| |
|
YOJULEZ's Recent Blog Entries
|
 
Friday, May 17, 2013
Meal Plan for 5/18/13 through 5/24/13
So, who else felt a loss when the site was down yesterday? LOL! I didn’t realize how much I looked at the site until I couldn’t look at it. And it was kind of a pain to not be able to look at my tracker! But I’m glad they got the problem resolved. And, now I can post my blog! Here’s next week’s plan…
SATURDAY – I don’t have any food plans at all for Saturday. We might be out running errands, who knows. Also we are going to a Rockies baseball game in the evening so I’ll probably be eating there.
SUNDAY
LUNCH Not sure yet
DINNER: Grilled Mexican Roadside Chicken www.seriouseats.com/recipes/2009/08/
grilling-mexican-roadside-chicken-with
-green.html This is another recipe from Mexican Everyday. I am not going to do a whole chicken, but rather 4 bone-in skin on chicken thighs. I haven’t quite figured out sides yet, maybe some grilled asparagus and some tortillas. Like I’ve mentioned before, figuring out calories for bone-in chicken is hard, but so far I have this at 410 for 2 thighs.
MONDAY
LUNCH: Leftover Roadside Chicken
DINNER: Asian Turkey Meatballs with Sesame Lime Dipping Sauce, Brown Rice, Snow Peas www.skinnytaste.com/2010/01/asian-tu
rkey-meatballs-with-lime-sesame.html . I’ve had these saved while, and I have one last package of ground turkey in the freezer so I thought I’d try these out. I’ll have one of the extra servings for lunch, and then will freeze the other one. I will be doing it as 3 servings instead of 4, so each serving will have 4 meatballs and will be 393 calories. I’ll serve with a half cup of brown rice and a handful of snow peas, and top it all with the dipping sauce. Total meal calories are 514.
TUESDAY
LUNCH: Leftover Asian Turkey Meatballs
DINNER: Whole Wheat Pancakes with Bacon pinchofyum.com/whole-wheat-pancakes-
for-two OK so this might seem silly but I love pancakes, and I rarely get the opportunity to make them since J prefers French toast or waffles. I have some bacon to use up so I thought, why not have breakfast for dinner one night? I found this recipe for whole wheat pancakes that only makes 6 pancakes so I’m going to give it a go. I’ll freeze the other 3 to have another time. 3 pancakes is 451 calories, and they look to be pretty good sized. Combine that with 4 slices of center cut bacon, and the entire meal is 551 calories.
WEDNESDAY
LUNCH: I received a free hamburger coupon from a local gourmet hamburger place near my work for my birthday, so I am going to have that for lunch. My birthday isn’t til Friday but who says I can’t celebrate early? Burgers are one of my favorite foods, and the ones at this place are soooo good.
DINNER: Red Chile Chicken with Rice ellysaysopa.com/2009/09/01/red-chile
-chicken-and-rice-with-black-beans/ I do not use the beans because I do not like them. I’ve actually made this before even though it’s from Mexican Everyday. The first time I made it I thought it would be OK to sub chipotle chile powder for the ancho. Well, it’s not. It made it unbearably hot. So this time I’m going to use the proper chile powder! I will also throw in some frozen corn and I have 18 ounces of chicken. Total calories are 395, so it’s a good pairing on a day where I’ll be eating a big lunch.
THURSDAY
LUNCH: Leftover Red Chile Chicken with Rice
DINNER: So remember how I said I love hamburgers? Well, I’m going to make my own at home. I grind my own meat for burgers, it’s a combination of chuck and some bacon, and they are delicious. Each one is 315 calories. I’ll also make some oven fries. Total meal calories, including some mayo and a bun, is 650.
FRIDAY My Birthday!
LUNCH: Leftover Red Chile Chicken with Rice
DINNER: Haven’t decided yet. It’ll be one of my splurge meals since it’s my birthday. I might get some fried chicken!!
I hope everyone has a good week!
Friday, May 10, 2013
Meal Plan for 5/11/13 through 5/17/13
My Mexicanfoodpalooza continues this next week! I’m really loving this Everyday Mexican cookbook. Everything I’ve made from it so far has been so great and delicious, and best of all, pretty low calorie! The Chipotle Meatballs from last week were especially good. We are also finishing up a rainy week here in CO, but the forecast for next week calls for lots of sun and warm weather so I’m happy that I can grill at least a few of the meals. Also, I am now planning dinners for Fridays. We get home from the airport around 6-630 usually and J is usually famished, so I’ve been making meals at home now instead of going out. Lastly, Happy Mother’s Day to all you Moms out there. I don’t get to see mine for a few more weeks as she lives a few states away, but I hope everyone will have a nice relaxing day. Now, onto the plan!
SATURDAY
LUNCH: I am going to hit up the Mexican supermarket that is in the closest town. Based on what I’ve read, they also serve food so I’m probably going to get myself some tacos before I do my shopping. Almost all of my groceries this week can be purchased there, and I’m guessing they’ll be pretty cheap too.
DINNER: It doesn’t look like we have plans to go anywhere, so as long as that stays, I think I’m going to try out this BBQ Chicken with a Mango Pineapple Sauce. It sounds interesting, and mangoes were on sale at Sprouts this week, 3/$1. lemonsandanchovies.com/2013/04/chick
en-with-pineapple-mango-chipotle-barbe
cue-sauce/#.UXWjZ7WsiSo Not sure on sides yet, maybe some grilled asparagus. Depends what strikes my fancy at the store tomorrow. Also, I might make a dessert. I never made J a cake for his birthday, and he loves pineapple upside down cake. Mexican Everyday has a recipe for one that is done in a skillet, so I might try that out if he wants it. It uses a mix of white and whole wheat flour, and yogurt www.fronterafiesta.com/cook/desserts
/157-pineapple-or-other-fruit-skillet-
upside-down-cake.html I did not calculate the calories for this meal as it will be my “splurge” meal for the week as per usual for Saturday dinners. But I don’t think it will be too bad. I’m not the biggest pineapple fan so I’ll probably just have a small piece of the cake.
SUNDAY
LUNCH: Not sure yet.
DINNER: Red Chile Enchiladas and Classic Mexican Red Rice ellysaysopa.com/2009/11/02/red-chile
-enchiladas-with-chicken-and-melted-ch
eese/ and robyn-cooks.blogspot.com/2010/10/cla
ssic-mexican-red-rice.html . These enchiladas have caught my eye for awhile, I’ve had the recipe pinned even before I got the book. They look like a fun little project, making the sauce from dried chiles. There is a quicker weeknight option to do it with dried powders but since I’ll have the time I’m going with the more involved version. I’m using about 14oz of dark meat chicken that I’ve already cooked up and have in the freezer. I’m also excited to try the Mexican rice recipe. I’ve tried a few others that didn’t turn out so good, so I usually just buy rice a roni. So hopefully this will be good enough to replace that! Each serving of the enchiladas, which is 3 enchiladas, is 400 calories. The rice is 176 calories.
MONDAY
LUNCH: Leftover enchiladas and rice
DINNER: Grilled Chicken with Ancho Chile Rub, Green Bean and Red Onion Salad, Mexican Rice. lainesrecipebox.blogspot.com/2010/05
/green-bean-salad-with-red-onion-and.html I don’t have a recipe for the chicken, I made the rub from the book but I couldn’t find a recipe online. I’m just going to rub it on a chicken breast and grill it up, it’s supposed to be 86 degrees on Monday. I actually made the salad last night to go with the chipotle meatballs, and it was very light and refreshing. I cut the olive oil content way down (down to 1tbsp) to save on calories, so it’s only 159 calories. The rice will just be leftover rice from Sunday since that makes 6 servings. The rub is only a few calories, so it makes for a pretty light warm weather dinner.
TUESDAY
LUNCH: Leftover enchiladas and rice
DINNER: Maple-Glazed Pork with Veggie and Butternut Squash www.thehomechannel.co.za/mapl
e-glazed-chicken/ This was on the menu last week but I got a last minute invite to a Rockies/Yankees baseball game, so I didn’t end up making it. The sides are still up in the air a bit, depends what I buy at the store. I have some butternut squash in the freezer though, and I think that will be nice with the maple glaze too.
WEDNESDAY
LUNCH: Leftover enchiladas and rice
DINNER: Chorizo, Potato, and Mushroom Tacos with Roasted Tomatillo Salsa www.pink-parsley.com/2010/09/chorizo
-potato-and-mushroom-tacos.html and www.pink-parsley.com/2010/09/roasted
-tomatillo-salsa.html OK so I know these sound totally wacky, but I’ve actually had a version in a restaurant a few years ago, and it’s actually a great combination. The chorizo is Mexican chorizo, which is a loose sausage compared to the cured Spanish kind. I’ve had a pound of chorizo chilling in my freezer for a few months so now I have a use for it! This recipe uses 12oz, and I will use the other 4 in another recipe on Friday. Each serving is 3 tacos, and with the salsa, the total is 610 calories. I actually don’t know how accurate this is. I used the generic chorizo entry in the tracker but every place makes their chorizo different, and where I got this doesn’t give nutrition info. Oh well!
THURSDAY
LUNCH: Leftover Chorizo tacos
DINNER: Chicken pasta with Tomatillo Salsa. OK so in the book, by the recipe for the tomatillo salsa, he gives a mini recipe to mix the salsa with some cheese (which I’m buying for the enchiladas) and some pasta water to make a sauce for pasta. I’m going to throw in some leftover grilled chicken and that’s dinner. Should be interesting, and a way to use up the tomatillo salsa since I won’t need it all for the tacos. I figured the calories with 7 ounces of chicken and 2 ounces of pasta to be 584.
FRIDAY
LUNCH: Leftover Chorizo Tacos
DINNER: Grilled Pork Tenderloin with Ancho Chile Rub, Roasted Mushroom Spinach Salad with Chorizo www.pink-parsley.com/2010/01/roasted
-mushoom-and-chorizo-salad.html So I needed a way to use up the last 4oz of chorizo, since throwing it into the tacos would have made them too high in calorie. This salad looks like a good way to do that. I’ve made a similar salad before with bacon, so why not with chorizo? It’ll be a pretty large salad too, so should make for a very filling dinner. The salad is 307 calories. Again, the rub doesn’t have much in the way of calories and I’ll probably have 5oz of pork, which is 285 calories, so the entire dinner is just under 600 calories.
I hope everyone has a great week!
Thursday, May 02, 2013
Well, not much to say this week. Another week, another plan! Many of these recipes are from the “Cookbook of the Month” from my other food site, “Mexican Everyday” by Rick Bayless. I was able to find most of the recipes online though, and many of them are healthy meals! So, I’ll get to it…
SATURDAY
LUNCH/DINNER: We will be out of the house all day. We are going to a friend’s birthday party in Washington Park downtown for the afternoon, and it looks like we might go to a Rockies baseball game in the evening.
SUNDAY
LUNCH: Not sure yet. I’ll be going to the store, or I might pick through leftovers.
DINNER: Red Chile Steak with(out) Beans, Romaine salad, and Creamy Cilantro Tomatillo Dressing www.skinnytaste.com/2011/01/creamy-c
ilantro-tomatillo-dressing.html . This is a recipe from the book, and it’s basically for chile colorado, which is one of my favorite Mexican dishes of all time. I won’t be using the beans since I don’t like them. It’s basically steak cooked in a really flavorful chile sauce. I’ll eat the steak with flour tortillas, and will throw together a salad and the above dressing from Skinnytaste. The book has a lot of dressing recipes but because they are all oil-based, they are kind of high in calorie. So I thought this dressing looked like a healthier alternative. This will make 4 servings, each serving being 390 calories (not counting the salad or tortillas).
MONDAY
LUNCH: Leftover Red Chile Steak
DINNER: Grilled Chicken with Tangy Yucatecan Spices, Roasted Fresh Chile Salsa, and Asparagus robyn-cooks.blogspot.com/2011
/06/grilled-chicken-with-tangy-yucatec
an.html This recipe sounds complicated but it’s really not. I’ll probably do the chile salsa on Sunday to save some time, but otherwise it’s very easy to put together. I’m cutting the recipe way down, to make just one serving, with a chicken leg quarter. Also, I will probably grill the asparagus instead of steaming it, since I prefer it that way.
TUESDAY
LUNCH: Leftover Red Chile Steak
DINNER: Maple-Glazed Pork with Asparagus and Brown Rice www.thehomechannel.co.za/mapl
e-glazed-chicken/ This recipe called for chicken but I have a pork chop in the freezer so I thought it would be good with pork. It also looks very easy to do and I have all the ingredients. I’ll be cutting it in half for one. I’m going to cook up a larger pot of brown rice, because I need it for Wednesday’s dinner too. Also since I have to buy a whole bundle of asparagus for Monday’s dinner, I’ll be eating it on Tuesday too. My pork chop is pretty large, 8oz, so the calories are 402. But the roasted asparagus is around 90 calories, and a half cup of brown rice is 108 calories. So overall, 599 calories… making it just under the wire of my usual 600 calorie per meal limit!
WEDNESDAY
LUNCH: Leftover Red Chile Steak
DINNER: Chicken Vindaloo with Brown Rice bevcooks.com/2013/01/chicken-
vindaloo-with-brown-rice/ I’m excited to try this… I love vindaloo, it’s nice and spicy. I’ve held onto this recipe for awhile but finally got my hands on some vindaloo seasoning at my spice shop visit last week. I’ll be cutting the recipe in half. Each serving is only 413 calories.
THURSDAY
LUNCH: Leftover Chicken Vindaloo
DINNER: Chipotle Meatballs, Salad, Smoky Chipotle Vinaigrette www.cookstr.com/recipes/chipo
tle-meatballs . I am making these meatballs with turkey, the instructions in the book say you can do that. I have it as making 4 servings, with 376 calories per serving. Looks like 4 meatballs per serving. I will have a tortilla with it, and also a salad with the vinaigrette I am making the previous week on Thursday. Total calories is 649 but since lunch is only 413 it’s OK.
FRIDAY
LUNCH: Leftover Chipotle Meatballs, probably just with the salad and a lighter dressing.
DINNER: Not sure yet!
Hope everyone has a good week!
Sunday, April 28, 2013
For the challenge this week, I opted to make this Asian BBQ Chicken: www.dinneralovestory.com/eating-chic
ken-solving-problems/ I had been waiting awhile to make this as it sounded very good, but the weather wasn't cooperating with my grilling plans. But we finally had great weather so I could make this. It did not disappoint either, it was very delicious!
It was also very easy to put together, you could make the sauce ahead of time and keep it in the fridge, so it would take next to no time to cook on a weeknight. The only changes I made was using a pinch of red pepper flakes instead of a dried chile.
I served this with white rice (I know I know, but I like white rice), and fresh green beans that I stir fried with a sauce made w/ sesame oil, soy sauce, and sriracha. Oh and a few wedges of lime to squeeze over. This made 4 servings, and ended up being 5oz of meat each. Each serving of meat was 236 calories. 1/2 cup of rice was 100 calories, and the green beans were around 100 calories as well, so a very great meal for under 450 calories! I will be eating the other 3 servings for lunches this week. 
Thursday, April 25, 2013
Meal Plan for 4/27/13 through 5/3/13
Well I finally feel like I’m getting into the groove of cooking for one. I think I have some real nice meals planned for this coming week, and I don’t have to repeat any dinners. Also this month, I will be cooking a lot of recipes from the book “Mexican Everyday” by Rick Bayless. It is the “Cookbook of the Month” over on my cooking message board, and so far I’m really excited about the recipes. They all seem to be pretty healthy and have lots of flavors I enjoy… including heat and spice! I also visited a spice shop for the first time yesterday. If you haven’t gone to one and there’s one in your area, go! Everything was so cheap and they had a much better selection than what you get at the store. Plus, everything is ground once a week, so it’s much fresher than the grocery store. I bought Ancho Chile Powder, Sweet Smoked Paprika, Chinese Five Spice, Vindaloo (Indian seasoning), and Mexican Oregano, all for only $12. It would have been at least double that at the grocery store, if they even had some of this stuff. I went to Savory Spice Shop, which has locations in many states, and there’s also Penzey’s nationwide too. Now, to the plan!
SATURDAY
I am heading up to my BFF’s house in the mountains to spend the night. She originally was supposed to have surgery today (Thursday) so I was going to go up to help out, cook, etc. The surgery was moved to next week, but we still opted to do our girls night this weekend, and I am still going to cook. I did not calculate calories for this, but overall I think it’s a pretty healthy meal. I will be making this lemon chicken: www.inspiredtaste.net/18649/easy-lem
on-chicken-recipe/ and this baked risotto: www.thekitchn.com/recipe-baked-risot
to-with-spring-vegetables-recipes-from
-the-kitchn-188006 . I might also do a salad with a homemade Dijon vinaigrette, we’ll see what she wants. For dessert, Ina Garten’s lemon yogurt cake: www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/i
na-garten/lemon-yogurt-cake-recipe/ind
ex.html , probably with ice cream.
SUNDAY
LUNCH: Not really sure, J will be flying out in the late morning, so probably whatever I end up scrounging from the fridge.
DINNER: Asian BBQ Chicken, Veggie Stir Fry, Rice www.dinneralovestory.com/eating-chic
ken-solving-problems/ and www.kalynskitchen.com/2011/02/recipe
-for-spicy-stir-fried-sugar-snap.html . I’ve been trying to make this chicken for the past 2 weeks but the weather hasn’t cooperated. It’s forecasted to be near 80 degrees on Sunday so hopefully that sticks, I really want to eat this! 6oz of the chicken, with sauce, is 277 calories. The stir fry recipe is one of my go-tos. This time I will be doing it with green beans, since they are on sale this week for only $1/lb. I might throw some carrots in there too since I think I have a few whole ones lingering in my fridge. It’s around 90 calories for a serving. I will also have a ½ cup of white rice (I know, should be brown, but I like how quick white is) with each serving, so the total meal is only 470 calories. Also you will see that this will be my lunch for 3 days this week.
MONDAY
LUNCH: Asian BBQ Chicken, Stir Fry, Rice.
DINNER: Ranch Chops, Sauteed Green Beans and ??. budgetbytes.blogspot.com/2012/11/ran
ch-chops-673-recipe-168-serving.html . I’ve made this pork chop recipe before, and thought it was missing a little something. So, this time, after the marinade, I’m going to put some Dijon mustard on it before coating it in the breadcrumbs. I think that will add the little extra oomph I’m looking for. I am just going to make one chop, so obviously I cut down on the ingredients. My chop is kind of big, 8oz, so I’m counting it at 6.5oz once cooked. So for that plus the other ingredients, it comes out to 359 calories. No recipe for my sautéed green beans. I boil the green beans for about 3-4 minutes, just to get them a bit cooked. I then use about a tsp of bacon fat (*gasp* I know, but it’s actually not that bad in such a small amount), and saute some shallots. I toss in the green beans at the end and let them brown up a bit. Very tasty. Total calories for that is around 110. So far, my meal is at 466 calories. I actually will have an extra 200 calories or so still to use up for the day, so I might add in some garlic bread I have in the freezer, or just have a tasty dessert of some kind!
TUESDAY
LUNCH: Asian BBQ Chicken, Stir Fry, Rice
DINNER: “Master Cleanse” Chicken, Crusted Butternut Squash. www.thekitchn.com/recipe-master-clea
nse-chicken-recipes-from-the-kitchn-17
5356 and pixelsandcrumbs.com/blog/2013/2/26/c
rusted-butternut-squash . OK so before you think I’ve gone all wacky, the name of the Master Cleanse Chicken is kind of dumb. I admit it, but I didn’t make it up! As you can see, it’s just chicken with a marinade, then glaze, of maple syrup, lemon juice, and cayenne pepper…the elements that make up that weird master cleanse juice stuff. I am cutting the recipe way down, as I am not doing a whole chicken, just a chicken leg (drumstick and thigh). The butternut squash recipe looked very interesting to me too. As I’ve mentioned here before, J is not into butternut squash at all, but I have a whole one to use up. I’m just going to make enough for one serving of course though. I will cut up and freeze the rest of my squash for another use later on, it freezes really well. Calories for this whole meat are a little off… won’t really know til I eat it. So far for the chicken I have 350 calories even. Bone-in chicken is hard to do though, until after you eat it and can weigh the bone to remove that part. Same for the squash… I used 4oz to figure my calories but I have no idea if that is accurate. But for now I have it at 156 calories. So, 506 total.
WEDNESDAY
LUNCH: It’s Payday, so Chipotle!
DINNER: Turkey Pesto Burgers, Sweet Potato Fries. www.jasonandshawnda.com/foodi
ebride/archives/12351/ . Sweet potato fries are the Alexia variety. These turkey pesto burgers caught my eye awhile back and the weather has made it hard to grill them. So I’m finally going to attempt them. I’m actually using the whole 20oz package of ground turkey, so I will make 4 burgers. 3 will get frozen to eat some other time. Calories for the patty plus the cheese and mayo toppings is 386. My buns are 150 calories, and the fries plus 1tbsp of bbq sauce for dipping is 185. So this meal is a little on the high end for me, at 721 calories. Just means no dessert!
THURSDAY
LUNCH: Asian BBQ Chicken, Stir Fry, Rice
DINNER: Grilled Chicken with Smoky Chipotle Rub, Salad with Grilled Balsamic Onions and Smoky Chipotle Dressing. No link for this, this all from the Mexican Everyday Cookbook. The rub is chipotle chile powder, crushed garlic, sweet smoky paprika, sugar, pepper, and salt. It makes 1.5 cups so you’ll be seeing this pop up again on other meats later on as well. I plan on rubbing it under the skin of some bone-in skin on thighs so the flavor will penetrate the meat, and then I will take the skin off for eating. I’m making 4 thighs, 2 to eat this night, and 2 to use somehow for lunch on Friday. I am also making a romaine salad with some red onions I’m grilling and putting some balsamic vinegar on, and a dressing from the book, made from olive oil, balsamic vinegar, canned chipotles (I’m going to start with 1 and see how I like the flavor), some of the sauce from the canned chipotles, Mexican oregano, and salt. The dressing is a bit high in calorie because of the oil, but it’s good fats at least, and I have a feeling a little will go a long way. So far, the total meal is only 348 calories, so hopefully that’ll go up some once I can weigh out the chicken I’m eating. I might need to figure out another side…. Maybe cornbread. Mmmmm.
FRIDAY
LUNCH: Not quite sure yet, something with the chicken from Thursday night. Maybe I’ll make a chicken salad with it and the romaine and the dressing. We’ll see!
DINNER: No idea yet, J will be flying back.
I hope everyone has a good week!
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
Last Page
|
|
Get An Email Alert Each Time YOJULEZ Posts
|
|
and the recipe you posted definitely looks doable. Have fun with your girls night with your BFF. 
I always feel like as we get older, there are too few opportunities for sleepovers and girl time!
Member Comments About This Blog Post:
