Healthy Frozen Foods

As of today I have {once again} banned frozen and crappy foods from the house.  I do allow some frozen convience foods.  I am allowing things that cannot be made.  I'm not going to lie, with 3 active kids who need to be run to various activities in the evenings I'd love to be able to pop things in the microwave and serve them for dinner.  But, as a Health and Wellness Consultant, a Sports Nutrition Consultant, a personal trainer and an all around Health Freak, I feel guilty doing it.  I feel like I am aiding the possibility of my kids gaining weight, slowing down at their respective sports and causing my children's health to decline.  

I, myself, actually do sit down stand in the kitchen, to eat 4 out of 5 meals.  The only meal I actually SIT DOWN to is dinner.  And I love quick foods.  If you have searched the frozen food aisles you'll have noticed that 98% of all frozen foods are loaded with fat.  {Isn't 98% of all PACKAGED foods like that?!??}  

I have found a few low fat/fat free options in the grocery store.  I have these in my freezer most of the time.

Quorn Kung Pao Chik'n 
240 calories
1.5 g fat
10 g protein

I found this one just the other day.  I bought it and will give y'all a review on it when I actually try it.  But, it's vegetarian, microwavable and only has 1.5 grams of fat.  Can't beat that!
Click HERE for the Quorn Website

Peas of Mind -- Veggie Wedgies
70 calories 
0 g fat

I love these so much!  There's 4 different flavors, broccoli, cauliflower, apple, and carrot.  They look like french fries (if you ignore the color), and they kinda have the same texture.  The kids love them too!
Click HERE for the Peas of Mind Website

Garden Lites Souffles
140 calories 
1.5 g fat  
11 g protein

This is another quick dish for me.  Little personal souffles in a bunch of different flavors.  Check the box though because some are not as low fat as the others.  But, they taste delicious and they only take 3.5 minutes in the microwave.
Click HERE for the Garden Lites Website


Lastly, of course are veggie burgers and veggie dogs.  My favorites are the MorningStar Farms veggie dogs and the Original Vegan Veggie Burgers by Boca.  Both only have .5 grams of fat per serving and a good amount of protein.  

Have you found any healthy, lowfat/fat free frozen options that I haven't?  Let me know!!

Dining Out While Out of Town

I have totally changed my views on eating out due to this weekend.  I finally decided I am TIRED of getting sick and ending up in ridiculous amounts of pain due to eating out.  

This weekend was spent in Kissimmee because Mantha had a cheer competition.  With 3 dogs and 3 kids I really didn't want to make the 4 hour round trip drive in 1 day.  {I also didn't want to have to fight with everyone trying to get out of the house at 7 AM}  We opted to stay the weekend down there.  We stayed at the Studio 6 in Kissimmee.  It was a pretty decent hotel and it had a kitchen.  

After the competition we had 3 meal ideas.  Joe's Crab Shack, Chinese buffet, or pick something up at Publix and cook it in the room.  The room only had 3 of everything so we crossed Publix off the list of options.  The girls wanted to go swimming after dinner so we decided that the buffet would be quicker and would allow us to swim for longer.  

I chose what I thought would be the safe options.  Cold shrimp, crawfish, and clams, a few pieces of sushi and seaweed salad.  Halfway thru my first plate I was in doubled over pain.  When we got back to the hotel room I started sobbing.  

I'm sick of the pain.  I'm done with it!  I can hear you now "just stop eating out".  Honestly, we go out once a month.  I cook dinner 29 days out of the month.  I need 1 day that someone will cook for me.  

I have come up with a few tips on eating out.

1)  Never choose the buffet
       You don't honestly know what is in the food.  The fat content could be outrageous and you'd never know.

2)  Do your research
      The internet is your best friend when you want to dine out.  Look at every single restaurant's website and see what they offer.  Most of the chain restaurants have the nutritional information available.

3)  Be THAT person
      When I first got sick I vowed to not be the person who goes into a restaurant and completely customizes a meal to fit their diet.  SCREW THAT!  I make sure that my meal will not hurt me when I goto a restaurant.  I also tip more if a server deals with my demands nicely.

4)  Mom and Pop restaurants are good options.
      Alot of times the food is made to order so, go in and explain your situation. Many times the chef will whip you up something special.  

5)  Head to the grocery store seafood counter
      This sounds odd but, if you can't find any restaurant that will work for you, goto the local grocery store (or seafood market) and have them steam you some shrimp.  That and a bag of microwaveable vegetables is a great dinner!

An Ode To My Mother....Kinda

Growing up I remember my mother used to make a lemonade cake.  It was amazing.  Kind of sweet, super lemony, just great.  I'm a sucker for anything lemon.  So, when I thought about the Recipe Redux theme {Treasured Cookware}, this recipe came to mind.

There isn't a piece of cookware in my kitchen that WAS my mother's but, she has stocked about half of my bakeware throughout the years.  Every Christmas I get a new piece.  One of the things she bought me was my angel food cake pan.  

Honestly I used to hate angel food cake, until it was the ONLY cake I could eat.  Now I love it and love playing around with flavors and different ways of using it.  For this recipe I used sugar free lemonade mix since there is SO MUCH sugar in the cake and then the glaze has added sugar.  I prefer to not have a complete sugar bomb. Pink Lemonade would make this rather pretty too.

Angel Food Lemonade Cake

Ingredients
1 angel food cake (I normally use a box mix and make it myself but, you can use a store bought one)
.25-.5 cup sugar free powdered lemonade mix (depending on how lemony you want it)
1 cup powdered sugar
2-4 T water


Directions

1. Poke holes in the top of the cake with a fork
2. In a small bowl mix together lemonade mix and powdered sugar
3. Whisk in water and continue whisking until you have a nice smooth glaze
4. Pour glaze over the top of the cake making sure some of the glaze gets into all the holes.
5. Refrigerate for at least an hour before serving.

An InLinkz Link-up

Happy Easter!

Happy Easter!  

I hope y'all have a great time with your families today.  


Remember, getting in a workout today is easy and it can be a family event!  Take a walk around the neighborhood after dinner or, run around with the kids hunting for those eggs!

Easter Recipes

From:  Wide Wallpapers

2014 is a year of change.  Everything is changing.  I have gotten my certifications, Sunny starts school this year, I'm doing a fitness competition.  So many big changes!  After making the same holiday dinners for the past 3 years I've decided that since this is a year of change I'm also changing all my holiday dinners.  Easter is the first holiday that has food associated with it so, it starts here!

So, with that being said, here is the 2014 Easter menu.  Recipes follow the menu.

Main Dish
Simple baked Cobia

Grain
Herbed brown rice 

Vegetables
Roasted carrots
Asparagus (if the price isn't too high)
Salad

Bread
Yeast rolls

Dessert
Meringue nests with whipped cream and berries

_________________________________________________________________________________

Foil Wrapped Cobia

Ingredients
2 lb Cobia Fillet
Seasonings of your choice

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 400
2. Spray a large piece of aluminum foil with pan spray and lay fish down.
3. Spray again with pan spray and season then tightly wrap foil around fish.
4. Place on a baking sheet and bake for 25-30 minutes until the fish is done.
5. Rest for 5-10 minutes before serving

Roasted Carrots

adapted from:  Ina Garten's Roasted Carrots

Ingredients
1 lb carrots, peeled
seasonings of your choice

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 400
2. Cut carrots into 1 1/2 inch chunks
3. Spray baking sheet with pan spray, lay out carrots in a single layer and spray them.
4. Season to taste
5. Roast for 20 minutes until brown and tender

Herbed Brown Rice Pilaf

Adapted from:  Herbed Brown Rice Pilaf
8 servings
Calories:  84.5
Fat: 0.5 g
Sodium:  592 mg
Potassium:  65.8 g
Carbs:  18 g
Protein:  1.6 g

Ingredients
1 small onion, diced
2 cups brown rice
5 cups vegetable broth or water, warm
2 T minced garlic
2 t thyme
2 t parsley
6 green onions, sliced

Directions

1. Saute onion in a medium saucepan until translucent.
2. Spray pan again with cooking spray, dump in rice, and coat with pan spray.  
3. Pour in broth, thyme, garlic, and parsley
4. Cover pot, turn stove to medium, and cook for 40 minutes. 
5. Turn off heat and let stand 10 minutes.
6. Fluff with a fork and stir in green onions

Meringue Nests

Ingredients
4 large egg whites
.5 cup sugar
.25 t cream of tartar
food coloring
8 oz tub of Cool Whip {you won't use all of it}
6 cups of your favorite berries, fresh or frozen {thaw if using frozen}


Directions

1. Preheat oven to 200 degrees
2. Spray 2 baking sheets with pan spray and line with parchment
3. With an electric mixer beat the egg whites with the cream of tartar until the whites reach soft peaks
4. Add in sugar and continue whisking until stiff and glossy.
5. Drop 4 mounds of meringue on each baking sheet and use the back of a spoon to make an indentation in it and spread them out to about 4 inches {you can also use a piping bag and pipe your nests}
6. Bake meringues about 1.5 hours, until they are dry, rotating halfway through.
7.  Cool completely then fill with Cool Whip and top with fresh berries.

Greek Yogurt Comparison

I'm a compulsive label reader.  (When you have medical issues that afftct your eating you have to be, right?)  Plus, I want to make sure to eat the brand that has the least calories and the most nutritents.  Nutrients are especially important to me since I started working with my prep coach.  I have to make sure to eat a certain number of carbs, proteins and other nutritents every day.

Well, Greek yogurt has been a part of my diet for a while now.  I love it.  I don't think I could live without it.  I had 2 different brands sitting in my fridge and I started looking at the labels.  I was really surprised when I noticed that the numbers vary so much between them.  I started looking into the other brands.  I compared 7 factors (calories, cholesterol, sodium, potassium, total carbs, sugars, and protein) across the 4 major Greek yogurt brands (Fage, Chobani, Oikos, and Stoneyfield) and Walmart's store brand, Great Value.  All the nutritional facts are for an 8 oz (1 cup) serving of non-fat plain Greek yogurt.

The calories and protein between the brands isn't very different between the brands.  Calories are either 120 or 130 and protein is either 22 grams or 23 grams.  Carbs are 9 across almost all the brands and sugars are 9 grams except for 1 brand.   When you look at the cholesterol, sodium, and potassium, that's where the numbers seriously vary.  

I don't completely understand how the numbers can vary so much.  Carrots made by 2 different growers have the same nutrient levels, right?  Well, shouldn't greek yogurt (especially since it's plain) be the same?

**Note:  Any brand of Greek yogurt is a healthy choice.  You shouldn't make your decision one whether or not to eat it because of what I post here**

From: https://www.facebook.com/FAGE

Fage Plain
Calories: 130
Cholesterol: 0 g
Sodium: 85 mg
Potassium: 0 g
Total Carbs: 9 g
Sugars: 9 g
Protein: 23 g

From: https://www.facebook.com/Chobani

Chobani
Calories: 130
Cholesterol: 10 g
Sodium: 105 mg
Potassium: 0 g
Total Carbs: 11 g
Sugars: 6 g
Protein: 22 g

From: http://www.oikosyogurt.com/greek-yogurt/greek-nonfat-yogurt/plain

Oikos
Calories: 120
Cholesterol: 15 g
Sodium: 80 mg
Potassium: 240 g
Total Carbs: 9 g
Sugars: 9 g
Protein: 22 g

From:  http://www.stonyfield.com/products/yogurt/greek/plain

Stoneyfield Greek
Calories: 120
Cholesterol: under 5 g
Sodium: 95 mg
Potassium: 350 g
Total Carbs: 9 g
Sugars: 9 g
Protein: 23 g

From:  http://www.walmart.com/ip/Great-Value-Fat-Free-Plain-Yogurt-32-oz/10450107

Great Value (Walmart)
Calories: 120
Cholesterol: 10 g
Sodium: 115 mg
Potassium: 510 g
Total Carbs: 9 g
Sugars: 9 g
Protein: 23 g

Calories:  

Winner - Tie between Oikos, and Great Value

Cholesterol:

Winner - Fage     

Loser – Oikos

Sodium:

Winner - Oikos

Loser – Great Value

Potassium:

Winner – Great Value

Loser – Tie between Fage and Chobani

Total Carbs:

Loser - Chobani

Sugar:

Winner – Chobani

Protein:

Winner -  Fage, Great Value and Stoneyfield

Losers – Chobani and Oikos

What's your favorite Greek Yogurt brand?  Am I missing any?

Mushroom Quesadillas

Kaylee is so happy!  Today was her first day back to the swim team {they switched pools for the winter and it was too far away to take her and still take Mantha to practice also.}  I have a feeling I'm going to have one very sore 10 year old tomorrow.  As a fitness enthusiast and personal trainer I'd love to know how many calories she burns during one practice.  But no matter what, she burns a bunch.  And every athlete needs a nutritious meal after they exercise.  What's a better nutritious meal than QUESADILLAS???  

The kids and I have been craving Mexican for a few days and Vegetarian Times Magazine did a piece with various quesadilla recipes.  

One of the things I love about quesadillas is that they are so versatile.  There are over handful of different tortillas to choose from, dozens of different cheeses, hundreds of different filling options and thousands of different combinations you can put it all together with.  

But, in the fashion that my recipes for this blog have been going recently, something went wrong when I made this.   I opened up my bag of tortillas and they were moldy.  I had bought them the same day!  I was so annoyed.  But, today I wasn't going to let that get me.  I took one of the tortillas I bought for Ken and the kids and made this quesadilla into a quesadilla salad.  I baked the tortilla into a shell in my tortilla shell bowl that my mother gave me for Christmas.  If you don't have one you can always bake the shell flat.

Creamy Mushroom Quesadilla Salad
adapted from Vegetarian Times

• .5 small onion, chopped 
• 8 oz. white mushrooms, sliced 
• 1 tsp. ground cumin
• 1 oz. fat-free cream cheese, softened
• .25 cup grated sharp Cheddar cheese
• 1 8-inch fat free tortilla
• Fresh spinach
• Your favorite salsa 
• Fat free sour cream

1. Preheat oven to 450, spray tortilla bowl mold and fit tortilla inside
2. Bake for 10-15 minutes until lightly browned
3. While the tortilla is baking, saute mushrooms and onions.
4. Turn off heat and stir in cumin, cream cheese and cheddar until the cream cheese coats the mushrooms mixture and the cheddar cheese is melty. 
5. Take tortilla out of the mold and fill 3/4 of the way full with spinach
6. Top with mushroom mixture and garnish with salsa and sour cream.

What's one of your family's favorite after workout meals?