Easy Chicken Fajitas

Hey all. I went to a great muscle class at the gym this morning. I really love the class and I really love my instructor.

When I got home, I had my yummy “go to” chocolate protein shake again.  I also had some homemade pita chips (love them and they are super easy to make!), a pear and about 1/2 C. cottage cheese.  I was stuffed.

 

Later on this afternoon, I OD’ed on cereal.  I love love love cereal, but I usually avoid it because I can’t have just one bowl.  I had Special K and Cheerios, so it wasn’t too bad….but I just love them too too much!

For dinner tonight I’m attempting to recreate Cheesecake Factory’s yummy Roasted Pear and Blue Cheese Flatbread.  I’m excited.  I’ll let you know how it goes!!

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A couple nights ago, I made Chicken Fajitas for dinner.  I love them and Kev loves them, but my kids weren’t huge fans.  They ate them okay, but the onions and peppers freaked them out a little.  I’ll keep making them though because they’re healthy and pretty fast and easy to make.  Anyway, here’s how I did it….

(I doubled this recipe so I would have leftovers to freeze)

2 lbs. boneless, skinless chicken; sliced into thin strips
2 pkgs. McCormick Fajita Seasoning mix or 1 pkg. McCormick Grill Mates Mexican Fiesta Marinade.
3-4 T. Oil
2 bell peppers; sliced in thin slices
1 onion; sliced
Flour Tortillas (preferably healthy ones!)
Toppings: Sour Cream, Guacamole, Salsa, cheese, black beans, etc.

Slice chicken, peppers and onions.

 

If using Fajita Seasoning Mix, follow directions on package (basically cook meat, peppers and onions and then add seasoning mix and water.)

If using Mexican Fiesta Marinade, prepare marinade according to package.  I like to put mine in a big Ziploc bag.

You can also make your own seasonings, but for simplicity I used this package this time! Love it!

Add chicken to marinade in bag and place in fridge to marinate for at least 1/2 hour.

I chopped all the onions and peppers and marinaded the chicken while I ran to the gym. It worked great!

Heat oil in a large skillet or electric frying pan.  Add chicken and cook 3-5 minutes.  Add the onions and peppers and cook until chicken is cooked through (about 5-7 more minutes.)

I prepared the meat, onions and peppers before I went to the gym and then threw it all together when I got back! It made it so easy!

I covered my pan for a few minutes to let everything cook.

When everything was done, we wrapped them in warm tortillas.  I had mine in a Mission low carb whole wheat tortilla.

 

We added guac (Wholly Guacamole), lite sour cream, cheese and black beans to everything.  It was great.  I topped mine with cottage cheese instead of sour cream.  It was very very yummy.

 

Afterward, I had a TON leftovers (mainly because the kids didn’t eat as much as I thought they would!)  I didn’t mind though, I just froze it all in individual portions in freezer bags.  I figured we could use it to top salads, on it’s own, or in a wrap!  Yum!

 

Well, I gotta go!!!  Hope you are all having a great day!

A Very Lame Run

Well, this morning I went on a very lame run.

Yes, I’m sorry for the sad report.  I wish I could say all my runs were awesome and that every time I exercised I was full of energy and loved every minute.

Sadly, that’s not the case.  For whatever reason, I felt terrible today!  I was going to run 5 miles, but ended up cutting it short and only going 3.  I just felt……spent. 

Ya know, quite often I don’t feel like running.  But, usually after about a 1/2 mile or so I feel good and love it.  I kept waiting for that “feel good/love it” part to happen today…..but it never did.

Dang.

Part of my problem could have been that I was pushing my double jogger.  I usually wait to go on my run until my big kids get home from school, but the weather was forecast to be rainy/snowy later in the day.  I thought I better go while I still could!  So, I bundled up my little kiddos and loaded them in the jogger.

My almost 4 year old was giving me grief because he didn’t want his picture taken.

My sweet little puppy dog, Jimmer wanted to come along too! I let him ride in the basket when we go on walks, but not runs! He was very sad to be left behind. 😦

I really really don’t love pushing a jogging stroller.  I’m very grateful to have one (gives me more options), but it is a royal pain.  It is very heavy and it seems like such a process to get the kids ready to go.  However, they love it.  My baby always points to the jogger in the garage and says “ride, ride!”  Very cute.  They also push ME quite a bit as well.  If I ever start to slow down, my older son says “Go faster mom!”  Awesome.

Oh, side note….I couldn’t find my running gloves, so I rummaged though our “random winter stuff” box and found these gems…

 

Awesome.  I was so stylin’. 😉

So, I am very sad that my run was very lame.  I think I’m just worn out.  I gotta cut myself some slack, I think.  Also, my 13 year old and Kev have both been a little sick and draggin’ the past couple of days.  Maybe I have whatever the heck they have.

Obviously, I am very bummed by how crappy I felt.  I’m sure my next run will be better.

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When I got home, I had a yummy chocolate protein shake.  It’s my “go to” shake whenever I want the protein, but not extra calories.  It doesn’t have a lot of extras (no fruit, cottage cheese, peanut butter, etc.)  I still keep the flaxseed in it though.  Here’s what’s in it:

1 C. Unsweetened Almond Milk
1 scoop Chocolate Protein Powder
1 T. ground flax seed
1 T. cocoa
a couple drops almond extract
2 big handfuls baby spinach
6-7 ice cubes.

I paired it with some “Food Should Taste Good” chips (love them!) dipped in Wholly Guacamole and Tzatziki. YUM!

My almost 4 year old wanted me to make him “his own” protein shake.  He requested a Chocolate Candy Cane one.

 

Well I hope you are all happy and a whole lot less crappy than me!!!  On a brighter note, we made some very tasty fajitas last night.  I will post pics and things tomorrow!!  G’night.  xoxo

A Cheesy Thought + Healthy Food!

As I was driving to the gym yesterday, I had a very cheesy thought.

I actually felt overwhelmed with gratitude that I am able to exercise and that I have a wonderful gym to go to with wonderful instructors that I love!

Sounds cheesy, I know.

It really makes me happy though.  I’m just so grateful I’m able to go to awesome classes and surround myself with people who are all working hard and trying to improve in some way.

It’s energizing to me.

My instructors all push me so hard too!  I love it.  I know I could never push myself that hard on my own.  Never, ever, ever.

I know exercise is a sacrifice too though.  I always have so many other things I could be doing.  There’s always something to clean, someone to care for (which I love to do, btw.), grocery shopping to do, laundry to be done and a million other things constantly weighing on me.

My “to do” list is never done.

BUT….when I put all those things aside and take the time to exercise, I am a happier, better person because of it.  Yay.  It really is a stress reliever for me as well.  Love it.

So there’s my cheesy thought for the day. 😉

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I’ve been enjoying a lot of yummy, healthy food lately.  I can’t tell you how much BETTER I feel when I’m eating healthy food!  It’s amazing and I love it.  Here’s some of the things I’ve had the past couple days.

I changed my same old, same old breakfast up a bit this morning. 1/3 C. Oatmeal, 1/2 scoop Protein Powder, Strawberries and Chia Seeds! I had 4 scrambled egg whites on the side seasoned with Mrs. Dash and Low Sugar Ketchup! Yum!

Here’s a couple yummy snacks I’ve had:

Strawberry Chobani Greek Yogurt topped with 1 T.+ of yummy Pumpkin Flax Granola. This granola is SOOOOO yummmy! I really have to be careful or I’d eat the whole box!

A slice of toasted Ezekial bread topped with Dark Chocolate Dreams Peanut Butter, Banana Slices and Chia Seeds! YUM!

BTW, Ezekiel bread (made by Food for Life) is amazing!!!  It is so healthy, contains no flour, is a complete protein and is just so so awesome.  I’m so grateful for companies that make yummy, healthy products!  It makes it so much easier to eat well!  Click on this link to read more about it if you want.  I’m so impressed.  Oh, I bought this bread at Sunflower Market, but I know you can buy it at any health food store and I’ve also seen it at Harmon’s (for all you local Utah folk).

I bought the Dark Chocolate Dreams peanut butter at Sunflower as well.  It has no hydrogenated oils or high fructose corn syrup.  It’s still high in calories (like all peanut butter), but it is so so so yummy.  I’ve loved it as a healthy “treat.”  I’m just hoping my kids don’t discover it!  So far, I’ve been pretty stealthy in hiding it.  Hee hee hee.  😉

Oh, and as you can tell, I’m a little bit addicted to Chia Seed lately.  I really really love them and have just been adding them to everything.  So awesome.

I’ve of course, been enjoying my protein shakes lately too.  I usually try to have one a day.  I made a yummy chocolate one yesterday and today.

Just 1 C. Unsweetened Almond Milk, 1 scoop chocolate protein powder, 1 T. Cocoa, 1 T. Ground Flax seed, a little almond extract (love it!), spinach and ice.  It’s really really good.  In fact it’s so good that my baby commandeered it and would hardly let me take a picture of it!

 

For dinner last night, we had BBQ chicken, brown rice and stir fry veggies.  One of my favs!

 

I just marinated the chicken in BBQ sauce and cooked it up in a skillet on the stove.  For the veggies, I just pulled out all the fresh and frozen veggies I had and stir-fried them up with a little lite soy sauce and seasoned salt.  So easy, so yummy, and so healthy!  What’s not to love!?

Well that’s the latest!! xoxo

Low Carb Livin’ Day #1

Well I’m officially on the wagon “hardcore” today!  Yay!  I started off this morning with a great class at the gym.  It’s an “all muscle” class, which I love.  We just do an hour+ of mega weight lifting.

However, out of all the classes I go to…..this one has the most intense, intimidating people by far!  First off, people congregate outside the door 15-20 minutes before the class even starts!  Then, when they finally open the doors and let us go in…..everyone floods in and frantically grabs benches, bars, mats, weights, etc. before they are all gone.  It is so chaotic!!  The class is always full (60+ people) with every bench, bar and square foot of floor used!

Sadly, a big chunk of the people who go are just not very nice.  For example, the first time I went to the class, I put my bench down and then went to go get my weights and things.  When I got back, some chick had moved my bench way off to the side claiming it was too close to hers!  What the??!  The teacher is super duper awesome and is constantly telling everyone to “be nice” and “make room.”  It’s insane.

Also (this may sound judgmental, but I’m trying to paint a picture) there are so many awesomely fit ladies who are dressed to the nines with hair and makeup all done up, who never crack a smile and stare in the mirror the entire time.  It’s sad.  In contrast, all of the other classes I go to have the nicest people.  People who smile, are friendly and encourage those around them.

There’s my little vent session.  You probably wonder why I keep going to this class huh?  Well, the answer is simple….it is KILLER!  Our teacher works every muscle in our bodies to the max!!!  It is definitely time well spent.  We did 110 pushups today.  Crazy.

Soooo, I just go to the class…do my thing….try to smile and be nice….and go home.  Check.

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Anyway, moving on.  I ate a great low carb diet today.  It was a little tough at times, but I feel extremely determined to succeed.  Kev and I did a low carb diet thingy back in October/November and it was great.  My body felt so so so good.

I don’t think it’s a great way to eat long term, but it really helped me so much.  It almost seemed to “reset” my system and made losing weight much easier.  I slept better, had almost no cravings and my body just felt a lot more calm as a whole.  It was hard, but after 4-5 days it wasn’t too bad.

So, with all that being said…..here I go again!  I’m going to be extremely strict for 2 weeks and then decide if I want to do it for one more week.  At that point, I’m going to keep my diet really “tight” and just add in a few select carbs (for probably 2-3 more weeks).  I know it will be hard and I’m expecting some serious withdrawal symptoms, but I think it’s just what I need right now.

Oh, and I’m loosely following a plan I read in a book called “Metabolism Miracle.”  It’s the same plan Kev and I used before.  It’s basically low carb, but you can have one “legal carb” thing (less than 5 net carbs) every 5 hours.  So, I either have 1 slice of low carb (Sara Lee Delightful) bread or 1 low carb tortilla (Mission Carb Balance) every 5 hours.  The rest of the time I just eat things like nuts, peanut butter, eggs, lean meat, cottage cheese, veggies, etc.

So….here’s what I ate today.

After I got back from the gym, I made a yummy chocolate mint protein shake.  1 C. Unsweetened Almond Milk, 1 scoop Chocolate Protein Powder, 1 T. Cocoa, 1 T. Ground Flax Seed, a couple handfuls baby spinach, a couple drops peppermint extract and ice!

For lunch I had a slice of low-carb toast topped with a little peanut butter, some Cocoa Roast Almonds (love them!) and a string cheese.

For dinner a made a big ‘ol salad that I loved!  Romaine, Spinach, bell peppers, celery, olives, turkey, hard-boiled eggs (mostly whites), feta cheese, cottage cheese and a little light Ranch Dressing.

I had another slice of low-carb toast with peanut butter on the side.

I chopped all the stuff for the salad and now I have quite a bit of leftovers so I can make another one tomorrow!  Yum!

I snacked on a few more nuts throughout the day and I’ll probably have another small late night snack before I go to bed.

Well, that was my day!  Woo hoo.
Wish me luck!

I Am An Old Lady!

Well, first off I gotta say I feel very OLD this week!  I’ve been going back to the gym a little bit and I’ve loved it!  It’s felt so good mentally to be there, but my body is dying.  I feel like an old lady!

I went to the gym on Monday and I felt very “wuss-like.”  I worked hard, but I had to hold back a little bit.  I think I was still recovering from my mega gargantuan cold.

So, on Tuesday I was changing the sheets on my son’s bed and I totally tweaked my back!!  I could barely walk the rest of the day and it started giving me headaches and things.  I self-diagnosed it as a pinched nerve.  Hello???!  Is my body falling apart???  I think so.

Thankfully, it was quite a bit better yesterday and then it was pretty much back to normal today.  So, I decided to go to the gym again tonight.  I felt better than I did on Monday, but my muscles were very rusty.  In fact, my quads are freaking out right now.  I’m a little concerned about being able to walk tomorrow.  Seriously.

Ya know, with the way my body has been acting, you’d think I hadn’t exercised in like 3 years!!  I only took off about a week and a half at the gym!  I’m so shocked at how weak my body has felt!  Psycho.  I’m hoping to return to normal soon.

Sooooooooo, after all of that…..I feel officially old.  My birthday is next week too.  Yay, but sad.  I would just like to stay 35 forever.  That would be nice.

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Anyway, on to other things….

I started off today with a great breakfast.  I’ve said before that I kind of go in spurts with my breakfasts.  I find something I like and then just have the same thing for breakfast day after day until I get sick of it.  Well, this is my current fav…

 

Oatmeal with a side of egg whites!  Yum!

I mix 1/2 C. Oatmeal with 1/2 chopped apple, cover it with water and nuke it in the microwave for 2-2 1/2 minutes.  When it comes out, I mix in 1 T. flaxseed and 1/2 scoop protein powder.  It’s very yummy and very filling.  I serve it with 3 scrambled egg whites topped with a little low sugar ketchup.  This breakfast takes me about 5 minutes to make and it’s very satisfying.  Yay.

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After breakfast, I went shopping with my two littlest kids.  I ran over to the Nike outlet and bought a couple pair of shorts that I LOVE!!!  Yay!  They are the Nike Phantom shorts and they are so awesome.  My sister had some that I borrowed a while back and I’ve wanted to buy some ever since.  I was so happy when I walked in the store and saw them for 40% off the already sale price!!  Yahoo!  They retail for $35.00 and I got them for $11.99.  Score.

I think they are the perfect length and they come with built in biker shorts underneath!  Perfect for the gym.  Love them.

Here I am getting ready to head to the gym tonight with my new little shorts.  I’m lifting the side up so you can see the bikers underneath.  Kev thought it was weird that the shorts and the bikers were two different colors of pink.  I thought it was cute.  🙂  I bought some turquoise ones with yellow bikers underneath as well.

 

Oh, and in case you want to buy some, I checked online and the best deal I could find was $14.99 from 6pm.com.  They have a ton of cute colors.  Here’s the link if you’re interested.

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On the way to the gym, I had a very yummy protein shake!

It really tasted just like a chocolate shake.  It was 1 C. Almond Milk, 1 Scoop Chocolate Protein Powder, 1 T. Cocoa, 1 T. flaxseed, a little bit of almond extract and vanilla extract and ice!  Yum!

Anyway, that’s the latest.  I hope I get over my little “old lady” spell soon!