Paella with chicken, leeks and tarragon

Paella is a Spanish dish that combines saffron-flavored rice, garlic, onions, peas, tomatoes, and meat or shellfish. In this version, tarragon is substituted for saffron and chicken stands in for chorizo (spicy sausage).

Makes 24 bars

Ingredients

1 teaspoon extra-virgin olive oil

1 small onion, sliced

2 leeks (whites only), thinly sliced

3 garlic cloves, minced

8 ounces boneless, skinless chicken breast, cut into strips 1/2 inch wide and 2 inches long

2 large tomatoes, chopped

1 red pepper, sliced

2/3 cup long-grain brown rice

1 teaspoon tarragon, or to taste

2 cups fat-free, unsalted chicken broth

1 cup frozen peas

1/4 cup chopped fresh parsley

1 lemon, cut into 4 wedges

Directions

In a large, nonstick frying pan, heat the olive oil over medium heat. Add the onions, leeks, garlic and chicken strips. Sauté until the vegetables are translucent and chicken is slightly browned, about 5 minutes. Add the tomatoes and red pepper slices and continue to sauté another 5 minutes. Add rice, tarragon and broth and combine well. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat, cover and simmer about 10 minutes. Stir in peas and continue to simmer uncovered until broth is absorbed and the rice is tender, 45 to 60 minutes.

To serve, divide onto individual plates. Garnish each with 1 tablespoon parsley and 1 lemon wedge.

Nutritional analysis per serving

Total fat 7 g

Calories 345

Protein 22 g

Cholesterol 43 mg

Total carbohydrate 48 g

Dietary fiber 5 g

Monounsaturated fat 3 g

Saturated fat 2 g

Sodium 100 mg

Fruit juices - Healthy or not?

Most people around the world have this belief that fruit juices are super good. And they go way too much while ordering for fruit juices. Concentrating all the juice from several pieces of fruit into a small glass, and in the process getting rid of all the valuable fiber in it and gulping it down in a minute or two is an excellent way of spiking your blood sugar beyond belief. This in turn leads to the chain reaction of craving for more carb based foods later. Technically a big glass of fruit juice with no fiber in it can increase blood sugar levels, increase craving for carbs. In short it can actually abuses your insulin and other hormones and causes weight gain.

Well if you think that’s the only problem, then here is another more complicated part of it. Fruit juices are extremely concentrated sources of fructose ( a type of sugar that can be utilized only for your liver function and nothing else) . If you eat a piece of fruit, it is just going to feed your liver, whereas a glass of juice fills up your liver and spills over to replenish your fat reserves unlike the other forms of sugars which can be utilized to replenish your muscles.

Also food with excess fructose can significantly raise blood triglycerides and LDL levels which increases heart risk.

Note – these are not problems caused by eating a piece or two of fruits daily. But problems caused by people who have the habit of drinking fruit juices thinking of it as elixir of healthy life.

Squats - 170 x 10

After about three months of not squatting. I decided to squat on 6 July 2013. Yeah i suffered spine injury and multiple triggers on my right quads. I felt alright and powerful. So decided to squat parallel and edged the bar. 

Was able to sqeeze out 10 solid reps.

We did not have squat rack in the gym where we squatted, so we decided to use the parallel bar dips machine as squat rack and continued our workout.

Murtuza has the most watchful pair of eyes for me so i decided to squat in his presence. Huzaifa was capturing the moments for us :)

here is the video -

Grilled Chicken Salad with Olives and Oranges

Grilled Chicken Salad with Olives and Oranges

Serves 4

Ingredients

1/2 cup red wine vinegar
4 garlic cloves, minced
1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil
1 tablespoon finely chopped red onion
1 tablespoon finely chopped celery
Cracked black pepper, to taste
4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts, each 4 ounces
2 garlic cloves
8 cups leaf lettuce, washed and dried
16 large ripe (black) olives
2 navel oranges, peeled and sliced

Directions

To make the dressing, in a small bowl combine the vinegar, garlic, olive oil, onion, celery and pepper. Stir to mix evenly. Cover and refrigerate until needed.
Prepare a hot fire in a charcoal grill or heat a gas grill or broiler. Away from the heat source, lightly coat the grill rack or broiler pan with cooking spray. Position the cooking rack 4 to 6 inches from the heat source.
Rub the chicken breasts with garlic, and then discard the cloves. Grill or broil the chicken until browned and just cooked through, about 5 minutes each side. Transfer the chicken to a cutting board and let rest 5 minutes before slicing into strips.
Arrange 2 cups lettuce, 4 olives and 1/4 of the sliced oranges onto 4 plates. Top with 1/4 of the chicken strips and drizzle with dressing. Serve immediately.

Nutritional analysis per serving
Calories                             250
Sodium                             264 mg
Total fat                            7 g
Total carbohydrate            14 g
Dietary fiber                      4 g
Protein                              29 g
Cholesterol                       65 mg

source - Ebay health and wellness recepies :)

Why say no to fructose/fruits on fat loss diet

Its been long time since we met on my blogging space.. Sorry for that...

Now that am back, let me share my learning on fructose that i picked up on my contest prep this year.

Let me start from the basics for those who might not be familiar with things.
Carbohydrates are the primary source of energy for our body. Sugars are simple carbohydrates which can be absorbed by our body very easily. Now that explains our instinct to sweet tooth. We have our sweet affinity to sweets LOL.

Learning NO 1:Not all sugars function equal

Glucose - the best source of sugar that we can absorb. Our body converts carbohydrates to glucose in order to utilize as energy.
Fructose - The common sugar found in corn and fruits. Better utilized by liver than muscle cells
Sucrose - Also known as table sugar. Unlike the other two types of sugar, it is the combination of both. A molecule of sucrose contains a molecule of glucose and a molecule of fructose.

Learning NO 2: Fructose can lay down the highway of obesity 
Fructose is a sugar just like glucose, but the way it metabolizes in our body makes all the difference in the world and affects the metabolism and health.
While all cells use some energy in the process of metabolizing food, whether it’s fat or sugar,But Fructose leaves your cells completely depleted. AS a result, the cells do not function normally and gives back an inflammatory response. This state of cells is called as oxidative stress.
Researchers found that when the energy is depleted... the ATP levels fell (ATP is our energy source). The ATP that had been consumed. When all the ATP is depleted, a substance called as uric acid is formed on your cell. Uric acid is known to cause gout and has been long associated with obesity too. Dr Jhones was able to demonstrate that "uric acid can actually stimulate fat accumulation in cells through this process of working on the mitochondria where the ATP is made,”

Summary of our learning: 
Fructose containing foods make you fat not by calories but by depleting ATP from cells and generating uric acid in the cells.
When your goal is to lose FAT or getting fitter, Keep your fruit intake to minimum

Until next time
-BIGLEE