HAPPY EASTER EVERYBODY ♥

I hope everybody had a wonderful Easter and was able to share this day with their loved ones. My thoughts and prayers go out to you all on this most joyous occasion.

On a more personal note:

While my children are a little old for the traditional Easter egg hunt they still enjoy getting candy and this year was no different. Nestle crunch, Snickers, Skittles, Reese cups, etc, (you get the idea) were overflowing in their Easter baskets and the end of Spring Break was foremost in their minds. So to help ease the transition back to getting up early in the mornings for school (as opposed to the all-nighters they had over Spring break) I decided to cook them one of their favorite meals. Also, given the holiday celebration I felt it entirely appropriate to cook something special.

Here are some pictures of our meal: 

 

I cooked the ham with potatoes, onions, and carrots and served dinner rolls to complete everything. This dish is extremely easy to make, it is very healthy, and it took no time to cook. 

1. First you line the bottom of your pan with tinfoil, This helps hold in the juices better for the potatoes, onions and carrots plus it makes clean up so much easier. Also, go ahead and preheat the oven at 325 degrees.  
2. Next you place the ham (I used an uncooked butt ham) flat side upright and add 1 cup of water to the pan. Tightly cover the top of the pan with tinfoil, put the lid on the pot, and then place it in the oven for an hour. Be sure to use a meat thermometer so you know that is reaches the proper temperature and will be safe to eat when it finishes cooking.
3. While the ham is cooking you will need to wash and cut up the potatoes and onions into cubes or chunks. It all depends on how big you prefer the portion sizes. 
4. After the ham has cooked for an hour take it out of the oven. This next part is kinda tricky and the potential to get burned is great (trust me...I burned my arm doing this next step). Uncover the pan and flip the ham so that its flat side is now on the bottom. 
5. Now place a few (about a 1/4 of the amount you are going to cook) of the potatoes around the ham and then add the carrots (however many you want to eat) and finally add the remaining potatoes and onions making sure they cover the carrots completely. This helps to ensure the carrots are cooked all the way through and will be soft. You will need to add an additional 2 cups of water to the pan too.
6. The seasonings are optional and really up to the individual. I like to make my meals as healthy as possible so I used a little bit of butter buds, a pinch of sea salt, and a dash of Mrs Dash Garlic seasonings on everything except the ham. 
7. Be sure to cover everything and cook for an additional 2 1/2 hours.
8. Once the food has finished cooking uncover the pan and let it sit for 15 minutes. During this time you can add a glaze to the ham. I added honey to mine and it was D-E-L-I-S-H!

Hope you enjoyed this recipe and be sure to subscribe to my blog for future posts!

BLACK BEAN LASAGNA ROLLS

OMG! This dish is so easy to make and it is extremely healthy for you as well. I usually double the recipe so that once I have finished baking the dish I freeze some of the lasagna rolls for later. As long as they are kept in an airtight container you can freeze them for up to 1-2 months. 

Ingredients

• 8 uncooked lasagna noodles (I use whole wheat for an even healthier version)
• 1 cup (4 ounces) shredded reduced-fat Monterey Jack cheese
• 1 (15-ounce) carton part-skim ricotta cheese
• 1 (4.5-ounce) can chopped green chiles, drained 
•  Chopped jalapenos - Add these if you like a spicier flavor otherwise just skip this step
• 1/2 teaspoon chili powder
• 1/2 teaspoon cumin
• 1/8 teaspoon salt (optional)
• 2 cups drained canned no-salt-added (low sodium) black beans
• Olive Oil cooking spray
• 1 (15 1/2-ounce) jar no-salt-added salsa
• Fresh cilantro sprigs (optional)

Preparation

Preheat oven to 350° and cook lasagna noodles according to package directions, omitting salt and fat (oils); be sure to drain well. If you are making a big batch of lasagna noodles then lay out the lasagna noodles onto a sheet of tinfoil that has been lightly sprayed with olive oil. Arrange the lasagna noodles side by side and make sure that none overlap. Combine the cheeses and stir in all the ingredients except for the beans, salsa and cilantro sprigs. Be sure to stir it really well. Spread cheese mixture over 1 side of each noodle. Spoon black beans evenly over cheese mixture. *This step is optional - spoon a little bit of the salsa on top of the beans if you want to add some extra flavor. Now you will roll up the noodles, jelly-roll fashion, beginning at narrow ends. Place lasagna rolls, seam sides down, in an 11- x 7-inch baking dish coated with olive oil cooking spray. Cover and bake at 350° for 25 minutes or until thoroughly heated. To serve, spoon salsa evenly over rolls, and garnish with cilantro sprigs, if desired.

Here are some pictures of the ingredients that I used for this recipe and they can all be found at your local Super Target.

whole wheat lasagna pasta

low sodium black beans

Helpful healthy tips:

To save time you may want to mix the beans and salsa in with the cheese mixture and then spread the mixture onto the lasagna noodles. I have tried it and it really is delish! 

If you are trying new recipes it helps if you make a list of everything that you need and start looking at the grocery store ads and coupons to see if any of the ingredients are on sale that week. Sometimes I cook a dish because the items that I needed were on sale that week. So if that is the case then double up your recipes and freeze some for later.

Sometimes when I find a recipe that doesn't fall into the healthy category I look to see if I can modify it. If you can substitute some of the ingredients for healthier alternatives then you can incorporate it into your weekly meal planning and still maintain your healthier lifestyle.

HEALTHY IS IN! 1....2....3.....GO....

     Back in August I decided that it was time I lost some weight. Did I have a life changing event that spurred me on this weight loss kick? No. Did the Doctor tell me that I needed to drop a few? No and truthfully I have not been to a Doctor in quite some time. Not because I am avoiding them, but I have been relatively healthy and just go for my annual physical each year and that is about it.    

     The extra weight that I gained did not happen over the span of several years as is the case with many people. Although, I did notice that as I got older there was some weight gain but nothing really significant. The truth is it actually occurred within the last 5-6 years. Typically there are stress-ers that cause people to turn to food. For me the stress-er happened / started when Hubs got a job offer in Charlotte, NC and I was going to college and was only a couple of classes from graduating. The job offer wasn't something he could pass up so we sold our house, I dropped out of college, and we moved to an apartment in Charlotte. I was leaving everything behind to start over in a new location without my family and my friends and not knowing if or when I would be able to finish my education.    

     Yeah, so there was plenty for me to stress about. Especially since we moved from a huge house with a fenced in yard to a small cramped apartment. Anyway, one of the questions I am asked most often is how much weight do I want to lose? Good question! But it is one that I have not really made a decision about yet. Fortunately for me, when I was younger I was never overweight and I never had a weight problem. Why is this good? Well, according to my Nutritionist (to much to post here - so more about that in another post), if you do not have a history of weight problems then you are more likely to be able to keep the pounds off! Sounds promising and I hope this is true. Now keep in mind, you no longer have the metabolism of a teenager because the older you get it starts to really slow down and to keep the pounds off will be hard work but the end result will be worth it. Again, here is hoping that holds true.

     So, how have I been doing so far? Well, as of today I have lost a total of 25 lbs. Now I know some of you are doing the math in your head so I will tell you that it averages roughly to about 2 lbs per week for the past 14 weeks. It hasn't been easy but I am proud of myself. To some that may not seem to be a huge weight loss but I want to lose the weight slowly so that I can avoid the yo-yo dieting that is so common among many dieters. I want to eat healthier foods and meals and I want to build an attainable exercise program that I will stick with even though I have such a crazy work schedule.

     As I mentioned above I am incorporating healthier foods and meals into my diet. However, I have had a hard time trying to find recipes that were healthy but yet still taste just as good as the original fatter versions. After many weeks of scouring bookstores, websites, and such I compiled several notebooks full of recipes of meals that I could try each week to help me on my weight loss journey. Well, it was after having tried several of these recipes I decided to post some of them for you, my readers, in the hopes that you could enjoy them as much as I have. Each week under the Healthy Living tab I will try to post weekly updates of foods or recipes that I am eating or incorporating into my diet and have proven beneficial to me. Today I am starting off this series with the following recipe - Black Bean Lasagna rolls.

* Please note: I will post the recipe as a blog entry as well for those that only want the recipe.

This dish is so easy to make and it is extremely healthy for you as well. I usually double the recipe so that once I have finished baking the dish I freeze some of the lasagna rolls for later. As long as they are kept in an airtight container you can freeze them for up to 1-2 months.