Yesterday, I told my daughter I was going to make chicken pot pie for todays dinner. I still had leftover chicken breasts from the meal I’d prepared for her this past Sunday, and I thought that placing the breasts in a crust, along with some veggies, would make a great dinner.

Today in Maryland, the temperature was over 70 F, and so I changed my plans. I decided to make something much lighter; chicken fried rice (and for myself vegetable fried rice).

The cooked chicken breasts were chopped into small chunks, and set aside.

A bit of olive oil was added to a heated skillet.

Two eggs, and some seasonings, were added.

Next, chopped green onions were included, along with coarsely chopped broccoli.

Cooked brown rice was added, and I stirred everything for a few minutes. I then included the chopped chicken breast, and the sweet corn. I sauteed the chicken and corn for a bit longer, and set aside my newly created meal from leftovers.

Besides the eggs, green onions, seasonings,  and oil everything else was leftovers, but together they made a great meal! Of course, I made a vegan version for myself; vegetable fried rice.

Should I have done something differently? Well, I love garlic, and it would have complimented this dish. Also for a bit more color (and added sweetness), I could have added slivers of carrot and red bell pepper.

However, even without these additions, I was pleased with how it turned out, and the fact that a lot of the chicken fried rice was eaten, was a great indicator that my daughter and father enjoyed their meal. I loved my veggie fried rice too, unfortunately I ate my dish before I remembered that I was supposed to take a photo. Whoops!

My mother is still out of town, and so I’ve been preparing my fathers meals. When it comes to cooking, he’s the stereotypical old school American dad. He doesn’t really cook that much. Which is fine, my mother loves to cook, and so do I. Cook for my dad, whenever mom’s away? Sure, no problem!

Inspiration for this dish came from the wonderful blogger, Suituapui. A few days ago he’d made a fried noodle dish. Reading his post, I realized I hadn’t made a fried dish in a while. Since my daughter and I love fried rice dishes… I thought that was the next best thing.

Do you want to know what’s hilarious? Right after I made this dish I logged onto his site, and he had made a fried rice dish too, but not the same thing, his fried rice dish has fermented shrimp (first time hearing about them — but sounds fascinating) and he added other delicious ingredients.

Recently, a friend asked whether I knew of any free online calorie counters. She’s decided to make a radical change to her life. Her reasoning was simple although she looked healthy she knew she wasn’t where she could be health wise.

I’ve got to admit; I was surprised when she told me the news. I’m not one to preach health and nutrition. You can turn people off if you’re constantly in their face about their eating habits and why they need to make a change, you know? I figure the best approach is to live by example.

I am excited that she’s finally making changes into her lifestyle. One of the biggest things holding my buddy back was time. Just like myself, she stays extremely busy and she didn’t feel she had the time to add exercise into her schedule.

However, when she sat down she realized that she could add it into her life she just needed to make changes to her personal time. Once she got that under control she was ready to make the move and shake up her lifestyle. I’m happy for that she’s making the change, and it will be nice to work out with her now and again too.

But back to calorie counters, I really don’t use calorie counters, I pretty much know the calories that are in the whole foods I consume. When I became interested in nutrition, I made a habit to look up everything just so I could take a peek at the foods nutritional value.

Over the years,  I’ve tested out a few of the online calorie counters available so I was able to point my buddy to some of the numerous that are available. I’ve listed a few below.

Free Online Calorie Counters

• Whole Foods

This is definitely my favortie website, and a place I frequent when I’m unsure of a food or just want to clarify nutritional information. It tells you the calories associated with the food item and more imporantly it gives you detailed nutritional information, health benefits, and case studies about the food item. It’s a keeper. You’ll see me link to this site a lot on Celebrate Life.

• New Calorie Counter

With this calore counter you enter a single food item. It will give you the nutritional information available.

• Calories Count

I like the fact that you can add a number of food items you’ve eaten or are planning to eat throughout the day. It gives you a quick overview of the amount of calories you’re consuming.

• Fit Day

If you want to keep tabs on your calories and fitness, FitDay offers both in one place. It’s free to join, you have access to a variety of tools such as the calorie counter, online diary, and forums. A few years ago, I used FitDay since a few people I trained wanted to take a peek at my fitness routine and the types of foods I consumed. If you don’t have a lot of support this might be a good place for you, since you can interact with others that are sharing your fitness or weight loss goals.

If your goal is to lose weight, it takes time. Please don’t get discouraged. It took time to put the weight on, and if you use the natural approach  (focused on changing your eating habits and adding exercise into your routine) shedding those unwanted pounds might take a while. Please try to remember this when you experience some challenging times. I will tell you that having support can make those tough times so much easier. Try to surround yourself with  your own cheerleaders  who’ll congratulate you during your triumphs and encourage you and be help you through your minor setbacks.

There are numerous online calorie/fitness websites available. I’ve only selected a handful. Check them out or search for one that works best for you.

Question: Are there any online calorie counters or fitness journals you use? If so let us know in the comment section.