Jenelle's Oven Baked Chicken

Happy Thursday Everyone!

One of my family's favorite recipes of mine is my Oven Baked Chicken. I learned how to make this dish from my Mother, but I have tweaked it over the years and perfected it. Not only is this dish delicious, but it has very few ingredients, which makes it clean and healthy. I like to pair this dish with Haricot Verts (French green beans), boiled on the stove, strained, and garlic, olive oil, and salt added to them for flavor. Seasoning is very important when you cook, and can take something bland to something amazing very quickly. I always season liberally when I cook, and don't usually measure seasonings either. Now, if you are just starting out cooking, it is a good idea to measure everything until you get comfortable enough to eyeball rough amounts of measurements.

 

Jenelle's Oven Baked Chicken

 

 

 

Ingredients:

 

4-6 Chicken Leg Quarters (or your favorite part of the chicken)

 

1/4 cup Mrs. Dash Original Seasoning

 

Salt to taste

 

 

Directions:

 

1. Preheat your oven to 400F degrees. Line a cooking sheet with tin foil

2. On the foil lined sheet, lay out each of chicken. Liberally sprinkle Mrs. Dash Original Seasoning on each side of the chicken, and lightly sprinkle salt on each side of the chicken. Rub the seasoning in to the skin

3. Arrange the chicken rib side down, and place in the oven for 1 hour.

 

 

This chicken is a delicious alternative to Fried Chicken. The skin gets nice and crunchy, and can satisfy that craving that you get for fried chicken without all of the calories and grease. The best part is that each chicken leg quarter has only 340 calories and almost 40 grams of protein!

 

Happy eating!

Jenelle



Healthy Energy Boosters

Happy Wednesday everyone!

The last few days I have been so exhausted. A few years ago, I was in a car accident (a very minor one, but still managed to do some damage), and herniated three discs in my lower back. I had surgery three years ago to remove the damaged part of the top one (a Lumbar Laminectomy where they remove not just the herniation of the disc, but also part of the vertebrae). It was so badly herniated that the disc was fused to the nerves, causing me to have permanent numbness in part of my left leg and foot. My surgeon at the time was very conservative, and was hoping that by removing the top, worst, one, the others would correct themselves. Well, almost exactly 3 years later I found myself having the same pain symptoms as I had the first time, with the added red flag symptom of bladder control issues. I ended up having two more emergency surgeries on my spine, resulting in all three hernias being removed, as well as part of the other two vertebrae. Long story short, I have back issues.

When I moved back home from California in January, I started sleeping on my parents' old mattress, which is sagging in some places. For the last few weeks, my back has been absolutely killing me when I wake up, and it has resulted in me being exhausted all day long from not sleeping. Well, I still have to get through the day. This has left me looking for healthy ways to boost my energy, without going for the quad shot caramel Frappuccino from Starbucks.

As I mentioned in one of my first posts, I am a coffee fiend, but I am also not a huge fan of the taste. I used to get a venti iced mint mocha from my local coffee stand every morning. After a suggestion from my nutritionist, I switched to ordering 4 shots of espresso over ice, and adding a protein shake to it. I like to add chocolate protein shakes, so it tastes like a regular mocha. Not only is this low calorie, but it has a ton of protein in it.

Some other healthy energy boosters are:

 

1) Bananas. I'm not a huge banana fan (it's a texture thing), but they are loaded with anti-oxidants and tons of vitamins that boost energy naturally.

 



 

 

2) Chia seeds. Chia seeds are tiny little wonder seeds full of omega-3 fatty acids, phosphorous, manganese, and protein. I like to add them to juices and smoothies, but you can sprinkle them on salads as well. They are not only great energy boosters, but also keep you satisfied.

 



 

 

3) Pomegranates. Now, pomegranates aren't in season right now, but pomegranate juice is a great alternative. Add some Chia seeds to it and look out!

 

 

Now, you may have noticed that I have not included any Red Bull or Monster type energy drink on this list. I am not a fan of those. They have so many chemicals in them, and often times do more harm to your body than good.

 

I would love to hear from my readers! Post any comments or post suggestions either here, or you can email me directly at jenellesjourney@gmail.com

 

Have a great day!

Jenelle

Pasta Alternatives

Happy Tuesday everyone! I am seeing that we may have a few new readers, so welcome! For those of you who have been with me since the beginning, welcome back!

As I mentioned in an earlier post (I believe it was the one about my Taco Salad recipe), once you have a Gastric Sleeve surgery, you are not supposed to eat pasta. This is because of the texture of pasta once it has been chewed. Because Pasta becomes so doughy, and your stomach is so small, it becomes difficult for your new tiny stomach to digest, and can even get stuck causing stretching and extreme pain. Now, I don't know about you, but one of my MAIN vices is Pasta. I mean just look at it!

It's so pretty! And it comes in so many different shapes! Not to mention, it's super cheap and super filling, so for someone on a budget, It's a good way to make sure that your family gets enough to eat without spending a ton of money. So if there's all of these great things about pasta, why is it so bad for you?

One thing that makes pasta so unhealthy for us, is the fact that most pastas are made from highly refined flours, similar to the flour used to make white bread. This flour has been highly processed and bleached to make it as fine as possible, but in the process of doing that, you lose a lot of good nutrients. If you absolutely have to use pasta (maybe you have a picky eater in the family, or maybe you're like me and you're going to eat pasta until you can't anymore), I suggest going with either enriched pastas or whole wheat pastas. These pastas have more nutrients in them than regular pasta, so they are slightly better for you.

If you want to eliminate pasta all together, there are some great alternatives you can use. These are a few of my favorites:

1) Zoodles. Zoodles have recently become more of a trend in healthy eating, but people have been doing this for years. Put simply, a zoodle is a zucchini noodle. In order to make these, you need either a spiralizer or a specific grater. These work great and have a great taste. The only downside, in my opinion, is that you do have to have a specialized tool in order to make them, and it does take a little bit of time to prepare them for cooking.

 

 

2) Quinoa. I personally love quinoa. I cook with it about once a week, and you will see many quinoa recipes from me. Quinoa is a seed or grain that is related to the spinach plant, but it's not a spinach seed. These cook just like rice does, and just like rice, the red version is better for you than the white version. Quinoa has the highest protein out of any grain. That's what makes these little guys great. Not only are they pretty darn tasty, but they are high in protein! Now Quinoa can be an acquired taste. I love it, and my Dad likes it, but my Mom doesn't like the texture of it. But another great thing about Quinoa is that, similar to rice, it is used to make flour, and hence can be formed into pasta shapes. This type of pasta is not only healthier for you, but the texture is something that a post-Gastric operation patient can tolerate.

                                        

 

3) Cauliflower! Cauliflower, in my opinion, is a true superveggie! It is so incredibly versatile! When I was growing up, my Mom would make home made Mac and Cheese, and she would always put Cauliflower in it. Now you see a lot of places making cauliflower crust pizzas, or even cauliflower steaks. This food is finally getting the attention that it deserves. For years I have been using cauliflower instead of pasta. One of my favorite things to make with it is Spaghetti and meatballs, with cauliflower instead of pasta. It has such a mild flavor, that it really can be used in anything!

 

These are just a few of the MANY alternatives to pasta out there, but these are some of my favorites. I would love to hear your ideas for pasta alternatives. Feel free to email me at jenellesjourney@gmail.com or to leave a comment on any of my posts.

 

Have a great day!

Jenelle

  

 

 

Chicken Caesar Burgers

Happy Monday Everyone!

I hope that you all had a great weekend! Summer is fast approaching, and I am a HUGE fan of summer and heat and sunshine. I can't wait for July and August!

One of my family's favorite recipes of mine is Chicken Caesar Burgers. We have this dish every Friday, and it's the dish that is most requested from my family. I found this recipe over 5 years ago on the Atkins website, and decided to try it. I have since altered it a little bit to make it my own, and it is our next Jenelle's Journey recipe!

 

Jenelle's Chicken Caesar Burgers

Serves 6
Ingredients:
2 lbs ground chicken
2 cups Italian blend cheese (mozzarella, parmesan blend)
Romaine lettuce
Parmesan Cheese
Your favorite Caesar dressing (we use Cardini's)

Directions:
1. In a large bowl, add the ground chicken and Italian blend cheese. Blend the ingredients until the cheese is evenly distributed throughout the mixture (you have to use your hands for this). Form 6 burgers from the meat mixture.
2. In an oiled skillet over medium heat, cook your burgers for 5 minutes on each side, and then until done (I usually use a knife to open the top of one a bit and check for pink).
3. Chop up romaine lettuce (or use precut salad mixes) and place several handfuls on each plate. Garnish with parmesan cheese and Caesar dressing. Top the Caesar salad with one burger each plate. Pour Caesar dressing over the top of each burger and serve hot.

These burgers are absolutely delicious! I hope you enjoy them as much as my family does!

Jenelle

Best Feeling Ever!

Hi everyone! TGIF! I have been so busy this week! I know I haven't posted as much. I created the Facebook page for this yesterday, and WOW what a spike in readers! So for those of you who are new, Welcome!

Yesterday, I took a SnapChat picture of myself because I was pretty proud of my eyeliner work for the day (silly reason really, but I was bored). The second I took it, I realized just how much smaller my face looks!

The picture on the left is from the day that I started this journey, almost 3 months ago. The picture on the right is from yesterday! You can seriously see how much weight I've lost in my face! I've lost it in other places as well, but this by far is the most noticeable!

When you lose weight, and you see that number go down on the scale, it's an amazing feeling. But the best feeling in the world is actually seeing the difference and having others see it as well!

I don't know if any of my readers are on a journey of their own or not, but I would love to hear from any of you, whether it be suggestions for topics, or words of encouragement, or even struggles and successes of your own. You can either comment on these blogs, or you can email me directly at jenellesjourney@gmail.com

Have a great weekend everyone!
Jenelle

Nature's Popsicles

Happy Tuesday Everyone!

I hope that everyone had a good long weekend and a happy Memorial Day! Memorial Day is often seen as the unofficial start of summer, and I for one can not wait until Summer! I am a heat person, so anything over 80 degrees is my ideal weather.

With the summer comes all of the beautiful fruits and veggies that are in season in the summer. One of my all time favorites is grapes. I LOVE grapes, especially green grapes. I would have to say that it is one of the fruits I could not live without. Along with the bounty of fruits and veggies, also comes the heat of summer.

Our instinct when we are hot is to reach for something cold to cool us off, whether it be a nice ice water or lemonade, or ice cream or a popsicle. The only bad thing about ice cream and popsicles, is that there is usually a ton of sugar and calories involved. Since we are trying to stay away from those things, one of my favorite things to do is freeze fruit! Not only do you get the satisfaction of the ice coldness that you are craving, but you also get the health benefits of the fact that you are straight up eating just fruit.

My all time favorite fruit, therefore, becomes my all time favorite popsicle! They are perfect little bite sized snacks. What I usually do is buy a bag of grapes a week, wash them, and pick them from their vines. I then put them in a Ziploc freezer bag and stick them in the freezer. Then they are there to put in a bowl any time I need them. They also become more satisfying than eating regular grapes because they are so cold, and you can only eat so many at a time.

 

 

Let's look at the nutrition facts for 1 cup of frozen green grapes vs. my favorite ice cream:

 

Frozen Grapes have 104 calories per cup (I usually only have about half a cup or even 1/4 of a cup), and 23 grams of natural sugar per cup.

 

My favorite ice cream is Ben and Jerry's Vanilla Heath Bar Crunch (drool). A serving size of this is 1/4 cup, but let's face it. Who's only going to eat 1/4 cup of ice cream. So for the purposes of this, I have made this somewhat realistic and changed it to 1 cup (which is still not all that realistic in my world). For 1 cup of my favorite ice cream, we are looking at a whopping 1,040 calories and 92 grams of sugar! That is almost an entire day's calories, and soooooo much sugar! We could have 10 cups of frozen grapes for the same amount of calories!

 

Some of the other fruits that I like to freeze include strawberries, blueberries, mangos, pineapples, peach slices, plums (we have an Italian plum tree in our yard), etc. Try freezing your favorite fruit this summer for a healthy alternative and nature's popsicle!

 

Happy eating,

Jenelle

Granola Bars

Happy Thursday everyone!

Today at work we received a gift from a client of a box of KIND fruit and nut bars. These are by no means inexpensive granola bars, and this was a very generous gift. Looking at these bars, you would think they're super healthy and good for you. With names like Strawberry Peanut butter, Blueberry Pomegranate Cashew, and the like, and the label telling you they're all natural, gluten free, low glycemic, seven grams of protein, and a great source of fiber. Plus, just looking at them through the see through wrapper makes you think that they're super healthy. You can see the actual nuts and bits of fruit.

However...you turn the bar over and flip up the plastic that conveniently covers the nutrition facts, and...

210 calories!!! And over half of them from fat! Not only that, but there are 10 grams of sugar in each bar. That's insane! Let's compare the nutrition facts of this bar to a Snicker's bar...

Okay. So our Kind bar had 210 calories, 120 of them from fat. The Snickers bar has 280 calories (only 70 more), but less than half of those calories come from fat. Granted, the Snickers bar has three times as much sugar in it, but if we're being completely honest, wouldn't you rather get the satisfaction of the Snickers Bar's chocolaty goodness over that of a granola bar?

Let's look at some other popular Granola bars...


A Chocolate Chip Clif Bar has 250 calories (only 30 less than a Snickers bar) and 23 grams of sugar (only 7 less than a Snickers bar).


Even something like a Premier Protein (mentioned in an earlier blog) Nutrition Bar has 280 calories (same as a Snickers Bar), and 8 grams of sugar (not bad, but still a lot).

Now, the moral of this story is by NO means "just eat a Snickers Bar." The moral of this story is to be cautious of what you eat. Reading labels is very important, not just reading the front of the package, but the nutrition facts.

Healthy snacking!
Jenelle