Healthy Teriyaki Chicken & Vegetables Stir Fry

Eating healthy for dinner is really easy and delicious if you pick the correct ingredients! I was craving stir fry yesterday and today I finally got the chance to make dinner for me and my boyfriend.  I found some teriyaki sauce that was only 10 calories a serving and it was low sodium too at only 160g!  The recipe I’m about to post is for two people, so adjust accordingly if you are making it for just yourself or a family!  I was worried I didn’t make enough rice, since this recipe only yields 2 cups of rice, so you may want to make a little more rice if you choose.  The amount of veggies and chicken on the plate filled me up though so it ended up being a fine amount.

Teriyaki Chicken & Vegetables Stir Fry

Ingredients (2 servings)

• 2 chicken breasts
• Olive oil
• 1 bag of frozen Asian style vegetables (or fresh vegetables if you prefer!)
• LaChoy Stir Fry Teriyaki Sauce
• Uncle Ben’s Instant Brown Rice
• Any spices you want to use (I just used salt, pepper, and red pepper flakes)

Directions

1. Cut the chicken breasts into ~3/4 inch pieces.
2. In a large pan, heat up a little oil and cook the chicken until cooked through.  Season the chicken while cooking with your preferred spices.
3. While the chicken is cooking, follow directions on the box for cooking 2 cups of brown rice (1 cup of water and 1/4 cup uncooked brown rice).  Make more if you prefer to have a little more rice.
4. When there are about 6-7 minutes left on the chicken and rice, follow the directions on the bag for cooking frozen vegetables or add fresh vegetables to the chicken.
5. Pour 2 tbsp of teriyaki sauce into the pan and coat the chicken (and fresh vegetables).  Let the teriyaki sauce cook into the chicken for a couple minutes.
6. Upon serving chicken and vegetables on the brown rice (1 cup of cooked rice on each plate), drizzle some extra teriyaki sauce (or you can use soy or Sriracha sauce) on top for an added finish.
7. Enjoy!

Nutrition Information

• Serving size: 1 chicken breast, 1 cup rice, 1/2 bag vegetables)
• Calories: 390
• Fat: 2.5g
• Carbs: 43g
• Fiber: 3g

Baked Banana Chips

Banana chips make for a great healthy snack when you’re on the run and need something quick.  You can bake up a bunch of bananas at once and store the chips to eat at a later time, and most importantly, the recipe is very easy!  When baked, the natural sugars in the bananas will combine with the cinnamon and caramelize on the bananas.

Baked Banana Chips

Ingredients

• Bananas or plantains (plantains are bigger and easier to work with, plus they make a larger amount of chips!)
• Cinnamon
• Cooking spray or parchment paper

Instructions

1. Heat the oven to 250°.  Spray some cooking spray or lay down parchment paper on a cooking sheet.
2. Slice bananas/plantains to approximately 1/8th of an inch and lay out the slices on a cooking sheet.
3. Sprinkle cinnamon on top of the banana slices.
4. Bake in the oven for approximately 15 minutes.
5. After 15 minutes, remove from the oven and flip the banana slices.  Sprinkle cinnamon on top of the other side of the banana slices and put back in the oven for another 15 minutes.
6. After that 15 minutes, the bananas should be turning a light brown color from the caramelizing of the natural sugars and the cinnamon.  If they are not light brown yet, flip the banana slices again and put in for another 5-10 minutes.
7. Remove from the oven and let cool for approximately 5 minutes.  Banana chips will harden when out of the oven while cooling, so don’t expect to see the banana chips entirely harden in the oven or else you will over-cook the chips and burn them.

Nutrition Information

• Serving size: 1 banana
• Calories: 131
• Total Fat: 0.7g
• Carbohydrates: 33g
• Fiber: 4g

HBO’s The Weight of the Nation Documentary: Watch All Four Parts Below

Part 1: Consequences

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Part 2: Choices

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Part 3: Children in Crisis

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Part 4: Challenges

Understanding Nutrition Labels

Understanding the ins and outs of nutrition labels is important if you are watching what you are eating.  Some of the things on the label can be confusing, so I have created a guide for you for each part of a nutrition label so you know what to look for when purchasing products that fit with your dietary needs and goals.

Fast Food Burgers Comparison: McDonald’s, Burger King, Wendy’s

Before you go out for a fast food run while you’re on the road or just needing a quick dinner, take a look at this comparison of burgers from McDonald’s, Burger King, and Wendy’s.  In this post, I am comparing McDonald’s Double Quarter Pounder with Cheese, Burger King’s Whopper with Cheese, and Wendy’s Hot ‘N Juicy Burger.  I chose to use a double quarter pounder instead of a single quarter pounder to keep the size of the burgers relatively equal, as the single quarter pounder is a bit smaller than the other burgers in weight comparison.

Burger 1: McDonald’s Double Quarter Pounder with Cheese

We’re not off to a good start here. One burger is 740 calories, and if you’re on a 2000 calorie a day diet, that’s nearly HALF of your daily intake!  Not only that, but after one burger, 95% of your daily intake of saturated fat has already been consumed!  This burger also contains ~3g of trans fat, which SHOULD ultimately be zero if you can avoid it.  There’s nothing good about consuming trans fat.  The sodium level is also extremely high. (If you are curious about the nutrition information for the single quarter pounder with cheese, it is 510 calories, 26g of fat with 12g of saturated fat and 2g of trans fat, 1,180mg of sodium, 42g of carbs, and 90mg of cholesterol.)

Burger 2: Burger King’s Whopper with Cheese

This burger is slightly less calories at 710, but with barely any difference.  It is still very high in fat and sodium, despite having lower percentages of daily values compared to the McDonalds burger.  There is also 1g of trans fat in this burger.  This burger is not a good option if you are truly looking for a something quick to pick up, especially if you were planning on getting fries and a drink too.

Burger 3: Wendy’s Hot ‘N Juicy Single 1/4 Pound Burger

Finally, we have Wendy’s burger.  Compared to the other two burgers, this one has significantly less calories at 540, but is still high in sodium, carbs, and cholesterol.  It has nearly half the fat of the other two burgers, and has just 1g of trans fat, similar to the Burger King Whopper.  Those are really the only noteworthy differences for the Wendy’s burger.

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VERDICT: If you had to choose between these three fast food chains and eat a burger, I would choose Wendy’s or the McDonald’s SINGLE Quarter Pounder, but that does not mean that you SHOULD eat one of these burgers!  If you are needing to make a stop and still want a burger, I would highly suggest getting the smallest burger offered and skipping out on the fries.  Skipping out on soda or juice for a cup of water will also not only save you money, but save your health too!  There are many other healthier options at fast food restaurants that have recently been added, so before you jump to choose a burger, ask about the nutritional information or look it up online so you can make a healthier choice when you’re faced with the choice of having to eat out.

Low-Calorie Strawberry Margarita

As the spring semester (and my undergraduate career) comes to an end, my friends and I are all ready to let off some steam and relax with a couple drinks. If I were to go out to a restaurant or bar and order a margarita, I can expect my margarita to be anywhere from 550 to 750 calories! Instead, I chose to make a margarita at home for over a fifth of the calories. This strawberry margarita uses fresh strawberries and a teaspoon of sugar (or two if you prefer your margaritas to be sweeter).

Low-calorie strawberry margarita

Ingredients

• 4 fresh strawberries
• 1.5 oz tequila
• 1-2 tsp sugar (I used agave nectar)
• Ice

Directions

• Combine strawberries (cut in half), tequila, and sugar in a individual cup blender and top off with ice.
• Blend until smooth and pour into another glass.
• Garnish the side of the glass with a strawberry if desired.
• Drink up!

Nutrition (varies by amount of sugar used)

• Calories: 110-130
• Carbs: 11-17g
• Fiber: 1g

Healthy Apple Cinnamon Cupcakes

Healthy Apple Cinnamon Cupcakes

I didn’t think it’d be possible to actually make cupcakes be less than 200 calories, but somehow I succeeded. I was craving some kind of dessert and found a recipe that sounded really good, but when I looked at the nutrition information, one cupcake was nearly 600 calories and 30 grams of fat! So I gave myself a challenge of taking this recipe and switching out the ingredients to make a healthier but still delicious cupcake and add some icing to top it off. These cupcakes are closer to a muffin consistency, so they technically could be an addition to a healthy breakfast or eaten as a dessert. If you decide to try this recipe out, let me know what you think! If you are on a low-carb diet, unfortunately these cupcakes are a bit high in carbs due to the agave nectar and whole wheat flour. I only had small muffin pans available to me, so my batch of batter made 16 small cupcakes, but it will be enough to make 12 regular sized cupcakes.

Ingredients

Cupcake:

• 1 1/2 cups whole wheat flour
• 1/2 cup light agave nectar
• 2 apples, peeled and chopped
• 1/3 cup olive oil
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
• 2 teaspoons baking powder
• 3 tbsp egg whites (equal to 1 egg if you don’t have egg whites)
• 1/3 cup milk (I used plain soy milk)

Icing:

• 1/2 cup plain Greek yogurt (I used Stonyfield Farm)
• 1/4 cup confectioner’s sugar
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 1 tsp cinnamon

Directions

1. Heat oven to 400 and prepare muffin pan with baking cups.
2. In a large bowl, combine flour, salt, cinnamon, and baking powder and stir.
3. Add in agave nectar, egg whites, milk, and oil, continuing to stir.  Slowly stir in chopped apples.
4. Scoop batter into baking cups, filling up 2/3 of the cup.
5. Bake for 20-25 minutes or until a toothpick poked into a cupcake comes out clean.
6. Move to baking sheet and let cool for 20-30 minutes.
7. While cupcakes are baking, in a small bowl, combine Greek yogurt, vanilla extract, and cinnamon, and sift the confectioner’s sugar into the bowl, then stir.  Place into the fridge for approximately 30-35 minutes to slightly thicken.
8. Upon cooling of cupcakes, spread 1/2 tbsp of icing on each cupcake.  It should be enough to cover most of the top.

Nutrition Information

• Serving size: 1 cupcake with 1/2 tbsp icing
• Servings: 12 cupcakes
• Calories: 181
• Total fat: 7g
• Total carbs: 38g
• Total fiber: 4g

Book Review – The Weight of the Nation: Surprising Lessons About Diets, Food, and Fat

The Weight of the Nation: Surprising Lessons About Diets, Food, and Fat

If you’re looking to make a lifelong change in your eating and active living, you should take a moment to purchase this book here or here. “The Weight of the Nation” takes a look at our growing obesity epidemic, laying out the facts, and goes into great detail on what’s wrong and why we need to change. It gives you the honest truth: losing weight is hard, and maintaining weight loss is even harder. Among the detailed explanations of how far we have come from natural foods and the external forces working against us in our fight to lose weight are success stories and tidbits of information of little changes that can make big differences in our lives. The book closes with some tips for healthy eating and active living, being healthy throughout pregnancy, and the benefits and risks of bariatric surgery. As a companion book to the upcoming HBO documentary series of the same name, this easy read is well worth your time if you are interested in making a healthy change in your life, your community, and even at the national level.

If you have not watched the trailer for HBO’s upcoming documentary, I have embedded it below for your viewing pleasure.  The growing obesity epidemic is a serious problem in our nation and in many other countries throughout the world and we just aren’t doing enough about it to make a necessary change.

(This review is almost verbatim from my Amazon review, found here.)

Become a Happier Person

Improving your mood improves your level of motivation and overall quality of life.  Check out these tips for some ideas on how you can become a happier person.

Accept yourself

Everybody has imperfections, and everybody has something they aren’t happy about.  But there are some things that just cannot be changed and others that take a long time to change.  Accept yourself for who you are and embrace your imperfections.  Be proud of who are now and how far you have come.

Take a breather

We live in a fast paced world and we value time as our most prized possession. However, while we are so worried about using our time productively, we end up missing some important lessons along the way.  Slow down and take a breather. Meditate, go for a walk, do anything that will just let you slow down your perspective of time, even if it is just for a little while.  Be present in the moment rather than worrying so much about the future.

Quit worrying over the small things

In the long run, what you got on a homework assignment, that party you didn’t get invited to, or that hurtful thing somebody said to you won’t matter.  You won’t even remember it happened.  We tend to get too caught up in the small events in our lives and we let them control how we feel for the rest of the day or even month.  Just let these small things go and put them behind you.  10 years from now you won’t remember them anyway.

Change your perspective

Sometimes when we spend too much time looking at the same things, the things we are looking at lose their meaning.  It can be as simple as rearranging a room or two so you have a new perspective, even if your own home.  Traveling is an option too, and it can be as simple as going for a walk through a local park or as far as traveling to another country.  If it gives you a new perspective, it gives you a new opportunity to look at things in a completely different way.

Count your blessings

Gratitude makes us happier people.  There will always be something you can’t do or have, but you should be grateful for what you do have.  Take a moment to thank those people who have helped you at some point in their life.  You’ll feel good from giving them your thanks, and they’ll feel good from receiving a thanks.  It’s a win-win situation.  It’s also good to find opportunity in adversity. When you fall, get up and continue on.  We did this as toddlers and we can do this now that we’re older.

Let go of the people who are holding you back

Having negative people in your life is similar to having a black storm cloud over your head at all times.  When you are at your best, they’ll do something to (usually unintentionally) bring you down.  Letting go of the negative sometimes involves letting go of some people in your life.  A good rule of thumb is if they aren’t with you at your worst, they don’t deserve to be with you at your best. If they’re holding you back, get rid of them.  It’s like weight is being lifted off your shoulders.

Set (and achieve) attainable goals

Achieving a goal is always a feel-good moment. Setting attainable goals allows you to have something to work towards, and achieving the goal gives you a sense of accomplishment, which is a definite mood booster.  Attainable is the key word here, as if you set a goal to, say, buy a new car in a month when you’re working a part time minimum wage job, the goal isn’t very attainable unless you have a lot of money already saved up. Think of some short-term goals and work to reach those goals.

 

A College Student’s Shopping List for Healthy Eating

As a college student, I know how difficult it is to budget what limited money is available, and it’s especially difficult to eat healthy when you only have a small amount of money to work with each month that can be put towards food.  I have created a shopping list for you to use as a guide for your grocery shopping, as these are the things I normally buy when I go shopping.  I usually keep to a budget of $100 a month, so some things are only purchased when they are on sale.  Click on the image below or click here to view a PDF of the shopping list so you can print it off.  Of course, this isn’t just for college students, but as a college student buying food for only myself and my boyfriend, I find it to be convenient.

• To save money, just buy certain fruits and vegetables when they are in season or on sale.  You can adjust your meals accordingly and you can make yourself try new things this way.
• Some fats and oils are needed, but make sure to have them in moderation.  Natural peanut butter is on the list because I find it really easy to make a quick peanut butter sandwich when I’m in a rush.  Just make sure you read over the nutrition label of the jar of peanut butter to make sure you know what you will be consuming and you can choose the best one for you.
• It’s important to buy whole grain pasta if you are going to be eating pasta, as the whole grain pasta has more fiber, protein, and unfortified vitamins.