Sorry!

So sorry everyone that I haven't posted in a while!!! Things have been CRAZY!!! I leave Sunday! WOHO!!!!  As far as eating goes I've been eating kinda what you've already seen so I haven't posted new stuff haha.  Another place I've been eating at is Spoons, which is only here in Fort Collins, but it's super good!! It's a soup and salad place and everything is always fresh!!! It's FANTASTIC!  Anyways I just wanted to stop by and say hello, and hope all is going well with everyone out there!!!! Have a good day!!

McDonalds

So I went to McDonalds for lunch today and got a McDouble and a fruit and yogurt parfet, along with a large iced tea.  It was supper yummy and just enough!! If you tend to be more hungry than that then go for a salad but be careful because a lot of their dressing has a lot of calories in it!!  My meal was 550 calires, I know a lot for just those two things, but the McDouble sounded sooooo good!!! haha

Anyways other than that things have been going well!  I lost 3 lbs!  Could be from all of the packing and really not eating that much, I know bad for me but I am really just not hungry!! So it's ok for me to have 550 calorie meals!!  I hope everything is going well with everyone out there!!  I never hear from anyone so not sure if anyone is reading any more!!!  Anyways, I'll chat with all of you later!

Taco Bell

So I tackeld Taco Ball for my fast food eating out adventure and it wasn't too bad!!  I got the fresco ranchero chicken soft taco, a side of mexican rice and a strawberry fruista freezer!  Total meal was 500 calories!!  Now it was filling for the time, but if I would have been hungrier I would have done 2 burritos instead of the burrito and fruit freezer, but I really wanted something nice and cool!!  Taco Bell is an excellent choice for eating out healthy!!  Their new drive-thru diet menu is fantastic so I highly recommend it!  Not to mention their salsas have very little calories so use what ever you want!!

Glee!!

So I did it, I auditioned for glee haha!  This was a huge jump for me cause I don't like singing infront of people too much haha, but I have vowed that this year it's going to be a new me, so I did this!!  go check it out and PLEASE vote for me!!!

http://www.myspace.com/gleeauditions?link=7838894

Snack time!

So yesterday while I was out and about doing laundry I got kinda hungry but not hungry enough for a full meal.  So I looked at the options around me and the only place really was McDonalds.  So sat and thought about what I could get just for a snack form there....french fries = bad, McDouble = bad (for just a snack), cookies = bad, apple pie = bad....Then the thought came to me!  They have the fabulous fruit and yogurt parfait!!!!!  160 calories = Not bad! haha!  And not to mention the great nutritional value that yogurt haves for your digestive system!  So I got that and a Large iced tea (non sweetened, if you want to sweeten it do so with equal or splenda!).  Now if you really want some sort of pop/soda go for the diet coke, but I really hate diet coke haha.  Also, not to scare you away from it, but in several of my classes I have learned that your body just does not metabolize aspertaine and it stays in your system and yuck, don't wana deal with that haha.  So this total snack came to $2.13  so not bad at all haha!  Today I"ll prob have another one of those sub sandwiches that I got from the store the other day and play it up like I did then too...So have a good day everyone and healthy eating!!

*Side note!  I did 2 whole pushups today!!  I know it doesn't sound like much but that's the most I've been able to do since my hand/wrist surgery back in December so it's deff a step!!*

Eating out challenges

So since I'm going to be doing this whole eating out thing for the next few weeks I did some investigating at different fast food places on their nutritional information.  Right now I'm mainly looking at the calorie count - I'll pull my hair out if I try to look at everything right now!   So I really plan on printing all of these out while on campus this week because I still have like over 200 pages left of free printing in the botany/zoology building!  So I'll put it to good use! haha! Anyways, my healthiest options that I found so far was subway and surprisingly taco bell.  Now I'm really not a fan of taco bell but I guess I gotta do what I gotta do haha!

Today I ran to the grocery store because I needed some milk and I decided to look in their prepared food section to see what they had to offer.  I found a pack of 3 sub sandwiches - 2 turkey and one roast beef - for $5!  I had to jump on this because these sandwiches are equivalent to that of subway's!  Sure there was no lettuce on them or anything but in my fridge I have a thing of salad!  So I had one of these sandwiches tonight and found out that the trio comes with packets of mustard and mayo!  So I used one of each - that little bit of mayo is fine!  Then I added some of my salad mix to it!  It was yummy!  Deff a good purchase! How many calories are we talking about?  Prob around 450-500 calories, which I know is more than my meals that I make on my own, but that's the range that I'm going to be shooting for during this whole eating out thing.  I'll just cut down on other's during the rest of the day and it should work out just fine!!  Anyways take care everyone and I'll post later!!

Going in a different Direction

Ok guys, so I'm going to have to go in a new direction with this blog for a little while so stick with me haha.  Since school is so crazy right now with finals right around the corner and I'm getting ready to move to Florida I need to start packing.  So this weekend I"m planning on packing up most of my kitchen...scary I know!!  So I'm going to be eating out now - but I"m going to try to do it as healthy as possible.  I'll blog about that and the different things you can do with eating out.  I'll be mainly doing to go and fast food, so good luck to me haha!  I can actually start with today

So for Dinner tonight I didn't want to cook cause I had a lot of studying to do so I went by McDonalds and looked over the various choices in food and tried to pick out the most healthy thing I could.  So I went with the bacon ranch salad.  When I got home I looked up the calories - the salad with out the dressing is 260 - not bad!  The dressing though is 170 calories for the packet - YIKES!  But I still ate it haha.  so all in all the calories came to 430 calories for my dinner.  Ok so that's not too horrible!

I'm still trying to finish cleaning out my pantry so my plan is to eat out once a day, and then the rest of the day try to finish up what I do have that doesn't need to be cooked.  So we're talking like slimfast shakes for breakfast or cereal, and who knows what else the rest of the day.  I'm going to leave out a couple of bowls and some silver wear and cups.  My biggest thing I wana get packed is my pots and pans.  So yeah, I hope you all enjoy these new posts!

Turkey potato casserole and Breakfast burritos

Hey guys sorry I haven't been on here much, things have just been hectic haha!  I have a new blog now for my Disney College program so please go check it out as well!  http://codisneygirl.blogspot.com  I'm having a lot of fun with that one and it will be even more fun when I make it down to Disney!  As far as this blog goes I'm not sure how much I'll be able to post on it.  I'm hoping to still be able to come up with a few recipes each week, we'll see!  If anything maybe I can talk about the different healthy foods that Disney has to offer as well as my recipes just to keep it going!
This week I haven't really cooked much, just haven't been in the mood to do it because been so busy with school, and my allergies are taking a good toll on me haha.  But don't worry I've been pretty good with my food choices...for the most part.
My two food posts today are both comfort foods with a healthy twist.  The first is a healthier rendition of Tatter-tot Casserole. My mom use to make this while I was growing up and I always enjoyed it!  My best friend absolutely loves it as well.  The traditional one is made with ground beef and tatter-tots, so I sat down and tried to figure out how I could make it some what healthier haha.  I came up with the idea to use ground turkey in place of the beef, and then just some shredded potato in place of the Tatter-tots.  So here you go hope you enjoy!  Calorie count - 333

Turkey Potato Casserole



3 oz ground turkey (93% lean)
1/4 C low fat cream of mushroom soup
1/4 C low fat milk
1/4 potato (shredded)
1/4 C shredded sharp cheddar cheese
1/4 C corn



Preheat the oven to 375
Brown ground turkey in a pan over medium heat.  Season with salt, pepper, onion powder, and garlic powder.
In a separate bowl combine milk and cream of mushroom soup - whisk together.
After the turkey is done put down in a casserole dish along with the corn.  Top that with the cream of mushroom and milk mix.  Then top with shredded cheese followed by shredded potato.  Salt the potato.
Bake for 30 minutes, then turn the oven onto broil and broil for 5 minutes to get the potato nice and crispy.
Enjoy!

My next recipe I use to make all the time with another best friend of mine for breakfasts.  The breakfast burrito!!  mmmm just thinking about it now I might have to go eat one haha.  Since I live on my own now it's kinda hard to just make one of these babies.  So I came up with making several and just freezing the others.  This makes it quick and convient for on the go mornings.  All you do is wrap them in a paper towel and heat on high for  a minute in the microwave!  Fantastic!!  Along with my other comfort food I made this one a little healthier haha.  So here we go! Calorie count - 264

Breakfast Burritos

2 oz Chorizo 1/2 potato 1 T butter 3/4 C. all egg white 1/4 C shredded mexican cheese

Cook chorizo over med high heat for about 7-8 minutes. remove and drain off grease on paper towel. Peel and shred potato and cook in same pan as the chorizo. Season with desired amount of salt. Brown for about 10 minutes. Add chorizo back to pan and add egg whites. Cook until egg whites are no longer runny.
Heat up tortillas in microwave for 20 seconds. Starting with one tortila add about 2 T of cheese, then 1/5 of the mixture. (Then I like to top with hot sauce) and roll up. Repeat for rest of tortillas. Enjoy!

I dont have a pic of the breakfast Burritos cause they're just wrapped in plain tortilla, noting spectacular haha.

5 whole wheat tortillas

Turkey Meatball Stew

Well everyone, I know it has been a while since I've done a low cal recipe!  So sorry for that but things have just been kinda crazy!!  I leave for Florida in 37 days!! SO ready for it!!  I just want this semester to end already!  I have really no motivation do to anything school related right now! haha!  Oh well, guess I'll just suffer through haha.
So I go a sample in the mail the other day for Kashi cereal - it was their berry one (like the only one with out almonds haha)  So I decided to try it yesterday for break fast.....yeah didn't like it very much haha.  Not to mention one serving has 190 calories in it, then you top it with the calories in milk...yeah no.  I'll stick to my Special K - with milk it's 190 calories.  That way I can eat some type of fruit with breakfast as well with out over doing it with the calories!!
As far as my weight goes it hasn't budged, but I've lost a few inches.  1 1/2 around my belly - which is my largest part on me,  1/2" in my neck, about an inch in my arm, one inch around my chest, 1/2" around my hips, and 1/2" in my thigh.  So woo!!  That's good news haha!  Good to see some of my effort is doing something haha!
My weak spot is still the whole working out thing :-p  I still am doing the barn work twice a week, prob 3X a week now so I can be out there for shorter times.  My allergies are so bad right now - darn you spring time!  But maybe doing it 3X a week will give my body a better work out?  Who knows haha.  I still do sit ups and all that sometimes; I need to be more consistant with that one haha!  Bathing suit time is right around the corner....I am not excited for that one haha!  Oh well though right?
Ok so I'll get on with last nights dinner!  Turkey Meatball Stew!  So good!!  The recipe that I"m going to give you makes 2 servings of 422 calories each - I know one of my more calories dinner but it was so good!  It's still a good amount of calories though!!  Ok so on with the recipe!

Turkey Meat Ball Stew


6 oz ground lean turkey meat
1 egg
1/2 C bread crumbs
1 T onion powder
1 T garlic powder
1 t salt
1 t peper
1 T extra virgin olive oil
1 can beef broth
1 carrot
1 celery stock
1/4 yellow onion
1/2 potato
2 cloves garlic

Ok so we start out with making the meatballs.  In a bowl mix the ground turkey meat, bread crumbs, egg, garlic powder, onion powder, salt and peper.  Best way to mix it is to mix it with your hands.  If it seems too wet still add some more bread crumbs.  Then form the balls into about 1/2 inch diameter balls. Take and put oil in a pan and heat on medium heat.  Add meatballs to the pan.  Make sure to turn meatballs as they cook to get an even golden brown color on all sides.  It takes about 10 minutes for them to fully cook.
While the meatballs are cooking, in a crockpot (slow-cooker)  pour in the beef broth.  Chop the carrot, celery, onion and potato into bite size pieces and add.  Mince up garlic and add to the pot.  Turn the pot onto low (if you have 6-8 hrs to let it cook) or high (3-4 hrs to cook).
When meatballs are done cooking take out and drain on a paper towel.  Let sit for about 1/2 an hr.  Then add to the crock pot!  Let cook and meld together for several hours depending on the temp you set the slow cooker at.
Then just serve up and enjoy!!!

This was such a good meal for a cooler day, or a day that you are going to be busy all day cause you can always make the meat balls the day before then just add to the stew the day that you want it.  So easy and simple!!!



*Just as a heads up, I'm getting ready to start a new blog on top of this one.  It will be about my Disney College program and the adventures that I have during it.  So I'll post the link for it here soon as soon as I get it all set up!

Easter Cake (ok ok I know not low calorie!)

So today is Easter!! Happy Easter to everyone!! Sorry I haven't been blogging much things have just been so inane!! My mom had told me last weekend that she was planning on making a carrot cake for Easter and was wondering if my sister and I wanted to decorate it. I love to decorate cakes! such a stress reviler! So I jumped on the opportunity and immediately came up with a plan to have the cake look like a basket and that I would attempt a rice krispy bunny to put on top to make it look like it was peaking out over. Now last year for my mom's b-day my sister and I did a basket with flowers in it, and I had taught her how to do the basket weave. So she did that part of the cake while I worked on frosting the bunny. The day before is when I made the actual structure of the bunny and then it sat over night. So with doing all of this I decided that I would blog about how to make one! Once again I know that they aren't low calorie but oh well! haha!

Rice Krispy Bunny

6 cups rice krispies
4 cups mini marshmallows
3 T butter
1 tsp vanilla

Take and melt the butter over medium heat and add vanilla.  After melted all the way add the mini marshmallows and melt over medium heat until they are a smooth constancy.

Then turn off heat and add rice krispies and mix all together.  Then take and put in a pan lined with foil and sprayed with non stick spray. 

Now for the molding portion.  I put on two pairs on non-laytex gloves and sprayed the palms of my hand with non-stick spray.  Then I took and molded the head of the bunny, the ears, the torso, and two paws.  I placed skewers in the ears, and paws for assembly later.

This is all the pieces of the Bunny.                                                             This is the Bunny assembled

Then I took a small tip and with white frosting added the eyes, and for the pupils I used a small chocolate chip.  As far as the frosting goes my mom actually already had some made so that worked nicely!  You can use really any kind! As long as it's a good frosting that holds shape.  Then I also added the nose and insides of the ears.  After I did this I took a large star tip and covered the rest of the bunny!

Then skewer it into your cake!!  We colored some coconut with green food coloring to make an Easter grass look that was edible!!  This was just so much fun to make and such a stress reviler that now I think I'm ready to get going again for this week and hope to have some good recipes for all of you!

No I didn't forget about this!

Hey everyone sorry, I haven't forgotten about my blog I promise!! Ive just been extremely busy, and actually haven't been home much! So how's the weight loss going?? I'm some how stuck right now...NO FUN!!! It seems like maybe things calm down some here in the next few weeks, so hopefully I can jump back on the bandwagon! Anyways I"m out for today to run around....see you all later!

Biggest Looser

So tonight was the first night I've actually watched this show...I know I know where have I been?? haha. And it was actually a really good show. It's kinda inspiring I must say haha.
Anyways, I'm back from Spring Break! Over break i wasn't too good....but I didn't gain any weight so that's a plus! Watching this show reminded me that I made a pledge in the pound for pound challenge! I pledged to loose 30 lbs so I must do that!!!!!! I really do need to get on working out! No more excuses! Another thing that is inspiring me to loose weight is that I got accepted into the Disney College Program!!! WOOO!!!! I"ll be going to Florida for 6 months starting the end of May! I"m so excited!! I do want to loose weight for it! Another thing is that I got the victoria's secret catalog the other day and I love their summer clothing!! I know that they come in my size, but I want to loose weight and look absolutely fabulous if I am to get them!
So the weather here is insane!! it was near 70 degrease yesterday and now there's 8" of snow of the ground and still going! Gotta love spring time in Colorado!!! The biggest problem with our spring snows is how heavy it is! But it's also good becasue it means a lot of moisture!
So I have two recipes for you all tonight, but no pictures of either. Both meals were kinda bland looking so I didn't take the pics haha. :-) Trust me though they were both delicious!!!

Ranch chicken nuggets

chicken breast (cut into bite size pieces and skinned)
1 cup corn flakes
1 T ranch powder mix
1 egg (white only)

Heat oven to 425
crush cornflakes and mix with ranch dressing
whip up egg white slightly
Dip chicken pieces in egg mixture and then in cornflak mixture.
Place on cookie sheet that is prepared with foil and a cooling rack.
Place chicken on cooling rack and spray with cooking spray (this makes them crunchy)
Bake for 20 minutes
enjoy

Everyone loves chicken nuggets!! and these were really good! There was about 252 calories in these and I paired them with some mashed potatos that were about 100 calories. So there's a 352 calorie meal not bad! Now I would have done green beans or something like that as well but I"m working on cleaning out my fridge and pantry before I move out in less than 2 months!!

Basil Salmon and Rice

Salmon filet

4 T butter (I use I can't believe it's not butter fat free)
2 T basil (can use fresh as well)
2 T lemon juice
1/4 t onion powder
1/4 t garlic powder
1/4 t salt
1/4 C rice (uncooked)
1/2 C water

Turn broiler on. Combine water, 1 T butter, 1 T basil and 1 T of lemon juice in a sauce pan. Bring to boil, add rice, cover, and turn on low - cook for 15 minutes
Melt remaining butter, add rest of basil, and lemon juice. Add onion powder, garlic powder, and salt to mixture.
Lay salmon in a small baking dish (just big enough for the salmon) and cover with the butter mixture. Broil for 10 minutes.
Place salmon on top of rice mixture.
enjoy!!

This was really good and refreshing! I just love the combination of lemon and basil! Such a good taste!! This meal is prob close to only 300 calories or less. So really good for you. Not to mention the benefits that salmon has!! It's great!!

Guest Blog!

Hey everyone!! Since it's my spring break and I haven't really been writing I asked someone to write a guest blog for me and it's awesome!!  Chen has a blog on picnic ideas and so he has written an article for you all on low cal picnic ideas. So here it is!! ENJOY!

Low Calorie Picnic Food Ideas
Picnics are great, but if you are on a low calorie diet, it can be torture. All those fried foods, delicious desserts, and mouth-watering meats can wreak havoc on someone’s diet with all the calories they have in them. That can turn a good time into a dismal experience.
It doesn’t have to be that way, fortunately. You can (and should) have a low calorie picnic of your own, complete with foods that lack fat but not flavor. You can even grill out without having your entrees loaded down with calories. This article will give you three low calorie picnic ideas : one appetizer, an entrée, and a dessert.
Low Calorie Picnic Food Ideas: Spinach Artichoke Dip
For this appetizer, we are making spinach artichoke dip with low-fat tortilla chips. To make your dip, you will need:
- ½ cup of light sour cream
- 12 ounces of thawed spinach
- 1/3 cup of grated Parmesan cheese
- 12 ounces of artichoke hearts
- 1 teaspoon of garlic powder
- 10 ounces of softened cream cheese
Preheat your oven to 375 degrees. Mix together the sour cream with the artichokes and the cream cheese with the sour cream. Add the Parmesan cheese and the garlic powder. Mix this into a creamy sauce and place into a baking dish that you have sprayed lightly with non-stick spray. Then, stir in the spinach (that has been squeezed dry). Bake for approximately 25-30 minutes. I’d stir every 10 minutes.
Low Calorie Picnic Food Ideas: Grilled Salmon
This dish is fairly easy to make. Just take slabs of salmon and fire up the grill to a moderate heat. Remove the skin and place on the grill. Spritz the top side with lemon juice and throw in some cracked black pepper. If you want, you can prepare a mixture of soy and brown sugar to get a salty-sweet combination going, and coat the salmon with the mixture while grilling. Cover both sides and continue to flip until the salmon is nice and grilled (about 6-8 minutes per side will work, or until the fish begins to flake.)
You can apply the soy-sugar glaze to the salmon overnight to marinate it if you would like.
Low Calorie Picnic Food Ideas: Caramelized Pear Delight
For this delightful treat, you will need:
- 2 whole pears
- Strawberry sauce
- 1 tablespoon of softened cream cheese
This dish is pretty easy to prepare. Peel, core, quarter, and slice your pears lengthwise into thin slices. Coat each side lightly with sugar, and place the slices into a sauté pan along with a ¼ cup of unsalted butter over low heat. Flip until both sides are caramelized. Once you have caramelized them, arrange the slices in an attractive pattern on a plate, with a dollop of cream cheese in the middle. Drizzle with strawberry sauce. If you want, you can place quartered strawberries on the plate for an added garnish.
You can substitute other flavors for the strawberry sauce. Raspberry sauce also works very well, as does cherry, apricot, and blueberry.
This entire three-course meal should come in right under 350 calories per person – and still taste delicious!
This article is courtesy of Chen from Picnic Food Ideas

Spring Break

Hey everyone just wanted to stop by and say hello and no I haven't forgotten about my blog haha, just have been on spring break!  Things have been going good, haven't been cooking cause I"m home and my mom does the cooking here haha!  But I haven't been too horrible for this week.  Lets just say I haven't gone above 1800 calories so I think that's pretty good haha.  I hope everyone is doing well and having a good week!!!!  Take Care!

I know, I owe you 3 recipes...

Ok ok ok, I know I haven't blogged at all this week!  SO SORRY!  I got caught up studying hard core for my ornithology exam that I have later today!  I'm ready to rock it!!  But with all of the studying I didn't forget to eat, cept this morning now that I mention it...Hold on I"m going to get some breakfast real quick.  Alrighty! I'm back! Not that you would ever know that I was gone haha!  So I did my tae bo on Monday and whew it wore me out!!  It was a good work out but I was sore on Tuesday!! haha.  Wednesday was suppose to be my second day of doing it, but I didn't because I had to go out and do my barn work which burns more calories than anything haha.  So today is suppose to be another rest day, but I think I"m going to do some ab exercises since I didn't really get that yesterday, then tomorrow is another session of Tae Bo, and I gotta go out and do a little barn work before my spring break!! 
I"m not really doing anything for spring break but going home to my parents and relaxing all week.  So not sure if I"ll be posting next week...we'll see haha.  We may be having a guest posting here soon, I'm so excited!! 
Ok I'll get onto the recipes that I missed, and keep this part short.  So here we go!

Balsamic Chicken and Couscous

1 chicken breast
2 T balsamic vinegar salad dressing
1/2 C cole slaw mix (or just a green salad)
1 serving of couscous (cooked according to package directions)

Marinate chicken breast in dressing for 5 hours.  Cook on med-hot grill, about 8-9 mins on each side.  Mix your salad with some of the dressing (not too much) and slice up chicken and place on top of salad.  Serve with side of couscous

Ok so this one is really easy, but not many people ever think of marinating their chicken in some sort of salad dressing.  You could also do Italian dressing if you want!! ENJOY Calorie count - 290

Chicken and Shrimp stuffed pita

1.5 ounces of already cooked chicken (I used my left over from the balsamic chicken)
1.5 ounces of already cooked shrimp
2 T low fat mayo (I use the olive oil mayo)
2 scallions
1 celery stock
salt and peper
2 small pitas

Finely chop chicken, shrimp, scallions, and celery.  Mix all together with mayo and salt and pepper.  Stuff pitas with mixture.  Enjoy!!

Once again another simple meal!  I wanted to use my left overs that I had in my fridge.  I had the chicken from the night before, and the shrimp was frozen from my shrimp scampi last week!  You can also do the same thing with some tuna and shrimp or what ever you want!  Once my mom had some left over lobster and we did this with lobster and shrimp!  OH so yummy!!  Calorie count - 330

Fajita Pita

3 oz steak
1 T taco seasoning
1/2 C sliced onion
1/2 C sliced bell pepper
2 T butter
splash of soy sauce
2 T sour cream
2 T salsa

Cover steak in taco seasoning and let sit for about 5 minutes.  Grill or pan sear until desired temp.  I like mine med so about 6 mins on each side.  Let sit for about 5 minutes after grilling.  Slice up thinly.
In a separate pan melt butter and add the splash of soy sauce (trust me best way to do this!) Add bell pepper and onion to pan and cover, let simmer for as long as the steak cooks. 
Smear sour cream and salsa on the inside of the pita.  Add sliced steak and veggies.  ENJOY!!

So these can also be done with chicken!  Just so good!  I love fajitas so much!  If you really want you can add some cheese to this as well, just keep in mind that will add calories.  This has 430 calories in it, prob one of my highest calorie dinners but I needed some extra calories for the day!

Whew we made it through all of those!  haha!  I will write tonight on what I'm making for tonight!!  Be ready for another mexican dish!  So until tonight!!

Lemon basil butter pasta with stuffed clams

Ok so hopefully that title drew you into today's post haha!  That's right, that's what I had for dinner and it was AMAZING!! Now your prob thinking to your self, that has to have like thousands of calories!!!! NOPE!!  One serving has *drum role please* 250 calories!!  Yeah you heard me right 250!  I think this is my lowest calorie dinner I have come up with so far!  Go me! haha!
So before I give you the recipe I shall ramble on about my day, I know you love it haha.  Today I got to sleep in and it felt amazing; I have gotten to do that in a long while!  After I finally got up I went and did my laundry at the laundry matt then got groceries for the week ahead.  At home I dusted, cleaned my fan (it was so full of dust that it needed done) cleaned my kitchen and finished my physics homework.  Wow what a productive day!!  Then I made my amazing dinner and am watching the Oscars!  I wish I had a thing to dress up for like that haha!  Wouldn't that be great?? 
So my major goal for the week: start doing my tae bo dvd that I have!   It will be a good push for my work out routine!  I really want to push my weight loss!  My best friend and I are planning a road trip to vegan then to cali at the end of May so I want to look fabulous for it! 
I weighed in this morning and I'm back down!  Remember that I gained some weight when I first started working out ( prob a result of some muscle build) so now that I got it back down I'm ready to keep dropping!!  I'm doing my second week of the Special K challenge which I have grown to love doing becasue it's so easy to do on the go!!
Ok ok ok, so on to tonight's dinner! 

Lemon butter pasta with stuffed clams

3/4 C Whole wheat pasta
3 T butter
1 T flour
1/2 C milk (low fat 2% or lower)
1 T lemon juice
2 T basil (fresh or tubed)
1/2 t salt
2 stuffed clams

Cook pasta according to directions. 
Melt butter in a sauce pan over medium heat.  Add flour and whisk together.  Let cook for a couple of minutes on a soft simmer, be sure to stir to keep from burning.  Add milk and whisk until smooth.  Wisk in lemon juice, basil and salt.  Let simmer for 5 minutes.
If you pre bought stuffed clams and need to heat them up:  Add the clams to the milk mixture and cover with lid.  Let simmer in there for 5 minutes while heating up the oven on broil.  Take clams out of sauce and place in a baking pan and broil for 5 minutes.  Your sauce will be fine during this time if you turn it down on low and just let it be. 
After clams and pasta are done, place the drained pasta in the pan with the sauce and toss.  Take out and place on plate, and place clams ontop. Enjoy!

This made enough for two serving and I can't say enough how amazing it is!!  My biggest thing I have to say is that I love tossing the pasta with the sauce then putting it on the plate, instead of pouring the sauce over the pasta.  this keeps you from using too much of it!  And trust me that you will most likely not use all of the sauce for the two servings!!  When eating it I would take out some of the stuffed clam and get some pasta and eat it all together!  The mix of the lemon and basil with the clams is just spectacular!
If you don't like stuffed clams, you can also use: shrimp, scallops, plain clams, or any type of fish.  I guess you could also do this dish with chicken if you really wanted.  Any of these choices are still really healthy and great for you!!
I hope you all enjoy this out there and I look forward to the rest of the week becasue like I've mentioned time and time again, I have an amazing menu planned out, and this is just the start of it!!

Getting ready for a new week

Whew my back hurts tonight from my barn work.  Since it's spring everything is thawing now which means more work for me haha!  It'll only be a few times that it will be real bad until I get everything scooped up that was frozen.  So I spend 2 1/2 hours working today, but it was a good time to work on the tan! haha!!  It felt like spring today, so nice!  If your curious out there 2 1/2 hours of barn work equals about 1300 calories burned!  I would say well worth the trouble haha!!
Yesterday I delivered a car to Glenwood Springs for my dad and it was a lot of driving haha.  Don't worry I was still pretty good.  I brought a protein bar along with me and a special k snack bar.  Also my water bottle.  Now while driving I couldn't help but think of ideas to get a work out in while driving.... There's always the simple ab work out of sucking your gut in so that your pulling your bellybutton to your spine and hold for ten seconds....then repeat haha.  I also did some arm exercises using my water bottle, but don't worry I only did those while the weather was nice during my drive haha because I could only use one hand at a time on the wheel.  Another good leg workout would to life your toes off the ground while keeping your heels on the ground and do several them, then switch and lift your heel off and keep your toes on the ground.  Great leg workout for while in the car haha.
Boy I sure have a great menu planned out for this week, I'm super excited!!!!  Once again I'm doing the special K challenge this week.  Its actually really easy to do and great for on the run!  I haven't weighed in yet for the week, plan on doing it in the morning!
So today I did not each much during the day, but for dinner I had Mexicali, thank you Alex and Ken!!  I calculated it up and that burrito had about 1040 calories! YIKES!! Oh well, I totaled up my calories for the day and I'm at 1,200 calories which is great haha!  I can't go higher than 1500.  Honestly I should be hitting about 1200 each day, but it's so hard for me to do!! I"m lucky that I'm hitting over 1000 and I see that as a good start to healthy eating, one step at a time!!
Well I feel like I"m just rambling so I will sign out for the night.  Be sure to check back for all the great recipes this week!! I'm So excited!!!!

Michele

March 4th

So you may be asking your self why I put today's date as the title.....March 4th is a day that stirs up many emotions...First off it is my mother's birthday so happy birthday to her!! I love her so much!!  I consider my mom one of my best friends and I owe so much to her! I love my whole family, it's with all of their support that I am where I am today....
March 4th is also an emotional day on the other spectrum because 7 years ago today I lost my best friend to a car accident.  That event turned my world upside down.  I was lost for months and didn't know what to do with my self, but with the support of my family and other friends I made it through a stronger person.  Now I look back on the event as sad, but I thank God that I am a better person that I was then and I owe some of it also to Ryan because I got a real chance to look at the way that he lived his life....to the fullest each and everyday, no regrets.  And ever since I have tried to live my life that way and I pass that motto onto all of you out there!! 
Anyways with all of that aside, I was bad today, I got McDonalds for dinner.  I was on the run because I had to drive to Denver after my last class and didn't have time for anything else to eat.  I was going to eat one of my breakfast burritos but it had mold on it, so oh well haha.  Tomorrow I am driving up to Glenwood Springs to deliver a car for my dad.  I brought my special K stuff to eat on the road, so I'm planning on being good during the day!!!
So last night I had an awesome dinner!  I got a bison steak that was amazing.  I also fell in love with mashed cauliflower!  It was soooooo good!!!!!!!  I also made low cal coleslaw to go along with it.  So it was good over all and just so tasty.  I eat way too well to be a college student haha! 
Anyways, I've rambled enough for today, take care everyone and I will post later!!!!

Michele

Shrimp Scampy

So today was my 2nd day on the special K challenge and it went really well!!  I enjoy the special K foods, from their protein shakes to their cereal so that makes all of this easier.  Other than that it was a beautiful day here in Colorado!  It was 50* out and the sun shinned all day long!  I twas awesome!!  tomorrow is suppose to be even warmer at 57*!  WOO haha.  With the warmer weather I went out and did my barn work, but there was more to do because things were starting to thaw out.  So my arms are nice and worn out, and I might be feeling it in my back tomorrow.  Oh well!  It was good exercise haha.
So for dinner tonight I decided to do a shrimp scampy and oh man it was sooooooooooo good!! It was really refreshing!!   And of course it was healthy!  So here's the recipe!

Shrimp Scampy

3 oz cooked shrimp
1 serving whole wheat pasta
1 fl oz rose wine
1 Tbs lemon juice
10 spear tips of asparagus or broccoli crown (about 5 if you do the broccoli)
2 cloves of garlic
1/2 Tbs olive oil
1/2 Tbs butter
salt and pepper to taste

Cook pasta according to directions
Sautee garlic and onion in olive oil. After it's cooked for a little add asparagus and cook for only about 5 minutes.
Take out and keep oil in pan. Add shrimp to pan and sear just enough to heat up the shrimp. After done take out of pan. Add wine to the pan and let the alcohol cook off.  Add butter and melt into the wine. After that is done add lemon juice and the garlic, onion, asparagus mixture and add shrimp. Toss with pasta and enjoy!

 

I would have done the asparagus but my local grocery store didn't have very good looking asapragus so I opted to use broccoli instead!

The pasta I used was the same as the one from the other night with my beef stroganoff which is fantastic haha.  Once again this is a lot to eat!!  But it only has 320 calories in it!!  Remember all of the inexpedience are for one serving...  Also with the wine you can use what ever type you have...I had some rose wine so that's what I used haha.  Also with the sauce you don't want to make too much, just enough to coat the rest of the dish, you don't want soup!!!!  Anyways enjoy this dish!  I know I did!!!   I can't wait to enjoy the weather tomorrow, I'm thinking about going bird watching for my ornithology class tomorrow.  It'll be good to get out and walk around!  Anyways that's it for today!  

Michele

Special K Challenge

As I mentioned in my earlier post I'm doing the Special K Challenge these next two weeks.  I figured good time to do it!  2 weeks till spring break and I'm staying home this weekend so I can focus on it!!  Also I'm planning on working out again.  Today I didin't get around to it because I'm studying for my Ornithology Lab Practicle that I have tomorrow morning and I have to do well on it!!  I'll prob get some crunches in before bed but that's about it.  Oh well!  The Special K challenge went alright today except I met with my cousin and aunt for lunch because they were up in town.  So I ate pretty bad for lunch haha.  Oh well right!  I did well the rest of the day! 
I don't really have much to say today except for that I"m excited for the rest of this week food wise because I have some good dinners though up for the week!  So stay tuned for those!! HAHA!  Anyways, hope everyones' weekend was good and have a good week!!!

Michele