Pesto Chicken with Stewed Tomatoes

Tonight I experimented with a chicken dish that surprisingly turned out to be pretty incredible! I posted a picture of the finished product, and a dear friend suggested that I write down the recipe so she could have it. I couldn't ignore the request, so here is the recipe.

Pesto Grilled Chicken with Stewed Tomatoes.

Ingredients:
2 chicken breasts
4 tsp. Pesto (either homemade or pre made)
1-2 Roma Tomatoes
Salt to taste
Pepper to taste
Red Pepper Flakes to tast (i like about 1/2 tsp)
1-2 tsp Olive Oil
1 glove garlic

Directions.
1. salt and pepper both sides of your chicken breasts. rub 1 tsp pesto all over each chicken breast, and marinate in a baggie for 30 min.
2. Once the chicken is done marinating, put them on the grill. Grill both sides for about 4-5 minutes, or until the middle is no longer pink and the juices run clear.
3. while your chicken is one the grill, cut your tomates into 1/4 inch slices. salt and pepper the tomatoes.
4. heat olive oil in skillet. add red pepper flakes and garlic to the oil. once the oil is hot, add your tomatoes and the remaining 2 tsps of pesto.
5. heat the tomatoes for 5-7 minutes.
6. take chicken off the grill and top with the stewed tomatoes.
7. enjoy!!!

Serving suggestion: I served this over 2oz. of whole wheat spaghetti noodles and it was delicious. the pesto sauce from the tomatoes is a perfect light sauce. Could also be served over a salad!!!

This recipe is only 230 calories!! If served with the 2oz. of pasta it adds 180 calories. So basically it is super low in calories , and super high in tastiness!!!

ps. to make the green beans and zucchini, simply cut up your veggies and add them to a skillet with a little olive oil and garlic and sauté them for 6-8 minutes! so fast and so tasty!

 I hope you give this recipe a try!

Happy Eating!
xoxo

Hopeful

Happy New Years!

With the new year, there is always so much talk about resolutions, and commitments and craziness. And usually this stresses me out. I feel like when I make a goal in the middle of the year it is so much easier to accomplish because the expectation to succeed is lessened. There is no pressure to change. and if you do fail, its not the end of the world. But at the new year, everyone is expecting to see a change. Everyone is waiting to see the "new me" emerge. And that's stressful. Everyone is curious to know what things you don't like about yourself and want to change.

And while this does add a level of stress and pressure, this year I am less annoyed by it, and more excited by the challenge.

I want people to hold me accountable. I want people to know my goals and hold me to them. I want people to congratulate me when I eventually accomplish my goals and I want people to feel like they had a place in helping me achieve them.

It's not an original goal, but I'm so excited about it.

I'm losing weight. Tah dah! I know, it's so cliché for a New Years goal, but I feel like its something I need in my life. I need the be healthier. I need to be more aware of my body and its needs. I need to.

I joined Weight Watchers, and so far, I LOVE IT. I've never used a program like this. It's wonderful. It's more than just counting calories, and logging all you eat, although that is part of it.
The WW app really helps me set goals, form habits and love my body.
It also understands that I am human, and I have cravings and I have days I want to splurge. And WW gives me to tools to do this in the best ways possible. It's forgiving and encouraging and it's perfect for my personality.

I started last week, and I weighed in this morning and I have lost 5.2 pounds so far. And I couldn't be more ecstatic. One of the best parts of this New Years goal, is that Alex is doing it too, and we are totally competing to see who can lose the most. It's great to have the friendly competition going on. Plus we have a couple goal. When we lose a certain amount of weight together, we reward ourselves with something fun, like going to the movies, or getting tickets to a baseball game!

One of the parts of dieting that I really do love, is the cooking. I love the challenge of eating/cooking healthy, but delicious meals. So far I think I'm doing pretty good!! At least Alex is still smiling, so that's a good sign. I get lots of inspiration from magazines like Cooking Light and blogs like eatyourselfskinny. I'm also make a killer salad, so that makes healthy eating pretty easy when I'm out of creative ideas!

I'm excited to see what this next year brings!!

I will be giving WW updates every week or so to let y'all know how I'm doing.

Happy Healthy Eating!!