Grilled Chicken Wrap

This is NOT a Mrs. Dash recipe.. But its low in sodium and very delish!
First I grilled our chicken strips on the George Foreman Grill..
While they were grilling I took some Kraft Peppered Mayo (made with olive oil) and spread about 2 tsps. on to a wheat wrap.
When the chicken was finished I added - lettuce, tomato, cucumber, and diced green peppers along with the chicken and shredded cheese!
It's very simple and could be altered any way you like it!

Chili Con Carne Soup

This Chili was amazing.. And perfect for the rainy day we had yesterday!! Some of the ingredients were hard to come by.. But I was SUPER excited to find no sodium chicken and beef bouillon cubes!!! I also wanted to share the low sodium salad dressing I found.. The Salad spritzers by Wish Bone, which are also low calorie, have been the lowest sodium dressing I've found so far!!

Oh.. And I've lost 4lbs =]

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

HEALTH HIGHLIGHTS

• Low-Sodium

Summary

• Serves:16
• Serving Size:9.4 oz (266.8g)
• Prep Time:10 min
• Cooking Time:1 hrs, 10 min - 1 hrs, 11 min
• Ready In:1 hrs, 21 min

Ingredients

• Chili Con Carne Soup
• 2 Tbsp (30mL) Mrs. Dash® Extra Spicy Seasoning Blend
• 1 Tbsp ( 25mL) vegetable oil
• 1 large onion, finely chopped
• 1 lb. (454g) lean ground beef
• 3 - 15 oz (420mL) cans kidney beans, drained and rinsed
• 2 - 28 oz (784mL) cans chopped plum tomatoes, no salt added
• 4 cups (960mL) low sodium chicken stock
• 1 oz (28g) square dark chocolate
• Optional Garnishes
• grated cheddar cheese, sour cream, nachos

Directions

• 1. Add oil to large saucepan and heat. Add onion and cook until soft.
• 2. Add ground beef, increase heat and cook for 5 minutes, stirring from time to time, until the meat is no longer pink.
• 3. Stir in beans, tomatoes, stock, Mrs. Dash® Extra Spicy Seasoning Blend and chocolate. Bring to a boil, cover and simmer gently for 1 hour.
• 4. Ladle into mugs or large cups and garnish as desired.

Nutrition Facts

Serv. Size 9.4 oz (266.8g)

Servings: 16

Amount/Serving
Calories	194
Total Fat	5g
Trans Fat	0g
Sodium	61mg
Potassium	674mg
Total Carb.	24g
Protein	15g

All American Burger and Potato Wedges

Usually when I make burgers I add onion soup to them. 1 pack of onion soup has a whopping 690mgs of sodium! Wow.. Didn't realize what I was putting into my body! I added tomato and lettuce to my burgers. They tasted great!!! I wanted to salt the potato wedges so bad! They had a great flavor my taste buds have just not gotten used to not having salt on EVERYTHING!

Potato Wedges -

 

HEALTH HIGHLIGHTS

• Low-Sodium

Summary

• Serves:8
• Serving Size:6 potato pieces
• Prep Time:5 min
• Cooking Time:40 min
• Ready In:45 min

Ingredients

• 1 1/2 Tbsp. (22.5mL) Mrs. Dash® Original Blend, divided
• 12 small red potatoes cut into wedges
• 1 Tbsp. (15mL) olive oil

Directions

• 1. Toss potatoes with olive oil and 1 Tbsp. (15mL) Mrs. Dash® Original Blend in a bowl.
• 2. Roast in a preheated 400°F (200°C) oven for 30 minutes.
• 3. Increase heat to 450°F (220°C). Sprinkle with remaining Mrs. Dash® Original Blend and continue to roast for 5 - 10 minutes or until tender and browned.

Nutrition Facts

Serv. Size 6 potato pieces

Servings: 8

Amount/Serving
Calories	193
Total Fat	4g
Trans Fat	0g
Sodium	14mg
Potassium	1032mg
Total Carb.	36g
Protein	4g

All American Burger-

HEALTH HIGHLIGHTS

• Low-Carb, Low-Potassium, Low-Sodium

Summary

• Serves:4
• Prep Time:10 min
• Cooking Time:9 min - 10 min
• Ready In:20 min

Ingredients

• 2 Tbsp. Mrs. Dash® Original Blend
• 1 lb. lean ground beef
• 1/4 onion, diced finely
• 2 garlic cloves, chopped fine
• cooking spray

Directions

• 1. Heat a grill or cast iron grill plate to medium. Spray with cooking spray.
• 2. Toss all ingredients in bowl.
• 3. Form into 6 oz. patties.
• 4. Grill to desired degree of doneness.

Nutrition Facts

Servings: 4

Amount/Serving
Calories	235
Total Fat	15g
Trans Fat	1g
Sodium	64mg
Potassium	335mg
Total Carb.	1g
Protein	22g

Sweet Tooth!

So.. I have to admit.. Most of my previous diets have failed because I love food and I love to eat. And I LOVE sweets.. But this time is different.. This time I CAN"T fail. I HAVE to make this work.. It's not a diet its a life style change! So with that being said.. I wanted to share a few of my favorite things.. Something I turn to when I'm craving that something sweet! The first is an iced coffee.. I thought I would have to give up my coffee because I add so much sugar and cream to it that its not really coffee anymore.. So I found Maxwell House Hazelnut Iced Latte! Yummy.. I just put ice in my cup, add the pouch of instant coffee, add some low fat milk, stir and enjoy.. That simple! Ready for the best part?? Each pack has only 60 calories and 0mgs of Sodium!! My other go to snack when I'm craving something sweet is strawberries and cool whip .. Most people are surprised to hear that cool whip only has 25 calories per serving and 0mgs of sodium!! Both are great in moderation!! I'm sure I'll find more low calorie, low sodium snacks as time goes along.. My body is starting to adjust to all the changes.. No more junk food or fast food.. I usually don't eat any fruits so that's a huge adjustment.. I hope my body gets used to the changes quickly and smoothly..

Holy Cow Salad Dressing?? / Grilled Cajun Chicken

I want to start off by saying HOLY COW.. Had a salad with the recipe I'm going to share tonight.. Looked in the fridge for some salad dressing.. I had 3: Ranch, Thousand, and Italian. The amount of sodium was unbelievable! Ranch- 290mgs of sodium, Thousand 290ms of sodium, and Italian 500mgs of sodium. This was the amount of sodium in ONLY 2 Tablespoons of dressing.. So it got me curious.. I Googled how much sodium intake I should be getting each day and this is what I found..

• The Food and Drug Administration recommends 2400 mg daily
• Most Americans not watching their sodium intake consume 7000-8000 mg daily
• People who avoid adding salt at the table may still consume 3000-4000 mg daily
• Many experts recommend less than 1500 mg daily for people with a history of heart trouble, high blood pressure or other risk factors for heart disease
• A can of chili may contain 2400 mg all by itself; homemade chili may contain less than 100 mg

Wow.. So I should be getting less than 1500mgs of sodium daily and one serving of Italian would take up 1/3 of what I need for the day.. Again..  HOLY COW!! So I would love any suggestions for a low sodium dressing.. My favorites are Ranch and Italian.. I would be up to trying something new or even homemade!!

Now on to the recipe.. I tried something new from the Mrs. Dash website.. I thought it had a great flavor but I'm not really big on spicy food so next time I will change up the recipe just a bit! I used chicken breast tenderloins so I skipped the scoring step.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

HEALTH HIGHLIGHTS

• Low-Carb, Low-Fat, Low-Potassium, Low-Sodium

Summary

• Serves:4
• Serving Size:1 chicken breast
• Prep Time:10 min
• Cooking Time:10 min - 15 min
• Ready In:25 min

Ingredients

• 2 Tbsp. (45mL) Mrs. Dash® Extra Spicy Seasoning Blend
• 4 (1 lb) (454g) boneless, skinless chicken breast
• juice of one lemon
• 2 tsp. brown sugar
• cooking spray

Directions

• 1. Neatly score each chicken breast on both sides with a sharp knife.
• 2. Mix together in large bowl, Mrs. Dash® Extra Spicy Seasoning Blend, brown sugar and lemon juice. Add the breasts and coat thoroughly. Let rest 5-10 minutes.
• 3. Heat a grill or cast iron grill plate. Spray with cooking spray.
• 4. Grill chicken breasts on each side, 6-8 minutes, or until juices run clear. Put on plate, cover, and let rest 3-4 minutes. Spoon remaining juices over the top of each breast.
• 5. Serve immediately.

Nutrition Facts

Serv. Size 1 chicken breast

Servings: 4

Amount/Serving
Calories	154
Total Fat	3g
Trans Fat	0g
Sodium	64mg
Potassium	298mg
Total Carb.	3g
Protein	27g

Not a significant source of calories from fat, saturated fat, cholesterol, dietary fibers, sugars, vitamin A, vitamin C, calcium, and iron.

New Year.. Better ME!!!

Last year was a very stressful year for me health wise.. I went to the doctor more that I think I have been my WHOLE life.. I was diagnosed with Acid Reflux Disease , High Blood Pressure, Arthritis, and Scoliosis.. Did I mention I'm ONLY 25?? Yikes.. Everything has just been so crazy.. But every time I went to the doctor there were no explanations.. It was just "oh this is what you have. I'll prescribe you this medicine, take it, if it doesn't help I'll see you back in 2 weeks." And that was my pretty much my life in a nut shell last year. I seemed to get everything under control.. My acid reflux went from taking 3 pills twice daily and still having symptoms.. To nothing at all.. I haven't had the first sign of heart burn in months and haven't taken anything for it at all.. My blood pressure meds seemed to be working also.. They kept my blood pressure normal.. And we kept cutting the mgs down til I was taking almost nothing.. So I stopped taking them all together.. I felt greater than I had in months.. Then the headaches started.. At first I had no idea where they were coming from.. And nothing helped.. Tylenol, Ibuprofen, didn't touch them.. It got really bad one day and I decided I should have my blood pressure checked.. It was through the roof.. So I went home and took the highest dose of blood pressure meds I had..

I Googled high blood pressure to find other ways to help with lowering it.. I was so over whelmed.. This was the first thing I pulled up and read.. "Persistent hypertension is a major risk factor for stroke, heart attacks, heart failure and aneurysms of the arteries, and is a cause of chronic kidney disease. Even moderate elevation of arterial blood pressure is associated with a shortened life expectancy." WHAT?? I'm 25 years old.. 25 YEARS OLD.. This is not what I should be worrying about.. I have 2 small children, and i feel like I'm 60 years old.. So I decided I needed a change.. Not just some diet and exercise routine. I have to change my WHOLE life style and way of living. I figure.. If I start now, with the kids being so young, it will be easier for them to get used to it and they wont have such the hard time I'm having with making healthier choices.. I grew up salting everything.. I'm what you might call a saltaholic.. So I found the DASH Diet (Dietary Approaches to Stop Hypertension).. And I bought some Mrs. Dash to substitute the salt..

I took my blood pressure meds for 3 days, and my headache never let up. So I called my doctor. My blood pressure had not dropped any in the 3 days of taking the meds.. She put me on different blood pressure pill as well as the one I was already taking and prescribed me something to help with the headaches. I go back in two weeks for a check up.. So far the headaches are still not gone.. But we've started the DASH DIET and so far so good.. I've been very slack with keeping my blog up to date.. But I plan to keep my progress going and I will try to share some of my favorite low sodium recipes!! If I've learned anything at all its this.. High blood pressure is serious.. And it can lead to more serious problems.. So take it seriously and make a change.. I for one plan to be around for a while.. I want to watch my children grow up, I want to go places, see the world, live life a little! So I will try to keep my blog updated with progress and my plan is to get my blood pressure under control with diet and exercise and to completely be off all meds by the end of 2012!!! Wish me luck!

 




Dash Diet


High Blood Pressure (Hypertension)