Tag Archives: Healthy eating

That scary word…..”Fat”

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I’m sure people are going to think I’m ridiculous for saying this, but I wish we could rename fats, from food, something else. Yeah yeah I know it sounds stupid. But a good majority of the general public sees that word and freaks out. I think it’s due to the word association with the word body fat. We define fat (from the body) as connective tissue that stores cellular fat. Or….the yellow blob stuff that we see in pictures in ads and learned about in heath class.

Body fat is not the same as food fat. Will fats from food make you fat? Yes and no. It’s all about portioning and eating the correct fats. If you eat a proper amount of fats, you can make it work to your advantage. With that being said, I’m referring to fats from avocado, olive oil, eggs, etc. NOT fats from things like Doritos, pastries, sugary drinks, etc. Should you completely avoid the “bad fats” all together? Some would argue yes. I say no. That’s what cheat meals are for! I don’t recommend consuming them every day but on occasion is fine! If you can completely avoid them all together, more power to you! I however want a greasy burger and pizza every so often. 😉

Fats are a good thing! Let’s stop being so scared of them! Use them as fuel for your body and don’t feel bad about consuming them, when they’re the good kind. Eat your avocados every day, and eat those eggs! They are fantastic for your body. Just make sure to portion things out properly! Figure out how much fat is recommended for your body per day. Once you understand the fat amounts in each food, you can portion things visually and it becomes really easy! Let’s get back to enjoying foods (especially ones with FAT) and not being scared of them! 🍴💪🏻

Ponzu Salmon and Rice

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Last night I made ponzu salmon and rice. It was under 500 calories and incredibly filling. Decently easy and tasted great!

Ingredients:

🔹2 salmon filets (6oz)

🔹6 oz cremini mushrooms

🔹2 garlic cloves

🔹2 green onions

🔹1/2 cup jasmine rice (can sub brown rice)

🔹2 oz peas

🔹1 oz ponzu sauce

Recipe:

Bring a pot of 1 1/2 cups of water to boil. Pour in rice. Reduce to simmer and cook until tender. 18-20 minutes

While rice cooks chop mushrooms and onion. Mince garlic. Rinse salmon and pat dry. Combine ponzu, ginger and green onions. Place 2 tbsp of mixture in a separate small bowl and set aside.

Spray a medium nonstick pan with cooking spray. Place over medium heat. Add mushrooms to pan and cook until soft. Add rice, peas and garlic. Cook till peas are warm. Mix in ponzu sauce mixture. Cover and remove from burner.

Spray a second medium nonstick pan with cooking spray. Place over medium heat. Add salmon. Sear until golden brown. 4-6 minutes each side.

Plate salmon and rice mixture. Pour remaining 2 tbsp of ponzu mixture over salmon. Enjoy!

Defining your value by your size

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“A clothing size should never define your worth or value.”

I remember when I went from a size 0 to a 2. I FREAKED out. Literally didn’t leave the house for a week because I was ashamed of myself. Again, another moment where I wish I could slap my former self. Why did I think it was so bad being a size 2? Or 4? Or 6? Or….so on. It’s all about how you FEEL. Clearly I wasn’t happy with myself but when you’re constantly negative and tearing yourself down, you’ll never really be happy with yourself. When you learn to accept your body and be appreciative of your body, that’s when you start to forget about the numbers.

A lot of my “size fears” had to do with who I was hanging out with. The girls I had become “friends” with at the time were very size focused. The tinier the better. Somehow I let their negative body image thinking clog my brain. It took me taking a big step back and reassessing the friends in my life to make me realize, this isn’t healthy, normal or fun. Not to mention I remember asking myself, if I really needed these girls in an important moment in my life, would they really be there for me? The answer was no. So instead of a body detox, I did a friend detox.

When I stopped focusing on the size of my clothes and started looking at what I was comfortable in and what made me look good, everything changed. When you look good, you feel good. Attempting to squeeze into size 0 jeans when I was a size 2 did NOT make me look good. It made me look ridiculous and in denial. You know when you see someone in too tight of clothes and wonder if they bought their clothes purposely too small or outgrew them? Yup I was one of those people you saw and questioned. 🤦🏼‍♀️

Finding clothes that are flattering to my body is key. If a size 6 dress fits me, who cares! As long as it makes me look fantastic! I don’t care what the number says anymore, as long as I’m comfortable and I feel good in it!

I’ve said it before, you’re only given one body in this life. Love it and be appreciative of it. It’s the only one you get!

Coconut Milk Ice Cream

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What can I say, I love ice cream! I do my best to avoid the aisle it’s on when grocery shopping but sometimes I’m just drawn to it! Yesterday I stumbled upon these by Nadamoo. They’re made with coconut milk instead of dairy! I don’t have a dairy allergy or anything, I just like coconut milk. So I figured it’d try it. 🥥

They are so good! Light and creamy with a hint of coconut milk flavor. I still love my dairy ice cream but I really like these as well! Plus the fact that they are made locally (Austin TX) and family owned made me like them even more.

There’s 140 cal, 9g fat, 20g carbs, and 10g of sugar per serving. 4 servings per container. It’s also certified organic and 100% plant based! So you know I let Ryder have a few bites 😉

Trying to cut down on dairy? Give these a try!

Brown Sugar Salmon

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Dinner last night was a brown sugar salmon. I’m not a huge fan of salmon but my husband is. So I try to make it at least once a week. Plus it’s good for me so I suck it up and eat it. This recipe is super easy and tastes great!

Ingredients:

✴️ 2 Salmon filets

✴️ 2 Potatoes

✴️ 8 oz green beans

✴️ 1/2 oz Dijon mustard

✴️ 1/2 oz light brown sugar

✴️ 1 oz milk

✴️ 1 Clove garlic

✴️ Salt

✴️ Pepper

Recipe:

Preheat oven to 400

Rinse green beans and chop off ends. Rinse off potatoes and chop into cubes. Line a baking sheet with foil and spray with cooking spray. I’m a small bowl combine mustard and brown sugar. Rinse off salmon and pat dry. Mince garlic and set aside.

Place potatoes in a small pot and boil. Cook until tender, 14-18 minutes. While potatoes cook, place salmon on a nonstick pan and sear. 2-4 minutes on each side. Remove from burner and place on baking sheet. Brush salmon with brown sugar mixture. Roast in oven for 7-10 minutes.

Return pan used to cook salmon to medium heat. Add green beans, 1 tap olive oil, salt and pepper. Cook beans for 6-8 minutes.

Drain potatoes. Mash potatoes and mix in milk, sour cream and garlic.

Plate dish and enjoy! 🍴

Boost Your Immune System Naturally

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We are approaching cold and flu season!! Help boost your immune system with the foods you eat every day! Many fruits, veggies and meats are high in vitamins and minerals that help your immune system to fight off infection. Below is a list of 6 (yes there are way more) vitamins found in certain foods that can help you keep your immune system strong and functioning at its best! 💪🏻

1️⃣ Vitamin C- Helps protect white blood cells from toxic compounds. Ex: leafy greens, bell peppers, Brussels sprouts, strawberries, citrus fruits and many more.

2️⃣ Vitamin E- An antioxidant that helps your body fight off infection. Ex: Spinach, broccoli, almonds, sunflower seeds, and many more

3️⃣ Vitamin A- Foods high in carotenoids (colorful foods) are turned into vitamin A in the body and gave an antioxidant effect that helps strengthen the immune system from infection. Ex: carrots, sweet potatoes, squash and many more

4️⃣ Iron- Helps your body carry oxygen to cells. Ex: beans, broccoli, kale, turkey, and many more

5️⃣ Selenium- Has the ability to slow the body’s over-active responses. Also lowers oxidative stress on the body. Ex: garlic, broccoli, tuna, and many more

6️⃣ Zinc- Helps slow down the immune response and control inflammation. Ex: yogurt, crab, oysters, lean meats, and many more

In addition to these vitamins, remember to wash your hands often! You can pass on millions of germs with the touch of a hand! 🤚

Chicken Enchilada Bowl

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I’m a sucker for easy healthy recipes. Especially during the week when I’m tired and don’t have a lot of time to cook. I made this meal a few nights ago and it turned out fantastic! I call it a chicken enchilada bowl!

Ingredients:

✴️ 2 Boneless Skinless chicken beasts

✴️ 1 poblano pepper

✴️ 1 Zucchini

✴️ 1 Yellow squash

✴️ 1 Onion

✴️ 1 oz shredded cheddar

✴️ 1 oz sour cream

✴️ 6 oz enchilada sauce

✴️ 1 tsp chipotle seasoning

✴️ 1/2 ounce tortilla strips

Recipe:

Chop the veggies into bite sized pieces. Pat chicken dry and chop into cubes. Heat 1 tbsp olive oil in nonstick pan over medium heat.Stir occasionally until lightly browned. Remove chicken from pan and set aside.

Return pan used to cook chicken to medium heat. Add in veggies and cook till soft. Add in chicken, enchilada sauce, and chipotle seasoning. Stir for 2-3 minutes.

Plate chicken mixture and top with cheese, tortilla strips, and sour cream. Enjoy!! 🍴

Note: This recipe is is under 500 calories per serving!

Egg muffin recipe

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I love breakfast! Some mornings I make avocado toast with eggs. Others it’s protein pancakes and fruit. This week I decided to make egg muffins! They’re an easy grab and go meal! (I of course heat them up before I eat them 😂) They’re so easy, healthy and taste great!

Ingredients:

-6 eggs

-1 1/2 cups Egg whites

-1 red pepper

-1 green pepper

-1 cup spinach

-6 slices turkey bacon

-1 pinch pink salt

-1 pinch pepper

-1/4 cup shredded cheddar cheese

Recipe:

Preheat oven to 350. Grease a muffin pan with cooking spray. Chop spinach, red and green pepper. Chop the spinach and cook in a non stick pan till almost crispy.

In a large bowl whisk together eggs and egg whites. Add in spinach, red and green pepper, bacon, salt and pepper.

Divide mixture into muffin pan cups. Top each cup with a little cheese. Bake for 20-25 minutes until cooked through.

Enjoy! 🍴🍳

The breakfast blame game

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I had a friend tell me she doesn’t have time to make breakfast so she skips it, makes a coffee and heads out the door to work every day. She blames this on why she’s starving before lunch and ends up eating horrible the rest of the day, therefore causing her to gain weight.

So here’s the thing……YOU decide what goes in your belly. We really can’t blame anyone (or anything) but ourselves for the choices we make. That doughnut at your office does not literally call your name every morning. 😡

If you know you battle to eat good during the day and breakfast is something you are clearly struggling with, you have options…..

1. Premake your breakfast the night before to save time! Make a to-go container of Greek yogurt with berries. Or try overnight oats and mix in a few of your favorite items like fruit, chia seeds, almonds, coco powder or almonds!

2. Wake up earlier!!! Seriously there are so many breakfast options that take less than 5 minutes. Things like avocado toast with eggs, peanut butter toast with banana, or even a protein shake with fruit and spinach mixed in. All of these take less than 5 minutes to make. Set your alarm to go off 15 minutes earlier so you have time to make the food and eat it.

You have options! When I was a teacher I had to be to school at 6:30am to be at my morning duty spot at 6:50am, then class started at 7:30am. Not to mention I had a 20 minute drive. Making breakfast at 5:45 in the morning was just not an option for me. Well, it could have been but I’m not the best morning person when it’s THAT early. 😂

I always pre made meals. Sometimes I made these egg muffins that I would just pop in the microwave and eat in the car. I used muffin tins to make them every Sunday (recipe will be on my blog next week). Some days I would just hard boil eggs and leave a bowl of them in the fridge to grab and take to eat while at my duty spot.

Stop making excuses and do something! If you want to eat better and your problem starts with breakfast, then fix it! Small changes make a big difference! 💪🏻

Note: Yes I know there are diets out there that encourage breakfast fasting. But this doesn’t work for everyone. Especially her if she’s repeating the vicious cycle of eating bad daily because she’s hungry from not eating breakfast. Some people lack the self control ability to do a breakfast fast and not destroy the rest of their day after.

Protein Pancakes

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Today I made my first attempt at protein pancakes. Ryder is being weird about food. He only eats grilled meats so I’m trying to find ways to sneak a little protein into his diet. Momma doesn’t have time to grill meat every day for him. 😂

They weren’t the prettiest looking pancakes but they turned out ok. The flavor was good, they were just a little on the dry side. I’m thinking if I add a banana or avocado next time it’ll help a bit. Below is the recipe. It makes about 9 silver dollar size pancakes. If you know of another way to make protein pancakes that are moist, please send it my way! 💙 🥞

Ingredients:

2 eggs

1 1/2 scoops protein powder

1 tsp baking powder

1/3 cup skim milk or almond milk

Recipe:

Place a nonstick pan or pancake pan over medium heat. Spray with cooking spray

Add eggs, protein, and baking powder to large bowl and whisk. Add in the milk slowly till batter becomes smooth.

Pour batter in pan one tbsp at a time. Each pancake should take about 2 tbsp. Flip when bubbles form at top.

Plate and serve with fruit or syrup!🍴

41 cal

1g carb

1g fat

6g protein