Well, the week is finally over. Restricting sugar from my diet proved to be difficult but it was a great exercise. It went smooth other than Friday night I did treat myself to some dark chocolate :( lol. I wasn't too hard on myself though and bounced back really quick. I was able to fit all of my workouts in every morning last week which I was pleased with. It really gives me so much more energy for my day when I workout before I head out to face my day. So all in all it was a great week and I was happy with the outcome. I think my next goal is going to be to try and shed 5 pounds. I am at that point right now where I am happy with everything, but I have that last 5-8 pounds to loose to be at my goal weight. Right now I fluctuate between 119-122 pounds. I would like to get to 115 and stay there. SO... I have 3 months before the warm weather arrives and I would like to make a promise here, in front of all of you that I will reach that goal. Don't get me wrong, I dont want you to think I feel like the number on the scale is super important. BUT I do feel that if I make sure my diet is 100% clean at all times, the rest will just fall into place. Everyone always has room for improvement :) You all must be wondering what that beautiful picture is above!? It was Friday night's supper and it turned out delicious! It is a cleaned up lighter version of Chicken Divan. This is a perfect dish for a family or if you would like to have some leftover's for lunch the next day. Chicken Divan [Cleaned Up] - 3 Large heads of Broccoli, chopped - 2-3 pieces of Skinless Boneless Chicken breast, chopped - 1 cup whole wheat pasta - 1 Tbsp of Earth Balance (organic butter) - 2 tsp Extra Virgin Olive Oil - 2 cloves of Garlic, crushed - 2 Tbsp Onion, chopped - 4 Tbsp whole wheat flour - 1 cup Organic fat free Vegetable/Chicken broth - 1 cup Skim milk - 2 ounces white wine (optional) - 5 ounces light Swiss/Mozzarella cheese - Sprinkle of grated [real] parmesan cheese - Sprinkle of feta cheese - 1/4 cup whole wheat bread crumbs (I crumbled a Fiber Rye Wasa cracker into crumbs) - 2 Tbsp ground flax - salt & pepper Inspired by: Gina's Skinny taste Method 1) Cook the whole wheat pasta as directed on the box and set aside. 2) Steam broccoli for 3 minutes and then set aside. 3) Season the chicken with salt and pepper. Using a grill pan or Forman grill, saute chicken on medium-low heat on both sides until browned, and just about cooked through, about 5 minutes on each side. Remove from heat and transfer chicken to a cutting board. When cooled, slice chicken into bite sized pieces. 3) Preheat oven to 350°. Grease a 9 x 13 inch baking dish with cooking spray. 4) Heat a medium skillet on medium heat. Add the earth balance and oil until melted and then add garlic and onion. Sprinkle the flour and ground flax and whisk until smooth. Stir in broth, milk and white wine (optional) and bring to a boil. Remove from heat and stir in half of the swiss cheese. Season to taste with salt and pepper. 5) Arrange the broccoli and whole wheat pasta in a casserole dish and pour half of the sauce over the broccoli. Arrange the chicken on top and cover with remaining sauce. Sprinkle the remaining swiss cheese, grated parmesan and top with breadcrumbs. Spray a little oil on top. 6) Bake 30 minutes, serve hot Well it's Monday and I have two ways to look at it... It's Monday :( OR Yahh its the begining of an amazing week and I am going to make the best of it. I think I'll take that one!!
This weekend I am attending Community Day: Organic Life Workshops in Fredericton, NB. It sounds very interesting and I opted for the $15 lunch consisting of all organic local foods. Very Excited. AND that means I get to go up and stay the night with baby Jacob and Mia!! http://acornorganic.org/communityday.html Tickets are only $25. Have a great day! Lots of Love, Metaxia
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Wow, Thursday already! I love when the week goes by fast. Work has been very busy so before I know it, 5 o'clock rolls around and I get to go home and try new recipes. Last week I found this recipe from OhSheGlows for a nice salad with what sounded like a unique dressing and I kind of got hooked on it. I had it 4 days in a row and it was not only filling but delicious. Here is my version... Salad - Spinach (I use organic baby spinach) - I cup of chickpeas (I use the organic canned chickpeas, drained and rinsed) - Red & Green Peppers, chopped - raw walnuts, chopped - Dried cranberries - 1-2 tsp hemp hearts - Feta Cheese (Have fun and add whatever veggies you like) Dressing - Half a medium avocado - 1 Tbsp Tahini (I use organic, in the organic isle at Superstore) - 1-2 Tbsp Extra Virgin Olive Oil (Cold Pressed) - 1 Garlic clove, chopped (or a dash of garlic powder) - 2 Tbsp water - 1/2 Tbsp Lemon juice (or 1/4 fresh lemon squeezed) - 1/4 tsp of sea salt Method: Use a blender and mix all of the above ingredients. OR Just use a potato masher & fork to blend until it is all incorporated into a thick sauce. Mix the dressing into the salad. When you are ready to eat, chop an apple into bite size pieces and add to the top and serve! It's wonderful. It almost has the same consistency as a ceasar salad dressing but much much cleaner!! Enjoy! Workouts have been going great. I got a good 30 minute workout in every morning this week. So far all 4 of my goals have been met with 4 days left to go. The only goal that I am finding difficult is the zero sugar (chocolate). I have actually felt a bit light headed a few times but have worked through it with lots of water. I am feeling good overall though and I am very happy with myself. My favortie workouts with Bodyrock are the bodyweight routines using nothing but your interval timer. They posted a new one this week that I wanted to share with you guys. Well Dragon's Den is on so I am going to go watch it and have an apple with some homemade peanut butter :) Great snack. Oh and yes I will post the homamde peanut butter recipe very soon. It is a two part post that you will LOOOOOOVE! ;)
Have a great day! Lots of love, Metaxia So my sugar cleanse is going well. By well I mean I haven't broke yet but it hasn't been easy. I never realized how much I liked dark chocolate, lol. The time I miss it the most is right before supper, when I am cooking. I usually snack on 3 squares of dark chocolate while prepping our meal and I have found myself like a lost puppy looking through the cupboards aimlessly. However, my thought process was since I couldn't have what I wanted, I found myself just not having anything and waiting for supper. So! I guess this was a good thing. Today's recipe is a classic dish that everyone loves but over time has become scared of... of course I am speaking of tuna salad! We think of tuna as being so healthy, which it is. But when you go to places like Subway, or even make it at home, the amount of mayo you add to make it a "salad" ruins the whole dish. So I have decided to show you a much cleaner version that is just as yummy, or even better!! The original idea of this recipe came from Oxygen Magazine but here is my version. Clean Tuna Salad [in a Pita] - 1 can of white tuna, in water - 1.5 Tbsp of plain yogurt - 1.5 tsp Dijon Mustard - Half an apple chopped - 1 Tbsp hemp hearts - 2 tsp chopped Walnuts - Sprinkle of Turmeric & Curry - Pepper to taste *Why Turmeric & Curry you ask? I have actually become fond of the taste of these two spices even though turmeric doesn't actually have must of a taste. It does however turn your dish sort of an orange-yellow color! Both Turmeric & Curry are known to be cancer fighting agents so anywhere I can add them.. I do! Here is a link to a Dr. Wiel article talking about the benefits of Turmeric. Method 1) Open your can of tuna and dump it into a bowl. 2) Just have fun with it!! Add the yogurt and mustard and stir. Then add all of the ingredients and make sure it is all incorporated well. 3) The other way I like to clean this dish up is by using a whole wheat pita instead of using two pieces of bread like we would normally do. I cut the pita in half to create two pockets. Then instead of using mayo on the pita, I spread avocado onto the pita. Avocado is actually a nice substitute for butter and much cleaner! *TIP - The pita bread i used tonight was an organic pita bread I found at Sobey's in the organic freezer section. It is only 99 cents! Great buy!! 4) Then spoon your tuna salad into the pockets and enjoy! Well everyone, wish me luck on day 3 of my sugar cleanse. OH by the way!! Did everyone notice that I added a drop down menu off the "Healthy Touch" button called "Recipes". You are able to access all of the recipes I've posted from one easy page. It is much more user friendly. Hope you like it.
Have a great day! Lots of Love, Metaxia |