One of the ways I've found to save a few extra cents in recent years is by becoming a Bzz Agent. If you've never heard of this, check out Bzz Agent. As you fill out surveys and update your profile, they link you up with campaigns to try new products and help spread the word. So, the latest one I am trying out is the new Scrubbing Bubbles One Step Toilet Bowl cleaner.
I am currently waiting for my kit to arrive & looking forward to trying my free sample! I'll keep you posted on my results. And, if you're interested, I will have coupons available for $xx/off the product for the first few people that comment or email & let me know they're interested!
If you haven't been introduced to Walden Farms products yet, you need to check them out! I won't pretend to understand how they do it, but all their products are 0 calorie, 0 sugar, 0 carbs, 0 fat. Miracle food! I have been incorporating them into a lot of meals lately, as we are striving to keep our carb intake (and calorie intake) at the proper level. A few local stores carry them, otherwise you can find them online. The best deal I've found so far is a site called Netrition. They seem to have the lowest prices, plus they offer flat-rate shipping, no matter how much you order! If you find a better deal somewhere, though, I'd love to hear about it!
So, last night's dinner was supposed to go on the grill. But the crazy wind we had caused hubby to decide to scratch his grilling plan. And I actually liked the result better than if we'd barbecued!!
Ingredients
1.5 lbs boneless skinless chicken breasts (cooks down to about 1 lb) ($3)
4 Tbsp Walden Farms Thick & Spicy BBQ Sauce ($0.50)
1 tsp Mrs Dash Southwest Chipotle seasoning ($0.05)
Combine above ingredients in a zip-log bag and mix well. Allow to marinate in the refrigerator for anywhere from 30 minutes to a couple hours (I marinated for about 2 hours). Remove from fridge and allow to come to room temperature. Pat chicken mostly dry with a paper towel. Turn oven to Broil and place chicken on broiler rack. Broil for 5-6 minutes, flip, broil for another 5-6 minutes (depending on thickness of the chicken, you may want to adjust your times).
I combined this with some marinated zucchini from our garden (Marinated Veggies). The chicken was so tender and moist, and it was honestly some of the tastiest meat I've had in a long time. Definitely repeating this one! Whole meal cost less than $4 for 3 people, which makes me even happier!
I owe all of you, my readers, an apology. It has recently occurred to me that I never truly "came out" (that's for you, Doug, if you're really reading!) and shared with you about the current journey I'm on and why the focus of this blog changed course last summer. So here goes ...
A little over a year ago, at the ripe old age of 37 and only 5'3" tall, I weighed in at a whopping 269 lbs. And I was miserable. But even I didn't realize how miserable I was. Thank heavens for my husband, who decided it was time for us to take control of our health. And thank heavens for amazing friends who showed us it was possible and helped us start the journey to find the health we so desperately needed. I started this journey quite unwillingly. As a morbidly obese woman, I had tried everything, and nothing had worked. I'd lose 20 lbs, then gain it all back even faster than I lost it. And, as a result, I'd given up hope of ever being a healthy weight again.
Until we discovered Take Shape For Life. We started this amazing program July 11, 2010. We spent a week, cleaning out our pantry and preparing our home so that we could be successful. And we jumped right in. We started eating 6 small meals a day and drinking lots of water. We had the free support of amazing health coaches, which I know made all the difference in our success. After 1 month, we were both down over 25 lbs. I decided I could stick it out a while longer and see what might happen.
A year later, my hubby is down 60 lbs and has maintained that loss for 9 months. I am down over 100 lbs, and I am now within about 35 lbs of my final goal weight. And I have hope again. I never realized how many areas of my life were unhealthy ... and how many of those areas were directly tied to my unhealthy weight. As the weight came off, I found myself suddenly more interested in things I had hid from for years. I hated the way I looked, so I gradually hid myself away at home more and more. But as the lbs started melting off, and I started liking the way I looked, I started getting involved in activities at church, with other moms, inviting people over to my house again. And, as I started getting more involved, I started moving more and being more active in general ... which made me feel better too. I started getting out and walking, playing with my daughter, even broke out my Wii Fit a few times. And as I got more physically active, I started feeling even better about myself. Instead of the old vicious, unhealthy cycle I'd been living in, I was now working toward a balanced, healthy lifestyle. And it felt amazing.
It still does. Which is why my hubby and I are now "paying it forward" and sharing the same hope with others. How can I not share something that could save someone's life? Because I know it saved mine. And if I can help even one other person find the hope that I did, then I consider my life a success. If you'd like more information about the amazing program that has turned our lives around, please feel free to ask me! Call me, e-mail me, FB me, text me. Whatever it takes to get ahold of me. Don't wait as long as I did. Don't let your mind come up with every excuse in the book why you "can't" do this thing. I sincerely hope and pray that you will take this chance to grab control of your future and start your own journey to a healthier you. And if I can be even a small part of that journey, I'd consider it an honor.
For more information, check out my website ... and then call me! Take Shape For Life
Every mom out there has probably made some variation of this type of "pizza" for their kid. But I figured I'd post my little healthy recipe, which my kiddo loves. She kind of cracks me up when I feed her pizza, because if I put anything but veggies on top, she'll pick everything else off and only eat the veggies. She's weird, but I'm sure glad she loves to eat healthy - will serve her well later in life to already have good habits!
1 whole wheat sandwich thin (I found a package on clearance today for 99 cents, so this "crust" cost me about 16 cents)
2 tsp no-sugar-added spaghetti (or pizza) sauce
Up to 1/4 cup chopped veggies (my daughter favors mushrooms & tomatoes)
1/4 cup low-fat shredded mozzarella
I pop the sandwich thin in the toaster on a low setting so that it gets a little crunchy. After it comes out, spread a tsp of sauce on each half, distribute the veggies evenly between the two halves, then sprinkle the cheese over the top. Microwave for about 30-40 seconds, just long enough to melt the cheese. And, you're done!
This entire meal takes me all of about 3 minutes to prepare and get on the table. And it costs about 50 cents (or less) for a full serving. I added a side of strawberries and blueberries for my kiddo today. All yummy, totally healthy, and easy on the checkbook. Best kind of meal there is!
Who knew that cauliflower could be used in so many yummy ways? I certainly didn't. Before changing the way we were eating and eliminating most of the processed food from our daily diet, there were so many foods that I thought I didn't like. But now that I've re-trained my tastebuds, it's amazing how many yummy foods have opened up to me! And cauliflower is at the top of that list!
This recipe came to me via Sarah Corbin. I'm not sure where she first tracked it down, but I will be forever grateful she shared once she found it! And now I will pass it along to you!
Cauliflower Lasagna
Ingredients
4 cups cooked cauliflower, grated or shredded in the food processor
3-4 cups shredded low-fat mozzarella, divided
1 cup eggbeaters
1 - 1 1/2 cups non-fat (or low-fat) cottage cheese
6 Tbsp parmesan cheese (optional)
16 oz 99% lean ground turkey, cooked with Italian seasonings
2-3 cups no sugar added, low-carb spaghetti sauce (or no sugar, no salt tomato sauce)
Directions
Pre-heat oven to 350 degrees and spray 9x13 casserole dish with non-stick spray. In a medium bowl, mix cauliflower, eggbeaters and half the mozzarella. In another small bowl, mix the cottage cheese and parmesan cheese (if using).
Spread half the spaghetti/tomato sauce in the bottom of the casserole dish. Spread half of the cauliflower mixture over the sauce. Spread half of the cottage cheese mixture over the cauliflower mixture. Spread half the ground turkey over the cottage cheese. Repeat with remaining ingredients. Spread remaining mozzarella over top of lasagna.
Bake for 45-55 minutes, then allow to cool for 15 minutes before cutting and serving.
This makes 4 "lean and green" portions and is a perfect dish for leftovers! It is extremely filling and super tasty. I made it last night and could hardly finish a full portion. My hubby and I will be having the leftovers tonight, and I'm already looking forward to it!
The cost breakdown makes it pretty economical too. About $2-3 worth of cauliflower (I used frozen & 2 bags was perfect), $2 for spaghetti sauce, $2 for the ground turkey (we got it out of the discount bin - I know it's not usually that low!), $1 for cottage cheese, a few cents worth of Parmesan, $4 worth of mozzarella, and about $1 worth of eggbeaters. Total cost for 4 servings was $12-13, which comes out to about $3 and maybe a few cents per serving. Sure not going to find any form of lasagna for that price at a restaurant! And it's about $2 a serving cheaper than my famous lasagna recipe!
I just have to admit up front ... I can claim absolutely NO credit for this recipe. It is from the TSFL Lean & Green Cookbook. But it was so yummy that I just had to pass it along. If you are following this program and don't have this recipe book yet, you really should get it. So worth every penny!!
Ingredients
1 lb (16 oz) raw shrimp, peeled and de-veined OR 14 oz fully cooked frozen shrimp, thawed
2 cups romaine lettuce, chopped or shredded
1 cup (2 medium) tomatoes, diced
1 cup cucumber, sliced
8 Tbsp Sun-Dried Tomato dressing, divided (recipe specified Newman's Own, but I couldn't find it at my local store, so I used the Kraft equivalent)
Preparation
Marinate shrimp in 6 Tbsp of dressing for 1-2 hours (I was only able to marinate it for about 30-45 minutes, and it still absorbed the flavor well). Prepare salad by washing vegetables and cutting them as indicated above; set aside. After shrimp has sufficiently marinated, pour entire contents (shrimp and marinade) into a skillet and cook over medium heat until shrimp are cooked through (or turn opaque in color), about 3-5 minutes. Place shrimp on top of salad and drizzle remaining dressing over.
Each serving counts as: 1 "Leanest" Protein Serving, 2 Healthy Fat Servings, 3 Vegetable Servings
Serves 2
Total cost of this meal was about $4-5. So, leaning towards the more expensive side, it cost about $2.50 per person. It was light, refreshing and super tasty. And as easy as it sounds. We will definitely be having this one again!
So, this is a little late, but figured I'd post my new St. Patrick's Day cabbage recipe. We really enjoyed this, and there are so many variations you could do to make it fit your lifestyle. As usual, I changed it up from the recipe I originally stumbled across, mainly in an effort to get it to fit fully within our "lean and green" meal requirements. But also to fit with what was actually in my pantry! I have never, ever wanted anything to do with cooked cabbage ... but I have changed my tune since eating this meal! Hope you enjoy it as much as we did.
Ingredients
1 lb lean ground beef (I got a GREAT deal on the 97% lean ground beef straight from the butcher's block - but you could also use the super lean ground turkey for an even leaner meat)
1 tsp olive oil
1-2 tsp onion powder
2 cups mushrooms, chopped
1 tsp salt (or salt substitute)
1/8 tsp pepper
1/2 cup brown minute rice (this part was not within our current lean & green, but we splurged, because the recipe really needed something to help absorb the wet ingredients)
2 10-oz cans no-salt-added diced tomatoes
3 cups coarsely chopped cabbage (I had the pre-bagged dry coleslaw mix on hand that I'd gotten for 49 cents a package, so I just used 1-1.5 bags of it)
Preparation
In a large frying pan, stir and break up the ground beef in oil for 1-2 minutes (I actually just substituted olive-oil flavored cooking spray to cut back on the fat). Add onion powder, salt, pepper, mushrooms and rice. Mix well and continue sweating for 2-3 minutes. Add tomatoes and stir well. Put cabbage into bottom of a greased baking dish. Pour meat mixture over raw cabbage and bake covered at 325 degrees for 1 1/2 hours.
Extra bonus tip: You can easily double the recipe and store in tupperware containers and freeze for up to a couple months. Have an easy meal to pull out of the freezer on a day when you don't have time for the extra effort!
Meal prepared as listed above cost me about $6 to make, or $3 a serving.
