I've been posting my favorite recipes to my home page blog, but though maybe I should start a forum thread where people can post their favorite recipes so that we have them all together into one printable recipe box. How cool is that?

I'll start with my next post for my Pork & Sweet Potato Stew, and then add the rest from my blog in subsequent postings.

All the best in your Transformation,

WorkoutGuy

WorkoutGuy's Pork & Sweet Potato Stew
A modified recipe from Fix-It and Forget-It Lightly...A GREAT COOK BOOK FOR SLOW COOKERS

Makes ~18.5 cups: Per cup = 165 calories, 21 grams carbohydrates, 13 grams protein, 3 grams fat

Ingredients
3 large sweet potatos, peeled and cut into small pieces
16 oz frozen sweet corn
12 oz frozen green beans (I break them in half or thirds)
16 oz frozen mixed vegetabels
2 Hormel Teriaki Pork Tenderloins cut into small pieces (~2.3 lbs)
3 cans Italian diced tomatoes
1 cup vegetable broth
1/2 large onion chopped (~8.5 oz)
5 cloves garlic chopped
10 oz mushrooms sliced (optional, my kids won't eat them, but I love them)
2 tsp seasoned salt
1/2 tsp black pepper
1 tbs Udo's Choice oil (a healthy way to bring up the fat). Note: Add this at the very end so that you don't oxidize the oil by excessive heating.

Combine all of the frozen & fresh vegetables in the slow cooker.
Place pork on top
Stir together the remaining ingredients and pour over pork.
Cover and cook on low for 7 hours. Mix about every 2 hours.

As the sweet potatoes cook, they begin to disintigrate into the liguid, giving it a beautiful orange color and texture and a slightly sweet taste that I and the kids love.

Note: this make quite a bit, so you'll need either a large crock pot or adjust the volume for smaller crock pots. I modified it from the original recipe to beef up the protein and to increase the volume so that I could freeze some in individual containers for quick & easy BFL complient meals that you can pop in the microwave.

All the best in your Transformation,
WorkoutGuy

WorkoutGuy's Chili Recipe
There are lot's of Chili recipies floating around out there, but here's the one I like the best and my wife and kids love it too. I seem to remember that it started with a BFL recipie that I got on line (or perhaps out of EFL, I forgot) and it's evolved in my kitchen over time.

Makes 24 cups: Per cup, 230 calories, about 30 grams carbohydrates, 16 grams protein, 5 grams fat

Ingredients
1 lb 10% fat ground beef (4% better if you can find it)
One package extra lean ground turkey (~1.25 lbs)
32 oz frozen corn
4 cans tomato sauce
3 cans Italian diced tomatoes (latelyI've subsetuted one can of diced tomatoes with green chilis for one of these)
4 cans of various beans (Chili, pinto, kidney, black, rad, etc.) I usually use at least one can chili beans in mild sauce.
3 Tbs Udo's Choice Oil
2 packages chili mix (I usually use Albertson's store brand)
Chili powder to taste.

Brown the ground beef and ground turkey and add to a large pot, dump in all of the other ingredients except for the oil while stirring. Bring to a boil and simmer until ready for serving. Add chili powder is stages until it's right for you. I usually add the Udo's Choice Oil at the very end after removing from the heat to prevent any heat oxidation of the oil.

All the best in your Transformation,

WorkoutGuy

WorkoutGuy'S Grilled Salmon

So, here's another favorite of mine for my favorite recipe Blog. It's not actually a recipe, it's more of a method. I usually purchase 5 oz Atlantic Farm Raised Salmon fillets.

• Pre-heat the grill for 10-15 minutes at the grill's highest setting.
• Lightly salt one side with California Style Garlic Salt.
• Then apply a good coating of onion powder.
• Spray with olive oil PAM to help the salt & powder stay on better and help keep the salmon from sticking to the grill.
• Trun the salmon over and respet.
• Scrape down the grill to remove debris from the previous use, then turn the grill down to Medium-High.
• Place the salmon on the grill perpendicular to the grill grate.
• Cook for 4 minutes, no more, no less.
• Turn the fillets over carefully and cook for 4 addition minutes, no more, no less.
• Remove and enjoy!

Note: If the salmon is overly done or underdone, adjust the heat next time, not the time. Salmon will dry out on the grill if you leave it on too long.

All the best in your Transformation,

WorkoutGuy

WorkoutGuy's Hamburger Soup

Here's another one that the entire family loves. The orginal recipe came from Fix-It and Forget-It Lightly, a slow cooker recipe book that my Mother-In-Law bought me. I modified it by using a lower fat hamburger, whole wheat pasta, and I added a red bell pepper and a few additional spices.
Ingredients

• 1 pound 4% fat Gound Beef
• 1/4 tsp black pepper
• 1/4 tsp dried oregano
• 3/4 tsp Seasoned Salt
• 1/4 tsp Garlic salt
• 1 tbs dried onion flakes
• 1 tsp dried minced garlic
• 1 envelope dry onion soup mix
• 3 cups beef or vegetable broth (I use 1/3 less sodium beef broth)
• 1 8 oz can tomato sauce
• 1 tbs low sodium soy sauce
• 1 cup sliced carrots
• 1 cup chopped celery
• 1 chopped red bell pepper
• 1 cup dry whole wheat pasts (Macoroni or Rotini) cooked
• 1/4 cup reduced fat grated parmesan cheese

Mix all the ingredients except the pasta and cheese into the slow cooker and cook on low for 6-8 hours. During the last 20 minutes, add the cooked pasta and the cheese and turn to high. Cook for 20 minutes. ENJOY!

Makes about 9 cups soup.
1 Cup = 155 calories, 17 gm carbohydrates, 15 grams protein, and 3 grams fat.

All the best in your Transformation,

WorkoutGuy

WorkoutGuy's Rosemary Grilled Chicken Recipe

Here's a staple at our house. The kids love it and it's so easy. Just serve it with some steamed brown rice (see my recipe for herbed brown rice in the My Favorite Recipes blog on my home page), and some boiled broccoli, and you have a complete BFL complient meal in no time.

Heat your grill as hot as it will go whlie you prepare the chicken. This will carbonize all the crud on the grill left over from your last meal. Don't forget to scrape it down with a wire brush just before you grill the chicken.

This method calls for extra large chicken steak breasts. The larger, the better, as they tend to stay moister in the middle through the grilling process. Typically, the breasts that I use come in packages of two and together weigh anywhere from 1.2 to 1.5 lbs. (about 3/4 lbs each).

This recipe also calls for one sprig of rosemary per chicken breast. Fortunately for us, it pretty much grows wild here in central California, so all I need to do is hack off a couple pieces from one of our 4 foot bushes.

Trim all visible fat from the breast. Insert one of the sprigs of rosemary into the middle of the breast, between the breast and the rib meat. Spray the rosemary well with olive oil spray (or simply rub it on from a bottle). The oil will help to extract the rosemary flavor during the grilling process. Dust one side of the breast with a light coating of California Style Garlic Salt and a heavier coating of onion powder. Seal it in with a good spray of olive oil spray. This will also help it from sticking to the grill. Turn the breast over and repeat the process.

After the grill is pre-heated (10-15 minutes), scrape it down and then turn it down to no higher than medium. I have a 3-burner Webber grill and I use all three burners (direct grilling method). Place the chick (with the rosemary sprig still in it) on the grill. Grill for 10 minutes (no more, no less) on one side. Then turn it over and grill for an additional 10 minutes (no more, no less). It is important when cooking chicken on the grill not to have the heat up too high as this will toughen and dry out the chicken. If the chicken is not done enough the first time you try it, increase the time a little, but avoid turning up the heat unless your grill runs a lot colder than mine.

I then let the chicken sit for about 10 minutes to allow the juices to equilibrate through the breast (a Rachel Ray trick I learned on her show), remove the rosemary sprig, and slice the meat across the grain and serve (I use an electric carving knife).

All the best in your Transformation,

WorkoutGuy

WorkoutGuy's Chicken & Mushroom Stew

I adapted this one from one of my favorite slow cooker cookbooks, Fix-It and Forget-It Lightly.
Ingredients

• 10 3/4 oz can of Fat Free Condensed Cream of Celery (or Mushroom) Soup
• 1/2 of the soup can filled with vegetable broth (I use a lower sodium variety)
• About 2 1/4 lb chicken breasts trimmed of all fat
• 2 cups baby carrots sliced in half
• 6 green onions (sliced with the tops)
• 3 ribs of celery (chopped)
• 5 cloves of garlic (minced)
• About 16 oz sliced fresh mushrooms (I use a variety)
• 1/2 tsp onion salt
• 1/2 tsp garlic salt
• 1/4 tsp black pepper
• 3 Tbs. Udo's Choice oil
• 2 Tbs. Corn Startch in 2 Tbs cold water

Combine the first 11 ingredients (soup through the pepper) in the slow cooker and cook on low 6 to 8 hours or until the chicken is done. Serve over brown rice or egg noodles.

Makes about 8 3/4 cups stew

1 Cup = about 210 calories, 9 grams carbohydrates, 26 grams protein, 8 grams fat (not counting the rice or noodles).

All the best in your Transformation,

WorkoutGuy

Thanks for the recipes! I was hoping someone would do this~! Here's one of my favorite Shake recipes:

Apple Pie Right Light Shake:

1/2 apple, cored
1 package Right or Right Light Shake Mix
4-5 ice cubes
4-8 oz. apple juice (or juice of choice)
dash cinnamon, nutmeg

In a blender*, place ice cubes, shake mix, juice. Blend for 20 seconds. Add apple and blend until smooth. Serve with a sprinkle of cinnamon and nutmeg on top. This tastes just like an apple pie! Delish~!

*If you don't have a blender, substitute apple sauce for the half apple and ice water for ice cubes. Shake well and enjoy~!

Here's another one I LOVE and it makes a great BFL snack along with a protein...adapted from the Ultra Simple Diet Recipe book:

Ultra Broth:

Choose 6 from the following list:

Root vegetables (turnips, squash, parsnips, beets, carrots, etc.)
Kale
Sweet Potato
Cabbage
Celery
Garlic
Onion
Any other favorite vegetable

You'll need approximately 6 ounces of 6-8 vegetables of choice. I like to use turnips, parsnips, beets, kale, onion, cabbage, and celery. Wash them, then cut them up in large chunks.

Place all vegetables in a LARGE cookpot and fill with water to cover. Cover with a lid and bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer until they start to smell yummy! (an hour or two). Strain out the veggies, add salt and pepper to taste, and you've got a WONDERFUL, healthy vegetable broth that can be used in cooking, soups or as a quick, hot drink!

I don't peel the veggies, as they are being removed, but if you want to keep them to eat after they're cooked, wash and peel as necessary before placing into the cook pot. Then pop the cooked veggies into a blender or food processor to make a great thickener for stew or a soup base! I also try to buy organic veggies as they seem to taste better.

The broth will keep in the fridge for about a week, and can also be frozen. It's great to add as liquid when making brown rice, or as a soup base. I also like to heat about 2 cups in the microwave and put it in a thermos as a quick snack. Along with an approved protein it makes an easy snack! And you get your veggies in!

WorkoutGuy's Citrus White Fish

OK, enough with the play on words. It wasn't that orginal to begin with. I picked this recipe up from a bodybuilding magazene and the whole family loves it. Just combine it with some brown rice and some veggies and you have a complete BFL complient meal that's a snap to prepare.

The orginal recipe called for fillet of sole, but I found that just about any white fish will work, depending on what's fresh. I also keep frozen orange roughe in the freezer and it works great for preparing the meal ahead of time and using the time bake on the oven. I often pop it in the oven just prior to going to the gym for my 4:30 workout, and have it set to be done for our 7 PM dinner. You'll need to play with your timer settings to account for the warm up time. I have a very slow oven and need to add at least 15-20 extra minutes.

Makes 4 servings. Each serving (not counting the rice or veggies) is about 230 calories, 12 gm carbohydrates, 32 grams protein, and 6 gm fat.

Start with 4 white fish fillets and place each one in the center of it's own foot long piece of aluminum foil. Top with 1 tsp butter (as a healthier alternative, I add 1 tsp of Udo's Choice oil and 1 Tbs butter buds), 1 Tbs. orange juice concentrate (can be any citus juice concentrate), and one chopped green onion. Wrap it shut and place on a baking sheet. Cook for about 15 minutes at 450 degrees, and serve immediately.

Sometimes for variety, I also add some chopped fresh or canned tropical fruit. Drained fruit cups work well and so des drained canned pineapple. Just go account for the fruit as part of you carb protion, perhaps cut back on the rice.

That's it! Soooo simple.

All the best in your Transformation,

WorkoutGuy

WorkoutGuy's Meatloaf Recipe
I found this one in the pages of Cooking Light, but it was way too high on protein to be a BFL type meal. Funny, but I would have expected to find this recipe in Muscle & Fitness instead of Cooking Light. I fixed it by balancing it with some healthy carbs.

INGREDIENTS

• 2 lbs of 96% Fat Ground Beef (you can also substitute extra lean ground turkey for all or part part of it)
• 1 1/2 cups Old-Fashion Oatmeal
• 1 - 14.5 oz can Italian Style Diced Tomatoes
• 1 - 6 oz can tomatoe paste
• 1 1/2 Tbs Dried Parsley Flakes
• 1 Tsp Dried Oregano
• 2 Tsp Dried Basil
• 1 Tsp Garlic Powder
• 1/4 cup Reduced Fat Parmesean Cheese
• 3 Tbs Wocestershire Sauce
• 2 Tbs Low-Sodium Soy Sauce
• 1/2 large onion diced fine
• 1/2 cup egg substitute
• 1/2 cup Ketchup (in the mix)
• 1/4 cup Ketchup (topping)
• 1 Tbs Honey (topping)

Combine all of the ingredients (except the ketchup & honey toppings) in a large mixing bowl. Pat into a meatlof pan pre-sprayed with a lighting of olive oil. Spread the ketchup topping over the top with a knife and drizzle the honey over the ketchup. Bake at 400 degrees in a pre-heated oven for about 1 hour and 15 minutes. Optionally, you can use a 9 X 13 inch baking pan (this is what I use), but reduce the cooking time to about an hour.

Makes 16 servings: 160 calories, 17 grams carbohydrates, 16 grams protein, and 3.3 grams fat.
I actually double the serving for myself. Come to think of it, the kids liked it so much that they doubled it too, but my wife stuck with the smaller serving size. We combined it with a small salad for a complte BFL complient meal.

All the best in Your Transformation,

WorkoutGuy

WorkoutGuy's Rosemary Potatoes
This is one of the absolute favorits of my kids. Today as I was making it I heard a Yea! dad's making his potatoes from the livingroom.

I usually serve this with my Rosemary Chicken and some boiled broccoli for a complete BFL complient meal. I think I mentioned in my Rosemary Chicken recipe that we are fortunate that rosemary grows almost without effort here on the central coast of Califormia. I've got a 3 foot by 4 foot bush just outside my kitchen door that I can hack off a piece anytime I want it. It's beginning to bloom now and looks real pretty too.

INGREDIENTS

• 2 lbs Red Potatoes cut into bite size wedges. I highly recommend the red potstoes over russett or golden potatoes as they are slower to digest and have a lower glycemic index so they won't spike your insulin as high. I usually purchase a bag of the smaller ones and cut them into 8 peices.
• 2 Tbs olice oil
• About 1 TBS fresh rosemary chopped (~1 sprig).
• 2 cloves fresh garlic minced fine.
• 1 tsp onion salt
• 2 tsp minced dry parsley.

Preheat oven to 425 degrees and bake for 30 minutes, turning once. I recommend that you do not marinaid this for more than an hour, as the salt will begin to draw moisture out of the potatoes. I often will mix it up in a bowl and then immediately put it on a foil lined baking pan and stick it in the oven just prior to my 4:30 PM workout and set the timer for it to be done for our 7 PM dinner. You'll need to play with the oven start time to account for warm up (I add about 20 minutes). Another great thing about his recipe is that you can also speed things up by using convection baking, wich cuts the time down to about 20 minutes.

Makes 8 servings: 145 calories, 21 grams carbohydrates, 4 grams protein, 5 grams fat.

All the best in your Transformation,

WorkoutGuy

WorkoutGuy's Filling Strawberry Shake

I invented this one in a pinch last night. I wanted something very filling and slow to digest that I could slam down in the car on the way to a charitable event without messing up my tux. Here's my solution, a high fiber shake with a good balance of carbs and protein, but the protein coming exclusively from slow digesting casine (the cottage cheese). AND IT TASTES GREAT!!


INGREDIENTS
1 cup nonfat cottage cheese.
1 tsp almond oil (a tasty way to add healthy fat to your shakes)
1 tsp Guar Gum (NOW brand, I buy it at Bodybuilding.com, but probably available from other sources that stock NOW brand supplements). Guar gum is a soluble fiber derived from kelp and is one of the key ingredients in commercial shakes to add fiber and thickness.
1 1/2 cup frozen strawberries
1 to 1 1/2 cup COLD water (I didn't measure). Guar gum thickens best when cold, so by adding cold water during the mixing process (rather than adding ice later) helps you fo figure out how much water to add to get the desired consistency.
Artificial sweetener to taste.


I put the first four ingredients into a blender, started it blending, then added the cold water and artificial sweetener until I achieved the desired consistence and sweetness. ENJOY!

270 Calories, 29 grams carbohydrates, 27 grams protein, 5 grams fat.

All the best in your Transformation,

WorkoutGuy

This is a new recipe for me. The kids loved it so much that I had to beat them off with the serving ladle so that I'd have some leftovers for freezing into portion controlled BFL compliant meals. This recipe has a little kick to it from the cayenne (red) pepper. You can tone it up or down to suite your tastes. I personally think it's still fairly tame, but you can really feel the metobolism gearing up as you eat it.


INGREDIENTS to add for slow cooking

• 1 lb small red potatoes (quartered). You can use larger ones too, just cut them to bite sized chunks for cooking. Later you'll be mashing them, so the size of the pieces isn't all that critical. Besure to use red potatoes, as they have a lower glycemic index than russett or golden potatoes.
• 2 1/2 cups reduced sodium chicken broth.
• 3 ribs celery (chopped).
• 8 green onions (chopped).
• 2 lbs (36 oz) Tail-off, peeled, deveined frozen shrimp.
• 1 large red sweet bell pepper (chopped).
• 10 oz sliced fresh mushrooms.
• 4 Tbs fresh parsley (minced).
• 2 tsp seasoned salt.
• 1 tsp worcestershire sauce.
• 3/8 tsp ground red (cayenne) pepper (more or less to taste).
• 1/8 tsp ground black pepper.

Ingredients to add after slow cooking

• 1 1/2 cups fat free milk.
• 1 - 5 oz can fat free evaporated milk.
• 1/4 cup whole wheat flour wished into the evaporated milk.
• 2 Tbs corn startch in 1/4 cup cold fat free milk.
• 3 Tbs Butter Buds.
• 2 Tbs Udo's Choice Oil (can substiture Olive oil or canola oil).

Combine the slow cooker ingredients and cook on medium for 3 to 4 hours, or until the potatoes are fully cooked. Mash all the cooked ingredients with a potatoe masher until the potatoes are coursly mashed (leave small chunks).


After mashing, add the Fat free milk, the flour/evaporated milk mixture, and the butter buds. Cook on high until boiling (this may take up to an hour depending on your slow cooker's power). After it has reached boiling, stir in the corn startch/fat free milk mixture and turn off the heat. Add in the oil and stir well.
This makes a great, balence BFL meal all on it's own. I served it with some sliced apples, which really paired well with the spiceness of the chowder.


Makes about 16 cups. One serving = 2 cups: 270 calories, 31 grams carbohydrates, 29 grams protein, 3.7 grams fat.

Great idea. While I have EFL, I thought it would be nice to have each meal, all inclusive with the ingredients and directions, on a card so I may just pull the card to create my meal plan.

thanks

Mary Kay

Your're welcome! Please feel free to contribute too!

Thanks for posting these recipes.

I actually made this last week, but I've been so busy, that I'm just now getting to post it. This is another recipe that the Kids loved and made a lot of extra for freezing.

INGREDIENTS

• 2 pounds Extra Lean Ground Beef (4% fat)
• 2 cans (28 oz total) of Vegetable Broth.
• 1 pound Red potatoes sliced to bite sized chunks. I use Petite Red Potatoes and cut them in 1/16 pieces. I strongly recommend Red potatoes over Russett or Golden potatoes, as they have a lower glycemic index, so they are slower to digest.
• 1 large onion chopped.
• 14 1/2 oz can of Italian diced tomatos
• 3 ribs celery chopped
• 2 cups carrots chopped
• 1 large red bell pepper chopped
• 16 oz frozen corn
• 10 oz fresh sliced mushrooms
• 1/2 tsp ground black pepper
• 1 tsp dried basil
• 3 tsp seasoned salt
• 1 tsp dried parsley
• 2 tbs Udo's Choice Oil (can subsitute in Olive Oli)

Mix all of the ingredients except for the oil in a slow cooker and cook on low to medium for 6 to 8 hours. Just prior to serving, stir in the oil.

Makes about 10 servings at 2 cups per serving.

300 calories, 35 grams carbohydrates, 26 grams protein, 6.6 grams of fat.

This is a very different stew than the sweet potatoe stew that I posted earlier. The parsnips give it a unique flavor and if you use the Misquite marinaded pork that I used, it will have a smokey BBQ flavor. Also, note that the recipe makes about 22 cups, so you will need a large slow cooker, or cut back on the ingredients. I designed the recipe around a special prok product made by Hormel, which comes in 1.7 lb packages. I wanted more than one package would make (for freezing), so I doubled the recipe. You can also substitue in regular (Lean) prok loin and adjust the recipe according to the weight of the pork.

The entire family loved the stew. The kids said it was the best yet. In fact, my youngest daughter requested today that I pull one of my meals from the freezer for her lunch. I guess that says it all!

INGREDIENTS
3.4 lbs. Hormel marinaded pork loin. I used one package of the Misquite BBQ and one package of the Honey Mustard. Cut the pork into bite size chunks.

• 1/2 lbs. cliced carrots.
• 2 lbs. Red potatoes cut into bite size chuncks. I use petite red potatoes and cut them into 1/16 pieces.
• 15 oz. parsnips peeled and cut into bite size chunks.
• 1 large onion chopped.
• 4 cloves of garlic chopped
• 4 cups low sodium vegetable juice.
• 4 Tbs. Equal Brown Sugar.
• 2 Tbs. prepared mustard.
• 6 Tbs. Tapioca.
• 4 cups frozen mixed vegetables.
• 1 1/2 tsp ground black pepper.
• 1 1/2 tsp. thyme.
• 4 tsp. seasoned salt.
• 2 tsp paprika.
• 2 Tbs Udo's Choice Oil (or substitute Olive Oil)

In a seperate large bowl, mix together the Vegetable Juice, Mustard, Brown Sugar, Tapioca, and spices. Set aside.

Place all of the remaining ingredients (except the oil) in the slow cooker, and then pour the liquid ingredients from the bowl over the ingredients in the slow cooker. Mix well and cook on high for about 2 to 4 hours and then on low for another 4 to 6 hours. Stir occasionally, especially while on high heat, to keep the tapioca from scorching to the bottom. At the very end, after removing from the heat, stir in the oil.

Serving size: 2 cups. 320 calories, 38 grams carbohydrates, 30 grams protein, and 8 grams fat.

I've been looking for a good recipe for spaghetti squash.. any ideas?