By: Corey Etherington
Another successful week on our journey to healthy living!
This week we focused on portion control, something that’s been a challenge for us in the past as I tend to serve larger-than-necessary helpings that often lead to overeating. Our goal for the last seven days was to pay close attention to how much we were eating, to listen to our bodies and to walk away from the table feeling satisfied – not sick.
By applying the other lessons we’ve learned to date, including meal-planning and cooking with quality ingredients, we were able to prepare reasonable sized portions that were both healthy and delicious – and the slow-cooker only made an appearance once!
Here is what Week 3 looked like in our house:
Monday: Slow Cooker Asian Beef with Brown Rice
Ross & Corey’s Rating: Delicious!! Prep is insanely fast and easy and comes with a fun ginger peeling trick.
Edie’s Rating: Delicious!! Edie absolutely loved this dish. She even asked for it again on Tuesday night.
Corey’s Tip 1: The recipe says to cook for 3.5 hours but there isn’t a lot of liquid in this recipe so I decided to only cook it for 3 hours. Turns out that was a good decision as any longer and the meat would’ve been really dry. But… every slow cooker is different so just like Amanda told us to learn about our oven, learn about your slow cooker too.
Dietitian Tip: Cut the amount of brown rice by half and try making this dish with cauliflower rice to increase your daily vegetable intake.
Dietitian Tip: Add a green veggie like kale and serve the beef on top to add an extra crunch to the mix. Kale is a great source of Beta Carotene and C which are both antioxidants!
Tuesday: Skillet/Oven Chicken Burgers with Greek Salad
Ross & Corey’s Rating: WE LOVE BURGERS!
Edie’s Rating: More! More! More!
Corey’s Tip 1: I made a few modifications to the recipe, including: using ground turkey instead of chicken, eliminating cumin (personal taste) and barbequing the burgers for that delicious, charred quality. Lesson here – make whatever easy modifications you need to in order to ensure the family is eating a balanced, healthy homemade meal.
Corey’s Tip 2: Greek salad dressing is a staple in our house. I never put the salt in and I cut the sugar in half. I also use the optional oregano. LINK: http://www.food.com/recipe/greek-salad-dressing-57642?nl=email_share
Dietitian Tip: Corey is absolutely right! Modify recipes and replace herbs and spices that you’re not fond of with ones you love. Experimentation is key!
Wednesday: Buddha Bowl
Ross & Corey’s Rating: Maybe we should go vegetarian?! This was so delicious!
Edie’s Rating: Edie tried this on Thursday night but only ate some sweet potato dipped in the tahini sauce. She liked it but was more interested in leftover turkey burgers.
Corey’s Tip 1: Mix-up the flavours according to your preference. This dish will work with any vegetable you have in the fridge and if the recipe is too spicy, modify it!
Dietitian Tip: This dish calls for Tumeric, the spice that gives curry its yellow color. Here are some healthy facts you might not know about it:
- Curcuminoids or curcumin is the active ingredient in turmeric
- Research being conducted looking at the the beneficial effects of cucumin on;
- Inflammation, aging, depression, prevention of Alzheimers Disease
Thursday: Citrus Marinated Chicken
Ross & Corey’s Rating: Ross is obsessed with this chicken, the fresh ingredients taste like an explosion of summer!
Edie’s Rating: Edie wasn’t feeling the cilantro in this dish.
Corey’s Tip 1: I used chicken breasts instead of thighs. I prefer white meat so again, personal preference.
Corey’s Tip 2: This recipe calls for broiling. I am not good at broiling – I tend to overcook everything I broil so instead, I just baked the chicken.
LINK: http://www.epicurious.com/recipes/food/views/Citrus-Marinated-Chicken-Thighs-51178850
Dietitian Tip: Setting timers is very useful! Broiling can be an important part of a recipe but sometimes it just needs a couple minutes. Turn the oven light on and keep on eye on your food.
SUMMARY
Week three was a really good lesson for us. We listened to our bodies and as a result, our meal planning really paid off. We had leftovers for lunch and even dinner if we wanted it! One of the best parts of the week was that Edie had something new every night and because I was so prepared, we were able to sit together as a family and eat dinner every night. Edie is such a good eater when we are eating too and she is more willing to try new things. It’s awesome!
I can honestly say that this journey has been an amazing experience so far and we have learned so much.
Week 4 is all about trying new things so wish us luck and follow along!
RELATED LINKS:
Week 1 Recap: Meal Plan Your Way to Success!
Stocking-Up On Nutrition Month Essentials!
Following One Family’s Journey to Healthier Eating
5 Ways to Teach Kids About Nutrition
Show Your Fruits and Vegetables Some Love this Valentine’s Day
