Countdown to Fitness

Escarole or any endive lettuce is a great addition as a salad veggie, but it has a slightly bitter flavor.  I like to add a little sweetness to offset it.  I’ve rarely seen this beautiful purple escarole while the green variety is quite common.  Add a bit of both purple and green color to this salad to obtain a healthy mix of phytonutrients and a beautiful mix of color.

This recipe makes 4 large salads.  I made it with pineapple and mango salsa, but any sweet fruit, like a peach, would work just fine. (more…)

I bought some baby bok choy (Chinese cabbage), along with shitake mushrooms, at an Asian market, so I created a recipe to use them up along with a leek.  The mushrooms add a nice texture that is similar to meat.

This recipe makes a nice side dish, although you can add some beef or chicken and serve as a main dish.

The photo shows one of my baby bok choy.  Mature bok choy have long, white stems.

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I originally got the idea for this recipe from a recipe at About.com; however, I’ve made some changes, making this Paleo friendly.  Also, I cooked it differently than the original recipe.

The tenderloin is actually the leanest part of the pig.  I actually had two in my package, so my recipe is based on this.

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I was inspired to make this recipe after seeing the Fish Kebabs with Roasted Red Pepper Sauce recipe in the book Cook Yourself Thin Faster: Have Your Cake and Eat It Too with Over 75 New Recipes You Can Make in a Flash! (There is a different variation on the Cook Yourself Thin website: Kebabs with Roasted Red Pepper Sauce.) I’ve made a few changes, and the recipe was a big hit.

Tip: I’m using grass-fed beef, which cooks faster than corn-fed beef.  Increase the cooking time as noted for corn-fed beef.

Serve with brown rice or over a bed of salad greens. (more…)

This is my favorite recipe for any of the meats that need to be cooked longer to make them tender.  I always use grass-fed and pastured meat.  Not only is this recipe great with beef, but I love it for lamb and pork roasts as well.

I originally got the recipe from Simply Recipes and modified it.  While the original recipe uses boneless meat, I use bone-in and boneless meats alike.  If you are using grass-fed and pastured meats, the original recipe cooks the meat way too long because grass-fed meats are leaner. If you are using conventional, grain-fed meat, add about 30% to the cooking time. (more…)