Thursday, July 23, 2009

My newest secret!

I don't blog much about this part of my life because I'm trying to do it in a healthy way without becoming too obsessed. Which, you know, is really hard considering our thin=beautiful mindset that has been burned into our brain. Have you seen some of those "super" models as of late? Who's that thin and still strong and healthy? Blech! But secretly, deep down in the pit of my stomach I wish I could be that thin and because of that little notion, I have to be diligent about keeping myself in check.

I did that when I was a kid and I know my thirties have suffered the consequences of my bad habits of my youth. I'm not willing to go back to that place now. I can't, I need to have fuel to keep me energized enough to keep up with a family of FIVE! Saying that out loud makes it seem so much more important than it feels on a daily basis. But yeah, my job is big.

Which makes it even more difficult to continue with a healthy lifestyle. It's so much easier to do quick and easy. That crap fuel is so readily available that it makes it hard to remind ourselves the importance of eating good, nutritious food. In my life long quest to find healthier yet tasty things to incorporate onto our table, I found these gorgeous little beauties.

Arnold's Sandwich Thins!!!
(I'm trying to post a pic but am not doing a good job at it so hit the link, k?)

But seriously - these are a best kept secret for sure. So versatile - I use them for sandwiches, burgers, mini pizzas, breakfast sandwiches and more. The best part is they are only 100 calories and made with whole grains, proven with the 5 GRAMS OF FIBER they have. I am insane that I care so much about fiber but I do, I DO!! Fiber is great and we need it in our diets.

That's my life tip from Europa for the um, for the um...time being.

BTW - the pizza I made for lunch today was only about 400 calories. Super easy, super yummy.

I chopped a lg slice of red pepper, onion and garlic - saute in olive oil until onions are translucent.
Add a bundle of roughly shredded and stemmed swiss chard (preferably from my own garden),a
palmful of chopped, fresh basil leaves. Cook until tender.
Add to each slice of bread middle side up 1/4 cup of tomato sauce and a sprinkle (I really mean a sprinkle) of mozz shredded cheese - about 40 cals worth, place atop the cheese a heaping spoon of the swiss chard/basil saute and add another sprinkle of cheese to the top of that.
I added a few pieces of fresh basil to the top of that cheese and baked at 375 until melty with a crispy crust.

I died and went to heaven and then died again. This is vegetarian, vitamin packed and full of fiber and whole grains. All for less than 400 calories. Swear.To.God. And I LOVED it. I felt like I was having a huge lunch and the smaller amount of cheese went a really long way so don't add more thinking you need it because you don't. I will say the chard left a slight, gritty after taste that is normal, but all the other flavors blended so well it made up for that.

I've used these a lot of different ways but the pizza inspired a post out of me. Go and buy these bitches if you're watching your weight but don't want to starve doing so. You won't regret it, I promise.