Nutritional information, without rice: 4 servings, 337 calories per serving, 25.9 g fat, 1,065 mg sodium, 11.6 g carb (2.6 g fiber, 1.5 g sugar), 17.8 g protein.

This is another recipe from our Chicken and Rice Remix post that’s become a favorite choice for quick weeknight dinners. It’s similar in taste (and ingredients) to the peanut chicken recipe also listed in the remix post, but has a few different ingredients that give it a bit more of a Thai flavor. The original recipe is from Tasty Kitchen and is very tasty as is!

Ingredients for the sauce:

• 1/2 cup peanut butter
• 1/2-3/4 cup light coconut milk (depending upon how thick you want the sauce)
• juice from half a lime
• 1 T thai red curry paste (I’ve used chili paste instead when I didn’t have curry paste)
• 1 T soy sauce
• 2 T fish sauce
• 2 teaspoons toasted sesame oil
• 1 pinch sugar/honey
• 1 pinch black pepper
• 1 pinch cayenne
• 1 pinch cinnamon

Chicken:

• 1 t unrefined coconut oil (or olive oil if you don’t have it)
• 1/2 diced onion
• 2 lbs chicken breasts, cubed
• 1 cup chopped asparagus (peas, broccoli, green beans would also taste good in this recipe)
• chopped peanuts, green onions and/or cilantro for topping

Whisk together the sauce ingredients in a bowl. Taste it to decide if it’s spicy or sweet enough for your taste, then set aside.

Heat the coconut oil in a large pan over medium heat, add onion and garlic. Add the chicken and stir fry for about 10 minutes, until it’s golden-brown. Add the sauce and turn the heat down to medium-low. Depending upon how much coconut milk you added to your sauce, you may only need to stir for a few minutes, uncovered, before the sauce gets thick or you may need to let it simmer for about 5 minutes, partially covered, before it thickens. If the sauce gets thicker than you’d like, you can always add some more coconut milk to the pan to thin it out a bit. Add asparagus, or your veggies of choice, when sauce is almost ready.

Serve over a bed of rice and you’re good to go! One of the best parts about this meal is that everything could easily be prepped in advance and then the actual cooking will only take you about 15-20 minutes.

Cooking is one of those things that I’ll never get bored with, though I am finding that I’m not having a whole lot of time for that either these days, this makes me REALLY sad! I love trying new and exciting ways to prepare meals but it does take some time, that’s why I try to make it easier for you by bringing you these recipes.

Enough chat, let’s get on with one of my favorite taste sensation meals. When I run short on time I usually turn to my freezer and thankfully pull out several containers of meals or partial meals. I don’t usually mark my freezer containers because I think I’ll remember what’s in that glass container, why I believe this I have no idea. The other day I pulled out what I thought was chili or soup and to my surprise it was taco meat, joyous day! Visions of taco salad danced in my head…

Lettuce mix of choice (I like romaine and spinach, sometimes I’ll use spring greens)
Greek yogurt
Taco meat of your choice
Salsa
Black beans
Cheese (optional, though I do love a good cheddar with this for a special treat)
Lime, one quarter to squeeze over the top
Corn Chips (obviously optional but so delicious, and the crunch!) I also do love toasting soft tortillas into chips in the oven myself since I don’t always trust myself to have a bag of chips around.

Just layer the ingredients, sit down and savor!

Let’s start with chicken breasts:

1. Tequila Lime Chicken: This one is really good and very simple. The only thing you need to watch out for is letting it marinate for too long. The acids in the marinade will start to cook the chicken, so make sure you’re watching your timer.
2. Peanut Chicken: Christine (aka my mom) came up with this recipe and it’s always a go-to for me when I don’t feel like stopping at the store because I already have all the ingredients. It’s absolutely delicious and tastes great with some veggies thrown in, I like broccoli in it, my mom prefers peppers and onions.
3. Pecan and Panko-Crusted Chicken Breasts: What I love about this recipe (besides the fact that it tastes great) is that the pecans and panko give the chicken a nice crunch—which is perfect if you’re looking for a way to make your chicken feel different than the chicken you’ve been eating all day, everyday for the last 10 weeks. You can skip making the sauce and it will still be delicious.
4. Taco Chicken: If you keep up with this blog, then you’ll already know that we’re big fans of Alton Brown’s taco seasoning. You can use the seasoning with any meat really, but it would be a great way to spice up your chicken—either find ground chicken or just thinly slice chicken breasts.
5. Garlic Lemon Chicken: This is one of the recipes we made for our On Track appreciation party this fall and the kabobs practically flew off the plate! For your meals, it wouldn’t be necessary to make them into kabobs but it would be a good idea to cut them into smaller pieces before grilling or cooking them since they definitely cook up better that way!
6. Chili-Lime Chicken: We also made this for the party and it went over pretty well. It’s probably a good idea to cook this one in smaller pieces as well so that it cooks up better.
7. Chicken in Coconut-Lime Peanut Sauce: I just made this over the weekend and it’s delicious! It’s very similar in taste to the peanut chicken, there’s just a few different ingredients in the sauce that give it a bit more of an asian taste.
8. Thai Chicken:
9. Chicken and Rice Soup: If you’re really looking for something different, take some time on the weekend to make this delicious and simple soup. The recipe will make enough for leftovers, warm you up in the winter and gets your chicken and rice taken care of in one dish.
10. Ginger Coconut Chicken:
11. Moo Goo Gai Pan: This is my go to menu item at any chinese restaurant. When I found this recipe, I was surprised at how easy it was to make at home and it really tastes just like the Moo Goo Gai Pan from our favorite take out place.
12. Yellow Curry Chicken: A quick and delicious curry chicken recipe. Serve with the rice recipe that follows the curry recipe.

And then move onto to rice:

1. Cilantro Lime Rice: I’ll be honest, I go to Chipotle just for the rice so why not make it at home?
2. Fried Rice: Who doesn’t love fried rice? Plus, you can kill two birds with one stone by cutting up your chicken breasts and cooking it with the rice to make chicken fried rice. You can use whatever vegetables you like best in place of what the recipe calls for.
3. Lemon Rice: This is a simple and fresh departure from plain old rice that you can make right in your rice cooker. You can easily substitute olive oil for the butter and it will taste just as good!
4. Rice Pilaf: Tyler Florence never fails with his recipes—they’re always delicious! His rice pilaf recipe is one of the simplest that I’ve found even if you do have to cook it in a sauce pan rather than the rice cooker.
5. Coconut-Scented Rice:
6. Mexican Rice: This is one of the least time consuming Mexican rice recipes that I’ve found that still tastes pretty yummy. You can make your own sazon seasoning with 1 teaspoon of salt, garlic powder, cumin, coriander and annatto.
7. Trader Joe’s Rice Medley: This isn’t really a recipe, just something that I’ve found that’s yummy and counts as a rice variation. The link leads to Trader Joe’s description of the frozen product, but I know they used to sell a dry version that you could make on your own in the rice  cooker so ask around at the stores.
8. Garlic Brown Rice: This super simple recipe starts on the stovetop and then moves to the rice cooker.
9. Basmati Rice with Cumin Seeds: This rice goes along with the yellow curry chicken recipe from above, but it has a subtle enough taste that it would be good paired with most of the chicken recipes.

You could mix and match these 21 recipes many different ways to keep some variety in your daily meals. Some of them have distinct flavors that you probably wouldn’t want to mix (such as the thai chicken and the mexican rice) while others seem like a match made in heaven (the chili-lime chicken would be delicious with the coconut-scented rice!). A lot of the chicken recipes involve creating a simple sauce (the peanut chicken for example) so that you wouldn’t even need anything besides plain white or brown rice to go with it.

This obviously isn’t the end all, be all list of ways to make chicken and rice so let us know what you’re favorite recipe is!

One of the most difficult things for me to learn in the beginning stages of my physique training was how to train heavy to put on size. I completely understood the meaning of training heavy. I had been experimenting with weight lifting and the results it could bring to my physique since my early teens. I understood how to push, or pull, as much weight as possible with the correct form.

Looking back, I can say that I didn’t really know how to train heavy. Training heavy in order to get stronger and put on muscle mass requires more than just pushing around heavy weight, it requires a plan. A multi-faceted plan that includes, in it’s simplest form, proper training program, diet program and psychological program.

Within the training plan, there needs to be the correct exercises, in the correct combination, with the correct amount of required rest between sets as well as between workouts.

Within the diet plan, there needs to be correct pre and post workout meal planning.

Within the psychological plan, there needs to be a whole lot of mental time devoted to planning, visualizing and completing your goal of putting on muscle mass.

While going through my first real mass building phase I really felt like I wasn’t doing anything. I felt like I was resting ohhhh soooo looooong between sets. I felt like I wasn’t doing enough to get sore and stimulate my muscle fibers. But, I stuck to the program.

I actually enjoyed the eating plan because I saw the results it brought to my workout and recuperation.

The psychological part, this is probably my favorite part of the mass building program! Learning how to psych myself up and watch myself (in my mind) accomplish feats I previously wouldn’t have dreamed of. The human body and mind totally amazes me, we can’t even come close to even imagining what we are capable of!

As the weeks went by and as the weight progressively increased I was seeing myself working with weights I never dreamed possible. As I moved into a new territory of lifting I actually wanted to see how far I could take it. I wanted to rest longer between sets so I could visualize, prepare and succeed at that next set. I wanted to make sure I ate plenty the night before so I was successful the next workout. I wanted to go to sleep early so I could visualize every successful rep and set before falling asleep.

Are you training too hard? Well, are you injuring yourself? Are you resting less than 2 minutes between sets of your multi-joint movements? Do you feel like you’re rushing between sets? This is not a continuation of a past contest prep training program with heavier weights.

Are you training just right? Well, are you seeing significant weight increases in multi-joint movements from week to week? Are you sitting down between sets and focusing on success with your next set? Are you recovering from workout to workout? Are you getting a deep muscle soreness verses an overall sore to the touch soreness?

Are you not training hard enough? If you’re not seeing much improvement in strength, if you’re socializing between sets instead of psyching yourself up, if you’re not getting one bit sore and you look like you’re getting softer…you’re probably not training hard enough!

This recipe can be used with any meat of your choice either ground or sliced into small bites. Eat the meat mixed with rice, potatoes, black beans or served over a bed of greens as a salad, it would be delish scrambled with some eggs or inside an egg white omelette, oh the options!

I have searched and played around with a good taco seasoning mix and never really hit it quite right, I refuse buying pre-packaged taco mix. Wouldn’t you know, good ole’ Alton Brown never fails, his is now my go to recipe, Taco Potion #19 . This recipe is for 1 pound of meat.

2 T chili powder
1 T ground cumin
2 t cornstarch
2 t kosher salt
1.5 t hot smoked paprika
1 t ground coriander
1/2 t cayenne pepper

Put all of the ingredients in a jar and shake or in a bowl and fork mix.

Now on to the recipe that will get you your meal:

Put a couple of tablespoons of olive oil in your pan which has been heated over a medium burner. Add one chopped onion and cook some of the water out of it, 4/5 minutes. Add a pound of ground or thinly sliced meat of your choice, 1 t salt and 2 minced garlic cloves. Cook until meat is done, 4/5 minutes and then add taco potion above and 2/3 C beef or chicken broth (depending on what meat you choose). Bring back to a simmer and cook until thickened, about 3 to 4 minutes. Enjoy!!

How do you like to serve your taco seasoned meat?

Here’s a few of my favorite suggestions:

• Taco Salad

The other day I was making my homemade granola to give as gifts and after getting all of the ingredients in the bowl it occurred to me that this would be a great recipe to share. Not only is this recipe a great gift to give yourself, other people love when it is gifted to them. Making it at home is not at all difficult but most people will opt out for the easy choice of buying it in the store. If you’re looking for some last minute gifts here’s a perfect choice. Double the recipe though because you won’t want to give it all away!

My recipe changes every time I make it based on what I have on hand or what interesting seeds/nuts/grains I have found at the store to add in. The recipe here is a basic recipe that can be made to order by substituting different grains, nuts, fruits and spices of your choice.

3 C rolled oats (I use gluten free but totally your choice and you may also substitute spelt, wheat, rye, quinoa, rice, barley or mix it up!)

1.5 C raw nuts, rough chopped (I use what’s in the cupboard and usually include a combo of some sort; almonds, walnuts, pecans, sunflower, pumpkin seeds, flax seed, sesame seeds)

1/2 C unsweetened coconut chips

1/4 C oat or wheat bran

3/4 C unsweetened dried fruit, rough chopped if large pieces (I usually use a combo of what’s in the cupboard; raisins, cranberries, blueberries, dates, prunes, figs, cherries, mangos, banana, apple)

1.5 T oil (canola, grape seed or coconut)

2 egg whites

1 C apple juice (you could also use a sweetener like honey, agave, maple syrup, rice syrup or a fruit jam, about 3T or so depending on how sweet you like yours)

1 t salt flakes

1 T vanilla

3 t cinnamon

1.5 t ground ginger

Mix the grains, nuts, coconut and bran in a large bowl. In a separate bowl add egg whites and beat with salt. Add sweetener (juice), vanilla and spices to egg mixture and mix well. Incorporate wet mixture into dry mixture. Spread combined mixture onto rimmed baking sheet (I use a jelly roll pan) and put in a 300 degree oven for 10 minute increments. Take mixture out at the end of these increments and mix well, continue until it is browned to your liking and remember that it will continue to brown a bit after baking. I usually will do 2-4 of these 10 minute increments but it is totally up to you and how crispy-crunchy you like your granola. I like more crunchy than chewy so I usually go for a total of 40 minutes. Also note that if you use juice for your sweetener that it will take longer than if you use a syrup of some sort because of the water content of the juice.

After you’ve baked your granola let it cool in the pan and then add your fruit and mix well. Store in an airtight container in a cool area for up to a month…if you can make it last that long!

Happy holidays to all of you!

Finding a good balance between these two extremes may seem difficult but really isn’t if you set your goals, come up with a plan of attack and continually evaluate your progress. Here are some things to remember during a mass gaining cycle:

1. Track your progress! How many times have you heard me say this?? It’s important, how can you make improvements and re-evaluate what you did if you don’t have anything to look at?

2. Make sure you’re getting enough calories, approximately 15x body weight for women, 18x for men. Consume smaller meals of protein every 2-3 hours and the majority of your carbohydrates in post workout meals, simple carbs before, during and right after weight workout.

• 1-1.5 gm of protein per pound of lean body mass (1 gm protein=4 calories)
• Complex carbohydrates from quality grains (1 gm carbohydrate=4 calories)
• Simple carbohydrates from fruit/pure fruit juice
• Fat from quality sources (1 gm of fat=9 calories)

6. Train hard and heavy, maybe even consider a good powerlifting program. The more you can lift the stronger you get, the stronger you get the more mass you will build.

Anyway, while going through my photos I found many incomplete recipe photos. Some where I obviously realized AFTER the cooking was almost done that I should take photos, vowing to take initial photos next time. Some I took photos multiple times and never did a post. Then there are the photos that I have no idea what it is I was even cooking…what was that I mentioned about therapy?

That brings me to this post, one with several different versions of photos and another one of my favorite meals, fish tacos. This is one meal that I had been seeing on menus for years and always thought fish and tacos just don’t seem to go together. If you’re one of those people, think again, it truly is delicious! My first go with this recipe was a Rachael Ray recipe using Mahi Mahi, here is my variation:

The fish:

Take 4 fillets of fish of your choice; I’ve used cod, tilapia, haddock and salmon, rub with a little olive oil and season with coarse ground salt and pepper as well as a couple teaspoons of grated lime rind. Either grill or put under the broiler until cooked through, about 8-10 minutes depending on the thickness of your fish.

Beans: 

1 jalapeño, seeded and finely diced

1/4 of a medium red onion, finely chopped

1 clove garlic, minced

1 – 15 oz can black beans, drained

1 t cumin

1/2 – 1  mango, chopped (I love mango so I’ll usually use a whole one, minus the chunks I consume while cooking)

Heat up 1 T canola oil in a skillet on medium heat and add your jalapeño, onion and garlic, cook for about 3 minutes or so. Add the beans and cumin and mash together (I use my hand potato masher). Season with salt and pepper, then add your mango and reduce heat to low for a few minutes to let the flavors combine. You may need to add some water if this mixture gets too dry. Set aside.

(You’ll note in this photo I also chose to add some chopped red pepper to this mix.)

Slaw:

2 limes

1 T hot sauce

2 T honey

2 T canola oil

1/2 C chopped cilantro

1/2 red onion, thinly sliced

1 bag pre-shredded cabbage

Combine the zest from one lime (you’ll be using the zest from the other lime for the fish), the juice from both limes, hot sauce, honey, canola oil mix well and season with salt and pepper. Combine your onion, cilantro and cabbage in a bowl, pour the dressing over and toss well.

I use either corn or whole wheat tortillas, whichever you choose soften and brown in a skillet that has been heated on a high burner. Set your tortilla in the pan for just a few seconds (15-20) and then flip over for the same amount of time.

Spread the bean mixture over the top of your tortilla, flake a half of a piece of fish and put it over the beans, then place some slaw over the fish. To finish this off I love taking a scoop of greek yogurt and placing on the top, fantabulous!

Have you had fish tacos? What do you think?

I feel it’s important to be comfortable eating a treat or two during a festive celebration with friends and family—to understand that if you feel like treating yourself it isn’t the end of the world, it’s one party, one meal, one celebration. Leaving that celebration and continuing on a bad eating escapade is what is going to hurt you. Even worse, not eating what you wanted at that celebration and then going on to overeat because you feel deprived. Be ok with what you ate and get right back into your normal routine, not into a deprivation cycle.

One of my On Track Training Facebook fans requested a post about healthy weight loss for someone looking to lose 50 or more pounds. My blog is filled with posts that address this subject, search “consistency” in my blogs and you will find them, this is how I approach healthy weight loss and dealing with the holidays. In this post I will get down and dirty about how to lose 50 or more pounds!

Healthy weight loss is about changing habits that have been formed from birth. Many people get to a point where they want to lose weight and when they have reached this point they have developed habits that must be changed to obtain the permanent weight loss they are looking for. Temporarily depriving themselves of things they love to eat or starting an intense workout regime sets this person on a path of failure, they are not permanently changing the things that got them overweight.

1. So to start off, this person must come to terms with where they are at and mentally decide that this is it. They must really, really want to lose the weight while changing bad habits and must be committed to doing so, it won’t be magical if you want it to be permanent, it will take time. So start the mental prep now, start telling yourself that you are healthy, that you like exercise, you love feeling good about yourself and that you are going to lose weight!

2. It’s a numbers game, period. You need to start counting how many calories you consume and how many calories you expend, it’s as simple as that. Simple as long as you accept that you need to do the calculations and be consistent with it. It doesn’t take that much time out of your day to journal your eating and exercise habits, remember #1, you’ve made this your priority. If you’re a pen and paper person, try out my training journals—they’re a great option for keeping track of your diet and workout in one spot. If you’re more into technology and can’t bear to be separated from your phone, play around with a few apps until you find one that works for you (see my post on journaling for a couple of apps I recommend).

3. Eat as many whole foods as you can. The less processed your food the better it is for you. Don’t get hung up on all of those “diet” foods, stick to good, healthy, whole foods.

4. Chew your food well. I know, boring…but true. You will get more nutrition out of your food and it will digest better, thus making your body feel more satisfied.

5. Drink more water, the best weight loss supplement known to man! Most people don’t know the difference between being hungry or thirsty. If you think you’re hungry consider how much water you’ve had and drink a bit more before you do eat so you get full faster. Water will also help with digestion and transporting those nutrients throughout your body and to your brain.

6. Eat many small meals throughout the day. Taking too much time between meals makes you hungrier than you should be causing overeating. Large meals overtax your digestive system, causing you to absorb more calories than nutrients.

7. Move! Most people that are overweight don’t get enough physical exercise on a daily basis. Find something that you enjoy so that you stick with it. Walk the dog 5-10 minutes longer, or walk someone else’s dog, take the stairs instead of the elevator, park further away from your destination or even better, walk or ride your bike to your destination!

To make permanent changes one must slowly change their lifestyle so that they can succeed. Start with a realistic workout schedule, one that makes you want more not one that completely exhausts you. Start with small changes in your diet so that you can make that change permanent, when this change is consistent make another change. You want this to be a change for the rest of your life, take it slow and make it work for you!

Start all of this now instead of waiting until January 1. At the beginning of 2012 be consistent with the changes you have set forth today and be able incorporate new behaviors to better your healthy lifestyle for years to come! Cheers to you!

Protein pancakes, or muffins, have been a recipe that I have played around with since I started competing. They actually started when I decided to use egg whites as the liquid in my oatmeal instead of water, I thought it was too time consuming to make both separate so why not combine them? It turned out to be one of the best ideas — it kicked off my list of dieting food tricks and was always my favorite meal of the day.

This recipe is my off season version with greek yogurt, fruit and nuts, though it can be made without any of these items while dieting and will still be fabulous. The protein in this version of the pancake comes completely from the eggs and yogurt, when limiting your carbohydrates you may want to cut back on the liquid (eggs) and increase your protein by adding a protein powder. I have used many different grains for this pancake including cream of rice, oatmeal, oat bran, whole wheat flour as well as a non-gluten flour mix. You could also use a pancake mix of your choice and eliminate the salt, baking powder and baking soda.

I make this batter the night before I plan on cooking the pancakes so that the grain has time to soak up some of the liquid, you’ll find your batter is much thicker the following morning. I used to make them fresh every morning because they were just so much better that way but you can certainly bake up a bunch ahead of time and just grab and go during the week.

3/4 C whole wheat flour (adjust quantity if using a different grain)
2 whole eggs (if you don’t want yolks then replace this with 4 more egg whites)
4 egg whites
1 scoop BiPro (or any other protein powder, I like BiPro because it doesn’t add any flavor)
1/3 C greek yogurt
1/4 t salt
1 t baking powder
1/2 t baking soda
1/2 can pumpkin
1/8 t clove
1/2 t cinnamon
1/8 t nutmeg
1/8 t ginger
1/4 C raisins
1/4 C chopped pecans
(or you could just use 1 tsp pumpkin spice)

Crack the eggs into a bowl, add yogurt, salt, baking powder, baking soda, spices and pumpkin and mix well with hand mixer. Add flour a 1/4 C at a time and mix with hand mixer. When four is fully mixed in, add the fruit and nuts, then hand combine.

These could be baked in muffin tins until done (I’ll have to try it that way again but I’d guess about 20-25 min in a 350 degree oven) or on the stove. I like making them on the stove and I like the slow cook process though you could make them like regular pancakes. My slow cook method consists of putting about 1 tsp of canola oil in a non-stick pan, spreading it around well and then putting the whole mess in. Put a lid on it and let it cook on a med-low burner for about 15 minutes. I used to leave the burner on about 1 and let it cook for a bit longer while I was getting ready for work. Then flip the whole thing and quarter it now with your spatula (it will be easier than waiting until it’s done) then cook uncovered for another 10 minutes or so.

Let them cool a bit before you bite in, they smell awesome but you’re going to burn your mouth!

Nutritional breakdown for one serving (recipe is 4 servings): 235 calories, 8 gm fat, 23 gm carb (3.3 gm fiber, 4.3 gm sugar from fruit), 20 gm protein