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skinny chicken enchiladas

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I discovered this recipe on a Facebook page called Skinnytaste. And boy is it ever a HIT! I had to share it with y’all! 😍

PREP TIME:
10 mins

COOK TIME:
35 mins

TOTAL TIME:
45 mins

These are the BEST Chicken enchiladas, my dish of choice anytime I go out for Mexican! If you’re an enchilada lover like me, you will love these!

Ingredients

For the enchilada sauce:

* 2 garlic cloves (minced)

* 1-2 tbsp chipotle chilis in adobo sauce

* 1-1/2 cups tomato sauce

* 1/2 tsp chipotle chili powder

* 1/2 tsp ground cumin

* 3/4 cup reduced sodium chicken broth

* kosher salt and fresh pepper to taste

For the chicken:

* 1 tsp vegetable oil

* 8.5 oz 2 breast halves cooked shredded chicken breast

* 1 cup diced onion

* 2 large clove garlic (minced)

* 1/4 cup cilantro

* kosher salt

* 1 tsp cumin

* 1/2 tsp dried oregano

* 1 tsp chipotle chili powder

* 1/3 cup chicken broth

* 1/2 cup tomato sauce

For the enchilada:

* 8 7-inch low-carb whole wheat flour tortillas (la tortilla factory)

* 1 cup shredded low fat Mexican cheese

* non-stick cooking spray

* 2 tbsp chopped scallions or cilantro for topping

Instructions

* In a medium saucepan, spray oil and sauté garlic. Add chipotle chiles, chili powder, cumin, chicken broth, tomato sauce, salt and pepper. Bring to a boil. Reduce the heat to low and simmer for 5-10 minutes. Set aside until ready to use.

* Preheat oven to 400 degrees.

* Heat the vegetable oil in a medium skillet over medium-high heat. Sauté onions and garlic on low until soft, about 2 minutes. Add chicken, salt, cilantro, cumin, oregano, chili powder, tomato sauce, chicken broth, and cook 4 to 5 minutes. Remove from heat.

* Spray a 13 by 9-inch glass baking dish with non-stick spray. Put 1/3 cup chicken mixture into each tortilla and roll it.

* Place on baking dish seam side down, top with sauce. Then top with cheese.

* Cover with aluminum foil and bake in the oven on the middle rack for 20-25 minutes. Top with low fat sour cream or scallions if you wish. (Extra points) Makes 8 enchiladas.

Serving: 1 enchilada. Calories: 168kcal, Carbohydrates: 17.5g, Protein: 17.5g, Fat: 6.5g, Saturated Fat: 2g, Polyunsaturated Fat: 0g, Monounsaturated Fat: 0g, Trans Fat: 0g, Cholesterol: 29.5mg, Sodium: 441mg, Potassium: 0mg, Fiber: 8.5g, Sugar: 3g, Vitamin A: 0%, Vitamin C: 0%, Calcium: 0%, Iron: 0%.

Freestyle Points: 6   Points +: 6

YUM! 😃

Blessings,
Emily

Photo and recipe courtesy of Skinnytaste.

intermittent fasting and autophagy

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It has been a whirlwind couple of weeks. I’ve been hit with wave upon wave of sickness (courtesy of my daughter), and I am SO ready for a break from the preschool plagues!

However, I’m still devoted to this intermittent fasting (IF) journey. And it is working! I stick to my fasting window of 15-16 hours six days a week, taking one day off a week when I’m allowed to eat or enjoy an adult beverage outside of my designated fasting window (for date nights, Mama’s sanity, etc).

I am rarely hungry, I get fuller faster when I eat, I’m sleeping better, and the pounds are melting away with very little effort. So far, I have lost 8 pounds. I haven’t counted anything or denied myself anything; if I feel like I need a piece of chocolate, I eat the dang chocolate. But I will say that I’m more mindful now about what I choose to eat and how much of it I really need to feel satisfied. And it was a natural evolution of thought, stemming from the two new routines in my life: meditation and IF.

Others have joined me on this journey, and I’ve gotten some AMAZING feedback! A friend recently shared her success with me, and I was completely blown away. Here is the message I received from her after less than a week of IF:

Now I will admit, I had no idea what autophagy was when she mentioned it. But since she’s in the medical field, I knew it was worth looking into! So I set off on a google search and found a 4-minute video on Youtube that talks about what autophagy is, and how IF triggers it. Rather than me trying to summarize (or butcher) the information in the video, I’ll post the link here so you can see for yourself: Autophagy & Intermittent Fasting: Activate Garbage Recycling and Cellular Remodeling

After watching that video, there’s really nothing more or better I can say about the benefits of IF and why everyone should be doing it. The craziest thing about all of this is that I never thought I would join the meditating or fasting bandwagons. If someone had told me a few months ago that I’d be doing these things, I would have laughed them out of the room.

But I did pray, asking for God’s help with my health goals. Then I talked to a friend (a fellow believer) about my struggles, and that led me to IF. So I’m going to take these blessings and run with them.

If you haven’t already, I would love for you to join me and share your feedback! 🙂

Blessings,
Emily

one week with intermittent fasting

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Results after week one of following the 15:9 intermittent fasting (IF) plan (each day has a 15 hour fasting window, and a 9 hour eating window):

Cravings have disappeared. 💃🏼

Appetite is curbed; I get full faster when I eat. 🙅🏼‍♀️

I no longer have “sugar rush” if I eat carby foods. 🥯

Hunger is rare, and easily satisfied with hot tea. ☕️

I have more energy and focus. 🤓

I’ve lost 5 pounds. 🎉🎉🎉🎉🎉

I did not change any of the things that I normally eat, and I didn’t deprive myself during my eating window. I ate as I normally do; the only change was the timeframe in which I ate.

Saturday is my designated relax day; I allow myself to eat/drink after 6pm because we all need a break from strict routines every now and then.

And after that…

I AM READY FOR WEEK TWO! 😃

Blessings,

Emily

tea to the fasting rescue!

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If you’re thinking of going on this intermittent fasting (IF) journey with me, every now and then you’re going to feel a twinge of hunger. Our minds and bodies are resistant to change, even when the change is good. So you’ll need some tools in your arsenal to combat the saboteurs, and this is where tea is everything.

During your fasting window, you have to stay away from anything that drives an insulin response, but that doesn’t knock absolutely everything. Unsweetened and unflavored teas, black coffee, and of course water are all allowed! But absolutely NO additives like milk, cream, or any sweeteners at all – whether natural or not. Which is exactly why I save my coffee until my eating window opens; hello, you gorgeous cream and sugar; come to mama! 😍

So if I feel a hunger twinge during the morning hours of my fasting window, I answer it with a cup of ginger or green tea (caffeinated), which is great because it also helps me to get my brain going in the morning. Almost immediately after I start drinking my tea, my urge to eat is gone! For nighttime hunger or cravings, I usually go for Oolong tea, which is naturally caffeine-free, and also works wonders for subduing your appetite.

I never ever thought hot tea would work as a natural appetite suppressant. Discovering this little trick has been a game-changer for my journey with IF. I hope it helps you as well!

Cheers to better health! 🙂

Blessings,

Emily

intermittent fasting (IF)

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Along this path towards overall health, I’ve recently discovered another gem used to increase health and longevity: intermittent fasting (IF).

I’m sure most of us have all encountered the idea of fasting at some point, whether for religious purposes or for medical necessity. And never has it ever been fun. So when one of my friends first mentioned to me that she was doing IF, I nodded and smiled and asked a few questions, all the while knowing I had ZERO desire to take part in it myself. Boy was I ignorant.

Fast forward a few months after that conversation, as the crappiness of being unhealthy started taking a bigger toll on how I felt, I shared my struggles with this friend, and once again she brought up IF. This time, I felt bad enough to start researching. And everywhere I looked, people were raving about the benefits of IF. Then I randomly saw an article about it posted on a health site that I regularly follow. It appeared that all signs were pointing to IF, and how it might be exactly what I should be doing.

Well amigos, here I sit. I’m doing this IF thing, and dern if I don’t feel better after just a few days of it.

It’s not hard at all. I have no idea why I was so obstinate for so long. Oh wait, yes I do. That’s kinda my thing. Sigh.

Anywho, the idea is that you eat within a specified timeframe every day, and then you have a fasting timeframe. There’s no counting things, or not eating certain things, or only eating certain things. The goal of IF is to simply allow your body to fast long enough that it begins to utilize the sugar stored up in your fat cells as energy, before you eat again.

But this one small goal of IF leads to SO many bigger-picture health advantages. Because you can only eat during a certain window of the day (which you determine), you also naturally end up consuming less calories each day (barring you don’t go berserk during your eating window). Other amazing things start happening inside your body as well, as it is allowed to basically “reset” during the fasting window.

From everything I have been reading, it appears that consistent IF actually increases longevity, insulin sensitivity, AND decreases the risk for type II diabetes, heart disease, and even cancer. I’m sure there are many other health benefits that I have yet to discover, but I’ll keep researching and sharing! 🙂

First, you have to get over the word “fasting”, which makes you envision yourself starving in the desert for days without food. Possibly considering that buzzard for dinner. But this is simply not reality.

For example, right now, I’ve decided that my fasting timeframe is from 6pm to 9am. I don’t eat anything after 6pm each night, until 9am the next day. This equates to 15 hours of fasting, most of which I am sleeping away. Eventually, I may increase the fasting window to 16 hours, depending on how everything goes with the 15-hour fast.

I’ve read quite a bit about IF in the last few weeks, and the general consensus is to start slow and work up to your desired fasting-window goal. Start with fasting for 12 hours, and then slowly increase as you have success. So far, I have nothing but good news to report. My energy has increased, my appetite has decreased, and I just FEEL better.

I’ll post a link below for a quick intro to IF. If you’re interested and open-minded, give it a read, do a little googling of your own, and let me know what you think about IF. And please – if you have ANY health conditions, be sure to discuss this with your doctor or medical professional before you start any new eating or fasting plan.

How Intermittent Fasting Can Help You Lose Weight

I’ll be posting more about IF as I gain more knowledge and experience with it. Here’s to better health! 🙂

Blessings,
Emily

healthy hair care

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It’s been a good while since my last post! Honestly, I have been working my fanny off at the old day job, and I’ve just been too exhausted most nights to write. All the extra work paired with the horribleness that March always brings (my ho-hum adult birthday, followed by my beloved and dearly-missed daddy’s birthday, the death star pollen, and the “ides of March” reminding us that taxes are due soon), easily pegs this month as my least favorite of the year.

But, I digress.

I wanted to share something with you all that I recently discovered, and was really quite shocked to find.

First, for those of you who don’t see me on a regular basis, I have to start by telling you that I have long hair. Like all the way down my back long. It’s longer than it’s ever been, and not really on purpose. After childbirth, when every last strand of my hair seemed to be falling out, I thought I might actually end up a bald eagle. But once my hair finally returned, it came back with a vengeance. It grew thicker and longer than ever before, much faster than this tired working mama could manage to tame in any manner outside of a mom-bun. So there’s that.

Now for the skinny.

All of a sudden one day, my super long hair started tangling a lot, and very easily. It was particularly difficult to brush out while wet after being washed. (I do use good quality shampoo and conditioner, and none of that has changed.) So my first inclination was to try a detangler. Once upon a time, I had used the Suave Kids Apple Detangler Spray, which you can find at Walmart. So I decided to give it another go. However, I quickly found that something had obviously changed with the recipe since I had last bought and used it.

After just a few days of using this Suave mess when brushing out my wet hair, it actually made things worse! With each passing day, I had more and more tangles than ever before, and I could literally see the damage it was doing to my hair. What a brilliantly deceptive product they’ve created; use this stuff to detangle your hair, which actually makes your hair more prone to tangles over time, which means you’ll need to use/buy more detangler. Genius!

But as my Grandma used to say, I didn’t fall off the turnip truck yesterday.

So I gathered my mama-wits about me, and remembered something I once used every day when I had the time to flat-iron my hair. Lanza Healing Oil. This stuff is LIQUID GOLD! After finding my long lost bottle of it and using just one dime-sized application on my wet hair, my wetbrush glided right thru without any snags. And after my hair had dried, it was shiny, healthy, and beautiful! Sha-zam!

After adding this product back into my routine a couple times a week (post-wash), my hair has been exceptionally gorgeous. And no more tangles! 😃

Do yourself a favor, and get a bottle of this magical oil. Even if you use it every single day, you only need a small (dime-sized) amount each time. So it will last months and months, and your hair will thank you!

Lanza-oil

Blessings,
Emily