Day 28, January 28th, 2012 Props to my husband! And a day off!

Did you know J is the best omelet maker in the world!  No joke!  He definitely has mad omelet making skills!  

This day I got to take a day off from cooking and we had a big salad at Sweet Tomatoes!!  Yum!  I controlled myself and only had 1 bowl of soup.  No potato and no chocolate chip cookies!  :(

They have a really good couscous there with black beans, tomatoes, and scallions.  I'm going to try to replicate it at home.  I think I like couscous better than quinoa. 

Day 27, January 27th, 2012 Stuffed Cabbage Casserole

So good...  I will be making this again and again.  J asked for more cabbage and so I think I provided with this recipe.  

Stuffed Cabbage Casserole

I followed the recipe exactly except I used ground turkey and maybe 3/4's cup of cheese.

E ate a peanut butter and jelly sandwich with peas.  I tried to get him to eat some brown rice and some turkey mixture by itself but he was being picky this day!

Day 26, January 26th, 2012 Chicken Burgers

Part of my eating healthy fast is no fast food!  I got into the habit of stopping and getting a hamburger at least once a week so it's been hard to just say no!  I've been craving a hamburger lately and I thought I should try to find a healthy alternative.  I started out wanting a turkey burger but recipe searching I found this one and gave it a try.  I could not have been more satisfied.  I just think it was too good it couldn't have been healthy...

Chicken Burgers with Garlic-Rosemary Mayo

I followed the recipe except that I only used 1/3 cup of low fat mayo and about 1.3 pounds of ground chicken.  I grilled them on the stove on my grill pan.  We didn't have any extra mayo and we ate them without a bun.  They were 5 star delicious!!!  

(My guilt comes in that I don't know what the fat % was in the ground chicken.  Next time I'm going to try turkey.)

Sweet Potato Fries

E ate a chicken burger on bread.  I don't remember if he ate any fries.  He has in the past.  

Day 25, January 25th, 2012 Cod baked in foil packets

Today we had baked cod with potatoes and asparagus.  I felt like I was eating really healthy tonight.  I can say that I've never sat down and had baked fish for dinner.  This is branching out for me.  I felt like I've made some improvements by adding fish to my diet!

Cod baked in foil packets

No recipe for this one.  I microwaved the red potatoes for 5 minutes then cut them in quarters.  I placed half of them on top of one square of foil and the other half on the other square.  I then placed the fish and then the asparagus.  I drizzled with olive oil and greek seasoning.  I wrapped it all up in the foil and baked it at 400 degrees for 30 minutes.  Everything was cooked perfect.  (As far as I know because I've never baked fish before!  But I think about my Chopped show on The Food Network and what the judges would have said about my fish...probably too overcooked for them.  Who knows?!)

I will say that I had to add more salt and pepper to everything on my plate.  It was a bit bland for my taste buds.  We got out the ketchup too for the potatoes.  The asparagus was perfect though!

E ate fish and I baked him a sweet potato.  I'm thankful he likes fish.

Day 24, January 24, 2012 Crock Pot Chicken Parmesan + Home-made chicken nuggets

The first picture below was home-made chicken nuggets and honey mustard dip I made for E for lunch.  They were very delicious and healthy.  I felt much better feeding these to him than the ones out of the bag.  Now do I have time everyday to un-thaw chicken and fry up some nuggets?  No, but if I'm going to do a crock pot meal with chicken I can start the recipe at lunch and cut off a little chicken for nuggets.  Some people make a bunch of nuggets and then freeze them.  I guess I could do that too! 

Homemade Chicken Nuggets

Tuesday is Life Group day and so I needed something easy that makes a lot.  I saw this recipe as I was looking at another recipe on the same website.  I decided to give this a try.  Everyone said it was good but I thought it was ok.  It might have been the 100% whole wheat pasta that made it taste not so good.  The chicken itself fell apart but the sauce was funny tasting to me.  I don't know...judge for yourself.  

Crock Pot Chicken Parmesan

Day 23, January 23rd, 2012 Chicken Cordon Bleu

This is a repeat protein from Day 8.  It was just as good this time as the first.  The side dishes were wild rice pilaf and roasted brussels and asparagus.   

E ate chicken and rice.  

Day 22, January 22nd, 2012 Grilled Fish Tacos

I have to say that eating healthy is not so bad!  I still get my tex-mex fix but not with all the cheese and dairy!  This meal was so full of flavor.  Lots of lime and cilantro.  Bold flavors I really enjoy.  We went to Costco and got the cod out of the freezer section.  I have never been a fish eater but this tasted nothing like fish.  It was like a less chewy chicken and less fattening.

Grilled Fish Tacos

This is the recipe that got the ball rolling after we bought the fish.  I didn't follow it though.  I cut the cod in chunks.  I then marinated it in lime juice, honey, lime zest, s&p, garlic powder, and olive oil and then placed in the fridge until ready to grill.  I then grilled it on my stovetop grill pan.  I used the fiber & flax white corn tortillas again and the jalapeno greek yogurt (refer to day 13).  

(I didn't make the dressing the recipe calls for.  I didn't really do anything the recipe calls for.  It was inspiration!)

Fiesta Lime Rice

I made this as a side dish again.  It is so good with the long grain brown rice.  I would highly recommend checking it out if you haven't.  Also, check out day 5 for my tips on this side dish.  

E ate fish, black beans, and avocado.  

Day 21, January 21st, 2012 Tuscan Veggie Soup and Pizza

This day is an exact repeat of Day 17.  We really like the vegetable soup and plan on having it all the time.  This time I didn't put the beans in it.  The pizza was just non-fat mozzarella and fresh garlic this time.  Pretty simple meal and scrumptious!

I forgot to take a picture!  Whoops!

E ate pizza.

Day 20, January 20th, 2012 Spiced Chipotle Honey Chicken

This meal was a huge success.  I can't wait to make this again.  It was a little spicy with the chipotle peppers but it was delicious.

Spiced Chipotle Honey chicken with Sweet Potatoes
I followed the directions except only using two chicken breasts.  It is spicy!  The potatoes were so good!

E ate chicken that had been rinsed.  I also made him some mashed sweet potatoes.

Day 19, January 19th, 2012 Grilled Chicken with Roasted Brussels & Squash

I marinated the chicken in sun dried tomato salad dressing.  I grilled it on the stove.  I roasted the brussels and butternut squash together with olive oil, s&p, and a drizzle of balsamic vinegar.  We also opened a can of green beans!

E ate the chicken and green beans.

Day 18, January 18th, 2012 Healthy Spaghetti

I need to find some new recipes!  This is the same version we had the first week of our fast.  I enjoyed it again.  I'm thankful for this brand of spaghetti.  

E ate spaghetti and 1 and 1/2 pieces of bread and butter.

Day 17, January 17th, 2012 Tuscan Style Vegetable Soup and Home-made pizza

This is life group night so I cook for Poppy and GiGi too.  GiGi is only eating vegetables and fruits right now so I chose to make her the soup.  I knew that would not be enough for Poppy and the rest of the family so I made pizza again.  Both were big hits.

Tuscan Style Vegetable Soup

I followed the recipe except for adding a can of fire roasted tomatoes instead of a fresh tomato.  I didn't add any cheese.  It was very fresh tasting and easy to make.  

E ate pizza and peas.  (and a huge amount of Teddy Grahams...thanks Poppy & GiGi!)  ;)

Day 16, January 16th, 2012 Bruschetta Chicken and Broccoli Slaw

I enjoyed the bruschetta chicken the first time we had it so we are having it again tonight.  I actually found some basil at central market which made it even better.  I have been using my meat thermometer that Michelle showed us and I really like not overcooking my chicken!  Thanks Michelle!  

The broccoli slaw was a healthy spin on Joan's Broccoli Madness from Sweet Tomatoes.  

Bruschetta Chicken

Broccoli Slaw

I don't have a recipe for this one but I'll tell you how I made it.  I got a small bag of broccoli slaw from Wal-mart.  I put that in a bowl with some raisins, red onion, 5 strips of turkey bacon fried, and a sprinkle of sesame seeds (which was when I discovered the fat content of those little things!).  Here's where I changed how I would normally make this, the dressing!  I would usually use mayo and sugar.  Instead I made the dressing out of 1/2 cup non-fat greek yogurt, 1 small pack of sweet n low, and 1 tablespoon white wine vinegar.  I mixed it all together and poured it over the slaw mix.  Added s&p and chilled it.  

I really like the raisins and turkey bacon in it.  I will make it again!  Just no sesame seeds!

E ate chicken and peas.

Day 15, January 15th, 2012 Grilled Sandwiches with Asparagus Soup and Kale Chips

Today was a day of experiments.  I have always wanted to try kale chips so we did.  I also saw a recipe on The Neely's for asparagus soup.  I really like asparagus so I wanted to give that a try.  I also got a panini press for Christmas that I wanted to break out.  Soup and sandwich go great together so dinner came together nice!

Kale Chips
These turned out great.  They tasted a lot like roasted broccoli.  They had a nice texture and were really crispy.  J didn't like the lemon on them.  Also, I didn't realize how much fat are in those little toasted sesame seeds!  Caution!

Asparagus Soup
This soup was delicious!  I didn't have a shallot so I used onion.  I also didn't have half and half so I put a little cream that was expired in my fridge!  I thought I would get one last use out of it before I threw out 3/4 of the bottle.  I used maybe 1 and 1/2 tablespoons.  I used my vitamix blender to blend everything together.  Keeper!

Grilled Sandwich
I put the link to my sandwich griddler.  We used healthy bread, roast beef, low fat cheese, and low fat mayo.  We loaded it up with tomato, avocado, and spinach.  They were good but I felt guilty eating roast beef and cheese!  Even though I only used a little of each.  I should have felt worse about the sesame seeds and cream.  Let's just say I worked out on the treadmill this night for sure!

E ate a grilled sandwich too.  He would NOT eat a chip but he took one bite of the asparagus soup.  He wasn't a fan.

Day 14, January 14th, 2012 Day off - Central Market Cafe

We decided to go out for dinner tonight after church.  I needed a break from all the cooking!

Central Market Cafe is where we decided to go.  J had a salmon salad and I had 1/2 grilled chicken sandwich and chicken tortilla soup.  I love their tortilla soup!  I took the cheese off of both my dishes.

E ate grilled chicken pizza.  

Day 13, January 13th, 2012 Taco Salad

This might be my favorite meal so far in this eating healthy fast.  The chicken was fantastic.  I attempted black beans and they turned out soft and tasty.  I found a couple of tasty healthy substitutions and dinner came together perfect.  My two subs were La Tortilla Factory white corn tortilla's with fiber and flax and skotidakis jalapeno greek yogurt dip which I used as the taco salad dressing.  I got the tortillas at Tom Thumb and the Yogurt dip at Costco.  I noticed on the Skotidakis website they have a ranch greek yogurt dip too!  The black beans I soaked overnight and then put in the crock pot the next day with 6 cloves of minced garlic and cooked on high for 5 hours.

Cafe Rio Chicken
I followed the recipe exactly.  I cooked it in the crock pot for 6 hours.  It fell apart and was so easy to shred.  There was none left.

E ate black beans, avocado, and a cheese and turkey quesadilla.

Day 12, January 12th, 2012 Home-made pizza and salad

My friend Misty made pizza for us the other day which inspired me to try it at home.  Thanks Misty!  Hers was really tasty and I think ours turned out well too.  J & E both really liked it.  J had a hard time eating his salad because he liked the pizza so much.  

Home-made pizza - I bought a honey wheat pizza crust.  I boiled a piece of chicken breast and then let it cool, shredded it, and then added a little olive oil and s&p (Misty's tip).  Then I assembled the pizza.  Crust, olive oil, pizza sauce, chicken, (not too much) low fat mozzarella cheese, tomato, onion, fresh pressed garlic, salt, fresh cracked pepper, and red pepper flakes.  Then I baked it like the crust package says.  It was delicious!  I could have ate a whole one by myself.  But I only made one!  Healthy choice.

E ate pizza and peas.  

Day 11, January 11th, 2012 Un-Fried Chicken

We had un-fried chicken, roasted brussels sprouts and butternut squash, and wild rice pilaf.  The chicken was ok.  It is not a keeper for me so I won't post the recipe.  The wild rice pilaf was from a box.  

E ate the chicken and some rice and 'potatoes'.  Not as well as he did the other night though.

Day 10, January 10th, 2012 Crockpot Chicken Chili

This day was our first day back to life group.  I decided to do a crockpot chicken chili.  I also made a healthy cornbread.  I don't think I would eat the cornbread by itself but it was good in the chili.  The cornbread had no sugar, oil, butter, or whole eggs.  Just egg whites.  

The chili was too spicy for E so he ate a sandwich.  (Not really because Poppy & GiGi were here!)  :) But we'll pretend he did.

Day 9, January 9th, 2012 Grilled Lemon Rosemary Chicken

Today we had grilled lemon rosemary chicken, crash potatoes, and green beans. 

Grilled lemon rosemary chicken

No recipe.  Just throw some chicken breast in a bag with some fresh squeezed lemon, olive oil, fresh rosemary, and s&p.  Let it marinade for however long you want.  I did 1.5 hours today.  Then grill it.  I grilled it on the stovetop.  The only advice I give is to pound the chicken a little flat on the thicker side so it grills consistently.  

Crash Hot Potatoes

Perfect recipe.  Thanks Ree!  

E ate chicken, potatoes, and some green beans.  Not the ones I made but some out of a can!  I know...

Day 8, January 8th, 2012 Skinny Chicken Cordon Bleu

It's Sunday and our one week anniversary of eating healthy.  I thought I would have a little cheese.  Thanks Abby for this recipe for the chicken cordon bleu.  Thanks Jen for the squash recipe.  

Roasted Broccoli

So good and so easy.  I add a little red pepper flakes too.

Pan Roasted Butternut Squash

This isn't the recipe I used but don't brown the butter and add 3 tablespoons of honey to the pan and it's the same.  I only used 1.5 tablespoons of real butter and then 1.5 of diet butter.  I need to try it with all diet butter.  It's like eating potatoes but not.  E thought they were potatoes.  

Skinny Chicken Cordon Bleu

I didn't have a recipe on hand when I made this.  I didn't put a breadcrumb topping on it.  Just salt and pepper.  J has already requested it again!

E ate the 'poatoes', peas, and the chicken.  We will work on the broccoli.

Day 7, January 7th 2012 Sausage Tortellini Soup (minus the tortellini)

Today we had one of my favorites, Sausage Tortellini Soup.  I got this recipe off of Our Best Bites.  I took a meal to one of my sweet friends that just had a baby and I had everything I needed to make this soup.  I followed the recipe exactly (adding fire roasted tomatoes instead of plain and a little extra juice, tomato sauce, water, and carrots).  I took out a portion for J and me and then added the tortellini to their soup.  I then added spinach to both batches which the recipe doesn't call for.  The only way to make this even healthier is to use turkey or chicken sausage which I just didn't have.  

It is my favorite soup right now...even more than tortilla...gasp! 

E had a turkey sandwich and avocado.

Day 6, January 6th 2012 - Spaghetti (healthy style)

This day we had spaghetti and green beans.  I don't have a recipe for either but I do have the best 100% whole wheat pasta...Bionaturae.  It is by far the best tasting healthy pasta I know of.  I get it at Central Market.  I used 93/7 ground turkey and added spinach to my spaghetti.  

E ate some of the spaghetti but J got him a piece of bread and he ate a spaghetti sandwich.  

Day 5, January 5, 2012 Slow Cooker Cilantro Lime Chicken

This day we had Slow Cooker Cilantro Lime Chicken and Fiesta Lime Rice.  This day again was delicious and I'm enjoying our healthy eating.  Thank you Krista for the inspiration.

Slow Cooker Cilantro Lime Chicken
Followed the recipe except only used two chicken breasts.  Super easy and tastes great.

Fiesta Lime Rice
This is the recipe that gave me the idea of the rice.  I read it and then made my own version.  The best substitution I made was using long-grain brown rice.  I am impressed with the long-grain brown rice compared to regular brown rice.  Much better in my opinion!  Here is a link on how to cook brown rice.  How to cook brown rice. (BTW, the package of rice says to cook it for 50 minutes!  Just follow what this guy has to say on cooking rice and it will be perfect every time!)  I also grilled the corn and tomato on my grill pan.  Lastly I also added a drizzle of olive oil.  I was going to add avocado but I forgot.  It was delicious!

E ate the chicken and the rice.  He really liked it too!

Day 4, January 4, 2012 Bruschetta Chicken

This day we had Bruschetta Chicken with roasted brussels sprouts and potatoes.

I enjoyed this dish too even though we were rushing to get to church and I didn't get to savor it like I wanted to.  Also, I didn't get to put basil with the bruschetta because Wal-mart nor Tom Thumb had it. 

Bruschetta Chicken

I followed this recipe except like I said above I didn't have the basil.  I marinated the chicken for 5 hours.  I also grilled the chicken on the stovetop with a grill pan.  5 stars!

Roasted Brussels Sprouts

This is the recipe that was my inspiration for the side dish.  I really didn't follow it at all though!  

I cut the fresh brussels sprouts in half and the red potatoes into chunks.  I placed them on a baking sheet with parchment paper.  I then drizzled olive oil, salt, pepper, and greek seasoning all over and tossed.  Baked at 375 for 40 minutes.

I've already bought more brussels sprouts for the second go around!  Yum!  

FYI, Costco has nice fresh brussels.

E ate the chicken and potatoes.  I made him some peas to eat along with the other items.

(Do you notice the "dip"?  It's ketchup!  Yes, J and E love ketchup!)

Day 3, January 3, 2012 Quinoa and Turkey Stuffed Peppers

This day I did a turkey quinoa stuffed pepper with roasted balsamic cauliflower.  I really liked everything about this meal and will be making it again and again.  I have a link for both of the recipes and I'll tell you how I changed it up!  (Because obviously I can't just follow a recipe!)

Quinoa and Turkey Stuffed Peppers

First off, I cut the tops off of three peppers and took out the seeds, 2 yellow and 1 red.  Then I placed them in a glass bowl with 1/4 cup water and microwaved them for 4 minutes to soften them a little.  

I cooked the 1/2 cup quinoa in 1 cup water.  

I cooked the turkey like it says with the onions through step 6.  I skipped step 7 on the recipe and added some spaghetti sauce because I had an open jar I needed to use.  I followed the recipe from then on except I didn't add cheese to the top.  

Side note:  I like yellow bell peppers because they are sweeter than the others.  Also, this made extra turkey stuffing and so I just let E eat it in a bowl without the pepper.  (In a perfect world he would have ate this but today he didn't!  Maybe next time!)

Roasted Balsamic Cauliflower

Followed the directions for ingredients.  Let it all marinate while I was preparing the stuffed peppers.  Baked it at 400 degrees in the same oven as the peppers for 30 minutes.

Day 2, January 2, 2012 Apple Maple Glazed Chicken

This day I did an apple maple chicken in the crock pot.  I pan fried some fresh green beans in olive oil on the stove.  I also had lima beans.  J really liked the chicken.  It was really tender.  I liked the green beans a lot. (Thanks Krista!)

Apple Maple Glazed Chicken

I didn't follow the directions with the chicken.  I threw it all in the crockpot and let it cook for 4 hours.  I then just ate the chicken and left the juice in the crockpot.  I also used boneless skinless chicken breast.  I used the same ingredients other than that.

E ate the chicken and the lima beans.  He likes canned green beans but we will have to work on the fresh ones.