Dinner Menu October 31 to November 6

So it's been about 6 months that I reached my goal weight of 150. In those six months I actually got down all the way to 141.6. And since then I have gained about 11 pounds. In fact last week's weigh in had me at 154.4. For anyone who may be wondering what is going on here it goes: Initially my goal weight was 160, but then I changed it to 150. When I got all the way down to 141 I realized that I didn't want to get so low below 150. Although my goal is 150 I want to be able to give myself about 5 pounds on either side of that and not freak out. And I haven't slacked off on exercising, around the end of May and through out the summer I have added a lot of Zumba (I started with a couple classes a week and now I go to about 10 a week) to my exercise routine and gone up from using 7 pound dumbbells to 9 pound dumbbells. So I'm kinda thinking the extra weight is some muscle, the girls at the gym say my arms look fabulous! I have done three 5ks, the Powder Run in July, the Glow Run in August, and The Zombie Obstacle Fest in October. This Saturday I'm getting ready to do another one; The Wicked Wine Run (you get wine at the end of the race)! In case you are wondering about my eating, I haven't gone off the rails completely, but I'm not as strict as I was when I was trying to lose all the weight. Last but not least last week was a huge week for me. I got two certifications: Group Fitness and my Zumba instructor certification! I'm at point in my life where I can say with all certainty that this is the healthiest and happiest I have ever been. I hope y'all have a great day! Keep up the good work!!!

Saturday:  Tilapia, fries, and asparagus.  You don't have to fry fish.   Fish is so good for you don't take way from it's healthiness by battering it and deep frying it in oil.

Broiled Tilapia

4-5oz tilapia fillets
1/2 tsp. salt, or less to taste
1/4 tsp. pepper
1 tbsp. fresh lemon juice
2 tsp. garlic herb seasoning.

Preheat broiler.  Pray a shallow roasting dish with PAM.  Season both side of fish with salt and pepper.  Transfer fish to prepared pan and drizzle with lemon juice; sprinkle garlic herb seasoning over top.  Broil until fish is fork tender 5-6 minutes.

The french fries were a single serving tray that you can just pop in the microwave.  Follow the directions.  When they are done I like to pour them into a bowl, sprinkle with Mrs. Dash, pepper and dried dill.  Toss to coat and then serve!

Today I bough fresh asparagus.  I have Ziploc steamer bags and they are fabulous.  They have instructions on how to steam veggies and certain proteins right on the bag.  So I just followed the directions for steaming asparagus and when it was done I tossed them with lemon juice, pepper, crushed red pepper, and Mrs. Dash.

Sunday:  Asian Pork Chops, brown rice, and mixed veggies.  I found this recipe in a Weight Watchers 5 ingredient 15 minute recipe magazine.  And I tried to find it online but I couldn't.  So here is the recipe which I did not change one thing.  What really caught my attention is the cook time.  This was fast and delicious, just my kind of recipe.  At first I was kind of skeptical because you broil the pork chops and that's not a method I'm very familiar with, but they came out beautiful and delicious.

Hoisin-Orange Pork Chops

3 tbsp. hoisin sauce

2 tsp orange peel

1 tsp. less sodium soy sauce

1/4 tsp. Chinese five spice

1 tsp sesame oil, divided

4 pork loin boneless center cut chops

 

Preheat broiler.  Combine hoisin, orange peel, soy sauce, and five-spice in a small bowl. Stir with a whisk.  Rub pork chops with sesame oil, and baste with hoisin mixture. Place pork on a broiler pan coated with Pam. Cook 4 minutes on each side or until done; basting occasionally with remaining hoisin mixture.

Brown rice is a boil in the bag kind.  Just make it according to package directions.  I like to toss a cube of chicken broth into the water to flavor the rice.  When it's done, I season the rice with Mrs. Dash, a splash of less sodium soy sauce, and 1/2 tsp. Land O'Lakes Light Butter with Canola.

For the Asian veggies, they are the frozen ones.  You can steam them right in the bag.  Just follow the directions on the package.  Once they are done, I'll pour them into a mixing bowl.  Add 1/2 tsp. butter, Mrs. Dash, pepper, and crushed red pepper.  Then toss to coat and serve.

Monday:  Meat and Potato Casserole, black beans, and green beans.  Meat and potato casserole making another appearance on the menu.   My family loves this dinner.  It's super simple and very flavorful!






Meat and Potato Casserole

1 lb 93/7 lean ground beef

1 medium onion, chopped

1 1/2 tsp. Italian seasoning

1 (10.5 oz) can Campbell's 98% fat free condensed cream of mushroom soup

1/2 tsp. Mrs. Dash

4 medium potatoes, peeled and thinly sliced

1/4 tsp black pepper

1/3 cup water

Preheat oven to 350. Spray a 9x13 inch baking dish with Pam.  In a frying pan, brown beef and onion together until beef is done. Stir Italian seasoning into beef mixture.  Lay a third of the potatoes on bottom of the baking dish. Sprinkle potatoes with some of the Mrs. Dash and some pepper. Spread half the beef mixture on top.  Repeat layers, ending with potato layer.   Combine soup and water. Spread soup mixture over top. Cover and back 1 hour.

I always have black beans in my fridge.  It's one of the foods that I prep along with chicken.  I buy a can of No Salt Added whole black beans, not the refried ones.  Rinse them in a colander.  I take a medium size skillet add about 1/4 to 1/2 cup of water.  Heat over medium, and once the water is hot I add the beans.  Then I season them with garlic powder, onion powder, chili powder, pepper, crushed red pepper, cumin, hot sauce, and 25% less sodium seasoned salt.  Stir it all up and then mash them.  You can add more water if you want them to be bit more runny.  And all the seasonings are to taste.  Just depends on your taste buds.  I cook them for about 5-7 minutes on low.  And then after they have cooled down I keep them in the fridge for tostadas, burritos, or just as a side.
 
For the green beans, they are the frozen ones.  You can steam them right in the bag.  Just follow the directions on the package.  Once they are done, I'll pour them into a mixing bowl.  Add 1/2 tsp. butter, Mrs. Dash, pepper, and crushed red pepper.  Then toss to coat and serve.

Tuesday:  Apricot Lemon Chicken, black beans, and mixed veggies.  Start with apricot fruit spread to concoct a sauce that transforms simply prepared chicken breast into this elegant dish.

Apricot-Lemon Chicken

1 tsp. curry powder
1/4 tsp. black pepper
1/2 tsp. Lawry's 25% less sodium seasoned salt
1 1/2 lb. or 4 boneless skinless chicken breast
1/3 cup apricot preserves
2 tbsp. fresh lemon juice
2 tbsp. water
2 tsp. lemon zest

Combine curry powder, seasoned salt, and pepper in a small bowl; rub mixture over chicken. Heat a large nonstick skillet over medium high heat. Spray pan with PAM. Cook chicken 6 minutes on each side or until done. Remove chicken from pan, and keep warm.  Add apricot spread, lemon juice, and water to pan, stirring until smooth. Cook over medium heat 1 minute. Spoon sauce over chicken; sprinkle with lemon zest. Serve!

I always have black beans in my fridge.  It's one of the foods that I prep along with chicken.  I buy a can of No Salt Added whole black beans, not the refried ones.  Rinse them in a colander.  I take a medium size skillet add about 1/4 to 1/2 cup of water.  Heat over medium, and once the water is hot I add the beans.  Then I season them with garlic powder, onion powder, chili powder, pepper, crushed red pepper, cumin, hot sauce, and 25% less sodium seasoned salt.  Stir it all up and then mash them.  You can add more water if you want them to be bit more runny.  And all the seasonings are to taste.  Just depends on your taste buds.  I cook them for about 5-7 minutes on low.  And then after they have cooled down I keep them in the fridge for tostadas, burritos, or just as a side.
 
For the mixed veggies, they are the frozen ones.  You can steam them right in the bag.  Just follow the directions on the package.  Once they are done, I'll pour them into a mixing bowl.  Add 1/2 tsp. butter, Mrs. Dash, pepper, and crushed red pepper.  Then toss to coat and serve.

Wednesday:  Leftovers.  Chicken Tostadas and cracker chips.  You can have chicken tacos if you want but it's so much better in tostadas.  And your filling won't fall out the back when you are eating them.  For this dinner I also use my toaster oven.  Preheat it to 375.  Line the baking pan with foil, and spray it with Pam.  Warm up two corn tortillas in the microwave.  Place them flat on the baking sheet and then spray the tops with Pam.  Bake for about 10 minutes turning once until light brown and toasty.  Keep on eye on them because they will go from being perfect to burnt in a blink of an eye.  I know, it's happened to me.  Once they are done.  I split one wedge of Laughing Cow cheese between the two corn tostadas.  Then spread black beans, divide cooked chicken between the two pile the chicken on top, add salsa, sour cream, and devour.  You can add any kind of salsa and guacamole as well!

Thursday:  Out of town.  Today I headed to San Antonio to attend the Zumba certification.  But before I talk about that I'm going to use this spot to talk about my first certification of the week.  My Group Fitness certification.  At the gym I work at we all needed to get certified.  I had been wanting to do something like that and it was a blessing that it was now required.  It was a pretty simple painless process and now I got my Group Fitness certificate!  Oh and we had dinner at Denny's.  I had a sirloin steak, with sauteed zucchini and squash, and cheddar mashed potatoes.

Friday:  Out of town. Today was the day of my second certification, to become a Zumba instructor!  It was an all day seminar with the wonderful Kass Martin!  She is phenomenal.  I had a blast and can't wait to see where this new certification will take me.  Never did I think that my life would go in this direction.  I never thought that I would become a fitness instructor.  But I am so glad that I have found my passion.  Oh and by the way we had dinner at Buffalo Wild Wings, where I had a burger.  And after dinner my daughter and I had ice cream at the Cold Stone Creamery.