By M. Kovacs

CHICKEN STICKS

INGREDIENTS:

• 1 bottle Renée’s Lemon Pepper Garlic Gourmet Sauce
• 1 lb boneless, skinless chicken breast, cut into 1-inch cubes
• 8 to 10 skewers, soaked in warm water to prevent breakage

INSTRUCTIONS:

Place chicken cubes in a bowl and cover with 1/3 bottle of Renée’s Lemon Pepper Garlic Gourmet Sauce. Leave in the refrigerator for 2 hours or overnight. Discard marinating sauce. Poke chicken cubes onto wooden skewers (count for 2 skewers per person). Grill, broil or bake for about 5 minutes or until the meat is thoroughly cooked, turning the skewers so that each side is cooked evenly. Place skewers on a serving plate; pour leftover sauce over chicken to moisten. Serve with grilled vegetables and brown rice. If you prefer, use shrimp instead of chicken breast.

SERVING SIZE: 4

KITCHEN QUICKIES

Quick meals for the man on the go.

If you don’t have time to spend 30 minutes preparing food, here’s a quick and easy breakfast that you can throw in a blender, pour in a glass and take to work.

FROZEN FRUIT SMOOTHIE

INGREDIENTS:
1 cup frozen fruit
½ cup plain low-fat yogurt
2 tsp ground flaxseed
1/2 cup orange juice
½ cup rolled oats
1 heaping scoop of protein powder

INSTRUCTIONS:
Put all the ingredients in a blender and add water to desired consistency. Add a little ice to keep your shake chilled.

SERVING SIZE: 1

MEASURE YOUR FAT

Use more than just a scale.

A standard scale isn’t the most accurate tool when it comes to measuring fat because of water weight, muscle-to-fat ratio, bone density and the food in your stomach—basically, it’s not the most accurate tool. Measuring body-fat composition is a more reliable method of tracking fat loss. Here are the best ways to gauge body fat to see if you’re reaching your goals.

THE TOOLS

SKIN-FOLD CALIPERS
$20 to $450

Using the calipers, pinch the skin at three to seven pre-determined locations on the body (triceps, subscapular, axilla, suprailiac, abdomen, thigh), record the measurements, then, using a specific formula, compute body-fat percentage. This method works on the assumption that subscutaneous fat reflects total body fat.

ACCURACY: Requires certain technical skills to measure accurately. The margin of error is +/- 3 percent. It may not be particularly accurate measuring the obese or the very lean physique.

BIOELECTRICAL IMPEDANCE
$50 to $700

A mild electrical current passes through your body from a handheld device or body-fat scale. Since water conducts electricity and fat contains almost no water, results are based on the speed of the signal—that means the faster it is, the less fat you have.

ACCURACY: This method has a four percent margin of error, and the fat level can measure higher if you’re dehydrated such as the first thing in the morning after getting out of bed.

WAIST-CIRCUMFERENCE MEASUREMENT
$5 to $10

Wrap a measuring tape snugly around your abdomen, between your last rib and your belly button. Exhale and measure. Every inch lost correlates to about 10 pounds of weight loss on a scale.

ACCURACY: This simple tool targets stomach fat directly and predicts your risk of heart disease better than weight alone.

Maximum Fitness Magazine has tons of nutritional information.