Spanish Chicken

Tonight's dinner was SOOOO good! SPANISH CHICKEN with zucchini and couscous..

It was delicious!

Coating Mixture

Coating Ingredients

• 1 Cup Ground Almonds
• 1/4 Cup Ground Flax Seed
• 1/4 Cup Paprika
• Sea Salt, Black Pepper, Parsley, Oregano

Mix together in a bowl.

Stuffing Ingredients

• 1/4 Cup Minced Olives
• 1/4 Cup Minced Red Bell Pepper
• 1 Tbsp Minced Onion
• 1 Tbsp Minced Garlic
• 1 Tbsp EVOO
• 1/2 Lemon Juiced
• Garlic Salt, Black Pepper, Parsley

Heat oil in pan with onions and garlic. Once onions become translucent, add additional stuffing ingredients until cooked.

 

Next, butterfly your chicken breasts, and put stuffing mixture in each one. Close them, and coat with coating mixture (above).

Warm EVOO in another pan and brown both sides of coated chicken. Put chicken in 350 degree oven for approximately 20-25 minutes.

While they are baking, steam zucchini with garlic salt, pepper and EVOO...

 

Couscous was heated up with EVOO until browned, then chicken broth, parsley and garlic salt was added until all the broth was soaked up.

 

Finished Product

 

This recipe is for 2 servings. 1 Serving came in at 276 calories with 7g fat, 35g carbs, 29g protein.

Portabella Mushroom Sandwiches

Yes, I've been slacking over my busy weekend..

Since today was another BUSY day, I made a really simple dinner.. I took two portabella mushroom caps and marinated them in 1/4 cup balsamic vinegar, 2 tbsp olive oil, basil, oregano, garlic salt and minced garlic. Then, I put them in a skillet with the remaining mixture for about 4 minutes a side, popped some Ezekiel toast in the toaster, and made a sandwich. Portabella mushrooms are a great substitute for meat as it tastes and feels very "meaty" when cooked. Took about 10 minutes from start to finish!

 

Simple and delicious... even if it doesn't look like it.

Kickin The Soda Habit

Back in the day, I loved soda.. First, 7up and Sprite.. Then, when I started "dieting", Diet Coke was my go-to. Soda is soda. Plain and simple. It's all bad for you!! I was able to kick soda easily.. I am a "cold turkey" type of person. A good substitute if you HAVE to have your bubbly are.. Sparkling Ice beverages. They have the bubbly, but no sugar, calories, OR aspartame (the killer in Diet sodas & Sweet N Low). You can get them in bulk from Costco.

The goods.. and a little insight to my fridge, as this is what it looks like ALL the time!

Baked Basil Chicken

Last night's dinner was not so successful as my fish went back before I was able to eat it! =(

However, tonight's was GREAT! It was baked basil chicken with cherry tomatoes over spinach and brown rice.

Ingredients

• 2-3 chicken breasts
• 1/2 cup chicken broth
• 1/4 cup balsamic vinegar
• 1 cup cherry tomatoes
• Fresh basil

Directions
 
Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Put chicken into baking dish with broth and vinegar. Place tomatoes on top of chicken, and sprinkle fresh basil. Bake for 25 minutes or until chicken is fully cooked.

Ready to go in the oven!

I used spinach as my next layer, however you could use any greens you want. I started by heating olive oil in a pan, putting in spinach, then I made a sauce of balsamic vinegar, garlic salt, pure honey, and dijon mustard. When the spinach was almost done, I let it finish cooking in the sauce.

Brown rice cooking up top. Oil for spinach in the larger skillet.

 

The sauce

Brown rice was my bottom layer!

The finished product!

It was even Ashley approved! I'll definitely be making this again sometime!

Tofu Lettuce Wraps

It has been a heck of a weekend! We've sold 4 horses in the last 72 hours, and have an offer on another one in our barn.. Not too shabby!

At the beach!

It was a GREAT Sunday Funday. Cubby stayed the last two nights with us, and it was a great time! Today started (yes, started) with lunch at Panera Bread, then a Starbucks stop, Manicure/Pedicure, grocery shopping for the week, lounging on the beach and then this great dinner:

Cubby & Ashley

Ingredients 

• 1 tbsp chili-garlic sauce
• 1 1/2 tsp sesame oil
• 3 tbsp low-sodium soy sauce
• 1/2 cup hoisin sauce
• 2 tbsp rice vinegar
• firm tofu (I used 1/2 a block)
• 2 tbsp olive oil
• 2 tbsp minced garlic
• 4 scallions, thinly sliced
• 1 head butter lettuce
• 1 red bell pepper
• 1/4 cup chopped peanuts

Directions


Assemble the sauce: whisk together chili-garlic sauce, sesame oil, soy sauce, hoisin sauce, and vinegar in a bowl.

Mince tofu and set aside.

Heat oil in large skillet over medium heat. Add garlic and scallions for 2-3 minutes.

Add tofu, chopped peanuts and diced red bell pepper and stir for 4-5 minutes.

Add sauce to skillet and simmer.

Serve.

Stats for WHOLE recipe (not per serving) came to 304 calories, 17g fat, 24g carb, 18g protein.

Salmon, Chickpeas & Spinach over Brown Rice

I swear that there will be horse tips on here soon, but for tonight.. Dinner was great again!

I try to mix up my week with fish, chicken, steak and tofu.. occasionally ground turkey. Tonight, I made salmon with chickpeas and spinach over some brown rice.

Ingredients

• 1 tbsp parsley or 1 bunch flat-leaf parsley
• 1 chopped garlic clove
• 1 tbsp EVOO
• 2 boneless, skinless salmon filets (mine were 3 oz. each)
• Sea salt and ground pepper
• Crushed red pepper flakes
• 2 cups spinach
• 1 cup canned chickpeas, drained/rinsed
• 1/2 cup brown rice

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Cut out two large pieces of wax paper.
2. Put parsley, garlic and EVOO in a blender until it becomes a thick paste.
3. Season salmon filets with salt and crushed red pepper flakes.
4. Put paste on fish. Divide spinach and chickpeas among wax paper. Season with sea salt and pepper.
5. Place fish on mixture, and fold wax paper over to create a pouch.
6. Bake in a pan for 10-12 minutes. Unwrap and serve over brown rice.

Stats come to 356 calories, 8.6g fat, 38g carbs, 26g protein.

Healthy Snacks

During the day, I like to eat five times spread throughout the day.. Usually, that is breakfast, snack, lunch, snack, dinner with a work out between my breakfast and snack, OR breakfast, lunch, snack, dinner, snack with a work out between my dinner and snack. Here are some of the healthy snacks that I turn to:

Nature Valley Bar in any flavor (source)

Starbucks Hummus Bistro Box (source) or hummus with whole grain crackers, sliced vegetables, sliced meat, multi-grain pita chips, wheat tortillas, wheat bread or wheat pitas

Apples with Nut Butter (Peanut, Almond, Cashew, Sunflower Seed, Walnut, or Pecan) (source)

Beef Jerky (source)

HEALTHY Trail Mix & Unsalted Mixed Nuts (source)

Protein Shake (Post Work Out ONLY) (source) More on these later!

And obviously any sort of raw fruits and vegetables that you like.. I am a big fan of bananas, oranges/cuties, blueberries, blackberries, strawberries, raspberries, grapes, nectarines, peaches, pineapple and watermelon.

In fact.. this was my "birthday cake" from my aunt in 2008....

The other was a vegan carrot cake from a friend.. THAT was delicious also!

What are YOUR favorite go-to snacks?

Healthy Fish Tacos

Tonight's dinner was awesome! We had fish tacos with halibut that was cooked on the stove with olive oil and seasonings. High fiber, low carb whole wheat tortillas were heated up, and filled with black beans, onion, cilantro, avocado and salsa. You can use any mild white fish: mahi mahi, halibut, cod, sea bass, etc.

Left to right: Halibut, Cilantro, Onion, Avocado, Salsa, Lemon, Black Beans

It was a great and healthy meal! For two tacos, it was 291 calories, 7g fat, 36g carbs, 37g protein.

Work Out Music

If I don't have great work out music, I literally cannot work out. I can't just watch TV or talk to someone, I need music! Here are the songs that I've been working it out to lately:

• Take Over Control - AfroJack
• Motivation - Kelly Rowland
• Love You Like A Love Song - Selena Gomez
• Lights (Bassnectar Remix) - Ellie Goulding
• Release Me - Agnes
• Cinema - Benny Benassi
• L'amour Toujour - Gigi d'Agostino
• Bring Night - Sia
• Smile - Avril Lavigne
• I Just Wanna Run - The Downtown Fiction
• Hello - Martin Solveig & Dragonette

What are your favorite work out songs as of late?

How I Ate My Way Through Italy

Anyone who knows me knows that I'm pretty specific on what I will and won't eat. When I said that I was going to Italy, I had many remarks on how I wouldn't be able to eat healthy... of course, I was very open to the challenge! 

Dinner on the river in Rome, Italy

Yes, Italy is full of pasta, bread, pizza and let's not forget gelato.. but I have no problem not eating those things. Italy's culture also has 3-4 hour lunches and dinners full of antipasti, first courses, second courses, dessert, espresso, and of course WINE & Grappa (basically Moonshine made from grapes, or Kirsch if it's made from cherries, which is more of a German thing)! Coming back home, I had never been so happy to make my own meals!

Family dinner in Stresa, Italy

While I did find whole grain pasta on a menu on my last day in Rome, I mostly rotated between grilled chicken, grilled steak and grilled fish (seabass, trout, swordfish, and salmon) with vegetables for lunch and dinner. Antipasti was grilled zucchini and eggplant. I also had wheat bread if it was available in the bread basket, and if I had dessert, I would have fresh fruit (in season was nectarines and cherries). One glass of wine was indulged in, as well as espresso after dinner! I was a bit surprised when grilled fish would come out like this...

My first thought was.. What do I do with this!?!

On the first Thursday that we were there, we had our "family reunion" in Veglio, where my dad bought the house that his grandfather grew up in.. it is 900 years young (which really is young when you're talking Italian structures!). It was a feast! I had salad with vinegar, the meat sauce that went on polenta (that I didn't eat), lamb, chicken, red wine, grappa and espresso! I also had fruit for dessert.

The family reunion "feast" in a church in Veglio

Anyone who knows me also know that I don't do anything with milk in it.. that includes cheese, some breads, some protein bars, etc. There are a few reasons for this.. 1. It bothers me, even as a baby I was on soy formula. 2. When my dad was body building, he met with Franco Columbo, Arnold Schwarzenegger's work out buddy, as well as Mr. Olympia in 1976 and 1981, who gave him some insight on the fact that the human body cannot naturally breakdown the proteins in milk, which causes it to leave a layer of fat directly under the skin. 3. I'm not really that crazy about it anyway! More on that later! So, since I needed some milk with my espresso and coffee in the morning, my dad and I hiked our way to supermarkets in Stresa, Venice AND Rome just to get "Soya Milk"... meaning that there are lactose intolerant Italians out there!

Desperate times calls for desperate measures

Aside from the food and wine, my Italy trip was full of planes, trains and automobiles! I also had a day in Milan where I saw some beautiful Arabian horses at two of the Boscarino Studs. The culture is not like anything I have ever seen before, and the history and architecture in Rome doesn't even look real! Definitely something that I will never ever forget...

Ciao!

A Great Dinner

I made an awesome dinner tonight! It consisted of salad with vinaigrette dressing, israeli couscous and chicken and zucchini kebabs. Couscous is used the same as brown rice or quinoa would be, however it is a semolina of whole wheat. They're my best friend, business partner and roommate's favorite "side"! I took two boneless skinless chicken breasts, cut into 1" cubes and marinated it in olive oil, garlic salt, parsley, Cavender's greek seasoning, and paprika. Then, I cut two small zucchinis and threaded them and the chicken simultaneously onto bamboo sticks. I used a George Foreman grill and cooked for 4 minutes, then flipped them and cooked another 4 minutes until the chicken was done!

Green Salad w/ Vinaigrette Dressing, Couscous, Chicken & Zucchini Kebabs

This meal weighed in at 286 calories, 3g fat, 36g carbs, 29g protein.

It ended up being EXCELLENT! Pretty simple and turned out amazing! I swear.. ever since I came home from Italy, I'm a better cook!

Ciao!

Welcome

Well, here goes! I've been meaning to start this blog for a while as I've always had people interested in different things that I do.. specifically my eating and exercise habits, as well as horse tips, such as clipping, training, etc. I'm very specific in the way that I do things.. not sure if that's a good thing or a bad thing, others might refer to it as OCD! Just kidding.. sort of.

I'm just getting things set up, so it might be a little slow, but the types of things that you will find here are recipes, training tips, fitness and health information, product reviews, etc. I am not a registered dietitian, or certified in fitness, so this information is just off of personal experience and what I do that works for me! Listen to your own body and do what works for you.

Ciao!