Introducing the weekly Menu Shout-out [Menu Shout-out]

Well, it seems I get these ideas for stuff I want to do on the blog all on Monday. I guess it's the stress of coming back to work combined with the rest I got over the weekend. I decided though that Monday was getting a little full with the new weekly SnackAttack and the poll question. So, I decided that I would do this new idea on Tuesdays to help spread things out over the week.

It's called the Menu Shout-out. Stacie has been wanting to start putting up recipe ideas for a while now about things we're eating and I thought this would be a good way to help kick-start that idea. Each week, we'll be asking one of our regular readers to submit a recipe idea along with preparation steps and calorie count to help give some ideas when you're not sure what to make. Or maybe to add a little bit of new variety in the diet to make sure you're eating healthy. Best of all, this give you more ideas than just ours because maybe we eat what you don't like or you want to eat a certain way. No problem! We don't mind, so long as the calories are right and balance is healthy.

So, on to the first Menu Shout-out. This one comes courtesy of my very own sister who lives up in Wisconsin with her future-surgeon husband and two boys.

Heck yeah!
ok here it is.

Chicken and Wild Rice Dinner

Ingredients:
frozen chicken (seasoned with olive oil, thyme, sage)
Lundberg's wild rice
frozen sweet white corn
asparagus
olive oil
thyme
sage
chicken bullion cube

Time to Prepare:
50 minutes (but that's just because the rice has to cook forever. The work involved is very minimal, you just need to cook it a little ahead of time)

Calories per Serving:
1 Chicken breast
1/2 c. rice
4 asparagus spears
1/2 c. corn

Total=300!

Preparation Steps:

Cook the rice first because it will take the longest. However much you want according to the package. Throw a bullion cube in with it while it cooks.

Meanwhile...combine:
1 Tbsp olive oil
2 frozen chicken breasts
1/2 c. water

In pan, cook for 4-5 minutes on one side then add thyme, sage, salt and pepper(I just give a few good dashes on each). Add water if needed. These can sit until the rice is done, it makes them more moist.
Cut the ends off the asparagus and get a pot of water boiling. Use a large pot so you don't have to cut them in half, then they are easier to count and prettier too.

Measure out how much corn you want and cook for 1 min 30 sec in the microwave.

Comments:
This is one of my favorite meals because it is so easy and so low calorie! A nice blend of protein/fat/carbs. It's a good one to make if you have a baby in one arm.

Man, I'm getting good...

...at this weekly poll thing! ;)

New poll for the week. Feel like your all alone struggling with that craving you have during the day? No longer do you need to feel that you're on your own. People, let us know when you've got the munchies during the day and send a shout-out and word of encouragement by way of the comments.

Expect a few more posts this week as now that I've got Stacie back from Utah, we'll be working hard on moving forward. Should have some good posts to detail our efforts.

Malt-o-Meal Hot Cereal [SnackAttack]

And now for a brief message from our sponsors...

Just kidding, but I really should be getting paid by these groups for plugging their products. I might have to go mention all the free advertising they're getting here. ;)

For this week's SnackAttack we look to a product that's considered a meal, but then you look at how many calories it has per serving and realize you might have found the most filling snack imaginable.

Malt-o-Meal Hot Cereal - Chocolate flavor
Serving Size: 35 g (unprepared)
Calories: 130-160 (depending on how much sugar you add)

** I should definitely add a caveat - even though this is chocolate flavor, you do have to add a bit of sugar to get the sweetness just right. I usually add about 1.5 teaspoons to mine which adds an additional 25 calories to this dish. Worse, if you absolutely have to add milk to this cereal, the calories push it much more into the meal range.**

With that little warning out of the way, let me just say that I LOVE this stuff. I've eaten this every day for the last week as a snack during the day at work. I can definitely tell you that it gets me dirty looks after cooking it because it just smells good. And by far the best part is that once you've cooked it, it fills an entire bowl! It's huge!

It's warm, filling, tastes good, fills one more "grains" requirement from the food pyramid, and can be customized in just about any way imaginable. My latest is to turn it more into a meal by adding a half serving of peanut butter; gives a a nice shot of protein and fun flavor. Want an evening dessert that won't wipe out your good workout? Drop a few chocolate chips in and it makes a killer before-bed sweet, though look for a definite calorie pinch if you do.

If you can learn to eat it plain (which is really not that hard to do) it is definitely more of a snack. A great way to feel like you're eating something naughty and not having the guilt that goes with it. They have a maple brown sugar version too. I wonder if it's as good? Stay tuned and I may review it as well.

We now return you to your regularly scheduled blog.

Moving Forward

I've become a real fan of the montra "Two steps forward, one step back" because it seems to be a real factor in the way I live my life. The last two weeks have been very up and down in terms of weight loss, but I finally moved past my next milestone - breaking into the 230's. That means, to date, I've officially lost 15 lbs!

Stacie has really gotten into the TurboJam trend and hasn't missed a day in her workout schedule. She's still in Utah right now, so no updates on how much she's lost, but she has definitely gotten the new habit of exercising wrapped up. I'm really looking forward to she and Sammie returning home this weekend so that she can help motivate me to do my exercising.

Supporting Each Other

Just wanted to take a minute to introduce our new sister site...literally! My sister, Andrea, has started her own weight loss blog to detail her efforts and get support and it gave me an idea.

Any of you out there that are starting a new fitness routine or starting to loose weight, if you want to blog about it, send me an email or post a comment and I add you to a new set of links here where you can go and check out other people's progress, get/give support, and find new ideas for getting in shape.

I'm hoping that with time, this will grow to become a great network for getting support as we work on our goals for gaining control of our bodies.

Andrea's Weight Loss Blog

New Poll and a Question

Added a new poll today - this one lets you select multiple answers, so let us know what meals you plan ahead of time.

Now, for my question to you all: After last week's polls about living healthy promoting happiness, I wonder - why is so difficult to maintain a healthy life style when we know it makes us happy?

This is one that I think has many possible answers, so I want to hear from you all.

Post your answers in the comments.

Sam's Choice Trail Mix [SnackAttack]

Hey all!

Here's this weeks SnackAttack:

Sam's Choice Trail Mix - Indulgent Variety
Calories: 170
Serving Size: 35 g

I almost consider this more of a dessert than a snack at times because of how much chocolate is in it - it's got semi-sweets and white chocolate chips as well peanut butter chips. It just tastes too sweet some times. It has almonds, cashews, golden raisins, and dried cranberries as well. Very tasty, but if you find yourself gravitating a lot towards "sweet" snacks, you should probably pass this one by for a while till you got good control over those sweet cravings. You could easily eat way more than a single serving if you're not careful.

Overall, a tasty snack that doesn't skimp on the more expensive nuts. And those nuts give you a good shot of protein. Sweet and easily addicting, be very judicious measuring out a serving size - I'd err on the small side.