Amalie's Foiled Chicken Fajitas!!

To preface this recipe, you must know that when I was 9 years old, I went to a place called Camp Ba Yo Ca. When I returned the next summer as a 10 year old I went on my first camp out and experienced HOBO STEW!! If you have never had it, it is awesome! I love it!! It is ground beef, onion, carrots, potato, mustard, and ketchup mixed together and cooked in an aluminum foil packet on the coals of a campfire.
I don't have a campfire on hand, BUT, sometimes I make Hobo Stew in my oven. Since I started on this weightloss journey, I have begun experimenting with aluminum foil packet cooking. I love slicing up a potato and putting in a packet and cooking it. Tonight I tried an awesome idea which I am calling "Amalie's Foiled Chicken Fajitas"
Here is my recipe

1 chicken breast per person
sliced green peppers
sliced onions
sliced mushrooms
diced tomatoes

Preheat oven to 450. Place chicken breast on a long sheet of aluminum foil. Add desired amounts of onions, mushrooms, peppers, and tomatoes. Make foil packet and cook for about 40 minutes or until chicken is cooked through.

That's it! Simple and easy. Once mine was done tonight I scooped out the chicken and veggies because it was very juicy. At first I was just going to eat mine "streaker" style as they say at Moe's, but my tomatoes with green chilis was getting a little hot for me. So, I put the remaining chicken on a tortilla with a little shredded soy cheese(I'm lactose intolerant). It was great!

My chicken was a large piece of chicken and with adding the tortilla and soy cheese, I calculated my meal to only be a total of 517 calories, 9.5 g fat, 45.4 carbs, 40.8 g protein, and 19.2 g fiber.
WOO HOO FOR TRYING NEW THINGS!

week 5-preparation

This past week was a pretty difficult week. I went home to knoxville this weekend and I thought I would be able to eat well while I was gone. I took protein bars, an orange, and 100 calorie snacks. I thought that was enough preparation for me to survive the weekend at home.
Boy was I wrong!! Don't get me wrong, I didn't completely fall off the wagon, but it was a rough weekend. Thankfully, Friday night my mom and I split a meal at Chili's(my favorite restaurant). When i got on their website afterwards I was shocked at how many calories is in every entree they serve!! I drank a lot of regular Coke--I seriously love that stuff and its hard to give it up:(
Saturday night my family cooked hamburgers and hotdogs before the UT/Memphis game. I felt so dissatisfied with my hotdog(well a terezo) that I had a tomato and lettuce sandwich. Then I kept snacking on spinach dip during the game. AND I had 2 pieces of cookie cake. I did drink Diet pepsi though:)
Sunday I got up early and drove back here to Lexington so I could study for a test on Monday. I stopped at the gas station and had 2 nutrigrain bars and juice. THEN, 2 hours later I had McDonalds for lunch--Man, oh man, bad choices, bad choices!
I'm not beating myself up too much about this weekend because I learned a lot. This new way of life is pretty easy when I am in my semi structured school environment. It is not easy when i am flying by the seat of my pants and trying to relax at the same time. I made some good choices and I made some bad choices this weekend. I learned that having a food life that is pleasing to Christ is just like everything else that He calls us too--what is that you say? DISCIPLINE and PREPARATION.
I wasn't prepared this weekend. I thought through a few things like taking my own food home with me. I didn't think through eating on the road. I didn't think through eating out a lot. I didn't think through a buffet type dinner without real food(where were the fruits and veggies???). I'm working on the discipline, but I haven't really given any thought to the preparation. God showed me I need to be prepared for situations like this weekend. I'm really going to have to think about some things that can help me continue to be successful especially when I am traveling and/or away from home.
Any suggestions would be great!

week 4--SICKNESS

Well, I guess it was bound to happen. If I am looking at this training program as a lifestyle change, there was bound to be a week when I was sick. This week was it. I missed one of my training sessions this week because I had the flu. I did however manage to get in 2 workouts on my own. I know it is short of my 5 days a week, but I am cutting myself some slack.
Monday i blogged about just not wanting to be at my workout. While I did learn a few things from it, on tuesday when I discovered that my world was spinning and i had a 101 fever I felt like less of a cry baby. I was cooped up in my house until Friday when I was going stir crazy. Since I wasn't running a fever, I went to the Y to a water aerobics class. Part of the justification in that was that even if I had germs to share, the chlorine in the pool would take care of it. CRAZY, I know but I felt like I needed to get moving. I was exhausted to say the least afterwards. I just now got back from the Y having done cardio for about 40 minutes. I still don't feel like I have the best amount of energy to devote to working out, but I feel good for giving it a go even when I didn't feel like it.
In week 4 of working out, being sick brought a few questions to my mind. When should you skip the workout and when should you go ahead with one? I read online that running a fever is a good indication to stay in and not exercise. What if you have a head cold? Are you supposed to listen to your body? I have no idea!
Second, what about eating? I didn't get out of my bed until midday and a few days I really couldn't eat anything. It was difficult to get those fruits and vegetables in. I certainly didn't really count calories. Then my biggest vice I have is that I love coke!! I have done pretty well over the past 3 weeks in pretty much cutting them out. However, the minute I started feeling bad was the minute I just had to have a coke. Oh, and for you diet drinkers out there, I just can't do it! I admit I overdid it on the cokes, but they tasted so good. Its strange but I drink them when my stomach hurts and when my throat hurts. My great grandmother used to give "let" us drink coke when we had upset stomachs growing up. Most of my childhood, I was not allowed to drink coke--I think because it cost too much money to let 4 kids drink coke. I drink it when my throat hurts because it just plain feels good. So, I guess in a sense coke is my comfort drink?!
Anyway, this week has challenged me to do my best to be good when I don't feel good. I haven't beat myself up over the cokes I drank or any other foods I may have consumed that weren't exactly diet friendly. In the long run of what I hope is many more years of living healthy, this was just a week. I didn't do it perfectly, but I did see myself going for fruits and veggies when I would have rather gone through a McDonalds drive through.
Week 4 may have been characterized by sickness for me but i see it as progress!!

My weightloss progression through PA school

These are pics of me starting PA school with a baby shower last february(i think), then summer, then fall(football game), and current(pazzos and white coat). You be the judge 'cause I have a hard time telling the difference still!!

learning life lessons during a workout

Tonight, I went to my workout not really wanting to be there. It started snowing here around 5 and the prediction is it could get really bad. I had emailed Johnny to see if we were still working out tonight and got no reply. Considering the fact that I am going home to K-town this weekend, i felt like I really needed to go tonight to ensure that I would meet my goal of 5 workouts this week.
So, I went. I was not joyful about it. I whined through this workout. I said things like--"this is too heavy" "how much longer" "you want me to do, WHAT?" I was having difficulty breathing(for those of you who keep telling me I have asthma, I'm starting to believe you!). At one point after doing an exercise called hamstring curls where you lay on the ground, I just wanted to lay there and not get up.
I made it through the workout. I still wasn't happy about it. As I was walking to my car, I started thinking about how most of the time I feel really proud of what I accomplish in a workout. Tonight to begin with, I just still felt like it was the hardest thing I had done in a while. Why did it have to be so hard? Why couldn't it be easier? Do I really have to keep enduring this?
Then I was reminded that this is how life truly is. God calls us through things that aren't easy. We go through difficult times whether we really want to or not. The burdens that we may be given often times feel too heavy. The rough times seem unending and we ask God, "how much longer." I am certainly guilty of saying, "you want me to do WHAT?" when Christ leads me to something that I am just not so sure about.
I've been back from my workout for about an hour now. I'm starting to feel good about my accomplishments. I've had a little while to be removed from the situation and look back on what I actually did tonight. That is the way it is when we go through hard things in our life. We may question it, but if we hang on and let God lead us through it we can look back and be proud of our accomplishments. There is new meaning tonight in the verse,"I can do all things through Christ which strengthens me"!!

recipe of the week--FROZEN GRAMWICHES

This is a great recipe for all of us trying to cut back on our calories!!

4 graham cracker squares
1/4 c. light or fat-free frozen whipped topping(any flavor)

Spread 2 of the squares evenly with the whipped topping. Top with remaining squares to make 2 sandwiches. Transfer to a freezer-safe airtight plastic container. Cover tightly and place in freezer. Freeze for a least 2 hours or up to 1 month. Serve frozen

150 calories
2 g protein
28 g carbs
4 g fast

These taste better the longer you leave them in the freezer because they get soft!!!

week 3 of workouts

So, I finished my 3rd week of working out with the Time to Change group. Tomorrow(Saturday) I am attending a weight training session. It will be my 5th workout of the week. They require us to do 3 workouts a week. I think my goal is to stay at 5 workouts a week.

I hate working out initially. I usually say that I am kicking and screaming all the way to the gym. Now I have started verbally telling my trainers that I really don’t like them during my workouts. Really, they are great and I am thankful for them!
After my workouts, I have such a sense of accomplishment. I feel like I am making progress that I am getting somewhere. Today as I was driving back from a water aerobics class, I began thinking that all of the sudden I feel like I am back in control of my life. My anxiety attacks have greatly decreased. I feel much happier thanks to medication and exercise.

However, I feel like there is this fine line between me allowing Christ to be Lord of my life which gives me a sense of control and ME being in control. You know the classic pilot/copilot lesson. Its so hard to keep that in check. Does anyone have any suggestions to how I can truly evaluate that in my life? How do you know when you are trying to get Christ out of the pilot seat and let you take your life for a spin?

Another thing that has been on my mind lately is this whole thing of obesity. There are just so many reasons why I am overweight. With that in mind, I am very much convinced that it is one of the sins in our lives that you can’t hide from the world. Your obesity, your vice, your god is so evident for the whole world to see. Gossip, lying, stealing, lust, etc—those can possibly all be hidden away from the world where only you have to deal with your sins. The funny thing is that I eat to hide myself from the world, to keep me to myself, so the world doesn’t have to deal with me. Yet, in reality, people look at you because you are different. People stare at you because of how big you are. Yes, people tend to not see you, the real you because they can’t get past the weight. So, I guess some people who are gluttons for the shear purpose of hiding themselves from the world achieve their goal.

WELL, I need a new goal in life. God is so good and so faithful to me. He has given me talents that should not be wasted away. He has given me a purpose that I need to fulfill. I’m trying to take it day by day. To meet with God and to deal with these issues. The above words are just a small glimpse into my life. I’m being transparent with all of you because when I voice these feelings, the lies from Satan, they don’t have that much power of me. Yes, they will still haunt me. It may even be easy for me to give in to the lies, but I have faith that from here on out I will have the strength to stand back up!!

This journey hasn’t been easy. God didn’t call us to an easy life. Sometimes it is so hard for me to remember that. I don’t want to hurt. I don’t want to do things that don’t seem easy. I have to remember that He has a plan for me and that by His strength I will persevere!!

SWEATING!!

First let me say, that I am the queen of procrastination right now. I have a test tomorrow and haven't really begun the proper studying for it. Instead, I am blogging about my workout tonight.
Tonight was the beginning of my 3rd week of working out. I am not sure that this will ever get any easier. Well, it feels like it will always be hard, but that is because I am hopefully always going to push myself to go further!
Tonight we started with cardio and then did a strength training circuit. My trainer wanted me to do 30 minutes on the elliptical or bicycle. I knew that I couldn't do either for that long. So we compromised. I did 10 minutes on the elliptical and 20 minutes on the bike. The great thing about that was I did the elliptical for 5 more minutes than I thought that I could.
Now getting to the title of this article. When I started on the elliptical, I started sweating almost immediately. AND, I just kept sweating and sweating and sweating. It felt like it started to pour out of my body once I got on the bicycle. I don't think that I have ever had such a soaked shirt in my entire life--except for the days when I would swim in a tshirt. Yes, that is how sweaty I was!!
I went over to do the strength training circuit and at one point had to lay on a mat. When I got up there was a wet imprint of where I had just been laying--YUCK! However, it does feel good to have that much sweat in me. I do feel like I worked hard tonight.
Two things I am proud of: 1. my trainer telling me I look good when I sweat. 2. moving from really sissy push ups to moderately sissy pushups!!