Voluptuous Me to thinner curvier me ...in progress

Why on earth am I putting this on my blog? First, you are now my accountability peeps...congrats on your new honorary job on top of all of the other jobs you may have :) Secondly, as I try new healthy recipes or alter old recipes...I will pass on the wealth of info including where I found them. In all seriousness, I have been dieting since I was thirteen, I am now 38, my weight has always fluctuated (it would probably be a really nail biting roller coaster ride :) ). Up until I had kids I was pretty good at keeping it off & then I let myself believe the lie that my weight gain is ok. I was now a mother of two kids & how was I suppose to find time between all their activities to cook right, exercise etc? Whataburger, McDonalds, TacoBell, Papa Murpheys, and the un ending list of Mexican restuarants are only a few blocks away and provided dinner in less than 15mins and why would I choose what was healthy on the menu because I could get that at home.  Those are the lies I feed myself many a times. 

So here I am 100 pounds heavier than before my first pregnancy verbalizing that I am going to take back charge of my life w/ God's help & my endless accountability peeps to no longer be a food addict. I am going to share things w/ you that I learn along the way, as a matter of fact I will be very open & honest bout my weight loss experience. 

Why now? I have spent the last yrs worrying about my children and the surgeries w/ my youngest and the death of my dad which probably added stress to my life in which helped with the weight gain. Now I am better for it! Why? Now it's not jus about weight loss but about getting healthy. I want to be around to see my kids grow up and their kids grow up. I know God has the ultimate call in matters of death and when it's our time but I sure don't have to hurry death along :) The reason I say this is because I see myself following my dad's footsteps who had a massive heart attack at age of 54. He never showed any symptoms but struggled with weight as I have and when he passed on he was at his heaviest. So knowing this, I need to help ensure that I don't leave my kids without their mom at the age of thirty due to health reasons. Now that being said, if God calls me home, Hallelujah! I'm there :) 

Ok enough of the heavy hearted stuff...let's start with the first new recipes!Sorry I didn't take pics but I will in the future and add them :)

I took this recipe from the "Zumba" workout book. It is called Ann's favorite chicken. It was absolutely delish! So simple and easy to make.

 

ANN'S FAVORITE CHICKEN

4 - 6 oz boneless skinless chicken breasts

1/2 cup Worschersire Sauce

1/2 cup Soy Sauce

Marinate chicken in sauce mixture for no less than 1 hr in the refrigerator. Place on grill and baste with marinade occasionally as it cooks.

Jamie's modifications:

I used low sodium soy sauce. I marinated the breasts for 4 hrs. I then removed the breasts from marinade and baked them in the oven at 400 degrees for 20 mins. I held onto the marinade mix for the next recipe. The chicken was extremely moist!

This next recipe I found on good ol' Pintrest. It is from a blog called "Twirl and Taste". It is called "Roasted Cabbage with Parmesan cheese with a drizzle of brown sugar". Needless to say I altered it just a little but I will give you the original recipe and then tell you how I altered it. By the way, I never use to be a cabbage fan but this takes the bitter taste away and has the possibility to make everyone a Cabbage Eater :)

Roasted Cabbage with Parmesan Cheese With a Drizzle of Brown Sugar

1 Medium Head Of Cabbage cut into 8 wedges(cleaned, cored)
1/4 Teaspoon per wedge of each seasoning; fresh ground pepper, salt, onion powder
1 tbsp. soft butter per wedge ( or olive oil to coat)
1/4 cup fresh fine grated parmesan cheese per wedge
1 Teaspoon brown sugar per wedge

Rub with butter. Place cabbage on heavy duty foil. Sprinkle w/ remaining seasonings. top w/ cheese. Pat down gently into butter coating. Seal up tightly. PLace on a sheet pan and bake in preheated 400 degree oven for 45 minutes; open foil, return to oven and cook for additional 20 minutes until the cabbage is brown around the edges.

Jamie's alterations:
I cut the cabbage into1/2 inch slices. Next I placed the slices in a 9x13 pyrex dish. I then brushed approximatelt 2 TBSP of olive oil across the slices. Next I used the marinade from the chicken above (soy sauce; low sodium & Worcestershire sauce) and basted the cabbage with it. Next I used  fresh ground pepper, garlic powder( I didn't have onion powder). I only used 1/2 tsp of organic brown sugar on each slice and a 1/4 cup of parmesan cheese sprinkled on all the slices; instead of 1/4 for each slice. Finally, I cover the pyrex dish w/ foil and put in the oven and baked as directed.

Needles to say it was loved by all :)