Low-Calorie egg salad

This recipe is easy and delicious! With minimal ingredients you can be on your way to an amazing egg salad sandwich in no time at all!

Not Your Average Egg Salad

Ingredients:

• 2 hard boiled eggs, peeled
• 1/4 tsp Dijon mustard
• 1 tbsp chives, chopped
• 1/8 tsp garlic powder
• 2 tsp reduced fat Hellmann's mayonnaise with olive oil
• salt and pepper to taste

Directions:

1. Separate the yolks from the whites and throw away one egg yolk.  
2. Chop the 2 egg whites and one yolk up and place in a bowl.
3. Add mayonnaise, Dijon mustard, chives, garlic powder, salt and pepper.
4. Stir to combine.

*Yields 1 serving. ~9g protein and 115 calories.  

I usually serve it on one slice of multi-grain bread (80 calories) with lettuce, sprouts and tomato on top!  To amp up the protein I typically also eat this with a side of yogurt or cottage cheese.  Feel free to experiment with adding different spices and let me know how yours turns out!

Happy eating!

Get an accountability partner!

Having trouble staying on track? Find yourself an accountability partner!   Someone who you can call, text, email, etc. and tell them what you did to work out and how your eating went.  Do this daily.  This person can then in turn tell you about their day and you work together to motivate each other!

At the moment, my fiance is my accountability partner.  We keep tabs on each other daily.  Inquiring about what we did to work out and how we ate.  It really helps to have him around, it keeps me on track.  When I think about eating something bad for me I also think about how I would have to tell him I ate it.  This usually stops me from making bad decisions. It is also nice that I use him because we work out with each other on the weekends.  Motivating each other to go outside for a run/hike instead of just lounging around inside all day.  As much as I love having lazy time on the weekend, it is also nice to be active.

I also have a my fitness pal account and have added many friends on there.  MFP is a great place, with lots of motivated people willing to support you.  On MFP you can log your weight, food and workouts daily.  Others can see all of this and comment on things.  Supporting you throughout your weight loss journey! I have yet to find someone who is judgmental on there and just love the site.  Check it out!

Changing your lifestyle is hard, losing weight is hard but it is all totally worth it! Find yourself an accountability partner and get started on the right track today! You can do this, we all can do this.

Kale Lasagna

My fiance made a delicious Kale Lasagna the other night.  He followed a recipe found in my Vegetarian Times magazine.  Although he tweaked a couple of things, he followed the recipe almost exactly how they wrote it.  I couldn't believe how delicious it turned out and oh so filling. I ate mine with a side of Quorn Chik'n and was comfortably stuffed.  I hope you guys enjoy it as much as I did if you make it.

Kale Lasagna

Ingredients:

• 1 tsp. olive oil
• 1 8oz bunch Kale, stems removed
• 1 15oz package fat-free ricotta
• 4oz goat cheese
• 2 tsp crushed garlic
• 1 1/2  cups tomato puree
• 1 cup canned diced tomatoes
• 1/2 tsp red pepper flakes
• 6 no-cook lasagna noodles
• 1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 400°F.
2. Spray an 11 x 7 inch baking dish with non-stick spray.
3. Cook Kale in a large pot of boiling salted water for 2 minutes.  Drain and rinse until cool enough to handle.  Ring out kale and chop.  Season with salt and pepper if desired.
4. In a small mixing bowl, mix together ricotta and goat cheese.
5. Add garlic to a small sauce pan and cook on medium for 15 seconds.  Add red pepper flakes, tomato puree and diced tomatoes; simmer for 5 minutes or until thickened.
6. Cover the bottom of the baking dish with 1/3 of the sauce.  Place 3 noodles on top of it.  Cover top of noodles with 1/2 remaining sauce.  Place all of the cheese mixture and Kale on top of the noodles.  Cover with remaining 3 noodles and place remaining sauce on top of them.
7. Sprinkle top with Parmesan and bake for 40 minutes or until cheese has melted and lasagna is bubbly.

*Serves 8, about 183 calories and 14g protein per serving.

Happy eating!

My number one most asked question after losing over 110lbs.

My number one most asked question: Do you have any extra loose skin from all of your weight loss?

Answer: Yes I do, however I am working hard to get rid of it.  Right now I am doing some weight training and it has helped tone my arms and I hardly have any extra skin left on them.  However, my abdomen is a different story.  It isn't to the point where I can't feel confident in a bikini but it just isn't tight.  When I bend over I can see all the skin move to my center of gravity.  Not really what I want, but it is what it is.  I am working hard to try and get rid of it.  My advice to you is to start weight training NOW, it helps a lot in getting rid of the excess skin.  I really wish I had started weight training earlier in my weight loss journey.  May have helped my abdomen be less loose.

Don't starve yourself

IMPORTANT: Temporary diets, yield temporary results. You don't have to starve yourself to lose weight.

If you want to lose weight and keep it off for good you need to change your whole lifestyle. You need to put in your full effort.  There is no quick fix, so stop restricting your calories so much and instead eat a healthy amount through out the day for your bodies needs.  That way your metabolism stays running high all day and can readily convert what you eat and drink into the energy your body needs. 

When you restrict your caloric intake for the day to something really low your body begins to use your muscle for energy.  So instead of losing that pesky fat you want to get rid of, you are losing your muscle.  Less muscle means a slower metabolism and a slower metabolism burns less calories throughout the day.  So now not only is your body getting rid of muscle, but it is burning less calories and you are losing less weight.  Does this sound like a good way to lose weight? NO! We want to keep our metabolism going strong all day and we want to lose fat not muscle!

If you want to lose more weight work on building more muscle. Our metabolic rate is partially due to the amount of muscle we have.  As said earlier less muscle means a slower metabolism, so if you have more muscle you will have a higher metabolism!  This is why younger people and men tend to have higher metabolisms. I know some women are afraid of weight training because they think they are going to look like a body builder but this is not the case (unless you are training to be a body builder, which takes years of dedication). So women, start doing weights it will do you a world of good in helping boost your metabolism!

In the end, eating too few calories can end up being just as bad for your body as eating too many calories is. It is important to remember that the less you consume, the less fat your body burns. So, eat healthy and skip the dieting.  Your body needs energy, let the food you put in it be that energy.

My early birthday gift: new running shoes!

Ahhh!!! My new running shoes finally came in! For my birthday my fiance let me custom make a pare of Nike Lunarglide +3 shield running shoes. :]  I have been wearing Nike to run in for the past 2 years now and would never switch to another brand.  They always fit my feet like a glove and seem to give me the best support.  This is my first time trying the Lunarglide +3, I was wearing dual fushion st 2 but they have discontinued making new models of that shoe.

To celebrate my early gift I went on a nice long run.  This also allowed me to try out a new app I downloaded for my iPhone called mapmyrun. It worked pretty well, telling me at each mile I hit what my pace was, how long I had been running and how many miles I had ran.  At the end of your workout it also allows you to see your stats (I have posted mine below).  You can see this on your phone as well as online.  I may try another running app I downloaded called runkeeper to see which one I like better.  Anyone know of any other good apps to track your runs?

So my take on my shoes after my first run?  I love them, they fit my foot perfectly and gave me just the right amount of support.  It was like I was running on air the whole time.  This is a great shoe for running on pavement, when I got home I had no aches or pains at all!  I can't wait to use them again on Sunday.

Low Calorie Zucchini and Eggplant Lasagna

I love lasagna but HATE the calories that come along with it.  My fix for this: a noodle-less lasagna recipe that I found in the magazine Clean Eating (one of my favorite magazines!).  It turned out absolutely delicious.  Next time I may add some fresh or canned diced tomatoes to make it even more Lasagna like!   Nothing beats cooking a fresh and healthy meal.

Zucchini and Eggplant Lasagna

Ingredients:

• 1 1lb eggplant, cut into 1/2 inch thick rounds
• 2 medium zucchini, cut into 1/2 inch thick rounds
• 2 medium yellow squash, cut into 1/2 inch thick rounds
• 1 tsp extra virgin olive oil
• 1/2 large yellow onion, chopped
• 4 cloves garlic, chopped
• 1.5 cups cottage cheese
• 2 tsp dried oregano
• 3/4 cup shredded mozzarella cheese

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 375°F.
2. Lightly spray a baking sheet with cooking spray. Place eggplant, zucchini and squash out in a singe layer on the baking sheet.  Bake for 30 minutes; remove from oven and set aside.
3. In a large non-stick pan heat oil for a minute.  Add onions to the pan and cook for 5 minutes or until translucent.  Add garlic and cook for an additional 2 minutes.  Remove from heat and stir in the cottage cheese and oregano.
4. Lightly spray a 11 x 7 inch baking dish with cooking spray.  Line the bottom of the dish with zucchini and squash.  Use all of the rounds, overlapping them to cover the whole bottom of the dish. Top with the cottage cheese mixture.  Place eggplant on top of the cottage cheese layer in overlapping rows, then top with mozzarella.
5. Bake for 30 minutes or until cheese is golden brown and bubbling.

*Makes 4 servings, 23g protein, 250 calories per serving.  Add 80 calories if having a Quorn Chik'n Cutlet with the lasagna.

Happy eating!

Eating out

I absolutely love to eat out. There is just something about going out for a meal and not having to do a darn thing.  Don't get me wrong, as you can see from my blog I love to cook but once in awhile it is nice to have someone else do the cooking.  That way I even get out of doing the dishes!

What we all fail to remember is that it is okay to eat out! Now, am I saying that we should all eat out every day? No.  More than once a week? Probably not the best idea.  However, what I am saying is that as long as you plan it out ahead of time eating out can be less of a bad thing and more of a fun thing.

Now, it's time to get planning so you can go out!

Step 1: Find nutritional values for the place you want to go.  Most restaurants now readily provide nutritional information for there food.  If you cannot find any nutritional information online for where you want to go you can always call them and ask if they have it available at the restaurant.

Step 2: Plan it out! Figure out what you want to eat before you leave the house.  Are you going to have a dessert? If so which one? How is that going to affect what you choose as your main course?

Step 3: Plan out what you are going to eat through out the day before you go out to eat.  This way you are sure to stay around your caloric goal for the day!  If you plan on using a lot of your calories allotted when you are out to eat, try eating a bit lighter earlier in the day.

Step 4: Don't just think you have to get a salad.  A lot of the times you will be surprised to see that the 'healthy' salad you thought you were getting ends up having more calories than the food you were really craving.

Step 5: Enjoy your food, just because you are living a healthy lifestyle it doesn't mean that you can't enjoy your food.  If you want the high calorie eggplant parm that comes with spaghetti and sauce, get it!  Just remember to use portion control.  Ask for a box right away and put half of your meal in it.  That way you aren't tempted to eat more than you allotted your calories for!

Once you have a plan eating out will become less stressful.  It will become fun again and you will be able to enjoy yourself instead of constantly worrying about how this meal is going to affect your day.

Written on my body.

I love how someone said my dedication is now written on my body.  What a perfect way to sum up all of my hard work, sweat, set backs, high points, challenges, ass kicking work outs, and lifestyle changes I have encountered over the past 3 years.

My dedication is written on my body.  Every time I look in the mirror I see a new me.  A healthier, happier and all together more amazing me.   I am not only healthier physically but mentally as well.  I can finally say I am proud of who I have become.  Now, I just want to live my life to the fullest and I want to inspire others to do the same.

Love your body and treat it with respect.  Then others will start to see your dedication written all over your own body.

Goal setting!

Whether you are at the end of your weight loss journey or at the beginning everyone has goals.  What are your goals? Write them down and hang them somewhere that you will see daily.  That way, when you are having a bad day you can remind yourself why you are working so hard.  You can remember what you are trying to accomplish.

Reevaluate your goals every once in awhile.  See which ones you have met and see which ones you would like to change.  If you meet all your goals, strive to come up with new, more challenging ones.  Life is all about challenging yourself.  Challenge yourself to do something you think is impossible at the moment.  Then, when you accomplish it you will realize that EVERYTHING is possible if you work for it.  Nothing comes easy, so keep working, keep setting goals and keep living healthy!

My goals at the moment:

1. To keep defining my abs, I want a tight body.
2. To do yoga 2 times a week.
3. To work out 6/7 days each week.
4. To work towards doing running race of some sort.
5. To love myself completely.
6. To focus on gaining muscle and not the pesky number on the scale.
7. To log my weight weekly (just to keep track).

These are just my health goals, feel free to also write down your personal life goals. :]

Vegetarian Spanish Chik'n and Rice

I found this recipe in an issue of Clean Eating magazine.  I was first intrigued by how good the food in the picture looked and next by the protein and calorie stats the recipe had.  I knew I had to try it asap as I was already drooling thinking about it! Luckily, it turned out to be even MORE delicious than I thought it was going to be and oh so filling.

Vegetarian Spanish Chik'n and Rice

Ingredients:

• 1 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
• 4 Quron Chik'n Cutlets
• 1/4 tsp sea salt and black pepper (per serving)
• 1 tbsp minced garlic
• 1 small yellow onion, diced
• 1 green bell pepper, diced
• 1 1/3 cups uncooked instant brown rice
• 32 oz canned diced tomatoes with liquid
• 2 tsp chile powder
• 2 tsp ground cumin
• 1/4 cup pitted and sliced green olives
• 1/4 cup fresh cilantro
• 1/4 cup crumbled queso fresco

Directions:

1. In a large pan heat oil on medium-high.  Season Chik'n on both sides with salt and pepper.  Transfer to pan and saute until lightly brown.  Set Chik'n aside.
2. Add garlic and onion to the pan and saute for 1 minute.  Add bell pepper and saute for 2 more minutes. Add rice and stir until it is lightly toasted and combined with the vegetables.
3. Add tomatoes with liquid, chile powder and cumin to pan.  Stir to combine and break apart and large tomato chunks. (If the rice is not fully covered by the tomato liquid add water until it is.) Bring to a boil then, reduce to a simmer.
4. Place Chik'n on top of the rice mixture.  Cover and cook for 5 minutes or until rice is tender.
5. Add olives and cilantro to the rice mixture and stir.
6. Portion out serving sizes before adding cheese evenly among all servings.

*Serves 4, serving size 1 cup rice mixture and 1 Chik'n cutlet.  340 calories and 32g protein per serving!

Enjoy.

Do this for you!

YOU have to want to lose weight, no one else can want it for you.  Be your own motivator, dig deep inside and find your inner strength.  Changing your lifestyle to a healthy one has to be done when you are fully ready to commit to a life of health. Only you can know when you are ready, but when you are commit fully to whatever plan you have.  Don't half ass anything.  If you half ass it eventually you will end up close to where you started.  Changing takes courage and commitment.  You can do it!  Have faith in yourself and you will see results. :]

Some days are better than others.

Don't let one bad decision ruin your whole day, week or month. You can do this I promise you.  Remind yourself of the promise you have made to living a new healthy lifestyle.  This promise isn't just for now but it is for the rest of your life.

We all have bad days but we should never let one bad day stop us from reaching our goal.  For example yesterday at work my boss bought us all a chocolate cake to share.  Now I am typically not a fan of cake, but this one looked delicious with a whipped chocolate frosting and cookie crumbles on top. Yum, it was too appealing to the eye to say no so I had a pretty good sized piece.


After eating it my mind immediately started turning wondering if I should have had it or not.  I pondered about it for a minute or so and then reminded myself that one piece of cake wasn't going to kill my day.  What would kill my day was if I let that one piece of cake spiral into eating unhealthy for the duration of the day. Right then I decided I would eat the rest of my normally planned meals for the day and I would be fine.


One thing I have learned through this whole weight loss journey is that it is okay to let yourself have a treat every now and then.  Does that mean I eat treats every day? No. Do I even have one every other day? Not usually. However, I do allow myself to have them every once in awhile.


If you deprive yourself of the things you love you will only crave them more. Just remember, when you do have a treat try to use portion control.  Instead
of eating multiple servings, just have 1 and really enjoy that serving.  Try not
to use eating the treat as an excuse to throw away the rest of your day. Eating a treat every now and then will not kill your progress, but eating unhealthy all day everyday will.

Vegetarian Quinoa-Stuffed Peppers

I love this recipe for Quinoa-Stuffed Peppers that I found in my Vegetarian times magazine! It is absolutely delicious and as a lover of stuffed peppers this may be the best one I have made yet! I typically serve it with an extra side of veggies and sometimes a bit of salsa.  Perfect for a light lunch or dinner!

Quinoa-Stuffed Peppers

Ingredients:

• 1 medium onion, finely chopped (1 cup)
• 2 Tbs. olive oil
• 2 ribs celery, finely chopped (½ cup)
• 1 Tbs. ground cumin
• 2 cloves garlic, minced (2 tsp.)
• 1 10-oz. pkg. frozen chopped spinach, thawed and squeezed dry
• 2 15-oz. cans diced tomatoes, drained, liquid reserved
• 1 15-oz. can black beans, rinsed and drained
• ¾ cup quinoa
• 3 large carrots, grated (1 ½ cups)
• 1 ½ cups grated reduced-fat pepper Jack cheese, divided
• 4 large red bell peppers, halved lengthwise, ribs removed

Directions:

1. Heat oil in saucepan over medium heat. Add onion and celery, and cook 5 minutes, or until soft. Add cumin and garlic, and sauté 1 minute. Stir in spinach and drained tomatoes. Cook 5 minutes, or until most of liquid has evaporated.

2. Stir in black beans, quinoa, carrots, and 2 cups water. Cover, and bring to a boil. Reduce heat to medium-low, and simmer 20 minutes, or until quinoa is tender. Stir in 1 cup cheese. Season with salt and pepper, if desired.

3. Preheat oven to 350°F. Pour liquid from tomatoes in bottom of baking dish.

4. Fill each bell pepper half with heaping 3/4-cup quinoa mixture, and place in baking dish. Cover with foil, and bake 1 hour. Uncover, and sprinkle each pepper with 1 Tbs. remaining cheese. Bake 15 minutes more, or until tops of stuffed peppers are browned. Let stand 5 minutes. Transfer stuffed peppers to serving plates, and drizzle each with pan juices before serving. 

*Serves 8, around 279 calories per 1/2 pepper and 14g protein!

Enjoy!

Vegetarian Jambalaya

Jambalaya is delicious, but is typically pretty high in calories. I found this recipe a while ago for a lower calorie version. Every time I make it I fall more and more in love with it. Sometimes the cook time varies, just check your rice to make sure it is tender. :] I typically serve this with a Quorn Naked Chik'n Cutlet to amp up the protein and calories.  

Vegetarian Jambalaya:

Ingredients:

• 1 medium onion, finely chopped
• 1 cup chopped celery
• 1 cup chopped green pepper
• 1 cup sliced fresh mushrooms
• 2 garlic cloves, minced
• 1 teaspoon olive oil
• 3 cups chopped fresh tomatoes
• 2 cups water
• 1 cup uncooked long grain rice
• 2 tablespoons reduced-sodium soy sauce
• 1 tablespoon minced fresh parsley
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 teaspoon paprika
• 1/8 teaspoon cayenne pepper
• 1/8 teaspoon chili powder
• 1/8 teaspoon pepper
• 6 tablespoons reduced fat sour cream

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Directions

1. In a large nonstick skillet, saute the onion, celery, green pepper, mushrooms and garlic in oil until tender. Stir in the tomatoes, water, rice, soy sauce, parsley, salt, paprika, cayenne, chili powder and pepper.
2. Transfer to a 2-1/2-qt. baking dish coated with nonstick cooking spray. Cover and bake at 350 degrees F for 65-70 minutes or until rice is tender and liquid is absorbed. Top each serving with 1 tablespoon sour cream.

*Makes about 6 servings, 1 cup per serving. ~190 calories per serving and 5g protein

Happy eating!

Things that inspire me to keep going.

Here are a few comments that people from my past have sent to me recently after seeing my progress.  To know I inspire other's just fuels my fire to continue living healthy.  Thank you to everyone for your outpouring support and love.  I inspire you, and you in-turn inspire me.

"I ran at 6 am this morning because of you..... for serious. keep it up, keep up with the blog. I've shown your progress to countless people, I've referenced your perseverance to countless struggling patients, and at 25 with somewhat recalcitrant hypertension, I've used your experiences as my motivation to not take a lifelong disease lying down. Run a marathon and share it, you're an inspiration to everyone (even if they aren't commenting)" -Casey

"You are SUCH an inspiration lady! And as always, that beautiful smile has been the highlight of it all :)" -Kate

"Nichole, this is SOOO inspirational. So many people always think that they are stuck and you are just proof that you can accomplish anything that you want! I am soOooo motivated by this! you look great!" -Jenn  

"Wow we are so proud of you!!!!!!! You are as beautiful on the outside as you are on the inside. Love and miss you." -My Mom & Dad 

"Awesome blog Nichole! You're an inspiration. I'm proud of you for the lifestyle change that you have made... you look great!" -Kristen

Thank you all again.

Trying out yoga!

Now that Insanity is over I am trying to do an overhaul on my workout routine.  Trying all sorts of new activities and exercises to figure out what works best for me.  I work at a health club and really have no excuses since most classes are free for me to take.  It is a pretty nice perk to the job, free gym membership and a great facility to work out in!

This morning I decided to try out yoga with two of my friends (Cassandra and Shelby).  The class starts bright and early at 6am so I am able to get it done before work at 7:45!  I am an early to bed, early to rise kind of girl so I actually prefer morning classes compared to night ones. 

I was a little timid to try yoga at first as I really do not have much experience doing yoga at all.  I have done videos at home before, but honestly it is nothing like yoga in a class setting.  Once I got in there I felt a little more at ease as my friends are pretty new to the class too.  They only started to go last week. 

The class was difficult but it was also good for me.  I really think I could get into yoga if I keep going and keep up with it.  The instructor was really nice and complimented me on how strong I was (I will try not to let this go to my head but I was ecstatic when he said this).  He also was very helpful and did not mind that I was a beginner, in a not so beginner class.

Hopefully I can catch on to the yoga lingo, at the moment I only really know upward/downward dog.  I will get there slowly but surely.  I think I will make a goal of trying to fit yoga into my schedule at least 2 days a week!

I hope everyone is enjoying their Tuesday!  What did you do to work out today?

 

(Just a little motivation for everyone! I love this quote!)