RachelBringIt’s BodyBlog

Mexican Pasta Salad.

I used 2 cups Israeli couscous, which is like a small round pasta. You can usually find it in the bulk section of most grocery stores but you can sub with any small pasta. Boil as directed till soft.

1 can black beans
1 can sweet corn
2 chopped roma tomato
1 small sweet onion chopped finely
1/2 a green pepper chopped finely
1/4 cup chopped cilantro
salt/pepper to taste
pinch of paprika, cumin and chili powder to taste
1 avocado sliced

Add all the fresh ingredients together (except avocado) and mix in Israeli couscous (make sure it cools down first), add seasoning and mix. Let sit in fridge till whole mix cools (about 1 hr) Its better if its left overnight to let the flavors develop. Add in any meat if you want, shrimp would be great in this or have as a side dish. Top with slices of avocado before serving! Super healthy and omg delicious!! Makes a huge bowl, id estimate between 8-10 servings.

I havent posted a recipe in awhile, but I really recommend if you have never had borscht you gotta try it! Its a traditional Russian soup that is incredibly healthy and filling. Mainly made of beets, it has a beautiful color and will make you feel like you are having a cheat meal when its incredibly healthy. People dont get enough beets and they are amazing for you. Ill post some health benefits below the recipe.

Recipe/Picture from Simply Recipes:

INGREDIENTS
8 cups beef broth
1 pound slice of meaty bone-in beef shank ( i used lean beef roast)
1 large onion, peeled, quartered
4 large beets, peeled, chopped
4 carrots, peeled, chopped
1.5 tablespoon tomato paste
1 large russet potato, peeled, cut into 1/2-inch cubes
2 cups thinly sliced cabbage
3/4 cup chopped fresh dill
3 Tbsp red wine vinegar
1 cup sour cream
Salt and pepper to taste
METHOD
1 Bring 4 cups of the beef broth, the beef shank, and onion to boil in large pot. Reduce heat, cover, and simmer until meat is tender, about 1 hour 30 minutes.
2 Transfer meat to work surface; trim fat, sinew and bone and discard. Chop meat; cover and chill. Cool broth slightly. Chill in pot until cold, at least 4 hours and up to 1 day.
3 Spoon fat from top of chilled broth and discard. Add remaining 4 cups broth, beets, carrots, and potato; bring to boil. Reduce heat, cover, and simmer until vegetables are tender, about 30 minutes.
4 Stir in meat, cabbage and 1/2 cup dill; cook until cabbage is tender, about 15 minutes. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Stir in vinegar.
Ladle soup into bowls. Top with sour cream and remaining 1/4 cup dill.
Serves 6.

Health benefits of beets:
1. Beets have ZERO trans fat and ZERO saturated fat. They are also low calorie! How’s that for a food to satisfy your hunger and have the ability to satisfy a sweet tooth at the same time? You’ve got to love a food that meets a sugar craving and doesn’t harm your body!

2. Canned beets are very inexpensive! Buy them sliced or whole and buying the store brand they will cost about 60 cents or less! Just put a few cans in the refrigerator and next time you are looking for a snack food they will be super cold and ready to eat, no dirty pots, no cooking. Just drain and enjoy with a fork!

3. Beets are high in carbohydrates which means they are a great instant energy source, but unlike processed foods which are high in carbohydrates, beets will energize your body. Beets can be regarded as body fuel.

4. Beets contain sodium, magnesium, calcium, iron and phosperous! They are also considered a fiber food and contain vitamins A and C as well as niacin! You can’t beat that!

5.Beets contain folic acid which is necessary for the production and maintenance of new cells. This is especially important for pregnant woman or anyone undergoing physical healing. Many people take folic acid in the form of herbal supplements, but if you eat beets, you won’t need to! It is always better for the body to receive it’s nutrients and vitamins through food over a supplement because it is like mainlining the natural source into your bloodstream. The benefits are far superior and faster with real food over powder mixes or pills.

6. Studies have shown that beets guard against cancer, especially colon cancer.

7. Medical studies have also shown that including beets in your diet helps protect a body against heart disease.

8. Beets are available all year round! So they are not difficult to find in any produce section if you want them fresh!

9. Beets can be eaten raw or you can boil, steam roast or sautee them. Additionally raw beets can be juiced in a Jay the Juiceman type juicer very easily! But be warned, beet juice is EXTREMELY strong and powerful! If you want to get naturally drunk without alcohol, take a glass of beet juice and see what happens. It is startling! If you want the benefits of beet juice but candle handle drinking it straight up, then mix it with some carrot or apple juice for a milder but still beneficial juice.

10. Borscht, a very popular vegetable soup made of beets is a traditionally loved dish in Poland, Russia, Germany and other Eastern European menus. There are cold and hot Borscht soups and each country varies some of the ingredients, but beets are the one common and main ingredient of this revered and hearty soup.

11. Even the leaves of raw beets have been eaten and useful and beneficial to one’s health. The leaves have been known to counter "garlic" breath and in Roman times Hippocrates advocated the use of beet leaves as binding for healing wounds. 12. Beets being naturally colorful and bright red make an excellent and healthful garnish for artistic presentation of a meal. They also can be made into a number of cold salads for a change of pace meal. Betacyanin is the pigment that gives beets their red color, this pigment is what is responsible for helping to fight cancer.

13. Beets have been shown to help cleanse the blood, cleanse the colon and strengthen the gall bladder and liver.

14. There is something called Beet Therapy. Doctors have used it to get rid of tumors and to help people with blood diseases and leukemia.

15. Some people have used beats to treat and cure boils, abscesses and even acne. http://www.healing.org/only-23.html

So there you have it!! Eat your beets!!!

I am such a huge bagel fan, and living in a city where culinary skills are downplayed as someone who can go and buy a 6 pack of ‘Sara Lee bagels’ for 1.29 at the local grocery store, well its impossible to find good bread, let alone good bagels in this city. Ever since living for a short amount of time up in Calgary, AB I was turned on to the simple pleasure of a good bagel by a ‘little chain’ called "The Great Canadian Bagel" and anyone from Canada knows what Im talking about. After you have one you are hooked forever. Many trips up north to visit family in Boston always leaves my mouth watering for a better bagel with all the great bakeries up there. Well…the closest Ive found down here is Panera and even then, 1$ a bagel leaves my pockets empty so I decided to take on the challenge.

I used this recipe:http://penniesonaplatter.wordpress.com/2009/02/24/homemade-bagels/

It says not to use all purpose but I did and they came out fine!

I made sesame bagels and ones with cinnamon and sugar sprinkled on top. Let me tell you, they taste amazing but the perfect shape is hard to make! I feel it will just take practice, but the taste is worth the effort (which really wasn’t as bad as I thought it would be). Its crispy on the outside, chewy and melty on the inside and the closest Ive tasted to that Canadian bagel I have been missing. I dont have macros on this one, it just has to be enjoyed care-free Did I mention it cost me less than 1$ to make 8 of them?

Adventure race news: All set for saturday, stay tuned for my friday carb up extravaganza! Chicken Pad-Thai is on the menu I believe. Have a great Thursday Ya’ll! Its almost Friday!

After a nice relaxing morning, my bread dough that I started last night was all risen and ready! This is my first crack at bread and honestly i was happy with the results. I did a whole wheat substitute of this recipe:http://wednesdaychef.typepad.com/the_wednesday_chef/2006/11/jim_laheys_nokn.html

Its a thicker, heartier bread. Perfect to dip in soups and I added some ice cubes on a tray below to make for an even crispier crust. This is how mine came out, not perfect but tasty:

As for my bf% evaluation, well the trainer called and it was canceled until later this week. Which im glad, this will give me a couple more days to figure out whats going wrong in my diet (cal wise) and do some more strength training which seems to drop my fat faster than endurance cardio. I have been tracking my diet to the calorie for the past month and really it feels like im getting no where with it, so this week ive decided to eat intuitively and just eat when hungry. This hopefully will give me a better feel on how much my body needs versus what I have been doing and also possibly give my metabolism a jump start.

This is by far one of my most favorite recipes as a quick healthy dinner to throw together. It tastes great and it seriously only takes about 30 mins from start to finish, even less if you already have food prepared. Another plus is it is super cheap to make and yields 4-5 servings which means leftovers for most people! I adapted an irish potato soup recipe from the book ‘The Soup Bible’ to make it more my own. I loooove mexican food and whenever I get tempted to go out and get some greasy food, i make this is and it always hits the spot. Enough chatting, here is how you make it!

Ingredients:

1/2 a med sweet onion (or yellow)
1 large baking potato (3"-4" diameter)
1 can of yellow corn
1/2 tbsp butter or 1/2 tbsp EVOO
1lb of lean ground beef (i use 90%) - I cook this ahead of time
1 tsp cumin (or to taste)
1 tsp chili powder (or to taste)
1/2 tsp paprika (to taste)
pinch of black pepper

1) Heat a skillet with about 1/2 tbsp of butter (yes i cook with butter, you can sub EVOO but butter softens onions better)
2) Chop 1/2 a med onion and sauté on med/low till onions are soft. Should only take a couple mins.
3) Add in cumin, chili powder, paprika and black pepper, stir and mix in with onion. Add a bit of broth if its sticking to pan.
4) Stir in till onions look like they are absorbing the spices (1-2 mins) they will take on a reddish color.
5) Skin and chop potatoes into 2" cubes at least
6) Add potatoes and enough broth to cover the potatoes in the pot, bring to a simmer and cover. Let sit for 10-15 mins till    potatoes are soft.
7) Add in canned corn and let simmer for another 5 mins or so.
8) Turn off stove and let soup cool for 2 mins
9) Put soup in blender or food processor and puree until smooth. If too thick you might need to add in some more chicken broth  so keep it handy, I usually use only 3/4 of a carton when making this.
10) divide 1lb of beef into 4-5 bowls, pour soup from blender and enjoy!

For 4 servings (they are big)
Cals: 341 cals, 13g of fat, 470mg of sodium, 32g carbs, 26g of protein

If you want to lower the fat you can use chicken instead of beef, with chicken its great too, but I recommend letting the chicken simmer in spices for 20 mins with some broth in a separate pot to add flavor. This is a great post workout meal, and for 340 cals you get a huge bowl that is super filling!

I hope you enjoy my first food blog! I have my race next week and I will need to carb up the night before, so what a better time than to make homemade bagels! I will be attempting these babies this week, along with my famous pineapple banana bread and a lower carb greek veggie salad! Happy Friday everyone!