Sweet Balsamic Blueberry Grilled Chicken Salad

Spring produce is fantastic, I love seeing low prices on fresh fruits and vegetables. I picked up a huge carton of fresh blueberries for a couple of bucks the other day, but I knew I wasn't going to use them up fast enough by just stirring them into Greek yogurt once a day. I've decided this salad is my new favorite meal, and plan to eat it twice a day! And for 156 calories a serving, I don't think you can blame me.

150 Calorie Gluten-Free Tuna Melt

When I think of a traditional tuna melt, I remember the crisp buttered bread, ooey gooey cheese, and tuna that is sopping wet with mayo. I lightened up this sandwich and made it a little more diet friendly. Using the ingredients I had on hand, this open-faced sandwich turned out to be 150 calories, 11 carbs, 17 grams protein, and 4 grams of fat.

DIY: How to Hide a Thermostat

Normally thermostats aren't a big concern, in our apartment the thermostat was awkwardly placed off center to the middle of the wall. To top it off, it's crooked. We only have a gas heater, no air conditioning, which means we only use the heat a few months out of the year. The rest of the year we have a crooked off white thermostat in the middle of the couch distracting from any art. Originally I had hung this poster from Ikea off center of the couch because I couldn't hang it over the thermostat.

Low Carb Shrimp Scampi w/ Miracle Noodles

This is a super low carb/low fat version of one of my personal favorites. Lemon and garlic work so well with the shrimp you don't need butter or oil to make it taste great!

Garlic, Lemon, and Parsley Chicken

  A very simple dish that incorporates the same ingredients and flavors from this shrimp recipe. Most likely you have these ingredients on hand, but if you don't they're very cheap and easy to find! I love garlic and lemon paired with chicken, and fresh parsley really is a match made in heaven with canned tomatoes. The no salt added canned tomatoes tend to be a little low on flavor, but adding fresh parsley and course ground black pepper really livens up this dish! 

Baked Shrimp

Oh my goodness, who knew eating "diet" food could be this enjoyable?! This is by far one of the best dishes I've had, and I'm really excited to share it with you!

Chocolate Cheesecake with Peppermint Chocolate Glaze

  These little chocolate cheesecake squares were such a treat for Christmas! My sister is a Winter Solstice baby and she loves peppermint, so I made these as a birthday/holiday treat. I hope everyone had a wonderful holiday, I'm looking forward to a new year ^_^

Spicy Asian Chicken Stir Fry, under 250 calories

  Oh don't worry, you haven't been redirected to the wrong page. The dish pictured above was indeed 218 calories total!

  The stir fry came out spicy and sweet with a hint of toasted sesame. More importantly it's super filling thanks to the lean chicken breast and Miracle Noodles. Check out Miracle Noodles (shirataki noodles) online if you haven't heard much about them, I bought mine off Amazon.

Fajita Bowls for 200 Calories

I'm back on the low calorie, no fat, no sugar, nothing processed, etc part of my diet. It's been fine so far, and I'm finally in the 140's! My hubby got steak fajitas for dinner the other night and it crushed my spirits just a teensy bit. The aroma of sizzling spicy flank steak paired with creamy sour cream and guacamole is hard to endure! Today I decided I would make a diet friendly version of the dish. I swapped out bell peppers for English cucumber to save calories and sugar, and used ground turkey instead of steak. To top it I used a tablespoon of very hot salsa and a dab of Greek yogurt, served with wedges of lime of course!

No Bake Pumpkin "Cheesecake"

Yummms. This is a great treat for Fall, I love pumpkin spice anything ^_^ This delicious creamy dessert is just under 4 grams of carbs per serving, so the carb and sugar count is much lower than most desserts. The best part? It's a no bake dessert. It never sets up fully so it's best served in a bowl, and scooped out with a spatula =P You could sub whipped cream for the coconut milk and add eggs to make this a regular cheesecake that you can bake! I was just being lazy!