it isn't all or nothing

Want to hear something crazy?  I have gone an entire week without chocolate.  And not just chocolate.  But an entire week without any sort of sweets.  Nothing.  Also I've been limiting all processed foods and anything with added sugar to minimal amounts.  I honestly can't believe I've made it a whole week.

I think what helped me finally just suck it up and try to go sugar free, is the fact that I finally accepted a healthy lifestyle doesn't have to be an all or nothing kind of thing.  Just because I'm not hitting the gym everyday doesn't mean I'm not working out.  Just because I haven't cleaned up every inch of my food intake, doesn't mean making good choices as often as I can won't make a difference.  No, I'm not giving in to chocolate cravings, but I'm trying not to be too hard on my mom's food :o).  The girls and I have been staying with my parents, and while my mom has been trying to be more than accommodating to my new eating habits, there are some things she just isn't up for changing, or isn't interested in doing right now, and, um, I'm going to eat the food she makes me.

For the most part, I've been trying to stick to foods that fit into the Paleo and Whole 30 rules, but I'm not opposed to things that still fall into the 'real food' category such as whole wheat pasta, breads and tortillas, things of that nature.  That is another place where I really had to make peace with my decision.  I was feeling like if I didn't go all out and eat strictly whole foods what was the point of changing my diet.  But eating that way 70% of the time is surely better than eating that way 20% of the time, or something like that.

When I have a spare five minutes here or there, I've been scouring pinterest and the internet for new recipes and ideas to help with this new food regimen.  Slowly but surely I'm collecting a list of things I'd like to try.  Last night for dinner my mom humored me and made a quinoa salad, and it turned out really good.  Even she liked it!  I think it is a great thing to whip up that can be used as a side dish one night, and as a lunch option throughout the rest of the week.  I prefer it warmed up, but it was intended to be a cold salad.  You can find the recipe here.

I won't lie, I still crave chocolate after lunch and dinner.  I'm guessing that is because I haven't been absolutely strict about making sure there is zero added sugar in everything I eat, and because I'm definitely compensating by eating a lot of fruit.  I'm also over eating nuts such as almonds and cashews.  I'm just not a vegetable lover, so snacking on vegetables and incorporating more of them into my meals is the tough, but I'm working on it.  My goal this week is to try one new vegetable.  Any suggestions?

As for workouts this week, I managed four.  A 2.3 mile run, a 3.6 mile run, a 3.25 mile walk and one 30 Day Shred workout.  I finally got back on dailymile (find me here) to start logging my workouts again.  It is incredibly motivating for me to see the numbers add up, and I like seeing what others are doing and cheering them on as well.  My goal in the exercise department this week is to do two strength sessions.  I really want to tone up a bit before a wedding I'm in Memorial Day weekend, so I better get cracking!

 

Link up your health and fitness related posts below!

parmesan tilapia and edamame succotash

Stay with my mom rocks for many reasons, but one I really love?  I can find recipes and say "will you make this?"  She almost always says yes.  So I handed her a recipe for broiled parmesan tilapia.  She combined that, with a recipe for succotash that she found flipping through a Parents magazine at my house.  Dinner was FANTASTIC.

I'd never had succotash before, nor did I really know what it was (from Wikipedia: "Succotash (from Narragansett msíckquatash, "boiled corn kernels") is a food dish consisting primarily of corn and lima beans or other shell beans).  But this stuff was amazing.  I can't tell you what it was about it that I loved so much, but I couldn't get enough.  Thankfully there were leftovers, because the next two days I mixed in some grilled chicken strips and sauteed mushrooms for my lunch.  Such a great little bowl of happiness.

Broiled Parmesan Tilapia
from Taste of Home's Healthy Cooking Magazine, August/September 2011

Ingredients

• 6 tilapia fillets (6 ounces each)
• 1/4 cup grated parmesan cheese (my mom only had mozerella, it worked)
• 1/4 cup reduced-fat mayonnaise
• 2 tablespoons lemon juice
• 1 tablespoon butter, softened
• 1 garlic clove, minced
• 1 teaspoon minced fresh basil or 1/4 teaspoon dried basil
• 1/2 teaspoon of seafood seasoning

 Directions

1. Place fillets on a broiler pan coated with cooking spray.  In a small bowl, combine remaining ingredients; spread over filets.
2. Broil 3-4 inches from the heat for 10-12 minutes or until fish flakes easily with a fork.

 Such an easy recipe, even I could make it (but it is more fun when my mom does it for me, right?).  I wonder if you could swap greek yogurt for the mayo...  One serving has 207 calories.

Edamame and Sweet Corn Succotash
from Parents Magazine, August 2011

Ingredients

• 2 teaspoons extra-virgin olive oil
• 3 green onions, sliced, white and green parts separated
• 1 cup corn kernels (2 ears of corn)
• 1 cup shelled frozen edamame
• 1/2 cup chopped red sweet pepper
• 2 teaspoons finely chopped fresh marjoram or oregano (my mom used oregano)
• 1/8 teaspoon salt
• freshly ground black pepper, to taste
• 1/2 cup low-sodium vegetable broth
• 1/2 teaspoon cornstarch
• 2 teaspoons unsalted butter

Directions

1. Heat oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat.  Add white part of green onion and cook until fragrant and starting to brown slightly, about one minute.  Stir in corn, edamame, sweet pepper, marjoram, salt and black pepper.  Cook, stirring often, until the vegetables are crisp-tender, 4 to 5 minutes.
2. Stir together broth and cornstarch; add it to corn mixture along with remaining green onions.  Cook and stir until thickened, bubbly, and liquid almost evaporates, about one minute.  Remove from heat and mix in the butter until melted.

My mom said this recipe would have been really easy, if she didn't use corn from a cob, and could find edamame already shelled (does that exist somewhere?).  One half cup serving has 149 calories and 7 grams of protein.

Enjoy!

party recipes part two

These are the recipes I used for Chris's graduation BBQ.  First up, some delicious spicy crab dip.  A family friend brought this dip to our July 4th celebration last year, and I meant to share the recipe then.  But that was around the time my computer exploded and I lost all my pictures.  Lucky for you we made it again!  The recipe suggests serving it with thinly sliced toasted French bread.  We served it (as did Paula, or family friend) with the homemade tortilla chips from Whole Foods.  Absolutely delicious.  Seriously, I like it and I HATE spicy food!

Hot Crab, Artichoke and Jalapeno Dip

Ingredients
1 large green bell pepper, chopped
1 tablespoon vegetable oil
two 14 ounce cans artichoke hearts, drained and chopped fine
2 cups mayonnaise
1/2 cup thinly sliced scallion
1/2 cup drained and chopped bottle pimento or roasted red pepper
1 1/2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
1 cup freshly grated parmesan cheese
4 teaspoons worcestershire sauce
3 jalapeno peppers (bottled) seeded and minced
1 teaspoon celery salt
1 pound crab meat
1/3 cup sliced almonds toasted slightly

Directions
1.  In a small skillet cook bell pepper in the oil over moderate heat until softened.  Let cool.
2.  In a large bowl combine pepper, artichokes, mayonnaise, scallion, pimento, parmesan, lemon juice, worcestershire sauce, jalapeno pepper and celery salt.  Blend the mixture until combined well.  Stir in crab meat gently.  Transfer to a buttered baking dish or an oven proof chafing dish and sprinkle almonds.  (May keep for one day in refrigerator covered).
3.  Bake the dip at 375 degrees for 25 to 30 minutes until top is brown and bubbling.  Serves 10.

Chris requested one of his favorite BBQ places for the food, and he really wanted beans and coleslaw.  Personally, I hate beans and coleslaw.  Therefore I opted to make a spinach salad so I would have something to eat that I liked, and was a wee bit healthier.  You can find the recipe for the cranberry spinach salad here.  It wasn't anything mind blowing, but the salad was good!

Another food that Chris really loves is pie.  I believe his preference is grandma's peach pie, but yet again, I was being a little bit selfish.  So I went on the hunt for an apple pie recipe.  We also decided to try and find a bar recipe, thinking it would be easier to eat than a piece of pie.  These bars were a little bit messy, and weren't the easiest to eat, but they were good.  I'm not sure exactly which recipe we used, but I think it is pretty similar to this one.

If anyone follows me on pinterest, you might know that my pins usually include LOTS of desserts.  I mean I'm trying not to eat them, why not think about them all of the time?  Sheesh!  Anyway, these cookie dough filled cupcakes were one of my pins, and I decided to give them a try.  You can find the recipe here. 

A little story to go with these ones... my mom was over helping me get ready for the party.  We realized I forgot to get eggs, and since Chris to the store for some while we made a different dessert.  Some time passed, we all had lunch, yadda yadda... I was chasing Ryann around and my mom mixed up the cupcakes.  Unfortunately the first batch burned.  So we sent Chris back to the store for another box of cake mix.  The second batch seemed to turn out fine.  My mom went home, and I started stuffing the cupcakes with cookie dough.  The cupcakes seemed a little crumbly, but they tasted good (of course I tried the part I was just going to trash, oops :o).  I opened the fridge to put the cupcakes in and saw the egg carton... with no eggs missing.

My mother made the recipe twice, six eggs should have been missing.  Yep, that's right.  We sent Chris to the store specifically for eggs, and she completely forgot to use them!  Not one of her finer baking moments :o).  Don't worry mom, I still love you.  Alas, Chris returned to the store a third time for another box of cake mix.  And wouldn't you know I burned that batch, only a tiny bit.  I decided those were the ones I was using!!  The cupcakes were good, but not something I really wanted more of.  And no, it had nothing to do with them being a touch burnt!

 
Ahhh.  Oreo Cheesecake Pretzel Bites.  These little guys were probably my favorite thing at Chris's party.  The were incredibly easy to make, super easy to pick up and eat, and freaking delicious.  If you need a good simple dessert bite, these are great.  Find the recipe here.

I think that is all the party recipes I have right now.  Actually, I'm not sure that we have a party coming up anytime soon at all.  Maybe I'll have to make something up...

biscuits and more

A couple weeks ago Chris and I made dinner for some friends. We grilled some chicken and asparagus. They were pretty good, but the real winner here, was the biscuits.

If you've ever been to Red Lobster, and you like the Cheddar Bay Biscuits, than this recipe is for you. They taste pretty dang close to the same. AND, it was incredibly easy to make.

Enjoy!

oriental coleslaw

Or as I would call it, Sheryl's Oriental Salad. This is another dish that for some reason HAS to be at our house on the 4th of July. Sheryl (my best friend's mom) usually brings it over on the 4th, and this year I told her she couldn't come without it.


Ingredients:
(Salad)
1 package slaw mix
6 green onions, chopped
2 packages ramen noodles
4 ounces sunflower seeds
4 ounces slivered almonds
1/2 stick of butter
(Dressing)
3/4 cup sunflower oil
1/2 cup tarragon vinegar
3/4 cup sugar
2 tablespoons soy sauce

Directions:
1. Saute ramen noodles, sunflower seeds and almonds. Mix with the slaw and onions.
2. Combine dressing ingredients in a blender and mix until well blended. Pour dressing over salad and mix well.

And because I know she'll love me for it, here is Sheryl feeding Ryann on the 4th. Sheryl has some sort of awesome baby calming powers. Everytime she holds Ryann, Ry just relaxes and usually goes to sleep.


Enjoy!

cheese bread

So this is by far one of my all time favorite things to eat. I mean come on, bread + cheese. If you don't like it whats wrong with you? Just kidding, but anyway... My mom made this bread for the 4th of July a couple times, and now I won't let her do the 4th without it. Plus, I've made it a few times around our house as well.


The recipe is incredibly easy and pretty tasty, so the next time you need a side item give this a try! Also, if you read my day in the life post, you might remember me mentioning my cheesy bagel. Well, I use the same cheese mixture from this bread, spread it on top of a bagel, broil it until the cheese is brown, and sprinkle some garlic salt on top. Delish.

Ingredients:
1 loaf of french bread, split lengthwise
butter
garlic salt
8 ounces shredded mozzarella cheese
3/4 cup real mayo

Directions:
1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
2. Butter both lengths of bread and sprinkle them with garlic salt.
3. Mix together mozzarella cheese and mayo. Spread mixture on both lengths of bread.
4. Bake bread halves on a baking sheet for approximately 20 minutes, or until the cheese is melted and bread is crisp.

Enjoy!

cheesy mashed potatoes

This weekend I had a craving for cheesy mashed potatoes. (Ok lately I am craving cheesy anything, I just decided to go with potatoes) I didn't take a picture of mine, so here is the one from allrecipes.com.


Although the potatoes were good, I don't think it is the best cheesy potato recipe out there. I don't know that for sure, considering I have never tried another recipe, but I felt like there was something missing from these. With that said, if you are looking for a cheesy potato recipe, this one will definitely suffice. You can find the recipe here.

Enjoy!

chicken and green beans

For dinner the other night we made general tso's chicken and and green bean stir fry. I was incredibly skeptical about the green beans, because there was peanut butter in the recipe. Yes, peanut butter is use in multiple asian dishes, but for some reason peanut butter mixed with green beans just seemed wrong. I'm so glad we tried it because they were delicious! The chicken was good too, nothing extraordinary, but good enough!

Both recipes were extremely easy. For the chicken recipe (and this is probably why it didn't wow me, my fault) we used canned minced garlic instead of fresh, and left out the red pepper flakes. You can find that recipe here. With the green beans, we didn't have any sesame seeds but I was fine without them. You can find the green bean recipe here.

Enjoy!

drunken pork (kebabs) and broccoli

On mothers day my family came to our place and my mom cooked a delicious dinner. For the main dish she made drunken pork kebabs. There was some leftover sauce so this weekend Chris and I used it as a marinade for a pork tenderloin. I will say it was definitely better on the kebabs (a better sauce to meat ratio) but the sauce is so good. Below you will find the recipe for the pork kebabs.

As a side we made broccoli with garlic butter and cashews (as well as some Uncle Ben's boxed rice, always a staple in my pantry!). You can find the recipe here, from allrecipes.com. I highly suggest the dish, it was easy to make and a great alternative to the basic way I usually make broccoli.


Drunken Pork Kabobs (from Cuisine Grilling)
Ingredients:
1 cup diced onion
3 tablespoons unsalted butter
3/4 cup ketchup
1/2 cup fresh orange juice
1/2 cup cider vinegar
1/2 cup bourbon whiskey (Jim Beam)
1/3 cup brown sugar
1/4 cup molasses
2 tablespoons worcestershire sauce
salt and pepper to taste
2 pork tenderloins, trimmed and cut into 3 inch cubes
1 large red onion, cut into 1 1/2 inch thick half-moon rings

Directions:
1. Saute onion in butter in a saucepan over medium heat until soft, 4-5 minutes.
2. Stir in ketchup, orange juice, vinegar, bourbon, brown sugar, molasses, worcestershire, salt and pepper. Bring to a boil, reduce to a simmer and cook 10 minutes.
3. Cool slightly, then puree with a hand blender, selt half the sauce aside for serving.
4. Thread pork cubes and red onion on double skewers; season with salt and pepper. Grill kebabs, covered, 3-4 minutes on one side.
5. Baste with remaining sauce, then turn and grill 3-4 minutes more. Baste again, turn kebabs, and continue cooking and basting until pork reaches an internal temp of 150 degrees, about 4 minutes more.
6. Let kebabs rest 5 minutes before serving with reserved sauce.

Enjoy!

a bag of jack

Last week we made one of the easiest dinners ever, and it was really really good. As in so good I would probably eat that every other day for the next month if the meat didn't cost so much. And if I thought it was really good for me to eat that much red meat...

If you are looking for a great marinade, you should definitely check out Jack Daniel's EZ Marinade bags, specifically the steakhouse flavor. Drop your meat in the bag for 30 minutes or more, throw it on the grill, a voila, a tasty and juicy piece of meat!


We baked some Pilsbury biscuits, cut up some strawberries, and I made my favorite carrot recipe. A quick and easy dinner that will make everyone happy.

Here is the recipe for the honey orange carrots:

Ingredients:
1 (14 ounce) pkg baby whole carrots
3 tablespoons orange juice
2 tablespoons honey
1 tablespoon margarine
1/8 teaspoon nutmeg
2 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley
brown sugar (optional)

Directions:
1. In a medium saucepan combine carrots, orange juice, honey, margarine, and nutmeg. I generally sprinkle in some brown sugar as well, just for a little extra sweetness.
2. Cook over medium-high heat until mixture beings to boil. Reduce heat, cover and simmer 5 minutes.
3. Uncover; continue cooking until carrots are tender and mixture has thickened, 5 to 10 minutes. Stir in parsley.

Enjoy!