Undressed Skeleton

Easy Dinner Fixes for One.

 

Sometimes cooking for one is a pain in the butt. I never know how much to make or what to make. Grocery shopping is also tricky because I don’t want to buy too much or it will go bad. I have learned to adapt the past couple weeks while Jeremy has been in Phoenix. I’m the type of person that won’t go out to eat by myself. I’ve never done it and not sure why. Is anyone else like that?

The plus side of cooking for one is making whatever I want and not having to cater to anyone else. If I want salmon five nights in a row, then I can have salmon five nights in a row. There are less dishes to do and leftovers for the next day.  

Here are a couple of meals I have made the past week, for one. 

Spaghetti Squash &  Avocado! 

-2 cups cooked spaghetti squash
-1/2 medium avocado
-1/2 cup Muir Glen garden vegetable spaghetti sauce
-1/4 cup low fat cottage cheese
-2 teaspoons Parmesan cheese

Shrimp Scampi & Parmesan Crisp Zucchini! 

-one tablespoon organic whipped butter
-three medium zucchini (sliced)
-three tablespoons Parmesan cheese
-two teaspoon garlic powder
-five ounces uncooked shrimp

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
2. Spread zucchini slices out on a baking sheet. (sprayed or non-stick)
3. Sprinkle two tablespoons Parmesan cheese and one teaspoon garlic powder over zucchini.
4. Bake for 45 minutes. 
5. After taking the zucchini out, prepare shrimp.
6. In a non stick frying pan add shrimp, butter, and one teaspoon of garlic powder. Cook until shrimp is done. 
7. Add zucchini to a bowl and top with shrimp and one tablespoon of Parmesan. 

Looks pretty good right? Yeah, that is because I didn’t make it. Friday night I went out for dinner and Froyo with some friends. I ordered the vegetarian salad with salmon and a side of steamed broccoli. When I get moved into Detroit and set up the grill: I am going to remake this dish. All you need is: Grilled salmon, grilled green onion, grilled zucchini, grilled corn, grilled egg plan, grilled zucchini, fresh avocados, and sun dried tomatoes over romaine lettuce. Simpy delicious.

Here is my Froyo. Everyone deserves to treat themselves now and then. If I didn’t, eating healthy would seem like a pain in the butt. Candy, Ice cream, Pizza, and all the other unhealthy junk tastes a lot better when you don’t indulge in it everyday. Treating yourself is like a food vacation. You do it when you need it, deserve it and want it. Don’t deprive yourself. And there should never be any guilt after a “treat yo self” night. If you go back to exercising and eating healthy right after, then you are fine. Treating yourself is actually healthy; remember that!  

Oh and what is in that Froyo? Lots of fruit and no sugar at all! Just kidding. I had cookies and cream mixed with red velvet fro-yo topped with: gummy bears, Oreo, cookie dough, chocolate chips,peanuts, peanut butter cup, granola, sprinkles and a couple of malt balls.

And it was DELICIOUS! 

And then the next day, I went back to eating healthy. Yesterday I whipped up a couple baked zucchini slices with Parmesan cheese and leftover marinara sauce to go with my veggie burger. 

Recipe is posted here:

If you want to see more of my meals, breakfast and snacks for the week, visit my instagram! 

http://instagram.com/taralynnmcnitt

Hair braid kind of day! #badathair

Hair braid kind of day! #badathair

10 Reasons Why You Should Workout On The Weekends.

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Do you workout five days a week and take the weekends off? Are you sure you want to do that? Here’s how I look at it. You work Monday through Friday, eight hours a day and are completely exhausted. Most of the time you force yourself to workout after work/school or before. I find that stressful. And isn’t  stress one of the main factors in weight gain?  After torturing yourself throughout the week rushing to workouts, work/school and life you crash on the weekends. In my opinion, weekends are the best time to workout. If you want to workout five days a week, fine! Just space it out to make it less stressful. Take two of your busiest workdays off to rest and workout on the weekends instead.

Here are ten good reasons to workout on the weekends. 

  1. You can still sleep in. 
  2. You workout on your time.
  3. Working out on the weekend will help you make healthier choices throughout the day. 
  4. You can workout with your friends or family who also have the day off.
  5. You can workout outside of the gym. (hiking, swimming, golfing, dancing, biking, walking the dog)
  6. You have time to relax afterwords instead of rushing back to work or school. 
  7. Working out puts you in a better mood.
  8. If you feel like indulging on a Saturday night or Sunday meal, you won’t have any guilt. 
  9. You have more time to reach your goals. 
  10. It’s hard to come up with excuses not to workout on the weekend. 

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Quick little summer snack idea: sliced green apple, blueberries & PB2  (Perfect for road trips  or down by the pool) 

Shrimp Fajita Bowls

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Another dinner for one tonight. Cooking for myself is not as fun as cooking for two. There is no one there to share the flavor with. Seems silly, but now I understand why microwave dinner companies stay in business. Tonight I made of of my favorites, shrimp fajitas. The good thing about cooking for one is the leftovers for tomorrow. 

Here is tonight’s simple recipe. 

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You will need:

  • Three cups bell pepper (your choice of color)
  • 1/2 cup onion slices
  • One cup cottage cheese
  • 12 Ounces uncooked shrimp
  • 1/2 Tbsp olive oil
  • 1 Tbsp organic fajita seasoning 
  • 1 Head of lettuce

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-In a frying pan heated on high, saute onions and peppers with olive oil.

-Add cooked shrimp after the onions and peppers are sauteed. 

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-After shrimp is done cooking, remove from heat and stir in the fajita seasoning. 

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-Add 1/4 of the lettuce head to a serving bowl.

-Top with 1/4 cup of cottage cheese.

-Add one cup of the shrimp fajita mix to the bowl. 

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Recipe makes four serving.

I’d recommend pairing it up with a homemade salsa and organic tortilla chips! 

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Per Serving: 192 Calories, 3.5 g Fat, 13 g Carbs, 5 g Fiber, 5 g Sugar, 28 g Protein

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Another Seafood Night: Bourbon Salmon!

I marinated salmon in an organic bourbon sauce, then seasoned it with black pepper and a tsp of brown sugar. I baked 20 minutes at 350 degrees. Since I am cooking for one this week, I asked my butcher to cut me small fillet. 

I’m trying to upload those photos for the  1000 calorie workouts, but my iPhone chord is being crazy.  I’ll keep working on it! 

Baked & Seasoned Cod Over Sauteed Veggies & a Side of Asparagus!

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I take advantages of the nights Jeremy is out of town. He isn’t a huge “fish” fan, but I LOVE it. Tonight I dug through the moving boxes and pulled out a couple pans to cook. I am getting sick and tired of living off vegan burgers and yogurt. Don’t get me wrong I love those things, but everyday, twice a day…no thanks. My meal was fast and mighty tasty! 

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-Large Zucchini
-Asparagus
-Large Onion
-Vegetable Seasoning
-Wild Alaskan Cod Fillets
-One Bell Pepper (Yellow)
-Low Sodium Soy Sauce

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Thaw out the cod three hours in advance. Open the packages, but keep them in the wrapper. Fill a bowl with warm water and let the fix soak to defrost. 

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After the cod defrosts, rinse and add to a greased baking sheet. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. 

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-Add a tsp of low sodium soy over each fillet. 

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Sprinkle the vegetable seasoning over the top. 

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Bake 12-14 minutes. 

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Cook the asparagus with the cod at the same temperature and time. Season with the same seasonings as well. 

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White the cod and asparagus are baking, prepare the vegetables. Slice onions, zucchini and bell pepper. Add the veggies to a non-stick frying pan with one tbsp of low sodium soy.

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Cook vegetables on high until browned and sauteed. 

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Nutrition for one fillet: 90 Calories, 20 g Protein, 0 g Fat, 0 g Carbs, 0 g Sugar, 

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Leave asparagus in the oven five minutes longer after taking out the cod! 

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Serve cod over two cups of sauteed veggies :) 

With a meal like this, you deserve dessert! How about a couple dark chocolate energy bites or dessert pizza?

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