Frozen Yogurt Strawberries & 4th of July

My biggest food weakness above and beyond anything is ice cream. If it didn't have any consequences, I think I could eat it for every meal, every day. One trick I use to try to tame this craving is to take strawberry yogurt and stick it in the freezer for 40 minutes so it gets the same consistency of soft serve.

When I was home for the 4th of July I went to the Nationals game with my family (I know - so American) but I decided I'd try out a treat that I had seen on Instagram. I'll worn you now, the picture I found on IG was WAY prettier than mine but it was delicious none the less and a great dessert treat :) I took fresh strawberries and I spread strawberry Greek Yogurt around the outside of the strawberries and then sprinkled cinnamon over top and stuck them in the freezer. The IG version used flavorless less Greek yogurt which I'm not a fan of and they didn't have cinnamon but I had to put my own spin on it. Give it a try!

 

The Instagram Pretty Version, brace yourself for my version 

 

Meal Prep Mondays

Let's face it- we would all be better off if there were 36 hours in the day and most of us have a long list of things that we WISH we could get done and in a perfect world they would but instead they get put on the back burner. One of these for me is cooking and making meals everyday. In a perfect world I would wake up at 4:30am with no troubles, go to the gym, make a big breakfast, and then make and pack a healthy lunch for the day. Guess what my reality is? It's a good day if I snooze my alarm in the morning for LESS than an hour and I make it to work by 9:15 which is still LATE! I'm always on the go but getting started has always been the hardest part for me. I would love to pay someone else to go through the pain of waking up in the morning for me.

You get the point - I don't have time to cook three meals every single day which resulted in me not eating healthy enough or large enough lunches so in the last few months I have started doing Sunday or Monday Night Meal Prepping. I have seen and felt such a difference and it really doesn't take more than an hour and you're set for lunches for the whole week. I normally pick three meals and cook two portions of each which covers all of my lunches plus one dinner. My go-to's have been ground white turkey with spinach, ostrich burgers with spinach, scallops with spinach, salmon with spinach, and stirfry. If a girl who had only turned on her oven three times in the past 4 years can manage this, anyone can. Try it for two weeks and see if you feel a difference. My protein intake has probably quadrupled due to it.

 

Top 10 Healthy Cooking & Eating Tips

Here are my Top 10 Foods and/or Tips that you should add to your diet to help promote weight loss. These are the easiest and most basic things you can consume that will make a world of difference:

1) Coconut oil - is free of cholesterol and trans fats. Beyond the kitchen, coconut oil has countless uses and benefits and can be used in your hair, for your skin, canker sore remedy and even shoe polish

2) Protein powder in omega 3 eggs) - omega 3 eggs are nutritionally boosted version of regular eggs and it has to do with the types of feed that they give to the chickens so that the eggs contain a lot of omega-3 fats which are the good types of fat :) I add flavorless protein powder when I make my eggs since it doesn't change the flavor or consistency and only adds to the nutritional value

3) Chia seeds - I posted about these before. They are from Chia pets hah- 1 tablespoon of chia seeds serves as a five grams of fiber and they also help to improve your blood sugar. Chia seeds aid in reducing food cravings and they also serve as a vegetarian source of protein. I add them now to almost anything I make because they a flavorless and just add a crunch - similar to poppy seeds

4) Braggs - amazing salt substitute seasoning

5) Hot water with lemon in the AM - this aids in weight loss by improving your digestion and increasing your vitamin C intake

6) Protein Powder Recipes - whenever you're craving carbs, there are a lot of substitutes that will fulfill your craving- like the zucchini crust pizza recipe I posted, or protein brownies, cookies, or pancakes

7) Salmon - an amazing omega 3 source and great for your heart health

8) Raspberries and blueberries - I grouped these together because they are both berries but they have different benefits. Raspberries are one of the foods containing the greatest amount of antioxidants and they are also really high in fiber. Blueberries is one of the number one killer's of high blood pressure.

9) Spinach - I'm not one for veggies, which is bad but I have incorporated spinach in all of my lunches for work because it contains 18 different vitamins and minerals. I also recommend cooking this in an iron pan because then you can get added iron content in your spinach

10) Apples - serve as an amazing source of dietary fiber

Egg & Tuna Patties

Here is a recipe that is quick, easy, and HEALTHY that I wanted to share with you guys. Here is what you need:

Kale
Balsamic Vinegar
1 can of Tuna
2 – Omega3 Eggs (I read on the Livestrong website that this was one of the Top 10 health foods that you should be eating)
½ a tomato
Italian Dash

First saute a handful of kale with balsamic vinegar on the stove.
Cut up half of a tomato into small pieces
Mix your veggies in a bowl and add the can of tuna and 2 Omega3 Eggs
Once you’ve mixed these up in the bowl, poor these into small patties in a pan and flip them a few times until you think they are fully cooked
As you are flipping add some Italian Dash for seasoning and flavor

 

 

Bon Appetite!

Sunshine Salad

I've recently added another blog to my repertoire "Hot Dog! It's a Food Blog" and the blogger, Rhea recently uploaded a salad that I am totally hooked on. I'm dying for warmer weather and this salad reminds me of sweet summertime. My favorite thing about this salad is this it is quick and easy!

Needed Ingredients:
1/2 an avocado
3 large strawberries
1/2 bunch of kale
1 cup of water
1 tsp. balsamic vinegar
1 tsp olive oil
1 pinch of Chia Seeds

Heat the 1 cup of water in a medium skillet and throw in the kale - make sure you've pulled the kale apart into small pieces. Let this steam for five minutes. After 5 minutes, place the steamed kale in the fridge to cool while you make the rest of the salad.

Take half of an avocado and cut it into small chunks and also cut your 3 large strawberries into small pieces. Place them into a serving bowl and add the 1 tsp of olive oil and balsamic vinegar. Then bring the kale out of the fridge, mix it all together and serve cold. The one twist that I added to Rhea's recipe is that I topped the salad with a pinch of Chia Seeds for an extra crunch. I recently read on LiveStrong.com that Chia Seeds is one of the Top10 healthy foods that everyone needs to add to their meals so I have been trying to incorporate them more. Try this recipe out and check out Rhea's Blog for more recipes :)

 

Zucchini Crust Pizza

I'm always looking for healthy meal alternatives and last week I came across Ellen Renee's blog on instagram. She posts a ton of recipes that serve as healthy alternatives to some of your biggest food weaknesses. I love how she posts clean-eating recipes and then also posts things that are just healthier versions of desserts and other traditionally glutinous foods. So after paging through her whole website, I decided the first recipe I'd try would be Zucchini Crust Pizza and it turned out really well!

How to make the crust:
1/4 cup GNC Pro Performance Unflavored 100% Whey Protein Powder
1/2 Tbsp Bob’s Red Mill Ground Flaxseed Meal
Mrs. Dash - Onion & Herb and Italian
1/8 cup of liquid egg whites
2 Tbsp grated raw zucchini

 

Once the crust is mixed together, spread a few spoonfuls of tomato sauce and then add 1/4 cup of shredded fat free mozzarella cheese. Then cook the pizza in the oven at 425 for 5-8 minutes. The original recipe says 5 minutes but I left it in there a little longer and I was happy with the results. 

The best part about this meal is that it's only 155 calories with 2g of fat, 7g of carbohydrates, and 25g of protein :) Give this recipe a try and others on Renee's Website Best Fit Body