Commitment & Portion Control...A Valuable Lesson

Guess who has officially dropped below their Wedding Weight?! Who knew that just a few weeks of persistant calorie counting & healthy eating could kickstart weight loss? ;] I only find it fighting to post one of my favorites from my bridal session & then one of Clint & I of course! One of the most incredible days of my life...Seriously...

Now onto the good stuff! :]

If there is anything that I have learned over the past five weeks (& ever since I committed to lose weight) is that the sacrifice is always worth it. I have never gone to the gym & regretted it. I have never chosen a healthy meal over an unhealthy one & regretted it. 

The time you take out of your day to go to the gym or to exercise may seem like a large amount of time, but think about the time you spend watching TV, cyber stalking (who are we kidding...we all do it! :]) & sitting on the couch. A mere 45 minutes set aside at least 3 times a week is not a difficult thing. The hardest part about exercise is committing! The last thing I want to do after a long day at work is go to the gym. The moment I walk in the door, I make the decision to immediately put on my gym clothes. As soon as I'm dressed, that is my commitment & I'm out the door!

Clint & I love going on double dates with our family & friends. Therefore, we spend a lot of time researching healthier restaurant or meal options. Our philosophy is if you work hard, save your calories, and earn them, you can eat what you want in moderation. We both have a terrible habit of eating everything that is on the plate, so what I do is split the food into correct portions (because one portion in America could feed a whole tribe of African children!) & then I pack up half of the meal before I even eat anything. That way, I don't feel like I'm wasting half of a plate or food, or feel even the slightest bit of obligation to eat it. Everyone has their own tactic of portion control, but that is by far the easiest way for me, especially when eating out.

What helps you control your portions?

Chicken Avocado Sandwich

Well, here comes the first of many recipes! This has easily become my favorite home made chicken sandwich! I am so thrilled with how all of the ingredients just blended together. &....drum roll please....it was 423 calories! No sides necessary, because it was so filling and had amazing flavor! No mayonaise or any other condiment. Only 5 ingredients! Here they are! {minus the avocado}

Ingredients:

+ 2 Chicken Breasts {purchased @ Costco, freezer ready 2 breast packages}

+ McCormick Zesty Herb Marinade

+ 2 Small Brown Mushrooms

+ 1/2 Avocado

+ Torta Sandwich Roll {purchased @ Costco}

Directions:

First prepare the marinade {All it takes is 1/3 cup water, 3 T. Olive Oil & 3 T. White Vinegar} in a large ziplock baggy, which I find is the easiest, cleanest, most disposable way. Pour about 1/3 cup of the marinade into a separate ziplock baggy to marinate the mushrooms. Cut the mushrooms into thin slices and put into 1/3 cup separated baggy. Then prepare the chicken by thawing & rinsing. Slice the chicken horizontally & then down the middle vertically. This should make 8 relatively even pieces. Place all chicken in the larger ziplock and marinate for at least a half hour. 

I grilled on our George Foreman {which has recently become my best friend since being recently discovered in a pile of wedding gifts from a year ago...who else can resonate??} & it only took about 6-7 minutes! No turning over necessary. After the chicken was done, I threw the mushrooms on to grill for about 4 minutes {my husband likes them nice & crispy, but they're amazing either way}. 

Cut the torta rolls in half and broil in a toaster oven, or just toast them until they're a little crispy. Cut the whole avocado in half & use 1/4 of the avocado for each sandwich. Cut the avocado into small pieces and spread on the top half of the bun. Place 2 chicken pieces on the bottom half of the bread and put half of the mushrooms on top. & that's it! 

The best thing about this sandwich is that if your really low on calories, you can use a much lighter bread, but honestly, the bread made the sandwich for me! 

Here's the calorie lay out!

Chicken Breast {4 oz} -- 110 Calories 

1/4 Avocado {Medium} -- 75 Calories

1 Torta Roll -- 220 Calories

Mccormick Marinade -- About 15 Calories

1 Brown Mushroom -- 3 Calories

Total: 423 Calories

{{Quote of the Day}}

Yours Truly,