My Fitness Pal App

I have been using my fitness pal app for the last four years. It's a free app that allows you to log in your goals, keep a food diary and log in your activities. It tells you how many calories you are consuming and burning. 

I love this app. It syncs with Runkeeper and my Garmin Vivofit. It has a really cool barcode scanner and you can upload recipes through the website. 

If you have a smartphone and you are serious about cleaning up your diet, I would highly recommend it. (This is my own opinion. I am not working for or being paid by myfitnesspal.com) 

Slow cooking in the summer!

Happy Father's Day!

Today is nice and cool in the high desert so the hubby and I decided to cook some Beef Shortribs in the crockpot. So easy and the house smells fantastic! 

First you braise the ribs to seal in the juices and flavor. 

Then you add your veggies and fresh herbs to the crockpot. We just used what ever we had in the fridge, carrots, celery, mushrooms, rosemary, thyme and onions. 

When the ribs are nice and brown, add them to the pot along with a cup of broth and a packet of onion soup mix. 

Add some red wine, set the pot to high and cook for a few hours. When the yummy beef falls off the bone, it's ready. 

BBQ once, eat 3 healthy meals!

 

A favorite in our house is BBQ Tri Tip. Its easy and one big roast will yield 3+ healthy meals. We purchase untrimmed Tri Tips. When cooking on the BBQ, the fat cap helps keep the roast moist. We use a combo of seasonings but our favorites are Cow Camp Garlic Season-all and Pappy's Santa Maria style seasoning.

 

Season the meat liberally with your selected seasoning. Here I used Pappy's.  I prefer to use a charcoal Webber BBQ for cooking roasts. Prepare your BBQ for indirect heat and cook the roast until the center reaches 145 degrees for med-rare and 160 degrees for medium. 45 minutes  is usually enough time. Let it rest for 5 minutes and slice against the grain. 

Meal #1 - sliced tri-tip, steamed broccoli and wild rice. 

Meal # 2- Tri-tip tacos with all the fixings. 

Meal # 3 - Steak salad with ranch dressing. Pictured above.

Remember that a serving size of lean beef is 3 oz. In those 3 oz. you get 10 essential nutrients including protein, B12, selenium, zinc, niacin, B6, phosphorus, choline, iron and riboflavin. For more info please go to www.beefiswhatsfordinner.com