Quick Crock Pot Chili

I have posted a chili crock pot recipe before but what I find so great about these recipes is that you can just make them up as you go!

This one is slightly different than my last one. I think I like this one better. Maybe it was the corn which gave it a slightly crunchy sweet taste.

:)

1 pkg ground turkey meat , cooked

1/2 onion, chopped

1 green bell pepper, chopped

1 small can of green chilies

2 cans diced tomatoes

1 can corn

1 can black beans

2 cans kidney beans

16 oz low sodium chicken broth

Costco's no salt seasoning

(:

Make sure to drain and rinse all the beans and corn.

Put all ingredients into the crock pot and cook on high four hours or low 8 hours.

VERY GOOD!

VERY EASY!

LOW FAT!

FILLING!

HEALTHY!

Dog Treats ????

Ok, I know this is about my quest to eat healthier and share my journey to loose weight and lower my cholesterol so your asking why am I posting about doggie treats?
Those of you who are animal lovers will understand. I take my dog for regular visits to the groomer which is also his Vet office. They do little "report cards" each time. I constantly am getting little warnings about his weight. Being a small dog every tiny bit of weight is obvious and also can be dangerous to his overall health. Also, I spend way too much money on dog bones and greenies and treats. Which the vet has told me are too fattening for him.

So I figure that since he is a part of our family why should I feed him unhealthy treats while I am feeding myself healthy ones?

One thing the Vet office told me is to try feeding him baby carrots as treats. They are non-fattening and filling. So I gave him one.........which promptly was spit onto the floor. Later as I was getting our dinner out of the crock-pot I took one of the carrots that had cooked in the chicken broth and let it cool. I put some on a dish on the floor and he ate every bite!

I began searching for healthy dog treat recipes online. I have found several and today I began with the one that is the most simple. Only four ingredients. NO sugar.

2 cups flour ( either whole wheat or white)

1 cup rolled oats ( I used steel cut)

1/3 cup peanut butter ( I used smooth)

1 1/4 cup hot water

Combine dry ingredients. Then mix in the peanut butter and hot water.

Knead the dough together. Roll out the dough into 1/4 " thickness and cut into shapes. ( I used my grandsons playdoh cutters!).

Bake at 350* for approx. 25 minutes.

SUCCESS! He loved them!

You can store these in an air tight container in the refrigerator for three weeks.

Yummy marinaded steak!

We don't have steak very often. Very seldom actually. But when we do I like to use a flank steak.

I found this recipe for a citrus marinade and we love it!

1 Flank Steak

1 Tsp. chili powder

Zest peel and juice of 1 lemon

Zest peel and juice of 2 oranges

2-3 garlic cloves, minced

Mix the ingredients together. Put the steak in a container that seals. Pour the marinade over the steak. Put in refrigerator for a minimum of 4 hours.

( I leave it in overnight until the following afternoon!).

Either grill or broil.

Slice on the bias into strips.

YUM!

When ever I can't figure out what to make I go for a stir-fry.

If you have some kind of meat and some vegetables in your refrigerator then you can make a stir-fry.

The thing with stir-fries is that there are so many ways you can make them. There really is no right or wrong way.

Here are the ingredients to the one I just made.

If your looking for measurements there won't be any.

I just throw in whatever looks right.

Chicken strips

Bell Peppers

Broccoli

Celery

Green onion

Baby bok coy

Crushed pineapple

Light soy sauce/low sodium

whatever seasoning you like

It was VERY good! The chicken strips I have frozen that I had bought from Costco . I just take it out of the bag frozen and put in pan with a tiny bit of olive oil and cook. Then I remove chicken from pan and throw in all the vegetable ingredients. Soon as those ingredients are tender enough I put the chicken back in the pan and add the soy sauce and pineapple.

I cooked up some brown wild rice to go with it.

Yum, healthy and easy :)

Fruits & Veggies

Fruits & Veggies - Fruits & Veggies - Fruits & Veggies

The one main thing that has really helped me stay on track and eat what I should eat is to always have fresh fruits and veggies cleaned, cut and ready to grab! I go shopping and browse the section of the grocery store and buy as much of it as I can. Then spend the time in the kitchen to clean it, cut it and prepare it so all I have to do is open the refrigerator door and grab it.

I just don't buy the sweets, salty or junk food anymore so it is never a temptation to grab & eat it.

You'll find that the more you eat the fresh veggies and fruits the less you will even think about the junk.

STUFFED GREEN PEPPERS

4 green peppers

1 lb lean ground turkey

1/2 onion,

chopped 1 can corn, rinsed and drained

2 cups brown rice, cooked

1 clove garlic, minced

1 cup tomato sauce, sodium free

1/2 tsp paprika

1/2 tsp rosemary

1/2 tsp oregano

1/2 tsp basil

1/2 tsp pepper

Slice off top of peppers, rinse and clean out seeds & membrane. Preheat oven to 350*

In large bowl, combine cooked rice and herbs. Mix together thoroughly. In large, non-stick pan, saute onion, garlic, and meat until fully cooked.

Stir meat into the rice mixture. Add tomato sauce and corn then mix all together thoroughly.

Place peppers in a non-stick baking dish. Fill each pepper with mixture. Add any remaining mixture in dish around peppers.

Cover dish and bake 1 hour. Sprinkle with light cheese if desired.

Frozen Grapes

Frozen grapes have become my favorite evening snack. I love the pretty colors also.

First I clean them and take them off the vines.




Then I pour them onto a paper towel and gently pat to dry them off. It helps if they aren't as wet before you put them in the freezer. They get less "frosty" when they are less wet.



Then I separate them into little zip lock freezer bags. Put in whatever amount you want that would be a good snack amount.




Then just put the bags in the freezer. Great to grab whenever your in need of a sweet snack! I eat them right out of the bag. No need to defrost. They are crispy but not hard and not mushy at all. Green or purple they are just good to eat! And freezing them means you can buy as many as you want and don't have to worry about them going bad before you can eat them all. Actually I find I eat them more often this way than I ever did before I started freezing them!

Health Update

Well I started this blog to keep track of my venture towards better health so it's time for an update.
I've been eating nothing but healthy low fat foods. Lots of fresh fruits, vegetables and fiber. Very little starch, sugars or sodium. There are always times when you gotta have the treats such as holidays or birthdays etc. and one needs that once in a while, but those times are very rare now when before they were a pretty regular habit.

I'm working on my recipe copies and putting together my own cookbook. I'm enjoying when I discover new ideas to taste test.

I am now on my 10th day of a six week challenge using the Wii Active exercise routine. I feel muscles in my arms & legs that I hadn't felt for a while. I can fit into jeans that had been stuffed away in my closet. I now need to use the next set of hooks on my bra because it was beginning to feel too loose.
I've lost 9 pounds!

Just one week ago I had my cholesterol tested. The beginning of December it was 327. Now it is 317. It's only ten points but it did go down. I am unable to take the Statin prescriptions and I am trying the natural way to lower it. I searched different sources and found a supplement called "Guggul". I have been taking it. But the points only went down 10 points and my doctor says that the bad cholesterol actually went up. I don't quite understand how that happens but it did.
So I'm now starting something else. I'm still taking the Guggul supplements and also added some Niacin pills & Fish Oil capsules.
I've heard that Red Yeast Rice pills help but I've tried them and they make me feel very bloated. My body doesn't tolerate yeast very well.

I am happy to say that my blood pressure has stayed at a lower level than it was before. I check it on & off at home with a wrist monitor.

So onward and downward......downward in pounds and cholesterol that is. I'll get my cholesterol checked again in April so will be posting an update at that time! Wish me luck!