Wednesday 12 March 2008

Benefits if Resistance Training

Resistance training is one of the key elements in any weight loss plan. Here are 5 great reasons to start training.

  1. Increases and Maintains strength - strength is very important for everyday tasks. It allows us to perform fundamental movements and daily tasks.
  2. Help Maintain Weight - the more muscle you have the more calories your body will burn. This will help either maintain or decrease your weight.
  3. Reduces Injury Risk - resistance training increases the strength of your tendons as well as your muscle. This will reduce the likelihood of injuries
  4. Prevents osteoporosis - resistance training increases bone density therefore preventing brittle bone disease
  5. Increases Power- power is not only for sportsmen. Power is one of the most important aspects in maintaining functional ability of older people. Increase your power now it will benefit you later into life.

Saturday 1 March 2008

Free Gifts

I have been a little lazy with my blog in the last few weeks (busy with studies), so today because I am feeling generous I am going to give you the opportunity to download two free gifts courtesy of Dr John Berardi. I will also put up the 2nd part of the Gourmet Nutrition article.


Your first free gift is Precision Nutrition Strategies. This is a 43 page Ebook providing you with all the relevant info you need to get you started in changing and sorting out your diet.


Your 2nd free gift is Gourmet Nutrition Desserts. This is a 44 page dessert cookbook following the Precision Nutrition guidelines. And lets face it who does not love desserts. Best thing is these are healthy and good for you. Try them out.


Ok here is Part 2 of the Gourmet Nutrition article.


When Gourmet Meets Nutrition, Part 2

by Dr. John Berardi, CSCS

First published at http://www.t-nation.com/


Chicken Pesto Pizza




Lunch

Pesto Chicken Pizza (Post Workout)


Servings

1 large or 2 small


Prep Time and Cooking Time

Prep time: 10 minutes Cooking time: 10 minutes


Prelude

Pizza seems to have an almost primal draw with people in all cultures eating some form of the dish. Of course, regardless of its widespread appeal, pizza has never been known as a "healthy" offering, owing to the fact that it's typically high in processed carbs and saturated fats. With this dish, we've lightened it up by using our own home-made pesto, chicken, and a host of veggies — all on a whole wheat tortilla. If you like pizza, you'll certainly come back for seconds of this thin crusted alternative.


Ingredients

6 oz (170g) boneless skinless chicken breast

1/4 teaspoon salt

1/8 teaspoon pepper

Olive oil cooking spray

Whole-wheat tortilla shell

3 tablespoons pesto

1/4 cup broccoli florets (small)

1/4 cup sundried tomato (thin sliced)

1/2 cup asparagus (cut into 1/2 inch pieces)

1/2 cup aged white cheddar


Instructions

Season chicken with salt and pepper and then sauté. Set aside.

Preheat oven at 400 degrees F.

Lightly coat a baking sheet with spray and place the tortilla shell on the tray. Spread the pesto base evenly around the shell leaving the outside inch free for the crust.

Combine all of the other ingredients except for the cheese in a mixing bowl and toss until mixed together. Spread evenly covering the pesto. Top with the cheese and bake until cheese is melted and shell is lightly toasted (about 10 minutes).


Variations and Options

For a flavor variety, try using home-made pesto, hummus, tzatziki, or rosemary eggplant (all provided in GN V2).

Use seasonal vegetables whenever possible as they not only taste better, but have healthier nutritional profile.

For a cheesy variety, try using mozzarella, feta, havarti, or Swiss instead of cheddar.


Coconut Cauliflower Mash


Side Dish

Coconut Cauliflower Mash (Any Time)


Servings

1 large or 2 small


Prep Time and Cooking Time

Prep time: 2 minutes Cooking time: 15 minutes


Prelude

If you like mashed potatoes but worry about the high carb content, worry no longer. Mashed cauliflower tastes just like mashed potato, but has far fewer calories and packs a bigger nutrient punch. In this recipe, we've included a crunchy twist to mashed potatoes by adding cashews.


Ingredients

3 cups cauliflower (rough chopped)

1/4 cup cashews (crushed)

1/4 cup coconut milk

1 pinch salt

1 pinch pepper

1 pinch cinnamon


Instructions

Add all the ingredients to a pot and turn on medium heat. Bring to a boil, reduce heat to low and cover with a tight-fitting lid. Simmer for 15 minutes and then remove from heat.Purée in a blender or food processor until smooth. Add 1 tablespoon of water at a time if necessary to get the mixture moving.


Variations and Options

For a great anytime meal, serve with homemade Sirloin Burgers or Shrimp Skewers (see Gourmet Nutrition V2.0 for recipe)

For additional flavoring, try adding your favorite herbs to the mash. Paprika, safflower, or coriander are awesome spices to try in this recipe.If you don't have a food processor, you can mash with a fork.


Spaghetti Squash Pasta



Dinner

Spaghetti Squash Pasta (Post Workout)


Servings

2 large or 4 small


Prep Time and Cooking Time

Prep time: 15 minutes Cooking time: 45 minutes


Prelude

If you love eating spaghetti but hate what it does to your body fat %, you're not alone. Yet spaghetti squash can act as an excellent pasta substitute. So why not simulate your favorite spaghetti recipe with this take on spaghetti with a meat sauce.


Ingredients

4 cups spaghetti squash

1 tablespoon coconut oil or butter (melted)

1/4 teaspoon salt

1/8 teaspoon pepper

1/8 teaspoon cinnamon

Olive oil cooking spray

12 oz (340g) ground sirloin or extra lean ground beef

1 cup onion (small diced)

2 cups tomato sauce

1/4 cup cashews (crushed)

1/2 cup parmesan cheese (grated)


Instructions

Preheat oven to 375 degrees F.

Cut squash in half and clean out the centre and seeds. Place on a baking sheet and drizzle with oil or butter. Season with salt, pepper, and cinnamon and then place in the oven.

Bake squash for 45 minutes or until squash is tender enough to stick a fork into it with minimal resistance. Remove from oven and allow to cool a little.

While the squash is baking, preheat a non-stick frying pan on medium heat, lightly coat with spray and add the ground sirloin. Sauté the sirloin in batches if necessary, until lightly browned and cooked all the way through. Add onions and sauté for 2 minutes more.

Remove from heat, add in the tomato sauce and cashews, and set aside.

Once squash has cooled a little, scoop the flesh out of the skin with a spoon, measure and add it to the meat sauce. Next, reheat in the frying pan on medium until warm.Garnish with the parmesan


Variations and Options

Make this a chicken recipe by substituting sautéed chicken breast for the ground beef.

For a lower carbohydrate anytime dish, reduce spaghetti squash from 4 cups to 3 cups.

For a more gourmet approach, plate the warm squash first, top with the hot meat sauce and then garnish with the parmesan, adding some chopped basil on top.


Peanut Crunch Bars


Home-Made Protein Bars

Peanut Crunch Bar (Any Time)


Servings

4 large or 8 small


Prep Time and Cooking Time

Prep time: 10 minutes


Prelude

If you're addicted to peanut butter like I am, you'll absolutely love these peanut crunch bars. They're chewy, creamy, and chunky — all in the same bite. Just be careful, you might not be able to eat just one.


Ingredients

1 tablespoon pure honey

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1/2 cup low fat cottage cheese

1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1/4 cup water1 cup all natural peanut butter (chunky)

5 scoops Vanilla Low-Carb Metabolic Drive

1/2 cup oat flour

1/4 cup almonds (sliced)


Instructions

Add the honey, vanilla, cottage cheese, cinnamon and water to a food processor or blender and puree until smooth.

Transfer to a mixing bowl along with the peanut butter. Stir to combine. Add the protein powder and stir to combine (this may take a minute). Add the oat flour and stir to combine again.

Using a 9" x 9" baking pan for measurement, pull out a piece of plastic wrap about 2x the length of the pan. Then cover the baking pan with the wrap, allowing the extra plastic length to hang over the edge of the pan.

Scoop the mixture above onto the plastic wrap inside the bake pan. Next, lift the corners of the extra plastic wrap and fold over the top of the mixture. Spread out the mixture with a spatula, making sure it fills the pan and that there's a layer of plastic wrap above and below the bars.

Next, uncover the top of the bars and press the sliced almonds into the top of the bars.Chill in refrigerator for 2 hours.

For a large bar, cut into approximately 4" x 4" pieces, and for a small serving cut into 2" x 2" bars.


Variations and Options

If you're lactose intolerant or wish to avoid dairy, replace the 1/2 cup of cottage cheese with 1/2 cup plain, lactose-free yogurt. Alternatively, you can replace with non-cow's milk dairy (i.e. goat milk, yogurt, etc.).

You can make your own oat flour by adding rolled oats to a food processor and pulsing until a fine, grainy flour is achieved.

If you like a smoother bar, choose smooth peanut butter.

If you like a chunkier bar, choose chunky.For some variety, replace the peanut butter with almond butter.

Post Workout option: Add some mini marshmallows and chocolate chips for a peanut smore bar.



Want More Awesome Recipes?

Look, I've been there. I've eaten more bland, dry, terrible food than I care to remember. All in the name of looking good.


But at a certain point, it got tiresome. It got old. So instead of trying to overcome the protests of a thousand unsatisfied taste buds, I decided to do something about it. I sat down with my good friend and noted recipe maestro, Dr. John Williams, and created the ultimate physique-friendly cook-book, Gourmet Nutrition.


Originally appearing as an e-book, Gourmet Nutrition Volume 1 instantly became an Internet best-seller. The feedback was exceptional. It seems people really get behind the idea of eating great tasting food that's great for them.


Go figure.


Yet there were two problems with Gourmet Nutrition Volume 1.

First, it was an e-book. And people wanted it as a hardcopy, as an in-the-flesh book they could hold in their hands and lay flat on their counters while they cooked.


Second, Gourmet Nutrition readers wanted photos. I know, it seems so "Martha Stewart." But, as they say, a photo says a thousand words. And, admit it — even you high-Testosterone men got a little hunger pang from the Pesto Chicken Pizza photo.


In response to these two requests, I decided to get back to work and create another volume of Gourmet Nutrition. This time I enlisted the help of gourmet chef, Michael Williams and his culinary counterpart Kristina Andrew. And between the three of us, we came up with over 120 additional Gourmet Nutrition recipes — each of them presented in Gourmet Nutrition 2, a beautifully photographed hard-copy that you can lay out flat on your counter top.


To find out more about the Gourmet Nutrition book, click this link below: