Another holiday weekend is here and many of us fear the temptations that come with social parties and family gatherings. So, I thought I would post a few yummy recipes and a few ideas for staying on track this weekend!
Tip # 1: Plan Ahead
Set aside a few minutes right now to plan your meals for the remainder of the weekend and even the rest of next week. If you are entertaining, do your research! There are so many resources out there for you to find recipes that are clean, simple, and delicious. Eating healthy does not have to taste bad! If you are only planning meals for yourself, you can keep it simple. Plan for at least 5 small meals each day. Make sure that you are eating a sufficient amount of protein and healthy carbs. Then, do your shopping! You will be less likely to have the urge to eat out or reach for something unhealthy when you are fueling your body regularly with your planned meals. If you've never tried this, what are you waiting for?
Tip # 2: Drink your water!
Drinking water will hydrate your body and help you feel full. I recently learned that thirst can masque itself as hunger. Be aware of your body. If you just ate and are feeling hungry, chances are you are needing more water.
Tip # 3: Socialize rather than eat during gatherings
Do not go to a social gathering hungry! Eat your planned meal before you go or take it with you. You will most likely have many food choices in front of your face that will NOT help you progress toward achieving your goals. When you are not the one preparing your food, you will have no clue as to what ingredients are in the food that you are eating. Focus on socializing with friends or family rather than eating. If
this is your scheduled cheat meal then DON'T feel guilty about it! You
have earned it! But I do recommend that you are mindful of your portion sizes.
This can be challenging! Once you get started on your feast, it may be hard to stop. If this is a problem, then it may be best to stick with your plan.
Tip # 4: Schedule time for a workout
I love the weekends because I have more freedom with my schedule. I can stay up late and sleep in (if Nick decides it's acceptable for the day), still knowing that I will make working out a priority. I do honor my rest day on Sunday as long as I didn't slack during the week. There are many things that you can do with your family to get your movement in. Go for a walk/run, bike ride, hike, or tell your kiddos that they are your trainers for 30 minutes and have them run around the house with you following, doing whatever they tell you to. It's a great workout!
Here are some yummy, party-friendly recipe ideas. Enjoy!
Clean Eating Chicken Kebobs (from www.thegraciouspantry.com)
Ingredients
4 large boneless, skinless chicken breasts
1/2 lb. asparagus
2 tsp. savory (trust me, you want the ground herb. Not the leaf)
1 tsp. garlic Powder
1 tsp. onion powder
1 tbsp. lemon zest
1 tsp. lemon juice
2 tsp. olive oil
1/2 lb. asparagus
2 tsp. savory (trust me, you want the ground herb. Not the leaf)
1 tsp. garlic Powder
1 tsp. onion powder
1 tbsp. lemon zest
1 tsp. lemon juice
2 tsp. olive oil
Directions
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F., and place your kebob sticks in a pan of water to soak (You do this so they won’t catch fire in the oven).
Step 1 – Chop your asparagus into 1 or 1 -1/2 inch pieces.
Step 2 – Chop your chicken into bite sized pieces. (Approximately 1 or 1-1/2 inch square cubes)
Step 3 - Place all ingredients in a ziplock back, and moosh it around (yes,”moosh” is a very technical word. So moosh darn it… MOOSH!!! – Sorry, I can get a little bossy sometimes. Ignore me. But you still gotta moosh).
Don’t skimp on the mooshing because there is not a lot of oil in this recipe. You really need to mix it up well to get even coverage of the oil and spices. So take your time. You’ll have better tasting chicken if you do
Step 4 – Alternate placing your asparagus and chicken on your kebob sticks. Don’t ask me why, it just looks prettier I guess. And that’s how everyone else does it… And yes, I would probably jump off a bridge if my friends were all doing it…. with a bungee attached, of course.)
Step 5 – Now this is the tricky part. So read carefully…
- Put your Kebobs on a parchment lined cookie sheet and place in the oven.
- Set your timer for 10 minutes.
- When the 1o minutes is up, open your oven, flip your kebobs over (don’t burn yourself, please), and close the oven door.
- Flip the dial on your oven to “broil” instead of bake.
- Broil for 10-15 minutes, or until you have a nice browned bit of chicken. A thermometer should read about 170 degrees F.
You can also do it the easy way and put these on the BBQ!
Sweet Potato Fries (picture and ingredient list from (www.cleaneatingclub.com)
2 sweet potatoes (1 pound)
2 tbsp. olive oil
1 tsp. sea salt
1/2 tsp. dried oregano
1/2 tsp. paprika
1/4 tsp. ground black pepper
Directions:
- Peel and then slice sweet potatoes into fries.
- Mix all ingredients together in a zip-lock bag. Shake until coated.
- Preheat oven to 425 degrees Fahrenheit. Place a non-stick baking sheet in the oven.
- Spread the sticks on the baking sheet and bake for 15 minutes.
- Turn the sweet potato fries after 15 minutes and bake approximately 15 minutes more or until crispy, golden, and tender in the middle.
Clean Eating Strawberry Ice Cream (from www.thegraciouspantry.com)(Makes 8 servings)
Ingredients
2 bananas, sliced and frozen
1/2 cup low-fat cottage cheese
1 cup frozen strawberries (or 1/2 cup fresh fruit or any other addition)
Directions
Place all ingredients in a food processor and blend until smooth. You may have to stop it, remove the lid and poke around at everything a few times to convince the processor to blend it all. And if the mixture seems too dry to process properly, add a small splash or two of non-fat milk to get things loosened up enough to blend. Then start it again. Actually, you may have to do that a few times.
Eat and Enjoy!
