Wednesday, August 4, 2010 by Dea.

I had pulled out Tilapia to have for dinner the other day, and my usual method of cooking fish fillets is to bread and fry.  Since we’re striving for better foods, I threw this together - and it was wonderful!

1 orang, peeled and separated

2-3 tilapia fillets

Soy sauce

In a baking dish with a cover (I used a clay pot cooker), place orange wedge.  Set rinsed fish fillets on top of the oranges (this will prevent sticking).  Sprinkle with pepper to taste, and then shake on light soy sauce, approximately 1/4 cup.  Cover and place in a 375 degree oven for about 20 minutes, or until fish is done (this will depend on the thickness of the fish).

I served with leftover pasta salad, but my husband said it would be delicious over rice!

Quick, easy, tasty - and healthier than fried!  Less mess, too, actually!

Posted in Deceptively Delicious, Recipes, Healthy Eating | Print | 1 Comment »

Tuesday, July 27, 2010 by Dea.

One of the better carbs to add into your diet to reach a healthy weight (and maintain it) is rice.  Brown rice is the best for you, and has that wonderful nutty flavor.  But I’ve always had issues with under done, over done, and ALWAYS sticking rice.  There’s a simple way to avoid sticking and under/over done batches every time - and it involves your oven!  My husband attended a cooking class at a local restaurant and  learned this unique way to cook rice.

First, preheat your oven to 350 deg F.  Put a small amount of oil in the bottom of the pan.  Yes, oil adds fat - but heart-healthy olive oil will add benefits AND flavor!  Heat the oil over high heat, then add the dry, uncooked rice.  Stirring constantly,  cook the dry rice until the color changes from translucent to opaque.  Add the water (2 parts water to 1 part rice, so if you’re cooking 1 cup dry rice, add 2 cups water).  I add salt and/or turmeric to taste.  Bring the water and rice to a boil.  Place the lid on your saucepan, and transfer the whole thing to the oven.  Cook in the 350 degree oven for 18 minutes.  That’s it - pull it out, transfer to serving bowl - and you have perfectly cooked, no-stick rice!

Posted in Tips and Tricks, Healthy Eating | Print | 1 Comment »

Wednesday, November 4, 2009 by Dea.

Taco night can be a fun and healthy way to have a family dinner together and spark laughter and conversation at the same time.

Through a site I belong to, MyBlogSpark, I received information about Old El Paso’s new game, El Tacodor.  I received a fun pack of coupons and the game play materials, and I used them to have Taco Night with my family.

To make the tacos healthier, I mixed ground turkey and ground beef, and I drained the meat of as much fat as possible by placing it in a wire strainer after cooking and squeezing it out.  It’s amazing how much fat came out!!!  I also purchased fat free sour cream and low fat cheese to serve.  And of course, salsa and fat free refried black beans!!

The game was fun.  There are 5 categories, and the game play reminded me of a simpler version of Cranium - acting things out, trying to list as many movies as possible in a minute, etc.  We got a little silly, and enjoyed an extremely tasty taco dinner with Old El Paso products.

In addition to all of this - I have a prize pack I can give away!!!  Prize pack includes (2) two coupons to purchase Old El Paso dinner kits, and a $10 gift card to purchase any additional meal needs (i.e. meat, cheese, lettuce, etc.) and information about the El Tacodor game, all courtesy of Old El Paso!  Anyone interested in trying out a taco game night with your friends or family, leave me a comment with your favorite taco topping, or your trick for making tacos healthier!  Earn another entry by mentioning this contest to your friends on Facebook (link me to your post in the comments).  If you blog, earn yet another entry by linking this post in a blog (again, link me to the post in the comments).  Deadline for this contest is on Wednesday, November 11, 2009, at 5 pm!!  So give me some great ideas, and we’ll have a random drawing for our winner.

Posted in Freebies, Healthy Eating | Print | 12 Comments »

Tuesday, November 3, 2009 by Becca.

I’m a snacker.  I eat three well balanced meals everyday, but I usually also eat three snacks.  Snacking can be wonderful for your health.  It’s a good way to keep your blood sugar levels even throughout the day, it can keep you from over eating at meals, and it provides your body with a constant fuel source which can boost your energy resulting in a higher likelihood that you will be more active.  The list could certainly continue!

Unfortunately, snacking can also be a major speed bump on the road to living a healthier life.  If you snack without thinking about it or really seeing what you eat, you can derail your otherwise stellar eating habits.

I keep this from happening by planning my snacks the same way I plan my meals.  Sure, sometimes it feels a little bit like kindergarten when I look up at the clock and think “oh, it’s morning snack time” or “is it time for afternoon snack yet?”, but maybe we were on the right track back then.  Now, if I could only get away with “nap time” every day!

Posted in Tips and Tricks, Healthy Eating | Print | 1 Comment »

Monday, November 2, 2009 by Dea.

We’ve all heard that water is the best bet for our health.  We also know that a regular soda pop is high in empty calories.  Not everyone knows, however, that diet pop is just as bad.  And it isn’t just the sugars and artificial sweeteners that are bad for us!

Simple sugars, like the ones found in regular soft drinks, make the body’s insulin response over-react, and thus cause extra calorie consumption beyond just the soft drink!  But don’t jump over to diet sodas instead - there are several studies which point to possible weight GAIN from sugar substitutes for the same reason!

Not only is the caffeine found in  many soft drinks a diuretic, the salt found in them as well will aid in dehydration!  That’s right - the beverage that does NOT hydrate.  Pretty crazy, isn’t it?

Some sodas contain phosphorus as well - which binds to calcium, and can leave your bones being leeched of important calcium.  Yes, you can take an extra calcium supplement to counteract this, but do we always remember to do that when popping open a can of coke??

Basically, the short list of dangers from sodas, especially in children, is tooth decay, nutritional depletion, obesity, type-2 diabetes, and heart disease.  Mmmm, yummy - sure, my teeth are falling out, my butt is enormous, and I have a bad heart - but dang, it tastes good.

I’m thinking I’m skipping the soda aisle in the future.

Posted in Health, Healthy Eating | Print | No Comments »

Sunday, September 13, 2009 by Dea.

I had lunch with Becca yesterday, and she made me a Morningstar Farms Spicy Black Bean Burger.  I am not normally a fan of the veggie burgers, I will admit that!  I figured, however, that I’d give it a try.  If Becca will eat it, I will most likely like it.

These are fabulous!  To me, they tasted like a cross between a falafel and black bean dip.  We had them on the Slimwich bread, with a slice of reduced fat cheese, and they seriously needed no condiments beyond that.  I’ll be grabbing these myself for lunches or quick dinners.  Each patty has 120 calories, 4g fat, and 4g fiber.  And they’re very filling.  A nice, fast meal - that’s also surprisingly tasty!

Posted in Fabulous Finds, Deceptively Delicious, Healthy Eating | Print | No Comments »

Wednesday, September 9, 2009 by Dea.

I was reading an article Becca sent me that opened my eyes.  I had never really thought about how many extra calories are in those mouthfuls of food that I don’t necessarily keep track of throughout the day.  A little taste here, clean off a plate there - and according to the article, it can really add up!

The author suggests keeping track of just those tastes, bites, and gulps you take when cooking or clearing the table.  It came out to a whole day’s worth of calories extra over the course of a week for the author.  That shocked me.

As other moms know, kids don’t always finish their meals.  It’s tempting to finish it, to clean the plate, in order to not waste food.  Is it really better, though, to allow that food to hit your waist?

So the moral here it try to be more aware.  I think I’m going to keep track of those morsels I pop into my mouth as I prepare dinner and pack lunches.   I also want to pay attention to those moments when hunger strikes - and I’ve only stocked the car or my purse with those treacherous kid snacks.  One whole day’s worth of calories a week - that I do not need!

Posted in Tips and Tricks, Weight Loss, Healthy Eating | Print | No Comments »

Tuesday, September 8, 2009 by Dea.

As everyone can see, it’s been a busy few days around here.  I haven’t been on the internet much at all, and keeping up here was - well, it was nonexistent, right?

There is one thing I noticed during my frenetic schedule this past week.  I ate less.  Not just a little bit less - a whole lot less.  I was shocked when I was finally able to input my foods in my tracking site.  I hadn’t snacked more than I should, I hadn’t wound up eating a huge lunch.

I tried to think about the differences between this week and a normal week.  I was busy helping at the school book fair, which means I was out of the house and didn’t have time to eat.  We had a bonfire and went to an apple orchard, so we were busy carrying wood or driving in the car.

So what do all the things I was doing this week have in common?  I was out of the house, and I was busy doing a lot of physical things.  So the main lesson I need to take away from this is never go home?

Well, that’s not possible.  I think, though, that if I concentrate on doing projects that aren’t near the kitchen, that might help.  I also want to get my workspace set up for my computer.  I sit on the couch right now to use my laptop.  And the couch is awfully close to the refrigerator and pantry.  If I have a designated work space, I think this will help avoid the computer-time snacking!

So here’s to Distraction Dieting.  Eating less through keeping busy means less obsessing.  It seems to work fairly well!

Posted in Tips and Tricks, Weight Loss, Healthy Eating | Print | No Comments »

Wednesday, September 2, 2009 by Dea.

I was reading this article about worst pizzas in America, and I came across this - the WORST Pizza in America.

1. WORST PIZZA IN AMERICA
Uno Chicago Grill Chicago Classic Deep Dish Individual Pizza
2,310 calories
165 g fat (54 g saturated)
4,920 mg sodium
120 g carbs

This is an individual pizza.  It contains more calories than I allow myself in an entire day - in supposedly ONE serving.

How on earth do they get  nearly 2400 calories in a single-serve pizza??  I can’t get over it.  Do they top it with lard?  Is there a layer of butter between the crust and the sauce?

We’re talking a bread-like substance, tomato sauce, and cheese.  I can make a normal pizza that would feed two people with a crust from a mix and regular cheese, and it STILL wouldn’t have this many grams of fat.

None of the options at the restaurants listed in the article are better than what I could do at home!  I do believe I’ll stay in next time I’m craving pizza.

Posted in Temptation, Healthy Eating | Print | No Comments »

Monday, August 31, 2009 by Becca.

I fell off the wagon this week in a big way.  It all started with a sore throat.  About a week ago I started to get a sore throat so I made sure I got a little more rest and made myself some tea.  I stuck to making healthy eating choices and continued to keep up with my exercise routine.

I maintained that for a few days but by mid week I was exhausted.  I was sleeping a solid eight hours at night but still yawning at my desk by 3pm.  It was a struggle to force myself out of bed and out the door to work in the morning.  My boss told me to stay home but I have been know to be stubborn and had work that needed to be done this week.

So I forced myself into the office all week, which took a lot of will power.  By the time I got home from work, I had no energy to cook or do dishes and no will power left to resist ordering takeout or swinging through the drive thru.  As far as exercise goes, let’s just say the walk from my front door to my car door was looking pretty long.

I’m embarrassed to admit that this week I probably consumed as many calories and grams of fat as I did the previous two weeks combined and moved about as much as a sloth.  So it’s been about a week and I still don’t feel that well which probably has something to do with how I’ve been treating my body for the past week.

Today is a new day and every new day is an opportunity to live my life in a healthy way.  Time to dust myself off and climb back up on that wagon!

Posted in Health, Stress, Healthy Eating | Print | No Comments »