Protein Packed Salad and Planning Ahead

I've been sticking to my guns lately-working out, eating healthy, staying off the sauce (coffee for me...lol) and it has really been working. I mean I'm not pulling Biggest Loser numbers but I'm losing and I'm feeling better.

I've been focusing on the amount of carbs, protein and fat I get each day by keeping a food journal of sorts. I'm doing it all online with the Sparkpeople nutrition tracker. I've used it in the past and it's really easy to use. You just plug in the food you eat or will be eating and the amount you ate and spark will automatically calculate calories and nutrients for you if its in their database.

I prepared a whole bunch of different meats on Sunday-chicken breasts, turkey burgers, ground turkey, thin sliced boneless chops and then individually packaged them and put them in the freezer. This has made things so much easier on me for weekly dinners. Now all I have to do is pull out the meat I'm going to use and maybe steam some veggies or cut some up for a salad and throw it all together.

This sort of planning ahead is working for me. I know when I forget my lunch or get lazy and don't have anything prepared for dinner is when the bad choices and binging starts. I really want to keep up having things prepared in advance.

Another great thing I've been picking up is the frozen veggies in the steamer bags. Nothing to do but pop them in the microwave-so easy. Kroger had a good sale on edamame in the steamer bags awhile back and I stocked up. So I steamed some edamame on Tuesday night when I got home and I've been using it since-taking a handful for a snack...throwing some in a salad or with some rice.

I threw this salad together last night on a whim and it took me all of ten minutes tops to get into the bowl and start eating. Its just edamame, sliced tomatoes, cucumbers, romaine, and some grilled sliced chicken breast. This goes really well with balsamic dressing or try mixing a bit of hot sauce in with Kraft's Light Done Right Three Cheese Ranch...yum. I had mine with my new favorite dressing-Honey Dijon Vinaigrette.

Edamame! Eat it!

Edamame is my favorite...I covet Ruby Tuesday's salad bar because they have it. I always get a little mixed greens and top them with heaping spoonfuls of edamame when we go. Its just another way to say soybeans and we all know that soybeans are soooo good for us.

Just a half cup of edamame packs nearly 17 grams of protein and 6 grams of fiber! As with any bean they do have a little fat-but its the good fat and not the bad so not to worry...enjoy!

My favorite way to eat it is blanched and chilled, but I'm always looking for new ways to incorporate it into our meals because it does pack such a healthy punch.

I threw this dish together last night to go alongside some pork we were eating...Its sort of like a succotash style dish...just sans corn and I added a bit of basil and parmesan to give it a little something extra.

Edamame with Peppers and Parmesan

1 bag frozen edamame

1/2 of a red pepper diced

1/2 onion, diced

1 tsp dried basil

1 tbsp olive oil

1/4 cup (or more-you can never have too much cheese) paremesan cheese

pepper

kosher salt

~Cook edamame according to package directions, drain and set aside.

~While edamame is cooking saute the onions and peppers in the olive oil, add slat and pepper to taste.
~Combine pepper and onion mix with edamame and add parmesan and basil, stir to incorporate. Eat!

Speedy Side Dish: Bulgur with Pine Nuts

Quick? Check.

Easy? Check.

Healthy? Check.

Here's a super healthy whole grain side dish that takes 20 minutes start to finish with very little prep or fuss...Its packed with nutrients from the whole grain and fiber filled bulgur to the protein packed pine nuts. Use low fat/low sodium chicken broth or sub with veggie broth to make it even healthier...

Bulgur with Pine Nuts

1 cup bulgur
2 cups chicken broth
2 green onions, chopped
1/4 cup pine nuts, toasted

In a large saucepan, combine the bulgur, broth and onions; bring to a boil over high heat.




Reduce heat; cover and simmer for 15-18 minutes or until broth is absorbed.



Add pine nuts and stir to combine.




Nutritional Analysis: Makes 4 servings (1/2 cup size) 1/2 cup equals 177 calories, 5 g fat (1 g saturated fat), 0 cholesterol, 29 g carbohydrate, 7 g fiber, 7 g protein.

Fat Free Strawberry Angel Cake

I had a terrible sweet craving today and considered pouring a bag of chocolate chips into a jar of peanut butter and grabbing a spoon and going to town, but I was saved by the box of angel food cake mix in the pantry. I'm not a huge fan of the cake but it does always go nicely with fruit toppings and its light and FAT FREE.

I don't own a tube pan so I used two round cake pans instead. I threw some frozen strawberries into the blender and rough chopped them and then folded them into the prepared cake batter. Then I made a topping with some more frozen strawberries, sugar and a little bit of pure vanilla extract. Just dump it all into a small pan and heat and stir until the strawberries begin to break down and the sugar melts into a syrup. Let cool-it will thicken as it cools.

Served the cooled sliced cake with some of the strawberry topping spooned over top and if you like a spoonful of fat free whipped topping. It was really good. The boys-ate half the cake just today.

Salmon Patties with Succotash: Budget Friendly and Healthy

In my efforts to make the perfect salmon patty I have gone through recipe after recipe with long lists of ingredients and when I finally settled on the perfect one I was kind of surprised because its really only three simple inexpensive ingredients.

~Canned Salmon

~Plain Bread Crumbs

~Eggs

That's it. That's all. No seasoning, nothing.

We like to dip them in wasabi mayo (YUM!) or hot pepper sauce when we eat them. I love them served with grits or baked mac n cheese and red beans and rice....BUT I'm really making an effort to stay away from pasta and cheese. The cheese hasn't been that difficult because it is just almost too expensive to buy at the grocery right now. Pasta is tough though. We were doing whole wheat pasta for awhile-but that's expensive and it still tends to make me hold weight. So, today I made a sort of succotash to go with the salmon and een without the extra carbs it was really filling.

Oh yeah, and check out that lovely spinach leaf in there! Straight out of the garden, baby!

Simple Salmon Patty

(makes 18-20 patties-enough for a meal, leftovers or throw some in the freezer to eat another day)

5 cans boneless skinless salmon in water

about 1 cup of plain bread crumbs (give or take)

2 eggs

Drain the cans of salmon and put them in bowl. Flake with a fork if needed. Crack two eggs into bowl and stir to coat. Add bread crumbs until there is a nice consistency and when you handle the salmon mixture it sticks together. Form 15-20 patties (depending on how big you prefer to make them) Heat a large skillet and add a couple of turns of olive oil. Add patties to pan and brown about 3-5 minutes each side. Remove to paper towel lined dish to soak up excess oil.

Succotash

1/2 bag frozen sweet corn

1 can red beans, drained and rinsed

1 small onion, chopped

1 small orange or red pepper, diced

cayenne pepper

dash of black pepper

dash of kosher salt

olive oil

Heat pan and add one turn of oilve oil. Add all ingredients to pan and sort of stir fry them until onions are translucent and beans begin to break open. (Add cayenne pepper until you reach the heat you desire)

Wilted Spinach with Edamame, Garlic and Tomatoes

I threw this together last night on a whim. I was going to throw some spinach tomatoes and feta together, but the Edamame in the freezer has been calling my name for the last week so I figured I'd see what I could do with it.

I first discovered Edamame at the Ruby Tuesday's salad bar. For awhile I thought it was fava beans, but later was informed it was actually Edamame or soybeans. I love it so much I actually tried to purchase the entire supply of it from Ruby Tuesday's and have been known to go in and buy salad bar to go and simply fill up my Styrofoam take out container with Edamame!

Its got such a nice fresh from the garden taste and it has about 4g of fiber in a serving and 10 whopping grams of protein!

So here is my attempt at a recipe ingredient list and instructions, since I didn't exactly measure anything:

1/2 half bag frozen shelled edamame (fresh would probably work just as well too)

1 bag fresh pre-washed baby spinach

3 cloves minced garlic

1 tbsp olive oil

1/2 can no salt added diced tomatoes

kosher salt

1 cup uncooked couscous (I used a sundried tomato, spinach and whole wheat blend)

For the couscous:

1. Bring 1 cup of water to a boil. I like to add just a touch of olive oil to the water. ( you can use butter and a touch of salt if you would like as well)

2. Stir in couscous and then cover and remove from heat.

3. Let stand about five minutes and then fluff with fork.

Spinach:

1. Heat large pan on medium-high heat and add olive oil.

2. Add spinach and stir around until it begins to wilt. Add kosher salt, edamame and garlic and continue cooking until all of the spinach is wilted, and edamame is thawed and bright green.

3. Add diced tomatoes and stir until heated through.

4. Serve on top of couscous.

Ah, I also have some chicken there in the picture, don't I? That was pretty easy and tasty too. I had some thin sliced boneless skinless breasts and simply put some chicken and rib rub on them and drizzled them with a bit of olive oil and then grilled them on an indoor grill.