We Survived!!

My husband and I gave ourselves a challenge to not eat out at all in January. We did this more as a financial challenge rather than a nutritional challenge but I think we benefited in both aspects. Not only did I truly have to rely on my meal plan but I wasn't tempted to eat larger restaurant portions or fattening foods.

We only went out to eat once - and it was for my little brother's birthday and my parents paid, so it didn't count :) Plus, I made healthy choices there getting a quinoa salad with grilled chicken on top!

I'm not going to lie, we're not continuing this no-eating-out challenge, in fact we've already planned a few places we're going in February. But, we have decreased our eating out budget for each month of 2011.

What are some ways you can challenge yourself in your eating habits?

Thoughtful Thursday - Super Cinnamon

Have you ever heard of superfoods? Superfoods is a term coined to describe foods that have significant nutritional benefits beyond their macronutrients. They might pack an extra punch of vitamins and minerals or have an abundance of phytonutrients (or essentially chemicals within foods which promote health). For the next several weeks I plan to provide you with examples of superfoods each Thoughtful Thursday and give you ideas of ways to incorporate this superfood in your diet.

CINNAMON

Cinnamon has been labeled as "the humble superfood". I think they mean that its not some fancy, exotic fruit or some crazy berry that you have to buy in health food stores. But rather, cinnamon is a simple spice that you can get in the aisles of any grocery store. You can add it to a number of foods quite easily. AND It has tons of health benefits.

The USDA found that simply incorporating a 1/2 tsp of cinnamon into your diet each day can help control type II diabetes as well as lower LDL (or bad) cholesterol.

The smell of cinnamon itself has shown to provide a "brain boost" through increased blood flow to the brain. So it might be good in situations where you need to study or have improved memory.

The best part about cinnamon as a superfood is that it is super easy to incorporate it in your diet.

Add it to breads, oatmeal, yogurt, cereal. Try cinnamon instead of salt in some richer sauce dishes or with dark leafy greens.

One tip - don't try to increase your cinnamon by doing a cinnamon challenge... RIDICULOUS :)

How can YOU incorporate CINNAMON into your daily diet?

Chicken and Black Bean Tacos on Flatbread

I love my husband with all my heart. But I truly believe that couples are brought together to complement each others' strengths and weaknesses. Thankfully, I enjoy cooking us dinner as my husband's culinary skills are....um....limited.

I like to stick to my mealplan as much as possible. Last week I thought that my husband was going to be late in the evening so I didn't plan anything for dinner. Much to my surprise, I found out late the night before that he would indeed be home for dinner. So I told him that I would figure out something for dinner and let him know via email so he could throw something in the crock pot before he left at 2:00pm. This might sound like the perfect plan but I was trying to keep it as simple as possible. So I sent him with the following recipe:
Chicken and Black Beans Taco filling

4 small chicken breasts, frozen
1 16 oz jar your favorite salsa
1 Tbsp taco seasoning
1 can of black beans, rinsed and drained

Combine chicken breasts, salsa and taco seasoning in crock pot. Cook on high for 3 hours.

Shred chicken with two forks. Add drained black beans to crock pot. Continue to cook on low for 1 hour.

Use as filling for tacos, quesadillas, on top of a salad, etc.

Makes about 8 servings. Each serving provides:
128.4 calories
1.1 g fat
12.4 g carbohydrate
3.8 g fiber
17.3 g protein

With this chicken concoction, I decided to try a variation of a recipe that I saw on Real Mom Kitchen. Instead of tortillas, she made "flatbread" out of refrigerator biscuits. I used the same method and came up with my own variation of flatbread tacos.
Flatbread tacos - BETTER

1 package reduced fat refrigerator biscuits (I used Grand's)
1/2 cup reduced fat sour cream
1 cup 2% shredded Cheddar cheese

Roll each biscuit into a 6-inch circle. In a dry skillet over medium heat, cook each biscuit for 30-60 seconds on each side until browned. Keep warm in a tortilla warmer.

Spread each flatbread with a Tbsp of sour cream. Pile chicken/blackbean filling on top. Sprinkle with 2 Tbsp shredded cheese.

Enjoy!

As prepared, each flatbread taco provides:
343 calories
9.9 g fat
39.4 g carbohydrate
4.8 g fiber
21.2 g protein.

Poppy Seed Chicken

I have a love for anything with a good crust, any good casserole and anything that can be made ahead or frozen. I feel like I'm always bringing a meal to someone who just had a baby and I find it easiest just to make a big batch of what we're having for dinner and split it up so I have some for the new momma as well.

One of my coworkers had a baby a few weeks ago and I wanted to make some good old comfort food (i.e. an awesome casserole). I've made poppy seed chicken before and assumed I could make it ahead of time and freeze it before baking. So over the weekend, I made up a batch of the awesome casserole - put half of it in an 8x8 for Paul and myself and put the other half in a foil 8x8 for my coworker. The day before I brought it over to her, I cooked up a big batch of brown rice to split between the two of us and picked up an extra bag of broccoli Steamers. Voila -instant comfort meal.

Poppy seed chicken is one of those recipes that you see all over the blogosphere. I decided to go with The Girl Who Ate Everything's rendition. I like that she provides a bunch of different ways to kick it up a notch. I added Worcestershire sauce and celery seed. I've made it with cheddar cheese before too (although that definitely doesn't help the healthful factor).

I guessed that each 9x13 pan would provide about 8 servings of the casserole. Each serving of the original recipe would provide:

511 calories
29.1 g fat
17.1 g carbohydrate
0.1 g fiber
44.9 g protein

I made a few substitutions that you could easily do at home. First, I used fat free sour cream instead of full fat sour cream. I don't really care for fat free sour cream as a topping, but in recipes its usually a pretty good substitute. Next, I used reduced fat Ritz crackers. Lastly, I only used 2 Tbsp of melted butter, instead of 1/2 a cup. I sprayed the top with nonstick spray to ensure that it browned nicely. Overall - pretty AWESOME.

Poppy Seed Chicken - BETTER

5 cups chicken breasts, cooked and cubed
1 cup fat free sour cream
2 cans condensed cream of chicken soup
2 cups crushed reduced fat Ritz crackers (about 1 1/2 rolls)
2 Tbsp melted butter
1 Tbsp poppy seeds
nonstick spray

Additional ingredients to make it fancier (and not included in the nutrition facts):
1 tsp Worcestershire sauce
1 tsp celery salt
1 tsp minced garlic
1 Tbsp lemon juice
1/4 tsp pepper

Boil raw chicken breasts with salt and pepper until done. I usually do this in a crockpot with frozen chicken breasts and a 1/4 cup of water on high for a few hours. Let chicken cool and cut into one inch cubes. Place cubed chicken in a 9x13 casserole dish. (If splitting, use two 8x8 pans).

Stir together condensed soup and sour cream. IF you wish to add the additional flavorings, add them in now. Stir well and pour over the chicken.

In a separate bowl, stir together the crushed crackers, poppy seeds and melted butter. Sprinkle over the chicken and sauce. Evenly spray with nonstick spray.

Cover with foil and place in freezer if keeping for later. When ready to bake, thaw completely in the fridge. Uncover and bake in a 350 degree oven for 30 minutes or until the top of the casserole is browned and the sauce is bubbly. Serve plain or over brown rice.

Makes 8 servings. Per serving:
393 calories
12.4 g fat
21.6 g carbohydrate
0.1 g fiber
45.4 g protein

On another note.... I'm hosting 15 people over at my house on Sunday and want to make something in the crockpot that will be ready after church... any suggestions?

Quick and Easy Breadsticks

I was searching for a homemade breadstick recipe to go along with my meat sauce and whole wheat pasta. I have upped my exercise considerably the last few weeks and have noticed that I'm really needing more food to hold me over and satisfy me. Plus, I'm nursing which I have found if I try to cut back on my calories too much, it really affects my supply (possibly TMI but hey, its the truth). So why not add some breadsticks with my pasta?

So I'm pretty sure that My Sisters Cafe is my go-to place for homemade bread recipes. They are always so good! I found this recipe for homemade breadsticks and is was exceptionally appealing since they take about an hour to make.

The recipe didn't say how many breadsticks it makes but I assumed about 12 from the picture. With 12 as the serving size, the original recipe provides:

181 calories
4.6 g fat
30.1 g carbohydrate
1.0 g fiber
4.4 g protein

Now I made about 12 out of my batch but came up with GIGANTIC breadsticks (as evidenced by the picture on top!) I would suggest making at least 16 out of this recipe, or even more. The more breadstick you yield, the less calories, fat, etc in your recipe. I also did not melt butter into the pan. I sprayed the pan with nonstick cooking spray. I used 1 Tbsp of butter, melted to brush on the tops of the breadsticks. This decreased the fat slightly per breadstick.

Quick and Easy Breadsticks - BETTER

1 1/2 cups warm water
1 Tbsp yeast
2 Tbsp sugar
3 1/2 cups flour
1/2 tsp salt
1 Tbsp butter, melted
2 Tbsp parmesan
1 tsp garlic powder

Dissolve yeast in warm water. Add sugar and let it sit and bubble for a few minutes. Add the salt and flour. Knead for 3 minutes. Let the dough rest for 10 minutes. (All of this can be done in your kitchen stand mixer). Spray a cookie sheet with nonstick spray. On a lightly floured surface, roll dough to roughly the shape of your cookie sheet. Cut into 16 (or more!) sticks. Twist or lay flat on cookie sheet. Brush with 1 Tbsp butter and sprinkle with Parmesan and garlic powder.

Let rise 10 -20 minutes. Preheat your oven to 375 degrees and bake for 20 minutes or until golden.

Makes 16 breadsticks. Per breadstick:
116 calories
1.3 g fat
22.6 g carbohydrate
0.8 g fiber
3.3 g protein

Quinoa Black Bean Salad

Image source

At work we had an open house that highlighted all the health benefits available to employees. Since I work in employee wellness, I had a booth at the open house promoting a weight management program we'll be offering this year. So for two days, I sat at my booth socializing with all the other booths during slow times. One of the booths at the open house was our chef from the employee cafeteria. He was doing cooking demonstrations and made a quinoa salad. Needless to say, I ate MANY samples of this awesome quinoa salad that he created and thought I would share it with you.

Quinoa is a whole grain that I hear of a lot lately, especially in healthy lifestyle blogs. I think its kind of the "in" thing right now. Quinoa (pronounced keen-wah) is a whole grain that is high in fiber and protein and naturally gluten free. It comes in a variety of colors like red, black and white. You can buy it at natural food stores, Costco or even the baking aisle of many grocery stores. You cook it up just like you do pasta or rice. In fact it only takes 15-20 minutes to cook in boiling water, vs. brown rice which can take 45+ minutes!

Here is the recipe that was featured at the open house:

Quinoa and Black Bean Salad

1 cup raw Quinoa
1 1/2 cupswater
1/2 tsp salt
2 cups black beans
4 Roma tomatoes, diced
1 green pepper, diced
2 large green onions, diced
1 red pepper diced

Dressing
2 Tbsp fresh cilantro, chopped
1 tsp coriander
1 tsp cumin
2 Tbsp fresh lime juice
3 Tbsp olive oil
1 tsp salt
fresh ground pepper, to taste

Rinse quinoa several times. Place quinoa, 1/2 tsp salt and water in a sauce pan and simmer 15 minutes. Remove from heat, cover and let stand for 5 minutes. Fluff with a fork and cool completely.

Add veggies to cooked quinoa. Mix together all dressing ingredients in a separate bowl and toss with quinoa and veggies.

Serve chilled and garnish with cilantro.

Makes 6 servings, each serving provides:
276 calories
9.3 g fat
40.1 g carbohydrate
8.5 g fiber
10.1 g protein

***Top with a grilled chicken breast or salmon fillet for a complete meal.

Thoughtful Thursday - Dear Diary...

Each Thursday I will be doing a "Thoughtful Thursday" post. This post will not necessarily include a recipe that I've tried, but rather a few nutrition thoughts that may help you make healthy food decisions for you and your family.

I had a diary when I was in elementary school. I wasn't very consistent in my usuage of my diary, maybe writing in it once a month. I wasn't a boy crazy kid who gushed to her diary about all the boys I had crushes on. Instead, I would occasionally write about what I did that day. I didn't really see the point.

Food diaries, on the other hand, have a valuable role in making wise food decisions. A 2008 research study praised the benefits of keeping a regular food diary, especially when trying to lose weight or follow a special diet. People who kept regular food diaries lost TWICE as much weight as people who did NOT keep a food diary following the same diet. People who were following specific nutrition recommendations, such as those for diabetes or heart disease, were significantly more compliant if they kept a food diary than if they did not.

I encourage my clients to keep a food diary when they are starting off on a nutrition goal to help increase their awareness of what they are taking in, and how it adds up in the day. I suggest trying a food diary for a week or two until you are able to establish a pattern of intake that meets your needs and goals. After that, I would encourage you to keep a food diary a couple days a week, but don't feel stressed to do it EVERYDAY.

When keeping a food diary it is important to think about every. single. thing. that goes into your mouth. So that includes drinks, condiments, little pieces of candy you grab off the receptionist's desk, etc. It is also important to pay attention to how a food is prepared (baked, fried, grilled, etc) and a specific portion size. You may even wish to measure your food for a few days to get a good visual picture of what your portions look like.

Here are a couple of websites which have good food diary programs:

http://www.myfitnesspal.com/

http://www.sparkpeople.com/

http://www.livestrong.com/

http://www.fitday.com/

http://www.calorie-count.com/

Have you ever kept a food diary? How'd it work for you?