SkinnyTaste: Broccoli and Cheese Mini Egg Omelets & A Kid Friendly Alternative

I have been scouring the blogs to find easy, healthy and time saving recipes. When I ran across these broccoli and cheese mini egg omelets  on the skinnytaste blog I was ready to give it a try. I mean, with a short list of ingredients and the bonus of being able to make ahead of time it was destined to be a hit for me.

Breakfast is my hardest meal of the day. I can wake up and go hours before grabbing a bite to eat and it is often lunch time before I put those first calories in my body. Some people may be able to do this (I have done it for a long time), but we all know that breakfast is a key to kick starting your metabolism and losing weight. The key to a successful breakfast is it MUST be easy! If you can make it ahead of time, even better! It doesn't get much better than tossing a couple of these puppies in the microwave for 45 seconds.

I thought the original recipe is a little bland so we put a tsp of salsa on top to give it a little kick. The salsa only adds 3 calories to the meal if you use our household favorite, Bobby Salazar's medium salsa.

Kid Friendly Version: My 4 year old does NOT like vegetables, if a vegetable even touches his food it's a no go, so I went ahead and made his with ham and cheese. Major score! I may even try sneaking some pureed cauliflower in next time. When school starts back up again next month this is going to make life a whole lot easier... and much healthier than the convenient frozen breakfast alternatives.

* 5 large eggs
* 1 cup egg whites
* chopped up ham (use as much or as little as you would like)
* 1/2-3/4 cup cheddar or swiss cheese
* salt & fresh pepper
* cooking spray

Directions: 

Preheat oven to 350°. 

Spray a standard size non-stick cupcake tin with cooking spray and spoon ham and cheese evenly into 9 tins.

In a medium bowl, beat egg whites, eggs, grated cheese, salt and pepper. Pour into the greased tins until a little more than 3/4 full. Top with a little more cheese and bake in the oven until cooked, about 20 minutes. Serve immediately. 

Wrap any leftovers in plastic wrap and store in the refrigerator to enjoy during the week.

Weight Watchers or My Fitness Pal?

Today I went to my free meeting at our local Weight Watchers office, the people were friendly and the information was pretty straight forward (calculating points plus). I did find it encouraging to be around other's who are fighting the same battle, however, I don't know if it is worth the cost to join. For $42.99 per month I can attend as many meetings as I would like and access the e-tools, this is the program I think would benefit me the most. Signing up to access the online e-tools only is $18.95 per month (with a $29.95 registration fee).

I can't imagine that the online e-tools are much different than the tools available for free through My Fitness Pal. So the question is whether or not the meetings are worth $42.99 a month? I honestly don't know the answer to this question which is making the decision that much harder. The household CEO in me finds "free" very enticing... and the simpler of the two options which is in line with this journey to simplicity I am on. I can log all my food and exercise on the website. There is no need to calculate the food on a point system. I mean, that's all I really need to make a go at this weight loss, healthier me project.

A few weeks ago I started eating a healthier diet but have not been keeping track of food intake and exercise. I know keeping a written financial budget has proven to be valuable and freeing. I wonder if tracking my daily allowance of calories will afford me the same peace of mind, knowing that I am within my calorie budget and not wasting time worrying whether I am on track or not.

I guess I can do a little experiment and try My fitness Pay for a couple months and see if it works for me. If I find that accountability is what I need then I can always sign up for Weight Watchers at the end of my 2 month experiment. My simple budget wins (for now), saving us $42.99 per month.

Simple Grilled Mini Peppers

Oh so yummy! Oh so SIMPLE! With the grilling season in full swing I wanted to share a favorite of my husband... he can eat a whole bowl of them! Trust me, I've seen it.

Mini Peppers
Olive oil
Salt

Toss the peppers in olive oil and salt and put on the grill! That's it. Grill till your desired donness (is that even a word)... I like mine with a little crunch left in them so we don't grill for too long. Yum-eeee!

Keep It Simple Silly

Back in the day when I attended Al-anon meetings and there was an acronym tossed around A LOT, K.I.S.S. Keep It Simple Silly  (well it's Keep It Simple Stupid, but we don't like that word in our house). Pretty self explanatory, right? A concept that on the outside seems so simple in itself. However, in reality it has taken many years and a life in chaos to get me to the point of making the leap to a SIMPLE life.

When I say chaos,
I mean complete chaos!

Financial Chaos: years of unfilled taxes accompanied by levies, phone calls and certified letters. Our credit went from bad to worse with the fall of the Real Estate market. Job loss. A move. Living with family. New job with small pay but unlimited future potential. Living paycheck to paycheck hoping we would have enough for groceries and to pay our necessary bills. To finally pushing our way through the rubble of our  financial destruction to living on a budget, a simple budget (thank you Dave Ramsey). Our first financial goal was enough to file our taxes. WE DID IT! Today, we are still working to keep things simple as the promotions and pay increase. Our first step in simplifying life.

Mental Chaos: Spring of 2012 I was diagnosed with a chronic illness that I will be fighting the rest of my life. I am Bipolar I and life had become a kaleidoscope inside my brain. When manic too much of anything throws me into a tail spin: too much light, too much noise, too much movement. When depressed I find it difficult or darn near impossible to do any part of my daily duties (ie. Cleaning, food, self care all go out the window). For the sake of my mental well being it is my goal to pair down and have a household manual to turn to in times of need.

Physical Chaos: Along with the diagnosis of Bipolar comes medication... lots of it! Unfortunately, the side effects include rapid weight gain. I went from being a average size to gaining 30 pounds in 6 weeks! The weight gain didn't stop there and today I am considered obese at almost 200 lbs. Along with weight gain comes a whole host of medical problems that concern me... Soooo, I am starting a quest towards a thinner trimmer me. I started Weight Watchers, an exercise plan and a quest to find recipes that are both simple WW points friendly.

Home of Chaos: Clutter. Clutter. Clutter. It's everywhere our home has turned into a place things go to take up space. Living in an apartment means there is nowhere to hide this "stuff" and it accumulates like a rabit having babies. It's EVERYWHERE! I admit to being somewhere on the hoarder's spectrum... I get attached, find good deals and can't turn down a gift. My project is to get rid of all non essential items. Yes, you heard me right. Sell. Re-home. Give away. Somehow it is leaving the Alves home.

Family Chaos: Somewhere along the way family time became code for going out to do something that cost money... too much money! Being on a budget is forcing me to re-evaluate the quality of our time together and challenging me to make due with less paid outings. keeping family time simple is just another way to simplify and make life more rich.

Project K.I.S.S. is a journey to a new way of life. Making the important things, important.... AND go of the chaos and clutter making more space for the good life and ! Keep It Simple Silly.