Healthy Tips & Recipes by Gilad

Posts in the Abs category

Crispy Roasted Chickpeas

by Gilad

Quick And Healthy Snacks
 

Crunchy and spicy is a combination that we love in our food! Bake your own crispy chickpeas for a tasty and healthy snack.

INGREDIENTS 
  • 2 15-ounce cans chickpeas
  • 2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
  • 1 tsp Himalayan salt
  • 2 to 4 tsp spices such as chili powder, curry powder, garam masala, cumin, smoked paprika, rosemary, thyme, or any of your favorite herbs or spices
 
METHOD 
Preheat oven to 400°F (200°C). 
Rinse and drain the chickpeas by pouring chickpeas into a strainer and rinsing with running water. 
Pat the chickpeas very dry with a clean dishtowel or paper towels.  They should feel dry to touch. 
Toss the chickpeas with olive oil and salt, and spread the chickpeas out in an even layer on the baking sheet.
Roast the chickpeas in the oven for 20 - 30 minutes until golden and crisp, checking every 10 minutes and giving the pan a shake.
Toss the chickpeas with the spices.
Besides eating these chickpeas as a snack, you can toss them in salads or sprinkle over soup in place of croutons. 

Gilad also has an Ask Gilad Blog here at Collage Video! Have a question for Gilad? Click HERE and send it in! Gilad will choose one question each week to answer.

Find out more information about Gilad and his Fitness DVD's HERE.

By Collage Video | | Abs, Ask Gilad, Gilad, health, Healthy, healthy lifestyle, Recipe, tips, Weekly Blog | 0 comments | Read more

Pre-Workout Shake

by Gilad


Lacking some energy before a workout? Skip the highly processed pre-workouts and supercharge yourself with this number! 
Not only will this sinfully delicious smoothie give you a burst of natural energy, it gives you a punch of protein and some up-and-go before an intense workout session! Complete with electrolytes, protein, energy and a buzz of caffeine to help you go that extra mile! 
INGREDIENTS
  • 1 coffee shot 
  • 1 tbsp raw cacao 
  • 2 tbsp protein powder
  • 1 cup coconut milk or water 
  • 1 tbsp honey or 1 Medjool date
WHAT TO DO 
  1. Blend all ingredients together until smooth and creamy. 
  2. Drink 30 minutes before intending to work out. 

Gilad also has an Ask Gilad Blog here at Collage Video! Have a question for Gilad? Click HERE and send it in! Gilad will choose one question each week to answer.

Find out more information about Gilad and his Fitness DVD's HERE.

Red Velvet Brownies

by Gilad

Beets are a natural red food coloring, which make them perfect for red velvet desserts! One cup of beets contains about 60 calories and 4 grams of fiber. They are a good source of the minerals copper and magnesium and have 148 µg of folate, or 37% of your daily target. Folate is an extremely important vitamin because it plays a crucial role in DNA synthesis. Beets are also fat free. Using beets in these Red Velvet Brownies cuts the fat and increases the fiber content, making them a tasty yet healthy dessert, and the beet flavor is hardly noticeable!

Ingredients 
  • 2 large cooked beets or 1 14-oz. can beets, rinsed and drained
  • ½ cup unsalted butter (1 stick), melted
  • 1 cup sugar
  • 1 tsp. vanilla extract
  • 2 large eggs
  • ½ cup all-purpose flour
  • ¼ cup plus 2 Tbs. unsweetened cocoa powder
  • 1 Tbs. instant espresso powder
  • ½ cup mini chocolate chips
 
Instructions:
  1. Preheat oven to 350°F. Coat 9-inch square baking dish with cooking spray. 
  2.  Purée beets in food processor until smooth, scraping down sides as necessary. You should have 1 cup. Set aside. 
  3. Whisk together butter and sugar in bowl until smooth. Add vanilla, then whisk in eggs, one at a time. Stir in beets. 
  4. Whisk together flour, cocoa powder, and espresso powder in separate bowl. Fold flour mixture into beet mixture until just combined. Stir in chocolate chips. Pour into prepared pan. 
  5. Bake 30 minutes, or until toothpick inserted into center comes out almost clean. Cool, then cut into 16 squares.

Gilad also has an Ask Gilad Blog here at Collage Video! Have a question for Gilad? Click HERE and send it in! Gilad will choose one question each week to answer.

Find out more information about Gilad and his Fitness DVD's HERE.

By Collage Video | | Abs, Gilad, Lord of the Abs, Recipe, Weekly Blog | 0 comments | Read more

Sweet Beet Muffins Recipe

by Gilad

Do you want to indulge your love ones with a delicious yet healthy treat? You need to try these muffins!  So tasty, and loaded with fruits and vegetables.
Experience the smell of cinnamon and ginger from the freshly baked muffins in your kitchen.

INGREDIENTS
  • 3/4 cup coconut flour
  • 1/2 cup organic corn starch
  • 1/2 cup ground almonds or almond meal
  • 2 tsp aluminum free baking powder
  • Pinch of Himalayan salt
  • 1 tsp cinnamon
  • 1 tsp baking soda
  • 1/2 cup olive oil
  • 1/4 cup rice malt syrup (or maple)
  • 2 organic free-range eggs
  • 1 tsp vanilla extract
  • 1 big beet, peeled and grated
  • 1 apple, grated
  • 3 medjool dates, pitted and chopped
  • 1 cm (1/2 inch) fresh ginger, grated
 
DIRECTIONS
Preheat oven to 350°F (180°C). In a large bowl, combine dry ingredients (the first 7 listed above). In another bowl mix the eggs with syrup, vanilla, oil and ginger. Pour into dry ingredients. Stir to combine.
Add the grated beet, apple and stir until combined. Finally add the chopped dates.
Spoon into the muffin molds or loaf pan. 
-

Gilad also has an Ask Gilad Blog here at Collage Video! Have a question for Gilad? Click HERE and send it in! Gilad will choose one question each week to answer.

Find out more information about Gilad and his Fitness DVD's HERE.

By Collage Video | | Abs, Gilad, Healthy, Lord of the Abs, practice, Recipe, tips, Weekly Blog, Wellness | 0 comments | Read more

Why is Coffee Good For You?

by Gilad
Here Are 7 Reasons 

Coffee isn't just warm and energizing, it may also be extremely good for you.
In recent years and decades, scientists have studied the effects of coffee on various aspects of health and their results have been nothing short of amazing.

Here are 7 reasons why coffee may actually be one of the healthiest beverages on the planet:

  1. Coffee Can Make You Smarter
Coffee doesn't just keep you awake, it may literally make you smarter as well.
The active ingredient in coffee is caffeine, which is a stimulant and the most commonly consumed psychoactive substance in the world.
Caffeine's primary mechanism in the brain is blocking the effects of an inhibitory neurotransmitter called Adenosine.
By blocking the inhibitory effects of Adenosine, caffeine actually increases neuronal firing in the brain and the release of other neurotransmitters like dopamine and norepinephrine..
Many controlled trials have examined the effects of caffeine on the brain, demonstrating that caffeine can improve mood, reaction time, memory, vigilance and general cognitive function.
Bottom Line: Caffeine potently blocks an inhibitory neurotransmitter in the brain, leading to a net stimulant effect. Controlled trials show that caffeine improves both mood and brain function.
  1. Coffee Can Help You Burn Fat and Improves Physical Performance
Cup of Coffee And Coffee Beans
There's a good reason why you will find caffeine in most commercial fat burning supplements.
Caffeine, partly due to its stimulant effect on the central nervous system, both raises metabolism and increases the oxidation of fatty acids.
Caffeine can also improve athletic performance by several mechanisms, including by mobilizing fatty acids from the fat tissues.
In two separate meta-analyses, caffeine was found to increase exercise performance by 11-12% on average.
Bottom Line: Caffeine raises the metabolic rate and helps to mobilize fatty acids from the fat tissues. It can also enhance physical performance.
  1. Coffee May Drastically Lower Your Risk of Type II Diabetes
Doctor Pointing His Finger
Type II diabetes is a lifestyle-related disease that has reached epidemic proportions, having increased 10-fold in a few decades and now afflicting about 300 million people.
This disease is characterized by high blood glucose levels due to insulin resistance or an inability to produce insulin.
In observational studies, coffee has been repeatedly associated with a lower risk of diabetes. The reduction in risk ranges from 23% all the way up to 67%.
A massive review article looked at 18 studies with a total of 457.922 participants. Each additional cup of coffee per day lowered the risk of diabetes by 7%. The more coffee people drank, the lower their risk.
Bottom Line: Drinking coffee is associated with a drastically reduced risk of type II diabetes. People who drink several cups per day are the least likely to become diabetic.
  1. Coffee May Lower Your Risk of Alzheimer's and Parkinson's
Coffee Beans
Not only can coffee make you smarter in the short term, it may also protect your brain in old age.
Alzheimer's disease is the most common neurodegenerative disorder in the world and a leading cause of dementia.
In prospective studies, coffee drinkers have up to a 60% lower risk of Alzheimer's and dementia.
Parkinson's is the second most common neurodegenerative disorder, characterized by death of dopamine-generating neurons in the brain. Coffee may lower the risk of Parkinson's by 32-60%.
Bottom Line: Coffee is associated with a much lower risk of dementia and the neurodegenerative disorders Alzheimer's and Parkinson's.
  1. Coffee May be Extremely Good For Your Liver
Woman Drinking a Cup of Coffee
The liver is a remarkable organ that carries out hundreds of vital functions in the body.
It is very vulnerable to modern insults such as excess consumption of alcohol and fructose.
Cirrhosis is the end stage of liver damage caused by diseases like alcoholism and hepatitis, where liver tissue has been largely replaced by scar tissue.
Multiple studies have shown that coffee can lower the risk of cirrhosis by as much as 80%, the strongest effect for those who drank 4 or more cups per day.
Coffee may also lower the risk of liver cancer by around 40%.
Bottom Line: Coffee appears to be protective against certain liver disorders, lowering the risk of liver cancer by 40% and cirrhosis by as much as 80%.
  1. Coffee May Decrease Your Risk of Premature Death
Many people still seem to think that coffee is unhealthy.
This isn't surprising though, since it is very common for conventional wisdom to be at exact odds with what the actual studies say.
Coffee Beans Spread Horizontally
In two very large prospective epidemiological studies, drinking coffee was associated with a lower risk of death by all causes.
This effect is particularly profound in type II diabetics, one study showing that coffee drinkers had a 30% lower risk of death during a 20 year period.
Bottom Line: Coffee consumption has been associated with a lower risk of death in prospective epidemiological studies, especially in type II diabetics.
  1. Coffee is Loaded With Nutrients and Antioxidants
Cup of Coffee
Coffee isn't just black water.
Many of the nutrients in the coffee beans do make it into the final drink, which actually contains a decent amount of vitamins and minerals.
A cup of coffee contains:
6% of the RDA for Pantothenic Acid (Vitamin B5).
11% of the RDA for Riboflavin (Vitamin B2).
2% of the RDA for Niacin (B3) and Thiamine (B1).
3% of the RDA for Potassium and Manganese.
May not seem like much, but if you drink several cups of coffee per day then this quickly adds up.
But this isn't all. Coffee also contains a massive amount of antioxidants.
In fact, coffee is the biggest source of antioxidants in the western diet, outranking both fruits and vegetables combined.
Bottom Line: Coffee contains a decent amount of several vitamins and minerals. It is also the biggest source of antioxidants in the modern diet.
Take Home Message
Even though coffee in moderate amounts is good for you, drinking way too much of it can still be harmful.
I'd also like to point out that many of the studies above were epidemiological in nature. Such studies can only show association, they can not prove that coffee caused the effects.
To make sure to preserve the health benefits, don't put sugar or anything nasty in your coffee! If it tends to affect your sleep, then don't drink it after 2pm.
At the end of the day, it does seem quite clear that coffee is NOT the villain it was made out to be.

If anything, coffee may literally be the healthiest beverage on the planet

Gilad also has an Ask Gilad Blog here at Collage Video! Have a question for Gilad? Click HERE and send it in! Gilad will choose one question each week to answer.

Find out more information about Gilad and his Fitness DVD's HERE.

By Collage Video | | Abs, Gilad, Lord of the Abs, Recipe, Reviews, Wellness | 0 comments | Read more

Avocado-Buttermilk Soup with Crab Salad

by Gilad

This simple, no-cook soup is garnished with delicious orange-infused crabmeat. A vibrant, green-hued bowlful set before a hungry diner will not last long-take our word for it. Although it is intended to be rich and creamy, if the soup seems a little too thick, add 1 to 2 tablespoons more buttermilk.


Ingredients
3/4 cup fat-free buttermilk
1/2 cup chopped fresh tomatillos
1/2 cup fat-free, lower-sodium chicken broth
3/8 teaspoon salt
2 ripe peeled avocados, pitted
1 serrano pepper, seeded
1 small garlic clove
2 tablespoons minced red bell pepper
1 tablespoon chopped fresh chives
1 teaspoon fresh lemon juice
1/2 teaspoon grated orange rind
8 ounces lump crabmeat, drained and shell pieces removed

Preparation
  1. Place first 7 ingredients in a blender; process until smooth.
  2. Combine bell pepper and remaining ingredients; toss gently to combine.
  3. Spoon about 3/4 cup soup into each of 4 bowls; top each serving with about 1/3 cup crabmeat mixture.

Gilad also has an Ask Gilad Blog here at Collage Video! Have a question for Gilad? Click HERE and send it in! Gilad will choose one question each week to answer.

Find out more information about Gilad and his Fitness DVD's HERE.

By Collage Video | | Abs, Ask Gilad, cardio, Gilad, goals, Healthy, Lord of the Abs, Weekly Blog, Wellness | 0 comments | Read more

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