Day 19: 210 Calorie Chicken Soft Taco

January 27, 2012 by

So I made a great find at HEB (my favorite grocery store down here in Texas). They have a product line of fully cooked meats that are easy to prepare. Preparation just involves microwaving. I found some cooked shredded chicken and used it to make a delicious chicken soft taco that is only 210 calories.

Ingredients:

  • 1/3 cup HEB Fully Cooked Shredded Chicken (but if you don’t have a HEB, you could cook your own chicken and shred it)
  • 1 Mission Carb Control Whole Wheat Tortilla
  • 1/2 slice Tillamook Pepper Jack cheese (or 1/2 oz of your favorite cheese)

The fully cooked shredded chicken:
Shredded Chicken
The Mission Whole Wheat Tortillas are very tasty. If you’re going to have a tortilla, have one of these – not the all white super enriched flour tortillas. I actually prefer these over the white:
Carb Balance
And of course, my favorite – Tillamook Pepper Jack Cheese:
seriuosly yummy...
Heat up the shredded chicken in the microwave for 60 seconds. Take out and place on tortilla. Then place the half slice of cheese on top of the meat:
before microwave
Then, microwave for 20 or 25 seconds to melt the cheese and heat up the tortilla. One a side note, when heating up a tortilla in the microwave, place a paper towel underneath the tortilla. It will absorb any condensation and prevent the tortilla from becomming soggy.
mmmmelty
Mmmmm….melty yumminess. Wrap up and enjoy! Add some salsa or tabasco if you would like for a zestier taste!
yummy
mmmmmm
Nutritional Content:

Calories 210
Protein 20.5g
Carbs 14g
Fiber 10g
Fat 8g
Filed Under: Body For Life, Nutrition, Recipes Tagged With:

Day 18: Protein Shakes – Myoplex Lite vs Muscle Milk Light

January 26, 2012 by

As one of the 5-6 meals, I’ve generally been drinking a protein shake. I know it is cheaper to buy the powder and mix it up yourself, but I just bought a round of the pre-packaged ones to try out. They do cost a little more, but if you buy them in bulk and try to find a coupon you can generally get one for around $1.50. Right now, I have a variety of two types that I’m rotating between:
Muscle Milk and Myoplex Lite
I picked up a 24-pack of the Myoplex Lite Chocolate Fudge at Amazon for $39.84 ($1.66 each). This was about the same price as at our local grocery store, but it’s hard to beat the convenience of having them delivered to your front door. I haven’t tried it yet, but Amazon offers 15% off if you sign up to have them delivered automatically each month (or every 2nd or 3rd month — you choose the frequency). Not a bad idea. I’ve been thinking about doing that with all of our common household items. Figure out how often we go through them and sign up on Amazon for auto-delivery so we don’t ever have to think about those things and can save time at the grocery store.

Back on topic…I picked up the Muscle Milk Light at Costco when they had a $6 off coupon. I don’t remember what I paid for them, but I believe it was around the same per package. Now, to compare the two. The Muscle Milk tastes better, but probably because it has twice the fat…and that is even with the light version! 2g vs 4g. It’s not a true one-to-one comparison, though, as the Muscle Milk Light is more concentrated (8.25 oz vs 11 oz). Each containst 20g of protein. The Muscle Milk has only 9g of carbs, though, compared to Myoplex Lite’s 20g. As far as all around nutrition goes, the Myoplex Lite has more nutritional value than the Muscle Milk Light.

Myoplex Lite Chocolate Fudge
Muscle Milk Light Nutritional Info

Winners:

Protein Content TIE
Lowest Fat Content Myoplex Lite
Lowest Carbs Muscle Milk Light
Overall Nutritional Value Myoplex Lite
Taste Muscle Milk

There really is no clear winner in my mind. Both shakes are good and have their strengths. I like to stock multiple protein shakes for variety so I don’t get tired of one particular brand and burn out. I used to cringe at the idea of drinking a protein shake years ago, but really like the taste of them now. Maybe it’s an acquired taste, or maybe they have just gotten better at making them taste good over the years. Either way, they’re great to down after a workout.

Filed Under: Body For Life, Nutrition, Technology Tagged With: ,

Day 15: PBA, not to be confused with PDA or PBJ

January 23, 2012 by

PDA makes a great snack…if you’re 14. PBA makes a great snack for all ages, though (Peanut Butter and an Apple). The peanut butter is high in protein and the apple is rich in carbs (the good kind). Yes, there is fat in peanut butter, but your fats should generally come from plants (i.e. peanuts, avacodo), not meats (like Whataburger). The apple and peanut butter must have dated in a previous life, because it is match made of yumminess in a nutshell (pun intended). Don’t buy the peanut butter at the store that has a bunch of added sugar, though. Why do most food manufacturers think they need to add sugar to everything? Peanuts are naturally yummy without anything added to them. Get the natural peanut butter. I think it tastes way better than the other stuff anyway besides being healthier.
PBA
Sometimes it is hard to estimate an exact serving of peanut butter. How do you measure out 2 Tbsp with out it all sticking to the spoon and everything? I found an easy way with this measuring thingy that my wife bought years ago from a Pampered Chef party. Who ever invented calling those things parties? Not really what I think of when I think of a party. Parties shouldn’t involve pressure to buy a bunch of crap you probably don’t need. In this case, I guess I’m glad she bought this one particular item. You just push on the tube inside of the tube until it lines up with 2 Tbsp. Then shove peanut butter in there until it is to the top.
PBA
With Pampered Chef
When you’re done, just aim it at the plate, and push the inside of the barrel out and the peanut butter plops out easily on the plate. Use a knife to scrap once against it and it all comes right out. Done. Easy. Consume. Yummy.
PBA

On another note, yesterday (Sunday) I did DDR for my cardio as planned. I was having so much fun that I ended up doing it for an hour (geek). My 10-year old son joined in with me on player 2 – good times. How many of you spend your Sunday afternoon doing DDR with your son? I knew it! There are a lot of closet DDR-ers (word?) out there in the world. Told ya so.

Filed Under: Body For Life, Nutrition Tagged With:

Day 14: 220 Calorie Egg Whites & Cheese Breakfast Sandwich

January 22, 2012 by

I kicked off week 3 on Body For Life today with a super yummy egg white and cheese breakfast sandwich.
Yummy Breakfast Sandwich
The great thing about it is that it has only 220 calories! It is made from egg whites and is loaded with protein and low in fat. To make it, first gather up your ingredients:

  • 3/4 cup egg whites
  • 1 piece of wheat bread
  • 1 slice of cheese
  • PAM cooking spray

The egg whites I used were All Whites Egg Whites:
Egg Whites
The cheese I used is Tillamook Pepper Jack that I got at Costco, but any cheese will do.
Super Yummy Cheese
The bread I used is Nature’s Own Double Fiber Wheat, which is only 50 calories per slice. I also like it because it doesn’t have any high fructose corn syrup or artificial crap like many breads do.
Really Low Calorie Bread
Pre-heat the frying pan on a medium temperature (I did 5 on my gas stove). Once the pan is warm enough to where a water drop fizzles when dropped in it, spray the pan with PAM and pour in 3/4 cup of egg whites. Scramble the eggs until they are starting to solidy, but are still moist:
Scrambled Egg Whites
Gather the eggs towards the middle of the frying pan and place the slice of cheese on top of the eggs. While holding the cheese, use the spatula to gather up any extra eggs and place them under the cheese. Repeat on all four sides until the eggs are all under the square area of the cheese.
Forming the Eggs
Once all of the eggs are under the cheese, turn the heat down a little (I turned my gas stove down to 4). Put the toast in the toaster now.
Toaster
About the time the toast pops up, the eggs should be just right, having molded together into form with the cheese melted over the top of them. Gently run the spatula under each side to ensure that none of it is sticking to the pan.
Scooping the eggs
Grab your toast
Toast
And plop the eggs and cheese down on top of it. It should fit perfectly. Enjoy!

Yummy Breakfast Sandwich
Egg Sandwich Close Up
Nutritional Information

Calories 220
Protein 29 g
Fat 6.5 g
Carbs 14 g
Sugar 1 g
Filed Under: Body For Life, Nutrition, Recipes Tagged With: ,

Day 12: Food Should Taste Good

January 20, 2012 by

Food Should Taste Good tastes good. No, I didn’t screw up that sentence. There is actually a brand called “Food Should Taste Good” – and it really does taste good! They have an entire line of healthy crackers/chips. I still haven’t decided whether they are chips or crackers. They are technically listed as a “Tortilla Chip (it’s a cracker too)” – so I guess it’s whatever you want it to be. The original flavor is Multigrain:
Food Should Taste Good
I guess I’ll post the link to the Food Should Taste Good Website even though it is an annoying 100% flash based website. The only flash based website that gets my approval is homestarrunner.com. The cheat is not dead.

I digress…back on topic now. The entire line is Gluten Free for those of you who can’t have gluten. The original Multigrain is probably my favorite, although I haven’t tried all of them yet. I pick them up at Sprouts and have also found them at Costco. Amazon also has them if you can’t find them at any of your local grocery stores.

These are great with hummus, salsa, Laughing Cow Cheese Wedges, or any other sort of healthy snack dip you can think of. In addition to being healthy and tasting good, they have the following benefits:

  • Gluten Free
  • Kosher (OU)
  • Low Sodium
  • Trans Fat Free
  • Lactose Free
  • No Preservatives
  • Cholesterol Free

I’ve become a big fan of these since I discovered them about a year ago. If you haven’t tried them, go check them out. Bag the bag of chips and replace them with a healthy snack like these!

Filed Under: Body For Life, Nutrition Tagged With: , ,
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