Alright, we have two little fun things today. First, it’s recipe time. But I want to give you all something different than the regular old recipe in a PDF. So I talked to Antonio at Healthy Urban Kitchen about putting together a cooking video showing you all how to actually put together one of his recipes. He grabbed the beautiful Donna Sonkin to put together this video for you, exclusively for Fitness Spotlight readers. (The password is “cooking”.)

Fitness Spotlight Cooking Video from Antonio Valladares on Vimeo.

For those wanting a run-down, here are the things that Donna threw into the marinade: Dijon mustard, apple cider vinegar, pepper, hot sauce, olive oil, cumin, garlic, oregano, cloves, and sea salt. Some other ideas she threw out were capers, coconut butter, tamari, fruit concentrates, and maple syrup. I probably missed a few, but you can see that the possibilities are endless.

Now let me tell you what I really like about this video. It’s all about the art of cooking, rather than the science. It’s how I cook in my own kitchen most of the time. I basically say, “Okay, so I have a chicken, now what?” and then I just start grabbing things I have around…spices, herbs, tamari, capers, olives, brown mustard, apple cider vinegar. You name it, it’s fair game. I basically create most of my meals on the fly and even when I have a recipe, I end up doctoring, adding a bit more garlic or throwing in some cumin, swapping one herb for another. You get the idea.

You can tell that she’s having a good time putting together what looks like a killer, delicious, and very healthy meal. Lots of herbs, spices, vegetables, pastured meat, butter…just loads of good stuff without making it difficult. Who said cooking is hard?

Of course, if you’re just getting started with cooking healthier, you might not be sure of what flavors go well together and playing with the “art” of cooking might not be the best way to start. That’s where the science comes in…let someone that’s done the experimenting show you a few things. From there, you can start playing, adding, substracting, and substituting. Or if you’re looking for some more ideas, be sure to check out Antonio’s cookbook, Healthy Urban Kitchen. It’s loaded with plenty of easy, awesome recipes like this one.

Win Rachael Ray Cookware

I’ve been working on this with Tyler at Cookware.com for about a month or so, trying to put together a giveaway for you all. So what we came up with was a set of casserole dishes for one lucky person from their Rachael Ray Cookware line.

This is a really nice 3-piece stoneware set and I’ll be honest, I’m rather jealous that I can’t have it. Stoneware is great for roasting and baking due to its even heat distribution.

So here’s what I need you to do…leave a comment (be sure to include your email address as that’s how the winner will be contacted) and give a brief run-down of one of your favorite recipes. It doesn’t have to be exact, just like Donna wasn’t exact. Just throw out some ideas for others to use when they get in the kitchen and want to do some playing around. The winner gets their pick of the available colors.

You have until Monday, November 9th at 8am to get a comment in. Remember, leave your email address…no email address, no win.