Author: Admin2

Pasta Bake

Pasta Bake

I had no idea what to make for dinner last night. I started to look in my freezer, in the pantry, on the shelf, in the fridge. I was stumped! But then I saw that I had ricotta cheese I hadn’t used yet, and not …

The best smoothie ever!

The best smoothie ever!

Even though in Chicago the actual temperature is 0, with a windchill of -23, I still enjoy making smoothies for breakfast and today’s was the tastiest EVER! Ingredients in my Magic Bullet: 3 handfuls of fresh spinach 1 tsp. sugar 1 TB. ground flax seed …

The Biggest Loser Finale!  Re-cap!

The Biggest Loser Finale! Re-cap!

H-O-L-Y C-O-W that was a great finale! It’s always my favorite part of the season. I totally called it yesterday, I thought for sure Danny would win since he lost so much weight on his own for that 60 days. But, did I think he …

Product Review – Muir Glen canned tomatoes

Product Review – Muir Glen canned tomatoes

I was asked by Muir Glen if I would be interested in tasting their new line of canned tomatoes. Ummm…yeah! Since I make home made pasta sauce virtually every week, or add diced tomatoes to soups and stews, I knew I would use them. Little …

Ham Mac-n-Cheese

Ham Mac-n-Cheese

I make macaroni and cheese at least 2 or 3 times a month. I usually switch up the cheese, add ham, change the pasta type just to keep it interesting. This version is by far the best one I’ve had in a long time. It …

Jenn’s Everything but the kitchen sink cookies

Jenn’s Everything but the kitchen sink cookies

As Christmas is coming super fast I am starting to make a list of gifts for teachers/the crossing guard/and after school staff. I usually just make something. Last year I made home made chocolate covered pretzels (with sprinkles by my daughter!) This year I am …

Great lunch idea + Biggest Loser re-cap!

Great lunch idea + Biggest Loser re-cap!

For lunch yesterday, I brought a baked potato and on top I put leftover sloppy Jo’s and a slice of Alpine Lace Reduced Fat swiss cheese. It was so good and totally filling. For the sloppy Jo’s I actually used ground chicken with Manwhich sauce. …

Pumpkin Pear Banana Muffins

I know this combo sound pretty weird, but in fact it tasted great. I wanted to make pumpkin muffins but then I had an over ripe pear and over ripe banana, so I decided to throw those in too! This recipe is based off a …

I passed!

I passed!

It took me 6 months to complete this course, but I got my certification in the mail on Saturday!! I am officially a Certified Nutrition and Wellness Consultant! I was super nervous because in order to get certified I had to get a score of …

Turkey Noodle Soup

Turkey Noodle Soup

I hope everyone had a great Thanksgiving! My family did. I successfully cooked a turkey for only the 2nd time in my life and it turned out great! Although it was a good thing I checked because it was done an hour earlier than I …

Restaurant Review/Sushi House – Oak Park, IL

Restaurant Review/Sushi House – Oak Park, IL

I know a lot of you don’t live in the Chicago-land area, but my sister, Mom and I went to a great place for lunch yesterday! Okay, I may be biased, since the architecture firm I work for designed the restaurant and friends of mine …

Eat what you like!

I think so many times in the past when I have tried to lose weight, I would follow some strict program, or couldn’t eat certain foods, or eating foods in combinations. Why do that to yourself? So many times you read that losing weight is …

How was your weekend?

How was your weekend?

My husband went out with friends, and after the kids were in bed, it was an evening of Jenn-TV! My husband puts up with my obsession with watching FOOD TV all the time. I think if that’s the only channel we got, I would be …

I survived my 2nd test!

I survived my 2nd test!

For those of you who have been following my blog closely, I really wanted to do great this Holiday starting with Halloween and going through the new year. Not only did I not want to eat like a huge pig, but I wanted to actually …

No plan today!

No plan today!

For those of you who know me personally, you know I almost NEVER go to work without bringing food for the day. I eat my breakfast and lunch at my desk, as well as bringing fruit or veggies for snacks. I like knowing what I …

I almost gave in…. + Cranberry Muffins! + Biggest Loser Re-cap!

So, I almost caved…I had a great healthy breakfast yesterday, I had my soup and banana for lunch and as the lunch hour approached, I wasn’t feeling the soup. What I really wanted was a slice of deep dish pizza! There is an Italian restaurant …

Easy Pork Tenderloin

Easy Pork Tenderloin

I made probably the best pork tenderloin over the weekend. I normally buy the ones that are pre-marinated. But this time, I decided to buy one that I can add my own spices too. I decided to do a rub. I added in a small …

Bizzy weekend!

Bizzy weekend!

My twin sister Biz calls weekends that are crazy a Bizzy weekend and that’s exactly what I had! It’s Sunday evening and I had a no computer weekend!! It was on purpose too. It was my daughter Claire’s birthday yesterday, she turned 8 and we …

Mini cajun meatloaves wrapped in bacon!

Mini cajun meatloaves wrapped in bacon!

So, as I was riding my bike home from work, thinking about what to do for dinner. I still didn’t do a whole weeks worth of shopping, so I needed to stop at the store to pick up something. I was going through ideas in …

Soup!

Soup!

I’ve gotten a bunch of e-mails asking me for soup recipes, so I decided to feature a few of my favorite soups I’ve made so far! I love soup because its low in calories, you can make it totally healthy, and it makes me happy! …

Roasted chick peas

Roasted chick peas

I made another batch of these last night to bring as a snack for work (also counts as veggie serving!) It’s so good, I wanted to post the recipe again. I would suggest using 2 cans of chick peas (garbanzo beans) because the process takes …

Chicken Tortilla Casserole

Chicken Tortilla Casserole

I mentioned the other day, my Mom sending me a link to Eat Better America. One of the recipes was for a chicken tortilla casserole. It sounded really good, and they replaced a lot of the fattier ingredients with different ones such as using fat …

And the winners are….  + my fantastic weigh in!! + Cheesy Pizza Pasta

And the winners are…. + my fantastic weigh in!! + Cheesy Pizza Pasta

The other day I mentioned Bolthouse 100% fruit and veggie drinks and I have 3 coupons to give away!!! I drew names out of a hat! The winners picked are: Diane at Fit to the Finish!!! Kerstin at Cake Batter and Bowl!!! And DEB! my …

Busy day/tons of food at work/food find – Dr. McDougall’s ready to eat soups

It was non-stop at work today, from the moment I walked in until the moment I walked out! Phew was I tired by the time I went home! BUT, some great things happened during the day….I did NOT give in to food at work! Why …

Doing things differently…. + Bolthouse coupons

I’ve done a few things differently as I mark the first week of trying to consume 10-13 servings of fruits and vegetables a day. I’ve noticed a few patterns here: *I’ve had almost no snacks. Just breakfast, lunch and dinner *I’ve had NOTHING after dinner …