Eat-Clean Tuna Burgers

I had these tuna burgers last night and they were a smashing success. If you don't like tuna, I don't see any reason why you couldn't substitute with Salmon. The recipe says it only makes 4 burgers but I only made a half batch and was able to make 3 HUGE tuna burgers. If you're only cooking for one or two people I definitely recommend cutting the recipe in half.

INGREDIENTS:

2 lbs fresh tuna steak - the flesh should be deeply colored and mild smelling

4 cloves garlic, passed through a garlic press

2 Tbsp. low sodium soy sauce

2 Tbsp. unsulfured molasses

3 green onions, finely chopped

1/2 sweet red pepper, finely chopped

1/2 sweet purple or vidalia onion, finely chopped

2 Tsp. sesame oil

sea salt and black pepper to taste

1 Tbsp mixed herbal seasoning of your choice

olive oil for coating the finished burgers and grill to prevent sticking

Ezekiel grain buns or other whole wheat/sugar-free buns (I find the Ezekiel buns to be VERY hearty and even a little over powering so I eat the burger open-faced without the top bun)

CONDIMENTS:

leaf lettuce or arugula leaves

sliced tomato

sliced purple onion

hummus

mango salsa or salsa of your choice (watch for hidden sugar)

PREPARATION:

1. Place tuna in a food processor and pulse until meat resembles texture of ground turkey or beef. In large mixing bowl combine, garlic, soy sauce, molasses, green onions, red pepper, vidalia onions, sesame oil, herbal seasoning, and salt and pepper to taste. Add tuna. With clean bare hands, mix all ingredients until uniformly distributed. Divide in to four parts and shape into flat patties. (my recipe made much more than this) Lightly brush the outside of the burgers with olive oil to prevent sticking.

2. Lightly coat the grill with olive oil. Place over medium heat. Place patties on grill, cook for 2 minutes and flip. Cook for another 2 minutes. This will make a rare burger. If you want your burger medium to well done, cook each side for 4 minutes.

*I would suggest putting the burgers on olive oil-coated aluminum foil to prevent sticking to the grill.

3. Meanwhile, toast buns lightly. Spread bottom half with hummus. Place lettuce greens of your choice on top and set burger on top of that. Add condiments of your choice and serve immediately.

NUTRITIONAL VALUE PER SERVING:

Calories:391/Calories from fat:41/Protien:28g/Carbs:61g/Dietary fiber:3g/Sugars:6g/Fat:0.4g/Sodium:768mg

Makes 4 servings (mine made more)

Current ACSM Guidelines for Exercise

The American College of Sports Medicine and the American Heart Association have created a set of standards in regard to exercise frequency, intensity, and duration. These standards are outlined below but for more in depth information please visit the ACSM website at

http://www.acsm.org/AM/Template.cfm?Section=Home_Page&TEMPLATE=/CM/HTMLDisplay.cfm&CONTENTID=7764

Guidelines for healthy adults under the age of 65 (if the goal is overall health)

DO moderately intense cardiovascular exercise for 30 minutes at least 5 x per week

DO vigorously intense cardiovascular exercise for 20 minutes 3 x per week

DO 8-10 strength training exercises, 8-12 repetitions of each exercise, at least 2 x per week

Moderate-intensity physical activity means working hard enough to raise your heart rate and break a sweat, yet still be able to talk. This can also be deemed the "talk test". The "talk test" means that you can talk but you are breathing with some amount of difficulty. Vigorous-intensity exercise is more difficult than moderate-intensity. You will only be able to say a word or two at a time when you are exercising at this level. This is hard work!

It is important to note that the above recommendations are for health purposes only and more time, 60-90 minutes at a time, may be necessary for weight loss and weight maintenance. The 30 minute time recommendation is for healthy adults who wish to maintain a healthy lifestyle and prevent chronic disease.

If you don't have enough time in the day to complete a 30 minute chunk of exercise don't give up, research has shown that your moderate-intensity physical activity can be accumulated throughout the day and can be just as effective as exercising for a constant 30 minutes. Here are some helpful suggestions for accumulating your 30 minutes:

1. walk for 10 minutes on your lunch break

2. walk for 10 minutes around the soccer field and cheer on your kids as they play

3. Walk 10 minutes to the grocery store

Wahlah! There you have it. 30 minutes accumulated throughout your day. This is extremely useful when trying to fit physical activity in to an already busy schedule.

Are you getting your daily/weekly amount of recommended exercise? If not, what can you do today to start making exercise and physical activity a part of your every day routine? Any suggestions/comments on how you fit physical activity in to your busy lifestyle? I'd love to hear your ideas.

A tasty and healthy dessert

This recipe is from the "Eat Clean Diet Cookbook" by Tosca Reno. I highly recommend this cookbook. The recipes are very healthy and VERY delicious. My husband and I have tried several of the dinner recipes and this cookbook has yet to let us down. My husband gives all the recipes that we have tried a thumbs up.

Apple Crumble:

INGREDIENTS:

1.5 lbs of cooking apples

1/4 cup whole-wheat flour or gluten free flour

1/4 cup rolled oats

3 Tbsp canola oil (extra may be needed)

1/4 cup pitted dates, finely chopped

1/4 cup unsalted sunflower seeds

cinnamon to taste - I like a lot of cinnamon

cooking spray

PREPARATION:

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Prepare an ovenproof 8 x8 dish by coating it with cooking spray

2. Core and slice the unpeeled apples. Place in a medium saucepan. Cook over medium-low heat and bring to a simmer. Simmer for 5 minutes. Pour cooked fruit into baking dish.

3. In a separate bowl, mix the flour, cinnamon, and oats. Rub in the oil and stir until the mixture resembles crumbs. You may need to add more canola oil until desired texture is reached. Stir in dates and sunflower seeds. Sprinkle crumbly mixture over the fruit.

4. Bake in the oven for 25 minutes.

5. Apples are naturally very sweet on their own, especially once they are cooked. I suggest trying the dessert first before you add any sugar. I eat mine without any added sweetness but if you find you must have a bit more sweetness, drizzle your serving with some organic honey. This dessert tastes best served warm.

5. ENJOY!

NUTRITIONAL VALUE PER SERVING:

273 calories/calories from fat: 137/protien: 3g/carbs:35g/dietary fiber:7g/Fat:15g/Sodium:2mg

4 SERVINGS

Exercise is Medicine

In my experience doctors are more interested in treating symptoms then getting to the actual cause of the ailment. They are often quick to write prescriptions for pain, blood pressure, diabetes, and cholesterol. Now I realize that there are many cases in which a person does need to be put on pharmaceutical care but do the doctors ever talk to the patient about lifestyle modifications? Do they ever give real world advice on how to incorporate healthy nutrition and exercise into one's daily life? I wonder what it would be like if doctors always referred clients to registered dieticians and personal trainers. What if this was common protocol? What if medicine always worked cooperatively alongside lifestyle modifications to give the patient a better outcome.

Watch this utube video to see how you can start the conversation with your physician.

http://www.youtube.com/v/GYBLR7DhjVY&hl=en&fs=1&color1=0x006699&color2=0x54abd6

"Whad'ya want a cookie?"

Precisely! I would LOVE a cookie right about not but alas, I'm on a 60 day challenge to forgo sugar, caffeine, and alcohol. That means cookies are off limits. These days it seems that everywhere I turn there is a cupcake or a bowl of ice cream taunting me with it's evil sugary goodness. I'm pretty sure I had a dream last night that a cookie sprouted legs and chased me down the aisles of the grocery store screaming, "eat me, eat me!".

All joking aside, It's really crazy how much of a hold sugar has on us, not only over our minds but also over our bodies. It really is an addiction. Now that I've got it out of my system I feel great. I won't lie that it hasn't been hard at times but the cravings have really started to die down and I feel great.

Today I'm writing this blog to commemorate the 30 day mark of my 60 day challenge. I'm still hanging in there and things are going relatively smoothly, just in case you actually cared.

If you'd like to know more about how to cut sugar from your diet, shoot me an email. I'd love to hear your thoughts and/or comments.

How to Make Your Own Cereal

Here is an easy recipe for making your very own, sugar-free, high-protien, complex-carb cereal. It's not an exact science. Just mix things together in the ratio that you prefer.

Old fashioned rolled oats

Ezekiel cereal https://www.foodforlife.com/index.html

slivered almonds or walnuts

dried fruit of your choice (make sure there is no sugar added)

cinnamon

Serve with unsweetened Almond Milk http://www.bluediamond.com/index.cfm?navid=53

Personally, I like vanilla unsweetened almond milk because the vanilla gives it a little sweetness but no added sugar.

Pour the almond milk over a cup of your cereal and heat in the microwave for 60 seconds.

Eat this with a scrambled egg and you've got yourself a meal.

Enjoy!

my 60 day challenge

I've recently decided that there were some bad habits in my life that I needed to cut out. For me, it's always been easier to go "cold turkey" rather than to try and use moderation. Of course I feel it's true "all things in moderation" but it's harder to put in to practice and I really felt like my body needed a jump start.

So, what have I decided to cut out for 60 days? Sugar, caffeine, and alcohol. Honestly, I thought the alcohol was going to be the hardest because I love a great glass of vino with a fine meal. However, it turns out, that sugar has been my hardest hurdle. Sugar is EVERYWHERE. It's in your breakfast cereal, it's in those supposedly "healthy" snacks that you find in the organic aisle at the grocery, it's in tomato paste, and many other unexpected places. I've discovered that you can have a diet that does not include hidden sugars. I'm making my own cereal and have stopped eating sugary granola bars. All of these measures have virtually eliminated my sugar intake.

The caffeine part has only been hard on occasion because I view it as a social thing that I like to do on the weekends. I do miss walking to the local coffee shop on a Saturday or Sunday morning for a cappuccino or making my own home brewed espresso. My husband was sipping a frothy cup the other morning and I'm pretty sure I was drooling.

The absence of alcohol speaks for itself. At 7 calories per gram it packs a pretty hefty calorie punch. In the end alcohol is really just a bunch of empty calories and it impairs your fat metabolism. This is obviously not a good thing.

I think people wonder why I'm doing this. It's mostly a personal health decision but it's also in the hopes that I'll break the addictions. Yes, sugar is an addiction. The first week I had extreme headaches and I couldn't figure out why but now I think it was from the lack of sugar. I'm on about day 25 right now and I feel great. I'm a lot less bloated and I'm much more satisfied in between meals because I'm not creating the huge glucose and insulin spikes followed by extreme hypoglycemia. I'm not doing this for some sort of crash dieting reason but I am hoping that my changes will develop into a habit and I'll find myself with a lot less cravings for these items as I slowly add them back in to my healthy diet.

Will you join me in my challenge? Can you do it for 60 days? How about 30? 2 weeks? Let me know if you're in on it and we can encourage one another along the way. Your body will thank you for it.

HCF client completes 1st Chicago Marathon

House Call Fitness is proud of Julie Fisher for finishing her very first marathon in 3:51:20. For those of you who have never run a marathon this is a VERY respectable time. It’s about 8:30 per mile for 26.2 miles.

I’ve had the honor of watching Julie as she trained for over 6 months to achieve this goal. She was out there hitting the pavement when most of us were still in bed sleeping. She ran when it was raining. She ran when it was dark. She knocked out miles on a treadmill when it was too nasty to be outside. She ran through blisters. She never missed a long run. All of her hard work paid off with a sub 4 hour marathon.

I think the part that I find the most inspiring about her journey is that she completed all of her training while being the mother to two young boys. Read on for a short interview with Julie.

Abby: What was the hardest part about training for the marathon?

Julie: Choosing to do a training run instead of doing other things, like sleeping in, having a leisurely breakfast with my family, and getting together with friends.

Abby: What was the best part about training for the marathon?

Julie: The sense of accomplishment that I got from building my mileage each week. Seeing the muscle definition in my legs was an added perk.

Abby: Did anything funny or strange happen to you on race day or during the race?

Julie: The funniest/strangest thing was the urination situation. There were guys peeing up against trees, in gatorade bottles, wherever. A woman in my start corral was wearing a blanket around her. Another woman in my start corral asked the blanket woman to hold up her blanket so the other woman could sit down on the curb on Columbus Drive and pee. All the normal peeing rules went out the window.

There was also a “green man” running the race - a guy wearing a head-to-toe green lycra-type suit. You couldn’t see his face. I’m not sure if he could see or breathe.

Abby: What was it like to run the Chicago marathon?

Julie: It was harder than I could have imagined. I’m glad I did it, but man, was it hard.

The physical experience aside, the race itself was amazing. The crowds were so supportive, the course, particularly on the northside, has such great energy. The race is well-run, and the runners are generally a very friendly bunch.

Abby: How did you feel in those last few miles? What was going through your mind?

Julie: I wanted to stop. I felt sick and tired, literally. The nausea was overwhelming, and my legs were having a hard time moving. I was so uncomfortable. When the pace group behind the one I started with passed me, I tried to pick it up to join them, but I just couldn’t do it. And I was too tired to care. I just wanted to be done.

The things that helped me keep going were (1) my husband, who rode his bike to several spots in the marathon to cheer me along;I would count the blocks until I could see him again, (2) my kids and their sweet faces along the way, and (3) the other runners who gave words of encouragement as they passed me in those last rough miles.

Abby: What advice would you give to someone who is training for their first marathon?

Julie: I guess it would be, “listen to your body.” but then again, sometimes you have no choice but to listen.

A big thanks to Julie for taking the time to tell us about her marathon experience. Now she can get back to icing those sore muscles.