Inspire Me Healthy Link-up and Recipe for the Most Delicious Salad in the World

I'm participating in the lovely Kristen and Raven's link-up each Thursday and have been working hard last week to improve my eating as well as did all the prescribed lifting for Jamie Eason's Livefit program (If you haven't checked this program out already, you can here!).

First and foremost, the good news! I lost 1 1/2 pounds this week! Yippee!!! But... oh my gosh, am I sore! This lifting is no joke but I know it will help get me that toned look I want and is way more fun than the treadmill (although I know that's added into the program soon). My goal is to lose 20 pounds to get back to my best shape college weight. I haven't worked up the courage yet to share with you all my before pictures or my actual weight...I promise to do so in a few weeks when I am (hopefully!) feeling like I'm making some real progress and those before pictures will be a thing of the past :). 

As far as eating goes, I've been trying to follow the guidelines from the Livefit program which is basically 5 meals a day of clean eating. Here's what a typical day has looked like for me (and I'll share all these recipes eventually):

Breakfast: protein pancake
Snack: cottage cheese or protein bar (homemade) or protein shake
Lunch: salad with chicken or tuna
Snack: cottage cheese or protein bar (homemade) or protein shake
Dinner: something involving meat and veggies or a salad or anything really that fits the meat/veggie bill

So, I figured that I'd share with you some snaps of my eating from this week and a recipe for a salad that I made up and turned out really really good! I'll share more recipes each week or more frequently as I find good ones!


So this first Peach and Basil salad recipe I found on the lovely Veronika's blog (she got it from a Health Magazine):

 

 I loved the dressing but like my salads to have more flavorful cheese. However, my puppy, Emma, was really into it.

 

The next day, I set out for Trader Joe's and created my own salad:

 

 Strawberry and Goat Cheese Salad with Basil Oil

-Half bag of arugula
- 1/2 lb of chicken breasts, cooked and cut into small pieces

-12 oz container of strawberries, sliced

- 4 oz goat cheese crumbles

- 4 tbs crushed pecans

- 3 tbs extra virgin olive oil

- 1 tbs white vinegar

- 1 tbs white wine

- 1 cup fresh basil

- dash of salt

(Makes 4 servings)

1. Blend together (I used an immersion blender like the Cuisinart Smart Stick, as seen above) the olive oil, white vinegar, white wine, fresh basil and salt for the dressing. Set aside.

2. Combine all other ingredients in large bowl.

3. Divide salad among serving plates and drizzle with oil.

4. Enjoy!

  
Um, so I can't even begin to tell you how good this was. It was amazing. I think I finally found my holy grail of salads. If I were served this in a restaurant, I would be ecstatic. 

So, there you have it! Successful week of healthy eating, if you ask me! Let me know if you guys are planning on trying this salad or have any other good recipes to try-

xo, Ann

 

Must-try Recipe: Cake Batter Dip

With the Super Bowl approaching, I know everyone is looking for quick and easy recipes to try. Look no more, this recipe is amazing! I made a test batch to make sure it wasn't too sweet and even my sweet-hating husband (who is a chef to boot!) liked it! It isn't too sweet and tastes JUST like cake batter! The other thing that's great about this recipe is that it's easy to make as much or as little (hello single serving size!) as you like as long as you stick to the 3-2-1 ratio. I'll post the amount I did, though. Here's the recipe:

Cake Batter Dip
1 1/2 Cups Funfetti Cake Mix
1 Cup Plain Yogurt (I used fat free)
1/2 Cup Cool Whip (tried both Light and Regular- Regular was way better!)
Serve with Animal Crackers, Nilla Wafers or Pretzels to dip 

Taken From Pinterest because we ate it all before I could remember to take a picture :)

And that's it! This amount made enough to serve about 4-5 people...but it was so good that 3 people devoured it :) Anyone have any favorite recipes to share?