Nater's Kabobbers

Think light, summer and healthy for dinner tonight!  Kabobs are so easy, just throw chicken, beef, or shrimp on skewers with your favorite veggies.  My favorite veggies include; any peppers, pineapple, red onion, and squash.  I go for variety and color too ;)

Season to your taste, I like sea salt, black pepper, garlic powder, and tried saffron this last time.  I use metal skewers to cook chicken inside.   If you use wood skewers, soak in water 15 minutes before had so they don't ignite.  Cook on grill with medium grill heat till chicken and shrimp are cooked through, or beef to your specific liking.  

Nater's Summer Salad consists of one fork-scrapped cucumber, three medium tomatoes, about 12 chopped fresh basil leaves, one-third a purple onion, and toss with extra virgin olive  oil, salt, and pepper.  Oil can be substituted with white wine vinegar for a kick! 

Please share on Facebook, Pinterest, Google Plus, and with your friends, I greatly appreciate it!  Serve with a light fresh lemonade with mint... bon appetit mes amis ;)

Nater's Leeky Tomato Penne Perfection

Nater's Leeky Tomato Penne Perfection

This is a brand new repipe that I whipped up yesterday for the first time!  It certainly looks good, but the smell is absolutely awesome and the taste is even better, all the infused garlic, thyme, not to mention the BACON!  Kevin would be proud.  This dish is good enough you'll go footloose... and hang up those Sunday shoes.

Here's what you need if you wanna play:

Pepper & Sea Salt

2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil

4 chopped Garlic cloves

2 tablespoons fresh chopped thyme (1/3 amount if dried)

12 ounces of smoked LEAN bacon (3/4 pound)

Two pints of cherry or grape tomatoes

3 large leeks or 4 medium leeks

1 pound dry whole wheat penne

2 large chicken boobs (breasts)

1/2 White Cooking Wine or chicken stock 

Grated Pecorino Romano cheese, or flakey Parmesan as substitute

Prepare the leeks ahead by cutting off the dark green leafy top and the base with the roots, then halved the leeks lengthwise, and sliced to 1-inch thick pieces.  Washie-wash and dry the leeky leeks.  Good time to wash the towMATERs too.  Then throw on a large pot of water to start boiling for the penne while we start the rest.  

Throw two tablespoons of extra virgin olive oil to a deep medium skillet over medium high heat.  Add the bacon (trimming big chunks of fat) and crisp in oil.  Once bacon is crisp then add the leeks, chopped garlic, thyme, and generous pepper.  If I could save 'Thyme' in a bottle, the first thing that I'd like to do....  is sauté for 5-6 minutes.  

After you have sautéed, then deglaze the pan with the wine (or chicken stock).  Add the tomatoes and cover the pan. Staying on medium high heat, cook the tomatoes until they burst, 10-12 minutes, shaking the pan occasionally.  The tomatoes will burst open in the covered heat, you can gently pop tomatoes if they don't after the 12 minutes.  But don't squish too much, as they will squish more when you stir in pasta and cheese.  Don't make this dish ugly, you know better.  You are what you eat... so make it look sexy.
Generously add sea salt to the boiling water and cook the wheat penne to al dente (slightly firm).  Add a little of the starchy cooking water (quarter cup) to the sauce just before draining the pasta.  Drain, and toss the pasta with the sauce and cheese.  

If you want to add chicken, (as a bodybuilder I eat a lot of chicken boobs), just cook chicken in oven separately while you prepare the entrée.  Keep that protein high!  Drizzle raw chicken with a little extra virgin olive oil and salt and pepper.  Cover with foil and back at 325 degrees for 45 minutes (350 for 30 minutes if you're impatient), then slice and top on pasta!  Slow cooking this way makes it taste like thanksgiving turkey.

Cook 'Nater's Leeky Tomato Penne Perfection' and share it with your friends on Facebook, Twitter, and Google Plus on the links below!  Or share this recipe from my Pinterest account 'NatersAdventure' and I will keep the recipes coming :)   Serves 4, high in protein with added chicken, and good carbs and fats to keep the summer waistline in check!

Nater's Healthy Scanty Shrimp Scampi

Nater's Healthy Scanty Shrimp Scampi

Ahoy!  This recipe takes five measly minutes prep time and scaled back to 4 ingredients, but sure to make a splash!  Summer is around the corner and thusly, so are our scantily-clad swimsuits ;)  I am currently cutting myself and wanted to pass this awesome recipe of mine onto you!  Shrimp is high in protein and naturally low in fat... naturally.  Ariel befriends only those that love to flash their scales and boast low body fat, because darling it's hotter down in thee water – take it from me.  Side note: If you happen to sing like a French chef in the bowels of the ship as you prepare this dish, just know that I'm singing right along with ya – Sacrébleu!!

Above photo is after I plated, the smell is so, dare I say... titillating ;)  I paired my scanty scampi here with pineapple and blackberries for a light lunch.

Here's what you need if you wanna play:

Shrimp, Jumbo or Large (1 Pound)

Italian Dressing Powder (1 packet of dry mix)

Lemon (One yeller one)

Extra Virgin Olive Oil -or- Coconut Oil (1/3 cup, about 5 tablespoons)

Put two tablespoons of oil in the bottom of a small square dish, either 8x8 or 9x9 inch dish.  (Easily double this recipe in a cookie sheet with a lip around edge).  Then add one pound of shrimp, must lay flat in a single layer, as one mustn't stack ones shrimps.  (I buy fresh shrimp and peel and de-vain myself to cut cost, but they're also available frozen ready to go).  DriZZle the other three tablespoons evenly over the shrimp and sprinkle the entire packet of the dry Italian Dressing mix evenly over the shrimp.  If the oil doesn't submerge the bottoms of the shrimp, add up to two tablespoons of water.  (Ursula would suggest you replace the oil with a cube of butter, also delicious).  Then slice and lemon into thin half circles and lay over top, I save 1/3 for garnish.  

Above photo is before baking prior to placing in oven.  I leave tails on so I can eat with my hands, as I don't always have my dinglehopper.  Bake at 350 degrees for 15 minutes and... Voilà!!

Makes two generous mer-folk portions, which I usually eat both, as would King Triton I assure you.   Letting most oil drain, one portion is 240 Calories, 2 grams (healthy) fat, 2 grams carbs, and 31 sexy grams of protein! 

**This recipe is only for some amaze balls shrimp scampi, I paired with some fruit in my pics, but you can top on brown rice or whole wheat linguine noodles, using the remaining sauce in the pan (those calories are sold separately)

Now scroll down and see my other awesome recipes, and follow my blog for more delectable ensembles in the next coming weeks, before I have to nail your fins to de floor!

Nater's Faux Pho Recipe

This is my healthy recipe for Pho, a Vietnamese dish, pronounced "Fuh" ... ya know, like when your headphones are in at the gym and someone sneaks up and scares you and you scream "FU...!!"  Realizing where you are before you finish your near profanity.  WHAT THE PHO?!  The Faux part is of recipe is not because of lack of cultural authenticity, but rather due in part to my blonde hair and blue eyes... I'm obviously not Vietnamese, but still can make some mean pho!  There are many recipes out there, but this is my personal spin on the dish.

This is a super simple recipe, rounding up the ingredients is the only real effort involved.  Don't let the list of ingredients intimidate you, you will have a lot already in your cupboard and I grabbed everything else at Harmon's in less than 10 minutes.  Every time I cook I am either cooking so that I can eat the meal a few days, or am cooking for friends and family.  As long as I'm going to the effort, might as well make it worth my while.

Here what you'll need if ya wanna play:

4 Large Chicken Breasts

4 Cans of Low Sodium Chicken Broth (14oz)

3 Cups Bean Sprouts

2 Garlic Cloves

3 oz of Fresh Ginger Root, size of two fingers roughly

1 Lime

1 Sweet Onion (Yellow)

2 Jalapenos

Small bundle of Green Onion

Small bundle of fresh Mint

Small bundle of fresh Basil

1/8 Cup Sriracha (Hot Chili Sauce)

1/4 Cup low sodium Soy Sauce

1 tsp Ground Cloves

1 tbs Granulated Sugar

Fresh Cracked Pepper

1 package of Rice Noodles

The first step is to cook the chicken.  I buy huge bags of frozen Costco chicken as a staple, so the lazy way is to throw the four large frozen chicken breasts into a crock pot with one can of broth and one can of water.  Slow cooking them lets you shred the chicken much easier.  If not you can boil the chicken and cut it up after it is fully cooked, but I recommend the crotch pot... I mean crock.

Once the chicken is cooked in the crock pot, pull out the chicken to cool.  Keep the liquid, strain it, and add it to a large pot.  Then in the large pot add the other three cans of broth with one more can full of water.  Then turn to high heat and boil the hell out of it.  

Start another pot of boiling water for the rice noodles.  

While the broth is reaching boil chop the yellow onion in half, laying the center down and then cut long ways.  Throw em in the pot!  Then chop the two jalapenos so you have round nickel size pieces.  Throw em in the pot!  Smash and mince the two garlic gloves, and cut the skin off the ginger root, smash and mince as well.  Throw em in the pot!  Chop the green onion bundle, and all the basil leaves and most the mint leaves.  Throw em in the pot!  Rinse the bean sprouts.  Throw em in the pot!  Juice one lime, measure out 1/8 cup of sriracha, 1/4 cup soy sauce, 1tps ground cloves, 1 tbs sugar, and a pinch of pepper.  Throw it in the pot!  Let the concoction boil for a few minutes and then take to low heat to simmer for about fifteen minutes.  Shred the chicken, (two furious forks usually do the trick for me) and add it in.  What the pho?!  You're almost there.

While the brew simmers, add the rice noodles to boiling water and let cook for 8-10 minutes.  Keep gently stirring the noodles, as well as the pot of pho.  After ten minutes take the rice noodles off the heat, strain, and stop the cooking process with running cold water over them in the strainer.  

The pho brew should be smelling pretty awesome, and cooked down a little bit by now.  You can at this point add the noodles to the pho, but I strongly recommend adding them to your bowl separately.  I fill the bowl about 1/3 the way with the rice noodles, and then ladle the piping hot pho over them.  You can garnish with a sprig of the mint or basil, and serve with extra sriracha on the side... because as Marilyn once stated - 'Some like it HOT!'

This recipe is healthy as it it largely based around protein and vegetables, as long as you go with low sodium soy sauce and chicken broth and don't go crazy on the rice noodles you will will be on track!  Enjoy.

Nater's Not-So-Devilish Eggs

When I am in 'healthy mode' I eat so many chicken breasts and egg whites that I swear I wake up clucking in my sleep!  It's suppose to be REM cycle, not a HEN cycle.  There are lots of healthy chicken respires out there, namely 'Nate's Passive Aggressive Portobello Chicken,' but I get bored of the egg whites.  I have fewer egg white solutions, and let's face it my A.D.D. kicks in and then I want to kick a chick, or pound some poultry eventually...  

You better have these goods if you wanna play:

You need Large eggs

FAT-FREE cottage cheese

Yellow Mustard

Paprika 

Here's is a scrumptious quick solutions for egg whites, with less than one carb, 7.3 grams protein, and ZERO fat per egg!  Throw how ever many eggs you want into already boiling water - don't break them all as this is egg boiling 101, not egg drop soup people.  Fifteen minutes at boil is my perfectly poached protein poultry plan for you.  Let cool as you be cool.  Slice longways, and discard yolks.  Yes, throw them away and your cholesterol, calorie count, and myself will thank you, kthxbye.  For every one egg, mix one teaspoon of plain yellow mustard, two tablespoons of FAT-FREE cottage cheese (Smith/Kroger has a green and white cottage cheese that is a staple in my fridge), fill the halved egg whites with the yellow concoction, and garnish with Paprika (or fresh crack black pepper if you find yourself without).  Call them hor d'oeuvres, and eat them while wearing your pearls and favorite sweater set or khakis and pastel polo... and get yo CLUCK on!!

Per Egg (Two halves) :

Fat Zero 

Protein 7.3 grams

Carbs  >1

Nater's Snappy Red-Snapper Curry

Nater's Snappy Red-Snapper Curry

Summer is swiftly encroaching upon us despite any reluctantness to sport those tiny bikinis and euro trunks!  But... This is SPARTA!!  Wait, where are we?!  Sparta.  The Spartan / Grecian God diet can be nummy as well as good for you, and wether or not you choose to dawn a red cloak, shield, and sword with your suit is completely optional.  I'm pretty sure on Mount Olympus they serve Nater's Snappy Red-Snapper Curry...  It's a fast snappy fix, only bout 25 minutes total! 

So here's whatcha gotta get:

Red Snapper Fillets (Two)

Shiitake or Cremini Mushrooms (1 Cup) 

Bok Choy (One bundle)

Lime (One)

Red Curry Paste (1 Tablespoon, Paste kids not Sauce)

LIGHT Coconut Milk (1 Cup, yes I said LIGHT)

Brown Sugar (1/2 Tablespoon)

Canola Oil (1 Tsp)

Salt n' Peppa to taste

I found all the ingredients at Smith's, but anywhere should have them.  The red curry paste and LIGHT coconut milk are in the Asian section.  Smith's doesn't have shiitake mushroom (which I love) and this last time I made it I didn't have time to drive to Whole Foods, so I substituted cremini mushrooms.  My TexAss amigos can find these at Central Market, and the Californians can find at Trader Joe's.  I doubled this recipe the last time as 'fed friends are happy friends.'

In a lil saucy pan, throw in the coconut milk, brown sug, and red curry paste.  Wisk baby, wisk!  Cook over low heat until it slightly thickens for about 10 minutes, then add half the lime juice.  I roll the lime on the counter firmly to get it all squishy and juicy first.  Save the other half, don't go putting in yo margarita!  I let this simmer on low until I need it again, it tastes better after it thickens up.

Chop the BOK CHOY!!  Yes, I love to yell that out.  THIS IS SPARTA!!  Chop, chop, chop the bok choy into bite-size pieces with yo sword and boil them until slightly tender, but still firm, about five minutes.  Drain.

Heat the oil in a sauté pan.  Salt n peppa the fillets laying them skin side down in the pan, remember go easy on the salt and SEA salt is better for you.  SEA, as in body of water, where you find fish, namely a red snapper.  Cook about 5 minutes, until skin is golden.  Flip and cook about 3 more minutes, until the fish flakes with gentle prodding with your Spartan trident. 

Remove Nemo's cousins from the fry pan and immediately add the bok choy, remaining lime juice, and mushrooms (Missy & Steve you should substitute canned water chestnuts here, and Jennifer we can add extra mushrooms, haha).  Cook for about 4 minutes.  I recommend straining the veggies again, as to not compete with the curry sauce.  Divide the veggies between two plates, place a fillet on top of each, and De-Rizzle the simmering curry sauce around or on the fish.  Take a photo, and enjoy.  Leonidas would be proud!

Only 390 Calories, 23 grams Carbs, 14 grams Fat, 45 grams Protein - Your welcome Spartans!

 

Diet & Exercise Tips for this Monster Monday

Two tips, tricks, tidbits... what have you.  

So healthy food doesn't have to be so horrible.  Almost everyone loves Ranch dressing aka 'white trash gravy.'  "Healthy" people have great intentions with salads and veggies but then kill those good intentions with salad dressing.  Regular salad dressing is horrible for you as it is dense in calories and fat, and I'm not even going recommend "fat free" that tastes curdled moldy and been in direct sun all day dressing.  (Although Fat Free Kraft Catalina tastes just like the regular one).  Some times I'll just squeeze a few lemons on my salad and it tastes great, no added calories OR guilt.  But your diet tip of the day is to buy Fat Free Cottage Cheese and a packet of ranch seasoning powder, carefully sprinkle it in and stuurr-it-up until you reach your desired taste - careful kids a little goes a long way!  Fat free cottage cheese is a good source of protein and only 70 calories per half cup.  Use it on your salad, or I love it with sliced bell peppers, celery, broccoli, carrots, or on thick slices of tomato with basil and fresh cracked pepper.

Cardio can be a real drag, but its essential when our diets are less than perfect.  It's also a great way to get our heart rates up and get into a fat burning mode.  When I first started my cardio I hated it, dreading those 'steps to nowhere.'  Now I love cardio (I know right?) and actually have to limit my cardio since I am trying to get weight and mass at this stage.  We all know music makes the time go by faster on the treadmill and elliptical, but we've known that since our seven favorite seven dwarfs sung to us 'Whistle while you Work...out?'  Here's my tip, most us of have smart phones nowadays and I advise you charge up your iTunes account and download music videos with strong beats or put a YouTube or Vevo app on your phone.  Videos give us something to watch AND listen to, faster beats make for keeping our tempo and spirits up, wickie-wickie-REMIX!  My problem is I get the occasional over the shoulder glance and smile from other gym patrons, then I realized "Oh-ma hell, I've been singing out loud... AGAIN."  For those of us with the A.D.D. lifestyle not only listening to the music, but watchin the videos keeps our eyes off the time, which at times seem like a soviet missile countdown... Huston there is no problem here.  Also, after setting your cardio timer on the machine try throwing a small gym towel over the digital clock so that you aren't tempted to watch the clock in misery.  Its good to mix up cardio, running outside (weather permitting), treadmill, elliptical, or bike.  To be honest I don't do the bike unless its a spin class, bikes are 'casual cardio' for me otherwise.  I love to run but get shin splints, (if you get shin splints tape around your arches and they will go away) and unless I remember to tape my high arches I just do the elliptical with a fast paced level 14, for at least 45 minutes. 

I leave you with these words as I have shenanigans with my name on them to attend to!

Be good,

Nater