Linguine with Prawns & Garlic Spinach

Try this extremely quick & tasty recipe. Use raw prawns – they absorb the flavours better.

Linguine With Prawns and Garlic Spinach

Preparation Time: 10 minutes            425 calories

Cooking Time:       10 minutes              1.9 grams fat

Ingredients (serves 4).

300g Linguine

4- tablespoons extra virgin olive oil

400g raw prawns peeled

4- tablespoons flat leaf parsley, chopped

150g spinach leaves

grated zest of 1 unwaxed lemon

8 cherry tomatoes

1 garlic clove sliced

salt and freshly ground black pepper

1. Cook the pasta in a large saucepan of salted boiling water.
2. In a large frying pan, heat the oil over a med heat and fry the garlic for approx I minute.
3. Add the spinach and cook for a further 2 minutes.
4. Add the prawns, parsley and salt and pepper, stir well and cook for a further 2 mins.
5. Once the pasta is cooked, drain and add to the frying pan, lowering the heat.
6. Add the lemon zest and tomatoes and stir for 30 seconds, then serve immediately.

Popularity: 25% [?]

Cajun Chicken with Bean Salsa

The salsa used in this dish also works well with salmon fillets.

Cajun Chicken with Bean Salsa

Preparation Time: 10 minutes

Cooking Time:      10 minutes

Ingredients (serves 2):

2 boneless, skinless chicken breasts

1 tbsp Cajun seasoning

½ tsp olive oil

For the Salsa

400g can pinto beans, rinsed and drained

2 red peppers, diced

1 avocado, diced

2 spring onions, sliced

1 tbsp olive oil

juice 1 lemon

handful chopped coriander

salt and freshly ground pepper

Method

1. To make the salsa, tip the pinto beans, peppers, spring onion and peppers into a bowl. Season, dress with the olive oil and lemon juice, then set aside.
2. Lay the chicken breasts on a board and bash to flatten them out slightly.
3. Place in a dish, drizzle with a little olive oil then coat with the Cajun seasoning. Heat a griddle pan and cook the chicken for 5 minutes on each side, turning if you want to get a criss-cross pattern, until cooked all the way through.
4. Stir in the coriander with the salsa just before serving.

Popularity: 17% [?]

**POWERFUL TECHNIQUE #1

Calcium can help weight loss and boost the metabolism; low to no-fat cottage cheese, milk, and yoghurt are good choices for meals or snacks. Some people swear by green tea. It is said to help remove toxins, so helping your metabolism can’t hurt.

Flax and fish oils supplements help to keep cholesterol levels balanced getting rid of the bad cholesterol and building up the good one has some effect on your metabolic rate.

Spicy foods are also supposed to increase metabolism. Remember though, any intake of food will boost the metabolism because the body gets right to work with the digestive process. This doesn’t last long so having five small meals a day or three meals and snacks between keep the metabolic process working harder.

It takes more energy to break down protein than it does to break down carbohydrates. Protein supplies nutrients needed to sustain muscle mass, so protein snacks will increase your metabolism. Instead of reaching for a sweet snack try some nuts, have a little peanut butter, some of the packaged fibre bars are tasty and have protein in them, read your labels though, some of them contain sugar (glucose.)

Cardio exercise is the best thing for boosting the metabolism. I know you hate cardio, so do I. Do a set of jumping jacks first thing in the morning, or take a 30-40 minute walk. It helps relieve you of stress, is low impact, gives you time to get out of the house to think and relax, and it is a great way to burn calories in the evening. It’s great to increase your evening metabolism, which naturally is lower than it was in the morning.

** POWERFUL TECHNIQUE #2 – Jump Up And Down

The best metabolism boosters are the ones that raise your body’s calorie burning rate for hours and hours. This is why cardiovascular exercises are some of the best metabolism boosters known to man. Getting in a good cardio workout not only burns many calories while you’re in action, it can actually raise your body’s metabolic rate for up to four hours after you’re done!

Even if you can’t take a whole hour or half hour out of your day to take a walk or hit the treadmill, you can still get your heart rate up enough to make a big difference in your metabolism. Every single time you jump up and down, you wake up the metabolism boosters in your system, and the effects will pay off when you step onto the scales.

If you can, try to slip in a few minutes of cardiovascular activity every hour or two throughout your day. That way, as soon as your metabolism starts to slow down, you’ll give it another jolt of activity and boost it again! Jumping up and down for even just sixty or ninety seconds per hour will keep your metabolism running at a higher speed all day long. There are many great reasons to get moving, but boosting your metabolism is one of the best, so get off your butt and jump around!

Even when you think you’re resting, your body is hard at work keeping everything going. Your system is making blood cells, your kidneys are working to eliminate waste, and your liver is cleansing toxins from your bloodstream.

Popularity: 22% [?]

** A Health Drink from Mother Nature! **

Water bathes the cells and accounts for about 60 percent of body weight. Drinking water can ward off constipation and maybe even irritableness.  Moreover, since it’s a natural appetite suppressant, water can help us lose weight and keep it off.

It’s our body’s vital fuel; it’s calorie-free, inexpensive, and easily obtained.  Yet few people follow the old-fashioned advice to drink eight glasses of water a day. Most people drink when thirsty, but the beverage of choice tends to be some other drink.

Keeping hydrated, when you exercise, will reduce cardiovascular stress and improve performance.  After a workout, you have to replace the fluids you have lost.  Otherwise, you will suffer chronic dehydration.  Drink water before, during, and after exercising, and remember – water reduces body temperature thus making the whole exercise process safer.

If you do not get enough water each day, the water you have in your body will accumulate outside the cells. This is a protective measure to conserve what little water is available in your system. This results in that puffy swollen look you may notice at times.

POWERFUL TECHNIQUE #1 – Did You Drink Water Today?

Experts recommend drinking 8 glasses of water a day – seems like a lot doesn’t it?  Anyone who is trying to lose weight, pregnant women, nursing mothers, and athletes should be especially careful to drink a sufficient amount.  When it is hot or humid, upping water intake is also wise.  Some people have a more difficult time developing the water-drinking habit (me included.) I have a few ways to trick myself into drinking more water. I measure out my 8 cups of water in the evening and put it into the fridge to chill overnight. I slice up lemons and keep them in the fridge and pop one into every glass I drink. It looks pretty elegant and seems to encourage me to drink more water. I also drink a half glass of warm water each morning with a teaspoon of apple cider vinegar mixed in. Apple cider vinegar is great for detoxifying the body. It tastes awful in water so I usually add a packet of Stevia, a natural herb without calories that sweetens it up nicely.

Too busy to count how many glasses a day you drink?  There are other ways to calculate if your intake is sufficient.  Dark-coloured urine often suggests you are not drinking enough water.

Get into the habit by starting with a glass of water a half hour before every meal, then work in a cup between meals.

Popularity: 21% [?]