My favorite dinner-time meal!

Ok ladies, you asked for it. Here is my favorite dinner "recipe"! :)

My all-time, favorite dinner is (drumroll please) Grilled, roasted or smoked chicken, a big "Momma Salad" and baked taters!

The salad "recipe" I have posted before, but it is different all the time. Green or red leafy lettuce (romaine, spring mix, or baby spinach) with sliced pears, apples, or strawberries; bell peppers; walnuts or pecans; sunflower and pumpkin seeds; dressed in extra virgin olive oil and balsamic vinegar. (my favorite is the pear-infused balsamic vinegar)

The "taters" are a creation of my chef/husband :) He dices sweet potatoes, carrots, and red peppers and puts them on a cookie sheet. Then he douses them with EEVO (extra virgin olive oil), italian seasoning, a little garlic powder and bakes them for 30-45 minutes at 350 (this will vary in every oven). Once they are in the oven, he chops up a couple of fresh garlic cloves and some celery (finely chopped) and sprinkles that on the taters about ten minutes before they are finished. Voila! It is absolutely delicious, and he makes it a little different each time, so add or subtract as you wish! (he is also the one who now has me calling them "taters"!)

This is, by far, my very favorite meal! 

Note: if you are a woman over 25 and trying to lose weight, don't have very much of the taters for dinner, but put some in a container for lunch the next day. Everything that I have read says, in order for women over 25 to lose weight (or even maintain your current weight), you must get all your whole grains (carbs) in before 5pm. Women over 30 needs to stop eating carbs by 4pm, and women over 40 should stop by 3pm. 

I know this may seem impossible, but this is coming from a former bread-aholic. It will take some adjustments, because most meals you cook are loaded with carbs. (Am I right??) I definitely do not believe in the low-carbohydrate diets... I believe everyone needs "good carbs" (complex carbs - whole grains, oats, sweet potatoes, etc) but you need to eat them for breakfast, lunch, or snacks. Our dinners mostly consist of a lean meat and veggies. It will be difficult, so try adjusting your carbs at dinner to make sure they are complex or whole grain. Then just make sure you are eating a very small portion (if any). Otherwise your body will not have time to burn it off before bedtime, and this is can cause weight gain. Breakfast is the most important meal of the day, but what you eat for dinner can really affect your weight.

Now, sometimes a light meal like that can leave you feeling hungry at bedtime. Our favorite "midnight" snack is popcorn and apples. We pop the kernels in a popper on the stove using only EEVO and a little salt. Then we cut an apple and share it. (Shane, Cade and I) Cade LOVES his popcorn and apples. Popcorn does have some calories, but it (and the apple) is mostly fiber.

A few other meal suggestions:

Cade loves spaghetti, so every once in a while I will make it for him. But, I use whole grain noodles, ground turkey, and I make my own sauce. (A can of diced tomatoes partially drained, and I add bell peppers, garlic, and seasoning) On the nights I make spaghetti, I make an extra large salad with lots of goodies (fruits, veggies, nuts and seeds) and I have a very small portion of the noodles. (This was an adjustment at first, but it is so easy now)

Another family favorite is mexican food. I use whole grain tortillas, seasoned hamburger (for the guys) but I season chicken for myself (then cut it up and put in my tortilla), black beans, refried beans (for Shane) tomatoes and/or salsa, and lettuce. MMMmm! Really satisfies that mexican craving but in a much healthier way.

There are ways to make any meal healthier. Hopefully this is a good start for you. Tweak your current dinner recipes, experiment, and start making them healthier!

Good luck!