Secret to Spaghetti Squash

I've been enjoying spaghetti squash as a good, low carb side item with my tilapia and broccoli. Its a large vegetable, so it goes a long way. My only complaint about it, until recently, was that "it takes too long to cook." However, I shouldn't have been complaining because I would simply cut it open and bake the halves in a little water at 350 degrees for 45minutes while I went and did cardio.

Thanks to a tip from a nice woman in my Monday 7pm Spin class at Meyerland I can now cook it faster and easier (the American way right?). However, this fast food won't clog the arteries and add inches to the waist or hips.

"Enough commentary...share the secret!" you say? Ok, the secret is that we no longer have to wait to eat this dish AND we are using the microwave so we are saving $$ on energy! The secret to this secret is in step #3:

1) Cut the squash in half
2) Scoop out the seeds
3) Cook/microwave the with the meat(insides) down or skin/shell up in a microwavable dish for 15 minutes (a little more if the insides don't easily string apart with a fork)
4) Take a shower while it cooks; optional. (if you are like me you are cooking this as a fast, healthy food option after leaving the gym)
5) Scrape the insides with a fork to create the spaghetti.
6) Add healthy sides or toppings

Spill your secret to great recipes, sides, or toppings that involve spaghetti squash! "Inquiring minds want to know."

If you want a recipe idea that includes this FABULOUS veggie, look under recipes on my website: www.fit2befab.com.



Stay FITABULOUS!

Eating Fit & Fabulous on a Friday Night

"I eat healthy during the week, but something about the weekend throws me off track."

I've heard this common sentiment many times and can personally attest to the phenonena as well. We eat our GRILLED, BAKED (not fried) fish, chicken, and lean beef with veggies and water all week with minimal to no problems. Yet, on Friday at 5pm, maybe earlier for others, all that focus and willpower is left at work on the desk with the "to-do" list that we plan to return to Monday morning.

So what happens? There are a number of answers to this question, but the one I want to focus on is: social eating and drinking. We go out to eat with our friends, family, and spouses and we reach for the comfort foods because in our minds the weekend and socializing says "relax." In this society we are always working hard so we do NEED to relax because we don't want to have heart attacks from stress or binge eating because of overly strict dieting. However, let me encourage you to "relax with consciousness".

Last night I "relaxed with consiousness" on date night with my boyfriend at Chili's. I'll admit there were lots of entrees that appealed to my senses based on the descriptions and pictures(i.e. chili cheese fries). Yet, I was conscious of the fact that:

1)I didn't want to feel guilty afterwards

2)I certainly didn't plan to stay up late or get up early this morning to attempt to burn off the calories.

Thus, I had the Margarita Chicken plate that was described as "tender, juicy chicken breast, marinated with our classic Margarita flavoring and grilled to perfection. Served with rice, black beans, tortilla strips & pico de gallo." Sounds great right? In fact it was! I substituted the rice for steamed broccoli and had the strips and pico on the side because I didn't know how much they would put on there; which wound up being a good serving size of a couple table spoons. I drank tea and refrained from dessert. I ate fit and left feeling fabulous because I wasn't too full and I knew I wasn't going to have to get up this morning and try to hurt myself in my workout like I do many of you in my classes. Haha!

Stay fit and fabuolus on the weekdays AND weekends! Yet, if you get off track or have a hard time staying focused on your health and fitness goals email me at: shouse@staciehouse.net to get fitness training or nutrition coaching. Don't forget to visit www.fit2befab.com for a list of other health and fitness services that I can provide to you or others close to you.

What's on my plate?

It's no secret that I LOVE Mexican food. Houston is a great place for Mexican cuisine lovers because there are tons of good Mexican restaurants, but Mexican restaurants are not always great for the waistline or hips. Therefore, I often strive to mingle the zesty Latin flavors with my the typical healthy basics.



Tonight I didn't feel like cooking so I dipped into my 1 pound of pre-cooked chicken breast from My Fit Foods and microwave steamed some green beans. My fast but fabulous healthy dinner consisted of 40z of chicken breast and 40z of green beans that I embellished with fresh salsa and sprinkles of cumin and chili pepper.



Fab Food Facts about my dinner:


1) The salsa pumped me with lycopene because its made from tomatoes. These carotenoids are being studied for their role in preventing various types of cancer, particularly prostate cancer as well as heart disease prevention.



2) The chili powder was good for my joints. Research shows that capsaicin, found in chili peppers, has an anti-inflammatory effect, which may help ease arthritic swelling and pain.



3) The cumin powder has a list of health benefits that I will share with you later. However, I'm most thankful for its immune-boosting power and digestion advantage. Cumin improves digestion and relieves many common digestive ailments, including flatulence (gas), bloating, diarrhea, nausea and indigestion.



Now who says Mexican food can't be healthy? Maybe the person who has to have the chips and the Margarita. Perhaps, we can make those fit and fabulous too!!!



Be fit & fabulous today and everyday!

What on my Grocery List?

This week I will need:

Egg whites
Steel cut oatmeal
Blueberries
Mahi-Mahi fish
Extra-Lean Ground Turkey Meat
Fresh salsa
Romaine Lettue Hearts
Red bell pepper
Zucchini
Spaghetti squash
Wild rice
Corn tortillas
Lime juice

Stay tuned for what I will do with these ingredients, which will include preparing the Recipe of the Month that you will find at my website: http://www.fit2befab.com/

Let me know if we have the same things in our basket and refrigerator. Share with me what you do with your materials too!

Have a FABULOUS and healthy day and week!

Ginger Chicken(from My Fit Foods) tastes great, is low in calories, how in carbs, and high in fat burning potential!

Nutrition: Hot Cereals for a Hot Body

"Breakfast is the most important meal of the day" health experts, including myself, often say. I love breakfast for both it's metabolism boosting power and the flavor too!

Yogurt, fruit, wheat toast with peanut butter, cottage cheese, and cold cereal with berries are some of the items on my breakfast list. However, I usually(especially during competition season) eat egg whites and hot cereal with some Truvia/Stevia. Check out the differences in the starches/carbs that I eat in the morning to fuel my day.

1/2 cup GRITS - Quaker- uncooked
Caloris: 289
Protein: 7
Carbs: 62
Fat: 1

1/2 cup OATMEAL - Quaker, uncooked
Calories: 140
Protein: 5
Carbs: 26
Fat: 3

1/2 cup CREAM OF RICE
Caloris: 320
Protein: 5.5
Carbs: 71.5
Fat: 0.5

1/2 cup QUINOA
Calories: 313
Protein: 12
Carbs: 54.5
Fat: 5

Sports Nutrition: The Figure/Fitness Competitor & Marathoner

My exicitement about my Figure and Fitness competition victory has settled down to make way for my excitement about training for a 1/2 marathon! I'm not tossing my blingy swim suit and clear stripper shoes yet though. My figure/fitness competition season will last until the September, so I thought doing a 1/2 marathon would be great for my current training regimen and prove to be a great challenge for me afterwards.


I haven't really liked running in the past, but I'm working on improving my mentality and performance. Thus, I've got the motivation, discipline, a pair of running shoes, running shorts, but not the diet...yet. From what I can see and what I've been told the marathoners' diet is quite different that of a fitness or figure competitor.

Event Diet/Nutrition
As a marathoner the energy to perform during the training sessions comes primarily from the glycogen stores in your muscles and blood system. As a fitness/figure competitor we use the same theory to apply to intense weight lifting sessions and, sometimes, frequent or long cardio sessions. This is because the more glycogen you have stored, the better you will perform.



The definition of good performance for these sports, however, are not the same, so the pre-competition diet is different. The runners' goal is to have enough energy to finish the race; to have and maintain physical and mental endurance. Therefore, the runners' typical daily intake or meal is comprised of 25% proteins, 25% fats, and 50% carbohydrates. Whereas, the fitness/figure competitors' goal is to have muscle and be lean on the day of the competition, so the diet is more like 50% protein, 15% fats, and 25% carbohydrates.

As I get more involved in running I will have more to share about it because I'll be learning more, so if you are already a runner please share your thoughts and suggestions.

In the meantime, I'm a figure/fitness competitor that is working on my goal of inspiring you and others while I push myself to be in the best shape and condition of my life.

Let's all be fit & fabulous at whatever we do!

What's a Fitness Competition?

Hello!

At the Branch Warren Classic 2010 that I participated in this past Saturday I was blessed to place 1st in Fitness and 2nd in Figure. That is in addition to being blessed to meet some fit and fabulous women from all over Houston and Texas and having gained some more fit and fabulous friends along the way to the long awaited day.

So now you are asking: "what is a fitness & figure competition?" and "what did you have to do?"

Definition: Fitness and figure competition is a class of physique-exhibition events for women; while bearing a close resemblance to female bodybuilding, it emphasizes muscle tone over muscle size. These competitions are frequently held as part of the same events as bodybuilding contests.

To get my body ready for the competition I, along with other fitness and figure competitors, use the following general strategies to increase muscle tone and decrease our total body size:

• Strength training through weights, plyometrics, or elastic/band resistance
• Specialized nutrition that includes manipulating the daily caloric intake by changing the amounts of protein, carbohydrates, and healthy fats taken in
• Cardiovascular training (cardio) that varies in frequency, duration, and intensity to burn calories eat during the day and body fat.
• Adequate rest, including sleep and recuperation, between workouts
• Proper water intake because it is very important to stay hydrated before, during, and after workouts since the workouts are longer, more frequent, or more intense than usual.

To see pictures of what the strategies listed above did for me go to my website: www.fit2befab.com

I'll be competing again August 14th in Dallas at the Europa Supershow, so stay connected to my blog to see what I'm eating, how I'm working out, and to hear my healthy (sometimes wacky) thoughts.

Remember you are Fit 2 Be Fabulous!

Wisdom on Health

"The only way to keep you health is to eat what you don't want, drink, what you don't like, and do what you'd rather not." ~Mark Twain





To all who are fighting and striving to start or maintain a healthier life: you are not alone. I'm striving to be an IFBB Fitness or Figure Pro, and I'm eating, drinking, and doing things I'd rather not. You say "Stacie you are already a health nut, what more are you doing?"



I am:


1) Drinking water without added flavor (i.e. Crystal Light)


2) I'm eating fish for breakfast


3) I'm at the gym doing cardio before and after my aerobics classes when most people are sleep or comfortably enjoying something at home. (Above is a picture of 24 Hour Fitness Supersport in Houston at midnight on a weeknight from a stair mill looking down on other champions or insomniacs)


4) I am running when I would rather be on the stair mill or on the elliptical


5) I trading trips to a restaurant for their healthy dish for trips to the grocery store so that I can ensure that my food doesn't have additives by cooking it myself; sometimes at midnight when I'd rather be sleep.

Keep working. We are all Fit 2 Be Fabulous...whatever our sport or goal.

4 Ways to Be Healthy for the 4th of July

Fourth of July typically means and brings differenct things for different people. For most people this day means being thankful for the hard-earned freedom that we enjoy. This holiday also means celebrating life with friends and family by watching fireworks and socializing. Sometimes the celebrating and socializing brings overeating and overdrinking, so use these tips to prevent 4th of July Weight Gain.

1) Drink plenty of water. If your hand always has a water bottle in it or if your stomach is full of water then neither will have a chance to indulge in too much soda or alcoholic beverages.

2) Stay active. If your friends or family are looking for fun while you wait for the firework display opt to play games like volleyball, kickball, or softball. Perhaps, go to the park or go swimming. Plus, if you are too busy having fun you are less likely to sit down and have a heavy meal.

3) Snack. Eating numerous small proportioned foods/meals will contribute to both proper eating habits, as well as, your energy level so that you can enjoy the day and weekend. Large meals, especially with beef, may cause you to feel heavy and bloated. Indulging in too much sugar and alcohol will also slow you down or put you down (i.e. sleep) before you get to see the light show.

4) Grill everything. Instead of barbequing a brisket, ribs, franks, or beef patties, which are naturally fatty and greasy, grill some fish, chicken breast, lean turkey patties, or bison. Reaching for chips as your side may be easy, but grilling some zucchini, bell pepper, onions, or other veggies will be less greasy and easy on the stomach and the waste line. You can even grill fruit to make for a warm tasty dessert(see www.fit2befab.com for this and other grilling ideas).

Have a safe, happy, and healthy 4th of July!