Chicken Veggie Chili

Well, I had my heart set on making some delicious spinach quinoa patties for dinner tonight, but not having any quinoa in the kitchen would have meant putting back on a bra and real pants to go to the store so obviously that was out of the question. Oh well, another day perhaps.

In the meantime, I made one of my favorites out of ingredients I already had on hand... Chicken chili. It's super adaptable and can be made in so many different ways, so it's a staple for dinner for me.

This is the basic recipe, including the veggies I had in the fridge today, although it's also delicious with zucchini and yellow squash, diced chilies, and black beans thrown in. You can also substitute ground turkey. Like I said, adaptable.

Chicken Veggie Chili

1 lb ground chicken

1 can organic diced tomatoes

1 cup water

1/2 yellow onion, chopped

1/2 cup carrots, chopped

1/2 cup chopped green bell pepper

1 cup baby spinach

2 tsp garlic powder

1 1/2 tsp salt

3 Tbsp chili powder

2 1/2 Tbsp cumin

2 tsp dried cilantro

1/4 c whole wheat flour

- all of the seasonings are more or less to taste

Cook the ground chicken and spices until chicken is cooked through. Pour in can of tomatoes and water, along with all vegetables except the spinach. Bring to a boil, and adjust seasonings to taste, adding more if necessary. Cover and simmer 30 minutes. Stir in the spinach and let wilt. Spoon out some of the fluid and mix it with flour until a paste is formed, then stir paste into chili. Simmer five more minutes until well incorporated and slightly thickened. 

I love this chili topped with anything from a sprinkling of sharp cheddar to raw diced onions, but today I went with a few avocado slices and they really hit the spot. And it's a great filling dinner on a cold night that comes together quickly, and less than 300 calories a serving!

Random Motivation

Today, I feel like a rock star. I could rule the world.

I feel strong, and guided, and ready for whatever comes my way. I'm recording this here because I do know this high will run out at some point, and I'll feel bored and hungry and cake-y and whatever other negative thing that we feel on our journeys at different points, and posting how amazing I feel today will only serve as a future reminder that any of these negative, and positive, emotions are temporary and will pass. I say this because journeys are never straight and narrow, they curve and bend and follow a course of rough terrain that changes, and since I'm living a lifestyle instead of "dieting," it only seems fair to acknowledge that this journey, this lifestyle, will face the same challenges. 

But no deterrence can phase me as long as I remember that of all the things that are out of my control, the weather, the actions of those around me, the obstacles life will inevitably throw my way... I am in control of me. I choose this. I choose to change myself for the better. Not because I'm unhappy with who I am, but exactly the opposite. I love who I am, and I deserve a body that matches the whimsical soul it houses, a body that can travel and run and jump and ski through life and arrive at the end battered and bruised and well lived. 

It's time for the outside to match the inside. I'll just leave this reminder right here so I can find it when I need it... 

Which may be tomorrow. But that's half the fun.

Happy New Year!

WOW... time flies and I'm a TERRIBLE blog poster. But that's all going to change... I've turned over a new leaf and I'm going to be the blog postingest, go getterest, most over-motivated BeachBody slimmer downer you've ever seen. Also, I made up most of those words. And also, probably you can find someone in the seven billion more motivated and potentially even more go getterest than I... However, you'll be hard pressed.

So today started with a bang. Not literally, this isn't Fifty Shades of Lindsay... But it did start with a highly motivated me climbing out of bed at 4 am to spend three hours pumping iron and kicking some T25 booty.

Just kidding. Actually, Chad took the kids to school while yours truly lay in bed moaning about a backache and grappling for the energy to get up to let the dog out. Just being honest.

Actually though, I did find my motivation, thanks to Julie the Coach (my omnipresent social media BeachBody guru and resident smokin' blonde bombshell) texting me and reminding me unintentionally just what I've laid out for myself for 2015... Which is a LOT. I'm dead set on changing things, finishing my weight loss, succeeding in building a new business while doing so, and a smorgasbord of other, more private sentiments regarding family and finding myself that even Julie can't help me with.

Luckily, I've learned that I'm totally capable of accepting and embracing change, and this time next year you guys are going to laugh alongside me as I toss my sexy mane of hair over my slim tan shoulder and look back at the beginning, before it all transpired.

Hopefully.

In the meantime, I intended to do T25 this morning, and ended up taking Olaf to the vet for a horrible flaky allergic reaction thing that has overwhelmed his wrinkly bulldog face (no worries, he's going to be fine.) I'm about to do it right this minute and wanted to drop a blogline out there first, assuming I'll be consumed by exhaustion when I'm finished and unable to move my thumbs to type.

Wish me luck, and keep me motivated with all of your stories of inspiration and transformation!

Here are some gorgeous Christmas portraits of my kids, including Olaf, seeing as how I have no other pictures to grace your eyes with for this totally random and oddly nonsensical blog post. You're welcome.

Dear Tom Felton...

Yesterday, my son and I attended the Wizard World Comic Con in Tulsa. We had only been walking around for about fifteen minutes when a familiar face approached us unexpectedly... It was you, Tom Felton, Draco Malfoy, the person we were so anxious to see.

You asked my son what brought him to comic con, and he paused, unsure how to answer, and like all overbearing mothers, I stepped in and responded for him. 

"You. We saw that you were going to be here and knew we had to make it happen."

Instantly, this 31 year old married mother of two was reduced to the same 15 year old girl that first opened the cover of her first copy of Harry Potter & the Sorcerer's Stone. We didn't exchange many more words with you, my son told you that he was obsessed with Harry Potter... The books, the movies, and that his mom had introduced him to them. I was filled with pride, and so much was weighted in those simple words that didn't come across to you. 

My mom was a teacher, and there was talk of Harry Potter being banned from her school library.  She was against book censorship, so, of course, we decided to read them together. We were instantly enthralled with Harry's world... The magic, the wonder, the passion with which the story was written. We read through them together, and made it through The Goblet of Fire as a team. 

Unfortunately, she passed away before the release of Order of the Phoenix, so I finished the series on my own, with the bittersweet longing for her to get to know how the story ended. 

When my son was old enough to have his passion for reading ignited, it blazed with a fire stronger than I could have hoped for, and the second those books were in his hands, they became as beloved to him as they ever were to my mother and I, and we shared them over and over again, having movie marathons that brought our imaginations to life in our living room together, over popcorn and hot cocoa, reading to each other, even visiting the Wizarding World in Orlando this past summer.

So when you asked what brought us to Tulsa to see you, this is the long-winded answer that was behind our response...

Our family has been brought together through these stories and movies... Your portrayal of Draco Malfoy has affected our lives in ways that seem trivial but are only the surface of a deeper relationship that started when I was a teen and carried through my life into my own children, and allowed me to share my own mother's legacy with them even after she was gone, and when I'm gone, I'm positive my son will share the same passions for them with his children.

It's so much more than just a book or movie when it becomes part of your life.

And that is what brings "people like us" to Comic Con. Your interest in the subject of fandom and passion in your fans created a five minute memory that will last a lifetime and bring true a dream for my son, and myself, that neither of us will ever forget. Thank you for letting him know that it matters on the other side of the screen too.

Sincerely,

A true fan.

Dining Out

So yesterday was one of those days you wish you could just erase altogether and redo a different way. Which is fine, because it's already over and today is a fantastic day.

However, I bring up yesterday because my family decided to go to Olive Garden for lunch after a serious failure at the doctor's office that resulted in my son not receiving the procedure he'd initially gone in for and some heated words from yours truly to the doctor, an embarrassed husband and son, and an all around negative connotation to the morning. My son needed Olive Garden. He needed his grandma and papa that met us there, and he needed to do this on a day when my daughter was still in school so that the attention was focused on him.

I needed it about as much as I need a kick to the face with steel toe boots.

The menu called out to me, the creamy goodness of the never-ending pasta drenched in rich Alfredo sauce, the salty-satisfying pull of a soft and warm breadstick (or 5) that just begged to be dipped into the tart perfection that is Olive Garden house salad dressing, the rich smoothness of a piece of pumpkin cheesecake... I should work for their ad campaign. I'm a walking billboard.

In the past, I've obviously gone straight for the fettucine alfredo, and have indulged in however many breadsticks my body could physically contain in one sitting.

Yesterday, I texted my challenge coach, Julie, for backup on the way there and went prepared to order from the Lighter Fare menu, sans breadsticks, plus a small crouton-less plate of salad. 

I ended up with a steaming plate of ravioli di portobello in front of me, and my only lunchtime fail was that I did indeed succumb to the breadstick. One. Which was still 140 calories! (sorry, Julie...)

So here is a breakdown of how dining at Olive Garden can build up to be your one weekly "happy" meal, even when you order from the Lighter Fare menu:

The ravioli was amazing, although of course I could have happily eaten three plates of it and still licked the plate clean... which totally goes against the purpose of ordering Lighter Fare.

One plate of Ravioli di Portobello:   570 calories
One Olive Garden breadstick:          140 calories
One cup House salad:                       150 calories
Total:                                                 860 calories

Even faring lightly but enjoyably, this was still a huge blow to my daily intake, considering the cup of Southwest Chicken Soup I could have had instead at home was only 134 calories! However, here's a breakdown of how I *usually* eat at Olive Garden...

One plate of Fettucine Alfredo:        1090 calories
Three breadsticks:                             420 calories
Two cups House salad:                     300 calories
One glass Moscato d'asti:                 200 calories
Total:                                               2010 calories

Honestly, that's a massive difference. And I also adjusted the rest of my day around that meal and still I think my daily intake was between 1300-1400 calories.

Also... make sure when you eat out, you check the nutrition info straight from the restaurant website. I added my meal to My Fitness Pal and was pleased to see that my lunch was only 450 calories, only to discover upon researching this blog post that it wasn't the correct number. Now I'll be able to go back and change my numbers, but when you're using an app or website to track and journal your food and water intake, it's important to be as accurate as possible.

So the moral of the story, folks, is do your best to eat at home. It's so hard to control what goes into your body when you have no control over what goes into your food. Once in a while is fine but honestly... I'm glad that today everything I take in will be coming from my own kitchen.

I might also add that self control is easier at home. I nearly cried turning down the Andes mints the waiter carelessly dropped right in front of me at the end of the meal, and I lost complete control over my inhibitions when that bread basket was within arm's reach.  If you do have an occasion to go out to eat, research the establishment first and try to stick with local restaurants that have working relationships with local food sources and natural, fresh vegetables instead of the previously frozen and shipped meals that are so common in chain restaurants.  Happy eating!

The Importance of Hydration

I don't know about you, but I have a ridiculously hard time drinking the amount of water my body needs a day. So in an effort to motivate myself into healthier aqua-ingestion habits, I did a little research. I learned not too long ago that the 8x8 rule (8 glasses, 8 ounces each, per day) isn't necessarily going to cut it. Instead, people who know way more than me recommend drinking half your body weight in ounces a day. So if you weigh, say, 200 pounds... that's 5 20oz bottles a day.

Honestly, that shouldn't be that hard. But without adding chemical embellishments like Crystal Light to fool me into thinking I'm drinking Kool-Aid, somehow I just can't manage it.

I thought perhaps I wasn't the only one with this issue... so here I've produced a list of a few ideas to keep water on the brain.

Keep a HUGE MUG OR GLASS of water handy at all times, within arm's reach... if it's there all the time, you're more likely to drink that. I've learned that this is much more effective if it isn't sitting directly behind a 20 ounce bottle of cherry Coke. Just saying... learn from my mistakes.

Not gonna lie... I seriously wish this was *actually* a little girl drinking water in a giant cup.

Consider making a huge straw, as seen below, and fill a baby pool with refreshing H2O, then stick the straw in the pool and just keep the straw between your lips all day. Seriously, you'll get hydrated.

You may look like this elephant doing so but I bet it's effective.

 If that's not practical for your lifestyle, maybe just refer back to the huge mug idea. I guess. Although seriously... if your life doesn't at some point include drinking a beverage through a giant straw straight from a baby pool, maybe you should reconsider just what it is you're living for.

Another idea is to make it fancy schmancy... Add pretty flowers (not poinsettas or anything poisonous... obvi.) and fill a pitcher with ice and fresh water, along with slices of oranges and mint leaves, or strawberries and cucumbers, or chocolate syrup... you know, whatever you like. Disclaimer: chocolate syrup not effective if you're drinking water to improve your health in any way.

I find that when making my water fancy-schmancy, my body best absorbs it when drinking it from a glass goblet with my pinky raised, and speak in a pretentious English accent about the travesty that is Western culture.

My point here is, there's no excuse if you just put a little effort in... and the benefits to your body are ridiculous. It's amazing what a cheap source of hydration can do for you physically if you just take the time to let it happen.  So embrace the wet life... drink it in, bath in it if you will. Actually... seriously, please do. For my sake if not for your own.

Here is a water PSA, so that all my ridiculousness can have a final, mature point.

A Craving for Mexican

Today I wanted Mexican food.

Typically that isn't a big deal, but I was ravenous for Mexican food. I wanted the works, gooey enchiladas covered in cheese and sour cream sauce, Mexican rice, hot flour tortillas, fresh salsa, tortilla chips... It was all I thought about all day.

So I decided to make a healthy Mexican dish for dinner. No enchiladas unfortunately. Not even any rice. But it was delicious just the same.

Don't worry, Mexican calorie-fest... I haven't forgotten you. One day, we'll have a love affair with a candle-lit dinner. Maybe we'll even spend the night together.

In the meantime, this Southwest Chicken Stew hit the spot in a big way, and warmed me through and through (which was good, considering it was rainy, dreary, and November-y all day.) I added a little dollop of sour cream on top, and a pinch of shredded cheddar. It felt like a cheat without *being* one. See what I did there? Smooth.

Seriously. I want another bowl just typing this. Maybe even two.

Southwest Chicken Stew

(You could add a can of rinsed black beans to this and it would seriously be amazing. I happened to not have any so I didn't do that. Lazy.)

10 cups water
4 cubes beef bouillon 
4 boneless skinless chicken breasts
1 can fire roasted diced green chilies
2 diced celery stalks
2 tomatoes, diced
1/2 a white onion, chopped
1 c chopped carrots
1 potato, cubed
1 green bell pepper, chopped
1/8 c chopped cilantro (dried) or 1/2 c fresh chopped cilantro
1/4 c chili powder
1/8 c cumin
2 tsp garlic powder
4 tsp sea salt
1/4 c cornstarch
1/2 c lime juice (less or more depending on how tart you like it)

Boil the chicken in 10 c of water on high. When done, remove chicken. Add can of diced chilies and all the seasonings to the water and let simmer. Meanwhile, saute the celery, onion, carrots, and bell pepper in a tablespoon or so of oil on medium high until its tender, about 5 minutes. Add to boiling broth, along with bouillon, and let simmer. Add in potato and tomatoes. Shred chicken and add it to the stew. Stir in lime juice and let cook 20 minutes at a simmer, until potato cubes are tender. In a separate bowl, stir cornstarch with 1/8 cup or so of cold water. Stir mixture into the stew and let boil another 5 minutes. Serve with a dollop of sour cream and a pinch of shredded cheese.

Serves 10 at 134 calories/serving, not including calories from sour cream and cheese.