Breakfast: Egg Stuffed Bell Pepper

This morning I wanted to create my own breakfast (inspired by Fitness Magazine's Easy, Cheesy Baked Egg).  I experimented and boy did I enjoy it!  I am sitting here writing my blog, and I am stuffed!  I hope you enjoy!

Breakfast: Egg Stuffed Bell Pepper
Serving: 1
# of Calories (Egg Stuffed Bell Pepper): 168
# of Calories (Full Plate Below): 274

 Ingredients:
1 Slice Tomato
1 tsp Parmesan Cheese
1 Green Bell Pepper
1 egg
1 egg white
1 tbsp Best Damn HOT Salsa (see my recipe on previous post)
1 tsp butter
1 tsp 2% milk

Non-stick Cooking Spray

Directions:
1) Set oven to broil
2) Cut top off of bell pepper and clean out inside
3) Place bell pepper on a non-stick pan and place in oven.
4) Once bell pepper starts to char around the ring (see photo) begin preparing egg mixture.
5) Mix egg, egg white, butter, milk together and place in a pan coated with non-stick cooking spray on medium heat.
6) Scramble mixture and continue cooking until mixture is solid (no longer runny)  then mix in salsa.
7) Pull bell pepper out of the oven and place egg mixture inside the bell pepper.
8) Place sliced tomato on top of egg mixture (to fill hole) and then top with 1 tsp of Parmesan cheese.
9) Place bell pepper back in over and cook until cheese is well melted and slightly browning.  Then remove and enjoy!

I served this with 1 cup 50/.50 Spring Mix salad topped with 1 tbsp Kraft Italian Roasted Red Pepper Dressing and 6 strawberries topped with 1 tbsp Cool-Whip.

Tips for Healthy Grocery Shopping

Video:Make a Healthy Grocery List

with Lynn Reynolds

Learning how to properly make a healthy grocery list before heading to the store can save you money and slim your waist. Here, see instructions for making a healthy grocery list.

Supermarket Savvy

Ward offers this checklist for making healthier food choices in every department of your supermarket:

1. Produce. Spend the most time in the produce section, the first area you encounter in most grocery stores (and usually the largest). Choose a rainbow of colorful fruits and vegetables. The colors reflect the different vitamin, mineral, and phytonutrient content of each fruit or vegetable.
2. Breads, Cereals, and Pasta. Choose the least processed foods that are made from whole grains. For example, regular oatmeal is preferable to instant oatmeal. But even instant oatmeal is a whole grain, and a good choice.
   When choosing whole-grain cereals, aim for at least 4 grams of fiber per serving, and the less sugar, the better. Keep in mind that 1 level teaspoon of sugar equals 4 grams and let this guide your selections. Ward points out that cereals -- even those with added sugar -- make great vehicles for milk, yogurt, and/or fruit. Avoid granolas, even the low-fat variety; they tend to have more fat and sugar than other cereals.
   Bread, pasta, rice, and grains offer more opportunities to work whole grains into your diet. Choose whole-wheat bread and pastas, brown rice, grain mixes, quinoa, bulgur, and barley. To help your family get used to whole grains, you can start out with whole-wheat blends and slowly transition to 100% whole-wheat pasta and breads.
3. Meat, Fish, and Poultry. The American Heart Association recommends two servings of fish a week. Ward recommends salmon because people often like it, and it's widely available, affordable, not too fishy, and a good source of omega-3 fatty acids. Be sure to choose lean cuts of meat (like round, top sirloin, and tenderloin), opt for skinless poultry, and watch your portion sizes.
4. Dairy. Dairy foods are an excellent source of bone-building calcium and vitamin D. There are plenty of low-fat and nonfat options to help you get three servings a day, including drinkable and single-serve tube yogurts, and pre-portioned cheeses. If you enjoy higher-fat cheeses, no problem -- just keep your portions small.
5. Frozen Foods. Frozen fruits and vegetables (without sauce) are a convenient way to help fill in the produce gap, especially in winter. Some of Ward's frozen favorites include whole-grain waffles for snacks or meals, portion-controlled bagels, 100% juices for marinades and beverages, and plain cheese pizza that she jazzes up with an extra dose of skim mozzarella cheese and a variety of veggies.
6. Canned and Dried Foods. Keep a variety of canned vegetables, fruits, and beans on hand to toss into soups, salads, pasta, or rice dishes. Whenever possible, choose vegetables without added salt, and fruit packed in juice. Tuna packed in water, low-fat soups, nut butters, olive and canola oils, and assorted vinegars should be in every healthy pantry.

Nestle offers these simple solutions to savvy shopping without spending hours in the grocery store:

• Shop the perimeter of the grocery store, where fresh foods like fruits, vegetables, dairy, meat, and fish are usually located. Avoid the center aisles where junk foods lurk.
• Choose "real" foods, such as 100% fruit juice or 100% whole-grain items with as little processing and as few additives as possible. If you want more salt or sugar, add it yourself.
• Stay clear of foods with cartoons on the label that are targeted to children. If you don't want your kids eating junk foods, don't have them in the house.
• Avoiding foods that contain more than five ingredients, artificial ingredients, or ingredients you can't pronounce.

Published May 26, 2006

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SOURCES: Marion Nestle, PhD, MPH, professor of nutrition, New York University; author, What to Eat: An Aisle-by-Aisle Guide to Savvy Food Choices and Good Eating. Elizabeth Ward, RD, author,The Pocket Idiot's Guide to the New Food Pyramids.

©2006 WebMD Inc. All rights reserved.

My Recipe: Easy Chicken Mozzarella

This evening I made my Chicken Mozzarella (easy style).  I plugged the ingredients in the recipe creator on www.myfitnesspal.com.  I was happy to see the calorie count.    Since there are three of us and my son does not like rice I had to break my recipe into two (see below).  Altogether my calories for my portion ( 1 of each below) was 341.  I had it with a side salad and a little ranch.  Yumm!  The recipe will be in my recipe section (top of my blog).

Chicken Mozzarella (Chicken/Tomatoes/Cheese Only)
Number of servings

Serves  people

Ingredients	Calories	Carbs	Fat	Protein
Aldi Fit & Active - Light String Cheese: Mozzarella 24 g (1piece), 48 g	100	1	5	14
Perdue - Thin Sliced Chicken Breast, 4 Breast Piece	320	0	4	68
Happy Harvest - Stewed Tomatoes, 7 \2 cup	245	56	0	7
Add Ingredient

Total:	665	57	9	89
Per Serving:	166	14	2	22

Chicken Mozzarella (Brown Rice Mix)
Number of servings

Serves  people

Ingredients	Calories	Carbs	Fat	Protein
Aldi Fit & Active - Instant Brown Rice, 1 cup (42g) dry - 2/3 cup cooked	300	66	2	8
Aldi Casa Mamita - Diced Tomatoes and Green Chilies, 1 1/4 cup (121g)	50	10	0	3
Add Ingredient

Total:	350	76	2	11
Per Serving:	175	38	1	6

Sorry for the crappy photos.  They were taken with my IPod.  

Brown Rice with Tomatoes & Diced Green Chilies

Chicken with Stewed Tomatoes

Chicken with Rice, Tomatoes & Mozzarella with a side salad

Subway: Is It Really Healthy

I have ate Subway 6 days in a row (Fri, Sat, Sun, Mon, Tues, Wed).  On Wednesday, I actually ate it for breakfast AND dinner.  This is because I am trying to watch my calories, AND it tasted so good AND it was so filling that I wanted it over and over again.

However, after a few days I noticed that my face started breaking out.  Now, I had some pimples on the side of my chin which I am almost sure are from hormones (it's the cycle y'all).  However, I broke out pretty bad on my forehead.

Now, let me just tell you that I am not prone to acne.  When I do get a pimple I usually only get one or two.  This time I had a lot.

Ironically, I did NOT eat Subway today, and I came across this article on Prevention Magazine's website.  It is titled, "10 400-Calorie Subway Meals- Exposed!."

My favorite sub is the Turkey Breast Sub.  I love having a 6" sub with 9 grain whole wheat bread with a little turkey and a whole lot of veggies (can't forget the oil/vinegar blend).

Well, guess which sub was the first one on their list?  You got it! My favorite one!!!!

Come to find out, my TURKEY has 12 ingredients!!!!  My bread has 41!!!!!  Oh, and I quote (about my bread), "you’ll find diacetyl tartaric acid esters of monoglycerides—a dough conditioner that is forbidden in any product sold at Whole Foods Market—and azodicarbonamide, another dough conditioner that is banned in Europe and Australia."

Really?!?!?!  Not to mention that my TURKEY has a ton of preservatives.

So I ask myself, is this scientifically engineered sub what caused my acne?  Was it an allergic reaction to something found in the 53 ingredients (not counting my veggies or oil blend)?  Since some food allergies don't pop up unless ate in excess (which Subway six days in a row is a little excessive) one would have to conclude that it is highly likely.

I didn't finish reading the results about the other 9 subs.  I was too afraid too.  However, if you are a Subway lover like me, you might want to read up on your "healthy" choices.