Wednesday, April 30, 2014

Darling Sisters with a Serious Bond

My girls can definitely bicker with each other, like I hear most siblings do but they also very much adore each other, as evident with this adorable photo of them holding hands.

I used the Amy Tangerine Plus One collection to document this moment.
I hand stitched sporadic arrows going down from the top and up from the bottom and along the pre-printed divide in the paper. I used two titles that could flow well together or be read separately and still make sense.
I added a little touch of fussy cut flowers here and there and left the embellishments to a minimum. The word "serious" used to say seriously so I just snipped the "ly" off to create my second title.

Thanks for stopping by today.  Make sure to check back on May 3rd, for National Scrapbook Day. The American Crafts Design Team has a fun day full of challenges planned for you!

Sunday, April 27, 2014

Scrapbook circle May Kit & Discount Code

Hi friends. Can you believe it's almost May?!?! Well that means it's time for a new kit from Scrapbook Circle. I just have to show you the High Five kit and all the add-ons, Then, check out below, how to get 20% off everything in the store, including the kits.

This month's kit is sure to get you in the mood for summer, with it's vibrant colors, papers and embellishments from Heidi Swapp, Bella Blvd, Amy Tangerine, Pink Paislee, Basic Grey and EXCLUSIVES from Scrapbook Circle - a stamp set, tag set and printables. Lisa worked her magic on this kit and everything works so great together!
You can see more photos and read about the specific papers and embellishments included in this kit HERE!

The add-ons are AWE-SOME! Check them out...

"Sweet Treats" Add-on

"My Fave" Add-on

Pattern Paper Add-on (cause they always print greatness on Sides A & B) and it's just too hard to pick a side.

and lastly, cardstock add-on

Well, there you have it. Lisa's been selling out of the add-ons so scoop up a May kit while you can.  And remember to use my 20% off discount code - Heather20off - when you are checking out in the shop to get 20% off everything in the Scrapbook Circle shop.

I'll be back soon with projects created using this kit, as if you needed another reason to buy one. LOL

Saturday, April 26, 2014

Our Daily Vittles - Weight Loss Progress and Week 4 Menu Planning

3 LBS Week over week weight loss WOOHOO!

10 LBS TOTAL weight loss (since starting the shake/cleanse/healthy eating)
12 LBS TOTAL weight loss (since eating healthier)

Daily vittles - April 20 - 26: 

Easter Sunday: 3 oz. ham, salad, avocado deviled eggs, grapes
Monday: Spinach-stuffed flank steak

Tuesday: Skinny Lemon Chicken
Wednesday:  Cauliflower Pizza - didn't work out for me...soggy and had to eat with a fork. The family made pizzas as well but used pizza bread
Thursday: I did a cleanse and the family had leftovers
Friday: I did a cleanse and the family had leftovers
Saturday (Hubby's birthday): Salt Grass Restaurant - Chicken and veggies (no butter, no bread, no cupcake). I was totally okay with not having a cupcake. I can do this!!!

Thursday, April 24, 2014

You Shine

Hi friends! Today, I'm showing off a layout I created using a few of the April Gossamer Blue digital die cuts. Do you use the digital cuts and printables? Did you know that they are SUPER easy to trace and cut with your CAMEO? Seriously, all you have to do is import (copy/paste) the file into your Silhouette software, trace and cut. It's that simple!
Well, this month's files were perfect for scrapping these photos of my daughter at her dance recital last year. Yep, I'm a year behind but at least I got it done before her recital this year, which is this weekend. LOL

I chose to use the star background paper by Simple Stories and paired it with a bit of the star transparency paper from Crate Paper, sprinkling in a star cutting file I created, which can be downloaded HERE, along with wood veneer stars, chipboard stars, brads, washi and more.

The film strip die cut from this month's cutting files was PERFECT for capturing the various parts of the dance routine. I enlarged it to fit the majority length of the page, which allowed me to use larger photos. I simply trimmed the left and right sides of the photos so it wouldn't show through the holes on the sides and adhered them to the back of the film strip at the tops and bottoms.


I love the look of a handwritten title. It's a good change every once in a while from the standard alphas. The die cut file was a simple import, trace, resize to the size that fit my page and cut. Instant perfect title.



Here's a close-up of some of the embellishments. The wood veneer stars were great alone or nested but my faves might be the ones that are open in the middle. I matched them over some of the pre-printed colored stars on the paper, as seen in the photo below.



Thanks for stopping by today. I'd love to see your layouts using the die cuts in the Gossamer Blue gallery or post a link to your blog in the comments so I can check them out.

Supplies:

Monday, April 21, 2014

Scrapbook Circle | Top Dog Dies Blog Hop: Our 2014 Travel Stories




I'm excited to be participating in the Top Dog Dies & Scrapbook Circle Blog Hop that's going on all week! I recently got to play with some exclusive dies from Top Dog Dies. I paired them with the Scrapbook Circle April kit, The Bucket List and made a great little mini album for our upcoming adventures. 

Take a look at what I created using their Mason Jar die and then check out the prizes we are giving away and some special discount codes.
 I decided it would be fun to have a read made mini album to easily document our fun family adventures.  I'm not sure what those will be just yet, as I'm still working on our Spring/Summer bucket list but I left plenty of room to add a more descriptive word between "our" and "story".
I chose to create two pockets on the first set of pages. One set is cut from paper and the other from vellum. I can put a whole much of photos in one and tickets, maps, etc. in the other.

I love the Studio Calico paper in this kit. I knew that I wanted specific parts of the paper to show on he left page above so here's what I did. TIP: I cut a base out of vellum to use as a guide for all the pages. This allowed me to move the vellum around the different papers to see how things would look before I cut it. I also did this for the base and the label. This allowed me to center things perfectly. Now I can highlight the method of transportation at the top, where we are in the world in the middle and I can journal in the little boxes at the bottom. For the opposite page, I added the sticker tags and a banner, that I can add details to as well.
 This set of pages aren't embellished too much. I thought the sentiments were right on and it allows for lots of space for photos.
 I LOVE, LOVE the My Mind's Eye frames paper in this month's kit. I kept two on the left to add photos and/or journaling to and then fussy cut two more for the right page.
 Another pocket? Yes, please! I cut one label from the text paper and another from velum. I adhered the vellum to the paper and then made a pocket.
My last set of pages left lots and lots of room for journaling (or more photos) and another pocket to tuck more photos in.

I'm sure I'll add more embellishments to the pages once we have the memories but I think this is a good start. It will make documenting our adventures a breeze. Be sure to follow me here and on Instagram to see how this project progresses and for sneaks and full reveals of all my other crafty projects.

About Scrapbook Circle...we are passionate about preserving our family memories. We love sharing daily inspiration and connecting with others who also love to create. We have been creating monthly scrapbook kits for over seven years. Each of our kits includes a custom printable and we have now expanded our shop to included coordinating digital files. We create exclusive items for each monthly kit. We strive to provide you with fresh products every month that inspire you to create.

Scrapbook Circle Discount Code:  Use code Heather20off to receive 20% off your order. This code does not expire so use it anytime you shop the store.

Top Dog Dies is a new online store that offers their own brand of wafer-thin and steel-rule dies, along with dies from brands you already know and trust, including Little B, My Favorite Things, Lawn Fawn, Taylored Expressions, Savvy Stamps and Cheery Lynn Designs. Top Dog Dies is also the leading U.S. retailer for Tattered Lace a new line of intricate dies designed by British designer Stephanie Weightman.

Top Dog Dies is also offering a special promotion during the hop. Spend $100 on anything in the store and get 15% off when you use code SCHOP15, or spend $60 and get 10% off when you use code SCHOP10.

Scrapbook Circle is giving away two $50 Prize Packs of exclusive wafer-thin dies!

Top Dog Dies is giving away a Bucket List Kit!


Winners will be chosen from comments here, there and everywhere - from those left here on my blog, as well as on the Design Team Members blogs or the Top Dog Die and Scrapbook Circle blogs - so be sure to leave some love in the comments below (and follow me if you like what you see) by Sunday, April 27th when the hop ends.


So, on with the hop...your next stop is to a dear friend and the super talented Diana Fisher.

In case you get lost along the way below is an entire hop list: 
Heather Leopard *YOU ARE HERE*
Leslie Ashe

Sunday, April 20, 2014

Our Daily Vittles - Weight Loss Progress and Week 3 Menu Planning

.5 LBS Week over week weight loss (not great but it's progress)
7 LBS TOTAL weight loss (since starting the shake/cleanse/healthy eating)
9 LBS TOTAL weight loss (since eating healthier)

Daily vittles - April 13 - 19: 

Sunday: My dad smoked ribs (no sugar recipe), green beans, no bread, no potato salad
Monday: Mexican Chicken Bowl - salad, Black Beans, Grilled Chicken, Avocado, Cilantro, Tomatoes, Red Onion (I skipped the last two ingredients)

Tuesday: I did a cleanse and the family had leftovers
Wednesday:  I did a cleanse had oven baked Tilapia
Thursday: Chicken with Clean Eating Alfredo sauce and sauteed julienned summer veggie noodles - the whole family LOVED this!
Friday: Mediterranean Stuffed Chicken Breast

Saturday: Spinach-stuffed flank steak

Saturday, April 19, 2014

Our Daily Vittles - Week 2 Menu Planning


Hi everyone. I'm here with Week 2 of our meal planning. This week included pork, chicken, crab and fish. These recipes have been more than enough to feed my family of 4, sometimes 5. Of course 2 of them are littles, who don't eat a lot.  

I'm down a 3 more pounds this week (and haven't had time to exercise) so I know that this healthier eating is paying off. Let's take a look at what we ate last week.

Daily vittles - April 6 - 12: Sunday: Picadillo Tacos with salad 
Monday: Pasta with Italian Chicken Sausage, Peppers and Escarole
Tuesday: leftover Past with Italian Chicken Sausage
Wednesday:  I did a cleanse and the family had oven baked Tilapia
Thursday: I did a cleanse and the family had homemade pizzas using the leftover 1/2 lb of Italian sausage from Monday's meal.
Friday: Crock Pot Balsamic Pork Roast with Roasted parmesan green beans
Saturday: Skinny Mini DeviledCrab Cakes; Salad with homemade lemon vinaigrette

Here's the recipes...

Picadillo Tacos with salad
This is my recipe.
Servings: 6 | Size: 2 tacos 
Calories: 255

Ingredients:

  • 90% lean ground beef but you could use turkey for an even leaner choice.
  • 1 tbsp ground cumin
  • 1/2 tbsp garlic powder
  • Onion, chopped
  • Bell Pepper, diced
  • Tomato, diced
  • 1/2 C. water
  • 1 tsp. salt
  • Corn tortillas
  • Spring Mix lettuce
  • Avocado optional (not included in calorie count above)
  • Salsa optional (not included in calorie count above)


Directions:
Brown meat with cumin and garlic powder until 3/4 cooked. Add onions and bell peppers and continue to cook until beef is browned. Add tomatoes and water. Simmer until tomatoes are softened. Add additional cumin, garlic and salt, to taste. Serve in corn tortillas with lettuce, avocados and salsa. My family added cheese and sour cream to theirs but I didn't feel the need. 
I also served Spanish rice on the side.

Servings: 6 | Size: 1 1/2 cups
Calories: 297.7 according to Skinnytaste; 398 according to the ingredients I used.



Ingredients:

  • 12 oz Ronzoni Smart taste pasta (or whole wheat or low carb)
  • 1 tsp olive oil
  • 1 medium onion, chopped
  • 1 red bell pepper, chopped
  • 5 cloves garlic, chopped
  • 1 lb Italian chicken sausage, removed from casing
  • 1 medium head escarole, rinsed and torn into bite sized pieces
  • 1/4 cup grated Parmigiano Reggiano
  • 1/4 tsp crushed red pepper
  • salt and fresh pepper to taste
Modifications: 
  • My grocery store didn't carry escarole so I used about 3 cups raw spinach
  • My grocery store didn't carry plain Italian chicken sausage in casing so I used 1/2 chicken sausage with feta and 1/2 lb Italian sausage
  • I didn't salt my water
  • I left out the red pepper cause the kids aren't fond of spicy stuff.
Directions according to my modifications. Original recipe can be found HERE

Cook pasta in a large pot of water. Reserve 1 cup water before draining.

While pasta water boils, heat a large non-stick skillet on medium heat. Add olive oil; once hot add onions, peppers, garlic, salt and pepper. Cook until soft, about 4-5 minutes. Add chicken and Italian sausages, breaking up with a wooden spoon and cook until golden, about 6 to 8 minutes. Add spinach, cover and cook 2 minutes; remove the cover, stir and cook about 3 more minutes or until wilted. Add salt and pepper to taste. Add cooked pasta, reserved water and Parmigiano cheese, stir well and be ready for the oohs and ahhs.

Servings: 8 | Size: 3 oz. pork 
Calories: 214

Ingredients:
  • 2 pound boneless pork shoulder roast (sirloin roast)
  • kosher salt, to taste
  • 1/2 tsp garlic powder
  • ½ teaspoon red pepper flakes
  • 1/3 cup chicken or vegetable broth
  • 1/3 cup balsamic vinegar
  • 1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
  • 1 tablespoon honey 
Modifications: 
  • I couldn't find a pork roast so we used a pork loin
  • We skipped the red pepper flakes
Directions according to my modifications. Original recipe can be found HERE.
Insert slow cooker bag inside the slow cooker for easy clean-up.
Season the pork with salt, garlic powder and place it into the slow cooker. Mix together the broth, vinegar and Worcestershire sauce (the time to add the Worcestershire sauce is missing from their website but she responded to questions int he comments that this is when to add it) and pour it over the pork, then pour the honey over and set the timer for 4 hours on High or 6-8 hours on Low.

Once cooked, pull the pork out and shred it. Add back to the crock pot to soak in the juices a bit longer.

Servings: 4 | Size: 1 cup 
Calories: 62

Ingredients:
  • 12 oz green beans, trimmed (make sure they are dry)
  • 2 tsp olive oil
  • kosher salt + fresh cracked pepper to taste
  • 1/4 tsp garlic powder
  • 1 1/2 tbsp shredded parmesan

Directions: 
Preheat the oven to 425°F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper or aluminum
Lay green beans out on the baking sheet and drizzle oil over them. Season with salt, pepper and garlic powder. I added the parmesan cheese at this point, though skinny taste said to sprinkle they come out. I thought they turned out great my way. Bake 10 minutes, shake the pan to turn; bake 5 additional minutes. Remove from the oven.

Skinny Mini DeviledCrab Cakes; Salad with homemade lemon vinaigrette
Servings: 4 | Size: 3 crab cakes 
Calories: 139 according to skinnymom; 216 according to my calculations




Ingredients

  • ¼ cup fresh parsley, finely chopped
  • 1 shallot (about 1/4 cup), finely chopped
  • 2 large eggs, lightly beaten (consider a 3rd egg to keep them from falling apart so easily)
  • 2 Tbsp light mayonnaise
  • 2 tsp Dijon mustard
  • 2 tsp fresh lemon juice
  • 1 tsp Old Bay® seasoning
  • ¼ tsp cayenne pepper
  • 1 lb lump crab meat
  • ½ cup Panko breadcrumbs
  • 1 lemon, cut into 8 wedges
Modifications: I did not use the shallots or cayenne pepper. I also used Imitation crab meat beccause I just can't stand the real crabby taste.
Directions:
In a large bowl, combine the parsley, eggs, mayonnaise, mustard, lemon juice, seasoning. Drain out any excess liquid from the crab meat and add it into the mixture. Stir. Add the Panko and gently mix until just combined.
Using a 1/4 cup, form 12 even crab cake balls and place on a large plate or baking sheet.

Coat a large nonstick skillet with cooking spray and heat over medium heat. Add 6 balls of crab to the pan. Spray the tops of each. Then gently press down on each with a spatula to flatten to about 1/2” thick. This is where mine fell apart the first time. I pressed them down too thin and they just crumbled. After the first couple, I realized that I only needed to press them down less.

Cook for 3 to 5 minutes, until the crab cakes are golden on the bottom. Flip and cook for an additional 3 to 5 minutes. Mine fell apart agaain, when I flipped them, even some of the good ones. I had to go very slowly and carefully to scoop them and then almost hold them together when I turned them over. I'm thinking I need more egg next time. 

Transfer to a clean plate and cover with foil to keep warm. Repeat with the remaining crab balls.
Serve the crab cakes with lemon wedges. I also served mine over a salad with lemon honey vinaigrette

EVERYTHING this week was a big hit in this house, even among my picky eaters!!!

Thursday, April 17, 2014

Little Miss Pouty Face

Hi friends. I have a monthly feature on the Gossamer Blue blog called Pattern Play. If you haven't seen it yet, HERE'Sa link to the most recent one on the Gossamer Blue blog. I'll include a link to previous posts at the end of my blog post. 
 For April's edition, I thought I’d show a fun way to mix patterns to create a shape. Let’s take a look…

Look at that face…beautiful wide eyes and then that lip.
I thought it would be fun today to walk step x step through how I created this layout.
  1. I wanted to use a patterned background paper but I knew it had to be an understated patterns. Otherwise it will clash with the other patterns I was planning to add.
  2. I chose to create large “blocks” of patterns and I knew I wanted them larger at the top and tapered down at the bottom. I drew my design and then created a cutting file in Silhouette. You can download the cutting fileHERE. There are three files. One is long and wide, the second is long and skinny and the third is short and wide. Using an odd number, in this case, three sizes of the same shape gives it a great variety and it works nicely.
  3.  I chose to use 4 colors for my cuts – blue, yellow, white/cream and multi. I didn’t necessarily use the same pattern but I stuck to those four colors.
  4. I also chose to use small, medium and large prints. The combination of sizes, color and pattern scale works great to pull it all together while keeping giving it the variety it needs.
  5. After you cut the triangles, cut a 6” circle slightly off center to the bottom left of the page.
  6. Once all the angled rectangles were cut, I moved them around the page in the shape of a circle until I liked their placement.

  1. Add a white/cream lined or grid background paper to the back of the circle.

  1. Once you have the triangles arranged how you like them, adhere them down with just a little glue. You don’t want to add too much, since we’re going to stitch over them.
  2. Stitch 3 circles around the triangles. I used the same color green as my background paper.

  1. To make my photo stand out against the various patterns I used vellum on the bottom layer. I then added bits of white, yellow and the green. The green is from the center circle that I cut out. I popped the photo up using foam dots.

  1. We’re almost done now… Embellish with various elements. I used ephemera, wood veneer, flair, die-cut, resin shapes and chipboard.

I hope I’ve demonstrated that you can combine many patterns on one page as long as you consider using a variety of pattern scales and limit the main colors (that also complement each other) to just 3 – 4 colors.

Gossamer Blue April 2014 Supplies: Main Kit, Main Add-on, Main kit Add-on 2, Life Pages kit, Life Pages Main Add-on, Life Pages Themed Add-on, Bits & Pieces
Thanks for stopping by today! Care to see my other Pattern Play features? See the links below:
March 2014: The Sweet Life
February 2014: Dream a Little Dream
January 2014: Best Day Ever
November 2013: Made with Love
October 2013: #favorite

Wednesday, April 16, 2014

Multi-dimension "Love" Card | Step x Step Instruction

Hi friends. I'm just popping in real quick to share a card I made for my love.

To create this, I cut a card base out of white cardstock and folded it in half. I cut a second base just large enough to cover the front.

I punched triangles, using my American Crafts Knock-out 1.5" Triangle punch. I mixed and matched the triangles and adhered them to the second base of the card in alternating directions. This is important if you plan to stitch on your cards.

I left an open strip at the bottom to add a sentiment, which was simply cut from the bottom of the paper, where they usually print the manufacturer and collection name. I also added a small pink strip to accentuate the border.

Then, I stitched two large triangles on the card, following the lines that were created from the smaller triangles.

I popped up more triangles over the stitched ones and added another sentiment.

Lastly, adhere the designed base to the card base and you have a fun little card (and your recipient won't see the stitching on the inside.

Monday, April 14, 2014

You're a Star

My sweet, littlest girl loves to dress up and sing and dance. We knew we needed to get her into dance pronto. That was 2 years ago.  Well, she just absolutely loved it and would come home singing the dance songs. I was excited for the recital and so was she. Back to the songs, coincidentally, I had been singing to her every night. We usually did three songs. Two were selected from traditional nursery rhyme songs - rock-a-my-baby (not rock-a-bye-baby - LOL), twinkle twinkle, hush little baby - and the last was always Just what makes that little old ant. I think that's a rather unique song to sing to your daughter every night but my mom sang it to me and I sang it to my girls and they just loved it.

Imagine my surprise when the dance recital music came home and that was one of the two dance numbers?!?! I was soo giddy. And the teacher was quite surprised that Reese knew the song already. Win - win! The other song was Don't Eat the Daisies, a movie starring Doris Day. I am a big, huge fan of her comedies so I was super excited for that dance number too.  I was worried that Reese would be afraid to perform on stage but that little princess was so confident about it each time we talked about it. I should have known that she'd feel at home on stage.

Here's a layout of her dancing to Don't Eat the Daisies, from last May. It was punch week on the American Crafts blog so that was my initial inspiration.
Supplies: Knock-Outs Punch Star 1.5” (KOP63102), Paper Planes 12x12 Paper (366748) – Dear Lizzy Day Dreamer, Bike Ride 12x12 Paper (366751) – Dear Lizzy Day Dreamer, 6x6 Paper Pad (366767) – Dear Lizzy Day Dreamer, Enamel Dots (366785) – Dear Lizzy Day Dreamer, Wood Buttons (366796) – Dear Lizzy Day Dreamer, Thickers Printed Chipboard Letter Stickers (366773) – Dear Lizzy Day Dreamer, Printed Chipboard Shapes (366789) – Dear Lizzy Day Dreamer, Thickers Kal Barteski Foam Letter Stickers - Black (366830) – Amy Tangerine Plus One, Thickers Puffy Letter Stickers (53036) – Dear Lizzy

I used a combination of 12x12 papers and the 6x6 paper pad from the Dear Lizzy Day Dreamer collection as well as the Knock-outs 1.5" Star Punch.

To create the large star, I punched a small star and then traced it with a black marker. I then imported that image into Silhouette and traced it to make a cutting file. You can DOWNLOAD IT HERE.


I embellished the stars by adding some wonky stitching, enamel dots, doodling, etc. I couldn't resist that large yellow bow.

I placed the photo to the bottom right portion of the start, offset so that I could put the title and journaling inside the star.

Miss Reese is in year 2 of dance and still loving it. She has her second recital at the end of this month and I just can't wait! I'm sure I'll be posting some of the photos to Instagram if you care to see them before they make it on a layout (since this one took almost a year).

Thanks for stopping by today. Now go on and get crafty!

Friday, April 11, 2014

Our Daily Vittles to help Battle the Bulge Week 1 Menu Planning


Hi there. I am so thrilled to be doing this weekly feature on my blog. I'm excited because it means I am doing what I need to do (food-wise) to shed those LBs, while teaching my kids abut healthy food choices. After I wrote all those words below, and I promise not to do that every week), I stumbled across this new documentary that might have you thinking more and more "am I eating what I really think I am eating or is it loaded with all sorts of sugars and preservatives.


This comes from the movie trailer article in the Huffington Post this week:

Here are some of the sobering facts about the state of health in America revealed in "Fed Up," a new documentary from producers Katie Couric and Laurie David about the country's food industry: (1) "Over 95 percent of all Americans will be overweight or obese in two decades"; (2) "By 2050, one out of every three Americans will have diabetes"; (3) 80 percent of food items sold in America have added sugar.

What are we going to do about that????? Here's a link to the documentary movie trailer to get you thinking even more.



Okay, back to what I wrote earlier.

I'm planning and sharing my family's menu plans with you to help take the guess-work out of what's for dinner tonight. And maybe, just maybe I'll have you eating a bit healthier too, without necessarily sacrificing taste.


I think that's the biggest concern I had was healthy meant it wouldn't taste good. Well, I sure have learned my lesson.  I have spent hours upon hours scouring every skinny food blog, Pinterest, recipe book, inspecting the ingredients lists for non processed, clean, organic foods to find these so I hope you enjoy them. I will continue to do this for my family and share here as long as there is interest.


Oh and before I go any further, I am doing a Cleanse Program during this first 30 days. So you'll see 2 days that aren't planned for, which are good days for leftovers. Between the healthy eating and doing the weekly cleanse I have lost 7.5 pounds in 10 days and not only that, but I feel awesome and I have more energy. If you want details on what cleanse I am doing, just shoot me an email (heather at heatherleopard dot com).


Anyway, here's our weekly dinner menu. We actually didn't start the healthy eating until Tuesday because I wanted to start this off on April 1. Next week will go Sunday through Saturday. I will also include my photos starting next week (this week will include the original source recipe photos).



Daily Vittles: April 1 - 5



Recipes below…

Chicken & Avocado Tacos - my “recipe”, no photos but it was delish!
Calories: 452
  • Leftover Rotisserie Chicken from the grocery store
  • Corn torillas instead of flour. Look at the nurtition label and check the carbs. Some have higher carbs than others. Also, look for GMO free ones (genetically modified) and get the purest ones you can.
  • Avocado - 1/2 of a ripe avocado was more than enough for 2 tacos
  • Spring mix salad for the topping
  • Picante Sauce - I chose to go without but it was a bit dry. I may add this next time, or maybe just some lime. Yeah, I’ll save the salsa calories and add lime.
  • Cheese - my family ate the cheese; I did not and I didn't miss it.
Spinach and Feta Stuffed Chicken Breasts with side of Basmati Rice
Modified recipe; original recipe can be found on skinnytaste 
Servings: 8 • Size: 1 roll 
Calories: 207 • Weight Watcher Points+: 4 pt 


Ingredients:
  • cooking spray or oil mister
  • 1 tsp olive oil
  • 1/2 medium onion, chopped
  • 2 cloves garlic, minced
  • 1/4 cup chopped scallions
  • 4 - 5 cups fresh spinach (subbed for 10 oz package frozen chopped spinach, thawed and juice squeezed out)
  • 1/4 cup chopped parsley
  • 1 tbsp fresh dill
  • 1/2 cup (2.5 oz) crumbled Feta cheese
  • 1/3 cup fat free ricotta
  • 1/4 tsp kosher salt and pepper, plus more to taste
  • 8 thin skinless chicken breast cutlets (1.5 lbs total)
  • 1 large egg
  • 1 tbsp water
  • 1/2 cup ground almonds (subbed for whole wheat seasoned breadcrumbs)
Modifications include:
  • Ground almonds instead of the breadcrumbs. I simply used ground almonds that I grounded up myself in the food processor.
  • I also chose to leave the ricotta out of my chicken
Directions:

Preheat oven to 350°F. Spray a large baking sheet with spray.

Heat the oil a medium sauté pan. Add onions, garlic and scallions and sauté about 1 minute. Add spinach, parsley, dill, 1/4 tsp kosher salt and pepper and cook another minute or until Spinach is wilted. Remove from  heat and mix in the feta and ricotta cheese (I waited to add the ricotta until after I prepared 2 chicken rolls for me; then added it in for the family)

Season chicken lightly with more kosher salt and pepper to taste.

Place about 1/4 cup of spinach mixture in the center of the chicken and roll, then lay the chicken seam side down on a platter or piece of parchment paper. Repeat with the remaining chicken.

Note: this made a lot of leftovers!

Rachel Ray recipe
Servings: 4 • Size: 1 filet 
Calories: not provided; I calculated 312 



Ingredients:


  • 3/4 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese
  • 2 teaspoons paprika
  • 1 tablespoon chopped flat-leaf parsley
  • 4 tilapia fillets (about 1 pound total)
  • 1 lemon, cut into wedges

Directions:
Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. In a shallow dish, combine the cheese with the paprika and parsley and season with salt and pepper. Drizzle the fish with olive oil and dredge in the cheese mixture. Place on a foil-lined baking sheet and bake until the fish is opaque in the thickest part, 10 to 12 minutes. Serve the fish with the lemon wedges.

Skinnytaste.com
Servings: 6 • Serving Size: 2/3 cup
Calories: 119 •
Weight Watcher Points+: 3 pts

Ingredients:
  •     1 1/2 pounds peeled and deveined jumbo shrimp
  •     1/4 teaspoon plus 1/8 teaspoon ground cumin
  •     Kosher Salt and freshly ground black pepper
  •     2 teaspoons extra-virgin olive oil
  •     5 garlic cloves, crushed
  •     2 tablespoons lime juice (from 1 medium lime)
  •     3 to 4 tablespoons chopped fresh cilantro
Directions: visit Cilantro Lime Shrimp on skinnytaste.com

Okay, this was a major hit with most of my family. They had no idea that it wasn’t really rice. To me, it’s more like couscous but that doesn’t matter. I thought it had the perfect amount of lime but my husband said it was too much. Next time, I will let people add their own amount of lime and everyone will be happy. My littlest didn’t care for the rice but she’s extremely picky and everyone else had seconds so this is a HIT

Skinnytaste.com
Servings: 5 • Size: 1 cup  
Calories: 61 • Weight Watchers Points+: 2 pts

Ingredients:
  • 1 medium head (about 24 oz) cauliflower, rinsed
  • 1 tbsp extra-virgin olive oil
  • 2 garlic cloves
  • 2 scallions, diced
  • kosher salt and pepper, to taste
  • 1-1/2 limes
  • 1/4 cup fresh chopped cilantro
Directions: visit Cilantro Lime Cauliflower "Rice" on skinnytaste.com

I hope you enjoy these healthier recipes, which are a mix of Paleo, Gluten Free, Clean recipes. If you are leary of those words, just stick with me and give them a try. I really think you will find that they are oh so tasty and oh so good for your body and mind.

Please let me know if these weekly menus are helpful to you. This is how I’ll judge whether or not to continue sharing them here. Also, if you try these come back and tell me what you think about them.

Check in next Saturday for a new dose of Daily Vittles. Up on the menu is a Picadillo Tacos, Balsamic Pork recipe, Pasta with Chicken sausage, Homemade pizza, Crab cakes…

In the meantime, get FED UP with me and take a stance for your health