Cheat Day, A-OK!

We all need cheat days, aka your day every week where you have treats of your choice. When I cheat, I make sure that it's the best cheat ever by going somewhere with variety.

Living in the South Bay Beach Cities, Hot's Kitchen is one of my favorites. Their menu is custom, their beers/wines are local, and their furniture made of recycled materials.

The main reason I go, however, is for the street tacos. The whole few dozen of them fused with local ingredients, each made to taste uniquely delicious.

My three (from left, clockwise) are flavorful pork with white barbecue sauce and coleslaw, veggie with a custom sauce, and a chicken veggie concoction. I also had pieces of red velvet ice cream sandwiches for dessert and some wine.

I posted this to remind you to give yourself some slack. We all need our cheat day and there is nothing wrong with that. Remember that too much deprivation can lead to a binge, so treat yourself every week.

When in doubt, run it out.

Or dance it out. Or Jazzercise it out. Or spin it out. Or cardio it out. Whatever works for you. 

Tonight, I'm going to Cardio Barre in Redondo Beach. It combines cardio, weights, and ballet barre moves. 

Triana's Roasted Chicken and Steamed Lobster

Me and Triana.

Remember those delicious-looking pictures of lobster and roasted chicken I posted yesterday? Well, my best friend Triana was nice enough to share her recipes with the world! We have no calorie count here, but as you can see from the ingredients, good stuff. I admire her cooking because she uses little sodium or salt-based spices, but her recipes burst with flavor. We have a little bit of butter, but with the lack of sodium, we are good to go. If you have questions or comments, let me know and I will pass them onto Tri.







Roasted chicken:

Healthy and hearty.

• Preheat oven to 350
• Clean the cavity, remove giblets
• Stuff with a head of garlic (best used inside the cavity for smell and flavor without altering the taste of the meat), one quartered onion, and one lemon halved.
• Clean the chicken and pat dry... this is very important! 
• Moderately sprinkle salt on the bird, and go heavy on the cracked pepper.

VERY IMPORTANT STEP:

• Zest on full lemon and sprinkle on the chicken. 
• Finally, drizzle olive oil, and juice from lemon over the chicken and massage it around, creating a coating that will seal in the flavor. 
• Sprinkle dried parsley flakes, and place in the oven to bake. 

• After 20 minutes, use one tablespoon of unsalted butter and some milk, and let that melt/combine with the juices in the pan. This becomes your basting sauce, and browns the chicken. (Milk in butter sours in the oven and burns the skin somehow when heated, and gives you that beautiful brown roasted color that everyone thinks you spent hours doing, when really a baked chicken only needs 1:20 minutes)
• Leave in for 60 more minutes, and you got yourself a delicious bird!

Mouth-watering goodness.

Lobster:

• Steam two lobster tails in a medium pot, using a colander, until the shell turns from rusty brown to bright red appearance in color (about 5-7 minutes). 
• Remove meaty filling from shell by cutting (using kitchen scissors) a line directly down the back of the shell, and again on the front side. 
• Remove the meat and cut with a knife down the middle of the meat, splitting it in half. Place in deep square baking dish, and preheat oven to broil.

Sauce:

• 1/2 cup of white wine. Dry in flavor is always best for cooking.
• 2 tbs of unsalted butter
• A few dashes of garlic salt
• Fresh parsley, loosely diced

Pour sauce over lobster tails and place in the oven for 5 minutes on 350.

Remove, and cut into bites. Serve as an appetizer, or side (really yummy over brown rice or veggies too!).

Apple Pie Oatmeal

For breakfast on-the-go, try this yumminess, which will keep you full for hours.

Mix together 1 packet of Fresh and Easy instant oatmeal with flax seeds (or whatever you prefer, sugar free), with 1/2 cup water and 1/2 cup almond milk. Microwave for one minute.

While it's cooling, mix in one pack (about 6 oz) of unsweetened apple sauce and generous shake of cinnamon. Top with a few walnuts, if desired.

Calories will run you about 220.

"Better For You" No Bake Ice Cream Cake

 Every night, my sweet tooth kicks in, begging me for a fix. Most nights, I have a few pieces of dark chocolate, some fruit, or frozen yogurt. Tonight was a special dinner with friends and family, aka Sunday Dinner, so I made a healthier dessert with fruit, cool whip, skinny cow ice cream, Nutella, and sugar cones. It takes only five minutes to make.

Bomb Diggity!

Your ingredients (about 8 servings): 

• 2 cups Skinny Cow Chocolate Fudge Brownie ice cream (It comes in cups at the super market, 150 calories each, so you don't need to portion it). 
• 3 bananas
• 1/2 cup blueberries
• 20 strawberries
• 3 tablespoons Nutella
• 5 sugar ice cream cones
• 6 large dollops of Cool Whip, fat free

First, slice your bananas into circles. Line the bottom of a square serving dish with the circles, completely covering the bottom. fill in any gaps with the blueberries. 

Drizzle with one teaspoon of Nutella, slightly melted.

Take the ice-cream out of the freezer so it can melt a bit. 

Crumble your ice-cream cones with your hands into medium size pieces. Cover the fruit and Nutella with the sugar cone crumbles. 

Next, scoop out the ice-cream onto the cone crumbles and spread evenly across the cone, covering completely. 

Scoop out your Cool Whip, generously. 

Stick the strawberries into the Cool Whip the way the picture shows. 

Drizzle with the remaining two tablespoons of Nutella. 

Enjoy!

The Calorie Count:

• 2 cups Skinny Cow Chocolate Fudge Brownie ice cream: 300
• 3 bananas: about 300
• 1/2 cup blueberries: about 45
• 20 strawberries: 75
• 3 tablespoons Nutella: about 310
• 5 sugar ice cream cones: 200 
• 6 large dollops of Cool Whip, fat free - 90 (12 tablespoons) 

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1,320/8 = 165 calories per serving. 

This one is super easy and tastes super bad for you. You can always use less Cool Whip or cones to cut even more calories. 

As always, please let me know if I can help with questions. 

Happy, happy eating and happy reading!

Yummy - Hearty and Healthy Sunday Dinner

Lobster tails

Yummy veggies

My best friend Triana can cook! Im posting this recipe tomorrow for roasted chicken, lobster tails, and veggies.

Triana has a knack for cooking without using a lot of sodium. Also, since I have a mild garlic allergy, hardly uses it when I'm eating at her house.

Stay tuned tomorrow to learn how to make roasted chicken with asparagus, squash, and brussels sprouts on the side. The appetizer is boiled lobster.

And for all you paleo peeps, this is total paleo.

Roasted chicken

Food for thought! Isn't that insane?

Healthy Chili

Chili, in my opinion, is the absolute best. You can do so many things with it and make so many variations. The best part of chili though, is how easy it is so make, and how healthy it can be. With the right seasoning, turkey meat chili is definitely the way to go. To make a healthy batch of chili, I use one  can of beans per two people, and 3 oz of ground turkey breast per person (it's likely that you'll have lunch leftovers). Last time I made the chili, I threw in a little turkey chorizo from whole foods, which turned out to be a good mood. So keep in mind, that you can put your own creative twist on this recipe; I am simply giving you the healthiest baseline possible. Use the following recipe to serve six people:

Easy Peasy.

• 18 oz ground turkey breast, 99 percent fat free
• 4 cans black beans
• 2 cans navy beans
• 8 oz tomato sauce
• 1/4 cup ketchup
• 1/2 cup white onion, chopped
• 2 green peppers, chopped
• 2 yellow peppers, chopped
• 2 Roma tomatoes, chopped
• 2 tablespoons Adobo
• 1 small packet chili seasoning
• (optional) - 1/4 cup Whole Foods spicy salsa
• (optional) - hot sauce to your preference 

In a large pan, cook the ground turkey with the Adobo seasoning; add the chili seasoning packet. Add the onion, tomatoes, and peppers. Cook on medium for 15 minutes, adding water if the turkey dries out. 

Nothing beats a bit of cornbread and cheese mixed in!

 While the meat cooks, put a large pot on the stove, temperature low. Combine your cans to beans first; mix around for one minute. Add the ketchup, tomato sauce, and salsa until the ingredients bubbles. Once the turkey is done, add that mixture. Cook it all on low for 30 minutes, and you have yourself some good, hearty, and healthy food. 

• Turkey breast - 540 
• Black beans - 800
• Navy Beans - 300
• Tomato sauce - 73
• Ketchup - 60
• Onion - 21
• Peppers - 120 
• Roma tomatoes - 27
• Salsa - 20
• Combined seasoning - about 30

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336 calories per serving (about two bowls per person!)

If you have any questions about how to make this for the family, let me know. For toppings, use Greek yogurt in lieu of sour cream and fat free cheese. Also, if you make cornbread, use egg whites and get the gluten free Whole Foods version. 

Happy reading, happy eating, and happy almost weekend, All! 

Good morning/afternoon, All. I'm having a late breakfast consisting of berries, grapes, walnuts, Greek yogurt and honey after a cardio barre class with my BFF.

I promise to post that chili recipe today; it's been difficult after moving across the country and getting settled.

I hope you have a great Monday, and start it off with some exercise and workout wellness. As my workout instructor said this morning, a summer body is built in the winter and the spring. Let's get it done!

Road Trip Progress!

Grilled chicken then frozen yogurt. Raw veggies, then chili. All about the compromise, guys. And thanks to my wonderful fiancé, who woke me up at
5:30am to get a workout in before we finish out the road trip, I got a lovely workout in.

Can't wait to post a healthy chili recipe tomorrow. Not being able to cook has been a challenge.

Healthy Dinner on the Road from Chili's

Yesterday we drove through Tennessee and Arkansas. It was a long, long day with rain and construction on the 40 that stopped us completely for about an hour. Thank goodness the dogs have been good.

Yesterday for lunch we had the best BBQ in Nashville. I went for 1/2 of a chicken sans skin, with corn and green beans. Oh, and unsweetened tea with a drop of lemonade. So freakin' bomb.

For dinner, we stopped at Chili's, who has a light option menu now. While my fiancé scarfed down some ribs, I had a six ounce sirloin with broccoli and a house salad with vinegar and no croutons. That meal was less than 300 calories, so I was able to fit in a couple glasses of wine.

Throughout the day, I snaked on dry figs and a Kind bar.

With exercise, I consumed about 1500 calories. I have to say though, after a long day of driving, the wine was worth it.

This morning I started off with oatmeal from Starbucks with almonds and 25 calories worth of brown sugar, a tall skinny vanilla latte, and lots of water.

I'll have an orange and banana in a few hours.

Road Trippin' Wellness

Good morning, All. It is day two of the road trip from DC to LA, and we have about 35 hours to go. Last night, I ate corn from KFC and the inside of two white meat chicken breasts. It was literally the healthiest thing available because they didn't have grilled chicken. Sometimes shiz happens and you simply have to improvise.

Yesterday my fiancé showed me a resistance band workout, which was awesome.

Today, we went to the hotel gym, then Cracker Barrel for breakfast. Oatmeal, fruit, one egg, and one piece of bacon for me. Oh, and sugar free maple syrup with the oatmeal. Cracker Barrel's sugar free maple is so good.

If anyone wants the resistance band workout, let me know because it can be done in a hotel room.

I'll have a recipe posted Friday when I get to LA and make healthy chili for my aunt's birthday.

Until then, I'll keep updating on the trip, as I'm determined to eat well and exercise throughout!

Healthy Eating and Moving Across the Country...let's hope so!

My fiancé and I are driving from Alexandria, VA to Los Angeles, CA. It's going to be fun, but eating well is going to be a challenge.

I am starting with a collection of healthy snacks, including Starbucks refresher packs, bananas, dried figs, walnuts, and plenty of water.

I will be posting about what I eat when we stop on the way. No matter where we stop, I am determined to make my meal healthy. I promise you that even Mc Donald's has something good and clean to eat.

Wish me luck, and hopefully we can all take some tips from it.

I have been moving boxes for two days and have not made it to the gym. I am planning to during the road trip, but it might not be possible, so eating healthy will be especially important.

I just wanted to post the cover of Women's Health Mag in Thailand. The woman in the cover is one of my best friends and bridesmaids. She's worked very hard as an actress and model, eats well but also treats herself, and does all kinds of fun activities such as yoga and surfing for exercise. Way to go, Taya!