San Diego CrossFit Weekend Warriors

Zone Meal of the Week

Marinated Grilled Swordfish with Roasted Asparagus and Zucchini and Fruit Salad

The above pictured is a 3 block meal: Protein-1.5 oz of swordfish; Carbs- 12 asparagus spears, 1/2 cup of zucchini and 1/2 apple, 1/4 cup of strawberries, 1/8 cup blueberries and Fat- 9 almonds slivered

Marinated Grilled Swordfish
3 TBLS of Olive Oil
salt
pepper
2 cloves of minced garlic
2 TBLS of minced fresh ginger
1/4 cup of sliced yellow onion
1/2 lemon, juiced and zested
Combine all of the ingredients into a storage container, zip-lock bag or small bowl.  Add the swordfish and coat with mixture.  Let the fish marinate for 15 to 30 minutes.  Pre-heat a grill pan remove the fish from the marinade.  Grill for 3 minutes on each side.

Vegetables
Asparagus
1-2 zucchini
1/2 yellow onion
2-3 cloves of minced garlic
salt
pepper
3 TBLS Olive Oil
2 teaspoons of fresh lemon juice

Turn on oven to 425

Trim the asparagus, cut up zucchini and slice the onion.  Mince the cloves of garlic.  Put everything into a glass baking dish.  Add the oil, salt and pepper to taste.  Bake for 15-20 minutes depending on how thick the asparagus stalks are.  Stir vegetable mixture a couple of times during baking.  Top with lemon juice and serve.

Zone Holiday Side Dish of the Week

Brussels Sprouts with Pancetta*
Pancetta is an Italian style bacon, and it is fabulous in this side dish.  Consider substituting this recipe for the traditional green bean casserole.
For this recipe you will need:

1 pound fresh Brussels sprouts, trimmed
2 tablespoons olive oil
3 ounces paper-thin slices pancetta, coarsely chopped
2 garlic cloves, minced
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
3/4 cup low-salt chicken broth

Partially cook the Brussels sprouts in a large pot of boiling salted water, about 4 minutes. Drain.

Meanwhile, heat the oil in a heavy large skillet over medium heat. Add the pancetta and saute until beginning to crisp, about 3 minutes. Add the garlic and saute until pale golden, about 2 minutes. Add the Brussels sprouts to the same skillet and saute until heated through and beginning to brown, about 5 minutes. Season with salt and pepper, to taste. Add the broth and simmer until the broth reduces just enough to coat the Brussels sprouts, about 3 minutes. Serve.

*Courtesy of Giada De Laurentiis, Food Network.com

Zone Holiday Side Dish of the Week

Cauliflower Mashed "Potatoes"
This take on a classic side dish will satisfy your craving for spuds without all of the extra carbs!  I was surprised by how close to the real thing this tasted. 

For this recipe you will need:
1 head of cauliflower
1 clove of minced garlic-about one tsp
1/8 tsp of white pepper/salt
2 tbsp of butter

Bring a pot of water to boil (~4 cups) and place washed head of cauliflower (leaves removed) in the pot (alternatively may dice up head and place in vegetable steamer).  Cook the cauliflower until very fork soft.  Drain well.  Puree the cauliflower with the butter, garlic.  Salt and pepper to taste.  Try topping it with paprika and/or rosemary.*

1 1/4 cups = 1 block of carbs and 2 blocks of fat. 

*Special thanks to David Besachio for this recipe contribution.

Zone Meal of the Week

Grilled Chicken with Spinach and Pine Nut Pesto*
I'm always looking for new chicken meal ideas and I made this healthy, quick and very Zone-friendly chicken dish on a Sunday in about a half hour.  It was light, fresh and very tasty.  The link will take you to the recipe at www.foodtv.com.  Tips: Make sure you choose the freshest ingredients!!  It makes a huge difference in the way a meal tastes.  For instance, always squeeze a fresh lemon.  Never use that lemon juice in a bottle.  Splurge a little and buy real Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese, and if you have time, toast your pine nuts for a few minutes in a skillet.  Finally, choose baby spinach.  The older, larger leaves are bitter.  You will be surprised at how doing these little things will change a meal's flavor and enjoyment!

Zone Meal of the Week

Quick Turkey Burger Lunch
For the burgers you will need:
Fresh ground turkey.  Each patty pre-cook weight was 3 and 1/2 oz.  Cooked burger is 3 oz or 2 blocks protein.
Salt
Pepper
Soy sauce
Sesame seed oil
Pre-heat a skillet or grill pan until a light smoke comes off the pan.
Divide turkey patties equally into 3 and 1/2 oz clumps.  Sprinkle salt and pepper and one teaspoon of soy sauce onto each clump.  Form the clumps into patties about 1/2 inch thick.  Add a few drops of sesame seed oil on the patty and lightly spread over the top of the patty.  Cook about 4 patties at a time on the grill.  Cook all the way through about 6 minutes on one side and 3 on the other.  Juices will appear on the raw top of the burger, that is when you know it is time to flip.
Garnish with your favorite Dijon or brown spicy mustard and place the burger on top of a bed of lettuce.  The above meal is a two block lunch.   Top with an ounce of cheese and add more carbs for a 3 block meal.
Enjoy!!

Zone Recipe of the Week

Chicken Picata
For this dish you will need:
1/2 chicken breast butterflied and cut in half
Salt
Pepper
1/4 Cup of flour
1 Tablespoon of butter
2 Tablespoons of Extra Virgin olive oil
1 Cup of white wine
1/4 Cup of fresh lemon juice
2 Tablespoons of drained and rinsed capers
1/8 Cup fresh Italian parsley

Butterfly the half chicken breast by placing your hand over the breast and running your knife through the length of it.  Open it up and cut it in half.  Season both pieces with salt and pepper and dredge them with flour.  Shake off the excess.  Heat the olive oil and butter in a skillet until it begins to sizzle.  Add the chicken and cook 3 minutes on each side.  Remove the chicken from the skillet and add the white wine, lemon juice and capers.  Scrape up all of the brown bits off the bottom of the skillet.  Add the chicken back to the pan and simmer (not boil) for 5 more minutes.  Plate and garnish with torn fresh Italian parsley.  2 oz of chicken and a tablespoon of sauce is one block of protein and fat and 1/2 block of carbs.

Zone Website of the Week

Looking for some great information on the Zone lifestyle?  Visit www.zoneperfect.com.  This website has great information regarding nutrition and lessons in "Mastering the Zone". There is even an on-line cookbook, BMI calculator and a food block guide!   

What would the USDA think?

Zone Recipe of the Week

Summer Salad

1 large bag of pre-washed baby spinach leaves
2 cups of strawberries, sliced
1 orange, sliced and pith cut away (or one small can of mandarin oranges)
1 large shallot, sliced
1/4 cup sliced almonds
Toss ingredients together. (2 cups of spinach, 1/2 cup of strawberries, 1/2 of the orange segments = two blocks of carbs)

Dressing:
1/2 orange, juiced (about a 1/4 cup of juice)
1/4 cup Extra Virgin Olive Oil
1/4 cup vinegar ( I used rice wine)
pinch of salt
1/8 tsp cayenne pepper
1/2 tsp orange zest
Pepper to taste

Whisk ingredients together in a small bowl.  Use about 1/2 tsp per block of fat.  Drizzle over salad.

Zone Recipe of the Week

Tilapia with Citrus Bagna Cauda*
This is a wonderfully flavorful dish I saw on a Food Network show the other day.  I made a few changes to the "sauce" and it ended up being more of a topping instead.  The recipe calls for anchovies, and being that I'm not a big fan of them, I substituted sardines instead.  I reduced the amount of butter by half and increased the orange juice by 2 extra tablespoons.  I counted the topping as fat and protein and only added 1.5 tablespoons of it to my pre-weighed tilapia.  For this dish it is 1.5 oz of fish per block.

*Recipe courtesy of Giada De Laurentiis

Zone Meal of the Week

Spicy Lamb and Szechwan Eggplant Stir-Fry

If you love spicy food, you are going to really enjoy this yummy meal!  It is super easy to prepare and the lamb and eggplant flavors work so well together!  I took one bite, intending to have something else for lunch, and ended finishing the entire plate! 

This is inspired by a recipe that I saw on the Food Network program "Food 911".   But, I have made it a little more Zone friendly.  So, click here for a link to the original recipe and see below for my Zone version:

1Large Eggplant cut into 1 inch cubes
1/2 lb of ground lamb
1 tablespoons walnut oil
1 tablespoon dark sesame oil
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
2 green onions, white and green parts, sliced on a diagonal
1-inch piece fresh ginger, peeled and minced
3 garlic cloves, minced
1 fresh green chile, sliced
1 dried red chile, minced
1/2 cup chicken broth
3 tablespoons soy sauce
1 tablespoon rice vinegar
1 teaspoon cornstarch ( a little goes a long way!)
Fresh basil  and fresh cilantro, for garnish

In a non-stick wok, heat oils until it begins to smoke a little.  Add the chopped eggplant and stir-fry until they become soft and a little sticky.   About 6 or 7 minutes.  Drain the eggplant on a few sheets of paper towels  and sprinkly with salt and pepper.
Add a tsp of oil to the wok and heat.  Stir-fry the green onion, garlic, ginger, red and green chile until fragrant.  Add the chicken broth and simmer for a couple minutes.  In the mean time, combine soy sauce, rice vinegar and cornstarch until it disolves.  Add to the wok and stir until it thickens.  I added a little water because it got a little too thick.  Toss the eggplant back into the wok and stir until incorporated.  Put on a plate and keep warm.   Use the wok again to brown the ground lamb.  Drain the lamb on paper towels and add salt and pepper. 

Before combining the lamb, weigh 1.5 oz per block and put in a small mixing bowl.  Measure the eggplant out about 1-and-a-half cups per block.  Stir the eggplant and lamb together, garnish with basil and cilantro and serve.  The oils and fat content of the lamb more than cover the fat requirement.  So go easy if you wish to add some nuts.