Blueberry Zucchini Muffins

3 eggs
1/4 C canola oil
3/4 C no sugar added applesauce
1 C splenda
1 C sugar
3 C whole wheat flour
1 tsp salt
1 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp baking powder
3 tsp cinnamon
2 C peeled, grated zucchini
3 tsp vanilla or lemon extract
2 C blueberries
1 C chocolate chips (opt)

Mix all ingredients together and evenly divide among 24 muffin cups.  I like to spray the muffin tin instead of using paper liners.  Bake at 325 degrees for 20-25 minutes or until set.  These are great for a snack or with breakfast.  You would never know they have zucchini!

Each muffin w/o the chocolate chips has 122 calories, 3.5g protein, 24g carbs, 3g fat, and 3g fiber.
Each muffin w/ the chocolate chips has 156 calories, 3.5g protein, 29g carbs, 5g fat, and 3g fiber.  If you use lemon extract, don't add the chocolate chips. 

Turkey Enchiladas

This is a favorite at our house.

1 1/2 lbs ground turkey
5 tsp taco seasoning (salt free is best)
onion, to taste (dehydrated or fresh)
1 can black beans, rinsed
1/3 C. greek yogurt, fat-free
15 oz can Green Chile Enchilada Sauce
10 oz can Red Enchilada Sauce
10 whole wheat tortillas (I like Maya brand, 70 cals/piece)
4 oz 75% reduced sharp Cabot cheese, finely grated (Wal-mart)

Brown the turkey with the taco seasoning and onion.  Stir in the black beans.  In a separate bowl, mix the green and red enchilada sauce with the greek yogurt.  Place 2 large spoon-fulls of sauce mix with the meat mix.  Evenly distribute the meat mix among the 10 tortillas, using about 1/2 cup of the meat mixture in each tortilla.  Roll up and place in a lightly greased 9x13 pan, with 8 in a row and 2 on the side.  Pour remaining sauce on top and sprinkle cheese over all of it.  Place in a 375 degree oven for 20 minutes or until heated through and the cheese is melted.  About 265 calories for 1 enchilada.  Serve with a salad and some veggies for a complete meal.  This freezes well in individual portions for lunches.  If you get the larger cans of enchilada sauce you can add the extra if desired.

Oatmeal Cake

Cake:
1 1/2 c. boiling water
1 c. rolled oats
1/2 c. applesauce
1 c. unpacked brown sugar
1 c. splenda
4 egg whites
1 1/2 c. whole wheat flour
1 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp nutmeg
1 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt

Place oats and boiling water in a bowl and let stand until cool.  Cream applesauce, sugars, and egg whites together.  Add all other dry ingredients and oats. Pour into a 9x13 pan, that has been lightly sprayed with pam or olive oil.  Bake at 350 degrees for 20-25 minutes or until edges are browned and a toothpick inserted comes out clean, a few crumbs are okay.  Immediately spread topping on hot cake and put under the broiler for 1-2 minutes. 

Topping:
3 Tbsp butter
1 c. unpacked brown sugar
1/3 c. 1% milk
1 c. coconut
1 tsp vanilla

Melt butter and mix all other ingredients together.  Pour on hot cake and place under broiler 1-2 minutes.

Makes 15 servings, 207 calories.  This recipe was adapted from the Lion House Cookbook.  The original calorie count was 400 calories per slice.  You can add nuts to your topping if you desire, just remember, nuts are calorie dense.

Chicken Teriyaki Stir Fry

This recipe is fast and easy to make.

4 oz rice noodles (I like A Taste of Thai thin, straight cut noodles @ Macey's)
1 tsp olive or sesame oil
1 lb boneless, skinless, trimmed chicken thighs, cut into bite size pieces
6 cups frozen stir fry vegetables
1/2 cup + 1 Tbsp Simply Boulder Truly Teriyaki Sauce (can be found at Harmon's)

Place rice noodles in a bowl and cover with very hot water.  Let soak for 15-20 minutes until soft.  Meanwhile, place oil and chicken in a hot wok or large skillet.  Cook until done.  Add the frozen veggies teriyaki sauce, and noodles and heat through.  Serve immediately.  Makes 4 generous servings, 370 calories a serving.

You can eliminate the rice noodles and 1 Tbsp of the Teriyaki sauce.  It will cut out 105 calories a serving.

Feeling Discouraged?

Making a lifestyle change of any kind can be difficult.  So don't feel discouraged if you aren't doing as well as you would like to.  Small steps bring about great change.  As I look back over my journey all I see are the small steps I took and the little things I changed that got me to where I am today.  I still have to remind myself of those things every once in a while.  Old habits die hard, right?  Now that we're on our third week, I hope you are seeing changes in yourself and that by becoming more active, you actually have more energy.  If you would like to share some of your successes or discouragements, please do so in the comment section.  We can all cheer or help each other along.

Fasting and Sleeping

For those of you who fast once a month for religious or medical reasons, you can automatically take 6 good food points and your breakfast points on the day you fast.  You can still brush your teeth when you fast, so you will have to earn those on your own.  Also when you fast it will be almost impossible to get 5 fruits and veggies so if you eat 2 veggies and 1 fruit on the days you fast, you can still earn your 5+ fruit and veggie points.  So for example if I fasted 2 meals last Sunday, I could earn 6 good food points and my breakfast points.  If I ate 2 veggies for dinner along with another healthy food and a fruit (maybe dessert) then I would get my other 4 good food points.  Because I had veggies for dinner and fruit for dessert I would earn my 5+ fruit and veggie points. You can still earn the extra 2 points for a raw veggie and more veggie than fruit on these days.

Sleeping is really important and I know it is hard to make time for it.  The sleep points are for one chunk of sleep.  If you sleep 5 hours at night and take a 2 hour nap in the day, you can't combine the time and take the points.  This is because you are not reaping the benefits as if you had slept 7 hours at one time.  Part of this challenge is learning to take control of your life again, and that means taking time for you.  Set up boundaries for you and your family and share your goals so that everyone is on board and can help you reach them.

Keep up the good work!  :)

Fruit Smoothie Recipe

1 cup Greek yogurt
1/2 cup 1% milk
8 medium strawberries
1 medium peach
1 packet Truvia (optional)

Mix in a blender and serve.  Makes 2 servings.  Per serving: 153 calories, 15g protein, 18g carbs, 1g fat, 2g fiber.

Variation 1: instead of peach use 1/2 cup of mixed berries, 152 calories, 14g protein, 17g carbs, 1g fat, 2g fiber
Variation 2: instead of peach use 1 small banana (6-7") 160 calories, 15g protein, 25g carbs, 1g fat, 3g fiber