It's Giveaway Day: A Copy of Andrea Metcalf's NAKED FITNESS

As promised, today is the first day of the NAKED FITNESS  giveaway. Two lucky winners will receive a copy of Naked Fitness: The Proven 28 Day Lifestyle Program for a Slimmer, Fitter, Pain Free Body, written by fitness and nutrition expert, Andrea Metcalf. This is a great read for the beginner and the experienced alike. Andrea writes in a way that speaks to everyone; in a style you can connect with. No matter where you fall on the fitness spectrum, you are gonna want a copy of this!

HOW TO ENTER:

1- Leave a comment sharing your biggest challenge with eating and/or exercise to be counted once in the drawing.


2- Follow Andrea on Facebook or Twitter...and I will count you twice.


3- Follow Cookin' Lean on Facebook or Twitter....and I will count you one more time!

This prize in more valuable than $$ can describe. You just can't put a price on the information, advice and inspiration found in the words on these pages. It's more than a book; it's your health. What is more valuable than that?
I really do encourage you to enter this giveaway. You have nothing to lose and so much to gain!

Giveaway open to US residents only. All comments must be entered before 12:00 am ET on Wednesday, January 12, 2011. The TWO winners will be announced on Thursday, January 13th. Good luck!

Livin' Lean Topic Tuesday: A Great Book for a Fresh Start

Over winter break, I was able to read a smart, motivational book by fitness expert, Andrea Metcalf. This is especially exciting for me because as a doctoral student, most of my reading is mandatory and not always all that fun. This was a much needed change of pace. The book, Naked Fitness: The Proven 28 Day Lifestyle Program for a Slimmer, Fitter, Pain Free Body, reinforces the many truths about living a healthy lifestyle and loving the body you are in. I made a real connection with this book. When it comes to health, nutrition and exercise; Andrea has got it figured out! 

See, the things we need to do in order to look and feel great are not a well-kept secret. Information about the foods we need and the amount of exercise required are very accessible. There are plenty of resources out there (this book being one of them) to create the perfect plan for each of us. Once we find the plan that works, the real secret lies in finding, and maintaining, the right attitude to stick with it.

Andrea devotes a large part of the book to getting you mentally prepared for the Naked Fitness program. It involves facing the truth, facing the mirror, finding what you love about your body and pinpointing the things you don't. It also involves finding the motivational words to help push us along; the mantras. Actually, the part of the book I loved most was the section of inspirational, motivational quotes. A lot of them really resonated with me and where I am in my life. I truly believe that these phrases can push us to our best life. Never underestimate the power of words.  

Some of my favorites taken from Naked Fitness: The Proven 28 Day Lifestyle Program for a Slimmer, Fitter, Pain Free Body:

“Your imagination is your preview of life’s coming attractions” - Albert Einstein


“If one dream should fall and break into a thousand pieces,never be afraid to pick one of those pieces up and begin again. " -Flavia Weedn

“You have to expect things of yourself before you can do them.” -Michael Jordan


“It's never too late to be what you might have been.”-George Elliot


In addition to getting down to the bare truths about the mental and emotional sides to fitness, Andrea also shares an easy-to-follow exercise guide and nutrition plan. It is written and organized in a way that makes it easy for anyone to follow and understand. There are even pictures to help with the exercise portion! Not only has does this book serve as a great source of information, it will also be a great reference for years to come.


The most important point to understand about Naked Fitness is that it is not a diet. It is a life change; a change that you can live with. The whole idea is that you are able to stick with it. It is not a rigid diet and exercise program that banishes all of the fun in life. It is a lifestyle that promotes clean eating and daily activity, while allowing those wonderful splurges we look so forward to. A lifestyle that Cookin' Lean recipes work just beautifully in! 

With a sea of expert advice, it can be overwhelming at times to know who to follow. Know this; Andrea is an educated and experienced fitness professional of 27+ years. Her list of credentials is impressive to say the least,  and by just looking at her,  you can see that she clearly practices what she preaches. When you read Andrea's book, you can be sure you are getting reliable information from one of the best of the best in the industry. 

Does this sound like a book you would like to get your hands on? If so, please check back tomorrow for the Naked Fitness Giveaway where you could be one of two winners. See you tomorrow!!


**To learn more about Naked Fitness and Andrea Metcalf, visit the following links:
http://www.andreametcalf.com/
http://www.nbcchicago.com/station/as-seen-on/naked-fitness-86092387.html

Cooking Light with Rachael Ray: Portobello Pizzas

Welcome to the first post of 2011! Hopefully you had a wonderful time ringing in the New Year. We sure did!

Looking forward, I am full of excitement and optimism for all that is to come. One of the things coming your way this year will be a brief nutritional analysis of each recipe that receives a "cookin' lean" makeover. At the moment, I don't have the resources available to give you a 100% , fully-detailed, professional analysis.  What I can do is tally up the calories, fat grams, carbohydrates and proteins for each recipe using information provided by the USDA and food manufacturers. This is something I feel is very important in helping you healthy cooks out there to really see what happens to these recipes, based on the numbers. Even though these recipes are "lighter" and "leaner", this is not a free pass to eat as much as we want. Paying attention to nutritional information is still a key component to livin' lean.

So...here is the first recipe for 2011; Portobello Pizzas inspired by Rachael Ray!

PORTOBELLO PIZZAS
Servings 4

INGREDIENTS:

4 large portobello mushroom tops, stems removed and gills scraped



1 tablespoon Extra-virgin olive oil


Salt and freshly ground black pepper


3 links Italian TURKEY sweet sausage (Shady Brook Farms or Jennie-O)


1/2 pint grape tomatoes


1/2 FAT FREE half & Half 


1/2 cup basil leaves, shredded or torn


1/2 cup shredded Parmigiano
 
DIRECTIONS:

Preheat broiler.

Dress the mushroom caps with a drizzle of extra-virgin olive oil and season with a tiny bit of salt and pepper. Broil the portobello mushrooms 5 minutes on each side until tender.
While caps are broiling heat skillet over medium high heat and spray with non-fat cooking spray, add sausage and brown and crumble the meat, then add tomatoes to skillet and cook another few minutes until they burst. Add half & half to skillet and reduce 2 to 3 minutes more. Remove the sausage from heat and fold in basil. Fill mushroom caps and top with cheese, place under broiler to brown 2 to 3 minutes then quarter caps and serve.

RESULTS:

Rachael's version is intended for appetizers; which you could very well do. However, when I look at this recipe, I see a meal! Serve these pizzas along with a small salad and you are set. They are packed with protein and veggies; plus low in carbohydrates (good for meals later in the day). Check out how the nutritional values break down per serving (1 pizza):

Calories ~ 208.25
Total Fat ~ 11.1 g
Carbohydrates ~ 8.7 g
Protein ~ 18.6 g


Not too bad, right?!?! You get a lot of bang for your buck with these. So where did I cut back? If you check out Rachael's original recipe, she calls for at least 2 more tablespoons of EVOO; which can add about 7 grams of fat per serving. Swapping turkey sausage for regular sausage and fat free half & half for cream, we are able to find two more places to really save on fat and calories. By saving so much with these changes, we can still afford to keep all the cheese; which to me is the best part.

ENJOY!



**Nutritional information for ingredients in this recipe were found on livestrong.com.