So I started my workout today. Nothing serious, just some stretching and some basic kickboxing. I only did about fifteen minutes (not including stretching and the warm up/cool down). I know it’s not much, but I am starting slow. And the amazing thing is that I forgot how it makes you feel afterward. I feel GOOD. I’m tingly and slightly sweaty, but my mood has definitely improved. Maybe I should do this before we do homework….hmmmmmmm 
I forgot how good it feels
Yes, you CAN have chocolate chip cookies and still have a low calorie diet!
So, in my searches, I normally don’t look too much at the sweets recipes. I think it’s much safer to just stay away….however I came across a low calorie chocolate chip cookie recipe…and I have to say that they came out quite good. Here is the recipe:
Beat together 3TBS of margarine (softened), 5TBS of plain yogurt, 1/2 cup sugar (i used splenda), 1/4 cup light brown sugar, 2 TBS cornstarch, 1/4 cup of unsweetened applesauce, 2TBS of skim milk, and 1/2 tsp of vanilla extract. When you beat these together it does turn out with a few lumps in it….it’s okay.
Then add 1 1/2 cups of flour (i used wheat cause I ran out of white), 1/2 tsp of baking soda, 1/2 tsp of baking powder, 1/4 tsp salt and beat until smooth (i used a fork here because it got a little thick).
Then add 1/2 cup of chocolate chips–I used the mini’s.
Drop by spoon fulls onto a greased cookie sheet and bake at 350 for 6-10 minutes, or until lightly brown.
There you go! They were really good, my hubby even liked them. But, I imagine they would be even better if you use white flour. But be careful! Even though they are low cal…don’t eat too many!!
Shaping up and slimming down.
ok, so here goes… I am going to use this site as a blog of my weightloss as well as healthy recipes. After I had Annalea, I gained and gained and gained the pounds. And my wonderful supportive husband didn’t say a word!! There was a moment, a picture, that made me open my eyes….we went to a friends wedding and Brian took a snapshot of me and the girls…..boy was it scary!! And because I am using this site to help me stay focused and in tune with what is truly going on in my life…here is that eye opening picture.
Yep….this scared the crap out of me…..inside, I thought I looked like this:
uh-huh. Not even close. So, after I saw the “wake-up” picture, I went on a low carb diet and lost over fifty pounds. I started in at 275 and ended up at 215. I had gotten down to 212 the Christmas before I found out I was pregnant w/ Sylar….and ballooned right back up to 267. Here is a picture of me at Christmas.
That is where I “woke-up” again and realized that I had to do something. And not just do something to lose weight, but do something to change my health. About a month ago my doctor put me on blood pressure pills. My bp was just too high for too long. She told me that it was early, I was young, and diet and excercise could get me off of it. So here were are. We are making life changes and I am glad to say that my family is in it with me. And Brian is being quite supportive of it. Though I have to admit that I feel guilty making him quit drinking Mountain Dew! So lately, we have been watching portion sizes, and not eating junk. If we eat junk, I have sugar free ice cream and those 100 calorie goodies that are pretty good and stopping the craving. We started this at the beginning of January, it is now January 25th, and I have lost 12 pounds. I am sitting at 255 right now and plan to keep going in this direction. I am really embarrassed to post those pictures, but maybe that is the motivation I need to keep going down the path of change. I am going to start my exercise routine on Monday. Brian got me some great dvd’s of kickboxing, NOT Billy Blanks style–real kickboxing, and yoga. I know that by adding this side to my “new” lifestyle, I will begin to shape up even quicker. When I reach my next goal weight of 240, I will post another picture. I hope to reach it by March.
I hope you all appreciate how difficult it is to post these pics and be honest…those of you who have struggled with weight issues are sure to understand. I will keep you posted, with thoughts, recipes, and pictures. Thanks to all who are supportive!
Jambalaya-ish
So I started last night with a recipe in hand, and as I was getting ready to cook, I decided to elaborate on it a little. What I started with was a recipe for mexican rice with sausage. What I ended up with tasted a little like Jambalaya. This is what I did:
Cook 1-2 lbs of sausage(i used chopped italian links)
When sausage is half way done, add about 1/4 cup of chopped onion.
When those are done, add a regular sized can of diced tomatoes, 1 cup of water, and 3/4 cup of rice.
Cover and cook until rice is done-about 20 minutes.
I also added 1 cup of corn, 1/2 can of kidney beans, 1/2 package of taco mix, 1TBS of kosher salt, 1 tsp of pepper, 1tsp garlic powder.
The amazing thing was that Grace LOVED it. Annalea….ehhhh, not so much (but she only really LOVES mac and cheese!).
I served this with some beer bread that I get from Tastefully Simple…ohhhh it’s SO yummy! It’s called beer bread, but you can actually add just about any carbonated drink to the mix and it turns out fine. But it ends up being a slightly sweet bread that is SO good!
Anyway, the experiment I tried the other day with garbonzo beans…..not so good. I wouldn’t suggest trying it unless you already like those kind of beans.
So there you have it, another recipe from my kitchen….more to come! (i have about four new recipes on the menu this week!)
Another one of Tara’s recipes!
I am trying another one of Tara’s recipes tonight for dinner. The first one, cornflake chicken aka chicken kiev, turned out superb, so we are testing our luck. Tonight’s dinner is chicken pasta make with dry italian dressing….I’ll let you know how it goes!
Simple, healthy snack
So I am trying something new. I took a can of garbanzo beans, aka, chickpeas, put them on a cookie sheet lined w/ a paper bag, and am baking them at 150 degrees until they are dry….I am lightly salting them towards the middle of them being dry. This is supposed to turn out like corn nuts….but we aren’t done yet, so we’ll see!! But, if it turns out good, then its a nice, salty, healthy snack!
On the hunt
I have tried a few new recipes this last week, and have just not been impressed. So, I am on the hunt for some more tasty low calorie recipes. I guess this whole eating healthy and smaller portioning is working! I have lost 12 pounds and haven’t done any exercises!! I guess that means that when I finally break down and start doing the dvd’s that my hubby bought for me the things should start moving along quite well!! Which is good cause there is a wedding coming up in August that I would like to go to looking a bit better than I do now!! So, stay tuned, more recipes to come!
What to do with leftover ham
We had a ham on New Years Day…so of course we had a ton of leftover ham…and there are only so many ham sandwiches you can handle. So, I decided to try out some ham recipes and found two that I really liked…so here you go!
Ham and Potato Soup
3 1/2 cups of diced potatoes
1/3 cup diced celery
1/3 cup diced onion
1 cup diced cooked ham
3 1/4 cups of water
2 TBS chx boullion (I used 2 chx cubes)
salt and pepper
5 TBS butter
5 TBS flour
2 cups of milk
potato flakes (if you like a thicker soup)
Combine your potatoes, celery, onin, ham and water and bring to a boil. Cook over medium heat until potatoes are tender. Then stir in your chx boullion, salt, and pepper.
In a separate pan, melt butter, then whisk in flour with a fork and cook, stirring constantly, until a thick paste if formed. Then SLOWLY stir in the milk. They key here is to do it slow, otherwise you get chunks. Then continue cooking until thick (about 4-5 minutes).
Then add your milk mixture to the potatoes and warm through….at this point I add some potatoe flakes because I like my soup thick.
Serve it up with some warm bread and it is a great meal!
Ham and rice skillet
1/2 cup chopped onion
3 TBS butter
package of frozen peas
1/2 cup chopped cooked ham
1 cup rice uncooked
3-4 cups chx broth
parmesan cheese
Saute the onion and 2 TBS of butter until tender, then add your ham and rice. Cook until the rice is golden brown (low heat or it will burn), then add 3 cups of chx broth.
Cover and cook for 20 mintues- stir frequently.
Add peas and cook for another 15 minutes, or until rice is tender. (you add more broth if needed)
Then stir in the other TBS of butter and add your parmesan to taste.
This dish has a very light flavor which I liked after the holiday sweets!
Tara’s recipe
So over on Tara’s site, she has a list of recipes that I am trying out. And the other night I tried her Chicken Kiev….my oh my was that tasty!!! AND THE KIDS LOVED IT! I was surprised because its just basically garlic and butter in the middle…but they ate it up! And considering she cooks for more than I do, I just halved the recipe and it still made leftovers!
Chimichangas….yummy!!
I came across a great low calorie recipe for chimichangas! It its versatile so you can add/delete things you like/dislike. What made this dinner so great was that EVERYONE loved it. That is a little hard to come by in my kitchen, but, tonight was a success!! Anyway, here you go-Preheat oven to 350 and coat a pan w/ spray/oil (9×13). In a large frying pan fry up a pound of hamburger, then add a can of fat free refried beans, 1 cup of salsa, 1 small can of green chile’s, 4 cloves of minced garlic, 1tsp chili powder, and 3 TBS of chopped onion. (I also added some homemade fajita dry mix that I made) Cook until heated through and then add 1 cup of jalapeno jack cheese. Warm some tortillas in the microwave (i wrap in a towel and put a cup of water in as well) then fill with the meat filling, fold the ends in and roll, put in the pan and then bake at 350 for about 20 minutes. The last few minutes of baking I put some more cheese on top and when I pulled them out I added sour cream and salsa as a topping. Add a side, like mexican rice, or some good ‘ol green beans and viola! A great dinner!
