June 01, 2009
May 31, 2009
A Solution for Soreness
Many of my weekend warriors just can't get enough exercise. Often times working out intensely for 3 and 4 days straight. Instead of continually overtraining and causing injury I am suggesting to take a day off from the weights or high intensity cardiovascular activity. Try a day of low-intensity cardio in between stretches of intense exercise to better promote recovery and healing. The light workout quickens healing and lessens soreness by speeding up the flow of nutrients to your muscles, and this increased flow helps repair the tissue. A brisk walk, bike-ride, or even a yoga class will do the trick.
See you back in the gym soon,
May 12, 2009
Healthy recipes of the Week
A few wonderful recipes I have tried from my client Sherrie.
Grilled Vegetable Salad
I love this Grilled Vegetable Salad! First, it is healthy, second, you can eat as much of
it as you want without having to worry about gaining weight! However, there is one
item on this platter that you need to watch how much you eat and that is the
fingerling potatoes. A few won’t do you in but if you are trying to watch your
starchy vegetable intake you could eliminate these.
I like to make a lot of this salad to have on hand for a few days. It is great by itself, or
you can add it to mixed greens or use as a side to your favorite meat dishes.
Here is what I like to grill for this salad but you could add other vegetables you like
as well. I am not giving you amounts for each of the items because they are so low in
calories you can cook as many as you think you might eat in three days!
Ingredients:
Bell Peppers ‐ red, green, yellow or orange ones will work
Asparagus ‐ cut bottom inch off and put in a glass with 1 inch of water and store in
the refrigerator
Fingerling or New Potatoes ‐ boiled or baked until fork tender
Eggplant
Zucchini
Mushrooms – white button, cremini, or baby bella’s
Fennel
Directions: Pre heat grill to medium heat. Clean the grill grates with steel brush.
1. Wash the peppers, asparagus, potatoes, zucchini and fennel. Do not wash the
mushrooms! Just wipe the mushroom off with a paper towel if they are dirty.
Pat all the veggies dry with a paper or cloth towel.
2. Cut the peppers in half the long way then take out the seeds and stem. Cut
each half into 4 strips.
3. Do not do anything to the Asparagus spears. Leave them whole.
4. You can cut the eggplant into ¼ inch circles or if you want a different look cut
the bottom and top off the eggplant, then stand the eggplant up on its bottom
and make long ¼ inch slices down the length of the eggplant. You can cut the
zucchini the same way as the eggplant. However, if you want long slices of
zucchini cut the zucchini in half widthwise first so it will be more stable when
you set it on the end to make the slices down the length of the squash.
5. Cut the top off the fennel bulb where the stalks meet the bulb. Cut the bottom
off the fennel then set the bulb up so it stands up on the bottom. Make slices
across the length of the bulb. You can use the fennel fronds to chop up and
put over all the grilled vegetables or use it as a garnish for your vegetable
platter.
6. The next step is to put a little extra virgin olive oil on all of the vegetables and
sprinkle on some salt and pepper or one of your favorite spice blends. Watch
the amount of oil you add. I usually put my EVOO in a squirt bottle so a can
lightly drizzle the oil. You could also use an oil spray like PAM.
Some of my favorite spice blends are Herbs de Provence and Italian blends,
Garlic Salt, Onion Powder, etc. I love the spice shop in Denver called Savory.
They have amazing spices and you can buy them in really small quantities if
you want to try something before deciding you want to purchase a whole
bottle.
I also love to use flavored olive oils from a new store at Market and 15th
street called EVOO. They have amazing Balsamic Vinegars and Infused Olive
Oils like Meyer Lemon, Garlic and Basil, which would be really good for this
recipe. You also can use any oil based vinaigrette salad dressing like Italian,
Balsamic, Raspberry, etc. You can’t go wrong, so play!
7. For the mushroom, just remove the stems and lightly add whatever oil you
decided to use.
8. Slice the pre‐baked or boiled potatoes in half and add a drizzled of oil. Season
with whatever spices you decided to use.
9. Place all the vegetables on the grill at once if you have room, if not, cook in
batches. Cook until they begin to soften but are not mushy. They should
have a little bit of a firm texture and not be “limp” if you want the most
nutrients. Start the mushroom out with the stem side facing up. This allows
the water from the mushrooms to collect the well created by removing the
stems. Once the well is full of water flip them over. This gives the
mushrooms a “meaty” texture without becoming soggy!
10. Arrange the vegetables on a platter and admire how beautiful they look!
Note: I like to serve these vegetables as a side to grilled fish, chicken, and low fat
sausages made from game, buffalo and chicken, which are available at Whole
Foods Market.
Questions? Call Executive Chef Sherrie Robbins at 303‐296‐3966.
May 06, 2009
Best diet advice I can offer
Sorry everyone that doesn't have the Iphone or Itouch, I recently was told by a client of an amazing program or App that tracks food and calories. The program is called "Lose It" and can be downloaded free from Itunes. This amazing program has a huge library of foods and exercises to let you know exactly the amount of calories you need per day to reach your goal. It is unreal the difference in results when you know exactly what you are eating and burning, along with your daily budget of calories. No more excuses who doesn't carry their phone 24-7.
To download the App, click the link below
April 19, 2009
Bring on the sun!!
Ok everyone I know we just had a spring snow storm in Denver causing everyone to stay indoors the last few days. No excuses this week. We are going to have 70 degree temperatures the entire week and sundown isn't until almost 8 PM. You have plenty of time to head to the park after work for some cardio. I want to hear about some nice runs and a few pounds shed off the scale this week.
Good Luck
April 17, 2009
March 30, 2009
Could Tiger Woods be the Greatest Athlete Ever??
One of my favorite athletes to write about is Tiger Woods. No athlete has greater will and desire to be great, than Tiger Woods. As many people know Tiger was away from the game of golf for almost 9 months to reconstruct his knee. Yesterday while many of you were busy watching the NCAA basketball tournament I was glued to Tiger Woods final round a Bay Hill. Tiger trailing by five in the final round came back and won for one of his greatest victories of his career. Many people don't see golfers as pure athletes, I do, because if Tiger Woods played baseball he would hit 30 home runs and hit for at .300 average, if he was a pitcher he would throw over 90 mph, if he played basketball he could slam dunk and shoot from anywhere on the court, he already has the crown as strongest athlete pound for pound at Stanford. Check out his final putt from yesterday.
March 23, 2009
Sunday Shopping
Like most Americans our family heads to the grocery store on Sundays, actually to be honest, my wife does the shopping while I work on Sunday. We make a grocery list during the week of our favorite foods. To try to make it as simple as possible, we pick items that fit into the category of meals or snacks, (breakfast, morning snack, lunch, afternoon snack, dinner, and sometimes late snack). To make it even easier we try to prepare our foods on Sundays and pack small containers for the week. During the warmer months we typically grill out for dinner on Sunday nights, this makes it easy to add our meats to the grill to cook for later in the week.
Here is a sample of our weekly grocery list:
Breakfast Sample Items
Hard Boiled Eggs
Low Carb Protein for shakes
Oatmeal
Turkey Bacon
Greek Yogurt
Morning Snacks
Almonds
Cottage Cheese Doubles (Fruit and Cottage Cheese)
Turkey Sticks (similar to beef jerky stick)
Lunch
Grilled Chicken
Canned Albacore Tuna
Small Grilled Beef Patties
Small Grilled Turkey Patties
Salad Blends
Steamed or Grilled Veggies
Afternoon Snacks
Protein Shakes
Cottage Cheese
Fruit (Bananas, Berries, Apples, and Mango)
Protein Bars
Greek Yogurt
Dinner
Lamb
Chicken (Baked or Grilled)
Fish (Sea Bass, Salmon, Talipia, or Tuna)
Turkey
Sweet Potatoes or Yams
Salads with Avocados, Feta Cheese, low-fat dressing, olives, and cucumbers
Steamed or Grilled Veggies
Brown Rice
Couscous
Hope this helps simplify your diet with some suggestions. I think a grocery list really helps you prepare and stay with a healthy menu.
March 19, 2009
No Excuses!!
I had horrible insomnia last night and talked myself into not working out today, and after watching this, well I will let you decide.
Spring weather brings new commitment
Although I am sad the ski season is coming to an end, and quickly, I am excited to have very early spring weather. It is great to have a few extra hours of daylight to increase our available hours to enjoy families and friends outside with a little exercise. So at night instead of turning on the television for a few hours. Head outdoors and enjoy yourself with a nice walk, run, or even a fitness class in the park. There is nothing better than a little sweat in our beautiful Colorado spring weather.
