Healthy miso salad recipe (Day 11)

Park workout

This is your upper body “pulling” day. If you don’t live near a park, look for things around the home that will mimic the equipment in a park. You get to decide the number of sets and repetitions dependent upon what your body tells you. But just remember that the goal for this month is to kick-start your way to a new level of fitness, so don’t hold back.

Park bench push-up
The park bench push-up is great for women as some find it challenging to do a push-up flat on the ground and maintain good form. Using this method reduces some of the gravitational force because of the easier angle, but it’s still a great exercise. You can use the sitting part of the bench, which makes it more challenging. If you put your hands on the backrest portion (from behind the bench), which is higher off the ground, it becomes easier.

Here are some tips on technique:
- Feet firmly planted and hip-width apart.
- Engage those core muscles and keep your body aligned.
- Make sure you have a firm grip on the bench. You don’t want to slip.
- Breathe in on the way down and out on the way up.
- Don’t go too quickly or too slowly. One to two seconds each direction is great. Try to keep some tension on the muscles and don’t use much in the way of inertia.
- If you can do more than 12 then it’s too easy. You need an angle that gets your face closer to the ground to increase the resistance. Shoot for each set being in the six to 12 range.

Note that it doesn’t have to be a park bench. You can do this at home on a counter or even the wall if you're a beginner.

Monkey bar rows and chin-ups
The trick here is to find a bar in the park that your chin is higher than.

It has been my experience that the vast majority of women cannot do a single chin-up. This is nothing to be ashamed of, but a simple fact of evolution. Therefore, putting your legs into the equation helps remove just the right amount of weight to make it challenging but not impossible.

For using a bar like this in a chin-up fashion, assume a typical chin-up position, except note that your feet will stay on the ground throughout. Rely as much as you can on your upper body muscles to complete the chin-up, but use your legs as necessary to take off just the right amount of weight.

I also want you to do some twists to further strengthen your core muscles and tighten things up. A great one is to lie flat on your back with arms sticking straight out and legs up in the air coming off the floor with knees bent. Rotate back and forth in what is called a Lower Body Russian Twist. Watch below:

What to eat: Day 11

Breakfast: Pina Colada Smoothie - Serves 1
Ingredients:
1 serving whey protein isolate (vanilla)
½ can coconut water or ½ teaspoon coconut extract
2 tablespoons chia seed
4 ounces water
½ small banana, fresh or frozen, chopped
¼ cup pineapple chunks (fresh or drained if canned in water)
4-6 ice cubes

Directions:
1. Place all ingredients in a blender and blend at high speed until smooth and creamy.
2. Add extra water if desired.

Calories 278 | Protein 29 g | Fat 11 g | Carbohydrates 31 g | Fibre 10 g

Snack: 7 walnuts with a piece of fruit or ½ cup (250 g) berries or 1 serving low-fat Swiss cheese

Lunch: Miso Salad with Shrimp - Serves 1
Ingredients:
4-5 cups baby spinach
½ avocado, sliced
1 tablespoon unpasteurized miso paste
1 clove garlic, minced
2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
1 tomato, chopped
1 cucumber, chopped
Salt and pepper to taste
One serving of protein: chicken, turkey, bison, lean ground beef, organic steak, whitefish, salmon, trout, tuna, tofu or dry cottage cheese (3/4 cup), egg whites (3/4 cup)

Directions:
1. Place all ingredients in a large bowl and toss well until the dressing coats the spinach, cucumber and tomatoes.
2. Top with chosen protein source and enjoy.

Calories 342 | Protein 34 g | Fat 15 g | Carbohydrates 25 g | Fibre 7 g

Snack: 2 large tomato slices, topped with 1 ½ ounces (45 g) Nu Tofu non-fat cheddar cheese alternative and ¼ avocado

Dinner: Grilled Mediterranean Salad - Serves 4
Ingredients:
1 small eggplant, cut into ¼-inch-thick rounds
2 medium zucchini, cut into ¼-inch-thick rounds
1 fennel bulb, trimmed and cut into 8 wedges
1 red onion, peeled and sliced into ¼-inch-thick slices (rings kept intact)
1 lemon, sliced
4 tablespoons goat feta, crumbled
8 Kalamata olives, pitted and halved
Pepper to taste
4 servings of protein: chicken, turkey, bison, lean ground beef, organic steak, whitefish, salmon, trout, tuna, tofu or dry cottage cheese (3/4 cup), egg whites (3/4 cup)

Directions:
1. Slightly salt and then press the eggplant prior to cooking and cut out the excess seeds.
2. Prepare a grill and lightly oil the grill rack.
3. Cook the eggplant, zucchini, fennel, onion and lemon slices, in batches if necessary, until browned and tender. (The fennel will take 4 to 5 minutes per side; the eggplant, zucchini and onion 2 to 3 minutes per side; and the lemon 1 to 2 minutes per side.)
4. Transfer the vegetables to a large, shallow serving dish.
5. Toss gently with the dressing. Garnish the salad with feta, olives and a grinding of pepper.
6. Top with chosen protein source and enjoy.

Dressing:
2 plum tomatoes, seeded and coarsely chopped
3 tablespoons lemon juice
3 tablespoons reduced-sodium chicken broth
2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
1 tablespoon oregano, fresh or dried
Salt and pepper to taste

Directions:
1. Combine the tomatoes, lemon juice, broth, olive oil, and oregano in a blender or food processor; blend or process until smooth.
2. Season with salt and pepper.

Calories 300 | Protein 28 g | Fat 16 g | Carbohydrates 16 g | Fibre 4 g

All recipes copyright Dr. Natasha Turner ND. The Carb Sensitivity Program, carbsensitivity.com

Click here for Day 12.