Parchment Roasted Tilapia

Chef Matt Edwards shares a great recipe and explains how to use parchment paper to cook tilapia!  I am often looking for new protein options and this is a very easy recipe to help switch things up.

Ingredients:
4 tilapia filets (or other mild white fish)
2 Tlbs butter (substitute olive oil to avoid dairy)
Zest of one lemon, remaining lemon thinly sliced
2 cloves garlic, peeled and thinly sliced
4 sprigs fresh dill
salt and pepper
parchment paper


Directions:
Tear four large squares of parchment paper and place a filet of fish on each sheet. Sprinkle generously with salt and pepper, then dot with butter. Sprinkle with lemon zest and garlic, then place dill sprigs and lemon slices over fish. Fold parchment over fish and working from one side to the other seal paper tightly to form envelope. Place on sheet pan and roast at 400 degrees for 20 minutes. Serve with sauteed sliced squash or grilled vegetables.


Alternatively, place a sheet of foil on grill and place envelopes onto foil. Grill over high heat for 15 minutes, until fish just flakes apart.

Paleo Granola

One of the largest challenges for people new to the Paleo Diet is finding food options that are similar to what most of us would consider traditional snacks.  While this Paleo snack is not ideal for everyday use, it is a nice treat for individuals craving more traditional and unhealthy snacks.  Give this recipe a try and let me know what you think!

Paleo Granola Ingredients:
2 cups Toasted Coconut (unsweetened)
2 cups Raw Coconut (unsweetened)
1/2 cup Pumpkin Seed Kernels
1/2 cup chopped Raw Almonds
1/2 cup Sunflower Seeds
3/4 cup Honey
1/2 cup Coconut Oil
2 tsp Cinnamon
1 tsp Vanilla
1/2 cup Raisins, Dried Blueberries or Dried Cranberries
1/2 cup roasted Nuts of Choice

Directions:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Combine coconut, pumpkin seed kernels, chopped almonds, and sunflower seed kernels in a large bowl. In a saucepan on the stove, melt together the honey, coconut oil, cinnamon, and vanilla, stirring occasionally, until combined. Pour honey mixture over the coconut mixture and stir to coat. Spread coconut mixture into baking pans (metal pans cook faster than glass.) Bake for 20 minutes, stirring every 5 minutes. After baking, add dried cranberries or raisins and roasted nuts. Enjoy granola with coconut milk or almond butter and fruit!

This recipe was modified from a recipe By: Coconutrecipes.com

Paleo Meal Preparation- Grass Fed Beef and Veggies

Here is another idea on how to prepare several great Paleo meals in a short amount of time.  As I have mentioned before, meal preparation is a huge key to success.  Many people have great intentions to eat well, but life is busy and they often fail when they do not have immediate access to proper food.  People who commit to two one hour meal preparation times per week are far more likely to succeed at implementing proper nutrition.  Give this a try and let me know how it works for you!

Cooking for Kyle Korver (Episode 5)

The Breakfast Bowl is one of my favorite meals of all time!  This is a strict Paleo meal that is extremely versatile. It is great meal for an athlete after a tough workout or it can be served at Sunday brunch. So many people have the misconception that Paleo eating is very limiting and does not include good foods.  I promise you that almost anyone can get excited about this meal and it will satisfy their hunger.  Give this meal a try and let me know what you think.

Cooking with Matt Edwards in Omaha, NE

Whenever I am back home in Omaha, NE I always try to catch up with my friend Chef Matt Edwards.  Matt always comes up with exciting meals that taste great!  As we continue to share ideas with each other, he is teaching me about the art of cooking and how to create amazing taste, while I am giving him guidelines for certain foods to avoid or include.

Matt recently demonstrated how to prepare three new meals that are based solely around meat, eggs, and vegetables.  There are a few ingredients that would not be considered "Paleo", but these meals are a great start for most people looking to transition to a healthier way of eating.  You may substitute butter or any oil he used with coconut oil.  You may also use raw organic maple syrup or raw honey instead of any sugar or sweetner.  As we transition away from sugar completely we will not use any of these ingredients.

Check out these videos and let me know what you think!

More is Not Better

It has become common and almost heroic for us to brag about how extreme our lives are.  How many times have you heard people boast about how many marathons they have run, how many hours they worked, how little sleep they got, and how ridiculously long their workout was yesterday?  Why are we impressed by these things?  We should not be! Most of these people are not truly healthy, will never be as lean as they want to be, have undiagnosed cortisol issues, and they will burn out at some point in their life.  Their long list of symptoms and dependency on caffeine are pretty good indicators that their health is already moving in the wrong direction.

As I work with people on proper nutrition, I am often asked my thoughts on proper workout design as it pertains to weight loss and optimal body composition.  I want to share my thoughts with you on this very important and completely misunderstood topic.

You do not have to workout six times per week for ninety minutes a session to achieve the results you are dreaming of.  In fact, very often you need to scale back, change the exercises that you are doing, and change your intensity.  If you are looking to burn fat, gain muscle, and promote long term wellness, then
three to four higher intensity and shorter workouts per week are much better than five or six moderately intense long workouts.  Long cardio sessions are not your answer to fat loss!

Your body needs adequate rest and you need to constantly vary your activity to keep your body guessing and get the results that you deserve.  Instead of spending your time on the treadmill, do strength circuits at an intense pace with little to no rest between exercises.  This will launch your heart rate even higher than traditional cardio, and you will be building muscle at the same time. Additionally, multi-joint functional movements are far more effective than isolation lifts or machines.  Do not be afraid to go heavy from time to time. When was the last time that you did functional strength based movements to absolute failure?

It is time to start training smarter and not harder!  Abusing your body under unhealthy and extreme circumstances is nothing to be proud of or congratulate your friends about.  Proper training likely takes far less time than your current workout routine, will put you in a better hormonal state, and will yield you far better results.  Your goal should not be to train more, but to train better and to train smarter.

Here are five tips to incorporate today:

1.) Do three to four higher intensity but shorter (30-45 minute) workouts per week.
2.) Avoid treadmills and other cardio machines. Instead, incorporate sprints, runs of 800 meters or less, jumping rope, rowing, and plyometric movements.
3.) Put together 3 to 5 movement circuits that are strength focused movements and repeat these circuits with little to no rest.
4.) Use functional movements such as body weight movements, squats, dead lifts, kettle bells, pull-ups, medicine balls, etc.
5.) Variety is crucial!  Change the variety of movements, intensity, time, and weight constantly.  Do not be afraid to go heavy at least once a week.