Skinny Memorial Day BBQ Sides!

I love a good bring your own meat bbq. It means I get to go pick out my own nice 6 oz piece of fish, be responsible for the highest calorie part of a bbq: the sides, and invite everyone I love over but not spend a gazillion dollars. Soooo I made these 2 delicious sides. They are not the lowest ever in calories and to be honest I have no idea what I serving size would be so I'm not going to tally up the calories, but they are much better than the alternatives and nutritious and delicious!

Sweet Potato Salad:
*3 l bs sweet potatoes cubed (you can peel them, but the skin has all sorts of vitamins, so if you don't have an aversion, I suggest keeping it)
*1.5 cups non fat plain greek yogurt
*1 tbs packed splenda brown sugar blend
*drizzle sugar free maple syrup
*1 cup walnuts chopped
*3/4 cup raisins
*cinnamon to taste

Boil sweet potatoes until tender but not mushy (approx 7-8 min). Combine yogurt with splenda brown sugar, syrup and cinnamon. Add potatoes and stir. Stir in walnuts and raisins. Refrigerate and enjoy!

Macaroni Salad:
*13 oz box whole wheat macaroni
*1.5 cups light miracle whip
*2 tbs dijon mustard
*1 bundle celery chopped
*chopped clausen dill pickles to taste
*6 hard boiled egg whites chopped
*3 hard boiled eggs chopped
*salt, pepper, spike and paprika to taste

Boil macaroni until al dente. Drain. Mix in all other ingredients. Refrigerate and enjoy! Sooo easy!

Lucky #2

So it's not a recipe, today I decided to post something different. I've been reading this blog which I found from an other blog I love. Whoo I feel fancy. That was my first time turning words into links! Haha, anyway, I was reading the first blog "Carrots n cake" and reading some of her work outs before I went to the gym this morning so I got motivated and decided to make up my own running interval work out and see how it went. Well, it kicked my ass and so today I decided I'd post a work out to change things up :O)

Now I usually get a little self conscious to talk about things that are hard for me work out wise because I feel like everyone else will think it's easy and I will feel lame, but whatever. I'm not a good runner or even an actual runner for that matter, but I like it and my body responds best to short amounts of time due to totally awfully constructed achilles tendins that are far too short, so today I did this:

*2 min walk (3.5)
*2 min jog (5.5)
*2 min walk (3.5)
*2 min jog (6.0)
*2 min walk (3.5)
*2 min run (6.5)
*2 min walk (3.5)
*2 min run (7.0)
*2 min walk (3.5)
*2 min run (7.5)
*3 min walk (3.5....I needed an extra minute and it made the first half an even 30 min)
*2 min run (8.0...OUCH!)
*5 min recovery walk (3.0)
Thennnn....
I repeated the whole thing in one minute spurts, then walked 2 min @ 3.5 and because all of the sudden I wanted to prove something to myself sprinted a minute @ 8.5 and looked like a total freak I'm sure haha.

So that took me to 45 min then I just walked @ 3.0 until I hit 4 mi which I decided was a good stopping point which took like an other 8 min. So those of you that are way more in shape than me could def bump up the interval times, add an incline or increase the speeds, but I was pretty surprised at how sweaty and tired I actually got. At 6.5 I was like "I GOT THIS" then at 7.5 I was like "Uhmmm...can I really actually get through 8.0?!" But I CAN and I did and even if you think you can't, I suspect that you can surprise yourself!

I've been in a total on and off work out rut, but today made me feel good! I think I'm getting my motivation back--I hope so anyway! :O)

Rachael Ray's Turkey Chili Shepherd's Pie!

• 
  
• 2.5 pounds sweet potatoes
• Salt
• 2 teaspoons orange zest
• 4 tablespoons fat free I Can't Believe It's Not Butter
• 1 cup fat free sour cream
• black pepper
• nutmeg, to taste
• 2 pounds ground turkeybreast
• 1 large onion, chopped
• 2 small chile peppers, red fresno, jalapeno or serrano
• 1 red bell pepper, chopped
• 2 to 3 large cloves garlic, chopped
• 3 tablespoons chili powder
  
• 1 tablespoon smoked sweet paprika
• 1 tablespoon ground cumin
• 1/4 cup tomato paste
• 2 to 3 cups low sodium chicken broth
• 1/2 cup shredded 2% sharp cheddar cheese
• 1/2 cup shredded fat free cheddar cheese
  

Directions

Add the potatoes to a large pot, cover with water and bring to a boil over medium heat. Salt the water and cook to tender about 12 to 15 minutes. Drain and return to hot pot. Add the zest, butter, sour cream, salt, pepper and nutmeg, to taste. **(I also added cinnamon--YUM!)**

While potatoes are coming to a boil, heat and spray non stick chili pot over medium heat. Add the turkey and brown, then add in the onions and cook 2 to 3 minutes. Chop the peppers, then add them along with the garlic to the turkey. Stir in the spices, and add salt and pepper, to taste. **(I added cinnamon here too!)*** cook for 8 to 10 minutes, then add the tomato paste and cook for 1 minute. Stir in the stock and simmer a few minutes to thicken and combine flavors.

Preheat the broiler.

Transfer the chili to a casserole, spread the potatoes over the top and cover with Cheddar cheese. Brown under the broiler until golden and serve.

I've been eying this recipe in my Rachael Ray cookbook ever since I got it! So tonight was the night and I must say it is pretty delicious. I didn't look up how many calories the original had, but I halved this one and it made 4 big servings at about 450 calories a piece which is a little high for how much I like to eat at one meal, but it's dinner on a Friday night and I saved up my calories :O)

The original recipe can be found here: http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/rachael-ray/turkey-chili-and-sweet-potato-shepherds-pie-recipe/index.html