Nutritious, Delicious, Romantic and Budget Friendly

You know how you usually think of lobster as a very special and expensive treat?  Well, not this year.  Since people consider lobster to be a luxury food, demand is way, way down this year, and supply is way, way up thanks to really good oversight of fishing practices.

More supply + less demand = cheaper lobster.

It’s actually cheaper than steak right now.  So, my fiancé (will be my wife tomorrow!) and I have been taking advantage.

This weekend we went to Harris Teeter and got 8 lobster tails for about $21.  (A year ago I think that one lobster tail in a restaurant was $20.)

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Josef’s Fiance Presents: Veggie Spaghetti

Q: When is spaghetti a vegetable?

A: When it’s a spaghetti squash!

We all know that we will have less body fat, better health, and more energy with fewer processed carbs in our lives. The spaghetti squash offers a way to improve your physique and eat a yummy old favorite at the same time. Try this as a side dish with your favorite protein, or add ground turkey, beef, or imitation meat to the sauce for a complete meal.

Ingredients

1 medium spaghetti squash
Salt & pepper to taste
1 jar pasta sauce (with no sugar added)

Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 450? F. Chop squash in half lengthwise. Scoop out the seeds and slimy gunk; be thorough and get it all.
2. Spray lightly with olive oil, and sprinkle with salt and pepper to taste. Place cut side down on a baking sheet and roast for 30-40 minutes.
3. Let the squash cool approximately 5 minutes. Scrape the tines of a fork across the insides to separate the “spaghetti,” scoop out, top with sauce, and enjoy.

Nutrition Facts

Number of servings depends on the size of your squash. Per 1.5 cup serving with 1/2 cup sauce including some olive oil is 150 kcal.

Josef’s Quick and Easy Mock mashed Potatoes

After I dropped my 45 pounds of body fat I thought that mashed potatoes would be off-limits to me. And they are. BUT, I have found a really, really good substitute for them made of cauliflower. Before you turn up your nose, give them a try. You won’t believe how good they actually taste.

Ingredients

1 small head cauliflower, quartered & steamed	66 kcal
2 tbsp butter	204 kcal
3-5 cloves of garlic, chopped	20 kcal
Salt and pepper to taste

Instructions

1. Steam cauliflower for 5-8min. While cauliflower is steaming, sauté the garlic.
2. Place everything into a food processor and process until all chunks have been removed. This may take some stirring.
3. Enjoy.

Nutrition Facts

Makes 4 servings at 73 kcal per serving

Josef’s Mom Presents Her Low-Carb Latkes

Believe it or not, I am not a fan of man-boobs, spare tires or muffin tops. So, to that end I don’t eat much in the way of fried starch. I love latkes, but fried potatoes don’t do anything for my girlish figure:-). With that in mind, my mother came up with this recipe.

Honestly, I was skeptical at first – “green latkes? That ain’t right.” But, they are simply delicious, and pretty easy to make.

Ingredients

1 Large zucchini	52 kcal
1 small carrot	21 kcal
1 small onion (optional)	29 kcal
1 egg, beaten	70 kcal
2 tbsp olive oil (total for sheets)	240 kcal
Salt and pepper to taste
1/4 cup Apple sauce (per person)	25 kcal
2 tbsp Low fat sour cream (per person)	35 kcal

Instructions

1. Pre-heat oven to 400°F.
2. Grate veggies, and mix with egg, salt and pepper.
3. Lightly oil a baking sheet. Drain off the extra water, and spoon mixture onto the baking sheet(s).
4. Bake for 10min on each side.
5. Enjoy with any kind of lean protein you wish.

Nutrition Facts

Nutrition: 4 servings at 103kcal/serving, 163 with sour cream and apple sauce

Josef’s Mom Presents Her Low-Carb Eggplant Parmesan

No, it’s NOT to good to be true, but it is too good to be my recipe. You can thank my mommy for this one. Battered and deep fried looks bad on everyone. If you just lifted weights, go ahead and serve this with a small side of whole wheat pasta, otherwise eat it alone.

Ingredients

1 large eggplant – cut into 1/4 inch slices	136 kcal
Spray olive oil	100 kcal
1lb grass-fed ground beef (regular is OK too)	800 kcal
1 jar organic pasta sauce	420 kcal
2 cups low fat ricotta cheese	480 kcal
6oz fresh mozzarella – sliced	360 kcal
1 free-range, omega-3 egg	70 kcal
Nutmeg
Salt and pepper to taste

Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 400 F, and slice up eggplant.
2. Roast sliced eggplant on a baking sheet for 7-8min on each side and set aside to cool. Lower oven to 350 F
3. While eggplant is roasting brown the beef in a large pan, then add the pasta sauce. Turn off heat and mix well and set aside to cool.
4. Mix ricotta cheese and egg and spices well.
5. In a baking dish layer eggplant, meat sauce, ricotta cheese, mozzarella.
6. Bake at 350 F for 30-40min.

Nutrition Facts

Servings – 6 @ 394 kcal

Josef’s Fat-Burning Frittata

Cook once, eat 2, 3 or 4 times – in 25min you can have 4 or more healthy meals that are packed with fiber, veggies, healthy fat, protein and taste, yet with no starchy carbs.

Don’t believe the hype. Egg yolks, especially those high in omega-3 fats, are NOT bad for you or your heart. This was widely HYPOTHESIZED in the 1980’s, but when actually tested, researchers have found that adding up to 40 egg yolks a week to a person’s diet did no harm. In fact, all of the healthy fat in this dish should be GOOD for you and your heart.

Ingredients

8 whole omega-3 eggs	560 kcal
8 egg whites	104 kcal
Spray olive oil	75 kcal
6 pieces pre-cooked turkey bacon	120 kcal
1 cup grated/crumbled cheese (any type, especially grass-fed cheese if you can find it… people really like cheddar, Parrano, and goat cheese)	460 kcal
Small handful chopped onion	15 kcal
1 small sweet pepper, chopped	20 kcal
3-4 handfuls washed spinach	15 kcal
Salt and pepper to taste
1-2 tsp Herbs de Provence

Instructions

1. While turkey bacon is cooking, preheat your oven to 425 and lightly spray a 9×9 baking dish with high sides with olive oil.
2. Chop onions and peppers and sauté until soft, add spinach 1-2 handfuls at a time and wilt. Transfer to the 9×9 dish. Chop turkey bacon and add to dish.
3. Separate and add eggs to a mixing bowl with the spices. Beat until well mixed, and pour into baking dish. Mix-up the eggs and other contents and place in oven. Bake for 10-15min.
4. While frittata is baking grate your cheese, and clean-up from the rest of the prep.
5. Remove frittata. Turn on the broiler. Top frittata with cheese, and replace in oven with broiler on. Broil for 5-10min – until center is solid. Enjoy.

Nutrition Facts

Makes 4 servings @ 434kcal/serving

Quick and Easy Low-Carb Pizza

For as long as I can remember I have loved pizza. I ate my first whole large pizza from Pizza Hut when I was 8, and its probably no coincidence that my doctor first started getting on my about my weight at about that age:-).

So, this is my new thing – taking stuff that used to be special occasion only (like cheeseburgers and pizza) and making it into stuff that I can eat every day without compromising on taste, fullness, energy or the way my pants fit.

These are super easy – less than 5min to get it ready to go in the oven, and about 8min to cook; and they are super yummy.

Low-Carb Pizza Green

1 La Banderita (there are other brands too) low-carb tortilla (you can get them at Safeway, Harris Teeter and probably other places)                               5g net carb
2-3 tbsp pesto (fresh is better, watch for added sugar)       1g net carb
1 handful spinach                                                                        .5g net carb
½ cup cooked chicken                                                               1g net carb
½ cup mozzarella cheese                                                          1.5 g net carbs
Pinch parmesan cheese
Salt and pepper to taste

Low-Carb Pizza Red

1 La Banderita (there are other brands too) low-carb tortilla (you can get them at Safeway, Harris Teeter and probably other places)                               5g net carb
2 tbsp no sugar added pizza sauce                                          2.5g net carb
4 slice tomato                                                                                2g net carb
½ cup cooked chicken                                                                1g net carb
1 small handful fresh basil leaves
½ cup mozzarella cheese                                                         1.5g net carb
Pinch parmesan cheese
Salt and pepper to taste

Directions – Same for both (ingredients are listed in ascending order: tortilla first, next thing on top, etc.)

1. Pre-heat over to 400 F and lightly spray large baking sheet.
2. Place tortillas on sheet and add ingredients (Ascending order – so tortilla 1st, then pesto, then spinach, and so on)
3. Bake for 8min, cut up and enjoy!

Nutrition

Green = 9g net carb per pizza
Red = 12g net carb per pizza

Josef Brandenburg is Washington, DC’s top personal trainer for busy people. He shows normal people with hectic lives and average genetics how to create the bodies they want in the time they actually have. To find out more about the 7-Day Free Trial click here. You can also pick up a copy of his brand new CD – “Why Eat Less and Exercise More is The Worst Advice Ever” here.