workin’ 9 to 5

it’s hard to make a living, especially while adjusting to the 4HB. packing lunches, snacks, eating in the middle of meetings, doing what you gotta do to keep the metabolism burning. here’s what helped us:

1. boiled eggs — around 10:30am, they may save you.

2. eating a salad at 11:30am — spinach, avocado, sliced turkey pepperoni sticks, mini tomatoes, & etc.

3. . working out at noon. if you have a gym, awesome. if you don’t, catch a little walk if you can! it’ll rev you up for the afternoon.

4. eating a bean snack at 3:30pm — curried lentils, chickpea delight, turkey pumpkin chili, whatever you’ve got.

5. water water water water water. so many water snacks.

6. let your coworkers know what you’re up to. if they’re worth their salt, they’ll have your back.

7. definitely eat breakfast at home on Bagel Wednesday. i learned this one the hard way.

cheezy pesto breakfast treat

i was eating this dish even before the 4HB came along, just because it kicks so much ass. you’ll see.

INGREDIENTS:

2 eggs

handful of spinach

1/4c fat-free cottage cheese

pesto

olive oil

salt/pepper

MAKE IT: heat a tbsp or so of olive oil in a pan, med-high heat. scramble up the two eggs in a bowl, and add a couple tbsps of water. pour into the pan. add about a 1/4 cup of the cottage cheese, and throw the spinach on top. cook until the spinach is nice and wilty, the eggs almost entirely cooked. add in about 1 tbsp of pesto, stir to mix! salt/pepper if you like, and done!

HOT TIPS: if you’re not sick of beans, add a handful of your favorite ones. love tomatoes? asparagus? green onion? let them join the party too!

coconut curry bonanza

sometimes you just want a meal with nary a bean in sight. this is one of those! (addendum: i just ate this and got thinking about the birds and bees of beans. bean sprouts. i’m going to ignore this fact. ok? ok.)

INGREDIENTS:

3 garlic cloves, minced

2 sliced boneless/skinless chicken breasts

1 can unsweetened light coconut milk

curry powder/paste (either’s fine, whatever curries your coconut)

bag of bean sprouts

red and green peppers, sliced

green onions

crushed peanuts

olive oil

salt/pepper/artificial sweetner

MAKE IT: Heat olive oil in a medium pan, add garlic until it starts to smell delicious. Turn the heat to med-high, and add the chicken. When the chicken is about half-cooked through (3-4 mins), pour the can of coconut milk over it, plus half a can of water. Add in curry powder, lower heat to med, and simmer for about 15 mins or so, until your desired consistency. Then add salt, pepper, and if you like your coconut curries sweet, a bit of artifical sweetner. Keep tasting it until it’s delicious.

Now, add your sliced green and red peppers. Cook until they’re a bit soft. When you are pleased with their consistency, remove pan from heat and add in as many handfuls of bean sprouts as you like. Plate, and sprinkle with green onion and crushed peanuts.

HOT TIPS: You could even do this with a nice mixed bag of frozen vegetables! Whip up some coconut treats and you’ve got yourself a bean-free feast.

coconut macaroon spectacular

what’s spectacular about coconut? make these and find out for yourself. trust us.

INGREDIENTS:

2 cups unsweetened coconut

2 tbsps water

4 egg whites

1 cup artificial sweetener

1 tsp vanilla extract

MAKE IT: Preheat oven to 350f. Mix vanilla, egg whites and water in a big bowl. Stir in coconut and sweetner. Let it sit for two minutes while you dance the macarena. Stop dancing, and roll the mix into about 1″ diameter balls — place onto a baking sheet (wax paper optional), about two inches apart. Bake about 15 mins, or until lightly browned on top. Makes about 14 cookies.

HOT TIP: If you’re trying to impress your special friend(s), you could always melt a bar of 95% cocoa chocolate (try Lindt), and dip the tops of your coconut macaroon spectaculars into the melted chocolate mixture. This is an untested theory, but how could it be wrong when it seems so right? You know? Of course you do.

chickpea delight

There’s some debate as to whether or not chickpeas are ok if you’re doing the 4HB. The book itself gives it a thumbs down (calling them a domino food, but there’s definitely not a consensus about this). Chickpeas are aweome! You can judge for yourself if you’d like. Click away if you decide they’re not for you, but many 4HBers have pulled rank and made the executive decision to include the humble garbanzo on the roster. I include myself among them.

INGREDIENTS:

olive oil

black mustard seeds

cumin seeds

2 onions, chopped

4 cloves garlic, minced

2 big cans garbanzo beans

1 big can crushed tomato

1 can tomato paste

curry powder (chef’s choice, whatever is your favorite — paste, garam masala, whatever you like)

salt and pepper, to taste

MAKE IT: Heat a couple tbsps of olive oil in the pan, med-high heat. Pour in a couple tbsps of both cumin and black mustard seeds. Toast in the oil until they snap, crackle and pop. Then add the chopped onions and garlic, cook until soft. Add everything that’s in a can all at once, plus half a tomato can of water. Add curry powder, a few tbsps. You can add more later, if you want. Crank the heat, get this simmering for an hour. Taste — add spices to taste.

HOT TIPS: This meal is a great way to sneak in some spinach. Throw in a few handfuls and they’ll wilt really nicely into the sauce. Also, unsweetened coconut! A couple little handfuls make the sauce a true nutty delight. If you’re really ambitions, fry up some chicken in some of these same seeds and spices, and serve as a full-on feast.

fancy easy breakfast surprise

Breakfast need not be complicated to be delicious and 4HB-worthy. Here’s a prime example, and what a surprise – 5 ingredients only!

INGREDIENTS:

Pint of mini tomatoes

Asparagus

Chicken Bacon

Eggs

Pesto

MAKE IT: Boil as many eggs as you like, to your desired yolk consistency (I like hard yolks, so we boil them for 10 minutes). Meanwhile, across the stove, heat a big pan to med-high heat. Lay down your chicken bacon (or even ham slices, whatever luncheon meat you might enjoy!). On the other side of the pan, sear those mini tomatoes and asparagus, tossed with a little spoonful of pesto.

SERVE: Put it all on a plate. Eat it. Enjoy your morning. Take your dog for a walk.

black bean brownie delicacy

Are you a 4HBer who’s sick of looking at beans? Me too. I love them, but also love to hate them. Get those aggro vibes out. Whip them into shape — BROWNIE shape. That’s better.

Black bean brownies, a 4HB-friendly icing variation and unsweetened coconut. Hubba hubba.

INGREDIENTS:

1 (15.5 ounce) can black beans, rinsed and drained

3 eggs

3 tablespoons olive oil

1/3 cup cocoa powder

1 tsp salt

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1 1/2 cups artificial sweetner

MAKE IT:Preheat your over to 350f. Grease your 8×8 pan with olive oil. Throw ALL OF THIS into a blender — blend until smooth. Pour into your pan — bake for 30 mins, until the edges pull a bit away from the sides of the pan. Remove from oven. Let cool for one hour in pan before removing. (I was too excited when I first made them, and tried to get them out, uh, immediately. What a rookie, what a mess.)

ICING: You could go ahead and repurpose the Chocolate Pudding as an icing, if you want to take this next-level-chocoholic. You could even sprinkle with sliced almonds or shredded, unsweetened coconut, if you really wanted to get fancy. You probably do.

avant garde chocolate pudding

I’m not kidding. Chocolate pudding. 4HBs deserve some chocolate during the week. This is so easy to make that you’ll be tempted to mess it up by complicating it. Don’t!

INGREDIENTS:

2 avocados, whipped (yes, whipped)

Unsweetened cocoa, to taste

Calorie-free sweetner, to taste

Splash vanilla

Crushed salted peanuts, garnish

MAKE IT: Whip the avocados (with a fork, with a beater, whatever is your pleasure). Whip in cocoa, one tbsp at a time, alternating with sweetner. Taste it. Frequently. Stop adding cocoa and sweetner when it tastes so good that you want to kiss yourself for making such an awesome treat. Garnish with crushed peanuts, if you’d like.

THAT’S IT. Whipped ripe avocados, and as much unsweetened cocoa as you like, as much calorie-free sweetner as you like. As much crushed peanut as you like.

HOT TIPS: Don’t like avocados? Omit them, replace with the lowest fat, highest protein greek yogurt you can find. Heck, don’t like cocoa OR avocados? High protein, low fat greek yogurt can carry lots of flavors — savoury, sweet, whatever spins your spurs. Go forth and multiply recipes.

half-a-thanksgiving chili, feat. pumpkin and turkey

Making chili is many things: (1) easy, (2) cheap, (3) totally awesome, and (4) delicious. Open a bunch of cans, put in a pot, simmer, then eat all week. What’s not to like? Especially this — with turkey and pumpkin, it’s half your thanksgiving dinner.

Sometimes traditional chili might get tired of supporting your four hour body, so when it needs a break, try this recipe for a nutty new flavor. The great thing about chili? If you don’t like any of the ingredients, just substitute something you *do* like. Chili doesn’t mind.

Turkey Pumpkin Chili

1 big can pureed pumpkin

1 big can crushed tomatoes

3 cans black beans

1 package ground turkey

2 tbsps of unsweetened cocoa

2 onions, diced

4 garlic cloves, minced

1 pack of prepared chili seasoning

1 avocado, sliced

salt and pepper to taste

olive oil

MAKE IT: Heat some olive oil in a large pan, med heat, then add the onions. Cook until they’re soft, then add the garlic. After the garlic starts to smell awesome, add that turkey — increase the heat to med-high, and cook until browned.

In your most jumbo pot, open any ingredient that’s in a can, and put into the pot. Stir in those 2 tbsps of cocoa and the pack of chili seasoning until all the ingredients are blended, then add the onion/garlic/turkey mixture.

SERVE: This recipe makes enough for 6 meals. It’s delicious and gorgeous when served with avocado sliced on top. It keeps well for at least four days when packed away in the fridge.

HOT TIPS: Feel free to experiment with different spices and herbs for a completely different flavor. You could even fully substitute pumpkin for tomato, add some peppers, other beans, more garlic… whatever’s your fancy.

lettuce wrap genius

Burritos are one of the best foods in the universe. You can still have them on the 4HB, so long as you follow our simple and sage advice.

INGREDIENTS:

seasoned chicken (whatever spices you’d like)

head of iceberg lettuce, halved

chopped tomatoes

chopped green onion

chopped green and/or red pepper

warm refried beans

avocado slices and/or guacamole

chopped cilantro

MAKE IT: Grill chicken with your fave seasonings in a pan, 6 minutes a side or until juices run clear. Chop it into delicious squares. Chop off the root end of the lettuce, then halve the head. Give the other half to someone you love. To assemble a wrap, you get to freestyle with the other ingredients, spooning a little bit of each into the middle of an iceberg lettuce leaf. Wrap, eat, enjoy — a new variation on one of the best foods in the universe, with the bonus of a juicy crunch.