Breakfast All Week!

This week's meal idea revolves around breakfast - the most important meal of the day!  Loads of researchers (and I won't point you to any links or surveys, mostly because I'm lazy and don't want to dig them up) have discovered that eating a balanced and nutritious breakfast not only wakes you up and tastes good, it gets your day going.  A good breakfast sets your body in motion for the rest of the day - it speeds your metabolism, meaning you can and will burn even more calories just by sitting around, and it gets your brain into prime thinking condition.

If you're anything like me, you love breakfast food, regardless of the time of day.  But you also struggle to wake up on time and never give yourself the time necessary to cook a good breakfast before work.  So, you wind up eating a quick bowl of cereal, or maybe some oatmeal.  Some days you run out the door with a granola bar and banana in hand.  Although those are all perfectly satisfying and healthy breakfasts, why not try something new, filling, and tasty?

I took a few different meal ideas - some from Gina, some from myself, and some from my close girlfriend.  Put it all together, and I've stumbled upon something wonderful!
This is super easy to make, and lasts in the fridge all week.  So you can grab a quick breakfast in the morning, or indulge your cravings for lunch, a snack, or dinner!

Sarah's Mini Omelets - 2 Points Each

Adapted from Gina's Broccoli Cheese Mini Omelets and the amazing Shelby Dillon's Culinary Fantabulousness.  Try using different ingredients, like spinach and feta, bacon and cheddar, or asparagus and caramelized onions (note these will alter points value) to find your perfect breakfast!

• 4 eggs
• 1 cup egg whites (from about 5 or 6 eggs)
• 1 small zucchini
• 1 small red bell pepper
• 1/4 red onion
• Salt, to taste
• Pepper, to taste
• 1 Tbsp olive oil
• Nonstick spray
• 1/3 cup Parmesan cheese, freshly grated

Preheat the oven to 350F.
Using a food processor, chop the zucchini, red onion, and bell pepper until fine.
Heat a small pan over low heat and spray with nonstick spray.  Add veggies, sprinkle with salt and pepper, and saute until cooked through.
While veggies are cooking, combine the eggs, egg whites, Parmesan cheese, salt and pepper in a medium bowl.  Coat a muffin pan with nonstick spray.
Use a slotted spoon to transfer the veggies from the pan into 9 muffin tins (you should fill the tins about 1/4 to 1/3 of the way).
Pour the egg mixture over the veggies until the tins are nearly full.
Bake for approximately 25 to 30 minutes (note that ovens vary - begin checking at 20 minutes).

Serve immediately.

Allow the remaining mini omelets to cool completely in the pan.  Once cool, remove the omelets and individually wrap them in foil or cling wrap.  Store in the refrigerator.
When you are ready to eat, simply pop in the microwave and enjoy!

Simply Apricot Chicken

I regularly check out the ideas on Simply Recipes.  They are always tasty, but often times very high in points as well.  For someone maintaining or not necessarily weight-conscious, the recipes would be perfect as-is.  But for those of us trying to drop a few of those old LBs, a few changes are often necessary.  I slightly modified the Simply Recipes version, and I am very satisfied with the results!

Simply Apricot Chicken - 5 Points

Adapted from Simply Recipes

*To make this recipe a bit quicker, chop 12 dried apricots and add them with 1/2 cup apricot jam in Step 4.  Skip steps 1 and 5.  Note this will increase the Points value to 6 per serving.

• 1 1/2 pounds apricots, roughly chopped, pits removed and discarded
• 1/4 cup sugar
• 2 Tbsp cider vinegar
• 2 pounds skinless, boneless chicken breasts, cut into 1 inch pieces
• Salt, to taste
• 1 Tbsp unsalted butter
• Olive oil cooking spray
• 1 onion, chopped
• 2 cups fat free chicken broth
• 1 Tbsp fresh rosemary, chopped
• 1 tsp cinnamon
• 2 tsp Tabasco
• Black pepper, to taste

1.  Place the chopped apricots in a large bowl.  Stir in the sugar and vinegar.  Let sit while you brown the chicken in step 2.
2.  In a large saute pan, heat the butter with a bit of cooking spray over medium-high heat.  Working in batches, place the chicken pieces in the pan, without crowding, and brown them on each side.  Sprinkle salt on the chicken as it cooks.  Once browned, use a slotted spoon to move the chicken pieces to a plate or bowl.  Set aside.
3.  Add cooking spray to the pan and saute the onion until it begins to brown.  As the onion cooks, use a spatula to scrape the browned bits from the bottom of the pan.
4.  Once the onions have browned, add the chicken stock and lower the heat to medium.

5.  Put 2/3 cup of the apricots (including juice) into a blender or food processor and puree.  Pour the puree into the pan.
6.  Add the cinnamon, rosemary, and Tabasco and taste.  The sauce may need salt.  Bring to a simmer, lower the heat, and gently simmer for 15 to 20 minutes, uncovered.
7.  When ready to serve, place chicken and remaining apricot pieces into the pan and simmer for 5 minutes.

Serve over steamed rice with your favorite veggies.

Yields 6 servings.

My first batch of this recipe came out wonderfully, however next time I'll adjust for less cinnamon (use 1/2 tsp instead of 1) and increase the Tabasco for more of a kick.

Another Countdown Begins!

My dad and brother have been in town for the past week and a half (they flew back to the US on Saturday morning)...so I haven't had much time to eat healthy or blog about it!
I feel like I lost quite a bit of muscle during their visit, and also like I put on about 80 pounds...the scale will reveal all in the morning.  I'm slightly nervous, not gonna lie.

But all's ok, because tomorrow starts a new week and a new goal!  Brian and I are going to Pulau Sibu with a group of friends the first weekend in November.  My close girlfriend told me Sunday that she wants to get her P90X routine into full spin so that she's uber close to her dream bod by the 3rd of September.  Sounds like an awesome goal to me!  And what better idea than to commit and finally reach my own goals alongside her?!

So there you have it.  The new countdown begins!  I want to have my goal body, my dream body, whatever weight that may be, by September 3rd.  I don't have far to go, and I know I can get there!  It's going to take a ton of hard work (like doubling the spin class schedule and really getting into this crunching pushuping thing!), and even more dedication.  But I know I can do this.  I know we all can do this!

Cross your fingers for tomorrow morning...the scale scares me.

And now, another 15 Minute Meal!

Way back when, I tried Gina's Thai Curry Sauce with some fish and rice, which was super yummy!  Well, lucky me I saved that delicious sauce (frozen in individual portions).
If you need something quick and easy on a busy week night, check this out!

Shrimp and Rice in Thai Coconut Curry Sauce - 6 Points

Adapted from Gina's WW Recipes

• 3 oz frozen, cooked shrimp (2 points)
• 1 serving Thai Coconut Curry Sauce (from Gina's recipe), thawed if frozen (2 points)
• 1/2 cup steamed rice (2 points)

Thaw shrimp by placing them in a collander under cold running water for 5 minutes.
Meanwhile, heat the sauce in a saute pan over very low heat.  When the sauce is heated to your desired temperature and begins to thicken, stir in the thawed shrimp.  Cook the shrimp in the sauce, stirring often, until the shrimp are fully heated and cooked (approximately 2 to 3 minutes).  Be careful not to overcook the shrimp.
Serve over rice and enjoy!

Busy Weeks Call for Shorter Blogs!

I don't have much time tonight...we're leaving tomorrow for a weekend dive trip to Tioman and Aur, Malaysia!  But I need to report my Crunch Attack progress, and throw in some new recipe ideas!

So...Week 1 of Crunch Attack went well.  I'm not as crunchalicious as I thought I would be, but that will change in time.  Somehow managed to misplace my measuring thingie, so I'll report next week about my waist n' hips n' thighs :)

Weds:
50 crunches (30 center, 10 right side, 10 left side)
10 leg lifts
6 sun salutations (this was meant to be an arm workout)

Fri:
30 crunches (10x10x10)
10 tap n' rolls (these are tough and even tougher to explain...)

Sun:
50 crunches (30x10x10)
Mon:
2 center planks (30 sec. each); 2 side planks (30 sec. each side)
15 center crunches
30 cycle kicks (also tough to explain)

Week 1 Lessons Learned:
Any sort of ab workout or push-up attempt after spin class is ROUGH

So this week I'm not upping the anty - just continuing the effort.  Go me ;)

 ______________________________

I've been slacking on the new recipes and cooking lately, so this week I decided to try something new!

BBQ Chicken with Sauteed Veggies - 4 Points

From Cooking Light

 I got this BBQ Chicken recipe from CookingLight.com (a great website with tons of fabulous recipes!).  Here I served it with sauteed veggies, but it would go quite well with potatoes, cole slaw, or a salad.  I included a side of baked beans (1/2 cup = 2 Points) for some added protein and yummy flavor!

For the veggies:
Heat a skillet over medium heat; spray with olive oil spray.  Add your favorite chopped veggies, sprinkle with Kosher salt, and cook until desired doneness.
This week I chose onion, zucchini, and carrots.  Dee-lish!