Southwest Poultry Burgers

We love grilling in the summer! But if you're like us, traditional burgers and dogs get really old really fast. Here's a "healthier" burger with a twist to keep you excited about grilling this summer.

Southwest Poultry Burgers

1 slightly beaten egg
1/4 cup finely crushed tortilla chips or Doritos
3 Tbs finely chopped green bell pepper
3/4 tsp chili powder
1/4 tsp salt
1/4 tsp pepper
1 lb ground chicken or ground turkey

Mix and form your patties. (It should make about 4 burgers.)

Grill burgers. Make sure to cook all the way through since they are poultry!

Top with Pepper Jack or Cheddar cheese, avocado, lettuce, tomato, and special sauce.

Special sauce: Combine fat free sour cream and salsa.

Happy Grilling!

letter to self

Dear body,

I've been feeding you with crappy fuel lately. Don't worry; I'll make it up to you by killing it in the gym this week. Yes; It will hurt. What doesn't kill you will make you stronger. PLEASE don't hate me and PLEASE don't die!

Affectionately,

Me

What would you say to your body in a letter?

Grilled Salmon

Salmon with Orange-Pineapple Salsa
From the Better Home and Gardens Cookbook

1.5 lb salmon fillet (with skin)

2 Tbs sugar
1.5 tsp shredded orange peel
1 tsp salt
1/4 tsp black pepper
Mix and rub evenly over fish (not on the skin side).
Cover in shallow dish and marinate in refrigerator for 8-24 hours.

1 tsp shredded orange peel
2 oranges, peeled and chopped
1 cup fresh pineapple or canned crushed pineapple drained
2 Tbs fresh cilantro
1 Tbs finely chopped green onion
1 fresh hot pepper, seeded and finely chopped
Stir in a small bowl, cover, and chill for up to 24 hours.

Grilling: Drain fish. Place fish, skin side down, on greased grill over medium heat. (Medium heat = 4 second count with hand near cooking surface.) Cover and grill for 14-18 minutes until fish flakes easily with a fork. (Do not lift the lid during cooking time.)

To Serve: cut fish into serving size pieces, cutting up to but not through the skin. Carefully slip a metal spatula between fish and skin, lifting fish up and away from skin. Serve fish with salsa.

This was my first time cooking salmon. Before this recipe I was scared to grill fish. It is actually very easy and fool proof using this method. I liked having a fruity salsa, but the peppers and onions were not necessary for me. I think I'll leave them out next time.

Snack, Snack, Snack

Are you someone who likes to snack? Snacking doesn't have to sabotage your "diet." In fact having healthy snacks throughout the day will help keep your metabolism up and give you the energy you need to make it to your next meal without eating your arm. Would you believe me if I told you that you could have up to six meals a day?!? We all know about breakfast, lunch, and dinner. I keep those meals around 300-400 calories each. Then I can have up to three 100-200 calorie snacks in between.

Snacks -- 150 calories or less

Carb Heavy
Fruit (anything)
1 cup grapes (60 cal)
1 orange (60 cal)
1 med apple (80 cal)
2 cups whole strawberries (85 cal)
1 pear (100 cal)
1 large banana (120 cal)
1/4 cup dried berries or raisins (140 cal)
Carrot sticks (25 cal per whole carrot or five large baby carrots)
granola bar (90-150 cal)
12 tortilla chips and salsa (150 cal)
4 cups air popped popcorn w/0 calorie spray butter (120 cal)
Hershey's Dark Chocolate Kisses (25 cal per kiss)

Somewhat Balanced
Cucumber sandwich -- 1 slice w.w. bread, fat free cream cheese, and cucumbers (130 cal)
half bowl of cereal and milk (90-150 cal)
1/2 slice whole wheat bread w/ 1 Tbs peanut butter (150 cal)

Protein Heavy
Celery stalk with 1.5 Tbs peanut butter (150 cal)
Greek yogurt w/ fruit on the bottom (100 cal)
1 oz beef jerky (80 cal)
20 whole almonds (150 cal)
1 cup fat free milk (90 cal)
3 oz or 12 large shrimp w/cocktail sauce (90 cal)

So go grab a snack that suits your needs.

Deluxe Turkey Sandwich

My Favorite Sandwich of ALL time!


Get those Whole Wheat Sandwich Thins in the grocery store (by the bread and the buns).
Toast the sandwich thin.
Top with 1/4 - 1/2 of a fresh avocado, turkey, tomato, and alfalfa spouts.

The whole sandwich is 230 calories.

Perfection!

No Gym Required (Part 1)

Since I haven't had access to the gym this week, I thought it'd be a perfect time to do a series called No Gym Required. I'll have ideas of things you can do at home without going to the gym. Here's what I did today.

Cardio: I got out my old road bike and bike trailer. I loaded up a picnic lunch and took my kids to the park. Now I recommend you get AT LEAST 20 minutes of consecutive cardio, so pick a park that will take you 20 minutes to get to. No cheating! Normally when I go for a bike ride I do a lot of coasting, and leisurely go about it. NO NO NO NO. If this is going to count as a workout, you better get huffing and sweating! I happened to have a couple of hills on my route which are near to impossible to do with a bike trailer with 60 lbs worth of kids stuffed in. Trust me, I was huffing and puffing.

Then while you are at the park, don't be the mom that sits on a bench and watches your kids play. If this is going to count as a workout, you better pick a park with lots of area and chase those kids all over it.

My kids chased the birds > I chased my kids = a bit of an extra workout.

I estimate that I burned about 200 calories with this excursion.
And my kids LOVED me for it!
(That's not as much as I burn at the gym, but it's pretty good considering the kids thought I went on that trip for THEM! Ha.)

Exercises: For this I put the kids to bed beforehand. I decided to focus on abs today. I admit they are my favorites. I have a video illustrating the exercises. Please keep in mind, I am not a professional trainer or a professional videographer.



Basically I'll do 30 reps of each exercise (except the plank -- 2 minutes of that one). If I have more time and I'm not burning yet, I'll do 30 more of everything. You don't want to stop just because you may feel a bit uncomfortable. No pain, no gain. You'll really see results if you work through the pain. Ideally, you want to make sure you aren't going to be able to move the next day. Call me crazy, but I LOVE those kind of workouts.

Confessions

Dear Readers,

I have a confession to make......*deep breath*......I've fallen off the wagon. You know what I'm talking about. You are on a really good, long healthy-streak; you think it's so great that you would never want to go back to your old ways; and then thump...you find yourself knocked on your A$$ and you don't know how you could have fallen off.

Figure it out! The reason your "diet," for lack of a better word, failed is crucial to deciding how to get out of your slump. I've been reflecting on it all week and I've come up with a list of my weaknesses.

• I'm an emotional eater! Whenever times get hard, I turn to food to make it all feel better. Example: When my kids just won't go to bed I get into this pattern. Get up, put the kids back in bed, close the door, take a trip to the kitchen, go back to whatever I was doing, repeat the next time they get out of bed. SHOCKING that anyone could be that STUPID and COMPULSIVE. But yes, without fail, I always stop at the kitchen on my way back from their bedroom. This can go on for up to 2 hours at a time! Stressful.
• When my husband "leaves" I get a little blue and have less motivation to make wise choices.
• When my husband "leaves" I don't make dinner like I normally do every night. We clean out the freezer and the fridge. We tend to eat a lot of PB&J and breakfast foods. Eating more like the kids do leaves me less satisfied and more likely to search for "grown-up" food while they are napping or sleeping.
• Certain times of the month trigger a chocolate craving. Let's just say my stockpiles of chocolate chips for baking have been completely depleted and the only chocolate left in the house is about 2 Tablespoons of cocoa powder. It's BAD, I know!
• I have temporarily lost my gym privileges. So I'm running a low on endorphins. It's extremely depressing.

Fact: ALL of these issues hit me with one forceful punch this week...knocking me completely off the "be-nice-to-your-body wagon."

My action plan: I can't control when my husband comes back from military black hole; but I can control my choices.
I've decided to instill 2 rules to live by while he's gone.

1. Do NOT eat while the kids are napping.
2. Do NOT eat after the kids have gone to bed.
These rules will limit me to 3 meals a day, in which I can better control my nutrition than emotional eating.

As for the gym privileges, I am working on it but in the meantime I will be exploring alternative home-gym options. Stay tuned for exercises you can do without a gym membership.

Keeping it real,
Melissa

P.S. Does anyone else have any shocking compulsions?

Breakfast Week: Egg Edition

Two Amazing Products that Could Change the Way You Do Breakfast -- Forever!

1. Egg Beaters = egg whites, vitamins and minerals

(First of all, I don't have a problem with eggs. Yes they have cholesterol, but I figure they are natural -- no chemicals and preservatives.)
But if you are watching your calories, eggs can quickly add up leaving you no room for your side of toast and oj.

Egg Beater stats: 30 calories, 0 fat, 0 cholesterol, 6g protein

1 Large Egg stats: 75 calories, 5g fat, 210mg cholesterol, 6g protein

I was astounded by the way Egg Beaters take the guess work out of scrambled eggs. They really do make the perfect eggs every time! I think they taste a little different than eggs from a shell. To compensate for this, I recommend trying the southwest or garden vegetable varieties of Egg Beaters or add your own fixings to make a fantastic omelet.

(They are also great for baking with. You may have noticed I use egg beaters in many of my recipes instead of eggs. For half the calories, I'd be a fool not to make the substitution.)


2. Ground Turkey Breakfast Sausage

I was also astounded to try turkey breakfast sausage. It tastes EXACTLY like sausage. You will fool everyone with this trick. Just substitute lean turkey breakfast sausage for regular pork sausage or bacon and you will be making an excellent healthy choice for your family. It's a no-brainer!

Beware: the breakfast links taste like sausage, but the casings don't hold up when you cook them without adding a lot of fat. Your family will catch you if you use the links. Stick to the ground sausage and they'll never know. Also, don't even try turkey bacon...it's highly disappointing!

Breakfast Week: Yogurt

Functional Yogurt

Regular low fat sweetened flavored yogurt -- for kids to have for breakfast
(*6oz stats: 170 calories 27g sugar 5g protein)
Too high in cal and sugar, not enough protein.

Light low fat artificially sweetened yogurt -- for dieters (lower calories)
(*6oz stats: 100 calories 14g sugar 5g protein)
A lower calorie option, but artificial sweeteners should be used in moderation.

Fat Free plain yogurt -- for smoothies and baking
(*8oz stats: 130 calories 17g sugar 15g protein)

Greek Yogurt with fruit on the bottom -- for a high protein breakfast or snack
(*4oz stats: 100 calories 13g sugar 10g protein)
Delicious, low calorie, TONS of protein!

Smoothies are a great breakfast option. I usually use 1 banana, some plain fat free yogurt, frozen fruit, and skim milk to thin to desired consistency. You can also bump up the nutrients in a smoothie without altering the taste. Flax-seed meal will give you extra omega-3 fats, and fiber. Spinach will give you a serving of vegetables with your breakfast. So grab some yogurt or mix up a smoothie for your next breakfast.

*Nutritional stats are an approximation. They vary slightly between brand and flavor.

Breakfast Week: Pancakes

I LOVE pancakes! I found a way to give them more fiber, and less calories. (And if any of you have whole wheat kernels stored that you don't know what to do with because you don't have a wheat grinder -- that was me until Christmas -- here's a solution for you.)

Whole Wheat Blender Pancakes

1 cup milk
1 cup Wheat kernels
blend in the blender 4-5 minutes on high

1/2 cup egg beaters
1 Tbs Vegetable oil
2 tsp baking powder
2 Tbs sugar
1/2 tsp salt
add and blend on low

My husband won't eat pancakes so I get an extra generous serving.
1/3 of the recipe Stats: 267 calories 5.5 g fat 5 g fiber 12 g protein

For dieters, the problem with pancakes is not the pancakes themselves -- it's the butter and syrup you bathe them in. I've looked at all the syrup bottles in the store, and everyone of them seems to have about 200 calories for a serving! (Even the fruity ones.) I've bought and tried a sugar free syrup sweetened with Splenda. It only has 30 calories, but I'd be lying if I told you I liked the taste of it. So why not make your pancakes ultra healthy and super special by topping them with fresh strawberries instead of syrup?

THIS is how I LOVE my pancakes!

Breakfast Week: cereal

Welcome to Breakfast Week!

A whole week of breakfast tips and recipes!

(You all eat breakfast right?!)
Skipping meals slows down your metabolism and makes you more likely to overeat at other times of the day.

Breakfast Week Day 1: All cereal is not created equal!

Have you ever gotten one of those tiny single serving boxes of cereal, poured it in your bowl, and were shocked to see that one box was about half a normal serving? I've been there, but actually it was a single serving. If that amount of cereal seems preposterous to you, you are probably eating several servings of cereal in one sitting. I'm kind of compulsive about it, but now I ALWAYS measure my cereal, according to the serving size on the side of the box.

Some truths about ALL cereal:
1. It's a fairly low-calorie way to get a serving of grains.
2. It's fortified with essential vitamins and minerals.
3. Americans eat so much of it that stores devote a whole isle for cereal!

Some things I look for when choosing a cereal:
1. Calories -- if there's only 100-120 it's not going to satisfy your appetite for long.
2. Sugar -- if there is a lot of sugar, as soon as the sugar high wears off, your hunger will strike.
3. Protein -- some cereals are fortified with protein to help curb your hunger, ultimately giving you more balance in your breakfast. (This is important if you are having a mostly carbohydrate breakfast.)

Some of my favorite cereals:
1. Kashi GoLean Crunch
Check out the fiber and protein!
This cereal comes in at about 190 calories and it is the BEST at keeping me full until lunch!

I love Kashi perhaps because I buy into their advertising, perhaps because there are so many unusual grains in their products that I feel exotic and super-healthy eating them.


2. I also like Kashi Heart to Heart Oat Flakes and Wild Blueberry Clusters


3. Kellogg's Frosted-Mini Wheats
They actually have a respectable amount of fiber and protein.


4. If I'm in a cereal rut, I will go for a lower calorie cereal (Wheaties or Rice Crispies), but I'll add bananas or berries on top. It's delicious and "healthy," but I guarantee that by 10:00am I'll be ravenously hungry and tempted to grab a snack.

That's it! You have no excuse NOT to eat breakfast because it doesn't get much quicker than cereal. What is your favorite cereal?