Delicious and healthy.... what a beautiful couple!

See that??? I didn't always knew I could eat sooo good and not worry about gaining weight! Sometimes when someone says "healthy" our mind can go to places where everything is green and bland...  There are so many misconceptions about what healthy really is! Sadly I've been on that same boat in the past... only being able to lose weight by "punishing myself" for being "such a bad girl"! The punishment many times worked, at least apparently and temporarily... but who can live "forever punished"? Not me!!! In my most rebellious moments I would give up and go back to overeating or if I "stuck with the punishment" long enough and managed to lose lots of weight then I would "reward myself" by going back to eating what made me fat in the first place! What happened then? Well... take a guess!!! Yes... I went back to gaining all the weight I had lost (and more) so I needed to be punished one more time!

ENOUGH!

Then on 2012 I discovered a new "thing" (new to me)... exercising... I did become very strict with calorie counting but... this "thing" that I had never tried before made me feel great and even when it still gets hard to wake up every morning to go for a run or to a bootcamp I now don't understand how I could live my whole life "without it" ... But I still couldn't get the 'food thing' figured out! I was actually terrified of losing "all the weight I needed to lose" because what would happen next? I didn't know how to maintain! I've never known how to have a healthy relationship with food... or at least not until 2013 when a friend told me about Trim Healthy Mama; and I started to read and educate myself through books I checked out at my library... I still haven't lost another inch... to be honest... I actually struggle not to gain weight even when eating healthy... but I now know that it is in great part because of the crazy diets that slowed down my metabolism in the past... I now have read books like:  The Fast Metabolism Diet: Eat More Food and Lose More Weight, The Good Fat Cookbook, Cavewomen Don't Get Fat: The Paleo Chic Diet for Rapid Results and many other health/nutrition related cookbooks where I have been able to compare studies, theories and I came up with pretty much the same conclusions from them all and here are some of them:

1. Fat DOESN'T make you FAT!
2. Natural and Whole is always best! (duh!?)
3. Grains and starches are not necessarily all healthy!
4. How we combine our foods results in weight gain or weight loss
5. I have to keep movin'!
6. Food is not my enemy... is my friend!
7. Read the labels!
8. A label that says "Light" does not mean "healthy"
9. Delicious is not in a fight against healthy! There is nothing more delicious, satisfying, and "calming" than good food! delicious and healthy actually make the most beautiful couple!

Right now I am following more closely the Trim Healthy Mama plan, it is way simpler for my lifestyle (and it is soooo good!).... and to hopefully get you on the same boat... I will share a very simple recipe that I enjoy making on the weekends or on Friday night for a fun dinner for my family:

Healthy Lettuce Tacos!
THM - S "Satisfying Meal"

Ingredients:
Yield: About "14-16" tacos

• 2 lbs. ground beef or turkey (beef should be grass-fed preferably)
• 1 small white onion (or 1/2 large one)
• 1 clove of garlic (finely chopped or minced)
• 1 tsp. ground cumin
• 2 tsp. chili powder mix
• 1/4 tsp. cayenne pepper (optional for more heat)
• 1 1/2 tsp. dried oregano
• salt and black pepper to taste
• 3 tbsp. tomato paste (make sure there is no sugar added)
• 1-2 tbsp. chicken or vegetable broth if needed
• romaine lettuce hearts (enough to use 3-4 leaves per person)

Garnish:
chopped cilantro, sour cream (not light!), slices of avocado, shredded cheddar cheese and maybe some lime wedges.

Let's put it all together!

First brown the beef in a skillet, drain the juices that remain (especially if not using grass-fed meat), add the onions and cook until translucent (about 5 minutes), add the rest of the spices and cook until aromatic (about 1 minute), taste and season with salt and pepper accordingly, add tomato paste and a bit of broth the mixture is too dry so it all incorporates well, cook for about 1 more minute if you want to serve this right away or add more liquid and let it simmer for about 1/2 hour to concentrate the flavors.

Serve on the washed romaine lettuce hearts as the 'real deal tacos'... top with the garnish ingredients!

Tip: I mix the meat filling with cooked quinoa for a very healthy crossover for my family... It is delish!

Enjoy your healthy/delicious food... Healthy and delicious go forever together! Let's not separate them!

Paloma.

Disclaimer: This post may contain affiliate links. 

Frugal Mexican Meal!

Hello everybody! Here's another "frugal post" :)  ... Today I am planning on sharing a super quick "recipe" with you... it is hard to call it a RECIPE because it is more like a tip on how to prepare your beans... Beans have amazing health benefits... they are a great source of fiber and vegetable protein, they also have a very low glycemic index, which means that they don't cause a rapid sugar increase in your blood, they are a very healthy complex carb... If you didn't grow up eating beans then they might have some unwanted "secondary effects" but that can be fixed by soaking your beans in plenty of water (3 parts water for 1 part of beans) all night and then draining them and filling them up with water again now for cooking. Soaking the beans will also help you reduce the time of cooking which will save you money on your energy bill.

So... let me tell you how I make beans to have them be a great accompaniment to a meal or a perfect lunch option!

First of all cook your beans (pinto, black or cannellini, for this recipe I prefer pinto or black), to cook them just boil them in plenty of water WITHOUT SALT and with about 3 cloves of garlic (whole cloves, not chopped, just peeled) - Add the salt when they're "mid-way cooked", if you add the salt from the beginning they will harden and take longer to cook, if you add it at the end you might need to use more salt- until they are tender (there should be NO resistance when you bite into one of the beans)- once your beans are cooked you will serve them in a bowl (right away) and use the following for garnish

BASIC GARNISH -for a side dish-:

(All of the ingredients should be finely chopped)

• cilantro
• fresh tomato
• white onion
• freshly squeezed lime juice 

 

 Toss it all together and add on top of the beans, then add some freshly squeezed lime juice (to taste), season with more salt if necessary, you can also add a bit (just a very little bit) of ground cumin to season and for more flavor.

More elaborate GARNISH - to make it a more complete meal-

Serve your beans in bowls and just have different plates with the garnishes for people to add, it is FUN and your kids can participate in the making of "their own meal"


(all of the ingredients should be finely chopped)

• Crumbled Queso Fresco or "Queso Panela"
• Cubed Avocado (cut it up right before serving to avoid oxidation, toss with a bit of lime juice for the same reason)
• Cilantro
• Serrano peppers (optional, that's for the grown ups! YUM!)
• White onion
• Lime Juice (you can cut your limes in wedges and let people "squeeze away")
• Ground cumin and extra salt for seasoning if desired.

I hope you will like this idea... Hubby always thought he hated beans... well... he had only had baked beans, those that have molasses or sugar in them... You might like those but trust me... I think you will LOVE these... They have such a great flavor and are soooo good for you (particularly without the sugar) ... You can have a delicious piece of Mexico's cuisine (yes, I am so proud of our Mexican food) at your table without having to go out!

Let me know how you like this idea... if you are not convinced yet, let me throw some facts about Pinto beans and their great nutrition right here: (black beans have very similar numbers)

Pinto Beans, cooked
Nutrient:

  (1 cup)  DRI/DV

 molybdenum285%

 folate73.5%

 fiber61.5%

 copper41.1%

 manganese38.5%

 phosphorus35.9%

 protein30.8%

 vitamin B127.5%

 vitamin B622.9%

 magnesium21.3%

 potassium21.3%

 iron19.8%

 Did I convince you yet? I hope so!

Please don't forget to leave a comment and/or share/pin :).

Note: If you are following the Trim Healthy Mama Plan then you need to know that this is a perfect E side dish (just use the BASIC GARNISH only - no avocado or cheese) and have some lean protein with it like chicken breast or turkey or you can go all the way and enjoy it with EVERYTHING as a great and very healthy crossover.

Love, 

Paloma.