Eat Skinny Be Skinny: Fotina Stuffed Potato Skins and a New “Diet”
PIN IT!I’m a carbivore. It’s a serious addiction. I could eat pasta/bread/potatoes and rice for every single meal of every single day until I die and be one happy (and chubby) little clam. However, now that I’m getting older (okay, 25) I’m realizing I can’t have carb-fests every meal anymore without some serious repercussions.
Enter my honeymoon weight gain. 3.5 pounds. I know that doesn’t seem like a lot, but to me? It’s a ton. Granted I’ve already lost 1.5 of those by cutting out the 4 daiquiris I had everyday, the other 2 aren’t budging as quickly! So I’m going to try something different.
Bye, bye daiquiris, it was nice knowing you!
I’m going to limit the amount of dairy and meat I eat. I’m not lactose intolerant, but dairy doesn’t sit well with me. Does that stop me from indulging in cheese and milk? No. So I’m left feeling uncomfortable most of the time. Instead of living with an uneasy stomach, I thought I’d try my hand at seeing how well I feel WITHOUT any dairy for a few days. I’m not talking everyday (I’m not a fan of the cold turkey approach) just a few days a week. So on Tuesdays and Thursdays, I’ll be eating/living dairy free! And I’ll also be jumping on the bandwagon of Meatless Monday’s. The goal isn’t to primarily lose weight, it’s just to feel better. That sounds cheesy, but if not eating cheese makes me feel just a sminch better everyday, it’s something I’m willing to try!
So as one last “horrah” before I begin, I decided to make a dairy filled dish for dinner, fontina stuffed potato skins. Yeah, they totally were worth the stomach ache. AMAZING. Recipe makes 16 servings and is adapted from My Recipes.
Fontina Stuffed Potato Skins
What You’ll Need:
- 3 1/4 pounds russet potatoes
- 1 cup whole milk
- 1/3 cup light sour cream
- 1/4 cup reduced-fat buttermilk
- 1 cup (4 ounces) shredded fontina cheese
- 2 tablespoons butter
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 teaspoon black pepper
- 6 tablespoons grated fresh Parmesan cheese
How to Make Them:
- Preheat oven to 400°.
- Pierce potatoes with a fork; bake at 400° for 1 hour or until tender.
- Cut potatoes in half lengthwise. Scoop out flesh, leaving about a 1/4-inch-thick shell. Combine flesh, milk, sour cream, and buttermilk; mash with a potato masher to desired consistency. Stir in fontina and next 4 ingredients (through pepper). Divide mixture evenly among shells. Place potatoes in a single layer on a baking sheet; sprinkle potatoes evenly with Parmigiano-Reggiano. Bake at 400° for 12 minutes.
- Preheat broiler and broil potatoes for an additional 2 minutes, or until browned on top and bubbly! Top with a dollop of sour cream and enjoy!
These were PERFECTLY cooked. They were gooey, without being messy and had such a creamy flavor and texture. The mix of fontina and Parmesan created just the right amount of cheesiness.
Holy Yum!
Nutritional Information per Skin: 150 calories, 6 grams of fat, 19 grams of carbohydrates and 6 grams of protein.
Meal Makeover: Chicken Tetrazzini
What a remarkable few days it’s been on this blog! Thank you all for visiting and sky rocketing my views! Always humbles me to see that ya’ll like what I say and what I cook!
Now, the past few days have been a little rough for me. As I alluded to in my “Now What” post, I’m feeling a little lost and sad now that the wedding is over. Although I have PLENTY to keep me occupied (hello moving, hello school, hello 4 other weddings to attend this year), I’m still missing the whole wedding planning thing. It’s like postpartum depression for recent brides. Yes, I realize I just made up an illness and self diagnosed. Safe to say, this feeling of sadness that has taken over me STINKS. Like a rotten egg. PEE EWWWWW. So naturally, I needed a big ol’ serving of comfort food and a bottle of wine (or 2 bottles, don’t judge me) to try to cheer me up.
Enter, the amazing looking dish in front of your eyeballs, lightened up chicken tetrazzini. Before I divulge the recipe, I have to shamelessly admit where I got the idea to make this. Does anyone watch The Soup? No? Well, DO IT. It’s absolutely hilarious and will make you pee yourself, just a little. Well, a few months ago, I was watching a rerun and came across this hilarious video Joel was making fun of. It’s from the Maury show, so you know it’s good. Basically, a woman is accusing her man of cheating on her with another woman in their own home. The woman, allegedly, went into “their” home and cooked her man chicken tetrazzini. Every since that episode, I’ve been dying to make this. So friends, here you are! My lightened up rendition of chicken tetrazzini. Because if you’re going to be an accomplice in an affair, at least make a meal you don’t have to feel guilty about!
Recipe adapted from Eating Well and makes six, 1 cup servings.
Lightened Chicken Tetrazzini
What You’ll Need:
- 2 cups of pasta (I used tri-color rotini)
- 2 teaspoons extra virgin olive oil
- 1 onion, finely chopped
- 1 and 1/2 cup of finely chopped mushrooms (I used baby bellas)
- 1 teaspoon dried rosemary
- 3 tablespoons of all-purpose flour
- 3 cups of reduced sodium, organic chicken broth
- 1/2 cup of 2% milk
- 2 cups of shredded rotisserie chicken, skin and bone removed
- Lemon zest (of one lemon)
- Lemon juice, to taste (fresh squeezed!)
- 1/3 cup shredded Parmesan cheese
- 1/4 cup Panko dried bread crumbs
- 1 teaspoon fresh parsley
How to Make It:
- Heat oven to 425 and grease the bottom of a 3-quart baking dish with cooking spray.
- Heat enough water to boil the pasta. Add salt and pasta once water is rapidly boiling. Cook until al-dente, around 8 minutes. Rinse and set aside.
- Meanwhile, heat oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Add onions and cook, stirring, until lightly browned, 6 to 8 minutes. Add mushrooms and 1/2 teaspoon rosemary; cook, stirring, until softened, about 5 minutes.
- Add flour and cook, stirring, for 1 minute.
- Add broth, milk and lemon juice and cook for about 4 minutes more, or until sauce is nice and thick. Remove from heat.
- Place pasta and chicken into the 3-quart dish. Mix bread crumbs, lemon zest, remainder of rosemary and cheese into another bowl. Sprinkle over the pasta/chicken mixture.
- Bake for 20-30 minutes or until bubbly.
This dish was the BOSS. The mushrooms were soft and the gravy/sauce was absolutely delicious. It was decadent and creamy without being too heavy. The Panko gave each bite a crunchy texture and the Parmesan added just the right amount of cheesiness.
This dish is a MUST make, especially since one cup only has 6 grams of fat! Plus, aren’t my little bowls cute?
Nutritional Information per 1 cup: 295 calories, 6 grams of fat, 35 grams of carbohydrates and 25 grams of protein.
Indulgent Thursday: Santorini Salad
Every once in a while, you just have to eat food that tastes good and isn’t that good for you. No one is perfect, me included, and some days I eat fatty & delicious food. I can enjoy these foods without any guilt because it’s not a regular occurance and I’m a human being. There are people out there who eat healthy food for every meal of every day of the year, but I’m just not one of them. I eat healthfully 95% of the time. The rest of the time you can find me indulging in french fries, ice cream, cake, pizza, steak and this delectable santorini salad. Compared with other fatty contenders like the Big Mac or mashed potatoes, this salad looks like a saint. But with 3/4 cup of olive oil and 8 ounces of feta, it isn’t exactly diet friendly. But this recipe is one of my FAVORITES from my mother and is just worth every little fat gram.
And yes, I realize indulging in a pasta salad does not make a nutrition rebel. Maybe I am a crazed health nut after all. However, I can only make this a few times a year because I literally can not control myself around this salad. I eat BOWLS of this in one sitting. Multiple bowls. And I’m not even embarrassed to admit that. This is a perfect salad for those hot summer nights (that I’m anxiously awaiting for, weather Gods) as well as for Easter brunch and spring picnics!
10-12 1 cup servings per batch.
Santorini Salad
What You’ll Need:
- 1 box of penne pasta
- 4 medium tomatoes, sliced into small chunks
- 1 cucumber, sliced into chunks
- 1 8oz container of feta cheese
- fresh dill, chopped
- 3/4 cup of extra virgin olive oil
- 3/4 cup of white wine vinegar
- Dashes of salt
How to Make It:
- Bring 6-8 cups of water to boil. Add salt and pasta to boiling water and cook until noodles are soft. Rinse and set aside to cool completely.
- While pasta is cooling, chop cucumbers, tomatoes and dill. Once pasta has completely cooled, mix it with the veggies and dill in a large bowl. (I used the amazing wooden bowl my aunt got us for the wedding!)
- Add in feta, olive oil and vinegar. Mix with a wooden spoon and chill for 30-45 minutes. Once chilled, enjoy! (Try not to eat as many bowls as I did!)
Simple, fresh and absolutely delicious!
Nutritional Information per 1 cup: 395 calories and 13.5 grams of fat.
I’m back! Wedding Food and Honeymoon Pictures!
Hi everyone!! I’m back from my AMAZING wedding and honeymoon! It was all absolutely perfect. The wedding was a fairy tale and EVERYTHING went just right. There’s no other word but perfect! For all of my in depth wedding recaps, please check out my wedding blog! Although I could gush about my wedding on every single outlet possible, I’m instead going to feature some food photos from the wedding (of course!) and some honeymoon pictures! I’ll be back on schedule with my food and recipe posts tomorrow! These are not the professional photos (I’m anxiously awaiting those!)
First off, I want to personally thank Kate, Lora, Layla, Katie, Amanda and Amanda for guest posting for me while I was out! You ladies have been such great friends to me and are constant sources of inspiration every day. And I’m so eager to try all the yummy dessert recipes (even the tofu one!) and those workout tips! Okay, now onto some pictures!
One of my favorites from the wedding 🙂 Now onto the food!
My best friend’s mom got us a cake that said “Congrats Claire, OMG You’re Getting Married!”
Stocked fridge at the beach house. It lasted, oh, about a day.
Our bridal luncheon spot, Poogan’s Porch!
Our amazing food from the luncheon! Salmon, southern fried crab cakes and my delicious fried green tomato BLT!
Couldn’t find a picture of all the hors’ devours, but the lobster rolls were my favorite anyway!
The basil tomato soup! (In the second photo you can see them pour it!)
AMAZING salad!
The chicken.
The salmon.
The filet. It was AMAZING.
The cake was not only absolutely beautiful, it was delicious!
Our candy bar, which I think turned out absolutely beautiful! (Thank you Kristi!)
Once the fabulous professional photos come in, I’ll have more tasty pictures to share with ya’ll! Now that you are all plenty hungry, let’s move on to beautiful honeymoon pictures! I’ll be doing a full recap of the honeymoon on my wedding site, so be sure to keep checking back!
Turks and Caicos is absolutely gorgeous. The sand is white, the water is aqua and the temperature lies at a perfect 85. It’s an island paradise and I desperately want to go back!
Walking on the beach. So serene!
Yes, the water is this blue!
Of course I had to take some fabulously trendy shots of the new bling!
The palm trees and the flowers were my favorite. So gorgeous and in bloom!
Me with the amazing scenery. It’s honestly impossible to take a bad photo here!
We’re a handsome couple, aren’t we? The last photo was taken on Sunday right after we got back!
The sunsets were breathtaking. Just, speechless!
I’ll be sharing the rest of my honeymoon photos on A Realistic Wedding but just had to share a few here! Just a heads up, I’ll be merging both sites in the next few months so keep your eyes peeled for a brand new look, feel and function of this little website!
Workout Motivational Tips from Amanda of Eats, Love and Happiness.
I am so thankful to have Miss Amanda from Eats, Love and Happiness guest posting on my site! She is such an inspiration for workouts and staying motivated. Her status updates are a CONSTANT source of motivation and trust me, these last few weeks I’ve needed them! Thank you Amanda for guest posting while I’m honeymooning!
Hi readers! My name is Amanda and I blog at Eats, Love and Happiness. Eats, Love and Happiness is where I share my stories about healthy living, good food, working out, my puppy and coming soon…my own wedding planning! I’m learning that there’s a lot that goes into wedding planning while trying to keep your regular life in check.
So while Claire is off getting married, enjoying her honeymoon and rewarding herself for all of the hard work she’s put in over the past few months, I’m going to share with you a few tips that will help all of us stay motivated during the busiest of times of our lives.
Whenever I don’t feel like working out, one of my main excuses on that day will be that “I didn’t have time”. I always find myself battling morning workouts vs. evening workouts. I work a full-time job and I think most will agree, squeezing in a workout when you work full-time, have to prepare meals, keep your house clean, take care of a pet, (the list goes on…) is a little difficult. There is always a reason to workout though! And, like we always say, we never regret working out.
The perks to morning workouts:
● You get it over with! The workout is done and you can move on with your day and not worry about it later.
● It will wake you up. Working out is bound to get your juices flowing and get your energy level up for the day.
● Sunrises. I love going for a morning walk just before the sun starts to rise and you get to see the sun come up. All sunrises are beautiful, aren’t they?
● A big breakfast. It’s important to refuel after a hard workout and what a better meal to do that than breakfast?
● Quiet gyms. I have a private gym in my condo building, so this might not be true for everyone, but mornings tend to be pretty slow on the cardio machines. I usually have the gym all to myself.
● Your dog will thank you. If you have a pet, take him out for a run in the morning. Dogs are always yearning for fresh air, especially if they have to stay home alone all day while you work.
The perks of daytime workouts:
● A break. We sit staring at computer screens for at least eight hours a day. Your eyes and the rest of your body need a break.
● Logging miles. Even if you don’t have enough time to go for a jog and shower after a lunchtime break, just go for a walk instead. You can still count those steps/miles and add them to your daily total.
● Fun desk accessories. Ask your boss if you could get a ergonomic/fitness chair for your office (like this one). With something like this, you can be working out all day long.
The perks of nightime workouts:
● Reruns. I love getting on the treadmill and catching up on old Friends episodes.
● Motivational crowd. Although I do love my lonely morning workouts sometimes, I also like being around other people when I’m doing certain workouts, like treadmill runs. Running alongside someone is a lot more fun than logging miles all by yourself.
● Wind down. I like working out at night because it helps me distress from the workday. I don’t like having to come up from a demanding workday and have to jump right into cleaning or making dinner.
● You have all day to figure out what you’re going to go. And you have all day to tweet and chat with friends who will never let you get away with a lazy afternoon if you start to feel hesitant. I’ve met a great group of motivating Twitter friends via FitBlog Chats. Check it out!
A little disclaimer…I do believe in off days, too! If you’re simply not feeling well and you think your body needs a rest, then you should definitely rest. Our bodies need rest just as much as it needs exercise.
I hope these tips help you get motivated when you don’t feel like working out. I’d love to hear what you do to motivate yourself during certain times of the day.
I want to thank Claire for asking me to guest post today and I hope that you all take a few minutes to check out Eats, Love and Happiness. I know I might need the same support you gave Claire when I start planning my wedding! Congratulations Claire!
