It is a tailgating weekend!!  Time to kick back and watch some football (go Heels!!).  It is typical to have some tailgating food around while watching the big game, but you don’t want to undo all the hard work you put in during the week exercising by eating greasy, high calorie foods.

Still have great tailgating foods while watching the game, but make the ones listed below instead!  These snacks still pack a lot of flavor, but don’t come with the high fat penalty of a cheeseburger and fries!

Here is my healthy tailgating top 10 list!!

#1 – Guacamole and gluten free tortilla chips.  I found the brand Xochitl corn tortilla chips for dipping into your guacamole.  They are oven baked, gluten free, all natural, no trans fats, and no GMO.. and they are DELICIOUS!!  I’m definitely a fan!

#2 – Hummus with fresh, raw, veggies.  Make a bowl of delicious hummus and dip in celery, carrot sticks, and broccoli.  Beware – always check out the labels on the hummus at the grocery store.  They are usually PACKED with tons of preservatives.  Make your own or find it fresh – Whole Foods makes a great hummus without the preservatives.

#3 – Sweet potato fries.  Check out the ’33 recipes’ book (enter in your name and email over to the right) for an awesome recipe on baked sweet potato fries. They are much more tasty than regular French fries, and WAY better for your waistline!  Try them and you’ll be hooked!

#4 – Turkey sausage with grilled onions and peppers. Nix the hot dogs and cheeseburgers and replace them will grilled sausage and peppers.  Slice up some red and yellow peppers and sweet onion and toss lightly in extra virgin olive oil in an aluminum tray for grilling. One of my favorite grilling out dinners!!

#5 – Yogurt and spice grilled chicken skewers.  Check the label of your barbeque sauce and make sure it doesn’t include high fructose corn syrup!  Instead, switch it up and make these chicken skewers with 210 calories in 2 skewers! Check out the recipe here.

#6 – Flank steak with Chimmichurri sauce.  This dish is low fat, low sugar, and packed with protein.  Another easy one for the grill that takes little preparation and cook time!  Check out the recipe in the ’33 recipes’ book.

#7 – Fresh tomato and cucumber salad. Toss together sliced cucumbers, tomatoes, extra virgin olive oil, red onions, and some red wine vinegar and you have a fresh side dish!

#8 – Switch up the beer for a cocktail.  Have a mojito or vodka cranberry instead!  Good rule of thumb – do clear liquors instead of dark.  Also, switch up the soda for tonic water to save on calories.

#9 – Make an antipasti tray.  Put together a serving plate of olives, roasted red peppers, grilled eggplant and zucchini, and some cold cuts on a plate!  Just try to avoid the temptation to pair this with bread.

#10 – Fresh fruit salad with unsweetened coconut flakes.  I love making this for parties, football games, or just to keep in the house!!  Slice up some oranges, peaches, kiwi, watermelon, grapes, and unsweetened coconut flakes and mix together in a bowl.  Yum!!  Here’s a picture of one I made recently!

What are your healthy favorite recipes to make for the big game?  Please share them on our Facebook page by clicking here.

To your health and fitness success!!
Laura

Happy Friday!  How often do you have a few hours until dinner and you are brainstorming some ideas to make a healthy, delicious dinner?  Hopefully you’ve tried a few of the recipes from my ’33 Favorite Recipes’ cookbook, but here’s another awesome recipe to add to your repertoire.

Before I give you the recipe for these chicken fajitas, let’s review what living a ‘Paleo’ lifestyle is. Paleo is the Paleolithic diet – living how our ancestors used to eat. Today’s average diet consists of processed foods, wheat based, sugary products, and concentrated high calorie foods with incredibly high sodium levels.

Paleo is quite the opposite – it consists of eating ‘whole’ foods – no calorie counting – and your body will thank you hundreds of times over.

Paleo diets consist of lots of meat and vegetables, nuts and seeds, and fruit.  Avoided foods are dairy products, sugar, and wheat products.

Why make the change to Paleo?

• Lose weight:  You will see your body shed pounds as it takes in more nutrients and loses the excess weight you had from eating processed foods.
• Feel better:  You will feel more active, healthier, and have much more energy after limiting the dairy, wheat, and processed foods in your diet.
• Improved skin:  Eliminate acne, skin bumps, and dry skin by eating Paleo!  I used to have these weird bumps on the back of my arms, and when I switched to eating more Paleo (I’m not a die hard so I’m not completely Paleo) – the bumps went away!
• Reduce or eliminate your risk of diseases: this includes cancer, heart disease, diabetes, any many others – your body will appreciate you putting in foods that it can digest and put to good use in your body.

Without further ado, here is a great Paleo chicken fajita recipe. Serves 2.

1 lb chicken breasts (sliced into strips)
½ medium onion, sliced
1 red bell pepper (sliced)
1 teaspoon cumin
1 teaspoon oregano
1 teaspoon coriander
1 teaspoon chili powder
3 garlic cloves, chopped
Juice of 1 lemon and 1 lime
1 head hydroponic butter lettuce, root removed, washed and dried

In a bowl, combine all ingredients.  If you have time, let marinate in fridge for up to 4 hours. Heat a pan with 1 tablespoon coconut or olive oil and sauté until the chicken is cooked through and the onions and peppers have softened.  Pile on a lettuce leaf and top with guacamole. (see recipe below)

Guacamole

2 Hass avocados
1 tablespoon hot sauce (optional)
Juice of 1 lemon and 1 lime
Cilantro (chopped fine – use fresh)

Mash all ingredients in a bowl with a fork. Serve over fajitas.  Enjoy!

Let me know if you try out the recipe and what you think!  I’ll be making this for dinner next week and I’ll post some pictures.  If you haven’t yet signed up for our recipe book, enter in your name and email over to the right to get more great recipes like this one!

Much too often, soft drinks and sweetened teas are the culprit of adding tons of empty calories to our diets.  A list of soft drinks is available everywhere we go.  Walk into a deli, and chips and a drink are almost the ‘natural’ add-on to any sandwich.  Just say no!!  Just ordering a glass of water may get a little boring, so I came up with a few ideas to make it more appealing for you.

Here are 7 ways to increase your water intake without sacrificing the sweet kick you are craving!

1.  Iced cold water with a boost.  Order iced cold water – but with lemon or even lime wedges.  Adding lemonto your water will actually make your water easier to digest!  Or mix it up – add some cucumber slices to your water.  This will make it so refreshing on a hot summer day – much better than a sugary soft drink that would spike your sugar level and leave you feeling tired later.

2.  Sweeten water up naturally – with FRUIT!  This is one of my favorite ways to jazz up water.  Fill up a large pitcher with water and ice, then toss in crushed fresh fruit.  You can put in whatever you have in the house – raspberries, strawberries, blueberries, pineapple, and/or mint.  Mix it up then let it sit in the fridge.  This will be an awesome treat for you when looking to hydrate later in the day.

3. Craving carbonation?  Fight the urge!  Instead of downing 97 calories in just one 8 oz Coke (and c’mon who really drinks just one), pour some seltzer or club soda over ice and add a few wedges of citrus fruit like lemon or lime.

4.  Ice it up with frozen fruit ice cubes!  Bonus!  This is an awesome idea for impressing party guests as well.  Fill an ice tray 1/3 full with water.  Then add chopped strawberries, blueberries, and chopped mint.  Fill the last third with water so the fruit is suspended in the water.  Freeze – and you will have a beautiful looking and tasting glass of water!

5.  Make a pitcher of iced green tea.  Green tea has amazing nutritional properties – one being weight loss!  Boil a few cups of water then steep some herbal green tea bags and let cool.  Add some honey or agave to sweeten instead of processed sugar.

6.  Spritz it up!  Add one part dessert wine to two parts sparkling mineral water for a great treat.

7.  Water when you wake.  It is great to drink a glass of room temperature water as soon as you wake in the morning.  This will hydrate you early in the day, start your metabolism, and flush out toxins in the body.

Why is it so important to break your soda habit?  Sodas are to blame for hundreds of empty calories in a single sitting.  If you think you are doing yourself a favor by drinking diet sodas, think again.  Diet sodas are actually associated with higher weight gain than regular sodas.  The reason?  Diet drinks contain artificial sweeteners that confuse your body to taste something sweet when it isn’t.  Your body, in turn, craves actual sweet foods – causing you to snack more later in the day.

Please add one of your favorite healthy ways to hydrate during the day in the comments section below!