Garlic Stuck Pork Loin

Here's another great simple recipe that is quick and easy to prepare, while bringing plenty of flavor.

Ingredients:

Pork Tenderloin (or a full pork loin if you're feeding the whole football team)

5 cloves of garlic

5 carrots

2 tablespoons canola oil

1 teaspoon of salt

2 teaspoons of pepper

Method:

Pre-heat oven to 325 degrees

Slice each clove of garlic lengthwise into 5 or 6 pieces.

Stab garlic into pork loin like you're the witch doctor and it's the new missionary on the island.  (Descriptive enough for ya?)

Braise pork loin in frying pan until outside is browned (3 minutes per side), adding salt as it cooks.

Peel carrots and slice diagonally into 2 inch pieces.

Remove pork loin from frying pan and place in 9 x 13 baking dish.

Add carrots and pepper.

Place in oven for approximately 40 minutes, or until internal temperature of pork loin reaches 170 degrees.

The last time I made this, I added some sliced plantains to the pan for the final 15 minutes, giving it a nice Caribbean flavor.

Nutritional info (assuming a 5 oz. piece of the pork) courtesy of Fitday:

Calories: 450

Fat: 29

Carbohydrate: 5

Protein: 41

Add a salad, and you're all set for the night!

Train smart; Eat right!

Technorati Tags: Fitday,primal,paleo,recipes

Prosciutto Chicken

One of the problems that people face when they are trying to eat healthy is that the chicken breast, one of the greatest sources of lean protein, can get awfully boring and bland if you don't mix it up once in a while.  Give this recipe a try.  I made it up on the fly last night for the family.  It has all the right mix for making it part of your regular menu:  simple, only a few ingredients, and takes less than 15 minutes of actual work time to prepare dinner for 4.

Supplies:

Boning knife (that's the one that's a little longer than a steak knife)

Tongs

Large frying pan

9 x 12 baking pan, layered with aluminum foil

Ingredients:

2 tablespoons of olive oil

Salt

4 large chicken breasts

4 slices of proscuitto ham (You can get this at the deli counter.  It's expensive, but you only need 4 slices.  DO NOT BUY A WHOLE POUND UNLESS YOU KNOW WHAT YOU ARE GOING TO DO WITH THE OTHER 90 OR SO SLICES!)

4 ounces fresh parmesan cheese, shredded

Fresh salsa  (This is nothing more than a mixture of fresh chopped onions, tomatoes and peppers.  You can find it in your local grocery store.  Stop & Shop keeps theirs at the back of the produce section near the hummus.)

Methods:

Pre-heat oven to 300 degrees.

Pre-heat pan on stove top, over medium heat, with 2 TBS of olive oil and a pinch of salt.

Using a boning knife, cut a pocket in the chicken breasts along the long slide, leaving 3 sides closed.

Stuff the pocket with 1 slice of ham, 1 ounce of cheese and round out with salsa.

Place breasts 2 at a time in pan on stove.  Turn after 3 minutes.  This will give the chicken a nice crispy, golden look.

Remove from pan after 3 more minutes and place in baking dish.

Repeat process with the other 2 breasts.

Bake in oven for 20 minutes.

Remove from oven, pour remaining salsa over the top of chicken and return to oven for 15 more minutes.

Serve this up on a bed of spinach for a complete meal.

Including one serving of raw baby spinach, here's the macronutrient breakdown on this meal, according to Fitday:

Calories:  398

Fat:  20 grams (44% of total cal.)

Carbohydrates:  8 grams (8%)

Protein:  46 (48%)

Train Smart, Eat Right

Technorati Tags: Paleo,Primal,Healthy recipe

Delicious Low Sugar (Not Low Carb) Granola

Here is a recipe for some great low sugar granola. For sweeteners, you can use either agave nectar (available at your local health food store) or honey. The nutrition information, provided by Fitday, is for the agave nectar and multi-grain cereal, but substituting honey and/or oats will only change the information marginally.

Ingredients:

8 cups Multi-grain cereal or oats

.5 cups (42g) Pecans

.5 cups (60g) Walnuts

.5 cups (60g) Slivered almonds

.5 cups (66g) Sunflower seeds

.5 cups (53g) Flax seed meal

.5 cups (56g) Pepitas

.5 cups (53g) Wheat germ

3 TBS Canola oil

.5 cups Agave nectar

2 TBS Cinnamon

.5 cups Applesauce

.5 cups Unsweetened dried blueberries

.5 cups Dried cranberries

Pre-heat oven to 300 degrees.

Mix wet ingredients together in a small bowl.

Mix dry ingredients (except for the blueberries and cranberries, they will burn if you cook them) in a large bowl.

Stir wet ingredients into dry ingredients.

Spread mixture onto cookie sheets (preferably with sides) in a thin layer.

Bake in oven for 20 minutes, taking it out to stir every 7 minutes. Let cool on pans for 20-30 minutes; add berries; store in a large zip-loc bag.

Calorie and macronutrient breakdown per half cup serving:

Calories: 195

Calories from fat: 90

% of calories from fat: 46%

Fat: 10g

Saturated fat: 1g

Poly-unsaturated fat: 5g

Mono-unsaturated fat: 4g

Carbohydrate: 21

Protein: 5

While this may seem like a lot of fat to some of you, 9 of the 10 grams of fat are what are now being termed "healthy fats," and when combined with a good protein source, they will give you a great start to your day. For instance, I like to pair this with a cup of non-fat Greek yogurt, which brings my totals to: 315 calories, 10g of fat, 28g of carbohydrate and 27g of protein. This is a 41%carbohydrate,19% protein, 40% fat ratio. A fantastic ratio for my first meal of the day. I'll have to boost protein intake later in the day to bring this ratio into line for my daily intake, but I always want my breakfast to be my highest carb meal of the day.

Let me know if you like it!

Train smart; eat right!

Technorati Tags: recipe,macronutrient ratio