Garlic Herbed Grilled Tuna Steak

Ingredients:
1 tbsp. olive oil
2 tbsp. minced garlic
1/2 tsp. dried Thyme
4 yellowfin tuna steaks
1/4 tsp. salt
1/4 tsp. pepper

Instructions:

1. Place ingredients in bag and turn around so completely mixed and coated, refrigerate for 30 mins.
2. Remove tuna from bag and sprinkle with salt and pepper.
3. Use some oil on the grill rack or foreman plates.
4. Grill tuna covered over medium heat for 4 mins on each side for medium rare.

Chia Cherry Chiller Copycat Recipe

Chia Cherry Chiller Copycat Recipe

This year Planet Smoothie introduced a new super-fruit smoothie containing tart cherry juice, raspberries, blueberries, strawberries, & chia seeds.

Ingredients
1. 1/2 Cup Frozen Raspberries
2. 1/2 Cup Frozen Strawberries
3. 1/2 Cup Frozen Blueberries
4. 1 Cup Tart Cherry Juice
5. 1 Tablspoon Frozen Chia Seeds
6. 1/2 Cup Ice

*Include 1 Tablespoon Sugar if too tart




Instructions
1. Place the ice in the blender to blend down to small pieces
2. Add in the remaining ingredients and blend until smooth.
3. When finished taste, if too tart, add a little sugar.

Recipe Tuesday Frozen Hot Chocolate

Frozen Hot Chocolate

I know it sounds a little strange and more than a little oxymoronic but I swear it makes sense.

This recipe is only 85 calories per serving and the recipe below makes 2 servings so if you're feeling sinful you can enjoy 2 servings without a huge dent in your calorie intake, now THAT'S what I call amazing!

Ingredients: 

• 3 packages Swiss Miss Sensible Sweets Diet Cocoa Mix
• 2 tbsp Hot Water
• 3/4 cup Fat Free Milk
• 1-1 1/2 cups Ice
• Reddi Whip Chocolate Topping

Directions:

1. Put cocoa mix and water into bowl and mix
2. Put cocoe mixture, ice, and milk into blender and blend until well mixed
3. Place in cups, add 2 tbsp of reddi whip to the top and serve!

Note: As with all frozen beverages you must serve immediately or it melts and becomes disgusting. So definitely not a make ahead recipe. ;)

Recipe Tuesday Italian Chicken

Italian Chicken

I'm sure every little kid remembers going camping and preparing a hoagie dinner, meaning putting everything in aluminum foil and putting it over a fire to cook. This is the adult take on that, no camping required!

The recipe below is 237 calories and serves 4. I piece of chicken and 1 cup veggies is what makes a serving.

Ingredients:

• 4 cups Frozen Broccoli Cuts
• 1 can Hunts Diced Tomatoes (drained)
• 1/2 Light Italian Dressing
• 4 Boneless Skinless Chicken Breasts, roughly 1.25 lbs total

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 450. Combine Broccoli, Tomatoes, and Dressing into a bowl.
2. For each packet lay two 20x12 sheets of aluminum foil on top of each other.
3. Place 1 chicken breast on top with 1 cup of the veggie/dressing mixture. Fold over the first piece of foil. Folder second piece of foil over pinch towards the top so there's room for steam to help cook.
4. Place the packets on a baking sheet and put into oven for 20-25 minutes until its no longer pink or if internal temperature of the chicken exceeds 165.
5. Slowly undo the foil to avoid being burned by the steam and serve!

Note: If you like spice add a little minced garlic to this reicpe and bonus garlic is good for your health!

Recipe Tuesday Chicken Stir Fry

Chicken & Vegetable Stir Fry

Making your own Chinese food ensures you're eating healthy and not spending a lot of dough. This recipe is a tried and true recipe, my partner wanted to eat this every day for 2 weeks the first time I ever made it. Recipe below contains 372 Calories for each 1 cup of stir fry and half cup of rice. Recipe makes 4 servings.

Ingredients:

• 2 Tbsp Vegetable Oil
• 1 lb Boneless Skinless Chicken Breast (cut into less than an half inch)
• 12 oz frozen vegetables
• 1/2 cup Reduced Sodium Soy Sauce
• 2 cups Long Grain White Rice
• OPTIONAL - Sesame Seeds
• OPTIONAL - Ground Ginger

Instructions:

1. Add oil to skillet over medium/high heat
2. Add the chopped chicken to the skillet and stir until no longer pink
3. Add the frozen vegges to the skillet and stir until veggies are tender
4. Follow the packaged instructions for the Rice
5. Reduce heat to medium/low and add the soy sauce, let simmer until rice is finished cooking
6. When rice is finished serve the chicken and veggies over it and tada you're done!

Notes - If you want a little more kick and don't mind a few extra calories add a tbsp of Sesame Seeds. There are a lot of health benefits of adding ground ginger to your diet, adding a pinch won't bust the calorie bank but it will add a little more health to your lifestyle. To mix it up change the vegetables you use or instead of white rice use egg noodles, though if you use egg noodles using Reduced Teriyaki Sauce instead of Reduced Sodium Soy Sauce offers a better flavor on the noodles.

Rowing Day & Copycat Frozen Goat

Okay so let's talk about how this was the most un-motivating day since ever and yet it all turned around and it was so wonderful I'm about exploding with happiness! I will refrain from talking about work though I had a great day there today. When I got home I felt drained, so completely sleepy, I was beyond ready for lights out. Instead of sleeping like I thought about doing I made my favorite imitation of Planet Smoothie's Frozen Goat. In case you're interested I put the recipe below.

Making the Frozen Goat is so easy and it packs a punch as far as energy is concerned. It gives you immediate energy and sustainable energy so you don't completely crash.

Take 1 cup Cold Coffee (You can use instant to avoid refrigeration once percolated), 2 tablespoons low-fat creamer (best to go with one that doesn't have a crazy flavor in it), 2 tablespoons chocolate syrup (you can substitute with low-fat hot cocoa mix) 1 large frozen banana sliced, and about 6 ice cubes. You can add soy or whey as well it should not affect the taste. The coffee and the chocolate give you the boost to get going and the banana gives you staying power. I know it's hard to find frozen bananas but its really easy to flash freeze them on your own. Just sliced them to about 1/4 inch thickness and place on a tray in the freezer for an hour and then put it a ziploc bag and keep in freezer for future use. See? Easy. :)

In any case, after I felt extremely full I picked up around the apartment a bit and went to check the mail adn my replacement FitBit arrived and I am soooo happy! If you're a Facebook friend you should be able to find me pretty easily or if you're not on Facebook you can find me by me email. Comment below if you would like to friend me on either social platform ;) So of course I immediately went back to the apartment to get it charged and synced up to take with my when I go to the gym. I can't believe how relieved I was. I just haven't been able to stay on top of my fitness food wise without it telling me "how much I'm allowed to eat."

So I get to the Gym and I have to wait a few minutes for the Rowing Machine to open up (bear in mind my LA Fitness only has TWO! what an oversight.)There's a guy warming up beside the other machine while I get started to go and we're keeping pretty good pace at the same time. Over the intercom they are starting to say 5 minutes until the Gym closes which was perfect because that's about how much time I had left on my half hour timer. :) I make it to the end and the guy beside me goes to a stop and asks if I cross-train in rowing or if I row professionally. I tell him I've only rowed twice in my life and have the blisters to prove it and as it turns out this man was the coach for a local team! He suggested a tryout if I'm just beginning and my stats are that good, enough to keep pace with the coach! By the way my stats are below:

Time: 30 Minutes

Distance: 5360 meters or 3.33 miles

Average Pace: 35 strokes/minute

I'm not really sure I can make the time or monetary commitment and I don't want to get caught up in two athletic hobbies. I want to lose weight but I don't want to completely disappear, lol. That being said I will start to track my progress on this as well since it might turn out to be a nice hobby later on when money is better, I'm stronger, and I've proven my dedication to fitness is more than a passing fancy.