Healthy Living Week 1

Week one of healthy eating has come to a close and I briefly wanted to share with you how it’s going.

SPECTACULAR

That’s about the best word I can sum up to tell you how I’m feeling about things.

1) I haven’t had a soda (minus two mixed drinks made with Dt. 7up instead of seltzer) and I think that is realy helping. I have replaced soda with seltzer, flavored water (like Crystal Light) and iced tea. 

2) I have been working out and it’s paying off already. I checked out a few DVDs from the library and completed one of them so far. I also found a few workouts on Pinterest and did some squats, pushups, crunches and jumping jacks. I definitely want to increase the length I hold a plank for! That is an additional goal for the next few weeks.

3) I went running!!! It felt so amazing to get back at it after a forced hiatus due to Polar Vortex after Polar Vortex! But I ran up in Appleton and pushed out 2.36 miles without a lot of pain or wheezing. The time wasn’t pretty but at least I did it right?

Then I ran on Monday here when it was 50 degrees out. I had to be really careful as there were puddles everywhere, but I made the best of it and had a blast. Again, not a great time but I did it.

Notice the left shoe is darker – soaked!

4) I made plenty of food on Sunday to get me through the week and I’ll share two of those recipes now with you. Making food in advance is a great idea. I have a variety for the week and don’t get so bored with my choices.

5) I realized that I don’t need chips and dip while I am having a few drinks. Popcorn and veggies do the trick as well. They keep the hands busy in between trying to win at Kings Corners, trying to one-up each other with the best song with can find on YouTube, sing along horribly to said songs and enjoying a drink or two.

Looking forward to another week of feeling great, eating healthy, shedding pounds and toning up.

Taco Casserole – idea taken from my cousin using all her leftovers to make an easy dinner.

1 lb. Ground Turkey
1/2 medium onion, finely choppped
3 mini sweet peppers, chopped (or half a red/orange/green pepper)
1 packet Taco Seasoning – low sodium preferred
2/3 cup water
1 tsp. cumin
1 can black beans, drained and rinsed
1/2 cup salsa
1 can mexican corn, drained

1 cup uncooked quinoa, cooked to directions on package
3/4 cup cheese, divided
3 dashes of green chile sauce (or any of your favorite hot sauces)

In a large skillet, cook ground turkey over medium high heat until cooked thru. Drain off any grease. Add taco seasoning, cumin, chile sauce, water, onions and peppers and simmer until onions are soft (about 5 minutes)

In a large mixing bowl, add beans, salsa, mexican corn, quinoa and 1/4 cup cheese and mix together. Add the turkey meat mixture and cooked quinoa and stir together.

Transfer contents to a large casserole dish and sprinkle remaining cheese over the top. Cover and place in oven at 350 degrees for 20-30 minutes or until cheese has melted and edges are bubbling.

Makes 6 servings.

Pasta with Asparagus, Cherry Tomatoes and Shrimp
adapted from here

Instead of Penne Pasta, I used Tofu Shirataki noodles. They have always made me curious and now I am a HUGE fan. They taste identical to regular pasta. You do need to rinse them and dry them very thoroughly and then cut them up. But for 20 calories and 3g of carbs per serving, you cannot go wrong!

I only had 1 cup of cherry tomatoes, so I chopped up a Roma and added it to the mix.

And I didn’t have fresh basil, so I used Penzey’s Pasta Sprinkle and some dried basil in the sauce.

After I finished the recipe and plated, I quickly pan grilled some shrimp with salt, pepper and garlic and placed them on top of the pasta dish.

Voila!

Makes 4 servings but you might need two bags of noodles if you are really into having them in the meal.