Diet Success Tip – a la Rocco Dispirito

When I first saw Rocco Dispirito on TV, I liked him, his style, and his food. He clearly had a firm grasp on what he was doing…and he seemed pretty cool!

Just recently one of my Prime Physique Elite Personal Training clients brought in his new book: Now Eat This! (It was actually the day the book was released) So I took a lok at it, and ordered it from Amazon.com on the spot.

This book takes popular recipes and does a food makeover, altering the original recipe into a healthy fitness and weight loss food perfect for your fitness boot camp or personal training programs (like the ones I offer in San Jose;-)

Recipes include variations on things like Nachos, Brownies, Reuben Sandwich, Coconut Shrimp, Cookies, Hamburgers, Mac & Cheese, and 143 more…all with under 350 calories per generous serving.

It amazed me to see his lists that included the original fat and calorie content followed by the new amounts from his recipes.

At first I was skeptical…he has a brownie recipe made from black beans! I thought: YUCK! What kind of crap is this?

But then my client made the brownie recipe and brought me a sample…They were great! Could not tell that the brownies were not regular brownies…wow.

So yesterday I got rolling back on my diet, nutrition, and workout program after a 2 week vacation (birthday and business trip with lots of REAL french fries…yea, I am a real guy!) and decided to give a couple of his recipes a shot. Let’s just say that I was happy.

However…you know me, I have to change every recipe that I ever get my hands on! So I tried 2 recipes and will be changing one. FYI, one was pretty perfect: Smoked Turkey Reuben, where I just substituted white rye bread for the sprouted bread he recommended because my local Safeway did not seem to have the right stuff.

So here is my version of Rocco’s Nacho Recipe…solid appetixer for a fitness and weight loss program and approved for San Jose Fitness Boot Camp clients:

Brett’s Upgrade to Rocco’s Nachos (mind you these were good already)
Ingredients:
4 OZ Baked tortillia chips
8 OZ Ground turkey breast
1 Cup chopped sweet onion
1 Cup fat-free black bean dip
1 Cup reduced fat Mexican 4 cheese blend
1 Cup fresh salsa (store bought is fine)
2/3 Cup non-fat Greek yogurt
1 Fresh Jalapeno Pepper
2/3 Cup chopped fresh cilantro
2 Tbsp tomatoe paste
1 Tbsp hot chili powder
1 Tsp granulated garlic
1/4 Tsp each cumin and coriander powder

How To Do It:
1. Preheat oven to 450
2. Line baking sheet with foil or nonstick mat
3. Arrange chips on baking sheet
4. Heat a large non-stick saute pan over high heat. When pan is hot, add the onions and saute, stiring a lot. About 5 minutes.
5. Add seasoning and paste and cook for 2 minutes.
6. Add turkey and cook until done, about 5 minutes.
7. Add the bean dip to the pan and heat through.
9. Spoon the mixture over the chips, cover with cheese, bake for 5-6 minutes, or until cheese melts and chips start to brown.
10. Remove from baking sheet and plate. Cover with salsa, yogurt, cilantro, and thin slices of jalapeno. Serve imediately.

There you go, an awesome, low calorie dish! Now get the book because it is great.

Now go workout!

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