Blazing a Mountain Trail

When I was a child, my school took field trips to Stone Mountain. We younger children were only allowed to go to the pavilion at the halfway point; the older ones got to climb the whole thing. So, before today, I don't think I had climbed Stone Mountain all the way to the top. If I had, I had definitely forgotten just how steep it gets. It was an absolutely beautiful day for a hike - partly cloudy and around 80°. Once we climbed the 660' elevation gain in about one mile, the views were spectacular - you can see cityscapes of Atlanta and Buckhead as well as lush greenery and calm lakes.
After we climbed back down the mountain, I was ready for lunch! So, I picked up my hubby, and we headed to a local restaurant called Milo's. There, I used to get the chicken philly and fries because yum. That was what Calvin ordered today. But, in an attempt to stay on-plan today, I ordered their Chicken Salad Lettuce Wrap. It came with a large serving of homemade chicken salad and was served with grapes and crackers (and plenty of lettuce to make several wraps). It could not have been a better choice.

After we ordered and while we were waiting for our food to be served, I told Calvin what I thought we would have for dinner this coming week. I made sure it all sounded good to him. He is on board. So, here is our meal plan:

I'm hoping to make my chicken salad similar to what I had at Milo's today. It looked pretty simple - maybe just chicken, mayo, a little mustard, celery, salt, and pepper. If I succeed at copying them, I'll really enjoy those lunches next week.

For the roast beef, I'll cook it in the Crock Pot and season it with Season Salt and butter. I'll add the onion, carrots (and red potatoes for the hubster) to the Crock Pot to roast along with the beef.

For the penne lasagna bake, I'll use either Dreamfields or Barilla Protein Plus noodles. I'll brown ground beef with onions and peppers and season it with garlic salt. I'll use Newman's Own Marinara and add garlic powder, onion powder, and red pepper flakes to season it up a little. I stir about one cup of Italian-blend shredded cheese into the seasoned marinara. Then, I'll add the cooked meat, peppers, and onions and cooked pasta. I'll stir all of that together and pour it into a casserole dish. Then, I'll top it with another cup of Italian-blend shredded cheese and bake it until it's nice and bubbly.

Have you decided what's for dinner this coming week? I'd love to hear about your low (or lower) carb recipes.

Oh, by the way, I've been eating this low-carb way for about five weeks now. I feel like I'm starting to get the hang of it.

I Can Eat Parmesan-Crusted Chicken?!

Well, hallelujah! I used to love getting parmesan-crusted chicken at Longhorn. I think they recently (in the past six months or so) changed their recipe; I don't like it as much. However, I do love my homemade version of it. Check out that golden brown crust...yum!!!

I'll share the recipe with you. But first, here is my Meal Plan for this week:

You can see that the word "variety" isn't how you would describe my breakfasts. I know that I like it; and, it is quick and easy. I do change it up from week to week. But, I often stick to the same breakfast each week, for a couple of weeks. On that note, you will see that we eat leftovers a few times. I would much rather cook three times each week than seven. So, I usually make enough for us to have leftovers as least once for dinner and enough that I can take it for lunch at least once (usually twice). Although I do not mind a good salad, I much prefer leftovers to having a salad every day for lunch.

Now, for the recipe of the deliciousness that brought you here:

Ingredients:

1 – 1.5 lb. boneless, skinless chicken

2 tbsp of vegetable oil

Garlic salt

Red Pepper flakes

¼ cup Ranch dressing

¼ cup grated parmesan

  

2 tbsp butter, melted

½ cup Panko bread crumbs

¼ tsp garlic powder

1/3 cup grated parmesan

Directions:

Coat a baking or casserole dish with the vegetable oil and place chicken in the dish.

Sprinkle chicken with garlic salt and red pepper flakes.

Bake at 425° for 15-20 minutes (flip chicken at 10 minutes). Remove from oven and set aside.

Ranch spread: mix ¼ cup of parmesan and ¼ cup Ranch dressing. Spread about 1 tbsp onto each piece of baked chicken.

Mix bread crumbs, garlic powder, parmesan, and melted butter. The crumbs should be evenly moistened. Sprinkle over chicken spread.

Position oven rack 6-8” from broiler. Preheat broiler. Place chicken under broiler and cook until cheese melts and crumb topping turns light, golden brown. 

For leftovers: heat oven to 350°. Place chicken on aluminum foil and bake 12-15 minutes.

In case you are wondering about the nutritional information for the deliciousness, I have that for you also. It is more carbs than I normally eat for one meal, but with 32 grams of protein, I'll take it!

This Life That I Lose

Last week, I was thinking about updating my blog to be a better representation of where I am today. So, updated the name and theme of the blog to “This Life that I Lose.” 

The scriptural basis for it is 1 Corinthians 6:19-20 where we are told that this life is not our own – we were bought with a price. To that, I will continue to post devotion-type blogs as I have over the past few years; and, we will continue to grow together in our spiritual walks.

This Life that I Lose physically is the sedentary, sugar and carb-addicted one. So, I will post about my journey of losing weight and getting healthy. I’ll share meal plans and recipes that my husband and I enjoy as well as the exercises that I do to help me stay active.

In case you are wondering how I got here, almost four years ago, I went from an active job to a very sedentary job. I love my job with regular work hours and no uniform requirement. But, I did not love the pounds that I had put on sitting at a desk for 40 hours each week. About a month ago, I decided that I was tired of always trying to lose weight and being stuck at a plateau of about eight pounds lost in two years. I knew that I needed a push to get me on the right track. I joined a 16 Week Challenge at the local gym. They provided meal plans, boot camp workout classes, and monthly weigh-ins/body measurements.

The meal plans that were provided were low-carb and low-fat with no dairy and no processed food. No doubt, that would catapult me into weight loss, but I also wanted to do something that would be sustainable long-term. So, for me, I’ve found that low-carb high fat (LCHF as you’ll see if you do an internet search) with no added sugar and no white carbs like potatoes or pasta works well. To give me something to look forward to, I do have a couple of cheat meals each week. In about one month, I've lost nine pounds; I've lost seventeen pounds from my highest weight three years ago. Last week, I told a friend that if I had realized that I could eat like this and lose weight, I would have started it a long time ago. But, my time is now; so, here I go!

Join me on this spiritual and physical journey of This Life that I Lose.