The Final Exam! - Roasting Chicken

The Final Exam – Roasting a Chicken!

The end has arrived and as my final meal comfortably settles in the stomachs of my final group of tasters I thought it would be appropriate to reflect on this experience. I must admit I was a bit skeptical at the beginning of this challenge but have been pleasantly surprised by the taste and the ease of cooking healthy. Not to say that this experience hasn’t presented challenges, especially onion tears and a few knife cuts, but all of the challenges have helped me grow into the more health conscious person I have always desired to become.

I now know that, in order to be successful, I have to plan ahead. If I do not prepare for the week on Sunday I will make unhealthy choices the entire week. The hodge podge of healthy options no longer overwhelm me because I am able to focus on what makes up a healthy meal = P (protein) + C (carbohydrate) + V (vegetables). And I no longer fear missing out on social opportunities because I bring the social opportunities to my home. Instead of meeting friends out for dinner, I invite them to my home, saving money, time, and allowing me to wear my sweatpants to dinner – something you can never wear to a restaurant!

More than anything, I owe my wonderful trainer and friend a HUGE thank you! – Jodi Parnell. Jodi, a personal trainer and wellness coach at the Whitley County Family YMCA, spent countless hours putting this program together and helped me out numerous times along the way.  Jodi is a huge blessing to the YMCA and to my health. Thank you!

Roasting Chicken Night!

Instructions:

1.       Defrost chicken (refrigerator or water method)

2.       Preheat oven to 350 degrees – remove bottom rack from oven

3.       Remove chicken from packaging and rinse – place into roasting pan (no lid) – if giblets come with chicken – throw away. Add salt/pepper

4.       Place in oven – set time for 90 minutes

5.       Turn chicken – add salt/pepper. Increase oven temp. to 400 degrees

6.       Add potato to oven or prepare pasta/grain – set time for 60 minutes

7.       Check chicken – should be browned (can cut into chicken to check-no pink)

8.       Remove from oven if done and let sit for 5-10 minutes for juices to settle

9.       Remove potatoes from oven

10.   Vegetables – microwave frozen/fresh vegetables for 3 minutes or cook on stovetop

11.   Cut and serve chicken

12.   Combine chicken & vegetables & potatoes

13.   After remaining chicken has cooled for 60 minutes – pull meat from bone for leftovers

 

The start of something great!

Starting to lose confidence... 

Almost lost a finger...good thing Rose took over!

Before & After = Delish!

Flipping the chicken

yum! - Complete!

Chicken Dinner!

They were sooo excited!

the spread....yum!

All my wonderful tasters! Thanks!

 

 

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Black Friday - Crockpot Roast Meal

Black Friday – Crockpot Roast Meal

In anticipation of my annual black Friday EARLY morning shopping trip I decided to save my crockpot roast until now – and thankfully I did! After waking up before 4AM and being ready for lunch by 8AM this was the perfect meal to come home to! I loved coming home to a meal completed and ready to serve! I do not currently own a crockpot but after learning how quick and easy meals can be with one it has now made it to the top of my Christmas list!

The crockpot is one of the easiest appliances for beginning cooks (or any cook), all you have to do is fill it and turn it on. Hours later you can come home to a house filled with wonderful smells and dinner ready!

Meal = C (carbohydrate) + P (Protein) + V (vegetable). Portion = each category, the size of your fist.

Beef Potroast – Crockpot Night  

Instructions:

1.       Defrost roast (purchase a leaner cut of beef such as round, eye of round, or sirloin)

2.       Remove roast from packaging and rinse – place in crockpot

3.       Potato – 4 to 6 medium sized potatoes – peel and chop into chunks

4.       Peel and chop vegetables (as many as you like) – place around roast

5.       Add salt and pepper, garlic or other preferred seasonings

6.       Add water – fill ½ full (most of roast and vegetables will be covered)

7.       Place lid on top and select setting high or low – select heat settings based on desired meal time (low 8-10 hours or high 4 hours)

8.       4-10 hours later combine C+P+V – add salt & pepper to taste

9.       If leftover beef – can be used for other meals – refrigerate or freeze for later use

its sooo early! Hope this meal turns out well!

Roast pre cooking!

Love that a whole meal is made in one pot!

Finished product! Very Tasty!

 

 

 

 

Quick & Healthy meals satisfying every taste bud!

Quick & Healthy meals satisfying every taste bud!  - The best part of this food experiment is the variety! Each week I have been choosing from the following opinions:

Mexican
Italian
Fish
Pizza
Vegetarian
Roasting Chicken
Crockpot
Sandwich

Even better is that each of these theme nights have opinions within them. For example, for Mexican night I had the opinion of: chicken, beef, or beans and I also had the opinion of: tortilla, tacos, or chips.

A common complaint heard is that eating healthy is boring but hopefully what these recipes have proven is that healthy eating does not have to boring but can be filled with lots of variety and taste. So put the grilled chicken and veggies down and try one of the healthy meals displayed. You won’t be disappointed!

Concurring the “scary” foods...

Like a typical college student procrastinating right before the exam I have approached this healthy eating experiment in a similar fashion. I completed the “safe” and/or “easy” foods first allowing for each week to become progressively “harder” aka scarier in my mind. My biggest fear will soon be a reality as next week I complete my final exam and prepare a roasted chicken – wish me luck!

Thankfully this “scary” week ended up not being scary at all and each meal was much easier to prepare than expected. :)

Quick tip of the week – All meals should follow the following rules

1.       C (carbohydrate) + P (Protein) + V (vegetables)

2.       Each part (C+P+V) should be the size of your fist

3.       Carbohydrates = try to look for whole grain

4.       Protein = try to use lean proteins

5.       Vegetables = enjoy lots of them J

Week # 3 -

Vegetarian Night:

C (carbohydrate) + P (Protein) + V (Vegetable) – all portions the size of your fist

Instructions:

1.       Carb = cook rice/quinoa in saucepan or ricemaker – I used brown rice

2.       Protein = open can of beans, rinse, and strain – I used black beans

3.       Vegetables = steam in basket (if using rice cooker) or cook frozen – I made roasted cauliflower (super good!) Recipe…

a.       Cut cauliflower up and place on cookie sheet with tinfoil

b.      Season with garlic, olive oil, chili pepper flakes, and salt & pepper.

c.       Roast in a 450 degree oven for 15 minutes or until golden brown on top

4.       Combine C+P+V and enjoy!

Other Carb Choices – brown rice, wild rice, quinoa, 100% whole grain tortilla

Other Protein Choices – any beans, refried beans, hummus, cheese

Other Vegetable Choices – broccoli cauliflower, side salad, salsa, tomato, peper, onions, etc.

A little extra kick! – I added some spicy humus to my rice & beans to give it a little more flavor

 

 

 

All ready for vegetarian night!

Love roasted cauliflower! very tasty!!!

Small mishaps occurs even for pro cooks - the lid fell off the salt/pepper grinder. Oops! good thing I was able to salvage most of the cauliflower!

Almost done - rice & beans mixed

Finished Product!!!

 

Fish Night

I’m not going to lie – this meal terrified me! This was a new experience because I purchased fresh fish for the first time! After my initial “I’m not so sure about this…” feelings it ended up being a big success and I would definitely eat it again.

C (carbohydrate) + P (Protein) + V (Vegetable) – all portions the size of your fist

Meal opinions:

Fish opinions – Salmon, cod, tilapia, halibut, etc.

Carbohydrate – potato, sweet potato, grain (rice, quinoa), pasta

Vegetables – broccoli, cauliflower, peas, Brussels sprouts, green beans, etc.

How to cook fish:

1.       Place fish on a sheet of aluminum foil (I chose tilapia)

2.       Add seasoning to both sides – I used Mrs. Dash Lemmon Pepper

3.       Wrap fish like a present and place on rack

4.       Cook at 350 degrees for 25-30 minutes – I cooked mine a bit longer because they were larger pieces of fish

5.       Enjoy!

 

So many to choose from....

 

The start of my first fish dinner

 

Starting to feel very unsure about this meal...
 

Step #1 - raw fish.  Step#2 - add seasoning.
 

Step #3 - wrap in tin foil & cook. Step #4 - finished product
 

Fish Meal!!!

 

 

 

 

Making Healthy Changes...One meal at a time!

Whoo – it’s been a busy week! Thankfully Jodi thought ahead when making the healthy cooking challenge and provided me with a few super quick meals!

Meal # 3 – A Sandwich remake

Before the food challenge – white bread, a bunch of hearty meat, just a few veggies, and lots of mayo!!

Before...Not Healthy

 

After the challenge…the evolution of a healthy sandwich

1 – Toasted Ezekiel bread…read on to learn more J

2 – Spicy Three Pepper Hummus – a great alternative to mayo

3 – Tomatoes

4 – Cucumbers

5 – Onion

6 – Oven roasted deli turkey – 96% fat free and low sodium

7 – Spinach

8 – A completed sandwich!

 

 

Ezekiel 4:9 – Sprouted Grain Bread

“Take also unto thee wheat, and barley, and beans, and lentils and millet, and spelt and put them in one vessil…” Ezekiel 4:9

Why sprouted grains?

1.   Increased digestibility – sprouting breaks down starches in grains into simple sugars so your body can digest them easily

2.   Increased absorption of Minerals – sprouting breaks down enzyme inhibitors , so your body can more easily absorb calcium, magnesium, iron, copper, and zinc

3.   Increased Antioxidants – sprouting releases more antioxidants that are naturally stored in the grains and seeds

4.   Increased Vitamin C – sprouting produces vitamin C

5.   Increased Vitamin B – sprouting increased the vitamin B2, B5, & B6

The Sprouted Grains Difference:

1.   Only use freshly sprouted certified organic live grains

2.   All products are kosher

3.   No flour is used

4.   No genetically modified organisms (GMO’s)

5.   No refined sugars. When sugar is refined and processed there are many harmful ingredients that are added to the sugar as a result. Instead, they use malted barley, a natural sweetener produced from sprouted barley, which is basically a carbohydrate comprised mostly of complex carbohydrates rather than the “sugar” carbohydrates

6.   Nothing artificial – no preservatives or shortenings

7.   Use a unique slow-bake process to preserve the natural fiber and bran benefits of grain.

Want to learn more or see other products??? Visit www.foodforlife.com  

Meal #4 – Italian Night – Penne Pasta

This was a perfect comfort food for a cold evening! And I was able to share the meal with my small group ladies!

Instructions:

C (Carbohydrate) + P (Protein) + V (vegetable)

1.   Carbohydrate = boil water – add any whole grain pasta – cook until almost soft – strain

2.   Protein = cook lean hamburger

3.   Vegetable = add veggies. I added onions, mushrooms, zucchini, squash

4.   Sauce = look for a sauce with an olive oil base

5.   Once cooked, mix all items together

Want to add a little more kick? – add some red pepper flakes

Step #1 & Step #2

 

Finished Product!

 

The girls loved it!

 

A Martha Stewart in the Making! - Week One

First week of meals complete! And I survived! J Cooking will never be “easier” than running through McDonalds but it did make me feel better physically and mentally. In thinking through my post I asked myself a question. – Why do I choose to eat out rather than cook? After thinking for about a half a second it is easy for me to realize as to why. I choose to eat out rather than in for two reasons:

1.       Convenience – its quick and requires no prep

2.       Social -  I never eat alone so I meet friends for dinner making it part of my social life

For this experiment to be successful and create lasting change I knew I needed to make in easy and I needed to make it social by incorporating my friends.

How to make it easy? – I schedule weekly prep on Sunday evenings. I decide which meals I want to make for the upcoming week and go to the grocery story to purchase needed items. I also prep all parts of the meal that I can on Sunday evening.  I cut veggies, place portions into baggies, schedule which days I am going to cook, etc. Prepping saves time. By planning ahead - meals are semi premade, meat is thawed out, and cooking at home rather than eating out suddenly seems a little more “easy”

How to make it social? – Food = Friends. Friends = Food. Local restaurants frequently serve as a meeting placed for my social community. Meeting at restaurants are easy because no one has to clean their home, you can choose a restaurant location that is convenient for all, and it requires very little preplanning. So I began to think about all the reason I would want to create that social culture from my home rather than from a restaurant:  

1.       A home is comfortable – you can sit on the couch, relax, even come to dinner in a hoodie.

2.       Time urgency – when eating at a restaurant I feel rushed. We all need to arrive around the same time and when we are done eating I feel rushed to leave so the next customer can be sat. When eating at home I can have dinner and enjoy conversation on my time rather than their time.

3.       Variety – because I eat out so often restaurant food has become boring and has begun to taste the same. There is something to say about the taste of a home cooked meal  J

Meal #1 – Pizza

I love pizza and it looked easy so I chose to make it for my first meal. I was also watching my friend’s 2 year old son and thought it could be sometime fun that he may enjoy helping me with. I ended up being ½ right. Pizza was easy but Embry enjoyed playing Angry Birds on my phone WAY more than making the pizza. J

Creating a Healthier Meal = Carbohydrate (C) + Protein (P) + Veggie (V)
C+P+V  Thought process will be explained in a later blog post so be sure to keep reading J  

Ingredients for BBQ Pizza

1 - 100% whole grain pizza crust – I prefer Boboli pizza crust (Kroger)
1 -  onion
1 – orange pepper
2 – chicken breasts
BBQ sauce

Instructions for BBQ Pizza

1.       Carb = 100% whole grain pizza crust. I used Boboli.

2.       Veggies = spread 2-3 TBSP of BBQ sauce evenly along with chopped onion & orange pepper

3.       Protein = 2 chicken breast cooked prior spread evenly on pizza

4.       Cheese – spread ¼ cup of low fat mozzarella cheese over pizza

5.       Bake at 450 degrees for 8 – 10 minutes

One pizza will make approximately 2 servings

Don’t like BBQ Chicken? – How to make other healthy pizza.

C + P + V = Healthier pizza

Carbohydrate:
100% whole grain pizza crust

Proteins: Choose one
Chicken
Hamburger (lean)
Refried beans (make sure no lard is listed as an ingredient)
Ham
Cheese (low fat)

Veggies: choose as many as you like
Onions
Peppers
Tomatoes
Broccoli
Other Veggies

Follow the same instructions as above but switch sauce to tomato based if desired

Finished Thoughts – I loved it! And it was easy! Instead of eating a greasy pizza I felt like I was eating a gourmet pizza made from a nice pizza restaurant like 800 degrees. This could also be a fun family healthy food meal to make. Kids of all ages could help decorating the pizza. I would defiantly make this meal again!

All the making of a fabulous pizza

 

Finished Product - BBQ Pizza
 

Embry voted Angry Birds to be greater than making a pizza but not greater than decorating cookies!

 



 

Meal #2 – Mexican Night

In following with my social themed cooking – I invited my friend Emily to dinner for Mexican Night. I was excited to try this recipe out because Jodi included her homemade Mexican seasoning recipe. I can easily purchase a seasoning packet but with many foreign ingredients listed I found the homemade seasoning recipe to be a nice alternative without sacrificing any of the flavoring.

For Mexican Night I chose to make Ground Beef Nachos.

Ingredients
½ serving of organic sweet potato tortilla chips
½ serving of organic natural yellow tortilla chips
1lb lean ground beef
1 – onion
1 – red pepper
1 – avocado
Shredded reduced fat fiesta blend cheese
Salsa
black beans (optional)
spicy pepper hummus (optional)

Mexican homemade seasonings
½ tsp. garlic powder
1 ½ tsp. cumin
1 TBSP chili powder
¼ tsp. cayenne pepper (is spicy – optional)
salt/pepper to taste

Avocado Dip – ½ avocado – mashed with fork – add salt and garlic powder to taste

 

Not hungry for Nachos? Other Mexican themed meals…

C + P + V = healthier Mexican meal

Carbohydrate – choose one
100% whole grain tortilla
2 tacos
8-10 Tortilla Chips

Proteins – choose one
Chicken
beef
Refried beans (make sure no lard is listed as ingredient)
black beans
low fat cheese

Veggies – choose many
Onions
Peppers
Salsa
Lettuce
tomato
cilantro
Others

Finished Thoughts – excellent! Instead of sticking with one kind of tortilla chip I decided to mix it up and use half sweet potato and half corn. The sweet potato chips added some sweetness to the overall meal. I was also pleasantly surprised by the avocado dip. It was super easy and required very little ingredients but had a lot of great taste!  Next time I will add more cayenne pepper to my seasoning. I thought the seasoning was good but I would like it even better if it had an extra kick.

Happy Cooking!



Cara 

A small fight occured with the spices :)

Supplies for a Mexican Dinner

Before...

After!

Yummy Avocado Dip!

 

Finished Product!

Emily loved it!