SkinnyTaste

So Andy and I have been talking about eating healthy for awhile now. The marriage/baby weight is definitely adding on. Talk is cheap. Especially when I was working full time and pregnant I didn't feel like chopping food for a salad or cooking that takes longer then 15 minutes. Well I'm past pregnancy and getting used to having a baby so it was about time we got started.  But where and how? Really I didn't feel like a life altering change, especially while I am still nursing. I also LOVE to eat. Plus I'm sure I would  quit a life altering change after about a week. I also don't want to count calories or do a program. I just want to eat healthier. Period. We'll see what that does for us.

Soooo we just decided to start making healthier choices just by eating more fruits and veggies, skipping on the sweets, fries, hamburgers, chips etc... Okay I lie, we still eat that stuff but more consciously and less often. 

I enjoy cooking so I just wanted to start using more fresh vegetables and spices. A friend (Roche Tyson) suggested going to a blog called www.skinnytaste.com Sounds good to me. I still didn't know where to start so I decided to try the top 20 recipes of 2010 on skinnytaste.com. Sounds easy enough for me and it also gets us eating different types of foods like Thai and Filipino along with foods we are used to like Italian and Mexican. Even though we haven't dramatically changed our eating life style I have learned how to cook and shop differently and use spices that I don't think I have ever used such as Thyme. It's been fun. Here are some of the things I've cooked in the last couple of months from skinnytaste.com and what we thought about it.  FYI Just for a healthier choice I added a salad or veggie to most of our meals. I thought our grocery bill would go up for getting healthier foods but I don't think they have because I've replaced with our less healthy foods. I do go shopping much more often (like once a week).

1.  Asian Glazed Drumsticks- I thought this was going to taste similar to chicken teriyaki but it wasn't as sweet and had another taste altogether. I wondered why the lady used drumsticks instead of chicken breast and found that chicken breast would be too tough for this recipe. We both like this recipe. I added broccoli and drizzled the chicken sauce over to hide it a bit for Andy.

 

2. Barbacoa Beef with corn salsa over lime cilantro rice- I love crock pot meals. I can make it while Alyeska's napping during the day and then its ready by dinner with no stress. This recipe was a little too spicy with the chipolatas in the beef and jalapenos in the corn salsa. I would for sure cook this recipe again but just add less of the hotness. 

 3. Cilantro Lime Shrimp- This lady (Gina) seems to like to cook with cilantro and garlic A LOT which makes me happy because I love both of those strong smells and tastes. I learned that shrimp is packed in protein and low in calories and fast to cook. This meal was great!

 4. Chicken and White Bean Enchiladas with Creamy Salsa Verde- I liked the white bean in the enchiladas it made me want to make white bean chili which I never have yet. I liked it the homemade sauce, much better than canned enchilada sauce. 

5. Thai Coconut Curry Shrimp- It was a close call but I think I liked this recipe better than the cilantro shrimp. So good. I never used stuff like coconut milk or curry paste. Yum!

 6. Broiled Tilapia with Thai Coconut Curry Sauce- This like all of the other meals was so flavorful. My sauce was runnier than the one that it shows on the website but still so good. I should have served over rice so that the rice could soak up the sauce. Its a good thing I am a plate licker. I also made sweet potato brulee that is also on skinnytaste.com just because we love sweet potatos and potatos were cheap at winco. 

7. Asian Turkey Meatballs with Seseme Lime Sauce- I used to kinda complain that Andy will choose all american type meals before ethnic type foods but he has been enjoying these meals. He just asks for less rice. He complimented these meatballs. Can't beat these balls :) LOL

8. Filipino Chicken Adobo- I'm not going to lie. The picture on the website and the name of this meal did not sound that great to me but I liked these drumsticks better than the first recipe. I got a great price at Winco for the drumsticks for both of these recipes. I want to say it was about $5 for 16 drumsticks. So good!

9. Shepherds Pie Lightened Up- I am a sucker for veggies and comfort food. This reminded Andy of chicken pot pie which he isn't much of a fan but he didn't mind this meal. I never thought of adding cauliflower to potatoes to have less carbs.

10. Chicken Ropa Vieja-  Another crock pot meal.. well sorta. I love how easy it is to shred chicken after its been in the crock pot. It's also very flavorful. I think this meal would have been better if I made the lime cilantro rice to go with it or put chips on top. It needed something more filling in it. I was happy with all the different types of veggies in this meal. 

11. Chicken Enchiladas- I'm debating on which chicken enchiladas I like better. They tasted a lot different (one red, one green). I liked these a lot too, they are more flavorful enough that Andy said he was burping up enchiladas at work.  

 12. Spinach Lasagna Rolls- This was a creative tweak on lasagna by rolling and not stacking and it was super easy. It was nice to have a veggie meal and not even notice because it was so hearty.

13. Skinny Italian Spinach Meatballs-  This was so good. I didn't use the spaghetti sauce recipe because I just used spaghetti sauce in a jar: Classico Italian Sausage which is my new favorite marinara in a jar. The meatballs were very simple and I cooked them the same way as the Asian meatballs in the oven instead of the frying pan. Andy and I both liked these a lot but we think we liked the Asian meatballs a little better. 

14. Spinach Manicotti- This one was fun because instead of using manicotti noodles I made a pancake type things called crespelles. I felt like I made this completely homemade except I didn't make my own sauce. This was yummy. Very similar to the lasagna rolls.

15. Roasted Broccoli with Smashed Garlic-  Andy said this was the best broccoli he has ever had. This is saying something because he usually wont eat broccoli without it drowning in cheese. I love garlic and broccoli so this was an excellent combo.

16. Skinny Taco Dip- This would be a great thing to take to a party. Easy, fast and yummy. I recommend to put you tortilla chips in the oven and chill your taco dip for just a bit. The hot/cool combo is awesome. 

17. Skinny Tzatziki- We put this sauce over our salad and dipped baked pita chips in the sauce. The sauce was perfect with the pita chips and would be so good with a gyro or meat of some kind. We didn't like it as much on the salad because it was a little overwhelming on the salad. This recipe made me want to make a whole Greek meal with lemon rice and lamb. However I just did this because I didn't feel like cooking :)

18. Pumpkin Pie Dip- This dip was just okay. I wasn't way impressed. It made a lot for just Andy and I so we just brought the rest to a party.

19. Sweet Potato Pie- If someone ate this and didn't know better they would think that this was pumpkin pie. The texture, look and taste are so similar that I would like to try them side by side. I know they do have a little different taste but so close that it would fool most. It was my first time ever having sweet potato pie. Yum!

20. Strawberry Squares- This was good and had very basic ingredients. The only thing I had to go shopping for was the strawberries. You can replace it with other pie filling fruits such as blueberries. Very very easy and fast dessert.