Week 6

Hey everybody!

We've been going strong for 6 weeks now, and we're continuing to learn more and more about how to make this program work for us.  We are also doing our best to find new and interesting things to try for our lean and green meals.  While its fun to experiment and try new foods, if you're ever experiencing a slow down or plateu in your weight loss it may be time to strip it down and keep it simple. Good old fashion chicken breast and spinach salad for a couple of days can do wonders to get you on track.  With that being said, never forget to take the time to enjoy your own journey and have a good time with it!

Shiraki Noodle bake
Ok these things REEK when you open the package. I mean like really stinky, but don't let it scare you away!
I saw an article about how the key to getting delicious Shirataki noodles is in the pre-preparation of the noodles before you throw them into a recipe. Let me share the miracle with you:

1) open the package and dump the contents into a colander/strainer over the sink.
2) Rinse with warm water. Drain. Stir. Rinse some more. Drain. Rinse and rinse. Repeat.
3) Toss the drained noodles into a pot of boiling water. Stir. Let them boil for 3 minutes.
4) Dump them back into the colander to drain.
5) rinse again with warm water, and drain very thoroughly.

There! Done! While it might sound tedious, it's not. It takes about five minutes and you now have "pasta" that is basically flavorless and odorless and has only 20 calories per serving! It's worth it.

Now for the recipe. This is so yummy and fits lean and green standards!

Shirataki Noodle Bake

Prepare one 8-ounce bag of Tofu Shirataki noodles as described above.

Brown 4 to 5 ounces of 98% lean ground turkey, season to taste.

Meanwhile, in a saucepan mix:
1/4 c canned diced tomatoes with only a little bit of their juice
1/3 c  No Sugar added tomato sauce
1/4 c chopped mushrooms (I used baby Portabellas)
1 clove of garlic, minced
 some freshly ground black pepper
5 fresh basil leaves, chopped
 Mrs Dash Spicy seasoning, for heat

Let this simmer for about 5 minutes and then throw in the Shirataki noodles and ground turkey. Stir. Simmer for 5-7 minutes or until it isn't watery, but more saucy. Dump it into a baking pan (I used a glass cassorole pan). Top it with 1/4C grated skim or soy mozzarella cheese. .

Put it in the oven at 350 degrees for 12 minutes so the cheese is melted. Enjoy! (Makes 1 serving!)

Meal replacement of the week is...
Chocolate cookies!

• 1 packet Maple Oatmeal
• 1 packet Hot Cocoa
• 2 packets Splenda
• 1/2 tsp baking powder
• 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
• 1/2 tsp almond extract
• 2 tsps SF Chocolate Syrup (you may add more to flavor it more)
• 1/4 cup of water (give or take – work with it to find the right consistency)

Mix the dry ingredients together first. Next, add the wet ingredients. Slowly add the water and stir as you go. The consistency should be thick and sticky, like the scones or drop biscuits. Drop batter onto Pam sprayed cookie sheet. I made 6 nice sized cookies easily. Cook at 400 degrees for 8-9 minutes.
This makes 2 meals of 3 cookies each, share with a friend :-)


If you haven't started working on your summertime body, don't put it off any longer! Contact me today!!

Enjoy your week!

Week 5

Spring is here, and thank goodness we are well on our way to our summertime bodies! Ryan and I are so close to our goals that we can almost taste it, we are definitly in the home stretch :)
 This week has flown by, but I did have some time to play around with lean and green recipies, and have a few that im excited to try in the upcoming week. My favortie this week was turkey burgers, and squash fries.

Turkey Burgers and squash fries
You will need
Cubed butternut squash (costco, in the veg section)
extra virgin olive oil (evoo)
iceburg lettuce
tomato (or whatever veg you like on your burgers)
1 lb (14oz) 99% lean ground turkey.
Mrs. dash seasoning

For the squash
Preheat oven to 425
In a ziplock bag measure out 3 teaspoons evoo and Mrs. dash seasoning to taste
Measure out 2 cups of the cubed squash into the ziploc bag
Seal the bag and shake around so that the squash is covered in the evoo mix
Pour onto a cookie sheet and bake for 20 minutes, turning fries over 1/2 way thru.
Fries are done when the edges start to brown. (I like mine a little bit crispy so I cooked them a little bit longer)

For the burgers, we use 1 lb of 99% lean ground turkey.  This will make about four 3.5 oz burgers.  Cook either in a frying pan with a small amount of water, or you can broil depending on your preference.  Season with Mrs. Dash and pepper to taste.  Wrap in iceberg lettuce, and add a touch of dijon mustard for flavor if you like.  Makes 2 lean and green meals!

Very filling, and tasty. Ryan says he would choose these fries over real french fries now!

Meal replacement of the week is....
Chocolate chip cookie dough pudding!
I bought some sugar free cookie dough flavored syrup from Cash and Carry its super delish! Just add it to chocolate pudding, and enjoy! YUM!



Instead of a kid friendly recipe this week, I decided to post a little info on drinking water, and how it relates to weight loss.

What’s the best way to feel fuller, wash away toxins from your body, and increase your energy?  Have a nice glass of water. Better yet, for Optimal Health, try having half your body weight in ounces or more each day.

Drinking plenty of water is a basic Habit of Health. The body loses water not only through perspiration and urine, but also from breathing.

 According to Dr. A’s Habits of Health, water makes up between 55 and 60 percent of your body weight, and you can’t make it yourself; you have to drink it in. Every function of your body needs water to work. Water is what moves nutrients, hormones, antibodies, and oxygen through your bloodstream and lymphatic system.

You may not know it, but by the time you’re actually feeling thirsty, your body is getting seriously low on water. If you only drink when you’re thirsty, you don’t have enough water in your system to keep functioning at your peak. Keep it up, and you may find yourself getting headaches, or feeling more distracted or fatigued than usual.

And it’s no wonder: When you don’t drink enough water, your kidneys can’t adequately filter and eliminate toxins and byproducts of metabolism. As Dr. A puts it, your body is forced to recycle dirty water, diminishing the efficiency of every metabolic function.

Keep bottles of water with you when you’re exercising, and sip continually throughout your workout. If you’re exercising strenuously in a very hot environment, try water enhanced with electrolytes to replenish potassium and other minerals that you’re losing through heavy perspiration.

Water is essential for those working toward a healthy weight. A recent study showed that drinking two 8-oz glasses of cold water could increase a person’s metabolic rate by 30 percent for 90 minutes. In addition, often when we think we’re hungry, we’re actually thirsty, and a glass of water will take the edge off our appetite. A nice big water bottle filled and refilled throughout the day-can help keep your body (and your healthy eating plan) in top form.

Here are a few facts I found:

• Cravings are really a sign that your body is thirsty. So when you feel a craving coming along, reach for your water.  It’s the cheapest, safest appetite suppressant there is.
• Your initial weight loss is largely due to loss of water and that is why you need to drink a sufficient amount of water in order to avoid dehydration.
• When your body starts burning calories, it needs an adequate supply of water in order to function efficiently; dehydration slows down the fat-burning process.
• Dehydration causes a reduction in blood volume and this causes a reduction in the supply of oxygen to your muscles which can make you feel tired.
• Burning calories creates toxins in our bodies (think of the exhaust coming out of your car).  Water plays a vital role in flushing these toxins out of your body.
• Drinking water before and with a meal makes you feel fuller and will make you eat less.   However,  drinking water alone may not have this effect. In order to feel satiated, our bodies need protein, sufficient calories and nutrients. (All of which can be found in each of the Medifast Meal Replacements and in your Lean and Green Meal)

I can't say it enough times.. Drink water! And when you think you have had enough, drink more!

We have just 3 months until summer is here! Are you ready to get healthy and lose those extra pounds before swim suit season is here?? Email me, I would love to help!

Enjoy your week :)

 

Week 4

Well, week 4 is done and we are both well on our way to our weightloss goals! Ryan is down 23 pounds, and im down 12! We are both feeling great, and have so much energy. Its amazing how much better you feel when you are putting the right stuff into your body, and living the habits of health!

I was sick this last week, so sadly I didn't get to creative with the cooking, but my favorite meal was "turkey dinner". I bought some yellow crookneck squash, and turkey cutlets.I also had some cubed butternut squash leftover from another meal. I baked the squash as follows

1 cup (roughly 2 small squash) yellow squash
1/2 cub cubed butternut squash
1 chicken bouillon cube
spray butter
pepper (or whichever seasoning you like)

Turkey Dinner

Cut squash in 1/2 lenghtwise. Place squash cut side down in a large shallow baking dish. Dissolve bouillon in hot water, pour over squash. Bake, uncovered at 350 degrees for 20 minutes. Turn squash and spray with butter and season to taste. Bake uncovered for 15 minutes or until squash is tender.
As I said, I had leftover cubed butternut squash that I got from costco, it was super tasty in with the yellow squash! It really satisfies the carb craving :)

For the turkey, I placed the cutlets (14oz) in a pam sprayed frying pan on medium heat and cover for about 7 minutes on each side. Since lean poultry can dry out in a hurry, make sure to watch carefully and adjust time based on thickness. Season to taste and you've got a little taste of thanksgiving!

I did get a chance to make some super delish medifast cookies! They went perfectly with a cup of coffee for a late afternoon meal!

• 2 packets of MF vanilla shake (or shake of your choice)

• 1 packet of splenda ( gives a little sweet kick)

• 1 tsp of baking powder (more than most, but really helps “puff” them up)

• 1 – 2 tsp vanilla extract (or extract of your choice – amount depends on your taste)

• 2 – 4 ounces of water 



Mix dry ingredients with a wisk, then add the water slowly. Don’t pour in all the water at once, add it slowly at first and then add more as needed. You want to get a “dough” that is the consistency of paste.


Spoon the cookies by tablespoonful onto parchment paper covered baking sheet (or spray baking sheet with cooking spray). You should get about 4 good size cookies or 6 medium size cookies.


Bake the cookies at 350 degrees for 8 minutes. For an extra kick you can sprinkle the tops with splenda and cinnamon for a “snickerdoodle” effect.

I followed this recpie, and they came out great! I only had to add about 3 oz of water, and it made 8 small cookies, though.  Makes 2 MR's.



 And lastly, the favorite kid friendly recipe of the week! These are vegan too! (sorry, no picture!) But they looked divine.

Peanut Butter Cookies

Spelt flour bakes into a slightly darker cookie , whole wheat pastry flour is slightly blonder - more traditional in appearance in the end. Finish the cookies with chopped nuts or a sprinkling of flaky salt. I'd also recommend seeking out a peanut butter that is well combined, and not super-oily (extra slick) looking - to avoid problems with the cookie batter.

2 cups whole wheat pastry flour, spelt flour, or unbleached all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
3/4 teaspoon fine grain sea salt
1 cup organic, chunky natural peanut butter
1 cup maple syrup
1/3 cup extra virgin olive oil
1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract

Preheat oven to 350F degrees. Place racks in the top third.
In a medium mixing bowl combine the flour, baking soda, and salt. in a separate larger bowl combine the peanut butter, maple syrup, olive oil, and vanilla. Stir until combined. Pour the flour mixture over the peanut butter mixture and stir until barely combined - still a bit dusty looking. Let sit for five minutes, give one more quick stir, just a stroke or two. Now drop by heaping tablespoonfuls onto parchment-lined baking sheets. Press down on each one gently with the back of a fork. It's a loose batter, so if you're set on doing criss-crosses, go ahead and chill the batter for an hour or so before this step. Bake for 10, maybe 11 minutes - but don't over bake or they will be dry. Let cool five minutes and transfer to a cooling rack.

Enjoy your week!

Ashley

Week 3

I did it! I got half way to my goal this week! I will have my summertime body in no time :) As of today, I am down 11 pounds, and Ryan is down 20.5. We both have decided to push past our orginal goals, and lose a few more because the process has been so easy and the pounds are just melting off!

 My favorite Lean and Green of the week was a super tasty "scramble"

You can find these sausages at costco, and I highy recomend you try them! Lean and Green approved, and so delcious.

Sausage Scramble

1 Sausage (1/2  lean)
1 Cup Egg Beaters ( 1/2 lean)
1/2 cup mushroom
1/2 cup tomato
1/2 cup brocoli
 ( you can use whatever veggies you like-these are just my fav)

Cut up all your veg, and sausage in advance
Pour egg beaters in a pam sprayed pre heated skillet
add in your veg and sausage when egg beaters are almost firm
fold veg and sausage into the egg beaters until warm

I added hot sauce to mine, and it was delish!

One of my favorite meal replacements of the week has been a "Via Shake" Or as Ryan and I call them our "Love Shake" We share them, I know, cute right?
Via Shake

1 packet Chocolate pudding

1 packet dutch chocolate shake
1 packet Starbucks Via (we use decaf at night)

Measure out 10 oz water, pour into blender. empty your pudding, shake and via into the blender. Add ice and blend! Makes 2 MR's. So tasty, it reminds me of mocha ice cream :)

And my sons healthy favorite of the week..? Banana chocolate chip pancakes! Another sneaky chef recipie :)

These have hidden applesauce, wheat germ, and almonds :)

Enjoy your weekend!