To those of you who have joined me in a twelve week long Pound-for-Pound Challenge: a big, huge THANK YOU! To those of you who haven’t… what are you waiting for?!
Welllll it’s hump day. Weigh-in, for me, is two days away. (Though… I’ve been cheating. I have a little inkling of what my weigh-in day will bring, as long as I can stick with it!)
How is everyone doing on their diet programs? Anything so far that’s come up that’s making it difficult to be good?
Eating is such a social thing. You want to hang out with a friend you don’t see often- what do you do? Go to dinner or lunch, right? Around this area, there are lots of Mexian restaurants, so generally we end up at one of those. And they bring out the chips and salsa and ask if we want a beer or a margarita… and it’s just downhill from there.
I’ve always felt, though, that if you deprive yourself, it’s harder to stick to it. So if you really are craving something, set aside one day each week that you plan to fulfill those cravings. Mine is Saturday dinner. So say Tuesday I get the hankering for a cheeseburger. I plan to put that off til Saturday dinner, which is my ‘free meal’. Sometimes, by Saturday, I don’t even want that anymore!
How about working out? How’s that going? For me it’s going well, I have not missed a workout day yet. I actually considered it today, I am so sore I can barely take it, but I bucked up and did my Biggest Loser workout- it was yoga today. It was tough, but I am glad I did it because it actually stretched out my muscles some.
So… let’s all get through this week together! I can’t wait to see what the scale has to say Friday morning! And most of all, I can’t wait to feel good about my body this summer (and to buy new warm-weather clothes! haha)
If you’ve ever had chicken enchiladas suiza, you know it’s yummy chicken rolled in a tortilla with green enchilada sauce, drenched in creamy, delicious cheese sauce. So good. So fattening! Based on what I can find online, a serving of chicken enchiladas suizas runs around 1,000 calories and 54 grams of fat. YIKES!
My first effort in my “recipe makeover” mission was a chicken enchilada casserole. I’ve actually made this several times before, always to rave reviews. This time, though, I carefully measured and counted and added and um, other math stuff… so I know exact amounts and I can come darn close on calorie counts. And guess what? I did better than I’d ever hoped! This version has around 330 calories and 13 grams of fat (the fat could have been decreased by using low-fat tortillas, I just happened to have lots of the regular variety sitting around, so used them. The majority of fat in this recipe, as I have it written, is in tortillas, not cheese!)
Sometimes, when making lower-fat and lower-calorie foods, the technique becomes a bit more important: for instance, taking the time to really spread the chicken out in this casserole is vital so it’s a THIN layer across the whole dish- so you get chicken in every bite.
So without further ado…
Low-Fat Chicken Enchiladas Suizas Casserole
First of all, combine 1/2 cup nonfat plain yogurt and 3 or 4 tablespoons of skim milk until you get this consistency:
Next, combine your pound of cooked, diced chicken with 3 tablespoons of light mayo, 1/4 cup of fat-free sour cream, half a teaspoon adobo seasoning, a pinch of salt, a four ounce can of green chilis, and a couple of big pinches of reduced-fat shredded Mexican blend cheese. Stir it up well.
Cut up 8 soft-taco sized tortillas into squares. Grease a 9 x 13 inch pan with nonstick spray. Pour half your yogurt mixture into the bottom of the pan, trying to cover as much area as you can.
Now, cover that with squares of tortilla. Try to get a single, even layer.
Take half your chicken mixture and spread it out thin and even across the layer of tortillas. As I mentioned, this is important. It will seem it’s a little skimpy but remember… you desire a smaller ass. (I’m totally projecting, sorry).
Then evenly sprinkle on about 1/3 of a cup of reduced-fat shredded Mexican blend cheese. Evenly ladle on 1/3 of a 14 ounce can of green enchilada sauce, and evenly pour on the rest of your yogurt mixture. It’s all about keeping it even.
Ok, now put on another layer of tortillas. And another layer of chicken. Another layer of cheese, another layer of green enchilada sauce. On top of that, put another layer of tortillas, a light drizzle of enchilada sauce (you won’t use the whole can), the rest of the cheese, and a few dollops of sour cream here and there to make it look interesting. Well… I think it looks interesting, ok?
Cover that bad boy up with foil and bake at 350 for 20 min-half an hour. Take the foil off and give it another 10 minutes in the oven to slightly brown the edges. (I have no idea why I took this picture vertical. Whatever.)
Cut into six servings. If you cut larger servings, it will have more calories and fat. (I know, duh, right? But they have warnings on blow-driers that you’re not supposed to use them in the bathtub or while sleeping so obviously there are dumbasses out there!) If desired, top with chopped avocado!
Now for the easier, print highlighted selection version….
Ingredients:
1/2 cup plain, non-fat yogurt
3-4 Tbsp low-fat or skim milk
1 pound of cooked, cut up chicken (I poached mine, but using store-bought rotisserie chicken also works!)
3 Tbsp light mayo
1/4 cup fat-free sour cream
1/2 tsp adobo seasoning (or you can just combine some onion powder, garlic powder, black pepper, oregano and cumin)
pinch of salt
1- 4 oz can diced green chilis
a couple of big pinches of reduced-fat shredded Mexican blend cheese
8 soft taco size flour tortillas (can use low-fat or whole grain!)
1 cup reduced-fat shredded Mexican blend cheese
14 oz can green enchilada sauce
a couple extra tablespoons fat-free sour cream for the top
avocados for garnish if desired
- Combine yogurt and milk until it’s runny.
- Combine chicken, mayo, sour cream, green chilis, seasonings, and a couple big pinches of cheese. Mix well.
- Spray a 9 x 13 pan with nonstick cooking spray and pour half the yogurt mixture evenly over the bottom of the pan.
- Cut up tortillas into squares and cover the yogurt with a single, even layer of tortillas.
- Spread half the chicken mixture over the toritllas. Top with 1/3 of the cheese, 1/3 of the can of enchilada sauce, and the rest of the yogurt mixture.
- Spread out another even layer of tortillas, then the rest of the chicken, 1/3 of the cheese and 1/3 of the enchilada sauce.
- Put on another layer of tortillas. Drizzle enchilada sauce over that, top with the rest of the cheese and a couple dollops of sour cream.
- Cover pan with foil and bake at 350 for 20-30 minutes. Remove foil and bake 10 more minutes to slightly brown edges.
- Cut into 6 servings and top with chopped avocado if you desire.
And there you have it! Of course it’s not as ooey-gooey delicious as the original, but come on now! It’s 1/3 of the calories and 1/4 of the fat! And, it’s actually really good. Give it a try. 
List style because… I haven’t done one in a while.
- I am incredibly, incredibly sore today. I still did my workout this morning though! I thought I’d possibly die during it but I DID IT.
- I am hungrier than normal, and that’s normal for the start of an intense workout program. I can’t wait til it balances out though!
- Thanks to my friends that have already pledged to lose weight and stomp out hunger! WOO HOO!!
- There’s still time to sign up. Lots of time, actually! Any time in the month of January to qualify for my giveaway(s?!), so don’t feel like you have to be rushed! Just let me know whenever you’ve made your Pound-for-Pound pledge!
- I ate out for two meals yesterday and still lost about 2 pounds in the last two days. !! I am amazed! I tried hard to make good choices… probably didn’t do too awesome at dinner, but that just shows you what exercise can do!
- We’re eating dinner at some friends’ house tonight so tomorrow I am planning on starting my recipe makeovers. Be on the watch!
- I don’t really have anything else to say, I just like odd numbers better than even ones.
I know this is long but please take the time to read through because there’s something at the end for everyone.
We got our Wii! It actually came yesterday and we set it up and stayed up late playing it. It’s super fun! My back is sore between my shoulder blades this morning, thanks to tennis. Haha! And best of all: I am going to start my Biggest Loser game this morning.
I try really hard not to obsess over my weight… but I weigh quite a bit more than I’d like right now. This is very frustrating to me for a variety of reasons. All of my new clothes are getting too tight, and most of all there’s that agreement with Tim that if I can get down to my goal weight and stay there, I can have my tummy tuck and boob job. I am back up to more than 35 pounds over that goal weight! I can always lose it easy enough, I just can’t seem to KEEP it off once it goes.
I have no problems with working out, I actually love to do it. (I know, that’s really weird. But I do.) The problem is the diet. I have a love of butter and an extreme love of bacon. I love to cook and I tend to make decadent, higher fat foods (hello, I once used bacon grease instead of butter in the roux for macaroni and cheese… yeah, I went there.) and then, of course, I eat them.
So my personal challenge, which is also a New Year’s Resolution, is to work on lowering the fat and calorie count in my diet- which means adapting some of my personal favorite recipes into healthier versions. Along with this, and along with doing the Biggest Loser Wii game, the weight I’m packing should just sliiiiiide right off.
And with those pounds just melting away, I’m going to help others. I’ve signed up for the Biggest Loser Pound-for-pound challenge. I’ve pledged 35 pounds. A pound of food is going to be donated to a Reno food bank for each pound that I lose!
So keep an eye out around here. I’ll be posting recipes as I work on them and probably dropping weight loss tips here and there. And I’ll be updating my ticker over there along the way!
And last of all, an invitation. I invite anyone reading this to sign up for the Pound for Pound Challenge and do this with me.
If you have a Wii or not, it doesn’t matter. Start any time within January, and challenge yourself for twelve weeks. Push yourself. Give it all you’ve got and lose weight with me- and help solve the hunger problem in your area along the way!
If you are interested in being my virtual work-out partner, please comment here and let me know! How many pounds are you pledging in the Pound-for-Pound Challenge?
I’m thinking of starting up a weight loss blog carnival about it if there is enough interest- we can have a day each week where we share motivation, tips, healthy recipes, brags, goals, helpful websites- anything at all related to improving our health. More about that another time, if anyone seems willing to participate.
At the end, I’m planning on a pretty rad giveaway- keep an eye out for more about that! (There might even be some smaller ones along the way!)
So commit right now to spending twelve weeks with me, improving our health and sign up for the Pound-for-Pound Challenge. Go to the gym, go for a walk, hop on your elliptical, pop in a yoga DVD, buy a Wii- whatever it is that you do, WORK IT.
***Update: I started Biggest Loser on the Intermediate level and it about killed me! I’m going to stick with it- there is no way I won’t lose weight doing that every day! I do yoga a lot but that doesn’t help you much when you’re doing an intense cardio!
Also, Tim’s doing it too. Yay! I am very happy he’s going to do this with me. ♥ Makes it so much easier to stick with if he’s working with me.
After not having been to the gym for about two weeks due to illness and vacation, I went back today. I could only go 40 minutes, and I was ready to drop. I did go over 4 miles and burned over 500 calories, so at least there’s that. Also, I got to laugh at this weird chick that came to the gym in at least a long-sleeved t-shirt, a sweatshirt, and a parka. And a knit ski cap. It is 70-something degrees out. She may have even had more layers than that, those are just the ones I saw her go through while she worked out. Also, it should be noted that her license plate said ‘dekay’. I bet she smelled like something ‘dekaying’ by the time she got done up in there with her winter layers on, running on the treadmill!
I ate everything in sight on vacation. It’s hard to get back to eating right, I am STARVING. I am eating Lean Cuisines and Weight Watchers Smart Ones for lunch to get off the vacation bulge. I cannot take any of the ones with marinara sauce, something in their marinara kills my stomach. I stick mostly with the Asian-type ones, or the turkey or chicken. They’re not too bad… they at least keep me in check with my portion. And then I just eat whatever for dinner- within reason of course.
I have my first Scentsy party tonight for people that I don’t know. She got my card off my flyer that I put up in the grocery store. I am a little nervous but also excited because I did quite a bit of work for my display and stuff, so I hope it pays off and they all order stuff. Her aunt already called me and ordered $50 worth. Hooray!
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