Chicken with Angel Hair Pasta

 

Have I mentioned how much I love cooking?

I decided to get a little creative tonight in the kitchen.  I grabbed a few ingredients that I had on hand and concocted this new recipe.  It was really good and *gasp* pretty healthy too! 

I’m pretty bad at measuring because I usually just add things until it looks and tastes right, but I’ll try my best:

 

Ingredients:

• Boneless, skinless chicken breasts (I use about 1/2 a package)
• Whole-Wheat Angel Hair Pasta (about 1/2 a package)
• 1 whole tomato, chopped
• 1 can (14.5 oz.) diced tomatoes
• 1/2 sweet onion, chopped
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 1/2 small can of sliced black olives, drained
• 1/2 jar of artichoke hearts
• Fresh basil (about 8 leaves)
• 1 tsp. dried basil
• salt and pepper (to taste)
• Reduced-fat Feta cheese, crumbled
• Cooking Spray (I use Pam)

Directions:

1).  Bring a large pot of lightly salted water to a boil.

2).  Chop the chicken breasts into small bite-sized pieces.  Sprinkle with salt and pepper and toss with dried basil. 

3).  Spray a skillet with non-stick cooking spray.  If you want, you can also use a very small amount of extra virgin olive oil.  Add the garlic, onion and chicken to the pan and heat on medium heat until chicken is cooked through. Drain fat.

4).  Add angel hair pasta to boiling water and cook until al dente.

5).  Meanwhile, add tomatoes, artichoke hearts and black olives to chicken skillet.  Cover.  Let simmer on low heat for about 5 minutes.

6).  Drain pasta and toss with tomato and chicken mixture.  Sprinkle crumbled Feta cheese over pasta.  Serve and enjoy!

 

I served this with homemade whole wheat rolls.  I’ll put my bread recipe up here at some point.  I sneak in oats and other healthy things into my bread.  My guys never even know!

Bad Knees?

I have bad knees.

At least, I *think* I have bad knees. 

I believe that my issue with my knees is directly related to my weight.  I tend to wear my weight like an apple or a pear — I don’t know.  I’m some kind of fruit.  But either way, I’m top heavy and I have these gorgeous skinny long legs.  I remind myself of an apple with two toothpick legs.

I’m assuming that my knee pain is a direct result of having to carry around an apple all day long.  If I were a knee, I’d be uncomfortable and unhappy too.  Actually, I’m pretty sure I’d be screaming obscenities left and right.

Unfortunately, this is a Catch-22 situation.  I need to lose weight to get rid of the knee pain, and the knee pain is posing difficulties in my weight loss journey.

I went to the gym today for my regularly scheduled appointment.  I mentioned to my personal trainer that I probably wouldn’t be able to do too much because my knees have been aggravating me all weekend.  He looked at me and was quiet for a moment before saying, “You need new shoes.”

Huh?

He explained that my shoes were too flat and I needed a higher arch.  My cheap little sneakers that I’d had for a hundred years just weren’t up to snuff and they didn’t provide me with enough support.  He also explained that I needed to start doing stretches after I finished exercising.

Wow.  So maybe I don’t have bad knees!  I just have really bad shoes!

He recommended that for cardiovascular activity, I should look into Nike.  If I decide that I want to get into cross-training, I should probably go for Adidas.  He also told me that I shouldn’t spend too much on shoes either.  His shoes were about $30-$40 and were terrific.  He also told me that I needed to actually go to the store and ask for the shoes to be fitted properly.  Too many times, people get the wrong size or style without realizing it until it’s too late.

I had no idea.

With glee, I laughed and told my husband that I was under strict instructions to go shoe shopping.  He sobbed for a few minutes while clutching his wallet.  I think he’ll be okay.

I’ll check on him when I get back from the store.

Miniature (Healthier) Pizza!

 

I love pizza.  No, really — I LOVE pizza.  I daydream about the cheesy goodness and tomato sauce.  In fact, I love pizza so much that I actually moved to the pizza capital of the United States!  (Okay, that’s not the reason why — it’s just an added bonus)

Unfortunately, pizza is not really the best thing for me (or my husband) to eat.  It’s high in calories, fat and all that nastiness.  Since this is a LIFESTYLE CHANGE and not a diet, I can’t force myself to stop eating pizza.  But I’m going to make a healthier and low calorie version that will satisfy those pizza cravings and not leave me with a ton of guilt.

 

Ingredients:

• English Muffins (100-calorie ones are AWESOME)
• Tomato sauce
• Oregano
• Low-fat mozzarella cheese
• Non-stick cooking spray
• Black Olives, sliced (optional)
• Green Peppers, chopped (optional)
• Mushrooms, sliced (optional)
• Garlic, minced (optional)
• Red pepper (optional)

 Directions:

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
• Spray a cookie sheet with non-stick cooking spray.  Slice all the English muffins in half and line up on the cookie sheet.  Bake for about 5 minutes until they are lightly toasted.
• Remove from oven and top each English muffin with a little bit of tomato sauce.  I usually put on just enough to cover the muffin.  Then, sprinkle each sauce-covered English muffin with a pinch of oregano.

• Now you can get crazy.  Add all the toppings (or none, if you prefer) and be creative!  I love veggies on my pizza, so I usually pile them on.  For a little added kick, throw on some fresh garlic and hot red pepper.

• Top with mozzarella cheese and bake in the pre-heated oven for 10-15 minutes until cheese is melted and gooey.  Serve and enjoy!

I know, I know — the pizza police will probably come after me.  But at least I’ll be thinner while I’m running away from them!

Halloween scares me — for real!

I love the smell of chocolate.  I love walking down the candy aisle at the store and smelling all the candy and looking at all the pretty colors. 

Halloween is so evil.  The candy is everywhere you go!

I went to the grocery store today because I had to pick up some beer for my husband (he’s still resisting this lifestyle change – although he’s getting a bit better) and because I had to make a deposit at the bank that’s inside the store.   After finishing my business at the bank, I noticed that I was completely surrounded by CANDY!

While my son was ooooohing and aaaaahing over all the different selections, I was gripping the handle of the cart fiercely and wishing I had blinders on.  And then he asked me the dreaded question, “Aren’t you going to get some Halloween candy for the trick-or-treaters, Mom?” 

I have been avoiding this.  I don’t want candy in my house, because if it’s there — I EAT IT!  It doesn’t matter if it’s before Halloween or after Halloween, if it’s in the house, it calls to me.  It BEGS me to eat it.  I’m weak.  I can’t resist.

So I agreed and picked up a couple of bags of candy.

But as I walked through the aisles, the smell of the miniature chocolate Snickers bars and Milky Ways just got to me.  I couldn’t handle it. 

“I CAN’T DO IT!”

My son thought I had completely lost it at this point.  I grabbed the bag of candy and threw it back on the shelf.

“We’re getting THIS instead!”  I grabbed some of the nastiest candy that I could find — all the different types that I hated.  Butterfingers (eww) and lollipops (not my thing since I wore pigtails) and toffee and all the ones that I picked out of my plastic pumpkin when I was a little girl because it was just GROSS.  Then I proceeded to run (not walk) as quickly as I could to the check-out lane. 

And I made it.  I’m safe.

Now the only problem that I have is when my son goes trick-or-treating and then decides that he wants to leave all his candy for the Black Tooth Fairy.  She’s also known as the Cavity Witch.

She comes to visit on Halloween and if you leave your candy out for her, she’ll take it away and replace it with a really cool toy or gift.  The more candy you leave her, the better the present.  My son always leaves her the candy.

So I informed my husband tonight that whatever candy is leftover from Halloween MUST be taken out of the house the next day and given to all his buddies or dumped in the trash.  The temptation is just too much for me.

I’m weak — but at least I know it.

Wednesday Workout

I was a bit more jazzed up for Wednesday’s workout and went to the gym without dragging my feet. 

They weighed us and measured our body fat, but I wasn’t quite awake yet I suppose — I forgot to get my body fat information.  I’ll ask on Friday when I go back.  But — my weight on their evil scale was 199.  Apparently, I lost 2 pounds over the past week though!

I wasn’t truly prepared to weigh myself.  I wanted to go at least two weeks without getting on the scale (I tend to obsess), but they wanted to document my progress.  So I gave in.

My workout was the following:

• Segment 1:    2 minutes – Warm-up at 2% incline (Heart Rate Zone 1)
• Segment 2:    3 minutes – Warm-up at 2% incline (Heart Rate Zone 2)
• Segment 3:    2 minutes – Walk/Run at 4-6% incline (Heart Rate Zone 3)
• Segment 4:    4 minutes – Walk with shoulder press at at 6-8% incline (Heart Rate Zone 3)
• Segment 5:    2 minutes – Walk/Run at 8-10% incline (Heart Rate Zone 3)
• Segment 6:    2 minutes – Walk at 4-6% incline (Heart Rate Zone 2)
• Segment 7:    4 minutes – Walk and window washers at 6-8% incline (Heart Rate Zone 3)
• Segment 8:    2 minutes – Walk/Run at 8-10% incline (Heart Rate Zone 3)
• Segment 9:    2 minutes – Walk/Run at 2% incline (Heart Rate Zone 4)
• Segment 10:  2 minutes – Walk at 2% incline (Heart Rate Zone 2)
• Segment 11:  4 minutes – Walk at 4-6% incline (Heart Rate Zone 2)
• Segment 12:  4 minutes – Walk and dumbbell curl and press with tricep ext at 6-8% incline (Heart Rate Zone 3)
• Segment 13:  2 minutes – Walk/Run at 8-10% incline (Heart Rate Zone 3)
• Segment 14:  4 minutes – Walk at 4-6% incline (Heart Rate Zone 3)
• Segment 15:  4 minutes – Walk and 1 arm push downs at 6-8% incline (Heart Rate Zone 3)
• Segment 16:  2 minutes – Walk/Run at 8-10% incline (Heart Rate Zone 3)
• Segment 17:  2 minutes – Walk/Run at 2% incline (Heart Rate Zone 4)
• Segment 18:  3 minutes – Cool down at 2% incline (Heart Rate Zone 3)
• Segment 19:  2 minutes – Cool down at 2% incline (Heart Rate Zone 2)
• Segment 20:  2 minutes – Cool down at 2% incline (Heart Rate Zone 1)

I spoke with my doctor on Tuesday and asked him about the breathing test that they wanted to perform (you know, the one that costs $140).  He thought it was a bunch of nonsense and suggested that I just listen to my body.  I agree and really don’t know that I want to pay that much for a personal analysis of my pulse rate. 

These people keep being pushy though.  It’s to the point that I’m starting to dislike going.  The only real positive thing that I feel like I’m getting at this point is the fact that I love having a designated “appointment time”.  I keep questioning whether I should continue in this class since I feel like they’re just a bunch of money-hungry people that don’t seem all that interested in my personal well-being.

They must be paid on commission.

Baked Chicken with Vegetables

I can’t take credit for this recipe — although, I have modified it somewhat.  You can find the original recipe here: Lisa’s Easy Chicken

This dish is wonderful!  The vegetables create a barrier that traps moisture in the chicken, so it’s not the slightest bit dry.  It’s incredibly moist and the flavors from the herb rub season the chicken and vegetables beautifully.  It’s a very simple recipe and requires very little preparation time.  I usually serve this with steamed whole grain rice, which helps to offset the spice just a bit.

 

Ingredients:

• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 1 tablespoon garlic powder
• 1 tablespoon chopped parsley
• 1 tablespoon chopped chives 
• 1 teaspoon ground black pepper
• 1 teaspoon Old Bay Seasoning
• 1 teaspoon seasoning salt
• 4 skinless, boneless chicken breast halves
• 1 medium green bell pepper, chopped
• 1 large tomato, chopped
• 1/2 sweet onion, chopped

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees (175 degrees C).2. In a medium bowl, mix the olive oil, garlic powder, parsley, chives, pepper, Old Bay Seasoning, and season salt.  Rub the chicken breasts with 1/2 the mixture, and place the breasts in a baking dish.

 

3. Toss the green bell pepper, tomato and onion with the remaining olive oil mixture.  Arrange over the chicken.

4. Bake 45 minutes in the preheated oven, stirring the vegetables once, until the vegetables are tender, the chicken is no longer pink, and its juices run clear.

Voila!  You’re done.  Enjoy!

Just remember PORTION SIZE – PORTION SIZE – PORTION SIZE!!!

Off-Topic: “Nipples”

I used the word “nipples” in my heading yesterday and my hits for this site skyrocketed.  I can’t tell you how hard I’m laughing over here.  I got hits from search engines from the word “nipples” and apparently, some poor teenage boy somewhere in the world was trying to search for “naked locker room -cam”. 

Sorry to disappoint you, folks.  No naked web cams here — besides, until I lose some weight, I don’t think you’re really interested in seeing that kind of stuff.

I’m dying laughing over here.   Thank you!

Cranberries and Mushrooms? ICK!!!

I’ve been trying to cook and eat a lot healthier now.

Not only do I have an issue with my weight (which is being worked on), but my husband also suffers from extremely high cholesterol and pre-diabetes.  We both HAVE to change our eating habits and our menu accordingly.

I absolutely LOVE to cook.  It’s relaxing and soothing and the smells and flavors are therapeutic.  But trying to find new healthy and delicious recipes has been something of a challenge for me. 

About a year ago, my husband was searching for recipes on the American Heart Association website.  While this was great in theory, he doesn’t have the best taste in selecting recipes.  He ended up selecting this one:  Grilled Portobello Mushrooms with Couscous and Greens

The combination of flavors seemed to me to be somewhat bizarre, but I was willing to try it.  Sometimes unusual flavor combinations can be wonderful!  Sadly, it wasn’t in this case.  Cranberries, mushroom and couscous may be a delicacy for some, but not in this household.  We still joke about the Portobello mushroom debacle and how we had to order pizza that night because it was just AWFUL.

So I’m going to post some of my tried-and-true favorite healthier recipes (that either I created or someone else wiser and more food savvy created) so that hopefully, you won’t have a Portobello mushroom disaster like we did.

Nipples and Other Girly Bits

I was having a rather bleak morning.  I woke up before my alarm clock to my son’s eager face as he informed me that he had a club meeting at school that morning.  I dragged myself out of bed and got him ready for school and then, by 7:30am, I had already been bombarded with assignments for work that had to be completed RIGHT AWAY. 

On top of it all, my throat was feeling particularly scratchy and I had a touch of a sinus headache (always get them when the seasons fluctuate).  I was dreading my 10am appointment at the gym and a thousand different excuses came to mind.

But I had to go.

Appointments are terrific for me because I am NEVER late to an appointment and I NEVER cancel an appointment — unless there’s a life threatening emergency.  I always feel absolutely horrible and the guilt is usually too much for me to even think about!

So I went.  I dragged my feet and moaned and groaned the whole way there — but in the end, I went.

AND I’M SO GLAD!!!

Today was the office first day of our small group workout session and I had a blast!

We sat around on the floor for a few minutes and wrote down our current weight, our target weight and how active we currently were.  The nutritionist collected our papers and then handed out a folder with nutrition information and a journal for us to write down our daily food diets.

She will be customizing an individual meal plan for each of us and determine how many calories we need to be consuming to lose 1-2 pounds per week.  We meet with her each week and she’ll review our food journal and make suggestions and modifications based on our success.

Then, we moved on to the exercise portion.  Our small group (5 of us) got on several treadmills side-by-side and our personal trainer coached us the entire time.  We watched our heartrates to make sure we were in the right “zone” and used weights and resistance bands while walking to make sure that our entire body got a workout. 

• Segment 1:    2 minutes – Warm-up at 2% incline (Heart Rate Zone 1)
• Segment 2:    3 minutes – Warm-up at 2% incline (Heart Rate Zone 2)
• Segment 3:    2 minutes – Walk at 4-6% incline (Heart Rate Zone 3)
• Segment 4:    3 minutes – Walk with weights (Dumbbell curl) at 4-6% incline (Heart Rate Zone 3)
• Segment 5:    3 minutes – Walk at 6-8% incline (Heart Rate Zone 3)
• Segment 6:    2 minutes – Walk at 8-10% incline (Heart Rate Zone 3)
• Segment 7:    2 minutes – Walk at 2-4% incline (Heart Rate Zone 2)
• Segment 8:    3 minutes – Walk and do Window Washers exercise at 4-6% incline (Heart Rate Zone 3)
• Segment 9:    3 minutes – Walk at 6-8% incline (Heart Rate Zone 3)
• Segment 10:  2 minutes – Walk at 8-10% incline (Heart Rate Zone 3)
• Segment 11:  2 minutes – Walk at 2-4% incline (Heart Rate Zone 2)
• Segment 12:  3 minutes – Walk and Shoulder Press at 4-6% incline (Heart Rate Zone 3)
• Segment 13:  3 minutes – Walk at Walk at 6-8% incline (Heart Rate Zone 3)
• Segment 14:  2 minutes – Walk at 8-10% incline (Heart Rate Zone 3)
• Segment 15:  2 minutes – Walk at 2-4% incline (Heart Rate Zone 2)
• Segment 16:  3 minutes – Walk and Chest Press at 4-6% incline (Heart Rate Zone 3)
• Segment 17:  3 minutes – Walk at 6-8% incline (Heart Rate Zone 3)
• Segment 18:  2 minutes – Walk at 8-10% incline (Heart Rate Zone 3)
• Segment 19:  3 minutes – Cool down at 2% incline (Heart Rate Zone 2)
• Segment 20:  2 minutes – Cool down at 2% incline (Heart Rate Zone 1)

I felt fantastic by the time we were finished!!!  That feeling has lasted all day too.  I can’t wait to go back. 

Afterwards, I went back into the womens locker room to get my belongings and head home.  While I was collecting my things, there was a woman there that was completely nude.  Now, I normally don’t pay attention to such things because after all, it IS a women’s locker room and most of us take showers before dressing and leaving.  Nudity in the locker room is quite commonplace and expected.  We politely avert our eyes and go about our own business without gaping at other women.

But what struck me was that she was having a really in-depth conversation with another woman (who was clothed) and the naked woman was seemingly oblivious to her nudity.  She started walking all around the locker room completely nonchalant about her wiggling and jiggling.  Now, she had a really nice figure and maybe that’s why she decided to do it.  But I just don’t think that I could ever find myself bouncing and bounding all over a women’s locker room completely in the buff — regardless of how fabulous my figure was.

While I don’t consider myself a prude, I hardly expected to see a woman flaunting her nipples and other girly bits in a semi-public setting.  Is this something that’s normally experienced in a locker room? 

Do you dream yourself fat or skinny?

When I fall asleep at night and dream. . .  I dream myself skinny.  My subconscious sees myself as skinny — or rather, at my “target” weight.  In my dreams, I look great!

A few weeks ago, I actually dreamed myself fat.  Is my subconscious just a little slow in acknowledging reality?  I doubt it.

I’ve found that when I look into a mirror, I’m probably not as critical as I should be.  I have a difficult time seeing the rolls and bulges that are so blatantly obvious in photographs.  Instead, I see a Photoshopped version of what’s really there.  Is this a defensive mechanism?  Or am I just blind to my own flaws unless they’re accompanied with a click and a shutter?

I’ve been looking through some older photographs of myself and trying to see the real me.  Or at least, trying to see what other people see when they look at me. It’s all very perplexing. 

Does anyone else share this problem or am I just weird? 

When YOU dream, how do you see yourself?