Health Habits

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Posts Tagged ‘Christmas’

Homemade Good Luck Soup

January 9th, 2010

So, Christmas – Done. New Years Day -Done! Another year older and hopefully wiser.

Have you noticed all the food traditions associated with the new year? Of course my Texan Missus has hers, which involves black eyed peas and leafy greens (representing good luck, good health & good fortune), which is now a tradition I’ve adopted.

I’m thinking the feast you just had on Christmas might have yielded some leftover turkey or ham and with a lot of you in the midst of winter right now one of the easiest, healthiest & quickest meals to put together is a great big ol’ pot of soup, which is also a great way to use up the leftovers. (If you don’t have any ham check out this turkey soup recipe.) I bunged this together in about 30 minutes (hassle-free indeed) and man was it good! You’ll love how good this smells cookin’ up in your kitchen and will probably serve you well as a good hangover munchie.

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Posted in Diet - General, Diet/Nutrition, Recipe, healthy recipes, nutrition, organic

Tags: chef Christmas diet fitness food Gavan Murphy health healthy cooking healthy food healthy recipe los angeles nutrition nutritious organic sustainable The healthy Irishman weight loss

My Xmas Present to You

December 24th, 2009

Because I love all my Health Habits readers soooo much, I have decided to give each of you the gift of an online personal trainer…namely, moi.

Starting in January, everyone who signs up for the Facebook group will receive 52 weekly workout programs designed to burn fat, increase all aspects of functional strength and speed while reversing common muscle imbalances & eliminating any associated pain.

My goal is to turn all of you into the leanest, strongest and fittest yous that you can be.

There will also be a nutritional program that we are going to start on February first.

So, if you’re interested in the program (estimated value $2600), sign up for the Facebook group.

Happy Holidays

Doug

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p.s – tell all your friends & family. The more people we get in the group, the better this is going to be. There is way too much research showing how group activities improve adherence as well as improving overall weight loss results

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Posted in Diet/Nutrition, Exercise, I Wanna Be Healthy, I Wanna Look Great, fat, fat loss, fitness, fitness - strength, health, obesity, personal trainer, strength, weight loss, working out

Tags: Christmas fitness health health habits personal trainer xmas

Braised Holiday Brisket

December 19th, 2009

The first time I had brisket was when I was working for a caterer at a Hanukkah dinner here in LA. I was fresh off the boat so I wasn’t versed in this Jewish tradition, though over the years I’ve become well versed in the variety of foods served around this time of year. This is in honour of all my Jewish peeps.

I’m a huge fan of braising meats because this technique of slow cooking over longer periods of time makes the meat super tender and intensely flavourful. Plus it’s hard to mess up. What I’m doing with this recipe is laying flavours on top of each other so that when the meat is cooked it’s tender like ‘butta’ you get this deep rich flavour that shows how much care and time has been put into preparing it. Now, I know brisket is more of a Hanukkah type dish but for those beef eaters coming ’round for Christmas dinner, this’ll go down a treat and can (and should) be done ahead so all you need to do is reheat. Doesn’t get any easier than that!

Continue reading the full recipe here and don’t forget to SUBSCRIBE to the HEALTHY IRISHMAN Newsletter!

When you do you’ll receive a FREE Entertainment Booklet with recipes and tips for your next dinner party.

Fueling your body with healthy food. Fueling your mind with the wealth of health.

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Posted in Diet/Nutrition, Recipe, healthy recipes, nutrition, organic

Tags: Christmas Gavan Murphy Hannukah healthy cooking healthy food healthy recipe los angeles meat nutritional organic pork sustainable The healthy Irishman

Winter Split Pea Soup

December 12th, 2009

Winter is arriving if not already here for a lot of you (apparently there’s snow in Houston?) so this is defo soup season. You all know there’s nothing better than a delicious bowl of homemade soup with a nice sangwich. I remember growing up in the tropical Isle of Ireland and the odd day it might be cold and wet my Mum would always make us soup for lunch. It’s always been one of those things that was a staple in our house as any leftover veg from dinner would be made into a delicious soup the next day. Those were the days.

This soup recipe is one of my faves and you’ll definitely love the fresh pea flavour and earthy texture. Off you pop and get the pot out.

Continue reading the full recipe here and don’t forget to SUBSCRIBE to the HEALTHY IRISHMAN Newsletter!

When you do you’ll receive a FREE Entertainment Booklet with recipes and tips for your next dinner party.

Fueling your body with healthy food. Fueling your mind with the wealth of health.

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Posted in Diet/Nutrition, Recipe, healthy recipes, organic, vegetarian

Tags: Christmas Gavan Murphy healthy cooking healthy food healthy recipe los angeles low-fat lunch nutritional organic soups stews sustainable The healthy Irishman vegan vegetarian

Leftover Turkey Soup

November 28th, 2009

Ah, another Thanksgiving has come and gone. By now you’re all probably completely and utterly over turkey. I wouldn’t blame you. With the size of turkeys nowadays there’s enough meat on there to feed a whole African village! We began our gorging with the actual turkey which lead into turkey sandwiches the next day and the next. Finally taking off whatever meat is left in order to make stock with the bones, the next obvious step is to make a delicious easy soup with the stock (and if you have turkey still left over–good luck!!)
Here’s how it’s done:

Continue reading the full recipe here and don’t forget to SUBSCRIBE to the HEALTHY IRISHMAN Newsletter!

When you do you’ll receive a FREE Entertainment Booklet with recipes and tips for your next dinner party.

Fueling your body with healthy food. Fueling your mind with the wealth of health.

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Posted in Diet/Nutrition, Recipe, healthy recipes, nutrition, organic

Tags: Christmas Gavan Murphy healthy cooking healthy food healthy recipe leftovers low-fat nutritious organic protein Thanksgiving The healthy Irishman

Holiday Gift Guide for the Fitness Geek ver 1.0

November 23rd, 2009

Did you know that it’s only 32 days until Christmas, 23 days until Hanukkah and 30 days until that most glorious of holidays…Festivus?

Have you finished all of your holiday shopping?

Have you picked out your Festivus pole?

Have you prepared your list of grievances?

No?

Well, you came to the right place.

Over the next few days, I will be posting some of my Health Habits approved™ holiday gift giving solutions for those near and dear to your heart.

Today, I am starting with one of my favorite fitness training books.

Never Let Go by Dan John

In the world of strength training, Dan John is a breath of fresh air.

Where other strength gurus design overly complex training programs in an attempt to impress their peers, Dan writes programs that are simple enough for a beginner to understand.

But, don’t let that simplicity give you the wrong impression.

While they are easy to understand, Dan’s training programs are based upon the best combination of old-school know-how and bleeding edge exercise science.

And it’s that blending of the new & the old that sets Dan apart from his peers.

So, if there is someone on your holiday shopping list who is trying to get stronger, faster or just plain fitter…pick them up a copy of Never Let Go.

BTW, Dan was the guy that introduced Tabata training to the non-scientific world.

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Persimmon Couscous Stuffed Turkey Breast

November 21st, 2009

Gobble Gobble (as the actress said to the bishop). It’s Turkey time! If you saw my turkey post recently you’ll now know what type of turkey you should be getting as we know there’s going to be lots eaten over the next month or so. There will be soups, sandwiches, stews, stocks, casseroles and God knows what else we can think to make with Mr. Turkey. Salting, roasting, brining–each American family has their own style to cook the bird. But what if your family is small and you’d rather not cook an entire turkey? I’ve got you covered!

I’ve made stuffed turkey breasts before (here and here) but for this recipe I wanted to give you the idea of stuffing the breast with something a bit more out of the ordinary yet still in keeping with Thanksgiving flavours. Guess you could say it’s a modern twist on the classic turkey & stuffing. I came across Persimmons in my CSA box and though I don’t have much experience with them after one bite I knew I had to use them. In November and December persimmons are at their peak. I kept expecting the fruit to soften like a peach but as it turns out this type of persimmon, the Fuyu, is eaten like an apple. The taste of the flesh inside reminded me of a sweeter cantaloupe with the texture of a firm pear. The persimmon’s delightful flavour and texture turned out to be lovely addition to this dish.