We always seem to have a couple of bananas left over at the end of the week. Just perfect for banana pancakes!
For us the weekends are about the wind down, so this simple recipe fits right in to the plan. And seriously, who doesn’t love a good pancake!!
Enjoy!!
Cauliflower is one of the most versatile veggies out there. From pizza crust to hearty soup it seems like this crunchy wonder has endless possibilities in the kitchen!
Cauliflower is one of a group of vegetables in the cruciferous family. And when it comes to cancer nutrition, cruciferous veggies are at the top. Cauliflower contains sulforaphane, a sulfur compound known for its anticancer benefits.
A study has also found that a compound in cauliflower called phenethyl isothiocyanate may prevent the relapse of certain cancers by killing cancer stem cells.
Add to this cauliflower’s high fiber and array of vitamins and minerals and you have one powerful veggie!
This yummy recipe is for Cauliflower Mash, a great low carb alternative to traditional mashed potatoes.
Enjoy!
4 servings
Serve warm.
I love eggs and I am proud of it! Eggs are economical, can be cooked in so many different ways and they offer great nutritional value. And yes I eat the whole thing because an egg is a whole food and I like whole foods. The 2 components of the egg each offer a unique nutrient profile.
Eggs are a great source of protein. 1 large egg contains approximately 6 grams of protein and it is in the egg white that most of it is found.
The egg yolk has about half of the protein of the egg white but offers a heavy nutrient hit. The yolk of an egg provides vitamins A, D, E and K, the antioxidants lutein and zeaxanthin and the valuable nutrient choline.
The most common question I get around meal planning is “Can you give me some snack ideas?”. Well yes I can. Have a hard boiled egg! You can make a few at a time, keep them in the fridge and grab one when you need it. Perfect for convenience and time management. Do you see why I love eggs!
I have tried various techniques for cooking hard boiled eggs but find this one to be the best:
So that’s it in an egg shell:)
This technique has never failed me. Give it a shot and if you feel like letting my know how it goes I would love the feedback.
Thanksgiving is a wonderful time of year to reflect and give thanks for all of the blessings in our lives.
Here is a small token of my thanks to you for inspiring and encouraging me throughout the year.
This recipe is for Pumpkin Breakfast Cookies.
I hope that you and your family enjoy them as much as we do!
Happy Thanksgiving!
What is Metabolism?
This word “metabolism” is thrown around a lot these days.
You know that if yours is too slow you might gain weight. But what exactly does this all mean?
Well technically “metabolism” is the word to describe all of the biochemical reactions in your body. It’s how you take in nutrients and oxygen and use them to fuel everything you do.
Your body has an incredible ability to grow, heal, and generally stay alive. And without this amazing biochemistry you would not be possible.
Metabolism includes how the cells in your body:
So when you put all of these processes together into your metabolism you can imagine that these processes can work too quickly, too slowly, or just right.
Which brings us to the “metabolic rate”.
Metabolic rate
This is how fast your metabolism works and is measured in calories (yup, those calories!).
The calories you eat can go to one of three places:
As you can imagine the more calories you burn as work or creating heat the easier it is to lose weight and keep it off because there will be fewer “leftover” calories to store for later.
There are a couple of different ways to measure metabolic rate. One is the “resting metabolic rate” (RMR) which is how much energy your body uses when you’re not being physically active.
The other is the “total daily energy expenditure” (TDEE) which measures both the resting metabolic rate as well as the energy used for “work” (e.g. exercise) throughout a 24-hour period.
What affects your metabolic rate?
In a nutshell: a lot!
The first thing you may think of is your thyroid. This gland at the front of your throat releases hormones to tell your body to “speed up” your metabolism. Of course, the more thyroid hormone there is the faster things will work and the more calories you’ll burn.
But that’s not the only thing that affects your metabolic rate.
How big you are counts too!
Larger people have higher metabolic rates; but your body composition is crucial!
As you can imagine muscles that actively move and do work need more energy than fat does. So the more lean muscle mass you have the more energy your body will burn and the higher your metabolic rate will be. Even when you’re not working out.
This is exactly why weight training is often recommended as a part of a weight loss program. Because you want muscles to be burning those calories for you.
The thing is, when people lose weight their metabolic rate often slows down which you don’t want to happen. So you definitely want to offset that with more muscle mass.
Aerobic exercise also temporarily increases your metabolic rate. Your muscles are burning fuel to move so they’re doing “work”.
The type of food you eat also affects your metabolic rate!
Your body actually burns calories to absorb, digest, and metabolize your food. This is called the “thermic effect of food” (TEF).
You can use it to your advantage when you understand how your body metabolizes foods differently.
Fats, for example increase your TEF by 0-3%; carbs increase it by 5-10%, and protein increases it by 15-30%. By trading some of your fat or carbs for lean protein you can slightly increase your metabolic rate.
Another bonus of protein is that your muscles need it to grow. By working them out and feeding them what they need they will help you to lose weight and keep it off.
And don’t forget the mind-body connection. There is plenty of research that shows the influence that things like stress and sleep have on the metabolic rate.
This is just the tip of the iceberg when it comes to metabolism and how so many different things can work to increase (or decrease) your metabolic rate.
Recipe (Lean Protein): Lemon Herb Roasted Chicken Breasts
Serves 4
Preheat oven to 425F. Layer ½ of the lemon slices on the bottom of a baking dish. Sprinkle with ½ of the herbs and ½ of the sliced garlic.
Place the chicken breasts on top and sprinkle salt & pepper. Place remaining lemon, herbs and garlic on top of the chicken. Drizzle with olive oil. Cover with a lid or foil.
Bake for 45 minutes until chicken is cooked through. If you want the chicken to be a bit more “roasty” then remove the lid/foil and broil for another few minutes (watching carefully not to burn it).
Serve & enjoy!
Tip: You can add a leftover sliced chicken breast to your salad for lunch the next day!
References:
http://www.precisionnutrition.com/all-about-energy-balance
https://authoritynutrition.com/10-ways-to-boost-metabolism/