If you were to just change one thing in your life and you knew that it would make you look better, feel better, and even be more appealing to others would you do it? Well, if you answered yes, my suggestion to you would be to eat 75% of your daily intake from the outer realm of your grocery store; more fresh fruit and vegetables and less processed foods. It is how we were intended to eat and it is that plain and simple. You are what you eat, do you want to be fresh and smell sweet and be firm or do you want to be dried out, crunchy and full of fat, you decide.
|Owner of Novalife Fitness and Personal Trainer in Issaquah, Washington.
Recipe A
Mixed Greens, Apples,
Pecans, Goat Cheese,
and Balsamic Vinaigrette.
There is hardly any story here. This salad is a cafe classic that became a favorite at home for two main reasons - it tastes good, and it is immensely satisfying. It is great as a first course salad but works just as well as a light main dish by increasing the quantities or by adding an egg or other protein on the side. It also follows my current mantra of making something using few stellar ingredients each of which contributes towards a great end result.
The crunch of sweet apples is offset by the tangy creaminess of the cheese and the nutty pecans, all providing great character to the basic green salad. When local apples start showing up in the farmers market in fall and winter, this is a salad I look forward to. The dressing is my all time favorite too, one that I must've made over a hundred times by now. Sometimes even when I eat outside I choose a salad just because I see the words 'balsamic vinaigrette' on the menu.
Recipe B
Grilled Doughnut Peach
and Chicken Salad
Preheat grill to medium heat and lightly grease metal grate with a light oil (canola) to prevent food from sticking. In large bowl, add mixed greens, carrot, onion and almonds. Set aside in refrigerator for later use. Remove 2-1/2 cup (625 ml) portion of reserved dressing from fridge. Slice doughnut peaches into halves, removing the pits. Place peach halves on a platter and brush with some of the dressing. Set aside.
Place chicken breasts on a clean plate and brush with the remaining 2-1/2 cup (625 ml) portion of dressing (if you have extra dressing, use to baste chicken while on grill). Place chicken breasts and doughnut peach halves on hot grill and turn temperature down to low as to not burn both the chicken and peaches (about 250F (120C). Grill peaches for 3 minutes per side; set aside for salad assembly. Cook chicken for approximately 6 to 8 minutes per side or until the chicken reaches a temperature of 165F (76C).
Remove salad and 1/2 cup (125 ml) portion of dressing from refrigerator. Add dressing to salad, toss and divide between six dinner plates. Top salad with crumbled goat cheese and place grilled chicken and grilled doughnut peaches on side of plate.
Food is Fuel
With any exercise activity, it is important to eat a proper and well balanced diet. When you fill up your vehicle, you would not put in stagnant water or toxic waste, so why would you put it into your body. The American diet has become one of ease and convenience. Gone are the days for most families, of the sit down home cooked meal. Our fast paced lifestyles leave us with little time to make healthy food a priority. Fast food and restaurant dining have become a common staple of our 21st Century Diet.
Hopefully not only for ourselves but our children as well, we are incorporating fresh fruits and vegetables into our daily routine. Not only are they delicious, but they are cleansing to the digestive system, contain antioxidants, and are full of essential vitamins and minerals. With exercise we burn so much our fuel, what are you putting back into it of nutritional value? I recommend anyone who works hard at getting their bodies in shape, no matter what exercise you do, to take a good look at what it is you fuel yourself up with on a daily basis. Keep a log for a week on everything you eat and take note of how much fresh, live produce you are eating. Hopefully you won't be to surprised by what you find. Stay healthy!
Chief Instructor and Owner Universal Energy Martial Arts
