I know that everyone cringes when they hear desserts, if your a health freak!! But there are so many ways to make it healthy. Today I made apple cinnamon spice muffins, banana chocolate bread, and peanut butter protein bars. Yes I was baking all day!! But in all my recipes I use whole wheat flour, oat flour, or almond flour which are great healthy alternatives to that nasty white flour that ha no nutritional value. I also love cooking with a variety of fruits and I never add sugar (not even Stevia or any of those other "healthy" sugars) rather I will add some chocolate chips or dried fruit that is definitely plenty of sugar to sweeten my baked goods. And than I substituted my oils for some vanilla greek yogurt!! There are so many ways to make baked goods yummy and healthy! I think I will be making my delicious pumpkin no crust pie sometime this week (see older posts for recipe). As for today's recipes I just googled basic healthy recipes and tweak them as need be, based on what healthy alternatives I want to use, just be sure to be using the correct amounts when substituting! A quick and easy recipe is peanut butter protein bars Just take 1 cup of quaker oats, 1 cup of peanut butter (skippy natural crunch is my preferred choice!) and 1 cup of your choice protein (banana goes great!) and make sure to heat the PB for a few seconds before mixing the ingredients. As your mixing add a tbsp or tsp of water as needed for consistency (just make sure it is not runny or it will be very messy), than poor into a casserole dish and put in the freezer for a t least 2 hours and take out cut and serve! Great for on the go snacking, I like them as breakfast since I am always on the GO! Hope your all enjoying this SATURDAY!! Be happy, healthy, and exercise :)
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So I started my morning out with a spoonful of my favorite SKIPPY crunchy peanut butter and headed to the gym for a 2mi run on an incline. Whenever your on the treadmill always do some sort of incline to give your butt a boost! It really helps rather than just running on the flat surface, even if you run a little bit slower, it'll pay off in the long run. And who doesn't want a nice bottom?!! Also if your not feeling the energy try the cardio boosting workout curtesy of peanut butter flingers blog today! Have a great Tuesday and get some physical activity in, whether it be a short walk, a couple push ups, at least it is something to get your blood flowing and your heart pumping! Got to start somewhere! Later in the afternoon is some back and bi workout for me. I will upload my new workouts soon. Stay posted!
I don't pride myself as being very lucky, however I can't help myself to at least give it a shot and enter my name! Here's a chance for you to win an awesome cookbook and check out another bloggers great webpage http://detoxinista.com/2013/02/the-fresh-energy-cookbook-review-giveaway/comment-page-2/#comment-43779 Today is another busy day at school and class later tonight. I did crack and had a very small cup of black coffee today at a meeting. Up until today I had not been tempted and was coffee free for about 5 weeks. I have been drinking lipton green tea, so delicious and they have some greta flavors, i love the blueberry! WEBMD shares some great insight on the many health benefits of green tea http://www.webmd.com/food-recipes/features/health-benefits-of-green-tea Happy Monday to all :) Keep healthy and happy! I know it has been such a long time, but I am making a commitment to keep blogging! Since spring is right around the corner (hopefully) Here are some helpful tips form bodybuilding.com to spring clean your life and get healthy! 1. Remove all processed foods 2. Get enough sleep 3. It's all about PROTEIN! 4. Know what and how much you are ingesting calorie wise 5. Intensive high energy CARDIO! 6. LIFT those weights for more details check out http://www.bodybuilding.com/fun/spring-shape-up-your-bikini-body-workout.html?mcid=face To truly make some changes in your life you need a plan, so grab a pencil and paper and start writing down your goals and how your going to accomplish them! For me I have vowed to eliminate chocolate and sweets from my days and eat peanut butter in moderation ( i love it and cannot stop eating it!). Happy Thursday everyone :) So sorry for not posting something, I am going to try and do better! However, it’s fall and it’s all about pumpkin food. Pumpkin is healthy and delicious, and you can put it in just about anything. I just made some delicious pumpkin muffins and pumpkin protein bars that taste just like pumpkin pie! My original intentions were to make pumpkin protein bars but I actually ended up making pumpkin mix to make pancakes and turning it into protein bars by adding some extra eggs and cottage cheese, and 2 scoops of protein. I like to eat the muffins for breakfast and have the protein bars as a midday snack between lunch and dinner. I also wanted to add some whey protein to the muffins but forgot! So you can do that to give it an extra boost of protein! Pumpkin Muffins Ingredients: • 3/4 cup whole wheat flour or almond flour • 1 teaspoon baking soda • 1/2 teaspoon baking powder • 1 teaspoon cinnamon • 1 teaspoon pumpkin pie spice • 1 3/4 cup old fashioned oats • 1 egg • 1 cup canned pumpkin • 3/4 cup milk • 1/3 cup canola oil • Optional mix-ins: nuts, chocolate chips, butterscotch chips, raisins • I added a cup of craisins and raisins • Optional: 1/3 cup brown sugar and 1/2 cup sugar *I am not a fan of sugar if I use sugar I use stevia but instead I added the dried fruit which has plenty of sugar in it! *I also doubled this recipe, I like to make a lot of food so it lasts me a while! Directions: 1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees and line muffin tin with muffin cups 2. Combine whole wheat flour through sugar in a large bowl and mix to evenly distribute ingredients 3. In a separate bowl, mix egg, pumpkin, milk and canola oil 4. Pour pumpkin mixture into flour mixture and stir until batter is thick and fully mixed 5. Fold in optional mix-ins 6. Pour batter into muffin cups and bake for 20-25 minutes or until tops of the muffins bounce back when lightly touched Cool, top with cinnamon or honey butter and enjoy *these are really good warmed up or cold! No Crust Pumpkin Pie! Ingredients: • 2/3 cup old fashioned oats • 1/4 cup cottage cheese • 1/4 cup canned pumpkin • 1 scoop of protein (whey or isolate) * I used vanilla isolate • 2 eggs • Optional: raisins, craisins, chocolate chips, etc. about 1 cup or ½ cup depending on how you like it • 1 tbsp pumpkin spice mix *If you do not have pumpkin spice just make your own! • 1 1/2 teaspoons ground cinnamon • 1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg • 1/4 teaspoon ground cloves • 1/2 teaspoon ground ginger (scant) *I also doubled this recipe! I used some cottage cheese with pineapple also, it was a nice taste too in some bites, since I used half regular and half pineapple cottage cheese. Directions: • Spray pan with cooking spray and heat oven to 350 • Combine all ingredients in a small bowl and blend with an immersion blender until batter is relatively smooth and all ingredients are fully mixed or mix well with whisk • Pour batten in pan and let cook for about 20 to 25 min or until the edges start turning golden brown • Take out and cool (it is best when warm after it is out for a few minutes, take a bite it is so good!) Or for pancakes: • Pour batter onto the warm pan to form three medium-sized pancakes • Allow to cook until edges start to harden, about three minutes • Flip pancakes and allow to cook until batter is no longer runny, about two more minutes Top with syrup, nutmeg or desired toppings and enjoy *I apologize for my crazy directions, I like to find recipes and tweak them to whatever I may have or to what I do or don’t like. I rarely ever use sugar and most often always use oats and almond flour when baking. It really is the most important meal and can make or break your day. This morning I had an egg omlette with tons of veggies on whole wheat bread. Yesterday I made 1/2 cup of oatmeal mixed with greek yogurt, nuts, cranberries, and raisins and put it in the fridge overnight and had it for the next day (it's meant to be cold!) but it is really good :) I always try and throw something quick together for breakfast because I usually eat in the car or as I am running out the door early in the am. It is also my only meal before I work out so I make sure it is protein and carb rich to fuel my workout. However, on the weekends I like a good sit down breakfast such as pancakes or waffles mmmm :) Feeling the fall weather and craving some pumpkin? Try these pumpkin pancakes! http://www.fitsugar.com/Pumpkin-Pancake-Recipe-12521266 Or if you wanna mix things up for breakfast try some of these ideas http://www.prevention.com/weight-loss/diets/low-calorie-breakfasts-400-calorie-fix/cheesy-eggs-toast As I write this I am eating my lunch which is chicken on top of some mixed greens, with cranberries and apple slices. I heated them in the microwave and the apples get nice and soft (you can heat the apples with a little bit of water by themselves so they are softer) and all the flavors mix well. The lettuce cooked tastes like spinach! I am a big fan of just throwing everything into a bowl and eating it all together! Happy eating ;) As I said a while ago, I was working on a workout for a friend who wants to get toned but is also gluten intolerant so I designed an outline for a meal plan for her. Here is what I gave her, hopefully it can help some of you too! Meal 1,3,5 (breakfast, lunch, dinner) Meal 2,4,6 (snacks 150-200 calories) *the key is to eat less prepackaged foods and stick with whole foods *keep a cheat meal a week and if you slip up don’t just keep going and eat junk eta clean the next meal! *when creating your meals always start with the protein and add the veggies/fruit than the carbs for complete meals (watch your portion intake too) Meal 1 2 slices of glueten free bread with 3 egg whites and 1 whole egg A piece of fruit Or 1 cup of oatmeal with 1.2 cup of berries (fruit) Or yogurt (low sugar) with ½ cup cereal ½ cup fruit 0r 2 slices of bread with 1 tbsp peanut butter and 1 banana Or 2 whole wheat pancakes/waffles with fruit Meal 2/4/6 greek yogurt with fruit and 10 almonds Or 1 piece of fruit 10 almonds Or Cheese and gluten free whole wheat crackers Or protein shake Or Fat free Cottage cheese ½ cup with fruit and/or 1 oz almonds Or Greek yogurt or regular fat free yogurt Or Piece of fruit and 10 almonds Meal 3/5 salad with chicken and lots of veggies and 1 piece of fruit Or 2 slices of bread with turkey/chicken/etc and veggies Or Sweet potato, chicken and veggies *Drinks – keep it clean with water and coffees or teas (drink lots of water!!!) *black coffee is best but it can be hard to get used to, slowly reduce the amount of creamer and sugar and you can get used to it black if not it is ok! NO ALCOHOL!!! Try and reduce sodas and other sugary beverages slowly *machines – warm up with one set of 12 no weight *if you can do more than 12 reps don’t be afraid to bump up the weight…you won’t get bulky promise! *record weight you lifted for everything and write how you felt *I have you doing supersets so it will be quick and get your heart rate going at the same time, take 30sec to a minute break between each superset Day 1 (legs) CARDIO 10 min warm up BIKE 1.Jump Squats (can do with a light weight ball in hand) 1. Lunges with 5lb weights in each hand 2. leg extensions 3x12 2. leg curl 3x12 3. leg press 3x12 3. calf raises 3x12 Day 2 (arms and abs) CARDIO 10 min warm up (elliptical) 1. Dumb bell curls 3x12 1. Dumb bell tricep extensions behind the head 3x12 2. EZ bar curl 3x12 2. Tricep dips on bench 3x12 3. Hanging leg raises 3x10 4. Decline crunches 3x10 5. Crunches on swiss ball 3x10 CARDIO 10min walk/jog depending on how you feel Day 3 (back, shoulders, chest) CARDIO 10 min warm up (light walk/jog on treadmill) 1. Assisted pull ups 3x10 1. Push ups 3x10 (do them on your knees if you cannot do regular ones and you can build upon it each week, do as many as you can) 2. Seated row machine 3x12 2. Lat pull down 3x12 3. Seated dumb bell shoulder press 3x12 3. Hyperextensions 3x12 4. Dumb bell front raises 3x10 4. Dumb bell side lat raises 3x10 CARDIO elliptical 2mi (depending on how you feel) Day 4 (CARDIO) 20-30 min of your choice CARDIO!!! Can be the at home workout circuit, a walk, anything you want! At Home Workout! (1 full body) 25 Jumping Jacks 5 Push Ups 10 High Knees 3 Burpees 5 Squats 10 Crunches 5 Lunges 5 Push Ups 25 Jumping Jacks 10 High Knees 10 Crunches 3 Burpees 5 Lunges 10 Squats REPEAT 3x or as many times as possible! At Home Workout! (2 legs) 30 Jumping Jacks 25 High Knees 5 Lunges 10 Crunches 5 Squats 3 Burpees 5 Squats 5 Lunges 10 Crunches 25 High Knees REPEAT 3x or as many times as possible! TGIF!
After a long week of work and classes I am ready for the weekend. Sadly I have work today and tomorrow but at least I have less travel and more time to spend with my family and of course hit the homework, there is plenty of that to keep me busy! Since I use my school gym and I commute, I designed a 4 day gym workouts and friday is kept for running outside and doing some free weight things such as my push ups, jumping jacks, crunches, lunges, burpees, and squats circuit. Just because it is friday don't slack off your almost there to a restful weekend! This morning I made my egg white/low carb oatmeal and fruit muffins I made last week as well, they are a nice snack before I head out to class during the week. They are quick and convenient and delicious! Here is a delicious recipe I just found, try it out and let me know how it is! Egg and Vegetable Muffins Ingredients: 2 Whole Eggs 6 Egg Whites 6 Asparagus Spears, chopped 1/3 cup Chopped Roasted Red Pepper (can use from jar) 1 Organic, Nitrate/Nitrite Preservative free Chicken sausage link (optional) Preheat oven to 360 degrees. Whisk eggs in a bowl. Chop chicken sausage into small chunks. Add vegetables and sausage into egg mixture, mix well. Divide egg mixture into 6 muffin cups. Bake for 15-20 minutes or until done. Nutritional info estimate by Sparks Recipe Calculator Calories 188.7, Total Fat 6.4 g, Saturated Fat 1.5, Cholesterol 185 mg, Sodium 236.5 mg, Carbs 4.4 gm, Dietary Fiber 1.5 g, Protein 24.5 g And here is another to curb your sweet tooth for the weekend! This recipe came from the April issue of Oxygen magazine. I altered it a bit to fit the ingredients I had on hand. The original recipe called for ¼ cup instant nonfat dry milk, which I did not have, so I substituted extra whey protein powder. I am not sure if this was a smart substitute, as they turned out a little crumbly (but I cannot be sure that this was the cause). I also used almond extract instead of coconut extract (again, did not have). The original recipe called for rolling truffle in unsweetened cocoa powder, but I’m not a fan, so I skipped that also. I did however, melt some dark chocolate chips and dipped a few in – they tasted like Reese cups! Chocolate Energy Truffles 1/3 cup Vanilla Protein Powder ¾ cup Natural Chunky Peanut Butter (I used smooth) ¼ cup Whey Protein Powder (original recipe calls for nonfat dry instant milk) ¼ cup Agave Nectar or Honey (I used honey) ¼ teaspoon Cinnamon ½ teaspoon Almond Extract (original calls for coconut) 1 tablespoon Ground Flaxseed 2 tablespoons Unsweetened cocoa powder (for rolling – which I did not use)
Well for me thursday's feel like my friday, since I don't have class but sadly I do have work :( But the week was very productive and my body is quite sore after testing out my new workout. I will upload it soon promise! Since it is a new month, new beginnings and new goals should be set! Take a moment and think about what you want to accomplish this month for yourself. It can be for your mind or body, or both :) Make sure to take time to relax and wind down and reflect on all that you accomplish in a day, to ward of feeling overwhelmed and exhausted. Don't forget to reward yourself for completing and exceeding your goals too! Rememeber the best rewards are un-realted to food! Buy yourself new workout clothes, or a new piece of clothing, maybe some decorations or go out with friends, whatever you like! The weekend is almost here and another week is almost done. Hooray! Happy Thursday everyone ;) I was reading this great article in women's health today while I was working out on the elliptical. It was all about food cravings and how we can never just stop at one m&m or just one bite of ice cream. Once we start, we often cannot stop eating the sugar! I know this is very true for me, my brain goes out the window and my food cravings just take over my mind and body. I end up shoveling so much sweets in my mouth that I lose track of what I am eating. In this article they give some great tips and alternatives to kill those cravings. I know for me going cold turkey is the best answer because one bite and I go crazy!! But sometimes thinking about all the hard work I put into my workouts and how good I was with my eating all day makes me think better, as well as keeping busy. By distracting myself I can stay away from that giant piece of cake in the fridge! Living at home with my parents who always have candy around, it is extremely tempting but getting yourself in the right mind where you say that this is only food that I eat on cheat days or holidays can help too.
Also brushing your teeth or chewing a piece of gum can distract you from mindless eating, because that is what it ends up to be. By choosing foods rick in protein and carbs, you can satisfy your stomach without busting your waistline. http://www.womenshealthmag.com/nutrition/foods-to-avoid http://www.womenshealthmag.com/weight-loss/cravings-be-gone http://www.womenshealthmag.com/nutrition/understand-food-cravings |
AuthorHello! My name is Katrina Wagner and I am a twenty-two year old, living in Northeast PA. Welcome to my Blog! I have a passion for living healthy and I hope to share and inspire this passion with you too! Archives
September 2013
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