Paleo Chili

It was extremely cold over here in Florida today...well, in the high 40s at least at night time (yeah...I've lived in California and Florida my entire life..that's cold!)

Nothing is better on a cold night than warming up by the fire, drinking a cup of hot chocolate, and enjoying a nice hot soup for dinner. Unfortunately, I live in Florida...no fireplace. Hot chocolate is not my favorite, unless made from scratch. So, I went for the hot soup.

As you know, the Fiance is still on his Paleo diet. But I really wanted to make a chili, so I made up a bean-less version of it! Now, this isn't spicy, I do no spice right now since I'm breastfeeding, but it was still delicious!

Paleo Chili

serves 6-8 

Ingredients:

1lb ground turkey
1/2 yellow onion, chopped
2tbsp. butter
2tbsp. garlic, minced or powder
1 green bell pepper, chopped
1 orange/yellow bell pepper, chopped
1 large sweet potato, chopped
4 tomatoes
1 small can tomato paste
1 container chicken stock
1c. water
4tbsp. chili powder
4tsp. cinnamon
2tbsp. salt

Directions:

1. In a large pot over medium heat, mix your tomato paste and chicken stock together, until smooth. Chop the tomatoes, and add to the pot. Set it to simmer.

2. In a large pan, melt your butter on medium-high heat, and sauté onion for a minute. Add ground turkey, and brown it. Once browned, add your turkey and onion to the pot, as well as the rest of your ingredients. Let simmer for at least 30 minutes. (The longer it cooks, the better the flavor).

Keeping Thin During Pregnancy

Many of women's biggest fear during pregnancy (besides the fear of actually giving birth!), is weight gain. I know that right when I found out I was pregnant, I started watching everything that I was eating even more carefully, and weighing myself night and day. I was pretty disappointed when I realized that I was going to gain weight no matter what, because I had been on such a healthy track, and shedding pounds like it was nothing.

During my 41 week pregnancy, I managed to gain 38 pounds, most of that happening at the very end of the 2nd trimester and the 3rd. Here's me at 40weeks pregnant, and then me at 2 weeks postpartum. I've lost 25 pounds so far!

I think the trick to not having gained a lot of weight during pregnancy, and then losing so much weight so fast, boils down to a couple of things...

1. You are NOT eating for 2.

     It drove me crazy when people complained that I wasn't eating enough. No, I was eating just the right amount for me. When you get pregnant, this is not an allowance to just eat whatever you want... I've read that you can eat up to 300 calories more than you normally eat. And think about it...at the beginning, you're feeding a baby that's the size of a blueberry...and at the end, you're feeding a baby that's the size of a small pumpkin. He/She does NOT need all that much. They will get the nutrients they need from you no matter what, just make sure you're eating well for yourself.

2. SPLURGE...every once in a while.

     I was so careful about watching what I ate, but I would still get the every now and then craving for chocolate, or ice cream. My go to favorite snack was Publix Sorbet, it didn't matter what flavor. But when I tried to hold myself off from eating those cravings, all I found was that I thought about that craving more than ever! So splurge, you soon to be mommy. Don't deny yourself those goodies every now and then.

3. Eat what you want! 

    The key to this is moderation! Now, I'm not saying eat only Little Debbie snacks, or pizza all the time. But I never calorie counted throughout my pregnancy, I just ate what I felt like eating, but listened to my body. One of the tricks to eating in moderation, is to eat slowly. Listen to your stomach, your body will let you know when you're full, but when you scarf your food down, it's harder to hear what your stomach is saying until it's too late...we've all had those nights, where after we eat, we need a wheelchair to even get around ;)

Now for losing the weight after baby....

4. Remember to Eat!

    Mom...you're going to be tired. Way tired than you've ever been in your entire life. Of course, it's all worth it when you get that little smile at 4am after your baby feeds...

My little booger smiling after his 4am feeding..

But one of the most important things to remember is to eat, even if it's something you grab on your trip around the house while you rock your baby to sleep. When you're reaching in the fridge though, grab an apple, or a handful of nuts. If you go for a cinnamon roll or a quick cookie, you won't lose that weight, your body will hang on to those calories because it doesn't know when it's going to eat again. Having a baby is stressful, but you've got to remember to take care of your body :)

5. Walk!

     As soon as you can, start going for walks. It's one of the easiest exercises, and it feels AMAZING to get out of your house! Even if it's just a 20-30 minute stroll around the neighborhood, anything is better than sitting on the couch. And it always gives me that boost of energy that I need at 2 in the afternoon.

6. Breastfeed.

    Now, I completely understand that it doesn't work for everyone...it's hard as crap! Sometimes I feel like there isn't enough lanolin in the world to keep my nipples from constantly feeling so sore (sorry, maybe TMI?), but if you can, do it. Breastfeeding can burn up to 600 calories a day. I've read online (I found it online, so it MUST be true, haha), that you burn about 3 calories a minute breastfeeding. And it's so good for your baby! Also, I feel extremely close to my baby boy while breastfeeding him, it's our own special time that he doesn't get with anyone else....

So these are just a few tricks that I used. Of course, I'm not perfect, and I'm not doctor, but these are just what I've tested and what has worked for me. Good luck, and congratulations on becoming a new mom :)

Homemade Peanut Butter Cups

So I haven't posted in over a month...and this is why :))

This is Oliver, the new love of my life. But having this beautiful new addition to our lives leaves little time for anything else...and leaves me extremely tired!!

Ever since he was born, my cravings for foods have been slightly odd. In the hospital, I wouldn't even eat any room service. Instead, I ate the free graham crackers they offered, day and night. Lately, I've had a craving for chocolate and peanut butter. I'm not a fan of chocolate candies, but thoughts of Reese's Peanut Butter Cups have been floating in my head for days, and I knew I had to do something about it before I sank my teeth into one of those 210 calorie, articifical preservative laden, delicious treats....so I made my own!

Homemade Peanut Butter Cups

makes 6 peanut butter cups

Ingredients:
2c. dark chocolate
4tbsp. milk
1.5tbsp. peanut butter
1tsp. honey
1 crushed graham cracker


Directions:

1. Place chocolate chips and milk into a microwave safe bowl, and heat for 30 seconds, stirring after the first 15seconds. Chocolate may not be melted all the way, but stir continuously, and it will melt perfectly.

2. Pour a thin layer of chocolate into muffin/cupcake tins in a cupcake or muffin pan. Refrigerate to let the chocolate harden.

3. While chocolate cools, mix peanut butter, graham cracker and honey together. Spoon peanut butter on top of chocolate, and spread. Add the rest of the chocolate on top of the peanut butter (you may need to melt chocolate for another 15 seconds). Let cool for at least 10-15 minutes, then serve.


I used dark chocolate because it's much better for you than milk chocolate. These are amazing though, not super sweet, but enough to fill that chocolate craving. Enjoy :))

Eggplant Manicotti

Last night, we had a dinner night with one of our couple friends, who are vegetarians! For me, picking out vegetarian meals are so difficult...I couldn't imagine a life without chicken..seafood...and nice, juicy, medium rare steak (I can NOT wait till I get enjoy these little things in life again...43 more days till Ollie's here, god willing).

Since I've been in the mood for a nice italian dish lately, I decided to switch it up a bit. My favorite italian dish is manicotti, I used to love when my mom made this, it was my favorite meal when I was little. Except this time, I made it with Eggplant, and it turned out pretty good, if I do say so myself.

Eggplant Manicotti

Ingredients:

3 eggplants
1/2 container mushrooms
Pasta Sauce
Basil
about 8-10oz of Ricotta Cheese
Mozzarella Cheese
Salt, Pepper
Minced Garlic
Olive Oil
1c. Heavy Cream


Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
2. Slice eggplant into long thin slices. If you have a mandolin, I'd suggest using this to get your slices perfect, but I just used a knife and my keen slicing techniques...haha.
3. Brush eggplant with olive oil, place on a well oiled pan, and bake in the oven about 10 minutes, or until eggplant is tender and pliable. Let cool for a couple of minutes.
4. While eggplant is baking, chop your mushrooms and basil, and mix it into a bowl with the ricotta cheese, and a handful of mozzarella. Here, add any seasonings you want, but I just added some salt and pepper.
5. In a baking dish, place a thin layer of pasta sauce at the bottom, until it just covers it, and set aside.
6. On a plate or a cutting board, lay out a couple of slices of eggplant. Take a spoonful of your ricotta mixture, and place it at the widest end of your eggplant. Roll the eggplant up, tucking and making sure not too much ricotta mixture comes out of the sides. Lay the eggplant roll in the Pasta sauce, seam side down. Repeat with the rest of your eggplant.

7. Once pan is full, pour a tablespoon of heavy cream over each of your eggplant rolls, then sprinkle with cheese.
8. Bake your manicotti for about 20 minutes, and serve!

Sausage, Butternut Squash, and Brussel Sprouts

This weekend was a CRAAZZZYY weekend for Gus and me, between family, our "winter cleaning", and finishing up baby Ollie's room. Last night, he took me to the movies to watch the Hobbit (I have to admit, despite all of my protesting, it wasn't THAT bad), and by the time we got home from the never-ending movie, it was already 9, so I whipped up something real fast for us. And lo and behold, I tried out this recipe I found last week from this lady's paleo website, Jen's Gone Paleo. It was quite easy, and delicious!

Sausage, Butternut Squash, and Brussel Sprouts

Ingredients

1 container of Pork Sausage (I used the Jimmy Dean in the roll sausage)

1 medium butternut squash

10oz Brussel Sprouts

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 375degrees F.

2. In a medium pan on medium heat, cook the sausage until browned (Doesn't need to be fully cooked, as it will cook in the oven). Drain and set aside.

3. Peel, de-seed, and chop the butternut squash into bite sized cubes.

4. Mix the butternut squash, brussel sprouts, and sausage onto one large baking pan, then cook for about an hour, or until the veggies are fully cooked.

Afterwards, I sprinkled some salt, pepper, and italian seasoning on it. And of course, Gus sprinkled cheese, because "No meal is complete without cheese"! Enjoy :)

Thai Chicken Curry Soup

This past Sunday, Gus and I were in food heaven...or Sam's Club, as most people call it. I've had a card for quite a while, but only to get the cheaper gas, or to run and grab random items for parties. But that day, we decided to walk...the ENTIRE store, after my 40 minute yoga session. Talk about a prego workout haha.

So we browsed for a while...and sampled, a lot...and browsed some more. Then got to the grocery section, and found nice, quality chicken breasts for $1.77/lb! And we bought enough to last the entire week haha.

So when I got home, I pondered meal plans and ideas I'd use for this week. I've been in a Chinese-wanting phase, and decided to go with a healthy asian, and did this...Thai Chicken Curry Soup. Delicious! And it was Paleo friendly... now don't get discouraged, you can make it as spicy as you'd like, or not spicy at all, just be prepared for an amazing, healthy and filling dinner.

Thai Chicken Curry Soup

Ingredients: 

3 chicken breasts, chopped
1 green or red pepper
1/2 an onion
3tbsp minced garlic
6oz mushrooms
Red curry paste
1tbsp. Yellow Curry powder
1 bag of fresh spinach
2 cans Coconut Milk
2c. Chicken Broth
Olive Oil
1tbsp. Salt
1tbsp. Pepper
2tbsp. lime juice
Green onions

Directions:

1. Chop all the vegetables into bite sized pieces, then set aside.
2. Heat a small amount, about 1tbsp, of olive oil in a large pot over medium heat, and add 1tbsp of red curry paste, 2tbsp if you'd like it a little spicier. Saute onion and garlic until fragrant, then add chicken and brown for about 4-5 minutes. Add peppers and mushrooms, and continue to cook for another 2 minutes.
3. Add chicken broth, coconut milk, curry powder, salt, and pepper, and lime juice, and let simmer for at least 30 minutes on low-medium heat. The longer you let it cook, the more flavorful it will become, and the thicker it will become. **If soup is not desired thickness, add a cup of hot soup to 1tbsp of flour, mix well until dissolved, then add to soup, and let cook at least ten minutes longer to get rid of any flour taste**
4. At the last moment, stir in spinach, so it won't become too wilted, then top with chopped green onions. Serve as desired. We added a dollop of sour cream to the mix, made it even more delicious!

Enjoy :)

Cinnamon Roll Puffs

I was craving something light and sweet this afternoon, and thankfully today I'm working from home...so I decided to take a little break and rummage through the fridge. Unfortunately, my fridge is pretty much full of dairy products, leftovers and vegetables (no lie, 2 gallons of milk, sour cream, yogurt, eggs, a drawer full of vegetables, and leftover lasagna... I think it's time to go grocery shopping).

But lo and behold, I found a can of biscuits hiding in my door, and it hadn't expired yet, so my brain got to turning...and I came up with these delicacies. While they may not be the exact definition of healthy, you have to give in to your cravings every once in a while, right?!

Cinnamon Roll Puffs

Ingredients:

1 can of biscuits (I used the regular small can with 10 biscuits)

Sugar

Cinnamon

3tbsp butter, melted.

Directions:

1. Preheat the oven to 450degrees F.

2. Using your fingers or a rolling pin, flatten each of the biscuits out into a small circle.

3. In the middle of the biscuit, brush melted butter onto biscuits. Then sprinkle sugar and cinnamon in the middle.

4. Fold the biscuit edges up and pinch in the middle to make a little puff, then flip it over to see only the smooth side. 

5. Place on a greased pan, and sprinkle cinnamon and sugar on top. Bake for 6-8 minutes, or until top is golden brown.


These were so good, and the dough reminded me of pretzels..next time, i'm going to just sprinkle some kosher salt on top and forego the sweets!

Cauliflower and Chicken Mac n Cheese Casserole

I posted about a healthy twist to Mac n Cheese the other day, but last night, we decided to change it up a bit, and I must say, it was delicious!! I'm guessing Gus thought so too, there was hardly any leftovers, and it went right along with his Paleo Diet.

This recipe is the perfect size for 2-4 people, depending on how hungry you are, and if you have anything else on the side!

*Just a helpful tip, make sure you have everything ready to go, this recipe moves quick!*

Cauliflower and Chicken Mac'n'Cheese Casserole

Ingredients:

• 1 head of cauliflower
• 2 chicken breasts, chopped into bite size pieces
• 1/2 an onion, chopped
• 2tbsp. minced garlic
• cayenne pepper
• salt
• pepper
• basil
• 2tbsp. butter
• 3tbsp. flour
• 2c. Milk
• 2c. Cheese
• 2 egg yolks
• extra cheese to sprinkle on top

Directions:

1. Start a pot of salted water on high to bring to a boil.

2. While waiting for water to boil, sauté onion and garlic with butter in pan till fragrant, then add chicken, cayenne pepper, salt, pepper, and basil
 

3. Brown chicken on all sides, then remove pan from heat

4.Preheat oven to 350degrees F.

5.Once water boils, add cauliflower, and boil for four minutes, or AT least before it starts to get mushy (I did about 3minutes) Drain, but reserve 1/2c of liquid for the sauce.

6. Set the pot back on the stove, and turn burner up to medium heat. Melt butter slowly, then add flour and whisk for about 4 minutes. *You're making a roux, and you want to cook as long as possible, to get rid of the flour taste*

7. Add milk and 1/2c of cauliflower liquid, and stir constantly until sauce begins to thicken, about 8-10 minutes. Whisk in the egg yolks and cheese until cheese melts, then take off the burner.

8. In a casserole dish, layer your cauliflower and chicken on the bottom, and then pour cheese sauce over the top. Here, you can sprinkle some bread crumbs on top if you'd like, or do like we did, and sprinkle some more cheese..you can never have too much cheese, right?! ;)

9. Bake casserole for about 20 minutes, then serve it up!!

Yoga with a Belly...

As this pregnancy continues (31 weeks now!), I find myself getting larger...and larger...and, weighing in after my two Christmas dinners, I'm up to 24 pounds, holy moly. So I decided an hour of intense prenatal yoga would do the body some good.

Now yoga is very safe, but just like anything during these 9 months, consult a doctor to see if it's okay for you. Yoga can do wonders for your body, it can help:

• Relieve Edema (fluid retention) and cramping
• Reduce nausea, morning sickness, and those mood swings we hear about..
• Relieve tension around the cervix and birth canal
• Focus on opening the pelvis to make labor easier and quicker

I ventured out to world wide web today, haha, to try out some new yoga videos, besides my dvds that Gus got me. I have to say, most of them were EXTREMELY cheesy, very old school with the music that makes me want to laugh instead of breathing in and out deeply. But then, I tried checking out Hulu. I have a Hulu subscription because I refuse to pay 120/month for the few shows that I do watch...besides, Gossip Girl is done for forever, and The Walking Dead isn't even back on for another couple of months!

If you have cable, try out Hulu Plus. I put it on my Roku, and my Playstation3, and they have all kinds of yoga classes on there! Here's a link to the ones I did today, Yoga Zone and Gaiam Yoga. Now, it's no live class, where you can feel the positive energy in the air, but just make your own. And with the calm of this thunderstorm outside the windows, Oliver and I had a peaceful mind and body stretching this morning that hopefully helped lose some of the calories I ingested yesterday :/

Next, I'm going to try some meditiation...but for now, Happy Stretching!

Marsala Pork Chops

So we've been in Alabama the past couple of days, visiting my father, taking our LAST trip baby free!! It was an 8 hour drive, and I just can't imagine what that would be like with a newborn in the back..I think i'd love it, and hate it all at once.

But just because we're traveling, doesn't mean we can't eat healthy! Well, semi-healthy. Gus has been craving Chicken Marsala, and my father's favorite food is Pork chops, so we combined the two, and used Gus's memory. It was delicious, and fresh tasting...soo good. I'm going to go ahead and apologize for the photos, we've been on the road, my camera was dead, so I was using my sister's Iphone..and that's all I have to say about that, ha!

Marsala Pork Chops

Ingredients:

4 pork chops
1c Flour
.5c Milk
2tsp salt
2tsp pepper
2tsp paprika
2 Shallots
2tbsp minced garlic
1c mushrooms
2c Marsala Wine
Unsalted Butter
Fresh chopped parsley, for decoration (and to add a fresh taste to your food)

Directions:

1. Heat oven to 350degrees F. In a bowl, combine your flour, salt, pepper, and paprika and mix well. Dip pork chops into milk, then straight into flour mixture, and set aside.

2.  Slice mushrooms into thin pieces, as well as shallots.

3. Slice butter into 1/2tbsp pieces, and heat up in pan on the stove. Pan should be hot, we're going to pan sear the pork chops. **You might want to turn on a fan, it could get a little smokey!** Pan sear each piece of floured pork, adding more butter as necessary, so as not to let pork stick to bottom of pan. Set aside all pork into a baking dish.

4. Heat 2 more tablespoons of butter in pan, and saute garlic and shallots until fragrant, then add in mushrooms, and cook for two minutes, stirring constantly. Add marsala wine, and let the mixture simmer for about five minutes. 

5. Pour wine sauce mixture over pork chops, and then bake in oven for 10-15 minutes, depending on the thickness of your pork chops. Pork should be 165degrees Fahrenheit, don't let it overcook! Pork can get dry pretty fast.

6. Take out of the oven and serve immediately, with fresh parsley on top :)

Everyone loved this recipe, even my 9 year old little brother. You can't go wrong with a mixture of smothered pork chops, chicken marsala, and having a fresh, healthy dinner!

My favorite Snickerdoodle recipe...ever!

So yesterday, I had a doctor's appointment for Oliver, a standard check up. Usually, I like to reward myself for making it through another weigh in, and hearing the doctor's slightly condescending tone when she says, "Oh, you've gained another pound....". So last night, I decided to make snickerdoodles on a whim!

Now, I used to have a recipe memorized, but because of my prego brain, all I could remember was flour, sugar, butter...a good start, but not enough to make an amazing cookie. So I googled, and googled some more, and found three different recipes that had great reviews...then combined them, and tweaked them a little, and ended up with this crazy delicious, soft and chewy Snickerdoodle: (Excuse the picture, I had a split second to take an iphone snapshot while running out the door to work this morning)

Snickerdoodles

Makes about 24 Cookies

Ingredients:

1 stick butter (1/2c)
3/4C Sugar
1tsp. vanilla
1 Egg
1 1/3C flour
1tsp lemon juice
1/2tsp baking soda
pinch of salt
Sugar and Cinnamon (to roll the cookies)


Directions:

1. Preheat the oven to 400degrees F.
2. Cream the butter and sugar till light and fluffy. Add in the vanilla, lemon juice, and the egg, and mix until fully combined.
3. In a separate bowl, sift the dry ingredients together. Slowly add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients. Cookie dough will be moist, DO NOT add more flour, it'll be okay ;)
4. Have a separate bowl with sugar and cinnamon ready, and roll small pieces (or big pieces, whatever size you'd like) into balls, and roll into cinnamon sugar concoction. Place cookies on well greased/parchment lined pan at least 1 inch apart. Press down lightly on cookies with fingers or a flat cup to flatten the cookies slightly.
5. Bake for about 7-8 minutes, till edges start to get hard, then remove from oven. Cookies will continue to cook on pan, then after five minutes, remove onto a cookie rack.

These cookies turned out so chewy and delicious, I couldn't help myself and had two with a cup of hot cocoa. Enjoy!

Eating Healthy While Pregnant

It's been a while since I've been on here, and it's because I'm very silly...and forgetful now! Of course, it's no excuse, butttttt.... I am expecting a little boy! Meet Oliver :) 

That was him at 18 weeks. I am now 30 weeks, and gaining ounces by the second it feels. I sadly let go of my healthy living lifestyle for a bit, but I'm back to it for a couple of reasons: A. I missed blogging and learning more about myself and new delicious things for me to eat. B. I've hit the 20 pound weight gain mark, and am not feeling too excited about that. 

They tell you that you can't eat all kinds of delicious things when you're pregnant...yep, no more Brie and crackers, or pigs in a blanket [like how I went from keeping it classy, to kicking it old school? ;)]. I've also been told multiple times, "You're eating for 2 now!".

So while I feel hungry enough to eat for 20, I know that it's time to get back to eating clean. My fiance is living a paleo lifestyle, so it's not too hard to keep it healthy in our fridge. Besides my  prenatal yoga and walks, I've cut back on my carbs, and have found a few delicious recipes on the way.

My favorite so far is a spin on a classic...Mac'n'Cheese. I know, i know, "cutting back on carbs my butt" you might be thinking, but check this out:

Mac and Cheese Style Cauliflower

Ingredients

8C. Cauliflower Florets
2Tbsp. Butter
3Tbsp. Flour
2C. Milk
1tsp. garlic powder
2C. grated cheddar cheese
Cayenne pepper
2 egg yolks
Salt & Pepper

Instructions: 

1. Preheat the oven to 375degrees F. Bring a large pot of water to a boil and add cauliflower.
2. Boil cauliflower for about 4 minutes (I get mine to the point of almost tender, so as not to be mushy for the end result). Drain, but reserve 1/2 cup of the cauliflower water. Set cauliflower to the side.
3. In that same hot pan, melt the butter over medium heat, then whisk in the flour and cook for about 2 minutes, as to get rid of the flour taste. Whisk in the milk and cauliflower water, and cook for about 7-10 minutes, whisking every now and then, until sauce thickens.
4. Remove the sauce from the heat, and stir in the cheese, cayenne pepper, garlic powder, and egg yolks until the cheese is melted.
5. Layer cauliflower in a baking pan, and pour cheese sauce on top, spreading evenly. Bake for 20 minutes. Serve with some grilled chicken or a thick juicy steak (Well done of course, if you're prego!)

Spinach Artichoke and Cream Cheese Stuffed Chicken

Every time I go to make an elaborate dinner (and by elaborate, I mean, not grilled chicken and veggies, or something plain and similar), I always look to pinterest. But this time, I couldn't find anything that I wanted to make! So I came up with my own recipe...which I then found later, a little different than how I made it, but very similar. 

It really was pretty simple, and EVERYONE loved it. Please try it out, and let me know if you have any thoughts to changing it up a little bit.

Ingredients:

5 Boneless Chicken Breasts
1 8oz package of light cream cheese (Neufchatel)
1 cup of fresh spinach leaves
1 6oz jar of Artichoke Hearts
Fresh minced garlic
Panko Bread Crumbs
Toothpicks

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 375 F.
2. Pound out grilled chicken till flat and spread thin, then set aside
3. Heat cream cheese in microwave for 45 seconds, allowing it to warm and become soft and easy to mix.
4. Chop artichoke hearts, then add artichokes and garlic to cream cheese and mix well.
5. Here you can switch it up. My chicken wasn't very large, so I chopped my spinach in to thirds and mixed it in with the cream cheese. Or you can just layer it in the chicken before adding cream cheese, to leave the leaves whole.
6. Place a scoop of spinach and cream cheese mixture at the top of the thinned out chicken, and then roll up, stuffing the cream cheese in the middle in case it starts to spill out of the sides (DON'T BE AFRAID TO GET YOUR HANDS A LITTLE MESSY...JUST MAKE SURE THEY'RE WASHED!)
7. After chicken is rolled up, place a toothpick through it to keep the chicken together and rolled up.
8. Roll chicken in the panko bread crumbs. It should stick to the sides lightly because of the wet chicken, without the need for an egg base. If you're chicken has dried and the panko is not sticking to the chicken as well, dip into a beaten egg mixture before dipping in panko.
8. Bake chicken on oiled pan in oven for about 35 minutes, then serve.

This is an extremely light and flavorful meal...you might want to double it, your family WILL want more!

4th of July...Get Drunk, Not Fat.

I'm not sure what it is about America...but give us any holiday (4th of July, MLK Day, Christmas...oh wait, it's a Chinese New Year?! Sure, add that in too), and we will drink to it. We love to celebrate any cause. Unfortunately, when you're dieting, those holidays can waste away those past couple of weeks of weight loss you've spent all your time and energy on.


I just found this new website, and am in love. It's called Get Drunk, not Fat. So thanks to these people, I am able to give you ways to...well...get drunk and not fat, this 4th of July.

1. Rum and Diet (Or CokeZero). A normal drink is about 2 oz of liquor to about 1 cup of mixer. Really, however much you'd like. 1 glass= 115 calories.

2. Sour Apple Martini. Mix 2.5oz of sour mix, 3/4oz of three olive vodka, 3/4oz sour apple liqueur (not midori!), shake until cold and serve up. Only 160 calories!

3. Champagne. A 4oz glass of that yummy bubbly is 85 calories. 

4. Michelob Ultra. If you're a beer drinker, you know that it's almost impossible to find a low calorie good tasting beer. But if you want a lighter beer, go for a Mich Ultra at 95 calories.

5. Yuengling Premium Light. I'm proud to say, we've got our own Yuengling brewery right here in great ol' Tampa Bay. A nice yuengling light will only set you back 99 calories. I'll have to give this one a try!

So happy drinking to you! Of course, everything in moderation, and don't drink and drive :)

Check out this website:

www.Getdrunknotfat.com

Back to Blogging...and Down Weight!

Things have been crazy in my life since the end of the last semester. It's definitely been a journey this past month, and I have some excellent news to share soon!
But throughout my insane schedule (which of course mostly involved school and social life, and the occasional DIY nights), I've managed to keep up with my weight loss. I'm happy to say, that I've lost a total of 19 pounds...the right way! 
And it's all thanks to exercising at least three times a week with some light weight training, and eating under 1200 calories a day. Which might seem extremely hard, but it wasn't too bad at all.


My biggest tip for keeping under 1200 calories a day, was to snack a LOT. I know...sounds weird right? But whenever I was hungry, I would constantly keep something around to munch on till I got full. Here's some excellent yummy snack foods to try out:

1. Tomatoes: You can cut up an entire tomato and snack on it with some light salt and pepper...i think it's so good! And only 22 calories for one medium sized tomato!

2. Cantaloupe: This has been my FAVORITE snack. It cures that sweet tooth, and fills you up so fast! The great thing is...one cup of cubed cantaloupe is only 54 calories.

3. Pretzel Sticks: I buy the Rold Gold Pretzel sticks, and I'll munch on those during snack time. This helps out the salty cravings, and 53 pretzels is only 100 calories.

4. Pistachios: These were a once in a while snack, mostly because about 45 nuts has 160 calories, and it doesn't make you full fast...but they taste oh so yummy. It's also a great source of fiber.

My thing is, when I have these snacks, I set aside portions to bring to work with me, not the entire bag and then just eat from that. That's where I always go wrong, and by the time I've noticed, I've eaten almost an entire bag of pistachios or half the bag of pretzels. Combine this snacking with carbs eaten earlier in the day and good sources of protein and fruits and veggies, and you'll see the pounds come off easily :)

The Easiest Way to Lose Weight.

I've been given the task of losing as much weight as possible. My job has just started a Biggest Loser Competition (Jackpot so far of $350, and growing)! Thankfully I work for a small company, and I am in the lead right now...competition is definitely a huge push for me, I HATE losing. And it's easy for me, because I've figured out what to do..


But when it comes to dieting, most people put it off for days...weeks...even months...or just give up altogether. Because we think that dieting means, expensive foods, feeling hungry all the time, and having to give up our favorite snacks. But it's not that difficult! The secret is to just keep track of what you eat. I've done this, and have lost 9 pounds so far, beating everyone's weight loss of 0-3 pounds! And the best way i've been able to do it is with this program:

This program/app lets you say how much weight you want to lose a week (up to two pounds) and then finds out what you're daily routine is, how many calories you lose just from that routine, and how much you'd have to work out and eat to acheive your goal. The best parts about it for me are:

1. You can add your friends, so it's like you're losing weight with them...big motivator! And no one else has to see what you weigh, it just shows how many pounds you've lost. My log-in is Jloche89 in case anyone wants a friend to help motivate.

2. It's an App on your phone, so you can scan the barcode of items you're going to eat, and it'll tell you how many calories are in the serving.

3. It has a HUGE database...everything i've ever eaten is already in there!

4. I push myself to eat less and workout more.

Keeping track of your weight is one way to eat less, because you constantly get to see what you're taking in. This program allows you to see how many calories each item is, and tells you how much more you can eat to lose a certain amount of weight. The benefits of keeping a "food diary" are numerous, and the end result is so rewarding!

Spring Clean Your Body.

I haven't blogged in so long, finals have been killing me. I don't know about you, but when I have major due dates looming ahead, and hours of work and research and studying to do... I tend to focus on that so much, that I don't focus on what i'm putting into my body. Which made me literally feel like crap! I was tired constantly, it was hard to focus, and I felt myself needing to become energized from food, coffee, or red bulls. 


So I've decided, it's time to give my body a little bit of spring cleaning before Summer hits! Here are a couple of recipes to detox all that bad stuff you may have just put into your body like I just did :/


1. Soy Milk Smoothie: 

Ingredients:
-1 pear, peeled
-1 banana, peeled
-1/4c plain greek yogurt
-1/4c plain or vanilla soymilk
-2 tbsp. flax seeds.


Directions:
Blend all together.


Why This Helps:
Pears are full of water-soluble fiber, which helps you feel fuller on less calories, and, along with the flaxseeds, will help your digestion system immensely.




2. Garlic-y Mushrooms, Chicken and Kale


Ingredients:
-2 chicken breasts, chopped
-1 pound of chopped kale, without stems
-8 ounces of mushrooms (portabello are the best for flavor)
-6 garlic cloves minced
-Olive Oil


Directions:
1. Brown the cut chicken pieces in a pan, then set aside.
2. Using the olive oil, saute the minced garlic and mushrooms in a pan for about two minutes, or until aroma spreads (yummm). Add in the Kale and make sure to stir often, as to not let one side of the kale get overcooked.
3. At the last minute, add in the chicken and and keep cooking until kale has softened (it will reduce a lot), then serve.


Why This Helps:
Kale is an EXCELLENT source of antioxidants and fiber. It's an excellent source of beta-carotene which has been known to be a major player in the battle against heart disease and cancer), and also contains caroteniods (that protect your eyes from UV rays and cataracts).


3. Mediterranean Quinoa


Ingredients:
-1c quinoa
-2c vegetable broth
-1tbsp olive oil
-1 small red onion, finely chopped
-3 cups of chopped kale, without stems
-1/2c pine nuts or almonds
-1/2c kalamata olives, without the pits.


For the Dressing:
      -1tbsp lemon juice
      -1 small shallot, minced
      - orange zest
      -1/3c olive oik
      -salt and pepper


Directions:
1. Rinse quinoa and combine with vegetable broth in a medium saucepan over medium-high heat. Bring to a boil, lower the heat, and cover then simmer WITHOUT stirring for about 15 minutes, or until the broth has cooked down. After another 10 minutes, fluff the quinoa with a fork.


2. While the quinoa is cooking, heat the olive oil in a pan and then saute onions for about 5 minutes, then add the kale. Cook for about anothe 10 minutes, or until the kale has softened, and then set aside.


3. Combine all ingredients for dressing in a small bowl, whisking the oil in slowly.\


4. Toss the quinoa with the Kale mixtures, the nuts, olives, and the dressing. I know the picture has feta cheese, but if you're detoxing, don't add this, it's a very fatty cheese with lots of sodium, although it's delicious!


Why This Helps:
Kale is an EXCELLENT source of antioxidants and fiber. It's an excellent source of beta-carotene which has been known to be a major player in the battle against heart disease and cancer), and also contains caroteniods (that protect your eyes from UV rays and cataracts).
Quinoa is an excellent source of protein and fiber, to help your digestion system as well.

"And what is a man without energy? Nothing- nothing at all."-Mark Twain

Shrimp Avocado Ceviche

One day, C and I stopped into Bonefish, just as their Happy Hour was going on (between 4:00pm and 6:30 pm). Their happy hour is amazing, $5 drinks and appetizers, and you'll walk out full and tipsy on $30.00 or less between two people!

My favorite thing they had was this ceviche appetizer. It had shrimp, avocado, lemon juice, and more. SOOOO delicious. So i decided to recreate it..check it out!

It's pretty simple to make, and can be used as a great appetizer or even dinner with some couscous on the side.

Ingredients:

• 1 pound of shrimp, deveined without tail
• 2 lemons
• 2 limes 
• 2 tomatoes
• 1 avocado
• Chopped fresh cilantro and basil
• A drizzle of Extra Virgin Olive Oil.

Directions:

1. Chop up the avocado and tomatoes into bite size pieces. Leave shrimp whole, or if using as a dip with chips or as a bruschetta, chop shrimp into small pieces as well. 

2. Roll lemon and lime along counter to make it extra juicy, then chop in half and squeeze the juice over the mixture.

3. Add in the fresh cilantro and basil, and a drizzle of the olive oil. Season with some sea salt and pepper. Serve on it's own, with chips, or bread.

Try this out next time you have friends or family over, it'll be a hit!

Life's Little Instructions.

In the spirit of loving yourself and keeping yourself happy...here's some little life instructions. I found this picture this morning, and find it so cute and inspiring. 

Give Your Home the Benefits of Yoga.

Yoga is a great way to exercise to keep you toned and lean...but also to keep you focused, calm, and unstressed. Unfortunately, it can all go out the window once you come home to a cluttered unorganized house!


If you're like me, coming home to a messy house can stress you out beyond a doubt. So why not give your home a dose of yoga...in the form of Feng Shui??

This Chinese art of placement has been around Asia for more than 2,000 years, while it's just becoming a trend in the U.S. The ancient practice is based on the principle that everything is made of energy...and that good energy flow can bring balance and vitality to every element of your life!

Here are some signs that you may be in need of a Feng Shui Makeover:

-There's clutter everywhere. 

-Messy or overflowing closets and drawers

-Unused or underused spaces

-Wilted/Dying Plants

-Squeaky Doors, stuck windows, leaky roofs

-Bad Smells

-Bedside table on only one side of bed

-Desk facing the wall (creates vulnerability leaving your back to the door)

-Front doors that aren't used

-Dark entries, or unwelcoming art

So here are some tips to get started!

1. Have a specific place for everything in your home...and make sure to always have everything back in it's place! Things like the mailbox key, daily mail, spare linen..all should have a designated spot to call it's own. 

2. Make sure to have a junk box/drawer, for temporary storage of all the small misplaced items. Don't forget to clean out that area from time to time! 

3. Don't hoard things you don't need! If you haven't used something in the last month...and can't think of a time when you will use it next..get rid of it. Why keep it? 

4. The inside and the outside of a front door has the ability to warm, invite, and re-invite guests in your home. So make the views appealing! Light the exterior walkway, and when you open the door, have fresh flowers or smiling faces of your family clearly visible.

5. The living room is a space to gather, so the living room is a room of opportunities. Avoid placing furniture with the back to the door. Large floor rugs, curtains, and candles are great decorations that really warm a room. Decorate to your liking...but don't go overboard!

6. Bookshelves in a living adds depth and texture to a living room. Don't leave magazines and books on tables though-this just adds more clutter.

7. The bedroom, i find, is the most important room to have organized! Your day begins and end in the bedroom, so adding some feng shui really starts and ends your day in a relaxing and pleased mood. But keep things simple. A bookshelf, side tables, and a bed are really all you need. Add in some eye soothing decorations. And remember...vacant floor and wall space have no place in a bedroom!

Now go add a more calming and stress-free environment to your life!