"Oh wow...that looks awesome. What is it?"

At work, my breakfasts and lunches are always attracting attention.  I can't say that I mind.  If I am proud of the things I make, I tend to enjoy eating them more.  Tonight's dinner will also be tomorrow's lunch, which I am sure will garner the usual attention from the 1st floor therapy crew.  I used this week's challenge food (the Acorn Squash).  I made up the recipe myself, so I will re-create it here (lucky for me - and you, I measure basically everything to figure out the points, so it makes recipe making easier).

Stuffed Acorn Squash with Vegetarian Chili

Ingredients - serves 2

• 1 medium sized Acorn Squash (either orange or green is fine)
• 1/8 tsp. Olive Oil
• Chili Powder
• Red Pepper Flakes
• 1 c. canned Low Sodium Black Beans, drained and rinsed well
• 1/4 c. sliced Water Chestnuts, drained and rinsed well
• 1 c. Morning Star Meal Starters Soy Crumbles
• 2/3 c. Salsa
• 1/2 c. fresh Spinach leaves

 Instructions

Squash:

1. Cut squash in half with sharp knife and scoop out guts
2. Brush the squash with the olive oil, and season it with chili powder and red pepper flakes
3. Place the halves cut side down in a pyrex with an inch of water
4. Bake at 400 degrees for 30-40 minutes until the tops begin to brown (don't under cook)
5. Remove from oven, flip halves face up, and drain water.  Let cool

Vegetarian "Chili":

1. Spray a skillet with cooking spray
2. Throw in Soy crumbles and start to brown
3. Add more chili pepper and red pepper flakes to taste
4. Add in black beans, water chestnuts, and spinach and saute about 5 minutes
5. Add salsa and continue to cook 2 minutes more

Spoon the "chili" into the squash halves, and ENJOY!  Who doesn't love an edible bowl?? (make sure to eat the actual flesh of the squash as you eat the chili).  I think I might use this idea to serve squash and pumpkin soup when I host Thanksgiving this year!

Pre-bake...cut, scooped out, and seasoned

"Chili" Mixture - soy crumbles, black beans, water chestnuts, and spinach

Finished Product!  So pretty :o)

Close-Up

My dessert tonight is pretty delicious at well.  6 oz. Fage Total 0% fat free Greek yogurt, mixed with 1 tsp. Truvia and 1/3 c. craisins.  Put the mixture in the freezer for a couple hours, sprinkle it with a few mini chocolate chips = ice cream treat!

Hello, Lover

It's only Tuesday, but I'm liking this week :o)

Good, Bad, Blog...

I realize that I seldom get very "personal" on this blog, but I want to change that up occasionally.  Since I am hard at work re-modeling my lifestyle, one of the things I promised myself I would do (that I've never done in the past) is continue to blog even when I have small setbacks or failures.  I had my WW meeting/weigh-in yesterday and I gained 1.4 lbs this week.  I sort of knew it was coming when I reflected on my eating habits last week, but it was still sort of a slap in the face to hear the word "gained."

For those of you who know me, the one thing that I am truly bad at, is being bad at something.  Failure and myself are not words that I like to have linked together.  Now, I don't mean this at all to sound like I am good at everything I attempt, because that is far from the truth, but I am someone who will work as hard as possible to be really good at everything I attempt.  And so, when I wind up "failing" at something, I get upset. I really am working on trying to decrease me anxiety levels and just live.  As my best friend Alexis said recently, "this is your life and setbacks happen...roll with it!"

And so I begin another week, as optimistic as ever, and without regard to last week's outcomes.  I am armed with a good plan for meals and snacks for the week, and ready to up my game at the gym.  Here's hoping it's a good week!


And now back to the real reason for this blog....FOOD!

First, an omelet...1 c.  egg beaters, 1 c. baby spinach, sauteed with cooking spray and minced garlic, topped with 1/4 c. reduced fat shredded mozzarella and placed on a Mission Multigrain Plus! Wrap (one of my faves)

Next, one of my favorite foods on earth, made healthy:  PIZZA! - 1 Mission Multigrain Plus! Wrap, 3 tbsp. tomato sauce, 1/4 c. of reduced fat mozzarrella, and lots of baby spinach leaves.  Pop it in the toaster oven for a few minutes, and enjoy some guilt free pizza

pre-bake

post-bake...a little overdone, but still delish!

And now, a couple of new product discoveries that I am newly obsessed with:

Kim's Magic Pop - a new machine that many stores are starting to get.  They put wheat, barley, and rice into a heated machine, and out pops a sort of thin, rice cake that can be topped with almost anything.  People were talking about it in my WW meeting yesterday, and then today at Costco, I discovered them.  They are made fresh while you're there, and the guy said they can be stored for up to a month.  Today, I blended a wedge of Laughing Cow Light Garlic Herb Cheese with some salsa, and spread it atop this airy, delicious "rice cake."  At only 15 calories each, the snacking possibilities are endless.

Lastly, another new favorite:  Cinnamon Raisin Bread flavored Raisins...I know it sounds weird, but they are DELICIOUS when mixed with plain nonfat Greek yogurt.  The flavor process doesn't add any calories to the raisins, and as far as I can tell they are just rolled in a bit of cinnamon and brown sugar with a little butter flavor added.  They really do taste like cinnamon raisin bread.

This weeks challenge food is Acorn Squash.  I haven't picked a recipe yet, but I'm thinking about cutting it in half, baking it, and putting vegetarian chili in the middle.  I'll let you know how it goes!

I should be sleeping...

...but instead I am posting pictures of my latest baking ventures :o).  Tonight I baked muffins for a co-worker's last day tomorrow, and also cupcakes for a bake sale to benefit brain injury research on Saturday.

First, the muffins.  Nutritious and really really delicious

• 4 tbsp. butter (half a stick)
• 3/4 c. brown sugar
• 1 egg
• 1 c. whole wheat flour
• 1 tsp. cinnamon
• 1 tsp. baking soda
• 1/4 tsp. salt
• 1 1/4 c. applesauce
• 1 c. old fashioned oats
• 1/2 c. craisins

 Preheat the oven to 350.  Cream butter with brown sugar; add egg.  In a separate bowl, combine flour, cinnamon, baking soda, and salt.  Add to creamed mixture alternately with applesauce.  Stir in oats and craisins.  Fill paper-lined muffin tins just about full and bake for 20-25 minutes.  Makes 12 muffins

And the cupcakes...vanilla cupcakes, with my own recipe for buttercream icing and wilton's recipe for decorating icing (basically a shortening-based frosting with powdered egg whites to stiffen it)

I hope they taste as good as they look!!

Roll with the Pumpkins...

The pumpkin chocolate chip cookies were a huge hit at work!  I'm still craving fall flavors, so for tomorrow's breakfast, I just made a delicious batch of overnight oats!

1/2 cup Steel Cut Oats
1/2 cup Canned Pumpkin (leftover from yesterday!)
1/2 cup Blue Diamond Unsweetened Original Almond Milk
2 tsp. Truvia
Lots of Cinnamon and Nutmeg
10 Raw Unsalted Almonds

Mix together, and refrigerate over night!

Wishful Thinking?

Perhaps I am being a bit preemptive, seeing as it is still August, but all week I have been craving the flavors (and weather) of Fall.  Fall has always been one of my favorite seasons for an exhaustive list of reasons, some of which include:  new school supplies, a new school year, new clothes, beautiful colors, amazing weather, the return of sweatshirts, pumpkins, spices, Halloween, and all sorts of delicious fruits and vegetables.  This is the first year in 20 years that is not a "back to school" year!  Crazy, but I'm enjoying it so far!

So I decided today that maybe if I start thinking like it's fall, it will start to feel like fall sooner!  I made these delicious and virtually guilt free Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Cookies, and they came out fantastic!!!  They are a bit more cake-like than I usually like cookies to be, and they're sort of more like muffin tops, but the flavor is just incredible!

The Recipe:

• 1 cup canned pumpkin
• 1/2 cup white sugar
• 1/2 cup brown sugar
• 1/2 cup unsweetened applesauce
• 1/4 cup egg beaters
• 2 cups whole wheat flour (unbleached)
• 2 teaspoons baking powder
• 2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
• 2 teaspoons nutmeg
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1 teaspoon almond milk
• 1 tablespoon vanilla extract
• 2 cups semisweet chocolate chips

1. Combine pumpkin, sugar, applesauce, vanilla, and egg beaters. In a separate bowl, stir together flour, baking powder, ground cinnamon, nutmeg and salt. Dissolve the baking soda with the almond milk and stir in. Add flour mixture to pumpkin mixture and mix well.
2. Add chocolate chips.
3. Drop by spoonful on greased cookie sheet and bake at 365 degrees F for approximately 10 minutes or until lightly brown and firm. 

 

Happy Almost-Fall!

Little Victories...

A weight-related update:

As of my Weight Watchers meeting this morning, I am up to an 8.4 lb. loss in just 3 weeks!  The rate of loss will of course slow down in the coming weeks, but I am just thrilled that I am progressing!  I'm just 0.6 lbs. away from my first goal of a 5% loss.  After that, will be 10%, and then incrementally downward until I reach my ultimate goal, hopefully by my birthday.  I am so hoping that this journey will be infinitely more successful than my previous attempts, and I am rather confident that it will be.

New Food Of The Week...

This week's challenge food:  PARSNIPS

Unpeeled

I'm having fun trying something new every week.  However, parsnips are going on the list of things i'm not super crazy about.  I peeled, sliced, and boiled them until they were fork tender, then mashed them up with a tablespoon of butter and lots of slices to eat as a side dish with some garlic mustard salmon.  The salmon was excellent, but I'm not really a fan of the parsnips.  I was hoping they would be a decent substitute for mashed potatoes, but they were sweeter, and a weird texture, and just not at all what I was hoping for.  Oh well, they can't all be successes!

Two of my Favorite "F" words...

Friends and Food.  Preferably combined.  On Saturday evening, I hijacked my good friend Christa's kitchen to cook dinner for Christa, her wonderful roommate Jeremy, and myself.  It turned out to be quite the adventurous evening, including dining outside on the deck, a long walk, delicious, fruity frozen yogurt, and a viewing of Psycho.

For dinner, I chose a recipe from my Eat-Clean Cookbook by the lovely Tosca Reno - Moroccan Chicken and Lentils.  The full recipe makes 12 servings, so I cut it down, but I will post the full recipe here:

Ingredients List:

• 8 cups water
• 3 tsp. sea salt, divided
• 1 lb. dried lentils
• 1/4 cup plus 2 tbsp. extra virgin olive oil
• 1/2 cup red wine vinegar
• 3 tbsp. ground cumin, divided
• 2 tbsp. plus 2 tsp. chili powder
• 2 garlic cloves, peeled and minced
• 1 large onion, peeled and chopped
• 2 lbs. skinless, boneless chicken breast or turkey breast, thinly sliced
• 1/4 tsp. ground cinnamon

Instructions:

• LENTILS - Combine water and 1 tsp. sea salt in stock pot over high heat.  Add lentils and bring to a boil.  Cover and reduce heat to medium.  Simmer until lentils are soft, about 20-25 minutes.  Drain well.  Rinse under cold water and drain well.  Place in a large bowl and set aside.

• SAUCE FOR LENTILS - In small bowl, mix 1/4 cup of the olive oil, the red wine vinegar, 2 tbsp. cumin, 2 tbsp. chili powder, the garlic, and 1 tsp. of sea salt.  Pour this dressing over the lentils.  Toss gently and let cool.

• CHICKEN - In a large skillet, heat 2 tbsp. olive oil.  Add onion and saute until well cooked, about 5 minutes.  Onion should be dark brown and soft.  Add chicken or turkey and saute 2 minutes more.  Add 1 tsp. sea salt, 1 tbsp. cumin, 2 tsp. chili powder, and 1/4 tsp. cinnamon.  Saute until chicken or turkey is cooked through.

• SERVE - Arrange lentils on the plate.  Place sliced chicken on top of lentils.  Use remaining dressing and pour over chicken.  Serve at room temperature.

This dinner turned out so delicious, and I was happy to see that it came out looking just like the picture in the cook book!  Christa and Jeremy enjoyed the meal just as much as I did, which is always a plus :o).  Just  a note, I didn't follow the recipe to the letter in terms of quantity of spices.  I just sort of threw stuff in, and it wound up perfect!  Best of all, the recipe is healthy and completely CLEAN!

Lentils Tossed in Sauce

Finished Product :o)

Friends!

Making Up For Lost Time...

It's been a couple days since I've updated, but there has not been a halt in my delicious kitchen experimentation.  And so, here is a recap of a few beauties over the last few days:

My first foray into the world of overnight oats was quite the success.  This heavenly breakfast consisted of 3/4 cup steel cut oats (you can use old fashioned oats as well, just don't use instant oats), 1 cup unsweetened almond milk, 1 tsp Truvia, lots of cinnamon, 1/2 cup of blueberries, 1/2 cup jumbo raisins.  Simply mix all these ingredients together in a bowl, cover, and refrigerate overnight (no cooking necessary!).  In the morning, pop it in the microwave to warm it up. 

Before the overnight stay in the fridge

Dinner a few nights ago consisted of 4 oz. baked salmon, which i covered with lemon juice, chopped garlic, and paprika.  I served it over brown rice cooked in low-sodium vegetable broth.  I <3 Omega 3s

Last night I baked my famous Mint Oreo Brownies.  Since they don't really fit in the healthy category (though I did use applesauce and egg white to make them), I will not post the recipe here, but will share a picture :o)

Tonight's dinner was simple, but delicious, and even better because it was mainly my favorite color (green!).  2 ounces of whole wheat thin spaghetti, topped with a mix of sauteed spinach, peas, and garlic, sauteed in a teaspoon of olive oil.

Made an extra batch for lunch tomorrow! Delish :o)

My kind of convenience food...

Mornings for me can be pretty hectic and fast-paced.  Wake up at 4:30, throw down some nonfat greek yogurt with blueberries and flax seeds, and rush off to the gym for my morning workout.  Shower at the gym, get on the road to be in West Orange by 7:45ish.  Post-workout re-fueling is very important, and should never be neglected, no matter what kind of time crunch you are under.  I wouldn't be able to get through the first part of the day without it.  However, I try as often as possible to utilize real food rather than protein shakes if possible. 

And thus, I began experimenting.  Hungry Girl has a lot of recipes for "egg mugs" which can be delicious and nutritionally are perfect for a post-workout blend of protein and carbs, but if you are anywhere near as uncoordinated as I am, using a fork and operating a motor vehicle should not be done simultaneously. 

And so I give you, a true egg muffin!  For 5 days worth, I blended 1 1/4 cups of liquid egg whites with chili powder, red pepper, hot sauce, shredded fresh baby spinach, and diced fresh green pepper.  I divided them evenly amongst 5 muffin cups coated with non-stick spray.  Popped the tray in the oven for 12 minutes at 350, and voila...a week's worth of quick, convenient, nutritious post-workout meals.  Just keep in a tupperware in the fridge.  In the morning, put it on an Arnold's Wheat Sandwich Thin, pop it in the toaster for a few minutes to warm, wrap it in foil and it should stay warm for you to eat after your workout on the morning commute.

Challenges...

As part of this little quest I am on, I've decided to try one new food every week.  This week's "challenge food" is Spaghetti Squash.  I am a pasta freak.  I could eat it every single day and never get sick of it.  However, my body would definitely not appreciate my making pasta a food staple.  Therefore, I am constantly in search of healthier, lower carb, lower calorie substitutes.  I've tried Tofu Shirataki noodles in the past.  Hungry Girl swears by them, but frankly, I find them disgusting.  They are rubbery, chewy, and smell faintly of fish.  At 20 calories a serving, they have basically no nutritional value.  I am pleased to report that Spaghetti Squash is an actual, legitimate, nutritious, delicious, satisfying (enough adjectives yet?) substitute for my pasta cravings.

Here are some tips on how to prepare:

Preheat oven to 375.  Puncture with a fork several times to vent, then place in microwave for 3-4 minutes so it's soft enough to cut

Cut in half lengthwise, then use a fork or grapefruit spoon to scoop out the "guts"

Place cut side down in a pyrex dish filled with about an inch of water.  I seasoned the water with chili powder, garlic powder, red and black pepper, and some sea salt.  Put in oven for 45 minutes.  Keep an eye on it and when the tops start to brown, it should be done.  Once cooked, drain water and place face up until the squash is cool enough to handle.

Use a fork to scrape out the squash into a bowl.  It will take on the texture and shape of spaghetti.  The above is about 2 cups (only about 80 cals!) and this was only from half the squash!  Then, top with whatever you want.

Tonight, I browned 1/2 cup of  Morningstar Farms Soy Crumbles in a skillet with a tsp of olive oil and some minced garlic.  After the crumbles were browned, I added 1/2 cup spaghetti sauce, and poured the mixture over the squash. 

This meal was so delicious and filling, and I still have about 3 cups of squash left for later in the week! 

Challenge #2:  Plan and prepare meals in advance.  In order to cut down on my stress level as well as save precious time in the mornings and evenings, I am setting out to plan my meals for the week every Sunday.  Since Sunday is my day off from the gym, I will have the whole day to plan, grocery shop, and prepare most of my food for the week.

For those of you who know me, you know that I thrive on organization.  I can't handle a chaotic, unplanned lifestyle.  That's not to say that I don't enjoy the occasional attack of spontaneity, but overall, I function much better on a schedule.  So, I am thus thrilled to be starting work tomorrow (for many reasons, obviously, not just for the regular schedule).

Here's hoping it all goes well!  I'm off to finish planning and prepping some meals for the week.  More recipes and photos to come soon :o)


And a little scale update:  -4.4 after my first week!  :o)

So fresh and so clean, clean...

As I have mentioned before, I am all about clean eating these days.  I am working hard to eat mainly clean foods throughout the day in order to maximize my health gains and weight loss.

Today's dinner was so clean and delicious, I have to share:

1/2 cup medium grain brown rice cooked in low-sodium vegetable broth, seasoned with chili powder, garlic powder, red and black pepper, and a dash of sea salt.

Once all of that was cooked up, I blended the rice with 1 cup fresh green peas, and a cut up Morningstar Farms Spicy Black Bean Burger.

Absolutely amazing, and ridiculously filling

Bowl o' Delicious

"Ice cream is exquisite. What a pity it isn't illegal" - Voltaire

I scream, you scream, we all scream for ice cream.  Well, maybe not all of us (*brad*), but I certainly do.  As you all know, I have embarked on the lovely road of lifestyle change, but I don't think I will ever be able to leave my desire for ice cream behind.  And thanks to weight watchers, I really don't have to.

However, today I came across a recipe for a fantastically guilt free homemade frozen treat compliments of the lovely Jamie Eason (see prior posts for more on my love of all things JE).

Here's the recipe for the creamy frozen deliciousness:

Fill a large ziploc bag with ice cubes and 1/2 cup of table salt.

In a separate, smaller ziploc bag, combine:

• 1 cup almond milk (I use Unsweetened Vanilla Almond Breeze)
• 2 tsp. Vanilla extract
• 2 tbsp. Truvia

Seal up the smaller bag, and put it in the larger bag with the ice and salt.  Seal the big bag, and shake vigorously for 5-8 minutes until the "ice cream" mixture firms up (bonus, your arms get a good workout before you can enjoy the fruits of your labor).   Put it in a bowl, and ENJOY!!

The best part of this whole operation is that this entire 1 cup of creamy deliciousness is just 40 calories and 3.5 grams of fat (if you use the unsweetened almond milk).  Jamie also adds that if you add a scoop of vanilla protein powder to the mixture, it can be a great post-workout snack.  I couldn't agree more!!!

So thank you, Jamie Eason, for showing me how to make my love of all things creamy and frozen carry over into my new, healthier, lifestyle.

Step 1 - Salt and Ice

Step 2 - Almond Milk, Vanilla, Truvia

Step 3 - Little Bag Into Big Bag

Step 4 - MMMMMM

On a sidenote, I'm sure a lot of you are fans of Tofutti's products, and I myself enjoy them as well.  However, more and more studies are showing the dangers for females who consume excessive amounts of soy on a daily basis.  I have become much more conscious of my soy intake recently.  For all intents and purposes, I am a vegetarian (with the occasional chicken breast thrown in a couple times a month), so I used to rely on soy as a protein source quite often.  I have since incorporated more whole grains, legumes, and whey protein into my diet and cut way back on the soy products.  I still eat edamame a few times a week, but I keep it to no more than 3 servings a week. 

I'm off to enjoy my "ice cream" :o)