Eating Healthier, Feeling Leaner

I had mentioned in an earlier post that Tim and I joined a new gym. We’ve been attending boot camp classes 3 times a week plus a weight lifting class. We really like our new gym, its individual attention and have enjoyed having more structured workouts in our lives.

This new lifestyle, as we call it, not only focuses on workouts, but on diet as well. So, what has been for dinner lately in the Karstens house?

Lots of protein and vegetables, of course! We also enjoy fruit and other whole grain carbohydrates.We even get a “cheat” day once a week. This isn’t a day to go crazy, but I might venture on over to one of my new favs these days like Amu Ramu for lunch or have a glass of wine at dinner. Enjoying a good dinner out is one of my favorite things to do. So, I am glad I can still plan for that. Granted, I haven’t eaten perfectly, but this really has been something that is moving us in the right direction!

So, I thought I would share some of the new recipes I’ve been trying out. The first is just plain old spaghetti squash. You can get these at any grocery store, usually in a bin along with butternut and acorn squashes. I also think it is fun to enjoy squash in the fall!

Spaghetti squash also is super easy to make. Just pierce it with a knife several times, lay it on some foil sprayed with cooking spray and pop it in the oven at 350 for 30-45 minutes. After it’s done and cooled a bit, cut it in half. Discard the seeds, then scrape out the spaghetti like substance inside! This stuff is great topped with chili, spaghetti sauce and meatballs, or, below, grilled chicken and light alfredo sauce. This cuts bad carbs like white pasta and fills you up with a better carb like squash.

Another new and easy thing I’ve discovered is Schwann’s tilapia. These are so meaty and delicious and very sweet tasting. No musty fish taste with these! I love to put one of these on some foil, sprayed with cooking spray, on the grill. They are great paired with grilled veggies.

Another easy fall favorite is a good pot roast in my crockpot. I add in lots of veggies like carrots, celery, onions and potatoes for a full meal. Another favorite pictured below, is acorn squash. Again, just cut it in half, discard seeds, and pop in the oven on top of some foil for about 30 minutes on 350 degrees. I like mine topped with 1 Tablespoon of brown sugar and 1 Tablespoon of walnuts.

Finally, I’ve shared our smoothie recipe before, but have also upped the protein in the morning. We usually try to get in a couple of eggs each day with our smoothies. My favorite are eggs over easy. However, Tim has perfected the egg cup, which we also like to make. Just crack open an egg in a sprayed muffin tin and bake at 350 degrees for 20 minutes. You can also top these with a little cheese or put a piece of Canadian bacon on the bottom. These even can be made ahead of time and reheat well for an easy breakfast at your desk.

Well, that has been some dinner highlights at the Karstens this fall! Hope you enjoy!

Another week

Another week, another week of meals.
I did up a nice roast in the crockpot on Sunday night. This has provided sandwiches for lunch yesterday and today.
Monday night, we both had meetings, so we were on our own.
Tonight, I am being pretty easy on myself and just heating up a gorgonzola chicken dish I got from Trader Joes! Tim teaches, and I have yoga right after work. So, I am always starved by 6:45 when I get home. We’ll see if I go to yoga or take a walk outside!
The rest of this week, I plan to get in some grilling!
Wednesday night it is Kielbasa on the grill with sauerkraut! Tim and I are both fans of kraut. Must be the German in us! ha!
Thursday night we plan to do something different and check out the Heoya food truck! Tim has tried this out already, but I haven’t. I am so looking forward to it! It is at the UStop on 13th and South until 8 p.m. I hope we get there in time after our 6:25-7:10 p.m. weight lifting class. But I think it we will. I hope they also don’t run out of food like they did today.
Friday night we are grilling up some chicken breasts marinated in a sesame ginger marinade along with rice and salad. One of our favs.
Saturday we plan to tour a new brewery in town called Blue Bloods. We also hope to have breakfast at Tina’s Cafe. I have heard it is the best place in Lincoln to have breakfast. So excited to try it out.
And then, plan to have corned beef and cabbage somewhere that day. Might just end up making it myself. We’ll see. Plan to have a beer to celebrate St. Patrick’s day in the afternoon and be home that night!
And that is our week in a nutshell. I guess no real recipes to share this week. Maybe I’ll get more creative next week!
That is about all I know for now. Have a great week!

What’s for Dinner?

I know. I’ve been bad. I haven’t done one of these for awhile!

Actually, we have been eating out a lot lately with Valentine’s Day, etc. this month and being on vacation earlier last week.

This past Saturday our fams met at Mama’s Pizza in Omaha for a little Winter Pizza Party. For the last few years, we’ve been getting together to eat pizza around Tim’s b-day. It’s an excuse for the fam to get together between Christmas and summer, and it is usually pretty fun!

So, Sunday, it was such a beautiful day (in the 50s in February! woo hoo!) that we took a walk in Pioneers Park and then came home grilled. Tim grilled himself a big ol burger with a slice of blue cheese monterry jack on top and I grilled myself some salmon and asparagus. yum yum. We also whipped up a new favorite salad of ours, that we just call veggie salad. All it is califlower, artichokes, black olives, cucumbers, tomatoes, O&V, dill weed, salt, pepper and feta cheese. It is so good and a new favorite.

Last night it was Mama’s Pizza leftovers and leftover veggie salad.

And tonight, drum roll, please, I am trying this new recipe I found on Pinterest: Crockpot Buffalo Chicken.
I am going to serve it up tonight, Buffalo Chicken Taco style, along with tossed salad.

Tomorrow night, I just found out we are going to the Husker Basketball game! Yippie! Not sure what we’ll do for dinner. Perhaps have leftover buffalo chicken, buffalo chicken salad style, ha!

And then Thursday night I am going to whip up a batch of chicken lasanga. I do it just like beef lasanga, except add chicken.

Friday night it is going to be a grilling night, most likely after we take in some First Friday festivites.

Saturday we are going to eat out somewhere. Not sure where. And we also plan to take in the movie, A Separation, at The Ross.

It is kind of nice. Our calendar has opened up the next two months. Nowhere to go. No one in town. We just plan to get in some running in preparation for my second and Tim’s first bout at the Lincoln Half Marathon May 6. Can someone tell me again why I thought it would be a good idea to do this again? ha ha!

Anyways … that seems to be all I know for today. Just hoping this weather stays mild, I get my work done (been swamped this last month at work!) and life is good!