Recipe: TrainerTiff's Tabouli Salad Packs Protein

Here's a lunch option that includes an assortment of veggies and a bit of protein from an unlikely source, hemp seeds.

You can find hemp seeds at most natural food stores. Here in Arizona, I get mine from Sprout's Farmers Market. These little seeds are full of nutrients like zinc, magnesium, iron, essential fatty acids and are a complete protein source.

Chickpeas are included in this dish as well, and they add to the protein element of this recipe.

The tabouli portion of this recipe, I adapted from Kimberly Snyder's recipe and added loads of vegetables and the chickpeas. You can eat this salad all by itself as it's really filling -- and tasty too. But you can also have it as a side dish to a veggie sandwich or soup.

Check it out!

Ingredients:

1 cucumber
1 yellow squash
2 Roma tomatoes
1 bunch Italian flat leaf parsley
2 green onion stalks, chopped
1/4 cup shelled hemp seeds
1 can garbanzo beans, drained and rinsed

Dressing:
1/4 cup fresh lemon juice
1/4 cup cold pressed olive oil
1/2 teaspoon sea salt
1 tsp minced garlic

Directions: Slice cucumber and squash into slices and then into quarters. Dice the tomatoes and chop the parsley. In a large mixing bowl, add the cucumber, squash, tomatoes, parsley, hemp seeds and chickpeas. Mix well.

In a food processor, place all the dressing ingredients in and pulse until the dressing has emulsified (about 10 seconds).

Pour the dressing over the salad and mix well. This salad is ready to eat but is best if you let it chill.

Enjoy!

Increase Healthy Fat Consumption with Hemp Seeds

Shelled hemp seeds
Photo by Evelyn Parham on Flickr

There is a lot of information out there when it comes to dietary fat -- good fat, bad fat, limit here, increase there -- it can be enough to make your head spin. To put it simply, eat the smallest amount of saturated fat and eat more healthy fats instead -- like hemp seeds.

Hemp seeds have a very light flavor, almost unnoticeable and are great to add into salads, giving it a little more heft. They can also be added into baked goods, shakes or yogurt.

Here are some things that I really like about hemp seeds:

• They have a 3:1 omega 6 to omega 3 fatty acids ratio (most other nuts/seeds have a higher omega 6 content which most Americans already get plenty of through animal fat)
• They are a complete protein containing all essential amino acids
• They are high in fiber
• They are a good source of trace minerals and phytosterols (known to help lower cholesterol)

According to the American Heart Association, healthy fats from nuts, seeds, fish and plant oils may help lower cholesterol when used in place of saturated fats.

Though we often hear about how bad saturated fat is, remembering why it's so bad and how prevalent it is, can be forgotten sometimes -- so let's review.

Saturated Fat

Over consumption of saturated fats are most damaging to your health resulting in heart disease, atherosclerosis and increased risk of heart attack. Most people get too much saturated fat in their diets from animal products such as beef, pork, poultry fat, butter, cream, milk and cheese -- to name a few.

The AHA recommends limiting total fat for the day to 25-35% of total calories and saturated fat should be less than 7% of total calories.

So what does this look like? Take someone who consumes 1500 calories for the day:

• Total fat for the day: 375-525 fat calories which is 42g-58g 
• Total saturated fat for the day: 105 saturated fat calories which is 12g

Looking at those numbers it seems like a lot, right? But if you start to look at how much fat is in food, you'll be surprised. 

I recently saw a tweet from Eat This Not That calling out On the Border's Dos XX Fish Tacos for being high in fat. After reviewing their menu, one variation of that meal has 121g of total fat, 28g being saturated fat. That is horrifying.

This just goes to show how important it is to pay attention to what is in the food you're eating.

One serving of hemp seeds is usually about 3 tablespoons consisting of 13g total fat, 1.5 of that being saturated fat.

Next time you're dining out, think about what is really in your food. If you know where you're going to eat beforehand, take a look at their online menu and nutrition data and choose something that is friendly to your waistline and health.

A better option would be to make your own food and limit dining out to an absolute minimum. If you're looking for an easy way to reduce bad fat and incorporate good fat into your diet, try to swapping a typical lunch for a large salad and sprinkle some hemp seeds on that -- super easy. Remember, small changes add up. 

31 Days of Weight Loss Tips: Day 25 Have Protein After a Weight Workout

Hemp protein shake

After putting in some serious work with weights, be sure to refuel your muscles by having protein after your workout.

I posted before that building muscle helps with weight loss because the more muscle you have, the more calories your body will burn at rest. Plus, having a little muscle makes your physique look better. I think anyone can appreciate nicely sculpted arms, right?

Protein consumption following a weight training session assists the body in building muscle.

During a weight training session, you are tearing down muscle fibers and using stored glycogen (glucose) as fuel. In order aid muscle growth, the body needs protein to help rebuild the muscles that have been broken down. Protein is better able to get to muscles when paired with a glucose source. The presence of glucose in the blood helps muscles absorb the protein while also replenishing glycogen.

The ideal time to consume a mix of protein and carbohydrates (glucose) is within 30 minutes of your workout. The timing is important because if you wait too long, recovery can be delayed -- and you want to make the most out of your weight sessions.

Protein shakes are easy and convenient. I like making a protein shake made of almond milk, banana and hemp protein powder -- though, you can use whatever blend you like.

Here's my current protein shake recipe:

1 cup almond milk
1 serving of hemp protein powder, about 16 grams
1/2 banana (glucose source)

Simply add all ingredients into a blender and drink. I  currently like using hemp protein powder because it is a vegetarian source of protein and easier on digestion as compared to animal sourced powders such as whey.

So, go get in the gym, lift weights and refuel immediately afterwards.

Resource:
Personal Trainer Manual by American Council on Exercise (ACE)