Food Journal Tuesday, July 31

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Breakfast
coffee with 1 Tbsp heavy cream
hot flax cereal

Lunch
(out at Jason's Deli with coworkers)
salad bar: mixed spring greens, egg, peas, bacon, cheese, artichoke hearts, cucumber, sunflower seeds, ranch dressing

Snack
1 round Babybel cheese

Dinner
1 can Progresso carb monitor Chicken Cheese Enchilada soup
with a splash of Texas Pete
1 serving Dannon Light & Fit Carb Control in vanilla cream
topped with a handful of Little Puffs

This stuff is so good.  Go out and get some
immediately.  Just 3 carbs per serving.
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Snack
1 serving Power Pudding

lots of water at work today

no gym again- ugh!

Supplements
fish oil
L-Glutamine
raspberry ketones
B-complex
fiber

Groceries Tuesday, July 31

Purchased from Giant Food in Columbia, MD on Centre Park Drive

• bag lettuce Escarole blend: This lettuce is a little bit heartier than some of the other spring mixes and will keep for a few days in your fridge.  
• salted peanuts in shell: Peanuts in the shell are a really great low carb snack. 
• sugar free gum: gotta keep this in my purse for when I have a wayward sugar craving
• cucumber: keep on hand
• goat cheese: keep on hand, use in Goat Cheese Pecan Salad
• Dannon light & Fit carb control in vanilla and strawberry: These little yogurts are my new favorite thing.  They are sweet and creamy and delicious, and only have 3 carbs each!

Food Journal Monday, July 30

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Breakfast
coffee with 1 Tbsp heavy cream
hot flax cereal

Lunch
3 pieces of bacon
2 eggs scrambled with 1 Tbsp butter, salt, pepper
2 slices low carb bread spread with 2 Tbsp each cream cheese

Snack
1 Babybel cheese round in white cheddar
1 handful of peanuts in the shell

Dinner
(picked up from Subway)

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salad: spinach, lettuce, chicken, cheese, green peppers, banana peppers, tomato, oil and vinegar, salt and pepper
1 glass of red wine

lots of water at work today

no gym today

Supplements
fish oil
L-Glutamine
raspberry ketones
fiber
B complex

*Awesome tip:  Subway salads are truly delicious and a great option if you are on the go.  If you get a salad from most drive through fast food chains, you're getting a pile of iceberg lettuce, maybe some tomatoes, cheese, and chicken.  This is fine in a pinch, but you can get so much more at Subway.  Spinach, bell peppers, onions, and olives all have more nutritional value and will help you stay full longer.  You can have any 6 inch sub made into a salad.  I usually get the grilled or buffalo chicken, but I've also had the steak or subway club and they are both also yummy.

Food Journal Sunday 7/29

Breakfast

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(out at Beer Run in Charlottesville before hitting the road)
eggs, ham, cheese over fresh spring greens and tomatoes
unsweet tea

Lunch/Dinner
(out at Greene Turtle with awesome boyfriend)
burger with bacon, cheese, tomato, lettuce, mayo, onion straws, no bun
lots of water

I was majorly wiped out when I got home from Charlottesville so I napped most of the afternoon.  Awesome boyfriend and I went for a late lunch/early dinner and then came home and resumed being lazy on the couch for the remainder of the evening.

did really good about drinking water today because I was super thirsty from wine weekend

no supplements, extra sleep

Back from Wine Weekend

I'm back from my wonderful wine weekend!  I went to Charlottesville, VA from Friday to Sunday for a mini reunion with some friends from graduate school.  And a wonderful weekend it was.  I packed my work out gear but did not end up hitting the gym.  It turns out that drinking wine makes it really hard to get up and exercise in the morning!

We stayed at a Double Tree in Charlottesville, which was really amazing and comfy.  It was not within walking distance of the downtown mall or any of the vineyards and that was my only complaint.  We had a wonderful stay there otherwise.

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Friday night we went out for dinner and drinks at the downtown mall.  The downtown mall is an outside area filled with restaurants, shops, bars, and an outdoor amphitheater where they hold free concerts in the summer.  We ate dinner at Commonwealth Restaurant and Skybar and the food was very good, but a little bit pricey.  We also stopped for drinks at Citizen Burger Bar and a place called The Box.  I was a good little Kelly, drinking mostly vodkas with soda water and lime juice, although I did have an Abita Purple Haze with dinner.  I'm sure that I had too many drinks for this to be a truly low carb day, but all things considering, not too bad.

Blenheim Vineyards
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Saturday we spent the day touring wineries and sampling their wares.  We went to 6 or 7 wineries and I'm not going to list them all but the high points for me were Virginia Wineworks, Blenheim Vineyards, and Trump Winery. If you are ever visiting Charlottesville, I would highly recommend stopping by these three places.

At Blenheim Vineyards
in Charlottesville, VA

Now, on to the good, the bad, and the ugly.  Saturday was not a good low carb day for me.  I started off the day thinking that I would only drink the dry wines, which have 2-6 carbs per glass.  Since we were doing tastings and not having whole glasses I thought that I would be fine.  In some places tastings happen slowly and the person pouring tells you about each wine and takes time to answer your questions.  In other places tastings happen fast and as soon as you are done with one sample the next one is already in front of you.  Some of the wines were really sweet so I'm sure that they were loaded with sugar.  Another hiccup that I did not anticipate is that you have to eat crackers when you are tasting wine, sometimes between each sample.  I'm not sure how many oyster crackers I consumed, but I know it was more than zero, which is what a good low carb diet would have consisted of.

Having a snack at
Carter Mountain Orchard

Sunday we went out for brunch at a place called Beer Run and this was probably the best meal I had the whole time we were there.  The produce was all extremely fresh and the portions were huge.  After an awesome serving of eggs, ham, and cheese over a yummy salad I hit the road home.

Sparkling at Trump Vineyard.

Ultimately, the trip was amazing and I would do it again in a skinny minute.  Friday and Sunday were pretty good days, Saturday not so much.  I'm going to chock it up to a cheat day, although unplanned, and keep it moving.  Sunday I was exhausted so I cuddled with awesome boyfriend on the couch all day.  Back to the gym and buckle back down on the diet this week!

Marigolds at First Colony Winery.

Also at First Colony, taking a break in the shade.  

The view of Charlottesville from Carter Mountain is really amazing.
This picture does not do it justice.  

Virginia Wineworks is great because you actually get to go down to the
basement where they are making the wine and look around.  

Inside Blenheim Vineyards.  The tasting room is beautiful and has a
wonderful porch with a view of the fields.  

Food Journal Saturday, July 28

Spudnuts is this really awesome old
fashioned donut shop.  It was cheap
and delicious.
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Breakfast
(out at Spudnuts in Charlottesville)
sausage, egg, and cheese sandwich on wheat- toss 1/2 the bread
lots of water

Snack
handful of dry roasted almonds
visited several vineyards throughout the day:
Blenheim Vineyards
First Colony Winery
Virginia Wineworks
Carter Mountain Orchard
Jefferson Vineyards
Trump Winery

I participated in tastings at all of these, had an extra glass at two of them, so way too much wine for a low carb day.  Call this a cheat day.

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Snack
cheese slices
summer sausage slices
more almonds

Dinner
(out at Miller's Downtown in Charlottesville)
split a taco salad with a girlfriend: ground beef, cheese, tomatoes, sour cream, lettuce, olives, jalapenos
1 Abita Purple Haze

so much water today- I was majorly dehydrated from all that wine!

no supplements today

Food Journal Friday, July 27

Breakfast
coffee with 1 Tbsp heavy cream
hot flax cereal

Lunch
pot roast leftovers:
3 slices of meat, scoop of onions and carrots with gravy

Snack
1 C ranch flavored sunflower seeds (happily consumed in the car en route to wine weekend)

Snack

salad from hotel bar with mixed greens, tomatoes, walnuts, cheese, and balsamic dressing
3 servings vodka soda with 2 lime wedges each

Dinner
cheese plate from Commonwealth Restaurant &  Skybar: blue, taleggio, roccolo, fontina, and white cheddar served with olives, berries, and crackers
(I did eat a couple of the crackers- they were very dark and full of seeds and grains.  Skipped the honey.)
several more vodkas with soda water throughout the night

did good on drinking water at work, not so much in the car because I didn't want to have to stop

forgot my supplement stash today- oops

Food Journal Thursday, July 26

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Breakfast
hot flax cereal
coffee with 1 Tbsp heavy cream

Lunch
Chicken Club Salad from Jason's Deli: grilled chicken, cherry tomatoes, sliced avocado, cheese, bacon, mixed greens, ranch dressing

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Snack
1 Babybel cheese round
2 beers (happy hour with awesome boyfriend): Purple Haze by Abita Brewing Company

Dinner
4 small slices pot roast*
scoop of onions
scoop of carrots

Last night after we ate the terrible roast from the crock pot, I put the remainder in the fridge.  Today I put it back on and let it cook for an additional 4 hours and it was actually pretty good!  This leads me to believe that the problem was definitely cook time and that you just can't cook a roast in 4 hours, even a small one.  Even with the improvement, the roast wasn't good enough for me to feel compelled to share the recipe with you all, but there is a silver lining.  Pot roasts were on sale at the grocery store 50% off, so I bought 2.  It's like the cooking gods knew that the first one would be a flop.  I'll be trying it again, cooking the right way, for 8-9 hours on low.  I'm expecting that those results will be better and I'll report back on the outcome.

Gym
30 minute cardio on elliptical machine
light weights

I didn't do "Shrink a Size in 14 Days" last night because I was in a hurry to get home and pack for my trip to Charlottesville, awesome boyfriend was tempting me with happy hour, and our power went out in a freakish storm.  I am fully aware that these are all excuses and am quite irritated with myself now that I'm sitting here writing about it.  I'll be starting the program over when I return to Maryland on Monday.

lots of water at work all day and with dinner

Supplements
fish oil
fiber
L-Glutamine
B complex
raspberry ketones

Food Journal Wednesday, July 25

Breakfast
hot flax cereal
1 cup coffee with 1 Tbsp cream

Lunch
(out at District Dumpling in College Park)
cabbage and carrot mix
spicy Schezuan green beans
mixed veggie medley- cauliflower, carrot, broccoli, peppers
*I also cheated and ate one of my friend's fried chicken dumplings.  So good.
diet coke

Snack
1/2 C cottage cheese
1/4 C ranch flavored sunflower seeds
2 Babybel cheese rounds

Dinner
I tried a new recipe for pot roast in the crock pot that turned out to be a huge fail.  Sometimes, my cooking experiments don't go as planned.  I thought I could cook a smaller roast on high for 4 hours, which did not work.  Meat was not falling apart when we got home from the gym and carrots were still crunchy.  We ate it anyway, but I won't be sharing that recipe.

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2 slices of roast- maybe 1/2 a pound total?
handful of crunchy carrots
scoop of onions, which were actually tasty

Snack
1/2 C low carb ice cream

Gym: Shrink a Size in 14 Days, Day 2

lots of water today

Supplements
fish oil
raspberry ketones
L-Glutamine
fiber
B complex

Work Out Wednesday, July 25

Everything hurts.  Not in the way that I can't get out of bed, but I did have to pop a couple of Advil when I got to the office this morning.  This is kind of a good news, bad news situation.  If muscles are sore after exercise it's because they are not accustomed to being used and you have started using them, which is wonderful.  However, the thought of going to the gym after work today and using said muscles is a little bit daunting.  I think that once I start moving again this evening everything will feel better so I'm going to try to keep that in mind.  Also, I'm going to Charlottesville with some girlfriends (wine weekend!) starting tomorrow and probably won't get back in the gym until Sunday so I really need to make the most of my workout this evening.

I'm on Day 2 of Prevention Magazine's "Shrink A Size in 14 Days", although I may start my 14 days over on either Sunday or Monday since I'm going to miss two days of workouts this weekend.

Strength Training
Plie with Biceps Curl: 3 sets of 12 with 5 pound weights
Forward Lunge and Raise the Roof: 14 with 5 pound weights, 15 with no weights
Squat with Straight Arm Press Back: 2 sets of 10 with 5 pound weights

Plie with Bicep Curl
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Tip It Over: 2 sets of 8 on each side with 5 pound weights
Curtsy Lat Raise: 2 sets of 8 on each side with 5 pound weights

(Yesterday I received a couple of questions about how to do these exercises.  If you check out the guide online, there are really good descriptions and pictures.)

Cardio
5 minute warm up: moderate walk
20 minute power walk: walk as fast as you can without actually jogging
5 minute cool down: moderate walk slow to a regular walk

Assessment
I know that I got a great workout with this routine.  Lunges and squats are old school workout techniques.  People have been doing them for years and will continue to do them because they work.  By the time I got to the Curtsy, which is a lunging motion, I had to get awesome boyfriend to come and steady me because my legs were so tired they started shaking.

I was also surprised at how high my heart rate got during the power walk.  It wasn't quite as high as during one of my extreme, torture myself cardio burns, but it was high enough to be burning fat which is what counts.  Maybe power walking will become a regular addition to my weekly routine after all.

The only move I wasn't crazy about was Tip It Over, which involves balancing by holding onto the side of a chair while you lean over and extend one leg.  I feel foolish and had a hard time concentrating on doing the move correctly.  Next time I'm going to get awesome boyfriend to stand nearby and make sure my back is straight.

Keep checking back for further updates, and keep sending your questions and updates on your own progress to lifelovelowcarb@gmail.com.

Food Journal Tuesday, July 24

Breakfast
hot flax cereal
2 cups of coffee, each with 1 Tbsp heavy cream

Lunch
tilapia filet, seasoned with Cajun seasoning and pan fried in 1 Tbsp butter
1 package tofu Shirataki noodles, 1/2 C Buitoni Pesto, 1 C Ragu Alfredo sauce
1 packet sugar free blueberry lemonade

Snack
1 Babybel white cheddar cheese round

Dinner
(out at Dave & Buster's for an awesome boyfriend work function)
1 shot 1800 tequila with salt and a lime
2 Miller Lite 16 ounce draft beers
Steak salad: grilled sirloin steak, spinach, romaine lettuce, grape tomatoes, blue cheese, onions, pecans, balsamic dressing (yum)

Gym: Day one of "Shrink a Size in 14 Days"

lots of water today at work and at the gym

Supplements
fiber
fish oil
raspberry ketones
L-Glutamine
B complex

Work Out Tuesday, July 24

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I'm starting a 14 day core strengthening program that I read about in Prevention magazine online.  If you're interested in doing it with me you can read the article here.  I shamelessly printed the article out and took it with me to the gym, and I recommend that you do the same.

I was pretty skeptical when I started the movements yesterday because much of the strength training involves slow, controlled movements with little to no weight.  There is a lot of reliance on your body's natural resistance to make this program work.  I did manage to get a good sweat going while doing it yesterday and I woke up this morning with some sore muscles, so maybe I should trust the experts.

The exercises are designed with some flexibility and allow for folks who are at different stages to lift different amounts of weight, which is good.  Yesterday I did all the minimum requirements to get a sense of what is going to be good for my body.  I'll be posting progress each day.

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Strength Training
Hip Drop: 8 each side
Beach Ball Hug: 20 each side, 3 pound weights
Full Body Roll Up: 2 sets of 10
Breast Stroke: 3 sets of 10
Read the Paper: 10 each side

Cardio
Speed Ladder*:
0:00-4:00: Warm Up
4:00-9:00: Moderate Walk
9:00-13:00: Brisk Walk
13:00-15:00: Moderate Walk
15:00-18:00: Power Walk
18:00-20:00: Moderate Walk
20:00-22:00: Fast Walk
22:00-24:00: Moderate Walk
24:00-25:00: Jog
25:00-30:00 Cool Down

*I know that some of these walking speeds are confusing.  What in the world is the difference between a fast walk and a power walk?  If you visit the Prevention website where the original article is posted, there are more thorough instructions including intensity levels and what each of these looks like.  For me, a moderate walk was about 3 MPH, brisk walk 3.5 MPH, power walk 4.0 MPH, and then I went to 5.0 MPH and jogged for both fast walk and jog periods.  This might be harder to measure outside and not on a treadmill, but I think you could gauge based on your breathing and heart rate.

I feel like I need to note a couple of things with this workout.  First, awesome boyfriend and I had to be at a dinner at 8:00 last night so I was forced to chop my cardio time in half (fail).  Second, some of the exercises seem a little silly and I felt like people were looking at me in the stretching area of the gym.  This could just be my own insecurity but I might try to find a more private place to do them next time.  Finally, the idea of doing a walking cardio is still a little strange to me.  Normally when I do cardio I get on the elliptical or swim, and I am absolutely pouring sweat and red faced when I am done.  This cardio gets you moving, but not the way I expect a good cardio work out should do.

Complaints having been made, I'm going to continue to follow the plan per instructions because I assume that it was written by someone who knows more about exercise science than I do.  If this workout does indeed help me  "shrink a size in 14 days" I will be stoked because it means that I can take a break from my sweat pouring once in a while.

Stay tuned for updates, and if you decide to do the 14 day shrink with me please share your progress, results, and thoughts either in the comment field below or via email at lifelovelowcarb@gmail.com.

Jalapeno Popper Chicken

The inspiration for this recipe came from a friend of mine who likes to make cream cheese and bacon jalapenos for football games.  I was aimlessly wandering the supermarket aisles one afternoon searching for some inspiration for dinner when I spied a bunch of fresh jalapenos in the produce section and thought of these.  I added them to my cart and continued to wander, only to be truly struck with an idea when I passed the chicken cutlets.

 If you're nervous around very spicy things never fear.  You can make these as spicy (or not) as you like them by washing the inner flesh with warm water.  The spice in a fresh jalapeno is stored in the seeds and the oil, and if you wash away the seeds and oil that spicy quality will disappear as well.  Like a spicier jalapeno?  Scrape out the seeds but don't wash the interior flesh of the jalapeno.  Some of the oil will stay and give you that spicy kick.

Many thanks to Whitney and Ryan for inspiring this recipe, and for being awesome football buddies!

Ingredients

6 fresh jalapenos

6 chicken cutlets

12 pieces of bacon

6 Tbsp cream cheese

cooking spray

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 400.  
2. Cut the jalapenos in half and remove the stems.  
3. Under running water, use a knife to scrape the seeds out of the jalapenos.  If you want a jalapeno that is not spicy at all, continue to run water over the interior flesh for a few seconds.  
4. Pat jalapeno halves dry with a paper towel.  
5. Using a spoon, add 1/2 Tbsp of cream cheese to each jalapeno half.  Jalapeno should hold cream cheese like a bowl.  
6. Cut chicken cutlets in half length-wise.  This should give you 12 pieces of chicken.  
7. Place a wire baking rack on top of a cookie sheet and set to the side near your work station.  
8. Wrap one of the chicken cutlet pieces around each cream cheese filled jalapeno.  
9. Wrap one piece of bacon around each chicken wrapped jalapeno.  
10. Place the bacon and chicken wrapped jalapenos on the wire baking rack.  
11. Once you have wrapped all 12 jalapenos, place the cookie sheet and baking rack in the oven.  
12. Cook for 30 minutes at 400.  If bacon does not appear dark and crispy, cook for additional 5 minute increments until desired color is achieved.  
13. Serve hot.  Enjoy!

My cleaned jalapenos.  Notice that I have removed all seeds and only
the outside flesh of the pepper remains.  

Adding cream cheese.  Don't worry too much about measuring exactly
1/2 Tbsp.  Just use enough to fill the jalapeno.  

Chicken cutlets should be thin enough that they roll around the
jalapenos easily.  

Try to pull the bacon tight around the jalapeno and chicken.  When the
bacon cooks it contracts and will help hold the whole thing together.  

Almost ready for the oven.  

Just came out of the oven.  

Chicken should also have browned a little bit on the edges.  

These were so good that awesome boyfriend and I ate all of them for
dinner one night.  

Sweet and Savory Salad with Goat Cheese and Pecans

Salads are a great addition to any low carb meal or a great low carb meal in themselves.  You have to be careful to make sure that you're not loading up on too many high carb toppings like croutons, fruit, or sweet dressings.  I've collected some ingredients here that make for a salad that is both sweet and savory, and really crunchy.  I think you'll find this salad just as good as one that you would find on the menu of any restaurant.

Ingredients

1/3 of 1 bag of mixed lettuce

2 strips of bacon

1/3 of 1 tomato

1/3 of 1 cucumber

1/4 C goat cheese crumbles

2 Tbsp chopped pecans

2 Tbsp balsamic vinaigrette dressing

cracked black pepper to taste

Directions

1. Heat a small skillet over medium.  
2. Cut bacon strips in half with a knife or kitchen shears.  
3. Once skillet is hot, add bacon and cook until very crispy.  
4. Remove bacon from skillet, discard grease, and set bacon aside to drain.  
5. Add lettuce to a large bowl.  
6. Cut cucumber and tomato into bite sized pieces and add to bowl on top of lettuce.  
7. Once bacon has cooled, crumble or cut with a knife or kitchen shears into small pieces.  Sprinkle onto salad on top of cucumber and tomato.  
8. Sprinkle goat cheese on top of salad.  
9. Sprinkle chopped pecans on top of salad.  
10. Top with vinaigrette dressing and cracked black pepper.  Enjoy!  

I love a good chunky lettuce mix.  I always look for one at the grocery
store that has both hearty and delicate greens.  

Go easy on the tomato- they have more sugar than some other veggies.
Feel free to add more bacon if this isn't enough.  

Per usual, I was checking out nutritional info on miscellaneous things in
the grocery store.  I was thrilled to find these sweet and salty pecan
pieces.  They have just 1 carb per 2 Tbsp serving and will give you that
sweet crunch that you may be missing.

Food Journal Monday, July 23

Can you believe I bought this at the grocery store deli?
All I had to do was sprinkle Cajun seasoning, wrap in foil,
and pop in the toaster oven at work.  

Breakfast
hot flax cereal
coffee with 2 Tbsp heavy cream

Lunch
kebab from grocery deli with swordfish, squash, red bell pepper, and tomato
topped with Cajun seasoning, baked in toaster oven for 30 minutes on 400
6 slices white cheddar cheese
one packet powder sugar free fruit punch

Snack
1 Babybel cheese round
1 C peanuts in shell

I love these pre sliced cheese snacks.  So easy to munch on
when you need an easy snack.  

Dinner
salad from Subway:
1/2 spinach 1/2 lettuce
chicken topped with American cheese
banana peppers, tomato, cucumber, red onions, salt and pepper, Parmesan, oil and vinegar
unsweet tea with 1 packet Sweet'N Low

Snack
1 cup Dannon Light & Fit carb control yogurt in vanilla cream

no gym today- guitar lessons on Monday evenings

lots of water at work today

Supplements
fiber
fish oil
L-Glutamine
raspberry ketones
B complex

Sugar Free Hot Chocolate

I like to make this hot chocolate after dinner when I'm in the mood for a little something sweet.  It's rich, creamy, and sweet, and a perfect drink for when you are trying to wind down.  Plus, it only has a few ingredients and takes less than 5 minutes to make.  What's better than that?

Mmm, chocolate.  

Ingredients

1 Cup unsweetened vanilla almond milk

2 Tbsp heavy cream

2 Tbsp Hershey's unsweetened cocoa powder

2 packets Splenda

ground cinnamon (3 shakes)

Directions

1. Add almond milk, cream, cocoa powder, Splenda, and cinnamon to a small saucepan over medium heat.  
2. Stir ingredients with a whisk until all ingredients are incorporated evenly and you have achieved a smooth consistency.  
3. Continue to heat until small bubbles form on the surface and steam begins to rise.  
4. Transfer entire contents of saucepan to a mug and serve immediately.  Enjoy!

This stuff is so tasty and has just 1
carb per Cup!  It's a much better
choice than either heavy cream or milk
in terms of carb count.  I use it in all
kinds of recipes, or I just drink it.
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Make sure you get the natural unsweetened cocoa powder, not the kind
that has sugar added.  

You might get lumps from the cocoa powder.  If you do just keep
whisking until they disappear.  

Tilapia and Zucchini Foil Pack

I have really been trying to pack lunch as much as possible, for a couple of reasons.  First, it's way cheaper than eating out every day.  Second, it's generally easier on a low carb diet because lots of lunch options include bread or starchy vegetables.  My office park has lots of restaurants within walking distance and I almost always find myself picking up either a salad from Chipotle, or steak and zucchini from the hibachi place.  This dish makes an awesome work lunch and is so quick and easy to pack.  I just throw a frozen tilapia filet and whole veggies in my lunch bag on the way out the door.  If you don't want to do any work at your office, you could make the foil pack the night before and store overnight in your fridge.  Then all you have to do at work is pop the whole thing in the toaster oven.

Ingredients

1 frozen tilapia filet

1 Tbsp butter

1/4 of 1 onion

handful of cilantro

salt 

black pepper

Directions

1. Allow tilapia time to thaw (if you put the frozen filet in the fridge when you get to work, it should be thawed by lunch).
2. Lay a piece of aluminum foil on any flat surface.  
3. Place the tilapia filet on the foil.  
4. Split butter into 2 pats and place on top of tilapia.  
5. Chop vegetables into bite size pieces and place on top of fish.  
6. Tear cilantro into small pieces and sprinkle on top of fish and veggies
7. Sprinkle salt and pepper on top of fish and veggies.  
8. Wrap foil around fish and veggies, making sure to seal off ends.  
9. Cook in toaster oven on 375 for 30 minutes.  
10. Carefully unwrap contents of foil and transfer to plate to eat.  Enjoy!

These tilapia filets come in a bag and they are individually wrapped.
This makes them perfect for lunch on the go.   

I used cilantro because I had some handy, but you could toss whatever
herbs or seasonings you like on there.  I imagine that dill, oregano,
Cajun, or ginger might also be good.  

Fish releases liquid while it cooks so just pour off some of that before
you serve.