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

So, In honour of our Canadian Furry Albino Friend…

MAKE A SUGAR PIE!

So easy, and deliciously Canadian eh! Celebrate your nation while tucking into this sweet bite of heaven!

Willie’s Sugar Pie

1/2 cup each of Brown and Maple sugar (you can use maple syrup if you can not find maple sugar)

2TBSP Flour

1 Pre-made pie shell

1/3cup Whipping Cream

1/2TSP Each of Cinnamon, and nutmeg

Optional: Chopped almonds, walnuts, chocolate sprinkles or rasins

Mix together in a bowl the sugars and spices, and then sprinkle over the pie shell evenly. Pour the cream over the sugar mixture and bake at 350 degrees for 35-40 minutes or until crust is golden brown. Serve warm!

Not so healthy but absolutely delicious!

HAPPY FLUFFBALL DAY!

liss

As a side note, there is canola oil used for frying in this recipe, but olive oil can be substituted. Although this takes away from the “health aspect”, the baking process helps get rid of a lot of the excess oil leaving a crispy and semi-healthy crust. Hey, we cant win them all!

Liss’s Delish Eggplant Parm

STEP ONE:

Eggplant

1cup milk

1cup breadcrumbs

1 TBSP Oregano, 1TSP salt, 1/2TSP Rosemary, 1TSP Pepper (mix together with breadcrumbs in a lrg bowl)

1 cups Oil for Frying (keep more on hand, as eggplant likes to absorb)

1 Eggplant, cut into 1/2 inch thick slices

Mix together all spices with breadcrumbs, set aside. Dip eggplant slices into milk, and then cover completely in breadcrumbs and shake excess off. In a Large Pan, heat oil to med high, and fry both sides of egg plant until crispy. Place on baking sheet, and set aside.

STEP 2

Sauce

this sauce can be substituted for jarred sauce if need be. I recommend making it though, especially since it takes less than 5 minutes.

1/2 Lrg can tomato paste (mix together with 1/2 cup water *or more* to get it to a sauce-like state)

1/2cup Olive oil

1TBSP each: Oregano, salt and pepper

3 Cloves garlic, chopped

1TSP Pizza Spice ( if you have it, if not add a few of your favorites in)

In a Pot, begin by browning garlic. Add tomato paste, water and spices and bring to a low simmer until heated.

GRATE CHEESE

STEP 3

Assemble

On the baking sheet, lay down all slices, and top with sauce and cheese. Bake for 15 minutes, then broil for 15. Serve hot.

I suggest peeling the eggplant, I didnt and the skin was very tough.

Enjoy! I sure did!

liss

This recipe takes approximately 20 minutes to prepare from start to finish, and is high in iron, which is hard for a lot of young women to keep in their diet. Keep in mind that this soup is full of fiber and will keep you regular (if you catch my drift…). You can, of course, add your own veggies, but my suggestion is to stick to veggies that are green and light in flavor, such as spinach, swiss chard, snow peas, bean sprouts (not green, but a yummy option) and whole cherry tomatoes. This becomes like a big vegetable stew, but is still very light. Also, this meal cost me only 8 dollars at No Frills, and I ate it 3 times. yumm

Iron-liss’s Green Soup

1/2 bunch Rapini, ends trimmed and cut in half  (you can most likely find this at your grocery store, if not you can always use plain old broccoli or swiss chard as a replacement)

1 bunch Asparagus, cut into spoon-sized pieces

2 cloves garlic, chopped

1 zucchini, cut into spoon-sized bites

1/2tsp rosemary

1TBSP Chives

1TSP Oregano

1/2TSP Garlic powder

Salt and Pepper to taste

1 Box Chicken Broth

Begin by browning garlic in a large pot. After garlic is browned, add al green veggies, broth and spices and let simmer for 10-15 minutes, or until all vegetables are cooked through. Serve Hot! Yum Yum YUM!

Enjoy this EXTREMELY GREEN SOUP recipe!

liss

Take a look now! What are you waiting for its 9am!

Sylvie’s Healthy Pancakes

3 eggs

3/4cup Low Fat Cottage Cheese

1/4cup Whole Wheat Flour

1TSP Vanilla

Blend until smooth! Cook it up like pancakes (but I like to add chocolate chips so that it’s delish!).

Thanks again Sylvie and enjoy readers!

liss

Ive tried this dish two different ways, and I like the second way much better. This recipe calls for 1/2 cup white wine so if you have any leftover bottles just add this in. Drunken for the wine, and Skinny for the health factor!

Drunken and Skinny Ratatoulli

1 zucchini, cut into chunks

1 eggplant, cut into chunks

5 asparagus, cut roughly

1 tomato, cut into chunks

2 cloves garlic

1 can tomato paste

1/2 cup white wine

oregano, salt and pepper to taste

In a large pan, add a small amount of oil and garlic. Heat until golden brown, then add vegetables (everything but the tomatos). Cook the veggies until soft, then add tomatoes, tomato paste and wine, as well as spices at this time. Let simmer for 15 minutes, or until the sauce thickens up, and the alcohol burns off. Serve hot, as a side or a meal. This can also be served over pasta for a more filling meal, otherwise this dish is about 300 calories for the whole pot!

I enjoy food, and do believe diets (when done PROPERLY) can be helpful. But I also believe that you CAN eat yourself skinny, while staying HEALTHY. By choosing healthy foods and dinners with the freshest vegetables and meats, you are giving your body the nutrients it needs to make it through the day, and keep you hunger-free!

liss

THE Pesto Recipe

2cups basil leaves

1/2cup Parmasan Cheese

1/2cup Almonds

4TBSP Sun dried tomatoes (add more or less to taste)

3cloves Garlic

1/2cup Good Olive Oil (or more depending on desired thickness)

1/2TSP Salt

1TBSPPepper

OPTIONAL: for heat,add 1/2TSP- 1TSP red pepper flakes.

1 Bag Meat or cheese tortellini (Or make your own, Im not that ambitious after a long day though)

Cook Tortellini according to instructions, and blend all other ingredients together in a blender. If you dont have a blender (understandable of course), add almonds, basil, sun dried tomato and garlic together and chop together in a large pile. Make sure to finely chop these together. Then in a bowl, mix that with the oil, and Parmesan. Heat a small amount of oil in a large pan, add tortellini t brown slightly and add desired amount of pesto to pan. Mix well and heat thoroughly. Serve hot, or as a cold pasta salad!

Enjoy my loves!

Liss

This first recipe I made with 1TSP of Cajun Spice for a bit of a zip, next time when I have it in the house, Ill use some Nutmeg (1/2TSP) and Rosemary instead (1TSP), so give either a try!

Sweeet Sweet Potato and Carrot Soup

2lrg Carrots, diced

1lrg Sweet Potato, diced

2cloves Garlic, Chopped

1lrg White potato, Diced

4cups Vegetable Broth

3/4 cup skim milk

1TBSP olive oil

S&P to Taste

In a large pot,begin by lightly browning the chopped garlic in the oil. Add all diced ingridients, and1/4 cup water. Let simmer for 5 minutes, then add vegetable broth and simmer until all vegetables are cooked throughly. Add salt and pepper and spice to taste(use nutmeg and rosemary or cajun) and use hand blender to blend until smooth,adding the skim milk in as you blend. Serve with fresh ground pepper and a little artistic drizzle of olive oil.

Enjoy!

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.)