Food.

One of the traits I received from my Daddy was our love for food. We both loved to eat and enjoyed going out to eat. Only difference is my Dad could pretty much eat whatever he wanted and however much he wanted and still remain tall and skinny. I, on the other hand, can not seem to get rid of this baby pooch and my inner thighs still rub together when I run...seriously..will that ever go away? I guess there was a time when I was a teenager/early college years I could eat whatever and remained tall and skinny, but oh how that's changed!

Anyway, I've had a few people ask me what kind of things I've been eating and recipes I have been using since losing my weight. I find almost all of my recipes on Pinterest. There are a ton of low calorie recipes on there and it's been a big help for me. But I know sometimes you pin something and not sure if it will be worth your time trying and then it turns out to be yucky. So, I thought I'd share a few of my favorite recipes that I make quite often around here. Also, the other little (and big) men in my house seem to enjoy it. Now, I wouldn't necessarily call a few of these recipes "healthy". I do not eat a clean diet. I still eat carbs, sweets, and processed foods (the key is moderation..which still can be a struggle for me!). I do eat my vegetables and fruit and try to incorporate those in my meals. I just try to find things that are low in calories or adjust the recipe to be that way. You can pretty much make any recipe lower in calories by just making a few changes.

Mini Mexican Pizzas

One of my favorite fast food meals is a mexican pizza from Taco Bell...yum. I would eat them at least 1-2 times a week when I was pregnant with Luke. Which would explain why I gained about 40 extra pounds! I found a recipe similar to a Mexican Pizza HERE. I made them like that once but I decided to change it just a little. I usually make these for myself for lunch. Justin hates refried beans (or beans of any kind really). Jude loves refried beans...so I usually put some on his tray when I make these and he eats them like crazy! You could substitute ground turkey for beans if you are not a refried bean lover.

Ingredients
2 yellow corn tortillas
2 T of fat free refried beans (I actually may use a little more than a tablespoon on each tortilla...I don't know but it's around there)
1 T of Mild taco sauce (again I'm not real sure how much I use here...I just spread it on the tortilla..it's not a lot)
2 T of queso dip (my favorite queso dip is Kroger's Viva Con Queso, Monterey Jack and Salsa...it's delicious!) 
1/4 cup of shredded cheese (any kind you like...you can use fat free if you prefer..sometimes I do..depends on what I have at the time) 

Preheat your oven to 350.

Lightly spray tortillas on both sides with cooking spray. Place on ungreased baking sheet. Bake in the oven for about 3-4 min. Take them out and flip them over and cook them for another 3 min. I like mine good and crispy. But try not to burn them...that would be sad for you. 
You will want to warm your refried beans in the microwave until warm. Probably about 2 min.
When your tortillas are done spread a tablespoon of the beans on each tortilla. Then spread your sauce and dip. Place some cheese on top (you may need to use more than 1/4 cup...sometimes I do) 
I then place the tortillas in the microwave to melt the shredded cheese...about a minute. 

These are so good. It really is like eating a Mexican Pizza...fixes that craving anyway! You can add tomatoes or shredded lettuce as well. We don't keep tomatoes around here very often...nobody else likes them but me and I don't like them that much! For two tortillas these are 300 calories...according to myFitnesspal. Compared to the 530 calorie Mexican Pizza from Taco Bell, I'd say that's pretty good!

Sour Cream Noodle Bake (lower calorie version)

I love the Pioneer Woman. She makes some great recipes and she's pretty funny. Sour Cream Noodle Bake is one of her recipes I found on Pinterest and it's delicious! I decided to tweak it a little bit so it would be less calories. If you are weary of the sour cream title don't worry. It only has a half a cup of sour cream. There's actually more cottage cheese than sour cream...which actually may make you more scared. Don't be though...you can't taste it! Trust me...I hate cottage cheese.

These are the ingredients I change:
- Ground chuck - ground turkey (I promise...you can't tell the difference!)
- Egg Noodles - Whole Wheat Egg Noodles
- Sour Cream - Light/fat free sour cream (you could substitute with Greek yogurt if you wanted) 
- Small Curd Cottage Cheese - Low fat small curd cottage cheese

Everything else I keep the same. This makes about 8 servings and it's only 229 calories a serving! For how good it is, that's a pretty good deal! Seriously...go make this...we love it! I usually make some corn with it and I've got to have some bread. :) (click on the name of the recipe and it will take you to her original recipe)

Green Beans, Chicken, and Potatoes
I don't have a picture for this one. I forgot to take one the other day. I don't know another name for this recipe besides the one above. I'm sure most of you have seen this one on Pinterest. The recipe is HERE. The first time I made this I was not impressed. It really didn't have any flavor. So, with the dry Italian dressing seasoning, I added dry Ranch dressing seasoning. I also cut up some squash and add that to the dish. I add some olive oil as well. I use light butter and don't use a whole lot. It tasted much better the next time! I also use chicken tenderloins instead of chicken breasts. The chicken was more tender that way. This recipe is only 203 calories a serving. I think when I calculated this I only put it as having one piece of the chicken tenderloins, so I usually eat two pieces of chicken and of course I have to have some garlic bread with it...I like bread.

Skinny Baked Burritos

This is one of our favorite recipes. These are seriously so good. I don't adjust anything to this recipe. I leave it the way it is. She says to use low carb tortillas, I just use whole wheat most of the time. You can find the recipe HERE. These end up being more calories than what she lists them as. At least they were when I put them in the myfitnesspal app. They come out to 389 calories for one. But one burrito is plenty! You will be full.

So those are a few of our favorite low calorie recipes. I have a few more, but I'll share some more later. You can go to my Pinterest boards and find some recipes I've pinned. I haven't tried all of them..yet.

Oh and....we leave for the beach in 3 days!! We are so excited and in need of some vacation time. We will be leaving early Saturday morning and will be gone a week. I'm sure I'll have some pictures when I return...hopefully. I can be bad at not taking pictures when we go somewhere. I need to get better!

Hope everyone has a wonderful week/weekend!