Making my own reduced-calorie foods

I'm making more of our foods lately, which gives me a lot more control over calories.

For example, I love chicken salad sandwiches at those corner bistros and delis. I just never know how calorific the chicken salad or bread can be unless by chance the company posts nutritional info. But you can't always know those are right.

So I've decided to make my own. I haven't broken down calories, but I know that I'm not putting too much

mayo or fattier dark chicken. Plus I choose to use a tortilla (around 110 calories) instead of a croissant or heavy artisan bread. I'm also adding some flavors that I enjoy.

My latest batch was made with chicken tenders, celery, sunflower seeds, orange-flavored dried cranberries and light mayo. I've used walnuts, apple chunks, cashews, cherry-flavored dried cranberries, carrots and spinach. It's really whatever I have in the refrigerator. Sharing some pics.

I don't really follow a recipe. I just cook up a skillet full of chicken and dice it. While it cools, I chop about two stalks of celery and sprinkle in cranberries (I'll chop them so they aren't so big) and nuts for texture and taste. I add light mayo to taste — for me that just enough so that the chicken is covered, but not dripping out with each bite. I like the jalapeno cilantro tortillas at Fresh & Easy, so I use those to wrap up my chicken salad. Yum!

Seriously, simple healthy meals can be awesome

I have a serious issue with cooking healthy. It seems to be so much easier to cook unhealthy. But maybe I'm not trying hard enough.

And that seems to be my problem. I focus so much on everything else, and I come last. I had to force a change, so I've been experimenting with healthier cooking, and you know, it isn't that hard.

My favorite has been cooking up homemade chicken soup. I called my mom for help. She doesn't cook with recipes. So I just tried stuff. I found I'm horrible at writing down recipes, too, but essentially I use chicken stock (less sodium than broth), chicken tenders (breast is healthier than thigh meat), carrots, celery, a little garlic pepper, egg noodles and cilantro. The amounts can vary to your taste. I'm light on the noodles (they expand a lot) and heavy on chicken and carrots. Cook up chicken with garlic pepper to taste and cube. Return to skillet and add a cup each of celery and carrots and saute to a texture you like (I like a little crisp; my daughter likes the veggies well cooked) with a dash of chicken stock. Meanwhile boil some noodles, don't let them get mushy. About a minute before they are done, drain. Place pot with chicken stock and warm. Add noodles, chicken, celery and carrots. Simmer. Add cilantro for added flavor. Yummy.

This lead me to try making other healthy food. Without cracking a cook book, I pulled out chicken, broccoli and red peppers. I pretended like I was making the soup except with broccoli and red peppers. It was so easy, quick and satisfying to my taste buds. It took about 10 minutes for the entire thing.

All I did was put some olive oil and then some chicken breast tenders in a skillet. Put a dash of garlic pepper on top. Flipped the chicken and then again, to ensure it was cooked by moist. About two minutes before it was done, I tossed in chopped broccoli and red peppers because I had them in the fridge and I like them. You can see the result in the pic. Yummy.

All I need now is to satisfy my sweet tooth with some strawberries and yogurt.

Cheers!

Making room to work out at home

Not having a full-time job means I have less disposable income for things like the gym. But working out doesn't have to cost a fortune, right?
My problem is I don't like exercising in the family room for everyone to see, especially now that my daughter video chats every chance she can. I also hate creating a mess in a room I try to keep clean at all costs.
Go outside then, right? Well, I'm not big on outside exercise, except for walking, given my allergies and general air quality in Arizona.
My solution? Make space in my bedroom. The big problem there was clutter. I was using an exercise machine (remember the Cardio Glide?) as a clothes rack. Plus decorative boxes with papers cluttered up the room. I had no real space for exercise.
Well, thanks to illness and a desire to disinfect/spring clean, I now have space. Enough for two yoga mats. Yay!
I'm storing my exercise equipment in two boxes, so I don't see clutter. And I have DVDs handy to pop in the TV in the privacy of my room. Love it.
I can stretch while watching TV or pull out the weights. My family room stays clean in case I get drop ins. Win-win.
Let's hope this keeps me motivated for a long time.
Cheers!

P.S. The Cardio Glide is gone to the garage. I'm feeling like I'm not ready to part with it. But at least it won't attract clothes clutter.