Day #36 - Date Night

Once a month, Jim and I try to get out to spend some quality time together. On Saturday, we decided to go see an early movie and do dinner and some shopping afterward.

We ended up eating dinner at Applebee's - it was pretty good. I got the Turkey Club (bacon removed) without the mayo. This sandwich was so big, I ate half for dinner and the dog and I shared the other half for lunch the next day. It was pretty good!

Time To Recalculate

So - I'm discovering that my initial goal of 350 days of home cooked meals was me being a little overly ambitious. I have realized that there are just some days where I have to choose between A) Making a REALLY unhealthy meal because I need to make something quick, B) Feeding my family a semi healthy dinner at 8:00 at night, or C) Finding a fast food place I know has healthy dinner options and making life a little easier for everyone.

My goal is to continue making healthy meals for my family as often as I can while realizing that I'm not Martha Stewart or Rachael Ray. And although I do have a full time job, my homemade meals aren't making me money. Don't get me wrong - I am not giving myself permission to go back to eating out three or four times a week. I am simply giving myself permission to use healthy eating out options as a last resort without feeling completely guilty. I have learned that eating out doesn't have to be completely bad for you.

Some of the healthier options we have discovered:

JITB - Grilled Chicken Strips (4 strips - w/o sauce = 180 calories, 2 g fat, 37 g protein)

Wendy's - Ultimate Chicken Grill Sandwich (w/o Mayo = 290 calories, 5 g fat, 25 g protein)

Arby's - Junior Roast Beef Sandwich (273 calories, 10 g fat, 15 g protein)

The Key To Eating Out: No FRIED Anything - Including FRIES!

Day #35 - Homemade Pizza

It was Friday again and we had to make dinner in a hurry. We had a pizza crust left over in the fridge and all the ingredients for a healthy homemade pizza. It was fabulous - but we had to eat and run - so no picture tonight. Sorry!

Day #34 - Power Enchiladas

I finally managed to prepare a meal worth REALLY blogging about. This is what was SUPPOSED to be on the menu yesterday - but we all know what happened there.

Anyway - I LOVE Mexican food. It's extremely bad for you - but it's one of my favorites. Chips and Salsa - I could eat every day. Thankfully, we don't always have tortilla chips in the house.....usually on purpose. So I found this awesome recipe for "power enchiladas" that incorporates low-carb, high fiber ingredients to make the meal somewhat healthier.

The best part is that it tasted great!

Ingredients:

4 oz Fat Free, MSG Free Chicken Broth

1 Cup Chopped Onion

1/2 Cup Chopped Green Bell Pepper

1 Cup Grated Zucchini

2 Cups Boneless Skinless Chicken Breast, Cooked & Shredded

2 Tbsp Chopped Cilantro

1-1/2 Cups Grated Low-Fat Cheese

1 Can (4 oz) Diced Green Chilies

4 Cloves of Garlic, Minced

1 Can Green / Red Enchilada Sauce

6 Whole Wheat Tortillas

Sliced Black Olives

Fat Free Sour Cream

Directions:

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.

In a large frying pan, bring chicken broth to just boiling. Add onion and green pepper to the broth and "saute" until onions are tender. Add grated zucchini and saute until just cooked.

Drain off liquid and remove pan from the heat. Add cooked chicken to vegetable mixture and stir. Add cilantro, 1-1/4 cups of the grated cheese, green chilies, and garlic. Stir to combine.

Layer 1/2 cup enchilada sauce into the bottom of a 9 x 13 dish sprayed with non-stick cooking spray. Fill tortillas with mixture. Spoon about 1 Tbsp of enchilada sauce over meat mixture. Roll tortillas and turn enchilada seam side down. Ladle remaining sauce over enchiladas making sure tortillas are completely covered in sauce.

Cover with tin foil and bake 12 to 15 minutes. Remove foil and sprinkle with remaining 1/4 cup of grated cheese. Bake 1 minutes more until cheese is melted. Garnish with olives and sour cream.

Nutritional Information (Approximately For 1 Enchilada):

Total Calories: 185 cal

Total Fat: 14.5 g

Total Carbs: 16.3 g

Total Protein: 24.3 g

Day #33 - Steamed Salmon

This isn't what my salmon looked like. It's probably not what my salmon tasted like either. The salmon you see in the picture, probably tasted awesome! I forgot to take a picture of my salmon - but trust me, you aren't missing much.

I have learned that if I don't leave a recipe for my husband to follow - dinner doesn't always turn out so well. Needless to say - OUR salmon was raw in the middle and the green beans he steamed on top of the salmon, tasted like salmon. Even he admits that the dinner was probably a C+ at best.

Oh well - after a minute or two in the microwave and we had a nutritious low-carb meal.

Day #32 - Chicken Salad

Jim and Kayla were having Chicken Nuggets for dinner tonight. I opted for a healthier option - chicken salad. The salad dressing ruined it (Newman's Own Light Caesar). I wouldn't recommend that dressing. It's almost like a Caesar Vinaigrette - if you can imagine what that would taste like. I managed choke most of the salad down so it wouldn't go to waste. I guess that's what I get for trying to be healthy......maybe next time.

Day #31 - Day of Fast

Monday was hectic - enough said.

My parents picked Kayla up after work and fed her.

Jim and I had a mini fast cause it was too late to eat by the time we had time to make dinner.

It's all good.