Radicchio

Hey guys

While it’s most commonly eaten raw in salads, radicchio can be cooked, too. It's a member  of the chicory family (radicchio is actually red-leafed Italian chicory) and has recently become a trendy vegetable. It has a fresh, delicate bitterness that lends itself especially well to salads.

Several varieties of radicchio are grown but the two most commonly available are Verona, which grows in small, loose heads with burgundy leaves and white ribs and Treviso, which has leaves that are narrower and more pointed, and tighter, more tapered heads. Other varieties have variegated or speckled leaves in shades of pink, red, and green. Radicchio is available all year long and is at its peak from mid-winter to early spring.

(Adapted from MotherNature.com)

 Radicchio can be found in the produce section of health food stores, specialty markets and supermarkets. Look for firm heads with crisp, colorful leaves and no signs of wilting or browning. Store in a plastic bag in the refrigerator for up to five days. Wash radicchio just before using. While it’s most commonly eaten raw in salads, it can also be cooked.

The first time I tried it was on a pizza pie and, believe it or not, on my free meal day. What a great flavor it had—the tartness and sweetness all at once. And check out it's nutritional breakdown.

Again, you can eat it raw or cooked or even grilled. So give it a try. It looks good and tastes even better. Here is a pic of it grilled with olive oil and balsamic vineger, a secret touch.

Stay tuned for more...

Best

Alejandro

No time to cook at home, hire me and my chef

Hey guys

Recently, many people have been asking me about my personal chef service. It appears that many people simply don't have enough time after a full day's work to cook up a meal.

So to ensure that you don't miss a meal or get forced into eating take-out, I'm getting back into this business. The idea is to provide you simple personalized and healthy meals.

My personal chef will help you with simple meals that will make following my nutrition plan easy. Let us do the work for you. This will allow you to eat clean without resorting to one-month packs of frozen food with their faux nutritious breakdowns. Or those tiny packed foods delivered to your door everyday. You deserve better and you will get that with our boutique chef service.

So, go for it and be treated to the delicious meals you deserve. Contact me for more info.

Best

Alejandro

Circuit Training

Hey guys

Sometimes we don't have the time to workout. It is a common excuse all of us have at one time or other.  But we all have at least 30 min that we can manage some time during our day. It could be when we first wake up or maybe during our lunch break. It could also be a half hour after work before we head home and end the day on our couch. Whatever the time, that's all we need.

Welcome to Circuit Training. What is this? Circuit Training is essentially just a fancy way to describe a workout that incorporates a little of everything in a short period of time. It includes aerobics and anaerobic exercises and always starts with the big muscle groups like chest, back or legs. From there, you'll proceed to the smaller ones like shoulders and arms. Reps are kept hight and rest periods short. By not resting too long, it enables you to maintain a high intensity level that aids fat burning.

So whenever you're pressed for time, don't give yourself an excuse. Try some circuit training.

Have a good workout!

Alejandro

Fitness America Weekend

Hey guys

This past November 20-21 in Las Vegas, our winning team from the Workout Loft, New York competed at the Fitness America Weekend.

The Fitness America Weekend included 600 of the world’s best natural athletes who competed in the Fitness, Ms. Bikini, Figure, Model and Musclemania Divisions. Magazine and television media were there with over 30 photographers and video crews shooting the action all weekend.

We had 3 competitors in the Bodybuilding and Fitness and Figure divisions and two came back with championship titles as we did in the past.

Team Workout Loft is now competing not just at the National Level but we are going on to the World stage. Stay tuned for an exciting 2010!

A big thanks to all of you out there.

Alejandro
New York Muscle™

Workout Loft team dominates Musclemania 2009

Hey guys

To start the new year, I wanted to highlight some of our successes in the past year.  Last year, we brought home to NYC two world champions.

Claudine - Second from the left

Claudine - First from the left the left

Claudine Prowse - Fitness Figure Classics Champion

Marie Manon - Natural bodybuilding champion in Masters Category

Claudine with me, her personal trainer

The Two Champions: Marie Manon and me

Our Workout Loft Team from New York dominates the Fitness America Weekend this year in Las Vegas.
Our team from New York won two world championship titles:
Claudine Prowse won in the Fitness Figure Classics Category and Marie Manon won in the Bodybuilding Division.

The Workout Loft Team is led by Joe DiAngelo and myself, 2008 World Universe Champion.
This is a repeat of our success at the 2008 Musclemania World Universe Weekend.

We competed with 600 of the world’s best natural athletes in Fitness, Figure and Bodybuilding Divisions. Magazine and television media covered the event with over 30 photographers and video crews shooting the action all weekend. With competitors representing over 80 countries, this was a great World Championships for natural fitness athletes around the globe!

We want to thank God for the wisdom, ability and strength to achieve what we have attained. We are deeply humbled and honored. Without God we would not be able to pull this off.

Thanks
Alejandro
New York Muscle™

The Breakfast

A healthy breakfast that includes high-fiber cereal can help you lose weight and keep diabetes, heart disease and stroke at bay.

When you skip breakfast, however, you are likely to become tired when your brain and body run low on fuel. So, by mid-morning, you might grab a cup of coffee or wolf down a sugary candy bar to wake up again. Although this might work for a few minutes, by lunch time you will likely be hungry, crabby and perhaps your mood might make you a little more prone to make unhealthy choices at lunch.

Skipping breakfast is a common strategy for losing weight but not a smart one. Many people believe that they will lose weight if they skip meals but that just isn't true. The fact is, the body expects to be refueled a few times each day—starting with breakfast.

Therefore, eating breakfast is actually good for weight loss. In fact, people who eat breakfast are more likely to maintain a healthy weight.

Research suggests that breakfast eaters are leaner than those who skip the morning meal, with one study reporting that missing breakfast was associated with a fourfold increase in the risk of obesity (February issue of Harvard Men's Health Watch). High-fiber cereals are central to breakfast's health benefits and can help men reduce the risk of heart disease, stroke, diabetes and even intestinal polyps and colon cancer.

Look for breakfast cereals that provide at least 6 grams of fiber per serving, suggests Harvard Men's Health Watch, but make sure your choice is low in sugar (less than 10 grams per serving). Add, berries or green apple slices to turn that bowl of fiber into a tasty meal.

For me, the best way to start a great day is to make my own breakfast at home. I wake up 30 min earlier and go straight to my coffee machine. Next, I start cracking the eggs. For guys, I would recommend 6 to 8 egg whites and for ladies, 2 to 4. While the eggs are cooking, I will prepare 1 cup of oats in a bowl with 2 cups of water. (For ladies, half a cup of oats with 1 cup of water will suffice.) Microwave this for about 3 min. That's it! Coffee, eggs and oats all ready...how easy is that?

If you want some additional flavor, you can spice up your oatmeal with some ground cinnamon or a sprinkle of stevia or splenda. So start your kitchen running first thing in the morning!

Thanks again

Alejandro
New York Muscle™

Endives

Endive is a vegetable that looks very much like lettuce. It is also known as escarole or chicory and is very closely related to the dandelion plant. Its taste is rather bitter but it contains a particular compound that may be tremendously helpful for our optic system.

Among all the green vegetables, the endive is one of the richest sources of vitamin A. It is also a good source of vitamin C, calcium, chlorine, iron, phosphorus, potassium, sulphur; and an excellent provider of fiber and carotene. Furthermore, each leave contains only one calorie, so endive is a delight to weight watchers.

Some other potential health benefits include these:

Constipation: The necessary nutrients and fiber in this green salad vegetable helps relieve constipation. You can mix it with apple or carrot juice.

Eye problems: For degenerative eye problems like cataract and glaucoma.

Liver and gall bladder: Endive helps promote the secretion of bile for that extra cleansing so mix some of it with any of your favorite juices.

Weight loss: Its low calorie makes this an excellent food. Juice it or just eat it.

Acne: Regularly drinking endive juice with other juices may help to clear up skin problems like acne.

Asthma: Drink mixed juice containing endive, carrot and celery for best help in reducing asthma attacks.

Anemia: Endive with celery and parsley juice can do wonders for people who are anemic as this combination acts as a powerful blood tonic.

Cancer: As an excellent source of vitamin A, it could be a wonderful prevention for cancers of the rectum, melanoma and bladder.

Personally, I love endives as they taste great...they have that exclusively buttery taste that makes the best salads. And coming soon....don't miss my endive salad recipe.

Thanks guys!

Alejandro
New York Muscle™