Chris from Run Hundred says, “May’s shaping up to be a big month for remixes.LMFAO remixed Madonna. And they were, in turn, remixed by Mord Fustang. Plus, Flo Rida and The Wanted saw their recent hits given an uptempo makeover.

On the rock front, Neon Trees and The Black Keys also made this month’ top 10.  Jennifer Lopez and Pitbull’s latest collaboration was another gym favorite. And YouTube darlings Karmin made their transition from covering pop hits to writing pop hits look effortless.”

1. The Black Keys – Lonely Boy – 165 BPM
2. Honor Society – Can’t Box Me In – 137 BPM
3. Jennifer Lopez & Pitbull – Dance Again – 128 BPM
4. Neon Trees – Everybody Talks – 155 BPM
5. Karmin – Brokenhearted – 120 BPM
6. Swedish House Mafia – Greyhound – 125 BPM
7. LMFAO – Sexy and I Know It (Mord Fustang Remix) – 127 BPM
8. The Wanted – Glad You Came (Alex Gaudino Full Radio Vocal Remix) – 128 BPM
9. Flo Rida & Sia – Wild Ones (Project 46 Remix) – 126 BPM
10. Madonna, Nicki Minaj & LMFAO – Give Me All Your Luvin’ (Party Rock Remix) – 132 BPM

To find more workout songs–and hear next month’s contenders you can check out the free database at RunHundred.com. Visitors can browse the song selections there by genre, tempo, and era—to find the music that best fits with their particular workout routine.

Enjoy!

 

To begin with, you need to prepare your asparagus by snapping the woody part off near the bottom of each spear.  If you hold the asparagus at the end with one hand and an inch or two up from the bottom with the other and just bend, the stalk will naturally break in the right place.

Next, make a glaze to brush onto the asparagus before grilling.  There are numerous possibilities for a glaze, so don’t be afraid to try different flavors until you get one that you like.  One glaze that I like is made by mixing 2 tablespoons of sesame seed oil with 1 tablespoon of soy sauce.  Add a clove of garlic that has been minced and you are ready to go. You could also use olive oil with balsamic vinegar.  If you don’t want to make your own, try your local supermarket for a variety of possibilities, such as teriyaki sauce or even hot sauce.

After you prepare the glaze, you need to do something to keep the asparagus spears from falling between the grill grates.  You can use a vegetable basket or you can do what I do, which is to make what I call an asparagus raft!  To make an asparagus raft, connect the asparagus spears together with toothpicks.  Line up 2-4 spears parallel to each other.  How many spears you use will depend on how thick they are.  Push a toothpick through one spear about 1″ from the bottom.  Add the next spear onto the same toothpick, leaving a slight gap between.

Add spears as you have room on the toothpick.  Repeat with a second toothpick 2″-3″ higher on the stalk.  It ends up looking like a raft made from asparagus!  Connecting them in this way will keep the spears from falling down between your grates and disappearing into the depths of your grill.

After you have connected the spears, brush the glaze onto both sides of the asparagus.  Sprinkle some coarse salt and freshly ground pepper onto the asparagus and put them on a hot grill.  Grill both sides of the asparagus until they just start to char.  It’s hard to tell you exactly how long that will be, because it depends on the intensity of the heat in your grill.  Unlike meats, vegetables can take a little charring without danger to you.  In fact, it always seems to me like that slight charring occurs just about when the veggies get to their best flavoring.  Not only that, but they look great!

After grilling both sides, check to see if the asparagus is done.  I do that by bending one to see how flexible it is.  You should be able to bend it about 45 degrees without snapping.  If you can do that, they are probably done.  How long this takes is also hard to say, because it depends on your grill and how thick the asparagus spears are.  Thinner spears will likely be done by now.  Thicker spears may take a little longer.

If your asparagus is not quite done, move them to a location on the grill that is not right above the heat, or what is called the indirect zone.  Keep the heat going in the other section and close the grill lid.  This will keep enough heat inside your grill to complete the cooking, without burning the asparagus.

Once the asparagus is done, remove from grill and remove the spears from the toothpicks.  I like to finish by sprinkling some sesame seeds over the asparagus to give one last touch of flavoring and texture–it has a nice look too!

Veggies are delicious on the grill and are healthy for you.  Grilled asparagus is delicious, but why stop there?  Tomatoes, onions, corn, peppers, squash, zucchini, even carrots are all wonderful when grilled.  I’ve even grilled lettuce before!  Next week I’m going to share my all-time favorite, which is grilled corn on the cob.  Don’t miss that post if you want to delight your family and friends at your Memorial Day BBQ!

This post is part of a series that I’m doing for Angie this month on healthy grilling.  In case you missed them, here are the other articles that I’m sharing:

Healthy Grilling Tips
Healthy Grilling: Grilled Salmon on Planks
Healthy Grilling: Grilled Corn on the Cob
Healthy Grilling: Grilled Pineapple

Scott loves to cook outdoors–his motto is “It always tastes better when it’s cooked outdoors!”  Find out more ideas for grilling vegetables and check out his Outdoor Cooking Magic Tricks for tips and recipes for cooking delicious meals right in your own backyard.

What is your favorite grilled veggie?

 

So here we go!  We’ll see how we do this week.

Monday- Tuna and Soup

Tuesday- Dinner out

Wednesday- Breakfast for dinner

Thursday- Fish/veggie (hopefully we’ll pick up some salmon so we can have some grilled salmon on planks)

Friday- Buffalo tempeh for me, meat for Kev

Weekends are always up in the air!

See how exciting? LOL

Tasty Grilled Fish

This past week I had the opportunity to review some of the new Van de Kamp’s Parchment Bake grilled fillets.  We tried the Classic Grilled Tilapia and the Roasted Garlic Tilapia.  Both were good but we enjoyed the Classic Grilled best.  I was sent free coupons in exchange for review and I still have more to try. Looking forward to testing them out.

These grilled tilapia’s are only 80 calories for 1 fillet (there are 2 in a box) and 13-15 g of protein depending on the product.  I’m sold…especially since they are good when you need a quick meal.

“Using the same parchment paper technique professional chefs use to bake fish perfectly,we created Mrs. Paul’s and Van de Kamp’s ParchmentBake, allowing consumers to easily serve restaurant quality seafood at home, perfect every time.”

I was under the impression that they would be microwavable but on the box it says “microwave or toaster oven preparation is not recommended”.  So the oven it is.

*You can find coupons at www.mrspauls.com and www.vandekamps.com

What is on your meal plan for the week?

 

The Challenge

The 2nd annual better healthy living challenge is coming up next month.  I can’t believe it’s been a year already but I’m ready for it, are you?.

Last June, the challenge was a hit.  Sure hope you’ll jump in and participate!  The rules have changed just a bit this year and are much easier than last.

Since my readers are a nice mix from beginners to advanced when it comes to fitness, weight loss and healthy living, we are going to keep it simple.  Simple is good!

Your goal for this challenge is to focus on doing ONE new thing every week that will impact your life in a positive way.  If you are more advanced, step out of your comfort zone and go for something big.

Here are some examples of things that might impact your life in a positive way:

• Try a new workout
• Sign up for a race or start training for one
• Find a new recipe and make it
• Help someone in need
• Say something positive about yourself or someone else

Those are just a few ideas. You can choose to do whatever you like.  The goal of the challenge is to incorporate something fun and meaningful into your life.

Challenge rules:

Every Tuesday in June (starting 6/12/12), I will have a challenge post where you’ll need to check in and comment to let us know what you did to better your life the previous week.  Everyone who checks in each week will be entered into a drawing to win a prize.  Everyone who participated the entire month will be put in the drawing for the GRAND PRIZE I’m donating, a Polar FT7 heart rate monitor and Polar FlowLink.  And who knows, there might be more goodies added to that grand prize.

If you have a blog, you can post your challenge update there.  Then come over to the Tuesday posts and link back to your blog.

Company Sponsors:

Product donations are starting to come in for the challenge and I’m so excited. Here is what we have so far…

1. Me!  Losing It and Loving It (a variety of prizes)
2. Creating a Healthier You membership
3. Eat Smart Products Precision Pro Digital Kitchen Scale (US residents only)
4. 3 month subscription AND yoga mat from Gaiam TV
5. Craving Secrets ebook
6. Green Smoothie Diet book (digital copy)
7. Bic Bands (2 headbands)

Awesome!  I’ll keep updating this list as more donations/sponsors come in.

Are you interested in sponsoring and/or donating a product/service for the challenge? Please get in touch with me!  Your company/website/blog will be promoted throughout the entire month of June in various ways (here on the blog, Twitter, Facebook, Tumblr, Pinterest and more!).

I’m getting excited thinking about what I want to do to step up my game for this challenge.

Are you ready for the challenge?

 

I have had a scale in the past but this one is much easier.  Two buttons and small enough that it doesn’t take up counter space. We keep it out of the way by putting it on top of our microwave.

Our old scale had to be plugged in and I prefer that this one is battery operated.  Thank goodness the old one bit the dust.

You can measure anything on a plate or in a bowl because the tare option eliminates the weight of the plate/bowl.  But you can also measure directly on the scale.  Having a scale keeps you from having to guess and worry if you are eating more than one portion size.  Because we all know that not all products are labeled correctly *wink*

It’s very important that I start focusing on my portion sizes and taking control of my nutrition. Now if you want to go for the big dog in EatSmart scales, check out the Nutrition Pro scale.  It’s a food and nutrient calculator.  Cool!

From the Eat Smart website:

“The EatSmart Precision Pro Digital Kitchen Scale is an economically priced multifunction home scale, perfect for everyday tasks from weighing food or ingredients to calculating postage. Along with our Precision Pro, you will also receive a FREE Calorie Factors Book making it easy to achieve goals such as portion control and calorie counting.”

Features

• Compact Design and Easy Two-Button Operation
• Tare Feature; Subtract the weight of any plate or container
• 4 Measurement Modes: Grams / Ounces / Kilograms / Pounds
• Max Weight: 11 pounds / 5 kilograms
• Graduation: .05 oz / 1 gram
• 3 minute Auto-Turnoff
• Includes 2 AAA batteries

You can measure practically anything on this scale.  I have measured nuts, dry pasta and cereal. The list of options is endless.

I highly recommend the Eat Smart Precision Pro Digital Kitchen Scale!  And if you participate in the upcoming Better Healthy Living Challenge here on the blog in June, you’ll have a chance to win one, courtesy of our friends at EatSmart Products.

Be sure to follow EatSmart online to keep up on new products, specials and great ideas:

Pinterest

Facebook

Twitter

And don’t forget to read the EatSmart blog too!

Do you have a kitchen scale?  What do you measure on it?

 

There are a lot of ways to use almonds.  You can just pop them in your mouth for a quick and healthy treat and you can get sliced almonds to use on oatmeal or other hot cereal, in yogurt and much more.

What about using your food processor to make your own almond butter?  I have seen a lot of people do that and I want to try it sometime.  Almonds have so many great nutritious benefits too.  But as with anything else, eat them in moderation.

Benefits of Almonds

• Packed with fiber
• Helps reduce risk of heart disease
• Helps lower bad cholesterol and raise the good
• They help keep you full

My favorite almonds are from the company Blue Diamond (I also love their almond milk, so thick and creamy!).  I like plain almonds but they also have a variety that includes sea salt, honey dijon and more.  I’ll be trying those too next time I get to the grocery store.

Blue Diamond almond flavors became American Heart Association certified.  That is something to be proud of.  You can read about it below…

Blue Diamond Almonds

Blue Diamond Almond Flavors Become American Heart Association Certified

Variety of Flavors Meet Criteria for Heart-Healthy Food

Blue Diamond Growers is proud to announce that a variety of Blue Diamond Almonds have been certified by the American Heart Association (AHA) as a heart-healthy food. Not only are Blue Diamond Almonds a delicious snack, but they are good for your heart and good for your health! The following flavors now feature the AHA Heart-Check mark:

• Whole Natural
• Roasted Salted
• Low Sodium
• Sea Salt
• No Salt
• Honey Dijon

The American Heart Association works to build healthier lives, free of cardiovascular disease and stroke. Heart disease is American’s number one killer and is completely preventable by following a number of health measures, one of which is eating healthy. When a consumer spots the AHA Heart-Check mark on food packaging, they can rest assured that the food meets the strict guidelines for a heart-healthy food.

Blue Diamond Almonds are More Than Great Taste – they can help you lead a heart-healthy lifestyle! For more on the American Heart Association and the Heart-Check mark, visit heartcheckmark.org.

About Blue Diamond Growers
Blue Diamond Growers has been around for over 100 years and are always innovating new flavors and products for consumers to enjoy. Blue Diamond Growers has over 3,000 California almond growers delivering delicious almonds all over the world. For more on Blue Diamond Almonds, visit BlueDiamond.com and “like” Blue Diamond Almonds on Facebook.

I’m really excited for them, great company!

If you would like to get to know the company and products better, join us on Monday, May 21st, 2012 at 8 PM Central/9 PM Eastern for a Twitter chat.  You can follow the Twitter chat with the hashtag #BlueDiamond.  I’m on Twitter so be sure to follow me too.

What is your favorite way to eat almonds?

**FitFluential LLC compensated me for this campaign.  All opinions are my own.

 

I am aware that you need to dig deep to find the healthy options at Quiznos but you can make it work. Quite a few of their salads are under 500 calories and you can make that even less by asking for dressing on the side and ordering without the cheese.

There are some sandwich options under 500 calories as well but you’ll want to check out their menu online if you’re watching sodium intake or other things like carbs, sugars, etc.

The deal for this coupon is Free Regular Fountain Drink With Purchase of any sub, large salad, large grilled flatbread, or choose 2. Or $1 off a regular Sub or Large Salad or $2 off a Large Sub.

You know what sounds good right about now?  A veggie flatbread or wrap. Enjoy the Quiznos coupon!

 

Besides grilled salmon on planks is especially delicious and is simple to do. You’ll be cooking gourmet food right in your backyard!

Health Benefits of Salmon

Salmon is a high protein, low calorie dish that is also rich in Omega-3 fatty acids.  Omega-3s are polyunsaturated fats that are important for adults and children; studies suggest that they can help prevent heart disease and also help with healthy joints.  The USDA recommends that adults eat two servings of fish that are high in Omega-3s every week.   Salmon has some of the highest Omega-3 content.  Beef, chicken, and pork have almost none.

Salmon is also low in calories, with one serving containing only about 200 calories.  That’s better than beef or chicken!  It’s also rich in a number of vitamins.

Grilled Salmon on Planks

So how do you grill salmon?  While you can just throw a fillet of salmon on the grill and grill it, a much more fun, flavorful, and gourmet method is to grill the salmon on a plank of wood.  This was originally done by the Indians of the Pacific Northwest who fastened salmon onto planks of cedar and cooked it by placing the planked salmon near the fire.  You can use the same method, except with a plank of cedar wood laid down on your grill.

Here’s how to grill salmon on a cedar plank.  You’ll need a cedar plank, a fillet of salmon, and some seasonings.  You may be able to find cedar planks in your local area that are made for grilling, but you can also get them here.

I like to use a rub on the salmon, but you can just sprinkle it with coarse salt, freshly ground pepper, and freshly squeezed lemon juice.  To try the rub that I used, mix the following in a bowl and rub onto the salmon fillet before you grill:

• 1/2 tbsp brown sugar
• 1/2 tbsp coarse salt
• 1 tsp chili powder
• 1/2 tsp cumin
• 1/2 tsp black pepper

Soak the cedar plank in water for at least one hour.  This helps keep the plank from going up in flames as you grill.  To have a bit more flavor, you can add other liquids or seasonings to the water (apple juice and some lemon slices, for example).  You can get even more exotic by soaking the plank in wine instead of water.

The planks can run 13-15 inches long, so you’ll need something long enough to hold the plank.  I used a cooler, but anything long enough will do.  You’ll also need to put something heavy on the plank to hold it down as it soaks.

When you are ready to start cooking, get your grill heated up to 350 degrees.  Remove the plank from the water and put it on the grill.  If you are using a plank that you purchased, there is generally a smooth side and a rough side.  Put the smooth side down.  Close the lid to your grill and let the plank heat up.  This should take no more than 3 minutes.  When it starts to smoke and crack, it’s done. Don’t heat it up too long, or it will start to burn.

Remove the plank with some tongs and flip it over.  Brush a light coating of olive oil onto the plank to keep the salmon from sticking.   Place the salmon fillet on the plank and return it to the grill.  If the salmon is too wide, trim the edges so that it is the width of the plank; you can lay the trimmed pieces on the plank and cook them as well.

Turn down the flame of the burners below the plank to their lowest settings and close the grill cover.  Let the salmon cook for 8 minutes.  Don’t open the grill cover during that time.  The wonderful smoky cedar flavor will start to fill the grill and you want to keep it there!

After 8 minutes, check your salmon and make sure the plank is not burning.  If it is, just put the flames out with a spray bottle of water.  Continue to grill the salmon until it is flaky, which is usually about 12 -15 minutes.  When it’s done, you can cut portions of the salmon right on the plank and serve.

Using cedar planks is a great way to add some additional flavor to your grilling. In addition to salmon, you can use them on your grill to cook other seafood, pork, chicken, steaks, even vegetables.  I hope you’ll give it a try!

I’m guest blogging for Angie this month on healthy grilling.  In case you missed them, here are the other articles that I’m sharing:

Healthy Grilling Tips
Healthy Grilling: Grilled Asparagus
Healthy Grilling: Grilled Corn on the Cob
Healthy Grilling: Grilled Pineapple

I’m already looking forward to the next article, which is grilled asparagus!

Scott loves to cook outdoors–his motto is “It always tastes better when it’s cooked outdoors!”  Check out his Outdoor Cooking Magic Tricks for tips and recipes for cooking delicious meals right in your own backyard.

 

We had a procedure done to put a splint on and my poor poor kitty went crazy. He was attacking the splint, wouldn’t go potty and it was just one horrible experience.  Everyone kept telling us he would get used to it but we went with our gut and had it removed.  That was a tough day, not knowing if we were making the right decision but we made it and planned to have another $1000 plus surgery to get plates put in his leg (scheduled for tomorrow).

I got home and knew we had made the right decision. He’s been resting peacefully since Friday afternoon although he can’t walk on his back left leg.  It’s really sad what he has gone through but when you adopt a pet or have one in general,  you just take on the responsibility.  There was no other option!

So needless to say, I only worked out ONCE this week and you know what?  I am totally OK with it because I was and still am exhausted.  I had a mini break down, OK I was a hot mess on Friday at the vet and I just need to focus and deal with the kitty situation.

I’m going to try to get in some workouts this week but I need my sleep too.  One might think these are all excuses and well, yep they might be but I have been trying to eat well to compensate AND I have been successful so far with my No Naughty Desserts May challenge.  YEA, so proud of myself.  I did almost give in due to all the stress but I got past that.

Thinking I would like to make some homemade granola bars tomorrow while Franklin is in surgery.  I need to keep my mind off of it all so we’ll see.

I’ll end the post here and wish you all a great week.  I’ll check in as I can with updates.  Thanks for all the good thoughts and prayers for my sweet kitty boy.  Our other cat Wilbur is being a trooper and loves his brother a lot.  They sure miss their cuddle time as do we.

Oh and my workout for the week is below whoo hoo

Monday-

*Spinning
Time: 42 min.
Calories burned: 512

How did your week go?

 

My friend Jedha has an awesome product for Paleo meal planning.  I’m not personally following Paleo to a T but I do like some of the meal options.  So healthy.

I’m most excited because the meals are simple for someone who doesn’t cook. That would be me!  I have been cooking a bit lately and so far so good.

I only started planning our meals a few weeks ago and haven’t been too sure about planning meals out in advance.  Probably because I have to come up with the meals every week. That’s what I like about Jedha’s e-book product, she has it all laid out for you.  My kind of meal plan!

She has it all laid out for the entire week.  Breakfast, lunch and dinner plus tips for each days meal plan.  And pictures!

Be sure to head over to check out her Paleo weight loss meal plans and see all the mouth watering pictures of meals that take 30 minutes or less to make.  Since I don’t eat meat, I will replace that with tofu, tempeh, or fish.

But for those of you who do eat meat, Jedha has recipes that would be perfect for you.  She has guest posted here on the blog before and shared her Bolognaise with Cabbage Noodles Paleo recipe.

I made her Lemon Pepper Fish recipe which was one of THE best meals we have had in a long time.  It was really so simple to make and not only was I impressed that I made an awesome dinner, Kev was too.  He really enjoyed it.

Next I can’t wait to try her lemon pepper shrimp and of course her Thai Spiced Steamed Fish that you can see in the video below.

Sounds delish right?

I’m excited to share Jedha’s new product with you and hope you’ll check it out.

So what do you get for only $19.97?

Here’s the list:

• 4 Week Paleo meal plans
• Over 40 easy recipes
• Printable recipe book

and a lot more!

Do you follow a Paleo diet?

P.S. Thank you Jedha for the opportunity to review your product.

P.S.S. Yes, I am an affiliate for Jedha’s product.