100 calories of...

Often we hear about "100 calorie packs" or "under 100 calories" which can be very deceptive.  After I put my kiddo to bed tonight I started thinking about what to pack for his lunch tomorrow; making sure he has protein, dairy, veggies and sometimes a fruit. He is probably the only kid who takes sweet potatoes to school... and he loves them!  I try to pack enough for him to eat without all the fillers and garbage while still giving him fuel to play at recess at 2pm. Smaller portions are something we need to think about more often. Especially smaller quality portions. I went through my cabinets and fridge to find food most people may have in their home to demonstrate 100 calories.

There is an overflowing bowl of baby carrots, 1 neopolitan Oreo, canned chicken (minus a teaspoon) , jello pudding (minus a teaspoon) , my favorite apple cinnamon Greek yogurt (minus a tablespoon) , 9 Cocoa coated almonds and 7 mini Oreos.
(A Nabisco man is a gym member and brings us lots of goodies!)

All of these items with the exception of the spoonful less that is noted are 100 calories worth of snack. Though the mini Oreos and cocoa almonds are pretty close in taste & count, 5g of protein in the almonds is better than >1g in the mini Oreos.

Make smarter protions to aid in your weight loss. Though I could never eat 100 calories worth of carrots, I like the thought that I would be able to eat them until I am undoubtedly full and be under 100 calories while my body uses all the nutrients they provide!

You know that feeling....

...when you switch shampoo or conditioner and your hair has never felt and looked better?

I asked Brandy at Shades 'N Waves her technique to get my hair so soft, yet full of volume.  She took her time and talked me through the routine she was doing, I went home to practice and was seriously disappointed.  If you know me, you know my version of styled hair is a little bit of back combing and, if I'm really feeling fancy, a bobby pin or a BRAID!

The next time Brandy put color in my hair I told her about my failure and then she asked me about my shampoo & conditioner.  Oh.

Apparently she has this theory that what you put on your hair has something to do with how it looks and feels.  Hmm.  Yeah... that makes absolute perfect sense.

Fueling your body is the same.  When you put crap in your body you don't feel (or look) your best.  Yes, it is cheaper.  Yes, this bottle is twice as big as the other and the same price.  Yes, yes and yes.  I'm sure your momma told you quality, not quantity.  That is the exact determination you need to make when grocery shopping.

Quality food.  Quality calories. Quality fuel. 

I'm sure you know to shop around the outer ring of the grocery store.  The high carbs & calories are located inside and on the ends of the aisles.  Take an extra 10 minutes and plan your meals for the week, walk in prepared.  In some of the upcoming posts I'll have a weekly shopping list with meals so you can plan ahead.

Look good, but most importantly feel good with the food you put into your body.  Also think about how much it's worth saving in the long run by making smarter decisions, boosting your immune system and teaching your children to make healthier decisions.

Fuel your body to do more than just stay alive.  Fuel your body to FEEL alive.

Italian cheese & herb veggie skillet

Easy.  Low-calorie.  Quick.  Healthy.  Filling.  Delicious.  Cost efficient.

All of us can appreciate the above adjectives... especially when it comes to making a great dinner!
In late spring I bought a little tub of the Philadelphia Cooking Crème . It sat in the back of my fridge in the land of pickle & jalapeno jars waiting for me to use it.  I don't know why it took me so long to try this ingredient.  Since I made this, I have purchased 3 more flavors to try!


Notice there are FOUR servings in this. Here is where you can alter both flavor & calorie count.  I took a butter knife and scored the crème inside in half to help ensure I only used half the tub to make 5 servings. 

Math: 1 tub= 110 Calories  / 2 = 55 calories per half.  55 calories/5 servings = 11 calories a serving.

Now that I have fully covered this delicious, flavorful addition to the recipe I will talk about the recipe…
I boiled 2.5 cups (measured dry) of whole wheat wide egg noodles.


*Optionally, and for about 100 more calories a serving you can brown some chicken in the skillet...or use some you prepared on Sunday like I told you about in this post.  After it’s browned, I used my phenomenal specialty bamboo cookware tools from Pampered Chef {thank you Momma!} to haphazardly cube and shred the chicken. The flat edge helps you do so much more than stir.  I toss in most, if not all, a bag of vegetable mix that has broccoli in it.

I always have several bags of this “California Style Veggies” frozen mix on hand because it can literally go in ANY dish.

Calorie count here: 30 calories a serving. 

Remember when I talked about how there are good calories and bad calories?  Well, these are good calories so if you have more than a serving it is absolutely ok.  It is the proper fuel for your body!

          

My delicious version seen above has chicken in it which adds an additional 80 calories ( I used 4 4 oz breasts and split the servings up so I have 5 servings.)  Additional calories in chicken also add about 17g of essential protein!

This cooking creme has made a quick weeknight meal into a healthy, delicious dinner like you won't believe!