Recipe: Fiesta Lime Chicken Tacos

We had these for dinner last night. Ohhhhh they were soooo good! And very low sodium too!! These were seriously so much better than the tacos I'm used to making. Because of a time crunch I didn't make my own tortillas this time, but that's on the docket for next time!!

Rub the chicken in spices and let sit. I used Mrs. Dash Fiesta Lime mix because its salt free. You can also use McCormick's fiesta lime spice mix package, or create your own concoction.

Once it has sat for a little bit cook the chicken. I used my electric skillet, but I think it would taste fantastic if done on the grill!

Slice fajita style and serve with taco toppings!

I made a sauce for the tacos using equal parts Mexican Crema and Ortega taco sauce. (My garden isn't planted yet obviously, but when we do I plan to make my own sauces like this with our tomatoes!)

Seriously, we had amazing dinner last night! I'm hoping tonight's coconut curry chicken turns out as nicely.

Why Diets Don't Work

If you read this blog, you know I'm on a "diet". The thing is, I've been doing a lot of thing about dieting and health recently. It all started with me looking for a motivation picture. A picture of me when I used to weigh my goal weight. That would have been when I was in college. As I was looking through pictures of me in college, I realized I didn't want to look like that. See, I may have only weighed 125 in those pictures, but I didn't look good. I was "skinny fat"! "Skinny fat" describes a person who appears skinny, but is still has an unhealthy body fat percentage. That was me. I ate crap, and didn't exercise and I didn't care. I thought I was fine because I looked skinny. But looking at those pictures I can see the unhealthy body fat percentage as easily as I can see it on me now. So, I started thinking about how a diet to lose weight may be all well and good, but once I got down to 125 again what was I going to do to keep that weight off? I came to the sudden realization that I needed a lifestyle change, not a diet. This is part of what fueled my quest for eating real food. If I eat healthy things with ingredients my body can properly digest, I will be a lot healthier than if I eat only diet food for 3 months, then resume crap eating habits after. This is why people gain back everything they lose plus some after they go off a diet. They haven't really changed their lifestyle. So, I'm three weeks into this huge lifestyle change. The first week I craved fatty foods all the time. 24/7. I dreamt about pizza, thought constantly about a bacon cheeseburger, and was haunted by a small Baggie of goodies I use as rewards for my kids. It took all my will power not to cave and eat them. Week two I allowed myself a piece of pizza at the end of the week. I felt awful afterwards, but my brain still wanted more. By yesterday, the thought of pizza was no longer appetizing, and I actually ate some pizza yesterday and I felt so terrible afterwards, it was like, that was it. The have been no more cravings for things like pizza, hot dogs, processed foods, and breads. I do however crave real foods. Like seasoned chicken, raw carrots, whole grains, which I allow myself in small amounts since they are good in small amounts for you. I even love how I feel because I'm not snacking. I LOVE working out. I love how I feel when I'm exercising, and I love how I feel all day afterwards. See, these are the types of things that have changed for me. If you aren't willing to put the work into changing your mindset toward food, then you will always fail on a diet. Diets are temporary. Healthy is for life!!

Recipie- Homemade Whole Wheat Goat Cheese Ravioli

Well, I said yesterday I would post the recipe if it turned out well, and it did!! So here it is!

Pasta:

3 eggs
1 cup whole wheat flour1
cup white flour
1/2 tablespoon olive oil
2 pinches of salt

What To Do

1 In a food processor*, combine all of the ingredients. Process the dough for about 30 seconds until a ball forms. If a ball doesn’t form, add 1 teaspoon of water at a time until the ball forms. Be careful that you don’t make it too wet.

2 Turn the dough out onto a floured surface and knead for about 1 minute until smooth. The whole wheat flour makes this dough fairly tough, but it should be smooth and moist. Cover the dough with a towel and let it rest for 15 to 30 minutes.

3 Roll the dough out using a pasta machine, or by hand with a rolling pin. It can be die-cut with a machine (shown above), hand cut, or made into ravioli.To roll the dough with a pasta machine:– Take about 1/5 of the dough (smaller amounts are easier to work with) and flatten it with your hand. Run it though the pasta rollers at their widest setting. Fold the dough in half and run it through again at the same setting. Repeat this until the pasta runs through smoothly (2 to 4 times). If the pasta becomes sticky at any point, sprinkle a small amount of flour on the sheet of dough and rub it in.– Narrow the rollers one notch and run the pasta through the rollers; fold it in half and run it through again at the same setting. Keep narrowing the rollers one notch at a time and running the dough through once or twice. For the narrower settings, you don’t need to fold the dough in half if it runs through smoothly.– When you get to the desired thickness (third lowest setting on our machine), lay the sheet out flat and rub a little flour onto both sides. Cut the sheet to the length of pasta you want.–Switch the pasta machine to the die-cut side and run your pasta through to cut it (again, shorter amounts of dough are easier to work with).– Lay the pasta out flat until it is ready to boil. If you stack or nest the pasta, make sure it is well floured.– Don’t wash the pasta machine with soap and water. Wait for the pasta to dry and then wipe it with a towel and try to get all of the little bits out. I usually shake it around upside down, run the rollers backwards, and poke at it with a chopstick!

4 When ready to serve, drop the pasta in salted boiling water and cook for only 2 to 4 minutes depending on thickness. It doesn’t take long, so be sure that you don’t overcook!*If you don’t have a food processor, you can use a stand mixer or just knead by hand for several minutes.

Filling:
3/4 tube of goat cheese
1 cup of ricotta cheese
1/2 cup of shredded Parmesan cheese
Add Basil, Garlic powder, onion powder, and salt to taste
Stir together

Sauce:
Ingredients:
4 tbsp. butter
1/4 tsp. sage
1/2 lemon, juiced
1/4 cup parmesan cheese (grated or freshly shaved)
Ravioli (or pasta of choice)

Directions:
1- Bring a pot of water to boil, add the pasta, and cook according to packaging directions.
2- Meanwhile, in a small saucepan add the butter and melt until it begins to brown in the shallowest places. Watch it closely- you don't want to burn your butter.
3- Add sage, remove from the heat.
4- Add lemon and parmesan, stirring well.
5- Pour the sauce over the ravioli, or pasta of choice, and serve hot.

My modifications:
I had to hand tool the pasta dough because I don't own a roller. It was a lot of work and time but it worked out.
I doubled the sauce recipe for two people. It was not enough otherwise. I also added fresh garlic to the sauce.

Eating Real Food

One of the lifestyle changes my family is making is the transition to eating what I'm (rather crudely) calling "real" food. This pretty much translates to food that is made by me from scratch. I'm trying my darndest not to use anything that comes out of a box, frozen package, or can. Of course, this is not set in stone. My kids still have boxed mac and cheese from time to time, and there are days when I'm out of time, so I use a jar of spaghetti sauce instead of making my own. These exceptions don't bother me. I'm not a "set in stone" person where nothing can be subject to exceptions. But I am happy that I am able to start making more food for my family from scratch. I love being able to control what I'm putting into the food. Since Derek and Owen are a little more self sufficient now I am able to start on dinner as early as I need to in order to get "real" food on my table. I am so excited! I do not have a recipe to post today because I am trying something new tonight. If it works I will post a Whole Wheat Goat Cheese Ravioli recipe for you all tomorrow. If it doesn't work, I will dig out an old standby for you :)

25 days later....

Well, I guess it's time to update on my progress! 25 days later, I've lost 5 lbs. Now, this was not my goal my goal was 12 lbs. but, I've gotta admit, sticking to a diet is a lot harder than I always give credit for. I've allowed myself a lot of meals that don't conform to my diet plan. And, since Nathan was gone for two weeks, I didn't work out a whole ton during that time. I was busy with the kids, and constantly tired. I went back to the gym today and it felt great! So, I'm congratulating myself on my 5 lbs. lost. Now for the next 5, 10, 15, 20, 25, 30, 35, 40!!!!!!!!!!




Recipe for this week (not 17 day diet approved):

Chicken Pasta Salad:
3 chicken breasts rubbed in Jamaican jerk seasoning
Bacon
1 lb pasta (mostaccoli, or penne work best, or spiral pasta)
Tomato chopped or sliced
Red, orange and yellow pepper sliced
2 carrot sticks chopped
Fat free Italian dressing

Boil noodles, then run under cold water to cool them
Place in bowl and toss with the Italian dressing
Cook bacon until very crispy, wrap in paper towel, crush into bits, add to bowl
Add vegetables to bowl
Cook chicken, cube, allow it to cool a bit, and add to bowl
Toss together
Chill in fridge until cold
Serve!

Back At It

After a two month hiatus on all my health and weight loss goals, I'm back at it. I'm gonna be honest... I really really wanted to just eat whatever I wanted. So, as a result of all that loveliness my 30lb goal has turned into a 40lb goal. YIKES!! It's enough to make me realize, it isn't worth it. Pizza isn't worth looking terrible in all my clothes. I went shopping after Christmas with my gift cards and I looked awful in nearly everything I tried on. It was a huge kick in the pants. When I got home and saw that I had gained 10 lbs I freaked out. That is NOT the direction I wanted to be moving. So, armed with a new year and a fresh outlook on things, I am back at it. Yesterday I started the 17 Day Diet again, and I am keeping a careful journal this time to help me stay on task. Pizza doesn't seem as awesome when I know I'm going to have to write it down for posterity. :) So, here is my regimen for the forseeable future: 17 Day Diet- Cycle 1 ItWorks Thermofit 2x per day ItWorks Fat Fighters as needed ItWorks Greens 1x per day ItWorks Body Wraps 1x per week ItWorks Defining Gel 1x per day I'm really hoping to lose 12 lbs in the first 17 days. It may seem like an unattainable goal, but that is what I lost in the first 17 days back in September, so I think I can do it again. Wish me luck everyone!!!

17 (ok, 20) days later....

I'm down 12 pounds!!!!! Yay! I haven't lost this much in well, ever. Two years ago I tried hard to lose some weight, but I only lost about 5 lbs, got discouraged and stopped trying. I guess I lost 12 lbs after both pregnancies, but when you're throwing up after every meal what do you expect. Nope, I did this all on my own. No growing baby inside my body to help! Woot!! Here are some awesome cycle one recipes I used: Chicken Marinara: Boneless skinless chicken breasts Low carb (or light) marinara sauce Parmesan cheese Fat free Mozzarella cheese Fat free Italian dressing (optional) Basil, garlic, salt, onion (or onion powder) Optional: peppers, tomatoes, other veggies Put your chicken breasts in the crock pot. The first time I made this I put fat free Italian dressing in it, the second time I didn't. I like both ways, but Nathan liked it better without. Add the marinara sauce and spices (and veggies) and turn on high for 4-5 hrs (you may need longer if your chicken is frozen) then turn to low until you serve. To serve take chicken out of the crock pot and put it into a casserole dish. Top with marinara, Parmesan, and mozzarella cheese, warm in the oven until the cheese melts. Then serve! Yummmmmm! Enchilada Chicken: Boneless skinless chicken breasts Low sodium enchilada sauce Cumin, garlic powder, onion (or onion powder) Optional: peppers, tomatoes, cilantro Queso Fresco Put your chicken in the crock pot with the enchilada sauce, and spices (and optional ingredients). Cook on high for 4-5 hrs (longer if your chicken is frozen), then low until you serve. To serve, dish up chicken, cover with leftover enchilada sauce and Queso Fresco! Double yummmmm! Salsa Chicken: Same ingredients as the enchilada chicken but instead of enchilada sauce use salsa. Cook on high for 4-5 hrs (longer if your chicken is frozen of course), then low until you serve. To serve dish up the chicken and put more salsa, and/or pico de gallo, fat free sour cream, and fat free cheddar cheese on it! Triple yummmmmmmmm! And you can totally do these recipes full fat if you want. They'll probably taste better. :) Stay tuned for more weight loss updates and yummy recipes!