hey hey Hey Hey

Hi. Its weird coming back to the blog after having been absent for so long. There is a lot that I could get caught up on, but at the same time I don’t even know what to start with…

For this edition of the blog I’m going to talk about food. Are you surprised?

John and I have eaten really well this last week with very few ingredients in the house. Its been fun playing “Chopped” with what there is in the house.

This weeks ingredient has been Chicken Tenders.

Yummy Meal #1:

Taco-ish Salad

Chicken Tenders

Homemade Taco Seasoning

Wild Rice (I use Lundberg Wild Blend)

Chopped Green Leaf/Romaine Lettuce

Salad Dressing of your choice

Corn (Steam-ables)

Corn Tortilla Chips

How To:

Cook Wild Rice according to package directions.

Microwave corn according to directions.

Heat a few tablespoons of Olive Oil in your nice cast iron pan. Sprinkle chicken tenders with taco seasoning. Rub it in really good. When oil in skillet is hot add chicken and cook for 6 minutes on each side letting it get all browned and yummy. Once they’re cooked through remove chicken from pan and let rest while you assemble salads.

Toss lettuce with a small amount of dressing until it is evenly coated.

Make a pile of lettuce on plate. Top that with a few big spoonful’s of Rice. Then add Corn. Chop chicken to bite size pieces and divide equally between plates. Serve with corn tortilla chips.

Eat and Enjoy.

Yummy Meal #2:

(adapted from THIS recipe. Mine is simpler.)

Fruity Balsamic Chicken

Chicken Tenders

Balsamic Vinegar

Fruit Jam/Preserves (I used Orange Marmalade)

Quinoa

How To:

Prepare Quinoa according to package directions. Replace water with chicken stock for more flavor.

Salt and pepper your chicken.

Heat a few tablespoons of Olive Oil in your skillet. When oil is hot add chicken and cook for 6 minutes on each side letting it get all browned and yummy.

When chicken is nearly cooked add to your pan several tablespoons of balsamic vinegar, and a few tablespoons of jam. Let it cook for a few minutes until jam is melted and incorporated into the vinegar. Turn your chicken over a few times to get it coated good.

I served this on a bed of Quinoa and drizzled the extra sauce from the pan on top. Easy and yummy. No frills, but it looks fancy.

Yummy Meal #3:

Taco Chicken with Marinara & Quinoa

Quinoa

Red Bell Pepper diced

Green Bell Pepper diced

Onion diced

Zucchini Diced

14 oz. Can Petite Diced Tomatoes

Chicken Tenders

Homemade Taco Seasoning

How To:

Prepare Quinoa according to package directions. Replace water with chicken stock for more flavor.

Sprinkle chicken tenders with taco seasoning. Rub it in really good. Let the chicken marinate while you cook your veggies.

Heat a few tablespoons of Olive Oil in your pan.

When oil in skillet is hot add onion and peppers and a generous sprinkle of salt. Let veggies cook until tender. (Mine were frozen so I had extra liquid in my pan. If they’re looking dry add some chicken stock.) once the veggies are soft add the Zucchini and then push your veggies to the side of the pan.

Add chicken and cook for 6 minutes on each side letting it get all browned and yummy.

Add Tomatoes. Cook until it is all warmed through. Remove chicken and let it rest.

Add the cooked quinoa to the marinara sauce and mix in completely. Cut chicken into bite size bits and serve over a generous helping of the Marinara Quinoa.

Just an FYI – The marinara sauce is delicious the next day too. I had my leftovers for lunch with a fried egg.

Well there are the food adventures for this week. I really do promise to come back and do some overviews of how our life has been, it’s just not going to be today.

Apple Crisp - Eating With Liz 2014

Liz’s Apple Crisp

8 apples - peeled, cored, sliced – Good choices: Cortlands, Jonathan, Jonagold, Pippin, Gravenstein, Braeburn, Fuji and Pink Lady Apples (Use one kind or mix them.)

2 TBSP Butter for greasing pan

1/2 cup unsalted butter

3 tablespoons all-purpose flour

1/2 cup white sugar

1/2 cup packed brown sugar

1/4 cup water

Topping:

1 cup sugar (white or brown, or a combination thereof)

1/2 teaspoon cinnamon

1/4 teaspoon salt

½ cup Oatmeal

1/2 cup (1 stick) butter cut in small pieces

·         Preheat oven 350 F

·         Make Topping First - Combine the flour, sugar, cinnamon, and salt in a bowl. Add butter. With a pastry blender or your fingers, rub butter into other ingredients until mixture resembles coarse crumbs.

·         Butter a 1½ quart baking dish, and spread the apples in it. Set aside.

·         Melt ½ cup butter in a sauce pan. Once butter is melted stir in flour to form a paste. Add white sugar, brown sugar and water; bring to a boil. Reduce temperature, and simmer 5 minutes.

·         Gently pour the caramel liquid over the apples.

·         Spread mixture evenly over apples

·         Bake 30 minutes or until the crust is browned.

*  I also like to make large quantities of the topping, minus the butter, and store it in a jar for later use. That way I can make a small batch when I feel like it. Just add butter.

Where has Liz been hiding?

I've been eating 1200 calories a day since November 2013. I have lost 33 lbs.

Some days I find it difficult to eat 1200 calories a day and hardly ever go over.

I eat a lot of veggies and lean meats. I avoid breads and starches. I feel like I eat all day and I'm still far short of 1200 calories.

You need to reassess WHAT you're eating instead of how many calories you are eating.

Brown Rice has less calories than white rice and makes you feel fuller longer.

Quinoa is full of fiber and protein so you can avoid more meats and eat a quinoa stir fry instead.

Coconut oil is a healthy fat that is better for you than vegetable oil. So is Olive Oil.

Eat more raw veggies and less cooked.

Have a Green veggie with each meal. i.e. A green smoothie for breakfast. Snack on Celery. have a nice salad for lunch. 3oz of chicken for dinner with a side salad.

Check the calories in your sauces and dressings. Cut out what is unnecessary. I no longer use mayo, catsup, bbq sauce. it's no necessary if you know how to use spices correctly in your foods.

Avoid pre-made mixes. They usually have hidden sugars that you don't need and added calories. Make your own spice mixes from natural spices. You can find recipes for them on line just google search. Homemade spice mixes taste better anyway.

There are so many ways to cut out calories and stay below 1200 a day. You just have to really want it and really think about what is going in your mouth before you eat it.

Colgate® Optic White™ Toothbrush + Built-In Whitening Pen

I got a VoxBox from Influenster and they provided me with a fancy Colgate® Optic White™ Toothbrush + Built-In Whitening Pen.
What's funny about this is that I had actually thought about buying one before I got the box. Bonus for me I guess.
This product was sent to me free of charge by Influenster for testing purposes... The following is my own opinion.
What do I think of the Colgate® Optic White™ Toothbrush + Built-In Whitening Pen?
Meh.
The toothbrush feels rather flimsy. Not really the highest quality. I feel like if I'm too rough with it that it week just snap in half. Even adding the pen to the base doesn't add a while lot of extra stability.
The whitening gel pen is less than impressive. It says 2 clicks and you have the appropriate amount of goo for your teeth. I highly doubt this. I use 3 clicks.
The gel doesn't spread well. It glops and schemers across your teeth in a unpleasant manor. It also makes me drool like crazy. You're supposed to leave the gel on your teeth with no rinsing. I'm skeptical about this because of all the drool. But I guess some must have stayed on my teeth because they did get a little whiter. Would I by this product again? Probably not. I do like the Colgate® Optic White™ Toothpaste that was included in my VoxBox... Minus the mint flavor. I hate mint flavored toothpaste. I do have a bunch of coupons for the Colgate® Optic White™ Toothbrush + Built-In Whitening Pen if anyone would like to give it a try. Just let me know.

Doing the laundry...

Cats are so easy to please some days.