Turkey Fried Rice

I survived the day of indulgence, well, attacked is probably a better word. I definitely let myself have the day off and it was glorious. It's amazing the things you realize that you miss, like dark meat, and sour cream, and good old SUGAR. Needless to say, we had a very delicious day, but I'm happy to be back on the Livefit wagon.

This is a recipe that's come in handy quite a few times. One of the most important parts of our meals is that we're getting in the right balance of protein, complex carbs and veggies. This dish covers it all in one big skillet, and it's so delicious and filling. Brown rice with egg whites and ground turkey. It might not sound as appetizing as the real thing, but it's flavored so well that I honestly couldn't tell much of a difference. The kids loved it and it's very filling. Go ahead and use chopped up leftover turkey if you still have some in your fridge.





Turkey Fried Rice
Adapted from The Best of Clean Eating from Clean Eating Magazine

Ingredients

1 teaspoon plus 1 tablespoon olive or safflower oil, divided
1 lb lean ground turkey
fresh ground black pepper, to taste
2 teaspoons plus 2 tablespoons low sodium soy sauce, divided
1/2 yellow onion, sliced thinly
1/2 red bell pepper, finely chopped
1 carrot, peeled and finely chopped
1 bunch broccoli, cut into bite sized pieces (1 cup)
1 tablespoon grated fresh ginger
sea salt, to taste
3 minced garlic cloves
1/2 cup frozen peas, thawed
3 cups cooked brown rice
4 egg whites (or two regular eggs)
1 tablespoon fish sauce (optional)
1/4 cup thinly sliced green onions
fresh cilantro for garnish
chile sauce for garnish

Directions

In a very large nonstick skillet or wok, heat one teaspoon oil over medium high heat. Add turkey and break up to form a single layer in pan, season with pepper. Brown meat, stirring occasionally until cooked through, three to five minutes. Stir in two teaspoons soy sauce. Remove turkey and set aside.

Return skillet to stove and add remaining tablespoon of oil. Add onion, red pepper, carrot, broccoli and ginger and season with salt and black pepper. Cook over medium-high heat until vegetables are slightly soft, about five minutes. Add garlic and cook for two more minutes.

Stir in peas and rice, and cook until completely heated through, about five minutes.

Push rice mixture over to one side of pan and add eggs to now empty side. Allow eggs to fully cook, stirring occasionally, three to five minutes, and then stir eggs into rice mixture.

Add turkey and any accumulated juices to skillet. Stir in fish sauce, remaining two tablespoons soy sauce and green onions. Garnish with cilantro and chile sauce if desired.

Krispy Kreme Donuts

Happy Thanksgiving! Or Kanksgizzin, as my silly kids like to call it. What are your plans for this wonderful holiday? Going to snuggle in at home, travel to see family, or maybe going out for Thanksgiving? Whatever you do, I hope it's wonderful!

I feel a bit hypocritical posting a recipe for fried donuts, after plastering my Livefit launch all over my blog. However, in my defense, these were made long before we started, and c'mon, its time to indulge a bit right? As I've mentioned a few times, my husband and I have very different tastes. While I'm usually in the mood for something savory and salty (cheeseburgers, pizza, chips, etc), my husband has a MAJOR sweet-tooth. He could eat cookies and cheesecake for every meal, if allowed, and would wake up the next morning feeling great. Needless to say, this program that we've been doing has posed some pretty serious cravings for my "sweets loving" husband, but he's been staying strong, bless him.

These donuts were something he made a few months ago. He loves Krispy Kreme, and since we don't have one readily available to us, he found the recipe and whipped them up himself. Not even being a fan of donuts, I do have to say, these were pretty fantastic. If you're only interested in having one or two, I suggest halving the recipe, because it's really hard to stop!



Krispy Kreme Donuts
Food.com

Ingredients

Donuts
2 cups scalded milk
1/2 cup butter
2/3 cup sugar, divided
1 teaspoon salt
2 tablespoons yeast
4 eggs ( beaten)
1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
7 cups sifted flour

Glaze
3 cups powdered sugar
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon vanilla
1/2 cup cold water

Directions

1. Mix together ingredients for glaze.
2. Melt butter in hot milk, add 1 tsp sugar and salt. Allow to cool.
3. Beat in yeast, nutmeg, eggs, remaining sugar, and 3 cups flour.
4. Add rest of flour (dough will be sticky).
5. Knead for 5 minutes then allow to rise for 1-1 1/2 hours.
6. Roll out dough, cut into shapes.
7. Do not re-roll dough, then allow to rise for 30-45 minutes.
8. Heat oil to 365° and fry 1 - 2 minutes on each side or until brown. Toss in the doughnut holes first, let those cook, and then proceed to cooking the donuts.

Enjoy!

Happy Thanksgiving everyone! I happen to be very grateful to all of you for your friendship and support. Have a safe and delicious weekend!

Creamy, Light, Macaroni and Cheese

If there was ever a dish that could be defined as one of the most over-the-edge sinfully delicious meals of all time, Macaroni and Cheese just might be it. It's an absolute blessing from heaven to the pasta and cheese lovers, and I am always on the lookout for fun ways to make it.

This is something I made before I started the Livefit program, but the good news is that it's still light and packed with nutrients. It reminded me a lot of Jessica Seinfeld's Deceptively Delicious' concept. The majority of the "cheese" was sweet, creamy butternut squash, and the kids were none the wiser. We all gobbled up our mac and cheese and were delightfully satisfied.


Creamy, Light, Macaroni and Cheese
Cooking Light September 2011

Ingredients

* 3 cups cubed peeled butternut squash (about 1 [1-pound] squash)
* 1 1/4 cups fat-free, lower-sodium chicken broth
* 1 1/2 cups fat-free milk
* 2 garlic cloves
* 1 teaspoon kosher salt
* 1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
* 2 tablespoons fat-free Greek yogurt
* 1 1/4 cups (5 ounces) shredded Gruyère cheese
* 1 cup (4 ounces) grated pecorino Romano cheese
* 1/4 cup (1 ounce) finely grated fresh Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese, divided
* 1 pound uncooked cavatappi
* Cooking spray
* 1 teaspoon olive oil
* 1/2 cup panko (Japanese breadcrumbs)
* 2 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 375°.

2. Combine squash, broth, milk, and garlic in a medium saucepan; bring to a boil over medium-high heat. Reduce heat to medium, and simmer until squash is tender when pierced with a fork, about 25 minutes. Remove from heat.

3. Place the hot squash mixture in a blender. Add salt, pepper, and Greek yogurt. Remove the center piece of blender lid (to allow steam to escape); secure blender lid on blender. Place a clean towel over opening in blender lid (to avoid splatters). Blend until smooth. Place blended squash mixture in a bowl; stir in Gruyère, pecorino Romano, and 2 tablespoons Parmigiano-Reggiano. Stir until combined.

4. Cook pasta according to package directions, omitting salt and fat; drain well. Add pasta to squash mixture, and stir until combined. Spread mixture evenly into a 13 x 9-inch glass or ceramic baking dish coated with cooking spray.

5. Heat oil in a medium skillet over medium heat. Add panko, and cook for 2 minutes or until golden brown. Remove from heat; stir in remaining 2 tablespoons Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese. Sprinkle evenly over the hot pasta mixture. Lightly coat topping with cooking spray.

6. Bake at 375° for 25 minutes or until bubbly. Sprinkle with parsley, and serve immediately.

Turkey Chickpea Burgers

I have officially completed two months of the Livefit program! I'll post progress pictures in a few days. I still have Phase III to complete, but my friend and I decided to put that on hold until January since we'd rather focus on enjoying the holidays. In the meantime we are going to continue eating clean as much as possible, as well as lifting daily to maintain the progress we've made.

It was kind of a hard decision to make, I think both of us felt hesitant to put the brakes on something that we've been working so hard on. However, health and fitness is a lifetime pursuit, and just like life, you have to take things as they come. The holidays only come once a year, and I'd hate to look back on the month and realize that I made myself miserable with stress and withholding when I could have started right where I stopped the very next month. I'm definitely not going to enjoy the holidays as I have in the past (MONTH LONG BINGE, WOO HOO!), but I'm not going to stay home from the holiday festivities because I can't stand the thought of only being able to eat off the veggie tray.

In the meantime, I'm going to continue enjoying awesome recipes like this one. Chickpea puree mixed with ground turkey, making a meaty burger with the great flavor of falafel. We ate them with those Roll Up Flatbreads and a side of sweet potato fries. It was a delicious dinner!


Turkey Chickpea Burgers
Clean Eating Magazine

Ingredients

1 (15 oz can) chickpeas, drained and rinsed
1/2 cup roughly chopped scallions
1 teaspoon ground cumin
2 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce
1/4 lb ground turkey breast, 99% fat free
1 teaspoon fresh ground black pepper
1/4 teaspoon sea salt
olive oil cooking spray

Directions

In a food processor, combine chickpeas, scallions, cumin, pepper, salt and Worcestershire sauce. Pulse until smooth.

Transfer chickpea mixture to a large mixing bowl. Add turkey and mix by hand until combined.

Divide turkey-chickpea mixture into four equal portions, shaping each into a three-quarter-inch patty. Heat a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Coat skillet with cooking spray and cook patties for four to six minutes on each side.

We topped it with ketchup, mustard, lettuce, sauteed onions and pickles. YUM!

Country-Fried Steak with Mushroom Gravy

Wow, what a week! We just started Phase II of Jamie Eason's LiveFit Program, which involves a lot of lifting, a lot of cardio, and a few less calories. Needless to say, Aubrey and I are SORE. Luckily, it's also been a lot of fun. I got to do lifts I've never done before (barbell step ups, holy cow!), and I had more energy this week then I've had in a long time.

If you're familiar with Jamie Eason, you know that she's very big on Clean Eating. It's exactly what it sounds like. We eat clean, lean and as unprocessed as possible. Lots of lean meats, veggies and whole grains. We keep sugars to a bare minimum and temporarily have said goodbye to cheese, fatty meats, and junk food in general. It was a shock to my system at first, my stomach didn't know what to do without being consistently lined with fat and sugar, but I'm learning to love it. The benefits far outweigh the candy and Cheetos that I miss on occasion. I sleep better, my skin and hair seem healthier, and I haven't been sick in a long time. I'm still a firm believer in moderation and I don't think having a cookie or slice of pizza is the end of the world, but I definitely want to keep eating as clean as possible long after I'm done with this program.

Since our day to day eating is fairly basic, my husband and I decided that Sunday we would make an extra effort for a really nice dinner. This is what we had tonight and we loved it so much that I'm skipping a bunch of stuff to share it with you now. London Broil, pounded and breaded in a flavorful whole grain breading and cooked to a medium-rare. It was delicious, but the mushroom gravy was the best part, and made such a great topping to the steak and potatoes.

I made mashed potatoes by boiling red and sweet potatoes. Drain and mash with a splash of skim milk and a spoonful of greek yogurt which is tangy and makes a great substitute for sour cream. I can't even tell a difference. I highly recommend this dish, give it a try!

Country Fried Steak with Mushroom Gravy
Adapted from The Best of Clean Eating, by Clean Eating Magazine

Ingredients

10 ounces sliced white or cremini mushrooms
1 lb lean round steak, trimmed of fat and cut into 4 equal pieces
sea salt and black ground pepper to taste
3 tablespoons whole wheat flour, divided
2 large egg whites
3 slices whole-wheat toast (Ezekial bread), cut into 2 inch pieces
1 tablespoon dried minced onion
1 teaspoon dried oregano
1 teaspoon dried thyme
1/2 teaspoon garlic salt
3 teaspoon olive oil
2 garlic cloves minced
1 cup low sodium beef broth
1/2 cup skim milk

Directions

Using a meat mallet, rolling pin or bottom of a heavy skillet, pound steaks to quarter-inch thickness. Season both sides of steaks with salt and pepper. Set aside.

Place two tablespoons of flour in a shallow dish. Place egg whites in a separate shallow dish. In a food processor, combine toast, onion, oregano, thyme and garlic powder. Process until mixture resembles bread crumbs. Transfer crumbs to a third shallow dish.

Add steaks to dish with flour and turn to coat both sides. Shake off excess flour and transfer steaks to egg whites. turn to coat both sides and transfer steaks to bread crumb mixture. Again, turn to coat both sides.

Heat two teaspoons of oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add steaks and cook two to three minutes per side, until brown on the outside and pink on the inside. Remove from skillet and cover in foil.

Prepare gravy. Heat remaining oil in same skillet. Add sliced mushrooms and garlic and cook for about five minutes, or until liquid is released. Add beef broth and bring to a simmer. In a medium bowl, whisk together milk and remaining tablespoon of flour. Add milk mixture to mushrooms and simmer three to five minutes, until mixture thickens. Spoon gravy over steaks just before serving.

Serves 4: 313cal, 9g fat, 27g carb, 5g fiber, 35g prot, 302mg sod

Blue Cheese Polenta with Vegetables

Wow, you guys brought tears to my eyes with your sweet comments and words of support. We really do belong to a wonderful community don't we. Thank you so much for that, it's helped to motivate me all the more.

There is now a blog that you can go to for updates on our progress and any fitness tips and experiences we are having along the way. It's written by Aubrey, her sister Christa and I. Both of these girls really know their stuff, so I feel so lucky to be on board with them. The blog is called She Sweats and She Tells. Check them out, say hello :)


This dish is not something I'm able to eat right now, but it's still so healthy and delicious. The more I've eaten polenta, the more I like it. There's almost something romantic about it. It's creamy, smooth, practically seductive, and the perfect canvas for so many toppings. This polenta is particularly wonderful because it's full of pungent, tangy blue cheese. Top that with bright, gorgeous veggies and you have yourself a plate that you might just want to eat by candlelight.


Blue Cheese Polenta with Vegetables
Cooking Light September 2011

Ingredients

2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil, divided
2 (4-ounce) packages presliced exotic mushroom blend
1 teaspoon chopped fresh thyme
1 1/2 cups thinly sliced sweet onion
1 red bell pepper, thinly sliced
1 teaspoon minced garlic
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt, divided
1/4 teaspoon black pepper, divided
3 cups 1% low-fat milk
1/2 cup water
2/3 cup quick-cooking polenta
3/4 cup (3 ounces) crumbled Gorgonzola cheese
1/4 cup chopped fresh parsley

Directions

1. Heat a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Add 1 tablespoon olive oil to pan, and swirl to coat. Add mushrooms and thyme; sauté for 4 minutes or until the mushrooms are tender. Add remaining 1 tablespoon olive oil, onion, bell pepper, garlic, 1/4 teaspoon salt, and 1/8 teaspoon black pepper; sauté for 8 minutes or until vegetables are tender.

2. Combine milk, 1/2 cup water, the remaining 1/4 teaspoon salt, and remaining 1/8 teaspoon black pepper in a medium saucepan; bring to a boil. Stir in polenta; cook 5 minutes, stirring frequently. Remove from heat, and stir in cheese. Serve with vegetables. Sprinkle with parsley.

What's a'Going on?

I've gone back and forth whether to post about this or not, but I feel like I owe you guys an explanation for my absence on my blog, as well as my absence on your blogs, which I feel worse about. But my explanation comes with a bit of a back story.

My weight has always been a bit of an issue, and every single year I'd start the new year with a resolution to lose it. And of course that would last for about a month before I was back to my old ways. Well I don't know if it was turning thirty, or just an extra strong desire, but this year I was actually accomplished my goal of a twenty pound weight loss, which on a 5'0 body, is fairly significant. Since then I've become a bit obsessed with fitness and nutrition and just started a new weight lifting regime called LiveFit, created by Jamie Eason.

So basically my life has been revolving around eating a TON of protein and spending a lot of time in the gym. It's been a tough, but very rewarding challenge. However there's absolutely nothing exciting going on in my kitchen, unless you find grilled chicken and brown rice to be a total party. Oh gosh, the foodie in me just died a little by writing that.

I feel a bit silly posting about this since I still feel very new to this world. A year ago I wouldn't have been caught dead in a weight room. I will be back to normal in a few months, but probably with a few less "sweets" recipes :) I'll also do my best to visit as often as I can because you guys are always posting such amazing recipes!

And now, a few pictures for you...


This was me a month ago, 130 lbs. I'm posting this first because I do not want my before pictures to be on everyone's feed, haha! Since then I've lost five pounds, but have gained some muscle. I'm currently at 30.0% body fat, so I've still got a ways to go, which I'm excited about. You'll notice my midsection is a bit lopsided, that's due to some medical issues I had forever ago. I'm hoping that as I lose weight it becomes less and less noticeable.




Before pictures, between 150-155 pounds. I feel like this is the part where I should say how nasty I used to look, but I'm not going to do that. I know that I didn't look my best back then, but I'm not going to put myself down. I was doing the best I could with what I had at the time, and I was happy with that.

So that's what's a'going on right now. It's been a really exciting year, this is the first time in my entire life that I've ever been this involved with health and fitness and it's been really fun. I've made a great friend who's been doing the program with me, which has only added to the enjoyment. I'll definitely keep you posted on my progress, and now that I've publicly announced this on my blog, I don't feel like failure is an option! I may also be posting my progress on another blog, which I'll link up in a few days.

In the meantime I hope you're all doing well and that you're enjoying the cooler fall days!