Tomato Basil Soup

Tomato Basil Soup

1 tsp extra virgin olive oil

1/2 C finely minced white onion

1 tsp finely minced garlic

2- 28oz cans crushed tomatoes

3 C chicken broth

3/4 C half & half 

1/3 C minced fresh basil

1 to 2 packets Truvia

2 tsp minced fresh parsley

1/4 tsp dried oregano

1/4 tsp salt

1/4 tsp black pepper

1) Heat oil in pan with onions and garlic.  Cook till tender. 

2)Add tomatoes and chicken broth. Bring to a boil.  Turn down heat and simmer 20 minutes.

3) Add remaining ingredients and simmer for another 20 minutes. 

Garnish with parmesan cheese. 

I served the soup with a side of baked parmesan chicken over a salad.  To make the chicken I just brushed a little caesar dressing on the chicken tenders and sprinkled with shredded parmesan cheese.  Baked at 350 for about 20 minutes until cooked through and cheese was lightly browned. 

Salsa Style Chicken (E)

This recipe normally calls for chicken drumsticks which I make for the family but I turned it into an E recipe for me by using chicken tenderloins for myself. Although you could just buy enough white meat chicken breasts or tenderloins for the entire family.

For us I use 1 family package of drumsticks and then a small pack of the chicken tenderloins I think it was about 1 pound.

Salsa Style Chicken (E)

2 small/medium onions sliced about a cup to cup and a half
juice of 2 limes
1 tbs olive oil
1/2 tsp hot sauce
3 cloves of garlic
1/2 cup chopped cilantro
2 (20oz) cans whole tomatoes (I sliced them....couldn't find sliced canned tomatoes w/o sugar)
1 jalapeno pepper seeded and minced
12 chicken drumsticks &/or chicken breast/tenderloins (enough for your family so you decide how much)*
Enough cooked brown rice for your family (I can do the serving for 6 on the package that is is enough for us)
2 cups of water

* you have to use skinless white chicken to make it an E meal.

Mix onion, juice, sauce, garlic minced, cilantro,tomatoes (& juice from cans) jalapeno pepper and chicken together in a large bag (I had to use 2).  Refrigerate for 4 hours or overnight.
Heat broiler.  Remove chicken from marinade and reserve the marinade.  Place chicken in a single layer, skin side up on a broiler rack.  Broil 4-6" from heat for 15-20 mins turning once for the drumsticks.  Check to make sure it is done all the way .  My oven takes a little longer.  If using chicken tenderloins I broiled those about 5 minutes on each side. The chicken breasts take a little longer so keep an eye on them.

For the marinade place in deep skillet or sauce pan and add water.  Boil 30 minutes until onion is tender.  Serve over rice.

Serves about 6 maybe more if your family doesn't chow down as much as my 4 boys do!

Baked Granola

I saw the recipe from Briana Thomas' blog and thought I would give it a try.  It is called Easy Granola.  She uses a dehydrator to make it but I don't have one so I tried it in the oven.  I also altered the recipe some.

Baked Granola (tweaked)

Mix together:
7 C cooked brown rice
7 C cooked old fashioned oats oatmeal
2 1/2 Tbs Truvia
1/8th tsp honey flavor
1 tsp vanilla
1 1/2 tsp Chai Spice (Recipe)

Set oven to convection and preheat at 325.
I lined a rimmed baking sheet with parchment paper and smoothed out the oatmeal mixture.
I then placed it in the oven for 1 hour.  Once it was to that point I cut it into squares and flipped them and baked another hour.  Flipped again for 30 mins and again for another 30 mins.  Then broke them into small pieces and baked another 30 minutes to finish drying them out. Total bake time was 3 1/2 hours.

Place in a storage container or ziplock bag.  I put mine in the fridge.

I used it over Greek yogurt & Truvia sweetened strawberries.

Chicken Zoodle Soup

Chicken Zoodle Soup (FP)
for 2

1 Chicken breast
4 C chicken broth (I used low fat)
1/2 onion diced
1 C kale (I used fresh)
1 medium zucchini
Pinch of rosemary
1 bay leaf
Pepper to taste (optional)

In pan add broth, chicken, onion, rosemary, pepper and bay leaf. Bring to boil and cook until chicken breast can be shredded. Add more water if needed. Run zucchini through spiralizer.  Remove chicken & shred.  Return chicken to pot with kale.  Cook a few minutes and then add zucchini. Cook until veggies are tender to your liking.

Each Serving Contains approx:
180.5 cal, 3.1g fat, 9.5g carbs

Pina Colada Protein Shake

I was really craving  a Pina Colada but wanted a healthier version!

This is what I whipped up in the blender this morning for breakfast.

Pina Colada Protein Shake

1 C. unsweetened almond milk (Silk 30 cal kind)
1 scoop protein powder
1/2 C pineapple
1/4 tsp rum extract (optional)
1/2 tsp coconut extract (although I think 1/4 tsp would be good too)
1/8 tsp glucomannan powder
2 tsp Truvia
2 C ice

Put all ingredients in a blender and blend until smooth.  Enjoy!!

1 Year THM Anniversary

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 I can't believe it's been 1 year since I've started this journey.  It has totally changed the way I think about food and how it nourishes us!

Today makes 1 year since I talked to my good friend Tracy about Trim Healthy Mama (THM)! She invited me over for lunch and we enjoyed a nice THM meal!  She answered all my questions and directed to a great group on facebook.  All the S, E and FP were confusing at first but she helped me through it while I read the book and asked questions! 

 I started my journey at about 225lbs. I'm "almost" 5'3" lol. I was tired, didn't feel good much of the time and just wanted to sleep. I was 34 years old and felt 80!! I was ready to give this a good try and I did! I was already gluten free so only a few of the ingredients were new to me like gluccie, chia seeds and coconut oil. I had already the year before switched from splenda to Truvia. By July 2013 I was down to 173. Then my gallbladder attacks picked up but before that I was feeling so much better and had so much more energy than I've had in a long time! Around Thanksgiving I got really sick with my gallbladder. I had lots of stones and it was infected. I had surgery to remove it on Dec. 13th.  I did a week of flagyl and cipro then had the surgery.  After the surgery I ended up with an infection at the operating site and also a bladder & kidney infection.  The surgeon prescribed another round of flagyl and cipro and had me on pain meds and motrin to keep the swelling down.    During that time and up till Jan 6th I wasn't on plan 100% and during those 2 months or so I went back up 13 lbs and that put me at 186.  I was determined to get back on plan and stay the course!

 Today I weighed in a 179. Since going back on plan Jan 6th I've felt so much better! 46 lbs gone in 1 year and lots of energy gained!! Thank you to Pearl & Serene for all your time, for all your research and for writing this wonderful book! Here are my before and my now pics....

Before @ 225lbs:

 Now @ 179lbs:

Here's a few from along the way so far:

 This one is from Nov. 2013  I was around 176 or so.