Clean Pork Stir-Fry with Garlic Broccoli

This recipe is one of my absolute FAVORITES that I have tried out lately!!!! Dan loved it and Trinity even asked for seconds...she mainly liked the corn-on-the-cob though. :)

I got this recipe from a magazine that my Mom had given me months ago. It featured contestants from the Biggest Loser and had some recipes mixed in. I believe this recipe can be found on http://www.biggestloser.com/, as well.

Ingredients:

*3 cups broccoli, chopped into 1" pieces

*3/4 cup fat-free, low-sodium chicken broth

*1/2 cup chopped scallions

(I just used regular onions for this part and it worked well)

*2 Tbsp chopped garlic

*2 Tbsp peeled, chopped ginger

*2 tsp olive oil

*1 cup chopped onion

*1 red bell pepper, finely chopped

*1 lb boneless pork tenderloin, cut into thin strips

*1 Tbsp low-sodium soy sauce

*1 Tbsp toasted sesame seeds

Directions:

1) Steam broccoli 2 minutes, or until bright green but still firm. Drain, rinse with cold water to stop cooking, and drain again. (If using frozen broccoli, thaw but omit this cooking step.)

2) Combine 1/4 cup of the broth with scallions (again, I just used onions and it turned out good), garlic, and ginger in blender and pulse until mixture is minced. Set aside.

3) Heat 1 teaspoon of the oil in a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Add onion and bell pepper and cook 5 minutes, or until vegetables are just tender. Transfer vegetables to bowl and cover to retain heat.

4) Add remaining oil to pan over medium-high heat. Add scallion mixture (or onion mixture in my case) and cook 1 minute, stirring constantly. Add pork and soy sauce and cook 4 minutes, or until pork is nearly done. Add remaining broth and bring to a boil.

5) Add broccoli to skillet and cook, stirring, 3 minutes, or until broccoli is cooked through. Add onion and bell pepper back to skillet. Devide stir-fry among 4 plates and garnish with sesame seeds.

Nurtrition Info:

Servings - 4

Per serving:

Calories - 240

Protein - 28g

Carbs - 12g

Fiber - 4g

Fat - 9g

Sat Fat - 3g

Sodium - 290mg

I served this with steamed carrots and corn-on-the-cob. It was a huge hit at my house and will now be a regular meal around here! The leftovers warmed up really well too.

Let me know if you try this and how it turned out for you!

Clean Eating Sesame Mango Chicken with Whole Grain Rice

Since I have been trying out clean recipes and learning how to cook in a whole new way, I am venturing out and challenging myself. I am making things with ingredients that I normally wouldn't eat, like tomatoes, mangoes and limes. :) 

I found this recipe on http://recipes.sparkpeople.com.

There are 2 parts to this recipe: rice and sesame mango chicken.

I LOVED this but my family was less than impressed...maybe it's because I'm used to eating clean now and they only try out a few meals here and there. I'm sure that makes a difference!

Anyway, here is the recipe!

Ingredients:

Rice -

*2 1/2 cups Water

*2 Tsp Salsa

(I would recommend adding more than 2 Tsp of Salsa! I used a clean salsa I bought at Trader Joe's.)

*1 cup brown whole grain rice

Chicken -

*2 tbsp Sesame Seeds

*1 tsp Olive Oil (I used Extra Virgin)

*1 Lb Boneless, skinless Chicken Breasts

*4 Cloves of Garlic, minced

*1/4 tsp Ginger

*1/4 tsp fresh ground Black Pepper

*1 Mango

*3 Medium on-the-vine Tomatoes

*Juice from half a Lime

Directions:

1) Prepare rice according to package directions, adding salsa and water at the same time.

(Note: I made more than 1 cup of rice because I like leftovers but 4 Tsp of salsa wasn't enough...my rice was a little bland. It was easy to add more salsa to the leftovers before warming up, but if you're making more rice, add a lot more salsa now.)

2) Toast sesame seeds over low heat for 2-3 minutes until golden brown. Move to a plate and allow to cool.

3) Pour olive oil in pan, swirl and add chicken. Sprinkle with garlic, ginger, and black pepper.

Increase heat to medium and cook about 4 minutes on each side, stir occasionally.

4) Add diced mango to pan, spooning evenly over chicken. Saute mango for about 2 minutes stirring occasionally.

5) Add tomatoes and squeeze lime juice over top. Simmer for about 5 minutes, until tomato is hot and mango is juicy.

6) Stir in sesame seeds and serve over rice.

Nutritional Information:

Number of servings - 4

 Calories - 171.5

Fat - 4.5g

Carbohydrates - 27.6

Protein - 7.4

Enjoy! Let me know your thoughts on this if you try it out on your family!

Weight Loss Journey Update: Week 8 - Clean Eating

I have successfully completed 8 weeks of eating right and exercising on a regular basis.
I have lost 14 pounds and only have 9 more to go to reach my pre-pregnancy weight!
It is coming off slow and steady and I am proud of myself for sticking with it and making progress!

Since my diet plays a HUGE role in losing weight, I have started eating "clean." This means that I am focusing on eating more natural foods and sticking with fruits, vegetables, and protein. It has been a gradual (and hard) transition and it's a big change from anything I've ever done before. I researched it for almost a month before I even began buying new ingredients to make meals.

I am learning to cook with spices now and it's been interesting to say the least. I have messed up some meals while others have been edible. Poor Dan doesn't really look forward to dinner time anymore! I actually think he's scared sometimes! (Sorry, Dear!) Making healthy food taste as good as bad food is a challenge since we're so used to the bad food. Hopefully it'll get better as I learn more and try more things out! :)

With this new clean eating concept, I am eating 5-6 small meals a day (every 2-3 hours) that include a protein and a healthy carb like fruits and vegetables. I was very skeptical that eating more often would help me lose weight, but it's actually working! I am enjoying a lot of the foods I am trying out too!

I don't have anyone guiding me or giving me advice on what works best, so I have gotten most of my information online. I am still trying to figure out all the "in's" and "out's." My first day was a trip! I was checking everything I ate and trying to do everything perfect but I honestly had no clue what I was doing. In reality, I just did the best I could.

I have been keeping a food journal and I'm going to list my first day's attempt here. Don't laugh! :) I have been doing this for 2 weeks now so I have figured out to rotate snack and meal type meals so I don't get hungry. The first day I didn't really think of that...I was just trying to get in the proteins and carbs at each meal.

Day 1:

1) 9:45am - 2 scrambled eggs, banana, milk

(I get up earlier than this, but I don't eat right away. I have started eating only 1 egg since this.)

2) 12:00pm - apple, almonds

3) 2:00pm - broccoli, carrots, and green peppers with hummus

4) 4:00pm - rotisserie chicken, steamed mixed vegetables

5) 6:00pm - chicken breast, steamed carrots, mashed potatoes 

6) 8:00pm - plain oatmeal with strawberries and kiwi

If anyone follows a clean eating lifestyle and can share what you do, I'd love to hear about it!

I'd also LOVE to have any good "clean" recipes you enjoy!!!!

Enough of my diet plan! :)

As far as exercising, I am thrilled to say that I finished my 8 week "Couch to 5K" program over the weekend!!!! This is such a big step for me!!!!

I am still really slow but I can actually run for 35 minutes without stopping now! I have no clue if it's equivalent to 3.1 miles, but in my book that is a success!

I have about 3 weeks before the 5K run so I'm planning to keep practicing and try to improve my time. This program is no joke and took a lot of work! I am so glad that I started and finished it though because it really did help me get to where I wanted to be.

I am still doing Zumba and Kickboxing 3 days a week also. I really enjoy these classes and it's nice that we do weight training and work our abs in each class too. Last week I actually saw a muscle in the back of my arm! :)

That's my 8 week weight loss progress. How's your weight loss going?

Clean Eating Honey Balsamic Chicken and Asian Style Sesame Ginger Asparagus

I am slowly getting into this clean eating thing. (That just means my diet consists of all natural food...mainly fruits and vegetables with protein thrown in there.) The food is pretty good...just more work to plan and prepare. It is a tough transition, but my family is being very patient with me as I try new things out. :) Earlier this week, I made Honey Balsamic Chicken with Asian Style Sesame Ginger Asparagus. It was pretty yummy!

Here are the recipes if you're interested in trying them out for yourself.

Clean Eating Asian Style Sesame Ginger Asparagus

I got this recipe from http://www.thegraciouspantry.com/. This website is neat because each recipe usually has a section called "Munchkin Helpers" where she tells you how little ones can help you cook each dish. I love that!

This was very easy and tasted good. I have at least one thing I may tweak next time I make this. I'll add my notes into the recipe so you'll know what I would do differently.

Notice they don't give measurements on how much of each ingredient you need? I'm fairly new to cooking with a lot of spices so I just guessed on how much looked good and it worked out okay.

Ingredients:

*Fresh Asparagus, cleaned

*Olive or Sesame Oil (I used Extra Virgin Olive Oil)

*Garlic Powder

*Sesame Seeds

*Ginger

Directions:

1) On a parchment lined cookie sheet, spread out the asparagus in a single layer.

2) Sprinkle all of the seasonings, one at a time, over the top of the asparagus...

starting with oil and then the rest.

(Note: The next time I make this, I am going to use more extra virgin olive oil so the asparagus is all sitting in it. I may even flip them halfway though cooking because the tops were a little hard when it was finished while the bottoms were soft from sitting in the oil. We like ours softer.)

3) Bake at 350* for 30-45 minutes or until cooked the way you like it. (I baked mine for 35 minutes.)

Clean Eating Honey Balsamic Chicken

I got this recipe off http://recipes.sparkpeople.com/. I love this website because they also include the nutrition facts! That makes calorie counting so much easier!

This recipe was delicious!!!! I will be making this a regular main dish to my menu. Dan ate 2 pieces and was talking about going back for a 3rd. He said it was like eating at a restaurant!

It only took about 20 minutes to make too!

Ingredients:

*1 1/2 tsp of dried Thyme

*1/2 tsp Salt

*1/4 tsp Black Pepper

*1 tsp Olive Oil (I used Extra Virgin Olive Oil)

*1 lb Chicken Breast (I used 3 chicken breasts, halved)

*2 Tbsp Balsamic Vinegar

*2 Tbsp Honey

Directions:

1) Combine Thyme, Salt and Pepper. Sprinkle over both sides of the chicken.

2) Heat oil in a large nonstick skillet over medium heat. Add chicken and cook for 7-8 minutes on each side or until chicken is done.

3) Transfer chicken to a platter and keep warm.

4) Reduce heat to medium-low and add vinegar and honey to pan. Simmer 1 minute or until glaze thickens, stir constantly.

5) Pour glaze over chicken.

Nutrition Facts:

4 Servings

Calories - 173.3

Fat - 2.6g

Carbohydrates - 10.1

Protein - 26.3

I hope you can use these recipes for your family. They are healthy and tasty! Please let me know if you try them and what your thoughts are on it.