Yet another diet.

“Food has replaced sex in my life; now, I can't even get into my own pants.”

This is not entirely true; I can still fit into some of my pants lol. I am on yet another diet because I stepped on the scale and yet another 3 pounds have settled on my body, added to the 5 pounds before that, plus the 6 I was ok with before the 5. It was ok when it was just 6 pounds though, I mean It didn't show and I’m like hey a girl can gain 6 healthy pounds, then the additional 5 pounds some months later but hey I was just coming out of winter so it was acceptable. The total of 14 pounds within the year and half is not acceptable so I am on yet another diet. Boohoo

I've come to realize that when it comes to diet and exercise, my problem is boredom. I get bored easily with the same routine which is why I couldn't stay in my birkham yoga class for more than a month. Also with food, I need at least a hot meal everyday which is why I dread the yogurt days and different types of cold salads. Add to the fact that I am not a big fan of spinach and my tongue starts to itch after 3 forks of salad that has lettuce, I knew I needed something!!

So my new diet system has 3 parts, my calorie tracker, my workout and my diet.

For tracking what I eat, I have my fitness pal which is an apple app that lets you track what you eat. It even has Nigerian food and a recipe builder where you can just add the ingredients you used to cook whatever your favorite dish is and it tells you how many calories each cup or serving is. The key to building your recipe is measurement so just have your basic tbsp., cups and tsp. measurements and you’ll be fine. It's pretty easy to use which is why it works for me. You don’t know how many cookies I have eyed with anger once I found out that 2 pieces were worth 300 calories.

Secondly, my workout, I have this weekly exercise routine that I found on pinterest. Its different routines every day of the week. There are several ones I do but I try to do a full body work out then focus on my abs after that. Plus I randomly add a session of insanity to the mix up and some walking. PS. I never do the whole insanity, after 5 mins I am gasping for my breath so I do as much until I can take no more. It's getting cold and I know for sure I will not be interested in that walk to the gym so I'd rather just exercise in my house in my sports bra and shorts and be comfortable. Also I have my dog cheering me on with her bark only cos she thinks I'm running mad moving my legs and hands in ways she doesn't understand. I also have a number of apps that I have used example the Nike running, a few ab work out ones since that is my fatty area so play around with it.

Thirdly, with the food, I have recently found ways to cook veggies that don’t require eating them cold straight out of the fridge so I'll be sharing some fav recipes. Plus for snacking since I sit at a desk for 9 hours 5 times a week, I try to eat fruits, granola bars and low fat crackers. Even sometimes I eat only half of my lunch so that in between 1pm and 6pm before I leave for work I can eat the second portion. It all depends on what works for you and what you like.

It's like the older I've gotten, the tougher it is for me to lose weight, it almost seems like my body and my fat are really good friends now because mandating the fat to leave with my diet and exercise is punishing my body to an extent. I hope this can become a routine within a routine for me since I'll constantly be switching things up. I just want to lose these pounds and look good honestly. I'll try to post every other day what I've had and know that I am not an expert on this, I am just a girl or should I say woman who needs to lose weight and doing it on my own terms.

By the way, I just burned a few calories from thinking, typing and proof reading this post. J

Chicken and Wild Rice Casserole with Baked lemon Chicken

"So long as you have food in your mouth, you have solved all questions for the time being."

I had never made a casserole dish but wait till you try this. It is sooo DELICIOUS. I had a couple people try it and they loved it so i am tapping myself on the back.

Ingredients for Casserole

3 Tablespoons extra virgin olive oil

1 medium onion, diced

3 stalks celery, diced

3 carrots, peeled and diced

1 Tablespoon garlic powder

16 oz prepared wild rice sold at most grocery stores in boxes

1 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon black pepper and dried ground pepper

Ingredients for Lemon Garlic chicken

6 tbsp olive oil

2 lemons

1 tsp salt

1/2 tsp ground black pepper and dried ground pepper

3/4 lbs green  beans

5 chicken breasts

Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 450°F. Coat a large baking dish with 1 tablespoon of the olive oil. Arrange the sliced lemon in a single layer at the bottom of the dish.
2. In a large bowl, combine the remaining oil, lemon juice, garlic powder, salt, black and ground pepper, green beans. 
3. Remove the green beans and arrange on the lemon already placed in the dish.
4. Place the chicken in the bowl with the seasoning mixture and coat thoroughly. Place the chicken in the dish on top of the green beans. I put my green beans on top of the chicken as seen in the picture because I wanted it to be somewhat crispy but some of it burned on the edges so it's your choice. 
5. Pour any remaining seasoning over the chicken and roast for 40-50 minutes. 
6. For the casserole, the recipe says shredded chicken breast but what I did was boil one of the chicken breast and shredded it myself. 
7. Heat oil in a medium pot over medium heat. Saute onion, celery and carrot until softened for about 10 minutes. Stir in chicken, wild rice, salt, pepper and garlic powder. Reduce the heat to low and allow to simmer. 
8. Transfer to a small baking dish. Top with cheddar cheese and bake for 25-30 minutes or until the cheese is all metled through out.

First blog for the third time.

"When baking, follow directions.  When cooking, go by your own taste.  ~Laiko Bahrs"

As no one but my sister and I know, this is my third time reinventing my blog; I tried to write fictional stories but after a while I couldn't think of any more interesting things that could happen to my main character. I tried sharing fun stories from my life, then I joined coporate America and now I am just a boring person who wants to stay home when I'm not at work. I figured since the only thing I am guaranteed to do is cook because I love it so much, why not just blog about the different things I cook/ eat. Basically this is just an open invitation into my kichen, its my personal food blog which will mostly consist of food that I make and occasionally exceptional restaurant food that I might be recreating. There will be healthier food substitutes, pictures and recipes so check back often for food, desserts and appetizers from different parts of the world.