Here is a great recipe you can test out on your family this week!

Cilantro Mango Chicken 

Prep Time:

10 minutes

Cooking Time:

30 minutes

Yields:

4 servings

Ingredients:

2 whole skinless, boneless chicken breasts, split
8 ounces plain yogurt
1 cup cilantro, finely chopped
1/2 cup fresh lime, juiced
Dash of cayenne pepper
1 clove fresh garlic, minced
1 large ripe mango, peeled, finely diced

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees.
2. Combine1/4 cup yogurt,1/4 cup of cilantro, half of the lime juice, cayenne pepper and garlic. Coat chicken breast with this mixture, marinate for at least 1 hour.
3. While chicken marinates, purée remaining yogurt, 2/3 of cubed mango, 1/2 teaspoon lime juice and 1 cup cilantro in blender.
4. Bake chicken in a glass baking dish for 25-30 minutes.
5. Place chicken on serving plates, pour on sauce and sprinkle with mango and extra sauce on side.
6. Add a sprig of fresh cilantro for garnish.

 I don't know about you but here in the Northeast we've been spoiled this year with nice Spring weather.  Haven't had a wet day in a long time so when it hit Saturday and Sunday we needed it badly.  Lots of parents with kids who play sports on Sundays were frozen fans in the rain!  It took a long time for my fingers to get back to their non-blue color! Regardless of the weather,  I would not have traded it for anything!  The effort was beautiful even if the weather was not! 

Team Bonding!

Green Smoothies Scare You?

If the thought of a green smoothie just makes you think, "EWWW!" let me pass on one you need to get your feet wet with!

You could blindfold someone and they'd never know there was plenty of spinach in this drink.

Here goes:

Pineapple Mango Green Smoothie

2 big handfuls of spinach
1/4 cup pineapple (frozen is fine - defrost for a few minutes to make juicier)
1/2 cup mango  (frozen is fine)
1/2 cup coconut milk
1 t. agave syrup (or more to taste)
3 ice cubes

Blend away!  This tastes like a Caribbean beach drink!  You can play around with the ingredients but this is a great start!  I seriously have an addiction to these green drinks every morning! 

If you've forgotten from a previous post why spinach is a positive boost to your body here is a quick note on some of the benefits of spinach from one of the best books on Greens:  Greens Glorious Greens by Johnna Albi and Catherine Walthers.

"Spinach is high in vitamins A,C, and E, the antioxidant vitamins shown to reduce the risk of cancer.  It also makes the top 10 lists of fruits and vegetables with the highest sources of carotenoids, a large family of nutrients (that includes beta-carotene) being studied for preventing disease.  Spinach also fufills the daily requirement for folacin, and contains more iron than most greens."

Enjoy your greens!!!  Let me know if I have any new spinach groupies!!
Krista

Pumped Up Smoothie

Easy Protein Smoothie for Before or After the Game

Hey Busy Moms and Dads ... Here is that smoothie recipe I promised you!

Hello Friends,

Sometimes getting food into our young athletes is not easy before or after practices and games.  Sometimes they are just not hungry as they worked their bodies really hard.  Beverages work magic when this happens!  Every time I have brought these smoothies in the car for other kids or just my own, they are sucked down in no time!  My only advice on products to use is buy the best quality ingredients you can find.  Their bodies will thank you!  Rock on Super Moms and Dads!!!

Pumped Up Smoothie

Serves 1

1 cup of 2% milk or rice milk
1 scoop of ice cream
3 ice cubes
1 scoop of whey protein powder

Blend all ingredients. 
Enjoy!

If you'd like to learn more about how to time meals and snacks for your young athletes be sure to check out my upcoming book: 

Winning the Game:  The Busy Mom's Manual for Refueling her Athletic Family in 6 Easy Steps

Be Well!
Krista

Coconut Milk!

Happy Sunday!  Just had to share this product I just tried after a nice long walk with my dog on this warm morning!  I think this made my smoothie the best it's ever been so for those of you wanting to try coconut milk in your smoothies here is a good one to try:  Trader Joe's Original Unsweetened Coconut Milk.  I love that it's in this half gallon container and you can keep it cold in the fridge!  Inexpensive and for people who cannot tolerate dairy (I am dairy sensitive and right now with the pollen going up I have a tough time with the yogurt I love to use) and might be tired of rice milk - a great change.  The coconut is often overlooked because of the fat it contains.  But there are some great benefits to using coconut.  The serving size of one cup contains 3 g of medium chain fatty acids - which is a natural source of energy that is readily metabolized faster than long chain fatty acids.  Helps support metabolism!

Enjoy your coconut milk ...

The Joys of Food Shopping!!!

"I can spend hours in a grocery store. I get so excited when I see food, I go crazy. I spend hours arranging my baskets so that everything fits in and nothing gets squashed. I'm really anal about it, actually."
Cameron Diaz

Are you kidding me?  I guess shopping is a novelty for her!   I wish I felt that way about filling my cart with groceries!!!

Oh yes, the joy of food shopping!
It is so necessary but I really don't LOVE it ... Ok, I dread it.  But someone has to do it! 
To be on a mission to buy what your family needs when you are crunched for time isn't easy! Here are some strategies from my upcoming book "Winning the Game:  The Busy Mom's Manual for Refueling her Athletic Family."   

1.  What system works for you?  Handwritten list, no list, on-line shopping, smart phone app?  Stick with whatever works for your family.  If you're distracted like me, you will come home with food you really didn't need ... and you will forget that important ingredient you needed for your kid's birthday dinner!!  I need a list!!  Find something that works for you.  There are tons of apps out there that make it so easy to maintain your list.  I cannot live without the Cozi app.  Check it out!  http://www.cozi.com/
I also just found this link:  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dP-aPj-LJEA  (The Grocery Gadget Free App). If you have an iPhone, iPad or itouch you can use this app that is super organized ... as goofy as this couple is I think I'll check it out.  Let me know if any of you use this!!
2.  Be Consistent!  Enough said.
3.  Make Conscious Choices!  Try to choose seasonal fruits and veggies.  They are less expensive and were grown more locally than those out of season fruits that had to come from the other side of the world.  Keep trying with the fresh foods if you have a picky eater.  The colors help us get different vitamins, minerals and phytonutrients into our bodies!  If you are buying meat, choose animals that have not been locked in factories.  They've never seen sunlight and mostly have eaten foods they were not really designed to eat.  PINK SLIME ... yeah avoid those companies that have not taken it out.  (Also check out your kids' school lunch programs ... many food services are removing those meats that contain pink slime but many haven't yet as they will be stuck with excess food that is in storage ... call the board of ed offices to inquire.
4.  Shop the Perimeter of the Grocery Store ... why?  Those are the aisles you will find your produce, meat, fish, cheese, baked goods and dairy.  You can avoid the high priced processed foods if you stay on the outside of the store.
5.  Avoid Foods With "Lite" or "Reduced Calorie"  These foods are usually watered down and have artificial sweeteners and chemical additives. 
6.  Become a Food Detective When Questioning a Product!  A quick overview of strategies - read the labels!  I've worked with children and parents on how to read labels thanks to Dr. David Katz who designed "Nutrition Detectives,"  a great educational tool.

*Don't be fooled by the big letters on the front of the package.  Look for the itty bitty letters on the back!

*The first ingredient is always the BIGGEST!

*AVOID foods with partially hydrogenated oil (trans fat) and high fructose corn syrup!

*AVOID foods with a long ingredient list!

*FIBER IS YOUR FRIEND!  Beware of whole grain imposters! Foods should contain at least 2 grams of fiber per 100 calories.

Ok, your turn to get it done...on your mark ... 

Just kidding ... I just put my groceries away and all I can say is Yay it's done!  At least for now :)

Happy Shopping Fellow Peeps!

Or Smart Phone App?

Krista

Handwritten list ....

Need a quick detox from Easter Candy?

Yes, that candy was sooo good!  I enjoyed some nice chocolate yesterday along with some other goodies plucked from my kids' Easter baskets!  My daily morning green drink today helped get me back on track in a few minutes.  This is such an easy feat when you are pinched for time and still want to get a great start to your day!  I begin my day with 2 big handfuls of spinach every day mixed up in some kind of smoothie depending on what I have available to me.  There are so many benefits to spinach and this is such an easy way to get it in first thing in the morning.  (Did you ever notice when you start the day off with healthy food you tend to carry that theme all day?)
            

 One cup of the leafy green vegetable spinach contains far more than your daily requirements of vitamin K and vitamin A, almost all the manganese and folate your body needs and nearly 40 percent of your magnesium requirement. It is a good, very good or excellent source of more than 20 different measurable nutrients, including dietary fiber, calcium and protein. And yet, 1 cup has only 40 calories! Spinach is an excellent choice for nutrition without high calories.

Read more: http://www.livestrong.com/article/2700-facts-health-benefits-spinach/#ixzz1rVMfWnLT

Green Smoothie

2 handfuls of spinach

1/2 cup of plain yogurt

1 small banana

4 ice cubes

1 teaspoon of agave nectar (or to taste)

Prep the above ingredients ... blend completely and enjoy!

More busy mom strategies coming ...

"Winning the Game:  The Busy Mom's Guide to Refueling her Athletic Family in Six Easy Steps"

Post-Game Eating Strategies

Hey Busy Super Moms,

As Spring sports are kicking into high gear in the coming weeks I wanted to pass on a quick list of foods that are good to eat post-game and those that should be avoided.  As my previous blog post mentioned, it is really important to replenish those growing bodies immediately after practices and games.  Our little athletes (some are now getting bigger than us!!!)  need to do this within 30 minutes as their muscles are like sponges at this point.  Food will be converted to glycogen much faster as their cells are sensitive to substances that change nutrients to fuel.


SUGGESTED POST-GAME SNACKS AND LIQUIDS:
fruit
sports bar (try to find those that are without refined sugars)
cereal and juice
bagel with butter or spread
crackers and string cheese
muffin
oatmeal cookie
yogurt
pasta or noodles

AVOID THESE FOODS POST-GAME:
carbonated drinks such as soda
caffeine
cheeseburger, hamburger
candy
anything with msg
doughnut or pastry
french fries
pizza with meat/double cheese
highly refined dry cereals such as Corn Pops or Reese's Puffs
Anything with high fructose syrup

 More strategies on refueling your young athletes coming soon from my new book:
Winning the Game:
The Busy Mom's Manual for Refueling her Athletic Family in Six Easy Steps   

Be Well and Enjoy this Sunshine!!
Krista