Pumpkin Spice Latte!

Ok, fall is near and soon everything will be all pumpkin and apple flavored.  With all the crazy stories about what is in Starbucks Pumpkin Spice Latte, I decided to make my own.  I used a vanilla coffee K-Cup in my Kuerig, but you could also use black coffee with a splash of vanilla extract or a shot or two of espresso.  I also used my milk frother to thicken it up.

1 cup coffee (see choices above)

1 cup 1% milk

1 tablespoon pumpkin purée

1/4 teaspoon pumpkin pie spice

I normally drink my coffee black, so it isn't very sweet.  You could certainly add a little sugar or Stevia to taste.  

This was so yummy AND more importantly, better for you than the other versions you can buy at any coffee shop.

Wholly Guacamole!!

Did you know that just the bag of chips from Chipotle is more than 500 calories?  I may love salsa and guacamole more than the average person and I am just not willing to give up my favorite snack .  So, I'll grab a serving (yes, I count or weigh my servings according to what it says on the bag) of baked tortilla chips and enjoy my favorite salsa along with some guacamole.  

Now, I think I could win a chips and salsa/guacamole eating contest, so when I saw these Wholly Guacamole individual servings of guacamole, I HAD TO GET THEM!

They are only 100 calories each and they are so yummy!  The perfect treat without breaking the calorie bank!

The Pizza burger!

Another favorite way for us to eat our burgers is to use the Tomato and Basil Pizza burger, topped with a little marinara and a sliced mozzarella babybel!  

Again, you can eat this plain, in a lettuce wrap, in a sandwich thin or a tortilla wrap!

So delicious!  Even my "meat and potatoes" husband was shocked at how he wasn't hungry between lunch and dinner when he had this for lunch with a few pop chips and some pineapple.

Mexican meatless burger!

One of our favorite ways to eat the spicy black bean burger is topped with wholly joes guacamole and salsa!  It is so easy to pack for a healthy lunch at work!  So yummy!

I had this as a snack the other day too!  It is a perfect under 200 calorie treat in between your lunch and dinner.  

Morning Star Farms!!

In an effort to change up lunches for my husband and I, we decided to try Morning Star Farms burgers and boy, were they a hit!

They are so versatile!  You can eat them in a lettuce wrap, a tortilla, or on my husband's favorite, a sandwich thin!  There are also a bunch of varieties!

I'll share a couple of our favorite ways to eat them in the next few posts!  You can enjoy them as a snack or for lunch or dinner!

You know that if my meat-loving husband likes them, they must be good!  Check them out!

Peanut Butter and Jelly Protein Shake

I have been making quite a few protein smoothies lately.  Maybe it is the occasional 55 degree day that makes me think it is so balmy outside, i need to have a cold, refreshing shake.  Maybe it is because I want to have something good that will time me over until lunch.  Who knows.  I love them and they are so YUMMY!  My brain thinks I am having an actual shake but my brain knows that this is sooooo good for me.

Peanut Butter and Jelly Protein shake
serves 1

2 Tablespoons of PB2
1/2 cup unsweetened almond milk
1/4 cup of greek yogurt (I used Fage 0%)
a couple of hands full of frozen strawberries
1 scoop protein powder

Blend and serve!  This one rang in at under 300 calories.  DELISH!

Portion Control

If there was one thing I learned on my weight loss journey it was too look to see how much was an actual serving before putting food in my mouth.  I used to guess what they were, but you really need to measure and weigh, so you know what you are getting yourself into.  I have a food scale and I have several sets of measuring cups and spoons

so I can measure food all day long.

 I remember the shocking day when I was making my son a peanut butter and jelly sandwich.  I would always get a spoon and have some peanut butter when I was done making his lunch.  One day, I actually looked and found out that I was eating more than a tablespoon of peanut butter which was more than 100 calories mindlessly!  That is a lot of calories!

If you can't trust yourself or need to grab something easy for a snack, grab some that are already portioned.  I get hungry sometimes in between lunch and dinner and I know I always have preportioned  servings of some kind of nut butter in my pantry.  Just grab one of those and an apple or some celery.  Easy Peasy, right?

Lower sugar cookies

I have made the basic cookie recipe on the back of the bag of chocolate chips hundreds of times.  There is a lot of sugar in those cookies.  My kiddos ask for some kind of dessert almost every night.  Sometimes, it is an actual treat, other times it is a "treat" that is a much healthier option.

These cookies are really yummy.  I was surprised.  I love sugar and these cookies hit the spot!  I didn't even feel bad when I had one....ok, fine.  I had 2.  I found the recipe here...

http://foodbabe.com/2013/04/18/does-your-cookie-need-all-that-sugar/

You can add whatever you want to them to make them your own like raisins, chocolate chips or cranberries.  I added dark chocolate chips (because dark chocolate is good for you).  :-P

Try them out!  See if you can fool your kids too.

Macaroni Casserole by Skinnytaste

Skinnytaste.com is an awesome site that has so many delicious recipes.  I have used it many times to do my menu planning for the next week.  Check it out!  You are sure to find so many things that you will love.

This is one of those meals that you can totally fool your family into thinking they are just having a rich and fulling casserole, but LOOK AT ALL THESE VEGGIES!!

This is also one of those meals that it is a good idea to make 2 and freeze one of them so you can just toss it in the oven when you are running around to basketball practice and gymnastics!  Easy peasy!  DONE!  Healthy meal on the table!

The recipe and directions can be found here.

1 lb 93% lean ground turkey
1 tbsp olive oil
1 cup chopped onion
1 medium red pepper, chopped
1/4 cup finely diced celery
1/4 cup finely diced carrots
1 cup sliced mushrooms
1 (14.5 oz can) petite diced tomatoes, drained
2 cups marinara sauce (I used my own homemade)
2 cups water
1/2 tsp Italian seasoning
1 tsp Kosher salt
8 oz shredded mozzarella cheese
8 oz uncooked whole wheat elbows

Nature Box

Have you heard of this??  I Love it!  Sometimes it is difficult to make healthy choices when you are hungry and it isn't time for a meal.  Nature Box sends you 5 healthy snacks every month.  You can choose which ones you want to try each time!  Then, you can order the ones you like the best!  If you have healthy snacks around you will be less tempted to eat ones that aren't the best for you!  Every little step in a healthy lifestyle counts!

Check it out at naturebox.com

Lighter Beef Stroganoff in the crock pot!

We have had some really chilly days these past few weeks and who doesn't love some comfort food?  Plus, you make it in the crock pot which makes it super easy.  I must add that it was torture smelling it all day long, though.  It smelled so good!  I made this beef stroganoff and we loved it!  It is lighter because we used egg white noodles you could also use brown rice noodles.

Click this link for the directions here.

Ingredients:

• 1 (1-pound) top round steak (1 inch thick), trimmed 
• 1 cup chopped onion 
• 2 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley
• 2 tablespoons Dijon mustard
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon dried dill
• 1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
• 1 (8-ounce) package sliced mushrooms (about 2 cups)
• 3 garlic cloves, minced
• 1.5 ounces all-purpose flour (about 1/3 cup)
• 1 cup fat-free, lower-sodium beef broth 
• 1 (8-ounce) container low-fat sour cream 
• 2 cups hot cooked medium egg noodles (about 4 ounces uncooked)

Aisian Quinoa Salad

I found a really delicious new quinoa salad to make for my lunches.  I just LOVE all of the flavors in this salad.  I found it from two peas and their pod.  It is sooooo good.  I made it on Sunday and had it for lunch all week.  You could also add some shrimp to it and have it for dinner!

Click on the above link for the directions, but the yummy ingredient list is:

1 cup quinoa
2 cups water
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 cup chopped red cabbage
1 cup shelled and cooked edamame
1 red bell pepper, chopped
1/2 cup shredded carrots
1 cup diced cucumber

For the dressing:
1/4 cup lite soy sauce or tamari sauce
1 tablespoon sesame oil
1 tablespoon rice wine vinegar
2 tablespoons chopped green onion
1/4 cup chopped cilantro
1 tablespoon sesame seeds
1/4 teaspoon grated ginger
1/8 teaspoon red pepper flakes
Salt and black pepper, to taste

Mint Chocolate Protein Shake

I was wandering around the kitchen the other day wondering what to have for lunch (very dangerous) and nothing was sounding good.  I opened the freezer and saw some of my daughter's frozen junior mints and decided to figure out how to make a mint chocolate protein shake (that was a close one because the junior mints were almost my lunch).

**helpful hint**In my house, if there are bananas that are about time to throw away, I will peel and slice them and put one banana each in a ziplock bag and toss it in the freezer so I can add them to my shakes.

Ingredients:
1 frozen banana
1 heaping tablespoon of unsweetened cocoa
1/4 cup almond milk
3 oz greek yogurt (I used Fage 0%)
A quick splash of peppermint extract ( a little goes a long way)
1 scoop of protein powder

Zap it all in your blender and you have a protein filled delicious lunch or breakfast!!!!

Chicken with Mushrooms in a Garlic White Wine Sauce

We have been trying different recipes these last few weeks to try and broaden our healthy dinner choices.  You know, spice things up.  Tonight's dinner was soooooo good.  Even my husband LOVED it!  I mean, really loved it.  He loved it so much that he is excited to have it again.  

I found the recipe at Skinnytaste.com 

The ONLY change I made was that I used boneless, skinless chicken thighs.  I trimmed all the extra fat off of them and cut them into bite sized chunks.  After it was all cooked, we put the chicken and mushrooms over some brown rice.  DELISH!!!  

Almost spaghetti...

Today, I made some veggie filled spaghetti sauce.  I sauteed half a diced onion, a whole diced red bell pepper, and about a dozen mushrooms.  After they were tender, I added about 4 minced garlic cloves and cooked until fragrant (about 1 minute more).  Then, I added a 15 oz can of petite diced tomatoes and a 15 oz can of tomato sauce.  I then added some basil, oregano and red pepper flakes.  Finally I sliced up some chicken sausage and let it all simmer

As if all of those vegetables weren't enough, I decided to make some spiralized zucchini and squash with my new little gadget (found on amazon for less than $10).  I like to fool my husband with things that I cook sometimes so I decided that I would make his dinner half whole wheat spaghetti, half spiralized zucchini and squash.  ;)   My dinner was all veggies though, no real spaghetti.  

After I spiralized the veggies, I sauteed them in a little misted olive oil until cooked through (just a few minutes).  I must say this was very yummy!  I make spaghetti squash every now and then, but I must say that I like this much better because these spiralized veggies kept their shape and texture and it was like actually having spaghetti.  I will make this all the time!  Even my husband liked it!  

I wonder what else I can spiralize....  ;)

Vegetarian Quinoa Chili

We are having record low temperatures tomorrow and Tuesday and tomorrow starts my first official day of P90X3 and I am going to get back to planning my meals better.  This is going to be my lunch for the week!  I followed the recipe exactly for this Vegetarian Quinoa Chili except I added some red pepper flakes, cayenne pepper, oregano and coriander.

This recipe makes 15 cups of chili.  The nutritional information below is for 1 cup.  I had 2 cups for dinner tonight and it was delicious!