Just so we’re all clear on the standings here (G/S/B/total):

1.		United States	9	15	13	37
2.		Germany	10	13	7	30
3.		Canada	14	7	5	26

Alright, now that we have that cleared up haha, I wanted to also add an exert from a page I was reading in research of this blog. Its from MSN.ca, and is discussing what was purchased for the Olympians at the very beginning. I thought it was interesting to look at

“So what exactly are the athletes eating out there in Vancouver and Whistler? Just a few examples of whatVANOC has purchased just at the start of the games: 36,540 eggs, 42,440 liters of 2% milk, 28,140 liters of skim milk, 77,800 lbs of bananas, 86,664 Granny Smith Apples, 70,104 Golden Delicious Apples and 11,000 lbs of pasta.” (http://lifestyle.ca.msn.com/health-fitness/diet/ee-article.aspx?cp-documentid=23468426)

Thats a lot of food!

Back to the blog. For Desert: A fast Fruit Parfait, and for Dinner: A firecracker shrimp Pasta

3 Minute Parfait (no.. seriously)

3/4cup vanilla low-fat yogurt

1/4cup blueberries and raspberries (each)

2TBSP honey

3TBSP chopped almonds

You can do this one of two ways: Layer the parfait Yogurt, Berries, Honey,Yogurt, Berries, Honey, Almonds, OR just pile it yogurt, berries, honey almonds. Whatever’s faster for you Its as easy as that.

A Golden Finish: Firecracker Shrimp Pasta

1 OR 1.5 cups peeled/cooked frozen shrimp

1/2 TSP Chili flakes

2 cloves chopped garlic

1cup Snowpeas (in pod, halved)

1/2cup chopped rapini

1/2cup chopped cherry tomatos

100g WHOLE GRAIN Pasta per person (a very healthy choice)

1/4cup oil

Begin by starting boiling water for pasta, and heating pan with oil for the shrimp. Follow pasta package cooking directions, adding 3TBSP salt to the boiling water. Add in the snow peas and rapini to the pasta water 4 minutes before the pasta is finished. In the frying pan (about 5 minutes before the pasta is finished, the same time you add the snow peas and rapini to the pasta) add the garlic, chili pepper flakes, salt, pepper and shrimp to the pan. Cook for about 3 minutes on each side. Drain pasta and veggies, and then toss everything together quickly in the shrimp frying pan. Add more oil to coat the pasta if there isnt enough in the pan already. Season with more salt and pepper if desired.

Enjoy my loves!

I shall return soon!

liss

I am really enjoying using Rapini as a regular vegetable. I included the spinach because it adds a different texture when cooked, as well as a contrasting taste with the steaks. My dear mother bought me some pre-cut steak strips and They fry up in 5 minutes. They add a bit of iron and protein to the diet, as well as helps give you that “full” feeling.

Hot Steak Salad

2cups spinach

1/2bunch Rapini

1cup Steak strips

2cloves chopped garlic

2TBSP Balsamic Vinegar

Salt, Pepper, Olive Oil

In a hot pan, add oil garlic and steak strips, S&P. Cook on high until outsides of meat are lightly browned, about 5 minutes. Add in Rapini (ends trimmed) and spinach, and cook until everything is wilted and hot. Add salt, pepper and Balsamic vinegar, heat for 1 minute and serve.

It truly does take only 10minutes from start to finish, and I feel like Popeye with all the Iron

liss

Welcome back everyone!

Liss’s French Onion Soup

2 large sweet onions, sliced into rings

2 cloves garlic

2TBSP butter

1TSP oil

4cups Beef Broth

1/2cup Red Wine

1 Baugette (Instruction: Thinly slice (1/2inch slices) bread diagonally. Brush with oil, Bake for 8-10 minutes or until golden brown and crispy).

1cup shredded cheese (whatever’s in your fridge is fine)

In a large pot, melt butter and oil together and add sliced garlic and onions. These bad boys need to cook down for 10-15 minutes, or until they are a caramel brown colour. A trick here is to add a small amount (3TBSP water each time) to the pot while the onions and garlic are cooking down.The steam forces them to cook faster! Add salt and Pepper to taste, as salt also draws water out of the onions. Continue cooking for 15 minutes, and then deglaze the pan with the red wine. Let the red wine cook down until all the alcohol is out of it, then add the beef broth and simmer for 10 minutes. If you have one on hand, add a bay leaf here while simmering. Ladel into bowls, and add hot baugette slices to the top, top with cheese and microwave for 15 seconds until the cheese melts!

I know what Im having for supper tonight. You should too now

Liss

These spiney little veggies are easier to prepare than I had previously thought.

There are just a few simple steps in preparing Artichokes.

But first, a small history of the artichoke from dear old www.wikipedia.com:

The Globe Artichoke (Cynara cardunculus)^[2] is a perennial thistle originating in southern Europe around the Mediterranean. It grows to 1.5–2 m tall, with arching, deeply lobed, silvery glaucous-green leaves 50–82 cm long. The flowers develop in a large head from an edible bud about 8–15 cm diameter with numerous triangular scales; the individual florets are purple. The edible portion of the buds consists primarily of the fleshy lower portions of the involucral bracts and the base, known as the “heart”; the mass of immature florets in the center of the bud is called the “choke”. These are inedible in older larger flowers.

Varieties

• Green color, big size: Camus de Bretagne, Castel (France), Green globe (USA).
• Green color, medium size: Blanca de Tudela (Spain), Argentina, Española (Chile), Blanc d’Oran (Algeria), Sakiz, Bayrampsha (Turkey).
• Purple color, big size: Romanesco, C3 (Italy).
• Purple color, medium size: Violet de Provence (France), Brindisino, Catanese (Italy), Violet d’Algerie (Algeria), Baladi (Egypt).
• Spined: Spinoso sardo (Italy), Criolla (Peru).

Medical Uses

The majority of the cynarin found in artichoke is located in the pulp of the leaves, though dried leaves and/or stems of artichoke also contain Cynarawhich are used to increase bile production. Cynarin, an active constituent in Cynara, causes an increase in bile flow.^[10] This diuretic vegetable is of much nutritional value because of its exhibiting aid to digestion, strengthening of the liver function, gall bladder function, and lowering of HDL/LDL ratio. This reduces cholesterol levels, which diminishes the risk for arteriosclerosis and coronary heart disease.

Aqueous extracts from artichoke leaves have also shown to reduce cholesterol by inhibiting HMG-CoA reductase and having a hypolipidemic influence, lowering blood cholesterol

Good. Now, How do we cook this bad boy!?

Artichokes, and a delicious dressing!

Begin by trimming the pointed ends off of all of the leaves, and trimming the stem to 1/2 inch. Set into a pot with 3inches water and bring to a boil. Simmer on med high for about 30 minutes.

Now. Here is a big step that you must remember that I did not, and consequentially ended up with over cooked artichokes (they were still delicious and easy to eat but overcooked nonetheless.)

REMEMBER TO REMOVE THE OUTER LEAVES BEFORE COOKING! I did not do this, and kept poking the woody outer leaves, and ended up with the inner part being soggy and a tad over cooked so Trim Trim Trim!

Steam your trimmed artichokes for about 30 minutes, or until the leaves are easily plucked off.

How to Eat Artichokes

Eating an artichoke is fairly simple. Pluck off the leaves and use your bottom teeth to scrape the soft inside of the vegetable starting at the top of the leaf and pulling down.

A yummy idea for a dip I found was a Balsamic Mayo. Heres my recipe:

1TBSP Balsamic Vinegar

2TBSP Light Mayo

Pinch Pepper and Salt

-Mix all ingredients together until completely combined.

I hope you enjoyed my little artichoke adventure! So next time you see these dangerous little veggies, grab one and give it a try!

liss

Alright, my new years resolution is to stop being a lazy lump and get to the gym again. But, with my lovely resolution comes another great challenge: the food challenge. I will admit I am a  food-oholic. I love to cook and I love to eat. So this puts me in an odd position when trying to “diet”. Why should I give up good tasting foods just because Im dieting?

Exactly.

Heres a list of Snack foods that are healthy and delicious.

Some of these are adapted or from a site I found on stumbleupon.com, This is the link to their page  24 Tasty and Nutritious Snacks. I strongly suggest you take a look at this site in general for Health and Wellness tips and ideas. Its proven to be quite helpful.

Yummy And Healthy Snacking Ideas.

Almonds – drop those cashews! Almonds are in! a healthy portion is 10 – 12 almonds. These are very filling!)

Apple slices with Peanut butter and Cinnamon – Its true that an apple a day keeps the doctor away.

Blueberries – good for memory and brain health. I eat these before exam time!

Grape tomatoes with a Oil and Balsamic dip (1TBSP of each, pinch salt&pepper) – Very tastey, and the acidity is good!

A cup of Mixed cereal- Sometimes I eat those wholegrain cereals as a snack. My favorite are the Musseli ones, Because it feels more like a healthy trail mix (f.y.i, trail mix is usually heavily salted, and full of fat. Not as healthy as you think!)

Cucumber slices with Vinegar salt and pepper – Kinda taste like crispy cool S&V chips, Much healthier for you though!

Popcorn – I love salty snacks, so popcorn works for me. Its crunchy, and the light popcorn can be sprinkled with low-cal popcorn flavoring to kick it up a notch.

Low fat Turkey Meat, and A Small bunch of Grapes: Yum!

1/2cup Dried Blueberries and Cranberries – These things are 10x better than raisins, and because they are not as high in sugar content as a fruit, the dried product are less sugary as well.

Rice Cakes – So these things are always considered dry, however the caramel ones are delicious, and only 60 calories, and my favorite are the buttered popcorn ones which are even less. If you dont like how dry they are try dipping into peanut butter.

A Melba toast with Tzatziki spread, Cherry tomato and Kalamata Olive – Tastey little things! Add a leaf or two of spinach! It makes it taste very fresh.

A peach, and a small piece of dark chocolate: dark chocolate’s antioxidants are very good for you, and who can resist a ripe sweet peach!

A Yogurt Honey and Cherry Ice bar: Mix together 1cup pitted cherries with 1cup vanilla yogurt and 2TBSP honey, freeze in ice pop makers ( dollarstore) Yum!

HEALTHY ALTERNATIVE TO YOUR FAV SNACKS!

You want: A chocolate bar

Alternative: a 100 Cal Darl chocolate bar, or two 1oz squares. The antioxidants are higher in concentration because they are not being diluted with milk and cream as in milk chocolate.

You want: Ice Cream

Alternative: A Single cup of your favorite ice cream, Frozen for 4 Hrs. Sure its not as sugary, but the probiotic cultures rock for your bowel movements (dont be shy ladies and gents, we all have issues from time to time), and yogurt is a calcuim boost! Something I never get…

You want: Chips

Alternative: Try pretzels. They keep with the crispy and crunchy theme, and are generally low calorie if you keep to the nutrition label’s recommended portion

You want: Something Chewey

Alternative: Try dried fruit. Sounds like something your Grandma would make you eat? Well, maybe shes right! Try dried berries, banana chips and others such as apricots and dates.

One of the best things you can do for your body after a mass inhalation of christmas-crap is to drink water. My friends and I love water with lemon, its our staple drink, because it is cool, refreshing and forces us to drink more water. Water flushes excess fat from your body, and keeps your hydrated which is crucial when trying to exercise and lose weight. Some assume you will gain “water weight” by drinking excess amount of water, but water weight is brought on by excess salt intake. A key indicator for your hydration level is your (yup, you guessed it) URINE. Urine that is more of a pale to clear yellow signifies that your body is hydrated, while bright yellow can depend on your diet and liquid consumption (asparagus, coffee, pop).

These are just a few things that you use as alternatives to those delicious truffles and buttery biscuits. Although they are not as fatty as our holiday faves, their flavors are fresh and natural and can get you back in the healthy-zone!

liss

Pad Thai is an immensley flavorful rice noodle dish, quite healthy and generally simple to make. You can find most, if not all of these ingredients at your local grocery store, however you may have to go on a little hunt for it. I suggest an asian grocer, or a larger grocery store (loblaws, sobeys etc.)

Unfortunately, due to time constraints on my exams, I will not be able to post 4 separate blogs. However, I have been salivating over an idea I had not long ago. My family is having boeuf bourguignon for our Christmas. A Christmas tradition our family is  to never have a normal Christmas Turkey or Ham. This tradition has led my Nanna to create a slow braised beef stew. However, I started thinking… How can I make this faster.

Don’t you dare all say ‘thats what she said’.

haha Moving on, I have created a recipe for the most delicious, hearty boeuf bourguignon for you to snack on during exams. All this cold sure has me wishing I had a pot of this on downstairs!

Liss’s Quick and Easy Boeuf Bourguignon

1/2lb Cubed Beef Chunks (mouth-sized cubes)

2stalkes Celery, cut into 1 inch peices

1cup pearl onions, peeled (to peel, place in boiling water for 5 min, then quickly put into ice water. Cut off one end and squeeze the onion out the other)

4cloves Garlic, sliced Thick

4TBSP Butter

3TBSP flour

Salt, Pepper, Thyme and 2 Bay leaves

1cup Red or White wine (preferably a red for this, but white works as well)

1cup Beef Broth

Using paper towels, dry off all of the moisture from the beef chunks. In a large zip bag, toss the dried beef chunks with the flour and coat evenly. In a high sided pan, add the butter, and then add the beef when the butter is melted. DO NOT MOVE THE BEEF AROUND! You want the beef to brown, and for the beef to be crispy. After you have browned once side of the beef chunks, turn them over, and add the celery, onions and garlic in between the beef. Cook these until almost tender, then add the spices, wine and beef broth. Cook down until veggies are soft all of the way through and the meat is tender -about 15 minutes. Remove bay leaves and serve hot.

This stew gets better with more cooking time, so if your in a rush, cook until everything is cook thoroughly, but if you have time to spare cook for up to 45 minutes, until the veggies melt in your mouth.

Hope this makes up for my unfortunate exam absence!

liss

Potato-less Latkes with Crunchy Cool Ranch Chicken

1 Zucchini

1/2 Large Carrot

1 egg

Sesame seeds

2 cloves Garlic, chopped

1 chicken breast, cut up into fingers

20 cool ranch Doritos, crushed up

1/2cup Bread Crumbs

In 3 seperate bowls, add flour to one, one egg yolk to the next, and the breadcrumbs and crushed chips to the last. Dunk the chicken in the flour, covering it completely. Next, cover it in the egg yolk, and finally put it into the bowl with the chip and bread crumbs, and cover it completly. Set aside.

In a separate bowl, grate the carrot and zucchini, and squeeze all the water out of it. Add in the egg white, salt, pepper, garlic and sesame seeds, and mix until completely combined. Seperate into 5 patties in a hot pan, and fry until the one side is crispy and golden brown. Turn over and fry the next side to a crispy and golden brown. Set aside

While the first side of the latkes are cooking, in another pan, fill with 1/2 oil and begin to fry the one side of the chicken. Turn the chicken when the first side is golden brown and crispy, then fry the next side until the chicken is cooked all of the way through. Put the chicken between two pieces of paper towel to squeeze out any extra oil. Serve hot with your favorite dipping sauces!

This was a very good meal for throwing it together in a half an hour! Try it yourself. Substitute the veggies for whatever root veg  is in your veggie drawer, and adjust cooking time accordingly. The chips can also be substitutes for regular Lays, or cheesey Doritos!

Happy cooking!

Liss

Liss’s Homemade Granola

Feel free to add or subtract ingredients from the granola. Add fresh berries, and milk to have a delicious breakfast cereal, or add dried fruits and nuts such as figs, sunflower seeds, dried apricots, or peanuts to make  the granolar heartier, like a good trail mix.

3cups Rolled Oats

1cup Shelled, Unsalted Sunflower seeds

1/2cup Raisins

1/2cup Dried Cranberries

1cup Almonds (whole or chopped)

1/2 cup Sesame Seeds

1/2cup Kashi 7Grain Puffed Wheat Cereal mix

1TSP Cinnamon

1TSP Nutmeg

1/2TSP Cloves (if you have them)

1cup Honey

In a large mixing bowl, combine all ingredients and Mix well, so that the honey covers all of the mixture. Crumble onto baking sheet lined with tinfoil or parchment, and Bake on 350 F for 25 minutes or until golden brown. Let cool, and store in airtight jars for ultimate freshness.

Enjoy this health on-the-go snack! Its very simple, and requires very little time to make! Crumble this over ice cream for a snack, eat it with milk as a cereal or toss it in a to-go bag and take it with you!

So why not try it? I cant see why you shouldnt

Liss

Liss’s StewPendous Stew

1 Carrot, chopped

2Stalks celery, chopped

1Onion, Chopped

2 cloves Garlic, chopped

1 Can potatos, sliced (drain first)

1 Can Corn, drained

1/2 Can Green Beans

1LB Ground beef

2 Cans Beef Broth

Heat and oil a Medium sized pot, and cook ground beef through, cutting it up with your spoon to get it into small pieces. Add Celery, Carrots, Garlic, and Onion and cook thoroughly until all the vegetables are tender to bite. Add drained vegetables and broth, and simmer on medium high for 10 minutes. After 10 minutes, turn heat down to medium low, and let simmer for another 30 minutes. Serve hot

I looooove this recipe! Try it out, its very simple and tastes deliciously homemade

liss