Food Rules

I just finished reading this great book. It is short and to the point which I loved. It's all about good, quality eating and not depending on fad diets to loose weight and stay health. Some of the food rules that I am following or plan to follow:

• #2 Don't eat anything your great-grandmother wouldn't recognize as food
• #4 Avoid foods with high fructose corn syrup
• #6 Avoid foods that contain more than 6 ingredients
• #12 Shop the peripheries of the supermarket and stay out of the middle
• #13 Eat only foods that will eventually rot
• #20 It's not food if it arrived in the window of your car
• #25 Eat your colors
• #34 Sweeten and salt your food yourself
• #46 Stop eating before you're full
• #40 Eat Slowly

GREAT BOOK!!!! Check it out!!

Lunch at Ruby Tuesdays......

DELISH!!!!!!!

Sorry for the poor quality picture. Restaurant lighting =D

Cheesy Chicken Parmesan

Last night for dinner we had chicken parmesan! Grilled of course =D

To make it. I dredged chicken tenderloins in egg whites, then a mixture of onion powder, garlic powder and italian seasonings. I heated an iron skillet and sprayed it with zero calorie spray. I then cooked the chicken in the skillet until done. I then poured marinara sauce on the chicken (homemade) and topped it with plenty of fat free shredded mozzarella. Put a lid on it and cook until sauce is heated and cheese is melted. YUM! I served it with a side of broccoli and corn on the cob.

For 3 servings:

1 Pound boneless, skinless chicken breasts

1 cup marinara sauce

3/4 cup shredded fat free mozzarella cheese

Calories per serving : 272

Calories of Olive Garden chicken parmesan: 1090 (per the OG website)

Hummus, Salad & Pita

For lunch today I made myself a plate of salad, pita, and home made hummus. My pita was 100% whole wheat. For lunch this week I made myself a huge bowl of salad to split. My salad consists of tomatoes, cucumbers, hearts of palm, and lemon juice. I also made a big bowl of hummus for this week. To make the hummus I used:

2 cans garbanzo beans (chickpeas)

2 cans artichoke harts

the juice of 3 lemons

2 garlic cloves

3/4 cup EVOO

I put all the ingredients except for the EVOO in a food processor and blended it until smooth. Then I drizzled in the EVOO while blending. You can also add tahini paste or red pepper if you like.

Loaded Waffle-tastic Yogurt

This morning for breakfast I had some loaded yogurt. My bowl included:

2 Nutri-Grain Waffles

1 Banana

1 package strawberry 100 calorie cupcakes

1 6oz Dannon light and fit vanilla yogurt

Great way to start a Monday!!!

The Cookie Jar Cafe

Tonight for dinner me and my DH headed over the mountain to a place called the Cookie Jar Cafe in Dunlap, TN. It is a local cafe set up on a dairy farm. It serves fresh, home made, meats, sides and desserts daily. I had the meatloaf with white beans, creamed corn, and deviled eggs. Delish!! I also might have had half a piece of cornbread =D

If you live nearby and you haven't tried this place, GO! The food is amazing as well as the scenery.

Check it out at:

http://johnsonfamilyfarm.com/cjc.htm

Slush Puppy Pineapple Lemonade

What's better on a hot afternoon than lemonade?!? I was craving a cold treat today so I decided to try the Slush Puppy Pineapple Lemonade out of the Hungry Girl 3-2-1 cookbook. Here's how to make it:

Blend 5-8 ice cubes, 1/2 cup crushed pineapple, 1 tbsp lemon juice, 2 no calorie sweetener packs and 1/2 cup cold water. Blend until desired consistency.

YUMMY!!! This made the BEST lemonade! Bonus: Entire recipe is only 87 calories. Score!!!

If you don't have this cookbook yet, run out and buy it!!!

Chicken Cordon Bleu for One

Tonight I was feeling very under the weather so I wanted something comforting and easy for dinner. I decided to make easy chicken cordon bleu. Sounds so fancy! So fancy it only took 3 ingredients =D I used:

1 4oz piece of chicken breast, pounded like a cutlet

1 serving fat free honey ham

1 Laughing Cow Light wedge cheese

I pounded the chicken breast into a cutlet, heated a skillet, and cooked it in the skillet until done. I then added the ham and cheese on top and put a lid on until it was all heated and melted.

As you can tell from the picture, I got a little impatient and ate it before the cheese melted. I have to say this simple chicken creation was so delicious! By far one of the best ways to make chicken. I am really craving this again tonight it was so good =D

Calories for 1 serving (4oz chicken, 1 serving fat free ham, LC light cheese): 190!!!!

Pizza-licious Chicken

Here is how I made this easy pizza chicken recipe:

I took one pound of chicken breasts, put them in a gallon ziplock bag, and pounded them into cutlets. I then heated a skillet, wiped it with EVOO, and added the chicken. I sprinkled onion powder, garlic powder, and salt on the chicken and cooked it until done. When it was done, I smothered each piece of chicken with pizza sauce from jar and topped them with light string cheese. I put a lid on top, turned the heat down to low, and let them simmer until the pizza sauce was heated and the cheese melted. Delish!!!

I had mine with a side of broccoli and Jody had his with a side salad =D

For one chicken:

5oz chicken

1/2 cup pizza sauce

1 light string cheese

296 Calories!!!

Week 14 Results

Week 14 results are in and I lost 3 pounds this week!!!! YAY!!! That puts me at 44 pounds lost so far.

ALSO, still keeping up with the fast food boycott. It has not been 103 days since I have ate fast food!!

Boring looks but tasty treat

Today's breakfast looked boring on the plate but it was oh so tasty! I scrambled 3 egg whites with a pinch of salt and a laughing cow light wedge cheese. I had a side of turkey bacon with it. Great way to start the day!

Hungry Girl 1 2 3 Cookbook

I picked up this cookbook this weekend at the store. It has some amazing recipes!!! Very simple and low in calories! I can't wait to try out some of the recipes this week =D

Top 8 Worst Snacks

Today WebMD compiled a list of the 8 worst snacks. Check ‘em out and see if anything you eat made the list!

8 Worst Snacks:

1. Chocolate-coated doughnuts and mini doughnuts (Entenmann’s Pop’ems)
2. Snack pies (Hostess fruit pies)
3. Movie-theater butter microwavable popcorn (Pop-Secret Extra Butter)
4. Lunchables by Oscar Mayer
5. Regular chips and Cheetos
6. Packaged frozen snacks (Jimmy Dean biscuits, Hot Pockets)
7. Tyson Fun Nuggets
8. Cheese crackers (Ritz Bits, Cheez-Its)

Chef Salad

Today for lunch I fixed myself a yummy chef salad. It consisted of:

2 cups Hearts of Romaine lettuce

3oz Ham

3oz Turkey

2 Hearts of Palm

1/4 cup Mozzarella cheese

2 tbsp honey mustard

DELISH!!

Breakfast Sandwich

For breakfast this morning I made a simple breakfast sandwich. It consisted of: 1 whole wheat sandwich thin, 2 turkey bacon, and 3 egg whites. With a side of banana =D

Easter Sunday Dinner

I decided to pass up the fried chicken, fried okra, mac and cheese, mashed potatoes, cornbread, pinto beans, etc, etc, etc and made my healthy food. Boy that was not easy! But I did it. For dinner I had teriyaki chicken, broccoli, brussel sprouts, and a sweet potato! yum

Applebess New Under 550 Menu

For dinner last night, we decided to eat out and I had heard about Applebees new under 550 menu so I wanted to try it out. I decided to get the Spicy Shrimp Diavolo. It was....eh....ok. I wasn't impressed. The sauce was good, a little on the spicy side but not too bad. It just ended up being way to much pasta for me. Not something I would order again. According to the Applebees webite, the dish is 500 calories.

Dinner on the Fly

This is a hectic week so meals need to be light and quick! Tonight I threw together a salad with a sweet potato. My salad consisted of: lettuce, cheese, strip steak, and honey mustard dressing. I cooked my sweet potato and had it with a wedge of light cheese. Voila! Dinner in under 10 minutes =D

PB is Love

Today's afternoon snack!:

1/2 Sandwich Thin

1 tbsp natural Peanut Butter

1 tbsp Peanut butter / chocolate chips

Week 12 Results

Week 12 Results!!!!

I lost 2.5 pounds this week! That puts my total at 41.1 pounds so far. I'm very excited to be over the 40 pound mark, however, at the weekly weigh in I weighed the exact same as last week. I think this was because I had a big lunch during the day. I go by my morning weigh ins anyway.

I think the biggest challenge this week will be EASTER. Dinner at Grannys house!! =)

Today is Day 89 of the Fast Food Boycott!! Still going strong!!! 89 days down, 276 days to go!!!

BBQ Chicken Wrap

Tonight for dinner I had a BBQ Chicken Wrap with Roasted Veggies.

To make the wrap: I cooked boneless, skinless, chicken breasts in some stock in the crock pot all day. About an hour before dinner, I drained the stock out and shredded the chicken with a fork. It shreds very easily after being in the crock pot all day. Then I added a bottle of BBQ Sauce. I let this cook for about another hour. To assemble the wrap I simply took a Joseph Lavash 100 calorie wrap, put 3oz of the chicken in it, rolled it up, and cut it in half. I served this with a side of 1tbsp fat free cream cheese which I meant to spread on the wrap but forgot =D

To make the roasted veggies: I took brussel sprouts, carrots, and cauliflower. Added 1tbsp EVOO and kosher salt and cooked them in a 425 degree oven for about 20 minutes.

Strawberry French Toast

Nothing better on a Sunday Morning than French Toast. I was feeling creative today so I decided to try and make my own syrup! It was so easy to do and turned out yummy.

To make the strawberry syrup, I put about 1 1/2 cups of water in a pot. I added 4 packs of Splenda and 6 large strawberries. I turned the stove on high and let it boil away. In about 20 minutes it was syrupy with just a few small chunks of strawberries left so I took it off the stove, put it in a bowl, and set it in the fridge to cool while I fixed the french toast.

To make the french toast I added 3 egg whites, a dash of skim milk, and a dash of cinnamon in a bowl and stirred it up. I took half of a sandwich thin, dipped it in the egg mixture, and cooked it in no calorie spray in a skillet. When it was done, I cooked the other half.

To assemble the dish I put the french toast on the bottom, coated it with half the syrup, added a ton of Cool Whip Free, the rest of the syrup, and 3 sliced strawberries to the top.

Delicious!!

This version has only 275 calories!!

Loaded Yogurt Part 2

This morning for breakfast I fixed myself a big bowl of loaded yogurt. Of course =D To my bowl today I added:

1 Dannon Light & Fit Vanilla Yogurt

2 Jumbo Strawberries

1/2 Banana

1 90 Calorie Oatmeal Raisen Granola Bar

1 100 calorie Reese's Snackster Package

Cheeseburger Pizza

For dinner tonight I was craving an ol' fashioned cheeseburger so I decided to make one into a pizza for a healthier version. Assemble the following:

For crust: Joseph Lavash Bread Wrap

For Sauce: mix 1 tbsp light mayo, 1 tbsp mustard, 1 tbsp ketchup and 1 tbsp relish together and spread on crust

Brown extra lean ground beef, drain, and add to the top of the sauce.

Cook 2 pieces of Turkey Bacon, dice, and sprinkle on top of the ground beef

Sprinkle 1/4 cup of shredded cheddar cheese on top of the bacon

Put the pizza in a 450 degree pre-heated oven on Broil. Broil until cheese is melted. About 5 minutes.

Take the pizza out and top with plenty of lettuce and tomatoes

Total calories for the whole pizza: 412

In comparison, total calories in a SMALL Dominos Bacon Cheeseburger Pizza: 1560 Wowzers!!

Strawberry Granola Waffles

I had a carb craving this morning so I decided to make some waffles. I toasted 2 NutriGrain waffles, topped them with Dannon Light & Fit Vanilla yogurt, sliced strawberries, and a 90 calorie chocolate granola bar. Yum-o!!!

Loaded Yogurt

I was craving some good loaded yogurt this morning for breakfast. I am a texture and flavor fanatic so this is right up my alley! In my yogurt I used:

1 Dannon Light and Fit Vanilla Yogurt

2 Jumbo Strawberries, sliced

1 90 calorie chocolate granola bar, sliced

1/4 cup Fiber One Cereal

1 tbsp peanut butter/ chocolate chips

1 package 100 calorie strawberry cupcakes, cut up

Put it all in a bowl, stir, and enjoy DELISH!

Easy Crock Pot Pork Chops and Apples

Tonight for dinner we had pork chops, cinnamon apples, and roasted veggies.

To begin, I put pork chops and cut up apples in a crock pot with a small amount of water. I added splenda, cinnamon, and unsweetened applesauce to the crockpot. Mixed it all together and cooked it on high for 4 hours. Turned out great!!! Pork chops tend to get a little dry so cooking them in the crockpot with juicy apples helped keep them nice and juicy.

To make the roasted veggies, I simply took: brussel sprouts, green beans, carrots, and cauliflower; added a small amount of EVOO and kosher salt, and roasted them on a cookie sheet in a 450 degree oven for about 25 minutes.

Fat Free Tuna Salad

I picked up this at the grocery store to try for lunch. It was actually pretty good!! Something I would for sure eat again. I had it for lunch today. It came with white crackers but I dis-carded those and had some Graduate cheese puffs instead =)

Running Late = Quick Breakfast

This morning I was running late so I had to throw together a quick breakfast!! I just used:

1 Sandwich Thin

2 tbsp Natural Peanut Butter

2 large Strawberries

1/2 banana

and made me a couple of open face sandwiches! It was quick and tasty!! Peanut butter always fills my belly!

Week 11 Results!

Well Week 11 has come and gone! I was a little worried this week because I decided to give my body a break and I didn't workout not ONCE this week but boy did I get a surprise. I ended up losing 3.5 pounds according to my at home weigh in!! At the Biggest Loser weigh in I lost 5.4 pounds and won the weekly weigh in!! WOW! I'm very excited. That puts my total weight loss at 38.6 pounds in 11 weeks.

This week I can tell I am losing in my clothes. Nothing fits anymore! Which is a good thing but also a bad thing. I don't plan to spend very long in a size so I will not be spending a lot of money on clothes. The wardrobe will be scarce in the next few months but it will be worth it =D

The fast food boycott is going good! Today is day 82 since I have had any fast food (not even Subway) and it feels great. I don't even crave the junk anymore. Some people have asked me what I consider to be a fast food place and basically if they don't have waiters, it's fast food. I don't even do Subway right now. 82 days down! 283 days to go!

The plan this week is to get back into working out. I have actually missed it. I plan to do some cardio everyday and weights 3 or 4 days this week.

I also will be on a retreat this weekend. I have no idea what kind of food they are planning to serve so I plan on bringing my own just in case.

Nutritional goals this week are the same: try to keep my daily calorie intake around 1200 calories and NO eating after 6pm!!

Sunday Morning Yogurt

I LOVE to add different things to my yogurt. I love the different flavors and textures it gives. Today for breakfast I had a 6 oz cup of Dannon Light and Fit vanilla yogurt with the following add-ins:

1/2 banana, sliced

3 strawberries, sliced

1 90 calorie granola bar, cut up

1/4 cup Graduate banana puffs

1 package 100 calorie Hostess Strawberry Cupcakes, cut up

DELISH!!!

Chocolate Pancakes

What's better on a Saturday morning than yummy pancakes?!? So this morning I decided to whip up a batch of protein pancakes. To make the pancakes I used:

1/3 cup oatmeal

4 egg whites

1 scoop 100 calorie chocolate protein powder

1/2 banana

Blend the protein, oatmeal, egg whites, and banana in a bowl. Make sure the banana gets smashed and mixed in evenly. You can add a touch of Splenda and Cinnamon for some extra sweetness. Cook in a skillet with cooking oil like regular pancakes. Makes approx. 4 pancakes

I topped my pancakes with a container of Dannon Light and Fit Vanilla Yogurt and sliced, fresh strawberries.

Total Calories for the pancakes: 268

Total Calories w/ yogurt and strawberries: 369

In comparison, 4 chocolate chip pancakes from IHOP without syrup or extras is 900 calories!! (according to myfitnesspal.com)

Sweet & Satisfying Afternoon Snack

1 Golden Delicous Apple

1 slice 100 calorie bread

1 tbsp natural peanut butter

1 tbsp chocolate & peanut butter chips

Cheesy Shrimp Pasta

One of my all time favorite dishes is Shrimp Pasta from Red Lobster. And I had a craving for it tonight. So I tried to re-create it as close as possible but a little healthier. I used these ingredients to make 1 serving:

3oz Shrimp, pre-cooked without tails

1oz Healthy Harvest whole grain spaghetti

10oz bag of frozen steamfresh broccoli florets

1 Laughing Cow Light Cheese

1 tbsp Fat Free Cream Cheese

.25 cup Italian Shredded Cheese

To assemble: I cooked the steamfresh broccoli in the microwave. Then I boiled water on the stove. I added the spaghetti to the boiling water. The last 5 minutes of the spaghetti cooking time, I added the shrimp to the pot. When it as done, I drained the spaghetti and shrimp. I put the spaghetti, shrimp, broccoli, laughing cow cheese and cream cheese in an oven safe bowl. Mixed it together until the cheese melted. Then I sprinkled the shredded cheese on top. I put the bowl in the oven and heated it until the cheese as melted and the whole dish was piping hot!!

It was delicious! I was very satisfied!!!! The whole bowl came to 412 calories!!!

In comparison an order of Shrimp Linguini from Red Lobster is 1100 calories! (Per the R.L. website) WOW!!

Chicken Veggie Pizza

PIZZA NIGHT!!!!

I had my normal veggie pizza but I added chicken this time. I haven't had meat in 2 days so I needed to fit some in. My pizza consisted of:

1 Joseph Lavash Bread

3 cups roasted veggies

3oz chicken breast

1/2 cup marinara sauce

1/2 cup mozzarella cheese.

I crisped the Lavash in the oven. Then I cooked a piece of chicken and cut it up. I roasted brussel sprouts, carrots, and sugar snap peas in olive oil in the oven until they were crispy and blackened. I added the chicken, veggies, sauce, and cheese to the Lavash and cooked it in the oven until the cheese was melted.

This chicken veggie pizza was 536 for the whole pizza

A medium thin n crispy veggie pizza from Pizza Hut has 1440 calories. Yikes!

My Top 3 Tips to Curb a Craving

When the craving strikes:

1) Drink a full glass of water

2) Start a 30 minute teeth whitening treatment

3) Chew a really minty piece of gum

Works everytime =D

10 Ways to Start a Healthy Eating Plan

Thank you to girlmeetshealth.com for the info:

10 Ways To Start A Healthy Eating Plan

1. Write down your goals.

Although this list is in no particular order, I would recommend doing this step first. Do you want to lose weight? Increase your energy? Avoid future health problems? Writing these things down will give you the motivation you need to stick to your new plan. These goals will probably change over time, but make sure to always have them in the back of your mind to remember why it is you want to eat healthy. I’m sure you could just think about your goals, but I find that writing goals down turns them into more of a reality.

2. Find what works best for you.
I personally do not believe that there is one right way of eating for everyone. For some people, vegetarianism or veganism is the way to go. For others, it’s low carb, gluten free, sugar free, etc. Do some research and/or take a few days to experiment, and see which form of eating is best suited for your preferences and lifestyle. This might include all of the above or none of the above! I’m not at all saying that you have to label yourself as one thing or another. In fact, I personally would advise against that. But try to get an idea of how different ways of eating make you feel – both physically and emotionally.

3. Visit blogs.
Finding and following healthy living/food blogs was paramount in helping me take that next step when it comes eating healthily. You’ll find tons of great advice and recipes for healthy eats.

4. Eat more fruit and vegetables.
Sorry kids, there’s no way around this one. Whether you are a vegan, a rawist, a low carber, or a Weight Watcher – you haveto eat veggies! They are quite arguably the main component of any healthy diet. Fruits and veggies are packed with vitamins, minerals, antioxidants, and fiber. If you’re not a fan of them, check out this article for easy ways to squeeze more fruits and veggies into your diet.

5. Eat what tastes good.
I think what makes people most hesitant when it comes to eating healthy is they think it means living on iceberg lettuce, celery sticks, or (in the blogging world) chia seeds. Just because something is considered healthy or even “trendy,” don’t eat it if you don’t like it! Find foods that you enjoy and look forward to eating. Once again, I’d suggest checking out as many healthy living blogs as you can to see that eating healthy doesn’t have to mean compromising taste.

6. Try new things.
With that being said, you have to be willing to try new foods and experiment with recipes. For example, a lot of people are hesitant to try Green Monsters. Don’t worry – I was too. But if you’d be willing to give it a try, you’d find that it tastes just like delicious a banana smoothie!

7. Learn the basics.
Take some time to learn basic nutritional facts regarding nutrients, calories, etc. I suggest checking out SparkPeople.com. The nutritionists over at SparkPeople have set up some great articles explaining the in’s and out’s of nutrition in simple terms. Not to mention there are active message boards where SP users and the nutritionists themselves will answer questions and provide advice. The more you know about what’s actually going on in your body, the more proud and motivated you’ll be to continue with a healthy lifestyle.

8. Take it one step bite at a time.
To some people, any form of change can be overwhelming, especially when it comes to an everyday task such as eating. If you think you have to completely transform your diet overnight, you may be setting yourself up for failure. Change one or two things at a time. For example, maybe decide to cut out soda and sugary drinks. Or even start by keeping your diet the way it is, but add more servings of veggies here and there. Eventually your new habits will stick, and you’ll be ready to move on to the next step.

9. Go easy on yourself.
To me, some of the main components of a healthy eating plan is balance and moderation. Newsflash: eating a doughnut, or even 2 doughnuts, is not going to kill you! Don’t get it in your mind that you’ll never be able to eat not-so-healthy foods again. Life is too short to deprive yourself! Instead, aim for healthy choices most of the time. Don’t think of food in terms of “good” or “bad/forbidden” because that will also set you up for failure. Instead, enjoy everything in moderation, and focus on the good, healthy choices you’re making for yourself.

10. Get Excited.
Hooray!! You’re in the process of making one of the best decisions of your life. Eating healthy will help you look and feel better as your get older, and in my opinion it greatly improves overall quality of life. That’s an exciting thought! Spread the news to your friends and family, and maybe you’ll inspire them to start eating more healthily as well. I truly believe that eating healthy should not cause any sort of stress in your life, rather it should be something that adds to your happiness and quality of life.

There ya have it! Hope you all enjoyed those tips =)

Apple Granola Oatmeal

Sorry I haven't been posting much lately. I still haven't been to the store so my meals have been pretty boring. Today's breakfast was simple:

Dannon Light & Fit Strawberry Yogurt

Small Apple

Chocolate Chunk 90 Calorie Granola Bar

Mix all together and enjoy

Week 10 Results

So Week 10 has come and gone! This week I lost 2.5 pounds. I am very happy with that since I was out of town 3 days this week. That puts my total at 35.1 pounds in 10 weeks!!

My fast food boycott is going good as well. I had to buy a couple of drinks this weekend at some places but I did not eat a thing from them. I brought all my own food with me. So now it has been 75 days since I have ate any fast food. My goal is still a whole year....

This week my goal is to catch up on some rest! I got a total of maybe 5 hours of sleep all weekend so I think my body deserves a rest this week. I'm not going to push it.

Ready for Week #11!

Quick Pasta!

So I realize I make a lot of these but they are just so darn good and easy to make!! I have not been to the grocery store since we came back from being out of town this weekend but I had everything on hand to make a quick pasta bowl for dinner tonight. My bowl consisted of:

5oz Broccoli, steamed

3oz grilled chicken breast

1/2 cup marinara sauce

1/2 cup cheese tortellini

1 light laughing cow cheese

My bowl cost me a cool 300 calories!!

Herb Stuffed Chicken

Tonight for dinner I had Herb Stuffed Chicken. Sounds fancy-shmancy huh? Well not really. All I did was put a little garlic powder on a chicken breast and bake it in the oven. When it was done I split it open and put a piece of light Laughing Cow Cheese inside. Then I sprinkled a little parsley on top. Voila! Herb stuffed chicken. It was really yummy.

With the chicken I enjoyed 5 Monterey Spinach Ricotta raviolis and roasted vegetables.

To make the vegetables I sliced carrots and brussel sprouts, laid them on a baking sheet, sprinkled a little EVOO and salt on top and baked in the oven until done.

Strawberry Banana Waffles

Waffle Wednesday!! I made strawberry banana waffles today. I used:

2 Nutri-grain waffles

1 Light and Fit Strawberry Banana Yogurt

1 Banana

I toasted the waffles until they were nice and crispy. Then I cut up the banana and sprinkled cinnamon and sugar on it. I toasted it in the toaster oven. Then I layered the waffle, yogurt, and bananas on top. Yum!

Mexican Pizza

Tonight was mexican night and I decided to turn mine into a pizza. Of course!!! My pizza consisted of:

1 Joseph Lavash

1/2 cup fat free refried beans

3 oz ground beef, browned, seasoned

1/4 cup salsa

1 Laughing cow light cheese, crumbled

4 Roma Tomatoes

1 cup lettuce

1/4 cup black olives

I crisped the lavash for 5 minutes in the oven. Then layered the refried beans, ground beef, salsa, and cheese on top. I put that back into the oven till it was hot and the cheese melted. I topped it off with lettuce, tomato and black olives.

Calories for the whole pizza: 424!! In comparison a Mexican Pizza from Taco Bell has 540 calories!

Apple Cinnamon Waffles Take 2!

This morning I made apple cinnamon waffles again, just a little different. This time I used:

2 nutri grain waffles

1 medium red apple

2 tbsp fat free cream cheese

1 tbsp unsweetened applesauce

I toasted the waffles until they were crispy. This is important so they don't get soggy (unless you like soggy!). Then I chopped up the apple, sprinkled cinnamon and splenda on it, and heated it in the microwave for 3 minutes. I spread 1 tbsp of fat free cream cheese on each waffle and topped it with apples. I topped the whole thing off with a big tbsp of unsweetened applesauce.

This was like eating a decadent dessert at a restaurant! Very good and my belly fills happy and full.

By the way, this version is 332 calories. Yesterdays version was 278 calories

Week 9 Results

Week 9 is over and the results are in!

I lost 1.6 pounds this week. That puts me at a total loss of 32.6 pounds! =D

Beef Ravioli Bowl

Sorry for the blurry picture! I was hungry =D

I made myself another pasta bowl tonight. I could eat these every night. They are so yummy and filling.

I put the following in this bowl:

2oz extra lean ground beef, crumbled

1/2 cup marinara sauce

1 cup broccoli

5 Monterey spinach ricotta raviolis

350 calorie bowl of yummy goodness!!

Cinnamon Apple Waffles

What a great way to start off a Monday. With a big stack of waffles! I chopped an apple, topped it with splenda and cinnamon and heated the pieces up in the microwave for 3 minutes. I toasted 2 Nutri-grain waffles. When everything was done I put it all together: a waffle, a smearing of Dannon Light and Fit Vanilla yogurt, and topped it with apples. Then repeat! So easy and yummy!

Happy Monday!

I found this new flavor of tea at the Greenlife grocery store today. On a scale of 1-10 it is for sure a 10!!! I loved it! My favorite it still the Cocoa Mayan Spice and Aztec Sweet Chili! But this one is right there with them. It tastes like apples and pears with a little bit of spice and tea. Yummy!

The ingredients are: Black Tea Leaf, Cinnamon, Ginger, Rooibos, Nutmeg, Clove, Black Pepper and Stevia

Monterey Pasta Co

This is the ravioli I used in my pasta bowl tonight. I found it at Publix today. They have other flavors as well but this one sounded the best. And it was very, very good!! The calorie and carb content for these are very reasonable! Of course you have to eat a very small portion. I had 5 raviolis in my bowl tonight and felt very satisfied!

Here's the nutritional facts:

Pasta Bowl

For a quick dinner tonight I made a pasta bowl for myself. It included:

3oz chicken breast

1 cup broccoli

5 Monterey Raviolis

1/2 cup Marinara Sauce

"Dusting" of Parmesan Cheese

YUM!! I LOVE pasta.