Burrito, healthy style!

There are ways to eat your favorite foods, they just need a little tweaking!

Whole wheat flour tortillas
ground turkey
taco seasoning
cheese of your choice (use mozzarella for a less-fat option-tastes surprisingly good!)
green cabbage, cut thinly
diced tomatoes, salsa, or pico de gallo
Reduced fat or fat-free sour cream
*Favorite hot sauce

Cook the ground turkey like you would ground beef, and add the taco season as directed on the package, then assemble like you would any burrito!
Use a little less meat and a little less cheese, and pile on the veggies! Using cabbage gives it the crunch like lettuce does, but has a lot more fiber and fills you up better than lettuce would.
If you want to omit the meat altogether and make a veggie burrito, add in some black beans-they contain the protein you'd be missing from meat, and also have extra fiber...yeah for fiber!

*my favorite is the hot sauce pictured.

the science of shedding a pound

The *average person needs approximately 2000 calories a day to sustain body weight--this is why you see on most food labels that all the health information says "based on a 2000 calorie per day diet". (Meaning, if you were to sit and rest for 1 day, your body would burn 2000 calories on it's own, so therefore, eating 2000 calories a day would even it out and maintain your weight)....in theory of course.

The average pound of body fat equates to approximately 3500 calories.
So if you deficit your daily calories by 500 to 1500 calories a day, and burn 500 calories through exercise you would be losing a total of 7,000 calories per week, which equals a loss of 2 pounds per week. (Maybe this will help you understand why losing more than 2 pounds per week is said to be unhealthy. Anymore then 2 would cause you to eat to little and/or exercise too much.)

Losing weight slowly is the key. You always hear that you want to implement a "lifestyle change" instead of just a plain old diet. Well, it's true! Everyone knows--especially us moms, that there are days where you have to do what you have to do, whether it be skipping the gym one day, or stopping at McDonald's another day (for the sake of the kids, of course). Implementing a healthier diet and smaller portions day-to-day will keep the weight off (or lose it), and then when the time comes to go out to a restaurant, go to a party, or PMS... it will not matter as much in the scheme of things.

*2000 calories is just an estimation, everybody's bodies burn calories at a different rate.

Cran-Raz Smoothie

12 ounces cranberry juice (choose the no sugar added, or 'light' kind)
1 1/2 cup frozen strawberries
1 cup frozen blueberries
1 large scoop light raspberry sherbet (use non-fat frozen yogurt if you want)
1/4 cup nonfat plain yogurt
1/2 cup crushed ice

Throw all ingredients into the blender...and blend until smooth (or your desired consistency). You can interchange ingredients as long as the liquid/solid ratios are mostly the same. For example: use orange juice instead of cranberry juice, toss in half a banana, and use frozen peaches instead of blueberries.
These types of smoothies are low-fat and good for you, but keep in mind drinking Jamba-sized portions can make the calories add up (although drinking a huge portion is definitely better then a big mac and fries). I recommend drinking a 12 ounce portion of this and maybe a handful of almonds, or half a bagel with light cream cheese for easy breakfast on-the-go.

good to know!

I was browsing some fitness information and came across this place that calculates the average amount of calories burned during certain activities...here some that I thought might be beneficial for you to know!

housework-60 minutes = 180 calories
sex- 60 minutes = 270 calories
shopping- 60 minutes = 150 calories
stroll in the park (walking 2mph) 60 minutes = 168 calories
chasing after 2 year old (walking 5mph) 60 minutes = 498 calories
gardening (it's that time of year!) 60 minutes = 345 calories
brushing teeth- 10 minutes = 28 calories
laundry/folding clothes- 60 minutes= 144 calories
making dinner (as long as you don't eat it while you cook it) 60 minutes= 147 calories
playing cards- 60 minutes = 117 calories

kristen's cacciatore

I believe I got this recipe from my mom (I don't know where she got it from), but I've changed it so much I think I can officially call it my own!

1 large can diced tomato (you can use italian style if you want)
1 large can pureed tomato
1 small can tomato paste
2 cooked boneless, skinless chicken breasts cut into bite size pieces
1 large onion, cut in thin rings
1 green pepper, cut in thin strips
1 red pepper, cut in thin strips
1-2 cloves minced garlic
1/2 teaspoon dried parsley
1/2 teaspoon dried oregano
dash red pepper flakes (optional)
salt & pepper to taste

Put skillet on medium-high heat and spray good with pam then add the onion and peppers; cook until tender-make sure you are stirring often so they don't burn (I know this by experience). Add all of the tomatoes, garlic, parsley, oregano, salt and pepper; stir until combined and the tomato paste has mixed in well, then add chicken. Simmer on low heat for at least 10 minutes. Serve over [brown] rice.

the chef's (that's me) notes:
This is one of those recipes that you can't really mess up-You can add more (or leave it out) chicken or more onion, etc. if you want to. I like to use fresh garlic and parsley, but tastes great if you don't have it on hand. It's a great recipe for grilled chicken leftovers as well! Most chicken cacciatore recipes call for mushrooms, but since I despise them I don't put any in, but if you like them-add a few!

Serves 4