Food Filled Friday

Happy Friday! I'm especially happy for the weekend because not only is it my dad's birthday tomorrow, but today marked the end of the first session of summer school. It was a long five weeks of Chemistry and lab, but I had my final this morning, and can relax. I get my grades in the next few days, so hopefully all of the hard work paid off! Enough about Chemistry...on to a new recipe!

About a year or so ago, I started training for my first half marathon, was at my highest weight in awhile, and decided to make some changes. Since then, I've successfully lost around 40 pounds. I enjoy eating healthier, the way my body feels, and how I feel as well. I've found a new love for running, and enjoy involving myself in races and other running events. I get a lot of questions over what I eat, my exercise/training routine, and my secrets to losing the weight. The truth is, however, there are no secrets! I started eating cleaner, closely monitoring what I was putting in my body, tracking my progress, and continuing my daily exercise routine, while incorporating new training methods for running. However, I also don't deprive myself of foods I love, and allow myself to have a treat each day. You can't have a lifestyle without enjoying some of your favorites, right? So, for today's entry, I decided to not only include a new recipe, but show everything I had throughout the day, as well as what I did for a workout, to show an example.

Before my workout this morning, I had my usual breakfast of a vitamin, cereal, milk, and a banana. I like to change up the cereal types, and always use almond or soy milk. Some of my favorites are the different flavors from Kashi, Special K, Cheerios, or Honey Bunches of Oats. Today, I decided on a bowl of Honey Bunches of Oats, strawberry flavored, with Silk Original Almond milk.

After breakfast, I headed to the gym. Because of a knee issue, I'm unable to run right now. :( However, I've been able to do other types of exercise. :) Today, I did the elliptical for 20 minutes, and then did 40 minutes on the treadmill with various inclines and speeds. After cardio, I always do a bit of conditioning and stretching, so I did 50 various types of crunches, 20 push ups, and then cooled down with a 5 minute stretch.

Before heading to school, I had a post-workout snack including 1/2 cucumber, 3 celery stalks, a Laughing Cow cheese wedge, and green tea. I knew I wouldn't be home until late in the afternoon for lunch, so wanted to make sure I wouldn't get hungry during my final. Not only was this snack under 100 calories, but I loved using the mug one of my best friends, Brittany, made for me. :)

After my final, I came home and made lunch. I've always loved peanut butter, and normally have a bit each day. For today's lunch, I had an Orowheat bread thin, honey wheat flavor, with JIF natural peanut butter, a Fuji apple on the side, and a Chobani Greek Yogurt, mango flavored. Until last week, I had never tried Greek yogurt. Now, I'm obsessed! I love the mango flavor, but my other favorite is the apple cinnamon.

For dinner tonight, I decided to make my own version of the typical take-out stir fry. Not only was it cheap and easy to make, but it also was pretty low in the calorie and sodium categories. A big plus? Over 40 grams of protein in each serving!

Servings: 2

Ingredients:
12 oz raw chicken breast, cut into strips
1 container Minute-Ready to Serve Long Grain White Rice
4 tbsp La Choy- Original Stir Fry Sauce/Marinade
Ground black pepper
1/2 cup water
2 1/2 cups frozen HEB- Broccoli Stir Fry
-Includes broccoli, carrots, onions, red peppers, celery, mushrooms, and water chesnuts

Directions:
Measure out 2 1/2 cups of the HEB vegetable mix (1/2 package) into a microwavable safe bowl. Add 1/2 cup water to the bowl, and microwave for 2 1/2 minutes. Next, turn the stove to high (8-9 if your stove has numbers) to let it get warm before cooking, and cut the chicken breast into strips. Spray a skillet with non-stick spray, add in the chicken breast, and grind the pepper over the chicken. Cook the chicken on the stove , and gradually add some of the vegetables from the microwaved bowl. There might be some water left in the bowl, but that's fine. When the chicken and vegetables look done, turn the stove down to low (3-4 if your stove has numbers), and leave them for about 5 minutes.

While waiting, take the rice container, remove the film, and heat in the microwave for 1 minute. When your chicken and vegetables are done, mix them in a serving bowl with the rice. Lastly, add 4 tbsp of your sauce, and mix thoroughly. Enjoy!

It was my first time to try this dish, and I enjoyed it! Of course it doesn't compare to my favorite stir fry dish at a restaurant, but, it satisfied the craving! For one serving, it comes out to 358 calories. Once again, I paired mine with a bowl of baby carrots for my side, and had a glass of water as well. 

Now, what about my daily treat? Some of my common choices include cookies, ice cream, bars, or chocolate from brands like Quaker, Skinny Cow, Weight Watchers, or Dreyer's. I'm also a fan of nutrition bars, Betty Crocker Warm delights (mini), or No Pudge! brownies. Tonight, I had a craving for something with chocolate, so I decided to have  a NuGo bar. I've been a big fan of Luna and Clif bars for awhile now, and recently came across NuGo. Not only do they have a good amount of protein, but they're vegan friendly as well! My favorite flavor includes dark chocolate and chocolate chips, which is the one I had tonight.

Now that everything I needed to do today is done, I plan to relax the rest of the evening by watching "P.S. I Love You" on TV, and playing with my kitty, Jessie, who I included in my pictures for today. I hope you have a great weekend! :)

<3 Stephanie