Dear Love Handles,

noreply@blogger.com (Hannah) — Mon, 19 Mar 2012 15:10:00 +0000

Phat Mommas Meal of the Week

Chicken Gyro Wrap

by Phat Momma Allison

I made a super-fantastic chicken gyro wrap today! yummm!

Chicken gyro:
1/2 large pita (cut edges and pull apart to make 2 large circles)
20-30 baby spinach leaves
1tbsp thinly sliced onion
1/2 medium tomato
Carrots (I used a potato peeler to get thin strips)
1/2 large grilled chicken breast (thinly sliced)
1-2 tbsp feta cheese
6 kalamata olives (halved)
3 tbsp skinny tzatziki

Skinny Tzatziki

6 oz fat free greek yogurt
1/2 cup cucumber (peeled, seeded, grated and drained)
1 clove garlic, crushed
1 tbsp lemon juice
kosher salt and fresh pepper

Strain the yogurt to remove as much liquid as possible. Set aside.

Scoop seeds out of the cucumber with a small spoon. Place cucumber in a mini food processor or grate with a cheese grater. Drain the liquid from the cucumber in a strainer and sprinkle with a little salt (this helps release the liquid). You may want to use the back of a spoon to help squeeze out any excess liquid.
Combine strained cucumber, garlic, yogurt, salt, pepper and lemon juice, and refrigerate for a few hours before serving.
Store in refrigerator. Good for about a week.

For more tasty, diet friendly recipes, visit: http://phatmommasskinnyfood.wordpress.com/

Question of the Week

noreply@blogger.com (Hannah) — Mon, 27 Feb 2012 16:41:00 +0000

What is your least favorite body part/area?

(Personally, I loathe my knees. They look like they belong on a pachyderm.)

Phat Momma's Meal of the Week

noreply@blogger.com (Hannah) — Tue, 21 Feb 2012 14:42:00 +0000

Cilantro-Lime Shrimp Tacos w Chili-Lime Mayo

by Phat Momma Allison

These tacos are sooo easy and delicious

First, you make the Chili-Lime Mayo
(If you don’t like HOT, don’t add the hot sauce at all. Just make it with mayo, lime and cilantro. Very spicy!)
Mix together : 4 Tbsp Hellmann’s Light REAL Mayonnaise
1 Tbsp Sriracha HOT Chili Sauce
1 Tbsp lime juice
1Tbsp finely chopped cilantro
and let it sit in the fridge covered, for at least an hour.

Then, you want to choose the amount of shrimp based on how many people you are cooking for. I usually use 5-7 per taco.
Put the defrosted, pre-cooked shrimp in a bowl. (I use pre-cooked because my husband is allergic to RAW seafood.)
add a little lime juice, a pinch of kosher salt and ground black pepper. mix it a few times.

Heat a pan with a little olive oil and cook the shrimp for 1-2 minutes. There will be a lot of extra liquid, but the shrimp will be deliciously seasoned!

Now, put everything together in a tortilla!
Lettuce, tomato, sliced avocado, fresh cilantro, cooked shrimp and then top with the chili-lime mayo!

For tasty, diet friendly recipes, visit http://phatmommasskinnyfood.wordpress.com/

Au Naturale

noreply@blogger.com (Hannah) — Sat, 18 Feb 2012 06:23:00 +0000

Six months ago I made a choice. A choice that would improve my quality of life. A choice that would force me to be aware of my foods origins and, in turn, make me a more conscious consumer. No longer would I peruse the brightly lit aisles of the grocery store, instead, I would buy only from local farmers markets. Gone were the days of processed cheese and waxy apples. Fast food? Bite your tongue, sir. I would sooner starve than pollute my body with that filth. I would be a slave to convenience, no more! For I had made the decision to go local and organic, and nothing was going to stop me.

So, armed with the knowledge of the evils of "conventional" (the least offensive way to suggest a product is not organic/natural) foods and a grocery list, I marched into the market, determined and steadfast. The smell of earth and the sounds of bargaining filled the air. And as I pored over the various stands, I couldn't help noticing the deep purple hues of the beets, the vibrant reds of the bell peppers, the rich oranges of the carrots...and the absurd prices of absolutely everything in sight. Four dollars for an apple?! Were these people mad?!

Surely there was a rational explanation for the exorbitant costs. Perhaps I had stumbled upon an underground bazaar in which all goods had been touched by Midas himself. Or, quite possibly, I walked in on a fund raiser in which the prices of all produce had been increased 400%, and the profits were to be donated to a local charity. Of course, it could've been that it just wasn't the proper season for...well, for anything. But upon closer inspection I realized that no, the jicama was not made of gold, and no...there would be no ill-equipped children's choir benefiting from my purchase. Alas, I accepted my fate. I would not be going organic that day, not with my lucre.

And so, I continue to devour the most deplorable of vittles. Irradiated radishes, pesticidal plums and antibiotic rich, rump roasts. Yet, I have not fallen ill. In fact, I have been in perfect health...neither a sniffle nor a belly ache in over a year. Could it be, that a Chilean grape is just as nourishing as one plucked from the vine of a small farm on the Finger Lakes? Is it possible that as long as we eat well, it doesn't really matter if our avocado comes from this side of the Rio Grande?

That's not to say I condone the consumption of such culinary missteps as canned vegetables or precooked meats, but rather suggest, that choosing a locally grown, organic rutabaga over one shipped in from Canada, may not leave you susceptible to disease. And while I am no financier, I'm pretty sure doubling ones grocery bill on a weekly basis, could make for a less cushy savings account.

So, don't let the high cost of organic foods deter you from eating well. Because while your reusable grocery bag isn't overflowing with locally grown lemongrass...at least you're not that lady with the "Hungry Man" meals spilling out of her cart.

Phat Momma's Meal of the Week

noreply@blogger.com (Hannah) — Tue, 14 Feb 2012 17:44:00 +0000

Spinach Lasagna Rolls
                        by Phat Momma Allison
Perfectly portioned individual lasagnas. These were wonderful!

                    Spinach Lasagna Rolls

9 lasagna noodles, cooked (Okay… I actually used 10)

10 oz frozen chopped spinach, thawed and completely drained

15 oz fat free ricotta cheese (I like Miceli’s! Made right here in Ohio!)

1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese

1 egg

salt and fresh pepper

32 oz tomato sauce

9 tbsp (about 3 oz) part skim mozzarella cheese, shredded

Preheat oven to 350°. Combine spinach, ricotta, Parmesan, egg, salt and pepper in a medium bowl. Ladle about 1 cup sauce on the bottom of a 9 x 12 baking dish.
Place a piece of wax paper on the counter and lay out lasagna noodles. Make sure noodles are dry. Take 1/3 cup of ricotta mixture and spread evenly over noodle. Roll carefully and place seam side down onto the baking dish. Repeat with remaining noodles.
Ladle sauce over the noodles in the baking dish and top each one with 1 tbsp mozzarella cheese. Put foil over baking dish and bake for 40 minutes, or until cheese melts. Makes 9 rolls.
To serve, ladle a little sauce on the plate and top with lasagna roll.

For tasty, diet friendly recipes, visit http://phatmommasskinnyfood.wordpress.com/

Question of the Day

noreply@blogger.com (Hannah) — Fri, 10 Feb 2012 14:29:00 +0000

   In an attempt to keep this blog interactive, I will periodically post a question. As I prefer to think of us as a support group of sorts, I ask that you post your answers publicly. Should you have some advice for another reader, please feel free to make that public as well. The more you guys respond, the more support you will receive...its a total win-win. So, thanks in advance for your participation! And happy weight loss!

                                                     February 10, 2012
     Do you have a desired weight? If so, how many pounds to go, until you reach said weight?

My Diet Starts Monday.

noreply@blogger.com (Hannah) — Tue, 07 Feb 2012 06:36:00 +0000

   As Super Bowl Sunday came to a close, I was left with that all too familiar feeling of guilt, accompanied by self loathing and utter repulsion by what I had done. Although, in my defense, it wasn't really ME. It was "past me". You know, that rat bastard version of yourself that disregards consequence in the name of instant gratification? Yep. That's the one. Sneaky little SOB isn't he/she? Surfacing only when you are at your most vulnerable...parties, holidays, driving past Taco Bell etc.

   In any case, Past Me (which I will now capitalize to avoid any possible confusion) had quite an indulgent Sunday. It all started with a glass of cheap wine (doesn't everything?). I told myself that one little libation wouldn't hurt, so long as I didn't give in to the false temptress that is "Chile con Queso". Well, a funny thing happened upon gulping down those rose tinted sulfites. I lost all control. I'm talking full on, gluttonous, caveman shit. Forget about the fists full of chips cloaked in microwaved cheese sauce or the 5 bacon wrapped mini hot dogs. The most deplorable of acts occurred when I began slopping crab dip on Ritz crackers...which are, lets face it, the white trash of the cracker community. Fucking sick.

   Once the food high ceased, and the denial subsided, I realized I had only one person to blame. Past Me. I mean, I take very good care of my body, certainly I would not have made such contemptible culinary choices. Had Present Me been at that Super Bowl soiree, the aforementioned massacre would've been but a fable. But alas, I was nowhere to be found and my waistline has to suffer the consequence of my negligence.

   And so, with the turning down of the sheets and the switching off of the light, came the usual Sunday night promise..."My diet starts Monday".