Ghallaba who?! Fattoush what?! Looking at a Mediterranean menu can be intimidating at first, but don't be discouraged! The food is delicious and once you know your lingo, you'll be ordering like a pro in no time. Important side note: the mediterranean diet focuses on healthy fats, fruits, and vegetables and has been shown to reduce the risk of heart disease! So get familiar with common terms on many of the menus and give it a taste (for your health!):
- Ghallaba - lebanese stew with veggies, garlic, olive oil, and spices (may contain meat and rice).
- Shish Tawook - a turkish or lebanese kebab that involves cubed/marinated white meat on skewers.
- Fattoush - romaine lettuce salad with an olive oil, lemon, & garlic dressing usually with onions, tomatoes, cucumbers and toasted pita chips.
- Shawarma - named for the meat preparation (chicken, beef, lamb, turkey, goat, etc.). The meat is placed on a spit and grilled (for as long as a day) and then served in shavings.
- Sajji - usually a whole roasted chicken, lamb, or beef marinated in salt.
- Kibbeh - usually raw ground red meat with minced onions, bulgur, olive oil, and spices.
- Baba Ghanouj - cooked eggplant that has been mashed and mixed with olive oil and spices. Served as a dip with pita.
- Kafta - ground meat (lamb, chicken, beef, etc.) mixed with various spices and sometimes rice, egg, etc. (depending on the recipe). Usually shaped into a meatball.
- Falafel - deep fried ball or patty made from ground chickpeas or fava beans (not your healthiest pick).
*Quick Tip: although shawarma is incredibly tasty, try choosing tawook instead. The meat is only white, which means it contains less fat (lean protein).
The Downriver area has a growing amount of Mediterranean restaurants. Some of them include Shish Garden, Alex's Kabob House, and Beirut Gardens. Don't hesitate to ask your server if you have more questions on the menu - it's important to know what you're eating. Give them a try and decide which one is your favorite!
Touch - Josh Abbott Band
Really the title of this post should be, "Sweet Pepper and (Fill in Your Choice of Protein Here) Pasta." It is awesome with a sweet & spicy chicken sausage, but pairs perfectly with chicken, shrimp, and I'm sure tofu, as well - so be creative with this dish and feel free to put your own spin on these noodles!
What you'll need (Serves 4):
- 12 ounces 100% Whole Wheat Thin Spaghetti
- 2 Tbsp Extra Virgin Olive Oil
- 2 (6 ounce) links of Sweet & Spicy Chicken Sausage (or 12 large shrimp, 2 chicken breasts, etc.)
- 3 cloves minced garlic
- 5 medium bell peppers (red, yellow, and orange) thinly sliced
- 1/4 cup chopped fresh basil leaves
- Crushed Red Pepper Flakes
- Salt & Pepper to taste
Heat one tablespoon of the olive oil in a skillet and place the sausage links (or you choice meat) in the pan (make sure this is a large pan - you will be using it to saute all of the peppers later). Brown on both sides (about 6-8 minutes) and transfer the cooked sausage to a plate lined with paper towel (to soak up the grease). Wipe the remaining grease out of the skillet and add another tablespoon of oil to the pan. Add the garlic and saute for about 30 seconds. Add all of the peppers and after about a minute add the red pepper flakes. Let the peppers begin to soften (~5 minutes) and then cover the pan and cook for about 15 minutes. Season with salt & pepper to taste and add the fresh basil leaves. Meanwhile, cook the pasta, drain, and mix together with the pepper mixture. Serve and devour this deliciousness!
*Recipe shared from Dana Jacobi's The Essential Best Foods Cookbook
Free Falling - Tom Petty
7 - Grain, Multigrain, Whole Wheat, Heart Healthy, Oat and Bran, Whole White, Made with BLAH, BLAH, BLAH. Choosing a loaf of bread is like deciphering a different language these days - one that is made to trick and deceive. You have to be smart when buying your bread and look past the attractive words on the label, straight to the ingredients list (and hope that it's not 75 items long). Now, what? There are a few things you need to keep your eyes open for - try following this list:
- The first ingredient should be a WHOLE grain (whole wheat, whole rye, etc.). This means that the majority of the product is made from this whole grain.
- Be skeptical if an excessive amount of the ingredients are words you don't know. These could be preservatives, color additives, synthetic compounds, or other chemicals used to make foods more 'tasty'.
- Beware of excessive added amounts of sugar. A slice of bread should really have no more than 3 g of added sugar. Check out The DD's post on added sugar: Sneak Places Sugar Hides.
- Look for the Whole Grain Stamp.
- Opt for bread made fresh daily at local bakeries and ask them what ingredients they use (any preservatives? whole grains? added sugars?)
Look for these breads at your local grocery store or bakery:
*The top 3 listed breads are probably some of your best store bought options.
Why Do You Let Me Stay Here? - She & Him
Caution: Consuming raw or undercooked vegetables is absolutely awesome and amazing for your health. I bet you've never seen that warning next to an asterisk at the bottom of a menu! It's true - you can obtain a large amount of nutrients from raw veggies. The reason, you might ask? At around 118 degrees Fahrenheit many enzymes in vegetables begin to denature (fall apart) and lose their nutritional value. Eating them raw allows these enzymes to remain intact and available for your body to utilize. Now, that being said, I would like to mention that (as always) there are exceptions. Cooking vegetables is not always a bad thing. In fact, studies have shown that boiling or steaming (NOT frying) can boost the amount of antioxidants and lycopene available for our bodies to digest. Finishing point: try a diet that has a balanced amount of raw and lightly steamed or boiled vegetables.
Get the best of both worlds with this almost raw 'spaghetti':
- 1 medium zucchini, julienned
- 1 cup tomatoes, chopped
- 3-4 fresh basil leaves
- 2 Tbsp olive oil
- 2 Tsp freshly squeezed lemon juice
- 1 clove minced garlic
- Sea Salt and pepper to taste
Tomatoes are one of the vegetables that benefit from cooking (boosts their lycopene content which is linked to a decreased risk of cancer). For this recipe, combine the tomatoes, olive oil, lemon juice, and garlic in a pan and saute for about 5 minutes. Top the raw zucchini noodles with the sauce and fresh basil leaves. Salt and pepper and enjoy!
Long Hot Summer - Keith Urban
Sources: Scientific American and Natural Awakenings Magazine April 2012 (P. 16-17)
Sugar seems to be hiding everywhere these days and if you don't have your peepers out ready to find it, you'll most likely consume WAY more than intended. Sugars are a form of carbohydrates and occur naturally in many foods that we eat. The thing is, we add so much extra sugar (in its many forms) to our food that it's putting this nation at some serious health risks. Think about this: before you even add any extra sugar or fruit to a 1/2 cup of plain oats with a 1/2 cup of skim milk there are already 7 grams of sugar. Once you add your choice fruit, the naturally occurring sugar content can jump up to 20 grams (or more!). So put that brown sugar and honey down and enjoy the sweetness of natural occurring sugars in foods without adding extra (and increasing your risk for diabetes, obesity, etc.)!
Be a conscious shopper - check the sugar content in these common foods that producers like to secretly sweeten:
- Bread - Aim for breads with less than 3 g of sugar.
- Pizza Doughs
- Yogurt - add your own fruit (opt for plain)
- Juice - make your own/eat fresh fruit/add fresh fruit slices to water.
- Canned or Packaged Fruit - go for fresh fruit or unsweetened kinds.
- Crackers
- Cereal and Granola Bars
- Flavored Oatmeals - start with plain and add nuts, fruits, & spices.
- Breakfast Cereal
- Spaghetti Sauce
- Barbeque Sauce
- Flavored Milks
- Low Calorie Snack Options - They can still contain mega amounts of sugar.
- Pop/Soda - Just don't drink it.
- 'Fresh Fruit' Smoothies - make your own versus store bought.
- Blended Flavored Coffee Drinks
Producers are not required to distinguish the amount of added sugar from the naturally occurring sugar in foods. This can make things a bit difficult when analyzing the sugar content on nutrition labels. You have to check out the ingredients list and keep an eye out for these words (aka added sugars):
- brown sugar, corn sweetener, corn syrup, high-fructose corn syrup, dextrose, honey, invert sugar, malt sugar, molasses, raw sugar, sugar, syrup, glucose, dextrin, maltose, fructose, etc.
Ol' Red - Blake Shelton
Sources: American Heart Association, WebMD, Sports & Exercise Nutrition Second Edition (P. 6-7)
Is it sunny outside? Perhaps a light breeze is kicking in? Today's the day: skip the indoor workout and make the great outdoors your gym. Try using one of nature's built-in exercise tools: hills. Run or bike to a good/steep hill in your town (there are some by Young Patriot's Park in Riverview), take a nice swig of water, and get ready for this butt-blasting routine.
Begin at the bottom of the hill:
- Walking Lunges (to the top)
- 10 Push-Ups (at the top)
- Run Back to the Bottom
- 30 Crunches (at the bottom)
- Side Lunge w/ Squat (to the top)
- 1 min Plank (at top)
- Run Back to the Bottom
- 10 Push-Ups (at the bottom)
- Side Lunge w/ Squat (to the top - opposite side as first one)
- 1 min Plank (at top)
- Run Back to the Bottom
- 10 Squat Jumps (at bottom)
- Walking Lunges (to the top)
- 30 Crunches (at the top)
- Run Back to the Bottom
- 10 Push-Ups (at the bottom)
DONE! If your legs aren't on fire - do it again! Make sure to stay hydrated, taking sips of water between exercises. Cool down with a nice run or bike home and give yourself a pat on the back for staying fit!
Tip: Do not forget to wear sunscreen! It is so easy to get sunburnt while exercising outdoors (and who wants a tank and shorts tan line anyways?). Use at least 15 SPF (depending on how long you'll be out) and wear a hat to block the sun from your eyes.
Jet Lag - Simple Plan ft. Natasha Bedingfield
