When I first tried losing weight I really hated it, it felt like a complete punishment. “You cant have food until you’ve lost weight!” is what I told myself, so I ate a consistent diet of Chicken Salads, Chicken Breasts and greens for months; and I detested it. Well, 60lbs+ lost and my perspective has completely changed.
Sure, I lost weight rather quickly eating low caloric meals and watching my macros, but I would gain some of the weight right back and thats when it finally hit me. I was too focused on results and not longevity, I cant keep this up, eating this way, it was too unrealistic for me AND I was eating foods that, well…I honestly hated with a passion, I even realized that I despised broccoli with a passion.
So, I made a different approach to losing weight and let me tell you, it’s been working, yeah, Im not losing weight as fast as Id like, but I would argue that I’m just being impatient and the real winning strategy for me is more focused on a BALANCED, healthy, food choices. Meaning, I was still watching my macros and my calories, but I would switch out different foods and different meals so that
A) I wouldn’t get tired of the healthy foods
B) Find new food that I enjoyed
C) Open my mind to trying new things
D) And still eating a balance of the foods that I enjoy, but switching out some food and making adjustments to not exceed my daily calories/nutrition intake.
So, not only am I eating good now, but Im eating meals that I REALLY like AND it doesnt feel like a punishment diet, and Im nice and full which leads me to not binge throughout the day. I say, experiment with your meals daily if you hate the same routine, but hey, if you can be disciplined enough to continuously eat egg whites and chicken breasts then, sure knock yourself out. Me personally, I can only have the same meals about 3 days straight before I crave something new.
So in order to help others finding meals that are low in calories but good enough to feed a king, then let me share with you some of my FAVORITE recipes!
This Chicken Leg Quarter Dish is by far my FAVORITE meal to cook. It’s soooo simple that even a teenager can do it.
- You start off with preheating your oven to 400°F
- You lay down some parchment paper on a cooking sheet
- You apply some light olive oil on the sheet
- Then you spray your chicken with some light olive oil, season your Chicken Leg Quarters however you want. I recommend, Salt, Pepper, Onion Powder, Garlic Powder, Cayenne pepper and some Thyme
- Next, you place your well seasoned chicken into the oven. I let a fully frozen chicken leg cook for about 1 hour - 1 hour and 15 mins (Check the internal temperature with a food temperature). But I recommend thawed Chicken Leg Quarters at 50 mins.
So, once the chicken is done cooking, I start working on the rice. This dish is Mediterranean inspired so I use Basmati Rice.
1. I start off rinsing the rice over and over until the water looks clear and not cloudy. Depending on how many you’re feeding depends on the cup amount. For 1-3 people I use 1 cup of rice.
2. Then I add a quarter stick of butter into a pot on high heat.
3. As the butter is melting, I add all my seasonings, 1-2 teaspoons of salt (but salt to your taste), pepper, garlic powder, onion powder, and turmeric. (If I really want some flavor, I add some diced red onions and crushed garlic.)
4. I mix all the ingredients then I add my basmati rice. I let the rice cook in pot and stir it all around until my rice is well covered in the spices. I’d say I cook it for about 5 mins on high heat.
5. I then add some water to my rice, 1-3 cups depending on how much rice I cook. (But my general rule is I have about an inch of water above my rice line)
6. I set a timer for 12 mins as I let my rice come to a boil. Then I turn the heat down to the lowest setting and let it cook for another 10 mins.
7. I throw in some sliced zucchini into the oven nearing the last 20 mins.
8. Once everything is done, I slice some onions, avocado, cucumbers and tomatoes; and then I enjoy.
This meal can be roughly about 900 cals and it fills me up really well. I hope you guys give it a try! I am really proud to make this for my family, they absolutely LOVE it and believe me, they’re very picky 🤣. Hope u guys like it.
