Another quick and healthy recipe!!!

 

First I started with some diced bell pepper, onion, and tomato. I made a large amount of this to keep in the fridge almost like a salsa. I added a little lime juice, salt, and pepper! Delicious! So I added a scoop of my diced veggies into the saucepan to sauté in a little olive oil. Once they became tender I sliced up some Italian chicken sausage and threw it in.

 

Once the sausage was cooked, I poured some scrambled eggs with black olives right on top and them cook until done. I then wrapped it all up in a wheat tortilla and topped it off with some avocado and siracha sauce!!

 



OK here's a healthy dinner you can eat all week! Homemade chicken salad with roasted sweet potatoes! Yummm! So I started by dicing up 1lb of chicken breast and cooking in a pan with a little olive oil salt and pepper. Then I peeled and diced one sweet potato. I cut the sweet potato the same size as the chicken pieces. Now, toss the sweet potatoes in a pan with a little bit of olive oil and salt and pepper. Let the potatoes get golden brown on all sides lightly tossing them every few minutes.

 

 For the sauce to toss the chicken in, I used what I had in my pantry. Mostly light mayonnaise, a little spicy mustard, a little salsa of my choice, garlic pepper, and salt. I also finely minced a little onion and pickle to toss in as well. Remember you don't have to add any of these things if you don't like them .This is all about experimenting with healthy food and enjoying doing it. Once you have your sauce ratio the way you like it, toss in your chicken and sweet potatoes. Gently mix and enjoy!!! I like to eat mine wrapped in a warmed wheat tortilla!!!!

Grilled pork chops and sweet potato fries

So, I made one of me and Eric's favorite meals last night! Grilled Pork chops, bone in, with sweet potato fries! Here's how its done!

 

Preheat your oven to 400 degree. Then I peal and cut the sweet potato into fry size. Now you may be saying, "Hey that's not a sweet potato!" Either way, these are the ones I like to cook for "sweet potato fries." They may be yams, I have used the lighter colored sweet potatoes but I don't like them as much as these. After you peel and cut them, lightly coat them with olive oil, garlic salt, and pepper. Pop them in the oven for 15 minutes. After the first 15 minutes, toss them around and cook them for an additional 15 minutes.

 

 While your fries are cooking, get your grill ready. You want it to stay at a constant temperature of 375 degrees. Open your pork chops and season each side with your favorite pork rub. These bad boys cook for seven minutes on each side. BUT WAIT! Before you flip, coat the first side with some sweet baby rays bbq sauce. Put that side down on the grill and coat the other side with the bbq sauce as well.

 This is the finished product! Delicious. The pork chops taste like ribs and they are juicy and tender. Be careful not to cook your pork chops too long because they will dry out and pretty much become inedible. Whelp, there it is! Try it out and let me know what you think!

Stuffed Peppers

Tonight I made stuffed poblano peppers with roasted carrots and cauliflower! It was delicious! Heres how;

First I preheated the oven to 400 degrees. Then I cut my cauliflower into smaller flourettes. I coated the carrots with olive oil, garlic salt, and pepper. I tossed them in the oven for 15 minutes and then give them a toss and cook for an additional 15 mintutes.

 While my veggies are roasting in the oven, I prepare my poblano peppers. I cook them over my gas fire stove rotating them every few seconds until all sides are blackened.

Once all the skin has wrinkled and turn a dark blackish brown, put them in a bowl with foil on top or in a brown paper bag until you are ready to stuff them. This helps the skin continue to sweat and make it easier to peel later.

See! The skin peels right off! But wait, thats later!

 While my peppers are hanging out in their bowl I am going to begin to prepare the stuffing for the peppers. I looked in my fridge where I keep my veggies and decided to go with garlic, bell pepper, spinach, and onion. I cut all of my veggies into a medium small dice and tossed everything, except for the spinch, into a few tablespoons of olive oil in a sautee pan. I cooked all of those until just tender. Next came a pound of ground turkey.

Once I put my turkey in the pan I pull out my seasonings. I use garlic pepper, salt, cajun seasoning, paprika, cayenne pepper, red pepper flake, and mostley cumin! I love cumin! It has the best smokey taste and smell that just reminds me of tacos my mom used to make. Yum! Ok back to the recipe. After you add the seasoning and the turkey has brown all the way I add a couple tablespoons of sweet baby ray's bbq sauce :) Amazing! Now, I toss in my handful of spinach so it can wilt for a few minutes and finish it off with a handful of low fat mexican blend cheese.

Now that the filling is done and the cheese is melted, its time to take the veggies out of the oven. Golden brown and caramelized. Perfect!

Ok back to the pepper stuffing process. By now your filling is done and so are your roasted veggies. As you can see in the picture it is very easy to peel these peppers. Take off all of the skin, cut the top off, and clean out all of the seads. Be careful not to rip the peppers! Once you have done that it's time to fill. Stuff the turkey mix into the peppers as deep as it will go and fill them up about a half inch from the top so nothing falls out later. I then crumbled up a few crackers I had in the cabinted and coated each peppers. I browned all sides of the peppers in a sautee pan with a little olive oil.

Here is the finished product! The roasted carrots are so sweet they almost taste like candy! The bbq sauce and seasonig makes a perfect sauce for the filling. I even added a little sliced tomato and avocado on the side for a little freshness. Any recipe can be made your own with a little imaginatin and fresh ingredients you love!!!

Ok I admit that tonight, of course on my first night of blogging, I'm exhausted from the gym, but, I still cooked dinner. I wanted my first blog to really show off my skills but it just didn't happen tonight. Eric had a long day at work today so I wanted to surprise him with his favorite dinner :) breakfast. Ya, eggs, bacon, toast the whole shabang! Here is what we had;

Eric and I both love bacon just like every other human on earth. But, instead of regular bacon we switch it up and use turkey bacon. Now, remember this is eating to live not living to eat so you have to step out of the box and try new things if you are skeptical. I promise it's not as bad as you may think. Cooked in a dry sautee pan until golden brown on each side.

 Next, I looked in my veggie drawer and found onion, sweet pepper, and spinach. I chopped all of them up about the same size, medium dice, and sautee the onions and pepper in olive oil until carmelized on the outside and tender. I then toss my handful of fresh spinach in and sautee until just wilted. In a seperate bowl I cracked three eggs, poured a dash of nonfat milk, and added garlic salt and pepper. Stir that up and pour it right on top of the sauteed veggies and scramble like you regularly would.

Here is the end result! This is Eric's plate, not mine. He had two pieces of whole wheat dry toast, turkey bacon, onion, pepper, and spinach omlette, and a side of grapes and strawberries. This took all of about 15 minutes to prepare and cook. I had a smaller portion of this exact meal minus the toast.

 Lets just say he was very happy to see breakfast when he got home! Hmmmmmm now what should I take out of the freezer to defrost for tomorrow night???????? :)

First Timer

OK, here it is, I have finally started my own blog. If I'm not doing this correctly, or if anyone has tips please feel free to let me know what I can do to make this site easier or better for you!

It feels as if my entire life has been a constant battle with weight. The women in my family are all over 5 foot 7 inches tall and we have bodacious thighs and arms. I know what your saying, "join the club right?" Well believe me I have had my share of ups and downs as well. My weight has fluctuated for years. I've been called names for being over weight and I've been told I look too thin. Where is the cut off? When do I look good? When will I be happy and comfortable with myself? Want to know what I have to say about all that now, F*** it! I have finally come to terms with myself and have realized that I will never be a size 4! But hey, I gotta work with what I got!

Since October 2012 I have been on a quest for a healthier lifestyle. Not a diet or some crazy workout where I have to do one-armed one-legged push-ups, no thank you. But I have decided to take control of my urges, and not only live a more active life-style but to have healthier eating habits as well. SOOO, this is why I have decided to start a blog. I want to inspire people who are young like me to take action and enjoy cooking more healthy without starving, which I've done, and to get more active.

I cook every night of the week for my boyfriend, Eric, and I. Ok ok I know Monday through Thursday isn't every night of the week but hey, I'm still young and I like to go out on the weekends! That's why I am here! You can still live the lifestyle you want but by making better choices you can change your health forever. so, not only have we been eating better but we have been trying to at least go to the gym three nights a week. Remember, this is not some crazy program where your not eating much and working out two hours a day. This is eating to live, not living to eat.

One major improvement that I have seen in my body is cutting out as many processed foods as I can. If you haven't noticed, most grocery stores keep all the meats and fresh produce around the sides of the store. All of the processed foods are down the isles. I still get my cheese and my yogurt and my granola bars but I make sure to get fat free or low fat. Every little bit helps. By not eating as many processed foods, the fat on my stomach has begun to shrink like I have never seen before! It's pretty amazing.

So, Eric and I went grocery shopping last night and shopped around the sides of the store grabbing every fruit, veggie, and choice of meat we liked. I don't plan my meals other than taking meat out the morning of to defrost it. I also don't go by any recipes. Once I get home from and hour or so of working out at the gym, the meat I chose is defrosted and my veggies are in the drawer ready for me to prep and cook.

I will be posting my recipes as much as I possibly can the day of or after I cook them. Tonight will probably be the first night so stay posted!