Ingredients:

• 1 (14.5 ounce) can diced tomatoes
• 3 stalks celery, chopped
• 1 teaspoon dried oregano
• 1 teaspoon dried basil
• salt and pepper to taste
• 1/2 pound frozen cod fillets

Cooking Instructions:

1. In a medium sized stock pot place undrained tomatoes, celery, oregano, basil, salt and pepper. Bring to a boil over medium heat.
2. Place frozen fish filets in pot. Reduce heat and cook for 10 to 15 minutes. Cook until mixture is heated through and fish is opaque and flaky. Thin with a little water if desired.

Serving Size: 4

Nutritional Information per Serving:
Calories: 73

Total Fat: 0.5 g

Cholesterol: 24 mg

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These five helpful weight loss tips will get you going on the right track. Some might surprise you actually. Most people think that avoiding calories, barely eating, and just working out 24/7 will do the trick, but that is the wrong way to go. The key is to eat healthy, and not necessarily avoid calories, just avoid the unhealthy ones and stick with eating healthy calories. Following these simple tips, along with maintaining a decent and scheduled workout throughout the week will keep your waist slim and fit.

1. You don’t need to avoid all calories. Avoiding all calories will actually make you gain weight a lot faster after you’re done dieting. Avoid eating foods and drinks that are calorically dense and wont necessarily fill you up, like desserts and mixed drinks with multiple liquors and sweetened mixers. Your body needs calories to help give it energy and keep your metabolism moving.
2. When running, run hungry. Waking up and doing cardio in the morning helps to burn more fat. When you run out of stored carbs, your body begins to burn body fat to create energy.
3. So you’ve got the muscles now, but what is the key to keeping them toned? Besides doing a work out at least three times a week, eating healthy keeps those muscles toned and tight. Eating right and your muscles wont let you down!
4. An apple a day does really help. All the nutrition packed in that rounded fruit helps speed up your metabolism and gives you enough energy to keep you going through the day. Speeding up your metabolism will help you digest all the other food you eat and improve you body’s ability to burn fat.
5. Eat every three hours. Not huge meals, but snacking healthy every three hours keeps your metabolism working, blood sugar levels stable, and this allows your body to remain in a hormonal state that allows fat release all day long!

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Ingredients:

• 1 teaspoon paprika
• 1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
• 1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper
• 1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper
• 1/2 teaspoon rubbed dried sage leaves
• 1/2 teaspoon garlic salt
• 1 1/2 teaspoons extra-virgin olive oil
• 4 center cut pork chops

Cooking Instructions:

1. Mix paprika, cumin, black pepper, cayenne pepper, sage, and garlic salt on a plate. Liberally coat each pork chop with the spice mixture.
2. Heat olive oil and several pumps of non-stick, butter-flavored spray in a large skillet over high heat. Place pork chops in the skillet, reducing heat to medium. Cook until the pork is no longer pink in the center, 8 to 10 minutes. An instant-read thermometer inserted into the center should read 160 degrees F (70 degrees C).

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Serving Size: 4

Calories: 184

Total Fat: 5.6 g

Cholesterol: 19 mg

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In a rush but need a snack? Well, put down those lays chips and candy bar and eat those fruits and veggies that taste good while on the run while taking the kids to school or off to work. It’s important to trade in those salty crackers for a crunchy carrot or juicy pear because over 90% of adults and children don’t get the recommended amount of fruits and vegetables, and we don’t want you to be in that statistic! Below are some tricks to allow eating fruits and veggies as easy to grab and taste just as great while in a hurry and on the run.

1. Buy easy-to-pack fruits. Oranges & apples are on the top of the easy-to-pack fruit! The night before or even a few days before when you have free time, cut up the fruit and place in the bag. Keeping them in the fridge will keep them from going bad and on the go, just grab and snack!
2. Dried fruit is just as good! Just look at the package to make sure it’s just fruit and not covered in sugar and artificial flavors. Whether it’s dried, frozen, juiced, or fresh, fruit is fruit and all counts toward the daily recommended amount! These also come in bags so they are ready super easy to grab and go!
3. Keep cut up fruit in the freezer! Frozen fruit taste just as good. Having frozen peaches in your freezer for your on the go snack is sweet, cold, and refreshing, especially during those hot summer days.
4. Make a smoothie! Make a smoothie the night before the morning you have to get up early and head off into the busy world. Using fresh fruit, low fat yogurt and ice and keeping it in the fridge will make the next morning less stressful knowing you have a healthy, drinkable breakfast!
5. Use Vegetables on the salad. A trick in getting your veggies is by adding them to your sandwiches when ordering them at lunch time or even drinking V8 & V8 splash. Hiding veggies makes it easier to get down those greens your not a big fan off.

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Ingredients:

• 2 tablespoons vegetable oil
• 2 cups cubed fresh pumpkin
• 1/2 cup vegetable stock
• 1 tablespoon ground cumin
• salt and ground black pepper to taste
• 12 flour or corn tortillas, warmed
• 3/4 cup diced fresh tomato
• 1/2 cup diced onion
• 1/2 cup diced ripe avocado
• 3 tablespoons chopped fresh cilantro

Cooking Instructions:
1.Heat the oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Cook the pumpkin in the heated oil 2 to 3 minutes. Stir in the vegetable stock, cumin, salt, and pepper. Cook until the pumpkin cubes are easily pierced through with a fork, 5 to 7 minutes. Fill warm tortillas with pumpkin; top with tomato, onion, avocado, and cilantro as desired.

Serving Size: 12

Nutritional Information per Serving:

Calories 100

Total Fat: 4.1 g

Cholesterol: 0 mg

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Tired of feeling gross and lazy on your day off? These four tips will help make you feel energized and feeling good by the time your next work out begins. SImple steps like these will keep you relaxed on your day off but keep you moving a little to help drain out all that lactic acid that was built up the previous day on your gut busting work out.

1. Get a Good Night’s Sleep. Getting a goodnight’s rest helps reenergize your body and helps prevent your from getting ill as well. A goodnights sleep is anywhere between 6 to 8 hours.
2. Play Outside. Sounds like something a little kid would say, but it’s true. Playing outside makes you feel good because it’s fun and your outside enjoying the great weather. From frisby, to football, to golf to basketball, there are plenty of fun things you can do with friends and family that create memories but also help kick off those calories on your day off without even knowing it. Sitting around on the couch makes you feel like a couch potato, this makes you feel happy and energized.
3. Juice Up! Not like it sounds with steroids, but drinking a cup of orange juice a day helps add vitamins to your body that helps your metabolism but also makes you feel energized to get through the day.
4. Do an easy workout on your day off. Whether it be yoga, a walk around the block, or basketball with the kids, doing a quick and easy workout helps drain out the lactic acid that makes your muscles hurt. Do something instead of just sitting on the couch because you’ll be more sore the next day if you don’t.

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Ingredients:

• 6 large fresh peaches
• 2/3 cup white sugar
• 2 tablespoons unsalted butter
• 1 cup all-purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1 tablespoon canola oil
• 1 egg
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1 teaspoon almond extract
• 1/2 cup lowfat buttermilk

Cooking Instructions:

• 1.Preheat the oven to 375 degrees. Bring a large saucepan of water to a boil.
• Score the stem end of each peach and place the peaches in the boiling water. Boil for about 1 minute, or until the skins soften. Transfer to a bowl of cold water to cool, then peel, halve and pit the peaches.
• In a 9-inch cast-iron skillet, combine 1/3 cup of the sugar with 1 tablespoon of the butter. Cook over medium heat for 3 to 5 minutes, or until the sugar begins to melt. Add the peaches to the skillet, cut-side up, in one layer (the fruit should fit tightly). Remove the pan from the heat and set aside.
• In a medium bowl, combine the flour, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon and salt; set aside.
• In a large bowl, with an electric mixer at medium speed, beat the remaining 1/3 cup sugar and 1 tablespoon butter with the oil until combined. Add the egg, beating until smooth, then beat in the vanilla and almond extract. With the mixer at low speed, add the buttermilk and the reserved flour mixture, beating until just incorporated.
• Spoon the batter evenly over the peaches in the skillet, place the skillet in the oven and bake, uncovered, at 375 degrees F (190 degrees C), for 20 to 25 minutes, or until a cake tester inserted into the center of the cake comes out clean.
• Transfer the skillet to a wire rack to cool for 3 to 4 minutes. Loosen the edges of the cake with a knife. Invert the cake onto a serving plate. If any of the peaches stick to the skillet, remove them with a knife and replace them on the cake

Serving Size: 6

Nutritional Information per Serving:

Calories 121

Total Fat: 3.7 g

Cholesterol: 23 mg

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Stretching may seem silly and a waste for part of your work out, but it means a lot and can help save you from injury. If you stretch at least 5 times a week for at least ten minutes, it will keep you safe from injury and flexible longer. As people get older, peoples muscles get shorter and tighter, just waiting to snap. Keeping stretched and flexible will keep you in motion longer and keep you working for that goal to stay fit and healthy for your life. These three tips below shows how important stretching is to the every day person.

1. Stretching before and after exercise! Even if you do nothing for a day, stretching for at least 10 minutes helps prepare you for the next work out and eliminates soreness to help you keep going to burn more calories at your next work out.
2. Beware of cold starts! By not stretching can cause injury. 20 years and older, muscles begin to shorten and tighten, causing stress when you use them. Stretching them keeps them flexible and able to continue your workout plan without injury.
3. Breathe! As silly as it sounds, when stretching, people forget to breathe. It is very important to because it helps relax your body and keeps you built and flexible and ready for the next thing to come.

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Ingredients:

• 1 pound lean ground beef
• 1/4 cup plain dry bread crumbs
• 1 egg, beaten
• 3 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 (16 ounce) jar Pace® Picante Sauce
• 1/3 cup grape jelly
• 1 tablespoon fresh thyme leaves

Cooking Instructions:

1. Heat the oven to 375 degrees F. Line a rimmed baking sheet with aluminum foil.
2. Thoroughly mix the beef, bread crumbs, egg, garlic and 1/4 cup picante sauce in a large bowl. Shape the mixture firmly into 40 (1-inch) meatballs. Place the meatballs onto the baking sheet.
3. Bake for 15 minutes or until the meatballs are cooked through, turning them over once halfway through the bake time.
4. Heat the remaining picante sauce and jelly in a 12-inch skillet over medium-high heat to a boil. Reduce the heat to low. Cook for 15 minutes or until the mixture is reduced to 1 cup. Stir in the thyme, if desired. Add the meatballs to the skillet and cook until the meatballs are hot, stirring occasionally. Serve the meatballs on toothpicks.

Serving Size: 20

Calories: 75

Total Fat: 3.1 g

Cholesterol: 26 mg

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Need a reason to exercise? Well how about it fights off a ton of diseases that can cause lots of harm and even shorten your life span. 64% of men and 72% of women fail to fit in activity into their weekly schedule and that is why there are so many diseases that have come about. With the invention and increase of fast food and unhealthy food and the decrease in people exercising, it seems like someone you know or more have a disease. Well Exercise changes that. They fight these unwanted viruses and keep your immune system fighting whatever is not wanted in that wonderful body of yours.

1. Heart Disease. Regular activity strengthens your heart muscle, lowers blood pressure, increase HDLS (the good cholesterol) and lowers LDLs (the bad cholesterol). Remember, the heart is a muscle and needs a workout too!
2. Stroke. Researchers found that being active reduces your risk of having and dying from a stroke. A study showed in the magazine “Stroke” that people who exercise had 20% less risk of stroke than the ones who were less active.
3. Type II Diabetes. The US is the number one leader in this category of the amount of citizens with this type of diabetes. Type II Diabetes has increase by 62% since 1990 and now 17 million Americans have it. Exercise can enhance weight low and help control this condition along with reducing blood pressure and cholesterol levels, which all help cause type II diabetes.
4. Obesity. Overweight and obese conditions can be prevented with exercise and a healthy diet. Doing those two things will help reduce body fat and increase muscle mass, which help improve body’s ability to burn calories. The combination of reduced calories and daily exercise will be the ticket to the weight loss and controlling weight gain.
5. Back Pain. Back pain can be reduced or prevented with a fitness program that involves muscle strengthening and flexibility. Doing both of these will help strengthen your back muscles and reduce that unwanted back pain.

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