Wednesday, February 23, 2011

CRAVING MEXICAN FOOD? TRY THESE HEALTHY STEAK TACOS!!

Craving Mexican food? There's no need to go out for a heavy, calorie-loaded Mexican dinner. Forget the extra fat and calories, and instead create this delicious steak taco meal for your family. It combines savory and sweet flavors and can be prepared in less than 25 minutes!



Chipotle Flank Steak Tacos With Pineapple Salsa

Ingredients

12 soft whole-wheat or whole-grain tortillas

1 teaspoon extra-virgin olive oil

1 teaspoon chipotle chili powder plus 1 pinch, divided

1 teaspoon Kosher salt, divided

1 pound organic flank steak beef, trimmed of fat

1 organic pineapple, peeled, cored, and cut into 1/2-inch-thick rings

1 organic red bell pepper, finely diced

1/2 cup minced red onion

1/4 cup chopped fresh organic cilantro

2 tablespoons red wine vinegar

Preparation

Preheat grill to high. Stack tortillas and wrap in heavy-duty foil. Combine oil, 1 teaspoon chipotle powder, and 1/2 teaspoon salt in a small dish. Rub mixture into both sides of steak. Place the tortilla stack on the coolest part of the grill or upper warming rack, if possible, and heat, flipping once, until warmed through and very pliable.

Meanwhile, grill the steak for 4 to 6 minutes per side for medium, or until desired doneness. Grill pineapple rings until moderately charred, 1 to 2 minutes per side. Remove the tortillas, steak, and pineapple from the grill. Let the steak rest for at least 5 minutes before slicing very thinly crosswise into strips.

Meanwhile, dice the pineapple and transfer to a medium bowl. Add bell pepper, onion, cilantro, vinegar, the remaining pinch of chipotle powder, and the remaining 1/2 teaspoon salt; toss to combine. Serve the sliced steak in the warm tortillas with the pineapple salsa.

Makes 6 servings.

Hope Everyone Is Having A Healthy Week  :)

Saturday, February 5, 2011

How Eating 5 Times A Day Has Helped Me On My Weight Loss Journey

Hello everyone I hope you are all doing great and are ready to enjoy the super bowl tomorrow evening between the Pittsburgh Steelers and Green Bay Packers. 

What has helped me out tremendously throughout my weight loss journey is to not be too hungry or too full and I have done this by eating 5 small meals throughout the day and evening.  I try to eat every 3 hours so that I don't get too hungry and by doing this I make wiser food choices.  Here is an example of what I eat and the times on a daily basis.

I wake up usually around 5:30 am and have my first meal by 7 am.  I enjoy eating a good portion of regular oatmeal which satisfies me until my next meal which is about 3 hours later.  Around 10 am I usually have a piece of fruit (orange,apple, banana, grapes) and vegetable (baby carrots are a favorite of mine) which keeps me going and satisfied until my next meal.  I try to have my lunch which is my 3rd meal of the day by 1 pm and more than half way through my shift at work which is great. A typical lunch for me which is probably my biggest meal of the day since I'm the most physically active around this time of the day would be a turkey sandwich on whole wheat bread with mustard. Along with the sandwich I have an apple, grapes, fat free pudding cup, applesauce, fat free yogurt, string cheese, and a 32 ounce Gatoraid G2.  About 4 pm I like to have my fourth meal of the day a fiber one bar and a protein shake depending on if I'm going to the gym to workout after work which I usually do on monday, wednesday, and friday.  This satisfies me until dinner even on the days that I go to the gym.  Between 6 pm and 7 pm I usually have my 5th meal of the day which is pretty much different every day so an example would be turkey tacos.  I use corn tortillas, with ground turkey, shredded lettuce, chopped up tomatoes, onions, salsa, fat free refried beans, and spanish rice. I usually have a couple tacos but stop when I feel satisfied and not stuffed.  Before bed usually around 9 pm if I'm in the mood for a little treat I have recently been having a chocolate or french vanilla weight watcher smoothie that I make in my small blender which is perfect for one serving.

This is an example of what I eat and how often I eat on a daily basis which has helped me on my weight loss journey where I have dropped well over 200 pounds and maintained for over 2 years now  :)



Have a great weekend, week ahead, and enjoy the super bowl!!!