Moroccan Spring Fling!

Well, hello spring like temps. I've missed you. 

Today was 36 but sunny with a real feel of 46. Lovin' the sunshine today. 

Last night I had dinner with some friends and we went to a Persian restaurant. It was so good. Today's flavors are inspired from the Mediterranean region. 

Kefta Meatballs 

1lb Lean ground beef (Kirkland lean 91/9)

1/2 sweet onion approx 120gr

2 garlic cloves

1 tsp cinnamon

1 tsp cumin

1 tsp salt

1 tsp dried mint leaves

Evenly divide into 16 meatballs. Shape either round or slightly flattened. Spray pan. Brown on both sides. Turn down heat to lowest setting and cover for about 5-7 minutes to steam cook the beef. Remove lid and reduce all the condensation. Some onion will fall out of the meatballs. Mixed with the meat drippings, it was delicious to add to the green beans. 

Add a vegetable of choice. I chose a can of cut green beans for an additional 55 cals. 

As pictured...

Serves 1 (6 meatballs and green beans)

Cal 354

Protein 39

Carb 22 

Fiber 6

Fat 15

Chol 105

Per meatball...

Cal 50

Protein 6

Carb 1 

Fiber 0

Fat 3

Chol 18

My Go-To Snacks

So you're a snacker... Me too! I really look forward to snack time at night. Especially if I did my strength training at the gym. My night snack depends on my remaining calories for the day. Here is a list of my Go-To snacks to squelch that sweet craving without ruining my hard work!

1. Vitatops by Vitalicious - Where do I even begin with this... They are all delicious! The Deep Chocolate helps those chocolate cravings. The Banana Nut Energy Loaf tastes like banana bread! I love to nuke it from frozen for about 45 sec. The hubs loves to add 2 oz skim milk for a nice banana bread  pudding type snack. VitaTops and loaves have a calorie range from 50 - 120 depending on which one you choose. Choose any, you can't go wrong.
2. Fruit - More specifically frozen grapes. Yeah, who knew. 100 grams of frozen grapes is about 67 calories. I find that I eat the frozen grapes slower since they are so cold, which makes the serving just the right size. The natural sugars in fruit are good to have in moderation. Everything in moderation.
3. Skinny Pop Popcorn - 1 serving is 150 calories. Sometimes I save my calories (or burn enough) to eat 2 servings. Skinny Pop is are free of GMO's and contain no artificial ingredients. Fantastic!
4. Silk Dark Chocolate Almond Milk - This tastes so good! 100 cals for 8 oz. it is also free of GMO's and free of dairy, soy, lactose, gluten, casein, egg, and MSG. Can't get much better than that!
5. Orgain Organic Plant Protein Powder in Silk Unsweetened Vanilla Almond Milk - Whew! That was a mouthful. Depending on how hard my strength training was, my go-to is a great protein powder. 150 cals for the protein powder and 30 cals for the almond milk. 

There is my list. You will usually find all these items in my house because I never know what I might want to snack on!

What do you snack on?

A Peanut Butter Chocolate No Bake Twist!

Oh Em Gee! This was so good! I'm really excited to share with you a great little treat I had today. 

First off, fresh rolled oats are amaze-balls. My local grocery chain has this machine from The Grainery. Check out the website for all sorts of info. I'm happy I picked up this brand!

Secondly, what does that picture look like? As soon as I pulled it out of the microwave, I thought "Peanut Butter No Bake!". I was equally excited to devour this and was not disappointed. 

Peanut Butter Chocolate No Bake

1/2 C or 40gr fresh rolled oats (you can use any plains oats you prefer)

1C water

12gr PB2 with chocolate

a little no cal sweetener to taste (sugar will add more calories)

Microwave for 2 min. Make sure to use a big bowl or cup as oatmeal likes to expand. 

You can make it a little creamier with milk or any milk substitute. Try PB2 without chocolate too. 

It will be a little hot so it is more like a hot, gooey, no bake cookie. 

Serves 1

Cal 195

Protein 9

Carb 33 

Fiber 5

Fat 4

Chol 0

Fish, Fish, Baby!

What is high in protein and low in fat? FISH! Tilapia to be more precise. This was really filling for a 200 cal meal. Have more calories to spend? Double it! Triple it! Easily feed the family with it! 

It does not cost more to eat healthy at home. It also keeps you in control. You control the butter. You control the oil. You control the portions. 

Tilapia and Green Bean Medley

4oz Tilapia fillets

1 can cut green beans with sea salt drained

130 gr fire roasted diced tomatoes

1 garlic clove chopped

Start with either a little Pam spray or a tsp of EVOO. Saute chopped garlic. Add drained green beans and diced tomatoes. 

If the tilapia fillets are frozen, you can add them to your pan of veggies and cover until thawed or cooked. If you like your fish with a little crispiness, take the thawed fillets and pan fry with a little spray or a tsp of EVOO. 

Season fish with salt and pepper, Old Bay, or Sazon Seasoning to your liking. Seasoning will add minimal calories. 

Serves 1

Cal 195

Protein 29

Carb 21

Fiber 5

Fat 2

Chol 56

Lunch is Served, Ma'dam...

(In an old English butler tone) Lunch is served, ma'dam...

If only I had someone to make my meals. Sure it's easy for the celebrities to eat healthy, they have the funds to pay someone else to do it. Hell, they usually pay someone else to watch their children! I don't have the funds and it does take time. But the real myth buster? It's cheaper to eat at home. I have to go grocery shopping more often but I'm spending less. Why? Because I'm buying foods that are less processed too. Think about it...the more people (distribution), and the more processing (equipment), that touches your food, not only makes it more expensive, it takes the good bits out that your body needs. That's not to say that I don't eat anything processed. Otherwise, I couldn't have cottage cheese :). Here is today's lunch:

Strawberry and Cottage Cheese Salad

Approx 1 C Organic Baby Spring Mix (45g) cal 10

1/2 C Land O Lakes cottage cheese 113g cal 90

5-6 Strawberries 140g cal 45

2 Tbs Kraft Light Balsamic Vinaigrette (31g) cal 30

Spring mix in bottom of a nice size pasta bowl. Scoop cottage cheese in middle. Chop strawberries. Drizzle with dressing. 

Serves 1

Cal 175

protein 14

carbs 22

fiber 4

fat 4

sugar 15