Healthy Dinners on a Budget!

I'm continually working on dreaming up lighter, nutrient-packed meals for gourmet dinners at home - meals that kids will like too, and that fit a modest budget! Here are a couple of dinners we had recently:




Vietnamese Clay Pot Fish with Bok Choy and Chopped Salad

(Makes 4 servings of a whole meal - and the whole meal costs only $15!)


INGREDIENTS

Main dish:


1 lb. fresh tilapia, cut into 2-inch chunks
2 heads fresh baby bok choy, sliced on diagonal
4 Tbsp. Vietnamese fish sauce
3 Tbsp. white or raw granulated sugar1 tsp. freshly ground black pepper
2 tsp. canola oil
6-8 cloves of garlic, thinly sliced
1 Tbsp. fresh ginger, sliced into thin strips
4 small shallots, thinly sliced
3-4 scallions, cut into 1/2-inch segments, plus 1 Tbsp. oil (for garnish)
5 Tbsp. caramel sauce
2 cups cooked brown rice (optional)

Caramel sauce for fish:


1 cup granulated sugar 2/3 cup + 1/2 cup water1 Tbsp. fresh lime juice, plus more to taste

Salad:


1 head green leaf lettuce, chopped into thin strips
1 cucumber, chopped into thin matchsticks
10 cherry tomatoes, halved
1 small bunch cilantro, chopped (about 1 cup chopped)
1/4 cup roasted and salted peanuts, finely chopped
Fresh-ground black pepper, to taste

NOTE: You can use a mini blender or food processor to chop the peanuts, or crush the peanuts with a large, flat-bladed knife or cleaver.


Salad Dressing:


1/4 cup Vietnamese fish sauce
1/4 cup rice vinegar
1 Tbsp. soy sauce
2/3 cup cold water
5 Tbsp. granulated sugar
1 tsp. roasted and salted peanuts, finely chopped

NOTE: If short on time, you can simply dress the salad with rice vinegar.


PROCEDURE


Marinate the fish:


In a medium-sized bowl, gently toss the fish with black pepper, shallots, fish sauce and sugar. Marinate in refrigerator for 15-30 minutes.


Make the caramel sauce:

(Makes approx. 1 cup)

1. In a small, dry saucepan set to medium heat, combine sugar and 2/3 cup water.

2. Stir with a wooden spoon until the mixture turns darker, about 8 minutes.

3. Remove the pan from the heat and add another 1/2 cup water. The sauce will thicken slightly, but will liquefy again in the next step.

4. Stir well, and then cook for 7-10 minutes over high heat until the sauce is smooth and integrated. If the sauce starts to boil over, lower the heat.

5. Add the lime juice and remove sauce from heat. Stir well.

NOTE: Caramel sauce will keep in a glass container for a couple of months in your refrigerator



Cook the fish and prepare the salad:


1. Heat a medium-sized saucepan over medium heat. Add the oil, garlic and ginger, and stir-fry for about 1 minute.

2. Add the marinated fish. Add the caramel sauce, and mix gently with the fish.

3. As soon as the pot begins to bubble, turn the heat to low, cover and gently simmer for about 5 minutes.

4. Add the bok choy on top of the fish, re-cover, and simmer for another 5 minutes, or until fish is just cooked through and the bok choy is dark green and softened. (If the pot looks dry at this point, add 1-2 Tbsp. of water and cover again.) The fish should be tender but still hold its shape.

5. Meanwhile, make the salad: In a large bowl, combine all salad ingredients, and toss gently. In a small bowl, combine all dressing ingredients and stir well, until sugar is dissolved.

6. Taste the sauce and add fish sauce, sugar, black pepper, or lime juice if needed.

7. Quickly sauté the scallions with oil and add them to the serving dish as garnish.
If desired, serve fish, bok choy and salad with brown rice. (Dress each salad plate with a few teaspoonfulls of the dressing.)





Fajita-style Shrimp Tacos with Vidalia-Mango Salsa
Serves: 4-6
These tacos are colorful and super-healthy, featuring a delicious blend of sweet onion and mango, savory shrimp, subtle lime, and gentle spiciness. Kids don't even mind the cleverly integrated vegetables! The mango salsa can be served on the side, for more sensitive palates.

Drop me a note or comment for the full recipe!

Extreme Eating - Expanding Waistlines of America

Have you ever wondered about the nutritional content of popular restaurant meals? Sure, sometimes you just want to dine out and not worry about it... but ordering high-impact food isn't a great habit to perpetuate. You might think you're just ordering a couple of tacos, or a chicken platter...but watch out! No wonder Americans have trouble keeping that waistline trim!

Here's a breakdown of some popular chain-restaurant fare....and why you might want to avoid it.

Thanks to chain establishments like Rubio's, Baja Fresh, and even McDonald's...who provide nutrition facts for many of their menu items.

Adding intense flavor to your food is easy with fresh vegetables, herbs and spices - using a little sea salt can do wonders for dinner dishes and even chocolate-chip cookies. In my opinion, Thai food is the most amazing smorgasbord of flavor, with a huge variety of dishes based on fresh ingredients, which blend sweet, salty, spicy and bitter in combinations that fascinate the palette. Afraid Thai food is too spicy? Most Thai restaurants in the U.S. offer your choice of spiciness level: Make sure to order your food prepared "mild."

GOTRIbal!

...Is a relatively new, but fast-growing, women's triathlon organization. It started in San Diego in late 2008, from a set of ideas in founder Tanya Maslach's head, to a global networking website for women involved in triathlon, to an all-out movement, endorsed by 2X Ironman World Champion Chrissie Wellington.

Check out the recent coverage in Australian Triathlete Magazine! http://gotribalnow.ning.com/forum/topics/gotribal-in-australian
(See the PDF attachment.)

(I'm honored to be the representative Strength Coach for GOTRIbal.)

How Flexibility Makes You STRONGER

What's the simplest way to increase your ability to build lean muscle mass? STRETCH!

"The more pliable the muscle, the more ability it has to produce work,” explains Ann Frederick, co-author of Stretch to Win. “And by stretching the surrounding connective tissue, you’re able to have larger, more defined muscles, not just stronger ones. This is because tightness in the fascial tissue restricts how much a muscle can grow.”

So for guys, this means -- bigger muscles, faster! For women, this means better muscle tone, sooner.

The amount of mass you actually build depends on the amount of weight you lift; so if you want to stay lean, light, and toned, you focus on core and functional strength, without a lot of heavy loads. If you want to increase muscle size, focus on building maximum strength with shorter sets and heavier weights. (As always, I can help you design the perfect strength program for you!)

Encinitas Sports Festival May 16-17

***Good luck*** to all competing in the 5K run, sprint and mini-tri, duathlon, paddle, and bike tour this weekend! I'm rooting for you!!

Core Strength and Asymmetry in the Body

In my third year of competitive triathlon, my right hip began to seize up. I knew I had asymmetry in my hips, legs, and feet, and had been pleasantly surprised at my ability to run at all. So far I'd used weight training and yoga to build strength for triathlon.

Above Right: A chiropractic scan of my pelvis and spine (L. hipbone is solid, R. hipbone is underdeveloped and rotated anteriorly, spine connector is crooked)


But, repetitive stress eventually catches up with the body. Triathlon is 98% sagittal-plane (front-to-back) movement. The running and riding stress the hip flexors and knees like no other.

So I was leading my age group at the Camp Pendleton Triathlon one summer, and felt something was off with my right hip. I jumped off the bike...and was only able to do a moderate run/hobble to the finish. What was wrong? Was it fixable?

Core strength - I mean, true core stability and flexibility in the body pillar (abs, back, lats, glutes, hips) - changed my athletic life. I went to the best core-strength coaches in the country, super-lean and strong (you might even say ripped) from triathlon, but unable to balance properly on one leg, let alone do a single-leg squat or a lateral lunge. Also, I had no hips left - my body was straight as a boy's, and my tri shorts almost sagged off the back - not pretty.

After three weeks of serious core work, I went and raced at USAT Nationals, and had my best run off the bike so far. I didn't work harder; I simply was more mechanically efficient.

The chiropractor who did the scan above looked at me that day like I was an alien, like, "How the heck do you do triathlon?"

The answer is all in the core. You may not be able to change certain aspects of bone structure by yourself, but you can isolate and strengthen the muscle and connective tissue - to be more functional than you ever imagined. The body compensates for a weak muscle or muscle group by working another muscle too hard...and you get knots, adhesions, and PAIN. But, there's hope!

Maybe I won't be in the Olympic marathon, but I'm doing what I love, and doing it better than my bone structure would indicate!

The World's Greatest Stretch

If you do only one stretch before a workout, make it... The World's Greatest Stretch!

This functional stretch activates the glutes, hamstrings, hip flexors and adductors, without fatiguing muscles pre-workout like sustained stretching does.

This is great to do before a walk, run, bike ride, field sport, or session on a cardio machine.

Note: This stretch does not provide a direct warm-up for lateral (side-to-side) activity, so if you're about to play soccer, you'll want to do some side lunges as well!

Here's how:

1. Assume a lunge position, right leg forward.
   
   
   
• Drop your right elbow inside your right knee.




• Tighten your left glute for 2 seconds, to stretch the left hip flexor.





2. Straighten both legs to stretch the right hamstring. Pull up gently on your right big toe. It’s OK if the leg is bent!





• Drop your right elbow inside your right knee.



• Tighten your left glute for 2 seconds, to stretch the left hip flexor.



• Tighten the right quad muscles for 2 seconds, to intensify the stretch.

Switch legs, and repeat on the other side. Do 3 rounds on each leg.