I decided to make May the month that I start to really dedicate myself to getting healthy. I want to workout more and start eating healthier, which of course means cooking healthier foods. I'm doing really good with the workouts, especially because I have pretty much fallen in love with going to workout classes at the fitness studio. And, when we have nice beautiful sunny days in Sitka, Brinleigh and I can get out of the house for a bit and go running/walking. I have never been a runner. Ever! I used to walk a lot and I have slowly increased to alternating walking and jogging. I am starting to notice, especially now that I'm going to workout classes, that I have more strength in my legs and my endurance has increased. And surprisingly, I'm actually starting to really enjoy it. I think the awesome weather plays a big part in the enjoyment of running.
I'm still addicted to mountain dew and I still snack on junk food, but my daily meals are slowly getting healthier and I'm drinking more water. I'm trying to take baby steps, so once I get the meals down I will work on healthier snacks and eventually...... cutting out soda. Well, at least not drinking it on a daily basis and making it more of an occasional treat.
As if Pinterest wasn't already amazing for craft ideas and recipes, it has now become a lifesaver for healthy meal ideas. This past week I attempted a new healthy meal for dinner and I was shocked at how quick and easy it was and that it actually tasted good. Kolt really liked it too and suggested I make it again. I was so proud of my new healthy dinner recipe that I of course posted a picture to Instagram and Facebook. Several people have asked for the recipe so here you go.
Two chicken breasts, cut into thirds
Four red potatoes, quartered (I even cut some of them smaller)
Fresh green beans (I had to use frozen because the grocery store was out of fresh green beans, but fresh are definitely better)
Half a stick of butter
Packet of Good Seasons Italian Salad dressing and recipe mix (I used zesty italian)
Preheat over to 350 degrees
Place chicken in a 9x13 pan with potatoes on one side and green beans on the other
Slice butter into small pieces and spread all over and then sprinkle the italian seasoning mix over the entire dish
Cover tight with tinfoil and bake for about one hour
I've been working on portion control so I eat most of my meals off of small plates instead of the large dinner plates. This meal I portioned out 4oz chicken, 4 pieces of potatoes, 1/3 cup green beans, and 3 slices of french bread with butter.
Not including the melted butter or the Italian seasoning, this meal was 430 calories.
Kolt also suggested making asparagus instead of green beans which I think we will try next time.
This was super easy to prepare, I think it took me maybe 10-15 minutes including cutting the chicken and washing and cutting the potatoes. And it's pretty inexpensive to make, which is always a plus.
