Movie Nights Featuring Food, INC. and Fresh

On August 7th we will be presenting the Documentary Food, INC. I’m looking forward to sharing this film with our congregation and Christ First participants. This film has sparked a bit of controversy across the nation and I look forward to great conversation following the film.

The Following Sunday, August 14th, we will also be viewing the movie Fresh.

As our Christ First members take steps to restore their temple we challenge ourselves to look at food from a whole new Organic perspective.

We will be viewing these movies in the theater room at 7pm. All are invited.

Recipe Rehab: Lasagna

Lasagna is a classic one-dish meal that is perfect to take to your summer gatherings or potlucks. Layers of noodles, meat sauce and cheese are a tasty combination, but the calories add up quickly and can total near 800 calories per serving. For those watching their calories, this one dish could use up half of your daily allotment! One of our readers wrote in with the request to lighten up her favorite dish.
In order to do this, I will replace the traditional sausage and ground beef with low-calorie summer vegetables, such as eggplant, zucchini and mushrooms. This will not only lower the calories, it will add more fiber and nutrients to the meal. The layers of cheese also help to pack on the calories and cottage cheese fillings tend to be very high in sodium. For the lightened up version, I will reduce the amount of cheese throughout the layers, without sacrificing taste, by using a mixture of low-sodium ricotta and strongly-flavored Parmesan. With a sprinkle of mozzarella on the top, this dish will brown nicely. My version is half the calories of traditional lasagna, so enjoy it guilt free!

Ingredients:

• 9 whole wheat lasagna noodles
• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 1 medium onion, chopped
• 3 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 pound button mushrooms, sliced
• 3 medium zucchini, sliced
• 1 medium eggplant, sliced
• 2 (28 oz.) cans crushed tomatoes
• 1 (6 oz.) can tomato paste
• 1 teaspoon dried basil
• 1 teaspoon dried parsley
• 1 teaspoon dried oregano
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/2teaspoon black pepper
• 16 ounces part-skim ricotta cheese
• 1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese
• 1 cup grated mozzarella cheese

Instructions:
1. Prepare the lasagna noodles according to directions. When cooked through, set aside on paper towels to dry.
2. Sauté the onions and garlic in the olive oil over medium heat. Add the sliced mushrooms, zucchini and eggplant, and cook until tender. Mix in the crushed tomatoes and tomato paste. Season with spices. Simmer for 5 to 10 minutes.
3. In a small bowl mix together the ricotta and Parmesan cheeses.
4. Evenly coat the bottom of a 9-inch by 13-inch baking dish with about a half-cup cup of the sauce. Remove another half-cup of the sauce and set aside.
5. To assemble the lasagna: Top the sauce in the baking dish with an even layer of noodles cutting to fit the pan if necessary. Spread the half of the cheese mixture over the lasagna noodles. Then layer with half of the remaining sauce mixture. Repeat.
6. Top the final layer of noodles with the reserved half-cup of sauce. Sprinkle with grated mozzarella cheese.
7. Cover with tin foil and bake in a 350°F oven for 30 minutes. Uncover and bake for an additional 20 minutes until the cheese has browned.
Serves: 9
Nutrition Content (per serving):
329 calories, 11 g fat, 5 g saturated fat, 45 g carbohydrates, 10 g fiber, 21 g protein, 619 mg sodium, 400 mg calcium

LIVESTRONG.COM

 

I just started using a great website. It is called Livestrong.com. This website recently partnered with the daily plate to offer a huge database of foods. I can track any food item. I also love the recipe calculator. I’ve used Sparkpeople.com for about a year now and Livestrong is a great alternate option. I love that they offer a pay option that removes all the ads. Spark people doesn’t offer this option and the ads are on every page. If your looking for a different Nutrition and fitness tracker, give www.livestrong.com a try.

Burning Calories at the Gym

"Calories burned" readings on gym equipment are only estimates, but they provide a pretty good measure, depending on how honest you are with your information.

You finish your workout on the treadmill and the machine reads 300 calories. But how do you know if that number is truly accurate? Experts say there's a good chance it's not.

Burning Calories at the Gym: Crunching the Numbers

At the end of your workout, most cardio machines provide you with the number of calories you burned. Keep in mind though that this reading is an estimate — and often an overestimate — and should not be taken as gospel. "If you see that you expended 300 calories for a workout, there is probably about a 10 percent margin of error," says Pete McCall, MS, an exercise physiologist with the American Council on Exercise. "The number you see on the treadmill, stationary bike, elliptical machine, stair climber, etc., is just an estimate, but it is a relatively accurate estimate. It is based on what is called metabolic equivalents, or METs, which refers to how much oxygen your body uses."

McCall says that one MET is equal to 3.5 milliliters of oxygen per kilogram of your body weight per minute. This is the amount of oxygen your body requires at rest. When you work harder (e.g., when you exercise), your body burns more METs. "Your body has to expend energy to use oxygen. If you're running, your body needs more oxygen and your body spends more energy," McCall says.

The cardio equipment at the gym uses information on the number of METs it takes to perform a given exercise, as well as your weight if you enter it, to give you an estimate of how many calories you burned. "It is more accurate if you enter your weight and your age than if you don't," McCall notes.

If you are trying to lose weight, you may be particularly interested in finding out the exact number of calories you burned during your workout.

"If people are really concerned about monitoring weight loss, the gym equipment is a good estimate, but the best estimates are going to come from heart rate monitors," says McCall.

Newer heart rate monitors allow you to program in your resting heart rate and your age, and they use this information to give you a more precise estimate of the calories you expend.

Burning Calories at the Gym: Maximizing Your Burn

When deciding which piece of gym equipment will give you the best burn, don't count on the calories-burned estimates from the machine. In order to burn more calories, you simply have to work harder. So the best way to determine which piece of equipment will help you burn the most calories is by gauging how hard you are able to work on it — if you're not able to sustain a workout on the elliptical machine, for instance, use the treadmill instead.

While you can use the calorie counters on gym equipment as rough guidelines, the most important way to maximize the number of calories you are burning is to find a piece of equipment you enjoy using and to use it often.

Crunchy Garlic Chicken

Ok, let me just say this. This has butter and has the option to be fried in a little bit of olive oil. The flavor is in this dish. Your friends and family will absolutely love this dish. If your looking for a healthier alternative to this recipe try this one.

main courses | serves 2
This crumbing technique is so versatile – you can cook pork or even cod in exactly the same way. As there is butter in the crumb mixture, you can grill, fry, roast or bake the meat dry in the oven and it will go lovely and golden.
To prepare your chicken:
Peel the garlic and zest the lemon • Put your crackers into a food processor with the butter, garlic, parsley sprigs, lemon zest and a pinch of salt and pepper • Whiz until the mixture is very fine, then pour these crumbs on to a plate • Sprinkle the flour on to a second plate • Crack the egg into a small bowl and beat with a fork • Lightly score the underside of the chicken breasts • Put a square of plastic wrap over each one and bash a few times with the bottom of a pan until the breasts flatten out a bit • Dip the chicken into the flour until both sides are completely coated, then dip into the egg and finally into the flavored crumbs • Push the crumbs on to the chicken breasts so they stick – you want the meat to be totally coated
To cook your chicken:
You can either bake or fry the chicken • If baking, preheat your oven to its highest temperature (475˚), place your chicken on a sheet pan and cook for 15 minutes • If frying, put a frying pan on a medium heat, add a few good lugs of olive oil and cook the chicken breasts for 4 to 5 minutes on each side, until cooked through, golden and crisp
To serve your chicken:
Either serve the chicken breasts whole, or cut them into strips and pile them on a plate • Beautiful and simple served with a lemon wedge for squeezing over, and a tiny sprinkling of salt • Great with a lovely fresh salad or simply dressed veggies.

Nutrition Facts Per Serving: Calories 431.9, Fat 22.9, Carb 9.3, Fiber 0.2, Protein 39.1, Sodium 478.7