Food & Flowers

It's been a long time since I did a good "What I'm Eating" post, and there's no better day than today, given that my work-at-home status this week has allowed me to (finally) put the focus back on eating healthy, preparing, planning, and cooking.

But first -- Look what 16 stitches will get you! A veritable flower garden on my entertainment center. Thanks to Dad and my co-workers and Kowalski's (where I bought flowers yesterday morning before the delivery / visitors arrived!)

Second -- a brief update... no pain today, but the bruising is much worse. It looks like somebody punched me on the chin. Ick. But things look calm in terms of swelling and redness, so that is good.

I woke up super early - the awesome by-product of yet another good night's sleep - and threw on some walkin' clothes. The sun was shining brightly, but it was only 57 degrees. My absolute FAVORITE kind of weather to be outside. I can't exercise much right now due to the stitches / bruising / swelling, but I am determined to get a little bit of movement each day, so off I headed on a leisurely stroll. And it WAS leisurely -- I walked an hour and only burned about 250 calories, which means my HR never broke 118, and that was only cuz I was walking up a small hill. When I got home, it was still only 7 AM... plenty of time to shower, clean my owie, re-bandage, and chug a smoothie before settling in for work.

Before I left for my walk, I did some food prep (I told you -- I was up EARLY). I combined all the smoothie ingredients in my blender cannister and put it in the fridge. I started dinner in the crockpot. I assembled a yet-to-be-dressed salad for lunch. Here's the pictoral evidence:

Ingredients: 1/2 cup fat free milk, Fage 2% yogurt, 1 banana, 1 cup of frozen triple berry fruit blend (I got this particular bag at Target, and I love it, because it is big and premixed. Trader Joe's has better fruit for cheaper, but I like the convenience of all this in one place. I gave up Fage 0% for Fage 2% long ago, simply because it has more protein, only 30 more calories, and you get an oz more. The thickness cannot be beat.

Combine with this:

And you get THIS:

It's about 300 calories / 7 WW points worth of awesome, and knocks out 2 dairy servings and 2-3 fruit servings. Sometimes I add a tsp of extra virgin olive oil (no, you can't taste it) and/or some ground flax seed... or some agave nectar. Each of those adds about 50 calories, or 1 point, if you're counting.

For my next trick - nothing quite as interesting. Big ass salad from the contents of my fridge. I mentioned that I'd shoppped and prepped this weekend, in anticipation of the chin hacking -- so what we have here is a big salad made of the following:

Mixed greens, cukes, bell peppers, tomato, beets, 1/2 leftover chicken breast, 1/4 cup leftover quinoa, fat free feta, almonds, and a tisch of Newman's Own Lite Balsamic Vinagrette. YUM. No idea on the calorie count, but... even after I pair this with a toasted english muffin & a Kashi granola bar, it can't possibly come in at more than 550 calories for the whole meal (and again... knocks out at least 3 vegetable servings and 1 oil):

Last, but certainly not least, we have one of my favorites - crock pot taco salad. Sounds like an oxymoron, but it is delicious. For starters, throw some frozen chicken breasts in the crock pot with a can or two of rotel, or any brand of tomatos w/ chilis (this one happens to be Muir Valley, fire roasted). Add a packet of taco seasoning and let 'er rip. Right now (11:13 AM), my house smells amazing!

The other ingredients that you see here are:
Can of black beans, frozen corn, leftover tostitos, avocado, onion, tomato, and cilantro. I forgot to include cheese in the picture. Again, calories will depend on how you structure your meal with the ingredients, but it is a healthy one for sure. For one, the chicken is basically marinating in tomatoes as it cooks, which eliminates the need for any oil or sugary marinate. The ingredients are fresh and healthy and low calorie (watch the cheese), and the dish is filling.

Once the chicken is done cooking, you can shred it -- and then your possibilities are endless! Eat in a taco shell (hard or soft) with some of the aforementioned ingredients. Eat it salad-style with tortilla chips. Wrap it up like a burrito or make fajitas! Chill it and eat it cold over a green salad the next day. Shred the chicken INTO the Rotel, top with cheese, diced avocado and crunched up chips and you have instant, easy chicken tortilla soup without ever standing over a hot stove.

Since I'm on a kick of using up groceries and adhering to careful planning, I'll be eating this "salad style" with some tostitos and melted cheese. I'm "budgeting" about 500 calories for this one.

Combine with an afternoon snack of 94% fat free popcorn, an evening snack of my beloved Skinny Cow, subtract about 250 calories worth of exercise, and we're looking at a net total of about 1450 calories... not bad at all.

Off and (not) running,

~Jessica