Chicken and Black Bean Quesadillas

Servings: 4

Prep Time: 15 mins

Total Time: 25 mins

ingredients

1 1- 3/4 ounce can condensed Cheddar cheese soup

1/2 cup chunky salsa or picante sauce

1 cup rinsed and drained canned black beans

2 4 1/2 ounce cans Swanson Premium White Chunk Chicken breast in water, drained

10 flour tortillas (8-inch), warmed

Fiesta Rice

1 10 1/2 ounce can condensed chicken broth

1/2 cup water

1/2 cup chunky salsa

2 cups uncooked instant white rice

directions

1.

Heat the oven to 425 degrees F.

2.

Heat the soup, salsa, beans and chicken in a 1-quart saucepan over medium heat until the mixture is hot and bubbling.

3.

Place the tortillas onto 2 baking sheets. Spread about 1/3 cup soup mixture onto half of each tortilla to within 1/2 inch of the edge. Brush the edges of the tortillas with water. Fold the tortillas over the filling and press the edges to seal.

4.

Bake for 5 minutes or until the filling is hot. Cut the quesadillas in half, making 20 pieces. Serve with the Fiesta Rice.

Fiesta Rice

1.

Heat broth, water and salsa in a 2-quart saucepan over medium-high heat to a boil. Stir in 2 cupsuncooked instant white rice. Cover the saucepan and remove from the heat. Let stand for 5 minutes.

www.recipe.com

Creamy Chicken Manicotti

Servings: 8

Prep Time: 45 mins

Total Time: 1 hr 10 mins

ingredients

8 dried manicotti shells

1/4 cup finely chopped onion

1/4 cup butter

3 tablespoons all-purpose flour

1/4 teaspoon salt

2 cups whole milk

1 6 ounce package Tyson Grilled & Ready Refrigerated Chicken Breast Strips, finely chopped

1/2 cup chopped cooked ham

1 egg yoke

1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg

1 1/4 cups grated Parmesan cheese

1 15 ounce container ricotta cheese

Freshly ground nutmeg (optional)

Snipped fresh flat-leave parsley (optional)

directions

1.

Preheat oven to 400 degrees F. Cook pasta according to package directions. Drain and rinse with cold water; drain and set aside.

2.

For sauce, in a medium saucepan cook onion in hot butter over medium heat 4 minutes or until tender but not brown. Stir in flour and salt. Add milk all at once. Cook and stir until thickened and bubbly. Remove from heat; set aside.

3.

For filling, in a medium bowl combine Grilled & Ready® Chicken Breast Strips, ham, egg yolk, the 1/2teaspoon nutmeg, 1 cup of the Parmesan cheese, and the ricotta cheese. Pour about 1/2 cup of the sauce into a buttered 2-quart rectangular baking dish; spread in a thin layer over bottom of dish.

4.

Use a pastry tube fitted with the largest tip to pipe the filling into cooked manicotti. (Or carefully spoon about 1/3 cup of filling into each shell.) Arrange filled manicotti in baking dish in a single layer. Pour remaining sauce over manicotti. Sprinkle remaining 1/4 cup Parmesan cheese over the sauce.

5.

Bake, uncovered, 20 minutes or until manicotti are light golden and heated through. Let stand 5-10 minutes before serving. If desired, garnish with a sprinkling of ground nutmeg and parsley.

Serving Suggestion:

1.

To make ahead: Prepare manicotti as directed through Step 4. Cover and refrigerate up to 24 hours. To serve, uncover and bake in a 400 degrees F oven 25-30 minutes or until manicotti are light golden and heated through. Let stand 5-10 minutes before serving. If desired, garnish with ground nutmeg and parsley.

nutrition information

Per Serving: cal. (kcal) 353, Fat, total (g) 20, chol. (mg) 100, sat. fat (g) 12, carb. (g) 21, fiber (g) 1, pro. (g) 22, vit. A (IU) 632, vit. C (mg) 1, sodium (mg) 614, calcium (mg) 333, Percent Daily Values are based on a 2,000 calorie diet

www.recipe.com

Five Reasons to Join Plexus

There are many reasons to start your own Plexus business. Below are just a few:

• Proven Products.
  Simply put, the Plexus products work. With people experiencing tremendous product results, building your own Plexus business can be both easy and rewarding.
• Growing Industries.
  Plexus participates in several growing industries: the Wellness Industry, the Weight Loss Industry, and the Network Marketing Industry. Each of these industries is enjoying record growth at the moment.
• Experienced Management Team.
  With over 60 years experience in the direct selling industry, the Plexus Executive team provides stability and proven success methods to help you succeed.
• Unique Compensation.
  The Plexus Compensation Plan provides you the opportunity to earn a quick return on your investment and build long-term residual income that can provide you with financial independence.
• Advantageous Timing.
  Starting your own business now with Plexus positions you at the front of a growth trend. A ground-floor opportunity with unmatched potential awaits you as you start your business.
  
  
  For more information visit www.fightthetummy.com

How to Stay on a Diet to Lose or Maintain Weight

Five tricks for making your diet plan stick

By ANGELA HAUPT

A diet is only as good as your ability to stick to it. Research has found that most plans will help you lose weight, regardless of type—low-fat or low-carb, for example. What counts is whether you can stay on it long-term. And with restaurant meals, dinners with friends, and hot fudge sundaes to tempt you, adherence is an understandable challenge. Here are five tricks for making your diet stick:

1. Gather the troops. You need support, be it from a friend, a group like Overeaters Anonymous, or even an online community. Research suggests those who go it alone are most likely to fall off the wagon. That's why some diet plans have a formal support component—Weight Watchers connects dieters via weekly meetings, while Jenny Craig members are assigned counselors for advice and encouragement. If you're not comfortable talking about your weight face-to-face, log online. By signing up for the free program PeerTrainer, for example, dieters can interact and track each others' weight-loss progress, pose questions, and swap diet and exercise tips. "It's important to have people who will pick you up when times are tough and cheer you on when you have successes," says registered dietitian Dawn Jackson Blatner, author ofThe Flexitarian Diet. Plus, she adds: "Healthy habits are contagious."

2. Hold yourself accountable. A couple chips here and a few cookie-nibbles there may seem harmless, but mindless munching adds up. Record everything you eat and drink in a food diary. Most of us don't realize exactly how much we consume, so making conscious notes will put each meal, snack, or splurge into perspective. In a 2008 American Journal of Preventative Medicine study, dieters who kept food diaries for five months lost nearly twice as much weight as their non-journaling peers. Journaling can reveal the problematic cues, triggers, and habits that could be sabotaging your weight-loss efforts. You might notice tendencies to overeat on deadline-heavy days, for example, or discover that your morning frozen coffee packs an extra 400 calories a day.

3. Keep motivation high. Give yourself ample cause to stay the course. Post encouraging notes on your mirror, keep listing why the diet is worth it, or buy a new pair of jeans in the size you're determined to reach.

4. Don't deprive yourself. Diets that eliminate entire food groups or forbid the occasional splurge are likely to fail, research suggests. If you don't indulge every once in a while, you're more likely to give in to cravings and binge. Remember: Moderation is key. It's OK to have a slice of birthday cake; compensate with extra time on the treadmill or by getting back on track the next day. One slipup doesn't mean your diet is doomed. "Don't throw in the towel if things don't go as planned," says Jackson Blatner, a spokesperson for the American Dietetic Association. "Think of it as progress, not perfection."

5. Have many measures of success. "Don't just judge a diet by the pounds on the scale," says Jackson Blatner. "Monitor energy, sleep quality, mood, clothing, and self-esteem. On weeks when the scale  doesn't tell you what you want, you can focus on other motivating results to keep you going."

US News and World Report

"Healthified" Creamy Chicken Enchiladas

Servings: 8

Prep Time: 30 mins

Total Time: 1 hr 10 mins

ingredients

1 tablespoon olive oil

1/2 cup chopped onion (1 medium)

2 teaspoons finely chopped garlic

2 cups reduced-sodium chicken broth (from 32-oz carton)

3 tablespoons all-purpose flour

1/2 teaspoon ground coriander or cumin

1/8 teaspoon pepper

1/2 cup reduced-fat sour cream

2 cups shredded cooked chicken breast

1 cup frozen corn, thawed

1 cup shredded reduced-fat Mexican cheese blend (4 oz)

1 can (4.5 oz) chopped green chiles

1/4 cup chopped fresh cilantro

8 corn or flour tortillas (6 or 7 inch)

1 medium tomato, chopped (3/4 cup)

4 medium green onions, sliced (1/4 cup)

Salsa, if desired

directions

1.

Heat oven to 350 degrees F. Spray 13x9-inch (3-quart) glass baking dish with cooking spray.

2.

In 10-inch nonstick skillet, heat oil over medium heat. Add onion and garlic; cook 3 to 4 minutes, stirring occasionally, until onion is tender. In medium bowl, stir broth, flour, coriander and pepper with wire whisk until blended. Slowly add to hot mixture in skillet, stirring constantly. Cook and stir 5 to 6 minutes, until mixture boils and thickens slightly. Remove from heat. Stir in sour cream until well blended.

3.

In another medium bowl, mix chicken, corn, 1/2 cup of the cheese, the chiles, cilantro and 1/2 cup of the sauce. Place 2 tortillas at a time on microwavable plate; cover with paper towel. Microwave on High 10 to 15 seconds or until softened. Spoon about 1/3 cup chicken mixture down center of each warm tortilla. Roll up tortillas; arrange, seam sides down, in baking dish. Top enchiladas with remaining sauce. Cover with foil.

4.

Bake 30 to 35 minutes or until sauce is bubbly. Remove from oven. Uncover; sprinkle with remaining 1/2 cup cheese. Let stand 5 minutes before serving. Just before serving, top with tomato and green onions. Serve with salsa.

Tip:

1.

High Altitude (3500-6500 ft): Bake 40 to 50 minutes.

nutrition information

Per Serving: cal. (kcal) 230, Fat, total (g) 8, chol. (mg) 40, sat. fat (g) 4, carb. (g) 22, fiber (g) 2, sugar (g) 4, pro. (g) 17, vit. A (IU) 389, vit. C (mg) 5, sodium (mg) 350, calcium (mg) 202, iron (mg) 1, Starch () 2, Lean Meat () 2, Percent Daily Values are based on a 2,000 calorie diet

www.recipe.com

Accelerator

If you thought Plexus Slim was a terrific way to lose weight, just wait until you team it up with Plexus Accelerator. When taken with Plexus Slim, the Accelerator helps speed up weight loss or helps people overcome weight plateaus. Simply take one capsule with one stick pack of Plexus Slim 30 minutes after breakfast. The combination of ingredients in the Plexus Slim and Plexus Accelerator work synergistically to help you lose weight—easy and fast!

Features & Benefits

• Boosts weight loss safely and effectively
• Proven ingredients - dark chocolate, green tea, and natural caffeine - to boost metabolism, suppress appetite and accelerate weight loss
• Increases energy
• Suppress appetite
• Speeds up weight loss in fat and inches
• Synergistic benefits help increase the effectiveness of Plexus Slim
• Convenient and easy to use
• Great 3-day and 7-day packs to sample the products

For more information visit www.fightthetummy.com

Drop Weight Faster

Drop Weight Faster

Incorporate these five activities into your downtime to increase energy, reduce soreness, and drop weight faster

By Jayme Moye

A Hotter Body No Sweat

As soon as you slip off your sneakers after a workout, your body starts repairing the "damage" you did to your muscles. In fact, it's actually this recovery process—not exercise itself—that makes you stronger and leaner, says Stacy Sims, PhD, an exercise physiologist and nutrition scientist at the Stanford School of Medicine's Prevention-Research Center in Palo Alto, California. "To speed your results, research shows that what you do when you're not exercising is nearly as important as the workout itself," she says. Get on the fast track with these minimum-effort moves. 

The Move: Log More Z's

The Benefits: We know, we know—if you could lose a pound every time you heard about the advantages of sleep, you'd never have to work out again. But if seven to nine hours of shut-eye still isn't a priority, here's some incentive:

Not only does deep sleep kick up production of tissue-repairing growth hormone, but studies show that lack of it is a weight-gain double whammy: It prompts your body to consume more calories and shuts down its ability to recognize a full stomach. When you're tired, your gut produces more ghrelin, a chemical that triggers sugar cravings. "It causes your body to seek quick energy from food to try to keep you awake," says neurologist Chris Winter, MD, medical director of the Martha Jefferson Hospital Sleep Medicine Center in Charlottesville, Virginia. Meanwhile, fatigue suppresses leptin, a fat-cell hormone that tells your brain, "OK, stop eating now." For this reason, says Winter, "prioritizing sleep is probably the best thing you can do, recovery-wise, to meet your body-shaping goals." 

The Move: Get Going a Little

The Benefits: You may feel like rewarding yourself with some downtime, but doing a low-key activity the day after a big workout will prolong the muscle-sculpting perks of increased circulation. "Fresh blood flow brings fresh nutrients to your muscles and helps flush waste products like lactic acid," says Sims. What's more, staying active has also been proven to reduce post-exercise muscle soreness and suppress nervous-system activity that can result in poor sleep.

Take an easy yoga class or go on a walk with friends at a conversational pace. If you're sitting behind a desk all day, stroll around the office for about 10 minutes every couple of hours to get things moving. Then prepare for a different kind of reward: a less-painful gym session tomorrow. 

The Move: Upgrade Your Post-Workout Snack

The Benefits: Sports scientists have long advocated having a bite after exercising to help promote muscle repair. An even more compelling reason: less belly fat.  Exercise activates cortisol, a stress hormone that gives you that extra surge to push until the end of spin class, says Sims. But lingering in that state for too long can backfire; cortisol not only inhibits the muscle-repair process but also alters your metabolism so that your body stores more calories as fat (typically in the abdominal region) instead of burning them off. Luckily, chowing down on some protein within 30 minutes after your workout will prevent these deleterious effects, says Sims, who suggests eating a hard-boiled egg or substituting low-fat milk for the fruit juice in your smoothie. Even Starbucks fans are in luck: with a nonfat mocha latte, you'll get the cortisol antidote (protein) from the milk, plus a secret weapon—caffeine. One study found that, when ingested with carbs (the chocolate, in this case), caffeine increased muscles' energy production 66 percent more than carbs alone. 

The Move: Massage It Out

The Benefits: A post-workout Swedish massage isn't just an indulgence: Research shows that it boosts strength recovery by 60 percent. "Massage reduces inflammation in the tissue and increases blood flow to the area, which is what speeds up recovery," says Sims, who recommends letting muscles cool down completely for a few hours after exercise before having a light massage. You don't even need to see a therapist—DlY rubdowns provide the same benefits.

Set aside 10 minutes before bed on days when you exercise intensely, says Sims. For the best result, use long, smooth strokes over the muscles worked, and use a foam roller or massage balls on hard-to-reach spots. lf you find a knot, move slowly from the outside in, but keep the pressure light to make sure you don't agitate an already inflamed muscle. For acute soreness, apply a cold compress or ice pack for about 20 minutes to further decrease inflammation. 

The Move: Boost Your Water Intake

The Benefits: Dehydration substantially slows your metabolic rate—so even if you're killing it at the gym, you could be negating the calorie-burning advantages if you aren't drinking enough H20, says Shawn Talbott, PhD, a nutritional biochemist in Salt Lake City. And it's not just the eight-glasses-a-day (or 64 ounces) rule you've heard time and time again. Experts advise downing an additional 16 to 20 ounces of water for every hour you train. If swigging the recommended amount of water feels like a Herculean task in itself, remember that most standard bottles of water contain 16 ounces, so four of them (not eight) equal eight glasses. 

Full article on Fitbie