Pizza delivery...delicious and nutritious!

I'm still here...just ridiculously busy! Hence the 6:45 am post. Yes, I am already in my office. Yes, I have already finished a chapter of reading this morning. Yes, I was here until 8:30 last night. Yes, I am exhausted.

I don't have a new recipe for you today (sadly :-( I haven't cooked at home in so long I can barely remember), but I DO have a new favorite pizza that I've been ordering for those late-night study sessions, and I wanted to share it!

Obviously, this isn't the "perfect" nutritional balance, but it's not a bad option when you're in a bind and need some carry out. I always have lettuce around, so I usually just toss my own salad to go along with it (with one of my homemade salad dressings, of course! No chemicals/preservatives in my salad, thank you!)

Ok, so here is how I make my pizza...I like to order online, so it's easy to be picky and not feel like I'm seriously confusing whoever is on the other side of the phone

Crust: Thin! Whole wheat is best of course, but I haven't been able to find it. If you know of somewhere with whole wheat thin crust pizza, please leave a comment and let me know!


Cheese: Go easy...you don't need a massive bite of cheese to get that gooey cheesy taste. A little goes a long way.


Meat: Grilled chicken breast or even Canadian bacon...steer clear of sausage, pepperoni, bacon, hamburger, etc. These are loaded with saturated fat.


Veggies: Onion, bell pepper, mushroom, black olives, tomato, jalapeno...anything goes! This is the where you can really go crazy with your pizza. Onion, mushroom, and tomato? Pineapple and jalapeno? All of the above? You choose!

You're looking at about 200 calories per slice, plus MUCH lower in saturated fat, because you're cutting out the greasy meats (could be more...I used an online calorie counter to estimate, so keep that in mind if you're really watching your calorie intake. Most places have nutrition information online, so you can always check there).

This means that 2 slices of pizza plus a salad with 1 tbsp homemade vinaigrette is a complete meal with tons of veggies, some lean protein, healthy fat, and even whole grains if you find somewhere with whole wheat crust. Pizza anyone?

Healthy Lunch Ideas

So sorry for disappearing for a while! My first full week of school had me as busy as can be, so my blog took the back burner temporarily. I've been spending a TON of time at school, some days for both lunch AND dinner. Because of this, I've been packing a lot of food to bring with me (I have a fridge in my office).

Here are some of my healthy brown-bag lunch/dinner suggestions!

1. Sandwiches/wraps- use whole wheat bread or tortillas for these

Traditional turkey sandwich - turkey breast, slice of swiss cheese, lettuce, sliced red onion, dijon mustard.

Southwest wrap - pre-cooked/leftover chicken, black beans, frozen corn kernels (thawed), diced tomato, cilantro, onion, lime juice and/or salsa

Grilled veggie sandwich or wrap - the night before, grill up some sliced zucchini and sliced portobello. Put the veggies in wrap or on a sandwich with some roasted red pepper (you can find this in a jar/can), a slice of provolone, pesto or hummus


2. Salads

Greek salad - romaine, olives, diced tomato, red onion, pepproccini, grilled chicken, greek dressing (mix 1/4 cup red wine vinegar, 3/4 cup extra virgin olive oil, 1/2 tsp dijon, 1 tsp each of oregano, basil, minced garlic, minced shallot, plus S&P to taste)

Pesto salad - mixed greens, diced pimentos (found in a jar), chopped artichoke hearts, pesto dressing, chicken or chickpeas (mix 1 part pre-made pesto, 1 part red wine vinegar)


3. My all time favorite packed lunch...leftovers!


Made a healthy dinner the night before? Bring some with you the next day! Most schools/offices have access to a microwave, so you can reheat and repeat your healthy meal.


The best part of bringing your lunch is that you make sure that you give yourself a healthy option and nothing else! When lunch time rolls around, you don't head to the nearest drive thru or dining hall, because all you need is already packed in your lunch.

The second best part? Saving money! No eating out plus getting rid of leftovers equals big savings! On my grad school budget, this is a HUGE bonus :-)

Southwest Scram

I can't believe classes start tomorrow. I'm excited and nervous and scared and really happy all at the same time. I'll keep y'all posted on how my first week goes.

I always make new school-year resolutions, because for students, this is really the start of our year. It gives me a goal and something to work towards, which keeps me more focused in my classes and in other parts of my life. Here's my list of new year's resolutions:

1. Watch my spending, i.e., eat out less than 2 times a week, use more coupons, etc.

2. Finish all of my school work during the week, so I can have weekends free!

3. Keep improving my healthy habits! I've come a long way in the past few weeks, so my plan is to keep up the good work even with a crazy schedule.

Part of goal #1 for me is not letting so much food go bad. I throw away so much food, whether it's leftovers, produce that spoils, or sour milk. That was my dilemma this morning: I knew that a bunch of my produce was running out of time, so I wanted to make something that used as much of it as possible. 

I started raiding my produce drawer, and I found these things: red bell pepper, jalapeño, red onion, cilantro, and 1/2 a can of black beans that I had leftover from the other night. All of these ingredients were screaming "something southwestern!" so I started chopping...and this is what I came up with:

HealthEasy Southwest Scram

Ingredients:

3 tbsp finely chopped red bell pepper

3 tbsp finely chopped red onion

1 tbsp minced fresh jalapeño

2 tbsp canned black beans, drained and rinsed

2 tbsp frozen corn kernels

3 egg whites

1 tbsp salsa (your choice!)

Fresh cilantro leaves to taste

Directions:

In a nonstick skillet sprayed with cooking spray, combine peppers and onion. Cook until onion starts to become translucent. Add in the black beans and corn and cook until both are heated through. Add the egg whites and scramble everything together. Cook until egg is fully cooked and firm. Top with cilantro and salsa.

***You could also add some diced tomatoes in with the black beans and corn! My tomatoes were looking a little sad, so I thought it was best to leave them out.

Good luck to everybody starting classes this week! 

Berry-Banana Shake

I've never set specific fitness/diet goals before (aside from "eat better" and "exercise more"), and I decided it's time to start!

Current goal: Weight training 3-4 times a week for the next 2 weeks. Doable? Totally!

On that note...post-workout, especially if you're doing muscle building exercise, you want to make sure your body is getting plenty of protein and good carbs. It speeds up the recovery process and gives you energy. Smoothies are a great option for getting both of these! This recipe comes from my new diet plan from Tone It Up.

Side note: If you haven't heard of Tone It Up, I'm pretty much obsessed. It's these two trainers/nutrition coaches from California, and they have recipes, workouts, tips, and a bunch more. It's been a huge inspiration and motivator for me. There's even an online community full of other people who have the same struggles/successes on their health journey. Thanks to Annie for introducing me to TIU!

Mid-Morning Shake
Ingredients:
1/2 a banana
1/4 cup strawberries, halved (I just used 3 frozen whole strawberries)
1/4 cup blueberries (also frozen)
1 tsp all-natural 100% maple syrup
1 scoop vanilla protein powder (I used whey)
1 cup almond or rice milk (I used unsweetened vanilla almond milk)

Blend everything together until smooth!


Easy - check. Delicious - check.

Product Reviews: Snack Bars

I require constant feeding. After 4 hours of not eating, I'm a completely different (and unpleasant) person. Like those snickers commercials where tough guys get turned into Betty White because they're hungry.

So I eat a lot of on-the-go, easy to keep with me snacks, like snack bars. It's taken me a while to find some I really like, but I've finally found some winners. Here's my take on a few!

Best for weight loss: ThinkThin

These are high protein, with a low glycemic index (meaning they have a low impact on our blood glucose levels, thus reducing the amount of insulin our body produces and preventing the "sugar crash"). They're a little bit dense, but still delicious.


Most natural: LaraBars

I ate a banana bread LaraBar the other day with three ingredients: Almonds, dates, unsweetened banana. In our preservative drenched world, it's almost unheard of to find something with a list of ingredients that we can recognize. The only bad part: dried fruit does tend to contain a lot of sugar, so this is not a good one to eat if you're watching your sugar intake.

Best all around: Luna

I've always been a loyal Luna bar consumer. They're usually less than 200 calories, and they're certified organic. These are also considered a low glycemic food. I think these taste the best too. The texture isn't too dense, so you don't have to chew for ages to take a bite. My favorite part though...they've added vitamins and minerals. It's like eating a vitamin bar :-)

PomeCranate Spritzer

I'm unpacked! It's been a long week of unpacking, doing laundry, cleaning, and decorating (not to toot my own horn or anything, but my apartment is pretty adorable. I'm kind of obsessed with it.). Time to celebrate being settled into my new home, being on my own for the first time, and moving into the next phase of my life!

PomeCranate Spritzer
Ingredients:
1.5 oz. (1 shot) vodka
1.5 oz. pomegranate cranberry juice
Fresh squeeze juice from half a lime
Lime flavored sparkling water (like La Croix, but I use the generic stuff)
Ice

Fill a tall glass with ice. Add the vodka, pomegranate cranberry juice, and lime juice. Top with sparkling water.

Cheers!

Tilapia Ceviche

Today was another 100+ degree day in south Texas. When I was planning my dinner, I couldn't bring myself to use a stove or oven and make my apartment (and myself) even hotter. Cold ceviche sounded perfect. I actually only tried it for the first time a week ago, and I decided that I've really been missing out. I picked this particular recipe (one of Emeril's. Here's the original recipe) because it didn't use tomato and cucumber (two things I'm not a fan of, but if you like them, they would be great additions to this!).

Recipe Notes: This is my modified version of his recipe. I used more veggies and different fish, but otherwise I followed it pretty closely.

Tilapia Ceviche:

Ingredients:
1/4 lb. fresh tilapia
2 tbsp red bell pepper, diced
2 tbsp orange (or yellow) bell pepper, diced
1 tbsp serrano pepper, finely diced
2 tbsp red onion, minced
1 garlic clove, minced
Juice from 3 fresh limes
Juice from 1 fresh orange
2 tbsp pineapple juice
1 tbsp chopped fresh cilantro
1 tsp extra virgin olive oil
1/2 tsp kosher salt


Cut the fish into 1/4-inch dice. Place in a glass dish with the lime juice, orange juice, pineapple juice, peppers, onions, and garlic, tossing to coat. Cover and refrigerate for 3 to 4 hours, stirring occasionally.

Drain about half of the juice. Add the cilantro, olive oil, and salt. Fold gently to mix.

Comments: This was SUPER easy to make. It's another great "before you go to work" recipe that will be ready to go when you get home. I just ate it with a fork, but you can also put it on baked tortilla chips. This was the perfect "cool and refreshing" meal! I would have to be in the mood for it, but it was definitely a do-over :-)