I don’t know about you but its COLD where I live!

Many of my “go to” healthy foods end up having no appeal to me in the winter.
I haven’t been able to pop open a Greek yogurt or want an ice-cold protein shake since Fall really set in. I’m always cold so adding in something cold to eat or drink is not what I want.

With a cruise coming up in January, right after the holiday feasting season!, I had to figure out a way to keep my diet on the up & up so here’s an idea to keep your protein shakes working for you even when snow starts to hit the ground.

Winter Protein Shake:

Heat a mug of water in the microwave for 2 minutes.

Put a serving of protein powder and a packet of Diet Hot Chocolate in your Protein Shaker.

Add the hot water to the powder.

Stir it up to get all the powder of the bottom of your Shaker.

Close it up and shake until completely mixed.

You’ll end up with a nice warm protein shake that is disguised as a warm cup of hot chocolate.

What I use:

25 calorie hot chocolate mix

Vanilla Protein Shake Mix by Arbonne (Chocolate would probably be even better!).

Want it creamier?

Heat up some Almond Milk instead of water.

You can find Almond Milk for as little as 90, 60 or even 40 calories.

Remember, this is a snack so keep the calories in check.

So happy to have my shakes back for the winter. Happy Holidays

I just learned of a great new product called a Thermos!

What?
You’ve heard of this gadget before? Are you using it for lunch?

The only thermos I remember is my dad taking one in his lunch or fishing and filling it with coffee. Thanks to my great friend (and nutrition tip expert), Vonda, I now have a better way to pack lunch for my daughter.

To say the least I am neither Betty Crocker, (stop laughing or saying a big “You got that right!” nor I am creative with meals.

For the past many years my daughter has pretty much had the same thing over and over. Turkey or ham sandwich, string cheese, fruit, chips and juice box. Throw in some left over pizza once in a while to mix it up.

The upside of this, she can pack it on her own and does so daily. The downside, I know it’s not the best lunch, I would assume she has to get bored with this and being in the fitness industry I am the mom who should be sending the Gold Star lunches to school!

Vonda told me about packing her kid’s lunch in a thermos. What a brilliant idea! Warm, healthy meals they can take to school. Meals just as good as any they can eat at home.

I told my daughter about this and she was VERY excited! She loves her new gadget and it even has a pop-out spoon to use, which is of course BEYOND!

Here are a few ideas to start with and I am sure you can come up with a few more on your own. If not, use the internet for everything or ask a creative fried like I do:)

Rice Dishes:

Protein Packed Rice: Rice, chopped chicken breast, shelled Edamame.

**I made this for Tay this morning, here are some quick tips.

Boil in a bag or microwave rice, pre-cooked chicken breast from the meat section, steam-able bag of shelled Edamame. It was ready and packed in minutes with leftovers for later.

Fried rice: whole grain rice, salad shrimp (tiny size), scrambled egg, scallions (if they like it) and soy sauce.

**Place cooked rice in a pan, mix in egg and tiny shrimp. The egg will cook as you scramble the rice around. Cook long enough to warm shrimp and cook egg. Add in soy sauce or put in a container on the side so they can add at lunch.

Meatballs and Sauce:

**Cook meatballs from the freezer section or meat counter according to directions. Warm sauce on stove or in microwave. Place meatballs in thermos, top with sauce. If you’d like to add some cooked pasta to this, rotini or bow ties would work great.

Soup: Pick your favorite.

I guess you could put anything left over that needs to stay warm and will fit?? I’m new at this so try it out and see if you can make the Gold Star lunch for your child this week.

Best part….You can do this for yourself and take a great lunch on the go too! Enjoy your lunch!

PUMPKINS!
It’s not fall without pumpkins! Carve them, eat them, bake their seeds and workout with them! Workouts are always a little more fun with a new prop. To keep it fun my boot camps have had a few exercises with pumpkins this fall. Think working with a little 4-5# pumpkin is easy…think again!

Besides mixing up your workout, mix up your diet. Try some of your favorite dishes by adding pumpkin. There are all kinds of recipes out there to try. Today I mixed it into my oatmeal.
Here is a “loose” recipe so play with it and see what tastes best to you.

Pumpkin Oatmeal:

Make oatmeal according to directions.

Mix in;

a couple spoonfuls of pumpkin (as much as you like)

packet of your favorite 0-calorie sweetener

Cinnamon or pumpkin spice

Put back in microwave for 10-20 seconds to warm the pumpkin you mixed in.

Now how about a Skinny Pumpkin Latte with that! Yum, sounds like a nice weekend breakfast.

Enjoy the fun all fall with its beautiful colors and of course Halloween!

I’ve been hearing whispers about Chia seeds and how it is the “new” super food.
You know the saying things that are old are now new again, well that’s a definite with these tiny little seeds.

Dated back to the Aztec Indians (pre-Columbian Era; before European Influence on the American Continents; aka – a LOOONG time ago!) Chia seeds were an important crop which is still grown in Mexico and Guatemala.

A friend of mine introduced me to them earlier this summer. I tried a sample of them and liked the crunch they added to my dish but didn’t really look too much into them.

I ran across them again the other day at the grocery store. I bought a container of them to take a closer look.

These rumors may be true; they sure do seem like THE super food. Check out what is packed in these tiniest of seeds:

• 1 serving (2 scoops according to my jar) = 156 calories

• Omega-3 Fatty Acid (Alpha Linoleic Acid) – 6.1g

• Omega 6 Fatty Acid (Linoleic Acid) – 2g

• Total Carbs = 10.5g

• Dietary Fiber = 10.4g! That’s 42% of the daily value base of 2,000 calories.

• Protein = 6.3g

• Calcium = 30%

• Iron = 25%

After looking around on line Chia seeds are even surpassing blueberries when it comes to antioxidant activity as well as helping to keep blood pressure and blood sugar under control.

Not bad for a seed.

What do you do with these seeds? You can sprinkle them on your food, mix into a smoothie and if you are really inspired grind them up to mix in with flour and use when baking.

My experience with the Chia seed is very new but here are a few ways I have incorporated them into my diet.

Mix them into my morning oatmeal.

Sprinkle on a salad.

Sprinkle onto peanut butter sandwich.

Mix into a protein shake.

Take another look at the Chia seed; it’s an easy way to incorporate something really good for you into your daily diet with ease and not a lot of fuss.

And yes, I think these are the same seeds as in Chi-Chi-Chi-Chia but don’t order a planter of your favorite character or shape to get them, buy the ones at the grocery store.

PS – when you eat them they get a gelatin like bubble around them so be sure to check your teeth 

HAPPY CINCO DE MAYO!

Big plans for tonight? Cinco de Mayo needs to always fall on a weekend, I know for many of us a night of margarita drinking at the bar during the week is not happening.

So, if you are like me and you are at home tonight but still want to celebrate with some m Mexican food and a margarita… **go for it! **

I actually love eating Mexican food at home, it’s more exciting than the usual chicken and veggies and it can be a very healthy dish.

Here’s a couple suggestions for dinner tonight. These are super simple and probably don’t even need me to list them for you but who knows.

Ditch the tortillas and go with lettuce wraps!

Romaine Lettuce

Lean ground beef (or lean ground turkey)

taco seasoning (look for the 50% less sodium pack)

shredded low fat cheese (whatever you like, Mexican 4 cheese blend, cheddar, provolone…)

Chopped tomatoes or Salsa

Avocado

Greek Yogurt - plain

Black Beans

Heat black beans on low in a pot (Whew, that was a tough one! Glad we got that out of the way!)

Brown ground beef and mix in seasoning according to packet directions.

**Tip: ** Even with the lower sodium pack I still only add 1/2 the packet. It cuts down even more on sodium and I find I get the same flavor with 1/2 the pack.

Chop tomato (or you can use salsa for extra flavor)

Slice & peel Avocado

Tip: Cut Avocado in half around the big seed. Grab both ends of Avocado gently and twist in opposite directions to pull apart. I take the side without the seed and slice lines in it down to the peel. Turn that half inside out and pull out the slices. Remove seed by sticking knife in and popping it out and slice other side same way.

Pull apart Romaine lettuce leaves for your wraps. Sometimes I will double a smaller leaf into a larger one for better support and less dripping.

Fill your lettuce wrap with beef, shredded cheese, tomoatoes or salsa, avocado slices and a spoonful of Greek yogurt.

Serve black beans on the side.

Tip: To watch your calories don’t over due it on the cheese or avocado. Even though they both have benefits too many calories are too many calories. Many times I’ll even skip the cheese and with all the other flavors I don’t even miss it!

Margaritas!!! The best part!

Skip the big frozen Ritas from the restaurant. Make them at home or order them on the rocks with NO salt if you are out. Check out www.bethenny.com for her skinny girl margarita recipes on her drink page. My Favorite!

Tip: Drinking a “clean” margarita means you are pretty much drinking pure alcohol with no filler. You’ll want to watch your consumption or suffer the hang over!!

Have a FUN Cinco de Mayo!

Another snowy day in Chi-town. All this winter makes you want a warm hearty meal that’s probably not going to help your belly, hips or thighs the next day. I made this slow cooker simple chili the other night, it spiced up the menu for the week, made the house smell great and felt like I was eating something really good (as in bad for me).

Use the right type of ground beef (lean!) and there is nothing un-healthy about this chili. Enjoy!

1/2 lb. dry pinto or kidney beans

2 can (14.5 oz. each) tomatoes

2 lbs. coarsely ground chuck (keep it lean); brown & drained

1 green bell pepper, coarsely chopped

1 medium onion, coarsely chopped

2 cloves garlic, crushed

2-3 tbsp. chili powder

1 tsp. ground black pepper

1 tsp. cumin

1 tsp. salt

Completely soften beans as directed

I took a short cut once I found out how long it takes to soften beans. Buy 2 cans of beans, rinse well and add them to the slow cooker during the last couple of hours so they will warm and mix with all the flavors

Put all ingredients in stoneware in order listed.

Stir Once.

Cover and cook on Low-10 hours or High-6 hours.

Don’t add on the cheese and sour cream that usually tops chili if you are watching your calorie intake. This is just fine on its own. Stay warm out there!