Baked Chicken

Yum! So this was my first attempt at cooking a whole chicken...I think I did well and it was very easy...though next time I think I will just use bonless/skinless chicken breast cause I ended up not eating the dark meat and peeling off the skin...but it looked
cool:)



Ingredients:
Whole chicken or 4-5 chicken breasts
1 Tbs Kosher salt
1 Tbs black pepper
2 Tbs olive oil
2 lemons
1 can chicken broth
1/2 cup feta cheese
some parsley to make it pretty
First, clean out your chicken (make sure there isn't a bag of organs left inside), then rub the chicken inside and out with a mixture of salt, pepper and olive oil. next place the chicken chest side up in a baking dish and pour the chicken broth over it. Cut up your lemons in half and squeeze one whole lemon over the chicken. sprinkle the chicken with feta (inside and out), add the left over lemon to the inside of the chicken put in a preheated at 400 F oven and bake for 4-60 min.



Tips: I baked the chicken the wrong side up in these pictures and had to bake it longer once I cut into it and saw it was not done. I used a bakers rack to put inside my pan to set the chicken up on. You can also used cut up onions to make a rack for the chicken.

Sphaghetti Squash

Yum!
So because I don't eat gluten and to save the carbs I learned how to make Spaghetti using spaghetti Squash! Very simple and good for you and very yummy!
Here is what you do:
Poke the squash like you would a potato, then place it in a baking dish filled 1/3 with water. Place in a 400 degree oven for about 20-25 min. This makes it so much easier to cut.
When it is done, cut the top off and bottom, this makes for easier cutting, then cut down the middle. Next, scrape out the seeds and finer fibers. Finally take a fork and scrape the inside. You will get noodle like fibers that resemble angel hair pasta. Joe and I like to add a little garlic and Extra Virgin Olive oil and then top with whatever you heart desires. This week I used 3 oz lean ground beef, 1 cup tomato sauce and some freshly grated Parmesan cheese.

(about 2 cups spaghetti squash = 1 block carbs)

Faux Pancakes or Vanilla Omelet

Ok...so I was flipping through the book, Naturally Thin, at the bookstore the other day and I saw a recipe for pancakes...yum! I have not had pancakes in a long time, well since that time my husby was trying to be all sweet right when I started to follow zone eating principles. Anyway, after reading the recipe I was salivating just thinking of that yummy syrup and so today I made the Faux Pancake:)
It is simple...too simple...
1/2 cup egg substitute or 2 eggs
1 tbs vanilla
That is it! Cook it like you would an omelet, but turn it like a pancake.
I then added 2 turkey sausage links, 9 almonds, a cup of fresh cut strawberries, and 2 tbs low sugar syrup!
Now because of the syrup and sugar this is not "the perfect" meal...but it is a 3 block zone balanced treat!

side note: some people like more or less vanilla- try it out and see what you like best! But please share if you do I love to make things even better!

Revamp

OK- I have no brain left, as I am working hard towards graduation and can not for the life of me remember what I ate 3 days ago. I do know its been all zone friendly, with no cheating, which is awesome! I also think that I am now "in habit" And I keep eating the same things over and over. I think I am going to "revamp" my blog and start sharing my story and recipes.
As of today I have really improved my performance at crossfit, I'm not a great runner, but I am gonna get there, I have successfully done a some unassisted pull ups and am always hitting PR's when it comes to lifting...It feels good.
I have also lost some weight...I never weighed myself at the beginning, but I think its around 15lbs, I still want to loose some more, but it will come and it comes with being disciplined, not cheating so much, and working hard.
I have also shrunk about 12 inches in my waist, hips and thighs and can see more muscle definition and I am also down from a size 12 to a size 8!
The best is I just feel better, I have so much more energy, endurance, people are complementing my skin and hair "glow", its just been awesome.
So thanks for being my accountability, and I am looking froward to making this more of a recipe/continued success blog!

Day #86

Breakfast
3/4 cup low fat cottage cheese
3 pineapple slices
9 almonds

Lunch:
chicken Salad
3 oz chicken
9 grams sunflower seeds
2 cups mixed greens
1/4 cup broccoli
4 cheery tomatoes
Balsamic Vinaigrette

Dinner:
I actually had the same thing I did for lunch :)

Snack:
1/2 cup grapes
1 oz low fat cheese
3 almonds

Day #85

Breakfast:
Strawberry Smoothie
1 cup low fat yogurt
1 cup strawberries
9 almonds
3 strips turkey bacon

Lunch:
3 block paleo kit

Snack:
2 oz low fat cheese
1 apple
6 almonds

Dinner:
Hard Boiled Egg salad
3 hard boiled eggs mixed with 3 tbs miriacle whip and 2 tbs mustard, splash paprika, 1 tbs balsamic vinegar
1 cup sweet potato

Day #84

Breakfast:
2 eggs over easy
3 strips turkey bacon
1 apple
9 almonds

Lunch:
3 block paleo kit

Dinner:
12 spears asparagus in olive oil (about 2 tbs(
4 oz ground turkey
1 1/2 cup tomato sauce
1/2 cup egg plant
7 cashews

Snack
1/4 cup sweet potatoes
1 1/2 tbs pecans
2 oz cheese