How is everyone doing with TA5L’s Healthy Breakfast Challenge?  I must say I’ve really stuck to it , except for last Friday when things were so busy at work I didn’t even eat breakfast.  Yeah I know, I’m dead wrong for that.  But other than that I’ve been really consistent with my healthy breakfasts and it’s made me feel good.  This challenge has made me realize that it’s important to start your day off right! Lately on the weekends I have been making these really quick and tasty omelette that I thought I would share with you.  On the weekends I try to switch it up since I eat Greek yogurt, fruit and granola everyday during the week.  This omelette is full of flavor and easy to make.  Enjoy and tell me what you think.

Here’s what you will need :

2 eggs

A handful of baby spinach leaves

1 tsp of crushed garlic

1-2 Tbs of shaved Parmesan

a pinch of salt and pepper

1. First whisk together the eggs, garlic, salt and pepper in a bowl.

2. Pour the egg into a small omelette pan.

3.When the underside begins to cook and become firm sprinkle the cheese and then the baby spinach on top.

4.  Fold the omelette in half and then flip it.

5. Cook it for a few more seconds until the egg is completely cooked and transfer on to a plate.

Bon A petit!

The Menu

So let’s talk about what made this happy hour so great! For starters its from 5-7pm SEVEN DAYS A WEEK.  Yup, that’s right you can have happy hour on a Saturday or a Sunday. This place has a great happy hour food menu.  While I was there I ordered the mussels in a white wine sauce and they were really good.  My boyfriend, Jimmy, ordered a baby burger which was really good too, I also got a order of goat cheese (made local in west chester) served with sliced apples, french baguette and caramel compote.  That combination was so delicious!

Mussels, Goat cheese, apples, and caramel compote

Now lets get to the important part! The drinks!  They always have a cheap red and a cheap white wine for 4 dollars a glass.  But don’t be fooled by the name because its not actually cheap wine, they just buy it in case loads.  I had a couple glasses of the white and I really enjoyed it.  Many people around me also seemed to enjoy the red also.  They also had some other cocktails on the menu, such as sangria and a tangerine flavored drink.  Now to be honest when I first saw sangria on the menu I thought, isn’t it February? That’s a summer drink.  But they actually did a hell of a job “winterizing” a sangria. Jake’s sangria consist of  red wine, white wine, a port wine, cinnamon, chopped green apples topped off with champagne.  Sounds amazing doesn’t it!  Well it was! They also have 3 dollar Yuengling bottles and 3 dollar drafts.

Baby Burger with no cheese (Jimmy doesn’t like cheese)

The atmosphere is pretty chill and mature.  It’s definitely not a college hang out.  And remember they don’t allow “drink stacking”.  So next time your in Manayunk make sure you swing over to Jake’s and Cooper’s Wine Bar and have yourself a glass of “cheap” wine.

“Cheap” white wine

Jake’s is located at 4365 Main St. Philadelphia, PA.

Picture from fairfood40.com

Happy Happy Happy Wellness Wednesday!  Today I want to challenge you.  What am I challenging you to?

The After 5 Lifestyle 30 Day Healthy Breakfast Challenge!

The TA5L 30 Day Healthy Breakfast Challenge will start on April 1st and end on April 30th.  I would like you to participate and post pics on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram using the hash-tag #TA5LHBC  of your healthy breakfast challenge.  We can share tips and recipes.  Lets do this together and get in the habit of starting our day off right!

 Breakfast is the most important meal of the day! And many of us skip it or eat the worst possible things to start our day off.  Part of the problem is having a healthy breakfast, especially during the week takes planning.  It’s so much easier and quicker to grab Dunkin Donuts or a bacon, egg and cheese sandwich from the cart.  Trust me,  I am guilty of this myself.  In order to eat a better breakfast I have to plan!  I must go to market on Sundays and pick up things like Greek yogurt, fruit and healthy cereal to last throughout the week.  For the weekend I must make a constant effort to have the right things in the house to prepare a healthy and delicious meal.

Now does that mean I’m asking you to not eat a pancake for 30 days? Heck no!  But maybe you should try a whole wheat pancake, or making that pancake from scratch and eating fresh fruit with it.  And how about eating one pancake instead of 5?  We need to make a conscious effort to start our day off right and get that metabolism going!  And don’t forget part of a healthy breakfast is a good beverage, so put the Pepsi down! And have a glass of water or fresh squeezed orange juice.

Are you up for the challenge?

Hola everyone! Today on Wellness Wednesday I want to talk to you guys about your sodium intake.  That’s right put the salt shaker down!  Consuming too much salt can cause things like high blood pressure, fluid retention, dehydration etc.  With that being said our bodies do need some sodium, but a very small amount daily (2,300 mg).  How ever you can go well above 2,300 mg in one sitting. So here are a couple of tips for cutting your salt intake.

1. Watch what you season your food with.  Many seasonings already have salt in them so there is no need to add additional salt.

2. Rinse it off.  Did you know rinsing canned black beans can reduce the sodium by more than 40%?

3. Coarser salt does not mean its less sodium.  That’s false, don’t think that just because you use bigger salt crystals that it’s any better.

4. Read labels! You would be surprised how much sodium is in the things.  Maybe you can choose a brand with less sodium.

5. Make your own! Try making your own spaghetti sauce.  Have you looked at the sodium in store-bought spaghetti sauce? Just make your own!  You would be surprised at how much sodium is in the food your eating at your local restaurant too.  Try not  to eat out so much, it’s better for your health and it will save you money too.

Hope these tips help!

Happy Wellness Wednesday!

Love,

April

Now, we all love waffles, pancakes and french toast for breakfast (occasionally anyway), but have you ever paid attention to what you’re pouring on your pancakes?  A lot of us are accustom to using “Pancake Syrup” instead of Maple Syrup.  According to ehow.com

 Which do you think is better for you? All you have to do is look at the ingredients.  I bet you any amount of money you have no clue what half of that stuff is in Mrs Buttersworth’s  or Aunt Jemima’s syrup.  So look a little higher on the shelf and check out the ingredients in Maples Syrup. It should be maple syrup and maybe some other flavors like vanilla.

Now don’t get me wrong! Maple syrup is pretty much a liquid sugar, so you shouldn’t be eating large amounts of it, but it does have a nutritional value. And it is a pure ingredient.  And more importantly it doesn’t contain a bunch of ingredients that you don’t know how to pronounce.  And yes it will cost more, but its worth it.

Which kind of syrup do you use?

Sources:

http://www.livestrong.com/article/264505-what-are-the-benefits-of-grade-b-maple-syrup/

So Friday night I made the most wonderful meatball subs! And I made them using ground turkey because part of my new healthier lifestyle is cutting down on my red meat intake. Don’t get me wrong I love a juicy burger as much as the next person, I just can’t eat them twice a week! lol So I basically used the exact same recipe I always use except I used turkey instead of beef.  And the subs were fantastic! I got the original recipe here from FoodNetwork.com (Rachel Ray).  I tweaked it a bit.  So check out what you need and the directions below! Feel free to use ground beef if you like, however temperature and time may vary.

Here’s what you need:

• 1.25 pounds of ground turkey

• 1/2 cup of Italian Breadcrumbs

• 1/4 cup of Italian Blend Shredded cheese or reduced fat skim mozzarella or shredded Parmesan (not the powdery junk in a canister)

• 1 egg

• 2 tsp Worcestershire Sauce

• 2-3tbs of minced garlic or a few fresh cloves finely chopped

• Italian seasoning

• 1/2 green pepper chopped

• 1/4 onion chopped

• 1 can of spaghetti sauce

• Amoroso Hoagie Rolls

Optional

• 1/4 cup of red wine (preferably Merlot)

*Recipe renders about 15 meatballs

Now folks this is so easy you can’t possibly mess this up. First preheat your oven to 375 degrees. Throw the turkey, breadcrumbs, cheese, egg, Worcestershire sauce, garlic (save some garlic for the sauce), about about half of the chopped onions and some Italian seasoning in a big bowl.

Work it all together with your hands. I used my Kitchen Aid mixer, but your hands are just as good!

Once everything is well blended coat a large cookie sheet with oil. If you are using turkey like I did coat it very well. The ground beef has more fat so it doesn’t stick as much. Roll up your meatballs and place them neatly on your cookie sheet.

Bake them for about 30 minutes.

Get out a large saucepan or small pot and pour the sauce into the pot.  Add the rest of the onions and garlic, green pepper, a little Italian seasoning and the red wine.  Let this simmer on medium to low while the meatballs cook. Be sure to stir every so often.

Once the meatballs are done (do not turn off the oven), add them to the pot of sauce.

Stir and let them simmer for a few minutes.

In the meantime take your rolls open them up and place them in the oven on the rack. Let the rolls toast for a minute or two. Just until the bun gets a little crunchy.

Now, its time to construct your meatball sub! And don’t forget a little cheese on top. Bon Ape-tit!

XOXO,

But one more important thing folks, no matter what meat you are buying its important to focus on the fat content. If the ground turkey isn’t at 90/10 it might be just as fattening as the grown beef. The leanest ground turkey has 30 less calories than the leanest ground beef. Thats not much difference but hey every calorie counts.

XOXO,

April

Sources:

http://www.livestrong.com/article/442890-how-often-should-you-eat-beef/

Hey guys how are you!??! In lieu of my new fitness routine and my efforts to be a little healthier, I thought I start sharing some tips with you guys.  I know its hard to be healthy especially when you work and things need to be quick and easy.  However,  sometimes there are alternatives  to things you already eat that are healthier.

My first swap out I want share with you is Greek yogurt.  I’ve been eating this every weekday morning as part of my breakfast. Swap out your regular yogurt for Greek yogurt.  It’s extremely creamy, but has less fat and more protein.  Watch and compare brands though because like my good friend Michelle said “Not all Greek yogurt are created equal”.

XOXO,

This was my first time using the Rosemary and Roasted Garlic Recipe and it was absolutely delicious.  And best of all it was really quick and easy.

All you need  is:

• 3-5 Chicken Breasts
• 2 eggs
• 1 pack of Fresh Take (I used Rosemary and Roasted Garlic)
• A baking dish or cookie sheet
• oil or non-stick spray to coat the dish

Now the package says that it will coat 6 chicken breasts, however I use a lot of the coating in order to get a good crispy crust.  So I probably couldn’t coat 6 whole breast with one pack.

Another change I made was adding the egg wash.  This helps the breadcrumbs and cheese stick to the chicken.  The package says to just rinse the chicken in cold water and coat the chicken.  That does work however, I like a thicker coating.

Now first thing you need to do is empty the contents of the Fresh Takes recipe into medium bowl.

Beat two eggs in another medium-sized bowl.

Take you wet chicken breast and  coating with the bread/cheese mixture.

Then dip it in your egg wash.

Then dip it in the bread/cheese coating again.  Press the coating on to the chicken so that you get a nice and thick crust.

Place the chicken on your greased cookie sheet and place it in the oven on 375 for about 26 to 30 minutes or until the chicken is cooked all the way through.

Bon A petit! The chicken came out with  a great crispy and flavorful crust.  I loved it! And I didn’t have to add any additional seasoning.

An instagram photo of my meal.