Let me be honest with you. I hate to cook. It is true. I do, however, enjoy eating! So things that make it easy for me to cook a healthy meal and not dread the "art" of cooking will be utilized frequently. Enter my slow cooker!
Slow cooker meals are so easy - most of the time - and they make my life so much better. If I can just throw some food in a slow cooker in the morning, turn it on, forget about, then come dinner time, it is ready...well, let's just say I would marry the thing if I could!
So, as I am on Pinterest, doing my late night pinning, I come across this amazing recipe for Slow Cooker Greek Chicken by Chef in Training. I could not wait to make this recipe! It has very few ingredients and it is a SLOW COOKER recipe AND a GREEK recipe! All of my favorite things all wrapped up into one pretty little Pinterest package.
After making it, I must say, it did not disappoint! It is very tasty and was super tender. I did change a couple of things just because of what I had on hand. I used Greek seasoning that I had on hand...not the Pampered Chef Greek rub that she mentions on her recipe. I also used chicken broth because I don't have chicken bullion cubes. I served it with a salad with homemade Greek dressing and it was perfect!
I made a couple of extra pieces of the chicken so that I could cut it up and add it to salads throughout the week. It stayed just as tasty the entire week. This is a great recipe and I hope you all enjoy it like my family and I did! Click on this link for the Slow Cooker Greek Chicken recipe by Chef in Training!
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Wednesday, May 14, 2014
Beautiful Belly Sleep
Sleep is highly related to many disorders and disease processes, not the least of them is weight gain. This has much to do with hormones and how the body reacts to the lack of sleep. A study performed in 2012 showed that lack of sleep causes fat cells to become insulin resistant [1] Insulin resistance is a major factor in the acquisition of belly fat - you know, the fat that is so hard to get rid of and that is covering the amazing six pack abs you have underneath.
Sleep and stress have an effect on the hormone cortisol as well. While cortisol can help fat cells to release stored fat, if cortisol is present in a high amount for too long, it has an opposite effect on fat cells. This is why people who have high levels of stress and who do not get enough sleep have a tendency to hold on to belly fat.
If you have stubborn belly fat and you are killing your workouts, just remember that hormones are going to play a huge role in losing or keeping the belly fat. Get enough sleep, meditate and relax, and try to have fewer carbohydrates in your diet. Do not go completely carb-free or else you will be working against yourself. Make sure you have a good amount of energy without the overload of carbohydrates and hopefully you will start seeing the belly fat start to disappear.
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References
[1]