Who really wants to whip out the scale for a snack? If your house is like mine, everyone is hungry is at the same time (hangry is a real emotion at our house). Weighing out all the ingredients, nursing, and throwing together food for our two other children that rarely want to eat the same thing that we are, creates a whole lot of stress. Even though I meal prep, there is always that last-minute crunch right at supper time where everyone is scrambling or protesting to sit down to eat. Then there is of course the dreaded reheating of food that has gotten cold by the time you actually get to sit down and take a bite. This can’t just be my house, I hope.
No matter how crazy though, if you want to reach your goals with macro counting, you make time for it. It may seem silly to weigh out a tablespoon of peanut butter but I promise it makes a difference to weigh before you eat it. So many women that I have helped coach through macros, tell me about their struggles with being the only person in their home tracking and weighing out food. It helps to have support at home when you are the only one going through the struggle. When you first start weighing your food it can be very time-consuming to figure out what portions work for your macros. A little grace and help when learning the ins and outs of macro-counting go a long way.
Once upon a time if I wanted a tablespoon of peanut butter, I would grab the large spoon from the silverware drawer and take an extra big scoop to equal 2 tablespoons of peanut butter and spread it all over my apple. Growing up I learned the small spoon equaled a teaspoon and the large was equaled a tablespoon. Now that I weigh out my food, I realize just how much I was over serving myself. Weighing over measuring is always a must when you are counting macros. That large ONE scoop I thought I was having, was actually more like 4 servings. It dawned on me one day to stop and weigh my wonderfully fat-filled treat and it was depressing.
Jif All Natural Peanut Butter Nutrition Facts Serving Size2 Tbsp (33g) Amount Per Serving Calories 190 Fat 16g Carbohydrate 8g Protein 7g
This is a 1 tablespoon serving spoon. You can see how easy it is to overfill a measuring spoon and get almost DOUBLE the number of grams!
If I was taking that one unweighed scoop of peanut butter and logging it as one tablespoon every day for a quick snack, that would be almost 700 extra calories a week, mostly coming from fat. Peanut butter is macro dense, it has a lot of calories for very little mass. It is not enough to physically fill you up but does taste great.
Side note: Make sure you double-check the food you are logging in. When I scanned Jif Natural Creamy Peanut Butter into mymacros app the calories matched the label but the actual macros did not. I have to edit the food information to get the correct amount logged in. Do not blindly trust your app. Make sure you are doing your own research.
Happy weighing & tracking.
M E N U
Greek Orzo Stuffed Red Peppers
Brisket + Yogurt Mashed Potatoes
Broccoli Cheddar Chicken Casserole
Brisket Tacos
I thought that leftover brisket was best served in an omelet but after making these tacos, I’d be happy if we smoked a brisket just for taco meat. The first time we made these we had some leftover brisket from The Fourth of July and decided to throw some into tacos. I had some leftover Verde from that week and random toppings. Honestly, they ended up being some top quality tacos. I wasn’t expecting to like them as much as I did.
We kept the tacos super simple, but they ended up being so delicious. To make the Verde roast the tomatillos, garlic, green onion, and jalapeno in the oven until the tomatillos are tender and soft, 20-25 minutes on 425 degrees. Throw the roasted tomatillos, garlic, jalapeno, and green onions into the blender with the juice of one lime and cilantro.
If you don’t want to make your own Verde, the store bought is fine too.
Ingredients: beef brisket, smoked to temperature 1 raw red onion, diced 7-10 grams fiesta blend cheese per taco fresh cilantro, chopped fresh jalapeño, diced squeeze of lime per taco low carb/high fiber tortilla Tomatillo Sauce: 6 small tomatillos, husked *verde if you can’t find tomatillos 1 jalapeño 4 green onions juice of 1 lime 1/4 cup cilantro, roughly chopped
Greek Orzo Stuffed Red Peppers
Another meatless wonder that I stuffed with meat anyway and it turned out wonderful. I don’t think I could ever get tired of this dish. I loved this dish so much. It was beautiful. It was delicious. This also makes a great side dish for salmon or steak.
This is one of those meals that you tuck away in the back of your mind for the next time you have company and want to impress them without having to try too hard. I simply loved it and the macros weren’t that bad either. You could definitely cut back on the amount of orzo used and bring down the carbohydrates. I used 1 cup, but I might even do 3/4 of a cup this time so I don’t feel as strapped on my carbohydrates next time, but the orzo is so good.
Tracking the macros on the peppers was not super difficult. I made sure each pepper had the same amount of pasta, chicken, and toppings so that no matter which pepper was picked, they were the same. Weigh out the pepper before stuffing with the toppings and meat, so that each person knows the weight of their peppers.
*Changes I make to meet my macros
Ingredients: 3 red bell peppers, halved *4 peppers, 1 whole pepper per person 3 cloves garlic, minced or grated 1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil *spray olive oil 3 sprigs fresh oregano kosher salt and pepper 1 cup dry orzo or quinoa *285 grams or less 2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar 1/2 cup pitted kalamata olives *70-80 grams 2 pepperoncini, chopped *60-70 grams 2 tablespoons toasted pine nuts, chopped *Omit nuts 1/2 cup crumbled feta cheese *12 grams non fat feta per serving Lemony Basil Tomatoes: 1 cup fresh basil, chopped 1 cup cherry tomatoes, halved 1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil *omit oil, use 1 lemon juiced crushed red pepper flakes zest from 1 lemon kosher salt *add cooked chicken breast to peppers
Brisket + Yogurt Mashed Potatoes
One night we decided to make some mashed potatoes to go along with our steak. Friday and Saturday night is usually not planned but we still try to keep pretty healthy. I saw that I had some non-fat Greek yogurt in the fridge and threw it in there. Josh thought it was sour cream and I just let him think that until he tasted it. Once he gave the approval, I let him in on my secret. Since then that is how I have made our potatoes, even for guests and they have never been able to tell the difference. My super picky, traditional eating Step-Dad even loves them. Make sure to use caution when adding in the yogurt, the more you use the sweeter the potatoes will taste.
When cooking your meat make sure you cook it to temperature. Josh follows the recipe from Meat Church pretty closely. You can find their spices and lots of other great choices locally at Baell Mercantile. If you aren’t local, I highly recommend you order some of these spices, we use them on everything.
*Changes I make to meet my macros
Ingredients: 1 12 - 14 lb whole packer brisket (Choice grade or higher) Meat Church Holy Cow Meat Church Holy Gospel unwaxed butcher paper or heavy duty aluminum foil Yogurt Mashed Potatoes: 900-1000 grams red potatoes 65-75 grams non-fat Greek yogurt 1 tablespoon butter 6-8 ounces fat free milk salt, pepper, minced garlic, fresh diced rosemary
Broccoli Cheddar Chicken Casserole
The first time I made this, it was solely for my husband. I am NOT a casserole girl. I don’t like the idea of all the mayonnaise and cream of whatever people typically use in casseroles. This recipe has neither, so I was excited to give it a try. He is a true lover of casseroles with all mayonnaise and cream of whatever though.
I put my own spin on this and it turned out to be so great and healthy! I was so surprised, I have made this several times since and have even made it for a few friends. It is a great comfort dish without all the guilt.
This is not easy to track because it is all mixed together. There is no way that each piece cut will have the same amount of chicken or cheese. It will be precise on the macros but the slices themselves won’t be 100%.
*Changes I make to meet my macros
Ingredients: 1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil *spray olive oil kosher salt and black pepper 1 yellow onion, chopped 3 carrots, chopped *10-20 ounces baby carrots sliced 1 pound boneless chicken breasts, cut into cubes 2 tablespoons salted butter *1 tablespoon 1 1/2 cups basmati or jasmine rice *1 cup jasmine rice 1/2 cup dry orzo pasta (use gluten free, if needed) *omit 2 tablespoon fresh thyme leaves, plus more for topping 3 1/2 cups low sodium chicken broth *2 cups 3 cups broccoli florets, roughly chopped 2 bay leaves 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder 1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper, more or less to taste zest of 1/2 a lemon 1/2 cup whole milk or canned coconut milk *non fat milk 1 1/2 cups shredded sharp cheddar cheese *100-180 grams depending on how cheesey you want it to be
Healthy Turkey Chili
You would not think that chili could be low calorie, but I assure you that it can. If you keep watch on the number of calories that you are taking in throughout the day, you can still have great “normal” food. There is no need to starve yourself to lose weight! Promise. This also means, do not throw any extras into this chili, like cheese, crackers and/or sour cream. Those extras will add up very quickly and you will be in a bad spot.
Keep in mind when you look at my changes that I am making enough for my kids to eat (hopefully, kids can be so picky) and for Josh and myself to have for supper and lunch. Typically this can easily get around 7 large servings. Each serving is 391 calories, 35.6 grams of protein, 25.2 grams of carbohydrates, and 16.5 grams of fat.
*Changes I make to meet my macros
Ingredients: 1 lb. extra lean ground turkey *2-3 pounds 80/20 or ground venison 1 bell pepper -red, green, yellow or orange *6-7 ounces of green bell pepper 2 stalks celery, chopped 1 sweet onion, chopped 1 clove garlic, chopped 28 oz can fire roasted tomatoes *4 cans fire roasted tomatoes 1 can of black beans, drained and rinsed *2 cans black beans 1 can of red kidney beans, drained and rinsed 1 tablespoon chili powder 1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper 1/2 teaspoon smoked paprika 1 tablespoon chopped fresh parsley Garnish (optional) shredded, low fat cheddar cheese *Omit fresh parsley
