“The Chopped”: A Delicious Approach to Healthy Eating
September 23, 2013
By KC Kahn – Blogger at The Kitchen Chopper
Let me introduce you to a great healthy eating concept called The Chopped!
All Chopped “balanced meals in a bowl” start with a base of green veggie goodness. Kale, Arugula, Spinach, and/or Romaine are just the beginnings of the nutritious functional foods you can deliciously incorporate into your day!
The Chopped is a “Full Balanced Meal in a Bowl”. I take all the components of a nutritious meal, chop them and bring them together with a delicious, homemade, healthful dressing that’s a delivery system of enormous antioxidant flavor. I suggest eating The Chopped with a big soup spoon. This way you get a different, tasty combo in every bite!
Eating a balanced diet like The Chopped is a key part of maintaining a healthy lifestyle. Daily workouts keep body fat low, enhance lung function and build/maintain muscle mass. The vitamins, minerals, and antioxidants you get from eating The Chopped will be realized in so many ways if you are consistent. Good nutrition fuels your workouts so you get the most benefits from them. This is the prescription for a long and healthy existence…Welcome to The Chopped Life.
Here’s a sample recipe. KC’s Basic Chopped. This is the first combo of balanced ingredients I came up with. I now have many Chopped categories besides the “Full Meal”. There are Hot, Side, Pizza, Baked, Soup, Scrambled and Dessert. The Chopped recipes are so versatile that most can be made vegetarian, vegan, and gluten free.
Bowl Ingredients:
- 4 cups Arugula or Hearts of Romaine, Chopped
- 1 cup Chopped microwave steamed Broccoli or Microwave Steamed Green Beans
- 4 Queen Sized Green Olives, sliced, sliced and halved
- 16 Grape Tomatoes, halved or quartered, depending on size.
- 3 Green Onions, Chopped
- 1 cup cooked Chopped Pasta or ½ cup Brown Rice Barley or Quinoa cooked/cooled
- 1/2 oz. Parmesan Cheese, finely grated
- 8 oz. Cooked Chicken, cooled and diced
- 5 Fresh Basil Leaves, finely Chopped
Bowl Directions
Chop’em and Drop’em as directed into a Large Serving Bowl
Dressing Ingredients:
- 1 Tablespoon Good Quality Olive Oil
- 2 Garlic Cloves, minced
- 2 Tablespoons Balsamic Vinegar
- 1/2 teaspoon dried Oregano
- Kosher or Maldon Sea Salt to taste
- Freshly Ground Black Pepper to taste
- Juice of ½ Lemon, this gives the dressing a kick and takes some of the sweetness away from the Balsamic Vinegar
- 5 Sundried Tomatoes, Chopped
Dressing Prep:
In a small microwave safe bowl add the minced Garlic and Olive Oil, microwave on high for 15 seconds to mellow the Garlic.
Add Vinegar, Oregano, Salt, Pepper and any lemon & sundried tomatoes
With healthy food, combined with probiotics, the food you put into your body will be metabolized more efficiently (watch out for some more great posts next month about probiotics in your diet). This all works at a cellular level and doesn’t happen overnight. At first you’ll feel better just knowing you’re doing something so good for your body and then you’ll notice the little changes that turn into big changes. Not feeling so tired, getting more out of your workouts, recovering more quickly if and when you get sick, and one of the most important…getting back on track after injuries or surgery. Take the Choppertunity to elevate your quality of life with Exercise, Probiotics and The Chopped! “Get Your Spoons Ready!”
About our Guest Author
KC is a home cook and the blogger behind TheKitchenChopper.com. KC and her family have been following the trifecta of healthy Chopped nutrition, exercise and probiotics for about 15 years. She credits this lifestyle with experiencing fewer colds/allergies, more energy, and the ability to recover from injuries/surgeries faster. KC is a long time user to Natren Probiotics, and says, ” Probiotics changed my life just as eating The Chopped did. When your gut flora is healthy and you’re eating nutritious ingredients like vitamin and mineral packed veggies/fruits, low fat protein, high fiber carbs, healthful fats, and antioxidant rich herbs and spices your body hums along with healthy vitality.“
The post “The Chopped”: A Delicious Approach to Healthy Eating appeared first on Natren Probiotics Blog.
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