Skinny Chicken Parmesan

2 Chicken breasts
1 extra large egg
1tsp water
1 cup italtian bread crumbs
1 tsp garlic powder
1/2 tsp onion powder
1/2 tsp parsley
2 TBS parmesan cheese
Thin Spaghetti
spaghetti sauce (Bertolli's is my favorite)
Preheat oven to 400.
Mix egg and water in a shallow bowl, and in a separate bowl, mix bread crumbs, garlic powder, onion powder, parsley and parmesan cheese.
 Dip chicken into the egg mixture, and then into the breadcrumb mixture and coat evenly.
Place on greased cooling rack OVER a baking sheet and bake at 4000 for 20min-30 min or until the chicken if FULLY cooked. While chicken is baking, cook spaghetti noodles. When noodles are done, mix with enough spaghetti sauce to coat the noodles. Place cooked chicken on top on of spaghetti and top with sauce.
Serve with salad and breadsticks.

Side note... a friend mentioned to me something about my plated always being 'staged'... haha well, one plate does get staged... the other one looks like this. ;)

Quick and Easy::Asian Chicken Lettuce Wraps

These were a HUGE hit at our house! I kind of expected my husband to turn up his nose at this kind of 'chick' food, but he LOVED them! I will most definitely be making these over and over again!

 

1 large chicken breast, diced

2 small zucchini, cut into a small dice

1/2 tsp garlic powder

1/2 tsp of each salt and pepper

1/3 cup of Kraft Asian Toasted Sesame Dressing

6-8 lettuce cups, I used romaine

1 large carrot, finely diced

1/2 cup finely chopped peanuts

 

In a sauté pan, cook chicken in a little vegetable oil. When the chicken is about 1/2 way done, add your zucchini, garlic, and s+p. Allow to sauté for about 10 minutes until chicken is cooked through and zucchini is softened. Then add the dressing and simmer for about 5 minutes until the dressing is mostly absorbed.

Add about 1/4-1/2 cup of the filling to a lettuce cup, and top with carrots and peanuts. Top with siracha hot sauce if you like.



Black Bean Confetti Tacos

Thank you for all the sweet comments! We are loving life with our chunky baby girl!

And speaking of... ahem... chunky... :)

I am still trying to drop this stubborn 10 lbs of 'chunk' to get down to my pre-baby weight!

So heres a very filling, healthy recipe from me to you!

1 can black beans, drained and rinsed

1 can sweet corn

2-3 TBS salsa

1 TBS taco seasoning

1 TBS chopped cilantro (optional)

8 fajita size flour tortillas

garnishes: cheese, lettuce, salsa, avacado, sour cream, etc.

 

In a saucepan combine blackbeans, corn, salsa, cilantro and taco seasoning, simmer until heated through. Warm tortillas and prepare contiments. Assemble tacos and enjoy!!

 



Chicken Bacon Ranch Wrap

Lunch is hard at our house. My husband doesnt come home from work for the time being, and my 2 year old's nap is at 12, so he eats earlier. That just leaves me. I never really want to make a huge fuss over lunch, but if I don't eat something substantial, I'll snack all day long. Not good.

Wraps and sandwiches are usually my favorite lunch food, and I try to switch them up quite often so they dont get too boring. My husband got the chicken rach quesedillas from Chili's a couple nights proir, and they were still on my radar (thank you pregnancy) so I decided to do a slightly lighter version.

 

Makes 1 wrap

1 large wrap or tortilla

1 TBS ranch dressing

3 oz grilled chicken (eyeball it)

2 slices monterey jack cheese

2 slices of turkey bacon

lettuce

red onion

Siracha hot sauce (optional)

 

Cook your bacon until crisp. If you chicken is leftovers (like mine was) heat it in a skillet until very warm.

Spread the ranch dressing evenly over the tortilla.

 Once the chicken is heated, place on the tortilla and imedietly cover with the cheese. This will allow the cheese to melt slightly.

 Follow with all the other ingredients. Roll and Enjoy.

 

Carrot and Oatmeal Muffins for your picky toddler

My little buster loves muffins! So I added a few things to bulk up the nutrition!

This is such a quick, easy recipe! You need 3 things...

Oatmeal muffin mix (okay, and the stuff to fix it, mine took and egg and 1/3 c milk)

1 carrot, grated

2 TBS wheat germ

Mix and bake according to package directions.

Easy peasy!

Lemon Broccoli Farfalle with Chicken

Okay so honestly this is probobly my favorite lunch ever. Aside from a big fat cheeseburger with onion rings and a strawberry shake that is ;) But the scale appreciates this recipe more! :)

Makes 2 servings

1/2 box Farfalle pasta

2 cups frozen broccoli

1 cup grilled chicken

2 TBS olive oil (or less)

2 TBS fresh lemon juice

1 TBS parmesan cheese (optional)

salt and pepper

Cook pasta according to package directions, after the pasta is done, drop the broccoli in the boiling water and heat until thawed and warmed through, then drain everything.

In a large bowl toss all ingredients together, add S&P to taste.

This takes really like 10 minutes to make and it is SO yummy!

Healthy Afternoon Snacks {Free Printable}

Again, I apologize for being MIA lately... this flu is kicking my butt!

So last week I mentioned that I have jumped on the healthy wagon and am trying to lose a few pounds before the next little one decides to come along (which will not be soon, if everything goes as panned)

However, I am no good with diets. No good at all! I HATE sugar free food, I dont do pre-packaged meals, and I need my snacks. 3pm is my downfall. It doesn't matter if I've had a great lunch or I know we are having an early dinner... I need my 3 pm snack.

And that right there, my friends, is where I tend to get myself into trouble... with the vanilla wafers.... and the PB&J... and the doritos... OH the doritos.

So after a few days of calorie counting, I decided to make a list, savory and sweet, of snack options that I enjoy, and their calorie counts.

Now, I have to tell you first, these are the calorie counts on the products I buy, they may not be the exact same as yours, so if you are calorie counting, I suggest double checking. But for the most part, these are all regular (not non-fat or diet) products, unless it says so.

I just printed this list on regular cardstock, cut it out and taped it up in my pantry so I have lots of ideas when the snack attacks show up!

Hope it helps you too!

Download

Skinny Buffalo Tacos

Sorry I've fallen off the blog wagon! The flu hit our house... and it hit HARD. So I'm still trying to get back into the swing of things!

Makes 6 tacos

2 chicken breasts cut into cubes

1 tsp garlic powder

1/2 c. Franks Red Hot sauce

2T margarine

6 corn tortillas

1 cup shredded cabbage

1/2 cup shredded cheese

light ranch dressing

In a large skillet, cook your chicken cubes until no longer pink. In a separate small sauce pan, melt margarine into hot sauce and pour over chicken. Steam tortillas in a damp paper towel for 3 seconds in the microwave. Top tortillas with chicken, cheese, cabbage, and ranch.

Chicken & Apple Wrap

Ok, so in the next few weeks, you may notice a pattern in my recipes!... we are tying to eat healthier at our house! I decided to get us on the right track, and help us learn portion control (okay and to kick off my weight loss) We have started counting calories! It actually hasn't been as hard as I had expected! I just keep a notebook on my counter and when I eat something I jot it down! It has helped us cut down a ton on snacking and kept our portion sizes under control! And bonus... I've lost 3 lbs! :) Now I know that we wont be able to count calories forever, but I just wanted to use this as a way to sort of 'train' our bodies to eat healthier, and less! Anyways... I may do a post on more about that later! Now onto lunch the other day!

Chicken & Apple Wrap

makes 2 wraps

2 low calorie whole wheat wraps

10 thin slices chicken breast deli meat

8 thin slices granny smith apple

1 low fat string cheese

red leaf lettuce

mustard

4 Sandwich style pickle slices

ground black pepper

Lay out your tortilla, layer the chicken and apples. Take 1/2 of the string cheese, shred it into pieces and add it to the wrap. Sprinkle with black pepper...

it should look somewhat like this...

Add lettuce pickle and mustard. Roll tightly, cut in 1/2 and serve.

Toddler Smoothies

My poor little buster has been trying to get these darn molars for a few months now :( Some days are worse than others, especially for eating! Some days I'm lucky if I can get him to eat a handful of blueberries (his FAVORITE food!) So on those days, in order to get nutrition in him, I make him a smoothie! They are really basic and SUPER cheap to make!

I start with a base...

1 cup vitamin d milk

1/2 cup vanilla yogurt

a handful of spinach leaves

then I add a grain...

either 1/4 cup wheat germ, or 1/4 cup of oatmeal/rice/multigrain baby cereal

then a fruit... or 2... or 3.

hand full of strawberries/blueberries/banana/peaches/whatever

then I will usually add a baby food to it. I keep these on hand just for this reason.

these are some of my favorites to use...

and if it's hot out, add a few use cubes to make it a true smoothie!

then all you do it toss it all in a blender and whir it up until it will easily pass through a sippy cup! If it's too thick, add more milk.

It's a great way for me to get nutrients into my little one when he wont eat anything!

Oh, and I don't in anyways claim to be a professional, nutritionist, or a doctor. This is just something I use in my family!

Hot & Spicy Baked Chicken Nuggets

We LOVE these chicken nuggets at our house! They are crispy and juicy and HEALTHY! What more can you ask for!? I make these often!

Hot & Spicy Baked Chicken Nuggets

2 chicken breasts cut into chunks

1/2 cup flour + 1 tsp chili flakes

2 eggs + splash of milk + 1 tsp hot sauce

1 cup Italian breadcrumbs + 1 tsp garlic powder + 1/2 tsp paprika

Mix each combination into 3 shallow bowls. Staring with the flour, bread the chicken in each 3 bowls, flour, eggs, then breadcrumbs. Place on a baking sheet and bake for 20-30 min at 400 or until no longer pink.

Baked Fish and Chips

These were SO good! And super easy! They were really crispy on the outside and tender on the inside! I will definitely be making these again!

Baked Fish and Chips

3 Tilapia fillets cut into strips

Flour Mixture: 1/2 c. Flour + salt and pepper + 1/2 tsp lemon pepper

Egg Wash: 1 egg + splash of water+ salt and pepper

Breading: 3/4 cup Rice Krispies (crushed) + 1/3 cup Italian Breadcrumbs + 1/2 tsp garlic powder + 1/4 tsp onion powder + 1/4 tsp paprika

Preheat your oven to 400 degrees.

Mix all 3 of your mixtures into separate shallow bowls. Dip your fish strips into the flour mixture first, and shake off the excess. Next, dip the fish into the egg mixture. Lastly, dip the fish into the breading mixture.

Place fish onto an OVEN SAFE cooling rack that has been greased and placed on top of a baking sheet. this allows the hot air to circulate around the fish so you don't get a mushy bottom. Once you have repeated the process, lightly spray the fish with vegetable cooking spray (this helps it crisp up) and Bake for about 20-30 min. We like our fish overcooked, so I did more like 40 min! But our fish was on the thick side. Just keep checking it until it's done to your liking.

Oh and for the chips I just used walmart brand seasoned fries, they are a favorite at our house! But you can use this recipe for steak fries!

I made a quick Tarter sauce to dip the fish in, All you need is

1/2 c. miracle whip

1 TBS relish

1/4 tsp garlic powder

salt and pepper

Garlic Lime Tilapia

We love fish at our house! Salmon is our go to dinner, but I decided to switch it up! This fish was SO good! My husband actually made it, and it was like pulling teeth trying to get him to remember what he put in it! Finally he remmebered and I am so glad, because I will definetly be making this fish again!

Garlic Lime Tilapia

2 Tilapia Fillets

1/2 tsp lemon pepper

1/2 tsp garlic bread seasoning

1 tsp black pepper

2 TBS lime juice

Drizzle tialpia with lime juice and sprinkle with a little of each of the seasonings. Grill on the barbeque or on a skillet.

Healthier Banana Bread Muffins

These banana bread muffins are AH-MAZING! They are SO moist and yummy, I probably ate a few too many! Next time I think I will double the batch and freeze half. I got the original recipe form this amazing site, and them my changes are in italics.

Makes 22-24 muffins

4-6 ripe medium bananas, mashed

1/2 cup unsweetened apple sauce

2-1/2 cups unbleached all purpose flour

1-1/2 tsp baking soda

1/2 tsp salt

4 tbsp butter, softened

1 cup light brown sugar

2 large eggs

1 tsp vanilla extract

3 oz (3/4 cup) chopped pecans

1 tsp cinnamon

Pam baking spray

Preheat oven to 325°. Line two 12 cup muffin tins.
In a medium bowl, combine flour, baking soda and salt with a wire whisk. Set aside.

In a large bowl cream butter and sugar with an electric mixer. Add eggs, bananas, apple sauce cinnamon and vanilla, and beat at medium speed until thick. Scrape down sides of the bowl.

Add flour mixture and pecans, then blend at low speed until combined. Do not over mix.

Pour batter into muffin pans and bake on the center rack for 30-40 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.

Let the pan cool at least 20 minutes.

Salmon with Fresh Peach Salsa

Since peach season is upon us, and my sweet mothers tree is OVERLOADED with peaches, I took it upon myself to find something to do with this abundance of peachy-ness. And let me tell you... this was a HIT at our house!

Salmon:

2 Salmon fillets (mine were frozen from walmart)

2TBS soy sauce

3 TBS milk

2 tsp chili sauce

1/4 tsp garlic powder

1/8 tsp onion powder

Peach Salsa:

1 ripe peach

2 TBS finely dices green bell pepper

1/2 tsp lime juice

1/4 tsp honey

salt and pepper

Marinate your salmon in the soy sauce, milk, chili sauce, garlic powder and onion powder for about an hour, and then grill. While with salmon in marinating, mix all of the salsa ingredients in a bowl and allow to sit for at least 20-30 min. top cooked salmon with peach salsa and enjoy!

Easy Fruit Dip

1/2 cup vanilla yogurt

1/4 cup applesauce

strawberries, bananas, peaches or any other fruit

Mix applesauce and yougurt together, and dip with fruit.

Chicken Parmesan

Easy Healthy Chicken Parmesan

2 Chicken breasts
1 extra large egg
1tsp water
1 cup italtian bread crumbs
1 tsp garlic powder
1/2 tsp onion powder
1/2 tsp parsley
2 TBS parmesan cheese
Whole wheat spaghetti noodles
spaghetti sauce
Mozzarella cheese

Mix egg and water in a shallow bowl, and in a separate bowl, mix bread crumbs, garlic powder, onion powder, parsley and parmesan cheese. Dip chicken into the egg mixture, and then into the breadcrumb mixture and coat evenly. Place on greased baking sheet and bake at 350 for 20min or until the chicken if FULLY cooked. While chicken is baking, cook enough spaghetti noodles for two. When noodles are done, mix with enough spaghetti sauce to coat the noodles. Place cooked chicken on top on of spaghetti and top with mozzarella cheese.

personal picks.

                1-3.found HERE. 4. found HERE.

So I love great skin care. Here are some secrets, that I personally love. 

Bare minerals and I are friends. I love this makeup..if you haven't tried it, do!

It feels like you are wearing nothing and it covers up great. Not to mention it doesn't 

have all the crud in there to clog up your pores. It's natural and soft on your skin, plus 

has spf.  Numbers 2 & 3 are just glycolic and lactic acid washes, something that will help 

tone your skin. It is basically a mini lactic {or glycolic} peel, which will lift a lot of sun damage, acne scars, 'brown spots", etc. it's nice to just even out your skin tone. But make sure to know that your skin 

is uber sensitive while doing this, so don't go outside without sunscreen. 

number 4 is my favorite of all. I love Aveda! a lot!! This is the tourmaline line, it's amazing.

I have super dry skin and this stuff doesn't mess. The exfoliating wash is so soft on your skin, not 

stripping everything off your face..like some exfoliating washes. The creme goes a lonnnng way. 

I would only use like a teeny tiny amount and feel so hydrated all day long. I have never used that

radiance fluid, but I would suggest it..because I love aveda, haha.

but yah, this is my little spill on keeping your face pretty. 

Which it's just as important, if not more, in the winter to use 

these things. Keep your face super hydrated and healthy. Exfoliating

it regularly will help sluf off all that dead winter skin, and toners will

help with all that red skin. Keep your skin healthy and happy this winter!

Veggie Pizza

1 can crescent rolls
1/2 block of cream cheese
A few tablespoons of dry ranch mix (depending on how 'ranchy' you like it)
Veggie toppings, like carrots, broccoli, cauliflower, celery, cucumbers, tomatoes, etc.
Other toppings, like ham/turkey, kidney beans, olives etc.
press 1 can (i use 1/2 can if it's just me) of crescent rolls flat onto a cookie sheet and cook until golden brown and crisp. (like 11 minutes) set it aside and let it cool. Mix 1/2 block of cream cheese with some with the dry ranch mix. chop your veggies. once the crescent rolls have cooled, spread cream cheese mixture on top and throw on your veggies! YUM YUM YUM!!!! i could eat this every day! and i use fat free crescent rolls and reduced fat cream cheese, so its pretty healthy!