Saturday, August 15, 2009 by Dea.

A Mexican/South American dish, it’s typically fried tortilla pieces covered in a salsa stew.  I made this up after tasting it at a restaurant, and figured it was perfect for the crockpot.  This is a great use for leftover chicken and stale tortilla chips.  You can also use stale tortillas, which will cut down the calories/fat.

Crockpot Chicken Chilaquiles

• 1 lb chicken breast, cubed or shredded (this is approximate, I usually use leftover chicken from grilling or roasting)
• 2 - 24oz jars Salsa (I use Casa Mamita Thick and Chunky from Aldi - $1.49 a jar, can’t go wrong!)
• 24oz water (I fill the salsa jar with water)
• 5 servings stale tortilla chips (that’s about 100 chips)

Pour the salsa into your crockpot, then fill one salsa jar with water and pour into crockpot.  Stir in cubed or shredded chicken meat.  Set this to simmer on low for about 4 hours.  About 10 minutes before serving, hand-crumble the chips into the stew.  Stir, and serve.

This makes about 10 servings.  Each serving is 158 calories, 4.5 grams of fat, and .5 grams of fiber, based on basic white corn tortilla chip rounds from Aldi (99 cents a bag!).  You can increase your fiber using a whole grain chip.

We top this with a sprinkle of cheddar and sour cream.  It’s also delicious as a leftover.  I love that I’m getting my Mexican flavor in such a low calorie option.  Not to mention, if you use leftover chicken and the Aldi brands I mentioned, this costs $4 total.

Posted in Favorite Things, Deceptively Delicious, Money Saving Tips, Aldi, Healthy Eating | Print | 1 Comment »

Friday, August 14, 2009 by Becca.

Office culture can be hard on a gal who’s trying to live a healthy life!  For one thing, being stuck at a desk most of your day limits the activity you get.  You can counter this by walking to a coworkers office instead of emailing them or hand delivering paperwork instead of using interoffice mail.  One trick I use is to run something to the copier or fax as soon as it’s ready instead of “saving up” a few items to copy or fax.

Another hurdle to overcome at my office is resisting the “goodies”.  Almost every week, there is some type of baked good in our kitchen, which doubles as our copy and fax area, making it impossible for me to keep it out of sight.

I have a few strategies for dealing with this.  I have become the unofficial party planner in our office.  I’m the one who organizes the potlucks and ice cream socials. This works for me because it keeps me busy while everyone is eating at gatherings.  It also gives me the power to insist that people take leftovers home.

I also try to prepare myself if I know there will be a yummy treat nearby.  I try to  have some guilt-free treats of my own on hand.  Sometimes I even prefer these treats to their more fattening counterparts.  One of my favorite treats is berries mixed with fat free sugar free pudding.  Another is fat free cool whip on top of almost anything.  If I really want a piece of that danish on the kitchen counter, though, I just have a piece.  I enjoy it, I don’t beat myself up about my “slip”, and I move on to my next meal.

Posted in Tips and Tricks, Encouragement, Stress, Healthy Eating | Print | No Comments »

Monday, August 10, 2009 by Becca.

Fiber One’s newest food additions are awesome.  If you don’t already eat them, you definitely should try them.  Their chocolatey chewy bars are way better than a regular granola bar and actually satisfy my candy bar cravings.  I would suggest starting off slow, though, especially if your body isn’t used to a whole lot of fiber!

Recently Fiber One introduced single serve yogurts.  I’m not usually a huge fan of yogurt since it tends to be fairly high in sugar, but these are totally worth it.  Each cup of yogurt has 50 calories, 0 grams of fat, and 5 grams of fiber.  As my Weight Watchers friends know, this means they are 0 points.  That’s right, 0 points.  As if this wasn’t enough, they are available in Key Lime Pie flavor.  I stuck one in the freezer on a hunch and sure enough, it was yummy!  Fiber One yogurt may be a little pricey, but I definitely recommend you pick some up next time they are on sale!

Posted in Fabulous Finds, Favorite Things, Deceptively Delicious, Healthy Eating | Print | 1 Comment »

Saturday, August 8, 2009 by Dea.

We’ve all seen the commercials about Jared, and how he lost hundreds of pounds by eating Subway subs.  So are sandwiches really a miracle food?

In terms of getting all the right forms of energy, a well built sandwich can keep you going longer than a lot of other foods.  You’ll get quick energy from the carbs, as these break down the fastest.  Once these are wearing off, you’ll begin getting energy from the protein in your sandwich.  And don’t skip the fat - because once the protein energy is wearing off, the fats will kick in.

The important thing, as with all other foods we eat, is choosing the most bang for your buck, so to speak.  When choosing a bread or roll, look at the amount of fiber.  You want this number to be higher than 1, even better if it’s 4.  My favorite bread is Aunt Millie’s Healthy Goodness Fiber for Life Light Potato bread.  It’s only 35 cal per slice, and has 2g fiber per slice.

When choosing a protein, pick a lean meat.  There are also many varieties of deli meat.  I try to pick different types, such as honey, smoked, Italian, Barbecue, etc, so that I don’t get bored.  The added bonus of a flavor cured meat is that you will have more taste, without adding toppings and sauces that can add calories.

As for cheeses, this is a good way to get more flavor so that you can skip the spreads.  I found a wonderful Horseradish Cheddar from Dietz and Watson that is so flavorful that I need only one slice, and no mayo, to jazz up my sandwich.  I feel like I’m splurging, yet have fewer calories than before.   Try different flavors when you see them on sale, and don’t be afraid to experiment.  It’s amazing the variety they can now slice up for you in the deli.

I think Jared was on to something.  Sandwiches will help give you staying power throughout your day by giving you all the sources of energy needed to keep you going for hours.

Posted in Healthy Eating | Print | 1 Comment »

Friday, August 7, 2009 by Dea.

These are DELICIOUS.  Becca told me about Arnold Select Sandwich Thins about a week ago.  They have 100 calories, and 5 grams of fiber, and if you follow the Weight Watchers Points system, these are around 2 points.  I bought the 100% Whole Wheat and the Multigrain to try, and Becca swears by the Whole Grain White.  I love these.  I’ve had a sandwich on one, and toasted another for breakfast so far.  Think English-Muffin-Only-Better for the toasted one.  I’m thinking of trying them with burgers, as a base for a mini pizza, and for peanut butter and jelly toast.  Unlike a lot of whole wheat, high fiber bread products, these are moist.  They have a nutty flavor and stayed moist when toasted.  If you can find these, try them.  They’re a great way to add fiber to your diet.

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

Monday, August 3, 2009 by Becca.

Why the heck is it so hard to eat healthy in a restaurant?

I went to Buffalo Wild Wings on Sunday (not my choice) and I couldn’t believe how unhealthy!  Yeah, they have salads on the menu.  I know better than to assume those are actually a good choice, though.  I wound up ordering a grilled chicken wrap, figuring the tortilla had to be a better choice than a bun.  I also wasn’t about to order a grilled chicken sandwich, hold the bun, seeing as I can go get a chicken breast anywhere.  So I asked if, instead of the usual side choices (french fries, coleslaw, etc…), I could have a side salad with lite Italian dressing on the side.  In other words, I was trying to be logical and sensible in my choices.

When my meal came, the salad was piled high with giant croutons and shredded cheese.  And I mean PILED.  Think titanic proportions.  I’m actually scared to think about what their entree salads look like!  So note to anyone going to Buffalo Wild Wings - if you order the side salad, ask for either no cheese and croutons, or get them on the side!

There was a positive to all of this, though.  The salad dressing was actually in a single serve pouch, which I assume is what they use with take-out orders.  That was nice since I actually trust the packaging a little more than a restaurant just telling me it’s lite dressing.  (Dea and I both have worked at restaurants - trust us, NEVER take their word for it!)

Am I the only one frustrated by trying to eat healthy out in the real world??

Posted in Restaurants, Weight Loss, Healthy Eating | Print | 4 Comments »

Sunday, August 2, 2009 by admin.

Two women who’ve been up and down the scale get together over coffee and talk about their ideas and tricks and little changes they are using to become healthier.  This is how a blog is born.  So, without further ado, an introduction to us both!

Dea is a 32 year old wife and mother of two boys.  She has osteo-arthritis in her knees, which makes exercise and heck, climbing the stair, interesting.  She is six feet tall, and currently not pleased with her weight, or the junkiness of her diet.  She believes the word “diet” is not about losing weight, but merely means the food you eat.  She is also very, very interested in budgeting and saving money, and how to work the healthier, lighter way of eating into tight budgets.

Becca is a 31 year old single girl.  She has the best beagle ever, named Molly.  She has back problems, so she has to come up with creative ways of getting more exercise.  She, too, has a tight budget, and has had to come up with very creative ways of cooking for one that are both healthy and cheaper.  She is very interested in lowering cholesterol, keeping her back healthy, and watching out for diabetes.

Why the title? We’ll tell you why. Carrots should taste like cheetos. They’re the same color. Why is one healthy, and the other has more calories, fat, etc? Whoever came up with healthy food needs to do a bit more R&D and come out with “New and Improved - Carrots!” Extra strength lettuce would be nice too. Basically, we’re all  in battles with our minds and bodies to get to - and then maintain - good, healthy levels of fitness and weight. So we’re sure a lot of what we post here will wind up referring to our frustrations, or successes, of that struggle. Battle, more like.

So that’s us.  We’re hoping that we’ll have lots of new ideas that can help others to lead healthier, happier lives - while also saving money!

Posted in Money Saving Tips, Saving Money, Weight Loss, Healthy Eating | Print | No Comments »