Diet Starts Tomorrow

I don't know how many times I've said this in my life. A LOT. It's a running joke between my mom, sister and I everytime we find ourselves eating something that's not quite so healthy. We assure ourselves that it's OK since our diet won't actually start until the next day. Ofcourse, the next day comes and we do this all over again. I've only been on one true diet (meaning it lasted more than a few days) in my life and that was a few years ago when I got caught up in the low-carb fad. It lasted a few months and I did manage to lose about 15 lbs. but it was difficult sticking to it since I don't eat much meat and that's a lot of what the diet consists of. But, seeing as I'm getting older and have bore a couple of kiddos I'm finding that I could stand to lose a little bit again. As much as I absolutely love staying at home with my boys, I've found that it's not helpful in keeping fit...at least for me! My kids are snacking all day long, so why shouldn't I? It's way too convenient when the pantry is just a few steps away. But, summer is here and Aaron and I have both decided to lose a few lb's. A few days ago I marked June 1st as our start date. Together, we would like to lose around 40 lbs. (combined) by Christmas time. That's almost 7 months. Hopefully this is an attainable goal in the time we've given ourselves. We are very excited about doing this as a couple! While I'm not really one to post about something like this, I feel that putting it out there might make us a little more accountable to sticking with it. Hopefully someone will ask us about our progress every now and then. For Mother's Day, Aaron bought me a new flat-screen TV to hang on the wall in the bedroom. This has allowed us to move our treadmill right in front of it. I wasn't too motivated to run on a treadmill for 30 minutes and stare at the wall. I've also been searching for some new, healthier recipes to add to my menu list! Many of them I've gotten from a book called Hungry Girl. There are actually several HG books with different recipe genres and ideas. You can also find many online. I feel like they are do-able meals and it's easy to subsitute things here and there if you need to. They are also mostly kid-friendly which is a plus for us! Here is our menu for this week. All the recipes are from Hungry Girl.

 Pan-Fried Chicken Parm

{Tuesday's Dinner}

2-3 Boneless skinless chicken breasts

1/2 cup Fiber One cereal
1 1/2 teaspoons Italian seasoning
1/2 teaspoon garlic powder, divided
1/2 teaspoon onion powder, divided
1/4-1/2 cup canned tomato sauce with Italian seasonings
1/4 cup egg substitute
1/2 cup shredded reduced fat mozzarella cheese
Salt, to taste

Thin chicken out by placing it in a gallon size ziplock and pounding it out to approximately 1/2 inch thick. Use a food processor to grind the Fiber One cereal to a powder like consistency. Then, mix it with the italian seasoning, 1/4 teaspoon garlic powder and 1/4 teaspoon onion powder.

In a small bowl, mix tomato sauce with remaining 1/4 teaspoon garlic powder and 1/4 teaspoon onion powder and set aside.

Place egg substitue in a separate medium bowl. Coat raw chicken very well on both sides. Place chicken in crumb mixture and coat evenly.

Spray a large skillet with non-stick spray and bring to medium-high heat. Place chicken in the skillet and cook for 4 minutes on each side or until chicken is cooked through.

Once chicken is cooked, spread 2 tablespoons of sauce over each while chicken is still in the skillet. Evenly sprinkle cheese on top. Reduce heat to low and cover skillet. Continue to cook for 2-3 minutes or until cheese has melted.

Aaron and I both thought this was pretty good for a low-fat chicken parmesan!!