Mexican food is a big favorite of mine and these days it’s reserved for more of a cheat meal than an every other day thing. Over the past few months I’ve experimented enough to make healthier versions of some of my Tex-Mex favorites. For dinner one evening I was craving shredded chicken tacos! I’d seen my grandma make this a hand full of times and figured I could play with some spices and see how it goes. Now this recipe has been experimented on a few times already and I’ve found this to be too delicious not to share. Here’s what you’ll need:

2 boneless skinless chicken breasts
1 8oz can of tomato sauce
1 tsp Apple Cider Vinegar
1 large clove of garlic (minced)
2 tsp chili powder
1/2 tsp ground cumin
1/2 small onion chopped
1 tsp dried oregano
1/2 tsp honey or coconut sugar
salt and pepper to taste

Preparation: In a bowl, combine the tomato sauce, ACV, garlic, chili powder, cumin, oregano, sugar, salt and pepper. Mix until all of the ingredients are well combined.

In a large skillet, bring 1 tablespoon of coconut oil to a medium-high heat and add the chopped onions. Cook the onions until fragrant and until they begin to soften, about 4-5 minutes.

Next, add the two chicken breasts in a single layer to the skillet and cook on each side for 3-4 minutes depending on the thickness. Add the the tomato sauce mixture to the skillet and bring it to a rapid boil. Cover the pan, lower the heat to low and simmer for about 20 minutes or until the chicken is fully cooked.

After the 20 minutes, transfer the chicken breasts to a plate and shred using a fork. Once shred to your liking, transfer the chicken back to the sauce allowing the chicken to soak up the sauce for the next 5 minutes or so.

Serve the chicken in tacos, make a quesadilla, or even a burrito bowl! I topped my tacos with homemade guacamole, plain Greek yogurt, chopped spinach, and a sprinkle of cheese. Then devour!

Nutrition Facts
4 Servings
Amount Per Serving
Calories 132
Total Fat 1 g
Saturated Fat 0.1 g
Polyunsaturated Fat 0.1 g
Monounsaturated Fat 0.1 g
Total Carbohydrate 6 g
Dietary Fiber 2 g
Sugars 4 g
Protein 23 g

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Coach Kozak and I like to go vegan a few meals out of the week. Not for any particular reason other than it makes us feel better about going animal protein free. One morning while working and watching Bloomberg, we watched an interview with the CEO of Beyond Meat, Ethan Brown. I immediately visited their website and particularly enjoyed their mission statement which states they “aim to improve human health, positively impacting climate change, conserving natural resources and respecting animal welfare.”

Beyond Meat currently offers chicken-free chicken strips and beefy crumbles. Their chicken-free strips come pre-seasoned in lightly seasoned strips, grilled strips, and southwest strips. Beefy crumbles are offered in regular flavor and feisty crumbles that adds more of a spicy kick. I love the product because one serving (6 strips/3oz) of the chicken-free strips offers of 120 calories and 20g of protein! In addition, they’re low carb. The beefy crumbles, for 1/2 cup serving you get 90 calories and 10g of protein and in all honesty, this product tastes like the real thing! The source of protein comes from non-GMO soy protein and pea protein isolate. The beef and chicken flavor comes from a unique blend of spices making you believe that you’re actually eating the real thing. We love Beyond Meat in this household but have had a hard time finding the beefy crumbles anywhere! Most beef substitutes are full of gluten and GMO soy, so I’m holding out hope I’ll get my hands on some soon.

Since by red meat loving brother has been staying with us, I’ve been doing my best to introduce him to whole foods and slowly showing him a vegan/vegetarian diet. For lunch yesterday I decided to take my chicken-free strips and make him a chicken salad. He was skeptical but open to it.

So I took the “meat” and heated it up according the to package recommendations; in the skillet.

While that worked up I chopped 2 stalks of celery, finely chopped 3/4 cup of baby carrots in the food processor along with 1/2 a small onion, and chopped up some fresh parsley. Once the chicken was heated, I placed the chicken in the food processor to get it to the shredded chicken consistency.

Once pulsed for about 8-10 seconds, I added it to the vegetable bowl and blended it all together.

Since the strips are already seasoned, I only added  little bit of pepper and cayenne for a little extra spice. Add in 2 tablespoons of Greek yogurt or vegan mayo and voila! Easy chicken-free chicken salad!

I’m happy to report my bro devoured his open faced sandwich and then asked for  a little more of the chicken salad by itself! I think that was a slam dunk for me. 🙂

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One of my favorite things is going out to a restaurant and seeing sliders on the menu. I think sliders are so delicious and I love the fact that they’re little mini burgers! It allows me to have a couple and stop without feeling the need to finish an entire 1/4 lb burger because let’s be real, I don’t waste food. 🙂 Not to mention, Coach Kozak usually devours whatever I don’t eat.

With normal burgers, when I have one, I never eat the top bun and the same goes for the sliders. So, what a great idea it is to actually be able to enjoy the sliders and eat both “buns”! May I present to you….Sweet Potato Sliders! You get the lean protein from the turkey and the slow burning complex carbohydrates from the sweet potatoes so you get long lasting energy without the crash!

Here’s what you’ll need for your healthy sliders:

1 lb lean ground turkey (I used 93% lean)
2 tbsp egg whites
1 tbsp tamari sauce
1/4 tsp onion powder
1/4 tsp cayenne pepper
salt and pepper to taste

For the “buns”
2 large sweet potatoes
1 large egg
1/4 tsp garlic powder
1/4 tsp sea salt
1/4 tsp pepper

Preparation: Preheat your oven to 400 degrees. Peel your large sweet potato and slice into 1/2″ thick medallion slices.

Prepare your egg wash by whisking the large egg, garlic powder, salt and pepper in a bowl. Dredge your sweet potatoes through the egg wash and place on a baking sheet lined with foil or parchment paper. If using foil, spray with a non-stick cooking spray.

Bake on one side for 15 minutes, flip the sweet potatoes and continue baking for an additional 15.

Meat Preparation: In a bowl, combine the turkey, egg white, tamari sauce and the spices in a bowl and mix until thoroughly combined.

Assemble a golf ball sized ball in your hands and flatten the turkey into a small patty. Place in a grill pan or skillet that’s been sprayed with a non-stick cooking spray and on a medium high heat, cook on either side for approximately 6-8 minutes or until cooked all the way through.

Just like a regular burger, go nuts with the toppings you’d like to add! I can never have enough spice so I made a spicy Sriracha ketchup using 2 tablespoons organic ketchup and 1 tablespoon Siracha sauce and added about 1/2 teaspoon to each slider.

I also dressed it with sliced red onion, baby spinach, and crumbled dairy free mozzarella cheese. With my 1lb of ground turkey, I was able to make 9 sliders but it really depends on the size you make them. Any sweet potato medallions you have left over make great fries. ENJOY!

Nutrition Facts for Turkey
9 Servings
Amount Per Serving
Calories 75.9
Total Fat 3.6 g
Saturated Fat 1.1 g
Polyunsaturated Fat 0.0 g
Monounsaturated Fat 0.0 g
Cholesterol 35.6 mg
Sodium 158.0 mg
Potassium 14.8 mg
Total Carbohydrate 0.3 g
Dietary Fiber 0.0 g
Sugars 0.1 g
Protein 10.6 g

Nutrition Facts for Sweet Potato Buns
9 Servings
Amount Per Serving
Calories 44.0
Total Fat 0.5 g
Saturated Fat 0.2 g
Polyunsaturated Fat 0.1 g
Monounsaturated Fat 0.2 g
Cholesterol 20.7 mg
Sodium 22.3 mg
Potassium 29.3 mg
Total Carbohydrate 8.3 g
Dietary Fiber 1.3 g
Sugars 2.7 g
Protein 1.6 g

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Sometimes you just want a pizza. The sauce, the cheese, the toppings, I mean, we grow up on pizza! What I don’t like are the the feelings after I eat pizza. The guilt, the stomach discomfort, the bloat from all the sodium in the cheese, let’s face it, for me it’s just not worth it these days. So, I’m taking my cauliflower pizza crust recipe and adding a little twist. I made a grain free, low carb, and vegan pizza crust that’s so dang delicious you’ll want to make it all the time!

Here’s what you will need for your high protein vegan pizza:

For the Crust
1/2 medium head of cauliflower
1 tbsp coconut flour
2 chopped cloves of garlic
1 tsp dried oregano
1/2 tsp dried basil
2 tbsp ground flax (to make 2 flax eggs)
6 tbsp water
salt and pepper to taste

Toppings
2 oz of tempeh (grated with a cheese grater)
1/2 cup of marinara sauce (divided)
1/4 cup of vegan cheese (I used Go Veggie Mozzarella shreds)
2 tbsp chopped red onion
5 black olives (sliced)
sliced mushrooms
chopped parsley for garnish

Crust Preparation:

Preheat your oven to 425 degrees. Take 2 tablespoons of ground flax and add 6 tablespoons of water and mix. Place it in the refrigerator for at least 30 minutes to allow the mixture to set. While that’s working, with a food processor or high powered blender, finely chop your half a head of cauliflower until it becomes a rice. Pop it in the microwave for 6 minutes on a high heat.

Once done, add the coconut flour, basil, oregano, chopped garlic, 2 flax eggs, salt and pepper to the steamed cauliflower and mix.

The addition of the coconut flour will dry excess water that may be in the cauliflower rice from the steaming process. Once combined, take a pizza pan and line it with parchment paper and flatten the mixture onto the pan until it’s as thin as you’d like it. Bake it for approximately 20 minutes.

While the crust is in the oven, take your grated tempeh and add 1/4 cup of the marinara sauce and mix in the ground tempeh. Set aside.
Once the crust is done, add the additional 1/4 cup of sauce along with the cheese and layer your toppings on the sauce and cheese. You can use whatever veggies you like but I added onion, mushrooms, black olives and just added the tempeh mixture right on top with a little sprinkle of cheese. Bake in the oven for an additional 15 minutes.

When you remove your pizza from the oven, allow it to cool allowing the crust to set and firm up so that it doesn’t fall apart when you begin to slice it. That is if you’re patient enough. 🙂 Add the chopped parsley and enjoy!

This recipe is great because it can be doubled if need be and you can always change out the toppings. I’ve never had tempeh on a pizza but it’s so good when mixed with deliciously tangy marinara sauce and best of all, I don’t feel the need for a nap after eating it. High fiber, high protein, guilt free pizza…what could be better?!
Nutrition Facts
1 Serving = the entire pizza
Amount Per Serving
Calories 462.0
Total Fat 17.9 g
Saturated Fat 1.3 g
Polyunsaturated Fat 3.6 g
Monounsaturated Fat 2.5 g
Total Carbohydrate 50.3 g
Dietary Fiber 22.1 g
Sugars 15.8 g
Protein 30.1 g

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Chances are we’ve all had chicken salad; at a picnic, a BBQ, a baby shower or maybe just a quick dinner. It’s usually made with heavy ingredients such as mayonnaise and/or sour cream and 1 cup of chicken salad can set you back 400 calories if not more. I had two chicken breasts defrosting in the fridge and thought I’d give it a whirl using ingredients already in my pantry and fridge. I ended up making a cucumber and tomato chicken salad with capers and tons of flavor.

Here’s what you’ll need for your healthy chicken salad recipe:

2-3 boneless skinless chicken breasts
low sodium chicken or vegetable broth
1/4 cup of fat free Greek yogurt
1/4 chopped cherry or grape tomatoes
1/4 cup chopped red onion
1 tbsp drained capers
1/2 tbsp dried basil
1/2 medium cucumber peeled and chopped
1 tsp garlic powder
juice of half a lemon
sea salt and pepper to taste

To start, I cubed my chicken breats into near bite size pieces and boiled them for 7-8 minutes in veggie broth.

I placed just enough broth to cover the chicken in the sauce pan. If you use water, you can season the water with sea salt to flavor the chicken.

Keep an eye on your chicken as to not over cook or your chicken can turn out tough, not good. You can check a piece by slicing it to see if all the pink in the middle is gone.

Once done, remove the chicken from the liquid and shred with a fork or your fingers if cool enough.

Next, add the rest of your ingredients right into the same bowl as your chicken and mix. It’s as easy as that. I served mine on a single slice of Ezekiel sprouted grain flax bread and had a side of baby carrots and hummus for lunch. Light, filling, and delicious. Next time, I may just throw in some red pepper flakes because who doesn’t like a little metabolism boosting spice?

Nutrition Facts
4 Servings
Amount Per Serving
Calories 121.6
Total Fat 0.8 g
Saturated Fat 0.0 g
Polyunsaturated Fat 0.0 g
Monounsaturated Fat 0.0 g
Total Carbohydrate 5.5 g
Dietary Fiber 0.6 g
Sugars 3.3 g
Protein 21.5 g

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After one of Coach Kozak’s intense gym sessions, he came home with fajitas for 1. Now, Coach K is a calorie burning MACHINE and has been working out for many years so he needs the calories more than ever after he works out. And there I was…staring and admiring his food like a hungry puppy dog because of course, I had already met my food intake for the day. So, the next day, with fajitas still on my mind, I decided to make fajitas of my own but with a vegan twist. A Tempeh Fajita Bowl was then on my cooking agenda!

What you’ll need for your healthy vegan fajitas:

1 package of Tempeh (I buy flax tempeh)
1 cup of black beans
1/2 cup of cooked quinoa
1/2 a ripe avocado
1/4 cup salsa
cilantro for garnish
2 collard leaves

Marinade:
1 tbsp olive oil
1/4 of a purple onion (sliced)
1 large clove of garlic (sliced thinly)
1 tbsp of Tamari sauce or soy sauce
1 tsp of cumin
The juice and zest of 1 lime
1/4 tsp sea salt
1/4 tsp pepper

To begin, I slice my tempeh down the middle to create two long halves and then slice into long thin strips. Place your tempeh in a ziploc bag and add the olive oil, onion, garlic, Tamari sauce, cumin, zest and lime juice, and lastly the salt and pepper. Secure the ziploc bag and massage the marinade into the tempeh insuring the tempeh strips are all well coated. Marinate for 30 minutes up to overnight in the refrigerator.

Next, heat a grill pan or skillet on medium-high heat and empty the contents of your ziploc bag into the pan.

To cook it evenly, spread the tempeh into a single layer and cooking on each side about 2-3 minutes or until it begins to take on the golden color.

Once your tempeh is golden brown on all sides and the onion have a nice char, remove it from the heat and place it onto a plate or sheet of foil.

You’ll next take your collard leaf that has been cleaned and dried and place it onto the same pan and quickly heat on both side until it becomes pliable, about 15-20 seconds on either side.

Once that’s done, place it into a bowl to begin the layering process

You’ll then layer the black beans and quinoa…

The delicious tempeh, salsa, and avocado!

This is a super tasty dish that is packed with fiber, protein, plus the vitamins and minerals in the collard leaf.

You can top this with whatever topping your heart desires or whatever you have available in your pantry. Bon Apetit!

Nutrition Facts
4 Servings
Amount Per Serving
Calories 379.8
Total Fat 15.1 g
Saturated Fat 2.0 g
Polyunsaturated Fat 0.9 g
Monounsaturated Fat 5.6 g
Total Carbohydrate 42.1 g
Dietary Fiber 13.9 g
Sugars 1.4 g
Protein 21.6 g

The post Tempeh Fajita Bowl – Healthy Vegan Recipe appeared first on HASfit - Free Full Length Workout Videos and Fitness Programs.

Moist pan sauteed chicken is consumed often in the Kozak household. First off because it saves time, second because it’s easy to do, and third because it’s delicious and you can change up the flavor combos easily.

Today, I decided to keep it simple. I made garlic and thyme chicken with onions. Low-carb and high in protein, sauteeing has never been easier.

What you’ll need for your quick and healthy chicken recipe:

1 lb boneless skinless chicken breasts (cleaned and fat trimmed)
1 tbsp olive oil
1 1/2 tsp dried thyme
1 tsp garlic powder
1/4 tsp sea salt
1/4 tsp pepper
1/4 of an onion chopped or sliced

I start off by slicing and cubing my chicken so that it cooks faster and trimming off excess fat in the process.

Once that’s completed, I place my cubes in a bowl and toss in 1 tablespoon of olive oil.

Next, I then add the thyme, garlic powder, salt, pepper, and onion

and mix, mix, mix

I transfer the chicken mixture to my skillet on medium high heat.

Continue to stir the chicken every 2-3 min. In total, I cooked my chicken for about 8-10 minutes.

You can check your chicken by poking it with a fork and if the liquid runs clear it’s ready. If the liquid runs pink or red, it’s NOT.

In this particular instance, I stuffed my chicken into a delicious spice rubbed sweet potato.

The best thing about sauteeing chicken is that you can definitely swap the seasoning with almost anything you want and sometimes, I love tossing my cooked chicken in a curry sauce or even a calorie free buffalo sauce. It’s up to you!

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My weekly grocery haul was done yesterday. I like to go on Monday or Tuesday mornings when the weekend rush has come and gone and the produce is fresh. Sweet potatoes found their way into my basket yesterday. Sweet potatoes are a complex carbohydrate meaning they’re rich in fiber, vitamins, and minerals and take longer for your body to digest. Complex Carbs also keep your blood sugar stable and contribute to your body’s energy production.

After scrubbing and drying my sweet potatoes once all the unloading of the groceries was done, I decided I wanted to bake them. So, Turmeric Chili rubbed sweet potatoes it is!

What you’ll need for your healthy spice rubbed sweet potatoes:

3-4 sweet potatoes
1 tbsp chili powder
1 tsp garlic powder
1/2 tsp turmeric
1/4 tsp sea salt
Dash of cayenne pepper (optional)
coconut oil

I started by preheating my oven to 450 degrees. Place all of the spices in a bowl and whisk them together to combine them.

Start by poking holes into your sweet potatoes, all over, on every side.

Once you’ve completed that, take about 1 teaspoon of coconut oil in your hand and massage the oil into the potato

Next, sprinkle the spice rub on all sides of the potato and rub, rub, rub every single inch of the potato. Then, wrap the sweet potato into foil and continue the same process for the rest of your sweet potatoes.

Place them into the oven for at least 30 minutes up to an hour depending on the size of your potatoes. Rotate the sweet potatoes at a half way point.

You can check them by poking them with a knife. If your knife drives through and is removed easily, they’re done.

After 45 minutes, mine were done….

and were looking beautiful!

So delicious looking, I couldn’t wait to dig in!

I ended up filling my sweet potato with pan sauteed chicken and onions, a dollop of Greek yogurt and a sprinkle of nutritional yeast but you can fill your with whatever you’d like! Make it vegan and fill yours with tempeh or tofu.

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Chickpeas or Garbanzo beans? Whatever you call them, it doesn’t matter, just eat them. This legume is full of fiber with just two cups providing you with your recommended daily value of fiber. 65 -75% of the fiber found in chickpeas include insoluble fiber which is great if colon health is important to you. In addition, research suggests that when consumed, chickpeas can actually improve your cholesterol. Chickpeas can assist with blood fat regulation, to include lower levels of LDL-cholesterol, total cholesterol, and triglycerides. Lastly to be mentioned in this blog post is that chickpeas are great for blood sugar regulation. It doesn’t take long for garbanzo bean consumption to improve ones control of blood sugar and insulin secretion. Equally important, only one-third cup of the beans per day is suggested to provide these blood-sugar related health benefits. How awesome is that!?

With that being said, I have a fresh and delicious way for you to integrate chickpeas into your diet. This recipe is a great side or can serve as a meal on it’s own. I personally love to toss in salmon to this salad or even tempeh for more protein.

All you’ll need for this vegan friendly chickpea salad are the following:

1 can of 15oz chickpeas (drained and rinsed)
1 medium carrot
2 small stalks of celery or 1 large
1/4 of a small red onion
1-2 cloves of garlic
One fresh bunch of parsley or 1/4 cup
1 tbsp of lemon juice or juice of half a lemon
2-3 tablespoons of crumbled feta or goat cheese (optional)
salt and pepper to taste

To begin, place all of your vegetables in a food processor.

Onion, garlic..

Carrot…

Celery…

Parsley…oh my!

Blend it all together in your processor until finely chopped. Then, get your beautiful bowl of drained and rinsed chickpeas ready.

And add the vegetables, lemon juice, salt and pepper to the bowl.

Mix and voila! That’s it. I added a bit of crumbled goat cheese on mine as you see but leave that off if it doesn’t suite your fancy.

Best thing about this recipe is that you can do so much with it. You can add a tablespoon or two of olive oil, mix in some crunch such as slivered almonds, or even as previously mentioned, mix in a protein such as chicken, tempeh, tofu, or even salmon. Make this recipe your own and reap all the healthful benefits of eating chickpeas.
Nutrition Facts
4 Servings (1/2 cup)
Amount Per Serving
Calories 159
Total Fat 1.5 g
Cholesterol 0.0 mg
Sodium 385.9 mg
Potassium 343.5 mg
Total Carbohydrate 30.8 g
Dietary Fiber 6.3 g
Sugars 0.7 g
Protein 6.5 g

The post Chickpea Salad Recipe – Vegan Friendly Chickpea Recipe appeared first on HASfit - Free Full Length Workout Videos and Fitness Programs.

Baby its cold outside!

Ok, so I’m a super wimp when it comes to cold weather and I’m complaining because the high hardly got out of the 30’s today in south Texas. I realize that a lot of you are suffering with terrible temperatures and the snow piled high and for that, I’m sorry for ever complaining that 70 degrees is cold.

So first off, it’s incredibly cold for us Americans this first Monday of 2014 and it also happens to be Meatless Monday. I have just the thing for you guys, Quinoa Vegetable Soup! This soup is vegan and a nutritional powerhouse bringing together protein, fiber, and tons of vitamins and minerals, oh and it tastes incredible, how could I forget to mention that?

For this hearty, yet light calorie soup I’m hoping you guys have the majority of the ingredients on hand because I just know your pantries are stocked with healthy ingredients already , **nudge, nudge**, as I don’t want you all to have to step a foot out in this weather.

Grab your pens! Here’s the ingredient list:

4 cups of water or low sodium vegetable broth
2 tablespoons olive oil
2 cloves minced garlic
½ of a medium yellow onion (finely chopped)
3 large stocks of celery (chopped)
4 large carrots (chopped)
2 cups of sliced or chopped zucchini
3 cups of kale (chopped and de-stemmed)
¾ cup quinoa
1 28 oz crushed tomatoes
1 15 oz can of garbanzo beans
1 15 oz can of cannellini beans
1 tsp of turmeric
A pinch of red pepper flakes (optional)
Salt and pepper to taste

Garnish of your choice: I used nutritional yeast but you can add fresh basil or rosemary, light or fat free parmesan cheese right into your bowl.

Directions:

In a large soup pot, on medium heat add the two tablespoons of olive oil in the pan, allowing the oil to heat up.

Stay warm my friends!

12 Servings

Amount Per Serving

Calories              154.0

Total Fat             3.3 g

Saturated Fat   0.4 g

Polyunsaturated Fat     0.5 g

Monounsaturated Fat 1.7 g

Cholesterol       0.0 mg

Sodium               346.7 mg

Potassium         283.6 mg

Total Carbohydrate       26.7 g

Dietary Fiber    5.9 g

Sugars 4.3 g

Protein               10.1 g

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