BEST meal I've ever cooked!

**let me start this off by saying I took like 20 beautiful pictures while cooking this fabulous meal... however, stupid Blogger is messing up the pictures every time I try to upload them.. blah!**

So, towards the end of my first real week of trying trying TRYING to eat healthy, I was craving something GOOD! I didn't want a dang salad or another Subway turkey sandwich! So.. I went browsing on http://www.allrecipes.com/. I love that place! You can narrow down what you're in the mood for and it will give you a list of recipes in that category! Perfecto!

I knew I wanted chicken, and I knew I needed to eat something healthy..so I browsed through baked/grilled chicken dishes..and came across this piece of Heaven..

Honey Mustard Baked Chicken

(the recipe on the website is for 6 servings, but I made 4 servings, so my measurements are a little different than the webiste's)

4 boneless skinless chicken breasts

salt and pepper to taste

1/3 cup prepared mustard (I had to google what the heck "prepared" meant.. apparently it's just regular old yellow mustard, not the powdered kind)
1/3 cup honey

3/4 teaspoon dried basil
3/4 teaspoon paprika
1/4 teaspoon dried parsley

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).


• Sprinkle chicken breasts with salt and pepper to taste, and place in a lightly greased 9x13 inch baking dish.


• In a small bowl, combine the honey, mustard, basil, paprika, and parsley. Mix well. Pour 1/2 of this mixture over the chicken, and brush to cover.


• Bake in the preheated oven for 30 minutes. Turn chicken pieces over and brush with the remaining 1/2 of the honey mustard mixture. Bake for an additional 10 to 15 minutes, or until chicken is no longer pink and juices run clear. Let cool 10 minutes before serving

Next, the part that really MADE the meal for me.. for some people, green beans aren't that fantastic, but when you throw a little feta cheese in....W-O-W! This will knock your socks off!!

Fresh Green Beans, Fennel & Feta Cheese

(I didn't use the Fennel, because frankly, I don't know what the heck it is..and I tried my best looking for it in the produce section of the grocery store, but after about 10 minutes I got fed up and said I would just wing it without the dang Fennel!)

1 pound fresh green beans

1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil

2 tablespoons chopped fresh basil leaves

salt and pepper & minced garlic to taste

1/4 cup crumbled feta cheese

• Fill a saucepan half full with water and bring to a boil. Add the green beans; cook until just beginning to become tender, about 4 minutes. Pour into a colander to drain and run under cold water to stop the cooking process.


• Return the empty pan to the stove and set heat to medium. Pour in the olive oil and let it heat for a minute. Return the green beans to the pan. Season with basil, salt, pepper and minced garlic; cook and stir until coated and warm. Transfer to a serving dish and toss with feta cheese.

I'm telling you... it looks like a simple little recipe with a few ingredients, but it will CHANGE YOUR LIFE! haha okay so not really, but this chick is hungry this week, so these green beans DID change my life! I hope they change yours too :)

Next up, is the epic fail of my night.. They tasted okay, but not the best thing I've ever eaten.. It might have something to do with putting the wrong spice in (story to come), but here's the recipe anyway.

Cajun Style Baked Sweet Potato

1 1/2 teaspoons paprika (I realized after I put the potatoes in the oven that I used chili powder instead of paprika..big fat fail!!)
1 teaspoon brown sugar
1/4 teaspoon black pepper
1/4 teaspoon onion powder
1/4 teaspoon dried thyme
1/4 teaspoon dried rosemary
1/4 teaspoon garlic powder
1/8 teaspoon cayenne pepper
2 large sweet potatoes
1 1/2 teaspoons olive oil

• Preheat oven to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C).



• In a small bowl, stir together paprika, brown sugar, black pepper, onion powder, thyme, rosemary, garlic powder, and cayenne pepper.



• Slice the sweet potatoes in half lengthwise. Brush each half with olive oil. Rub the seasoning mix over the cut surface of each half. Place sweet potatoes on a baking sheet, or in a shallow pan.



• Bake in preheated oven until tender, or about 1 hour.

After I got them out of the oven, I cut them into little squares.. so they would look like the picture on All Recipes :)

So, that was my healthy meal last night. Like I said, I didn't love the sweet potatoes, but that was probably a plus, because I definitely ate 3 servings of green beans!! So that made up for it! But seriously, this was probably the best meal I've made in a long time and the good thing is, I didn't have to feel guilty about it afterwards! So if you need a pick-me-up during a week of dieting, this should be your go-to meal!

Another note on the dieting front..I'm starting the Body by Vi shakes this weekend and I'm SO excited!! I haven't been excited about getting back in shape and healthy in a very long time, but after putting forth some effort, I'm proud to report that I've lost 1.2 pounds this week! It doesn't sound like much, but it's enough progress to make me keep pushing through the hunger! I'm really hoping that the Vi shakes will give me a boost to start losing even more weight, and have no fear! I will keep you posted! :)


xoxo