I’m not going to lie. I can get crazy around sweets. Sugar does bad things to my joints, though – once I started down the anti-inflammatory diet road, I noticed that when I went on a sugar bender (which USED to be a fairly regular occurrence), I’d get all swollen and achy again. So I revised my position on stevia and started to use it to get my “fix” once in a while. And I’m proud to say that I’m not nearly as beholden to the sweet stuff as I used to be – cutting down on carbohydrates generally and upping my protein has evened me out enough that I don’t have those highs and lows that left me trolling the cupboards for ages-old Halloween leftovers.

But. I still love a lil’ somethin’ somethin’. And here’s a great solution. This cheesecake takes a few minutes to throw together and bakes up quickly. No springform pan, and only an improvised water bath. Once it’s done, it can sit in your fridge for several days, ready to rescue you when you’re feeling munchie. One slice of this will only set you back about 140 calories – NOT a bank-breaker. It is what we call a buffer food, sweeties. Something that feels indulgent but is not going to undo your good work. Something that keeps you from running to Cinnabon or The Cheesecake Factory. You could bring this to your book club, to your family’s weekend get-together . . . and use it to practice “dessert defense,” a term coined by the strong and wise Jill Colman.

I got the inspiration for this recipe from The New Rules of Lifting for Women, but of course have tweaked it. I’ve developed a nasty Quest Bar habit, and thought this might take the edge off after a meal, when I crave a sweet. It works.

UPDATE!!! I have since added chocolate & peanut butter cup variations in the  notes . . . and if you want to bring the cal/fat counts down a notch, you can use 1 c. fat-free ricotta and 1 c. part-skim. I do that all the time and it is still fantastic!

Bon appetit, Sweeties!

© 2014, Sarah. All rights reserved.

Print This!

This is stupid easy, makes a ton, and is flexible – so you can tweak this according to your tastes . . . want to crank up the heat? Add cayenne pepper. Want to lighten it up a bit? Use ground turkey, or a combo of ground beef & turkey. Have veg you want to use up? Chop it up and throw it in. Love beans? They’d be great in here too. Whatever you do, make this soon – it’s tasty & quick & feeds a crowd.

© 2014, Sarah. All rights reserved.

Print This!

Oh my darlings, this is a goodie. Make this, then let it cool for a few, then cut it into 8 slices. Throw it into the fridge and eat off it for days. If you’re nice, you’ll share with your family. If you’re a mean-meanie like me, you’ll know they won’t eat it because it contains a dreaded ingredient: mushrooms. So you can keep it all. for. yourself.

© 2014, Sarah. All rights reserved.

Print This!

What? This sausage will help you lose fat? Well, that’s not entirely true, but eating plenty of lean protein and limiting your fat intake is one of the ways to lose fat . . . remember, healthy foods aren’t necessarily fat-loss foods. Not that you’d think sausage is a health food. You wouldn’t think that, right? But if you know me off-blog, you know I love sausage. Even from those vendors outside sporting events, or on the streets of NYC. Yup, I’d go there. Spicy, juicy, greasy . . . all the way up to homemade, couture sausage in little restaurants where everything is locally sourced. Yes, I’ve dined along the whole sausage spectrum and enjoyed every lip-smackin’ minute.

But right now I’m trying to keep my physical gains and take them further, and sausage is not on the list of foods that’ll get me there. Until now.

Enter this recipe. I’m amazed at how sausagey and delicious it is. You can dial the red pepper up or down, depending on your spice preferences. You can brown the turkey & spices for a sausage crumble (how amazing would this be with refried beans & cheese, rolled up in a tortilla??), make it into little breakfast-sausage-sized patties, form it into burger-sized disks (this is what I did), make it into meatballs. Whatever. It’s damn good and is sure to satisfy a hankering for sausage, without blowing your plan. Enjoy!

© 2013, Sarah. All rights reserved.

Print This!

I’m here! Actually here. Cooking, enjoying summer, but not blogging. ‘Til tonight. A few folks have requested this recipe . . . so here we go. Got zucchini? This is a GREAT way to use it up, deliciously. It’s high-protein, low-carb and gluten-free. Eat up!

© 2013, Sarah. All rights reserved.

Print This!

When you’re eating a lot of lean protein, keeping things interesting is a challenge. Since becoming the chicken breast whisperer, I’ve been on a quest to liven things up, without salt. Sometimes, it’s hard to stay inspired and interested.

Enter this spice blend – you can sprinkle a bit on your chicken breasts before searing, sprinkle a little over your ground turkey breast and onions . . . it’s great with ground lamb, beef, or even a new-to-me fav, buffalo (try making meatballs, or kofta). Think garlic, olive oil, onions and this . . . serve over rice with veg on the side and you have a quick and easy Middle Eastern meal.

I browned up a pound of ground turkey breast, added chopped onion and about a tablespoon of this blend . . . voila! A tasty lean protein source to have on hand for easy meals and snacks. 3-4 oz. of this and a non-starchy vegetable side will keep you full and satisfied for a few hours. Try this ground turkey mix atop mixed lettuces, add a chopped orange and a drizzle of pomegranate vinegar for a super-healthy, protein-packed meal (salads, not just for lunch or dinner anymore!).

Who said eating like a bodybuilder has to be boring?

© 2013, Sarah. All rights reserved.

Print This!

All this talk about metabolism and my new paradigm has lead more than a few of you to ask, “so . . . what ARE you eating, anyway?” Short answer is: a lot of lean protein and non-starchy vegetables. Like at most every meal. I’ve found over the last few months that getting about 1 gram of protein per pound of body-weight sets me up for feeling satisfied most of the time. Fill that out with lots of fiber from non-starchy vegetables (like leafy greens, cruciferous veg like broccoli, cauliflower and Brussels sprouts, etc.) and my guess is you’ll feel pretty satiated too. You can add some fat if you like (coconut oil has made its way into my life – I love the stuff), which definitely ups the satiety of your foods, but be careful if you’re going for fat loss . . . in that case, I try to keep my total carbohydrate intake to about 100 grams per day and not use much added fat when prepping my food.

What does this translate to? For me, whether I’m being looser with my carb and fat intake, or looking for maximal fat loss, 5 mini-meals seem to do the trick. If I’m eating every 2-3 hours, I know the next feeding’s not far off – and I’m never starving. Maybe mildly hungry – just getting to the place where I’d go looking for something. But because I plan my meals out in advance and prepare food ahead of time, I know what I’m getting next and it’s easy to pull out and/or prepare. Here’s what a day might look like (note that I have been eating within a 12-hour window, and have been keeping my higher carb meal to my post-workout meal only – this is a restrictive day – otherwise, I’ll eat whatever I want at any given meal):

Meal One (usually around 7 a.m.)

4 oz. lean protein (ground turkey that I’ve browned up with some seasonings and onion and keep in the fridge, part of a chicken baked chicken breast, etc.)

5 oz. (or so) vegetables (most often, steamed broccoli or cauliflower because they’re easy in the microwave)

or sometimes if I’m not very hungry, I’ll have some whey protein powder mixed with some unsweetened vanilla almond milk – I don’t love fasted workouts

Meal Two (usually around 10:00-10:30, post workout)

Vega One smoothie with 8 oz. unsweetened vanilla almond milk, some low-sugar fruit like berries, maybe a few almonds (keeping my nut consumption to 1/4 c. per day – I love nuts, they’re great for you, but they’re not great for fat loss). For a time, I was enjoying hot oat bran cereal mixed with Vega One at this meal, but have discovered that oat bran makes my joints ache . . . .

Meal Three (sometime 12-1 p.m.)

More lean protein and veg. Maybe a giant salad with mixed greens or baby spinach topped with chicken/salmon/tuna/cod fillet and some other chopped non-starchy veg (bell peppers have become a fav again, mushrooms, blanched broccoli, etc.) and drizzled with a flavored vinegar and maybe a little Bragg’s Liquid Aminos. Or else just a steamed veg or two on the side – asparagus is coming into the markets – one of my favorites! I try to keep salt low (so going easy on the Bragg’s, a drizzle of lemon is usually all I do on the steamed veg)

Meal Four (around 4 p.m.)

More lean protein – hard-boiled egg whites sprinkled with some no-salt seasoning blend, maybe 3 or so ounces of chicken breast, maybe almonds if I haven’t had any nuts earlier, maybe some bell pepper spears or celery. This usually coincides with my daughter’s after-school snack and there is a lot going on, so I try to have something that I can pull out and munch.

Meal Five (around 6:30 – again, all food stops at 7 p.m.!)

Again with the lean protein and veg. This is dinnertime for the family, so the challenge here is to make something that everyone can eat at least part of . . . so maybe a chicken/broccoli stir-fry and rice – my daughter will eat some of the chicken and the rice. Depending on how my husband’s feeling, he may or may not have rice with his chicken and broccoli. I will have only chicken and broccoli, and often I’ll add another steamed vegetable on the side. Depending on how strict I’m being, I’ll have a piece of fruit for dessert – citrus is still delicious, a sliced apple mixed with some cinnamon, some sliced strawberries and/or blueberries.

So there you have it. Very restrictive, very lean. For now, there is no dairy here, no legumes, no grains. That’s just what I feel good on and what is helping me lose fat. NOW THIS SAID . . . you probably shouldn’t keep your carb intake super low 100% of the time, because as Metabolic Effect has taught me, it can mess with your metabolism. So cycle lower and higher carbohydrate intake weeks or days – but get those carbs from dairy, fruits, veg, etc. WHOLE FOODS ARE KEY. Processed junk (gluten free pretzels, I’m lookin’ at YOU!) is going to clog up your metabolism and make you feel awful – especially if you’re eating super-clean for any length of time. Ideally, my regular diet is approximately 40-30-30 (protein/carb/fat). I feel good on that, and it keeps my metabolism humming – I feel satisfied, there is room for more variety (unlike the eating plan I outline above), and it allows you to be social (which is tough if you’re eating very little fat and a lot of lean protein!).

The key to any of this is planning and prep. You need to figure out what you want to eat AHEAD OF TIME, and take measures to make that easy for you. Many people, me included, prep a bunch of things on the weekends: hard-cook a dozen or two eggs, brown up 2 lbs. of ground turkey breast, bake off 4 chicken breasts – quantities will depend on how much you eat and who else in your house is eating this way. Buy pre-packaged fresh vegetables that you can throw in a steamer or the microwave or in a bowl with no prep – broccoli florets, pre-washed baby greens, pre-washed spinach. Cut your salad/snack vegetables and store them in the fridge – those bell peppers, chop onions, etc. The more barriers you have set up to getting to this food, the less likely it’s going to happen.

I hope this answers some questions. Remember, I’m NOT a doc or a dietician. YOU need to consult one of them before doing anything radical. You also will need to see how you feel eating these different ways . . . are your cravings gone? Do they come at certain times of the day? The month? Do you feel full enough? And tweak your macros as you go along. Fat is very satisfying and there is a lot of research that says that upping your fat even a bit more is just fine. It can keep you satiated for much longer.

Let me know what you think, what you’re doing, and if you have any more questions!

Image courtesy of  FreeDigitalPhotos.net

© 2013, Sarah. All rights reserved.

Print This!

Whether you’re low-carbing, dieting, or just trying to incorporate more healthy, home-cooked food into your diet, ground turkey breast can be a super-versatile addition to your repertoire. It’s unglamorous and pretty tasteless on its own, but it’s a blank slate for lots of flavor options and a great way to get a lean protein hit. Here are three ways I’ve been enjoying it lately.

This next one might strike you as odd, but it’s really pretty darn tasty! Great breakfast option.

This last one is so easy, and so flavorful – serve it up in romaine lettuce cups or over noodles or rice – your call.

© 2013, Sarah. All rights reserved.

Print This!

The good people at Metabolic Effect know that even if you’re doing “everything right,” sometimes you’re going to have a craving. Ideally, you’ll figure out how to tweak your macronutrients and quell those cravings, with, say, more protein and fiber, but especially for us women, sometimes you just need a fix. And yet, if you’re eating well, you don’t want that craving to derail your efforts, right?

Enter the Metabolic Effect “cocoa drink.” I challenge you – every time you’re goin’ looking for a little something-something . . . sweet or savory . . . but in your heart of hearts you KNOW you don’t really need anything, stop what you’re doing and MAKE THIS DRINK.

Drink it. Savor the flavor. Get on with things, then, make yourself busy. And I’ll betcha you’ll find you feel better and will not be ravaging the cupboards. Let me know what you think! I use this often during “shark week.” It has very few calories, is surprisingly satisfying, and is chock-full of antioxidants. I would highly recommend getting very high quality raw cacao powder for this. You use so little, why not maximize the nutrients your body’s getting? But seriously, you can use Hershey’s unsweetened baking cocoa powder. It’s all good.

Stay tuned for more on Metabolic Effect, and how their book has been the real change-maker for me!

Image courtesy of [image creator name] / FreeDigitalPhotos.net

© 2013, Sarah. All rights reserved.

Print This!

I know some of you are afraid to cook fish at home.  I’m not really sure where this comes from, because aside from the fact that you need to buy it day-of cooking (in most cases), I find fish to be a quick and easy answer to the “what’s for dinner?” question.

In our house, we eat a lot of cod.  I know, I know, cod has historically been  over fished, but it’s the only fish that we all consistently agree on.  My daughter won’t eat any of the greens associated with a fish recipe, but she’ll often eat some of the cod itself, along with her ever-present noodles.

Here’s a staple recipe from our house, along with ideas for sides.  It’s a very fast menu to pull together – about 30 minutes from counter to table.

Steamed Cod With Ginger & Scallions

In a large skillet, combine 3 T. rice vinegar, 2 T. low-sodium soy sauce (or lower sodium Tamari if you are gluten-free) and 2 T. bottled minced ginger.  Season both sides of 4 skinless cod fillets (6-8 oz. each) with Kosher salt and fresh-ground black pepper.  Place the fillets in the skillet with the vinegar mixture, bring to a boil.  Reduce heat to a gentle simmer, cover and cook until fish is almost opaque, approximately 6 minutes.  Meanwhile, cut the green parts of 4-6 scallions into 3-inch lengths, then thinly slice them length-wise.  Scatter over the fish, and cook, covered, until the fish flakes easily and the scallions are just wilted, approximately 3 minutes more.

Serves 4.

Asian Slaw

Combine 4 t. rice vinegar, 1 t. bottled minced ginger, 2 T. toasted sesame oil, 2 T. vegetable oil and 2 t. low-sodium soy sauce and toss it with pre-bagged coleslaw mix.  Use as much slaw as you think you’ll need to make generous side-servings (we love this stuff, and so I use about 3/4 lb.!).  Adjust the seasonings to taste.

Simple Noodles

These are my daughter’s #1 favorite comfort food.  Prepare a package of wide Chinese wheat-flour noodles (the ones made without egg) according to package directions and toss them with a bit of toasted sesame oil and some low-sodium soy sauce.

© 2009 – 2014, Sarah. All rights reserved.

Print This!