A 3x5 card version of this recipe can be found here.
Makes 12 servings, 1 cup = serving
~ 1 cup onions, diced
~ 1 can fat free refried beans
~ 6 cups low sodium chicken broth
~ 1 can (14.5 oz.) diced tomatoes
~ 4 cups baked tortilla chips
~ 1/2 cup shredded Monterrey Jack cheese
~ 1/4 cup fresh cilantro
Saute onions for 5 minutes in a large non-stick stock pot. Add beans, broth and diced tomatoes and cook until heated through, about 5-10 minutes longer.
Place a hand full of tortilla chips in a bowl and pour one cup of soup over the chips. Garnish with shredded cheese and cilantro. Also great with a dollop of fat free sour cream.
Chobani Greek Yogurt Giveaway
I just love Chobani Greek Yogurt. Since I've been eating it, I can't even eat anything else because it tastes fake to me. Chobani yogurt is all natural and made in the Southern Tier of NY State, so I'm supporting local business by buying it. Show your support, by checking out Chobani's website and entering at Jessica's blog for a chance to win your very own Chobani yogurt. You have until Sunday night to enter.
Recipe - Low Fat Corn Muffins
I was very pleased with how this "healthified" version of a traditional corn muffin turned out. It has a nice crunchy coating just out of the oven with a moist and chewy interior. They have about 100 calories each with less than a gram of fat and almost 2 grams of fiber. With the addition of applesauce and creamed corn, you can cut down on the sugar and eliminate the oil from a traditional recipe.
A 3x5 card version of this recipe can be found here.
Makes 12 muffins
~ 1/2 cup all purpose white flour
~ 1/2 cup whole wheat unbleached flour
~ 1 cup yellow cornmeal
~ 2 tablespoons white granulated sugar
~ 1 tablespoon baking powder
~ 1/2 teaspoon salt
~ 1 cup milk, non-fat
~ 1/2 cup canned creamed corn
~ 1/2 cup egg substitute
~ 1/4 cup applesauce
Preheat oven to 425 degrees F. Spray a muffin pan with non-stick cooking spray, and set aside.
Mix dry ingredients in a large bowl. Add remaining wet ingredients and stir just until blended. Pour into muffin tins. Each tin will hold about 1/4 cup of batter.
Bake in preheated oven for 15-18 minutes, or until edges just start to turn brown. Tops will not brown, so be careful you don't over cook them. If you are using a dark pan, you may want to reduce the temperature to 400 degrees.
A 3x5 card version of this recipe can be found here.
Makes 12 muffins
~ 1/2 cup all purpose white flour
~ 1/2 cup whole wheat unbleached flour
~ 1 cup yellow cornmeal
~ 2 tablespoons white granulated sugar
~ 1 tablespoon baking powder
~ 1/2 teaspoon salt
~ 1 cup milk, non-fat
~ 1/2 cup canned creamed corn
~ 1/2 cup egg substitute
~ 1/4 cup applesauce
Preheat oven to 425 degrees F. Spray a muffin pan with non-stick cooking spray, and set aside.
Mix dry ingredients in a large bowl. Add remaining wet ingredients and stir just until blended. Pour into muffin tins. Each tin will hold about 1/4 cup of batter.
Bake in preheated oven for 15-18 minutes, or until edges just start to turn brown. Tops will not brown, so be careful you don't over cook them. If you are using a dark pan, you may want to reduce the temperature to 400 degrees.
Getting Back on the Wagon
Over the past six months I've been struggling with losing any more weight. I've been stuck right around 230 pounds, but over the past 6 weeks, I've gained about 6 pounds and I just can't seem to lose any at all.
I know that being home everyday and being able to eat whenever I want has been a factor. I haven't been logging my food and maybe I should be, but I find it really difficult to log in food when it's all homemade. It's so difficult and time consuming, but I think I really need to try to do it, if not everyday, at least four days a week.
Another factor has been when we go out to eat, I don't bring home as much food as I used to, I just eat it all at the restaurant....bad choice. But with money tight, we only go out about once every 10 days or so.
I have also been very lax about exercise. I've been keeping up with basic strength training that provides short bursts of cardio, but I haven't been doing enough. Today we snowshoed for the first time this winter and I know that burns a lot of calories. If the calculator at sparkpeople is correct, I burned over 600 calories today. That's a good start, but I need to keep it up though.
One thing I've had a strong opinion about is weigh-ins. I believe you should weigh in once a week religiously, but I'm reading more and more articles that daily weigh-ins are more successful at keeping the weight off. If you do a search for "Weighing In Daily", you will be surprised at all the articles that come up. I'm beginning to think there may be something too this strategy. I worry that it might lead to compulsive behavior, but I guess if you are not already prone to impulsive behavior, than what can it hurt. I am going to start weighing in everyday, or at the very least, several times a week, and see how that goes.
I am also going to force myself to exercise more. Cardio is my weakness, but three times a week is a must. I am now going to school full-time, so eating is a little more under control. We get a total of an hour a day with breaks and lunch, so I plan on walking as much as possible of that time, providing the weather is good. I also plan on wearing a pedometer so that I can track my steps per day. I believe the daily goal is 10,000 steps a day, so I hope to work up to that within the next four weeks.
So, I guess the moral of this post is it's OK to fall off the wagon as long as you regroup and get back on again.
What strategies do you use to help you stay on track?
I know that being home everyday and being able to eat whenever I want has been a factor. I haven't been logging my food and maybe I should be, but I find it really difficult to log in food when it's all homemade. It's so difficult and time consuming, but I think I really need to try to do it, if not everyday, at least four days a week.
Another factor has been when we go out to eat, I don't bring home as much food as I used to, I just eat it all at the restaurant....bad choice. But with money tight, we only go out about once every 10 days or so.
I have also been very lax about exercise. I've been keeping up with basic strength training that provides short bursts of cardio, but I haven't been doing enough. Today we snowshoed for the first time this winter and I know that burns a lot of calories. If the calculator at sparkpeople is correct, I burned over 600 calories today. That's a good start, but I need to keep it up though.
One thing I've had a strong opinion about is weigh-ins. I believe you should weigh in once a week religiously, but I'm reading more and more articles that daily weigh-ins are more successful at keeping the weight off. If you do a search for "Weighing In Daily", you will be surprised at all the articles that come up. I'm beginning to think there may be something too this strategy. I worry that it might lead to compulsive behavior, but I guess if you are not already prone to impulsive behavior, than what can it hurt. I am going to start weighing in everyday, or at the very least, several times a week, and see how that goes.
I am also going to force myself to exercise more. Cardio is my weakness, but three times a week is a must. I am now going to school full-time, so eating is a little more under control. We get a total of an hour a day with breaks and lunch, so I plan on walking as much as possible of that time, providing the weather is good. I also plan on wearing a pedometer so that I can track my steps per day. I believe the daily goal is 10,000 steps a day, so I hope to work up to that within the next four weeks.
So, I guess the moral of this post is it's OK to fall off the wagon as long as you regroup and get back on again.
What strategies do you use to help you stay on track?
Recipe - Oven Baked Ravioli
Here's another great appetizer recipe that would be perfect for a big game or on a night when you want to just have appetizers for dinner. Gary and I did this recently. We had a tray of fresh veggies, white bean dip with baked pita chips, shrimp cocktail and these oven baked raviolis. It was a nice change from a full all out dinner and it was easy to watch the New York Jets win!
This is also a great recipe when you've made a bag of ravioli for dinner, but have some extra. One bag is way to much for two people, so I saved the leftovers and made these a couple of days later.
A 3x5 card version of this recipe can be found here.
~ 1 pkg (13 oz.) frozen cheese ravioli
~ 2/3 fat free cup sour cream
~ 1/3 cup fat free milk
~ 3/4 cup Italian-style dry breadcrumbs
~ 2 tablespoons Parmesan Cheese
~ 1 tablespoon parsley, dried
~ 1/4 teaspoon black pepper
Preheat over to 400 degrees. Cook ravioli according to directions and then drain.
Coat a non-stick baking sheet with cooking spray or cover pan with parchment paper.
In a small bowl, combine the sour cream with the milk. In a separate bowl, combine the bread crumbs, parmesan cheese, parsley and pepper. Mix well.
Pat the ravioli dry if they seem too wet, then dip ravioli in the sour cream mixture and then coat with the bread crumb mixture. Place ravioli on prepared baking sheet and spray all ravioli with cooking spray so they will crisp up.
Bake in center of oven for 10-13 minutes. If you are using cold ravioli, you may need to bake an additional 5 minutes.
Serve with my marinara sauce. If you don't have any marinara sauce handy, use a canned pizza sauce with a little crushed red pepper and garlic powder added to spice it up a bit. Really delicious!
This is also a great recipe when you've made a bag of ravioli for dinner, but have some extra. One bag is way to much for two people, so I saved the leftovers and made these a couple of days later.
A 3x5 card version of this recipe can be found here.
~ 1 pkg (13 oz.) frozen cheese ravioli
~ 2/3 fat free cup sour cream
~ 1/3 cup fat free milk
~ 3/4 cup Italian-style dry breadcrumbs
~ 2 tablespoons Parmesan Cheese
~ 1 tablespoon parsley, dried
~ 1/4 teaspoon black pepper
Preheat over to 400 degrees. Cook ravioli according to directions and then drain.
Coat a non-stick baking sheet with cooking spray or cover pan with parchment paper.
In a small bowl, combine the sour cream with the milk. In a separate bowl, combine the bread crumbs, parmesan cheese, parsley and pepper. Mix well.
Pat the ravioli dry if they seem too wet, then dip ravioli in the sour cream mixture and then coat with the bread crumb mixture. Place ravioli on prepared baking sheet and spray all ravioli with cooking spray so they will crisp up.
Bake in center of oven for 10-13 minutes. If you are using cold ravioli, you may need to bake an additional 5 minutes.
Serve with my marinara sauce. If you don't have any marinara sauce handy, use a canned pizza sauce with a little crushed red pepper and garlic powder added to spice it up a bit. Really delicious!
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