I’m now on a MONTHLY track:
Goals for July:
Lose 10 pounds
Write short story
Full proposal.

I’m on track, so far. Had a good breakfast (Love those smoothies) & 30 min walk to start the day off. YAY!
Now I’m sitting down with a healthy snack. (apple and slice of cheddar cheese) to write.

I think my biggest challenges in the health department are going to be only allowing myself one sweetened drink a day. (It can be a glass of pop or a coffee with vanilla creamer) and finding healthy snacks.

I do okay with meals, but snacks are harder for me. I get bored of apples and fruit and veggies. So if anyone out there has suggestions for healthy snacks, lay’em on me!

Current list of enjoyed snacks goes like this…..
Apples are probably my favorite. They’re good with cheese and peanut butter, and even by themself. I love Graham Crackers and Peanut butter, but I need to limit them as they’re not that great -depending on what else I eat during the day. Peanut butter and celery has been mentioned but I’ve never been able to get into that. Bananas and vanilla yogurt (or chocolate pudding) are good too. Also, microwave popcorn LOVE IT. Good with butter and salt, or hot sauce.for health reasons I try to use hot sauce and keep the butter and salt as a treat for movies and such.

I also really love pistachios and chocolate covered pretzels, but I’m not allowing myself to have them because once I start on those I have a hard time stopping.

So…any suggestions? What’s your favorite snack, healthy or unhealthy/

So, I’m back to trying real hard, and I’m happy to say that after one week, I’ve lost 2 pounds. And you know what? I even had bad days in the past week. I mean, Halloween is coming and there are all these bite sized chocolate bars around, and we had a family dinner for my brothers birthday where there was all sorts of deep fried yuminess. Despite falling off my health wagon a couple of times, I still lost weight. Why? Because I jumped right back on. I’ve been making a serious effort to change my eating, and one of the things is less bread.

Seeing as I work at a place that makes the best pizza in the world, it’s not easy. But here’s one recipe I found that helps me stay on track. Check it out.

From NEVER SAY DIET
You’ll never miss the pasta in this scrumptious, cheesy Italian favorite. Wrap and freeze any extra servings individually to thaw and warm for lunch in a hurry.

Ingredients:
2 large zucchini (about 1pound), ends trimmed, thinly sliced lengthwise
3 links (about 4 ounces each) lean turkey Italian sausage
1 red bell pepper or roasted red bell pepper, diced
1 cup diced yellow onion
1 teaspoon minced garlic
1 cup low-fat marinara sauce
2 egg whites
1 (15-ounce) container fat-free ricotta cheese
2 teaspoons Italian seasoning
1⁄2 teaspoon ground black pepper
2⁄3 cup shredded low-fat mozzarella cheese
1⁄4 cup grated Parmesan cheese

Directions:
Preheat the oven to 325°F. Lightly coat an 8” × 8” baking pan with olive oil cooking spray. Set aside.
Lightly spray a baking sheet with olive oil cooking spray. Arrange the zucchini slices in a single layer on the baking sheet. Spray them lightly with olive oil cooking spray. Broil (or grill) the zucchini for about 8 minutes, or until tender and very lightly browned. Set aside to cool.

To prepare the meat sauce, cook the sausage in a nonstick skillet over medium-high heat for about 3 minutes, stirring occasionally with a wooden spoon to break up any clumps. Add the bell pepper,
onion, and garlic, and cook for about 4 minutes longer, until the meat is no longer pink. The juices should be cooked dry. Stir in the marinara sauce and bring to a boil. Reduce the heat and simmer for about 5 minutes, stirring frequently. The sauce will be very thick. Meanwhile, in a mixing bowl, combine the egg whites, ricotta, Italian seasoning, and black pepper until well combined.

To assemble the lasagna, spread half of the meat sauce in the bottom of the prepared baking pan. Layer on half of the zucchini slices, followed by half of the ricotta mixture and half of the mozzarella cheese. Repeat with the remaining meat sauce, zucchini slices, ricotta mixture, and mozzarella.
Sprinkle with Parmesan cheese. Bake for about 40 minutes, or until bubbly and lightly browned. Let stand for 5 minutes before serving.

Makes 8 servings

Per serving: 210 calories, 18 g protein, 17 g carbohydrates, 7 g fat (2 g saturated), 45 mg cholesterol, 3 g fiber, 340 mg sodium

Reprinted from: The Biggest Loser Simple Swaps © 2009 by Universal Studios Licensing LLLP. The Biggest Loser (TM) and NBC Studios, Inc. and Reveille LLC. Courtesy of Rodale, Inc.

Potato Chips vs. Pita Chips
Best Bet: Pita chips
When you’re dying for something salty and crunchy, potato chips are the first thing that come to mind. But a single ounce (that’s just 12 chips!) has 160 calories and 10 grams of fat. Add onion dip and your snack jumps to 212 calories and 15 grams of fat. Instead, slice a four-inch pita into wedges, brush lightly with olive oil and sprinkle judiciously with salt, then crisp in a toaster oven. Add hummus, and you’ll take in just 167 calories and 7 grams of fat while adding 3 grams of hunger-taming fiber.

PS: I’m over at Genreality Blog today

Tomorrow, I’ll be blogging at the Aphrodisia Authors blog…probably about something naughty. LOL Not sure yet.

It’s laso Thursday, and I should do a Slim Camp post, but I’m just not into it. So, I’m suspending them for a while. I’m still doing my own plan, and its working, but I’m finding it hard to talk about, and do, and I really need to do…so the talking about it has to go for now.

I highly suggest if you’re still interested in Healthy recipies, and inspiration that you check out Laurie’s, Think Thin Thursdays. each week. She’s doing much better staying on top of it than I was.

Okay, so I’m not completely away…but I did mention I’d do some Slim Camp holiday Treat tips.

Here’s what I made for CHristmas Baking this year.

I found both recipe’s here and tweaked them a bit:

Cornflake Wreaths

1/2 cup butter
3 cups miniature marshmallows
1/2 tsp almond extract
1/2 tsp vanilla extract
1 tsp green food color
4 cups corn flakes
red hot candies
silver dragées

Melt butter, add marshmallows, stirring until all marshmallows are melted. Add extracts and food coloring; stir until it is a uniform green color. When mixture is smooth, add corn flakes; mix well but gently so as not to crush the cornflakes. Form into wreath shapes on sheets of waxed paper, decorate with red cinnamon candies and silver dragées. Let cool.

Now, I used Hot tamales instead of Red Hots, (I like the chewyness, plus I found them in the dollar store. *grin*) I also used regular sprinkles instead of silver dragees. They’re smaller, and in my mind that meant less sugar. *shrug*

Next up was:

Chewy Chocolate Eatmore bars

3/4 cup honey
1 cup peanut butter
1 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips
1-1/2 cups mini marshmallows
3 cups rice krispies
1 cup salted peanuts

In a large saucepan over medium heat, melt together the honey and peanut butter and bring to a boil. Stir in chocolate chips and marshmallows, stirring until smooth. Add the cereal and peanuts. Blend well and remove from heat. Pour into a lightly greased 9×13 inch pan and pat firmly with spatula. Let cool slightly and cut into bars before hardening.

I used all natural honey, and low fat peanut butter. I made one batch with rice krispies (like the recipe calls for) and one batch with just peanuts, no cereal.

These are not “low calorie” recipes. but I like them because they don’t have any added sugar (Yes, the have honey and marshmallow, but hey, it’s not that bad) Plus, peanut butter, and peanuts are protein, and I used bran flakes for the cornflakes. (Nobody can tell by taste, because you also have almond extract, and they’re supposed to taste nutty and such.)

So, Tastey, somewhat healthy treats for the holiday season that are easy to make, and use minimal dishes.

Happy Holidays!

PS: If you want to see me, I’m over at Novel Thoughts Today

What are you going to do about it?

Me? i don’t plan on complete denial, but I am going to try and stay away from the cookies and chocolates. For me that means my snaking takes a more healthy bent, things like Chips and Salsa and guacomole. Fresh Veggies and Hummus. Yes, I love me some hummus. These are thigns that people often think are bad for them, and they can be if you go overboard, but they are considered healthy snaks. Especially if you make them yoursel instead of relying on store bought.

Now, I have a Magic Bullet. It is Fantastic for this sort of thing.

Then I stock up on the basics.
Cherry tomatoes
Green peppers
Jalepno Peppers
Garlic
Onion
Lemons or limes

Then there’s Avocodoes and Cans of Chick Peas
Really, that’s all you need. And some spices. Salt and pepper do it for me, sometims I add chili pepper flakes, depending on my mood. *g*

Just sort of throw it all in the bullet and blend it up. *g*

These are my recipes:

Salsa:
Blend Cherry Tomatoes, Green Peppers, Onions, Garlic, and Jalepenos togheter. Pour mixture into a bowl, then squeeze a lenmon in, add salt, pepper, and fresh chopped cilantro and stir.

Hummus:
1 can of strained and rinsed chick peas, fresh garlic, salt, pepper, and lemon juice. (Sometimes I add chili peppers) The spices and lemons and garlic are flavored to your choice. Personally, I like alot of Garlic. LOL

Guac:
WHile you can easily do this inthe Magic Bullet blender, I like to do it by hand becasue I liek my Guacamole chunky. LOL
1 Avocado, halved and mushed in a bowl with salt, pepper, and lemon juice. Dice a garlic or two, chop up 5 or 6 Cherry tomatoes, and some onion and cilantro. Add and mix together. Some people like way more tomato, some like less.

The best thing about these dips is that when you make them yourself not only can you control the ingredients for flavour, but for health content as well. They’re fresh, and healthy. (I use Half Salt in everything instead of real salt, it’s same flavor but less sodium)

Next week I’ll be doing the intesive thing again. Anyone want to join me?

My Intensive Plan:
1) Healthy Breakfast every day. (Eggs and eggwhites. I’ll share some recipes I liek that are easy to do up, and helthy)

2) Eat every three hours. 3 meals, 2 Snaks covers 12 hours of time. My first meal is at 10 AM, my last meal at 10 PM. For me, this is fine because I rarely get home form work before 2 AM, and got bed around 3 or 4. Basically, you have 12 hours to eat. If you eat Breakfast at 7 AM, your last meal/snak should be at 7 PM. This helps your body regulate…it knows that food/calories/energy to burn will be coming in on a regular basis and your metabolism will start to burn more regularly.

3) Fresh Foods. During my week intensive I cook, or eat raw foods. No microwave dinners, no frozen food, no canned food (Other than tuna). Fresh veggies and fruit, real protein.

4) No bread. I do use Whole Wheat wraps to have breakfast burritos or Tuna wraps. I only allow one wrap (tortilla shell) a day. And no bread or toast (I’m a sucker for peanut butter toast. I can live off peanut butter toast. LOL )

5) No Soda, or carbonated drinks.

5 Steps. Not a lot, but they work, when I stick to them. Oh, and a 6th step….Take a Daily Vitamin.

These are basically changing my habits. There’s nothing to drastic in there, but changing them all at once is Intensive. *I* Need this. It works for me, for my personality. It might not work for you. You might be better off changing one habit every 21 Days, as is suggested by HealthGal nutritionist Amy Hendel. The email tips from Total Health at iVillage has these suggestions to help you ease into a new lifestyle…..

Switch out sodas for iced tea, water and zero-calorie flavored waters.
· Introduce nonmeat proteins into your dinners—fish, eggs and egg whites, protein-based pasta, beans and soy products.
· Make your current high-sugar cereal a two-spoon “topping” on a new high-fiber/whole-grain cereal.
· Eat a serving of berries every day.
· Create healthier marinades and vinaigrettes with ingredients like 100 percent orange juice, fresh herbs and vinegar.

You need to decide what will work best for you , your lifestyle, and your personality. I NEED to see the results to stay on track. I NEED to do it all or nothing. That works for for me..but I Have learned I can’t do it all or nothing all the time..wich is why I’m easing in for three weeks of the month, then doing the intensive thing for one week each month to meet my goals.

If you want to do the intensive thing with me. I’m starting tomorrow- Yes, I start on the weekend because the weekend is usually the hardest part, so I like to get it over with. LOL

How about you? WHat do you think works for your personality? The Go Hard ccold turkey thing leik me..or the slow steady changes?

I think that this weight-loss/health journey is easier if I’m not alone. HOw abotu you? I’d love to see more of you sharing your stoires and journey’s…if you’re open to it, why not Sign Up with this SLIMCAMP widget, adn start posting on Thursdays with me?