Chicken Stir-fry with Veggies & Fried Rice

1 boneless, skinless chicken breast

1 cup instant brown rice 

1/4 tsp. minced garlic

2 tblsp. frozen chopped onions

1 bag stir-fry vegetables

Spice blend *

pepper

olive oil

1 tblsp. soy sauce

Start cooking rice according to package directions.

Spray a skillet with cooking spray.  Cut chicken breast into small pieces.  Add a little olive oil to skillet and saute chicken. Pepper to taste.

After chicken has turned white, add a small amount of oil.  Add the garlic to the oil and stir.  Add onions.  (If using raw onions, add them at the first with the chicken.)

Push the chicken, garlic and onions to one side in the skillet and add a little more oil. Add the bag of vegetables to the oil, stir to coat and cook for a couple of minutes. Add a little more pepper and the spice blend.

Push everything to one side of the skillet and add more oil.  Add rice to the oil and stir to coat.

After rice has cooked a bit, stir everything together.  Add a little more pepper and the soy sauce. 

* I use my own spice blend.  For the recipe, click here.

Note from Mary Elizabeth: Mom is a vegetable lover & she's great at bringing out the best in those flavors. This meal was delicious. The rice has a good blend of savory flavor with fried flavor. 

Yum! 

Grandma Valerie's Spice Blend

2 1/2 Tbsp. Paprika
1 Tbsp. Salt
2 T. Garlic Powder
1 1/2 T. Black Pepper
1 T. Onion Powder
1 T. Dried Oregano

With a mortar and pestle, grind the oregano until it is nearly a powder.
Mix all ingredients.

Alternate method:  Mix all ingredients and run through a spice grinder.

Variation:  Add 1 T. dried Thyme with the oregano.
This tastes very good also, but I had to eliminate it when my husband suddenly decided to dislike Thyme.

Belgian Waffles

I have been pretty lazy lately when it comes to blogging. I don't have an excuse for that except general laziness & sickness. I'm getting over the flu & a sinus infection which oddly enough do not put me in the mood to cook. I've been on an antibiotic for a week now, & today for the first time, I've had an appetite. So waking up a little lazily still, I wanted Belgian waffles. I make these on Saturday mornings, when I have time.  Oddly enough waffle makers are easy to find at garage sales. A lot of people buy waffle makers and never use them. I don't use my too often but with this recipe I can make them a couple times  a month & not feel guilty at all. 

2 large eggs

1 cup whole wheat flour

1/2 cup all purpose flour

2 scoops cookies & cream muscle milk

1 1/2 cup skim milk

1/2 - 3/4 cup lowfat buttermilk

1/2 cup olive oil

1 tbsp honey

4 tsp baking powder 

1/4 tsp salt

1 tsp pure vanilla

Mix all the ingredients together till the batter is to the right consistency. It should pour easily. 

Follow the instructions on your waffle maker to cook the batter.

These are very light & fluffy which is why I refer to them as "Begian" even though they aren't made with egg whites & yeast. They still have a nice airy texture so I am using that term with a little of your indulgence. The vanilla & cookies & cream flavor make it taste very sweet. I serve it with fresh strawberry slices & a 1/2 tbsp pure maple syrup. It's much lower calorie than drowning it in a high fructose corn syrup based syrup. It's got a lot of flavor so it doesn't need butter or margarine.

 

Easy & (sort of) Quick homemade Vanilla Extract

Who doesn't want pure vanilla extract - made just for me!! This was a Christmas present. As you can see on the label, you have to keep it closed for six weeks. Asking me to wait on anything is just mean - but it was worth it. I opened it today & it smells FANTASTIC. 

Stacia (lovely lady who made this for me) used this ratio to make my extract: 

1 Madagascar Bourbon vanilla bean : 1 pint of vodka. 

Put in a well sealed AIR TIGHT container, & let sit for six weeks. That's it.

You can use less vanilla, but if you do you will need to let the vanilla sit much longer than 6 weeks. (i.e. 1 vanilla bean : 1 quart vodka, let sit for 6 months). 

It is DIVINE! You can also use Rum, but Vodka doesn't have a scent, so it will definitely smell strongly of vanilla. Also, Vodka keeps well in the freezer, so you can easily save it. 

The hardest part of this is waiting. Once you open it, don't forget to strain out the vanilla beans.

Pour into some bottles & ENJOY!

No Weigh In This Week

This blogger is taking a break from weighing-in, calorie counting, etc. I'm also taking a break from P90X & Insanity. This April will mark the 18th anniversary of my diabetes diagnosis. So far, I've been extremely blessed to have avoided most of the long term complications associated with Type 1 diabetes, but time may have caught up with me. 

Last week while doing a high intensity workout, I noticed that my fingernails had turned blue.  I've had diabetes so long that my medical team wants to make sure that there is no damage in my heart before I can do an intensive workout again. I had a lung test & EKG. My doctor will consult with a cardiologist to see what happens next. Unfortunately in women, there isn't the typical symptoms of heart conditions, so we don't want to do just typical tests. 

Hopefully I will hear back soon, with news that I just worked a little too hard for a heart that's had diabetes for nearly 18 years, & to take it a little easier in future. If there is a problem I have confidence in my medical team that they'll find it. But mostly I'm confident that the LORD Who made me is in control. Nothing is outside of His power. 

Grandma Valerie's Spaghetti Sauce

1 lb. lean ground beef
onion powder
pepper
1 1/2 large can diced or crushed tomatoes
garlic powder
oregano
1/2 small can tomato paste

Brown the ground beef with the pepper and onion powder.
Add the tomatoes, with their juice, oregano, garlic powder and more pepper.
Use spices to your own taste.
Cook for a few minutes.
Stir in the tomato paste until well blended.
Cook for a few more minutes.

Note from Mary Elizabeth: This is really delicious, & can be a very hearty low calorie meal if you add vegetables & reduce the amount of pasta that you use. 

This has a great meaty flavor, but the spices add something too. I shredded a tiny bit of fresh Parmesan over mine. True comfort food. 

Food for Fuel

When we are trying to lose weight and take charge of our health, what we eat REALLY matters.

Food is fuel. Just like a car needs gas to run, our bodies need fuel to function properly.

Would you put less than sub-par gas in your car?  We all know what happens when we put bad gas in our car. Yes, our car will still run but there will be problems. Problems that we will eventually have to fix. Problems that could shorten the life of our vehicle. Problems that will cost MORE money to fix than if we had just put a good quality gas in our car.

So if we wouldn't put bad gas in our car why would we put bad foods into our bodies? We have ONE body. We can not trade it in for another one. Why are we treating our cars with better care than we are our bodies?

Are you ready to take responsibility for your health?

Our food choices will make a big difference in how our bodies feel, function, and how our weight is maintained.

Let me give you an example of a poor nutritional choice versus a great nutrition choice...

Here we have a Raspberry filled Krispy Cream Doughnut:

Any one who has had one knows that they are oh so tasty. But that doughtnut is watered-down gas. At 340 calories and 21 grams of fat it is not only going to go straight to our waistline, it is nutritionally void. The doughnut has 36 grams of carbohydrates-all refined and highly processed which will cause your blood sugar to spike, cause you to "crash" later, and will mostly go straight to your waistline to be stored as fat. 

Not only is the doughnut high in calories, fat and carbs, it is not very filling leaving you looking for more food later.

The only nutritional benefits from this doughnut is 2 grams of fiber and three grams of protein-not a lot of bang for your buck!

Here we have a bowl of oatmeal flavored with a little milk, berries, and cinnamon + a low fat egg omelet:

The breakfast above is loaded with nutrition. It would be considered premium fuel. At just over 300 calories it has 25+ grams of protein, 4 grams of fiber and only has 8 grams of fat. This meal provides you with vitamins and antioxidants. It is a good source of fiber, complex carbs, and protein. It will keep you full and satisfied and give you energy that lasts. And with less than 2 grams of sugar, there will be no insulin spike or "crash" later.

The hot sauce added to the omelet will help boost metabolism (thermogenic effect).

The cinnamon added to the oatmeal will aid in weight loss, digestion, and will help lower blood pressure.

Not only is this breakfast loaded in nutrients, it is made mostly of real and natural ingredients. Ingredients that our bodies recognize and can easily digest. Our bodies can easily process "clean" foods causing us to use and burn up to 50% more calories than if we consumed refined and/or highly processed food (doughnuts).

That is a lot of bang for your buck!

Whether we are trying to lose weight, take better care of our health, or both the food choices we make matter. The more "clean" and natural we eat the more energy we will have, the healthier we will be, and the easier it will be to lose weight and keep it off.