Going the Distance

Today has been the perfect day to end my weekend! It consisted of much more than just trying out my new appetizer recipe: mozzarella sticks.  Early this morning, I participated in an early morning 5K run.  The run was held about 20 minutes away in support of the Joe Dimmagio's Children's Hospital, and I did it with my friend Jen Schneider.  Although this was not the first 5K I have run, it was the first where I had run the entire thing without stopping.  It was a good indicator that all of my daily exercise and healthy eating is really helping my body become healthier and more in shape.  Even though my final product of my WISE project is a cookbook with healthier alternatives to fattening foods, I am also learning about being healthy in general.  In order to accomplish that, I must exercise daily and eat right. 

After my run, I decided to test out my first recipe of the week.  Because this week's main challenge is to create a healthy pizza recipe, I decided that the appetizer of the week should also have the Italian flavor.  I cooked healthy mozzarella sticks.  I never thought that mozzarella sticks would ever be deemed acceptable to eat while on a diet...but now they are!  This recipe yields 4 crispy, cheesy sticks, all for only 155 calories.  Compare that to the average mozzarella sticks, where 4 sticks would be 440 calories.  For this faux-fried recipe, I used low-fat mozzarella cheese sticks, Fiber One bran cereal, egg whites, and Italian seasoning.  It was so easy to make, and they tasted exactly the same.  You would never know they are less than half the calories of the regular ones!

Tomorrow I am going to cook the main dish of the week: pizza.  As for now, I am going to rest because it has been a long day!

RANDOM FACT: When trying to lose weight, don't rely just on healthy eating.  Incorporate at least 30 minutes of exercise into your daily routine.