Margarita Pizza Pasta

Two of my favorite foods are pizza and pasta so why not make a dish that combines both.  This pasta dish was so amazingly good that it will defiantly be on repeat!

Ingredients

1 cup 150 Cal Penne Pasta

1 Tbsp Fresh Basil

1 Tsp Olive oil

1/8 teaspoon black pepper

1/8 teaspoon salt

2 oz Turkey Kielbasa (chopped)

1 Fresh tomato

2 Garlic Cloves

1 Table spoon Mozzarella shredded cheese


Directions 

Begin by thinly slicing the tomatoes and placing them in a saucepan
Add 1 teaspoons olive oil to the saucepan and cook the tomatoes on medium heat
Cook the tomatoes until they begin to break down
Add in Turkey Kielbasa and sautee until brown
Meanwhile cook penne pasta according to package directions
Chop up your fresh basil
Once pasta is finished cooking drain and then mix in the saucepan with the tomatoes
Mix in the mozzarella cheese and half of the basil
Serve and garnish with additional basil

Enjoy!




Total Calories 407

Homemade Egg White Delight!

Happy Friday!!!  

Every Friday my hubby and I would have what we called Breakfast Friday.    What Breakfast Friday meant was we would go pick up breakfast from Panera, Corner bakery and mostly McDonald's.   Now granted when we went to McDonald's we would get the Egg White Delight which is not the worst thing on the menu but it's also not the healthiest either.   After doing this for months we decided to try recreate the Egg White Delight at home and that is what we did!!!

Now Breakfast Friday consist of a much healthier version of the Egg White Delight.  Not only does it save on calories but also saves on money!

Ingredients

1 Light Multi Grain English Muffin toasted

2 Egg whites from large egg

1 slice reduced fat Cheddar Cheese

1 slice Canadian bacon

Directions

Cook egg whites in skillet, I use the egg rings to make the egg nice and round.

Cook Canadian bacon in same skillet

Toast English muffin

Layer English Muffin with egg white, Canadian bacon and cheese

Total Calories: 214

Overnight Oats

Who doesn't love overnight oats?   This is one meal I have pretty much every morning.  Not only are they so simple to make but the possibilities are endless.    The best part is that I make them the night before and they are ready for me to grab and go in the morning.

Here is one of my new favorite combinations.

Ingredients

1/3 cup Old Fashion Oatmeal

Water to soak up oats (may use skim milk)
2 pumps Jordyn’s Cinnamon vanilla syrup

1 pinch cinnamon

½ banana

2 strawberries

Sprinkle of Special K Nourish Coconut Cranberry Almond cereal

Directions

Mix oatmeal with water just enough to wet the oats.   You can also use skim milk if you prefer.

add 2 pumps of Jordyn's cinnamon vanilla syrup and a pinch of cinnamon and mix together.  Let sit overnight.

When ready to eat,  top oats with sliced banana and strawberries then sprinkle with Special K Nourish Coconut Cranberry almond cereal.

Total Calories:  200

Last night's dinner

Unstuffed Pepper Skillet

Ingredients

1/4 pound ground turkey
1/4 cup brown rice
1/4 cup unsalted chicken stock
1/2 red bell pepper (chopped)
1 garlic glove (minced)
1/2 cup yellow onion (chopped)
1/2 cup canned diced tomato
1/8 cup reduced fat shredded cheddar
1/8 teaspoon salt
1/8 teaspoon pepper
1tsp olive oil
1tsp parsley

Cooking Instructions

1. Heat olive oil in a skillet over medium heat.  Add onion , pepper and garlic.  Stir occasionally.  Add ground turkey and season with salt and pepper.  Cook until browned.

2. Stir in tomatoes and chicken stock.  Bring to a low simmer.

3. In the meantime cook the rice separately.

4. Add the rice to the skillet and let simmer for a few minutes.

5.  Remove from skillet and top with shredded cheddar and parsley.

*The parsley is slightly over powering so you may want to omit it or put just a tiny bit for flavor.

Total Calories:  458

My Journey

All my life I have struggled with my weight.  I tried many "so called diets".   I tried the cabbage diet, the 3 day diet,  I took diet pills and I even came down to starving myself just so I could lose some weight.    Of course it worked at the time but as soon as I went back to eating normal I gained it all back plus more.   

It was in my early twenties when I reached my heaviest weight.  At 5"3 I weighed almost 170 pounds.   I couldn't fit in any of my clothes anymore.  I was embarrassed by the way I looked to the point where I didn't even want to leave the house.   I became very depressed.   I decided I needed to get serious and commit myself to losing weight so I joined Weight Watchers Online.  While on Weight Watchers I did lose 20 pounds but I was limiting myself to certain foods and I didn't want to have to be on the program for the rest of my life.  I did that for awhile and decided to try it again on my own.

I was able to maintain the weight but I felt that I still had more to lose.   About two years ago I decided to join a Zumba class which I absolutely loved.  I enjoyed going and I felt like I was doing something.  However, I came to quickly realize that working out was just not enough.   I took two classes a week but I wasn't seeing any changes.  I wasn't gaining any weight but I also was not losing.

 About six months ago I decided it was time to make a real change, a permanent change and that is when I changed my eating habits.   I am actually eating more food now than I ever have, but it's the right food.   I have added a lot of vegetables and fruits and healthy proteins to my diet and I am always satisfied.  I never feel hungry.    Now do I stick to just healthy food 100% of the time?  No.  I do have my occasional not so healthy food but in moderation.    I have not given up anything.  I still eat my favorites bread, cheese and pasta but I either find healthy alternatives or I have it in moderation.  I 've been following this diet, well let's not call it a diet,   this lifestyle change for almost 6 months and I have lost 30 pounds.   I am the lightest I have ever been in my adult life and I couldn't feel better!   I finally found something that works for me.  I don't feel like I am missing out on anything because if I want it I have it but just a little bit.  This lifestyle change I can stick to for the rest of my life.

I enjoy this lifestyle so much that I want to share it all with you.   Who says eating healthy is hard or that you can't eat delicious meals.  On this blog I will take you on my journey.  I will share some of my favorite recipes and tips and you too will be surprised how easy it can be.   

Just to give an idea of the changes I made I will share this embarrassing picture of myself.

The picture on the left was taken a year ago and the picture on the right is most recent.  I never really realized how much of a difference there was until I flipped through old photo's.  Looking at these pictures encourage me to continue on this journey.