Chops and Kraut

Yesterday I was bad... I mean really really bad. I woke up and worked hard on my workout. Of course, I felt really weak during it. Have you ever just felt like you were a big, wet noodle? That's exactly how I was feeling during my workout. Voices in my head were whining, "I don't wanna do this!" Luckily, I made it through. I then headed to base to do some grocery shopping. I bought a blender and am so happy about that. Now I can start making the popular Green Monster smoothies I see all over the internet. So this is where I got bad... I went through Burger King and got a burger and fries for lunch! Now I think I've been doing really good on my eating and cutting back, but yesterday I was weak. So now I am writing in my blog putting off my workout, because I know I am going to be feeling that burger as Jillian Michaels tells me to do pushups.

So I tried to eat a healthier dinner last night. This recipe is adapted from Taste of Home Comfort Food Diet cookbook. This dish was surprisingly good. I mean, I didn't think it would be bad, but I wasn't expecting to like every single bite as much as I did! Keep in mind that I only cook for two on weeknights, so I cut this recipe in half. So in the pictures you will see a smaller amount than what the recipe actually calls for.

Here is the wonderful recipe for an easy and healthy meal!

Chops 'n' Kraut
Taste of Home Comfort Food Diet Cookbook

Ingredients

6 bone-in pork loin chops (3/4 inch thick and 7 oz each)
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon pepper
3 teaspoons canola oil, divided (I used vegetable oil)
1 medium onion, thinly sliced
2 garlic cloves, minced
1 can (14-1/2 ounces) petite diced tomatoes, undrained
1 can (14 ounces) sauerkraut, rinsed and well drained
1/3 cup packed brown sugar
1-1/2 teaspoons caraway seeds (I left this out)

Sprinkle both sides of pork chops with salt and pepper. In a large nonstick skillet coated with cooking spray, cook three chops in 1 teaspoon oil for 2-3 minutes on each side or until browned; drain. Repeat with the remaining chops and 1 teaspoon oil.

Place pork chops in a 13-in. x 9-in. baking dish coated with cooking spray; set aside. In the same skillet, cook onion and garlic in remaining oil until tender. Stir int he tomatoes, sauerkraut, brown sugar and caraway seeds. Cook and stir until mixture comes to a boil.

Carefully pour over the chops. Cover and bake at 350 degrees for 20-25 minutes or until meat is tender.

Yield: 6 servings
Nutrition Facts: 1 pork chop with 2/3 cup sauerkraut mixture equals 311 calories, 3 g fiber, and 32 g protein.

Doesn't this just sound yummy? Well I can testify that it is! Don't be frightened by the sauerkraut. Adding the brown sugar makes it less sour. Also, I didn't have caraway seeds, so I left those out. The dish still tasted amazing. Remember, I cut the recipe in half, so my pictures look different than if you make the full recipe. I hope you can enjoy this dish as much as I did!

Taco-stuffed Pepper Cups

Good morning to you! So I have officially moved on from level one to level two in Jillian Michaels' Thirty Day Shred. Let me tell you, there has never been as hard of a difference between two levels! The first day I did the workout, I had to stop twice because I thought I would be sick. That's good right?? My body is aching, but I am taking that as a good thing. If I didn't feel sore, then obviously I am not working hard enough. So there is my workout update.

Now to some yummy food. I got a new cookbook for Christmas, and I couldn't be happier with it. I love anything from the Taste of Home cookbooks, but this one is even better. It is a comfort food DIET cookbook! How awesome is that? So the first recipe that I made from it was some amazing stuffed peppers. Obviously, since I live in Germany, I had to made some slight changes because I don't have a good grocery store in my city. I made due with what I had, and they still turned out delicious!

Here is what you need:
2 medium green peppers
1/2 pound lean ground turkey (I used lean beef)
2 tablespoons chopped onion
1 can (16 ounces) kidney beans, rinsed and drained
3 tablespoons taco seasoning
1/4 cup fat-free sour cream
1/4 cup shredded reduced-fat cheddar cheese
1/4 cup chopped tomato

Chop tops off peppers and remove the seeds. In a large kettle, cook the peppers in boiling water for 3-5 minutes. Drain and rinse in cold water; set aside.

In a large skillet, cook the turkey (or beef) and onion over medium heat until meant is no longer pink; drain. Stir in means, tomato sauce, and taco seasoning; bring to a boil. Reduce the heat; simmer, uncovered for 5-6 minutes or until heated through.

Spoon into peppers. Place in an ungreased 8-in. square baking dish. Bake, uncovered, at 350 degrees for 10-12 minutes or until peppers are tender. Top with the sour cream, cheese, and tomatoes.

Yield 4 servings.

Adapted from Taste of Home Comfort Food Diet Cookbook

So here is what I found about this recipe. It is pretty simple and quick! Additionally, if you needed to, you could prepare the peppers and meat, refrigerate until dinner and then pop them in the oven. This may cause you to have to cook the peppers a bit longer though. Each pepper has about 21 grams of protein, so they will definitely fill you up! I was amazed that my husband only ate one because they were so yummy, but they really were filling. I also think that if you wanted to add some things to the dish you could. Next time I may add corn or even put some rice in the mix. You may notice in the first picture, it looks like I had more onion than in the recipe, well I did. I love onion, and so I don't think you can have too much of it! Also, if you are trying to cut even more calories, leave out the cheese and sour cream. Although they are yummy and add something to the dish, you don't HAVE to have it!

So I hope that you can enjoy this dish as much as I did. Remember, taking away or adding isn't a bad thing. Sometimes it makes a dish even better!

A Child's Picnic Table

I thought it was time for me to begin sharing some of my creative moments from the past. I would like to thank my mom, grandma, and aunts for sharing their creative ideas and genes. I know that my ability to enjoy crafting comes from them!

So here is a Christmas present I gave my niece last year. It started as a child-sized picnic table. I found someone locally who made the table for only $20! Can you believe that? So after cramming the table into my Diamante (look-alike Galant) I made it home and began to think of ways to decorate it. It sat in my garage for a few weeks before I even had any ideas. This is because I am partially a perfectionist and also lazy. Those two things usually force me to have to work last minute... but that is beside the point.

Now I wanted to decorate this table having my older sister in mind. Because really, she is the one I really wanted to impress. My niece was only one, and I knew that the detail work wouldn't really matter to her. So I remembered that
my sister always has liked designs and things my Mary Engelbreit. So that is what I based my decor on.

I first sanded the table so that it would not snag or cause any splinters. You don't want to go and hurt the recipient of the gift! I then started with a base coat. I actually spray painted the table white. This helped cover any darker spots on the table. I then painted the top of the table and seat bright yellow. I left the legs white because I didn't want to overload on the yellow. I penciled in their last name first before ever beginning to paint. This prevented any mistakes or problems with centering. I painted the letters in black, and then once dried I outlined with a black paint pen. Those things are amazing! They have such clean lines and really made the piece look nice. I then added little white dots on the letters, just to liven it up.

I added flowers to the upper right and lower left sections on the top of the table. This added some other colors and made the piece of like something Mary Engelbreit would do. I finished by added a black and white checker pattern onto the sides of the table. This was the longest part, but having a paint pen helped greatly. So there you have it!

Memories from last year.

As I was browsing Pinterest today (big surprise), I started thinking again about my body. I was just looking at the fitness section, and I suddenly started thinking about all of the times I wished I had looked and felt better about my body. Here is one time.

Last summer, I went to a beautiful place in Alabama where there were breathtaking waterfalls and a place for swimming. I went to two girls and two guys, yes I was the odd man out. Anyways, I remember putting on a bikini and telling myself that I would be confident enough to wear it. I then placed a tank top and shorts on and headed out the door. Now I love swimsuits and have many; unfortunately, I can't wear them all. So I had been working out and felt somewhat confident, so I put on one of my favorite. When I got there, I immediately started dreading the moment when I had to take off my top. The two girls I was with were so cute and tiny, and compared to them I felt like a huge beast. Long story short, I spent the day swimming with my top on and feeling embarrassed the entire time. I was miserable. To top it all off, I didn't bring another shirt so I drove home and had dinner in a wet, stinky top.

This year, I don't want to feel like that again. I don't think that I will ever be 100% confident in a swimsuit, but I would at least like to enjoy occasions when I have to wear one. I feel so hindered by my insecurities, wouldn't you think that would be enough motivation? So, it is time for a change. After all, life is too short for me to be too scared.

You know you need to workout when...

Yes, you know you need to workout when your husband says/agrees that you are out of shape. Of course you can admit to yourself that yes, indeed, you are out of shape! When someone else says that too, that's when you need to get into gear.

In my last post, I shared some of my New Year's resolutions. One of them was in fact being healthier and getting into shape. Here I am, nine days into the New Year, and I've already lost my gusto. I spend a good amount of time trying to get motivated by doing a number of different things... Staring out the window, watching a movie, looking at Pinterest, etc.. No, those things don't actually motivate me, but most of the time they are just more exciting than working out.

Here's the problem, I live in Germany and don't live near a gym. Sure that is just a lame excuse, I can workout at home. But my dear friend, there are only so many workout DVDs out there. Sure I will find some that I get really into, and then about two weeks later, I can mimic everything the instructor says and does. It isn't very exciting.

Okay, so enough of my excuses. Here is my most recent workout. Jillian Michael's 30 Day Shred. This woman is a beast! I watched her on The Biggest Loser many seasons, and when I can access cable, I watch her now on The Doctors. I am a HUGE fan! Not only is she absolutely gorgeous, she has the best way of motivating... by yelling. So I've started doing that DVD about 4 times a week. Of course I've really only done it for one week, but already I am finding myself moving slow to get on my workout clothes and my that bad boy in the DVD player. Ugh, if only Jillian were here to yell at me in person.

Time to Make Some Resolutions

It's that time of year again. You all know about it. I think as soon as you reach a certain age, and are a female, you all have at least one or two of the same resolutions as most of the female population. "I am going to lose weight." Yep, that's it. Now I would love to say that I don't have to continue making this empty resolution again, but I am just going to have to do so. This year will be different. Instead of wanting to lose a ton of weight, I mainly want to become more healthy. That means cutting out the junk and starting a better lifestyle. So here is my New Year's Resolution list:

1. I need to become healthier. This includes my eating and workout habits.
2. I want to read my Bible every day. This is something that I've gotten away from, and I am just happier when I do it... so why don't I keep doing it?
3. Stop cursing. Now don't get my wrong, if you know me you would think this is an empty resolution, because I don't curse. I would just like to eliminate any small words spoken out of anger.
4. Read more books. This year I read 15 or more books. I think that is pretty good, but I know if I replaced my t.v. watching with reading, I could have read even more.

So there is my list. Of course I will probably have many more things to add, but I don't want to become overloaded. What are your resolutions? I don't think it is bad to set them. Sometimes I think it is funny how by the time it is February, the promises we've made to ourselves are swept under the rug, only to be brought back occasionally.