Let's Tackle Supper ...er..ahh....Dinner....

Whichever you call it, Supper or Dinner it can be a struggle, especially if you cook for a family. Now in my house I cook for the boys (Dick and Dak) and then I cook something entirely different for myself. This is just not feasible for a lot of people I know, so that is why it is a GREAT idea to cook healthy for all and still have everyone enjoy it.

Small changes can make a big impact in the long run when it comes to cooking and calories. For instance, if you currently cook with shortening or lard, switch to extra virgin olive oil whenever possible. If you cook with butter (which I do for the boys), you might try switching to the butter with omega oils added to them, this is a nice alternative and my family doesn't even know the difference.

If you are currently using whole milk, try switching to 2% (we use skim). It's the little changes that will cut down calories over the course of one meal, sometimes by 100's of calories. It's true. I want to share with you some of my favorite meals to fix for the "boys". We had one just last night.

Chicken Enchilada Casserole (CEC for short =) and you can find this recipe here. It does take a little time, but if you use a rotisserie chicken it cuts your cooking time way down. But at only 320 calories a serving, it is totally worth the time you take to make it. My hubs LOVES this one!!! Dak, well if you leave the black olives out he's in, if you don't he's out. Last night, he was out. So he ate the rotisserie chicken and mashed potatoes and gravy. He was happy. It was a win win for all involved =)

One of my biggest issues with supper (dinner, whichever) is the fact that I like to eat while I cook. You can consume an ENORMOUS amount of calories doing that. You can rack up a whole meal worth of calories long before the meal even starts!! So this has had to be an area of discipline for me. It isn't like I can just remove the temptation, I'm cooking supper with it. So I must show restraint and discipline. And also I get out the baby carrots and count out 10 or so (about a serving) and munch on those while I cook sometimes. It helps me out a lot and only 30 calories. Again, a win win =)

So you may be wondering what I ate last night. So glad you asked =) I had my own little rendition of Chicken Enchilada Casserole without the chicken and the white sauce. My version was about 270 calories and full of delicious flava LOVED IT!!! So much so that I fixed it again for lunch. I'll get it up on the recipe blog soon. really I will =)

I have so much more to say about the foods we eat and how we prepare them. I just feel like these posts get so long sometimes and I want you to be able to follow easily. So in coming posts we'll be breaking down some of these things and talking about the nitty-gritty of living a healthy and well life for the Glory of the Father. Because that is truly what it is all about!!!

I want to leave you today with the verse I woke up with going through my head. I love waking up with the Word permeating through my heart. This morning it was:

Romans 12:2 (New International Version)

^"2Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God's will is—his good, pleasing and perfect will."

I loved having this go through my mind. I meditated on it and what God was speaking to me through it. And I started thinking about different areas in my life that I need to be challenged in, and have been challenged in, in the last year of so. Health and wellness being just one of them. We do not need to be conforming to the pattern of this world in anything, our health included, but we need to be transformed by the renewing of our minds. WOW!!! I love the fact that we can be TRANSFORMED by renewing our minds in Him. How do we do that? Read the Word and meditate on it. Know it. Memorize it. Consume it like you would your favorite dessert. Live it. Breathe it. Oh how I love Him!!! And then what happens? We will be able to test and approve what God's will is, His good, pleasing and perfect will. We will know His will. We'll be able to test it and approve what His will is in a particular situation. It is all right in front of us in the Word. OH HOW I LOVE HIM SO!!!!!

So if you are struggling today, pick up the Word and pray and ask God to start speaking to you through it. He will child. He loves you so today. He will do it!!!!!

Love you ~~

Healthfully Yours,
Dawn