Author: Kimberly Roberto

Wife, Mom, Daughter, Business Owner with a Passion for Cooking and Eating Healthy Food and Helping Others to do the Same!

Another week of Advanced Plan meals

We are over the halfway mark with our Lighten Up Weight Loss Challenge group.  I am LOVING hearing about all of the weight loss and how people are spending more and more time in their kitchen, experimenting with recipes, and realizing that healthy food can actually taste great!  After this post, I will be posting some recipes that accompany some of the meals.  So be on the lookout and give them a try.  Some of them have come from Lighten Up participants! 

  Breakfast Lunch Dinner Snack
Monday K- Greens Smoothie K- Salmon salad K- Cabbage sauteed with chopped turkey bacon , pickles and dijon mustard K- Chocolate Bark
  F- Mixed Berry Smoothie & Almond Power Bar F- Bison burger, asparagus, 1/2 avocado F- leftovers F- pistachios, coconut flakes
         
Tuesday K-Chocolate Blueberry Smoothie K- Maggiano’s salad with olive oil and vinegar K- Chicken Artichoke Crock Pot (see recipe!) K- almonds and walnuts
  F- same F- Maggianos roasted half chicken and green beans F- Rotisserie Chicken and broccoli F- celery with peanut butter
         
Wednesday K- scrambled eggs with fresh strawberries K- Bison burger, asparagus, avocado K- Leftover chicken artichoke dish K- Chocolate Cupcake (see recipe!)
  F- same F- same F – same F- same
         
Thursday K – smoothie with flax and greens powder K- Salad and minestrone soup (without pasta) K- spinach meatballs (see recipe) & broccoli/squash K- red peppers with guacamole
  F- scrambled eggs and fresh strawberries F – Spinach Salad & bowl of chicken soup F- same  
         
Friday K- Chocolate- Mint smoothie K- Stir fried veggies with salsa and guacamole K- Carribean Chicken and broccoli K- chocolate cupcake
  F- Spinach Omlette F- Mexican chicken salad F- same F- pistachios
At a wrestling tournament for 2 days straight- had to pack EVERYTHING!
Saturday K- berry smoothie K- Grilled chicken salad w/ avocado  K- veggie fajitas w/ guacamole K- nutty trail mix (see recipe!)
  F- same F- same F – Chicken salad and bowl of chicken soup F- same
         
Sunday K- chocolate cupcake & fresh raspberries K – trail mix & granny smith apple K- bison burger, asparagus, 1/2 avocado K- almond power bar
  F- same F- Same F- same F- almond power bar

Kimberly RobertoLeave a comment

Another week of Advanced Plan Meals

Here are our meals for the week.  We have received a lot of feedback that they are very helpful for people new to the Maximized Living Advanced Nutrition Plan.  These are not just ideas…this is EXACTLY what we ate all week.  You should notice that the meals are easy to pull off- no exotic ingredients or difficult recipes.  Anyone can do this!

You will also notice that we were out of town on Thursday through Sunday of this week.  Many people think that this nutrition plan is not possible when travelling but you will see that it can be done.  I did whip up a couple of snack items to take with us but other than that, everything else was purchased at restaurants.   Alas, it can be done! 

Week ending 2/1/10      
         
  Breakfast Lunch Dinner Snack
Monday K- Ground Flax Seeds & Almonds w/ Cinnamon, Mint Flakes, & Stevia w/ Coconut Milk K- Hummus w/ Celery, turkey/cheese roll up, Kombucha K-Asian Chicken Lettuce Wraps, Bibb lettuce, brococli K-Celery w/ almond butter, Chocolate Bark
  F- Spinach w/ Egg Whites F- Chicken & Broccoli F- same F- same
         
Tuesday K-Turkey bacon w/ Fried Egg K-Ted’s –  Bison burger, Asparagus, Side Salad K- Mixed Green Salad  
  F- same F- Ted’s Bison Burger, avocado, egg white, double asparagus  F- Leftover Taco Salad  
         
Wednesday K- Omlette Muffin – recipe to come, green tea K- Salad with hummus & roasted veggies K-Turkey/Cheese roll ups, iced tea K- Apple Flax Muffin (recipe in book)
  F- same F- Chicken w/ broccoli & asparagus F –   
         
We were out of town Thurs – Sunday        
Thursday K- 2 Omelette muffins, Flax seed muffin K- Roasted eggplant salad w/ grilled chicken K- Sea Bass w/ Mushrooms & Asparagus K- pumpkin seeds
  F- sane F – Bowl of soup & salad F – 8oz filet, asparagus, garden salad F – almond power bar, chocolate bark
         
Friday K- Veggie Omelette, tea K- Greek Salad w/ roasted eggplant, olives, roasted peppers, greens, oil/vinegar K- Bison Chili, Smoked Salmon stuffed avocado K- almond power bar, chocolate bark
  F- Spinach Omlette F- Salad & 2 small chicken breasts F- 6 oz filet, asparagus F- pistachios
         
Saturday K- egg whites w/ grilled squash/zucchini K- Grilled chicken salad w/ avocado  K- Greens w/ Roasted Vegetables , Roasted Cauliflower K- pistachios & pumpkin seeds
  F- Egg whites w/ grilled zucchini F- Greek salad F – Chicken salad, chicken wings (not breaded & fried) F – coconut flakes, pistachios
         
Sunday K- Mixed berry smoothie K- Chicken w/ lemon and oregano, steamed veggies, sm. Salad K- Mexican chicken soup, grilled veggies K- chocolate bark
  F- same F- Same F – Mexican grilled chicken salad – salad w/ avocado, black olives, cabbage, salsa F- raw cashews

Kimberly RobertoLeave a comment

Weekly Meals

As part of our Lighten Up Weight Loss challenge, my husband and I promised to post what we eat daily.   Most of the people in the challenge are going with the Advanced Plan so that is what we are following so everything listed is approved fare.  Hopefully this will help people get additional meal ideas and to see how easy it is to apply to a busy life.    (F=Fred and K=Kim)

Wednesday Day 1 of the Weight Loss Challenge

Breakfast

F- 3 egg whites

K- Onions/spinach w/ fried eggs (I sauté the veggies and crack the eggs right in the pan with them.  I usually break the yolk but you can leave them sunny side up.

Lunch

F- Chicken over spinach salad with olives

K- Salmon with pesto cauliflower (I put it right in my vitamix and it comes out the consistency of risotto then add pesto sauce and salt)

Dinner

F&K- Grilled chicken with asparagus

Snacks

F-AM -Coconut Flakes, PM- Almonds

K-PM- Celery w/ Almond Butter

Thursday

Breakfast

F & K- Chocolate & Blueberry smoothie made with frozen blueberries, cocoa powder, chocolate NaturePro (available at the office soon or order from http://www.maximizedlivingdrroberto.com/), and coconut milk

Lunch

F & K – bowl of coconut soup and plate of stir fried vegetables w/ tamari

Dinner

F&K Grass fed steak with sautéed zucchini and green salad w/ olive & vinegar

Snacks

F- 2 hard boiled eggs

K- handful of almonds & walnuts

Friday

Breakfast

F&K- Blueberry chocolate smoothie

Lunch

F&K – grass fed steak fajitas w/ avocado – grassfed flank steak (purchased from http://www.whiteoakpastures.com/).  Marinated in apple cider vinegar, olive oil, salt, pepper, spike seasoning overnight.  Cooked on cast iron grill pan.  Sauteed sliced red bell pepper, onion, and celery in butter in a cast iron pan, added spinach at the last minute.

Dinner

F&K- Grilled Chicken Salad – organic chicken put between parchment and pounded to about ½” thickness.  Seasoned with organic seasoning mix, salt, and black pepper.  Grilled on cast iron grill pan.  Salad- red leaf lettuce, black olives, ½ tomato (tomatoes in moderation), cucumber, celery, onion, hearts of palm, slivered almonds with oil & vinegar.

Snacks

F – Almond Power Bar (recipe in boos), Coconut Flakes

K- green tea

Saturday

Breakfast

F&K – Berry smoothie

Lunch

F&K – at a wrestling tournament all day- packed leftover grilled chicken salad and almond power bars

Dinner

You CAN still eat out during your 30 day challenge,  you just have to be very careful what you order- here is what we did…

F- La Parrilla Mexican Restaurant – Monterrey Chicken Salad with no bacon, no cheese, no tortillas, salsa for dressing.  Chicken soup with no rice.  Unsweetened iced tea with stevia

K- Monterrey Chicken Salad, no bacon, no cheese, no tortillas, added extra avocado, salsa for dressing.  Unsweet tea

Snacks

F- handful almonds & cashews

K- almond power bar

Sunday

Breakfast

F- 3 scrambled eggs

K- Scrambled eggs with onions and mushrooms

Lunch

F- spinach/romaine salad w/ cucumbers, zucchini, black olives, oil&vinegar and 2 cups of chicken soup

K- romaine with cucumbers, zucchini, red onion, black olives, broccoli, celery, oil&vinegar and bowl of vegetable soup.

Dinner

F & K- taco salad- grass fed ground beef (from Publix) + taco seasoning recipe from the book with shredded raw cheddar cheese (from Nature’s Corner Market), whole avocado, black olives, cucumbers, salsa for  dressing.

Snacks

F&K- chocolate bark (recipe in the book), almonds

Kimberly RobertoLeave a comment

Healthy Eating Out Option

Everyone loves to eat out.  Unfortunately, it is very difficult to find healthy options on the menu.  Whenever I eat out, it is reminiscent of the When Harry Met Sally scene where she is interrogating the waiter as she is ordering.  Although you don’t have to go quite that far, you are a paying customer and should be able to get what you want.  As soon as I sit down, I start scanning the menu for healthy items.  If certain things appear on the menu somewhere, you should be able to substitute them into your order.  For instance, I always try to add avocado to whatever I am ordering.  Also, if they have vegetables on the menu- you can ask if any of them are uncooked and add them raw to your order and drizzle with olive oil and lemon juice.  It is fairly easy to get raw broccoli, carrots, squash, zucchini, etc.

Here is an example of how you can make the best out of eating out.  I has a business lunch this week at Macaroni Grill.  As I scanned the menu, I noticed that they had an appetizer of roasted vegetables.  Then, in looking at the salads, I spotted a Warm Spinach Salad that came with prosciutto and a goat cheese medallion served with olive oil and lemon.  I simply substituted the roasted vegetables for the prosciutto and the salad was delicious!  Although the ingredients were not all organic, it was a great eating out option.  The staff was happy to accomodate me, especially since I was raving about how good it was.  (Chefs love it when the wait staff come back with compliments!)

Though sometimes it is not easy, don’t just take the menu at a restaurant at face value.  Be creative!

Kimberly RobertoLeave a comment

Spicy Italian Chicken Soup

This is a great twist on regular chicken soup.  It was inspired from a soup on the Carraba’s menu.  I am always trying to replicate great tasting recipes but with healthier ingredients.  I tend to like things extra spicy but you can adjust this soup to your liking.  You can even leave out the spice altogether!

Spicy Italian Chicken Soup

2 medium red potatoes (optional), peeled and diced.  (Red potatoes are less starchy than regular potatoes- Advanced Plan people, leave these out)

4 skin-on, bone-in organic chicken breasts

1 large organic bell pepper (any color), diced (remember, bell peppers are on the naughty list as far as pesticide load http://www.foodnews.org)

4 organic carrots, peeled and sliced

6 quarts filtered water

14 oz organic tomatoes w/ juice (chopped if needed)

1 large organic onion, diced

2 cloves garlic, sliced thin or put through a press

½ c. fresh parsley or 2 tbsp dried parsley Sea salt

Fresh ground black pepper

Crushed red pepper

Place vegetables, parsley, and garlic in a large stock pot.  Add water.  Add salt and pepper to your liking.  Putting lots of ground black pepper gives it the spice and you can add crushed red pepper to your liking as well.   (Remember, you will need quite a bit of salt because you are not adding salty bouillon cubes)

Bring to a boil.  Skim off any foam that rises to the top periodically.  Let simmer for 2 hours.

Remove chicken pieces and let cool.

Use a potato masher to smash the vegetables into smaller pieces.  The key to this soup is to make all the colors look like small pieces of confetti.

When the chicken is cool enough, remove the meat from the bones and add back to the soup and let simmer.  I prefer small shreds but you can make them as big as you want.  I only added back 2 of the breasts and used the other 2 for other purposes.

Chill the soup so that you can remove the fat that rises to the surface.  It is best to do this overnight.  Make extra so that you can have it for more than one meal.  I guarantee the whole family will like it!

Kimberly RobertoLeave a comment

Weekend Menu

It has been so cold outside and with the kids unexpectedly out of school, I’ve taken the opportunity to do a lot of cooking this weekend.  I had a lot of work to do too so I had to squeeze it in between tasks.  Below is a list what I have whipped up.  The best part is that it only took me minutes to prepare them- I promise.  One of my requirements for a recipe, or a meal for that matter, is that they take no longer than 30 minutes.  After that, I lose interest and lets face it, who really has the time to spend hours in the kitchen?  Another requirement is that it tastes good.  All of the things below fit both of those criteria.

I have always had a love of food, well a love of eating really.  Looking back, I can’t believe how poor my diet was.  However, even though my diet is probably 90% better, I don’t feel like I have sacrificed my love for the taste of food.  I am able to eat absolutely delicious food every single day that won’t jeopardize my health.  Looking at the world around me, I wish that everyone would improve their diets.  If everyone improved even 10% the world would look very different!

If you need help taking those first steps, contact me.  I will be happy to help you!

  • Spicy Sicilian Chicken Soup
  • Homemade Chocolate Coconut Milk Ice Cream
  • Grass fed Beef Meatloaf
  • Citrus Asparagus
  • Risotto-esque Pesto Cauliflower

That has been some good eatin’ at the Roberto house.  I can honestly say that all of it is better than restaurat fare and mst likely 1/4 of the price.  I will be posting each of the recipes seperately over the next few days so check them out. 🙂

Kimberly RobertoLeave a comment