Journey to Healthier Living

As Spring approaches my husband and I are committed to make changes towards a healthier lifestyle.  We want to make better choices in what we put in our bodies.  Coincidentally, my husband came home from work and announced he was joining a "Biggest Loser" competition at work.  My first thought was "Oh, boy....I am going to have to channel Jillian Michaels and start him on a 24 hour workout regimen."  This is not realistic for those of us who work a full day, live a busy life and don't have the luxury of a personal trainer and nutritionist at our beckon call.  What it does mean is that we need to eat a healthier and balanced diet with exercise. Look out!  It's time to break out the Wii Dance and get my groove on.   A perk of this contest is each participant gives $ 20.00 and the person at the end of the 12 week period that has lost the highest percentage of weight based on their original weight wins the money. The BIG win is our more health conscience lifestyle, but, extra cash is a nice bonus!

Also this month I have had another opportunity to help kick start our journey to healthier living through the Allrecipes Allstar program that I am involved with.   Being an Allstar I get to participate with Allrecipes and various brands to test their products and recipes.  This month's sponsor is Mazola corn oil.  I have to admit I  have never purchased corn oil before, so, this would be a new experience for me.   The Mazola campaign is promoting the importance of a heart healthy lifestyle and has a variety of new recipes to try on Allrecipes and on their website. Mazola states that studies have shown corn oil lowers LDL cholesterol more than extra virgin olive oil by 10.9% as compared to extra virgin olive oil at a 3.5% reduction.  I know this may be contrary to what you have read about EVOO, so, I suggest you educate yourself, do the research, & make the most informed decision for you and your family.  If you would like to learn more about Mazola corn oil  I invite you to go the the link below.

http://www.mazola.com/healthandwellness.aspx

I prepared two of the recipes created by the Mazola team and I am pleased to say my husband and I enjoyed them both very much!

The first recipe I made was the Pork Carnitas with Tomatillo Salsa. We love Mexican food and I was excited about this recipe.  It was different than some pork carnitas I have had in the past because it was cooked in a spicy sauce on the stove top and not fried.  The meat was fall apart tender and really packed a flavor punch!  Fresh tomatillos are used in the salsa and if you haven't had them before they are tart.  If you are not a fan you can substitute a little salsa verde.  I drizzled mine with a sauce made of 50% light sour cream and 50% salsa verde.

http://allrecipes.com/Recipe/Pork-Carnitas-with-Cilantro-Tomatillo-Sauce/Detail.aspx?evt19=1

The second recipe I prepared was Sweet and Spicy Salmon with Grapefruit Salsa.  I keep a lot of spices an hand and I had everything in my pantry to prepare the rub.  The spice rub was truly fantastic!  It was exactly as stated...sweet, spicy, & just plain yummy!  I think the rub would be wonderful on pork or chicken also.   My husband cannot eat grapefruit, so, I decided to prepare the salsa two ways.  I prepared one recipe with the grapefruit and another version substituting mandarin oranges.  I also added a little salt, pepper, and lime juice to the mandarin orange version. Although I loved the bright flavor you get from the grapefruit salsa, I did prefer the orange variation.  I think the sweetness of the mandarin oranges worked better with the fish for our palate.   

http://allrecipes.com/Recipe/Sweet-and-Spicy-Salmon-with-Grapefruit-Salsa/Detail.aspx?evt19=1

I highly recommend you check out the Mazola recipe hub on Allrecipes for some fresh, flavorful recipe ideas.

http://allrecipes.com/Recipes/Trusted-Brands-Recipes-and-Tips/Mazola/Main.aspx?prop24=hn_browsedeeper&evt19=1

I think we are off to a good start in my house and I am excited to begin this new healthier way of life.

Now if you will excuse me....I need to close my blinds and start that dancing!

I am an Allrecipes Allstar Brand Ambassador (a voluntary postion) and I am not compensated for my work with Allrecipes.com.  Products received from Mazola are only used for experience based reviews by The Southern Fried Ginger.  The reviews, content, & opinions expressed in this blog are purely the sole opinions of  The Southern Fried Ginger.