this week's food obsessions...

Every single time I make myself a bowl of cottage cheese and sliced tomatoes I feel like an old lady... hand me my knitting needles and readers. But I just can't help it! When you have a winning combination it's hard to let go of... so go ahead... try it! (It's absolutely THE best with garden fresh tomatoes - or organic)

1/2 cup of 1% milkfat Cottage Cheese and 1/2 a sliced tomato is only 100 calories! Even better? Cottage cheese is packed with protein - 11g per serving! That's almost 3 times that of an egg. Great for building muscle and recovery after strength building workouts.

These little bars are fantastic! They give you the sweetness that you crave with 20% of your daily fiber requirements! Did I mention the flavor is strawberry PB&J?? Can you go wrong with this? Only 110 calories and 3.5g of fat. 

I'm always looking for a new, bold, snack cracker to have with my soups or salads. This one is PACKED with flavor. If you're looking for a zippy cracker with the bold taste of aged Parmesan and garlic you cannot go wrong here. Best part? 23 crackers are only 130 calories and 4.5g of fat. 

Speaking of Parmesan. A little of the real stuff goes a long way! I roasted a bunch of veggies at 400 degrees for 20 minutes, flipping half way through, and then topped it off with 1/4 c. of shredded Parmesan cheese. So yummy!

My veggie mix:

2 cups fresh broccoli, cut into one inch stalks

2 cups fresh cauliflower, cut into one inch stalks,

1 small package white mushrooms, left whole

6 oz. baby carrots, cut in half

1/2 yellow sweet onion, cut into 1/2 inch strips

1 red pepper, sliced into 1/2 inch strips

1/4 cup shredded Parmesan

Makes 2 servings - 170 calories each!

And last but not least, my new favorite English muffin!

Only 130 calories and 5g of protein per muffin! They have a very fresh taste with a slight touch of honey. Perfect with a teaspoon or two of Land O' Lakes Whipped butter (my butter of choice!).

Eat healthy my friends!!

These are a few of my favorite things....

Keeping up with my promise... here are some other things that I've eaten... and enjoyed! All under 400 calories!

Chicken and Veggie Marinara

Shitake and Soy Sauce GreeNoodles

Here's the story. I grew up on Ramen noodles (which are TERRIBLE for you...) and sometimes the little kid in me craves it. I like to call this new find Adult Ramen. It's made of Moroheiya which is considered the Egyptian spinach. It was chewy like Ramen and tasty but with only 260 calories and 8 grams of protein!

Biggest Loser Pancakes with Blueberries and Center Cut Bacon

Baked Plantain Chips

(so simple!)

Take a green to light yellow plantain, slice into 1/8" slices, spray baking sheet with Olive Oil cooking spray, season with salt or your favorite spices. Bake at 350 for 8 minutes or until brown on bottom side, flip and bake an additional 4 minutes or so until brown. Baking times will vary considering how ripe or thick your slices. 1 medium plantain is about 200 calories.

Hot Sauce Pretzel Chicken

This is a favorite in my house. I used to make it all the time! Just something I came up with one day!

9 oz chicken tenders

1 egg white, beaten

1 oz. crushed pretzel sticks

1/4 c. Panko bread crumbs

1/4 c. Franks Red Hot Original Sauce

Take your raw chicken tenders and poke with a fork a few times in a resealable plastic container. Pour in Franks sauce, cover. Shake around a bit and set aside.

Beat your one egg white on a plate. Set aside. 

In a Ziploc bag place pretzels, crush with the flat edge of a meat mallet or the bottom of a coffee mug until relatively fine. Pour out on a clean plate and add Panko. 

Shake off excess Franks from chicken and dip in egg batter. Roll chicken in Panko pretzel mixture and repeat. Coating twice with batter and crumb mixture works best! Do this with all tenders and set aside. Spray a skillet with Olive Oil spray and place over medium low heat. Cook until one side of chicken is brown. Do not repeatedly turn over and over, it will cause the batter to fall off! Cook each tender 4-5 minutes per side or until thickest part of the chicken reaches 165 degrees. 

Makes 2 servings - 220 calories each.

Some things I've eaten! And a recipe!

More things I ate... it's like a visual food diary... Just some images to give you an idea that you don't have to eat boring or bland... your world doesn't have to be full of rice cakes and salad. Just make smart choices!

Breakfast - 240 calories! 

2 egg whites, scrambled

2 slices SmartKids Wonder bread (who says it's just for kids!)

1 tbsp. Welch's Naturals grape jelly (less sugar and calories than traditional)

1/2 oz. crumbled feta cheese

2 slices center cut low sodium bacon

Buffalo Veggies!

I saw a recipe on Pinterest for buffalo cauliflower. They used buttermilk, butter, flour, etc. I used olive oil spray and Frank's Red Hot. I was trying to make mine a side, not a whole meal. They don't post calories on their site (which always makes me nervous!) so I just made up my own. Sure, you could probably add a little whipped light butter to the sauce and mix it together and toss the veggies in it, but I was in a hurry! Simply put, lay your veggies on an aluminum foil lined baking sheet. Spray aluminum foil with cooking spray. Toss on your fresh cut veggies (Frozen might be too watery), spray with more cooking spray, and drip Frank's over your veggies! Toss around the sheet for even coating. Frank's has 0 calories! Roast in the oven at 350 degrees for 20-30 minutes (depending how done you like your vegetables). Take them out about half way through and flip them over for even cooking. All your calories will come from the veggies and not the coating! But you will still get the buffalo flavor you want!

Tuna Salad 

160 calories for salad

50 calories for half serving of pretzel sticks

Lunch - 210 calories!

Sure, tuna salad is a no brainer. Everyone knows you can toss mayo, relish, onion and tuna and voila! Tuna salad! But, did you know you can easily use Greek yogurt and Dijon mustard INSTEAD of mayo? Here's the deal... even if you buy low calorie or fat free mayo it still packs 35 calories per tablespoon. Greek yogurt has the consistency of mayo with added probiotics and protein. It's a win win. Not to mention an entire 6oz. container is only 90 calories. Therefore making it about 10 calories per tablespoon. Pair that with a little Dijon or spicy mustard and you've given your boring Tuna salad a face-lift!

three in season fruit obsessions...

Plums, Pluots and Keitt mangoes!

One of the great benefits of working in a food market is getting to know and taste all those foods you are afraid to try or are curious about.

Plums remind me of my childhood. I can remember eating black plums with my Grandmother when I was little. I still love them today. If you haven't given them a try, you should. They have amazing stats, only 30 calories and 1g of fiber per plum!

BLACK PLUM

The Dapple Dandy Pluot is a hybrid between a plum and an apricot, more plum than apricot. They are kind of strange looking, speckled, and often look frost kissed. They are sweet and fun to eat. Only 75 calories each and 1g of fiber. 

DAPPLE DANDY PLUMCOT (PLUOT)

I've been able to try a few different types of mangoes over the past year and my favorite is the Keitt mango. It's softer and less stringy than the Alphonso and there is more fruit on them than the Champagne mango (which is my second favorite). The calories range a bit due to size from 100-150 calories each. So good!

KEITT MANGO

Corn Chowdah

Chowder (Chowdah) is big in New England... I'm guessing because of all the cold nights. Since moving here over a year ago I've eaten a lot of clam and corn chowder and cringed at the thought of all the heavy cream and calories involved. However, we must all indulge a little... sometimes. But when we're not having "free days" and we still want to eat something warm and hearty you can make a Fit Foodie style Corn Chowder. Here's how I did it!

CORN CHOWDER

3 ears of fresh corn, husked and cut from cob (yields 2 1/3 cups of kernels)

1/2 white onion, diced

1/2 c. chick peas (garbanzo beans)

1 lb. red potatoes, cubed

2 c. skim milk

7 c. water (separated*)

2 vegetable bouillon cubes (or 2 cups of veggie broth substituted for 2 cups water)

1 tbsp. corn starch

1 tbsp. parsley (fresh if available)

1 tbsp. minced garlic

1 tbsp. garlic powder (I like a lot!)

black pepper and salt to taste

Saute the onion and minced garlic in a large pot with cooking spray until onion becomes transparent, 2-3 minutes. Add in potatoes and 1/2 cup of water, cover and cook 7 minutes, stirring occasionally (add another 1/2 cup if necessary to prevent burning). In a food processor or blender puree chick peas and 1 cup of water. Add in milk and 1/2 cup of cooked potato and corn from pot to the blender or processor and blend until slightly smooth. This is partly what you will use as a thickening agent. Use another 1 cup of cold water to mix corn starch into. Use 2 cups of water to dissolve veggie bouillon into. If you prefer to use veggie broth (or chicken) instead that will work too, just subtract 2 cups of water from recipe. Add pureed mix, the remaining water (or broth) and all spices to the pot and bring to a boil. While stirring, slowly add in the corn starch/water mixture. If you would like thicker chowder you can either add another 1/2 cup of pureed chick peas or more corn starch/water until desired consistency. 

Optional: Top with either shredded 2% pepper jack or cheddar cheese.

This batch will make about 12 cups.

Only 83 calories per cup!!

Traditional Corn Chowder ranges from 200-300 calories per one cup serving. 

Breakfast!

MY BREAKFAST!

People often wonder what I eat on a daily basis. I will start posting some things I have eaten to give you an idea. Today, this was my breakfast:

1 egg white, scrambled

1/2 ounce feta cheese

sliced onion

1 light multi-grain English muffin

1 plum

Total calories: 190