Chicken and Shrimp Jambalaya Cleaned up!

A Cajun staple! If you can not have shrimp, like me, add extra chicken!
Enjoy!!

2 lbs shrimp
2 lbs chicken - cut into bite size pieces
2 onions chopped
2 bell pepper chopped ( any color!)
2 stalks of celery chopped
Garlic - 2 tsp powder or use a few fresh cloves
15 oz can of no sugar added tomato sauce
3 cups of  no salt chicken broth  ( more if it dries out!)
Red pepper to taste ( some like it hot!)
 3 cups Brown rice
1 tsp olive oil ( just enough to soften veggies)

In a large pot saute' veggies ( onion, bell pepper, celery and garlic) in olive oil til soft.
Add chicken to pot and cook til mostly done. Add shrimp and cook til almost done ( do not over cook shrimp!)
Add everything else to pot. Cook on med heat til rice is done. Watch pot and stir often. Add more chicken broth if it gets to dry.

You can add more bell pepper and celery if you like, my husband is picky about his veggies so I try to use as few as I can get away with and still have flavor. 

Calorie Counting..Friend or Foe?

I know everyone has heard they should count calories. I also know what a pain in the rear it can be. The way the world works Ladies and Gents is
how much you eat + how much you move = how much you weigh
It sucks, I know! I struggle just to remember to write everything down that I eat, we are not even going to get into how many things do not have the calorie count beside them in my food journal!
 We will get into food journals later but simply put..write down anything that goes past your lips! This is the only true way to know how many calories you are eating. Every little bit adds up! Chewed a piece of gum? It might have calories. That taste you took while cooking? Yep it has those bad boys in it also.
Not all calories are created equal. You can eat something unhealthy that is equal to 400 calories or you can eat something healthy that is 400 calories. Now they might be the same number, and you might come in under your total calories for the day. In fact you will even still lose weight! Problem is the unhealthy food is not going to give you all the things the healthy choice does.
So let me tell you why I LOVE CALORIE COUNTING! Just because something is a pain does not mean you can not love it! ( Ask any mother or wife!)
Southern girls love to eat! We are brought up that when you get together with friends and family...you eat! Some people get all caught up in the bad food / good food view of eating. Like I said before it is different and you should be aware of that fact.  Good news for use Southern Girls is bad or good the calories still add up. If you are eating healthy foods the majority of the time and you have a holiday or get together coming up, feel free to eat what you want. Just watch your calories! This is not going to stop your weight loss as long as your daily intake does not go over what you are allowed to have.
Now some people like to go over and then just work out harder to burn it off. Yes I guess this would work. I am not going to go 30 more minutes on the treadmill for a bite of cheesecake. Not worth it to me!
So this is a very simplistic view and I am sure this topic will be revisited at some point, but alas it is Saturday and I got places to go and people to meet! Have a great day readers!

Easy plus Kid & Waistline friendly > Pizzadillias!

This is a quick and super easy meal that is also waistline friendly and tastes great! There are two different ways you can make this, in the oven or on the stovetop. We make them on the stove and my kids even make their own. If your kids are too young or you just want to make a larger batch at once use the oven! This is also a great meal if you are trying to eat healthy and your family is not on the wagon with you just yet. You can make modifications and come on its pizza!

Pizzadillas

Whole Wheat Tortillas
Fat Free Mozzarella Cheese
Turkey Pepperoni ( This is a little expensive, if you get the reg pepperoni only put a few!)
Pizza sauce
Anything else you would like in your pizza!
Great thing about this recipe is you can stick any type of Fat Free Cheese you like, the veggies you like whatever! Stay away from any added fats!

Stove : Heat up a skillet with a small amount of Pam in it. Put tortilla in pan, after about 30 sec ( when it gets warm) flip, on one side of the tortilla put your cheese and toppings. Flip tortilla in half and flip til crispy on both sides! Serve with Pizza sauce on side. ( We sometimes put the pizza sauce inside it just depends, always use a light hand though!)

Oven : Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Lay tortillas on baking sheet. Add toppings. Bake for 5 min. Remove from oven and fold each tortilla in half, make sure it one "seals". Bake 5 more min or until brown. Flip and bake 5 min or until brown on other side. ( You see why we choose the stove)



Topping Ideas:
Chicken, Ground Turkey, Turkey sausage, Onions, bell peppers, Tomatoes, avocados, herbs..the possibilities are endless.
I have even thought about doing a Mexican style one with salsa, cilantro, grilled chicken, onion, bell pepper and avocado with the Fat Free Mexican blend cheese!



You can have this as the center of the meal or if you want some sides...
small salad, broccoli, California mix, sweet potato patties or fries...once again so many to chose!


 >>>>>I know this is not the most Southern meal but I found it to be kinda a comfort food. I mean it is pizza! It was also a HUGE hit with my family and we use all the healthy ingredients
 and the kids still wanted to make more because it was that tasty! ENJOY!!!

Clean Eating, my definition

You hear tons about clean eating in the fitness world. To some it means one thing to others another. I wanted to give everyone an idea of what I consider clean eating. To me it is making healthy whole food choices. Period. Yep it is that simple. If you want to go organic by all means do so, but for my meal planning I do what I can.
I think everyone makes things so complicated these days. It is time to go back to a simple way of life and thinking. What did our ancestors eat? Well they did not have fast food. They ate fruits and veggies that they grew. This also had them eating seasonal crops, when you are living miles away from your nearest neighbor you can not just order a watermelon in January. Now I am not saying I am 100% seasonal. In fact I think it is a huge blessing that we can eat most fruits and veggies at any time of the year. That being said, if you can go to your local farmers market, or grow your own, that is always the best. Might not all ways be the most practical though.

So here is a few guidelines I use in my "clean eating"

1. Drink water!!! I know I know you hear that all the time! It is true! Cut out those sodas!!! Even the diet ones are so bad for our bodies it is unreal! I must say though Southern girls need ICED TEA! So drink one! If you can do unsweetened all the better, I can not. But there are a ton of artificial and natural sweeteners that are ok in moderation! I personally drink 3-4 large Sonic teas with 1 packet of sweet n low a week. When I am finished with the tea I just add some water to my cup. Same thing goes for coffee, if you must have it then have it but remember moderation!! I have actually found that if I drink a bottle or large glass of water as soon as I wake up I do not want coffee as much. It has really helped me with that habit!

 2. Fruits and Veggies>>> Like I said if you want to go organic you can, that is your choice. The fresh section in your local HEB / Market Basket is your FRIEND! If you must do canned fruits, only in juice and with as little to no sugar as you can find! Canned veggies are ok but try to get the no salt added, it also helps keep sodium down if you rinse the veggies once they are out of the can. Same goes for frozen veggies. Now frozen veggies have become the staple in my home. I have found they have less salt than the canned. I love steamables!!! Great for when you are the only one at home!

 3. Meats / Protein >>> Lean, but you already knew that didn't you. Chicken is going to be you new BFF. To me it is the most value for you money, and you can do anything with it! If you do ground turkey make sure it is the white meat! The cheaper brands are just as high in fat as getting ground meat. I have found that sometimes it is better to just go ahead and get the leanest ground meat because it is cheaper and just as lean as the turkey. Roasts and steaks are the same way, leanest cuts or cut the fat off yourself. What Southern kitchen can not cook a roast now and again? Eggs...oh man what more can I say? Boiled, scrambled, over easy...and yes it the yolk! I said we are southern here, and no southerner is gonna eat an egg white and really like it. Peanut butter...this gets a little tricky. Most commercial brands have tons of sugar. You can make your own or buy the peanuts only kind at HEB. There are some that have lower sugar if you are a PB lover and need to wean yourself.

 4. Breads, Pasta & Rice >>> No respectable cajun would not have rice in the house! Brown is best, but sometimes you just gotta have white. If you must have white, moderation! I have found I love the steam bags of rice in the freezer section! This also helps if you are the only one in the house that is eating brown rice and everyone else wants white, which happens in my house. Pasta and bread..once again wheat. I want to take a moment and make sure you guys realize that just because it says wheat and it is brown does not mean it is really wheat! Sometimes those tricky companies just add coloring to make it brown. READ LABELS!! If the first ingredient is not whole wheat then put it back, it is not worth it to buy that when you can just be getting the white.

 5. Meal prep >>> I will get more detailed on this later but to make it simple. Pick a day of the week, cook as much as you can, store it in some containers and stick it in the fridge or freezer. THIS IS A LIFE SAVER!!! I do not prep all meals but I do prep. It has saved my butt so many times. Let's be honest most of us work, it is really easy to stop by the drive thru and grab a bite instead of coming home and cooking. If you take the time to prep, you have easy good for your food at your fingertips! Yes you can still go out to eat sometimes. Just make the best choices that you can when you go. Most places have the nutritional information on their website. Look at it. Be informed about what you are putting in your body!

Ok Ladies and Gents, that is all for now. I am sure most of these things will be talked about over and over and in more detail. Main thing I want you to remember is this>>> KEEP IT SIMPLE! IF YOU DO NOT KNOW WHAT IS IN IT SO NOT EAT IT!

Here we go!

Hello everyone!!! My name is Rachel and I am from a little town in Southeast Texas. People here are used to home style, southern and cajun cooking. This is the journey of how I took that and made it healthy! I feed a family and every meal I post will be eaten and rated by my family! My husband and two teenage boys are very honest! I will also be decoding some of the fitness information into simple terms that anyone can understand! I feel like the fitness industry has become way to over flooded with conflicting information and this keeps people from a healthy lifestyle. This is not a get fit instantly page. This is a lifestyle change that will keep the weight off for life. I am not a personal trainer, yet, nor am I a nutritionist. This is all information that I use in my life day to day.