Chicken Parmesan

I was looking through Pinterest the other day and found a recipe for Chicken Parmesan in the crockpot. The recipe didn't quite fit lean and green standards, so I decided to come up with my own. And let me tell you, the dish was delicious! I might have wanted to lick the plate at the end. I put about 1 1/2 servings of tomatoes on the chicken, so you are still left with 1 1/2 greens to add as a side. I just had a salad, but you could try adding cooked spaghetti squash to the crockpot for cooking under the chicken.

Ingredients:

Makes 2 servings

Two - 6 oz raw boneless skinless Chicken Breast
1 1/2 cups Diced tomatoes
2 Tbsp Reduced fat Mozzarella cheese (shredded)
8 tsp Parmesan Cheese (shredded) - I used Sargento Artisan Blend. 20 cal/2 tsp serving
1/2 tsp Onion powder
1 tsp Garlic powder
1/4 tsp salt
1 tsp Chili powder
1 tsp Ground Cumin

Directions:

1) Lightly puree tomatoes in blender and place in mixing bowl. Mix in all seasoning and all mozzarella cheese.

2) Grease crockpot lightly with Pam spray. Place 1/2 cup of tomato mixer on bottom and place chicken on top. Distribute another 1/2 cup evenly over chicken. This will leave 1/2 cup of the mixture left to finish the dish later - refrigerate until ready.

3) Cook in crockpot for 3-4 hours. Once finished, place in oven safe dish and top evenly with the remaining tomato mixture and all the parmesan cheese (4 tsp cheese on each chicken breast).

4) Broil for 6-8 minutes until cheese is melted.

There is your simple, delicious Chicken Parmesan dish! Serve with an addition 1 1/2 greens and you have your complete lean and green meal. Enjoy!

Limiting your dream

As I've started coaching clients and talking with potential clients, a common theme has come out. People are afraid to dream big. They don't believe that they can really get the health and body that they want. Within a couple of days of starting this program, I knew that I would get the body that I had wanted all of my life. I was always kind of chunky (except for those couple years after my growth spurt of 4 inches before the weight finally caught up to me - even then I was more of a skinny fat). Back in 2008, I had lost about 30 lbs to get down to about 2 lbs heavier than I am right now. That didn't last long because I went right back to what I was doing before and slowly creeped back up to my finishing weight in high school, 155 lbs. I was very comfortable at this weight, but still didn't exactly have an ideal body that I wanted.

As I got older and the metabolism slowed (especially after 30!), it became very apparent that eating and drinking whatever and whenever I wanted was only going to pack on the lbs. I topped out in the high 170s. At 5'9, that is about 12 or so lbs into the overweight area. I was over being fat and saw my cousin, aunt and uncle losing 70-100+ lbs each and maintaining it. Clearly what I was doing wasn't working. I thought I had been eating right and staying healthy by doing the whole foods/Paleo thing. For those of you that insist on sticking with whole foods, but aren't losing the weight, just remember that after doing this program, you can't go right back to whole foods. You'll just learn how to pick them and what portion sizes to stick with.

When I gained about 18 lbs last year, I realized that I needed that kick to get my nutrition right. That's when I called up my cousin, who is now my health coach, and told her I was ready to try it out. When asked for my goal weight, I said 140 lbs. It's really not so much about the number, but how I want my body to look. As I got closer to that number, I knew that it wouldn't get me to my ideal body. Obviously, I still want to be in a healthy range for my height and not look anorexic. As of my last weigh-in, I'm at 144 lbs and still see I have a good amount of stomach and thigh fat I want to get rid of. And it would be really nice to not have the double chin I have had all my life - even after the growth spurt. That's my dream. And I know for sure I will get there. So, I'm going to keep going.

I found this on Pinterest and wanted to share:

You are free to dream big and get the body and health that you want. Don't ever settle because you think you can't get there or you're just comfortable. I assure you that if you work hard, you will get there.

So, what's YOUR dream? And what are you going to do to get there?

Spaghetti Squash Pizza Casserole

Once again, I found a seriously awesome recipe to modify to make a lean and green meal. This is a great dish to make for the family. I made it for friends the other night and they raved about it. They were especially loving the fact that it clocks in at just over 300 calories. 

As I said, I modified this to fit lean and green specifications. The original recipe can be found here:

http://holisticallyengineered.com/2013/11/pizza-spaghetti-squash-casserole.html

Spaghetti Squash Pizza Casserole

Makes 4 servings

4 cups spaghetti squash

2 cups diced tomatoes

1/2 cup egg beaters

2 oz reduced fat turkey pepperoni

1 1/2 cups reduced fat mozzarella cheese

8 oz (cooked) lean ground beef – 96% fat free

1/8 teaspoon salt

¼ teaspoon pepper

1 tsp oregano

2 tsp garlic powder

1/2 tsp chili powder

1/2 tsp cumin

2 tsp onion powder

Directions:

1. Roast or microwave the spaghetti squash. I prefer the microwave - poke about 10 holes in a medium size squash and place in microwave for 12-16 min - turning the squash every 4 minutes. It is done when the skin buckles. Place aside to cool.

2. Preheat oven to 350 F.

3. In a medium saucepan, brown the ground beef.

4. While browning the beef, use a blender or food processor to puree the tomatoes so that they are more of a sauce. Place in a medium saucepan and heat on medium while adding seasoning. Once boiling, reduce heat and simmer for 5 min. Stir occasionally. 

5. While the beef is browning and sauce is heating up, cut squash lengthwise and scoop out the seeds. Then use a fork to pull away the squash. Measure out 4 cups and spread on the bottom of a greased 8x8 casserole dish. 

6. Add in egg beaters to sauce and stir. Then add in browned beef. Pour this mixture onto the squash and mix together. Smooth into an even layer. 

7. Top with a layer of half the pepperoni. Then add the entire cup of mozzarella cheese. Spread this out as well to make an even layer. 

8. Top the cheese with the remaining pepperoni and bake for 30 minutes or until set and heated through. 

9. Let stand for 10 minutes before serving. Enjoy!

Enhanced Medifast Meal - Cookie Stuffed Brownies

Amazingly delicious. That is all that I can say about these cookie stuffed brownies. I had pinned this recipe a couple weeks ago and had been waiting for my chocolate chip cookie soft bakes to arrive...with more brownies, of course. If you don't know by now, brownies are my absolute favorite Medifast meal. But this just steps them up to a whole new level. And it makes 2 meals, so I get 2 different meals of delicious goodness. I really can't recommend this recipe enough. Enjoy!!

**Baking times may vary. It took me a few more minutes to get this completely cooked in the middle.

The recipe is from The Best Blog Recipes:

MEDIFAST COOKIE STUFFED BROWNIES RECIPE

SAVE PRINT

Author: Shauna | The Best Blog Recipes

INGREDIENTS

• 1 Medifast Brownie Packet + 3 tablespoons of water
• 1 Medifast Cookie Packet + 2 tablespoons of water
• Cooking Spray

DIRECTIONS

1. Mix the Brownie per packet instructions in the square container that comes with the brownies.
2. Mix the Cookie per packet instructions in the square container that comes with the cookies.
3. Pre-heat your oven to 350°. Spray cooking spray in 2 spots on your muffin tin. Add ¼ of the brownie mixture to each of your muffin spots. Divide the cookie in half and drop it onto the brownie mixture and press down just a bit. Top with the divided remaining brownie mixture.
4. Cook for about 15-18 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean (watch it so it doesn't over cook). Let cool completely on the counter. Eat 1 now and save one for later :)
5. Makes 2 Cookie Stuffed Brownies --> each one counts as 1 Medifast Meal

Enhanced Medifast Meal - Chicken Noodle Soup Chips

I just tried a delicious new recipe today. In my last order, I ordered way too many soups and hearty meals and not enough on the go foods. So, I found this recipe for chips made from the Chicken Noodle Soup packet. I made mine a bit thicker than the photo and used my own seasoning, but they tasted really good and I will definitely make them again! Enjoy!

The original recipe can be found here: Sandy's Kitchen: Chicken Noodle Soup Chips

Chicken Noodle Soup Chips

Ingredients:

1 pk MF Chicken Noodle Soup or any cream soup (1 Meal)

3 Tbsp water

1/2 tsp Rotisserie Chicken seasoning (optional - 1 condiment)

Directions:

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Combine chicken noodle soup mix and seasoning in Magic Bullet. Using the grinder blade, pulse until it's a fine powder. Add water to form ball of dough. Line cookie sheet with parchment paper & lightly spray with Pam. Mix all ingredients. Place the ball of dough in the center of one side. Fold parchment over and roll it just as flat as you can get it. Bake 10 minutes and remove from oven. Using either a sharp knife or kitchen scissors, cut into chips and spread across cookie sheet. Return to oven for an additional 5-8 minutes for crispy chips. The darker brown they are, the crispier they will be. Makes a whole bowl full of tasty snacks!

*You can also microwave these chips by spreading the mixture thin on a flat plate. Microwave 2 minutes. Flip and then microwave an additional 30 seconds or until crispy.

To cheat or not to cheat?

That is the question a lot of the time, isn't it?

Since I've been doing Take Shape For Life, I have been asked countless times how I avoid alcohol, candy, pizza and all the other yummy, but not on plan, foods out there.

For me, the answer is easy. This means more to me.

If given a choice between losing weight and getting the body I have always wanted to have or indulging in the alcohol or goodies nearby, I'm going to choose my body. I'm going to choose this program. I'm going to get what I want first.

Am I giving up alcohol, pizza, burgers, ribs, and cake forever? Absolutely not. But while I am in the weight loss phase of my journey, those things are not a priority to me. Losing weight is. I look forward to the day I can have a slice of pizza again or a pint of beer. But that's not going to happen until I hit my goal - and even then, I won't be overindulging. Once I am in my maintenance phase, everything will be in moderation. No longer will I pig out at a potluck or drink a bottle of wine in one evening. That was my life before and when I get the body I want, I fully plan on keeping it.

Several diets will have cheat days built in. Besides giving people an excuse to binge one day a week, this program has a very specific reason why cheating is not built into the program. On the 5 and 1 plan, the meals are nutritionally sound and also low glycemic. You have steadied your blood sugar, turned off the insulin and gone into fat burning mode rather than fat storage mode. To get into fat burning mode generally takes about 4 days. When you cheat, the spike in blood sugar can turn the insulin back on and knock you out of fat burning mode. You've now gone backwards and have to waste 4 days getting back to it. During that time, you have a good chance of being very hungry, tired and also having headaches. All this for a cheat meal or drink?

When I started on this plan, I was actually quite worried about not being able to drink my wine or have an occasional cheat. Was I really going to be able to do this? How do I go without my (sometimes daily) glass or wine? What about my favorite ribs or fondue? Once I started going and was seeing results quickly, I was surprised how easy it was to not even be tempted by my favorite foods and drinks. Unless there is a pizza right in my face, I really have no desire to have a slice and frankly, rarely even think about it. That right there is commitment, folks. Commitment to prioritize my life and not look back.

So what do you want more? A healthy body and healthy life or that slice of pizza and bottle of wine over there? You choose.