Eating Better and Moving More

During my last pregnancy with William, I hit every single holiday and splurged a little to much.  My figure has paid for it and I am trying to bounce back to a leaner me.  I don't want to be a stick figure by any means, just a little firmer in places.  I have been trying to exercise but always something pops up and gets in the way (like holidays and I hurt my toe and life in general).  Our friends the Grows were over one night and we were talking about exercise and then a few days later they asked if we wanted to have a weight lose competition and Brian and I said, Yes!  We started our weigh-in on January 3 and we have placed a bet whoever can lose the most weight over a few months will receive free babysitting for one night out on the town by the losing team.  Brian and I have been working hard so far and really not going on a diet but making better food choices and moving our bodies a little lot more.  With the help of sparkpeople also has helped us tremendously.  Below I have shared a few recipes we have partaken in over the last 2 weeks.  Sorry no pictures, but I have tried them and added to my recipe collection.

Tonight was our two week weigh-in   Katrina lost 4 pounds!  Brian lost 3 pounds! Oven-Baked Salmon Ingredients 12 ounce salmon fillet, cut into 4 pieces Coarse-grained salt Freshly ground black pepper Directions Preheat the oven to 450 degrees F. Season salmon with salt and pepper. Place salmon, skin side down, on a non-stick baking sheet or in a non-stick pan with an oven-proof handle. Bake until salmon is cooked through, about 12 to 15 minutes. SERVES: 4 Calories: 177 Total Fat: 11 grams Saturated Fat: 2.5 grams Protein: 17 grams Total carbohydrates: 0 grams Sugar: 0 grams Fiber: 0 grams Cholesterol: 47 milligrams Sodium: 170 milligrams Recipe adapted from Food Network Turkey Burgers 1 pound ground turkey 1 tablespoon McCormick Montreal Seasoning ( I didn't have this so I used the hamburger one) 1 1/2 tablespoon Worcestershire Sauce Cook in a little olive oil for 5 minutes per side.  Yield 4 patties Cafe Rio Chicken

• 2 lbs chicken breasts
• 1/2 cup zesty Italian dressing
• 1/2 Tbsp. minced garlic
• 1 pkt ranch dressing mix
• 1/4 cup of water
• 1/2 Tbsp. chili powder
• 1/2 Tbsp. ground cumin

1. Place chicken in a crock pot.
2. In a bowl, whisk together the remaining ingredients and pour over the chicken.
3. Cook on High 5-6 hours OR on Low 8 hours.
4. Remove chicken from crock pot and shred.
5. Remove half the liquid from the crock pot and place in a bowl. Add the chicken to the crock pot and combine with the liquid left in the crock pot. You want the chicken nice and moist. Add more of the reserved liquid if needed.
6. Serve in tacos, burritos, salad, quesadillas, etc. I got two meals from this. I did tacos with some and quesadillas another time with the leftovers. This meat freezes well.

Recipe adapted from RealMom Kitchen

Bean and Pasta Soup

1 cup uncooked small pasta
2 celery ribs, thinly sliced
2 medium carrots, thinly sliced
1 medium onion, chopped
1 garlic clove, minced
1 tablespoon olive oil
2 cups water
1 can (14 1/2 oz) diced tomatoes, undrained
1 1/4 cups reduced sodium chicken broth or vegetable broth
1 teaspoon dried basil
1/2 teaspoon dried rosemary, crushed
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/8 teaspoon pepper
1 can (15 oz) white kidney or cannelloni beans, rinsed and drained
2 cups shredded fresh spinach
1/4 cup shredded Parmesan cheese

Cook pasta according to package directions.  Meanwhile, in a large nonstick saucepan, saute the celery, carrots, onion and garlic in oil for 5 minutes.  Stir in the water, tomatoes, broth, basil, rosemary, salt and pepper.  Bring to a boil.  Reduce the heat; cover and simmer for 10 minutes or until carrots are tender.

Drain pasta; stir into vegetable mixture.  Add the beans; heat through.  Stir int he spinach; cook until spinach is wilted, about 2 minutes.  Sprinkle with Parmesan cheese.

Yield 5 servings

11/2 cups equals 218 calories, 5 g fat, 3 mg cholesterol, 588 mg sodium, 35 g carbohydrate, 7 g fiber, 9 g protein.

Recipe adapted from Taste of Home Comfort Food Cookbook Diet

Creamy Layered Squares

What You Need

1-1/2 cups boiling water

1 pkg. (0.6 oz.) JELL-O Strawberry Flavor Sugar Free Gelatin

Ice cubes

1 cup cold water

1-1/2 cups thawed COOL WHIP Sugar Free Whipped Topping, divided

Make It

ADD boiling water to gelatin mix in large bowl; stir 2 min. until completely dissolved. Add enough ice to cold water to measure 1-1/2 cups. Add to gelatin; stir until ice is completely melted. Remove 1-1/2 cups gelatin; set aside on counter. Refrigerate remaining gelatin 30 min. or until slightly thickened.

ADD 3/4 cup COOL WHIP to chilled thickened gelatin; whisk until well blended. Pour into 8-inch square dish. Refrigerate 15 min. or until gelatin mixture is set but not firm. Carefully pour reserved gelatin over creamy gelatin layer in dish.

REFRIGERATE 3 hours or until firm. Cut into squares; top with remaining COOL WHIP.

 

Substitute

Prepare using any flavor JELL-O Sugar Free Gelatin.

Substitute

Prepare using 2 pkg. (0.3 oz. each) JELL-O Strawberry Flavor Sugar Free Gelatin.

Gelatin Success Tip

To make JELL-O Gelatin that is clear and uniformly set, be sure the gelatin is completely dissolved in the boiling water before adding the cold liquid. Stirring with a rubber spatula will help ensure that all the crystals are dissolved.

Calories  35, Fat 1.5 g, Saturated fat 1.5 g, Cholesterol 0 mg, Sodium 50 mg,Carbohydrate 4 g

Dietary fiber 0 g, Sugars 1 g, Protein1 g

    

Recipe adapted from Kraft Foods

Mixed Fruit Pizza

1 tube (8 oz) refrigerated reduced-fat crescent rolls
8 oz reduced fat cream cheese
1/2 cup apricot preserves
2 tablespoons confectioners sugar
Assorted fruit of choice (strawberries, blueberries, raspberries, kiwi, bananas, etc.)

Unroll crescent roll dough and place in a 15 in x 10 in x 1 in baking pan coated with cooking spray.  Press onto the bottom and up the sides of pan to form a crust; seal seams and perforations.  Bake at 375  for 8-10 minutes or until golden.  Cool completely.

In a mixing bowl, beat cream cheese until smooth.  Beat in preserves and confectioners sugar; spread over crust.  Refrigerate for 1-2 hours.

Just before serving arrange the berries on top.  Cut into 20 pieces

Yield: 20 servings

1 piece equals 110 calories, 5 g fat, 9 mg cholesterol, 143 mg sodium, 15 g carbohydrate, 1 g fiber, 3 g protein

Recipe adapted from Taste of Home Comfort Food Cookbook Diet