Monday, January 12, 2015

Easy Healthy Eats

One of my goals for 2015 is to eat more veggies, and with that came a sub-goal of cooking a meal.  Well, I can cross that one off my list, because last week, I cooked TWICE.  Boom and done, right?!  No??  This is supposed to go on ALL year?  Geez.  Well, I am off to a good start, anyway.  I went the easy route, because I'm not all that interested in cooking anymore.  I bought some easy-fix items at Sam's Club:
Bag o' chicken fajita strips, bag o' fresh veggies, bag o' quinoa & brown rice.  Protein, vegetable, carb, just like that!

I tossed about half of the veggies with some olive oil, sea salt and Mural of Flavor seasonings, then spread them out on a jelly roll pan and roasted them at 425 for about 45 minutes.  Sauteed the chicken strips with Pam; heated up the quinoa/brown rice for 90 seconds in the microwave.  Everything was pretty tasty, but the roasted veggies?  We loved them!  Especially the broccoli.  I might buy a bag of just broccoli next.
I'd say we got our veggies in with this meal!  Excuse the poor coloring - zero natural light by the time dinner was ready.

I'm sure if I made the chicken and quinoa dish from scratch, there would be less sodium, but that isn't a concern for us right now.  I liked how easy it was to put this meal together - so much so that we ate it twice last week!  Next up, more roasted broccoli, and I might try fresh green beans (yes, still shopping at Sam's Club...what can I say - it's the closest grocery-type store to our house).

Emboldened by my healthy dinner, I decided to make strawberry oatmeal for breakfast.  I don't really like oatmeal, but last year I reviewed some fresh-frozen meals, and one of the items was strawberry oatmeal and I kind of liked it.  So I searched for a recipe online and made my own version.  This was the recipe I used - I halved it, and didn't throw in the banana like they called for because I didn't have any.  I probably used more strawberries than called for, too, but other than that, I followed it exactly:
The finished product!

It tasted good, but hot cereal just isn't my thing.  Which I knew, but every once in a while I feel the need to confirm.  I may be stuck in a rut when it comes to 75% of my breakfasts, but for me, nothing beats my old tried-and-true Greek yogurt, fresh strawberries, and homemade granola:
Nonfat plain Fage Greek yogurt, hearty sprinkle of cinnamon, lots of fresh strawberries, and a half cup of granola - my breakfast of champions!

This was a good start on my road to eating more veggies (and just eating better, in general).  Of course, this week is RACE WEEK - so there won't be a lot of veggies, as I need to lay off the higher fiber stuff so my stomach will be nice to me on race day.  Plus, it's time to start bringing in more carbs; but after the race, I'll get back to roasting vegetables.  It's such an easy way to cook them, and it helps to warm my kitchen as well, which is nice considering how chilly the weather has been.  Can't beat a two-for-one like that, right?

14 comments:

  1. I roast about 3 pounds of broccoli a week because it is one of the veggies Mr. Helen will regularly eat. Sometimes we eat it out right, other times, I throw it into salads, or pasta salad. Try this: 1/4 cup olive oil, 2 T lemon juice, 1 clove garlic, crushed. Pour over broccoli and toss it well, then sprinkle with kosher salt and fresh cracked pepper and roast on a cookie sheet. So good!

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    1. Oooh, the lemon juice and garlic sound like yummy additions!

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  2. Wow: she cooked twice! I almost fell of my chair LOL. The dish looks very good though and sounds tasty too. I don't roast my veggies often because it takes time and on week days I usually choose meals that take no longer than 30 minutes to prepare. But when I do, I love the taste of it.

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  3. Race week!!! SQUEEEEE!!! Much more exciting to watch someone else race than to actually do it myself!

    You know, I like broccoli plain and I like broccoli slaw in salads. But I don't like roasted broccoli. Weird, huh? Almost makes me want to try it again, like you with the hot cereal.

    Something happened, and I am totally off hot cereal this year. I still like something warm with breakfast, so I have all my pre-cooked and frozen baked items. Usually have one of those. But I LOVE the yogurt/ Shelley granola combo for lunch or for breakfast in the summer. And for some weird reason, I've never tried it with strawberries. That will be rectified shortly!

    Oh, and that granola/rice combo? I kept seeing that at Costco, but I thought you had to cook it the long way on the stove, so I never got it. Now that I know you can microwave it, I'll be getting that on my next trip!

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    1. Haha on watching someone experience race week. I agree!! ;)

      Roasted broccoli tasted kind of crispy; I was surprised at how much we liked it, honestly. And definitely try the quinoa/rice combo - 90 seconds and it's ready (and pretty tasty!).

      I should make your baked oatmeal soon. That was good, and about the only way I'll eat oatmeal other than in granola (or cookies, lol).

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  4. I am a big fan of roasted veggies; my fave: red bell peppers. They taste like CANDY if you roast the hell out of 'em for long enough.

    OK, so sometimes I goof and have charcoal-flavored candy, but I still eat 'em. Julia Child I am NOt.

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    1. Oooh, your endorsement for red bell peppers is awesome! Putting them on my list. :)

      LOL on the charcoal-flavored candy - isn't that how they are supposed to come out???

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  5. Roasting is my go-to technique for veggies, especially new-to-me veggies. I just adore broccoli in any state except raw, which I think you know.

    Go on you for getting started with the veggies this year! I love cooking, but just wish I had more time.

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    1. I have to say, the clean up of the roasting pan took longer than the prep. My kind of easy!

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  6. I'm with you on hot cereal, it's not my thing. I keep thinking I should like it, but it doesn't work. I also have my favorite granola recipe that I change up with add-ins for breakfast almost every single day. I need to try roasting more vegies, I think I just don't plan ahead enough to start the vegies for the meal.

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  7. Eeeeeeeeee, race week! I'm so excited for your Houston venture. Looking forward to all the pics and tales ;)

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  8. Race week again?!? Great easy meal ideas. I have taken to a bag of frozen stir fry veggies and a bag of frozen pre cooked chicken for my go to meal. At my house, S and I have agreed to only eat out once a day. Pathetic, right? Gotta start somewhere. I cooked two dinners in a row this weekend...IN A ROW!

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  9. I am so proud of you for cooking TWICE in a week - woop! Roasted veggies are awesome, I just need to get back to meal planning. Hannah already grocery shopped for me while I was gone, so we'll see what I can put together with that. Here's to race week! :D

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