Left Over Chicken Pasta

Ingredients:

1 cup Uncooked Whole Wheat Pasta
1 Shredded Left Over Chicken Breast
1 cup Traditional Pasta Sauce

Boil whole wheat pasta until tender, drain. Mix in traditional pasta sauce and shredded chicken breast cook over low heat until warm. Enjoy.

You can find the recipe for A Lazy Woman's Crockpot Chicken here.

Healthy Pizza

Pizza is a staple in my life and while this isn't Pizza Hut's stuffed crust pizza (my personal weakness) it is delicious and it means pizza can remain a part of my diet guilt free.

Ingredients:

1 Golden Home 100% Whole Grain Thin Pizza Crusts
5 tbsp Traditional Pasta Sauce
8 oz Kraft Fat Free Mozzarella Cheese
Top with Veggies or Lean Meats of your choice

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Spreads Pasta sauce on pizza crust add toppings and fat free Mozzarella Cheese. Bake for 6-8 minutes. Enjoy.

My Grocery Shopping Must Haves

There are some products that are staples to my diet, here are photos of things I always buy when I go to the grocery store:

Sara Lee Whole Wheat Bread:


Santa Fe Torilla Company Whole Grain and Flax Torillas:
(I have found that other brands of whole wheat torillas still have added sugar)


PB Fit:
(Premixed peanut butter of any kind is high in fat, PBfit is pressed peanuts you mix with water and almost none of the fat of regular peanut butter, PB2 is another good product if PBfit isn't available in your store)

Kraft Fat Free Cheddar and Mozzarella Cheese:

Fat Free Cottage Cheese: (If I ever need to add protein to a meal this is my go to ingredient)

Left Over Chicken Tacos

Ingredients:

1/2 cup left over lazy woman's crockpotchicken breast shredded
1 Whole Wheat Torilla
2 tbsp salsa
A sprinkle of Kraft Fat Free Cheddar Cheese

Warm torilla and left over shredded chicken for a 1 min 15 seconds in the microwave. Top with salsa and a little bit of fat free cheddar cheese. Wrap and enjoy.

See the recipe for A Lazy Woman's Crockpot Chicken here.

A Lazy Woman's Crockpot Chicken

Some days I don't feel like cooking or don't have time to cook. This crockpot chicken has been a lifesaver in those moments.

Ingredients:
2 to 4 Chicken Breasts
2 cups Real Lemon Juice (I buy the bulk size bottles at Sam's club)
1 tsp Minced Garlic
Quartered potatos as/if desired

Pour real lemon juice and minced garlic into crock pot, add chicken breasts and potatos. Cook on high for 4 hours. Serve hot or refridgerate to reheat.

I always make multiple meals from this one batch. Here's a sample of some other recipes you can make with the left overs:

Left Over Chicken Tacos
Left Over Chicken Pasta

Mealtimes

As I mentioned in an earlier post I can't handle being hungry. Those people you see in the snickers bar commercials? Yea that's me and once I reach the point of hanger there's no turning back. So I really need to eat on a fairly frequent schedule. I have found that if I don't allow myself to get overly hungry at any given time I don't over eat. Your body also needs you to eat more frequently in order to maintain and boost your metabolism, not eating for long periods of time will have the opposite effect you are looking for. Here is my mealtime schedule:

8:00 am Breakfast
11:00 am Lunch
2:00 pm snack
5:00 pm dinner
8:00 pm snack

With lots of water in between and during all of it.

Healthy Protein Packed Mac n' Cheese

Ingredients:
1 cup Uncooked Whole Wheat Pasta
1 cup Fat Free Cottage Cheese
1/2 cup Kraft Fat Free Cheddar Cheese
Garlic powder and salt to taste

Boil pasta until tender, drain. Stir in fat free cottage cheese and fat free cheddar cheese, melt over low heat. Serve hot.

Side note: This recipe really needs to be eaten immediately, i would not attempt to refridgerate and reheat this meal.

The Paradigm of Processed Foods

Let me be clear about something.

If it comes out of a box, is precooked, or is heavily processed... I don't eat it.

There are exceptions:
-Carbs (as long as they are 100% whole wheat) so pasta, bread, and tortilllas I buy at the store because let's be real I don't have the time nor the talent to make them from scratch.
-Pasta Sauce and Fat Free Dairy Products I buy as well, Again "ain't nobody got time for that."

When I say I don't eat processed foods I mean I don't eat boxed dinners, pre-made frozen foods, fried foods, microwave meals, anything with bleached flour, white sugar, soda, juice, any drink with sugar in it period, snack foods, chips of any kind, bacon,  breakfast cereals, or breakfast bars,

All of those things turn into fat. The sugar and bleached wheat flour along with the laundry list of preservatives are foreign to your body and do so much more harm than good. I always read labels. Any sugar content that isn't explained by naturally occurring fructose, lactose, and glucose doesn't make it into my cart. I try my best to get things as close to their naturally occurring state as possible. I don't fall for fat free foods other than dairy because of the chemicals added to make them taste good. I am single and intentionally cook full sized meals so that I can reheat and eat different foods all week.

I have noticed such a significant shift in my body since removing processed foods. My digestive tract works so much faster. I don't feel bloated. I no longer feel the winter blues I have felt in the past. After the first three weeks I stopped craving processed food all together. When I have eaten processed foods or things with heavy sugar content (read soda) my body completely rejects it.

If you have the willpower to make it through the first 3 weeks I promise you will also notice significant change in your body as well.

Healthy Lasagna

Ingredients:

1 Package of Whole Wheat Lasagna Noodles
1 Jar of Traditional Pasta Sauce
1 lb of Ground Turkey
8 oz of Fat Free Cottage Cheese
1 16 oz Package of Kraft Fat Free Mozzarella Cheese


Boil whole wheat lasagna noodles until tender. Brown ground turkey in a skillet. Preheat your oven to 350 degrees. Layer pasta sauce, noodles, ground turkey, and fat free cottage cheese in a 9x13 baking dish. Top with fat free shredded mozzarella cheese. Bake at 350 degrees until cheese is melted, Approximately 15 minutes.

Introduction

Hey Everyone!

My name is Danille and this is my journey into a healthier me. I'm not a huge fan of exercise, and I'm not going to lie I don't have the willpower to leave my house and go to the gym when its cold outside. I've always tried to diet with no luck in the past. I can't handle being hungry. I love carbs. I love pizza. I love wine.

What I didn't love was the woman I saw in the mirror after consuming all of it. I wanted to feel good about my body. I wanted to look good in a swimsuit. I wanted to feel comfortable in my own skin. I wanted to have my cake and be able to eat it too.

So I found a new way. I found a way that allowed me to eat versions of all my favorite foods that actually taste good and are healthy too. I found a way not to feel guilty about skipping the gym. I found a way to eat myself skinny.The photo above inspired me to change my ways and as of today I'm six weeks in and 10 lbs down. Feel free to follow this blog for my recipes and progress.

Here's to a healthier me in 2017!