Cooking for One

Recently, I've gone through a breakup. I moved out of my exes and in to my own, one bedroom condo. I like my place, but I've found that I'm cooking a LOT less.

Don't get me wrong, I still LOVE to cook (& eat!). But, now I cook for fun and not for a chore. I no longer feel like I have to have dinner on the table every night or so many nights a week. If I want to have snacks and wine for dinner then I do it.

I still very much so value a nice, family dinner. But, for now, I more so value my independence and the ability to listen to my body. I eat when I'm hungry. I don't eat (or cook) because it is dinner time. This is having such a positive affect on my body weight, feelings and life. Rethink dinner some time!

Help! I'm Addicted to Guacamole!

I love Mexican food. I really love guacamole. Okay, I really just love any use of avocados. Although, guac and avocados pair best with bad Mexican food there are some easier alternatives:

• Guacamole on a breakfast omelet. You can leave out the cheese and potatoes to save carbs/calories. You can add, egg whites, tomatoes, onions, bell peppers, spinach, mushroom, jalapenos or just about any vegetable your little heart desires.
• Guacamole in a salad. You don't even need a dressing! It is so good with eggs, peppers, and tomatoes.
• Guacamole in pesto! Make your pesto normally and just add guacamole or avocado to it. Serve over spaghetti squash instead of noodles if you want to cut back.
• Guacamole on pizza! I like to make 'salad' pizzas. Let's face it, we all want pizza some time. Why not try to make it a little healthier? Try topping your cheese pizza with salad items next time. It is delicious.

Don't be afraid to try something weird. You might just find a new recipe!

Cheat Meals are the BEST Meals

I like to eat healthy as much as the next person, but I love a good cheat meal. If you're hung over, it is just that much more enjoyable. My go-to-favorite bad meal is alfredo. Here's how I make it:

1. Boil a bag of cheese stuffed tortellini  (typically 6-8 minutes). I add garlic salt and olive oil to my water.
2. While tortellini is cooking, I chop very finely (in this order), half an onion, two bell peppers and 1 tomato.
3. I sauté my onions and bell pepper in one heaping spoonful of butter for 3 minutes on low.
4. Then I add my tomato and one tablespoon of minced garlic and continue to cook on low for one more minute.
5. Lastly, I add 1/2 a small container of cream cheese and 1/2 a small container of sour cream. I cook on low/medium low till everything is melted and liquidated; roughly 2 minutes.
6. I strain my noodles and add them to the sauce and top with 1 cup of shredded parmesan cheese, crushed black pepper and blackening seasoning.

All in all, this meal probably takes 30 minutes and $20. It is DELICIOUS. It pairs great with chicken, shrimp, bread and wine. It is also very yummy reheated. I've made this with multiple types of noodles and have even frozen/reheated it before.

Be bad and be good at it:)  

Fish and Veggies

When I'm watching what I eat, my go to meal is fish and veggies! I love to get fresh salmon, bake it and serve it with whatever vegetable I'm feeling that day.

Today, I'm having baked salmon, lemon pepper and olive oil baked eggplant and steamed broccoli with a little butter and cheese. Check it out:

 

 

 

I typically cook these in mass and make containers for work and home for the week. I don't like to get burnt out though, so I usually make a variety of veggies and only enough fish for 2-3 days.

 

For any recipe request, let me know in the comment section below. Happy, healthy eating!

Chicago Deep Dish

Two weekends ago, I went to Chicago and tested two local deep dish hot spots: Giordanos and Lou Malnatis. Check out some photos:

At Giordano's (first photo) I had just a plain cheese pizza and it was delicious! It paired nicely with a local brew (312). As Lou Malnatis (second photo), I customized my order and got a cheese pizza base with onions, bell peppers, tomatoes and olives.

Although, I liked the ingredients better of the second pizza I preferred Giordano's! I cannot wait to go back and try other famous hot spots. What is your favorite Chicago deep dish restaurant? How do you deep dish or do you prefer thin crust?

Soul Food

Being from the South, I LOVE soul food. Lucky for us pescatarians near the Gulf of Mexico, soul food loves us back! As much as I love bagels and lox, I think the rest of the U.S. needs to try shrimp and grits or catfish and grits!

Recently, my boyfriend and I went to The Breakfast Klub in Houston, Texas. This place is known for it's amazing southern comfort food and their ridiculously long lines. We waited for an hour and half the other Sunday and it was SO worth it.

I could not believe that I found a place that made catfish (or Katfish as they call it) and grits as good as my moms! Their coffee was on point too. Here's some photos of the Katfish and Grits that I had:

This weekend, shake up your typical breakfast and try a southern classic instead!

P.S. I got a new camera for my birthday so hopefully I'll up the quality of my food pictures. However, a cell phone is just so convenient sometimes!

Remake of the Starbucks Roasted Tomato and Mozzarella Panini

When I'm in a rush and need a sandwich, I love Starbucks Roasted Tomato and Mozzarella Panini. But, I've often thought this could be SO much better. So, I remade it into an Eggplant, Tomato, Spinach, Mozzarella, Pesto Panini. Here's what mine looked like:

It was delicious! Here is the materials you need to make it:

• Cutting Board
• Knife
• Spatula
• Frying Pan
• Plate
• Napkins

Here's the ingredients that you will need:

• Spinach
• Eggplant
• Tomato
• Mozzarella
• Pesto Sauce
• Panini Bread
• Non-stick Cooking Spray
• Cayenne Pepper (Optional)

Let's get cooking! (Takes roughly 15 minutes):

1. Thinly slice your eggplant into 1/4 or smaller pieces. You will use roughly 4-6 pieces per sandwich.
2. Spray your skillet with non-stick spray and heat to medium.
3. Add your 4-6 pieces of eggplant (or how many will fit). I sprinkle Cayenne Pepper on mine to make it a little spicy. Just add a few sprinkles to each piece, because Cayenne is really spicy.
4. After a few minutes, check the underneath to see if it is browning. Once browning, flip and cook the other side.
   
5. While your eggplant is cooking, go ahead and slice your Panini in half to prep for layering.
6. Smear Pesto Sauce on both sides of your Panini bread.
7. Your eggplant should be cooked by now, I dry some of the oil out by letting it dry on a plate covered with paper napkins.
8. In the same skillet, add 1/4 inch cuts of your tomato. You will want roughly 3-4 slices per sandwich. This takes a lot less time to grill. Grill for roughly 60-90 seconds on each side.
   
9. While your tomato is cooking, go ahead and slice your Mozzarella cheese (if you bought a block).
10. Now that everything is cooked and cut, let's layer your sandwich. You've already added the Pesto Sauce, so now add fresh spinach to one side and your tomato on the other.
    
11. Next, add your mozzarella cheese to one side and eggplant slices to the other. Make it as cheesy as you want:)
    
12. Last, fold the sandwich together and toss it back in the skillet to melt the cheese. I cook mine on Medium-Low. Be sure to watch it so that it doesn't burn, but allows the cheese to melt. Roughly 90 seconds on each side.

Enjoy!!!

Breakfast for Lunch

I LOVE to have breakfast for lunch. Actually, I love to have breakfast any time. My latest obsession is fried eggs, over easy. Plus, I've been on a low calorie diet and I find breakfast to be a filling, yet a cheap and low-calorie meal. Yesterday, I made this yummy 400 calorie number:

 

It is basically sautéed spinach, tomato and onion, topped with cheese, salsa, avocado and a fried egg. YUMMY!

 

Here's what materials you will need:

• Chopping Knife
• Cutting Board
• Small Skillet
• Non-stick Spray
• Spatula 

Here's the ingredients:

• 1 cup of Spinach
• 1/2 Small Yellow Onion
• 1 Tomato
• 1 Slice of Colby Jack Cheese
• 2 Tlbsp of Salsa (I prefer Mrs. Renfros)
• 1/2 an Avocado
• 1 Egg

All in all this meal takes less than 7 minutes. So let's get started: 

• Chop your yellow onion into small squares
• Once the onion is chopped, spray the small skillet with non-stick spray, heat to medium-low and add onions
• While they are cooking, wash your cup of spinach and then add it to the onions
• While they are both cooking, dice your tomato into small squares and then add it to the skillet
• Once everything is cooked, plate and set aside
• Wipe the pan clean, then spray it again with non-stick spray and turn the heat to high
• Crack your egg in the skillet, but be careful not to bust the yolk. Use your spatula to poke around the yolk (not the actual yolk), so that the other liquids evenly distribute and thoroughly cook.
• After the egg is white and "solid" looking, flip it and reduce the heat to low. Cook like this for roughly 90 more second and then serve.
• While your back side of the egg is cooking, add the slice of cheese to your plated spinach, onion and tomatoes. Microwave for 15-30 seconds to reheat the meal and melt the cheese.
• Top this mixture with your 2 tablespoons of salsa and 1/2 avocado. I spoon both straight on to the plate.
• By now, your fried egg should be perfectly cooked. Add it to the top of your masterpiece and enjoy!

To make this meal even more low calorie just cut out the cheese and avocado. If one egg will not fill you up, try removing the cheese and adding an additional egg and more spinach.

What's your favorite way to eat fried eggs, over easy? I love to put them on breakfast tacos or crab cakes!

Simple Shrimp Recipe

One of my favorite go-to healthy recipes is sautéed shrimp, onion, zucchini and squash in a lemon pepper seasoning. This entire recipe takes less than 15 minutes to cooks, hardly contains any calories and is roughly $20 for 4+ servings.

Here's the ingredients:

• Lemon Pepper Seasoning (or 1 Lemon and Black Pepper)
• 1lb Shrimp ( I prefer gulf shrimp already pealed and deveined)
• 2 Zucchinis
• 2 Yellow Squash
• 1 Onion
• Olive Oil (or Butter)

Utensils:

• 1 Cutting Board
• 1 Knife
• 1 Frying Pan
• 1 Spatula (or Large Spoon)

Here's the prep work:

• Chop all three vegetables (Zucchini, Yellow Squash and Onions)
• I dice my onion into small squares, but you could easily cut into large, long strips.
• I cut the Zucchini and Squash like you cut Cucumbers (small circles). Sometimes, I even cut those circles into smaller semi-circles. I leave the skin on.
• (Optional) I sometimes cut my shrimp into three pieces, since I buy large, gulf shrimp. See photo below for reference of shrimp and vegetable cuts.

Cook:

• In a Medium Skillet, drizzle with olive oil to lubricate the pan and add your chopped onion. Cook this covered on low and stir periodically.
• After 2 minutes, add your Squash and Zucchini and cook for another 3 minutes, but this time turn it up to Medium heat. Cook this uncovered and stir periodically.
• Next, add your shrimp and coat the entire dish with your lemon pepper seasoning. Continue cooking uncovered until the shrimp are pink/done.

Here's a photo of the finished product:

Great meal that reheats nicely the next day.

If you prefer to bake, you can easily toss all vegetable ingredients and olive oil into a pan and bake for 10 minutes at 375 degrees. After 10 minutes, add your shrimp and seasoning and bake into cooked, roughly 8 more minutes.

Shaking Things Up

I've always been told that in order to blog properly you need to have a focus. This blog has been like me: all over the place. I've decided to dedicate this blog completely to recipes and food. 

I've had a tough time finding recipes that fit my pescatarian diet so I decided to create a blog for others like me. In this blog, I plan to write ways to add meat to these meals, because my boyfriend is definitely not a pescatarian. And, I'm sure you're friends aren't all pescatariants either.

For those of  you that don't know what a pescatarian is:  Pescatarian = Vegetarian + Seafood. Not to be confused with the religion, "Presbyterian".

I became a pescatarian in April 2008. The reason I chose to be pescatarian vs. vegetarian is because I grew up on the sea and absolutely love seafood. There is no way that I could give it up or cheese. Plus, my dad is a boat captain. I could NEVER give up free seafood caught by my old man.

I became a pescatarian after reading the book "Skinny Bitch" in college. This book changed my views on food, health and animal rights; which immediately changed my palate.

Even if you're not into the pescatarian diet, I hope you enjoy this blog and find some yummy, new recipes.

My other blog is dedicated to inspiring myself and others. To follow it, please visit: http://marissadeslatte.wordpress.com/

I plan to post at least once a week to both. Enjoy!

"Draw me like one of your French girls"

Today, we take a few lessons from the French and start "bien dans sa peau!" Or feeling good in your own skin!

I don't think I have an issue with feeling good in my own skin, but like everyone, I do get hard on myself sometimes. Here's a few things that French women do that I'd love to start incorporating into my own life:

Le Planning
They plan! Americans, in general, are very spontaneous. I have bought so many things that I didn't need or really like, just because it was on sale. French women are different. They plan and only make quality purchases. They stick to what they know and looks good on them. They buy basics that they can wear for years and add seasonal new pieces, like a nice scarf, new lipstick or bag. Now that I'm older and make a decent living, my goal is to purchase quality over quantity. It's not always easy with trendy, cheap stores like Target and Forever 21. But honestly, look in your closet at which pieces of clothes you have held on to the longest. I guarantee they are pieces made with nice material and may have cost you a little extra.

Enjoy the Party
Maybe it is because they plan, but French women are not nearly as frantic as us Americans. Whatever they face they deal with their emotions and move on. They don't stress over the traffic jam or anything else that gets in their way. If they have a party, they enjoy the time with their guest. They don't stay behind the scenes, cooking, cleaning and running around. Enjoy your party, doll!

Frankly, my Dear I don't Give a Damn
French women are blunt. They aren't pushovers. They are still polite, but they are strong. You can be respectful and have a backbone.

Feel Good, Look Good
French Women are always dressed nice and groomed. A lot of Americans are more than happy to run errands in their old, "cleaning clothes" or with their top knot. A French Woman wouldn't be caught dead cleaning in that, much less in public. Additionally, she wears what fits her and compliments her. She doesn't wear a trend just because it's a trend. Throw away those leggings, honey. You don't have the body for them! And can we talk about baggy pants? They may be girl hot, but definitely not guy hot. Sorry!

Treat yo Self
If they want that sweet dessert they eat it. They may cut back on other parts of their meals or skip another glass of wine, but they don't deny their selves. Cheese and wine is fine in moderation. Enjoy don't overeat or splurge.

Maintenance
French women think of manicures, massages and facials at maintenance. While us Americans think of it as spoiling ourselves. Never feel bad for taking time to care for yourself.

To sum it up, enjoy life! Plan for things, but don't panic when your plans don't go through as planned. Think about why you're somewhere and what you're doing. Take the time to be all there. Dress the part and spoil yourself. Eat that cupcake, darling. You'll work it off tomorrow:)

Everything's Better with Cheese!

Recipe for Success issued a flash challenge asking followers to make a hot dish with the most vegetables they can. The tasty little number that I created is "Marissa's Meatless and Pastaless Vegetable Lasagna". It is amazing and has 14 vegetables in it! Check it out:

Here's the recipe:
1. Preheat Oven to 350
2. Poke holes in an entire Spaghetti Squash (Veggie #1) and put it in the oven
3. Thinly slice 1) Eggplant (Veggie # 2), Squash (Veggie #3) and Zucchini (Veggie #4) place on a cookie sheet, top with Cayenne, Tony's and pop it in the oven
4. In a small pot, boil or steam a head of Broccoli (Veggie #5)
5. In a large pot, add the following chopped items: Garlic (Veggie #6), Celery (Veggie #7), Chives (Veggie #8), Onions (Veggie #9), Red Bell Pepper (Veggie # 10, Spinach (Veggie #11), Tomatoes (Veggie #12), Carrots (Veggie #13) and 1 Jalapeno (Veggie #14). I cook all of this on Medium-Low with Olive Oil.
6. Keep an eye on your Eggplant, Squash and Zucchini tray and remove it from the onion once it is cooked.
7. Once the pot of veggies are pretty sautéed, add 1 large can of whole Tomatoes and 1/4 cup of water and reduce the heat to Low
8. Remove the Spaghetti Squash from the Oven and allow it to cool.While it is cooling, get out your large baking pan and coat it with Olive Oil.
9. Scrape the inside of the Spaghetti Squash into the pan to create your first layer.
10. Add a layer or Cheese: Ricotta, Parmesan and Mozzarella
11. Add a little bit of the Spaghetti Sauce you made
12. Add a layer of other veggies: Eggplant, Squash and Zucchini
13. Add another layer of Ricotta Cheese
14. Add the rest of the Spaghetti Sauce
15. Top with more Parmesan and Mozzarella.
16. Bake until the cheese melts.

And, yes, you read this correctly. I did not have to add any more seasoning besides those listed in step 3. All of the vegetables brought out natural, delicious flavors.

This meal is a little expensive since it has so many different veggies and cheeses,  but it's well worth it. It is delicious and taste amazing reheated. Recipe will feed 12-15!

Enjoy:)

VegOut! Challenge

For this challenge, I have 30 days to eat 30 different vegetables, but I don't think it will take me that long! Today is day 5 of the VegOut! Challenge and I've already had 12 different vegetables. Here's what I've had so far:

I started on Saturday, March 1st with a  healthy breakfast. One fried egg over easy topped with salsa and served with avocado (Veggie #1) and grilled Tomatoes (Veggie #2) and White Onions (Veggie #3).

I went to Mardi Gras the rest of the weekend so didn't worry about the VegOut! Challenge. On Monday, I was back at it:

For lunch on March 3, I made Okra Stew served over rice. In it I pan cooked Okra (Veggie #4), Chives (Veggie #5), Celery (Veggie #6), Green Bell Peppers (Veggie #7), Garlic (Veggie # 8), Eggplant (Veggie #9) and a few other vegetables that I've already counted like White Onion and canned Tomatoes.

For a snack that afternoon, I had more vegetables!

I love eating vegetables with either ranch, peanut butter or hummus. On Monday, I added Cucumbers (Veggie #10) to my veggie log.

For dinner on Tuesday, March 4, I made one of our favorite meals:

This is wasabi and soy marinated tuna steaks, cooked with tomatoes and onions and topped with avocado. For sides, we had wasabi and soy mashed Russet Potatoes (Veggie #11) and fish sauce Brussels Sprouts (Veggie #12).

All in all, this VegOut! Challenge has been fairly easy. It has challenged me to be more creative and more complex. I'm a very simple cook, meaning I can make a meal with anything I find in my kitchen. This has caused me to add more ingredients to normal meals and grocery shop more frequently.

So far, I've been sticking with the veggies that I know and love. But, I can't wait to add a few new vegetables that I don't cook or eat very often like: Bean Sprouts, Cabbage, Edamame, Daikon, Mustard Greens, Kale, Turnips and more!

Practice Makes Perfect

Okay, I have a confession. I hit the diet SUPER hard in January, but have been semi bad after my first cheat day (Super Bowl!). Nothing crazy, but definitely not as strict as I should have been. It was so hard with Valentine's Day and celebrating a new job:(

Now that I've had a month off, I'm ready to get back in to it. My boyfriend and I are both going full force next month. To keep us on track, we're doing a 30 day veggie challenge. No we're not just going to eat veggies. We're going to take the VegOut! challenge, which has you trying 30 DIFFERENT vegetables in 30 days for March, which is National Nutrition Month by the way!

Today's lunch was practiced for my challenge:

 

 

All I did was pack a few of my left over sides from dinner earlier this week and I knocked out 5 veggies in one meal! I had:

• Steamed Asparagus with a little (I mean LITTLE) Butter
• Okra with Onions pan cooked in Olive Oil and topped with Tony's and Black Pepper
• Zucchini and Squash pan cooked in Olive Oil and topped with Tony's and Black Pepper

It was delicious, light and filling. Often times I eat too big of a breakfast or lunch that I don't even want to eat my snacks. I'm trying to stay consistent with three small meals and at least two small snacks. I've been eating snacks from Nature Box. They are AWESOME! You should definitely give them a try and this 30 day veggie challenge. To sign up for the challenge visit: VegOutHouston.org

 

A few more FAQs for ya:

• Do I have to live in Houston to participate? NO
• Do I have to eat only veggies? DID YOU NOT READ MY BLOG? NO!
• Can I eat meat? YES, YOU CAN EAT WHATEVER YOU WANT. YOU JUST HAVE TO EAT YOUR VEGGIES TOO!
• Can I eat the same veggie 30 times? SURE IF YOU WANT, BUT IT WON'T COUNT. YOU HAVE TO TRY 30 VEGGIES!
• Eat 30 veggies--all of them? NO, YOU JUST HAVE TO TRY IT! IF YOU DON'T LIKE IT NO ONE IS FORCING YOU TO EAT IT.
• Why would I sign up for this? BESIDES IT BEING HEALTHY, FREE, EASY--YOU'RE ENTERED TO WIN GREAT PRIZES IF YOU SUBMIT YOUR VEGGIE LOG BY 4/4!
• Do I have to participate in March? NO, YOU CAN DO IT WHENEVER BUT IN ORDER TO WIN PRIZES YOUR 30 DAY VEGGIE LOG MUST BE SUBMITTED BY 4/4.
• How do I get a veggie log? ONCE YOU REGISTER ON VEGOUTHOUSTON.ORG YOU'LL BE GIVEN ONE. IF YOU LOSE IT YOU CAN GO BACK ONLINE AND DL ONE.
• Does it have to be 30 consecutive days? NO, NO ONE IS SPYING ON YOU. IT DOESN'T EVEN HAVE TO BE 30 DAYS IN MARCH. JUST SUBMIT YOUR LOG BY 4/4.
• I don't have a team and I feel like a loser, what should I do? JOIN MY TEAM: AD 2 HOUSTON
• You didn't answer my question what do I do now? LEAVE A COMMENT AND I'LL RESPOND! 

VegOut!

I'm the president of a non-profit, professional organization for those 32 and under in the advertising and communications industry. Each year, we select one non-profit from our community and give them a FREE pro-bono campaign. It feels so great to give back to your city with your talent! Anyone can donate time or money, but to be able to utilize your God given skills for the greater good feels awesome.

This year, Ad 2 Houston selected Recipe for Success Foundation. Their goal is to reduce childhood obesity. Did you know this generation is the first expected to not outlive their parents? Let that sink in! How scary!! All because of poor diet and diabetes. In most cases, diabetes is a disease that we can cure by healthy eating. My very own Grandmother was put on a special diet at her assisted living home and reversed diabetes. She has been free of insulin shots for nearly 2 years now! I love knowing that my sweet Maw Maw does not have to prick her finger ever day and then give herself a shot.

Obviously, we were passionate about selecting Recipe for Success. Once they were selected, they asked for us to help with a specific campaign, VegOut! VegOut! challenges Houstonians to eat 30 different veggies in 30 days. Ideally, everyone would participate during March, which is National Nutrition Month. But, your veggie logs are not due until April 4, 2014 so you can have a little late start or even an early start. You actually don't even have to be from Houston to participate!

The Houston advertising community has been great to us and our campaign. We have had several billboards, radio spots, eblast and more donated to our campaign. We even got Miss Houston on as a spokesperson. But, we need people to actually sign up to participant in VegOut! Our goal is to quadruple last year's results of 500 participants. We've already exceeded them, but could use your help! Please check out the website and register today: VegOutHouston.org

Be sure to follow my blog for the month of March. I'll be posting (hopefully daily) about my diet on the challenge!

Thanks for the support.

Hide ya kids, hide ya wife

Today was supposed to be a very exciting day, because I was starting my new job. I was so anxious I couldn't sleep last night. My morning went downhill rather fast though. All dressed up for my first day, I walk out of the garage to our adjacent driveway and saw a towel over my passenger window. I thought, "Hmm...this is strange. Maybe I somehow left my window down and Andy covered it for me in case it rained." As I got closer, I realized this was NOT the case. My car had been broken in to.

Since I was starting a new job right away I left all of my old office supplies and decorations in my car. That, on top of my normal load, made my car looked semi-packed.  Anyone that knows me knows that I live out of my car. I keep my yoga supplies in there, my non-profit documents and whatever items didn't get unpacked from my last trip.

Luckily, they didn't take much; just a new backpack ($30), a new notebook ($7), a new binder ($3)  and possibly some other random items. The binder and notebook were purchased last night and the backpack was less than 2 months old. I'm just so glad that they didn't steal my social security card. I know it's dumb to keep it in your car, but I had my car packed for my first day on the new job. I'm also so glad that I had taken my Michael Kors purse out the night before and my Bose noise canceling headphones a few days prior. All in all the entire event cost me two hours, $200 (known stolen items plus repair cost) and a new window tint (cost TBD).

Long story short, keep your car clean. Keep items (no matter how valuable!) out of sight. If this happens to you, I recommend doing the following steps:

1. Don't touch anything. Call the cops first and foremost. They might (doubtful ) want to dust for fingerprints.
2. Call your insurance agent to determine your deductive and receive a quote from their recommended service provider.
3. Don't go with the first price quoted. Call around! I saved over $100 by making one more phone call. 
4. Schedule a mobile appointment so that you can go about your day and not let those thieves steal any more of your time!

At the end of the day (and beginning!), I'm at peace. I'm just hoping the stolen "school supplies" were given to a child who had none. I'm also lucky that only my car was damaged. Two others cars in our gated community were also broken into. And, even worse, a house was broken into too! The thief was smart and wore gloves so no finger prints were found. It's so sad when someone uses their intelligence for evil. Tonight, I'm praying for him. ( Not being sexist-the cops said a witness spotted a five foot male escaping). 

Do good and be good, friends. 

Exit Stage Left

It has come to my attention that exiting a job is just as much work as starting a new one. For  a new career opportunity you prepare, interview and negotiate. Why have I never thought about doing the same thing when I leave a company? Why does no one ever talk about this part of change?

I recently accepted a new job. When I put in my two weeks at my current company, I didn't try to negotiate, because I thought they had nothing to offer me. Boy, was I wrong! My current company does not pay for unused vacation days. I could have easily negotiated this before leaving. I could have said, if I work three or four weeks (instead of the industry standard of a 2 week notice) will you pay me for my unused vacation days? If they weren't willing to negotiate, then I could have used my vacation days during my last two weeks here (which, in my case, would have covered the entire 2 week duration!). Since I didn't try to negotiate though, I felt too guilty to use these vacation days. What a waste!

Additionally, before I put in my two weeks I spoke to an older gentleman at my current company. He has been a great mentor to me and my career since I started. He advised me to be prepared for them to ask me to leave right away. Not because I was leaving on a bad note, but because they may not want to give you the opportunity to take/save any of your work because it could benefit a competitor if you're going to a competitive company. So, before I spoke to my boss I was able to save lots of my work, erase my cookies/data and delete any personal emails.

I hope this email helps you have a smooth exit if, and when, you ever decide to leave a company. I definitely learned my lesson.

Sunday Lovin'

Sundays are my absolute favorite. I love spending time with my church family, my real family, relaxing and cooking.

Andy and I love to cook together, especially on Sunday's when we're not rushed. This past Sunday, I made brunch and he made dinner. Both were wonderful so I thought I'd share.

For brunch, I made stuffed bell peppers topped with fried eggs over easy. Here's what the finished product looks like:

 

Can you say yum? This is a fairly cheap and easy meal. The ingredients that you need to make a serving for two are:

• 1 can of black beans
• 1 can of rotel
• 2 large, red bell pepper
• 4 eggs
• 1/2 avocado
• 4-6 oz of cheese (I used habanero cheddar--so spicy and good!) 
• OPTIONAL:
• Black Pepper
• 1/5 a White Onion
• Salsa
• Sour Cream

Other items needed:

• Pam/Cooking Spray
• Cutting Board
• 1 Small Pot
• 1 Baking Dish (11x7 or larger)
• 1 Frying Pan (Medium to Large)
• 1 Knife
• 1 Spoon
• 1 Spatula

 

Cooking this meal takes less than 30 minutes too! Here is what you do:

1. Preheat your oven to bake/350 degrees
2. Wash your 2 red bell peppers, cut the tops/stems off of them (don't discard) and pull out the seeds. Cut the bell peppers in half long ways (remember you're going to be stuffing these!). Place all four halves in your pan (after you've sprayed the pan with Pam). Let bake/cook while you prep the rest of your ingredients.
3. Cut the red bell peppers from tops/stems into small chunks and cook them in your small pot (which you've already coated with Pam) on medium heat.
4. OPTIONAL: cut 1/5 of a white onion and add it to the small pot.
5. Add 1 can of black beans and 1 can of rotel to your pot and turn on low.
6. Take your bell peppers from the oven. Stuff them with the bean/rotel mixture from the pot and top them with cheese. Place them back in the oven until the cheese melts. Keep an eye on them so that the cheese does not burn.
7. While you're waiting for the cheese to melt, spray your pan with Pam and turn the heat on high. Once the heat is on high, add all four eggs. OPTIONAL: Season eggs with black pepper. Turn the heat to low and cook the eggs over easy. I suggest turning the heat off once you've flipped them.
8. While you're waiting for your eggs to cook, cut 1/2 of avocado into long strips for easy serving.
9. Begin plating your bell peppers. Top them with the fried egg and avocado. Serve extra beans on the side of the plate. OPTIONAL: Top with salsa and/or sour cream. Enjoy!

For Andy's dinner, he made roasted garlic bulbs, bread, corn on the cob and crab legs. It was SO good. Here's what it looked like:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

This meal is kind of expensive because of the crab, but it is still much cheaper (and better!) than eating out at a lot of restaurants. Here's how he did it:

1. He preheated the oven to 350
2. He cut the tops of the garlic bulb off of three garlic bulbs
3. He let them soak in olive oil, pepper and salt while the oven preheated
4. Once the oven preheated, he wrapped each bulb individually in aluminum foil and stuck them in the oven.
5. In the left over oil, pepper and salt mixture, he rolled the corn on the cob in it. He added extra pepper and tony's to the corn and wrapped it in foil and placed it in the oven. All four items (3 garlic bulbs and 1 corn on the cob) need to bake 30 minutes.
6. After 15 minutes of baking, he brought a large pot to water on top of the stove. On top of the water, he steamed the thawed crab legs. They needed to cook for 12-15 minutes.
7. While they were steaming, Andy cut more garlic and placed it in a small pot. He added 1/2 stick of butter and allowed it to melt on low for our crab dipping sauce.
8. Before everything wrapped up, he cut the French bread in small pieces and added it to the oven for 2 minutes to toast.
9. Everything finished at the same time, so he plated it all together. We dipped the bread in more olive oil/pepper mixture. Ate the garlic bulbs by themselves or on the bread and we dipped the crab legs in the butter/garlic mixture.

This was a delicious meal for under $50 and it took less than 45 minutes to cook everything. GREAT at home date night meal!

 



Turnt Up

Just kidding...I did cook with turnips for the firs time though! I used them as a replacement for white potatoes in my homemade vegetable soup. I have to say, I was very closed minded to the experience. I was 100% sure that I was not going to enjoy it, but to my surprise, I loved it! Here's what the finished veggie soup looked like:

 

 

I love to make vegetable soup when it's cold out and I have a lot of unused vegetables in my fridge. This past week has been extremely cold in Texas and I've been very busy. Without a lot of time to cook my vegetables were starting to go bad. Here is what I used in this batch:

 

• 2 boxes of vegetable broth (2 quarts total)
• Turnips
• Carrots
• Bell Peppers
• Onions

Other times, I've used things like:

• Tomatoes
• Potatoes
• Noodles
• Green Beans

You can nearly put any vegetable in your soup and it's very easy to cook. Here's the simple recipe that I followed:

1. Pour both quarts of the vegetable broth in a large pot and start warming on medium
2. Add a bag of miniature carrots (or anything small that doesn't need any chopping)
3. Chop the Onions and Bell Peppers into long strips then add them to the pot
4. Chop the Turnips into small pieces/chunks and add them to the pot
5. Add a few dashes of tobasco if you like it hot and crushed black pepper for flavor
6. Put the lid on the pot and let it cook for roughly 30 minutes; stir occasionally
7. Poke all of your veggies with a fork to make sure they're thoroughly cooked. If cooked after 30 minutes then enjoy! Otherwise, let it continue to cook on medium/medium-low.

This vegetable taste wonderful reheated. I usually make a large batch and freeze several tubberware since it reheats easily. Stay warm, friends!

Cheater, Cheater EVERYTHING Eater

How do you handle cheat days? The research that I've read suggest having 1 cheat day after 30 days of diet to prevent your body from going into starvation mode from low calories. Basically, eating a low calorie diet causes your body to think it is starving and save everything as fat. After thirty days, it is suggested to allow yourself one cheat day a week.

My first cheat day was on Super Bowl Sunday. It was glorious...on Sunday. I've regretted my decisions all week. It is Wednesday and I finally feel normal/semi-healthy again.

Curious to know how others handle cheat days. Does the guilt go away? After your first cheat day, are the rest not so outrageous? Does it make you more strict during the week? Do you ever skip a cheat day?

Anyway, here is my cheat day summary:

1. Woke up hung over so didn't have a breakfast (whoops!). I started the day at lunch with Sweet Tea and Homemade Shrimp Alfredo:

I love pasta; especially, creamy, bad for you pasta. This is a simple, bad, delicious recipe:

• Boil your pasta of choice. I prefer, thin spaghetti or angel hair noodles.
• While that is boiling, saute onions, tomatoes and shrimp covered in blackening seasoning in a skillet with butter on med-low heat. I start with the onions since they take a little longer. While they're cooking, I chop the other ingredients and cover the shrimp in Old Bay blackening seasoning. Shrimp and tomatoes do not take long at all.
• After the shrimp are cooked and the onions are translucent, I add in equal parts of the cream sauce ingredients: cream cheese and sour cream. DON'T JUDGE. I turn the skillet to low and allow for everything to melt.
• At this time, your noodles should be done. I drain them and add them to the skillet to guarantee everything is mixed well together.

After lunch, we headed to a Super Bowl party. For the party, I made a delicious, FAT, shrimp dip:

This recipe is also super easy and bad, but delicious!:

• I soaked 1lb of shrimp in hot sauce and Old Bay's blackening seasoning. I cooked them in a skillet with butter.
• After the shrimp were cooked, I diced all except for two in really small pieces. These two would later be used as decoration. (See photo above.)
• I mixed the chopped shrimp with 1/2 a thing of cream cheese, 1 cup of shredded, mozzarella cheese, 3/4 cup of Buffalo Wild Wings Blazin' Sauce and 3/4 cups of Hidden Valley Buttermilk Ranch Dressing.
• Once it is all mixed, bake it in the oven for 20 minutes.
• Top with chives and two shrimp as decoration. Serve with Frito Scoops.

For the rest of the party, I enjoyed a few adult beverages, some Reece Cups and some bean and cheese burrito bites.  Next Saturday/Sunday, my cheat day will involve a lot less alcohol and bad decisions....hopefully.

Valentine's Day Advertising Campaigns

February is the month of love and you cannot show your love without spending money, right? The most popular purchase on Valentine’s Day, besides cards, is candy. Lovers spend over $1.6 billion in total on candy alone. The least popular gift is a gift card, which still brings in over $1.5 billion!

In total, Valentine’s Day contributed over $18 billion to the economy last year and $17 billion the previous year. On average, men plan to spend roughly $175.61 and women spend $88.78. Married men spend far less than single men at roughly $73.75.

What are you planning to give this year? Here are the gifts most often given on Valentine’s Day (allowing for multiple gifts given):

Valentine’s Day Gifts Given (Percentage of Gift-Givers)

Like all holiday advertising, there is a right way and a wrong way. And don’t think just because your client isn’t a candy, flowers or luxury brand that they can’t recognize Valentine’s Day. Here are a few examples of how to make this holiday relevant to your brand (on a very low budget):

·         Pizza Hut’s “Cheesy” Lines on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=10151573718117415&set=pb.6053772414.-2207520000.1388979212.&type=3&theater

·         Krispy Kreme Doughnuts’ Facebook Cover Update: https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=10151400136306001&set=a.10150755279296001.446660.130424181000&type=1&theater

·         Food Network suggesting Valentine’s Day Desserts via Twitter: https://twitter.com/FoodNetwork/status/301804438128046080

Tweet me your favorite Valentine's ad: @MarissaDeslatte

Sources: useconomy.about.com adespresso blog

Small Gestures

Today, I was reminded that even the smallest gestures can make the biggest difference. This morning I went to Starbucks to purchase a Carmel Macchiato in honor of my deceased Aunt's birthday. They were her favorite and it's a little thing that I enjoy doing to remember her.

I happened to have a $5 gift card, so after I ordered my drink $0.60 cents or so remained on the card. Instead of stuffing it back into my wallet I offered it to the gentleman behind me in line. He was a Hispanic, blue-collar worker (or looked like it) and he spoke very little English. I did not give him the card, because of his appearance. I was actually oblivious to who was in line behind me. Anyways, I tried my best to explain it only has a few cents on it, but he should use it for his purchase. The cashier was fluent in Spanish so she translated for me. The guy was very thankful and managed to get out a, "Thank you" in English. I smiled and said, "You're welcome. Have a great day!"

Just think, something so little like $0.60 made that guy's morning. Pass it on, friends.

P.S. Here's a picture of me and my Aunt Shirley's drink:)

Making a Brunch of Mistakes

If I'm going to eat bad, I usually like to do it early in the morning. Think breakfast tacos, migas, mimosas, etc. This weekend, my family got together to celebrate my deceased aunt's birthday. I told the family I wanted to make everyone brunch. It turned out amazing! Here's what we had:

First, I preheated the oven to 350. I sliced two whole tomatoes and put them in the oven to roast. Next, I halfed all of the English muffins and placed them in the oven too. Keep an eye on the bread so that it does not burn.

While those cooked, I made the home made crab cakes (with fresh crab meat from Louisiana!). All I did was mix the following:

• 1 lb of Crab (Claw Meat)
• 1 bunch of chives/green onions
• 1/2 White Onion
• 1/2 Green Bell Pepper
• 2 Eggs
• A few dabs Tobasco Sauce
• 2 dabs Worcestshire Sauce
• Tony's
• Black Pepper

I mixed it all together then formed patties and rolled them in Italian bread crumbs. I heated a skillet to medium high with canola oil layering it. Then I cooked the patties on medium-low till they were golden brown (approx. 4-6 minutes on each side).

After the patties were all down in the skillet, I removed the English muffins and began plating. I put two halves, face up on each plate. I diced 1.5 avocados and added avocado slices to all 6 plates on the smaller half of the English muffin.

I then took the tomatoes out of the oven and added them to the other half of the English muffin (the larger half).

While my crab cakes were finishing up, I started frying eggs. (If your crab cakes are already done, just turn the skillet off so that they stay warm, but don't over cook.)

I sprayed pam on another, large skillet and heated it to medium high. I cooked three eggs at once. Once they turned white, I turned off the skillet and flipped them to let them finish cooking. Be careful not to bust the yolk.

Plate the crab cake on top of the tomatoes and then add your fried egg. It's best served with a knife, fork and mimosa! I served these three and quickly fried up three more eggs for the remaining plates. This recipe made enough for six and had two crab cakes left over that did not last long!

Everyone loved it and I hope that you do too!:)

Three Week Weigh In

Well, it's been officially 3 weeks of dieting and I've lost a total of 9lbs. The weight loss is slowing down, but as long as it is consistent I'm fine. I'm seeing a lot of positive changes in my body, which is exciting. I feel stronger, more flexible and full of energy. The hardest part of dieting is meal planning/prepping. You have to make time for yourself though and make it a priority. Here's a few things that I ate this past week:

Spaghetti Squash with Arthichoke Hearts, Tomatoes and Peso

 

Blackened Tilapia and Sweet Potato Fries



I also enjoyed some crawfish! I've continued doing yoga and don't see me slowing down any time soon! Next week will make a month and I will be eligible for my first cheat day! After a month of dieting, you're allowed one cheat day a week. My first falls on Super Bowl Sunday and I'm so ready!

I'd also like to thank my boyfriend for being such a great support system. Temptation is everywhere and it's so easy to cheat. It's nice to have someone holding you accountable. Find a partner and get started!

2 Weeks of Dieting

And I feel great! I feel clean, healthy and am exceling at Bikram yoga. I legitimately nailed balancing stick. I'm not talking, got there and held it. Like did it and did it great! My eagle is looking beautiful and I can finally wrap my toes around my calf. My standing head to knee, standing bow pulling and toe standing poses have come a long way too! And my bottom finally hits the floor on Fixed Firm Pose.

Okay, now that I'm done geeking out yoga, I'll share some results. Week one I lost 5lbs, week two I lost an additional 3lbs! That is 8lbs total that I do not ever want to see again. I'm very happy with my results and think the answer is simple: small, low-calorie meals (not excluding an entire food group) and exercise are all that it takes. I have been doing 90mins of Bikram Yoga for 3x a week. I just signed up for a 60 day challenge and am pushing myself to attend class 4x a week. I like yoga, because it's spiritual, you are able to think/reflect, you are doing the same poses so you can truly see yourself grow and you gain confidence. They encourage doing the class without a shirt on so that you can see your third eye (aka your belly button). I'm proud to say that I'm confident enough with my body to put myself in unflattering positions wearing only a sports bra and shorts/pants.

More than exercise, you have to watch what you eat! I've continued the no carbs or dairy for dinner trend, but do enjoy my bread/tortillas and cheese for breakfast or lunch. To make it as clean as possible, I buy them fresh from the bakery.

Here are some samples of things I ate over the past 2 weeks:

Egg White, Bell Pepper, Cheese and Avocado Breakfast Taco

 

Strawberries make a great AM snack! (Between breakfast and lunch!)

 

Boiled Shrimp (in crab boil) with Olive Oil sauteed Squash and Zucchini with a side Salad make a great dinner!

 

Hummus and Celery make a great PM snack! I also enjoy Almond Butter on my Celery. (Between Lunch and Dinner)

 

Pan Seared Salmon with a Side of Fish Sauce Brussels Sprouts make a yummy lunch!

 

Fully loaded Grilled Shrimp and Bell Pepper Salad made a delicious Lunch!

 

 

I hope these yummy photos inspire you to eat a little healthier! You don't have to starve or eat flavorless food. You just have to be smart and meal plan. It's all about give and take.I will admit that I have drank a bit while dieting, but made sure I stayed under my daily allowance of calories. I'm limiting myself to 1,200 calories a day. If I work out that day, I can eat a little more. If I know I have an event that night and I'll want to drink a class or two of wine then I just do yoga that morning. It's all about balance.

 

I've also read that having too little calories will put yourself in starvation mode and store everything as fat. After a month you're supposed to have a cheat day once a week. I started this diet on 1/2, so  my first cheat day will be Super Bowl Sunday. I cannot wait! I plan to not count calories, drink lots of adult beverages, eat tons of chips and dips and maybe even have pizza or pasta for dinner too! Shrimp Alfredo is my favorite bad food! What is your favorite cheat meal?



 

 

 

The Big Kahuna Tuna

My mother, sister and I invented this tuna steak sandwich three years ago: The Big Kahuna Tuna! We call it this, because it is packed high with thick tuna steak, sauteed onions and tomatoes, wasabi, soy sauce and avocado all piled on a hamburger bun or Hawaiian sweet bun.

This has turned into one of our favorite meals. But, since we're dieting we can't have our Big Kahuna Tuna and avocado fries. Instead, we made this low-calorie, delicious option:

 

 

For under 500 calories,  you can enjoy baked (skinless) sweet potato fries and a bread-less Big Kahuna Tuna! Here's how we did it:

1. Cover your thawed or fresh tuna steaks with salt and pepper and allow them to marinate in soy sauce and wasabi while you prep the rest of the meal.
2. Preheat your oven to 375.
3. Peel the skin off of one sweet potato and dice the potato into very thin, long strips.
4. Toss these strips in a bowl with olive oil and other seasonings of choice. We use: black pepper, garlic salt, cayenne and smoke seasoning.
5. Cover a pan with aluminum foil, spray with pam and spread the fries out.
6. Place fries in the oven and allow to bake for 30 minutes.
7. After 15 minutes of baking, start working on your sandwich. Chop 1 onion, 1 tomato and 1 avocado. Place onions and tomatoes in a skillet on med-high and saute with olive oil and soy sauce. After the onions are translucent (approximately 5 minutes) add in your Tuna Steaks.
8. Cook tuna steaks for 2 minutes on each side for rare and up to 3 minutes and 30 seconds on each side for well-done.
9. Plate your food by first putting down your tuna steaks then topping with cooked veggies, avocadom fresh wasabi and more soy sauce. Add a side of fries and you are good to go!
10. ENJOY!

Under 500 Calorie Meal

Here's what I'm enjoying for dinner tonight at work (going out so having an early dinner):

 

 

This delicious meal is incredibly healthy and super easy to make! Follow these step-by-step directions for a 20 minute meal that is diet approved:

 

1. Thaw Shrimp if Frozen or Peel/Devein if Fresh (Roughly 30 Shrimp)
2. Chop 1x Onion
3. Saute Onion in Olive Oil on Med-High
4. Chop 1x Squash and 1x Zucchini
5. Once the Onions Start to Get Translucent, Reduce Heat to Low 
6. Add Zucchini and Squash--Cook for Roughly 10 Minutes on Low
7. Add Shrimp, Stir Continuously for 5 More Minutes or till Shrimp Turn Orange (as pictured)
8. Top with Pepper and the Juice of 1x Lemon

 

This entire meal cost less than $10 and serves 4-6 depending on portion control. You can easily make this meal go further for cheap by doubling the veggies. It is great as a main dish or easily paired with other healthy sides. Enjoy!

Post Holiday Diet

I'm Southern aka my family cooks great and I like to eat. I ALWAYS gain weight during the holidays and I'm okay with that, but I'm ready to be 'normal-sized' again. Exactly one week ago today my boyfriend and I started dieting. We're focusing on low-calories, smarter choices and working out. Proud to announce it's working! I've lost 5lbs in one week. I realize this is a lot, but this is pretty normal for my post-holiday self. I'm excited to keep going and hopefully continue to lose 1lb a week. Here's some menu samples of what I've been eating the past week:

BREAKFAST

• Bakery Bread Piece of Toast with Almond Butter and Bananas
• Plain, Non-fat Greek Yogurt with Strawberries
• 1 Tortilla with 1 Cup of Chopped Bell Peppers and 6 Tbsps of Egg Whites, Topped with 1/4 Cup of Cheese and Tobasco
• Strawberries
• Banana

LUNCH

• Grilled Tilapia Salad with Corn/Beans
• Stuffed Poblano Peppers
• Avocado, Tomato, Mustard and Salmon Sandwich

DINNER

• Spaghetti Squash with Shrimp, Broccolli and Rotel
• Grilled Tilapia Salad
• Brussels Sprouts with Fish Sauce

SNACKS

• Bananas
• Bananas with Almond Butter
• Strawberries
• Celery and Almond Butter
• Celery and Hummus
• Cucumbers and Hummus
• Almonds

Leave a comment if you're interested in any of the recipes. Everything has been home-made. We cooked on Sunday for all week. It made dieting super easy, because you didn't have to put any thought into your meals all week. We've been tracking our calories with the application MyFitnessPal It has a barcode scanner and remembers recent meals, which makes updating super simple.

Hope your New Year's Resolutions are going great, as well!

Spaghetti Squash

If you're like me, you've heard of spaghetti squash, but have no real clue as to what it is, how to cook it or what it taste like. Well, since I'm not eating pasta for dinners (or really lunch either), I decided to give it a try. First, I researched what is spaghetti squash. Foolishly, I thought it was regular, yellow-squash that people somehow carved with a fork to make noodle-looking shapes. Wrong.

Spaghetti squash it's a type of squash, much larger than normal squash. Think the size of a cantaloupe or small watermelon. It is yellow and oblong. I purchased mine at HEB. There are several ways to cook it, but I cooked it by cutting it in half, length wise. (Okay, okay, my boyfriend cut it for me because this is a BIG boy!) Next, I scrapped all the goop out of there. Originally, I thought you were supposed to eat this goop, but after some trial and error and more reading, I found out it's not even the good stuff! Which, I was very thankful to read since it barely had anything in it and I thought I paid money for 1/5 cup of fake noodles!

Anyway, after you remove the strings and seeds. Place the two halves, open side up in the oven and bake at 375 for approximately 20-25 minutes. Remove it, let it cool and then begin using your fork to scrape the edges width wide. (You can do it length wise, but your noodles will be pieces vs. longer 4 inch-ish strands.). Here's what mine looked like when I started scraping it:

 

 

 After I scraped out approximately 4cups, I baked them for about 15-20 minute longer with olive oil on it. They were delicious in my shrimp spaghetti (rotel, shrimp, onion and broccoli mixture). Here's my final dinner:

 

 

 

1 cup of spaghetti squash + 1 cup of my shrimp spaghetti made a delicious and filling meal for only 292 calories! You cannot beat that. Enjoy:) 



Healthy, Cheap Lunch!

Like everyone else in the New Year, my boyfriend and I are trying to eat healthier. We don't need to lose a ton of weight, so we thought of a few guidelines to help us slim down  and lose the holiday weight (vs. doing a drastic diet). We definitely didn't want anything that would eliminate an entire food group. We also wanted to do something realistic that we could stick with since we both work full time and have a ton of extracurricular activities. Here's a few guidelines we set for ourselves (at least for the first week or two):

• No Crap (Sodas, Alcohol, Coffee, Chips, Junk Food, Etc.)
• I'm sure you're thinking coffee isn't 'crap', well you haven't seen mine! I love sugar and creamer in mind (or a fatty Starbucks drink) and by the time I'm done with it my drink is over 150 calories! I'm trying to replace my morning coffee with a glass of water or hot, green tea-both are 0 calories! So far, so good!
• Have a Healthy Breakfast/AM Snack
• Aiming to have some sort of fruit every morning
• Healthy Lunch (No Fried Foods, Limit the Pasta, Etc.)
• Veggie PM Snack 
• Edamame orVeggies with Hummus or Almond Butter 
• No Dairy or Pasta/Grains for Dinner
• Pasta is quick and easy and cheese makes everything better! We're trying to eliminate these two things for the first week or two so that we lose our holiday weight.  

After a week or two, we will probably just focus on low calorie/healthier options. We're bothing using MyFitnessPal app and website right now and love it. It alows you to scan products to calculate daily nutrition. According to it, my lunch today was only 405 calories. We added ground meat and taco seasoning to Andy's which made his 576 calories. Here's what I had:

 

The above photo is one stuffed serrano pepper. It doesn't look too pretty but it taste amazing! This is probably one of the most delicious healthy meals I make! It is very filling, low cost and taste like it's unhealthy! Here's a few easy steps to make your own (Serves 4):

1. Toast 4 Serrano Peppers on an open flame or burner on low. Be sure to rotate them frequently to ensure that they cook on all sides. While they're cooking go ahead and pre-heat your oven to 375 and proceed to step 2.  

 
2. While your peppers are roasting, go ahead and chop 1 whole yellow onion and place it in a large pot sprayed with Pam on Med-Low heat. While they are cooking be sure to check on your peppers and rotate them. Once onions are slighlty cooked add 1 large can of whole black beans and 1 small can of whole corn. Stir every few minutes.  
 
3. At this time, your peppers should be nice and toasted on every side (hopefully you rotated!). If they are  pretty black on every side, place them in a ziplock bag to cool. This will cause them to "sweat" and make their skin come off a little easier.  
 
4. While your peppers sweat, go ahead and cut 1/4 of an avocado per serving and 1 oz of cheese per saving. I used Calbot habanero cheddar cheese. Be sure to continue to watch your pot of veggies and stir them.  
 
5. Get your bag of serrano peppers and run cold water in it. Rub them together (still in the bag) then drain the water. Now using a knife slighly scrape off all remaining black residue. You will see a smoother skin appear. Once all black has been scrapped off, cut the stem off of the pepper and remove most of the seeds (or all of the seeds if you don't want it too spicy). Instead of trying to stuff mine, I cut them open to wear I have a flat sheet of pepper. I think serrano peppers are too skinny to stuff.
 
6. Top your pepper with your pot of veggies (2 scoops/cups) and top with 1 oz of cheese. Place in the oven until the cheese melts. (Roughly 3-5 minutes).
 
7.  Once cheese has melted, top with 1/4 avocado and 2 table spoons of salsa (I used Hernandez).
 

Tips:

• If you need to cut calories, you could easily eliminate the cheese, salsa and avocado. This would save you 200 calories). It would be great without these, but it's even better with them!
 
• If you need to add calories, you can add beef and taco seasoning like Andy did. You could also add more veggies in pot like eggplant or tomatoes. I've made this same recipe with rice too, which will add calories.
 

However you make it, I hope you enjoy it! Leave me a comment if you changed the recipe. I'd love to hear from you!