Macaroni and Cheese (Healthier Version)

Part of being a mother, in my opinion, is making the kids' favorite foods once in a while. Since we've been trying to live healthier, I have neglected cooking for the most part except for our meat. We usually eat grilled meat and raw vegetables and fruit. The kids asked for my macaroni and cheese yesterday, so I decided to play with the receipe to see if I could come up with a healthier version. It turned out pretty well.

Macaroni and Cheese
2 cups whole wheat elbow macaroni, boiled and drained
1 cup skim milk
2 eggs, beaten (or egg beaters if you have them will make it even healthier)
2 cups fat-free cheese, shredded
1/2 cup plain non-fat greek yogurt
1 can Campbell's cheddar cheese soup (I wish I could find a substitute for this)
2 tbsp. margarine

Stir all the ingredients together in a crock-pot and cook on low for 2 hours, stirring occasionally.

Nutritional Information (1/2 cup serving)
Calories: 117
Fat: 4.44
Carbs: 13.2
Fiber: 1.22
Protein: 7.87

Skinny (and good) Chicken Salad

1 Tyson Grilled and Ready Chicken Breast Chopped
4 Green Onions
3 tbsp. fat-free mayonnaise
freshly ground black pepper to taste

So, basically, you just mix all this together, and voila! you have chicken salad (and it honestly makes enough for more than 1 sandwich). I personally eat mine on 40 calorie Nature's Own Honey Wheat Bread, but you can eat your's on Special K Cracker Chips or whatever you want. I used to make this with canned chicken, but I recently discovered that Tyson Grilled and Ready Chicken is just as easier and sooooo much healthier.

Nutritional Information
Calories: 149
Fat: 2
Carbohydrates: 11.4
Fiber: 1.6
Protein: 22.2

Skinny Eating

I've always been a foodie. You can look at me and tell that I love to eat. I love flavor. I love cooking, and I love sharing my love of food and cooking!

It's only in the last few months that I've embraced...truly embraced the fact that I will not live forever. And if I don't change my eating habits...and those of my children, I won't be around or healthy enough to enjoy my grandchildren. Heath and I have started working out as much as time allows and we've started eating healthier. I quickly grew tired, however, of salad and plain boring grilled chicken, so I had to get creative. The best part about this whole new healthy lifestyle, though is that I've discovered new foods and new ingredients to make old time favorite recipes healthier. I made the following recipe tonight, and I have to say, I did pretty good!

The great thing about these little cheesecake cups is that they're healthy, and they actually contribute to your body. They're low calories and insanely high in protein!

Lemon Cheesecake Cups

9 cupcake liners

9 reduced fat vanilla wafers

8 oz. Greek Yogurt cream cheese (Yes, there is such a thing sold at Walmart)

1/4 cup sugar in the raw

1 tsp. vanilla

5 1/2 oz. cup of vanilla non-fat Greek yogurt

2 large egg whites (I'm going to experiment with egg beaters later)

3 tbsp. lemon juice

1 tbsp. all purpose flour

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Place a vanilla wafer in the bottom of each cupcake liner. 

Beat cream cheese, sugar, and vanilla in a bowl until well blended. Gradually add in remaining ingredients and evenly fill the cupcake liners. Bake in preheated oven for 20-30 minutes or until set. 

Cool until room temperature and then place in the refrigerator until chilled. I serve mine topped with fresh fruit (raspberries, blackberries, blueberries, strawberries, etc.)

Nutritional Information per serving:

Calories: 106

Fat: 3

Carbohydrates: 13

Fiber: 0.5

Protein: 6.3 (Yes, you read that right!)