Another recipe...

I just found this recipe and thought I'd pass it along...

Chicken D'lish Kebabs


PER SERVING (two kebabs): 285 calories, 3g fat, 432mg sodium, 21.5g carbs, 5g fiber, 12g sugars, 44g protein -- POINTS® value 5*

The yogurt marinade makes this chicken INSANELY tender and delicious! And don't worry... we didn't get "curried" away with the spices (tee-hee!).



Ingredients:
12 oz. raw boneless skinless lean chicken breast, cut into cubes (1 1/2 inches)
2 red bell peppers
1 large (or 2 small) yellow summer squash
1 onion
1/4 cup plain fat-free yogurt
1 tsp. lemon juice
1/4 tsp. curry powder
1/4 tsp. garlic powder
1/4 tsp. onion powder
1/4 tsp. salt
Dash paprika

Directions:
In a medium sealable container, combine yogurt, lemon juice, curry powder, garlic powder, onion powder, salt, and paprika, and stir well. Add chicken and coat completely. Cover container and refrigerate for at least 1 hour.

Meanwhile, if using wooden skewers, soak four in water for 20 minutes to prevent burning. Cut peppers, squash, and onion into chunks equal in size to the chicken cubes.

Skewer the chicken and veggies alternately onto four skewers, packing the pieces together tightly.

Spray grill lightly with nonstick spray, and bring to medium-high heat.

Grill kebabs for 5 minutes with the grill cover down. Then carefully flip kebabs with long barbecue tongs.

With the grill cover down, grill for another 5 - 7 minutes, until chicken is cooked through.

Remove from grill and allow to cool slightly. Once cool enough to handle, pull chicken and veggies off the sticks and eat!

MAKES 2 SERVINGS

Week 3 Update... Posting just a little late...

Week 3 went just ok. That was the same week I resumed homeschooling my son, and it seemed like I was busier than ever. I don't think I pushed myself nearly as hard as I have in the past. I even had a couple of not so healthy meals. I tell ya what...The day that I didn't eat well I could REALLY feel the difference in my workouts. My body is just craving the good and healthy stuff now, so when I do slip up and indulge myself with that fatty, carb heavy mess, it's like my body doesn't even want to move. That's truly a motivation for me to continue eating the right way. Now, don't get me wrong... There is nothing wrong with treating yourself every once in a while. You just have to know when it's enough. So now I'm in week 4 of P90X. This is "recovery week". I put that in quotations because anyone who has done this workout knows that it feels like anything BUT a recovery week.LOL This week is definitely kicking my butt. I'm almost at that 30 day mark now. I really can't wait to do some measurements. I'm hoping to be pleasantly surprised...

http://beachbodycoach.com/BetterMeFitness

Inspiration...

This week has been crazy busy for me. I've also struggled to stay motivated to get up, complete my workouts, and reach for my goals. All those doubts of the past reared their ugly heads again and I found myself feeling like I would never reach my weight loss and fitness goals. I really needed something to inspire me and get me back into that "no excuses" mindframe. Then, a friend of mine posted this video to his YouTube page. This did the trick...



This truly touched my heart. It also touched my spirit and gave me exactly that inspiration I was looking for. I've been watching alot of YouTube weight loss journey videos lately and I noticed a pattern. So many people, mostly females, said that their goals are to look like Beyonce, Britney, etc... While there is nothing wrong with admiring these ladies, trying to "look like them" is a whole different story. The media has painted such a narrow picture of what beauty looks like. Not all of us were meant to be a size 0. We don't all have the exact same body structure. The whole goal should be to get healthy and be happy with yourself. The first step to doing that is to start loving yourself they way you are now. I spent so much time hating how I looked that I've become consumed with the idea of having my body look a certain way instead of focusing on what's most important...Getting healthy... So, from now on my goal is to lose weight not because I want to fit into a pair of skinny jeans, but because I don't want to continue to be at risk for diabetes, heart disease, and high blood pressure. Looking fierce will just be an added bonus!
http://beachbodycoach.com/BetterMeFitness

What a great day!

Today has been a BUSY but great day! I haven't been home all day and I forgot to bring my lunch with me. (I usually do that so I can avoid the temptation to stop and grab fast food.) So, today I found myself at Wendy's for lunch. Sooooooo much temptation!!! The smell of those french fries and chocolate Frostys was beckoning me and I almost caved in. BUT, I turned to my left and saw a sign advertising their brand new Apple Pecan Chicken salad. I figured if I had to eat fast food the least I could do was get the salad. The price tag turned me off a little bit. $5.99 for a salad???? I thought to myself, "This better be one heck of a salad!" So I ordered it with a bottled water. I think I may have pissed off the girl behind the counter because I ordered my salad without the blue cheese crumbles. She gave me a look as if to say "Now I gotta do all this extra work just to make YOU a special salad." (Apparently they pre-make the salads. I didn't know they weren't made-to-order.) Anyway, I can definately say that the $5.99 was money well spent. This salad was awesome!!! Two kinds of apples, lettuce, roasted pecans, and cranberries all topped with a juicy, grilled chicken filet. WHOA MAMA it was good!!! To keep it just a little healthier I opted out of using any type of dressing. I really didn't need any with this mouth watering salad. So if you just have to have something from a fast food restaurant, I definately recommend you try this salad instead of the greasy burgers and fries.

Also, I have another recipe to share. I'm not much of a cheesecake eater, but this may be a good dessert option for someone else.


Low Carb Cheesecake

1 1/2 cups almond flour
6 Tbsp granulated Splenda
5 Tbsp butter, melted

Mix Splenda and almond flour with melted butter; press onto bottom and 1 1/2 inches up sides of a 9-inch spring-form pan.

Bake for 20 minutes at 325 degrees. Set out to cool.

Filling: (Becky's recipe)

2 packages of cream cheese (Trader Joe's brand has the best texture)
1 8oz tub of Cool Whip 1/2 cup granulated Splenda
1 tsp vanilla extract

Let the cream cheese get to room temp. Cube into a mixing bowl. Add the rest of the ingredients and mix on med speed until well blended. Pour/scoop into cooled crust and chill overnight or 6-8 hours.

Top with fresh strawberries, blueberries or SF pie filling.

Interesting recipe...

Here is the recipe for those "Cottage Cheese Pancakes" I mentioned on yesterday's post.

Oatmeal Pancakes-High Protein

Ingredients
2 eggs or 1/2 cup eggbeaters
1/2 cup lowfat cottage cheese
1 package Quaker Oats Weight Control oatmeal

Directions
Put all the ingredients into a blender and mix until smooth.
Lightly spray skillet and place over low heat. When the skillet is
hot, spoon the batter onto the skillet and cook until it starts
bubbling and has set up, flip and cook until golden brown.

Makes about 4 pancakes. Serve with sugar free syrup or sugar free fruit spread.
Pancakes freeze well.
Servings
1-2

Comments and Notes
Each serving has about 27 grams of protein 310 cal.

I haven't had a chance to try it yet. I'm going grocery shopping Thursday so I'll get all the ingredients then so I can give it a try. Sounds pretty good to me though.

Week 1 of Round 2 is complete!!

So, week one of round 2 of P90X is out of the way!! I had a really great week. I didn't miss any workouts and I pushed myself HARD!!! I can definately tell how much stronger I've gotton since round 1. I'm able to do more reps with all of my pushups and pull ups. I plan to go even harder for week two. I won't do another weigh in or any measuring until day 30. I've locked my scale away in the garage(a place I never go...lol) This keeps me from torturing myself with those daily and weekly weigh-ins. A friend sent me a recipe today for something called Cottage Cheese Pancakes. I know the name doesn't sound too appealing, but she said they are absolutely delicious and packed with tons of protein. I will be trying them out this week and I'll let everyone know how it went!

Click Here to try P90X for yourself!!

http://tinyurl.com/BringingItP90X

Here is my first video from Round 2 of P90X...

Starting my blog...

For the past three months I've been keeping a YouTube vlog, but I thought I'd try my hand at a regular blog also. So here I go. This blog will be all about my fitness and weight loss journey. I'll be sharing the good days, bad days, highs, and lows. I'll also be sharing some of my YouTube clips and maybe even some of the recipes I've come across to help me stay on track with my eating habits. I finished my very first round of P90X on July 19th and I was really very pleased with my results. 13.2 pounds gone and 23.25 inches off!!! In the past I have struggled to stick with any sort of workout regimen, but I changed my way of thinking and decided to get rid of all the excuses. After having some success with my first round of this program I decided to become a Beachbody coach so that I could inspire and help others to do the same thing. http://beachbodycoach.com/BetterMeFitness



Here is how I ended my first round...



On August 2nd I started my second round of P90X. I plan to push myself even harder to obtain even better results. I hope you'll follow along and even join me on my journey. Let's get healthy together!!