Before I list what my Food & Fitness plans are for the coming week, it’s important to note that I added a few things to last week’s menu. There were some changes in plans and some particular foodstuffs that needed to be used…

So I totally went rogue.

Some were wins, some were fails and some were just overseasoned.

#GASP

FAILS

First, my beloved Crockpot Carnitas turned out too salty. Funny. I didn’t add any salt to that two-ingredient recipe. What was different? We used my cousin’s salsa she jarred for us as a topping. But I tasted the salsa on its own. It was not too salty at all. It would be the perfect addition to any carnitas! Then Rob checked the package of my pork loin. It was loaded with sodium! 370 mg per 130 calorie serving. How can that be? Do they inject saline into it? I even rinsed the loin after I took it out of the pacakge.

#recipefail

~

Then I made the Chocolate Chili that we love so much. Because the recipe doesn’t really call for any heat, I add cayenne and red chili flakes to taste. And I do taste it before serving. I loved the heat this go round, but Rob said it was was too much.

#sortarecipefail

We counteracted it with a dollop of sour cream.

#recipesaved

But next time, I’ll add a little of the heat at a time and have Rob taste it before adding more. I thought we had the same thoughts about heat, but it could have been just that day that we were off?

#lessonlearned

~

I was extremely excited to make this Overnight Slow Cooker Apple Cinnamon Oatmeal. And since it was low calorie, I intended to divvy it up into five bowls for the week. A little warm apple-cinnamon oatmeal sounded perfect for those bitterly cold mornings we endured last week! But upon waking on Monday morning, I found out it was blah and virtually flavorless.

#recipefail

The recipe did suggest toppings. And while my plan was to add a tablespoon of slivered almonds to each bowl every morning after reheating it, I ended up adding another teaspoon of brown sugar, too. The maple syrup suggested may have been a nice touch as well.

#recipesaved

~

WINS

Speaking of oatmeal, the weekend prior to this pas one, I got excited to use a coconut butter sample I’ve had for a while in this recipe for Coconut Cookie Dough Oatmeal. Oh, boy is this good! And decadent. It’s a little high in calories {per the Calorie Count Recipe Analysis calculator} when all is said and done. But it’s so worth it. It would even make a great dessert!

#recipewin

~

We had a last minute girls get together where I decided to host dinner, so I looked in my pantry and decided to make this Mexican Chicken Stew with my fingers crossed that I wouldn’t have to send them home hungry.

My changes: More chicken, less beans. About 20 oz of chicken and only 2 cans of beans {I don’t know how there’d be any liquid with four cans of beans!} And I decided to do one can of the Great Northern and one can of black beans. I also skipped the jalapenos because not only did I not have them on hand, but I had this can of diced tomatoes:

We loved it! For “toppings”, I served diced tomatoes, diced onions, shredded cheddar cheese, sour cream and Wholly Guacamole minis so that they could decide what they wanted to add. I loved it with the toppings; but I think in a pinch, you wouldn’t need any at all because this recipe is so flavorful.

Bonus: This makes 8 servings. So, yay for yummy leftovers for me! I also thought that we’d be craving some crusty bread, tortilla chip toppings or some sort of carb to balance this meal out. But it wasn’t necessary at all. Instead, it was so filling and delicious. I may try it with pork sometime for Rob. (Well pork without added sodium, that is.)

#recipewin

~

For dessert, I made Homemade Raspberry Frozen Yogurt based off of this recipe. I had a gigantic bag of frozen raspberries at in my freezer; so it was the perfect way to use them. Plus I had some Greek yogurt in the fridge needing to be used. Let me tell you guys, this was sooooo incredibly easy. I made it in just minutes in my food processor and it could be served immediately. However, after freezing the leftovers in individual containers, I’d recommend taking the frozen yogurt out about a half hour or so before eating. It’s just way too hard right out of  of the freezer.

#recipewin

~

Now for this week!

Food

Dinners:

• Beef in Red wine Sauce – One of Rob’s favorites. It’ll make great leftovers for him through the week. Ones he will actually eat!
• A version of these Chorizo Quesadillas – I have some Mexican Chorizo that I made from The Homesick Texan screaming to make its way out of the freezer.
• Big Mac Salad
• Pork Chops w/ Boursin Sauce {a staple in our house} with Garlic Rosemary Mushrooms

Lunches:

• Leftovers or Tuna Cucumber Boats + blood orange and/or applesauce + piece of Dove dark Chocolate

Breakfasts:

• PB Toast
• 90-Second Breakfast Sandwich
• Granola with milk

Fitness

• I have been having back issues pain again. It’s nothing like it was pre-surgery. But I don’t want to get to that point. Nor do I want to have surgery again. So it’s off to see the surgeon on Tuesday for a consult. Please just tell me what to do do to prevent it from getting worse!
• I’ve been walking (even if slowly) on the treadmill for about 45 minutes about 4 days per week, depending on what my back can handle.

What is one big recipe WIN you’ve had lately?

Cheers~
Carrie