Time Crunch Cooking

Diet is hard. For me, it is the most difficult part of living a healthy lifestyle. Why? Well, probably for the same reasons that it is hard for most people. I would think convenience sits right at the very top of the list of reasons for diet difficulty. Cooking takes time. A lot of time when you consider that you have to shop, prep, and clean the dishes for every meal that you make. So, what do people do instead? Reach for the cheese and crackers (my husbands favorite meal, as of late).

Luckily, there are ways to manage meal prep and cooking time quite easily. There are a few things that I do to make sure that I am getting healthy meals without sacrificing my time:

1. Prepare your food in bulk!!! I do this to a bit of an extreme right now, because I eat the exact same six meals every day for a week at a time. I don't mind doing it, because I like the meals that I have prepared; however, I know that most people don't love eating the same meals over and over and over. So, instead... plan your meals at the beginning of every week and have a big cooking party. You wont have to cook again all week! In a couple of hours you can make all the food you need for the week and you can simply portion it out every day. Cook the noodles, rice, chicken, and fish that you will be using in your meals. Bag or box them up...and thank goodness for the microwave. Serious life saver.

2. Use a slow cooker. This is a magic pot...a cauldron? But, really. Stick a few ingredients in, push the on button, go to bed. When you wake up in the morning, you will have a nice week's worth of lunches with hardly any effort (...and the scent to wake you).

3. George Foreman Grill. Oh, my Georgie Porgie. I love my grill. Frozen meat will be cooked through in ten-ish minutes. So easy to clean up (I just wipe mine down with a paper towel immediately after I take the meat off). If you aren't cooking your meat in bulk in the crock pot...this is a pretty nice alternative. I like the plain grilled chicken flavor...but you can season or cook your meats with veggies...the possibilities are limitless:)

4. Boil eggs. Boil a lot of eggs. Boiled eggs are incredibly easy to pack! Keep a bowl full in the fridge to grab for a mid-workday/school day snack...portable protein. I usually boil about two dozen at the beginning of each week...sometimes more (hubby likes to take them).

5. Supplement with protein powder (less cooking, more shaking!). Protein is vital in weight loss. You can lose weight...you cannot build muscle mass. Eat enough protein. I recommend between 1-1.2 g/ lb of body weight/ day for anyone who is participating in a weight training program. Solid proteins (meat) can be expensive to purchase when your intake is that high (although, it isn't much higher than the absolute minimum....7 g/lb body weight/day). Protein powder is a less expensive, and more convenient alternative. Look for powders low in sugar (less than 5 g per serving...0 g per serving if possible). Pack it. Like eggs, it is easy. Keep it in a bag...mix it with water (this isn't always very yummy...but do it...chug, chug, chug). Mix it into your pancakes (whole grain...right?). A scoop in your oatmeal in the morning...mix it with some Greek yogurt (chocolate pudding replacement?). There are lots of ways to supplement with protein powder:) I use the brand and flavor shown in the above image:) Seriously yummy.

Peanut Butter-Jelly Time...

Everyone has a favorite food item...well, mostly everyone, right? I have mine. It probably changes sometimes, but for the past few months I have been seriously in love with peanut butter (and other peanut products). I love it. Love, love, love it. I ate a few giant Costco tubs of roasted and salted peanuts last summer (shame on me...). I think maybe the overload came from my previous deprivation. My husband is allergic to peanuts, so I had not eaten much (if any) peanut products for about a year. Obviously, my husband wasn't sneaking them, so I have to take full credit for eating all the peanuts. Unfortunately, eating all those peanuts may very well have been a contributing factor to not reaching my goal of getting as lean as I wanted to.

I think this can happen with any food. When you restrict something you love (or like)too much, it can come back and bite you in the butt. It all comes down to moderation. It probably comes up a lot when referring to nutrition and a balanced diet for a reason. Moderation works. Have the little bit of treat that you need to satisfy your craving, but don't gorge yourself. A little piece of brownie every once in a while wont ruin you; although, a little piece of brownie every day might. Keep realistic portion sizes (and when it comes to brownies...very small...you only need to taste it, really).

Save treats for special occasions. Allow yourself to have it when the occasion arises. Family and close friends' birthday parties. Holidays (careful). Graduation. Passing a big test with an A (assuming you don't have tests every day). This will put your treats into a treats category, rather than putting them in a 'daily dose' category. Little changes like that can make a big difference.

Pay attention to where your cravings are really coming from. How much water have you been drinking? You might only be thirsty (3 L every day...at least!!!). Are you a woman? Is it your time of month (seriously, men. You have no idea how much that can really make a difference.)? How many carbs have you eaten already during the day (because sugar tends to be the biggest problem...lack of carbs = sugar cravings)? Are you experiencing more stress than usual? Keep a broad perspective. Ask yourself why you really want to eat. Make sure it is because you are hungry. Taking time to plan your meals and eating meals every few hours will help to prevent cravings (and encourage weight loss).

I'm going to continue to have my peanut butter (in moderation and with planning), but I have made the choices necessary to keep from eating the entire tub in one sitting (that is not an exaggeration). If you mess up, keep trying. eventually you will get it!

Spicy Chicken Curry

I have a weakness for Thai food, especially curry. Fortunately enough for me, I can make my own curry pretty easily to get my fix:) I made this with my sister, and it was delicious! (Unfortunately we ate it so quickly and I didn't get a photo...but next time I will).

Spicy Chicken Curry

2 lb Chicken Breast, cubed
1 sweet onion, chopped
1 green bell pepper, seeded and chopped
1 14.5 oz can diced tomato (no added salt), with juice
1.5 cup fat free plain Greek yogurt
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 teaspoon ground pepper
2 tsp ground ginger (or 1 Tbs fresh ginger)
2 tsp kosher salt
2 garlic cloves, peeled and finely minced (I used garlic powder ~2 tsp)
2 teaspoons ground coriander
1/2 teaspoon turmeric
1 teaspoon curry powder (red curry powder...spicy!) 

Add oil to large sauce pan. When oil is hot, add onion and green pepper and cook for 2-3 minutes. Cut chicken into bite sized cubes and cook separately. Combine pepper, ginger, salt, coriander, turmeric and curry powder and add to pot. Stirring occasionally, cook until fragrant (10-15 minutes). Stir in diced tomatoes and Greek yogurt. Mix in chicken and serve hot over cooked brown or black rice (I love black rice).

Per Serving (without rice):
Serves 5
Calories: 137
Carbs: 13 g
Fat:  0 g
Sat. Fat: 0 g
Protein: 19 g
Sugar: 8 g

Per Serving (with 1/4 cup rice):
Calories: 297
Carbs: 47 g
Fat: 2 g
Sat. Fat: 0 g
Protein: 24 g
Sugar: 9 g

Chicken Tortilla Soup

I am becoming increasingly obsessed with my slow cooker. The main reasons for this are that it is extremely fast (less than 15 minutes of prep. time usually) and convenient (I can cook my meals while I sleep). So, today I have another recipe that I just finished slow cooking:) I am actually enjoying it as I type:) I hope you can too!

Chicken Tortilla Soup
Serves 5

2 lb. Boneless, skinless Chicken Breast
2  (15 oz.) cans Diced tomato (no salt added)
1  (7 oz.) can Green Chilies (drained)
1/2-1 cup Chicken Stock (no salt added)
1 chopped yellow onion
1 tsp cumin
1 Tbs garlic powder (or 2 cloves fresh garlic)


Place chicken breast in the bottom of the crock pot. Combine all other ingredients and pour over chicken. Cook on high for 4 hours. Shred chicken. Serve warm topped with corn tortilla strips (I just ripped up two corn tortillas with mine). Salt and pepper to taste.

Per Serving (without corn tortillas):
Calories: 247
Carbs: 14 g
Fat: 2 g
Sat. Fat: 1 g
Protein: 39 g
Sugar: 6 g

Per Serving (with corn tortilla):
Calories: 374
Carbs: 38 g
Fat: 4 g
Sat. Fat: 1 g
Protein: 42 g
Sugar: 7 g

Motivation

I often find myself wondering why there are so many people who struggle to do the things necessary to be healthy. I am passionate about living a healthy lifestyle and being the best I can be, so it can be hard for me to remember that not everyone has the same mentality that I do. Everybody is in a different situation. Different schedules, different stresses, different means to their goals. This means that motivation will also vary from person to person. I cannot tell anyone where to find their motivation, but I can share some places where I find motivation, and hope that it might inspire someone else to find theirs.

I am motivated by my appearance. It is not necessarily something that I like to admit to, either, but from a realistic perspective, people care about appearance. Also, I am a female..so naturally, I want to look good. I have had personal experience with having a low self-esteem. I am my own worst critic. I have not always thought that I am pretty...in fact I thought myself quite plain throughout most of my teenage years. This motivates me because when I like the way I look, or when I feel like other people like the way I look, I feel confident and more comfortable. It helps me free up my mind for more important things that worrying about how my shirt fits, or making sure the waist of my pants covers my love handles, or who is going to see that giant (but, probably tiny) zit on my face. 

GOALS. Making goals motivates me. Setting specific goals, creating a timeline, logging my progress, seeing results, and repeating the process again. For example, I have a fitness competition coming up in March. I know when it is, I know what I want to do by then. I am keeping track of everything that I am doing to prepare for that event (food, exercise, sleep, body composition). I am paying attention to the details, so when I set my next goal, I will know what, where, and how I need to change. Never stop making goals. You wont end up where you want to if you haven't identified your destination.

Picking someone to look up to, or multiple people is also something that helps me to determine what my goals are. I have strengths and weaknesses. I use role models to motivate me to turn my weaknesses into strengths. I find people who have those strengths to lead me to achieve my goals. I find people I can read about, look at images of, and if I am lucky I find people who I can actually get advice from!

My health motivates me. When I have been at my most healthy state (so far...I'm not done yet :)), I don't get sick nearly as often, or I recover more quickly. I have more energy. I notice that my health shows through my skin, hair, and nails (this is not weird...trust me). My aches go away (my knees in particular...). I don't feel like I am going to pass out at the top of a flight of stairs. I feel good. 

Living a long and full life motivates me. I want to be active and able to take care of myself as I age. I want to be able to do fun things into my old age. I don't want to live my life being sick or tired. I want to prevent the potential aches and pains of old age. My grandmother would say, "it's better to wear out than to rust out".  I want to make the most of every minute of my life...and make my life the most minutes.

I have found that motivation cannot simply be external. Yes, it is motivating to want to look good. Yes, other people can encourage me and motivate me. Yes, it is motivating to feel my pants fitting better (or beginning to fall off...on some days). But, ultimately, I have to want it for myself.  I need the motivation to come from within.  For health, for happiness, for longevity. 

I am motivated by my desire to love myself. I want to love my heart, my kidneys, my brain, my skin, my feet, my blood, my personality and everything that I am. I want to be able to smile at myself in the mirror every morning because I know that I am valuable. When my body feels good, I can take better care of my mind and my attitudes. I can wake up and say, you are beautiful and today is going to be a very good day. I am not perfect at this. I can be very hard on myself (I am human...) and sometimes I ruin my own days. But, I have noticed that the more I love my body (by living a healthy lifestyle), the happier I am and the less critical I am of myself. 

These are a few things that motivate me. There are days (or weeks, or months) when I find it hard to pay attention to these motives, and on those days I will usually bribe myself ;) If I eat clean for a week, I can get a new color of nail polish (one of my many small obsessions...). If I go to the gym every day for a month I can get a new pair of tennis shoes (mostly thanks to my sweet husband). If I get all of my cardio in during the week, I can spend more time at the climbing gym (and this is my weakness...).

What motivates you? FIND YOUR MOTIVATION. Be healthy, be happy. Be happy, be healthy.

Anise Ground Turkey

Thanks to my amazing little sister, I have discovered my new favorite way to season ground turkey:) I always buy extra-lean ground turkey. Unfortunately, extra-lean ground turkey tends to be quite bland when it comes to flavor. Luckily for me, I keep my meat lean and have the flavor that I want! But more importantly, and luckily for you, it is beyond easy:)

After placing your ground turkey into the pan, simply drizzle a bit of anise extract and sprinkle a bit of dry basil (or use some fresh basil afterward!!!) over the meat. Finish cooking, and there you have it! Some seriously yummy extra-lean ground turkey (it is quite nice with vegetables...like zucchini... mixed in as well).

Serve it over some black rice, and you have yourself a healthy meal!