Having a barely Zone week

So, I thought this week was going to be ok..I have faollowed the Zone pretty half assesd and I am not really sure why. The Zone is a lot of worl and my husband want to eat how I eat. Well, making the meals for both of us is ok but when you have no help you pretty much get burned out. I haven’t made him lunch or breakfast in months. Now I am back to doing it. I think I am burned out. I don’t get a “Thank You” or “Do you need help?” What I get is him plopping on the couch waiting for supper and sleeping until he feels like it is time to get up and go to work. A little appreciation goes along way!!

So, long story short, he needs, no, he will, be doing his own breakfast and lunch. I don’t want to get so burned out that I don’t want to do it for myself.

The recipe I posted about yesterday

Ok..here is that recipe I posted about. Things got little busy last night...Now this recipe is for the Zone diet, the amount of chicken is one 6 oz breast (for 2 servings). I doubled it for my husband, bot the recipe is posted in original format. There is now way he can eat 3 oz of chicken!! Use this recipe anyway you like! Enjoy

Chicken Florentine & Ricotta Stuffed Chicken
by Diane Manteca - Zone Meals In Seconds

1 Cup Frozen Chopped Spinach

1 Cup Jarred Roasted Pepper, drained & chopped (I used one small jar,)

1/2 Cup Skim Milk Ricotta Cheese

1 Tsp Salt

1 Tsp Pepper

6 oz Chicken Boneless, Skinless Breast Cut Into Two Pieces

2 2/3 Tsp Olive Oil

1 1/2 Cups Classico Basil Marinara Sauce

Your Veggies:
I did not make these veggies, I don't like them. I used Broccoli instead.

1 1/2 Cups Frozen Onion (I used 1/2 fresh, sauteed in a pan)

2 Cups Sliced Zucchini

2 Cups Summer Squash

1 Tsp Jarred Garlic (I used fresh a fresh clove and put the rest in the Ricotta Stuffing)

1 Tsp each Dried Basil and Oregano

One more thing before I forget...see that onion up there? I am going to suggest that you lower that to 1/2 cup. I followed a recipe to the "T", it was a stir fry, used that much onion and wanted to die. That is all I tasted, so I would really be sparing with it. OK on to the rest...

Instructions:
Spray a baking dish with cooking spray and preheat oven to 350 degrees. Squeeze liquid from spinach. In a medium bowl, combine spinach, pepper, ricotta, 1/2 Tsp salt & 1/2 Tsp pepper. Cut slit in the side of chicken to create a pocket. Divide the ricotta-spinach stuffing between the two chicken pockets. Place chicken in the baking dish, drizzle olive oil evenly on top, sprinkle with remaining salt and pepper.
Bake for 20 minutes or until light golden brown. Heat marinara sauce in pan or microwave.

While chicken is baking, spray skillet with cooking spray. Add olive oil, onions, zucchini, summer squash, garlic, basil, oregano, salt and pepper and saute over medium heat for 5 minutes or until just tender.

Divide veggies and serve with chicken.

Remember that you may want to double this recipe, depending on who and how many are eating. 3 oz of chicken with the stuffing was fine for me, but not my husband.

Enjoy!! If you make it, let me know what you think!!

Officially Back

I am officially back in the Zone!! I must tell you that I had the best dinner last night out of this whole month. It was Stuffed Chicken Breast. It was stuffed with ricotta cheese, spinach and roasted peppers, of course there is more to it then that. I wish I brought the recipe with me so I could have posted it, but as usual my crazy morning caused a brain fart. I will defiantly post it tonight when I get home. It is a must try for anyone. No need to be on a diet to eat this!!

What A Weekend!

So my whole weekend turned into a disaster!! Boy do I mean a disaster. I started off ok and ended terrible. Sunday we went to a picnic and I ate food.. lots of food! I drank mixed dinks and then I ate more food!!

On the good list would have been the chicken, pork, cucumber and tomato salad.

The bad list was.. Mixed drinks, beer, coleslaw that was drowning in mayo, macaroni salad, chips, hot dogs and 6 Hershey’s Kisses. I did ok, I shared the food with my husband so I wouldn’t feel so guilty. (Hershey’s Kisses I saved for myself!!)

I did get some exercise though. I walked to the store with my sister in law to the store to get more soda for the mixed drinks and we played Wiffle Ball for a couple of hours. So all in all, things tuned out ok.

Yesterday was no better, Some cheese puffs, ice coffee and a couple of Teddy Grahams earlier in the day. I had BLT’s with my son and husband for dinner!! The BLT’s would have been fine as long as I didn’t have the slices of bread!! One slice would have been fine, I could have managed with 2, BUT I had 4 slices, 2 sandwiches!
But it is all good…Hoped right back on the Zone train this morning.

I Will Not Beat Myself Up!

So yesterday I did not follow the Zone way of eating. Well, except for breakfast, which was egg whites, cheese, black beans and mushrooms. Add some chili powder to the eggs and you have a nice breakfast. After that it was pretty much down hill.

I guess that it is to be expected. In the book Dr. Barry Sears says ti have a "Porky Pig" day one a month. The point of it is to eat pasta and all the refined carbs and wake up the next day to feeling quit crappy. I don't feel to crappy, but I do not feel as great as other mornings!

You already know I had a Zone breakfast well let me tell you the rest of it!

Oh wait I did have a Zone Lunch too.. I almost forgot. Was a salad with kidney beans, turkey, ham and cheese.

Back to the rest...Tostitos with salsa, 2 double chocolate cookies (I savored those) and for dinner....Spaghetti with sauce, meatballs and sausage. My spaghetti was actually steamed green beans. I never really missed the pasta, the sauce was out of this world. My husbands stepfather makes the best sauce, well a tie with my mom. Before I had his sauce, there was no one who could come close to my mom!!

On another good note, I did go and walk my 2 miles, so I am sure that will help burn off one of those cookies!