Healthy Chicken Parmesan!

1 lb chicken breast sliced thinly
1/2-1 cup shredded parmesan cheese
1 tablespoon Italian seasoning
1 egg
6 Roma tomatoes diced
1 tablespoon cilantro
Drizzle of extra virgin olive oil
Salt and pepper to taste
Reduced fat shredded Mozzarella cheese

Beat egg with a little bit of water set aside.  In a plastic zip bag mix Italian seasoning and parmesan cheese.  Dredge chicken in egg mixture then cheese mixture and place on a baking sheet that has been lined with foil and sprayed with canola oil.  Bake at 400°for 20-30 minutes or until chicken is cooked through.  Mix tomatoes cilantro oil and salt and pepper to your taste.  You can also add a little bit of packaged marinara sauce to add a little more flavor. Remove chicken from oven and top each chicken breast with tomato mixture then mozzarella cheese.  Bake at 400° for 10 minutes or until cheese is melted.  Serve with more veggies or a big healthy salad!

Healthy Cheesy Chicken Meatballs

1 lb ground chicken or turkey
1/2 cup finely minced carrots (I micro zested them)
1 small onion finely minced
Handful of fresh spinach finely minced
1 tablespoon plain Greek yogurt
2 tablespoons skim or 2% milk
1 egg
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon pepper

Mix all ingredients except chicken or turkey together until well combined.  Add in ground meat and mix with hands.  Shape into balls or patties and place on a baking sheet lined with foil and sprayed with canola oil or olive oil. 

Topping
1 tablespoon light mayo (I prefer dukes)
1/4 cup reduced fat shredded mozzarella cheese
1/4 cup shredded parmesan cheese

Put mayo in the corner of a Ziploc bag and snip the corner off (make sure its tiny)
Squirt a small amount of mayo on each meatball or patty.  Mix cheeses together and put a small amount on each meatball.  (depending how healthy you want your meatballs will determine how much of the topping you put on each meatball)

Bake at 400° for 20-30 minutes or until meatballs are done.

Enjoy!

Cash and Camdyn 5/20/2012

Camdyn likes to throw rocks.  Cash loves to push his toys around like his dump truck and his bubble blower.  Camdyn pulls up her shirt and shows her belly.  She also knows where her head, tongue, hair, ears and nose are.  She can also touch her toes and feet when asked to. When you ask her where her nose is she sniffs and scrunches her face so her nose sticks out.  We went to eat last night at longhorn then we went to the bounce houses in the mall.  The kids had so much fun and so did the big kids, Matt Jake Bama Paw Paw and Kaitlyn went too.  We all played in the bounce houses with the kids and by ourselves.  We will definitely go back soon.  We are playing outside today because it is beautiful.  The kids have already been swinging on their swing set.  Cash has been pushing his toys around while Camdyn follows him around.  Cash also likes to fill his tractor bucket up with dirt, mulch, sand, and rocks then dump them all over the yard.  Camdyn loves to slide she can even get herself going on her own.  I just have to guide her so she doesn't fall off.  Both kids like to play in the sand box even though there isn't much sand left since Cash likes to dump it everywhere. 

School

I did an assignment this week with dance I using the poem I Am Me by Virginia Satir. This poem is about understanding that you control your feelings and thoughts and no one else does.  No one can provoke you into fighting or doing something you don't want to do.  I always have headstrong freshmen in dance I so this is a great assignment for them.  I had a few students really upset me with the assignment.  After students read the poem I told them to journal about a time when they disappointed their family or themselves.  Then they were expected to choreograph a three 8 count dance using some specific dance terminology in their dances. It wasn't so much their dances but their written journal that upset me.  Some students wrote about their struggles with cutting or other types of destruction.  Others just wrote that their parents are always dissapointed in them...they have never felt as though they did some thing their family was proud of.  These realizations upset me as a parent and a teacher.  I hope that I remember to let my children know everyday how much I love them and that I'm proud of them.

New diet day 4

Ive done pretty well so far this week.  I've completely cut out starches like rice and potatoes.  I've also stopped snacking on chips and bad for me snacks.  According to the scale today around 4 I've lost about 4-5 pounds this week.  I did cheat once or twice throughout the week.  I already had the supplies to make hamburgers so I had to make those this week.  But I was good and only ate veggies with it.  I also weNT to a dinner and had to eat fried chicken, but I pulled to skin off and only had green beans with it.  I did jave a piece of pecan pie too.  It was too good to resist.  Hopefully I can keep up the good work on this diet.  At least enough too lose my goal of 50 lbs.  I did get my book in the mail this week.  Very informative and you definitely need it to do your very best on this diet.  Will update again in a couple of dayson my progress.

17 Day Diet

So I have decided I must do something about my weight.  I'm tired if taking photos and being unhappy with myself.My mother in law showed me her information on the 17 day diet and it sounded interesting and like something that I could commit to.  I did weight watchers a few years ago but all my books are out of date and I don't want to reinvest.  I lost some weight with weight watchers but I think I need something a little more drastic this time around.  I got pregnant with my son in 2009 and gained more than I should around 45 lbs.  Which put me at 200 lbs at the end of my pregnancy.  After I had my son I dropped to about 185 I think.  Then 6 months later I got pregnant with my daughter.  I was nursing my son so I hadnt had a chance to really diet and lose weight.  I only gained about 30 lbs with my daughter...but I havent been able to lose any of that weight.  Right now I weigh 196 lbs which is ridiculous...I'm 5'5".  According to the 17 day diet my target weight is 144 lbs.  Before I decided to get on this diet I was really trying to lose weight.  I started cutting out sweets except the occasional nutella on a graham cracker which really isn't that bad. I also started running three times a week along with my regular dance teaching exercises. I thought I was doing a good job but I was just maintaining my weight.  I've been looking for a new way to lose weight and my mother in law told me about this diet and lets be real...all diets work if the person sticks to them. So I decided to try this diet and first and foremost I want to say I'm no expert.

Here is a little bit about the diet.
This diet consists of four cycles.  The first cycle consists of eating lean proteins, cleansing vegetables, low sugar fruits, probiotics, some friendly fats like olive oil and flaxseed oil and then you get some condiments like salsa, anything no fat or low carb like marinara sauce, or sour cream.  You can also have truvia sweeteners, sugar free jams and jellies, fat free cheeses, and fat free salad dressings and a few other condiments. Then you gradually add back in more foods for each cycle. You can eventually eat carbs but good carbs like whole wheat and grains like quinoa. I'm a little worried about sticking completely to this diet because seriously sometimes you just want a cookie! I think I will just have one if I want it...if I cut out all that other junk having one cookie one day isnt going to reverse all the work I've done...right?  I sure hope not.  My birthday is also wednesday and I'm sure I will get taken out one night this week so the hell with it that meal!  But seriously I will lose the weight and I will get healthy and then...I think I will call up my life insurance guy and get re-evaluated for a lower rate! Thats some motivation right?  We shall see.

If you are interested in trying this plan do know that it also requires that you exercise 17 minutes a day at a minimum of 6 days a week..this could be just walking or specific exercises that keep your heart rate up. Because I teach dance I will get at least that. Once summer begins though I will have to find some more exercise options.

Also just wanted to let you know I have only skimmed the pages my mother in law had copied from the book which were basically just the cycle's food plans; I have no idea what else is in the book. I have done some research over the internet for more information but this research came from other blogs mostly.  I ordered the book but until it comes in I will be following the first cycle which is called the Accelerate Cycle.  You should also know (if interested in doing yourself) you cant eat as many as want of the foods listed above.You can have as many lean fats as you want with the exception of eggs (2 eggs a day or 4 egg whites). You can eat as many cleansing veggies a day, but you may only eat 2 servings of low sugar fruit each day.  You can also have 2 servings of probiotics a day (yogurt, etc).  Everything else that you see yourself missing...bread, cheese, milk, etc you cant eat during this cycle.

I will update tomorrow with my progress.