Archive for June, 2012

Jun 21

Mexican Chicken and Rice Casserole

This is based on a Kroger recipe – They suggest putting it on taco shells, but we treat it as a casserole.  Kind of a one dish meal.  It has become one of our favorites.

 

Prep Time: 5 min
Cooking Time: 20 min

Ingredients

  • 2 cups Chicken Breast, Grilled/broiled
  • 12 oz Brown Rice (frozen)
  • 1 cup Frozen Sweet Corn
  • 1/2 tsp Sea Salt
  • 2 cups Mexican Style Cheese,finely Shredded
  • 12 oz Diced Salsa Style Tomatoes Fire Roasted In Tomato Puree
  • 16 oz Tomatillo Salsa Verde, Medium
  • 12 oz Bush’s Black Beans

 

Directions

Preheat oven to 450 degrees. Spray a 13×9 baking dish with cooking spray. Drain and rinse black beans. Shred or chop the chicken breasts. Mix all ingredients except 1 cup of the shredded cheese in a large bowl. Spread evenly into baking dish. Top with remaining cheese.

Bake at 450 degrees for 20 minutes, or until bubbling. Let stand 5 minutes.

Can be served in taco shells, over tortilla chips or as a casserole.  Top with sour cream, or guacamole if desired.

Nutrition Facts

Serving Size: 1 1/5 chicken tacos
Amount per Serving                 Calories 232                        Calories from Fat 72.9
% Daily Value *
Total Fat 8.1g                                   12%
Saturated Fat 4g                                20%
Cholesterol 20mg                          6%
Sodium 888mg                               37%
Total Carbohydrate 21.05g        7%
Dietary Fiber 4.25g                         17%
Sugars 3.55g                             
Protein 19.25g                              38%

Est. Percent of Calories from:

Fat
27%
Carbs
36%
Protein
33%

* Percent Daily Values are based on a 2,000 calorie diet. Your daily values may be higher or lower depending on your calories needs.

 

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Posted in Recipes

Jun 21

Mad Dogs and English….

As we move into summer, it becomes harder for me to stay motivated to work out.  This morning we moved our daily walk time back a half hour and it was still 82 degrees by the time we finished our park trail route.  As temperatures continue to climb, I’ll have to find an alternative.  I simply can’t handle exercise at temperatures much above 80 degrees.

It hasn’t been easy for me this past week.  My breathing ability hasn’t improved much.  I thought it would adjust as I got back into a routine, but it doesn’t seem to be happening.  At least, my legs aren’t stiffening up and getting sore, but that may mean I’m not working hard enough.  I know for sure my weight isn’t dropping very much.

So here’s the update: I missed doing much of anything from the sixth through the eleventh.  That’s not as bad as it sounds since the ninth and tenth were the weekend when I don’t normally do any planned workouts anyway.

From the Monday the eleventh through Thursday the fourteenth, I averaged 1.4 miles a day at about 3 miles per hour.  That is my standard.  On Friday, I spent the day catching up on blog work and didn’t get out of the house at all.  I do try to remember to get up from my chair and stretch every couple of hours, but I don’t have a way to quantify that.

On Saturday, the 16th, I sort of made up for Friday by going to the Handy Blues Festival and spending the afternoon wandering around taking pictures.  It wasn’t aerobic, but between the walking, the time there (about 4 hours), and the heat, I figure I burned some significant calories.

On Sunday, we did our monthly grocery shopping which involves pushing a cart that gets progressively heavier up and down aisles full of people who don’t care whether they are in your way or not.  The frustration alone should burn off a layer of fat. We spent a good 2 hours in the store, and I’d say it counts.

So, this week I’ve hit the park trail three days so far and walked around the block here at home the other day for a total of 5.25 miles at an average of 3 miles per hour.   If I make it out tomorrow, I’ll have completed a whole week.  For the time being, my goal is, at least, one mile per day, five days a week.

Since I’ll be leaving on a 3 week road trip on July ninth, that month will be unpredictable.  We’ll only be traveling for about a week of that.  The other two weeks we’ll be visiting my grandson and his family in Montana. He’s stationed at Malstrom Air Force base there and I’m sure there will be someplace that I can get my miles in while we’re there.  On the road, we’ll be staying at La Quinta Inns and they usually have a workout room available, so I just have to keep myself motivated along the way.

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Posted in Exercise, Health

Jun 11

Moving the Furniture

The site remodel is still a work in progress.   I’m working on getting my categories updated and arranged.  I definitely plan to have a section on faith.  I’ve already posted some background information toward that end and I’m collecting material on my church history.  I may decide to make that a sub-category that will be ongoing.  I also plan to make divisions in the general health matters I had before:  one for interesting or important health news, one for exercise, one for recipes and diet info. Since I have a different blog now for my writing, I’m thinking the Creativity category will go away.

This site was in operation for several years as a family sharing site.  It still has photo galleries that belong to other family members.  I’m planning to try making those password protected so they can still get to them, but they will no longer be visible on the menu bar.  I have gallery features in many other places and don’t see this as a place where I want to store photos that don’t apply to the topics being discussed.

I’ve got a new plugin that should let me run several blog pages at once so that different categories post to individual pages instead of everything being lumped together.  I haven’t played with it yet, so I’m not sure exactly how it will work out, but it’s definitely a goal I’m working on setting up. I’m excited.  Broadening my horizons is always fun.

Check back every few days.  Things will be sporadic until the new schedule falls into place.   I’m working toward posting here at least twice and maybe three times a week.  I’ve postponed the church history piece because I’ve got more research materials on the way.  Tomorrow I’ll be doing a memoir piece.

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Posted in Random Thoughts

Jun 06

Readers Workouts Report ~ June 6, 2012

This past week has been disorganized to say the least.  Most of my exercise was organic.  Walking around the grocery store for an hour may not do much aerobically, but it does burn calories.  I did walk around the park trail last Wednesday.  Thursday’s routine was limited to shopping and packing for Friday’s roadtrip.  In other words, nothing measurable, but better than sitting at the keyboard all day.

Friday became an exercise in torture.  Part of our roadtrip plan was to drive to Louisville without using the Interstates.  That led to us finding Ft. Duffield, a civil war supply base near Fort Knox.  Where we parked, there was a sign that said the Fort was a half mile hike.  It was obvious that the beginning to the trail was a pretty steep hill but, we expected it to level out.  It never did.  The whole half mile was uphill!  The actual fort layout was a series of steep embankments.  We hiked around there for a half hour or so, then walked the half mile down hill.  It was definitely aerobic.

Saturday’s “workout” consisted of wandering around the Renaissance Faire at Eminence, Ky  for a couple of hours.  Not aerobic, but still a calorie burning exercise.

Sunday was spent visiting with family and driving back home, then going to a movie, but that’s normal workout-wise since Sunday isn’t usually an active day for me anyway.

Monday I went with my brother to Nashville.  He had an eye doctor appointment and they dilated his eyes so I drove back.  According to Livestrong, where I track my diet and exercise, driving a light vehicle counts as exercise.  Unfortunately, we stopped for Ice Cream along the way, so Monday was pretty much a wash.

Tuesday was another lost cause.  I slept late, didn’t get any writing done, went out to lunch with the photo club, and ran errands all afternoon. The only exercise I got was tearing down the family computer and helping carry it out to my brother’s vehicle so he could take it to be repaired.  (And no, I will not be letting them use mine while theirs is in the shop.)

So, the past week was not a success.  What with all the eating out over the weekend, I’ve even gained back three of the 12 pounds I had lost.  I will keep working at it though.  It isn’t just about losing weight.  It’s more about staying active and gaining strength.  I exercise to stave off a genetic tendency toward high blood pressure and diabetes, to help keep my arthritis at bay, and to improve my breathing.  It also provides socialization when I walk in the park and meditation time when I go about the neighborhood alone.  This morning I did almost a mile.  A new week has begun.

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Posted in Health

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