5 Steps Towards Combining Exercise With Healthy Eating

When deciding to diet or take part in a healthier lifestyle, many people aim to eat healthier as the first step to a beneficial way of living. However, exercise is just as important for your body as dieting, and it has many health benefits, such as reducing the risk of serious illnesses like cancer and strokes, as well as helping you sleep and controlling your weight.

 Invest in Sporting Equipment

Changing your food habits isn’t enough to lead a healthy lifestyle. If you decide to diet through exercise as well as food, you need to make sure that you have the right sporting equipment to enable you to  exercise appropriately. Not only this, but many sports that you may be thinking about taking up require certain items of equipment in order to exercise efficiently and or even participate at all. 

Clothing is one of the most vital aspects in this as clothing can protect you from the sun, and give you the comfort and flexibility that you need to play well. For instance, high-quality womens golf apparel such as you’ll find on this site can really benefit women interested in taking up the sport in order to diet or have a healthy lifestyle.

Exercising Regularly

In order to combine exercise with healthy eating, you need to find a way of exercising that is right for you. There are many great methods of exercising, and these range from taking power walks, visiting the gym, to taking up a sport. Practicing a new sport, or even an old one that you have enjoyed in the past, can be a great way to engage in exercise as it allows you to exercise in a fun manner if you find a sport that you enjoy. Not only this, but sports can usually be played in a team, meaning that you will also have the opportunity to socialize and meet new people. As well as exercise’s health benefits, exercising regularly as means that you are able to eat more of the yummy foods you love and include a few treats in your diet, as you will be better equipped to maintain your weight and lifestyle.

Eat a Diet that Benefits Your Exercise

However, the food that you eat can complement your exercise regime, and it is important to consider the amount of exercise you are doing when preparing your meals. For instance, lean beef, tuna, whole grains, and dairy products are filled with protein which can help to promote muscle mass and help your body’s recovery after a workout, adding to the hard work that you have just put into your exercise regime.

Eat Before and After Exercise

It is also important not to forget about your diet when you start to exercise as eating before and after exercise is vital to ensure that you remain at your best health and allow your body to recover. For instance, fruit and vegetables such as bananas are perfect for snacks before or throughout the workout as they contain slow releasing carbohydrates that are able to give you the energy that you need to continue.

Create a Diet Plan

You should also create a diet plan if you are thinking about establishing a healthy lifestyle as this will help you to stay on track and even follow your progress throughout your diet. You should plan your meals on a daily basis and ensure that you have the right ingredients to make these, as well as setting targets for you to aim towards if you are eating well and exercising with the aim of dieting.

Cheesy Onion Garlic Bread Recipe is Oooey Gooey Delish!

Do you need to bring something to a potluck but not sure what to bring? Are you tired of bringing the same old thing? Kick up any potluck with a loaf of this Cheesy Onion Garlic Bread. It will be the hit of the party! 

This bread is fantastic. At home I make it with heavy meat dishes like ribs or a roast. It also goes perfect with pasta dishes. Well to tell you the truth, this bread is just oooey gooey good anytime you are in the mood for it. I haven't done this but it would be perfect as just an appetizer served with pizza sauce (meaty pizza sauce). It goes great with beer, too! Make it and Enjoy! 

Cheesy Onion Garlic Bread Recipe

Ingredients

1 loaf of French Bread
1 and 1/2 sticks of butter

2 teaspoons garlic powder (or minced fresh garlic)
1 medium to large onion, sliced paper thin and some randomly chopped into smaller bits
10-12 oz. swiss OR mozzarella cheese slices or a combo of both (which I do)
1 1/2 teaspoon poppy seeds
1/2 teaspoon dry mustard

Directions

1. Sauté onions in butter until almost transparent on low-medium heat. Add garlic powder, poppy seeds and mustard. This can take 5-7 minutes. 

2. While onions are sautéing, score (use a bread knife and cut into the bread almost to the bottom) bread diagonally on a cutting board. Then turn bread and score diagonally again so you have a diamond pattern. Place on top of a large piece of aluminum foil.

3. Check onions. If onions are soft. Turn off heat and just let pan sit on stovetop. If not done, let it continue to cook on low. 

4. Stuff cheese slices into EVERY little slit on the bread. Feel free to add more if you want. Some slits can even have double cheese.

5. Drizzle the hot onion mixture over top of the bread. Make sure to cover everything!

6. Wrap in foil and bake at 375 F. for 15 minutes. Unwrap slightly and bake another 10 minutes to crisp the top...serve and love!

Kitchen Tips: 

1- I listed many up above so if you still have questions feel free to message me on social media where you found this recipe or email me at cafescrapper @ gmail . com

2- I've made this bread without onions (not the same but it tasted great). So if you don't want the onions just melt butter really well and add spices and just continue rest of the recipe as is. 

3- Have fun with the recipe and make it yours. Try different cheese, try different seasonings, use different breads, etc! Modify this recipe and make it suit your dietary needs being gluten free, dairy free, vegan, etc. Don't look at a recipe and say I can't eat that...make it into something you can eat. Have fun cooking. 

4- Again it is great with a heavy meat meal like ribs. But we've been loving it as an appetizer and goes great with beer! 

Click to get more bread recipes!

Need more bread recipes? Click the link or photo below. Do you have a bread recipe you want featured on my blog? Message me and I will feature you. 

Paprika Glazed Chicken Recipe

I love the combination of chicken and paprika. My mother-in-law is Hungarian and she has several recipes our family LOVES and we make them over and over using Hungarian paprika.

Take a look at this Paprika Glazed Chicken! I'm totally drooling, aren't you? This recipe uses Pereg Spanish Paprika which I plan on trying out soon. Have you tried Spanish Paprika? 

Paprika Glazed Chicken Recipe (Recipe Courtesy The Set Table, Amit Women/Albert Einstein School of Medicine)

Ingredients

One whole chicken cut into eights

1 egg, beaten

Cornflake crumbs 

Glaze

4 Tablespoons lemon juice

¼ cup sugar

¼ tsp Pereg Spanish Paprika

¼ tsp Pereg course grind black pepper

Directions

1- Dip chicken into egg, then cornflake crumbs. Place in pan in a single layer.  Bake 30 minutes at 400 F. 

2- Pour glaze over chicken. Baste several times and bake 30 minutes more.

Are you going to try this recipe? Please let me know if you do and how much you loved it. What sides did you serve with it? 

Pereg, a leading producer of all-natural spices from around the world, offers more than 60 spices and spice blends sourced from the best places on earth. Read up on Paprika! It is a fascinating spice!

Paprika – The fourth most consumed spice in the world, paprika often appears in rubs, marinades, stews, chilies, and as a garnish. It’s a key an ingredient in numerous cuisines, from Mexican rices to classic Hungarian goulash to Italian sausages.

All paprika starts life as a type of red Caspicum annum, otherwise known as the bell pepper. Paprika can be smoked, sweet, hot, Hungarian, or Spanish style, depending on the variety of the peppers used and how they are processed. They range in color from bright red to brown, each with its own flavor profile, from mild to spicy. Along with new Spanish paprika, Pereg Natural Foods offers five other varieties: hot, hot oil, smoked, sweet, and sweet oil paprika types to choose from.

Spanish cuisine being a huge trend these days, you may have come across Spanish paprika on a recipe's ingredient list. Also known as pimentón, this spice is becoming very popular in the United States. But what exactly is Spanish paprika and what makes it so special?

There are two types of Spanish paprika: smoked and non-smoked. Spanish paprika is commonly made with smoked peppers, which brings a deeper, smokier flavor to the table. That earthy essence comes from smoke-drying the peppers with oak wood for two weeks before they are ground.

Whether smoked or non-smoked, Spanish paprika is available in three varieties: sweet (dulce), semi-sweet (agridulce), and spicy (picante). The levels of heat and sweetness vary based on the blend of peppers used. Spanish paprika is generally less intense than Hungarian paprika, so it can be used in a multitude of ways

“Spanish paprika can be your best secret ingredient!” says Joy. “It has just enough spiciness to be interesting, and its array of flavors – from sweet to spicy - gives depth to a variety of recipes. We use it in baked eggs, potato casseroles, sprinkled on roasted tomatoes, and in beef stews. Sometimes we use just a hint — not so much that it defines a dish, but just enough to give it a smoky or sweet note in the background.

It's a great spice for adding flavor and depth to vegetarian and vegan dishes, she says, and to dishes that are light on fat. “It’s a must for everyone’s spice cabinet.” Pereg offer six varieties of paprika in all - find them at www.pereg-gourmet.com.

PBfit Healthy Power Balls with George Washington Carver

February is Black History Month. PBfit is recognizing George Washington Carver and his contributions to the peanut industry. Even though he isn't the direct inventor of peanut butter, he helped establish peanut butter as the nutritious staple ingredient found in 94 percent of American households today! Say what? Isn't that insane? No way would I have guessed 94 percent. If only Mr. Carver could see his impact on our world today.

Read this excerpt from my friends at PBfit:

"Born an African-American slave a year before the practice was outlawed, Carver left home at a young age to pursue education and would eventually earn a master’s degree in agricultural science from Iowa State University. As an agricultural scientist and inventor, he learned that years of growing cotton had depleted the nutrients from soil, resulting in low yields. But by growing nitrogen-fixing plants like peanuts, soybeans and sweet potatoes, the soil could be restored, allowing yield to increase dramatically when the land is reverted to cotton use a few years later. Farmers, of course, loved the high yields of cotton they were now getting from Carver’s crop rotation technique. But the method had an unintended consequence: A surplus of peanuts and other non-cotton products.

In all, he developed more than 300 food, industrial and commercial products from peanuts, including milk, Worcestershire sauce, punches, cooking oils and salad oil, paper, cosmetics, soaps and wood stains. He also experimented with peanut-based medicines, such as antiseptics, laxatives and goiter medications.

In 1921, Carver appeared before the Ways and Means Committee of the U.S. House of Representatives on behalf of the peanut industry, which was seeking tariff protection. He described the wide range of products that could be made from peanuts, which not only earned him a standing ovation but also convinced the committee to approve a high protective tariff for the common legume.

He then became known as “The Peanut Man.”

Succeeding Carver and these other innovators, PBfit is proud to bring peanut butter into the next century so those can enjoy this long-standing pantry pleaser made healthier and in more delicious ways. PBfit is peanut butter powder made with gently pressed roasted peanuts, coconut palm sugar, and a pinch of salt. The result is a delicious, nutritious product that leaves the fat and calories of traditional peanut butter behind. In comparison, it contains 87% less fat and 1/3 the calories.

The versatility of powdered peanut butter adds to the long list of benefits that make PBfit a must have product for every kitchen. Mix with water for that satisfying, creamy peanut butter texture, easily add it to smoothies for a nutrient boost, or use in any recipe where peanut butter is an ingredient.

Experience the next innovation in the peanut butter industry that’s already popular with households. PBfit is the number one selling peanut butter product on Amazon!"

WOW! Thank you Mr. Carver aka "The Peanut Man" and all the others involved in the peanut process the past 100 years. 

Have you ever tried PBfit? We LOVE it! Not only is it great for our morning Shakeology but it rocks in other healthy recipes. Below is a recipe for Super Healthy Power Balls. The recipe is from one of our little friends at school. Instead of sandwiches, this little guy brings 3 Kids & adults both love them. Enjoy!

Super Healthy Power Balls

Ingredients

1 cup rolled oats

1/2 cup mini semi-sweet chocolate chips (We like Enjoy Life Brand)

1/2 cup ground flax seed (I like the chia, flax & hemp mix)

1/2 cup crunchy or smooth peanut butter (we use smooth)

1/4 cup honey 

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1 scoop Shakeology (chocolate, vanilla or cafe latte)

2 Tablespoons of PBfit (any flavor)

Directions

1-Combine oats, chocolate chips, Shakeology, flax seed, peanut butter, honey and vanilla extract together in a bowl.

2-Form into balls with your hand or use a small cookie dough scoop. 

3-Roll or sprinkle balls with PBfit. 

4-Arrange balls onto a cookie sheet and put in freezer to set for 30 minutes. 

4-Store in fridge or freezer in a freezer safe container/bag. They are also great at room temp.

These are great for lunch, too. There is plenty of healthy protein in these little power balls to go along with your healthy lifestyle. 

Tajin Bean Layered Dip by Chef Claudia Sandoval

Party Time!

Check out this tasty recipe by MasterChef Winner Claudia Sandoval! This layered bean dip includes using Tajin! I have never purchased Tahin but plan to so that I can try out this recipe. Oh my it sounds good! Have you ever used Tahin in recipes. If so with what? 

What a great idea for your next tailgating party, light supper night, taco night, etc.

Tajin Bean Layered Dip by Chef Claudia Sandoval

Ingredients:

For the Refried Beans:

2 cans -15 oz. Black Beans

3 garlic cloves, minced

¼ yellow onion, minced

½ cup lard /vegetable shortening

8-12 oz. Shredded Cheese (Oaxaca, Monterrey Jack, or Mozarella)

For the Tajin Sour Cream:

10 oz. Sour Cream

1 ½ tablespoon Tajín

For the Guacamole:

6 hass avocados, mashed

1 lime, juice only

1 teaspoon Tajín

For the Bell Pepper Pico Salsa:

½ cup Red Bell Pepper Chopped

½ cup Green Bell Pepper Chopped

½ cup Red Onion, Chopped

1 cup Tomato, Chopped

½ cup Cilantro Chopped

1 lime, juice only

Tajin to taste

Garnishes:

1 can – 15 oz. Yellow Corn

½ cup Black Olives, sliced

Equipment:

12” Cast Iron Pan

Makes 10 servings

Directions:

Preheat oven to 400 F.

1)    For Refried Beans: In a blender, add black beans, garlic cloves, and yellow onion. Blend until smooth. In a large non-stick sauté pan melt lard/vegetable shortening and add blended bean mixture. Refry beans by bringing them to a simmer and lowering heat to low for about 10 mins. Beans should be homogenous and should separate from the pan freely when completely refried.

2)    Transfer beans to cast iron pan. Sprinkle Cheese over beans and place in oven for 10-15 mins or until cheese melts and is browning. Remove Pan from oven and allow to cool for 15 mins.

3)    For Guacamole, mix all ingredients and spread layer over Beans, leaving beans visible around.

4)    For Tajin Sour Cream, place ingredients into a bowl and mix. Layer atop Guacamole, layers visible.

5)    Layer Yellow Corn over Sour Cream continuing to make circle smaller so that other layers are visible.

6)    For Bell Pepper Salsa, Add all ingredients in a bowl and mix to combine. Lastly layer the salsa in the middle of the pan. Sprinkling and garnishing with olives and Cotija cheese. Serve with Chips alongside.

How to Help Your Kids Eat Healthy Meals

It seems to be a universal problem – getting kids to eat healthy foods and fewer high sugar, high-fat snacks. How many children do you know who would choose a plate of vegetables over a plate of fries for instance? It can seem like the more you try to get them eating nutritious food, the more they resist, even claiming not to like meals they have eaten in the past.

Instead of getting more healthy food into them, you can start to feel like they’re eating fewer and fewer nutritious foodstuffs. Is it possible to change this pattern, and how can you make your kids enthusiastic about eating their greens?

Know your child nutrition

Before you start worrying about your child’s diet, make sure you know what the recommendations are for kids at each stage of their development. For instance, young children need full-fat milk rather than skimmed, and higher rates of certain vitamins and minerals. It’s essential to know what is best for your child nutritionally, so you can manage their nutrient intake and ensure they receive the most appropriate diet for their age.

Hiding the veggies

If your kids don’t know what they’re eating, you can increase their vegetable intake without them even knowing. One of the easiest ways to do this is to add chopped or pureed vegetables to pasta sauce. The redness of the tomatoes hides the color of many vegetables, although leafy greens would darken the sauce and are strong enough in flavor and smell to overwhelm the tomato. Carrots, swede, cauliflower, and peas are particularly good for blending into sauces.

Using the right veggies

Kids tend to prefer sweet flavors, so if you serve a portion of vegetables, use ones that are naturally sweet, like carrots, peas or petit pois, mange tout, tomatoes, and sweetcorn. You can also try some exotic or unusual fruits and vegetables to see if the kids find something they like. Your son may loathe apples and bananas perhaps, but love the taste of Kiwi fruits.

Food art

Younger kids and toddlers often find food that’s been arranged to make a picture is more appealing. For instance, cutting dinosaur shapes from a sandwich, or making a smiley face in a bowl of oatmeal with berries and banana slices.

Getting kids involved in cooking

It can be a messy endeavor, but cooking with kids is a great way to get them connected to their food. If you choose fairly simple recipes to start with and make the process fun and exciting, the kids will enjoy cooking and want to do more. They’re also more likely to want to eat what they’ve made themselves.

Transform fast food ideas into healthy meals

Fast food and takeouts are notorious for their high levels of fat and excess calories, but their appeal to kids is undeniable. Home-made versions can be made with fewer unhealthy ingredients and are usually far better for your kids than bought meals. There are some excellent kids cookbooks available, or you could browse through kid-friendly recipes online. You’ll get some helpful tips on incorporating healthy foods into less healthy sounding meals, for example making home-made burgers or pizza.

Get kids to grow their own food

Growing vegetables and fruits can be a rewarding and enjoyable activity, with the bonus of the being able to harvest the freshest, tastiest produce you can get a few months down the line. Start your kids off with simple, fast-growing crops like salads, peas, carrots, beans, and strawberries to begin with, so the tasks don’t seem arduous and results don’t take too long to achieve. Watching a bean plant grow in a jar of water is a time-honored way of enabling kids to see how a seed develops into a plant, and it’s a lot of fun too.

Go on a foraging walk

The fields and hedgerows are full of fruits and edible plants that can be harvested and added to home-cooked meals, and having a family outing to find and pick them can be a good idea for a fun day out. You must be sure you know what is safe to eat and what isn’t, and if you aren’t sure, join an organized foraging experience so you can ensure no-one eats anything harmful.

Budgeting for healthier living

Parents who are on a budget often worry that healthy foods are more expensive, but this isn’t necessarily the case, so don’t assume healthy equals expensive. There’s no better investment than spending money on health and wellbeing, so buying cooking equipment, gardening tools and seeds, or paying for a cookery class or field trip are excellent ways to invest in your family’s future. If money is tight, look for a financial advice service or credit brokerage that helps you manage your income and borrowings so that you have a few extra dollars to spend on your family’s health.

Discipline and reward

Some parents decide the best approach is a Draconian one – the child eats their dinner or goes hungry.

Variations on this approach are to say your child can’t have dessert if they don’t eat all their main course; or that if they eat all their food, they can have a treat. There are doubts as to whether these strategies are the best ways to tackle the problem because your child could develop an unhealthy relationship with their food that leads to a range of eating disorders as they grow older.

You know there isn’t going to be a single, fool-proof way of getting your kids to want healthy meals; if there were, it would be national news! There are however some strategies you can try that could help. You might need to persevere before achieving results, and you might need to try different ideas or combined strategies before you find one that works for you, and you may even have to use different approaches with different kids. Above all, don’t get overstressed yourself, just do the best you can!

5 Ways to Spruce Up Your Favorite Desserts Using Flavored Syrup

There is something very pleasurable about eating sweet food after a meal. Craving for sweets after a large meal happens because the sugar helps in digesting the food. Desserts that are made of fruit are an even more recommended food to choose in the menu. In addition, desserts help to lighten up the mood after a heavy meal.

There are ways to make your dessert more attractive and more appetizing. You can add more colors with toppings such as sprinkles, chocolate chips, and marshmallows. A flavored syrup also makes changes in every dessert it touches. Traditional flavors, like the maple syrup and chocolate syrup, are the usual flavors you can see. However, the available flavors in the market keep growing, such as French vanilla flavor, to frosted mint, and even soda-based flavorings. 

Here are five ways to make your favorite desserts more appetizing.

1. Coffee (and other beverages)

Flavored syrup is being used by a lot of individuals for their coffee. It doesn't only improve the flavor the coffee, the syrup also enhances the aesthetics of the morning beverage. The usual usage of flavored syrup in the coffee is to transform a cup into a flavored latte. Flavors such as almond, hazelnut, vanilla, peppermint, caramel, and cinnamon are the usual ones being used. On the aesthetic side, a leaf or a flower is usually drawn as designs.

Coffee syrups can also be mixed on a different level to make different kinds of coffee variants. A creamy coffee is called a latte while the cappuccino is a strong coffee but with the creaminess of milk.

2. Fruit Salad

When it comes to fruit salad, mixing and complementing flavors are quite hard. There are fruits that are not meant to be mixed together. One technique being used to ensure the harmony of taste and texture is to mix the similar fruits in one bowl. Berries are mixed with other berries and melons are mixed with other melons. The same thing goes to other kinds of fruits.

To enhance the flavor, and for additional aromatic appeal, a complimentary flavored syrup can be used. An example of a delicious fruit salad with syrup is a recipe from Natasha's Kitchen. Strawberries, grapes, blueberries, and bananas are drizzled with honey and lemon syrup to finish things up.

3. Glaze

You can use the flavored syrup to put a shiny glaze on a lot of pastry dishes, to add more sweetness, and to make the end product more attractive. One such famous example is doughnuts with sugar syrup glaze. These are doughnuts that are usually glazed with milk, water, vanilla, and sugar. Glazing with flavored syrup is an easier alternative, especially if you want to have more flavor options.

4. Toppings

This is one of the most common ways to make your food interesting. Flavored syrup can make your pancake or waffle more interesting with a little touch of fruit and your favorite flavored syrup. Although there is the traditional maple syrup, a change once in a while is welcome for the adventurous.

You can also add custom designs in a cake using flavored syrup. In addition, the flavored syrup is often used on cakes to keep it moist. Bakers often use flavored syrup in their cakes to make more detailed designs and to write messages. Just remember that if you want to add buttercream or other frostings, make sure that the syrup was totally absorbed by the cake. If this is not done right, your frostings will not stick to the cake.

5. Hot Fudge

Although flavored syrup is usually less viscous than fudge sauce, there are other ways to make a hot fudge out of your flavored syrup. A recipe from the Brown Eyed Baker site used heavy cream, dark brown sugar, cocoa powder, ounces of chocolate, unsalted butter, vanilla extract, and syrup to make a hot cocoa fudge sauce. The sauce was then drizzled in an ice cream topped with a cherry. It is also simple to make as all the ingredients are just mixed and boiled five minutes.

The author of the hot fudge recipe recommends making in batches and store it in the back of the refrigerator. You can use the sauce again when you need it by reheating it. Recommendations, such as using peppermint, orange, and raspberry flavors are also recommended by the author.