{potato leek soup}

As a {{single person}} I have always found it hard to cook for just me. Shopping is not made for just the single person, and when you freeze the extra it just ends up getting freezer burn. Left overs never last long, and lets face it, we dont like eating left overs anyway. So I found a Healthy cook book that is just for me. I am looking forward to being able to try some new recipes that are not only healthy but wont leave me with any left overs. 

     Ingredients                         For 2 servings          For 4 servings

      

      Leeks                                1 Large                      2 Large 

      Butter                                1 1/2 tsp                     1 Tbsp

      Peeled and sliced potato            1 1/2 cup                    3 cups 

      Water or chicken broth              3 cups                        6 cups 

       Salt and pepper                 to taste                       to taste 

Remove the tough outer leaves of the leeks. cut the remaining white and tender lighter-green part of the leeks in half lenghwise and hold the halves under cold running water to make sure that any dirt hidden between the layers is removed. Trim off the root end and chop the leep coarsely. set aside. 

In a heavy 2-quart (or 3 quart) saucepan over low heat melt butter. stir in the leeks. Cover and cook, stirring occasionally, for 10 minutes, or until the leeks are wilted but not brown. 

Add the potatoes, water or broth, salt and pepper. Increase the heat to high and bring soup to a boil. Reduce heat to low and simmer for 20 to 30 minutes, or until the potatoes are tender. Serve the soup hot or let cool to room tempature, puree it and serve chilled. 

Per serving- 185 calories, 0.8 g total fat, 0.1 g sat fat, 0 mg cholesterol, 323 mg sodium, 4.4 g protein, 43.2 g carbohydrates, 5 g fiber 

     My notes on the soup---- It was very {{easy.}} I also learned that leeks are not the same thing as green onions even tho they look like a jumbo sized green onion. (and yes I had to ask my local produce department manager) I added some extra seasonings, as it was kinda bland, I added garlic powder.I used 2 cans of chicken broth (bout 4 cups)  and the rest water (bout 2 cups water)  I made the 4 servings because I had a friend over, and she thought it was good too... there was some left over and I ate it for lunch the next day and was even better! 

                     ***** A Leek is not the same as a green onion ***** 



<3 Karen 

{Berry-Cheese Braid}

Hey guys, I am so {{sorry}} it has been so long since I have done a recipe for you! You know about me just starting a new job and it has been crazy with training! No excuses I know! Here is the recipe for a very yummy Berry-cheese braid! It was very easy, and {{inexpensive}}.  (And got approval from a friend.) 

Ingredients

1 tub (8 oz) strawberry cream cheese at room temp

1 Large egg seperated 

3/4 cup plus 1 Tbsp sugar

1 sheet frozen puff pastry thawed (found in the frozen section of any             grocery store) 

1. Heat over to 400*

2. Stir cream cheese, egg yolk, and 1/4 cup sugar until blended. Slightly beat egg white in small bowl. 

3. Place puff pastry lengthwise in center of baking sheet and unfold. With a rolling pin roll out to 12 inch long rectangle. (the one I bought was already perfectly rolled out and folded in to 3 sections which was just how it needed to be!)  spoon cheese filling into 2 1/2 inch wide strip down center. 

4. On both sides of filling cut 1 in wide strips from the filling to edge. (I used a pair of scissors and went from out to in.) Fold across filling overlapping and alternating from side to side. Brush with egg white then sprinkle with tbsn sugar. 

5. Bake for 25 min until puffed and golden. Cool slightly on sheet on wire rack. 

Veriations- use brown sugar and cinnamon spice cream cheese

     {{add chocolate chips}}   (Hello who doesn't <3 chocolate!) 

     {{ add almonds on top }}

                     ***** Just don't forget this will change the nutrition values by a little!

Nutrition:
Serving Size = 1 slice 
Total Servings: 8 per recipe

Per Servings: 
300 cal

4 g pro

27 g carb 

1 g fiber

20 g gat (6 sat) 

55 mg chol

  194 mg sod 

<3 Karen

{Lunch at work}

      Hey {{everyone!}} I wanted to share with you some struggles I have had this last 2 weeks with starting my new job. I first had been off for almost a month so I had gotten used to being able to eat healthy at home all the time, and cook when I was hungry. Well that changed fast! I started training in the next town over (the towns where I live are very small and have a limited choice of places to eat!) So during my training I tried to make the healthy choice, and get the chicken sandwich at mcdonalds (gross I know! I hate mcdonalds too! but when you only get 30 min and you dont know where anything else is... )

 so then I had had that for 3 days... getting old! then I finally started working in my store! and I was so excited they were giving me hours! lots of lots of hours! and no breaks... I worked one day almost 8 hours before I finally told the manager that I needed to get something to eat! so she told me to get something.. what did I get? Mcdonalds right next door! well after that I had had enough. 

      So I {{brought}} my lunch the next day! I was good, I brought a string cheese, a peach, a yoghurt, and some of my favorite honey pringle crackers! totalling 285 calories.. I was supposed to be off at 6 that evening so I was gonna come home and make me a nice healthy dinner... well I didnt get off until after 9, and when I got home I ended up just making me a TV dinner, it was a lean cuisine sesame stir fry for 280 calories and I had an orange. but because of my long hours I was way under my calories. 

I am trying to learn the balance of my hours and planning meals all over again! and its not always fun, and its not always easy, but its something I HAVE to do! I need to get my weight down! I have been very good about doing my ab work outs every night no matter how tired I am! but I have not been able to do any of my running since I started work again.. my schedule will even out in 2 weeks and I wont be working all the over time I am now, and it will be more normal! until then I have to just keep on trying to do what I can to make the HEALTHY choices every day! 

Above is my {{333 calorie lunch!}} I bought a new tupperware that has a cold pack that you place between the bottom and top sections!! I had half a tomato, bell pepper and cucumber, with an ounce of cheese, and some italian dressing, a peach, and a pack of the best crackers in the world! pringles stix!

<3 Karen

{be well, my friends}

Hey everyone! I know we haven't posted a blog yet this week. I've been fighting off a cold the last couple of days. I {hate} sore throats! But thank heaven for Traditional Medicinal's Throat Coat Tea! <---link here! It's seriously the only thing that has been keeping me going. I dug through the cupboard and organized all my tea boxes into one convenient container [a suggestion from Yvonne] and I was {so surprised} to find out how many different types of tea I have! I've made a new goal to {{drink more tea}} and less coffee. 

I am not a doctor, but I can say that we all know that a cup of tea can soothe the soul and the body.

Chamomile is a great sleepy time tea.

Green Tea aids in weight loss and other health issues

[read this report from Mayo Clinic]

Marshmallow Tea can help clear your lungs.

Mint Teas settle upset stomachs.

Fruit Flavored Teas are great for when you're under the weather.

Black Tea is an awesome pick-me-up.

Trust me, the list goes on! There are {{so many}} different varieties and flavors of tea that even if you just want a yummy low-cal beverage you're bound to find something you love. <3

Drink Tea. Be Well, my friends. 

<3 

Meg

{big bites on a budget}

(January 28, 2013)

Today I decided to keep track of exactly how much I spend on {healthy} food for the day. I want to show you that you can also eat healthy on a budget! I had a {delicious} breakfast that consisted of blackberries, a banana, and pineapple! This fresh fruit was 247 calories and only cost $2.14!

For lunch I bought a Stouffer's brand stuffed pepper and an orange for a total of 295 calories and a $3.08 cost. I added some {snacks} to my day consisting of Pringles Honey Butter Crackers (I ate half a serving which is 1/6 of the bag for a cost of $0.33 per serving) and a string cheese. My snacks were {only} 145 calories for the day!

For dinner I bought a footlong "Spicy Italian" sandwich from Subway but saved half of it for the next day, making my serving only $3.11 for a 6 inch sandwich and 410 calories!
My entire day only cost me $9.00 and was 1167 calories, putting me right in that 1200 calorie range I need to be in!

I hope this helps you make {healthy} choices too!

<3,
 Karen 

{what's for breakfast?}

Everybody always talks about how important it is to eat breakfast. It's true! But let's first talk about {water} in the morning. I always drink a glass of water when I first wake up because it helps rehydrate my organs after being asleep all night, gets my body going, and keeps me from eating a high calorie breakfast. 

photography by {meg}

It's still {so} important to eat breakfast though! Breakfast helps with stabilizing our {moods}, concentration, and keeps your body from thinking it's starving after having already not eaten all night long. So we decided to tell you our favorite breakfast meals that are {{HEALTHY}} and easy for girls on the go! (And for boys too!) <3

{Karen} likes to eat oatmeal and strawberries on a morning that she needs to get out of the house quickly. This high fiber meal only takes about 5 minutes to prepare and ranges from 100-200 calories. Yummers! On a day where she has more time, she likes to prepare an egg sauteed with some fresh bell peppers!

{Megan} Likes an egg with fresh fruit in the morning for a low-carb breakfast! She also has a weak spot for coffee, so you will almost always find that alongside her breakfast plate. This breakfast is about 200 calories.

{Yvonne} loves to have a piece of toast with a smear of peanut butter & banana in the morning. It's her healthy breakfast of choice and is only between 200-300 calories.

What are some of our favorite things to eat in the morning? Leave us a comment and let us know! We would love to try new things :)

<3,

meg, yvonne, & karen

{sisterhood}

(January 7, 2013)

Sisters are the most amazing friends on earth <3

We are The Fitness Sisters and we warmly welcome you into our sisterhood/brotherhood {boys ARE allowed}. There are three of us: Megan, Yvonne, & Karen (in whichever order you prefer!) We are all in/or entering our early 30s and have decided to band together to support each other with our weight loss goals. Karen & I (Megan) started in 2011 and have both lost a significant amount of weight already! This is our year to push through and meet our ultimate goals! Yvonne, a mommy of two, has joined in this year to lose her pregnancy weight and get her pre-mommy body back. Please check out our bios for more personal information!

We want to share our enthusiasm and support for health and fitness with everyone else on a similar journey or just interested in being healthy!

As of January 2013 we are resuming a fitness vlog {reality video blog} that Karen and I started in 2011. Yvonne is our newest member and we couldn't be more thrilled! <3 Every two weeks we will post our newest videos to this blog! You can watch us go about our daily lives and see the tough decisions we have to make in order to meet our goals!

In addition, we will be posting here regularly about our progress, tips, food ideas, fitness plans, funny anecdotes, and just life on the road to being fun, fit & fabulous!

Check in every Saturday for our weekly weigh-in's where we hop on the scale and take a photo! {{brave faces}} We will also be posting measurements, so stay tuned!

We hope that you find this a WARM, {loving}, ACCEPTING, {{supportive}} place to share your own stories and journey. We would love to hear from you, swap tips and ideas, and build friendships. There are multiple ways to get in touch with us! Please visit our contact page! Or leave us a comment below!

Please be patient while we build this community together; it's still a work in progress. We are so happy to share our journey with you and hope you will share yours with us or at least give us support along the way!! We all have some really big hurdles to jump and we can definitely use a few cheerleaders!