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?