Easy and Healthy Spicy Chicken

Here is a recipe that's healthy and very easy to make! A great addition to your low calorie diet plan! So much of the time we don't get a chance to make a really tasty, really healthy meal that is easy enough to make for any number of people. We're always on the go and don't have time to cook, much less think about making something that's good for us. Well here is a recipe that will have your taste buds and your body saying “Thank You!”

Time: 20 minutes
Calories: 150 per serving

Ingredients
2 Chicken Breasts
Olive Oil
2 slices Low Fat Mozzarella Cheese
Hot Sauce (Use your favorite, I like Valentina)
Crushed Red Pepper
Salt
Pepper

Directions
Start by pouring olive oil into the bottom of a frying pan. Use just enough to cover the surface and turn on medium heat. While oil is heating up (approximately 1 minute) sprinkle salt and pepper onto one side of the chicken breasts. Place seasoned side down in the frying pan. Leave uncovered and cook until golden brown (approximately 2-3 minutes). Sprinkle uncooked side with salt and pepper. Flip chicken breasts so uncooked side is now facing down. Turn the heat down to low. Cover frying pan and cook for 10 minutes. After chicken is fully cooked, sprinkle desired amount of hot sauce onto top of both chicken breasts. Take a slice of low fat mozzarella cheese and place it on top of the sauce. Sprinkle crushed red pepper on top of the cheese. Cover the chicken until cheese is melted (approximately 1 minute).

Soul Food, Tradition & Healthy Living

Keep the soul in your heart and the health in your life

Soul food is tasty, simple, hearty, and rooted in tradition. Many soul food recipes - succulent fried chicken, sweet potato pie, rich macaroni and cheese, sloppy barbeque ribs and meats, and ham hock collard greens with pork fat -- have been passed down over the generations and include cooking ingredients that we know today are not healthy for us to eat in large quantities. You want to honor tradition yet maintain your health. So what should you do?

An occasional, traditional, soul food meal at holiday gatherings and celebrations is probably not going to hurt you in the long run and that you should live your life in balance. However if you want to eat these foods regularly, here's what we found:

Traditional soul food can cause:
- Obesity
- High Cholesterol
- Diabetes
- High Blood Pressure
- Heart Problems

Problems with traditional soul food:
- High in calories
- Foods cooked with lard & saturated fat
- Recipes heavily seasoned with salt and sugar
- Use of fatty meats
- High in cholesterol

If you choose to eat a traditional soul food meal, try to do the following:
- Exercise
- Make your next meal one filled with fiber
- Drink tea
- Avoid bad foods, fast food, and sodas

Some Traditional soul food can be healthy:
- Collard greens - good source of fiber, vitamins and minerals
- Sweet Potatoes - excellent source of beta-carotene
- Meats -- supply daily protein and B vitamins

Changing & altering recipes while maintaining tradition
- Try new kinds of flours, fats, sugars, and seasonings - check out our healthy alternatives
- Review your cooking methods - for example, fry your foods in healthier oils at a higher temperature so that your foods do not soak up additional fat. Try baking or broiling instead of frying
- Reduce serving size
- Add healthy, fresh salads, veggies, nuts, and fruits to your meals - instead of using mayonnaise try Vegenaise.

Healthy Alternatives
- Replace meats with vegetarian products - have you ever had Follow Your Heart's fake chicken? I recently had it with a tangy BBQ sauce and it was yum.
- Instead of white flour, use whole grain flours. If you are using flour or bread crumbs to coat your meats, add fresh herbs to your mixture instead of salt
- Replace high-fat dairy products with low-or-no-fat alternatives. Experiment with soy and nut milks. Whipping creams can be replaced with evaporated milk and soy products. If you are cooking with cheese, try using veggie cheeses
- If your recipe calls for eggs, substitute 2 egg whites for each egg, or try an egg substitute vegetarians use, which can be found at Krogers, Whole Foods or any health food store. When I bake holiday recipes, I now use egg replacer instead of eggs because I prefer the flavor, texture, and consistency of my baked goods when I do. If you are baking your favorite desserts or cakes, try replacing the eggs with applesauce.
- Instead of ham hocks, try using smoky Fakin' Bacon made out of tempeh, or smoked turkey, or tofu
- Replace lard and butter with canola and olive oils. If you need a butter replacement, try Earth Balance Buttery Sticks
- Try avoid using salt. Instead, try using herbs and spices or try changing the ratio of your secret spices and add less sodium.

Enjoy your family and traditions. Life is about living in balance.

Melissa "mel" Melcombe is founder of http://www.melslife.com/ melslife is America's largest healthy living site for echo boomers.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Melissa_Melcombe

Easy Quick Recipes For Weight Loss - Baby Corn Delight

A healthy diet is one that is high in nutrients and low in fat, sugar, salt and cholesterol.

Fruits and Vegetables have very little calories and hence eating more fruits and vegetables instead of meats will quickly reduce your weight. Moreover, some fruits and vegetables such as lettuce, zucchini are best eaten raw. Other Vegetables also require less cooking time to preserve its original taste and nutrients.

Preparing a quick simple meal of vegetables can be equally nutritious and delicious. Below is a good example of a simple, yet delicious meal that only takes 10 minutes or preparation time and 15 minutes of cooking time.

Baby Corn Delight
Servings : 6
Preparation Time : 10 Minutes
Cooking Time : 15 Minutes

Ingredients

• Baby corn- 200 gm
• Green chilly (finely chopped) - 1 no
• Ginger (finely chopped) - 11/2 tsp
• Garlic (finely chopped) - 11/2 tsp
• Soya sauce -1tsp
• Tomato-chilly sauce - 2 tsp
• Corn flour -1tsp
• Capsicum - chopped -2 tbsp
• Oil - 1 tsp
• Salt and pepper - to taste

Preparation

Mix together soy sauce, tomato-chilly sauce and corn flour with 2 tablespoons of water in a bowl and keep it aside. Heat the oil in non-stick pan and add the baby corn and sauté over a high flame for 5 minutes. Add the green chilly, ginger and garlic and sauté for another 3 minutes. Then add corn flour and sauce mixture. Mix well over a high flame till the sauce coats the baby corn. Toss in the capsicum, add salt and pepper and mix well. Serve hot. A great side dish to enjoy!

Note: The ingredients used above are not only low in calories but also have health beneficial values. Ginger is considered to have some cancer fighting properties and garlic may be slightly protective against heart disease. Adding ginger and garlic occasionally in our diet is quite useful for a healthy living. Tomatoes protect the heart and studies suggest that regular use of tomatoes can cause reductions in prostate and other cancers.

More Simple and Delicious Recipes for Weight Loss are available at http://www.bestgreenorganic.com/health-benefits-of-eating-more-fruits-and-vegetables.html

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Melinda_Lim

Foods That Increase Your Fat Metabolism - Fat Burning Foods by Flaviu Serban

There are foods that increase your fat metabolism which help to quicken the fat burning capability of your body. Your body was wonderfully designed to burn fat efficiently and so if you eat the right kind of fat burning food you will be able to lose thigh fat, lose stubborn belly fat and leg fat which makes your body to go out of shape and be unhealthy.

Most of the foods we eat have the ability to increase your fat metabolism because the body must use energy to digest them; however the best fat burning food is lean protein from real solid foods such as:

• Turkey and chicken breast
• Game meats (antelope, elk, venison)
• Lean red meat
• Fish
• Shellfish and other seafood
• Egg whites (without the yolk)

Meal replacement protein powders can be taken in the mid-afternoon and before dinner as they are real fat burning food.

Reduce eating "insulin-inducing" carbohydrates in your food because research have found out a strong correlated with a dramatic increase in excess weight and obesity, as well as diabetes when you increase the intake of insulin-inducing carbohydrates.

Foods that can increase your fat metabolism and are real fat burning foods which you must part of your daily diet include the following: Vegetables such as broccoli, cayenne pepper, cinnamon, cauliflower, squash and beans; fruits such as apples, berries, oranges, peaches, plums, and watermelon; whole grains such as whole-wheat bread, rye bread and brown rice.

Eating foods that increase your fat metabolism above the normal rate of your body is the fastest way to lose weight and burn stubborn stomach fat and thigh fat.

If you wish to learn more about foods that increase your fat metabolism and lose 10, 20, 30 lbs without the frustrations people normally face with weight loss, click here now. We have selected 5 weight loss programs that will help you stay healthy and free from the health problems of diabetes, arthritis, high blood pressure and hypertension common with overweight people. If you say you have no time today to lose weight, you may have enough time to stay in the hospital tomorrow. Act now!

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Flaviu_Serban