10 Easy Ways to Lighten Your Holiday Appetizers

The Holiday season is upon us, with that comes the stream of holiday parties. The bad news is that many of our favorite appetizer recipes call for high-fat and high-calorie ingredients. The good news: in most cases we can make some simple ingredient substitutions and trim these recipes down to a healthier level of fat and calories without losing their holiday flair. Here are 10 easy ways to lighten your next holiday appetizer.

1. Use light cream cheese in your holiday recipes instead of regular cream cheese and you'll save around 296 calories and 44 grams of fat per 8-ounce block.

2. Use fat-free sour cream in your holiday recipes instead of regular sour cream and you'll shave off around 474 calories and 95 grams of fat per 16-ounce container. I really like the Naturally Yours brand in the black and white cowhide container.

3. Choose reduced-fat sharp cheddar cheese (or other reduced-fat cheeses) in your holiday recipes instead of regular cheese and you'll save around 279 calories and 36 grams of fat per 8-ounce package of shredded cheese (2 cups).

4. Use half real eggs and 1/2 cup egg substitute in your holiday egg recipes instead of all eggs and you'll cut around 90 calories and 10 grams of fat and 500 milligrams cholesterol for every 4 eggs normally called for.

5. Use light turkey sausage or turkey bacon such as Louis Rich (and use half as much when possible) in your holiday recipes instead of regular sausage in the regular amounts and you'll trim around 347 calories, 42 grams of fat per 12-ounce package of sausage (9 ounces cooked).

6. Use light mayonnaise instead of regular mayonnaise in your holiday recipes. But you can shave even more calories and fat by blending 1/2 cup of light mayonnaise with 1/2 cup of fat-free sour cream for every 1 cup of mayonnaise called for. You'll then cut around 1058 calories and 136 grams of fat for every 1 cup of regular mayonnaise called for.

7. Use roasted skinless chicken breast for appetizer recipes calling for skin-on chicken thigh and save around 70 calories and 10 grams of fat per 3 ounces.

8. Add fat-free half-and-half for appetizer recipes calling for liquid cream and you'll save around 40 calories and 7 grams of fat per 1/4-cup serving.

9. Oven fry or pan-fry your holiday appetizer in a minimum of oil instead of deep frying and you'll cut around 80 calories and 9 grams of fat if you use 2 teaspoons less oil per serving.

10. Choose whole grain and lower-fat bread and cracker products to accompany your holiday appetizers to increase the fiber and take down the fat. Using reduced-fat Triscuits, for example, instead of regular, will cut around 30 calories and 3 grams of fat per seven-cracker serving.

Don't forget about the Oxygen and Iron Ornament Exchange Party on Dec. 17th at 7 PM. Bring a healthy appetizer. For more information please call the studio at 804-432-1375

Happy Cooking,

Linda and Rachel

Family Favorite...PASTA

Pasta is a favorite family comfort food—it’s quick and easy to cook and always tastes good.

But with all those carbs can it be healthy too? You bet! The trick is to keep portion sizes under control and compensate by adding more lean protein and vegetables into the mix.

You might also skip the “regular” pasta, which is made from refined grains, and instead opt for whole-wheat varieties as we did in this recipe. Whole-wheat pasta is a good source of dietary fiber, and it hasn’t been stripped of the grain’s important trace nutrients and phytochemicals. So eat healthy this weekend try our Pasta with Procsiutto and Spinach recipe and tell us how you liked it!

Pasta with Prosciutto and Spinach

Cheese tortellini adds great creaminess and flavor to this dish, and makes it super-simple. Beyond the pasta, you just need to cook some spinach (chard, kale, or almost any other green will work too), and toss everything together. You can also substitute pancetta(my personal favorite) or bacon for the prosciutto, but if so, you need to cook it until crisp before adding to the pasta.

1 (9-ounce) package fresh whole wheat cheese tortellini (such as DiGiorno)
1 tablespoon pine nuts
1 teaspoon olive oil
6 large garlic cloves, finely chopped
1 (6-ounce) package fresh baby spinach
1/4 cup (1 ounce) preshredded Parmesan cheese
1/4 teaspoon black pepper
2 ounces prosciutto, thinly sliced

1. Cook pasta according to the package directions, omitting salt and fat; drain. Transfer pasta to a large bowl.

2. Heat a large nonstick skillet over medium heat. Add nuts to pan; cook 1 1/2 minutes or until toasted, stirring occasionally. Add nuts to bowl.

3. Heat oil in pan over medium heat. Add garlic to pan; cook 2 minutes, stirring occasionally. Add spinach to pan; cook 2 minutes or until spinach wilts, stirring constantly. Add spinach mixture, cheese, and remaining ingredients to bowl; toss well.

Yield: 4 servings (serving size: 1 cup)CALORIES 292 (28% from fat); FAT 9.2g (sat 3.2g,mono 2.3g,poly 1.1g); IRON 1.8mg; CHOLESTEROL 32mg; CALCIUM 103mg; CARBOHYDRATE 38.8g; SODIUM 618mg; PROTEIN 14.6g; FIBER 3.8g

Super easy recipe that tastes GREAT! Try it tonight.

Happy Cooking,

Linda and Rachel

Only 102 Calories per Serving

Enjoy our recipe of the week practically guilt free at only 102 calories per serving, as your main course, or include it as a side dish to accompany chicken or fish for added protein.

Eggplant Stackatini

Long prized for its deeply purple, glossy beauty as well as its unique taste and texture, eggplants are now available in markets throughout the year. In addition to featuring a host of vitamins and minerals, eggplant also contains important phytonutrients, many which have antioxidant activity. These nutrients are sometimes referred to as “free radical scavengers” which are shown to protect cell membranes from damage and improve overall health. In particular the benefits attributed to the nutrients found in eggplant promote anti-cancer, antimicrobial, anti-LDL (bad cholesterol) and antiviral activities!

Eggplant is a very good source of dietary fiber, potassium, manganese, copper and thiamin (vitamin B1). It is also a good source of vitamin B6, folate, magnesium and niacin. At only 27 calories per cup this vegetable packs in the nutrients and is stacked full of flavor.

Eggplant Stackatini

Eggplant:
2 medium eggplants
3 eggs
2 tbsp grated parmesan
1 tbsp water
1 tsp salt
½ tsp dried oregano
1/8 tsp garlic powder

Filling:
15 oz lowfat ricotta cheese
1 cup shredded mozzarella cheese
½ cup Romano cheese
¼ cup diced roasted red peppers
1 tbsp flat-leaf parsley
1 tbsp fresh oregano
1 clove garlic, minced
¼ tsp black pepper
1 egg

Sauce:
1 tbsp oil
2 tbsp onion, diced
2 cloves garlic, chopped
14 oz can no-sugar-added diced tomatoes
8 oz can no-sugar-added tomato sauce
½ tsp dried basil
¼ tsp garlic powder
½ tsp dried oregano
1/8 tsp salt
1/8 tsp black pepper

Step 1: Preheat oven to 400. Whisk together eggs, parmesan, water, salt, oregano and garlic powder. Trim ends off each eggplant. Cut into ½ inch thick rounds. Dip each slice into egg mixture and place on a non-stick baking pan with sides. Pour any remaining egg mixture over eggplant and bake until lightly browned, about 12 minutes. Let cool slightly before carefully loosening each slice from the pan with a flat spatula.

Turn oven down to 350.

Step 2: In a sauce pan, heat oil over medium heat. Add onion and garlic and sauté until soft and translucent. Add remaining sauce ingredients. Simmer 2 minutes.

Step 3: For filling, mix all ingredients together in a bowl

Step 4: Assemble the stacks. In a casserole dish, place half the eggplant rounds in the bottom. Spoon 2 tbsp filling onto each round. Top each with another eggplant round. Pour sauce over top. Bake for 25 minutes. Serve garnished with basil. Makes 8 servings.

Calories 102 per serving
Total Fat 7.2 g
Cholesterol 102 mg
Sodium 465 mg
Carbs 2.4 g
Protein 7.2 g

Quick and Easy Flank Steak

Oxygen and Iron's recipe for this week is a quick and easy Flank Steak. This cut of steak is lean and flavorful, which tastes best when it is marinaded. Flank steak is prepared quickly under high heat, and is generally served medium rare and thinly sliced. Try this week's recipe and let us know your thoughts.

Ponzu-Glazed Flank Steak-

cooking rice with green onions is an ideal side to soak up the pan sauce. For some color on the plate, sauté bell pepper slices and drizzle with sesame oil.


2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
2 tablespoons fresh lime juice
2 tablespoons low-sodium soy sauce
1 tablespoon honey
2 teaspoons bottled ground fresh ginger (such as Spice World)
1 (1-pound) flank steak, trimmed

Preheat broiler.

Combine first 5 ingredients in a small saucepan over medium-high heat; bring to a boil. Cook 3 minutes, and remove from heat.
Place steak on a foil-lined broiler pan. Brush half of soy mixture over steak; broil 5 minutes or until browned. Turn steak over; brush with remaining soy mixture. Broil for 5 minutes or until browned. Remove from oven; wrap foil around steak. Let stand 5 minutes before slicing.
Serve steak with pan juices.

Yield: 4 servings (serving size: 3 ounces steak and 1 tablespoon pan juices)
CALORIES 188 (30% from fat); FAT 6.2g (sat 2.3g,mono 2.2g,poly 0.2g); IRON 2.1mg; CHOLESTEROL 37mg; CALCIUM 31mg; CARBOHYDRATE 7.1g; SODIUM 330mg; PROTEIN 25.1g; FIBER 0.3g

Happy Cooking,

Linda and Rachel

Taste Like Chicken...

Oxygen and Iron's recipe of the week, answers that question you hear everyday....
What's for dinner?
Each week we will choose different recipes using, beef, chicken or pork, fish, vegetables and pasta, to create a healthy tasty meal for you and your family.

Our first recipe for the taste testing...A Chicken Burrito Bowl
This is an easy hearty recipe, just let your crock pot do the cooking while you're at work.

Let's us know what you think of this dish...

Happy Cooking,

Linda and Rachel

Chicken burrito bowls

2 tablespoons chili powder
1 tablespoon onion powder
1 tsp garlic powder
2 tsp corn starch
½ tsp red pepper
4 small chicken breast
½ cup mild salsa
½ can tomato paste
¼ cup sour cream
1 can black beans
1 large tomato, chopped
Shredded green/red leaf lettuce
1 cup shredded cheddar cheese

Mix dry ingredients and rub into chicken. Place chicken in crock pot on high. Spoon a mild salsa over chicken. Cover and cook 5-6 hours. Turn crock pot down to low. Remove chicken and shred with a fork. Add tomato paste and sour cream. Mix until even.

In a soup bowl, layer ½ cup black beans, ½ cup chicken, 2 tbsp. cheddar cheese. Top with tomatoes and lettuce.
Serves 8.
(327 calories, 9 g fat, 40 g protein)

What's for dinner tonight?

The question we hear or ask every night...What's for dinner?

Oxygen and Iron is here to help!

We are starting a "recipe of the week" section to our blog. We will share with you a healthy and delicious new recipe each week for 4 weeks. At the end of the 4 weeks we are going to have our own taste test of all 4 recipes, plus a nutritional seminar. We will teach you how to create healthy meals and give you valuable nutritional tips.

To maximize your training results you need to feed your body healthy and nutritious whole foods. The bottom line is you can’t “out-train”poor nutrition habits, and a commitment to optimal eating is essential to seeing the results you want, whether your goals
are performance based and/or body composition base.

So, check out our weekly recipes and join us for the nutritional seminars and taste testings.
Details of where and when the tasting will be is coming soon...

Have a healthy day,

Linda and Rachel

7 Simple Techniques to Minimize Your Swine Flu Risk

I'm not an alarmist kinda person. Not at all. But the statistics don't lie:
- Seasonal flu annually sickens 5-20% of the population

But there's no need for gloom and doom. Just read these 7 simple techniques reduce your Swine Flu risk and you'll start feeling much better.

http://oxygenironworks.getprograde.com/Swine-Flu-Prevention.html

Yours in health,

Linda and Rachel

PS - Remember, an ounce of prevention...read these 7 simple things and keep yourself healthy.
http://oxygenironworks.getprograde.com/Swine-Flu-Prevention.html