Jes(cipes): Issue #3

Thursday night's food adventure was themed around a craving for Chipotle... and also the fact that my car was in the shop, thus I couldn't have any. :-)

It's unseasonably warm for MN at this time of year -- usually once September hits, I'm all about beef stew, butternut squash soup, knee-high boots with skirts, chunky sweaters and norah jones while I sip some red wine. IT's 84 here today -- warmer than it's been all summer, so the idea of heating up the house hasn't been terribly appealing lately. BUT, I always find mexican food to be somewhat refreshing, despite the spice.

I decided that it was crockpot time -- but rather than butternut squash soup or pot roast, I'd throw together an easy Mexican dinner.

Ingredients:
1 package of taco shells (you can use soft or crispy, whichever you prefer -- however, if you want to utilize my "leftover stregy," you'll need soft)
2 cans of Rotel
1 package of frozen chicken breasts
1/2 bag of frozen corn
1 can of diced olives
Shredded cheese
1 large tomato
1 avocado
1 onion
1 lime
Cumin & chili powder to taste.

This is so easy it's ridiculous -- put the chicken breasts in the crockpot and cover with the 2 cans of rotel. Add the frozen corn, juice of 1 lime, cumin and chili powder. Set to low heat and let it cook for about 8 hours.

By the time you get home from work your house will smell amazing -- and the meat will be so tender that merely stirring this concoction will cause the chicken to shred to pieces.

I placed the mixture in a soft tortilla, topped with cheese and the onion/avocado/tomato mixture. Instant tacos!

The Boyfriend and I each had 2 tacos, and there was PLENTY left over -- so today, while figuring out a food strategy for the week, I mixed all the toppings together with the leftover chicken and some cheese, and made 4 burritos which are now happily hangin' out in my freezer, waiting for a night when I can't cope with dinner.

You could also use the leftovers to make a nice taco salad, or some nachos.

I am figuring out a recipe for Crockpot Chicken Marsala, and I'll be sure to share next week.

Off and cooking,
~Jessica

Jes(cipes): Issue #2

In my frenzy to figure out some healthy meals this week, I was working hard at avoiding cravings for two major food favorites, both of which can be loaded with fat and calories:

Pizza
Mexican food (namely chipotle).

SO I got crackin'. I hate to even talk about the pizza, because I can't do it justice without pictures, and I failed to take any (next time, I promise!)

Low(er) Fat Greek Pizza

Ingredients:
Boboli whole wheat pizza crust
EVOO
Pizza sauce
Kalmata olives
Roasted red peppers
Tomatoes
Basil
Goat cheese, ff feta, reduced fat mozzarella

It's a simple project -- I bought a whole wheat boboli crust. I used my Mister Misto to spray it with a light coating of extra virgin olive oil, then a spoon to spread a thin layer of pizza sauce (nothing fancy -- a simple can from the grocery store. It had an Italian name so I trusted it more than the other varities. As a bonus, it was also cheaper). The EVOO mixed a little bit with the pizza sauce to give it a neapolitan feel...

Then I opened the following:
1 jar of pitted kalmata olives
1 jar of roasted red peppers, packed in water

I sprinkled the pizza with some reduced fat mozzarella, fat free feta, and a few dollops of goat cheese.

I topped it with some basil and tomato slices (from my own garden!), and about 12 sliced olives, and a dozen strips of red pepper...

Baked for about 10 minute at 450.

The crust was surprisingly crispy, and the cheese melty and fabulous. I used very flavorful ingredients, so it didn't taste like "diet" food. The creaminess of the goat cheese perfectly counteracted any dryness of the reduced fat cheese, but all cheeses melted really well. When I took it out of the oven it was bubbly and sinful looking, all the hallmarks of a great pizza.

It sliced into about 6 nice pieces. Calories and fat will vary depending on what quantities you need, but the crust itself is about 150 calories / slice (5 slices per pie), and something insane like 9 grams of fiber. Not bad. Since I sliced mine into 6 pieces, the crust was fewer calories per serving but probably an additional 150 calories per slice for all of the toppings.

Once the actual pizza was eat (delicious cold or reheated via toaster oven or microwave), I obviously had a lot of toppings left over -- luckily I also usually have english muffins or sandwich thins on hand, and was able to use the leftover toppings to make several little mini-pizzas for lunches, snacks and dinners throughout the week.

Serve with a leafy salad and enjoy!

Off and cooking,
~Jessica

Jes(cipes)

As you may or may not know, this blog was the outgrowth of my journey of losing 70 lbs, and turning from a couch potato into a marathon runner. I started the blog primarily to find a way to publicly participate in "Take it and Run Thursday" over at The Runner's Lounge, and wanted to chronicle my return to an athletic lifestyle following first a terrible breakup, and later a broken elbow.

I write mostly about exercise here, with a little bit of weight loss creeping in for good measure. I realized, however, that the piece I'm missing is the other part I'm really passionate about -- food, nutrition, and helping other people to achieve their personal weight loss goals. So while you read a lot about how I'm MOVING, you're not reading much about what I'm EATING. I'm a foodie and a person who equally loves fancy restaurants, "clean food," wine, and dive bars and french fries -- a huge part of the weight loss battle (and the exercise battle), for me, has been food. And one way I've dealt with this is by recreating foods and recipes that satiate those cravings without piling on the pounds

I'm proud to announce the first installation of a new feature on this blog, "JES(CIPES)," (say it fast, it rhymes with "recipes").

So as I sit here eating my breakfast (Fage 2% yogurt, Nature's Own cereal, berries = 300 calories, and about 25 grams of protein), I've decided to share with you Tuesday's dinner.

I love Chinese food. I love the healthy stir fried stuff, and the greasy deep fried stuff, and everyhting in between. I also mostly love that it can be brought directly to my door in 20 minutes, with throw-away dishes afterwards.

I do not love that it piles on the pounds, both in caloric value, and it water retention from all the sodium.

My friend shared a very easy recipe with me for "orange chicken," which I interpreted to mean that it was somewhat Asian-ey.

"Take a can of OJ concentrate, defrosted... dump it over some chicken breasts... sprinkle some Lipton onion soup on the top... cover with foil, and bake for 45 minutes at 375...

As I was about to make it, she told me that it wasn't actually an asian chicken, just... orange.

I deflated.

Then I Googled. :-)

There are a million recipes out there for orange chicken from a chinese-take-out place. They involve frying or stir frying or battering... and while that's probably healthier than take-out, it's still futsy. I wanted something easy, healthy, and refreshing.

So I combined about 20 different recipes, and came up with my own -- and I'm happy to report that it was delicious. :-)

On Monday night, I mixed the following in a large zip-lock baggie:

1 can of thawed OJ concentrate (I used Cascadian farms because it's organic and doesn't contain HFCS)
3/4 cup of brown sugar, unpacked
4 TBSP low sodium soy sauce
2 TBSP sirichi red pepper sauce
1 tsp ground ginger
4 scallions, chopped
1 packed Lipton golden onion soup mix

I mixed it up in the bag, and then added 1 lb of cubed chicken breasts. I let it sit overnight in the fridge, and cooked it after work -- covered in foil, 375, about 40-45 minutes.

It was delicious. Salty, sweet, tangy, and spicy. All the different taste sensations -- I wish I'd taken a picture, but alas, that was before I'd decided to start this portion of the blog.

I served it with frozen egg rolls from Trader Joe's (they have a stir fried veggie and tofu egg roll that is very low cal / low fat), and instant brown rice.

Delicious and light and satisfying. For future installations of this feature, you can expect nutrition information, but I don't have it for this one. It is fairly high calorie because of all the sugar and the oj, but the fat content isn't too high.

Off and running,
~Jessica