It's a new year and it's the perfect time to start over! Those holiday cakes, cookies, and candy were amazing, and I mean AMAZING, but the holiday weight has got to go and we've got to get back on track with a healthy life style!
Motivator:
Have any of you heard of or watched the documentary called, "Forks over knives"? In a nutshell it is about how you can control and even reverse disease by eating a whole foods, plant based diet. Watch it and you"ll go vegan for at least 2 days. ;) My husband and I watched it and I think we were vegan for maybe 2 weeks...ha ha! Needless to say it REALLY changes your outlook on what your putting into your body. If your a netflix user you can watch it for free using netflix instant watch or I think you can rent it on Amazon instant video.
http://www.forksoverknives.com/
So, since my husband and I didn't quite have what it takes to be true vegans, we decided to really try to cut down on our intake of animal products. I.e. eggs, milk, yogurt, meat, cheese, etc.
I no longer use meat as a main dish item and try to not have more than 2 dinners a week where we use meat. If vegan products and health food as a whole wasn't so expensive, I think I could be vegan but all those cheese, yogurt, and milk substitutes are SO expensive and with 3 little kiddos at home, we have to really watch the grocery budget.
Alright, so, eating healthy is not easy, right? What to eat? How many calories to consume? good/bad carbs, good/bad fats. So much to think about so don't think about it. Let me plan your meals. ;) I love to cook healthy food and I've done quite a bit of research on healthful living and weight loss. As you know, I've had 3 babies and gained a good amount of weight with each of them. I gained 55lbs with my first child and was able to get the weight off with diet and exercise alone. No I do not have fast metabolism and no I'm not just "lucky". I can gain 5lbs with the snap of my fingers. Soon and very soon I'll be posting the "skinny rules" that I follow and giving you some tips and tricks to help you meet your weight loss goals along with my own person meal plans with what I eat for breakfast, lunch, dinner, and snacks but for now I'll just plan your dinners. ;)
Warning:
The meals are not for the picky eater. I've tried helping picky eaters plan healthy meals before and I just can't do it. ha! Branch out and try new things. You just might like it. After the list of meals I have a recipe for a healthy sweet treat to get you through the week.
Here are your dinners:
Monday: Quinoa salad (one of our faves)http://www.eating-for-england.com/quinoa-salad-beans-avocado/
-For my kiddos, who aren't thrilled with the strong tastes of garlic and onions, I usually set aside a bit of quinoa for them along with some of the cubed avocado, diced tomato, and black beans. I squirt a bit of lime juice, olive oil, and salt and pepper over it, give it a stir and that's the kid version of this meal. I slice up some apples and maybe some carrot sticks and ranch dressing for their sides.
Tuesday: Turkey and spinach meatballs over spaghetti squash
http://thediva-dish.com/uncategorized/hubby-meals-simple-turkey-meatballs-over-spaghetti-squash/
-If you've never tried using spaghetti squash in place of normal spaghetti, I think you'll be pleasantly surprised! It tastes wonderful and excludes all the many calories and carbs that pasta contains.
-I'm making these meatballs (link below) rather than the one's in the above link. These I've tried before and are really good, I've never tried the others before.
http://homecookingmemories.com/baked-turkey-meatballs-with-spinach-10-ideas-for-meatballs/
Wednesday: Roasted veggie tostadas with chipotle cream sauce (One of our favorite meals)
http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/giada-de-laurentiis/roasted-vegetable-tostadas-with-chipotle-cream-recipe/index.html
-We use whole wheat tortillas or if you're watching your carb intake you can use lettuce to make a lettuce wrap.
Thursday: Roasted tomato and cannellini bean pasta
http://www.forksoverknives.com/roasted-tomato-and-cannellini-bean-pasta/
I'll serve mine with a side of steamed veggies of choice. Our favorite is broccoli.
-This is a new recipe that I look forward to trying. I haven't cooked much with beans before, besides black beans, and I look forward to cooking more often with beans rather than meat.
Friday: Chicken and lime soup
http://www.budgetbytes.com/2012/10/chicken-lime-soup/
-I add 1 can of black beans (drained and rinsed) and about 2 cups cooked quinoa or brown rice. (1 cup uncooked) My kiddos liked using tortilla chips to dip into the soup and we crumbled a few to top.
Saturday: Chickpea burgers with baked sweet potato fries
http://www.forksoverknives.com/sneaky-chickpea-burgers/
http://www.ariellelikestocook.com/home/2014/1/9/sweet-potato-fries-with-tahini-aioli
-I would use whole wheat hamburger buns or to limit the carbs you could wrap it in lettuce or sliced it up over spinach for a salad with dressing of choice. This is a vegan recipe so if you're not vegan and want to spice it up a bit, add a low fat slice of cheese.
Sunday: Egg white sandwiches with avocado, turkey bacon, and tomato (simple meal)
No link to a recipe for this one. It's pretty self explanatory. I usually use 2 pieces of toast and scramble about 3-4 egg whites. I like to use "quick whites" because it's just easier than cracking eggs and trying not to get the yoke in the skillet. salt and pepper the eggs and top with sliced roma tomato, sliced avocado and a slice or two of turkey bacon. There will be plenty of flavor, you won't need to add cheese. Don't get me wrong, I love my cheese but if you're watching your fat and calorie intake, skipping the cheese is a good choice. You can get fat free shredded cheddar or a shredded vegan cheese at your local grocery store if you HAVE to have it. ;)
Sweet treat for the week: Peanut butter balls
http://thediva-dish.com/desserts/peanut-butter-pong-balls/
These are awesome! The husband, myself and the kids love this healthy sweet treat! They taste like peanut butter cookie dough. I made a few change's to the recipe. I did not use chocolate chips, instead I used cocoa almonds instead of the regular almonds so that the chocolatey taste got into the balls without the sugar and fat that's in chocolate chips. I couldn't find dates at the store so I used figs and they still taste great. I'm sure you could also use prunes. Also, the price of pure maple syrup is a bit steep for me so you can use honey instead. These are roughly 96 calories a ball. (depending on how big you roll your balls) I already had sweetened coconut on hand so I didn't buy any unsweetened but using the unsweetened will save you a lot of fat and calories.
Enjoy!
Love,
Melinda
P.S. If you try any of these recipes, let me know what you think. I'd like to know also if you changed anything or swapped out ingredients.
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