Whatcha Eatin' Wednesday

Hey, chicas!

It’s everyone’s favorite day- Wednesday- the swapping of recipes and snack ideas! Horray! What have you been eating?

I liked this article about keeping on hand at home some quick, easy, and healthy high-energy snacks. http://triathlon.competitor.com/2010/01/nutrition/eat-healthy-at-home-even-with-a-hectic-schedule_6755

Therefore, you’re eliminating your excuse that you don’t have time to eat healthy, or that you don’t have “anything” to eat in your fridge. And although none of our names are as cool as Pip :) and although the article might seem like Dummy 101, there are still some good takeaways. I like the caution that just because something says it’s “all natural” does not mean it’s healthy or low-fat. And I like the tip to cook extras on the weekends and save individual portions in the fridge or freezer for the following week’s meals. Most of all, I like that she acknowledges that coming up with meal plans is just not her style and is just not going to happen, although she respects those whose style that is, but she just accepts herself and doesn’t beat herself up b/c she’s not that kind of person.

Everybody post your quickest, simplest recipes and snack ideas!!!

I discovered a weird and unusual snack yesterday that I loved, so I’ll share. I mixed in a little Tupperware container half an avocado and one cup of Bush’s seasoned black beans. That’s it. Weird, but I ate it with a spoon and it was yummy! The carbs in the beans and the fat in the avocado really helped me stay full longer. At 381 calories, it was a perfectly-sized mini-meal for me, with lots of energy. I’m sure adding tomatoes would make it more salsa-y and yummy, too.

Saturday night I made some shrimp skewers- super quick & simple. Just took a lb of frozen but pre-cooked, de-tailed, de-veined shrimp, thawed out, skewered about 8 on each wooden kebob skewer, brushed on a mixture of 2 T of bottled teriyaki sauce and 1 T of sesame oil. Broiled in the oven, top rack, 3 mins per side. Had steamed broccoli in the steamer going, too. For each serving of roughly 2 cups shrimp, 2 cups broccoli, and the tiny bit of sauce brushed on, about 275 calories. Again, a great mini-meal.

Sometime last week we had simple BBQ chicken- again very quick. Just took thawed boneless skinless chicken breasts, brushed honey BBQ sauce on each side, put on baking stone in oven, top rack to broil 10 mins, flip chicken, 10 more mins. Super juicy b/c it’s broiled (my fav way to cook chicken) and it’s cooked quickly. Served w/ steamed sugar snap peas. For each serving of roughly one chicken breast, 1 T of sauce, and 2 cups of steamed sugar snap peas, it’s about 500 calories.

Last night we had baked salmon- again, easy-peasy. Took some No Name original seasoned frozen salmon filets (built-in pop-up timer so you know when it’s cooked) and tossed in a covered pyrex dish in oven, 400 degrees for about 35 minutes. Served w/ steamed fresh asparagus. For each filet and 1.5 cups of asparagus, it’s about 300 calories.

Which you might be wondering w/ all the steamed veggies, I do like the microwaveable steam-in-the-bag type, but I adore my electric Black & Decker steamer that we got as an inexpensive little Target wedding registry gift, like $19 I think. It’s worked like a champ for 7 yrs strong! I recommend it :) We can cook rice in it, fresh veggies, frozen veggies, and I’m sure other stuff I haven’t tried in it. I really don’t like overcooked veggies, and this just cooks them perfectly- slightly crispy and beautifully steamed. There are instructions imprinted on the back of the steamer for lots of types of foods & veggies, telling you which water level to fill the steamer to, what herbs would go well with it, and how many minutes to set the steamer timer to.

Tonight we’re making chicken burritos- no rice, just lots of shredded iceberg, diced tomatoes, half a smashed avocado, lime juice, chicken w/ spices on it, and a whole wheat tortilla. Should be good!