Kiana's Fit Cooking Show: Asian Cucumber Salad & Edamame Hummus in 10 minutes

Hi everyone! Here is the newest "Kiana's Fit Cooking" show with guest Chef, Eldon Pico, Executive Chef and winner of the Iron Chef Competition.

Join us and watch us make 2 healthy, easy and delicious recipes: Cucumber Asian Salad & Edamame Hummus. Both recipes require few ingredients and both take under 10 minutes~

CUCUMBER SALAD

Ingredients:

1 large English Cucumber sliced

1/2 small diced red onion

seasoned rice wine vinegar (in Asian section of supermarket)

fresh dill or dried dill

stevia (natural plant extract that tastes like sugar)

Directions:

Add to sliced cucumbers:

1 Tbs. - 2 Tbs. rice wine vinegar, red onions, 1 tsp. / large pinch dill, level tsp. stevia.

Let salad sit and let flavors combine.

EDAMAME HUMMUS

Soybeans: the most complete protein, the "wonder food!"

Ingredients / Directions:

To blender, add:

1/2 cup shelled soybeans/edamame

1 Tbs. minced garlic

2 Tbs. lemon juice

1 tsp. cumin

pinch of salt and pepper

drizzle of organic olive oil

Tip: Serve with cruditae, pita, veggies, toast points, chips, bread.

Superbowl Favorite: Orange Ribs Recipe

Orange Soda Ribs

Background: Super Bowl is the big feast at our house. As many of you know, many years ago I was an NFL cheerleader. (TMI: My husband still wants me to wear my cheerleading uniform!? Right....I'll get right on that.  Our whole family loves football, even our kids! Well, maybe they just love the snacks.

There are some days that just have to be “cheat days.”  If you’re an avid viewer of “Kiana’s Flex Appeal” ESPN, you know that I use the “cheat day” method: I eat very clean 6 days per week and 1 day per week I enjoy the not-so-clean foods – in moderation.  Cheat days are the days you enjoy food. This is the day that you get to eat in moderation, what you want. Since my husband is a Captain in the Fire Dept. it usually means a zillion guys are over eating and male bonding. This recipe should actually a called a Fit Dad recipe.  There are many benefits of having a Fire Fighter hubby, one being the “uniform” ahem, and the other is that 99.9% of them are great cooks. Since they never know when the fire alarm will go off, they have a huge resource of recipes that can withstand prolonged heating, extra time in the oven and still turn out amazing. If you think about it, those same qualities are great for Fit Mom Recipes.

Enjoy this one! I don’t usually care for ribs, but these are amazing.

Ingredients:

1 liter orange soda – yikes! yes, you heard right. I thought the same thing.  No, it’s not a typo.
sliced oranges with peels
gigantic rack of ribs – “nice rack”

Directions:

Fill large pot with the orange soda, orange slices and ribs. add enough water to cover. boil 1.5 hours. drain. remove oranges. cover with your favorite low sugar barbecue sauce. bake 350 degrees 1 hour. uncovered.

Result:

Meat falls off the bone, so tender, tasty, lick your fingers good.

KIANA KALE SOUP RECIPE

Kale: a highly nutritious vegetable with powerful antioxidant properties; considered to be anti-inflammatory. Contains sulforaphane, a chemical believed to have potent anti-cancer properties.

Did you know that only 10% of Kiana’s Library of Exercises, Workout Routines, Recipes and Tips are free online? GET ACCESS to all of her ever growing files and Library HERE:  KIANA’S FLEX APPEAL ONLINE PROGRAM.

KALE SOUP



Here is a favorite recipe I love to make. It is so healthful and it is impressive to serve. It makes me feel good to know I am feeding my family this healthy and oh so delicious, hearty soup. It is filled with fresh vegetables and the wonder vegetable: Kale. Enjoy!

Ingredients:

2 Tbs. extra virgin olive oil
1 large yellow onion, chopped
3 cloves minced garlic
2 large carrots, peeled and diced
4 ribs celery, diced
2 tsp. rosemary
1 lb. butternut squash, peeled and cut into 1/2 inch chunks
1 cup canned chopped tomatoes
6 cups low sodium chicken broth (no msg)
1 bay leaf
1 tsp. salt
1/4 tsp. pepper
4 cups kale – remove stems, rinse and rough chopped
1 14.5 oz can cannellini beans drained
6 3/4 inch rustic bread (mostly crust works best)
3 oz. Fontina cheese cubed
6 Tbs. grated Parmesan

Directions:

In large soup pot, heat oil over medium heat. Cook onion, garlic, carrots, celery until soft appx. 12 minutes. Add rosemary, tomatoes and stock. Braing to a boil, add bay leaf, salt and pepper. Cover, lower heat and simmer until squash is soft appx. 25 minutes.

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Add kale, beans and cover for 10 minutes. Remove bay leaf. Spoon into oven safe bowls and cover with torn slices of bread-using mostly crust (it will be mushy if you use only the soft inside part of the bread.). Put a little broth onto bread, sprinkle parmesan and Fontina cheese on top. Bake until soup is bubbling, cheese is melted and bread is brown and crunchy appx. 25 minutes. Serve with side salad or on it’s own.

Recipe: Healthy Tortilla Soup: "Best I've ever tasted!"

Hi Fit Moms! I had to share this new recipe with you~

Today I got home from the gym, from a business meeting, errands and then picked up the kids from school. I didn't feel like going to the market. It has been very cold here in Los Angeles, CA about 40 degrees. That is freezing to a Hawaiian native. I thought that a nice, healthy, hearty, hot soup would be perfect.

In my household, I plan special dinners every night. My husband L-O-V-E-S Mexican food so he wanted Taco Tuesday. For me, weekly tacos are a bit much so tonight I made Tortilla Soup for the very first time. It turned out AMAZING! I Fit Mom-ified it (of course) and wanted to share the recipe with you. It's super easy and tastes better than any I've had in a restaurant or in Mexico! Enjoy!

Ingredients

1 small onion, chopped
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 1/2  teaspoons chili powder
1 teaspoon dried oregano
1 (28 ounce) can crushed tomatoes

1 (28 ounce) can diced tomatoes
1 (10.5 ounce) can condensed chicken broth
1 3/4 cups water
1 can (15 ounce) whole corn kernels
1 (4 ounce) can chopped green chile peppers
2 (15 ounce) cans black beans, rinsed and drained
1/4 cup chopped fresh cilantro
2 boneless chicken breast halves, cooked and cut into bite-sized pieces
crushed tortilla chips
sliced avocado
shredded low fat cheddar or monterey jack cheese
chopped green onions
Directions

In a medium stock pot, heat oil over medium heat. Saute onion and garlic in oil until soft. Stir in chili powder, oregano, tomatoes, broth, and water. Bring to a boil, and simmer for 5 to 10 minutes.

Stir in corn, chiles, beans, cilantro, and chicken. Simmer for 10 minutes. Ladle soup into individual serving bowls, and top with crushed tortilla chips, avocado slices, cheese, and chopped green onion.

Kiana :60 Fit Tip: EZ Portion Control

I always use salad or dessert plates instead of the larger entree dinner plates. That way, I automatically use smaller portions.  It's much better to eat 6 small "Mini Meals" instead of 3 LARGE meals. Bon Appetite!

Kiana :60 Fit Tip: Easy Portion Control from Kiana Tom on Vimeo.

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Kiana :60 Tip: Juicer

I love fruits and vegetables. I love juice. So you can imagine how excited I was when one of my gifts from Santa was a brand new, top of the line, Juicer! I love to get all types of fruit and veggies: kale, spinach, apples, carrots, ginger…and make new juices to try….it is such a yummy way to add more vitamins and greens to your daily food intake. I recommend juicing as an addition to eating whole fruits and veggies. My whole family loves it!



Here is what I will be juicing tomorrow morning:
Kale, spinach, apple, carrot, celery, lemon.

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Kiana :60 Fit Tip: My go-to breakfast

Mornings are always rushed. However, it is so very important to eat breakfast every day to kick start your metabolism. Here is one of my favorite and easy breakfasts that takes 1 minute and has complex carbs and protein.



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Fit Tip: Bye Bye Mayo

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Fit Cooking: Hawaiian Island Banana Bread: No Sugar Added

What is a health and fitness minded gal to do when you have a huge bowl of over-ripe bananas?



Make Hawaiian Island Banana Bread, of course! Being the sugar conscious person I am, I replaced sugar with stevia, a plant based extract that tastes like sugar without the highs/lows...and without the guilt!

Hope you enjoy this! I am loving my warm slice of banana bread as I blog this with a hot cup of coffee. Yum!

Hawaiian  Island Banana Bread : No Sugar Added




Preheat oven to: 350

INGREDIENTS:

1 1/4 cups flour

1/2 tsp salt

1 tsp. baking soda

1/2 cup shortening

1 cup sugar OR 1/2 cup stevia that is 2 to 1 to sugar (use half as much)

1 cup ripe mashed bananas

2 eggs, slightly beaten

1/2 cup chopped walnuts or almonds or even trail mix! I just love to add nuts: more protein and more texture!

DIRECTIONS:

Spray non stick spray on bread loaf pan.  Stir dry ingredients in 1 bowl. In another larger bowl, mix shortening, stevia (or sugar you naughty girl), mashed bananas, eggs and nuts. Add combined dry ingredients and mix until batter is blended. Pour in bread/loaf pan and bake 55 minutes until brown and slightly crunchy on top. (I cook mine a few minutes more since I love crunchy crust.) Let cool 10 minutes before slicing and serving. TIP: Serve with FAGE yogurt for protein or alongside scrambled egg whites. Reheat in toaster so it's warm and crunchy.

Kiana's Mini Meals: Fruit Protein Smoothie to Go

Well I have done alot in my career. But now I can add something new to my resume...Book Fair Mom! Yes, I am the Book Fair Chairman for the Annual Book Fair at my daughter's school. It's so much fun but alot of work. I am running out the door right now and had to get both kids up and dressed, fed a healthy breakfast, both dogs fed and heads patted, 2 conference calls to the East Coast and....last but not least, MY BREAKFAST.



Here is my fast GO TO Mini Meal Breakfast:

1/2 c. soy or non fat milk

1 serving protein powder

1/2 frozen banana (peeled, halved and frozen by the dozen once per week)

handful frozen berries (Costco or Trader Joes)

Blend, put in to go cup....and Go

Kiana’s Mini Meal: Egg White Spinach Frittata: Cook 1x / Eat 3x

Here is a new recipe that I just discovered and Fit-Momified. It makes the perfect "Mini Meal" since it has lean protein (egg whites,) veggies (spinach) and lots of flavor. I made this last Sunday for brunch and put individual slices into containers so I could reheat them during the week. It is so tasty and good for you! Enjoy!

Tip: don't forget to put remaining slices into containers for easy Mini Meals!

Fit Mom Prep Time: 15 minutes - yay!

Clean up: 1 pan, 1 bowl

Ingredients:

• 3 tsp. extra virgin olive oil


• 2 cups baby spinach


• 1 cup diced tomatoes


• 1 clove minced garlic


• 1/2 cup low fat shredded cheese or parmasean cheese


• 3 roma tomatoes sliced


• 2 whole eggs and 6 egg whites


• 1 Tbs milk


• Salt and pepper


• Options, options, options: crumbled turkey bacon, left over turkey, ham, etc.

Directions:

Preheat oven to 375 degrees, put rack about 6 inches from broiled. Heat 1 tsp. of the oil in oven safe skillet on medium heat. Add spinach, diced tomatoes, garlic. Saute for 6 minutes.

In large bowl, beat eggs and egg whites and milk. Stir in spinach mixture and cheese. Sprinkle with salt and pepper.

Heat rest of the oil in same pan. Add egg mixture and reduce to low. Gently shake pan to get ingredients to settle. Put pan in oven and bake 10 minutes until eggs are set. Remove from oven, sprinkle a little parmasean on top, then turn oven to broil and heat for 2 minutes until browned. Remove from oven, slice into pie shape pieces. Serve with whole grain toast, preserves, fruit, coffee, juice. omg.

Tip: don't forget to put remaining slices into containers for easy Mini Meals!

Kiana's Mini Meals: Healthy Breakfast in 3 minutes

Here is one of my favorite Go-To breakfasts. It is so fast and easy. I make this a few times per week as I am rushing to get the kids ready for school, feed the dogs, throw in laundry, get the kids their breakfasts....oh and get myself dressed!?

The whole family loves this easy breakfast!

Since this is a quick healthy breakfast, i don't measure, it always works.

• handful or tow of steel cut oats or your favorite oatmeal (regular kind, not quick oats)


• 1 egg white

Stir both and top with water so that the water is about 1 inch above the cereal/egg white mixture.  Microwave on high for 30 sec. Stir. Tip: Do NOT put it in for a full minute, it will explode all over your microwave. 30 sec. at a time, stirring in between.Microwave for another 30 seconds. It should be fully cooked by now, but it depends on the strength of your individual microwave. The egg whites should be soft, WHITE and moist; not clear or runny. If too dry, add a tiny bit more water. After you do this a few times, you will not have to adjust the water, you'll get it down fast.  Repeat 30 seconds if necessary.

Top with:

• handful of your favorite: nuts: almonds, walnuts


• fruit: fresh or dried: dried cranberries, raisins, apples, berries


• FAGE Yogurt


• drizzle with organic honey

Kiana's Mini Meals: Healthy Chinese Stir Fry

Kiana's Motto: Cook 1x: Eat 3x!




Here is one of my favorite, healthy recipes.

My mother is Chinese and cooks 10 course Chinese Meals as if she's ordering a pizza. This is my Fit Mom Modified Asian Stir Fry version: more veggies, leaner meat, less salt and brown rice instead of white rice. It's so tasty and is ideal for Mini Meals during the week.

Ingredients:

1 tsp. oil

1.5 lb. Meat of your choice: chicken breast, ground sirloin, ground turkey, lean beef or pork

2 cups chopped of 3 of your favorite veggies: try new veggies, buy what is on sale or buy 1 green, red and yellow vegetable

1/4 cup chopped onion: scallion,green, brown or red

3 - 4 cups bean sprouts

salt

low sodium soy sauce

2 Tbs. water

Directions:

Heat oil in non stick pan over med/high heat. Add onions to hot oil. Saute briefly. Add meat, stir fry until almost cooked. Add diced veggies, stir the entire time. Drizzle low sodium soy sauce, 2 Tbs. water & top with bean sprouts and cover, turn heat to low.

Serve hot over noodles, brown or white rice.

TIP:
Portion individual EZ Mini Meals to reheat during the week.

My Thanksgiving Weekend

My family and I had a wonderful Thanksgiving! I cooked for the whole family and made everything super Fit Mom Healthy: Roasted Turkey, fresh yams with pecans, broccoli salad, cornbread with organic honey, homemade apple pie with homemade crust without sugar. My tips for a healthy Thanksgiving OR Holiday Feast is to try and make every dish on the healthier side.

That way when you did indulge, you have less calories, fat and sugar. You don't want to deprive yourself or take the special-ness out of the Holidays but keep the flavor, not the calories, fat or sugar.

It was really nice to be making dinner at home and not be driving to other people's home in traffic.

My husband and I were able to enjoy a glass of champagne before everyone got to our home.   I'll admit we all ate way too much and were so tired from the tryptophan in the turkey-we got sleepy early!

The next day, I got up early at 6am. I intended to go to Black Friday and Christmas shop but got side tracked. My 10 year old, 140 lb. black lab/shepard/chow mix, "Crunch," was acting like a puppy. He never gets up on his hind legs, but this morning he put both paws (huge paws I might add) on my lap and was wagging his tail trying to tell me something. Standing on his hind legs he was about 5 feet tall, I never see him do that. I figured he was saying, "don't go shopping, you'll never come back! Let's go for a walk up the hill instead while everyone else is asleep! It will be like old times, just the two of us!"  So that is what we did.

When we got back, the kids and my husband were up. We had turkey breast on sour dough toast, protein shakes and coffee. Then we headed to our home gym and did 2 interval circuits. We were only interrupted a few times by the kids, not too bad.

We are going to put up our Christmas lights tomorrow. My goal is to wrap all 21, 20 foot palm trees with lights. I want to be surrounded by a winter wonderland this year! The kids love colored lights, so we will put up colored lights in the front of the house and all white lights in the back. I think the white lights will look stunning against the back drop of the blue ocean and orange sunset.



Well, going to work on the new workout routines for next week.

Bye Fit Moms!

Control food cravings

I understand many Moms have issues with cravings & control in regards to food. Mine is shopping. I buy something and feel great. Some people eat carbs, you feel better. The important thing to notice is that “feeling great or better” is only for that moment. The “guilt” lasts for hours, days, weeks? Maybe it’s just me. The way I handle it and the way perhaps you could try is are the following:

1. Do NOT buy any of the unhealthy types of foods that you don’t want to eat.

My philosophy is if the kids want it, tough. I will not buy packaged cookies, candy, etc. even though they beg me for it. It’s too tempting for Moms, dads and kids. IF you buy it, it WILL be eaten.

Plus, if chips, fries, etc are a challenge for you – don’t order them at restaurants or buy them AT ALL. Having tempting foods in front of you makes it harder on YOU. It places you in a challenging position and raising kids is a challenge already, right?
My philosophy is “if it’s not there, you can’t eat it.”

Shortest road to quick fix: don’t buy it.

If mom isn’t feeling good about herself…. you know the rest.

2. Pick you situations. Do NOT put yourself in a situation of temptation. Avoid types of parties or social gatherings that center around foods that tempt you: Stay away from tail gate parties. (i.e., I do not go to social parties where they sell jewelry, clothing, etc.)

3. “Cook once, eat 3 times.” I ALWAYS eat a super healthy mini meal before I attend any social event or go out for the day for that matter. I fill up on foods I control and select. Use my “Mini Meal” plan (coming out soon) that outlines simple meals you can prepare ahead of time for yourself and your family. The concept is to cook your regular healthy meals and set aside 2 mini meals for the next day(s).

If you are on the full side, you won’t be as tempted to head right to the food.

Tips to stop cravings:

• Try and figure out what triggers the desire to over eat, over drink, over shop.  When you feel the emotions come over you, call someone and discuss your feelings.


• Don't buy what you don't want to eat.


• If you slip up, don't beat yourself up.


• Get enough sleep. Your mind and body are weak when you're tired. You're likely over eat if you are tired i.e., mid afternoon slump.


• Workout in the a.m.: if you workout, you will make better choices all day. This really works.


• "1 or none" is what I tell my kids (and big kids.) If you can't stop at 1 don't even do that to yourself.


• Substitute: Crunchy foods: mini carrots, bell peppers, baked chips, baked sweet potatoes, cucumbers. Soft food like pudding: FAGE yogurt, cottage cheese, apple sauce.


• Distract yourself: We do that with the kids, why not ourselves? As soon as you start grabbing for the chips, divert yourself "Danger Danger Ms. (Wil) Robinson."

Hope this is helpful.

We can do this!

Kiana Tom
Host & Founder FitMomTV.com

Fruit Kabobs! Kiana’s Fit Cooking

Kiana, host and founder of Kiana's Fit Mom TV, brings a new episode to the Fit Mom TV lineup: Kiana's Fit Cooking! 10 minute healthy recipes that are fun to make and easy to clean up. Joining Kiana is Guest Fit Mom Executive Chef, Eldon Pico and their kids to make Fruit Kabobs with Exotic Dragon Fruit and healthy/sweet dipping sauce! Watch at www.fitmomtv.com

Kiana Mini Meal: Parsely Pesto Shrimp

We love summer! We barbecue a few times per week and enjoy healthy food, relaxing music and time with our family.  We love hanging out in the back yard, looking at the blue sparkling ocean, feeling the warm breeze and relaxing in the shade of the palm trees.  Here is one of my favorite Grilled Shrimp recipes. As you know, I love recipes that are simple to prepare, require a minimum of high quality ingredients, that are easy to clean up. This Parsley Pesto sauce is so easy to make and you can store the extra in the refrig for up to a week. 

Kiana Mini Meal: Turkey High Protein On the Go

Here is one of my favorite recipes! I make this every week and keep it in the refrigerator to add to lettuce wraps, in taco shells, in pita bread, put on pizza, or stuff bell peppers.  It's great for lunches and to put in air tight containers to enjoy with baked tortilla chips for lunch on the go. I love topping it with hot sauce, low sodium soy sauce or amino soy sauce.  You can use as much or as little of the ground turkey, brown rice, black beans or corn as you like.  You don't need to measure. I like extra turkey and veggies in ours...


Turkey Surprise:


Ingredients:
1 package extra lean ground turkey
1 red or green bell pepper
small diced onion or chopped garlic
1/2 cup frozen peas, frozen asparagus or any fresh veggies you like
1 can black beans
1 can corn kernels
low sodium soy sauce or amino soy
salt & pepper
brown rice-prepared according to package instructions

Directions:
Heat 1 tsp. oil in pan, add onion and garlic until brown.  Add ground turkey to pan and brown.  When brown, turn down heat and add diced bell pepper, frozen peas (or asparagus, broccoli...)corn, black beans, salt, pepper.  Fold in brown rice.

Kiana's Mini Meal: Egg White Sour Dough French Toast

This is one of my favorite breakfast recipes! The egg whites are filled with healthy protein and the sour dough is delicious!

Tip: There are usually left over egg whites: scramble them and add shredded cheese and serve on the side for extra protein! Here is what you do for the yummiest breakfast ever...

Ingredients:
4 slices sourdough bread
2 scrambled egg whites
dash cinnamon
1 Tbs. soy or non fat milk

Directions:
Mix all ingredients except sourdough bread. Heat non stick pan on medium, spray with non stick spray. When pan is hot, dip both sides of a slice sourdough bread into egg white batter. Place in pan. When brown on one side, flip. Serve hot, topped with sugar-free syrup, Fage yogurt, berries, bananas, peaches....Yum!

Kiana's Mini Meal: Low Fat Lasagna Recipe

Having travelled to Italy, I can honestly say the sites, shopping and food were above average.  I love Italian food and the culture, but the dishes are often higher in calories than I prefer.  With that in mind, I am constantly trying new recipes and modifying them to be healthier: lower in fat and calories but still taste delicious...

My entire family loves this recipe!  I comes out of the oven soft, creamy, the noodles and veggies are soft.  I serve with a nice bottle of cabernet or merlot, , garlic toast made on sourdough bread and a crispy salad loaded with tomatoes, cucumbers and mushrooms. Fit Mom Bonus: The dish is EZ to re-heat and enjoy for lunch or next night's dinner! Enjoy!

Kiana's Low Fat Lasagna Recipe


Ingredients:


1 pkg. extra lean ground turkey
2 minced garlic cloves
1/2 diced small onion
2 Tbs. olive oil
1/2 tsp. each: oregano, basil, parsley
dash salt & pepper
1 cup water
small can tomato paste
large can crushed tomatoes
1 pkg. ruffled edge lasagna noodles
small carton low fat ricotta (less fat and calories than both the regular and part skim ricotta)
1 pkg. shredded mozzarella
shredded Parmesan
1 sliced zucchini and/or few sliced mushrooms (optional)

Directions:

Heat cast iron skillet. Add oil. When hot, add garlic and onion. Brown turkey.  Add oregano, basil, parsley, salt, pepper and stir well. Add water. Simmer 30 minutes uncovered, stirring occasionally.

Cook noodles according to package instructions.  In large glass pan 13 x 9 size, add 1/2 cup sauce on bottom of pan. Add noodles, layer with sauce, ricotta, mozzarella, Parmesan, zucchini, mushrooms.  Repeat.  Finish top layer with sauce, mozerella and Parmesan.

Cover with foil and Bake 350 degrees 45 minutes.  Remove from oven and cool 20 minutes before serving.

Hope you love this as much as we do!

Hugs, Kiana