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Exercise of The Day - Cossack Squat

Ever heard of the Cossack Squat?

It is "a lateral squat movement that develops dynamic flexibility in the hips, groin and hamstrings, as well as ankle mobility. It also develops specific strength in the quads, glutes and hamstrings, as well as core strength and stability." (from www.defrancostraining.com)

They are relatively easy to execute, yet challenging enough to give you a good burn. You can do them anywhere, any time, with or without any equipment. Try it today!

http://www.exercise.com/exercise/cossack-squat

Pan-seared Venison

My oldest son had a birthday recently, and he wanted a dinner of moose or caribou. Hard to find in the city, so we settled for venison. I found this butcher who sells venison meat - 40$ for a pound of venison tenderloin. OUCH!  But O-M-G was it ever GOOOOOOOOOOOOOD. I highly recommend venison meat - it's lean, full of iron, tender and flavourful. Try the following recipe (from epicurious), and taste for yourself! I omitted the cherries and used red currant jelly instead of black currant jelly. Results were DELISH!

From: Epicurious.com

Pan-Seared Venison with Rosemary

INGREDIENTS

• 1 1/2 teaspoons chopped fresh rosemary
• 1 teaspoon coriander seeds
• 1 large garlic clove
• 1 1/2 teaspoons extra-virgin olive oil
• 1 (1-lb) venison tenderloin
• 1/4 cup dry red wine
• 1/4 cup dried tart cherries
• 3/4 cup fat-free beef broth
• 1/2 cup water
• 1 teaspoon cornstarch
• 2 tablespoons black-currant jelly

preparation

Grind 1 teaspoon rosemary with coriander seeds and garlic with a mortar and pestle to make a paste, then stir in 1/2 teaspoon oil.

Pat venison dry and put in a bowl, then rub with paste. Season well with pepper, then cover and chill 20 minutes.

Preheat oven to 450°F.

Heat a well-seasoned cast-iron skillet over high heat until hot, then add remaining teaspoon oil, tilting skillet to coat evenly. Season venison well with salt, then brown, turning once, about 6 minutes total.

Transfer skillet to middle of oven and roast venison until an instant-read thermometer inserted diagonally into center registers 125°F, 7 to 10 minutes. Transfer meat to a plate and cover tightly with foil.

Add wine and cherries to skillet and deglaze by boiling over moderately high heat, stirring and scraping up brown bits. Stir together broth, water, cornstarch, and remaining 1/2 teaspoon rosemary in a bowl and add to skillet. Simmer, stirring, until mixture is thickened, about 5 minutes. Whisk in jelly and salt and pepper to taste.

Cut venison into 1/4-inch-thick slices and serve with sauce.

nutritional information

Each serving about 196 calories and 3 grams fat

Sweet Potato Fries

I LOVE sweet potatoes. Roasted with other veggies such as carrots, potatoes and garlic, they are almost like candy.

My kids, however, HATE them. They use to love them when they were babies, but now, you couldn't catch them eating them. Which is too bad considering how good they are for you.

I found the following recipe and decided to try it anyway. I was going to make my kids eat at least a piece. Guess what? THEY FINISHED THE BOWL. They LOVED them!

So here it is! The only thing I omitted was the cheese. Other than that, I followed the recipe exactly! SO GOOD!

From:

http://thescienceofeating.com/2012/01/29/garlic-rosemary-sweet-potato-fries/

Garlic & Rosemary Sweet Potato Fries

Ingredients:

• 2 large Sweet Potatoes, peeled & cut into strips
• 2 Tbsp Parmesan Cheese, grated
• 1 Tbsp Rosemary, minced
• 1 Tbsp Garlic minced
• 1 1/2 Tbsp Extra Virgin Olive Oil
• Sea Salt & Black Pepper, to taste
• 1/8 Tsp. Sweet Paprika

Directions:

• Heat Oven to 425 degrees.
• Combine rosemary, garlic, salt and oil in a bowl and stir until you make a paste.
• Cut the sweet potato into “fry-like” strips and toss into the oil mixture.
• Using your hands, thoroughly coat each fry with the garlic and rosemary mixture.
• Lay the fries out on an aluminum foil covered baking sheet, and leave room between fries (if fries overlap, they will end up steaming instead of roasting.
• Bake for 12 minutes, remove, flip fries and bake for another 12 minutes.
• Sprinkle with a little more salt, parmesan, pepper, and paprika.
• Remove from oven and serve.

Nutrition Facts: (Serves 4)

• 137 Calories
• 6g Fat
• 16g Carbs
• 3g Protein

Recipe: Turkey Chili

I've made an adaptation of this recipe, and it turned out really yummy! The lean meat and the beans make this a very healthy meal full of proteins and fibers. Try it!

Turkey Chili

Ingredients

• 1 1/2 teaspoons canola oil

• 1 pound ground turkey

• 1 onion, chopped

• 1 (28 ounce) can canned crushed tomatoes (diced work well too)

• 1 (19 ounce) can canned red beans, drained and rinsed

• 2 cloves garlic, minced

• 2 tablespoons chili powder

• 1 1/2 teaspoon paprika

• 1 1/2 teaspoon dried oregano

• 1/2 teaspoon ground cayenne pepper

• 1 1/2 teaspoon ground cumin

• 1/2 teaspoon salt

• 1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper
• 1 cup frozen corn kernel
• About 2 tablespoons fresh cilantro, chopped

Directions

1. Heat the oil in a large pot over medium heat. Place onion in the pot and cook them until slightly translucent. Add garlic, stir in and cook for 1-2 minutes. Add turkey and cook until evenly brown. 
2. Mix in tomatoes, kidney beans and spices, including the cilantro. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat to low, cover, and simmer 30 minutes.
3. When serving, you can add extra fresh cilantro.

Exercise of the day - Bench Press

The Bench Press is an upper body exercise that targets the pectorals, the triceps and the deltoids.


Why should a woman do bench press? It is one of the great 4 compound exercises along with the squat, deadlift and standing shoulder press (or overhead press). It helps, obviously, to build up the upper body strength, which in turn is useful for improving overall strength, improving your other lifts and to help sculpt a nice, lean, proportionate upper body.

Here's a good article on why women should not avoid training chest:

http://www.bodybuilding.com/fun/why-women-cant-afford-to-avoid-chest-training.html

Calculating your dieting numbers

Excellent article on calculating your calories - keep it simple!

From Sohee Lee Fitness :

If you’re reading this, I’m assuming you’ve decided that you want to shed some fat and become all sexified (Rog’s term). But you’re frustrated as all hell because there’s so much conflicting information out there. Never eat more than 1,000 calories; carbs are the devil; absolutely no dairy or fruit; switch up your foods every day to confuse your body; never, ever let any food pass your lips after 6p.m. (thanks for that one, Oprah).
I think that macronutrient percentages are useless. I’ve had people ask me for my opinion on their diet that was a “40/30/30” p/c/f split. Well, buddy, I’d love to help you out there, but you’re really not telling me anything. For example, how many total calories are you consuming? If you’re only getting in 100g total, that’s 40g protein, 30g carbs, and 30g fat. Not enough. Or if you’re consuming 3000 calories – alright, but relative to your bodyweight, what is that…?
Now, there are a number of ways to do this, but below is my approach that I’ve been using for some years.  I’ve done my research, I’ve applied the knowledge to myself and with my clients, and it works. You’ll read about other people recommending that you calculate your basal metabolic rate (BMR), then factor in activity levels, plus your age and gender and finally the number of hairs you have on your head. Quite frankly, all of those calculations give me a headache, but feel free to use those if you so desire. Here’s my way to skin the fat loss cat.

Read the rest here. Totally worth it!