Cold Cantaloupe Soup with Mint

Posted on by Sam Boyd

This is a great summer recipe.  Feels light and creamy, but packs a hell of a nutritional wallop.  Remember, there is 10% of your needed protein in 1/2 a melon, along with tons of vitamin A, vitamin C, and much more.

Ingredients

1.  1/4 cantalope melon, cut into chunks

2.  1/4 cup cold water or cold coconut water

3.  1 teaspoon dried mint, bloomed in the water (this means, pour your water into a small container and then put the mint in it, and let it sit for 5 minutes).

4.  1 pinch of salt, no more

Recipe

1.  Take al of your ingredients and put them in to food processor.  Blend until smooth (will be a little foamy, its supposed to be)

2.  Put into a bowl and sprinkle with more mint to look pretty.

3.  Take spoon, eat.  Yummy.

Clean Hawaiian Chicken

Posted on by Sam Boyd

This is a very quick and easy recipe.

Ingredients

1.  16 ounces of chicken breast – cubed, or cut into chunks, or hearts, whatever, just bite size.

2.  2 medium red peppers, cut into strips

3.  1 medium onion, cut into wedges

4.  8 small radishes, star cut (meaning cut into 6 wedge-like pieces)

5.  12 ounces of pineapple, roughly 2 cups

6.  1 tablespoon coconut oil

7.  2 tablespoons soy sauce (real soy sauce please)

Recipe – the order is fairly important here

1. Put radishes and coconut oil in a skillet, on medium heat, cook for about 3 minutes

2.  Add the onion and chicken, cook for 3 more minutes

3.  Add the red peppers  and cook for 2 minutes

4.  Add the pineapple, cover and cook for 5 minutes

5.  Uncover and give a good toss to coat everything in the juices.  Recover and cook for 3 minutes.

6.  Uncover and plate up two servings, separate the other two for leftovers.  At the end of it, you have about 4 oz of chicken, 2 cups of veggies, 3/4 cup of fruit, and 1/2 tablespoon of healthy oil in each serving.  I have no idea about calories, I don’t do that.  This is Phase II for LTL.

Kettlebells – 5 great things

Posted on by Sam Boyd

Kettlebells are basically round weight with handles. On the off-chance that you have never seen one, try to picture a large cannonball with a handle and you are pretty much picturing a kettlebell. These things actually originated in Russia hundreds of years ago but it has only been in the last 7-8 years or so that they have really started to make a splash here in the West. Let’s take a look at 5 reasons that kettlebells are so completely awesome:

1. Kettlebells are inexpensive – Now, right off the bat, anyone who has ever purchased a kettlebell will probably disagree with this statement, but when compared to expensive gym memberships or personal trainer sessions, kettlebells still come in pretty cheap over the long haul. You can pick up a 20 pound kettlebell (a good starting weight for male beginners, women should opt for one a little lighter) for about $30 or so. That one purchase can take you through a good 3-6 months of training with a kettlebell and help you get healthier while building muscle.  Joining a gym, paying for a personal trainer, or buying many other types of fitness equipment is surely gonna run you quite a bit more. But if you must join a gym, they usually have them there.

2. Kettlebells are compact – Kettlebells, while they can be pretty heavy, are still fairly compact. Compare one to a treadmill or an elliptical and the kettlebell wins every time. Just keep it behind your bed, in your closet, wherever. They are small enough to store out-of-the-way when you aren’t using them.

3. Ok, now let’s get down to it. The real reason you should want to use ANY piece of equipment is because of how effective it can be with helping you get healthier. In the case of kettlebells, they do pretty well.  A 2010 study conducted by the American Council on Exercise (one of the nation’s most respected authorities on health and fitness) concluded that performing snatches with a kettlebell is about equal to someone running at a 6 minute-mile pace or cross-country skiing uphill. If you only have a little bit of time and want to experience maximum results, the kettlebell can help get you there.

4. Kettlebells build muscle – Unlike most forms of cardio work that is designed to increase health, using a kettlebell actually helps you build muscle at the same time. You are lifting a weight after all and this weight is transferred to your muscles requiring them to do extra work for each movement. When working with kettlebells on a regular basis once can expect to see larger, firmer muscles as a result. Even if you only perform the swing, the most basic of kettlebell movements, you can expect to build muscles in your legs, back, shoulders, arms and even your midsection.

5. Kettlebells are pretty fun – One thing that can ensure your workout will be effective is if you enjoy doing it. Kettlebells represent a whole different kind of activity and many people (like me) think swinging these handled weights is awesome! It is a totally different type of feeling when you are swinging a kettlebell through the air. It gets your whole body involved and it does require a little coordination as your mind works to move your body correctly and your muscles begin to fire throughout the movement. It is so much more exciting than mindlessly lifting a dumbbell then putting it back down. With kettlebells, you are really engaged in the exercise the entire time and as you begin to make progress you start to learn that there are endless variations of what you can do with these things. No question about it if you find something fun you are likely to do it more often and in the case of exercise that is as effective as kettlebells are, this can lead to health increase and getting you in better shape than you have ever been before.

So, there you go. 5 great reasons you absolutely have to workout with kettlebells. If you haven’t tried them before, the list may seem a little too good to be true…if you have already tried them, then the list is probably not long enough. These things work…go ahead and grab a bell and swing away and you may just end up getting into the best shape of your life.

Clean Easter Dinner – Salmon Cakes, Caramelized Cheddar Sweet Potatoes, White Wine Zucchini

Posted on by Sam Boyd

Salmon Cakes – Ingredients

1.  2 x 6 ounce cans wild salmon

2.  1 cup almond flour

3.  1/2 medium sweet onion, chopped

4.  1 medium red bell pepper, chopped

5.  3 stalks celery, chopped

6.  2 cloves minced garlic

7.  2 eggs, beaten

8.  2 tbsp. Dijon mustard

9.  1 tbsp. white wine vinegar or lemon juice

10.  1 tsp. dried dill

11.  1/2 tsp. sea salt

12.  1/2 tsp. pepper

Salmon Cakes – Recipe

1.  Put all the ingredients into a bowl and mix until it is sticky and chunky.  Preheat your oven to 375.

2.  Make about 6 large cakes (about 4.5 ounces each) or  medium cakes (about 3.5 ounces each)

3.  Put them on a piece of parchment paper on a pan,  very important so that they do not stick and become a sticky, broken, very unattractive mess.

4.  Bake these at 375 degrees for 26 minutes (yes, that is correct, 26 minutes) and take out to let sit for about 2 minutes.

Basil Remoulade Sauce

Put all of the following in a food processor until mostly smooth:

  1.  1/4 cup white wine vinegar
  2.  2 tablespoons avocado oil
  3.  1 cup chopped onion
  4.  1/4 cup chopped celery
  5.  2 tablespoons chopped garlic
  6.  4 tablespoons Dijon mustard
  7.  3 tablespoons ketchup
  8.  3 tablespoons chopped basil leaves (this is about 4 big fresh leaves)
  9.  1 teaspoon salt
  10.  1/4 teaspoon pepper

Caramelized Onion & Cheddar Sweet Potato – Ingredients

1.  4 large sweet potatoes, peeled, cubed into 1/2 inch cubes

2.  2 medium onions, caramelized (cut into strips, put in a pan with 2 tablespoons veggie broth, saute on medium for about 20 minutes, til they are caramelized, if you need more instructions, shoot me an email or a Facebook message)

3.  1/2 cup shredded extra sharp cheddar cheese (I would grate it yourself, it will be better and seem cheesier.  They put fillers in store-bought shredded cheese)

4.  2 tablespoons of salt

 

Caramelized Onion & Cheddar Sweet Potato – Recipe

1.  Put the sweet potatoes in the oven while you are sauteing the onions, cover them with the salt.

2.  When the onions are done, pull out the sweet potatoes and dump the onion on them.  Then cover them with cheese.  Put back in oven for around 10 minutes.  Yummy.

 

White Wine Vinegar – Ingredients

1.  4 small zucchini, washed and cut into 1/2″ pieces

2.  1 tablespoon of salt and pepper

3. 1/4 cup of white wine vinegar

White Wine Vinegar – Recipe

1.  Put the zucchini, vinegar, salt and pepper in pan, cover with lid. Walk away for about 5 minutes.

2.  Come back, delid, stir and relid for 5 more minutes.  Walk away.

3.  Come back, remove lid and remove zucchini.  Eat.

 

 

 

 

 

Spinach – Orange – Pine Nut Salad

Posted on by Sam Boyd

Salad – Ingredients
1. 3 cups raw spinach washed and well-drained
2. 8 or so radishes, cut into 1/2″ pieces
3. 8 or so grape tomatoes halved
4. 1/4 cup raw pine nuts
5. 1 small apple or pear, cut into 1/2″ pieces
6. 4 stalks of celery, cut into 1/2″ pieces

Dressing – Ingredients
1. Juice from 1/2 orange (about 1/4 cup or so)
2. 1 tablespoon rice wine vinegar
3. 3 tablespoons plain greek yogurt
4. 1 teaspoon dried marjoram
5. Salt and pepper to taste

Recipe
1. For the salad. . . It’s a salad. Make it a salad.
2. Whisk together the dressing ingredients with a fork, whisk, or whatever makes it combine.
3. Pour over your salad. Eat it.

Big Ole’ Mess

Posted on by Sam Boyd

This is a big mess of stuff that may or may not go together in the true culinary sense of the word.  However, in the kitchen where the rest of us live and eat, this works well.

Ingredients

1. 2 medium onions cut into 1/2″ sections

2. 4 ounces of uncased chorizo sausage, cooked and drained

3. 1 cup of mushrooms, cut into 1/2″ sections

4. 2 red, yellow, or orange peppers, cut into 1/2″ sections

5. 1 large sweet potato, peeled and cut into 1/2″ sections

6. 1/2 cup vegetable broth

7. 1 cup of broccoli florets, cut small enough to be in a bite

8. 1 tablespoon of salt

Recipe

1. In a large pan, put onions, chorizo (already cooked and drained) mushrooms, and peppers over medium high heat and add salt, cook for 10 minutes, stirring frequently to prevent sticking.

2. Add vegetable broth and bring to a boil

3. Add sweet potatoes, lid and turn to medium heat for 10 minutes

4. Unlid, stir well, add broccoli and relid quickly.

5. After 5 minutes, turn heat off and let sit for 5 minutes.

6. This makes either two big servings or 4 smaller servings. Originally I was going to add come shredded cheese to the top of it, but it turns out not to need and is plenty full of flavor.

 

Quick and Easy – Chicken and Green Tea Squash

Posted on by Sam Boyd

Ingredients

1.  8 ounces of cooked cubed chicken.  (Note:  I say it like this because we always have chicken on hand for snacking, ease or whenever else we need to eat a protein with our veggies.  If you do not, then cook enough chicken to make this dish.  But you should always have snacking protein available throughout the day.  I should make a post on this.)

2.  2 medium yellow squash, cut into 1″ pieces

3.  1.5 cups of vegetable broth

4.  3 tablespoons soy sauce

5.  1 cup green tea

6.  1 teaspoon ground ginger

7.  1 tablespoon of date paste.

Recipe

1.  In a medium saucepan, combine veggie broth, soy sauce, green tea, date paste and ginger and bring to a rolling boil for about 5 minutes.  This should reduce it between 1/8 to 1/4.

2.  Add the squash and cover for 4 minutes, you do not need to turn the heat back on.

3.  Uncover and place the chicken in the pot and recover.  Keep this about 3 minutes or so.

4.  Uncover this and separate into 4 servings.  Eat 2 of the servings with someone you like and put the others in the fridge for lunches.  This will be as soupy as you want.  The picture shows it less soupy.  I love broth and the soup involved, especially in the winter.

 

Total time to cook:  About 14 minutes, depending on how prepped you are.  If you have to cook the chicken, it takes longer of course.

Health Benefits of Bacon

Posted on by Sam Boyd

None.

No really, there is no beneficial healthful reason to ever pick bacon as the main protein source of a meal.  In fact, the high sodium, high nitrate levels and high chloride levels in commercially available bacon make it nearly impossible to justify as a flavor enhancer.  The simple fact is that bacon is not good for you and there are dozens of other cuts of meat that are far more beneficial to you than bacon.

All of that being said, bacon is not terribly bad for you in moderation or as a minor flavor enhancer.  According to some pro-bacon websites, this stretch of cured pork back-fat is actually high in Thiamine (B1), Niacin (B3), Cyancobalamin (B12), Zinc, Phosphorous, Magnesium, and Riboflavin (B2).  Of course, all of these can be found in higher concentrate in most other meats and are also available in any decent water-soluble multivitamin or Activated B-Complex supplement.  And, of course, you cannot microwave the bacon because some of these will leach during the irradiation, so convenient bacon is out.  You also cannot burn the bacon because then most of the vitamins will be gone and replaced by harmful carcinogens, so crispy bacon is out.  It’s also a good idea to avoid pre-cooked bacon as the process and preservatives make both pre-cooked strips and bacon bits basically salty, nitrate crusted jerky sticks/flakes, so store-bought bacon is out.  This leaves cooking bacon in a 400 degree oven, for 8-10 minutes per side.

So, bacon is not all bad.  It can be used in moderation for the good of flavor in some dishes.  Just remember no to burn, char, microwave, buy pre-cooked or eat more than a daily allowance in order to not have it be terribly unhealthy for you.  A daily allowance of bacon is basically none considering that one strip is about 68% saturated fat, 30 mg of cholesterol, 190mg of sodium, and has been shown to lower men’s sperm counts.  But, it sure does go well with eggs, burgers, scallops and filet mignon.

I am not here to tell you not to eat bacon.  But it is not clean at all.  I suggest substituting any bacon in a recipe you come across with chopped chicken or chopped turkey ounce for ounce.  You would be surprised how good that can taste.  We are all adults and you can do whatever you want, I won’t stop you.

But, don’t eat bacon.

Ridiculous Stuffed Portobello Mushrooms

Posted on by Sam Boyd

Ingredients

1.  4 Portobello Mushroom Caps

2.  6 ounces chorizo sausage, without casing

3.  2 cups of spinach

4.  1 medium onion, chopped

5.  1 tablespoon minced garlic

6.  4 ounces shredded Parmesan/Asiago cheese

7.  2 Tablespoons of vegetable broth.

Recipe:

1.  In a medium saute pan, put chorizo in on med high heat.

2.  When fully cooked, strain all the chorizo to get as much fat as possible off of it.  Set it aside.

3.  Brush 1 teaspoon of the vegetable broth onto the 4 mushrooms.  Place the mushrooms into a 300 degree oven.

4.  In the saute pan, place the medium onion with 1 tablespoon of vegetable broth to sweat.  Do this for about 4 minutes,

5.  Add the spinach, chorizo and garlic into the pan to cook together.  The mixture should be done when the spinach is wilty and there is some liquid there.

6.  At this point, your caps should have been in the oven for about 12 minutes, they are now done.  If it has not been 12 minutes, make it so.  Then remove them.

7.  Place 1/4 of the mixture onto each Portobello cap and cover each with 1/4 of the cheese.

Each cap will have 1.5 ounces of chorizo, 1/2 cup spinach, 1/4 cup onion and 1 ounce of shredded cheese.  I would suggest eating this with a giant salad as a meal.  Serve 1 to yourself and someone else you feel warm towards, and put the others in the fridge for lunch.  Enjoy.

Clean Beef with Broccoli

Posted on by Sam Boyd

This is a great one for a Chinese food craving.

Ingredients:

1.  10 ounces of tenderloin, sliced as thin as you can and drenched in soy sauce

2.  Approximately 5 cups of broccoli florets (about 1 large broccoli bunch)

3.  1/4 cup soy sauce (see #1)

4.  2 cups vegetable broth + 2 tablespoons vegetable broth, kept separate

5.  1 medium orange or yellow pepper, julienned

6.  1 medium onion, sliced thin

7.  1 tablespoon minced garlic

8.  1 teaspoon dried basil

9.  1 teaspoon sesame oil (optional) substitute for the 2 tablespoons of veggie broth in #4

10.  1 teaspoon sesame seeds (optional)

11.  2 tablespoons date paste.

Recipe

1.  Heat up a pan to hot, really hot, really really hot.  A wok would be best, but any pan works really.

2.  Put, in this order, into the pan, 2 tablespoons veggie broth, onion, pepper, date paste and garlic.

3.  Stir briskly and do not let sit still, for about 3 minutes.  Some of the pieces will brown on the corners.

4.  Reduce heat to medium and add the soy-sauced meat.

5.  Stir to coat everything and put lid on for 2 minutes.

6.  Take this time to reflect on the great cultural contributions of China.  Good.

7.  Pull off the lid, add the vegetable broth and basil, kick heat to high and lid till boiling.

8.  Pull lid off and cook on high for 10 minutes to let some of the broth evaporate.  Stir it a couple of times.

9.  Add all the broccoli to the pan.  Stir it as much as you can, it’s not that important.  Lid the pan, and reduce heat to medium.

10.  You should turn this off after about 10 minutes, the broccoli will be done.  This will make 4 servings.  Eat 2 now with someone you have warm feelings for, and then pack the other 2 up for lunches.

Important Point:  This will not make traditional beef with broccoli that has the thick brown sauce, that sauce has tons of starchy substances and lots of sugar in it.  This is brothy and hearty and really quite awesome.  Please email with questions, suggestions or other ideas.