The Master Your Metabolism Cookbook

OK - so I got this amazing new cookbook for my birthday and have been really impressed by the few things Michael and I have made out of it. Below are two of our favorites so far. I seriously can't believe that the food tastes so good. It's so pure and healthy and not only do I feel no guilt about eating it I really is restaurant quality and DELICIOUS!!! So please, do yourself a favor and give these amazing recipes a try. Christy thank you again for the cookbook!!! :o)

The Master Your Metabolism Cookbook

Grilled Lemon Chicken serves 6

1 teaspoon lemon zest

Juice of 1 lemon

¼ cup chopped fresh basil or oregano

1 tablespoon honey

1 tablespoon Dijon mustard

2 garlic cloves, minced

½ teaspoon salt

¼ teaspoon black pepper

¼ cup extra-virgin olive oil

6 (4 – 5 oz) boneless, skinless chicken breast halves

¼ cup pitted kalamata olives, halved

Olive oil spray for the grill



To prepare the dressing, whisk together the lemon zest and juice, the basil, honey, mustard, garlic, salt and pepper. Whisking constantly, add the olive oil in a slow stream. Set aside



Place the chicken on a cutting board and lay a sheet of wax paper over it. Using the flat side of a meat mallet, pound the chicken slightly so it is an even thickness. (we did not do this part J)

Place the chicken in a shallow baking dish just large enough to hold it. Pour half of the dressing (about 1/3 cup) over the chicken and turn the breasts once or twice to coat. Cover the dish and refrigerate for at least 2 hours if possible up to 8 hours, turning at least once.



Stir the olives into the remaining dressing and set aside until ready to serve



If using a gas or charcoal grill, spray the grill with olive oil and prepare a medium-hot grill. If using a grill pan, spray it with olive oil and heat over medium-high heat.



Discard the marinade and grill the chicken until it is opaque in the center, 5 – 6 minutes per side.



Place the chicken on a platter and drizzle with the remaining dressing and serve.



Calories 227.3 kcal

Fat 11.1g

Protein 26.6g

Carbohydrates 3.9g

Sodium 395.4mg



Simple Marinara Sauce makes about 4 cups: serves 8

1 tablespoon olive oil

1 cup finely chopped red onion

2 garlic cloves, finely chopped

1 fresh or dried bay leaf

¼ cup tomato paste

1 (28-oz) can low-sodium crushed tomatoes

1 tablespoon chopped fresh parsley or 1 teaspoon dried

1 tablespoon chopped fresh oregano or 1 teaspoon dried

1 tablespoon chopped fresh basil or 1 teaspoon dried

1 teaspoon balsamic vinegar

¼ teaspoon salt

¼ teaspoon ground black pepper



In a large skillet or other heavy-bottomed pan, heat the olive oil over medium-low heat. Add the onion, garlic, and bay leaf and cook, stirring, until softened and just beginning to brown, 6 – 8 minutes.



Push the onion and garlic to one side of the pan and add the tomato paste to the cleared spot. Cook for about 2 minutes. Stir the onion and garlic into the paste and continue to cook, stirring occasionally, until the paste is darker in color, 2 – 3 minutes.



Stir in the crushed tomatoes, parsley, oregano, basil, vinegar, salt and pepper. Increase the heat to medium and bring to a boil. Reduce the heat and simmer for 15 minutes. Remove and discard the bay leaf.



If a very smooth sauce is desired, transfer the sauce to the work bowl of a food processor or a blender and process until smooth. Otherwise, leave it be. (I like a “chunkier sauce so we added a can of diced tomatoes and decided next time we are going to dice up some mushrooms too)



Serve warm. For longer storage, let the sauce cool and transfer it to a tightly sealed container. Store in the refrigerator for up to 4 days or freeze for up to 6 months.



Calories 53.2 kcal

Fat 1.8g

Protein 1.4g

Carbohydrates 7.2g

Sodium 161.9g

Happy Birthday to ME - where I've been, where I am and where I'm going!

Happy Birthday to me and hello 36! It's not as old as it sounds you know. :o) By some standards 36 would be ancient or even seen as expired, but for me...36 is perfect and right where I need to and am very happy to be. In my short 36 years I have learned a lot...and while I don't have all the answers or know "the secret" to life and can share with you a couple of lessons I've learned (and am still learning). Go with the flow, but don't be afraid to push back if you need to - just don't spend all your time pushing back or you'll end up going against the grain and feeling rough and splintered all the time. When the going gets tough pull up your bootstraps and become a little tougher yourself, but take the time to take your lemons and make lemonade. Learn from your mistakes, but don't live in your mistakes or you'll become a black hole of suck and most importantly...give your heart to God. He's the only one who will truly protect it and can heal it from the many heartbreaks we encounter along life's way. ;o) So...it is here at 36 that I take a pause and look at the last year of my life - probably one of the most exciting years ever. God blessed me beyond belief and there are simply no words to express my gratitude, however...true to form...I do have some words to share - lol.

1 year ago today I was sick with walking pneumonia, was deeply depressed and morbidly obese. (Yes...I said morbidly). My best friend and sister both were begging me to go to the Dr and get some help. I had no motivation to do anything and was perfectly content to simply go to work, come home and eat. Eating...it had become my true hobby and the one enjoyment I indulged in far too often. Sad...I was one very sad girl living in a sad world of her own making. BUT...long before I could ever imagine my life's dramatic twist and turn, God had already set things in motion that would lead me to my present, not a perfect present, but a beautiful present and a wonderful peach within. I won't relive all the details of my 2010 again...although I would gladly do so in a heartbeat. I'm happy to say that I went to the Dr and got on the right meds - had an AMAZING encounter that propelled me in a direction I could have never ever seen coming and met the love of my life and in 40 short days will marry him and become Mrs. Tew. (for a more detailed account of my 2010 please read previous blogs - lol!) So...there's a brief snapshot of my past...my present I am over joyed to report is 2 - 2 1/2 sizes smaller, 56 lbs lighter (it was 62, but...I'll get into that disappointment later) and a whole heck of a lot healthier and happier than I have ever been in my ENTIRE life. It has not been an easy journey or without it's trials and mistakes, but the whole experience has brought me where I am today. And while I am still on the path to my goal weight there is a light at the end that before I could not see. And even with all the amazing and inspiring experiences I've had over the last year, my success and power to overcome my short falls comes from one place and one place only...ME. My cousin Eric and I once joked about getting me a Ricky Bobby t-shirt that said "ME." And if you've ever seen Talladaga Nights you'll get that, but mostly because in the midst of the hilarious Wil Ferrell comedy of that is one brilliant truth that I still struggle with...ME! I truly am the only one who can take what I've learned and apply it to my life and achieve exactly what I want to achieve. Others can want it for me...I can want it for myself all day long, but until I DO WHAT I KNOW I NEED TO DO...I'll never reach my goals. So it all comes back to ME. The ME who far too often struggles with one of the most simple yet most complex (if you let it become that) problems any person trying to lose weight and changing their life can struggle with....SELF DISCIPLINE. Ugh! SELF...DISCIPLINE... It sounds so easy yet it is sooooo very hard. I've often thought, DUH DEB...it's "self" and since it happens to be yours why can't you or won't you control it??? BECAUSE DEEP DOWN I'M LAZY!!!!! LOL - but I don't want to be and to in order to change that I have to dig in deep and flex that "self discipline" muscle every chance I get. No one can do it for me and while it is very very helpful and appreciated when others encourage me and help me use that muscle, it is still up to me and only me to do it. Here I am...wiser and doing better. I work daily on that "self discipline" muscle and what I found is that mine was really really week and needs a lot of attention to help build it up and make it STRONG!!! One of the most encouraging truths that shared with my about self discipline came to me from my Aunt Dee (thank you so much Dee for sharing) that like Dorothy in the Wizard of Oz I held the key all along, I just didn't know it. There it was in 2 Timothy 1:7 all along...For the Spirit God gave us does not make us timid, but gives us power, love and self-discipline. OMG...LITERALLY! I've had this spirit of power and self discipline all along I've just never USED it. DUH!!!! So now I know and now I grow. I'm wiser so I do better and meditate on that verse daily to remind me that "I HAVE THE POWER!" (sang just like The Hit Crew - Is that dope enough - indeed! lol)

I'm so looking forward to 2011...to continuing my weight loss journey and shedding the rest of this weight. I get impatient at times, but I know that step by step and pound by pound I'll get there. I can do it because I AM SELF DISCIPLINED! (It's true...it's in the bible and God said so) :p

One final closing thought that I borrowed off my friend Jim who quoted the late Gerry Rafferty. "You gotta grow, you gotta learn by your mistakes
You gotta die a little everyday just to try to stay awake
When you believe there’s no mountain you can climb
and if you get it wrong you’ll get it right next time (next time)."
Right now is MY "next time." I'm will get it right this time!!! (peace love and sunshine Jim...thanks!)