Healthy Meal of the Week

Hey all!  I know it’s been a few weeks but I’m back with a new “Healthy Meal of the Week”!  This week I made “Pork Chops with Roasted Apples and Onions” with some haricots verts and mustard vinaigrette for the side all from the September 2012 issue of CookingLight.  It turned out very yummy and was a hit with Scarlett.  Try it out for yourself!

Ingredients:

2 ½ teaspoons canola oil, divided

1 ½ cups frozen pearl onions, thawed

2 cups Gala apple wedges

1 tablespoon butter, divided

2 teaspoons fresh thyme leaves

½ teaspoon kosher salt, divided

½ teaspoons freshly ground black pepper, divided

4 (6-ounce) bone-in center-cut pork loin chops (about ½ inch thick)

½ cup fat-free, lower-sodium chicken broth

½ teaspoon all-purpose flour

1 teaspoon vinegar

Directions:

1.  Preheat oven to 400°.

2.  Heat a large ovenproof skillet over medium-high heat.  Add 1 teaspoon oil to pan; swirl to coat.  Pat onions dry with a paper towel.  Add onions to pan; cook 2 minutes or until lightly browned, stirring once.  Add apple to pan; place in oven  Bake at 400° for 10 minutes or until onions and apple are tender.  Stir in 2 teaspoons butter, thyme, ¼ teaspoon salt, and ¼ teaspoon pepper.

3.  Heat a large skillet over medium-high heat.  Sprinkle pork with remaining ¼ teaspoon salt and ¼ teaspoon pepper.  Add remaining 1 ½ teaspoons oil to pan; swirl to coat.  Add pork to pan; cook 3 minutes on each side or until desired degree of doneness.  Remove pork from pan; keep warm.  Combine broth and flour in a small bowl, stirring with a whisk.  Add broth mixture to pan; bring to a boil, scraping pan to loosen browned bits.  Cook 1 minute or until reduced to ¼ cup.  Stir in vinegar and remaining 1 teaspoon butter.  Serve sauce with pork and apple mixture.

Serves 4 (serving size:  1 chop, about 1 tablespoon sauce, and ¾ cup apple mixture)

Nutritional information:  240 calories; 10g total fat (3.3g saturated fat; 4.1g mono.; 1.4g poly); 24.9g protein; 11g carbohydrates; 1.5g fiber; 84mg cholesterol; 1mg iron; 379mg sodium; 28mg calcium

For Haricots Verts and Mustard Vinaigrette:

Cook 2 (8-ounce) packages microwave-in-a-bag fresh haricots verts according to package directions.  Combine 1 ½ teaspoons olive oil, 1 ½ teaspoons cider vinegar, 1 teaspoon stone-ground mustard, ¼ teaspoon kosher salt, and ¼ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper in a medium bowl.  Add beans; toss well to coat.

Serves 4

Nutritional information:  51 calories; 1.8g total fat (0.3g saturated fat); 143mg sodium

Healthy Meal of the Week

Good evening all!  For this week’s healthy meal I made “Light Chicken Enchiladas” from the September 2012 issue of Food Network.  This was the first time I’ve ever made any type of chicken enchiladas and they still managed to turn out really yummy!  Check it out below and try for yourself!

Ingredients:

2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil, plus more for brushing

1 to 2 jalapeño peppers, seeded and sliced

3 cloves garlic, smashed

½ teaspoon dried thyme or 1 ½ teaspoons fresh thyme

1 medium onion, minced

½ pound skinless, boneless chicken breast, halved lengthwise

Kosher salt

3 to 4 tomatoes (about 1 ½ pounds),cored and roughly chopped

½ teaspoon ground allspice

8 corn tortillas

1 ½ cups shredded muenster cheese (about 6 ounces)

1 cup mixed fresh parsley and cilantro, chopped

Directions:

1.  Preheat the oven to 450°.  Heat 1 tablespoon olive oil in large skillet over medium-high heat.  Add the jalapeño, garlic, thyme and half the onion.  Cook, stirring, until soft, about 3 minutes.  Add the chicken and cook until the chicken is tender, about 6 minutes.

2.  Remove the chicken to a plate.  Transfer the cooking liquid and vegetables to a blender; add the tomatoes and allspice and puree with the lid ajar.  Wipe out the skillet, add the remaining 1 tablespoon olive oil and place over medium-high heat.  Add the tomato mixture and cook until slightly reduced, 6 minutes.  Pour into a baking dish.

3.  Brush the tortillas with olive oil and put on a baking sheet; bake 5 minutes.  Shred the chicken.  Top each tortilla with chicken and cheese, then roll up and arrange in the baking dish, seam-side down, spooning some sauce on top.  Bake until the cheese melts, 4 minutes.

4.  Toss the herbs, remaining onion and salt to taste.  Sprinkle on top.

Serves 4 (serving size:  2 enchiladas)

Nutritional information:  452 calories; 23g total fat 92g saturated fat); 27g protein;35g carbohydrates; 4g fiber; 74mg cholesterol; 852mg sodium

Healthy Meal of the Week

Hi everyone!  It’s healthy meal time.  This week I made “Stone Fruit Chicken-Rice Salad” from CookingLight.com.  It turned out to be a really yummy meal.  It did take longer than my recent meals but that was mainly because it takes a while to pit the cherries.  I hope you all try it out!

Ingredients:

3 (6-ounce) skinless, boneless chicken breast halves, trimmed

1 teaspoon salt, divided

1/2 teaspoon black pepper, divided

Cooking spray

2 tablespoons olive oil

1 teaspoon grated lemon rind

2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice

2 teaspoons Dijon mustard

1 1/2 cups pitted, coarsely chopped nectarines

1 cup cooked brown rice, cooled

1 cup coarsely chopped pitted cherries

1/2 cup sliced green onions

1/4 cup dry-roasted almonds, chopped

3 tablespoons torn mint

Directions:

1.  Preheat grill to medium-high heat.

2.  Sprinkle both sides of chicken evenly with 1/2 teaspoon salt and 1/4 teaspoon pepper. Place chicken on a grill rack coated with cooking spray; grill 5 minutes on each side or until done. Let stand 5 minutes. Chop chicken.

3.  Combine oil, rind, juice, and mustard in a large bowl, stirring well with a whisk. Add chopped, cooked chicken, nectarines, and remaining ingredients; toss well.

Serve a bitter lettuce, like frisée, or a peppery green, such as watercress or arugula, with this savory-sweet twist on a whole-grain salad.

Serves 4 (serving size:  about 1 ¼ cup)

Nutritional information:  299 calories; 11.4g total fat (1.6g saturated fat; 7.2g mono.; 1.9g poly); 23.2g protein; 26.9g carbohydrates; 4.1g fiber; 49mg cholesterol; 1.7mg iron; 750mg sodium; 53mg calcium

Healthy Meal of the Week

Good evening all!  It’s time for this week’s healthy meal.  This week it is “Capellini with Spicy Zucchini-Tomato Sauce” from the May 2011 issue of Food Network.  It was a big hit here, very yummy.  Scarlett even when back for more; a first when it comes to the “Healthy Meal of the Week”.  It was also a quick fix, took about 35 minutes total. I hope you all try it out and enjoy it!

Ingredients:

3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil

1 clove garlic, minced

¼ teaspoon red pepper flakes

1 28-ounce can whole San Marzano tomatoes

Kosher salt

1 medium zucchini, cut into small chunks

½ pound capellini

¼ cup chopped fresh basil

Grated parmesan cheese, for topping

Directions:

1.  Heat the olive oil in a large skillet over medium heat.  Add the garlic and red pepper flakes and cook until the garlic is just golden, about 1 minute.  Crush the tomatoes into the skillet with your hands and add the juice.  Add ½ teaspoon salt and simmer, stirring occasionally, until the sauce is slightly thickened, about 15 minutes.  Add the zucchini and cook until tender-crisp, about 5 minutes.  Season with salt.

2.  Meanwhile, bring a large pot of salted water to a boil.  Add the capellini and cook as the label directs.  Drain and add to the sauce along with the basil; toss to coat.  Top with parmesan.

Serves 4

Nutritional information:  351 calories; 11g total fat (2g saturated fat); 10g protein; 52g carbohydrates; 6g fiber; 0mg cholesterol; 280mg sodium

Weekly Wrap-Up

Hey all!  Again, I’m a day late but I guess better late than never, lol.  I hope everyone had a good week last week and a nice weekend. 

I took a trip down to Oklahoma City and went outlet shopping.  I got some pretty good deals.

At the Coach Outlet I picked up a Kristen Round Satchel in “Rose” patent.  She was 40% off regular price plus the outlet was running 30% off coupons so I got her for about $250 off her original price!  This particular bag is a boutique delete.  That means it was originally manufactured for the full price boutiques and was sent to the outlet when the style was discontinued.  The outlets also have what are called “Made for Factory” bags, these are bags manufactured specifically for the outlet stores.  I have a mixture of both types and have never experienced issues with either one, they are all very nice.

Our next stop was the Michael Kors Outlet.  This was my real reason for the trip, lol. I’ve been looking at getting a Michael Kors watch for months, watching for sales at Dillard’s with no luck.  When my friend and I made plans to head to the outlets I knew that as long as they had one I liked, I’d be getting it, lol.  I found beautiful rose gold chronograph watch (model MK5026).  I love it!  Aside from silver/white gold, rose gold is the only “color” gold I like and it just looks so pretty.

My last stop was the Sak’s Fifth Avenue Off 5^th Outlet.  I always stop by one whenever I’m near just to see if they have any Christian Louboutin shoes on major markdown.  No such luck as usual L.  I did find a pair of 7 For All Mankind skinny jeans on clearance for just under $160 less than regular price and a cute sweater, also on clearance, for about $106 off regular price.  They were running a  50% off clearance sale so they were really good prices.  Plus, this past weekend was Oklahoma’s tax free weekend on apparel so that was even better.

All in all I think I did real well on items and pricing. 

I don’t really have anything else for purchases, no real beauty purchases this week.  I haven’t really seen anything I need/want.  There is a new mascara I’m planning to try soon, the Loreal “Voluminous Full Definition” mascara.  My friend Kim says it’s awesome for the price and comparable to the Giorgio Armani “Eyes to Kill” mascara but a ton cheaper.  I’m gonna try it and see.  You know how I love my Tarte mascara so we’ll see how comparable it is to that one.

Moving on, here’s “This Week’s Sales”:

Hautelook:  Sam Edelman (Monday); e.l.f Cosmetics (Wednesday); Missoni Shoes (Thursday)

Rue La La:  Prada (Wednesday); Elizabeth and James (Thursday)

Gilt:  Charlotte Ronson Beauty and Apparel (Tuesday); Ash Shoes (Wednesday); Fashion Jewelry Under $50 (Thursday)

MYHABIT:  Linea Pelle Jewelry, Linea Pelle Handbags (Friday); Villimey Organic Skincare (Saturday)

Sephora:  Tarte Amazonian Clay Bronzing Powder and Deluxe Kabuki Brush $15 (no code necessary)

Ulta:  $3.50 off any $10.00 purchase with code 75096 (exclusions apply); FREE Bamboo Uplifting Root Blast 2.2 oz with any $25 Alterna purchase (while supplies last)

And finishing up this evening is my manicure.   This week it is “Life’s a Beach” from China Glaze, a bright neon pink with slight shimmer.  Great for summer!

Well, that’s it for this week.  I hope everyone has a great week ahead!  Talk to ya’ll later! J

Outfit of the Week

Hey everyone!  I know I’m a few days late but here’s this week’s outfit.  Let me just say, it was “tourist day” at work the day I wore this but everyone thought it was a cute outfit so I figured I’d share, lol.

Here ya go!

Denim capris:  Ariya Jeans (JC Penney)

Blue tank top:  No Boundaries (Wal-Mart)

Tropics print shirt:  no brand, belongs to my husband (purchased in Spain)

Purple flip flops:  Xhilaration (Target)

Silver whale tail necklace:  no brand (locally crafted in the Galapagos Islands)

Signature strap watch:  Coach

Healthy Meal of the Week

Hey all! How’s everyone’s week so far?  Good I hope.  This week’s healthy meal is “Herbed Shrimp and White Bean Salad” from the August 2012 issue of Cooking Light.  It was very quick, only took about 20 minutes total, including chopping the herbs.  Try it out and let me know what you think!

Ingredients:

4 teaspoons sherry vinegar

4 teaspoons extra-virgin olive oil

1 tablespoon chopped fresh thyme

2 teaspoons minced fresh garlic

1 teaspoon chopped fresh rosemary

½ teaspoon black pepper

2 cups loosely packed arugula

1 cup trimmed watercress

1 cup grape tomatoes, halved

¼ cup chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley

1 (15.5 ounce) can Great Northern beans, rinsed and drained

1 tablespoon honey

1 teaspoon water

24 peeled and deveined medium shrimp (about 1 pound)

Cooking spray

¼ teaspoon salt

Directions:

1.  Combine first 6 ingredients in a large bowl; stir with a whisk.  Add arugula and next 4 ingredients (through beans) to bowl and toss to gently coat.

2.  Combine honey and 1 teaspoon water in a medium bowl, stirring with a whisk.  Add shrimp to honey mixture; toss to coat.  Heat a grill pan over medium-high heat; coat pan with cooking spray.  Sprinkle shrimp with salt.  Add shrimp to pan; cook 2 minutes on each side or until done.  Serve with salad.

Serves 4 (serving size:  6 shrimp and about 1 cup arugula mixture)

Nutritional information:  276 calories; 6.7g total fat (1g saturated fat; 3.6g mono.; 1.3g poly); 30g protein; 23.3g carbohydrates; 5.5g fiber; 172mg cholesterol; 4.7mg iron; 581mg sodium; 147mg calcium