This and That!

153- That's how many fewer calories women consumed when they ate pasta with extra beggies added into the sauce, Penn state researchers say.  Fiber-rich vegtables have a low calorie density, so they fill your plate (and belly!) without packing in calories.

Surprising Way To Kick Cravings- A daily dose of cardio doesn't just blast off fat-it may also help rein in your appetite.  That's right, research in Medicine & Science in Sports & Exercise found that women who viewed pictures of food right after a 45-minute morning run were less hungry (based on brain-wave measurements) that when they viewed the photos on rest days.  So contrary to populaar belief, exercise doesn't necessarily make us hungrier.  "Our attention to food-related information changes immediately following exercise." says Michael Larson, PhD, a study author and assistant professor at Brigham Young University.  Why? Working out may cause fluctuations in hunger hormones, decreasing the appetite-stimuliting ghrelin and increasing the feel-full hormone PYY.  Simply put: If you want to curb calories, lace up your sneakers.

HEALTH Magazine- Jan./Feb 2012

These are a few things in a magazine that I was reading that I thought I would share!!!

Game On,
Pam

Inspiration for today.......

Super Bowl Food!!!!!

Baked Buffalo Wings with Blue Cheese Sauce

Serves 8

Prep Time- 10 minutes

Cook time 35 minutes

2 pounds of chicken wings, tips removed and separated at joints

½ cup of hot sauce (like Frank’s Red-hot)

1 tablespoon unsalted butter, melted

1 tablespoon honey

2 ½ teaspoon cider vinegar

2 ounces blue cheese, crumbled

½ cup low-fat buttermilk, shaken well

3 tablespoons nonfat sour cream

1 teaspoon sugar

¼ tsp. of kosher salt

¼ tsp. freshly ground black pepper

Cut celery/carrot sticks

Preheat oven to 450 degrees.  Place wings in a large pot, fill with water so that it covers the chicken by 1 inch, and bring to a boil.  Reduce heat and let simmer for 5 minutes.  Drain, and then pat dry with paper towels.

Line two baking sheets with parchment paper and arrange wings, in a single layer, skin-side down.  Bake for 25 minutes or until golden on the bottom.  Turn and bake for 5 minutes more.

Meanwhile, combine hot sauce, butter, honey and ½ tsp. vinegar in a large bowl and set aside.

In a medium bowl, roughly mash blue cheese with a fork.  Whisk in remaining vinegar, buttermilk, sour cream, sugar, kosher salt, and pepper

Toss warm wings with sauce until well coated.  Transfer with tongs to a platter.  Serve with celery/carrot sticks if desired.

Nutrition, 291 calories, 20g Fat, 4g carbs, 22g protein, 1g fiber, 44mg calcium, 1mg iron, 803 mg sodium

SHAPE Magazine- Feb 2013

**I made these the other night but made them with chicken tenders instead.  AWESOME!!!!!!!

FOOD!!!!!!

Broccoli and Cheese Crustless Quiche

Serves 6
150 calories per serving

 Nonstick spray

12 egg whites, beaten

1 cup light sour cream

 8 ounces shredded low fat Cheddar cheese
 
10 ounce package of frozen broccoli , thawed, drained, and pressed dry

 1/2 tsp black pepper

 Spray a slow cooker with nonstick spray.  In a large mixing bowl, combine, egg whites, sour cream, cheese, broccoli, and paper, then add to the slow cooker.  Cover and cook on low 4 hours.

THANK YOU JILLIAN!!!!!!

 

Enjoy,

Pam

Food, Food, Food!!!!!!!!

Well, on this journey, I'm always looking for new recipes and new ways to prepare healthy meals.  It's a challenge at times because I feel like I am preparing the same thing over and over.  These are GREAT!!!!  I actually found them in the Jillian Michael's book that I finished today.  It was a fantastic book!!!!!!!!  HIGHLY recommend it!!!!!!!!!!  So let's get started......

French Toast
 Serves 6
100 calories per serving

1 egg white

1 cup half and half

1 tablespoon Splenda

1 tablespoon cinnamon

1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
1 tsp. orange or lemon extract
1/4 tsp salt
6 slices thick sprouted grain bread
Nonstick cooking spray

Cinnamon and Splenda for sprinkling

 In a wide bowl, beat the egg white with the half and half.  Add Splenda, cinnamon, nutmeg, extract, and salt.  Dip each slice of bread in the mixture for a minute.  Spray skillet with nonstick spray and heat on medium.  Cook French toast on both sides until brown.  Dust with cinnamon and Splenda one last time and serve!!

Breakfast Burritos

Serves 4

150 calories per serving

 5 slices of turkey bacon

 Non stick spray

 6 egg whites beaten

 1 small tomato, cored, seeded, and chopped

 1/2 cup low-fat shredded Cheddar cheese

 4six inch low-carb tortillas

 2 cups salsa for garnish

Place the bacon between two paper towels on a paper plate.  Microwave on high 4-5 minutes, just until the bacon is crisp.  break into pieces.  Spray a skillet with non stick cooking spray and heat on medium.  Scramble the egg whites in skillet until almost done.  Add tomato and bacon.  Cook for 30 seconds to 1 minute.  Heat the tortillas for 10 seconds in the microwave or you can warm them in a pan for a minute or two.

Spoon the egg scramble equally into center of tortillas.  Sprinkle with lo-fat cheese on the top.  Fold burrito style.  Serve immediately with salsa to taste

So here are 2 new ideas for breakfast.  Lunch/Dinner ideas are coming!!!!!  Stay Tuned!!!!

Game On,
Pam

You Are Never To Old

That says it all.

Bring It,
Pam

Friends......SWAPS!!!!!

Please don't just glance over this one.  IT HAS GREAT IDEAS!!!!!!  Yesterday I shared about Danielle and Adam.  This is from Danielle and she has some GREAT ideas on swaps. 
Check these out!!!!!!

So, I feel like I have become a MASTER at cutting calories and maximizing on my food intake....this girl likes to eat! :-p
I wanted to share with you all some of my food swaps that I have picked up along the way so you can maximize on
your meal plan as well, so here it goes:

ice cream --> Artic Zero ice cream. I have only found this at Whole Foods. The entire pint is only 150 cal and 12g carb!
... HELLO!!!! Where has this stuff been and why haven't I found it sooner? The flavors are amazing too!

Peanut Butter --> PB2. Although regular peanut butter isn't all that bad for you it is packed with lots of calories. For the same
serving size (2TBSP) PB2 is only 45 calories, 1.5g fat, and 5g carbs. It comes in chocolate and regular. It's powdered and
requires reconstituting but amazing all the same. I use it in the overnight oatmeal soaks a lot.

Fruit flavors----> Capella drops. I order these online. If you want to make a smoothie but don't want all the carbs and sugars
from the fruit that's mixed in, you can sub it out with these drops. It's 0 calories and the flavors are spot on! You just use 1 drop per
ounce of food or fluid that you want to flavor. I make my son strawberry smoothies with these (since frozen fruit is so expense) and
I use them in the overnight oatmeal soaks as well

Fruit flavor ---> sugar free fruit preserves. I do this to flavor plain greek yogurt. If you buy the yogurt with fruit mixed in your getting a
load of carbs and sugars. If you don't want/have Capella drops this is another alternative. The fruit preserves are 10 calories and serving
and about 5g carb

Pasta ---> spaghetti squash. You all may be familiar with this one already. Spaghetti squash is a wonderful veggie that when baked,
the pulp falls apart just like spaghetti noodles. I have made spaghetti dishes, casseroles, and lasanga with spaghetti squash. I have
even served it as a side dish on it's on. There are tons of recipes for spaghetti squash. It does tend to release water when leftover though.
1 cup will run you 42 calories and 10g carb versus 210 calories and 44g carb for 1 oz of traditional spaghetti pasta!

I use lightly salted rice cakes in place of most bread. I'll make an open faced sandwich with them....lol. Otherwise I use Ole Mexican Xtreme
Wellness wraps or Flat Out wraps and make quesadillas or wraps. These are very low cal and low net carb as well.

AWESOME!!!!!!  LOVE THESE!!!!!!!  Thank you Danielle!!!!!!!!  Do you have SWAPS?  Please share them!!!!!!!!

Game On,
Pam

 

Friends......

There is absolutely no way that we could maintain Healthy LifeStyles if we didn't have the support of friends and family.  The accountability factor for me personally is GIGANTIC!!!!!  I have a super friend named Danielle that I met when I was working at the hospital.  She is an incredible RN and so much fun to be around.  She and her husband Adam have a company called Team Genetics.  Her husband is a body builder preparing for the Arnold Classic.  They both have so much knowledge and just want to share it. 

As most of you know, I have an accountability group on Facebook and the women are incredible.  We laugh, encourage, challenge, keep each other on our toes, ask questions and all the time learning how to create this Healthy LifeStyle.  Adam posted something on his page the other day that I thought was wonderful.  It was encouraging and challenging at the same time.  I asked if I could share and they said SURE!  So here is what Adam had to say.....

Npc Competitor Adam Hively

I know that I have been basically just posting up progress pictures and whatnot lately, and most of you out there assume that the transformation I am going through is all about the work I put in at the gym. True, that is a substantial portion of it. However, none of that gym-time would yield the results I so eagerly pursue to achieve without something more crucial, something more important, and something more meaningful molding who I am today. I am talking about the foundation that keeps the motivation alive, and the thought of failure at bay. The foundation is YOU, ME, ...and the belief that I (as in yourself) can achieve ANYTHING you want to achieve. It all starts from within.
Anyone can go to the gym and bang out a workout. Anyone can eat the right foods and take the right supplements. It’s having the mental preparation and constant need to not only NOT FAIL YOURSELF, but to NOT FAIL THOSE AROUND YOU which will give you the outcome you so desire. I often hear excuses. “I’m too tired to____,” or “I just don’t have the time to____.” That’s CRAP! No one said that gaining success, whether in life or with a short-term goal was going to be easy! HECK, if it is easy, then you obviously didn’t set your goals high enough and maybe need to rethink your mindset.
Now, how can YOU keep that mental fortitude and drive alive, you may be asking?? Simple. Not only set that goal, today, not tomorrow or next week or next month….no, TODAY! And then tell someone close to you what that goal may be. For instance, if you are wanting to achieve a better physique, tell some people around you that in 4 months you are going to do a competition, be it bodybuilding, figure, strongman, etc. THIS will hold you accountable. This will give you the drive to, now, not only prove to yourself that YES you can indeed sculpt a new outer you, but that now others are expecting you to!!
Do this with every goal you set, especially if it is one that may need some outside motivation to keep alive!
How about this….state, right here, right now, ONE goal you would like to achieve this calendar year, and I will hold you accountable to it. Let’s see those goals come rolling in people!
THE FIRST DAY OF ACHIEVING YOUR GOAL STARTS…….NOW!!

You can't help but be pumped after reading that!!!!!!  I just loved it!!!!!  THANK YOU ADAM!!!!!!

Post your goals.....Let's get this done!!!!

Game On,
Pam

Reading

Well of course my favorite show is back on. Season 14.  I can't believe I have been watching it that long.  Bo and I of course sit on the couch and watch it EVERY week.  We even have the DVR set just in case we are out or something. 

I got a Kindle Fire for Christmas because my first Kindle DIED!!!!  Anyway, I have Bob's book, Skinny Rules and I have one of Jillian's books.  I am currently in the midst of reading Jillian's book first.  It is really good.  I think what I like the most is that it deals with the mental and emotional side of why people have gained the weight.  I totally agree!!!!!! 

I am going to be sharing both books as I read through them.  Your part.....I want your feedback as we go!!!!!!!!

It's going to be a great year!!!!!!

Game On,
Pam

How are you doing?

So we are now a little over a week into the new year. 
How are you doing? 
Have you thrown in the towel? 
Have you totally given up and decided it was to hard? 
You don't like to sweat? 
You don't have the time?
You are to tired?
You aren't worth it?
You can't control your appetite? 
You are hungry all the time? 
You are craving the sweets?
You don't like water?
You don't have a gym membership?
The scale hasn't changed?
The measurements haven't changed? 
 You have no support?
You are frustrated? 
Am I coming close? 

THIS IS THE TIME OF NO EXCUSES!!!!!!!! 
All of those things I just listed can be resolved by looking at the bottom line and do a little soul searching.  We are going to tackle all of those excuses and then some.  Supply you with resources, accountability and more.  You just need to decide how bad you want it.  Do you REALLY want it?

Well, then, Let's Get Started!!!!!!

Game On,
Pam

Ball Exercises

Here are some GREAT exercises to use that BIG BALL that is stuck in the closet or in the corner!!!!!

Game On!!
Pam