal or complete a deadline.  So why not make this year the year to make those goals a reality???

The trick to successfully completing goals is to break them down into more manageable mini goals.  So this year instead of one huge goal or many huge goals spread them out over the year to be completed each month. 

Here's an example and one of the most common new years resolutions:  to be healthier this year.   This is a huge huge goal that is crying desperately to be broken down! :)

• January: limit soda (including diet) to one per week
• February: purchase a gym membership
• March: eliminate fast food from diet
• April: take one gym class per week
• May: add two servings of veggies per day to diet
• June: meet with a personal trainer for advice and form corrections
• July: drink 10 8oz glasses/bottles of water per day
• August: speed walk hills one hour once a week
• September: remove processed or refined carbs from diet
• October: take at least 2 yoga or pilates classes each month
• November: add two servings of fresh whole fruit each day to diet
• December: weight train three times per week

Now that was just one example.  Create a map of realistic goals that cater to your needs and your main goal of 2011.  Write these down and stick with them.  Be sure to carry each goal to the following month!!

Good luck.  Stay healthy.

A healthy ice cream...NO WAY???

So this is one of my favorite diet breaker treats of all time!  And when a girlfriend of mine showed me a healthy way to still get the same sweet taste and amazing texture I was stoked!  Best of all it's quick and simple, all you need is a food processor or a strong blinder.

Ingredients:

• 4 ripe bananas
• 1/4 c all natural almond butter
• 1/4 c semi-sweet chocolate chips

Directions:

1. Slice bananas 1/4" thick.  Place in a freezer bag and freeze overnight.
2. Place frozen bananas, chocolate chips, and almond butter in a food processor.  Pulse until blended smoothly.
3. Enjoy.  Place leftovers in a Tupperware in the freezer

Why is this better for you?

• No preservatives
• No artificial flavors
• No heavy fattening artery clogging dairy
• All natural sugars (minus the chocolate chips) rather than pounds of refined process sugars
• Healthy fats from the bananas and almond butter
• Protein from the almond butter
• Potassium with a hint of magnesium from the bananas (good for muscle cramps)

If you are dieting or restricting calories:

• Still treat this as a treat.  Eat it occasionally and in small portions.  Bananas and almond butter are dense foods, high in calories.

Enjoy :).  Eat Healthy.  Stay Healthy.