Orange Cinnamon Chicken

I just discovered a new seasoning! Seasonings are really a great way to mix up your meals without overcomplicating anything:) I am all about quick meals, so playing around with seasonings is the perfect way for me to add variety, while still being efficient with my time!  So this is what I have been using to season my chicken and oatmeal for the last couple of days, and I really LOVE IT! I like cinnamon on just about anything, and have had it on chicken before, but adding the orange peel gives it something a little extra! It's delicious! I got the orange peel seasoning at Safeway, but I think it can be easily found in most local grocery stores:)

Chipotle Salad

Chipotle is one of my favorite places to grab a quick, healthy meal if I want to eat out. The hubby and I don't go there too frequently, but the past few times I have gone, I have started changing up my order a little bit to keep the calories low enough for it to be a worthwhile meal:) I usually order a bowl, and have been substituting A LOT of veggies for rice and beans...and the veggies really are delicious:) So my bowl is usually something like: lots and lots of veggies, double chicken, pico, hot sauce, lettuce, and if I am feeling extra hungry I will get light avacado (because if you don't request 'light', they will basically put an entire mashed avacado on your salad...yum). Chipotle is kinda expensive for one meal...or I would probably eat there more frequently...but my alternative salad is pretty dang good, too:)

Chipotle Salad

4 oz. Chicken Breast
1/2 sliced red onion
1 sliced green bell pepper
2 Tbs hot salsa (salsa of choice)

1 tsp Sriracha
3 cups baby romaine lettuce

To prepare the chicken:
Pre-heat the oven to 400 F. Trim and cube raw chicken. Season chicken (I use a lot of sea salt with Weber Kick'n Chicken seasoning). Bake covered for one hour. Remove and let chicken cool while remaining covered for 30 minutes.

Salad:
Sautee red pepper and green bell peppers with some sea salt. When that is finished, toss all of the ingredients in a bowl and enjoy!

Easy:) and yummy! And Macro Friendly;)

Calories: 238
Carb: 19.8 g
Protein: 29.8 g
Fat: 5 g

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.

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