Protein Snack Attack

There are some people that can do just fine only eating 3 meals a day, I am not one of those people. I tend to have three small to medium size meals and 2 snacks, sometimes 3 depending on the day. A few years ago my snacks would have consisted of granola bars, crackers, half a bagel, 100 calories pack of cookies or something similar. Not any more. Now I want my snacks to be healthy and help fuel me throughout the day. As I started cutting back on carbs and sugar and that processed stuff, I found it harder and harder to find good quality snacks. I mentioned this problem to my mom the other day when I was at my parent's house. We sat there for a moment trying to come up with good ideas, and then she got the aha face, walked out of the room and came back with a can of chicken, I thought yeah right this is going to taste good. She told me it has become one of my dad's new favorite snacks and really fills him up. My poor dad, every time us kids are over their house my mom is giving away his food for us to try. Love you dad!

I went home and tried a little, I was pleasantly surprised, it was really good, but I wondered what could I do to this can of chicken to make it even more filling and delicious? Then I has my own aha moment! I had recently tried this really delicious blue cheese dressing and thought why not mix it.

Canned chicken, I got the kind that has white and dark meat,
but they have just white meat if that is your preference.
This dressing is really good and the lesser of the dressing evils.
I am open to dressing suggestions if anyone wants to suggest some

For a 2 oz serving of the chicken you get 50 calories, 1.5 grams of fat, 0 carbs, 0 sugar, 9 grams of protein. When I first measured it out, it didn't really seem like much, but then you add in the dressing....

2 ounces of chicken

The blue cheese dressing really adds a whole other flavor to this dish, I am sure any dressing you like will work just as well. 1 serving size of the dressing is 2 tbsp you get 130 calories, 14 grams of fat, 1 gram carb, 1 gran sugar, and 1 gram protein. I usually only use 1 tbsp which is plenty. This little snack is packed with fuel and so filling and delicious!

Add 1 tablespoon of dressing to 2 ounces of chicken
Yep that cute black and white mug is my giant cup of coffee, waiting for me to enjoy

Quick, easy, low carb, low calorie, and very easy to take with you to work.
It doesn't have any weird fishy smell like tuna so you can eat it at your desk without it bothering coworkers

Look familiar, the chicken was part of my breakfast I talked about in
Mission Accomplished...For the Week

This snack has definitely become one of my favorites. I usually eat it in the afternoon, it gives me energy for my workouts and holds me over so I don't get the grumbly stomach feeling halfway through my routine, but it really is delicious any time of the day.  Hope you enjoy!!

Mission Accomplished..for the Week

What a week! You know those weeks where you aren't sure if you are coming or going? Yeah that was my week. It actually started last Saturday when I had my friend's bridal shower. Thanks to shopping in my mom's closet I had a cute outfit to wear and I was armed with cheese sticks in my purse, just in case there was nothing for me to eat. What, not everyone keeps cheese sticks in their purse? Haha. The party was a good time.  I can also say for the first time, I was toilet papered. Yup you read that correctly...I was nominated to be the model for a toilet paper wedding dress. It was definitely a funny moment!! As it turned out I needed my cheese sticks. There was nothing there I could eat and I was starving.  I can't wait for the wedding and  don't worry I will stash some cheese sticks in my purse for that too. Mission Bridal Shower: Accomplished!

Getting my toilet paper wedding dress

Next up..my work convention. We left early Sunday morning and thanks to a marathon and road closures I got to my first meeting 15 minutes late. My amazing and wonderful boss was totally great about it and understood, I had called him from the road to warn him. The meeting went well and then I rushed off to lunch. As I mentioned in my previous post Food Food Everywhere my coworker got me cobb salad, it was really good and thankfully filling. I meant to take a picture for this post but it didn't last long as I had to rush out to education sessions. Need a nap yet...I did! Dinner time was my favorite, we went to a restaurant in the hotel where I got to order Rib Eye steak with side veggies and shared shrimp with my coworker...recharged and feeling good for the evening events, which included our dessert reception. Cupcakes, pastries, ice cream, chocolate everywhere!! Being tired and in the room with that deliciousness was not easy, but thanks to my filling dinner and feeling good I didn't even take a taste.

Yup, it tasted as good as it looks

Dessert reception...
good thing sugar can't jump through my camera or I would be in trouble 

The next night was our big event, the Awards Banquet. As I was getting dressed I thought back to previous years, and usually by this time I felt run down, miserable, and wasn't overly thrilled with my outfit thanks to my efforts to try and cover up as much as possible. Not this year...this year I found an outfit that I absolutely loved and loved wearing it. As I got up in front of crowds and walked around to help people, I truly felt confident and was so thankful I changed my eating habits these last few months. It made that moment so much better!

Every girl should add a little sparkle sometimes
The night was so much fun, I even got up and danced a little (sorry no pics of dancing)

I knew every morning I would only have the option of muffins, bagels, and pancakes...that just wasn't going to work for me. I needed more than cheese sticks in my purse for this. So this time, I packed hard boiled eggs, salad, olive oil, and some shredded chicken to keep in my room. I used a few ice packs to keep the food from spoiling, and it worked they stayed perfect before I could get them into my hotel room fridge. Now I got to start every morning armed and ready to conquer the day and feel good about it.

Not what most people pack to eat away,
but this helped me start my day off right.
I was full until lunch and had tons of energy

The next few days were similar to this one. Run around, food all over, me being happy my pants fit and I had the energy to keep up, amazing how much a year can change. Last year I was eating anything and everything, worst part was I could barely keep up and felt awful the whole time. Not one dessert or bad food passed my lips this entire trip! Mission Work Convention: Accomplished!

Next up:  Italian Festival with my family tonight....

Bring on the Filling Healthy Food

I wanted to share some new favorite food finds for the week. Last I told you I was going to try and incorporate some more protein and healthy fats into my daily menu. After shopping and talking with my mom I got some ideas and decided to try them out. I know it's only been a few days, but what I can tell you is I have way more energy than I have had in weeks and my thoughts aren't always about food and what will I eat next. Instead I have been able to concentrate more, I am working out after work and tonight I even went shopping with my dad to Sports Authority. He was helping me find a new belt to hold all my stuff when I go for walks.

Let's talk breakfast. I love eggs, cooked all different ways. Lately I have been enjoying them cooked overeasy, mine usually come out somewhere between overeasy and overmessy, but still taste just as yummy. To add extra protein and healthy goodness I added some shrimp on the side; and for my veggie fix I cut up half a zucchini, cooked it in coconut oil with garlic, salt, and pepper. DELICIOUS!! And very filling.

Eggs overmessy (Cindy style), shrimp, zucchini cooked in coconut oil

My next idea was for snack time before the gym. I really don't like going to gym and feeling like I have no energy or halfway through I am starving. I also needed to find something that I could eat at my desk at work. I took some romaine lettuce, spread spicy mustard, added Boar's Head Turkey (less process and no nitrates like other lunch meat) and Colby-Jack cheese. It was so filling and delicious. I used 3 oz of the turkey and 1 slice of cheese cut up. It was surprising how many lettuce rolls you can make with all that.

Easy and healthy snack idea for work

Lettuce, turkey and cheese rolls

I can definitely get used to eating this way and on a lighter note, my pants aren't suffocating me when I button them. WOOHOO! 

Feel free to share any other food finds that might help me along my food and health journey and I hope you like my food finds if you decide to give them a try. More to come....