Skinny is just Math.

So last night I decided to try out this recipe I found on the internet... no, I can't take credit for this one as much as I would like to.  Its a neat little desert recipe that pulls in some fruit and a delicious caramel dressing. It will have friends and family wishing they were eating healthier too!

(You can also watch this video on Youtube! Click Here!)

Apples – they are a supermarket staple and a crisper drawer celebrity. They’re easy to get all year and you always have flexibility to choose what kind of apple you want. Crisp, sweet, tart; apples for baking, boiling, snacking even juicing! They provide a lot of variety, but that’s not all they are able to provide.


Apples are an excellent healthy choice. They are a source of antioxidants and fibre; soluble and insoluble. Insoluble fibre helps to move food through the digestive tract quickly and easily and therefore reduces colon cancer risk. The soluble part of an apple, the pectin, also reduces cholesterol buildup in the arteries. Studies have even suggested that apples may reduce the risk of prostate and lung cancer. Another bonus to the pectin (much like any fibre) is that it has been reported to act as an appetite suppressant. Besides, a small/medium apple is far under 100 calories, so it won’t make a huge dent in your daily calorie bank!


You know, there’s a reason that the cliché “An apple a day keeps the doctor away!” never seems to get old.

And that’s your five minutes of fruit for Friday the 13th!
(Watch for a delicious low calorie apple recipe that will have your friends and family wishing they were eating healthier too!)

[...ooo its red meat day! I am STOKED for steak! Just remember to trim the fat and fill at least half your plate with healthy veg!   Ciao Bellas!]

Why lying to yourself is the worst thing that you could possibly do!


Ok, so first off I want to thank you for continuing to follow and also to congratulate you if you're following along with me! 

Today I want to talk a little bit about honesty. No, I'm not talking about lying to partner about liking their parents.  I'm talking about honesty about yourself to yourself.  I can see you all rolling your eyes now. I bet your expecting me to do some shmultzy "talk to yourself in a mirror" thing.  No. That annoys even me. 

Let me tell you a short tale about how what I considered "confidence" and "comfort" with myself was actually just a big pile-o-denial. 

I've always been a confident girl. I'm overweight, yeah, but I carry it pretty well and I've always been of the "If  you don't like it, don't look at it" opinion.  (Granted, I always dress myself appropriately for my size.)   The rare moments when I was unhappy with my body I didn't really share with anyone, and most of the time I was comfortable with my weight.  I would make jokes about it and my friends and family would chastize me and correct me.  I would laugh and say "awww, thanks."  Little did I know that I was letting them contribute to my denial.  You see, by making a joke out of it I wasn't taking it as a serious matter (and it is!) and then by allowing my family to correct me I was essentially letting them tell me that I'm not fat.  It fed my denial. 

Now, I completely believe that it is a good thing to be comfortable with yourself.  I think its important for women of all shapes and sizes.  However, being over-confident lets us evade the truth. 

So I have made the choice to be open about my weight.  Not only because I think that it will keep me on track, but because being honest with myself and my family and friends about my weight is a constant reminder of WHY I am doing what I am doing.  The minute I deny the truth, is the minute I forget why I'm changing and I go off track. 

 Today, I said something about being fat and a darling friend of mine corrected me. I stopped her, and I reminded her that by correcting me she was creating a sense of complacency and acceptance about what I consider to be completely unacceptable now; something I am trying to change.   In essence, its like reinforcing an alcoholic or an addict.

So now, I am going to challenge you.  I'm going to challenge you to be honest to yourself.  I'm going to challenge you to refuse to accept the false sense of complacency. 

Be TRUE to you. Be Honest about these few things.

I am overweight. 
I am changing.
I will be healthy.

I'm doing it. I KNOW I can succeed, and I know you all can too.

So, honesty! It works!

So I thought that I would share with you all a lovely recipe that I use to create some variety in my chicken.
We all know that most pre-processed chicken nuggets and chicken strips have far too much salt and additives and sometimes the chicken is.... questionable.  However, finger-foods are fun to eat and if made properly can be a tasty HEALTHY addition to any diet. (Hold the salt and chicken 'bits' though!)


This recipe is to serve two, but can be adjusted for more (or less!)
Prep time is less than 15 minutes and cook time is about 20 minutes.

Here's what you need:

Corn Flakes
2 Chicken Breasts or 2 pkgs of fresh fast fry chicken (its pre-cut into thin strips)
One egg
Olive oil or a Pam-Like spray.
Any seasonings you would like (I will discuss further)

Whatever dipping sauce you desire (I prefer VH Sweet and Sour or Plum Sauce)

Here's what you do!

1. Preheat your oven to 375. (Make sure you take your pizza stone our or your apartment will stink like burning pizza stone -oops that was me!)
2. Put the 2 cups of corn flakes into a medium-large tupperware container that has a lid (this is key!)
3. With a potato masher, mash the heck out of the corn flakes. Now, we don't want cornflake dust, but we want them to be small bits. If you have a different and/or better way of crushing them, go right ahead.  Just make sure you have the container w/lid.
4. Crack the egg into a bowl and whisk it until well blended. 
5. Now, if you have regular chicken breasts, you will have to cut them thinner (through the middle) and then cut them into strips.  Make sure they are thin, because if they are not its going to affect your cooking time.
6. Take your strips and put them in the bowl with the egg. Make sure they all get coated on each side.
7. Grab that cooking pan, cover it with tinfoil and either wipe it with a paper towel and olive oil or spritz it with a lowfat cooking spray.
8. Get that Tupperware, because we need it now!  Take the tupperware and sift it side to side to make sure the cornflakes are covering the bottom.  Then lay each piece of egg coated chicken individually across the cornflakes on the bottom.  If you have too many chicken pieces, no problem.  We can repeat this step. 
9. Once you have all your chicken strips fit into the container, close the lid tightly (and I mean TIGHT or you're going to have a big mess!) and gently shake the container, making sure all the chicken strips get coated.
10. Remove the chicken strips from the corn flakes and Lay the chicken strips on the tinfoil.
11. Repeat steps 8-10 until all of the chicken is covered in corn flakes and is on the pan.
12. At this point your oven should be pre-heated. Put the pan in the oven (middle rack) and set the timer for 10 minutes. 
13. At the timer, remove the pan, flip the strips and replace in the oven. Set the timer for 10 minutes.


Voila! They are done!  Now, you have to check the strips, if they are a bit chunkier you are going to want to dissect one to make sure they are cooked all the way through. Keep flipping and cooking until this happens.  I personally always cut into the middle of the thickest one and if its done, I know I'm good.

I will often eat these with a tablespoon of VH sauce to dip lightly in and then fill the rest of my plate with veg. Last night, I had cesar salad. I was so full I couldn't move!

Now I personally haven't ever done this because I happen to quite enjoy the cornflake-y goodness, but I imagine that experimenting with certain spices or seasonings (for example chipotle), might make this even tastier!  Be careful though, certain seasonings contain a lot of salt and it has been said that seasonings and salt make us want to consume more food and we don't want to over eat.  However, it may be worth a try and I am looking forward to hearing about your experimentation and modification of my recipe!



1 cup Cornflakes (100 calories, 0g fat, 1g fibre, 2g protein, 24g carbs)

1 chicken breast (or equivalent) (124 calories, 1.4g fat, 26.1g protein)

1/2 egg (37 calories, 2.5g fat, 3.1g protein) - alternatively you can use two egg whites to get the job done!

2-3 second spray of Pam (24 calories, 3g fat - for 3sec) - you can use minimally, 3 seconds is more than enough!

1 tbsp of VH Sweet and Sour  (25 calories, 0g fat, 6g carbs)

So, all told (not including tasty side veg) You're looking at a 310 calorie, 6.9g of fat, 31.2g protein, 30g carbs dinner that is HOMEMADE and FRESH. Free of preservatives (mostly) and low in salt and filler. Also, since veg is like a heavenly gift from above, a healthy serving won't make a huge difference in the total at all.

For a point of reference, the Lasagna Lean Cuisine has 310 cal, 8g. fat (4 are saturated!), 41g. of carbs, 19g of protein and 4g. of fibre.  And thats without veg and as far as I'm concerned nowhere near as tasty and not as filling.  

Thats right ladies (and gentlemen!) You just made a tasty dinner, that is better for you and overall cost LESS than a Lean Cuisine.  Now lets go reward ourselves with an apple! (I totally did that!)

Alrighty, off to do something constructive!
Ciao Bellas!

I just want to say that without my partners love and neverending support, I don't think I would be here today making my life better for ME, and by translation, OUR life better. 
Thank you, V. I love you.

Nah, it is. Its a nice sunny day outside and I'm still breathing. It technically could be worse. 

Alright, so I went and tracked down a measuring tape (thanks Gramma!) so I could share the nitty gritty with you. But before i dump my measurements all over the interwebs, I thought I would share that I'm down to 296 now! /cheer!  At this rate, in six months ill be Twiggy! I kid, I kid.  I completely chalk that whole 1lb weight loss to the bathroom scrubbing I did yesterday.  No, my bathroom wasn't that dirty! I'm just a bit - retentive - you can say.  Anyway, I digress. I'll have my mini celebration over a slice of turkey and some peas in a few minutes. Nom Nom Nom!