No Take Out Challenge... the beginning

A little over a week ago I was sitting at my desk at work and had a thought to myself, "I am sick of eating fast food!" 

I had eaten a decent amount of fast during December because I just didn't prepare. I had been doing so good with eating on my Keto plan since Aug/Sept that when Thanksgiving rolled around I was just lazy!

So Chick Fil A, Burger King, the food court, Zaxby's, you name it. I started eating it all. Now I am not even going to pretend that I don't enjoy eating out. I do. That is my favorite thing to do with friends. We go grab a meal together. For some reason, this time though, it was different. Maybe it was how often I would look at our budget. Or maybe because of how bloated and gross I felt from the 2 to 3 meals a day being take out. 

So I told my husband that I was going to start a no take out challenge. He said, "I bet you won't even make it 3 days!" Well I knew that I absolutely would now that he had said that, I mean what wife is going to let their husband through out a challenge like that and not make certain that she wins. Sheesh. 

Anyways, we talked about it and he laid out the ground rules for this challenge. 

1 - No takeout means anything that is bought from somewhere other than a grocery store. This means that I couldn't even go downstairs at work to our vending area and get a drink or snack. 

2- If someone else buys it, then it doesn't count. WOW... really, ok cool! His thought in this, was this challenge was to help me see how much money I could save by not eating takeout. 

3- If I have a gift certificate, or coupon or whatever to get the meal free then I can still have it. This was another great CHEAT that he was giving me. I mean my supervisor gives us Chick Fil A calendars for Christmas, which means free food and drinks all year long. Isn't that like throwing away money if I don't go and get it.

So I set out to see what I could do. Day 1 was easy.. I mean that was the day I decided to start the challenge so I was prepared. I had snacks and creamer so that I could have coffee at work. There have been days that I have been perfectly content with everything that we have at home, and days that I really want takeout. 

Today is Day 10 and one of those days that I am really wanting takeout. Chinese to be precise. I was torn at what to do. I mean let's be honest here. It isn't like I didn't have the money to be able to order it. I have already gone more than the 3 days that the hubby thought I would break at. I could have ordered from our favorite take out place... NOPE. I went to the grocery store and bought Chinese food from the freezer section and came home and cooked it. It was actually pretty good, and I didn't feel sick like I some times do after I eat takeout Chinese. I decided to figure out if I actually saved money by getting it from the store or not. I spent about $17 including tax at the store purchasing the items. Now I did go to one of the more expensive grocery stores in town, so I might could have gotten it cheaper. After I got home I pulled up the Beyond Menu app and priced out how much it would be for General Tso's Chicken, Vegetable Fried Rice, and 4 Egg Rolls. The total for delivery was about $22, and this didn't include tip. So that is at least a $5 savings by going to the store.

I am going to see how long I can go without getting takeout, of course that means within the guidelines set forth by my husband. Here is an overview of how Days 1-10 have gone. I will do my best to get this blog updated for those that are wanting details more than what my Facebook or Instagram say. You can follow me on IG at ashleyc_young for lots of food pictures and more!

Day 1:

I craved nachos: So I browned some hamburger meat with some taco seasoning, added a little tomato paste and put it over tortilla chips, with some shredded cheese, sour cream, salsa, and guacamole. They were so good. 

Day 2: 

I was off of work this day and home alone. I had bought a bag of onions and didn't want them to go bad. It was getting cold so I wanted some soup.. French Onion Soup for the win! I made a huge pot of it and have left overs in the freezer for when the craving hits again. I didn't have the bread and cheese for the traditional serving style, but I just added a handful of croutons and some Parmesan cheese and it was yummy!

Day 3:

It was Saturday and just before New Years. Am I the only one that thinks about all of the things that I should be giving up when the New Year starts, which is in the next couple of days thus making you want to eat everything? I know that I am at my best when I am eating a low carb, low sugar diet AKA Keto. I wanted IHOP pancakes... but I was on this challenge. So I set out to make homemade pancakes and bacon. Let's just say that the hubby and child were super excited about this. They actually turned out pretty yummy too!

Day 4: NEW YEARS EVE... so I sort of stretched the rules on this day a little, but hey. I made it more than 3 days! LOL So we were at Walmart and my stepdaughter was with me and she was hungry. I made a quick call to the hubby and he said that getting boneless wings from the deli at Walmart didn't count as it is also a grocery store. Holy Hannah he just gave me so many loop holes with this one!!!!

Day 5: Being New Years Day we had a lot of leftovers from the night before. We also went to my mom and dad's to eat the traditional New Years Day lunch so no takeout cravings happened this day. 

Day 6: Back to work. I have never wanted to go back to work so badly. I wanted the schedule that we keep as it helps me stay on track. I made some eggs sausage and cheese scramble and took it with me to work. Jody, the hubby, also got up and fixed me a couple of turkey burger patties to take with me. This night my step daughter wanted pizza, I am not going to lie.. I did too! So we went to the store and picked up some sauce and pizza crust. I had everything else we needed at home. We actually had  really good time making them too. She enjoyed it as much as I did and the pizza turned out really yummy! Plus we didn't have the large pizza boxes to throw out. Spending quality time with her, minimal trash, and a home cooked meal. Win Win!

Day 7 was pretty uneventful to be honest. We had a snow storm hit us that left us with 3 inches of snow on the ground that still has not all melted. We have been eating left overs and just whatever we wanted. Having the city shut down makes it pretty easy to not eat takeout. 😁😁

Day 8: The city was still pretty shut down from the snow storm, but I had a good friend come to town and by all means we were going to meet. He ended up surprising me and coming to the house early and we had just brewed a pot of coffee. Normally we would head to Starbucks, but we just enjoyed a cup at my house and chatted a bit. Then we decided to go see what was going on and went out and about. Oh no... my favorite Mexican restaurant was one of the only restaurants open and we were both pretty hungry. I decided that lunch with him was worth ending the challenge. I mean 7 full days is a week. That is longer than Jody ever thought that I would go... So off we went I ordered and ate and it was so extremely good.... and then... my friend picked up the bill. He was NOT suppose to do that. I was very appreciative, but this was not part of my plan.... but he did it, without me asking... so this meant, by my husband's rules, I am still succeeding! WHAT!!! To some of you this might mean that I cheated, but to him No. So I am still going with it. 

Day 9: We were working from home. This was the first time that the company was having us do this. We brought phones home and were able to remote into our computers and we took calls from home that day. I woke up really hungry and wanting a biscuit. Thankfully when I had gone to the store before New Years I bought a small can of them. I set myself to the challenge of making the biscuits scrambling eggs and cooking some bacon. I made bacon egg and cheese biscuits that the hubby ate 2 of he liked them so much. 

Day 10: Well most of that is above. I wanted Chinese so the freezer section at the grocer store took care of that for me. I also went and picked up some coconut aminos from the vitamin store so that I can hopefully get back onto my keto diet tomorrow. 

I hope you will enjoy reading my blog. Keep in mind that I am not a professional writer or anything like that. I am just writing for fun. 

If you have comments or questions feel free, just please no negativity. There is enough of that in this world. 

I would love to know if any of you start the #notakeoutchallenge and how long you can go. I am having fun being creative!

Fiesta chicken, crockpot style

I love to cook but sometimes time doesn't allow for it. I took one of our favorite recipe's and made it. Crockpot friendly! Let's just say my husband can't get enough of it!

Ingredients:
3 boneless skinless chicken breast (fresh or frozen)
1 can of fire roasted tomato
1/2 packet taco seasoning
1 each green, yellow, red, orange pepper


Directions:
Place chicken into bottom of crockpot. Sprinkle taco seasoning onto chicken. Then pour can of fire roasted tomato around the edge of crockpot.
Cook on low all day.
1 hour before serving place sliced peppers on top (no need to stir) and cook.
After hour stud all together.

We serve ours over 1 cup of brown rice and I like guacamole with mine!

Total Calorie count without guacamole: 306!!!

(Picture to come soon!)

Taco Bake

It has been almost a month of eating healthy and I am down 15 pounds over all. The struggle is real!!! I had a friend that posted a quote the other day and it seems so true for the struggles of weight loss.

 "Change is hard at first, messy in the middle and gorgeous at the end." - Robin Sharma

Thanks Nathan for posting that because I was having a moment of weakness and wanting to give up on this journey. Seeing that though made me realize it has only just begun and that with a little extra effort I can truly do this, and when I do the end will be beautiful!!!

So yea I am struggling to stay on track every day, and some days I fail, but  for the majority of the time I am tracking calories and staying within my goal and making progress on becoming healthier and happier.

So on Saturday morning I set out to make a new recipe. I have been experimenting a lot and this new one was a creation that won over the stomachs of 2 picky 9 year old girls, my husband, who really will eat almost anything I make, and me... I loved it and it was less than 400 calories a serving, and I was FULL after my serving!

Here is the recipe for what we call Taco Bake!

Ingredients:
~ 6 whole wheat soft tortilla's (8.5 inch round)
~ 1 can (15oz) of tomato sauce
~ 1/2 pack of taco seaoning
~ 2 lbs of ground turkey
~ 3/4 medium onion (dice)
~ 9 oz can of red enchilada sauce 
~ 4.4 oz of reduced fat fiesta blend cheese (reserve 1/2 for the top)

Directions:
First I browned my ground turkey over med/high heat and drained any grease off. Then I added the taco seasoning and continued to brown a little longer. Setting the meat mixture aside, I sauteed my onions in the same pan as the meat, but I use spray PAM, no oil or butter. The added the meat back to the pan, and the can of tomato sauce and let that simmer for about 15 -20 min.

Preheat oven to 350.

Meanwhile in a  casserole dish I sprayed with PAM. Shout out to my momma, she taught me to do this when cooking in the oven, it makes for a super simple clean up. I took my sprayed casserole dish and started to construct my layers. First I put a small amount of the enchilada sauce on the bottom of the dish and then placed two tortillas side by side. Then I put a 1/3 of the meat mixture spread out on the tortilla, poured some enchilada sauce over and then aprox 1 oz of the cheese, then I started the process over, tortilla, meat, sauce, cheese. 1 more round and this time the cheese was the remainder which would be about 2 oz or so for the top.

I covered with tin foil and baked for 30 min, uncovered, removed the foil and baked for another 10. Then I let it cool for 5 min. Cut each round into 4, so you get 8 servings from this 1dish and everyone loved it. Eliza (my stepdaughter) wants it on the menu every week.. we shall see, but mmmmm it was good!!!


Nutrition per serving: Yield 8 servings

Calories: 387
Carbs: 23
Fat: 21

Spaghetti Sauce for Spaghetti Squash for the win!

Ah Spaghetti Squash how we love you so. I never thought the day would come when Eliza would actually ask for the veggie. I mean this is the child that didn't think that anyone but McDonald's could make a hamburger. We spent many of nights with her crying at the table because there were balanced meals on the table versus some frozen nuggets and tater tots.

So when the day came that I asked her what he wanted for dinner and she said Spaghetti Squash I almost wrecked the car. Now no, she didn't just come up with this out of nowhere. We had made it, and didn't tell her what it was, I disguised it under some yummy Italian Sausage tomato sauce and she ate it up. The next time she was with us when we bought it... she asked what it was, we told her, she knew we were having it for dinner, but I think she forgot because she asked if it was cheese. He father and I just went with it... Hey whatever it takes to get the kid to eat something healthy right?
So finally one day she helped me make it and that was it.. she was hooked.

So now I was tasked with the New Year, and needing to REALLY lose some weight, like a lot of weight, to change my sauce. It was no longer going to contain the yummy goodness of Italian Sausage but would only have ground turkey for the meat.

So here is how I pulled it off.

Ingredients:
~ 3 jars of Barilla Sauce (I used 2 tomato/basil and 1 marinara)
~ 48oz of Ground Turkey Meat
~ 1 med onion. finely choped
~ 2 tblspn EVOO
~ water
~ spices (I used oregano, garlic powder, and some salt free garlic and herb)


To start I heated up a large pot and added my EVOO, then after that was hot added my onion. I cooked those until translucent in color and then the turkey meat went into the pot. I browned this pretty good and added a little bit of my spices. After it was cooked through well, I drained all of the grease off.

Back into the pot my meat went and to it I added more oregano (maybe a couple of teaspoons) garlic (maybe 1.5 tablespoons) and some of my salt free garlic and herb. To that I put my three jars of sauce in and when my jars were empty I filled each about 1/3 full and put the lib back on, shook it around to get all of the yummy bits and then added that to the put. I stired it really well, added the lid and let it simmer for about an hour.


This created approximately 15 cups. 1 cup of sauce was enough for me and 1 cup is only 273 calories. I paired this with 1 cup of microwaved spaghetti  calories and dinner was only 320 calories. YUMMO!!!!

Chicken Fajita Bowls

OH MY... that was delightful.
I just finished eating my lunch for today and it was leftover from last night. I started this week with trying to be better about cooking at home and also preparing health meals for me family. Now this isn't easy since my step daughter decides after eating something and liking it that she now doesn't like it, but we have some not so health things in the pantry for her if she really isn't eating what we put in front of her. Before you start telling me how we should make her eat what we put in front of her, or telling me that I should make her meals that she likes.... We do both of these. She knows that in our house she needs to eat what is in front of her, but this is a fairly new concept to her, she use to only have to eat chicken nuggets and hamburgers from McDonald's... So within reason we allow her to not eat what is in front of her some nights, but she does try it, and she had yogurt, fruit, and some not so healthy things for those 2nd night in a row she isn't going to eat.... I can't starve the child.


Ok, so on the point of this blog post. I made some super yummy chicken fajita bowls last night for dinner and I wanted to share with you how so you can enjoy too.

Ingredients:
~24oz of boneless skinless chicken breast cleaned and chunked into bite size pieces
~1 med/large Red Pepper
~1 med/large Yellow Pepper
~1 med/large Orange Pepper
~1 med/large Green Pepper
~1 med/large onion
~1 Tblsp of EVOO
~3 teaspoons of Taco Seasoning.


So first I took the steam and seeds out of all of my peppers and sliced them at aprox 1/4 inch, really you can cut them to whatever size you like though. Then I cut my onion at the same size.
I put the cut peppers and onions into a bowl and drizzled with EVOO and then used 1.5 teaspoons of taco seasoning and mixed together well.
Place the peppers into a casserole dish that has been sprayed with Pam.
Place the chicken into the same bowl the pepper/onions were in, mix with the remaining 1.5 tsp of taco seasoning and mix well to coat the chicken. Then place the chicken chunks on top of the peppers and onion.

Place in a 400 degree preheated oven for arpox 20-30 min. Check the chicken between this time to make sure it is done.


When done... ENJOY!

Now the way I served this to my family was over 1 cup of brown rice. I love the ease of the boil in bag brown rice, so I boiled a couple of those bags, each bag yielded approximately 1 cup of cooked rice.
So 1 cup of rice, 1 serving of chicken and peppers/onions and then I topped mine with 4 tablespoons of salsa and a 100 calorie pack of guacamole. This total was 471 calories for my plate. It was so good that I am probably going to make it again this weekend. Even my husband loved it. The child... well you know, you Win some and Lose some.

#healthandhappy2017

The Grace of God through heartache

All of my life I have prayed for the chance to become a mother. I have been blessed to have a wonderful mother, grandmothers, and other maternal figures in my life. This dream has been one that I have shed many of tears over thinking that the day would never come.

On September 7, 2016 I was given that opportunity I have prayed for. My husband and I took a home pregnancy test and it told us that we indeed were expecting. After confirming it with the doctor’s office a week later we began the game that society has taught us. Do we tell our family and friends or do we keep this joyous news a secret?

For some reason, today’s society thinks that it is very taboo to speak of being with child prior to the conclusion of your first trimester. Yet, we have modern medicine to help us know that we are expecting and research to show that you should start prenatal visits earlier in your pregnancy. By society standards this means that we are supposed to keep our family and friends in the dark about why we are going to the doctor so much the first 1/3 of our pregnancy.  We are not supposed to speak of the morning sickness, or the change in our moods, or the weird things that happen with our bodies. Why is this, because of the fear that something may happen?

I am here to say, that sometimes things do happen, and when they do, is it better to suffer in silence or to have a support system? On September 28, 2016 the doctor confirmed our worst fears, we miscarried. I have learned that there are approximately 5,000,000 miscarriages in a single year.

We lost what God had granted us, but did we really? You see I am an Orthodox Christian and what I discovered was how wonderful our faith is in these times. We believe that a baby has life at the time of conception. I became a mother the minute that baby started developing, and even though our baby did not get to enter this world like we had hoped, our baby is now in heaven being raised by Mary, what better mother is there?  In the Orthodox church we offer communion anytime we have divine liturgy. Since that is at least every Sunday, through me, my baby received the body and blood of Jesus Christ the Sunday before he went to be with our Lord and Savior.

Not only were these blessing granted to us, and many others, but because I shared our pregnancy with our priest, when we did miscarry, we were able to go to the church and have the priest say the forgiveness prayer for us. This prayer was one of the most beautiful prayers that I have heard. It is a prayer to help protect me as mom from the devil and his trickery of trying to break you down and make you think that you did something wrong. This prayer is something that I feel any woman who has gone through a miscarriage should speak with her priest about.

Had I not shared about our pregnancy, then I would not have been inclined to share about our miscarriage. Those that have known about it have prayed for us, and we have received blessings through it. Why would you not share in the joy and heartache that is life. My physical and emotional pain was no greater and no less because of telling someone that we were expecting. When the time comes that we see those blue lines again, I have a feeling that we will share just as quickly as we did this time.

I pray that more women, if they feel so inclined, share their great blessings with those in their lives. That they don’t let society dictate how they live their life as an expecting mom. It is ok to feel heartache, but know that God is showing you blessings at the same time. My husband and I are closer because of this, we know that we can conceive, and that I am now a mother.

Glory to God for showing us so many beautiful things, even through heartache!