Chicken and Squash

This was today's lunch. It was one chicken breast and 1 large summer squash both seasoned with Mrs. Dash. It's high protein, low carb, and I love the squash because I consider it a "free" food. I can eat it to my hearts content because its low cal, low carb and full of nutrients!

Low Cal, Low Carb Chicken Salad

Ingredients:

2 Cups Chopped Boneless Skinless Chicken Breast

1/3 cup Halved Red Seedless Grapes

1/3 cup Craisins (or raisins)

1 tbsp Lemon Juice

1 tsp Curry Powder

2 tbsp ground Flax Seed

1/4 cup Greek Yogurt

1/4 cup Light Mayo

Directions:

Mix it all together and let chill for a few hours so the flavors can love on each other. Serve on a rommaine lettuce leaf.

You can sprinkle feta on if you wish.

Nutrion (according to http://www.thedailyplate.com/)

Serving Size: 1/2 cup

Calories: 83

Fat: 3.7

Sodium: 145

Carbs: 5.6

Sugar: 3.5

Protein: 6.6

Kale Crisps

Kale Crisps

Ingredients:

2 Bunches of Kale

2 cups 2% Shredded Cheddar (or other cheese of choice)

Red Pepper Flakes or Tobasco (to taste)

Directions:

*Cut your kale into thin ribbons (remove stems).

*grease a couple cookie sheets

*spread out kale on cookie sheets and sprinkle cheese evenly over them. I personally like LOTS of cheese so I almost double my cheese.

*Place into a preheated oven 425, and cook for 15 min checking often. You want to remove when the cheese is a good golden brown. Then let it sit for 10 min to harden. Then just break up with pizza cutter:)

***I like this recipe and enjoy it frequently. Its got a great protein and IRON content. Iron is very important to me right now because of my anemia. This makes an easy to grab iron source for snacking and is WAY healthier than chips.

I got the recipe from http://www.allrecipes.com/ and then slightly altered it to my own tastes.

Apple Butternut Squash Soup

This soup is soooooo yummy! I made it yesterday but am just now getting around to posting - and Ill try to get a pic tongiht before I polish it off! LOL!

Ingredients


2 (18.3-ounce) boxes butternut squash soup (recommended: Campbell's Select)
1 cup cinnamon applesauce (I use 1.5 cups!)
2 tablespoons ketchup
2 teaspoons curry powder
1 teaspoon pumpkin pie spice
Plain FAGE yogurt

Directions

In a medium saucepan, over medium-high heat, stir together all ingredients except yogurt or sour cream. Bring to boil. Reduce heat and simmer for 5 minutes.
Serve hot with a dollop of plain yogurt.

Greek Pasta the Healthy(ish) way!

Late Night Snacking....

Are you one of those people who can never make it between meals - or you find that you are in the fridge after 8pm just wanting something but can't really pinpoint what it is?
I know that I personally like to eat right before bed...around 10pm. I know - everyone says nothing after 6 but you know what - Im not gonna sit there miserable and starving!
So I have my fail safe snack of Cottage Cheese on hand. Cottage cheese is not only filling - but one cup also boasts 15gr protein (in the fat free), only 80 calories! I sweeten mine lightly with Honey and then sprinkle cinnamon on top (cinnamon is something I sprinkle on a lot of things because it has a way of leveling out blood sugars and keeping you full longer). You can also throw some fruit in there if you like. But next time you find yourself reaching for the chips, or junk - try a bowl of this first - then if you must have just a small amount of the other stuff!:)

Greek - It's What's For Dinner...

Ingredients:

1lb Chicken Thighs (or breast if you prefer) Boneless and Skinless

1cup Whole Wheat Cous Cous

1cup Water

Salt (optional)

1tbsp Butter

Garlic Oil (to make pan non stick with chicken and to taste on the cous cous)

Lemon Juice (to taste)

Basil (to taste)

Salt Free Greek Seasoning...about 1-2 tsp on chicken only

1 pint grape tomatos halved.

1 container Feta Cheese

Directions:

*Cube your chicken of choice and toss with greek seasoning. Put garlic oil (olive oil infused with garlic) into hot pan and add chicken to stir fry.

*Set aside when chicken is finished.

*In a sauce pan, 1cup water and tbsp butter to a boil and add cous cous stir quickly and remove from heat and cover (NO PEEKING) for 4min. Fluff with fork

*While cous cous is steaming - halve tomatos.

*Add cous cous, tomatoes and chicken and feta to bowl. Now - use the remaining ingredients to taste and toss till coated.

***Kalamata olives would be FANTASTIC in this dish - I didn't use them this time around because hubs dislikes olives, and because of my recent plastics I cannot have the added sodium, lest I swell!

Homemade California Rolls....

You will need:

Sticky Rice

Sea Weed Papers

(I get these in a kit for $3)

Imitation Crab (Or Real if you Can!)

Directions:

Nuke your pre-made sticky rice for 60 seconds. If you are making the rice yourself - then just cook it and let it cool a little bit before handleing. Just remember - regular rice will NOT work. Must be the sticky stuff!

Get out some crab and cut into 1.5 inch strips about the width of pencil. Place crab stick, and half spoonful of rice in seaweed paper, roll and repeat!

This is higher on carbs than I typically like - but I keep these in the fridge for my "grazing" because it DOES have crab meat  which is protein for me!:) And it's fairly filling on just a couple.

S.O.S - Cheap and EASY!

Firstly - forgive the paper plate. I try to do better in my photos - but Mama's very tired tonight and feeling too lazy to do the dishes!

Ingredients:

Bread (pictured is White but this is excellent for your dryer Wheats and Ezekial loaves)

white country gravy mix (with water or half water substituted with high protein milk)

2 pkgs Budding Honey Turkey

Directions:

1. Prepare gravy according to package directions.

2. Cut up Turkey into ribbons and put into gravy and stir

3. Slop it onto a slice or two of bread and serve warm

It's what I grew up calling S.O.S - as my mom always said. But it's also known as "Shit on a Shingle" which means you can literally put any "shit" you want to into it and call it a meal. However, as I learned tonight - Dont refer to it as "Shit on a Shingle" to a 6yr old as they will absolutely REFUSE to go near it then! LOL!

Garage Sale Find!

Found this awesome cast iron pre-divided cornbread pan today! I got it for like... $1! Too cool!!! Now I gotta think up some recipes to share with it!

Candied Corn

This recipe sounds nasty but I actually want to try it - it's a Down Home with the Neeley's Recipe - hubby is thinking it's pretty icky cause it's sweet but......Im gonna try it tomorrow! Ill let you know how it goes and Ill add a picture at that time!

Ingredients


6 ears corn
1 tablespoon butter
3 tablespoons diced shallots, diced
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper
1 tablespoons brown sugar
1 tablespoon honey
1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper

Directions

Cut the corn off of the cob. Put 1 tablespoon of butter in a saute pan on medium-high heat and cook the shallots until they are translucent with salt and pepper; about 2 to 3 minutes. Add the corn and cook until tender
In a bowl add brown sugar, honey and cayenne pepper. Mix well to combine and stir into corn mixture to cook for a few minutes, stirring constantly.

Fancy LOOKING Appetizer

I make this probably 2 times a month - it looks pretty like I did a LOT of work - but it's simple, fresh and tasty! It's somewhat healthy too (ignore the cheese fat and carbs!)

(image courtesy of google images)

Ingredients:

Roma Tomatos (3 or so for family of 4)

Mozerella

Fresh Basil Leaves

Olive Oil

Directions:

Slice tomatos about 1 cm thick. Cut mozerrella into 1cm slices and place on top. Then place one fresh basil leaf on top. Drizzle with Olive Oil LIGHTLY. A sprinkle of salt (sea salt is best) and pepper if you like!

Healthy Fruity Dessert - Even YOU Can Make!

Ingredients:

Fresh Sweet Strawberries

Part Skim Ricotta Cheese (1pt)

Splenda with Fiber

Crushed Nuts

Cocoa

Cinnamon

Shredded Unsweetend Coconut

Directions:

Remove the tops of the strawberries and hollow out (you can munch this part while you make the rest!). In a ziploc bag combine ricotta, vanilla and splenda to taste - you want an almost cheesecake flavor. Close and mash it up to mix. Cut the corner off the bottom in a small way to "pipe" the filling into the strawberries. Then use whatever toppings (nuts, coconut, cocoa, cinnamon) to tap the piped end of the strawberry.

These are healthy, fresh and easy. Almost everyone will love them. In fact, we are making them again tomorrow!:)

Ants on a Log and other ways to feed your picky child...or Teacher :)

(image courtesy of google images) 

Lots of us have picky children who seem to love only the carbs (crackers, breads, pastas etc) some of us even cook on occasion for picky teachers *wink* but worry no more on how you will get those healthy foods in! There are many trick I have learned along the way and Ill share them with you now!

For my daughter we tried EVERYTHING. A lot of children it's as simple as letting them dip everything whether in Ketchup or yogurt, sometimes even honey! Dont freak if it's a combination YOU would not normally go for (celery in honey) if they are eating it happily - let em' at it!

Sometimes it's as simple as telling them it's something funny. Riana loves Ants on a log (celery cut to 4in long pieces, peanut butter in the trench and either raisens or craisins on top), and franken eggs (deviled eggs with chives placed cleverly on top to look like a stitch), and even Egg in  a Hole (a piece of toast with a hole cut out of the center, place in a lightly greased skillet, crack egg in the middle and then flip to cook through).

Try everything. Tell them the broccoli are "trees" or grapes are "power pellets"

Some kids just need to be told to "bite it and make it hurt" lol!

Get creative -your kid will eventually eat more than carbs - one day.

Until then - I will try to post something just for the kidlets each week.

Hood Calorie Countdown....Who says Milk isn't good for you?

(Image courtesy of Hood Calorie Countdown)

My friends - I have found LOVE in this carton. Hood Calorie Countdown (fat free) is the bestest! Its low calorie, high calcium, low sugar and carb and tastes GREAT  (in cereals, oatmeals, protein shakes etc. NOT ALONE). It also boasts a great 8gr protein!

I used to make my protein shakes with water - but since I discovered this little gem, I now use 8oz of Hood to make my regularly 26gr protein shake into a power punched 34gr protein shake!

The best thing about it is that it has a shelf life similar to Soy Milk - which is great for me and my family who will sometimes drink milk quicker than we can buy it - and sometimes we dont drink it at all and it goes to waste. This hangs around a bit longer - but without the crazy estrogen issues your soy stuff can cause!

I believe I got mine at Krogers and the price was comparable to other milks/soy/rice/almond etc in the same packaging.

Healthy Alternative to Chips...

Okay it's crispy and healthy! Full of nutrients, and minerals and antioxidants (remember - eat the rainbow!) and low cal and carb!:)

So it may not be a chip - but it tastes great - and you can dip it in greek ranch dip (greek yogurt like FAGE and ranch seasoning).

All you need is a container of sweet peppers - a mix of colors is good for antioxidant properties. Cut off the top, clean out the seeds, and slice length wise.

If you MUST have something more like a chip - try Soy Crisps (google it) they have them in barbeque and nacho flavors. They aren't bad - but personally I dont like them. A little too crunchy for me personally.

***And yes, my board is burnt...dont' ask...Im not as graceful in the kitchen as you would expect...***

Bulgar Wheat and Soy Breakfast...

You can find this next to the Malt-o-Meal on the hot breakfast isle. It's very high in protein and fiber and fairly low calorie! I like to make according to the directions with a pad of butter (cardio butter) and some dried cherries and raisins. To sweeten you can add some splenda plus.

Peanutbutter Oatmeal Protein Cookies (No Bake!)

INGREDIENTS:

1 cup Toasted Oats

1/4 cup Unsweetened Coconut

1/4 cup Creamy Peanut Butter

1/4 cup DaVinci Sugar Free Syrup (Vanilla)

1/4 cup Chocolate Protein Powder (we used Isopure)

DIRECTIONS:

1. Mix together the peanut butter and vanilla syrup.

2. Add all other ingredients and stir together till every bit is moistened. If too crumbly add a tiny bit syrup. If too wet add more coconut.

3.Roll into balls like playdoh and refridgerate for 2 -3 hours.

**We only use Isopure in our baking. Mainly because I already have it - but think it's pretty freaking nasty to drink. But it tastes good in baking recipes and has much higher protein concentration than my other protein powders. Plus it's crazy expensive so I GOTTA use it now that it's paid for. But luckily once it's gone - it's gone! Haha!

***Thanks Michele again! I had tried this recipe once before on my own but was too crumbly and was bummed. I saw your recipe and saw that I was just missing the syrup!

What I cooked for Dinner tonight!

Just saute/wilted some fresh baby spinach with one clove garlic chopped. Then placed about half cup of cauliflower rice on top, sprinkled dried cranberries, some boneless skinless chicken breast and about 1tbsp Honey Mustard!

Breakfast Bites

INGREDIENTS:

5 eggs (I use eggbeaters)

1/3 cup Diced Tomatos

1/2 package of Oscar Myer Turkey Meat cut up

1/2 onion chopped

1/2 cup Shredded 2% Cheese

Salt and Pepper to Taste

Any herbs you would like

DIRECTIONS:

1. Saute onions and turkey together till slightly cooked

2. Let them cool and then add to egg beaters and stir in all ingredients

3. Lightly coat a mini-muffin pan with cooking spray

4. Spoon into the little cups and place in an oven preheated to 350 F.

5. They are done in about 30 min!

This yeilds 24 bites and a serving is roughly 3-4 and should pack about 18gr protein per serving.

I like to top it off with a little greek yogurt (Oikos) to boost my protein and because it tastes like sour cream!

**Thanks Egg Face for the ideas!

Spaghetti Squash

(Image courtesy of google images)

Ingredients:

1 large Spaghetti Squash (HEB has them and occasionally Walmart)

1/2 cup Water

DIRECTIONS:

1. Cut squash in half and place into a baking dish cut sides down. Add water to this dish. Stab squash all over the side facing you.

2. Place it into the oven at 350 for 45 min or until you can lightly scrape the cut side with a fork and it will string up for you.

3. Use a fork to remove all the "meat" in strings and then proceed to use in your favorite pasta recipe.

Nutritional WoW: This not only gets the benefits of veggies into your non-veggie family members, but is also a great low calorie and low carb dish!

The Daily Plate

Im making 2 posts today because I want to share with you about http://www.thedailyplate.com/ . This is an awesome website that is customized to you. You go in and type in your weight and height, the lifestyle you live (active, sedentary) and it will tell you how many calories you can consume in order to lose 2lbs a week or to maintain your weight.
They have a food log that I have been using for nearly a year there. It's all FREE. The food log has EVERY food you can possibly think of including the nutritional facts. You can also type in the excersize you do (they have everything from treadmill, to shopping, and even sex) and it will deduct the calories your body burned from your daily caloric intake.
To show you how indepth this is - I will post a screen shot of MY daily plate for today so far.

Dressing Skinny...

After walking around the Grocery store this morning - I have made an important observation that I felt needed to be talked about.
The way you dress can really make you look a LOT bigger than you are,  or it can make you look smaller. A lot of people when they are overweight, will wear big baggy clothes. Im not sure why we do it (yes, I said WE because I too was obese before), maybe we think if we wear baggy clothes then it will look like we are shrinking out of them?? Or maybe we think we are cleverly hiding the fact that we are fat from others (yeah right, like they can't see it??).
Im not advocating wearing tight clothes either - as those can make you look gross too (especially if they are so tight they cling to rolls, or worse, CREATE rolls). But dressing in properly fitting clothing can make a huge difference! In fact - to illustrate this for you - I have taken a picture of myself in baggy clothing and properly fitting to SHOW you just how big the difference is!

I know that a lot of people (myself included) often bought too big clothing for myself because I felt that nothing that fit my stomach would fit my breasts (and this was a problem for a while) but there are clothes out there that will work - and if nothing else - spend a little more to feel better about yourself!

***I didn't edit these images at all but to crop and place on here for you to see. Notice how with the baggy clothes I seemed to gain about 30-40lbs instantly***

A Peep At My Grocery List This Week....

Here is a peep at my grocery list this week. Why on earth am I posting this? What do you care? Well, Im posting it so you can see what kinds of foods we keep around out house - AND because Im thrifty and would like to show you that eating healthy isn't as terribly expensive as most think. Thereby, erasing your excuse of eating crappy food just because it's all you can afford!

Shopping List:

Old Orchard 100% Apple Juice (on sale at HEB 5/$5 64oz - stock up on this great price and get all 5!)
Hill Country Fare Sliced Cheese (on sale at HEB 5/$5 6oz - stock up on this great price and get all 5)
HEB Premium Tea Bags (on sale at HEB 5/$5 20ct. - stock up on these great price and get all 5)
HEB Herbal Tea Bags (on sale at HEB 5/$5 20ct. - stock up on these great price  and get all 5)
Starkist Tuna in Water (on sale at HEB 5/$5 5oz. - stock up on this and get 10 if allowed)
HEB Bake Shop Whole Wheat Round Top Bread (on sale HEB 5/$5 - stock up - if you have freezer space and get 5!)
2lbs Ground Turkey
2.5lb Pork Roast
1 lb Carrots
Fingerling Potatos
Onion
Kale or Spinach
Strawberries
Greek Yogurt (Fage/Oikos)
2 Heads Cauliflower (if you can find a pretty head)

This will probably feed me for nearly 2 weeks since hubby isn't home and Riana will not eat anything healthy-ish. LOL!

Lenten Season...

Tomorrow begins the Lenten Season. Tomorrow is traditionally "Ash Wednesday" and the start of my giving up my Diet Coke and Coke Zero which I LOVE LOVE LOVE but shouldn't. In my faith, we choose to fast from something that gives us a lot of pleasure and that we do a lot - in order to remember Christ's suffering leading up to his death, and to practice self control. A lot of us choose to give up something that we would like to stop anyway - but maybe dont have the self control NORMALLY to do on our own.

I chose these soft drinks because I literally drink probably...4-5 a day. Yep - bad stuff not only for my body (did you know that even diet sodas are highly acidic and eat away at your teeth, AND they have been shown to cause more cravings and more caloric intake in a day?) But they also leech the calcium from your bones.

So tomorrow I will begin my fast and hopefully longterm recovery from that addiction.

In order to do this - I will have to now find something to replace them . I aim to get in about 80oz of fluid daily - so Im planning to have more bottled water (I love Ozarka) and either propel drop ins, or Crystal Light drop ins. These are both very low calorie (10cals) and sugar free, carb free! Im also going to drink more tea here at the house. 

Pina Colada Protein Shake

Pina Colada Protein Shake

INGREDIENTS:

8oz can refrigerated dole pineapple in natural unsweetened juices

1 tsp of coconut flavoring

½ cup crushed ice

1 packet Splenda Plus Fiber

1 scoop vanilla protein powder.

6oz Borden Hi- Protein Milk (2%)

DIRECTIONS:

Combine in blender and blend for 2 minutes on high. Place in a daquiri glass, and garnish with pineapple wedge and maybe a sprig of mint!:)

 

NUTRTION FACTS (guesstimate):

 

140 calories, 4gr Fat, 6 Carbs, 25gr protein

A Few Reasons I Do Things The Way I Do....

Why Whey Protein Isolates?

I choose to use Whey Protein supplements for many reasons. Some of them are personal preference and some of them are research related. Whey protein is better than other proteins because it has the highest Biological Value (BV) of any known protein. This means that the proportion of protein that is absorbed and incorporated into your body's proteins is higher from whey protein than from other protein sources. It's important to know that you CAN get your protein from eating a high protein diet - but I choose to supplement daily because some days - several a week actually - I will fall short without the shakes/bars. So while Whey Protein Shakes are not a nessesity for most - they have worked for me in my weightloss journey.

Why Not Soy?

Two major reasons I don't do soy protein: 1. Soy is known to have estrogen in it. I dont need the extra hormones and my husband ESPECIALLY doesn't. I also don't want to alter my daughter's body with it either. We do eat Edamame occasionally - which are soybeans and do have the estrogens - but that is not a daily thing. 2. It's not as bio-available as a whey protein is. Your body uses whey better, more efficiently than soy.

How Fast Will I Lose Weight if I Eat Like You?

Every body is different and you are not guarenteed to lose weight if you eat like me. Im not really eating to lose weight any longer but to maintain my weight. Besides - this is not really a weight loss plan. This is not a diet. You dont do this for a month or two and then quit. This is a totally new relationship with food. Broadening your horizons and trying foods that maybe you haven't before. You certainly will not lose weight with this if you do not excersize. I work out roughly 5 days a week doing an hour of cardio each day - and 30 minutes of weight training. I recently began running.

I will add to this as often as questions come up. I make up some of my recipes and some of them I get from other websites/books and then alter them. If I give you an exact copy of someone's recipe I will also link to that person - or give them credit in some way. I have done a lot of websearching for these and may have lost some of the links - so if you see YOUR recipe on here and would like acknowledgement - PLEASE email me and let me know! Im greatful for the recipes and love to give credit where it is due!