I actually won something...Laughing Cow Cheese!

A few weeks after Fitbloggin, I got a tweet notifying me that I had WON their contest they ran at the Conference:

I have seriously been a fan of Laughing Cow cheese, particularly the light Swiss flavor for years, and years. And I honestly, NEVER win anything, so I was pumped.

A few days later, this arrived on my doorstep.

A nifty Laughing Cow branded lunch box with four packages of Laughing Cow Cheese to try: Garlic & Herb, light Swiss, and two new flavors, White Cheddar and Queso Fresco & Chipotle.

Although I've been a fan of the light Swiss for a long time, I honestly have never branched out and tried other flavors, like the Garlic & Herb. So I was stoked to expand my Laughing Cow Cheese repertoire and try to find inventive ways to use the different flavors.

My standard, go-to recipe is to make a light, low calorie Alfredo sauce with the Swiss flavor. This goes great with pasta - or spaghetti squash for a lower carb version. I saw this recipe on a blog years, and years ago - probably 5 or more. But Laughing Cow also has a version on their website.

Here are the ingredients I used.

 I add red pepper flakes to add a bit of heat, and sometimes I use a sprinkling of flour if I need to thicken it up since I don't usually use dairy milk, thus cutting out the milkfat. The original soymilk from 8th Continent was definitely too sweet, but it did the trick in a pinch for a quick dinner.

I added mine to whole wheat angel hair pasta with broccoli and fresh tomatoes.

 Since I only tried the other flavors at Fitbloggin' with veggies and crispy flatbread, I tried to think of ways to add a little Laughing Cow flair to some of my old, regular, boring meals.

The winning shot.

The Queso Fresco & Chipotle went well on a black bean and rice burrito. I took a wedge and microwaved it for 30-60 seconds to melt it a bit. The flavor went quite well with this combination and has a bit of spice, but as someone that LOVES spice, you see that I still added my normal amount of hot sauce. :)

I stuffed the Swiss flavor in some mini peppers I had on-hand and roasted them in the oven. This was good, but it didn't turn out like a "jalapeno popper" like I hoped. I think next time mixing the Laughing Cow with some shredded cheese and green chilies is in order.

The White Cheddar flavor spruced up a boring turkey, spinach, tomato wrap for lunch at work.

Also, not shown, but the Garlic & Herb went great on my daily Egg & Spinach sandwich for breakfast!

Thank you Laughing Cow for sponsoring Fitbloggin'13 and for running the contest I won!


Disclaimer: All products were provided to me at no charge as part of a contest I won. Laughing Cow did not ask me to do this post, and all opinions and ideas are my own.

Weekly Menu Plan

I've found recently that having a menu plan for the week helps me not only eat healthier because all my meal and snack options are laid out and I don't "forget" what I have only to go get fast food. But it's helped me stay within my grocery budget.
 

Breakfast

Easy Egg Sandwiches

Muesli with apples

Whole Wheat Protein Pancakes


Lunch

Turkey Avocado wraps w/veggies and White Bean Hummus

Red Beans and Rice


Dinner

Homemade Pizza (recipe for best Whole Wheat Crust coming this week)

Mango Salsa Chicken w/broccoli

Chickpea Crockpot Pie (will be made Sunday for lunches next week)

I have several leftovers of the Lentil Soup and Whole Wheat Gnoochi with Sweet Potato Sauce I made last week and there are a couple lunches at work where food is provided, so this week's menu is once again skimpy, but I'm excited to try the Mango Chicken - it's something I haven't made before. And the turkey avocado wraps are the perfect compliment to the hot weather Nashville is experiencing this week - highs in the 80s all week!

Weekly Menu Planning

Since I spent a lot of money eating out last week, I'm trying to use up things I have on hand for my menu this week - I previously had on-hand asparagus, lean ground beef, potatoes, lentils, and frozen veggies.

My grocery list this week consisted of staples - milk, bread. And fresh fruits and veggies - grapes, bananas, and spinach.

Not a very exciting menu this week, but everything is pretty healthy and I still have lots of veggies incorporated - two goals for myself every week.

Breakfast

Egg Sandwiches

Apple Museli

Scrambled eggs with black beans


Lunch

Leftover blue cheese burgers & asparagus

Potato soup with spinach

Turkey Sandwich w/grapes


Dinner

Chopped Chickpea Salad

Lentil Soup w/french bread

Whole Wheat Gnocchi w/Sweet Potato sauce and broccoli


Snacks

Carrots w/white bean dip

Bananas w/almond butter

Apples

Unsalted Almonds

Grapes

2% Fage Yogurt

Easy Peasy Breakfast Sandwiches

This post by Jen over at Prior Fat Girl, made me so want to share something I've been doing for a LONG time to make a quick, healthy and filling breakfast that also packs a punch of veggies first thing in the morning - microwave egg sandwiches!

• I spray a normal cereal bowl (about an 8 oz size) with non-stick cooking spray





• Add 2 eggs, dash of milk (non-dairy is ok), salt, and pepper, then mix





• Add a handful of spinach on top (sometimes I throw random veggies in the egg mixture, if I need to use something up)





• Microwave for 2 minutes, flip egg "patty" over in bowl
• Microwave for 1 more minute, remove
• Add egg to bread (toasted if you like) and top with cheese (also optional)





• Wrap in a napkin, to eat it in the car!

In 5 minutes you get a nutritious breakfast, that will stay with you until lunchtime!

You could also top with your favorite low-calorie condiment, add a couple slices of lunch meat or bacon, or even a sausage patty, if you wanted. This morning I added a few dashes of hot sauce.

What are some of your favorite, quick, filling and healthy breakfast ideas?

Recipe: No Marinara Spaghetti Squash

It's time to confess...I L-O-V-E Aldi. If you aren't familiar with what Aldi is, I'm not sure there are any words to describe it's greatness. But basically its a discount grocery store with origins in Germany, I don't know all the details but it's owned by the same parent company as Trader Joe's in the US. From Wikipedia:

Aldi's "strictly no frills" approach means that its stores do not decorate aisles or fill shelves: pallets of each products (in cardboard boxes, shaped so customers can easily pick them up) are placed alongside the aisles; customers retrieving them gradually empty the boxes (since Aldi charges for bags, its empty cardboard boxes are often removed by customers and used as "shopping bags".) After a pallet has been emptied, it is replaced.

ANYWAY...over the years Aldi has gotten better and better products. All of their products are their own "brands"; however, I often buy fresh salsa, hummus, bagged spinach, and so much produce for half the cost of a conventional grocery chain. Is the produce organic and local? No, but I wouldn't buy it that way at the local Kroger or Publix. I'm just not at a point in my life where that's fiscally possible for me. Oftentimes, their produce is better than what I would find at Kroger though and considering the cost savings, you can't go wrong there.

All that to say, last week I noticed they had WINTER SQUASH on the shelves! This was new to me, as I've been shopping at Aldi for years and years and have never seen squash there. I picked up a Butternut and Spaghetti squash. The search for a recipe began.

Let's just get this out of the way. I am NOT a "let's use spaghetti squash as our 'noodles'" kind of girl. If I want pasta, I'm going to eat pasta. So, when my recipe searches came up with meat sauce after meat sauce options, it was time to get creative.

I bring you...No Marinara Spaghetti Squash

1 medium spaghetti squash
4 ounces raw shrimp (I used the frozen raw)
1 head broccoli
2 tsp olive oil
1/4 cup parmesan
garlic powder, salt, and pepper to taste

I made this after a late night at work and getting home from the gym, so it was 7:30 pm and I was starving by time I started. So, I tried my hand at microwaving the squash. It worked out well, but you could bake it if you so choose.

Cut squash in half longways and scoop out seeds. Then cut each piece in half, yielding quarters. Put in microwave safe dish (I used a glass Pyrex 8x8 dish) and season with salt, pepper, and garlic powder. Microwave for 8-10 minutes until tender when a fork is inserted. I like my squash "crunchy" so I did 8 minutes. Cooking time will vary depending on your microwave and the size of your squash, so check on it often.

While squash is cooking, add 1 tsp of oil to pan and add raw shrimp. Season with salt, pepper, and garlic powder to taste. You could also use some minced garlic, but I was out. After 1-2 minutes add broccoli and a sprinkle of water. When broccoli is half-way cooked, remove pan from heat.

After the squash is cooked, scrape the "meat" out and return the pan to heat. Add squash and another tsp of oil. Saute for about 5 minutes to "meld" the flavors together. Add Parmesan cheese and stir until combined.

I ate the whole squash with 4 oz shrimp and about a cup of broccoli, but you could alter this to include more shrimp/broccoli and make this 2-3 servings.

This recipe is a definite MUST MAKE AGAIN - so good! What do you do with your spaghetti squash?

I'm in love...with chickpea salad (recipe)

I'm in love.

Not with a guy...no, no this is much more special than that.

It's mashed Chickpea Salad. And you will be in love too.

Am I the only one that loves a good scoop of chicken salad? Despite 90% of the population's aversion to celery I love the crunch and flavor it gives the creamy mayo induced, protein filled, perfect lunch plate.

BUT....I don't know if I've talked about it much here, however, I have been "off" meat for awhile now. I'm not vegetarian - and I HAVE eaten it since this mood struck - however it doesn't ever sound good to me. At least in my own kitchen.

Last week, I ate at The Wild Cow. Nashville's neighborhood vegetarian and vegan friendly establishment. On this fateful night, I ordered the chickpea salad (made with veganese) as my side item and OH EM GEE I haven't been able to stop thinking about it since then.

It tasted like chicken salad - only with chick peas! Besides hummus, I've never been a huge fan of chick peas, so I have no idea what made me order this, but I'm glad I did.

I immediately started googling recipes that night to find what I thought would be a similar one found at The Wild Cow. Ding..ding..ding...I found this one.

I didn't have any Vegenaise, but I'm not vegan so no worries there. What I did have is the sinfully delicious Duke's Mayonnaise....oh yeah.

Here's my recipe based on the one above. You can, of course, substitute your own light mayo (or Vegenaise) for the Duke's, but why would you?

1 can Chickpeas
2 Tbsp Duke's Mayo
1 Tbsp Hellmann's Dijonnaise
1/4 cup finely chopped celery (or sweet pickles if that's your thing)
2 Tbsp finely chopped red onion
1/2 tsp EVO
Salt and fresh ground pepper to taste.

1. Drain and rinse chickpeas, mash to desired consistency (I think it works better if there's not much "bean" shape left).

2. Add all ingredients and mix. Refrigerate a few hours to let flavors "meld".

A 1/2 cup serving is about 175 calories and 5 grams of fat. Not so bad if you pair it with a few Wasa crackers, baby carrots and canteloupe.

Not too bad considering some grocery store chicken salads can run 280 calories and 25 grams of fat.

I see a summer staple created here! What's your favorite go-to easy, summer meals?

Recipe: Buffalo Shrimp Tacos

I've been in a little of a food rut lately. I don't know what I "feel" like eating so I haven't been pre-planning my meals. Combined with the fact that over the last several weeks I've tried to make a conscious effort to eat less meat. I'm not sure I would ever go back to being completely vegetarian, but I like the idea of limiting poultry, beef, and pork. Every now and then I'm going to crave these things, but as long as I'm not missing them why not focus my diet on fish, seafood, beans, and protein rich whole grains like quinoa?

But sometimes I get tired of eating beans, lettuce, veggies, etc all the time. I like lots of flavor and these combinations can sometimes taste the same. I also want meals to be quick fixes since I don't get home from the gym until 7 pm on most nights.

I saw this recipe pinned on KG's Pinterest page (you all know you're addicted too, don't play!) and it inspired me. I don't really fry anything at home anymore since that's pretty much counter intuitive to weight loss, and I wasn't really feeling chicken as I haven't made chicken at home in a couple weeks.

So enter Buffalo Shrimp Tacos.




I'll try to remember the ingredients from memory. This was for 1 person.

3 corn tortillas
1/4 avocado - cut into 3 slices
4 ounces (15 medium) shrimp
1 Tablespoon Frank's Hot Sauce (because there is nothing else for buffalo flavor)
1 1/2 Tablespoons Blue Cheese crumbles
Shredded lettuce for topping
Your favorite ranch dressing for drizzling (approx 1-2 teaspoons) [I used Fat Free Kraft b/c it's what I already had]

1. Spray skillet with non-stick cooking spray. Saute shrimp until cooked through. Transfer to bowl and add hot sauce, toss to coat.

2. Heat each corn tortilla in clean skillet for a few minutes on each side until warmed and lightly toasted.

3. Top each tortilla with 1/3 of shrimp, 1/2 T of blue cheese, 1 slice avocado, lettuce and a drizzle of ranch dressing.

For 3 tacos it is approximately 450 calories and 33 grams of protein. It is a little higher in fat (17 g) because of the shrimp, tortilla, avocado + cheese combo, so you could adjust to using low fat cheese if you track fat (I personally don't), but remember avocado and shrimp are good fats and your body needs these.

I'm currently obsessed with the shrimp/hot sauce/blue cheese combo that I made it into a salad for dinner Sunday night and again for lunch on Monday. And now I'm out of shrimp - such a shame!

Tell me: What is your go to recipe for when you are in a food rut??

The Easiest Black Bean Soup Ever

In an attempt to really get my head on straight nutrition wise, I did a lot of pre-cooking this weekend. I knew after working 12 hour days this week I wouldn't feel like cooking anything when I got home.

On top of cooking both Friday and Saturday nights so I'd have left overs, Sunday afternoon I made shredded buffalo chicken in the crock pot and big ol' pot of black bean soup.

I really just made this up after taking a survey of what I had on hand (or was easy to pick up).

1/2 tbsp olive oil
1/2 medium onion, diced
2 cloves garlic, minced
4 cans (64 ounces) Black Beans
1 can (10 ounces) Mild Diced Tomatoes and Green Chilies (I used two cans to make it extra tomato-y)
2 cups low sodium chicken broth
1 tbsp cumin
1/2 tbsp hot pepper seasoning or chili powder
1/2 tsp hot sauce
1 lime, juiced
1/4 cup fresh cilantro, chopped

Directions
1. Add olive oil, onion and garlic to dutch oven, saute until onion is translucent. About 5 minutes.

2. Add black beans, tomatoes and chicken stock to pan, stir thoroughly.

3. Add cumin, chili or hot pepper seasonings, hot sauce, and juice of lime. Stir to combine.

4. Bring to boil, then turn heat to simmer for 30 minutes.

5. Serve topped with your choice of reduced fat sour cream, 2% shredded cheddar cheese or tortilla chips.

Makes eight 1 2/3 cup servings.

My favorite part is it is so low in calories! This, with a dollop of sour cream, and a small apple makes lunch!

Or 1 cup with a wrap made out of the buffalo chicken makes dinner. I'll have to post the buffalo chicken recipe next. You'll laugh, it's so easy.

Seriously, what's better than an easy, Delicious meal?

Basil overload

The CSA (Community Supported Agriculture) season is in full swing. With that, we have basil coming out of our ears in the KG/EH Casa.

Here are the results of my "must use as much basil as possible" brainstorming:

Sun dried tomato, basil and mozzarella stuffed chicken breasts
w/cucumber salad and whole wheat couscous

I made this recipe up so the measurements are all estimates.

2 large chicken breasts cut in half
8 large sun dried tomato pieces
8 large basil leaves
1/2 cup shredded mozzarella cheese
1 egg
1/4 cup panko bread crumbs

Cut chicken breasts in half and pound to thin out for easier rolling if needed. Layer basil, sun dried tomatoes and 2 tablespoons of mozzarella on top of each chicken breast. Roll into logs and fasten toothpicks to hold together. Whisk egg in one bowl and spread panko in another. Dip each chicken breast in egg wash and roll in panko. Put on tin foil lined, greased cookie sheet. Spray tops of chicken breasts with Pam. Bake at 350 degrees for 30 minutes or until chicken is cooked through and are golden brown.

Tomato, Mozzarella and Basil Caprese Salad

1 large tomato
1 ounce fresh mozzarella cheese
8 basil leaves
1 teaspoon extra virgin olive oil
2 teaspoons balsamic vinegar
Salt and Pepper to taste

Chop basil, set aside. Slice tomato and mozzarella. Layer tomato, basil and mozzarella. Salt and pepper to taste. Drizzle with olive oil and vinegar.

I also have plans for my favorite basil pesto sauce and a basil vinaigrette, but those will have to wait until I return from Colorado.

Until then, tell me what is your favorite basil recipe?

PHOTOS: What I Eat

I haven't really had many words lately so today is show and tell via pictures day. I am constantly taking photos of what I eat. Sometimes I'll post on Twitter, but usually they don't get posted anywhere. So here is my latest collection of food photos.

Turkey, avocado, mozzarella and spinach on Arnold's whole grain bread.
Around 425 calories.

Crazy Veggie Salad. Local romaine & radishes (thanks Jenne!), carrots, broccoli and green peppers with parmesan and a creamy basalmic.
Approx. 218 calories.



Healthy Choice Chicken Romano Fresca Steaming Entree.
Pretty tasty and only 230 calories. Good for a quick lunch.



My favorite snack: Fage 2%, fresh blueberries and 1 tsp honey.
Fuels my after work workouts for around 215 calories.



Fish tacos (grilled tilapia) with avocado, lettuce and salsa and black beans.
A satisfying dinner for under 500 calories.

Another quick lunch: Annies single serving Mac & Cheese with 1 cup broccoli.
Only 280 calories and Fooducate gives Annie's Mac and Cheese a B grade!

Just a random selection of what you may find me eating from day-to-day. I'm currently in a food rut, so please share links to your favorite recipes in the comments. I'd love to try some new things ove the next few weeks!

Emily's famous blueberry pancakes

I am queen of winging it in the kitchen. I am constantly taking a recipe and either trying my best to healthify it or changing it up based on ingredients I have on hand. Very rarely do I follow a recipe to a T. Sometimes this ends in disaster. But Sunday this ended in the best blueberry pancakes ever.

Saturday on my grocery store run I bought some beautiful blueberries. I had blueberry pancakes on my mind for the rest of the weekend.

But I couldn't just make plain ol' buttermilk pancakes, now could I?

I started with Todd's Famous Blueberry Pancakes recipe (However, I'm not sure who Todd is). I only did a basic healthification this time around subbing 3/4 cup of whole wheat flour and 1/2 cup rolled oats for the 1 1/4 cup of all purpose flour. I also used the aforementioned fresh blueberries.

Each pancake is approximately 72 calories with 3 g of protein and they were very filling! I had 3 pancakes with 2 tablespoons of syrup and 2 slices of center cut bacon for a meal of 383 calories - well within my realm of a normal amount for breakfast - and I was sustained all morning, even through a late morning/early afternoon 2.5 mile walk before lunch.

I could have went farther and used applesauce for the butter or flax seed + water for the egg. Or cut the sugar out. But I was OK with those small trace amounts of fat, cholesterol and simple carbs. But taking these steps could decrease the calories per pancake by 7 whole points, should you care to do so. (9 calories if you use skim milk)

I've found my best strategy for weight loss isn't about cutting foods I like out of my life, but more about making modifications to bring some better nutritional value to these foods. Would it be sensible to say I was never going to eat pancakes again? No! I love pancakes for breakfast every once in awhile and if I can get a little more nutrition by using whole wheat flour and oats in my batter then why not indulge myself?

[Side note: I am never good at taking pictures, so I contracted Stephen to take a picture of the reheated results this morning, but alas I don't think they look too great reheated (a lot like shriveled disks), so you get nothing.]

Have you ever been hiking in the dark? No? Well stay tuned for my report on Wednesday from my very first full moon hike I shall experience tomorrow night.

Carb Lover's recipe: Two-cheese penne

I do a fair amount of cooking at home. I've always liked to cook, it just used to involved foods or styles of preparation that were not friendly to the waistline.

I've been following the principles of the Carb Lover's diet since the end of September, with great results (35 lbs lost since starting, 50 lost total). One of the great things about the Carb Lover's book is that it is filled with easy to prepare (AND DELICIOUS) recipes. My "go tos" are things like their black bean or fish tacos, the chicken pasta primavera and the Shrimp Stir-Fry.

The week before my marathon, in an effort to carb load, I wanted to make a new pasta dish. Enter Baked Two-Cheese Penne with Roasted Red Pepper Sauce. Despite the length of the title of this dish, the ingredient list isn't very long, nor is it filled with hard to find items. Although, I did make a few substitutions based on ingredients I had or could easily acquire (see below).

Called for: 1 ounce Smoked Gouda and 2 ounces Fontina cheese
Used: 1 ounce Gouda and 2 ounces light Haverty

Melting the cheeses into the sauce.

Adding the cooked pasta into the sauce.
The recipe called for whole wheat penne and I used whole wheat shells since I had it on hand already.

Roasted red pepper - I roasted my own because the week I made this dish I shopped at Aldi (they didn't have roasted red peppers in a jar) and did not want to make an additional grocery store stop. It looks harder than it was.

Called for: Panko topping
Used: crushed corn flake topping (again, it's what I had on hand)

Served with a side of steamed Brussels sprouts, on a small dinner plate.
Yum!

Overall, it was a great dish and satisfied the "pasta and cheese" craving I was having. Without the red pepper sauce it was a bit bland, but I loved the sauce (blended roasted red pepper and greek yogurt) so it all came together in the end. In fact, I used leftover sauce on a baked potato the same week. Delish!

Surviving Super Bowl - in photos and links

I attempted to mix up the traditionally unhealthy Super Bowl party food with a couple healthy options this year. Below are some pics of the spread.

I used these ingredients to make Carb Lover's Garlic & Herb Yogurt Dip.
Served with Baked Lays.

Carb Lover's White Bean and Herbed Hummus with carrots and celery

The snack spread

We also had grilled chicken wings, pork shanks (like pulled pork), fish tacos and beer cheese soup. It was quite the spread for 11 people, 3 kids and 2 dogs.

I ended up having a few bagel crisps with the buffalo chicken dip, a couple veggies and white bean hummus, a few baked lays and dip, probably about a serving of chips and salsa (my friend makes the best damn salsa in the world - I want to bathe in it.), 2 chicken wings, approx 4 oz of pork and a fish taco (1/2 fillet and 1 corn tortilla).

Oh and about 3 of these.

I have no idea how many calories I ate, but in all truth, I didn't eat to discomfort. I estimated around 820 for my SparkPeople food log.

What did you all eat at your Super Bowl party? Did you overeat or did you stay on your plan?

Rain, rain go away

This morning I woke up at 6:30 (on my first day of Thanksgiving vacation) to pouring down rain.

UGH!

My plan was to head to a trail not far from my mom's house to walk my 3 miles. At 6:35 my thought turned to, "No way, Jose!"

I know all the "real athletes" out there would say that if you're training for a race, then you should train in any weather. My roommate, for example, trains in rain, sleet, snow. Freezing or hot as hell. Well, I'm not that hardcore. So, I headed to my hometown's rec center.

When it comes down to it, it was between walking indoors or waiting for the weather to clear enough to walk outside with the chance of not walking at all. I decided the former was a better option.

So after paying $7 to be admitted, at 7 am I was here:


It was a pretty uninteresting walk, but I completed my 3 miles in 53 minutes, so that is what is important. I'm not sure what will happen with my participation in the 5K in the morning. The weather forecast does not look good for 7 am. My only hope is that the rain holds off - I can deal with the cold with layers.

What are you all doing this day before Thanksgiving? I've set tables, made two pies - Caramel Apple and traditional pumpkin and plan to have dinner with friends tonight. I can't wait to have a piece of one of those pies tomorrow!

If I was making Thanksgiving dinner...

On my mom's side of the family, creamed corn is a veggie. In my book, corn isn't even a veggie. To say my changes in thought over the last several months differs from my family's thinking about nutrition is an understatement.

I am going to my aunts house (on my dad's side) for Thanksgiving dinner, she does the cooking and doesn't let me bring anything. Which is fine, I only say that to paint the picture of how not in control of what is being served I will be this Thanksgiving.

My plan is simple: Walk 3 miles in the morning, have a light breakfast/lunch and watch my portions at dinner. Also, I don't have to feel like I need to eat every side that is served. I'll eat 2-3 that I really want (including as many green veggies that are served). I will also allow myself one piece of pie without guilt (it may even be pecan).

However I've given a lot of thought to what recipes I would substitute if I was cooking Thanksgiving dinner. My arsenal would include:

Creamy turnip-potato puree - 61 cals for 1/2 cup





Amy's green bean casserole - (omit the rice) approx. 75 cals for 1/2 cup

Homemade whole cranberry sauce - (with some substitutions) 95 cals for 1/10

Baked sweet potatoes with honey and cinnamon - 90 cals for 1/2 cup

Roasted vegetables w/olive oil (carrots, Brussel sprouts, broccoli) - 50 cals for 1 cup

Mushroom gravy - calories unknown

And, of course Turkey - 120 cals for 4 oz

For a grand total of 491 calories - and honestly it is a HUGE meal, so using this menu you really could eat smaller portions of the carbs and still be very satisfied.

This ain't your mama's fried chicken

Last night I made my first attempt at cooking collard greens. We got a bunch in our final CSA share last week. After the turnip green disaster, I proceeded cautiously and followed a recipe this time.

I used Amateur Gourmet's rendition of a Lee Bro's recipe. And they turned out great!

Given my big ol' pot of collards, I was craving some fried chicken to go with them. I was on my way to the grocery store and even reasoned, "Well, I'll just get ONE piece to take home from the deli."

But I didn't. Nope, I was a good little Carb Lover's (and calorie counting) girl and came home from the grocery store and dredged some chicken breasts in a mixture of corn flakes, salt and pepper and baked them in the oven.

Oh - my - goodness! It was SO good and the extra pepper I put in the breading mixture made it *almost* like my mom's homemade fried chicken I haven't had in probably 5 or 6 years.

I will be making this again and again! I also think I'll try Amateur Gourmet's collard soup idea with my leftovers.

Carb Lover's - Day 4

I didn't think that what I brought for lunch today would be filling enough. All I had was a black bean burger, a small apple and string cheese. I did feel immediately hungry afterward, but I think that was more because I was used to eating MORE in volume. After a bottle of water I was good to go until my 3:30 snack of 2 wasa crackers and almond butter. I LOVE almond butter!

Tonight I made the recipe from Carb Lover's that I was most excited about. I give you, Chicken Pasta Primavera.

I love a good pasta dish. I always loved pasta. Give me a seat at a table at Olive Garden and I'm basically in utopia! Perhaps that's just the unlimited breadsticks though....

I think that the editors of Carb Lover's Diet printed the measurements wrong on this recipe. If you follow it exactly, the servings only allows for 1/2 a cup of pasta and 2 ounces of meat. That's a pretty small serving to me. Here's what I did:

- Used 1 cup of dry pasta, which roughly gives you 2 cups cooked; diving into two servings. Even by increasing the serving size in the recipe I was eating 1/2 a cup less than the serving suggestion on the packaging.
- Cooked about 1 lb of chicken breast; divided into 3 portions that's about 5.33 ounces per serving (these are all estimations as I don't own a food scale)
- Cubed the zucchini vs. ribbons (It was just easier to prep that way)
- Served it with 2 T of Parmesan cheese per serving instead of 1 T
- Omitted the salt

It resulted in a nice, filling portion of 435 calories for dinner. And it was pretty delicious (but it needed the salt).

What I ate today:
B: Banana and fiber granola bar
L: Morningstar black bean burger on whole wheat thin bun, small apple and string cheese
S1: 2 whole grain wasa crackers w/4 tsp almond butter
D: Chicken Pasta Primavera

Calorie count: 1,239

How I feel:
Still going strong. Walked before dinner for about 25 minutes.

I had the realization today that of course I am rocking this new menu. I am doing so well because it is within the structure of Monday thru Friday. I generally don't have a problem eating right during the week. The real test will be Saturday and Sunday. I'm glad I've started to think about this so I can start to mentally prepare myself to stick to the plan and not slip. Especially because I am going to the National Banana Pudding Festival! No pudding samples for me unfortunately...

Thank God tomorrow is Friday!

Carb Lover's - Day 2

What I ate:
(items in red were not on today's meal plan but were added or subbed in)
B: Banana and fiber granola bar
S1: 14 baby carrots and 2T of hummus
L: 2 eggs, 1 apple, 4 wasa crackers and 2 wedges of laughing cow cheese
D: Ginger Shrimp Stir-fry (with 1.5 oz extra shrimp)

Calorie count: 1,226

If I am hungry before bed (which I can't imagine at the moment) I'm planning to have a Vitamuffin and I'll end the day at 1,326.

How I feel:
Definitely not as tired today as I was yesterday. I'm chalking yesterday's tiredness up to it just being a Monday. Also, allergies are running rampant in Tennessee right now so that helps no one.

I was hungry just 2 hours after my breakfast, so I had some carrots and hummus. It was only around 90 calories for a filling snack. It kept me satisfied until lunch at noon when I was starving again. I added an extra egg, 2 extra crackers and half an ounce of extra cheese at lunch.

I had chips and salsa set aside for a snack, but I ended up not being hungry and a late afternoon meeting kept me occupied. Dinner was awesome (more below). It was so delicious and the portion size was huge! I'm basically sitting here in a food coma right now.

The recipe was Shrimp Stir-fry with Ginger. I substituted olive oil and a sprinkle of sesame seeds for the sesame oil and ground ginger for fresh grated.

WOW! If all the recipes in Carb Lover's are as good as this one then we will be in business. And like I said it was a HUGE portion.

You want pizza? I'll give you pizza

So on Sunday, I mentioned some soy Italian sausage "pizza." If you didn't notice, I put quotations around the word PIZZA. Because, duh, I'm not crazy and I don't go around eating an XL Domino's meat lover's pizza just because Sunday is my free day. This "pizza" is healthy and very satisfying!

I got my inspiration from the food blog I link to all the time - HEAB. Seriously, if you don't follow her eats then you are missing out. I admit she's into some seemingly hippie, earth-loving stuff, but don't knock it till you try it.

My version included:
2 Ole extreme wellness whole wheat tortillas (seriously my best discovery - they are only 76 cals each)
4 T Muir Glen organic tomato sauce
2 T Mozzarella cheese
1 Morningstar Farms Italian sausage link
2 T Pesto sauce
Oregano
Parsley

Typing this out, I just realized that I forgot to add fresh basil to my pizzas tonight, which I have ALOT of. Boo!

I toasted one side of the tortilla in a skillet on the stove, topped with my ingredients and then broiled in the oven for a few minutes. Viola! Here's the finished product:

Delish!

I also had a bit of left over couscous tabbouleh; bringing my dinner to around 500 calories. I'm back to tracking my calories on Sparkpeople. For some reason, I just feel like it. I'm getting ready to make a change to my diet (definition: habitual nourishment), so I want to see what I'm consuming on a normal day and where I'm at nutritionally.

Happy almost Friday y'all!

Eggplant pizza bites and a weekend preview

I promised to share the goodness of the CSA and here I have delivered.

That is basil, sweet potatoes, various peppers, summer squash, butternut squash, cubanelle peppers, acorn squash, 2 kinds of eggplant, 2 kinds of cucumbers and okra! What a stash!

As is typical for Wednesday nights, my awesome housemate, KG and I made a CSA approved meal - Alea's Eggplant Pizza Bites.

Letting the eggplant sit, sprinkled with salt to draw the bitter juices out (it worked!)



Finished product - we added pepperoni because I was feeling some protein (it was supposed to be turkey pepperoni, but Kroger fails and was out).



Upclose of the cute little bites.

With the pepperoni, each bite was around 37.3 calories. I had 7 bites so I ended up with around 261 calories. We also made some sweet potato fries from the sweet potatoes from last week's CSA pick up. My dinner was probably around 450-500 calories. I love our CSA!!!

Back pain update

After walking a little over 2 miles on Saturday, my lower back pain got progressively worse over the long weekend. It seemed to be better yesterday and today I didn't take any pain meds, although I did use my Lidoderm patches. I haven't done any exercise this week, but I am thinking of starting by doing just a short (20 minute) walk tomorrow, followed by water aerobics on Friday. I hope that this back pain goes away soon, I'm ready to exercise regularly again!

This weekend is Nashville's annual Greek Fest. It will be my third year going and it is my favorite event of the year! Dancing! Gyros! Lukamades! Opa!