#HealthyEating for a #HealthyFamily

Here are some of the foods we ate and recipes we used while I was in bootcamp. We loved some of the changes we made with food so will continue to eat these even though we aren't intentionally losing weight - just maintaining a healthy lifestyle.  I don't have all the calorie counts for the foods I made, I usually used My Fitness Pal to help calculate what I was eating.


Garlic Parmesan Chicken
http://heidipowell.net/2522/whats-for-dinner-garlic-parmesan-chicken/
This one was super easy and VERY delicious!!  The greek yogurt gave it a nice cream sauce with the chicken. 


Chicken Pizza Recipe  by: Lisa Simpson Rambo
1 boneless chicken breast, pounded flat if thick
Salt, pepper, garlic powder and Italian seasoning, to taste
1 tablespoon pizza sauce
4 slices pepperoni
1 teaspoon butter or oil
2 fresh mushrooms, sliced
2 thin green pepper rings
1 ounce mozzarella cheese, shredded

Makes 1 serving
Can be frozen but the peppers will get soft
Per Serving: 310 Calories; 16g Fat; 36g Protein; 3g Carbohydrate; 1g Dietary Fiber; 2g Net Carbs
PIZZA CHICKEN - SIMPLIFIED METHOD (No pre-grilling or pre-cooking involved)
Flatten the chicken breast to make it an even thickness all over. Season with salt, pepper and garlic powder and place on a foil-lined baking sheet. Spread the pizza sauce over the top of the chicken then top with the pepperoni, raw mushrooms and green pepper rings. Sprinkle the vegetables with a little more salt if you like. Bake at 400º 15 minutes then top with the mozzarella cheese. Bake another 5 minutes or until the cheese is melted and the chicken is done to your liking


Turkey Burgers
20 oz pkg of 93/7 (Lean) Ground Turkey
1 pkg of Lipton Onion Soup (dry - the sodium is a bit high in this; just an FYI)
1 pkg of Sara Lee Delightful Wheat buns (80 calories)

Mix the ground turkey and onion soup. Let it set in the refrigerator for 30-60 minutes.  Make patties (makes 4-5) and grill.  Each patty is around 120-140 calories + 80 calorie buns = 200-220 calories. 


Southwest Chicken
15-20oz pkg of boneless/skinless chicken breasts
1 can of black beans (optional)
1 can of corn
1 cup of salsa
1 pkg of taco seasoning

Slow cook all of the above ingredients in a crock pot all day.  Shred chicken and serve over Romaine lettuce, rice, in taco shells or alone!  Top with cheese and avocado (or guac).  More calories but good fats!

We ate chicken ALL THE TIME when I was counting calories.

Just put the chicken breasts on low for 6-8 hours or high for 2-4 hours.  Shred.  You can add these to low calorie wraps with lettuce, tomatoes, (Low calorie) salad dressing (Cesar, Southwest, Ranch, etc), for a quick easy meal.  I mentioned serving over lettuce with the SW Chicken above.

We grilled chicken and simply used BBQ sauce and served with fresh veggies and a side salad.

A New Way of Living. #HealthyMama #HealthyFamily #HealthyKid

I gained 31lbs of baby weight that somehow didn't miraculously fall off when I left the hospital, so last year I started running.  I ran 5Ks, 10Ks, and finished with a half marathon.. and even after that I kept running.   But the weight still didn't fall off with all that running.  The reason?  Because I wasn't EATING properly. I have learned that 80% of weight loss comes from the kitchen and 20% in the gym. I do a majority of the cooking in our household which means that I am ultimately responsible for what we eat. (All opinions in this article are my own and I have not been compensated for them)

We started by making small changes in our house. We incorporated more fruits and veggies.  We drank more water and less soda.  And as we started to see our bodies change we also started to see our attitudes and minds change.   I also changed our recipes. We absolutely LOVE eating tacos in our house.  So we switched out chicken for beef, made salads instead of shells, and replaced our sour cream with Chobani Plain Greek Yogurt.  Greek Yogurt contains more protein and less calories than sour cream.  When I first told Adam I was fixing supper with Greek Yogurt he was less than interested.  This is the man who will eat ANYTHING and he refused.  So I did it anyway. And you know what?  He didn't know the difference.  So to my surprise when I was out of town, I found he had eaten ALL of our Greek yogurt and had to go buy more. I call that a win!

I also have a little yogurt addict in my house too! I thought I was being such a good mama getting up and making George pancakes and waffles in the morning.  Then one morning I was running late, gave G some yogurt and from that morning on he's eaten it every single day. Not because I'm lazy but because this child DEMANDS it!  And seriously, you can't be mad if your child demands yogurt, right? But I URGE you to read labels.  One brand has 26 grams of sugar in a 6oz container of yogurt. This is the same amount of sugar in 1/2 of a can of Mountain Dew.  Let's be honest, you'd NEVER let your kids drink a 1/2 can of soda, so why would you feed it to them?

George eating one of his favorite Chobani Greek Yogurts - Grape

After doing my research I found that Chobani has yogurt just for kids. YAY!   The sugar content is 7 grams lower (compared to a 6oz container) and they come in fun flavors like grape and watermelon.  They are easy to take on the go! And work great for breakfast or as a sweet dessert after supper. 

We are an active family so food is not the only way we try to remain healthy.  We take family walks and go on family runs.  We go outside and allow George to explore the grass and get fresh air.  I always keep the sliding door open to allow him to play on our deck and we make trips to the park.   I try to make sure that I keep fresh snacks on hand at all times.  We eat things like freeze dried fruit, frozen fruit (defrosts wonderfully!) and of course our handy yogurt pouches. 

After making several changes in our diet as a family I've seen the positive benefits.  We are a much happier family without all of the refined sugars and processed foods.  I am not a nutritionist but I am a mom and I feel it is my job to make sure that I'm doing the best for Adam and George to ensure they are both happy and healthy. Adam and I have both lost around 20lbs with our changes. Start small and you never know where it might take you!

My Before and After pictures taken during my healthy body transformation