A Week in the Life of ME!

Hey everyone! Hope you all are enjoying Spring so far! I know I am! It's the start of BBQ season, which can turn out so many healthy options. Steering away from those comfort casseroles. I always get asked what I eat during the week or how I make suppers healthy. Well here is your answer! I decided to document a few choices from last week and share it with you. How exciting right!? I seriously love cooking and I love food, that has not changed. Who the hell doesn't? I find myself having to be so much more creative in the kitchen. I am constantly reading labels and realized it is so much healthier to make everything from scratch even salad dressings rather than buy things already made.

Let's start with my favorite meal of the day, BREAKFAST! I think I could eat breakfast for all three meals in my day, I love it so much. During the week I try and keep it simple because let's be honest I just would rather hit my snooze a couple more times. I have been all about smoothies lately! I  bought a NutriBullet and I LOVE IT! I honestly have to say since I switched over to nutrient packed smoothies I feel fantastic and I don't even want to go to bed at night the last couple of days I just feel rested and I have tons of energy. Here is what I have put in my smoothies:

Spinach Berry Smoothie
1/3-1/2 cup of Frozen Mixed Berries
1/4 cup of 0% Plain Greek Yogurt
1/4-1/2 cup of Frozen Spinach
1/4 cup of water or whatever consistency you prefer
1.5 TBLS of Hemp Hearts
1 Scoop of Kazien Vanilla Ice Cream Protein Powder

Now you can mix this up and add whatever you like. I have been doing berries because they are high in dietary fibre and good for the gallbladder. Also with the Hemp Hearts you could use Chia Seeds as well. Anything that is a booster like nuts, seeds, acai berries, chia seeds & hemp hearts would work.

Now when I have a little more time on the weekends I like to spice up our breakfasts. I really love making eggie cups.

Eggie Cups
Line muffin tin with a slice of Ham or Turkey luncheon meat
fill up muffin tin 3/4 of the way with egg whites or you can use a whole egg
Add chopped red pepper, green onion or any veggie you like with your eggs.
I usually add seasonings like my epicure seasonings (BLT Dip, Red Garlic Sansel) then I usually put a little bit of shredded cheese on the top of Nicks and a spoon of salsa.
Bake them for about 20-25 minutes on 375 and serve with a few baked hash browns as a treat, because why the hell not it's the freakin' weekend and some fruit! They are really high in protein and lower in the fat department, everything you need to have a great start to you day!


So last week it was Cinco de Mayo and I thought well that sounds fun! I had leftover Turkey Chili and so I picked up some whole wheat medium tortilla's, lined them in my muffin tins, added some cooked quinoa, chili and then topped with shredded cheese and baked them for about 20 on 360. When they came out I served them with some shredded lettuce, bruschetta tomatoes and a scoop of plain Greek yogurt on the top! They were delicious. I made the lower carb version for myself and went with a stuffed turkey chili quinoa pepper. I topped it with the same things as the taco cups. Arrriba!!



For lunches I usually take leftovers. If there aren't many left I will make something out of them like a chicken salad from leftover chicken, or I'll make a tuna salad because I always have cans of tuna laying around the house. This lunch to the left was a tuna salad with feta cheese, pumpkin seeds, craisins and yellow peppers. For snacks I took strawberries, leftover angel food cake and some veggie chips. Yesterday I had a leftover chicken salad and my dressing was a Greek yogurt BBQ dressing. I just mixed a couple tbls of plain Greek yogurt with a couple tbls of BBQ sauce and some ranch seasoning. It was really delicious and was like a BBQ chicken salad, ultra low fat! Sometimes I just take carrots, cucumbers, dip, a fruit and a protein. Nick & I were at the farm for a couple of days and his mom makes delicious buns! So for lunch the one day I had half a chicken bun with Greek yogurt instead of Mayo, added a little BBQ sauce and mustard with some lettuce and my lunch was born! It was so delicious and I didn't miss the mayo.

Tuna Quinoa Patties
1/2 cup of quinoa, cooked
2 cans of Tuna
1 Cup of Broccoli steamed
1/2 Cup frozen Spinach steamed
Half a clove of garlic
(I pulsed the garlic, steamed broccoli and spinach in my food processor to make smaller pieces)
Seasonings of your choice (I used Dill, garlic powder, onion powder)
1/4 Cup of Egg Whites


I baked them for about 30 minutes on 360 on parchment paper lined sheets and we had those for a few lunches and snacks with some Greek yogurt on the top.

As you can tell I add Greek yogurt to everything. I was always a big sauce eater, I loved it so now I substitute Greek yogurt into everything. I use it on potatoes, wraps, sandwiches, salads and chilli's. It acts as a great substitute for mayo, sour cream, butter and cream cheese. I even made a couple dips with it and no one could tell it wasn't cream cheese.

I dont' even want to get started on my Veggetti and how much in love with it I am! It's amazing, and I can whip up some zucchini pasta in a matter of 5 minutes total time seriously. Everyone should have one. Unless your not into veggies, then that's cool to.

Bruschetta Zucchini Pasta
1 Zucchini made into noodles
1/2 cup of prepared bruschetta with 2-3 tbls of Light Feta Cheese
1 Clove of Garlic minced

Saute garlic in a pan with a splash of olive oil. Add zucchini pasta and tomatoes and saute until liquid has steamed out. You can add a little grated Parmesan if you wish and serve!

I am down 120lbs and have been doing well at keeping that number for a bit. I have been trying to get all my nutrients in with an upcoming gallbladder surgery, I'd like to be at my healthiest. I recently bought a bike and I was looking for the weight restriction on the tag before we bought it! I had to be sure I wasn't over the weight restriction as I have been so many years before in my life. Nick looks at me like I'm crazy, you wont be anywhere near the weight restriction Chantelle. Guess what? I wasn't!! Whoop! 
This has turned into a huge blog but I seriously could talk about food and recipes all day. I know I've missed my true calling of being a chef in life. I could spend all day in the kitchen coming up with new and healthy meals to try. I know my poor boyfriend is missing a few comfort foods sometimes. When I told him I bought Lean Turkey Smookie's from superstore with whole wheat flat bread buns his eyes lit up. All he heard was Smookie and so we had those last night. He was so excited! haha. I'll remind him of the lean turkey part later. :)

I hope everyone is enjoying their spring and bbq's! I know I am and it truly feels amazing to be so much lighter this year than last year. When I look back at my spring photos from last year, I had just started my journey and I know I was so happy with every few pounds I kept loosing but seeing where I am now there is no comparison. I am truly a different person and math wise I am 40% less weight than I was a little over a year ago! I couldnt' have done it without all of your support and kind words. Thank you all again! :)

Hugs & Glitter,

Chanty