Alfredo Pizza (I just made this one up)
Ready made butter biscuits (you can find lower calorie, lower fat)or you could make your own, if you're very talented at making buttery, light biscuits
Alfredo sauce
1-2 cups fat-free sour cream
1 Tbsp or so light margarine
Parmesan, to taste
Mozzarella, to taste
1- 2 cups (enough to cover crust) chicken, cooked, chopped
Directions: Pull out biscuits and separate each biscuit in half. Place on baking sheet close together making a rectangle. Smash the biscuits down and push together. (They will still come out as separate, little pizzas but the topping will be all even and won't get on the pan.)
For the sauce, place about a tablespoon of margarine in a frying pan and a cup or 2 of sour cream and stir together over low to medium heat. Add Parmesan and mozzarella cheese to taste. Spread sauce over entire biscuit pizza crust.
For the chicken, cook in microwave and then place in frying pan with little cooking spray to brown chicken. Scatter chicken pieces over the sauce and moisten with the sauce. Sprinkle mozzarella and Monterrey cheese over top, just to cover a little. Put in oven according to biscuit directions. I think 350 degrees for 13-15 min.
Serve with a great green salad and Voila. You have it.
Everyone loved this meal! My kids devoured it.
Thursday, March 25, 2010
Tuesday, March 23, 2010
I'm Back!
I have taken a big break from blogging, sorry. I have been sick the last while. So thinking of sickness, here are some things I found from the American Dietetic Association about preventing illness through healthy eating.
According to the American Dietetic Association, these are some tips to get vitamin-rich foods in your diet to prevent infection and help your immune system.
* Start each day with a healthy breakfast that includes whole grains and calcium-, vitamin D- and vitamin C-rich foods.
* Replace refined grains with whole grains like whole-grain breads and cereals and brown rice.
* Pre-washed salad greens and pre-cut vegetables make great quick meals or snacks.
* Choose fresh, whole fruit for snacks and desserts.
* Don’t forget beans, which are rich in fiber, folate and flavanoids.
Here are more tips. These are tips on getting the most health benefits from your food during flu season:
Variety: Whether they’re canned, frozen or fresh, adding more fruits and vegetables into your diet is a way to ensure you are getting the most nutrients and vitamins from your foods. Selecting foods from all of the food groups will also help you to get protein, calcium and fiber in your diet. “Focusing too much on one food group and not enough on others can cause deficiencies in your diet. There is no need to load up your grocery cart with special items that tout ‘immunity boosting’ benefits.”
Vitamins: Is it necessary to pop a pill to help boost immunity throughout the flu season? “Most healthy people can get the nutrients they need from food. Many vitamin C supplements promise to boost your immunity. However, most people already get enough vitamin C in their diet. Additional supplements can be a waste of money if you’re already eating enough of that vitamin or mineral.”
Food safety: During flu season, how you eat is as important as what you eat. Following food safety rules can significantly reduce your risk of illness. Washing your hands before and after food preparation is the best way to ensure that you aren’t spreading germs to others. Wash all vegetables and fruits before eating them.
Healthy Lifestyle: In addition to eating a healthy diet, get plenty of sleep every night. Physical activity is also important and part of staying healthy.
According to the American Dietetic Association, these are some tips to get vitamin-rich foods in your diet to prevent infection and help your immune system.
* Start each day with a healthy breakfast that includes whole grains and calcium-, vitamin D- and vitamin C-rich foods.
* Replace refined grains with whole grains like whole-grain breads and cereals and brown rice.
* Pre-washed salad greens and pre-cut vegetables make great quick meals or snacks.
* Choose fresh, whole fruit for snacks and desserts.
* Don’t forget beans, which are rich in fiber, folate and flavanoids.
Here are more tips. These are tips on getting the most health benefits from your food during flu season:
Variety: Whether they’re canned, frozen or fresh, adding more fruits and vegetables into your diet is a way to ensure you are getting the most nutrients and vitamins from your foods. Selecting foods from all of the food groups will also help you to get protein, calcium and fiber in your diet. “Focusing too much on one food group and not enough on others can cause deficiencies in your diet. There is no need to load up your grocery cart with special items that tout ‘immunity boosting’ benefits.”
Vitamins: Is it necessary to pop a pill to help boost immunity throughout the flu season? “Most healthy people can get the nutrients they need from food. Many vitamin C supplements promise to boost your immunity. However, most people already get enough vitamin C in their diet. Additional supplements can be a waste of money if you’re already eating enough of that vitamin or mineral.”
Food safety: During flu season, how you eat is as important as what you eat. Following food safety rules can significantly reduce your risk of illness. Washing your hands before and after food preparation is the best way to ensure that you aren’t spreading germs to others. Wash all vegetables and fruits before eating them.
Healthy Lifestyle: In addition to eating a healthy diet, get plenty of sleep every night. Physical activity is also important and part of staying healthy.
Saturday, March 6, 2010
The Go-to Meal
I love this meal so I thought I would share it in case anyone out there needs it and hasn't heard of it yet. This is a no-fail meal so is so great for guests or just a busy day. Everyone always likes it, including my pickiest eater.
Crockpot Chicken
4 Tbsp light margarine
1 pkt Italian dressing mix
About 2-3 lbs chicken, thawed and cut up
1 can cream of chicken soup
1/2 can skim milk
1 (8 oz) pkg light cream cheese
Either put thawed chicken in the crock pot, which is the quick version, or put frozen chicken and let sit in slow cooker for a couple hours with very small amt water (just to wet chicken). Sometimes, I just find it easier to throw the frozen chicken in there a couple hours before and then it gets very soft and tender and shreds itself. You can also use rotisserie chicken but you'll want to cook it perhaps the night before or all day long. So once you have your chicken cooked, you can add the margarine and the Italian dressing pkt and stir it with the chicken. In a separate bowl, mix cream of chicken soup and milk and add to the pot. Lastly, set the cream cheese on top and let it melt into the rest before stirring it up or you'll have clumps.
*Serve with pasta or rice (I prefer Penne pasta.)
*French Bread
*Garden Salad (a good salad with lots of extras is fun like red onions, broccoli, tomato, carrots, olives, croutons, etc) with light or fat-free dressing
*Cold water
Oh, if you like spicy and this seems too bland. My husband adds a chipotle pepper to it (type from can) and it gives it a spicy, smoky flavor. Gabe's family ate it that way when I made it for them this Christmas. They loved it!
Crockpot Chicken
4 Tbsp light margarine
1 pkt Italian dressing mix
About 2-3 lbs chicken, thawed and cut up
1 can cream of chicken soup
1/2 can skim milk
1 (8 oz) pkg light cream cheese
Either put thawed chicken in the crock pot, which is the quick version, or put frozen chicken and let sit in slow cooker for a couple hours with very small amt water (just to wet chicken). Sometimes, I just find it easier to throw the frozen chicken in there a couple hours before and then it gets very soft and tender and shreds itself. You can also use rotisserie chicken but you'll want to cook it perhaps the night before or all day long. So once you have your chicken cooked, you can add the margarine and the Italian dressing pkt and stir it with the chicken. In a separate bowl, mix cream of chicken soup and milk and add to the pot. Lastly, set the cream cheese on top and let it melt into the rest before stirring it up or you'll have clumps.
*Serve with pasta or rice (I prefer Penne pasta.)
*French Bread
*Garden Salad (a good salad with lots of extras is fun like red onions, broccoli, tomato, carrots, olives, croutons, etc) with light or fat-free dressing
*Cold water
Oh, if you like spicy and this seems too bland. My husband adds a chipotle pepper to it (type from can) and it gives it a spicy, smoky flavor. Gabe's family ate it that way when I made it for them this Christmas. They loved it!
Day 13 - My Nutrition Challenge Report
Ok, so it's been 2 weeks now and it's getting a little more difficult to stay focused. It's so easy to find excuses to eat poorly and not work out. This week I made it to the gym 3 times but I could have done better. I did increase my water intake which I was proud of. You just have to remember to fill up the bottle and put it in the fridge a couple times and you reach the 8 cup minimum pretty easily. Stay away from juice and drink a lot of water and you reduce your calories while subduing your appetite in between meals. It's great. This week I tried to add a new veggie into our diet. I bought and made collard greens which ended up being really good! My husband really liked them. I just cooked them with chicken broth and garlic and they turned out really well.
wt: 122 Lb (maintaining)
Mile: 9 min 52 sec
waistline: 29 in (no change) (Here is where diet really shows itself. I'm working out but still splurging on sweets, especially on the weekend. I really need to watch those extra calories.)
Energy Levels: It's getting much easier to run on the treadmill and I feel like I have more energy to work out. I still need to get more sleep and cut back on the sugar intake.
Week 3 around the corner! Yeah! Gotta keep with it!
wt: 122 Lb (maintaining)
Mile: 9 min 52 sec
waistline: 29 in (no change) (Here is where diet really shows itself. I'm working out but still splurging on sweets, especially on the weekend. I really need to watch those extra calories.)
Energy Levels: It's getting much easier to run on the treadmill and I feel like I have more energy to work out. I still need to get more sleep and cut back on the sugar intake.
Week 3 around the corner! Yeah! Gotta keep with it!
Saturday, February 27, 2010
Day 6 - Nutrition Challenge Report
Daily Food Journal:
Alright, so all week long I've been recording my food intake and I highly recommend this to anyone who is trying to lose weight, needs a good look at how healthy they are eating or just wants to know how much they consume normally. It was interesting because I knew I would be writing it down so I was a little more careful about my food choices. I felt like I wanted to make better choices because I had to take ownership for those food choices I made. So I found myself reaching for a high fat or sugary food and literally thought, no, I need to make a better choice. I recommend making a goal and telling everyone about it even if it's just out in cyberspace. By telling others, you really feel accountable to someone which drives you to be consistent and keep going. It's so easy to just tucker out and say alright that goal was a good idea but I just can't do it in reality. I'm done. No one knows, no one cares. But in sharing the goal, you really do feel a responsibility to keep at it.
This week, I ate pretty much a normal diet but I was more careful about portion sizes and didn't take 2nds or 3rds at meals. I snacked very little but tended to have dessert almost every night which I could do better on. I have such a weakness when it comes to sugary things. We had ice cream in the fridge for most of the week so it was tough to ignore. This week I didn't buy any. Problem solved! I did buy lots of yogurt and fruit so I'll be replacing it with those foods. Having the healthy foods stocked in your fridge and pantry is essential. You will reach for the things readily available. But overall, I ate a good diet of for ex. cereal for breakfast, a sandwich, fruit, carrots and milk at lunch or leftovers w/a veggie, and a balanced dinner low in fat with veggies always included. I tended to eat a ton of oranges because we still have ton on our tree. So I'm getting my Vit C! Water is still a tough one for me. I really don't drink enough and this week I'm going to carry that water bottle around better.
Gym experience:
wt: 122 lbs (I'm not sure this scale is 100% accurate, that seems like a big change.) (Typically, when weighing you want to use the same scale and at the same time of day with the same routine, so water weight and clothes, etc. don't play a role.)
Mon- 30 min cardio including 1/2 mile run in over 5.5 min, weight trained-legs and glutes, abs
Tues - 20 min cardio including 1 mile run - 10 min 55 sec, arms, abs
Fri - 30 min cardio including 1 mile run - 10 min 15 sec, chest, shoulders, back, abs
Sat - 30 min cardio including 1 mile run - 9 min 50 sec, abs
I was pretty sore after the 1st 2 days so I took a little break (also had some scheduling problems) then went back to the gym and am still pretty sore. It feels good though to be working out again. I feel more positive about myself and my life. Endorphins kickin' in! I don't feel like I have tons of energy, actually, I feel pretty beat but I know it will improve as I get used to working out and get in better shape. I also need to stop thinking about houses at 10:30 at night, it tends to keep me up into the wee hours. So overall, a great week!
Alright, so all week long I've been recording my food intake and I highly recommend this to anyone who is trying to lose weight, needs a good look at how healthy they are eating or just wants to know how much they consume normally. It was interesting because I knew I would be writing it down so I was a little more careful about my food choices. I felt like I wanted to make better choices because I had to take ownership for those food choices I made. So I found myself reaching for a high fat or sugary food and literally thought, no, I need to make a better choice. I recommend making a goal and telling everyone about it even if it's just out in cyberspace. By telling others, you really feel accountable to someone which drives you to be consistent and keep going. It's so easy to just tucker out and say alright that goal was a good idea but I just can't do it in reality. I'm done. No one knows, no one cares. But in sharing the goal, you really do feel a responsibility to keep at it.
This week, I ate pretty much a normal diet but I was more careful about portion sizes and didn't take 2nds or 3rds at meals. I snacked very little but tended to have dessert almost every night which I could do better on. I have such a weakness when it comes to sugary things. We had ice cream in the fridge for most of the week so it was tough to ignore. This week I didn't buy any. Problem solved! I did buy lots of yogurt and fruit so I'll be replacing it with those foods. Having the healthy foods stocked in your fridge and pantry is essential. You will reach for the things readily available. But overall, I ate a good diet of for ex. cereal for breakfast, a sandwich, fruit, carrots and milk at lunch or leftovers w/a veggie, and a balanced dinner low in fat with veggies always included. I tended to eat a ton of oranges because we still have ton on our tree. So I'm getting my Vit C! Water is still a tough one for me. I really don't drink enough and this week I'm going to carry that water bottle around better.
Gym experience:
wt: 122 lbs (I'm not sure this scale is 100% accurate, that seems like a big change.) (Typically, when weighing you want to use the same scale and at the same time of day with the same routine, so water weight and clothes, etc. don't play a role.)
Mon- 30 min cardio including 1/2 mile run in over 5.5 min, weight trained-legs and glutes, abs
Tues - 20 min cardio including 1 mile run - 10 min 55 sec, arms, abs
Fri - 30 min cardio including 1 mile run - 10 min 15 sec, chest, shoulders, back, abs
Sat - 30 min cardio including 1 mile run - 9 min 50 sec, abs
I was pretty sore after the 1st 2 days so I took a little break (also had some scheduling problems) then went back to the gym and am still pretty sore. It feels good though to be working out again. I feel more positive about myself and my life. Endorphins kickin' in! I don't feel like I have tons of energy, actually, I feel pretty beat but I know it will improve as I get used to working out and get in better shape. I also need to stop thinking about houses at 10:30 at night, it tends to keep me up into the wee hours. So overall, a great week!
Thursday, February 25, 2010
A Colorful Diet
While studying dietetics, I received some experience in catering. In catering, presentation is everything! Part of the eating experience happens before the food ever reaches your mouth. If it doesn't look appetizing, it won't be as enjoyable. Something really important when considering a meal is the color scheme. For example, you never want to serve Swiss Chicken, mashed potatoes and cauliflower! This would be an all white meal and very bland and unappetizing to the eye. It's so important to have a colorful meal. A great way to do this is to have a very colorful vegetable. In general, you want to color your daily diet with fruits and vegetables.
Here are some examples of nutrient rich foods in each color category:
Green
Veggies
ex. Kale, Spinach, Leafy Greens (Turnip, Collard, Mustard), Romaine, Lettuce, Broccoli, Green Peas, Cabbage, Brussels, Sprouts, Bok Choy, Arugala, Swiss Chard, Turnips, Rutabaga, Watercress, Kale
Fruit
ex. Kiwifruit, Honeydew Melon
Orange
Veggies
ex. Carrots, Sweet Potatoes, Pumpkin, Butternut Squash, Yellow Pepper
Fruit
ex. Cantaloupe, Mangoes, Apricots, Peaches, Oranges, Grapefruit, Lemons, Tangerines, Clementines,Papaya, Apricots, Nectarines, Pears, Pineapple
Red
Veggies
ex. Tomato-based products, Fresh Tomato, Beets, Red Cabbage, Red Onion
Fruit
ex. Watermelon,Pink Grapefruit,Guava, Raspberries, Cherries, Strawberries, Cranberries, Red Apples
Blue/Purple
Veggies
ex. Eggplant
Fruit
ex. Blueberries, Blackberries, Purple Grapes, Prunes, Raisins, Plums
White
Veggies
ex. Garlic, Onions, Leeks, Scallions, Chives
Here are some examples of nutrient rich foods in each color category:
Green
Veggies
ex. Kale, Spinach, Leafy Greens (Turnip, Collard, Mustard), Romaine, Lettuce, Broccoli, Green Peas, Cabbage, Brussels, Sprouts, Bok Choy, Arugala, Swiss Chard, Turnips, Rutabaga, Watercress, Kale
Fruit
ex. Kiwifruit, Honeydew Melon
Orange
Veggies
ex. Carrots, Sweet Potatoes, Pumpkin, Butternut Squash, Yellow Pepper
Fruit
ex. Cantaloupe, Mangoes, Apricots, Peaches, Oranges, Grapefruit, Lemons, Tangerines, Clementines,Papaya, Apricots, Nectarines, Pears, Pineapple
Red
Veggies
ex. Tomato-based products, Fresh Tomato, Beets, Red Cabbage, Red Onion
Fruit
ex. Watermelon,Pink Grapefruit,Guava, Raspberries, Cherries, Strawberries, Cranberries, Red Apples
Blue/Purple
Veggies
ex. Eggplant
Fruit
ex. Blueberries, Blackberries, Purple Grapes, Prunes, Raisins, Plums
White
Veggies
ex. Garlic, Onions, Leeks, Scallions, Chives
Continuing Nutrition Challenge
I am continuing to keep a daily food log on my personal calendar and I'm going to the gym and noting my experiences there as well. Each Saturday, I'll blog about my experiences from the week.
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