Train with Susan

Do You Have the Stubborn Fat Blues?

Every year at about this time frustrated people around the globe look in the mirror and realize that their waist is larger, hips are wider, and their New Year’s resolve has fizzled.

So what do you do about the stubborn and seemingly permanent fat?

Sink into a depression?

Well, the easiest thing to do is to throw a pity party. Then before you know it your feelings of self pity begin to snowball into a full blown case of the Stubborn Fat Blues.

How do you know if you have the Stubborn Fat Blues?

Your pants are tighter today than they were a year ago

You’ve tried to lose weight only to fail.

You feel trapped.

You’re close to giving up on yourself.

If you can relate to any of the above statements then you have the Stubborn Fat Blues—quite an unpleasant condition to have.

Fortunately, there is a cure.

It all starts with your mind. The thing about the Stubborn Fat Blues is that it affects your mind more than anything.

You see, your mental state is critical in determining your shape and size. When you focus on all of the things that you hate about your current body like the size of your thighs, the shape of your butt, or the way your belly looks then you’re putting all of your energy on the negative.

The more you think about how unhappy you are, the unhappier you will become.

Makes sense, right?

So instead of wallowing, use the following techniques to conquer the Stubborn Fat Blues:

1. Take it one battle at a time.
You may have 20, 50 or 100 pounds to lose before you reach your ideal weight—and, boy, that can be overwhelming. The truth is that weight loss like that won’t happen overnight—it takes months of dedication. It’s no wonder so many people simply give up.

Don’t worry about winning the entire war today, instead focus on conquering one battle at a time. Take it one meal at a time, and one day at a time. A healthy meal, a good workout and you’ve won a battle. Remember, 100 pounds is broken down into 350,000 calories. Sure, that sounds like a lot, but all you have to do is focus on burning more calories than you take in today – in the end weight loss will be inevitable.

2. Use a trigger.
How many times throughout your day do you find yourself plagued with negative thoughts? I’m too fat. I’ll never look as good as I used to. I’m not attractive. Yikes! Thoughts like these will ruin your chance at regaining your figure—they are total momentum killers.

Here’s what I want you to do. Whenever a negative thought enters your mind instantly do the following:

Breathe out and squeeze your abs for 5 seconds – 3 times

Throw away any junk food within arms reach

Plan to exercise that day

Make negative thoughts a trigger to take positive action toward your goal—the results will amaze you.

3. See what you want.
If you have weight to lose, mirrors are a nightmare. Every lump and pouch seems to jump out with alarming illumination. And it doesn’t help that most of us see things as worse than they really are.

When was the last time that you closed your eyes and pictured the body that you wished you had? It may sound hokey, but I’m serious. Your mind is very impressionable, and when you bombard it with only the negative then you will be stuck on that image.

Take time each day to visualize your ideal body. Close your eyes and put yourself in that ideal body – feel what it feels like to be fit and attractive. This exercise is a powerful way to fixate your mind on your goal in a way that will leave you no room for failure.

4. Get serious.
Sooner or later you will decide that you are fed up with the Stubborn Fat Blues. You will decide that your health is important. You will decide that you deserve to look great. And you will do what it takes to achieve amazing results.

The best way to ensure that your motivation stays strong—and that your goal is met—is to get on a fitness program that actually works. If you need help finding the right program for you – I can help.

Together we will identify your goals, find workout programs that you enjoy and create a routine that works with your schedule. It’s that simple.

Contact me today for a consultation and to learn more about the different fitness programs available to you.

Then you can say goodbye to the Stubborn Fat Blues—forever!

Sneaky Calorie Burning

What are your plans for this weekend? A great way to promote weight loss is to pack your weekends with physical activities. W**d the garden, walk the dog, plan a bike trip, or clean out the garage. The key is to keep on moving.

Turkey-Stuffed Bell Peppers

Eating healthy doesn't have to be boring! These turkey-stuffed bell peppers are the perfect meal for those days when you’re bored of eating healthy. Shhhh, your taste buds won't suspect that this dish is low-carb and protein-filled. Serve over a bed of greens for a complete meal.

Servings: 5

Here’s what you need…

5 organic bell peppers

1 teaspoon olive oil

2 cloves garlic, minced

2 Tablespoons fresh basil, minced

1 yellow onion, minced

1 Tablespoon fresh rosemary, minced

1 teaspoon dried parsley

dash of salt and pepper

20 oz organic ground turkey, 99% fat free

1 organic tomato, chopped

3/4 cup spaghetti sauce

Bring a large pot of water to boil, add a pinch of salt. Cut the tops off the bell peppers and remove the seeds. Place in the boiling water, using a spoon to keep them submerged for 3 minutes or until the skin is slightly softened. Drain and set aside.

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Prepare a baking pan with non-stick cooking spray and set aside.

In a large skillet heat the oil on medium. Add the garlic, basil, onion, rosemary, parsley, salt and pepper. Cook for about 5 minutes, until the onions begin to soften. Add the ground turkey and continue to heat until the meat is browned. Add the tomato and cook for another 2 minutes.

Remove from heat. Pour the spaghetti sauce into the turkey mixture and mix well. Add the cheese and mix until well combined.

Stuff each prepared bell pepper with the turkey mixture and place on prepared baking sheet. Cook for 15-20 minutes until the bell peppers are tender.

Nutritional Analysis: One serving equals: 193 calories, 3 fat, 256mg sodium, 14g carbohydrate, 3g fiber, and 28g protein.

Motivate your friends, family and co-workers! Forward this newsletter and subscribe your friends.

The Reason You Can’t Lose Weight

There are few things more frustrating than not being able to lose weight.You want to be slimmer and to tone your body, but your weight won’t budge.Read the following 7 Weight Loss Blockers to discover what is standing in your way and how to quickly and easily begin your weight loss journey.Blocker #1: Your MindYour mind is your number one ally when it comes to achieving your goals. However, until your mind has been programmed for success, it will do more to derail your efforts than to help you.

Take a few moments each day to visualize yourself at your ideal weight. Imagine how it feels to look the way you’ve always wanted.

Protect your mind from any negative self talk. If a negative thought comes to mind, immediately reject it.

You want to be thin and fit, and yet you think of yourself as out-of-shape and fat. Re-program your mind to think of yourself as fit and attractive, and you will be well on your way toward achieving your goal.

Give up the belief that you can’t achieve the body you’ve always dreamed of. See it first in your mind, and then in the mirror.

Blocker #2: Your FearChange makes most of us nervous – even if it is a change in the right direction. You may not be consciously aware of the fear you have of getting into shape. Until you conquer this fear, your weight loss efforts will be blocked by self sabotage.Professional speaker and author, Anthony Robbins, has outlined three specific beliefs that you must have in order to conquer your fear and instantly create a lasting change.

Believe that something MUST change. You can’t be wishy-washy about it. You can’t be considering it. You can’t even be pretty sure about it. You’ve got to be rock solid.

Believe that YOU must change it. You can’t pass the buck of responsibility and expect to lose weight. It’s on your shoulders. Other people will prove to be great assets in your journey, but in the end you are the one who is going to make it happen. You have to want this weight loss enough to make it your personal mission.

Believe you CAN change it. You may have failed in the past, but that doesn’t matter. When you put your mind to it, you’re able to do amazing things. Do you believe that you are capable of losing weight? Once you own the belief that you can, you’ll be unstoppable.

Blocker #3: Your ExcusesYour excuses for being out-of-shape are getting old. An excuse takes less immediate effort than an action, but in the long run the action taker always has the advantage. Don’t allow excuses to ruin your life any longer.

Don’t skip out on your responsibilities with excuses, instead expect more from yourself.

Focus on the big reason why you are losing the weight. Make a list of the benefits you’ll enjoy once you achieve your goal, and read them first thing each morning.

Remember that you can only have two things in life: excuses or results. Which do you want?

Blocker #4: Your CommitmentHow many times have you tried to lose weight, only to give up a week or two later? We live in a commitment-phobic world, so it’s no wonder that you routinely abandon your goals. If you truly want to lose weight then your commitment to the process is a must.

The margin between success and failure is bridged by your commitment. Don’t give up until your goal has been achieved.

Treat exercise with the same importance as a work meeting, and you’ll never skip it at the last minute. Find three available 60-minute time slots in your schedule and mark them (in pen) on your calendar. Now stick to your schedule.

If you don’t give up, then you’ll never fail.

Blocker #5: Your DietIf you consistently eat the wrong food, then you’re weight loss efforts will all be in vain. To put it bluntly, you need to stop eating junk. Processed foods, refined sugar and high fructose corn syrup do not belong in your diet if you want to be in great shape. Cut these items out of your diet and replace them with real whole foods like lean meats, vegetables, whole grains, nuts and fruits.

Don’t eat processed foods. Even though processed foods are accepted by our society, they contain tons of chemicals and empty calories that will make you sick and fat.

Fat contains twice the caloric density of protein and carbohydrates, so make sure to limit the amount that you consume. Eat lots of lean proteins and wholesome carbohydrates from plants and whole grains.

Vegetables, whole grains, fruits, nuts and seeds are filled with fiber and antioxidants which are vital for healthy weight loss. Snack on these instead of packaged treats.

Blocker #6: Your PatienceIt takes time to transform your body from fat to fit, even though you want it to happen overnight. Remind yourself that it took time to put the weight on, so it will take time to take the weight off. When you find your patience wavering, or when you encounter a frustrating plateau, do the following:

Review your goal. Is it specific and measurable? Is it small and attainable, rather than monumental? Focus on your goal when the going gets tough.

Make each workout a new experience. Challenge your body with different resistance, new exercises and a varied pace.

Remember that anyone can have one great workout, but that won’t get you the body you want. The only way to achieve your goal is by consistently exercising and eating right, plain and simple.

Blocker #7: Your SupportPeople who exercise alone are less challenged, less accountable and are more likely to fail. It makes sense. Who would rush to the gym if no one is was waiting for them? Who would push themselves if no one was paying attention? Exercising alone is a recipe for disaster.

Find a workout partner who is in better shape than you, or better yet, work with me, your local fitness expert, to guarantee your results.

I am passionate about seeing you achieve results—don’t waste your time, energy and effort on mistakes.

When you start a program with me, you suddenly have the upper hand on weight loss. I’ll be in your corner, coaching you each step of the way, keeping you accountable to workouts and giving you that dose of encouragement when you need it most.

Get serious about your results and begin the last weight loss program that you’ll ever do.Call or email today to schedule your first workout. You’ll find my contact info in this newsletter.

Write & Review

You could be making a valiant effort to lose weight, but if you eat too much each day then the number on your scale will not budge. Even if you think that you’re limiting calories, you won’t know unless you do a little research.Get a small notebook to carry with you and jot down everything you eat for an entire week. Be sure to include the exact amount that you eat of each food item. At the end of the week do a tally of each day, and then figure out how many calories you eat on an average day.Review your daily entries for items that are filled with empty calories – like cookies, candy or soda pop. These should be the first things that you cut out of your diet as you transform your body.

Guilt-Free Kale Chip Snack

Salty, crunchy snack foods are a weakness for most people. Instead of eating chips or popcorn or crackers, which quickly add up in unwanted pounds, make a batch of these delicious, crunchy kale chips. Kale chips are low in carbs and make a delicious crunchy snack.Servings: 5Here’s what you need…

1 bunch kale, washed and torn, stems discarded

1 Tablespoon olive oil

dash of salt and pepper

Preheat oven to 300 degrees F.

In a large bowl mix the kale pieces with all of the ingredients.

Spread evenly on foil-lined baking sheets.

Bake for 12 minutes, watching closely that they do not burn. Remove from oven when crispy.

Nutritional Analysis: 51 calories, 3g fat, 68mg sodium, 5g carbohydrate, 1g fiber, 2g proteinMotivate your friends, family and co-workers! Forward this newsletter and subscribe your friends.

Watch Out for This Snack Trap�

We’ve all heard that snacking is great for the metabolism…but have you taken it too far?

In other words, your excessive snacking may be killing your fat loss results.

Let’s face it, there are only so many extra calories that the body can take before it adds those on as unwanted fat.

Even if you’re eating perfectly healthy meals and putting in your time at the gym, if your snacking is out of control then your results will be disappointing.

Here’s what you need to know to avoid The Snack Trap:

1. Calories Count. Even when you’re snacking on “healthy” food, you’ve got to keep track of how many calories that you’re taking in. Almonds are healthy, but if you down 800 extra calories in them you’ll quickly gain weight.

2. Fill Up on Protein & Fat. A lot of well-meaning people are still afraid of fat. They think that if their snack is high in fat then it will end up on their body as fat. This is simply not true. Healthy fat, such as avocado or almonds, is a wonderful thing to snack on as it fills you up and keeps you full longer.

3. Avoid Sugar Calories. Sugar is an awful thing to snack on when weight loss is your goal. Refined sugar is a catalyst for fat storage, so avoid any snack that contains sugar. Remember that eating sugar will satiate your hunger for a very short period of time, and then you’ll quickly be hungry again.

4. Don’t Be Fooled By 100-Calorie Packs. A popular marketing technique is to package junk food into 100-calorie packs. These could be crackers, cookies, chips…basically any guilty snack food you could think of. The premise is that since you’re only eating 100 calories, the snack is healthy. I’m sorry, folks, but eating 100 calories of junk food is not a healthy snack. You are better off avoiding the junk completely and eating something wholesome.

5. Use The ‘Is It Real’ Test. As a rule of thumb, you should use the “Is it real?” test when deciding if a snack is worth eating. The test goes like this: If your snack can go bad, then it’s good for you. If your snack can’t go bad, then it’s bad for you. The idea is to eat fresh, real foods that are unprocessed and wholesome. These real foods are naturally filled with fiber, vitamins, and minerals and will assist you in achieving your fitness goals.

6. Avoid Refined Carbohydrates. Processed and refined carbohydrates make up the bulk of popular snack foods. Take a look around the snack aisle at the grocery store and you will see that most packaged snacks are made with grains. When your goal is to lose weight and increase lean muscle then eating refined grains will work against you. If you only take one tip away from this article, let it be to remove grain-based snacks from your life. This single change could very well recharge your weight loss.

Now you know how to snack in a healthy way that will not derail your fitness goals.

Remember that exercise plays a huge part in getting in shape and losing weight.

Call or email me today to get started on a results-driven exercise program! I look forward to hearing from you!

5 Fitness Snacks

Hard Boiled Egg and Sliced Veggies.

Sliced Apple and Almond Butter.

Natural, Low Sodium Jerky.

Seasonal Berries and 1/4 cup of Almonds.

A scoop of Creamy Egg Salad. See recipe below.

Creamy Egg Salad

Most recipes for egg salad call for fat-filled mayonnaise, but this recipe uses fat free Greek yogurt instead. You get all the creaminess without added calories to set back your results.

Servings: 3

Here’s what you need…

8 eggs

4 celery stalks, chopped

2 Tablespoons onion greens, chopped

¼ cup non fat Greek yogurt

2 teaspoons dijoin mustard

1 teaspoon fresh squeezed lemon

dash of salt and pepper

To boil the perfect egg: place eggs in a large pot and cover with cold water by half an inch. Heat the water to a boil, turn off the heat and cover the pot. Wait exactly 7 minutes, and then place the eggs in a bowl of ice water for 3 minutes.

Peel and chop hard boiled eggs, discarding 4 yolks. Place in a large bowl. Add celery, onion greens, yogurt, mustard, lemon, salt and pepper. Mix well.

Chill and then serve.

Nutritional Analysis: One serving equals: 148 calories, 7 fat, 212mg sodium, 4g carbohydrate, 1g fiber, and 16g protein.

Motivate your friends, family and co-workers! Use the “refer a friend” link below to forward this newsletter and subscribe your friends.

7 Reasons to Hit the Gym in the AM

For a rare few, mornings are the best time of the day. The birds are chirping, the sun is rising, and this the new day is invigorating. For the rest of the world, however, pushing out of bed and into the world of consciousness is no easy task. However, if you’ve wanted to take your lifestyle to the next level of healthiness, the snooze button needs to go.

Wondering why you should kick your snooze button to the curb and get to the gym first thing in the morning? Here are 7 solid reasons…

Reason #1 To Hit The Gym in the AM: You’re in a Healthy Headspace

When the first thing you do with your day is exercise, it does something to your mental state. Instead of thoughtlessly taking a bite of high-carb, high-sugar, low-energy food during the day, you’re very conscious about what you put into your body. After all, you woke up early to get this body in tip-top shape. No reason to waste your early-morning routine. On top of better food choices, you’re more likely to find opportunities to take a quick walk during the day when you start your day out right.

Reason #2 To Hit The Gym in the AM: You’ll Need Less Caffeine

Feel like you spend most of your day traveling from your desk to the coffee machine? Get up earlier and work out and watch your need for liquid energy decrease. Sure, you may still enjoy a cup or two—you may even need a cup on the way to the gym, but hitting the gym early in the morning will give you an added boost of energy and mental clarity without caffeine.

Reason #3 To Hit The Gym in the AM: You’ll Have Privacy

Spend much time working out at lunchtime, and you know how frustrating it is to wait around for a weight machine or treadmill. Want to use every minute in the gym to push your body to its limit? Then stop waiting for the bench by getting in when everyone else is fast asleep. As an added perk, you won’t have to avoid that guy who always wants to talk when you’re trying to focus on your next rep. He’ll be in dreamland, far away from the gym.

Reason #4 To Hit The Gym in the AM: You’re Ready for Work

On top of being more health-minded, you’ll find yourself feeling more confident after an early-morning workout. Big client flying in for a meeting? No problem. You just conquered a pre-dawn workout, showered all your sweat off, and ate a healthy, protein-rich breakfast. That little meeting is no problem, so bring it on!

Reason #5 To Hit The Gym in the AM: Nighttime Is Your Time

When Friday rolls around, your family and friends aren’t always understanding of your workout routines. They beg and they plead with you to skip your workout (just this once!) so you can join them for a party or a night on the town. Eventually, you’re guilted into doing as they wish. Put together enough of those non-exercise evenings and your commitment is in trouble. Hit the gym early in the morning, on the other hand, and you can have your workout and be social in the evenings, too!

Reason #6 To Hit The Gym in the AM: You’ll Stick with It

Nighttime fun isn’t the only reason you skip exercise. In fact, more often than not, a late night at the office or taking the kids to soccer practice does in your routine. So if you want to meet your goals in the gym, get started on your routine in the morning, before your day gets started.

Reason #7 To Hit The Gym in the AM: Your Body Thanks You

There are a lot of things that have to go right in your body to feel well and perform at your peak. You can help regulate a number of these processes by waking up at the same time each day and working out early. In fact, even if you’re not a morning person right now, within a few weeks of exercising in the morning, you will likely find yourself waking up earlier and feeling energized every day of the week, which enables you to do well at the gym or—on your off days, have fruitful mornings even away from the gym.

Call or email me today to find out what morning times I have available – let’s get you into the best shape of your life together!

Don’t Forget Energy

On top of all these perks to early morning exercise, one of the biggest is that it jumpstarts your energy. Exercise early and you can enjoy a rise in your metabolism, energy, and fat burning that will last until your lunch hour and beyond!

Easy Gluten-Free Pancakes

his recipe is a wonderful option for a weekend breakfast – it’s healthy, delicious and ready in 20 minutes. These pancakes are gluten-free and are lower in carbs and sugar than pancakes made from a packaged mix. Serve with a side of eggs and fresh fruit.

Yield: 10 pancakes

Here’s what you need…

1 mashed banana

2 eggs

¼ cup coconut sugar

1 Tablespoon vanilla extract

¼ teaspoon almond extract

1½ cups blanched almond flour

½ teaspoon baking soda

½ teaspoon sea salt

coconut oil

Combine the mashed banana, eggs, coconut sugar, vanilla and almond extracts in a food processor. Add the flour, soda and salt. Mix well. Let the batter sit for 15 minutes.

Preheat coconut oil on your griddle over medium heat. Ladle pancake batter by ¼ cup onto griddle. When bubbles form, flip the pancakes to cook other side.

Serve with sliced banana and pure maple syrup. Enjoy!

Nutritional Analysis: One pancake equals: 148 calories, 9g fat, 8g carbohydrate, 3g fiber, and 4g protein.

Should you be Eating That?

There’s no questioning the fact that the foods you eat go far in determining how quickly you’ll meet your fitness goals.

And if you’re eating a number of your meals out at restaurants then you’re going to want to keep reading because the average restaurant meal contains more than 1,200 calories.

Most people have no idea just how fattening restaurant entrées are. In fact, the following information may shock you.

Here, in no particular order, are 5 of the most fattening restaurant dishes along with tips that I’ve included to equip you in making lighter, healthier versions of these dishes at home.

Bad Food #1: Cobb Salad
Cobb salads are loaded with cheese, bacon, egg, and topped with a creamy dressing. Sure, you’re eating a salad, but that salad is likely to contain more calories than a burger.

At-Home Version: Making a lighter Cobb Salad at home is easy and quick. Start with a dark lettuce, like spinach or arugula, to get the most nutritional value. Top it with hard boiled egg whites, baked turkey bacon, light cheese, avocado and drizzle lemon juice and vinegar for dressing. This at-home version has dramatically lower calories while still providing you with a satisfying, tasty dish.

Bad Food #2: Spinach Artichoke Dip
When it comes to appetizers, spinach dip is filled with veggies so its calorie content is often underestimated. Don’t be fooled: just half a cup of this creamy dip will set you back about 350 calories. And if you finish the bowl yourself then you’ve just taken in 1,000 calories in dip alone, not to mention the chips or pita bread you scooped it with.

At-Home Version: That delicious creamy spinach flavor can be recreated at home by using low-fat milk, spinach, some olive oil and a sprinkle of parmesan cheese. A quick Google search for ‘light creamed spinach recipe’ will give you plenty of recipe options that are much lower in fat and calories than the restaurant version.

Bad Food #3: Chicken Tenders
Fried chicken of any kind from a restaurant is going to be loaded with more fat and calories than you’d believe. Even a serving on the kid’s menu will tip the scales at over 800 calories.

At-Home Version: Making faux fried chicken at home is easy and surprisingly delicious. Whip up a few eggs with some Dijon mustard, garlic powder and onion powder. Dip your skinless, boneless chicken tenders in the mixture and then coat with almond flour, thyme, paprika and salt. Bake at 350 degrees F for 35 minutes or until no longer pink, flipping once halfway through. Turn on the broiler for the last couple of minutes to make it nice and crispy.

This at-home version will save you hundreds of calories that would have ended up around your waist.

Bad Food #4: Sliders
Sliders are so small, there’s no harm in enjoying a couple of, right? Wrong. Despite their petite package, enjoy a couple sliders and you’ll have taken in more than 1,000 calories.

At-Home Version: The biggest problems with the restaurant slider are its fatty meat content and the refined-carbohydrate bun. So at home you can remedy these two issues. 1) Use lean, ground turkey to create petite patties. Use your grill pan to cook them with minimal oil. 2) Instead of the carbohydrate-filled bun, use large pieces of butter lettuce to wrap around your patties. Add sliced tomato, low fat cheese and grilled onion and secure the whole thing with a toothpick. These at-home sliders are guilt-free!

Bad Food #5: Pasta
Eating a pasta-based dish at a restaurant is weight-loss su***de. There’s no way to escape all those carbohydrate calories unscathed. The 1,000+ calories found in the noodles will quickly end up stored on your body as fat.

At-Home Version: There are two really easy and guilt-free ways to mimic pasta noodles at home. 1) Bake a spaghetti squash until tender, then scoop out the soft, angel hair-like strands and top with your healthy pasta sauce. 2) Using a vegetable peeler, create long strips of zucchini and top with your healthy pasta sauce.

Cooking more of your meals at home, using the tips above, will save you many hidden calories and goes hand-in-hand with regular, challenging workouts in seeing you to your fitness goal,

Call or email today and I will schedule a time to meet with you one-on-one to strategize the quickest and most effective route to getting you to your fitness goals.

Give Your Entrée a Makeover

We all have our favorite things to order when we eat out or get take-out. As you’ve seen above, these items can be made at home, in a much healthier way.

This is cool because it allows you to eat the same foods that you love, while losing weight and getting closer to your fitness goals.

It’s easier than you think. Make a list of your top 5 restaurant entrees and go online to search for healthier ways to cook them.

Herb Chicken, Arugula and Mango Salad

This recipe takes the concept of chicken salad to a whole new level. There is so much going on in the flavor department like sweet mango, savory chicken, tender asparagus, and tangy arugula.

Servings: 4

Here’s what you need…

For the Herb marinade:

Juice from 1 lemon

1 teaspoon olive oil

1 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon dried basil

1 teaspoon crushed rosemary

½ teaspoon garlic powder

½ teaspoon sweet paprika

½ teaspoon black pepper

½ teaspoon dried thyme

¼ teaspoon celery seeds

¼ teaspoon dried parsley

⅛ teaspoon ground cumin

For the Salad:

1 lb skinless, boneless, thin chicken breasts

1 bunch asparagus, ends trimmed and cut into 1 inch pieces

8 cups organic arugula

2 small organic mangoes, peeled and sliced

Combine the herb marinade ingredients in a small bowl. Place 1 Tablespoon of the marinade in a large Ziploc bag with the asparagus pieces, and the rest in another large Ziploc bag with the chicken breasts. Make sure the chicken and asparagus are fully coated with the marinade, and then place in the refrigerator for an hour.

Heat a grill pan and another medium pan. Place the chicken breasts on the grill pan, and cook 4 minutes each side, until there is no longer any pink in the middle. Sauté the asparagus in the medium pan, stirring often while the chicken cooks. Remove both pans from heat.

Once the chicken has cooled, slice each breast into even strips.

In a large bowl combine the arugula and mango slices. Add the cooked asparagus and the chicken. Mix and serve.

Nutritional Analysis: One serving equals: 332 calories, 13g fat, 740mg sodium, 16g carbohydrate, 4g fiber, and 34g protein

Motivate your friends, family and co-workers! Use the “refer a friend” link below to forward this newsletter and subscribe your friends.