*CLOSED* September Challenge (AggieCass & Friends)

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  • thedreamhazer
    thedreamhazer Posts: 1,156 Member
    I made this last night, and it was awesome!

    Mexican Chicken Casserole

    Serves: 4

    8 oz Ground Chicken
    2 cups Mild Salsa
    1/2 packet Low Sodium Taco Seasoning
    1 medium onion, chopped
    2 cups Reduced Fat (2%) Colby Jack Cheese
    2 cups broccoli, chopped (I use frozen)
    3, 5.5 inch corn tortillas
    4 Whole Egg

    Directions:
    Preheat oven to 350.
    Brown ground chicken. Mix in 1/2 cup water, taco seasoning, and four eggs in skillet with chicken. Cook on medium heat, stirring frequently until most of the water is cooked out.
    Cook onion with broccoli in separate pan until broccoli thawed and onion is transluscent. Add veggies to egg and chicken mixture.
    Tear tortillas into quarters, line bottom on 9-in circular pan. Cover with salsa (use 1-2 cups, however much is needed to cover entirely/desired. Reciep is calculated for 2 cups). Add in 1 cup layer of cheese on top of salsa. Add chicken mixture as next layer.
    Bake in oven for 15 minutes. Add 1 cup of cheese as topping. Bake an additional 5 minutes of until cheese is melted and bubbly.

    Serve hot and enjoy!


    Calories: 472
    Carbs: 25
    Protein: 36
    Fat: 22 (If you're always under on your fat totals like me, this is good news!)
    Sugar: 7
    Sodium: 1055 (Most of this comes from the salsa and cheese. Try a low sodium salsa if you can find one, or make your salsa fresh to cut down on this!)


    Also --- It's easy to cut down on the cheese in this recipe. It is VERY cheesy and gooey! It would taste just as good with only 1 cup, in my opinion.
  • AggieCass09
    AggieCass09 Posts: 1,867 Member
    I know its only Sept 22nd, but inlight of my recent "freeness" of the scale, I have a genius idea for the October challenge that involves NO numbers, weigh-ins, or measurements for the whole month....how liberating? Get excited and grab some friends who you'd like to join!

    Also, where has all the activity from everyone gone?!?!?
  • Jessies_journey
    Jessies_journey Posts: 131 Member
    Had a great week! Pushing thru this plateau! Lost 1.4lbs this week AND another 2.25 inches. This all recorded today - first day of TOM. Now if this isn't a great day I don't know what is!!! WooHoo!
  • nicolina823
    nicolina823 Posts: 450 Member
    I had a follow up with the Orthopedic doctor on Friday. She said to ease myself into working out. So I now can do just dance and the stationary bike because its low intensity. Next week I can start yoga/pilates. The week after that I can start taking long walks. Then if that doesnt hurt I can start my regular workouts!!!! Im so HAPPY!!!!

    My favorite workouts are Chalean Extreme and Turbo Jam Fat Blaster. I'm was also loving Tae Bo Cardio with weights.

    My favorite snack is chobani yogurt with protein powder mixed in. Or protein "cake"

    For real food my favorite is baked panko eggplant.

    1/3 c panko
    1 eggplant
    1 egg white

    bake at 425 for 15 minutes on each side

    Serve with plain greek yogurt and 1/3 less sodium taco seasoning
  • ronda_gettinghealthy
    ronda_gettinghealthy Posts: 777 Member
    I need to get my last recipe in:


    Pimento Chicken

    (really easy and I like it a lot)

    1` slice bacon
    3/4 cup shredded cheddar cheese
    2 tbsp minced green onions
    1 1/2 tbs diced pimento
    1 tbs light or canola mayonnaise
    2 tbs fresh lemon juice
    1/2 tsp hot sauce
    1/2 tsp salt
    4 - 6 ounce boneless chicken breasts
    1/2 tsp black pepper
    1 tablespoon canola or olive oil


    Preheat oven ot 350

    cook bacon in oven proof skillet until crisp..remove save drippings, crumble bacon, combine bacon and the next 6 ingredients and 1/4 tsp of salt.. cut a one inch wide slit into the thick end of the chicken breast carefully cut down to the center of the chicken forming a pocket..divide cheese mixture among the breasts and secure with tooth picks. sprinkle chicken with the other 1/4 tsp of salt and the 1/2 tsp of pepper. Heat skillet over med high heat and the canola or olive oil to the bacon drippings. saute chicken in oil for 5 minues. turn chicken over place in over and bake for 12 minutes let stand 5 minutes before serving...


    cals 299 fat 16 carb 13 prot 36


    ENJOY
  • ronda_gettinghealthy
    ronda_gettinghealthy Posts: 777 Member
    favorite workout is what ever I am doing at the moment...
  • jalysons
    jalysons Posts: 73 Member
    Cass,

    :Love the idea of no scale. I think it is driving me crazy. I am running a ton, posting good times, lifting heavier, increasing levels on the stepmill. Scale does not CARE. Then it makes me mad!

    Recipe: Made butternut squash this weekend. SO good, then had it plain on salads, etc. Heat oven to 400: Cut one butternut squash in 1 inch pieces, spray with olive oil mister, little salt and pepper, Bake for 30 minutes turning squash once. It was so sweet.

    Here is one of my favorite workouts:

    Treadmill - .5 Distance on 15 incline at your preferred speed
    15 Bent Over Rows - 50 lb barbell
    10 Chest Presses - 50 lb barbell
    Treadmill - .4 Distance on 15 incline at your preferred speed
    15 Bent Over Rows - 50 lb barbell
    10 Chest Presses - 50 lb barbell
    Treadmill - .3 Distance on 15 incline at your preferred speed
    15 Bent Over Rows - 50 lb barbell
    10 Chest Presses - 50 lb barbell
    Treadmill - .2 Distance on 15 incline at your preferred speed
    15 Bent Over Rows - 50 lb barbell
    10 Chest Presses - 50 lb barbell
    Treadmill - .1 Distance on 15 incline at your preferred speed
  • AggieCass09
    AggieCass09 Posts: 1,867 Member
    i'm running behind this week...sorry group. Winners will be posted tomorrow and the challenge will be announced...you get a free day today (my bad).


    remember...October challenge will unveiled later this week....get excited its gonna be the best challenge ever!

    ~Cas
  • AggieCass09
    AggieCass09 Posts: 1,867 Member
    I still did not have computer access and apologise for not announcing last weeks winners.

    This week's challenge is to complete the following tasks sometime before Sunday:

    1. Pamper yourself (bath, mania/pedi, nap, etch.)
    2. Try a new food or exercise.. really step out of your box
    3. Share at least 3 nsv's on this thread


    Have a great week y'all. I'm hoping to get enough time tonight to share the October challenge with y'all.

    Cass
  • ronda_gettinghealthy
    ronda_gettinghealthy Posts: 777 Member
    OK I love the 1st challenge...most definitely going to do that one!!!

    #2 I will have to work on...

    # 3
    A. NSV --when I look down while I am riding my bike I can actually see the bike seat,,,,my belly isnt in the way anymore..
    B. NSV--I wore a dress to the football game last saturday and had to walk several miles..NO CHUB RUB on the inner thighs...WHOOP...
    C. NSV--bought jeans the other day and they are a size 10 and I didnt buy them at Lane Bryants.....
  • thedreamhazer
    thedreamhazer Posts: 1,156 Member
    #1 -- I just signed up for a service called eBookFling.com. It let's you trade eBooks with people for free! Pretty great stuff. So to pamper myself, I'm going to use a credit I've earned on a really good/bad YA fantasy novel and take a night to read it alongside a cup of good coffee. (I am open to book suggestions! I'll probably end up with some Tamora Pierce, though.)

    #2 -- For this one I'm probably going to need suggestions! Although I do have a neglected jump rope in my gym bag...

    #3 -- Only one for today! After an serously annoying gym session today (the free weights were overrun, I couldn't get to the equipment I needed, and one guy kept giving me this derisive look that said, "You sure you don't want to grab the 5 pounders, sweetheart?"), I got majorly cheered up by a glimpse of myself in the locker room mirror. I may not be able to grow a bicep, but I got a good look at my shoulders today from behind --- holy cow! They are CUT! So take that, doubtful-gym-guy. Maybe you use 5-lbs dumbbells for your overhead press (yes, he was using 5-lbs dumbbells for his overhead press) but I'm doing just fine with my 20s for now. Booyah!
  • thedreamhazer
    thedreamhazer Posts: 1,156 Member
    #2 -- COMPLETED.

    As some of you may have noticed (diary-watchers, this is you) I feasted on a dinner last night that included four sugar cookies. Whoopsies. Not how I meant to spend my evening calories. Worst of all, I was watching The Biggest Loser when this mini-binge happened.

    However, here's the good that came out of it: frustrated with my decision to eat cookies instead of real food, I decided that, even though I am very much against exercising just to burn off something that I've eaten (you can do what works for you -- for me, this is a slippery slope to an eating disorder) I needed to do something. I hadn't taken a run that day as it was too cold/wet. And so, I grabbed my long-forgotten jump rope.

    When I got the jump rope (a year ago) I had been excited. A new way to do cardio! How exciting! That is, until I jumped for all of 30 seconds and was winded, my ankles hurt, my blood pressure felt like it had sky-rocketed, and my girls felt like they were trying to detach. You know, not to be too graphic or anything.

    To say I was reluctant to try to jump rope again may be an understatement.

    Well, I skipped rope, jumped jack, pushed up, and crunched my way through 30 minutes of TBL without feeling like my head was going to explode, and my (now much smaller) girls were no longer trying to run away. I am putting together a formal routine today that I plan to use to keep me active on my two-a-day during the cold weather (when running outside is not on my to-do list).

    Feeling pretty good today. And I'm happy to say that this challenge has added something valuable to my exercise routine!
  • gatorflyer
    gatorflyer Posts: 536 Member
    This week's challenge is to complete the following tasks sometime before Sunday:

    1. Pamper yourself (bath, mania/pedi, nap, etch.)

    Still working on this one...

    2. Try a new food or exercise.. really step out of your box

    Pushing it with some new strength and free weights exercises

    Share at least 3 nsv's on this thread

    1. Have gone from a size 22 to a size 12 (10 for some stuff) in less than a year
    2. I no longer take up the whole seat or for that matter, part of someone else's seat on an airplane or on our light rail here in town
    3. Starting to show some definitel defined muscles on my arms and legs

    Hope everyone is having a fabulous week!
  • ronda_gettinghealthy
    ronda_gettinghealthy Posts: 777 Member
    OK I love the 1st challenge...most definitely going to do that one!!!

    #2 I will have to work on...

    # 3
    A. NSV --when I look down while I am riding my bike I can actually see the bike seat,,,,my belly isnt in the way anymore..
    B. NSV--I wore a dress to the football game last saturday and had to walk several miles..NO CHUB RUB on the inner thighs...WHOOP...
    C. NSV--bought jeans the other day and they are a size 10 and I didnt buy them at Lane Bryants.....




    #2 I bought a belly dancing DVD...what the hey....i used to dance many many moons ago and this is the perfect opportunity to try something else--when it is to dark or dreary to be outside and I dont want to do Insanity of other things...wink wink--might even let hubby watch me practice...
  • jalysons
    jalysons Posts: 73 Member
    HI All,

    Hope you are having great week

    This week's challenge is to complete the following tasks sometime before Sunday:

    1. Pamper yourself (bath, mania/pedi, nap, etch.)

    Actually got a manicure before you said. Maybe I can sneak in a facial (would be a miracle)

    2. Try a new food or exercise.. really step out of your box

    Today I really pushed the intervals on the treadmill at the hotel. Normally I just run till time is up and am not tired. I felt like I got a real workout

    Share at least 3 nsv's on this thread

    1. I did NOT eat a pretzell at the Philadelphia aiport today but got a salad with chicken. Don't laugh I love them. I do not think I have ever taken a trip here in the last 10 years without at least a pretzel coming or going.
    2. I ate extra calories the past few days trying to increase my net even though my weight is creeping up.
    3. Need to come back to number 2 by Sunday

    . .Hope everyone is having a great week.
    Jenn
  • shannonaufman
    shannonaufman Posts: 383
    1. Pamper yourself (bath, mania/pedi, nap, etch.)

    I'm going to bed in 10 minutes -- over an hour earlier than I usually do. Extra sleep is a major pampering in Shan-land. :laugh:

    2. Try a new food or exercise.. really step out of your box

    I have started an workplace workout daily challenge with a friend here on MFP. Every day we challenge each other to do certain exercises at a certain interval. For example, yesterday: every time you go to the bathroom, do 15 tricep pushups against the wall, do a 25-second squat hold, 10 forward lunges and 10 side lunges. By the end of the day, I had done 5 reps of each exercise!

    3. Share at least 3 nsv's on this thread

    - On Monday and Tuesday, 3 different women from 2 different workout classes came up to me separately and said they could tell the weight is coming off. These are my first "you look like you're losing weight" comments!
    - Jeans I bought earlier this year (which were tight when I bought them) are now fitting loosely
    - I am in a September tribal challenge that gives us a daily exercise challenge. I have done every single one of them this month!
  • thedreamhazer
    thedreamhazer Posts: 1,156 Member
    2nd NSV Share for the Week --

    I don't know how many times I can use this for an NSV, but since it feels like a victory every time, I'm counting it again! Yesterday, I was completely shocked when I realized that my size 8 work pants, which were a little snug when I bought them, are now too big. They're saggy (especially in the tush!) and they just don't look very good. See, I already knew that I was in a size 6 bottoms (although I haven't bought any yet). But it's one thing to know a size 6 fits, and another thing to realize that a size 8 is too big!

    My brain just can't seem to process this information. A size 6? I've never been a size 6. Ever. I've been an 8 before...briefly. My brain could accept an 8. But a 6 is unfathomable, apparently. Realizing that my 8s were sagging -- that was a major NSV! (A slightly annoying one, though -- I look ridiculous in all of my work clothes and I am pretty much relying solely on my one skirt I can still pretend fits [although it sits below my knees now instead of a few inches above them] and on some dresses with some strategic safety pinning.)
  • BuceesNana
    BuceesNana Posts: 302 Member
    OK. I am a little behind. I have been keeping up with the challenges, just not the reporting. :( So, here is my favorite recipe.

    Chicken and Calabasita

    1 lb of boneless skinless chicken breast (you can use dark meat chicken if you like, but this is leaner and cooks faster.)
    1/2 onion chopped
    1-2 lbs of calabasita (squash). The one I like in this recipe is called tatuma squash at the grocery store, but zucchini will work.
    1 can rotel-style tomatoes
    salt and pepper to taste
    1-2 TBSP of olive oil
    1/4 teaspoon of comino

    Brown chicken in olive oil. Remove from pan. Brown onions in same skillett. Add squash and tomatoes. Cook for a few minutes. Add salt and pepper to taste. Add comino. Put chicken back into the skillett and simmer for about 15-20 minutes until the chicken is cooked through.

    This is really easy and delicious.

    OK. That one down, now for the thing that was uncomfortable. I work in a school and I had to write up 4 students yesterday. They put something very inappropriate on the library computers. I also had to help break up a fight. Not a great day. :(

    On a positive note, I have been keeping up with all exercise in this challenge and another challenge I am participating in. I will do my best to finish this October challenge strong. :)
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