No matter if it is during the week or on the weekends, morning times in our household are busy. Long gone are the days of waking up, lounging around, and taking in a day long movie marathon. Nope. From the moment I get out of bed I need to get everyone ready, fed, and out the door to school, work, and/or dance practice (if it is the weekend). Mornings are hectic and I am always looking for ways to make it easier.

One way to do that is to keep breakfast time simple. We all know breakfast is the most important meal of the day – not to mention my personal favorite – so it is a priority that no matter how busy the morning is we still eat. Our go to breakfast has always been oatmeal. It is easy to make, has lots of different flavors, and most important is kid and husband friendly. I know I can always prepare a batch of oatmeal and everyone will eat with no complaints. That keeps mommy very happy and sane.

This past week was an especially busy week so I was very happy to give Quaker Perfect Portions instant oatmeal a test. With Quaker Perfect Portions, you can make as little or as much instant oatmeal as you want. My husband and kids eat considerably different portions so this came in quite handy. I could easily prepare 1 small serving for my 5 year old and I lost count of the number of servings my husband ate – honestly, he takes taste testing to a whole new level.

We tried the maple flavor and it was delicious. It does not have added sugar so you can tailor the sweetness to your specific taste. We added a little brown sugar, a drizzle of pure maple syrup, and a few pieces of fruit. Everybody was able to make it the way they wanted. The entire breakfast was ready in less than 10 minutes and made for a perfect hearty meal to start the day.

You can find Quaker Oats Perfect Portions by using their product locator.

Make sure to check out Quaker on Facebook, Twitter, and Pinterest for more of their products and recipe ideas.

What do you do with chopped chicken, bacon, and ranch dressing? Well besides shove it in a toasted pita…put it on a pizza of course!! That is exactly what I decided to do with the ingredients I had left over from the chopped chicken club pitas I made the other day. I know you may be surprised to see the words left over and bacon in the same sentence because honestly who ever has leftover bacon. The only reason this bacon did not get chowed down was because I hid it. Yes I hid bacon. Hey these are measures I need to take because my husband is like a blood hound that has not been fed in weeks when it comes to bacon – so I had to wrap it up and hide it good. It’s actually not too hard hiding things from Matt because if it is not right in front of his face mostly like he will not see it. You understand.

I don’t know what made me think to put these ingredients on a pizza but I am glad I did. It was delicious! Keep in mind this meal came together quickly because all the toppings were made ahead of time. If I had to make the chicken and the bacon that night not sure I would have made this pizza. But if you have the ingredients on hand it comes together in a snap.

To add a spicy kick I decided to use some pepper jack cheese – you can easily use all mozzarella. Then after it was done cooking I sprinkled some chopped tomato and avocado for freshness. It was the perfect Friday night pizza!

What are some of you favorite pizza creations?

Chicken Bacon Ranch Pizza

 

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Prep time

10 mins

Cook time

25 mins

Total time

35 mins

 

Author: Skinny Mom’s Kitchen

Serves: 8

Ingredients

• 1 lb pizza dough
• 4 tablespoons ranch yogurt dressing
• 1½ cups shredded pepper jack cheese
• ½ cup shredded mozzarella
• 6 slices cooked bacon, crumbled
• 2 chicken breast, grilled and chopped
• 1 medium avocado, chopped
• 1 plum tomato, chopped

Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees
2. Stretch pizza dough to form a 12 inch pizza crust.
3. Spread dressing on crust then sprinkle evenly the cheese, bacon, and chicken.
4. Bake for 25 minutes or until dough is cooked and cheese is melted.
5. Sprinkle avocado and tomato on top then slice into 8 pieces and serve hot.

Notes

Make Ahead Instructions
The pizza dough can be bought prepared or made ahead of time and stored in the freezer or refrigerator. Chicken and bacon can be made ahead of time and store in the refrigerator until ready to use.

Nutrition Information

Serving size: 1 slice Calories: 335 Fat: 17 Carbohydrates: 30 Fiber: 3 Protein: 15

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One of my favorite exercise quotes!!

Up until recently I was not exercising on a regular basis. It’s not that I doubted the importance of exercise but for some reason I just could not make it a habit. This might seem surprising since over the last two years I have lost 30+ pounds and write about it all the time on Skinny Mom’s Kitchen. However, a large majority of that weight loss resulted from changing my eating habits. So when it comes to nutrition, calories, planning my meals, and preparing my foods ahead of time I like to think I know what I am doing.

While changing my eating habits played a big part in my weight loss, and brought me very close to my goals, I have quickly learned that to reach my weight loss goals exercise is a must. This became clear about 2 months ago when I was struggling to lose the rest of my weight. I also did not like the way my body looked. Sure I was getting “skinnier” but I was still flabby. Basically, I was a skinny flabby person. I did not like it and knew the only way to fixed that was with good old fashion exercise.

Like I said, it’s not that I did not believe in the power of exercise, I just struggled with finding a way to sustain a weekly exercise schedule. Well that is until now. After 2 years (probably more) of trying to fit exercise into my lifestyle I finally feel like I made it a habit. I have been working out (running, power-walking, and light weights) 3-5 times a week consistently since the last week in February. That is just over 2 months. I have dropped 7 pounds since then and can aslo see a huge difference in the way my body looks and clothes fit. Overall, I feel amazing!

Want to know how I did it (and continue to do it)? There is nothing ground breaking here. Just simple techniques I used to get off my couch and onto the treadmill. Remember what works for me may not work for you and vice versa. Take these tips and adapted them to fit your needs.

I carve out time in the morning

I have to exercise in the morning. I have tried many times to exercise after work but something always got in the way or I was too tired. When I exercise in the morning I get it out of the way and do not have to worry about it again till the next morning. I know it is hard to wake up and get moving in the morning – and you might have to push yourself the first week or two – but it will get easier.

I also found that it helps to wake up, have a cup of coffee, then get on the treadmill. This gives me time to get conscious. In the past, when I would wake up and get on the treadmill immediately I would never get in a hog sweating work out because I was barely awake. However, I can’t sit around too long or I will never get up. Also, I need to start my work out before my husband gets up or I will be enticed to sit on the couch with him, watch TV, and chat over coffee. So, know your excuse triggers and watch out for them.

I keep it simple

I love simplicity in all areas of my life and exercise is no different. For me to sustain an exercise routine it needed to fit into my life naturally. I have no problem pushing myself but I did not want to force exercise into my lifestyle. Therefore, I knew joining a gym, participating in a hard core exercise routine, exercising after work, or doing anything that took longer than 45 minutes would not work for me. Waking up, getting my exercise clothes on, having a cup of coffee, putting in my ear buds, running for 45 minutes, and using resistance bands in the comfort of my own home does work for me. That is what I do. Simple.

I plan ahead

Just like eating healthy is easier with food made ahead of time; it is much easier to exercise when you have your clothes, sneakers, and whatever else ready in advance. If I have to wake up and look for all those things most likely I will not work out. Everything I need for exercising I get ready the night before and have next to my bed. So when I wake up I am good to go.

I exercise every day

When you are beginning to form new habits (and break old ones) I find it best to do that habit every day until it becomes natural. Basically, you are working to retrain your brain to think differently. If you are used to getting up every morning, grabbing your coffee, and watching the today show you need to train yourself to now turn off the tv and exercise instead. That takes time and numerous attempts.  Every morning between 6:30am – 7:30am is my exercise hour. No matter if I am running, walking, doing crunches, or lounges I use that time for exercise only. When I try to mix that time up with other things like blogging, making lunches, or whatever else I always get off track.

I like exercise results much better than couch results

There is no greater motivator than seeing the results of your hard work. Period. When you start exercising on a regular basis and combine that with healthy eating you will see results. They are not going to happen overnight and may even take weeks to see any fruits of your labor. But when you do it is AWESOME! Truly amazing! I could not believe it the day I noticed definition starting to take place in my arms, stomach, and legs. Or last weekend when I bought my first pair of size 4 pants. I never thought that could happen. In reality I just never kept up with exercising to see it happen. But now that I am seeing the results of my hard work that is all I need to keep me going and motivated.

What are your tips to making exercise a habit? What works and doesn’t work for you?

During the busy weeknights I like to keep it simple with dinner. Matt and I usually don’t get home till after 5 and most days need to run out the door to bring the girls to dance class. So when I say simple I mean minimal cooking.

Sandwiches, paninis, and stuffed pitas are some of my favorite quick easy dinners – I actually prefer those meals over a more traditional dinner like meatloaf and mash potatoes. Even with sandwich type recipes you can still incorporate make ahead and freezer cooking. For example, earlier in the week I prepare pitas stuffed with chopped grilled chicken, bacon, romaine, tomatoes, and yogurt ranch dressing. This recipe was made simple because I had the chicken cooked ahead of time. Chicken takes the longest to make and to be honest I have no desire to handle raw chicken during the week.  The bacon I cooked the night of but it easily could have also been made a few days before. In my experience, just having the chicken ready allowed this recipe to come together quickly with a minimal mess. If you make the bacon ahead of time you can quickly crisped it up by throwing it in the microwave for about 30 seconds.

After the bacon was cooked this recipe came together in about 5 minutes.

This recipe is for 1 stuffed pita. Increase ingredients depending on the number you want to make.

Chicken Ranch Club Stuffed Pita

 

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Prep time

10 mins

Cook time

25 mins

Total time

35 mins

 

Author: Skinny Mom’s Kitchen

Serves: 1

Ingredients

• ½ cup chopped chicken breast
• 1 cup chopped romaine hearts
• 1 plum tomato, chopped
• 1 slice cooked bacon, crumbled
• 2 tablespoons ranch yogurt dressing
• 1 whole wheat pita, cut in half and toasted

Instructions

1. In a medium bowl mix together chicken, romaine, tomato, bacon, and dressing.
2. Stuff mixture in pita.

Notes

Make Ahead Instructions
This recipe comes together very quickly if you have the bacon and chicken prepared ahead of time.

Nutrition Information

Serving size: 1 prepared pita Calories: 395 Fat: 16 Carbohydrates: 35 Fiber: 6 Protein: 35

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Here are my official stats.

SW: 177

GW: 135

LWW: 142.5

CW: 141

PL: – 1.5

Breaking through this plateau has me feeling so motivated. I truly believe nothing can motivate you more than seeing the results of your hard work.

Something I have learned over the last couple years is that we are in total control of our habits and lifestyle. However, it takes time and patience to make permanent lifestyle changes. Some days you feel like you are on top of the world and got this…other days you want to throw in the towel and order a pizza. I understand and still find myself on both ends of that spectrum. Just last week I ordered a greasy pizza just because I was tired and lazy…so I get it.

But here is the thing. The goal is not to make healthy decisions 100% of the time – nobody is that perfect, life is not that perfect. The goal is to make healthy decisions most of the time (let’s say 75%) so when you eat chocolate and pizza the same day you are too lazy to exercise it will not send your lifestyle out the window.

But here is another thing. When you start making healthier decisions you WILL start to see results. And those results will start to have a snowball effect on the decisions you make. For example, I used to hate to exercise. The thought of running, lifting weights, or going to gym had me running straight to the couch with coffee in hand. However, once I pushed myself to start making exercise a habit I began to see results. Not overnight. It actually took about 3 weeks to see any changes but once I did my entire outlook on exercise changed. I realized that I prefer the results of running and crunches over lounging on the couch watching TV. Now exercise has become a priority. Same with food. At first, you will miss those high refined carb snacks but once you start feeling awesome and seeing the results of choosing healthier foods you will never go back.

So my advice here is this. Keep at it! If you are exercising, choosing healthy foods, and tracking your portions YOU WILL SEE RESULTS. Not overnight but in time the results will happen. However, I don’t want you to focus solely on the results. Focus on the habits. Establishing healthy habits is all that matters when it comes to sustainable weight loss. Period.

List your stats below and any thoughts, comments, or words of wisdom you have for us.

There is also a lot going on behind the scenes here at SMK. I am bringing on 2 new writers, finishing up my ebook, and getting ready to offer SMK Girl Night In Webinars. I am so excited!! I need to stay focused and use my time wisely if I want to get everything done. Stay tuned.

With all that said my menu plans are going to be simple – real simple. I anticipate many easy go to meals I know I can prepare fast and my family will eat. However, as always, it needs to be healthy! Even more than usual because at the end of the 8 weeks is my 20 year high school reunion. Holy crap! Where did 20 years go? How is that even possible? I do feel good about the way I look but I know myself and when I get busy and stressed sometimes (okay a lot of the times) I want to grab fatty comfort food. So I need to stay focused.

Here is my menu plan this week. I did not have to time to make much ahead this weekend so I planned around what I already had in my freezer (Asian marinated chicken and shredded beef) and kept it simple with recipes I need to make the night of.

Breakfast

PB & J steel cut oats – new recipe

Lunch

Asian chicken mason jar salad – new recipe

Dinner

Tacos

Shredded beef tostadas (like this one but with beef)

Naan salad pizzas – new recipe

Tortellini soup with baby spinach and  chicken (I will be using rotisserie chicken)

Farro with balsamic roasted vegetables and goat cheese –new recipe

SMK participates in Menu Plan Monday hosted by The Organizing Junkie.

What’s on your menu plan this week?

I discovered farro about 6 months ago when it popped up in a few recipes I was viewing on Pinterest – gotta love Pinterest! Up until then I had never even heard of farro. Anyway, after ready through a few farro recipes I thought to myself “hmmm that looks good” so I bought a bag – that is where it ended. For some reason I just never got around to trying farro out until now.

Just in case this is your first time hearing about farro (please don’t tell me if I was the last to know) let me quickly explain what it is. Basically, farro is an ancient grain – yes it is described as ancient – that grows in central and northern Italy. It resembles brown rice and has a hearty texture. It is rich in fiber, protein, and many essential vitamins and minerals. So it is filling and good for you.

Well I finally gave farro a try a few days ago. Why you ask? Well, let’s just say someone did not go grocery shopping over the weekend and had zero food in the fridge besides leftover arugula and feta that needed to get used up. Okay I had a few more things other than that in the fridge but seriously if I had to throw that food out I would have had nightmares for days. Anyway, I needed to find a way to use up the arugula and feta. My first thoughts went to pasta. Unfortunately, I did not even have a box of pasta – yes my cupboards where that bare.

Then I noticed the bag of farro. I read the instructions and saw that it only takes about 25 – 30 minutes to cook so I decided to give it a shot. I cooked it with chicken broth to give it more flavor. Then once it cooked I mixed in some arugula, feta, and olive oil infused with garlic.

This was delicious and my kind of meal! The peppery arugula and salty feta gave this dish such simple natural flavor. And really how can you ever go wrong with olive oil and garlic? You can’t. This farro recipe tasted great warm and I also ate it the rest of the week cold for lunch. So you know what that means? Yep, let’s add another awesome make ahead lunch recipe to the repertoire.

I want to talk a little more about the texture. I really loved it. In my opinion, farro is a cross between brown rice, bugler, and risotto. It is hearty, chewy, and can even be a bit creamy depending on the amount of liquid you add to it. You can play around with the texture to meet your tastes. If you want it firmer reduce the liquid. For a softer creamier chew then add more liquid.

I wish I would have tried farro a lot sooner. I am a huge grain fan and I can see this one quickly becoming a favorite. It is so versatile and can be used in soups, salads, and any recipe that would call for rice or other grains. Stay tuned for lots more farro recipes.

If you would like to reduce the fat in this recipe reduce the feta cheese to 1/2 cup.

Farro Salad with Arugula and Feta

 

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Prep time

5 mins

Cook time

25 mins

Total time

30 mins

 

Author: Skinny Mom’s Kitchen

Serves: 5

Ingredients

• ¼ cup extra virgin olive oil
• 2 garlic cloves, grated or finely minced
• 2 teaspoons lemon juice
• Pinch salt and pepper
• 1 cup farro (pearled or whole grain)
• 2 cups chicken broth (you can also use vegetable broth)
• 2 cups arugula
• 1 cup crumbled feta cheese

Instructions

1. In a small container mix together olive oil, garlic, lemon juice, salt, and pepper. Set aside.
2. In medium saucepan combine farro and chicken broth, bring to a boil. Reduce to simmer and let cook for 20 – 25 minutes or until it gets to the texture you like. Again, for a firmer texture use less liquid and for a softer texture use more liquid. **Special note. If you use whole grain farro you will need to cook it about 10 -15 minutes longer. Remove from heat.
3. Stir in olive oil mixture then add arugula. Once arugula is wilted stir in feta cheese. Stir until all ingredients are combined and evenly distributed. Give it a taste and add more salt and pepper if needed. Can be served warm or cold.

Notes

Make Ahead Instructions
This recipe can made completely ahead of time and stored in the fridge for lunches or dinners during the week. I have not tried to freeze yet but I think because it is so similar to rice that it should freeze just fine.

Nutrition Information

Serving size: ⅕ of recipe Calories: 357 Fat: 22 Carbohydrates: 25 Fiber: 3 Protein: 16

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Fortunately, all of the craziness comes to a halt the Friday before spring break. It is fantastic!

I wanted my kids and husband to come home to a very special after school treat that day. I knew they would be ready to put their feet up and begin their spring break staycation as soon as they walked in the door! As I went through the fun snack file in my mind I tried to pick something that would be a nice welcomed surprise for an after school snack. It was spring break after all and I wanted something that celebrated the next 7 days off.

I decided to make snack sized ice cream sandwiches using Quaker Oats Chocolate Chip Oatmeal Cookies. My girls were so excited to be welcomed home by these ice cream sandwiches – who wouldn’t be? I mean it is ice cream between two cookies after all. Yep, the simple things are very often all we need to bring smiles to little faces. It only took one bite for the spring break celebration to get started. At this point I was officially mommy of the year – at least for the next ½ hour or so.

These cookies have 170 calories and 10 grams of whole grain per serving. They also provide a good source of fiber and contain 7 grams of total fat per serving. Quaker Oats Chocolate Chip Oatmeal Cookies were the perfect cookie for this fun afterschool snack.

Now I can’t forget about hubby. I decided to give him a little extra because he is kind of a giant kid and I knew he could (and would) eat about 10 ice cream sandwiches. So, I thought instead of an ice cream sandwich I would crumble some cookies over a bowl of ice cream. I guess you can say it was an “open-faced” ice cream sandwich of sorts. Well, whatever it is called, he was just as excited as our kids to get a bowl of ice cream with crumbled cookies. Again, the little things that help me become mommy and now wife of the year.

You can find the Quaker Oats Chocolate Chip Oatmeal Cookies in your area by using their product locator.

Make sure to check out Quaker on Facebook, Twitter, and Pinterest for more of their products and recipe ideas.

Compensation was provided by Quaker via AOL Media. The opinions expressed herein are those of the author and are not indicative of the opinions or positions of Quaker.

Before I go over my weigh in I think I am going to make a change to my goal weight. Currently, I have it set for 125 – I am going to change that to 135. 125 is a realistic weight for someone of my height ( 5ft 3 inches) but I am really happy with the way my body is starting to take shape and I don’t feel I need to lose that much more weight. I figure if I keep doing what I am doing my weight will end up where it needs to be naturally.

Right now in my journey I am more about toning up rather than losing weight. Therefore, I decided to start adding my measurements along with my weight every week because that is where I am beginning to see a difference.

Okay let’s get to my weight and measurements then I will talk more about this.

SW: 177

GW: 135

LWW: 142.5

CW: 142.5

PL: 0

Measurements

Waist – 33 inches

Hips – 39 inches

Thighs – 21 inches

Upper arms – 11 inches

This is my first time measuring so I hope I did everything correct. I may need to research more on this.

Anyway, I wish I started taking measurements before I started losing weight because I have no idea what they were when I was 177 pounds. All I know is that at that weight I was a size 12 or 14 and now I wear a size 4 or 6 depending on the style and brand.

Taking your measurements is important because you won’t always see results on the scale which can be frustrating especially when you are working hard at eating right and exercising. That is what happened to me these past couple weeks. I was seeing results in the shape of my body and the way my clothes fit but the scale was barely budging – if you look over the last couple weeks my weight has pretty much stayed the same.

My advice to you is to start taking measurements now. I still think getting on the scale once a week is a good way to keep us thinking and on track. However, I don’t think we should let the scale be the end all when it comes to results.

Of course beyond measurements and the scale there are many different things we can pay attention to. For example, the way our clothes fit; how we look in the mirror; and of course the way we start to feel physically and mentally. Results will take their form in many different ways not just in numbers so keep that in mind.

Leave your stats below. But also answer this question. Beyond the numbers what has been the results you experienced (or hope to experience) from losing weight?

Breakfast is my favorite meal of the day. As you know I stop eating at 7:00pm every night so by the time breakfast comes around I am ready for a delicious and satisfying meal. Most mornings you can find me eating steel cut oatmeal or a breakfast sandwich/burrito. It really depends on my mood which one I grab but regardless both fill me up and give me the energy I need to get through till mid-morning snack.

I try to keep variety with both the oatmeal and breakfast sandwiches/burritos by switching up the ingredients. For example, over the last couple weeks I have made coconut oatmeal, blueberry lemon oatmeal, and apple pie oatmeal. All three are awesome! You can also find a bunch of different breakfast sandwich and burritos recipes. My favorites are the spinach and feta bagel sandwich, sausage and cheese burritos, egg and chicken sausage muffins, greek breakfast pita, and many more.

A couple weekends ago I decided to add another recipe to the repertoire and create a breakfast burrito using my husband’s two favorite foods – mushrooms and bacon. Well ice cream is really his favorite food but I have not figured out how to make that into a nutritious breakfast yet. For this breakfast burrito I decided to use baby portobello mushrooms. I feel they have a meatier texture and stronger flavor that go nice with cheddar cheese and bacon. If you want to use another type of mushroom any will do.

If you follow me on facebook you might remember that I originally made this into an oven omelet then cut it into squares for breakfast sandwiches. Well for some reason they did not freeze well with that method. They became very spongy and the taste was off a bit. Hubs did not like them at all so when that happens the recipe is no longer blog worthy. I actually think I may have overcooked but who knows.

I was really bummed when this happened, but as you know you can’t always have a winner. I did not want to dump the filling all together because it was good. So next time I made it I decided to prepare the filling in a pan then roll into burritos. This was a much better choice because they still tasted great and were now freezer friendly. Perfect!

You can reduce the fat of this recipe by cutting down on the cheese or using turkey bacon.

5.0 from 1 reviews

Mushroom, Bacon, and Cheddar Breakfast Burritos

 

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Prep time

25 mins

Cook time

25 mins

Total time

50 mins

 

Author: Skinny Mom’s Kitchen

Serves: 10

Ingredients

• 12 eggs
• ⅓ cup milk
• 10 ounce package sliced baby portobello mushrooms
• 1 cup shredded cheddar
• 10 slices package bacon, cooked and crumbled
• salt and pepper
• cooking spray

Instructions

1. In a medium to large bowl whisk together the eggs and milk. Set aside
2. In a large pan, coated with cooking spray, cook the baby portobello mushrooms over medium high heat until softened. Break up into smaller pieces while they are cooking. Remove mushrooms from pan and set aside.
3. Lightly spray pan again with cooking spray. Cook egg and milk mixture over medium heat. Stir as it cooks to scramble the eggs. Once the eggs are set stir in the cheese, crumbled bacon, and mushrooms. Give it a taste then add salt and pepper.
4. Let mixture cool slightly then add ⅓ egg mixture to tortilla and roll up. Serve hot.

Notes

Make Ahead and Freeze Instruction
These can be made completely ahead of time and frozen. After you roll up the burritos, wrap in plastic wrap, then stick in the freezer. When ready to eat heat up in the microwave for 2½ – 3 minutes on high or until heated through. I find these heat up better when taken out the night before to thaw slightly in the refrigerator.

Nutrition Information

Serving size: 1 burrito Calories: 306 Fat: 15 Carbohydrates: 25 Fiber: 1 Protein: 17

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