Strawberry Spinach Salad

We have been on this journey of “eating cleaner” for almost 6 months now.  Earl’s total weight loss is 90 pounds, while mine is 50!  We are sincerely not bored with our new way of eating, but are constantly open to trying new dishes that fit into our regimen.

This post will feature what we had for lunch yesterday, a scrumptious Strawberry Spinach Salad. I studied several recipes online before I decided exactly what ingredients to use. The first picture shows ingredients: 6 ounces Baby Spinach, 1 pint fresh strawberries, sliced, ½ cup chopped walnuts, ½ cup chopped onion (I used 2 green onions), 4 ounces crumbled goat cheese (Feta would also be good.), and ½ cup Raspberry Vinaigrette dressing.

Just mix and enjoy! With strawberries coming in season, we will definitely have this again soon!  It was so yummy!

Burger Time!

 

Doesn’t this look yummy! Whatever works! This is how we do it when we are ready for a burger. To be gluten free, I had been ordering my burgers without the bun for years, but Earl never tried it till now.  We grilled big old juicy burgers, but are staying grain free.

We have plenty of veggies on the side.  I even grilled a green pepper, just for extra flavor.  With a dollop of mustard on the plate, it is ready to devour!  We just use a fork to cut everything into bite size pieces. Put some veggie pieces onto the fork with each bite of meat, dip a little mustard onto it, and you have all the flavor of a good burger without the carbs from the bun.

One of the challenges of keeping this a lifestyle change rather than a diet is to keep it varied. This is one of those meals that help us do it.  Who could feel deprived with this colorful plate?

Whatever Works! Solving the Salad Dressing Dilemma

It seems that we are frequently eating salads for our meals these days.  So I am excited to share with you a little tip that we discovered recently!

Studying labels can be so time consuming, frustrating, and just downright confusing.  When buying bottled salad dressing, this has certainly been the case!  When comparing “light” or “reduced fat’ dressing to the “regular”, often the carbs and sodium are much higher. On top of that, I watch out for MSG and gluten.  So, what to do?

I do sometimes make dressing, but Hubby was actually eating his without dressing until we made this major discovery!  Sorry, but I’m not quite that dedicated.  (I also must give him the credit for making the discovery.)

For our basic salad, we start with a bed of chopped romaine with a little baby spinach.  Next we sprinkle chopped red bell pepper.  They are so flavorful and give some crunch.  A few slices of cucumber are nice.  Sliced or cubed avocado is a must-have! Chopped tomato is good, but with our amazing discovery, not a necessity! 

So, here it is – our amazing discovery!  Instead of salad dressing, use salsa!  YUMMY!  Here is a chart comparing the salsa and a dressing we have in our fridge.

2 T Salsa: 10 Calories 0 gram Fat 240 mg Sodium 2 Carbs

2 T Honey Mustard Dressing: 90 Calories 6 grams Fat 270 mg Sodium 8 Carbs

So it’s easy to see how subbing salsa reduces calories, fat, sodium, and carbs! (I might mention that the numbers on some bottled dressing are much higher than those I used here.)

Here is a picture of my salsa dressed salad.  (I did use about 1 T Blue Cheese dressing along with the 2 T Salsa, just because I like the added creaminess.  Hubby is using only the salsa, with no added dressing.) This is just another example of what is working at our house to keep us on track with eating healthier.  Whatever works!

Green Chile Stew

In the past, I used this Green Chile base that I get at HEB, adding chicken and white navy beans.  We would add chips & cheese.  It was one of our favorite winter meals! Yes, I am using some packaged ingredients here, but it is an example of how a favorite recipe can be modified.

 I revised it by filling it with lower carb veggies.  It is so full of veggies that chips aren't needed!  The first pic shows ingredients: Cookwell’s Green Chile base (From HEB.  If this or something similar isn't available, you might try using chicken broth, diced green chiles, and some cilantro.  I think that combo might work, though I haven’t tried it.), 1 can chicken broth, about 1 ½ # boneless, skinless chicken breast, cut into bite size pieces, 1 onion, chopped, 1 # sliced zucchini, 1 #sliced  yellow squash, 1 # baby carrots, minced garlic, extra virgin olive oil. 

I have this wonderful 12” deep skillet that I love!  I used 1 Tablespoon Olive oil in the bottom & got it hot, added 1 clove minced garlic, 1 medium onion, chopped, and the 1 ½ # chopped chicken breast; season lightly with black pepper. Cook on a medium-high heat, stirring till chicken is thoroughly done.  Place contents into deeper pot, leaving juices in skillet.  Then add 1 Tablespoon olive oil to juices.  Get it hot and add sliced zucchini & sliced squash; season lightly with black pepper.  Cook on medium-high heat till veggies get a little brown.  Add about ½ of the canned broth; lower heat to medium, place lid & allow to cook just till veggies are done.  While that is cooking, cook carrots with about ½ cup water, covered in microwave.  When all veggies are done, add to deeper pot with chicken mixture.  Add rest of chicken broth and Green Chile base.  Rinse Green Chile base jar about half full of water, & add to pot.  At this point, everything is fully cooked, so just cook long enough to blend flavors. 

Notice I have not added any salt to the fresh veggies or chicken! Cooking them in the hot olive oil with garlic just brings out the flavor, and no salt is needed!

 

Just look at those glorious veggies!  This is a hearty meal!

It is OK to sometimes break the rules!

It is OK to sometimes break the rules.  IT IS OK TO SOMETIMES BREAK THE RULES!

 

 

 

I have always been a rule follower.  I am the one driving the posted speed while others zooms past.  I was such a stickler for rules at work that I literally wrote books for new managers in my last job.  So it was a long time coming for me to start tossing out rules regarding weight loss.  I finally realized that it is futile to attempt something for a few weeks, knowing that at some point I would revert back to old habits.  So I decided to figure out what would work in our household for me and my hubby to achieve a healthier lifestyle.

That decision itself goes against the assumption that you must be following a certain program or spending money on products to be successful in weight loss.  IT IS OK TO SOMETIMES BREAK THE RULES!

That first taste of breaking the rule made it easier.  We’ve all heard that you should weigh in once a week, not daily.  We find that it keeps us more personally accountable to weigh every day.  IT IS OK TO SOMETIMES BREAK THE RULES!

Some of the concepts that we are following suggest eliminating caffeine. We have eliminated many things, but don’t mess with our morning coffee!  IT IS OK TO SOMETIMES BREAK THE RULES!

At this point, I almost feel as if I am confessing.  So I guess the next confession is that we rarely actually eat breakfast.  We leisurely enjoy our coffee and a nice glass of orange or apple juice. Now to this juice, we add 1 or 2 Tablespoons of organic apple cider vinegar with the mother.  (Yes, that is what it is called!) I read about the use of vinegar for health, but was persuaded to try it when our son told us he was using it, and saw benefits.  Some of the purported benefits are boosting metabolism and curbing the appetite. I honestly think it is helping us.  Anyway, after drinking our coffee and juice, we just aren’t hungry.  (Besides, we don’t usually get up till after 8 AM, so it is soon lunch time!) IT IS OK TO SOMETIMES BREAK THE RULES!

We have been really big on eliminating sugar. We do, however, usually treat ourselves once a day. On these cold wintry days, we indulge in a mid-afternoon treat of hot cappuccino.  We look forward to it, and I think it has helped with the craving for sweets. It has 120 calories, but if it keeps away the cravings, that's ok!  IT IS OK TO SOMETIMES BREAK THE RULES!

 

 

 

My whole point is that there is no one size fits all on how to achieve weight loss to contribute to a healthy lifestyle. Try to find what will work for you!   IT IS OK TO SOMETIMES BREAK THE RULES! WHATEVER WORKS!

Instead of 'Frito Pie' - "Whatever Works!"

All Texans crave hot chili whenever the temperature starts dipping down into the 30’s!  We traditionally enjoy it served over rice, crackers, or Fritos.  So how can we enjoy this wonderful concoction and remain grain free?

Faced with this dilemma, we used our “Whatever Works” mode of thinking, and opted to try it on a bed of lettuce.  We were amazed!

Sorry that I did not get pics of the chili when I made it. I used my normal recipe, but modified it to be more carb friendly. In the past, I used about a 1 ½ # of ground beef and cooked a pound of dry pintos, added to the chili.  To reduce carbs, I omitted the beans.  I added a can of fire roasted tomatoes.  I am really trying to not use canned veggies, but fire roasted tomatoes are good!  I did add a little extra meat.  (Next time I might try ground turkey, but I am trying to use what is in the freezer.)

The first pic shows the bed of romaine lettuce, topped with chopped red bell pepper.  This adds some crunch, & they are so flavorful

 

 

We spooned hot chili over that, adding about 1 ounce sharp cheddar cheese, and garnished with jalapenos. I also cubed an avocado and added that to the side.  Avocados are full of nutrients, and we love them! I’m sure there are some out there who may not be able to handle the idea chili on lettuce, but we loved this!  Remember – “Whatever Works!”