Snacking

Chips are something I crave a lot. I have a real weakness for Ultimate Cheddar Munchies. Unfortunately they don't really fit in to the healthy (er) lifestyle that I'm trying to live. If you don't have a Costco membership, this is something that I would highly recommend. They have some crazy chips that do not sound appealing, but turn out to be addictingly delicious! 

These are two of my go-to's: 

Snap Pea Crisps

Popped Edamame Chips

Here are some other Costco selections!


I can't lie and say they are as good as Ultimate Cheddar munchies, but if you're looking for something healthier that doesn't make you sad because it doesn't taste good, I highly recommend these!

Sweet Tooth

When I was younger, I didn't have much of a sweet tooth, but recently that's all I ever crave! Hot fudge Wednesday's in my University's cafeteria is always a struggle... I've been trying to think of ways to satisfy this craving without consuming ridiculous amounts of sugar. 

Here are a couple solutions that I have found!

Fruit is always a good option. It is naturally sweet, but sometimes JUST eating fruit doesn't quite cut it. This is something that I came across the other day. I usually put peanut butter on my banana, because peanut butter is delicious. However, this time I decided to use the peanut butter as glue to this new masterpiece! Banana's are good, but raspberries and blueberries are much more flavorful in my opinion. The combination of these three fruits, with the peanut butter was the icing on the cake!

If you don't have fruit, something good to keep around is dried fruit! It lasts much longer than fresh fruit, but is still a healthy (er) than many other sweet treats. 

Something I was obsessed with when I was a kid was ritz bits. This name brand treat has a little more sugar than I would like to consume, so I've started making my own version! I buy whole wheat crackers (these are my favorite) and natural ground peanut butter with no added sugar! 

Breakfast!

I have always had trouble with breakfast.... People always say it is the most important meal of the day, but I always value sleep more than waking up and making breakfast. I never thought that skipping a meal might actually make me GAIN weight?! It is proven that eating breakfast boosts your metabolism! It also helps in avoiding cravings before lunch.

Most of the time I'll just grab a granola bar, but why settle for a granola bar when you can have a delicious breakfast that can be prepared in under 12 minutes?? With these recipes, I've found a motivation to wake up and fit in breakfast, not only because I know it boosts my metabolism, but because it's delicious!

Here are some of my favorites!

1. Egg in a basket! (also known as frog in a hole...)
This one is super simple. Get a piece of Whole Grain bread and cut a hole in the center. Turn a frying pan on medium-high, crack the egg into the whole of the bread and let it cook. Once the egg is cooked through flip it, and you're done!  

2. Oatmeal!
Just add water microwave. Create the base for oatmeal is easy, and once you have the possibilities are endless! What you add to your oatmeal is the most important part. Eating it plain is kinda bland.... I always prefer putting in a little bit of brown sugar, but I also highly suggest apples and cinnamon! The heat of the oatmeal cooks the apples, and creates a warm and gooey treat. Check out some more ideas for your oatmeal!

3. Breakfast Pizza!
One of my favorite things as a kid was eating leftover cold pizza in the mornings... there's a healthy way to do that! If you make this before bed it'll be ready to go when you wake up! This way you don't have to choose between your metabolism and sleep. All you do is toast a piece of whole grain bread as your pizza crust, then add the toppings you prefer! You can also do this with whole wheat tortillas. You could make it a traditional pizza with sauce, cheese, peppers... OR you can make it more of a breakfast pizza and add ham or sausage. 

Check out this website with more fast, creative, breakfast ideas!

The Power of Walking

Walking is definitely something that we take for granted. Walking is a way to exercise without setting aside even more time in your day to do it. There are several ways you can incorporate walking into your daily activities! Walking a mile burns roughly 100 calories. If you take advantage of walking, it could really add up!

1. Take the stairs! The escalator or the elevator is always tempting, but the stairs are much better for you and your glutes!

2. Don't look for the best parting spot. There are always so many open spots in the back of the parking lot, yet we will drive around for 5 minutes looking for the spot that is closest to the front. Save some time and gas and park in the back. See it as an opportunity for more exercise!

3. Walk, don't drive. This depends on where you live, but if your destination is only a couple miles away take the time to walk! Especially if its nice outside. 


Check out these 6 great benefits of walking for your health!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ow-xCwXQTLo

Tasty Bite!

These deliciously filling (all natural) packets are perfect if you are short on time, and low on money! Literally all you have to do is rip off the top, put it in the microwave, and warm it up for 1 MINUTE. It's almost TOO easy... 

And the best part, as always, is that it isn't terrible for you! As opposed to other microwavable lunches like hot pockets, or hungry man dinners, these are relatively low in calories and high in protein!

Though it looks like a small portion, it is deceivingly filling. However, to make it last longer, and provide a little more sustenance I suggest cooking some rice with it. Unfortunately rice is NOT the perfect dish if you are short on time, but it is sensitive to your wallet! 

But, wait! Tasty Bite thought about this too! They also have these ridiculously convenient packets for rice as well! (8 different kinds!) Unfortunately, it takes 1 minute and 30 seconds to cook the rice, but it's better than the 45 minutes it takes to steam cook rice. 

However, if you think you'll be eating a lot of rice throughout your week, it would be much cheaper to make a batch of rice at the beginning of the week and continue to re-heat it. A bag of rice costs under two $2, while Tasty Bite Rice (2 portions) costs about $2.50. There is a price for convenience!


Another benefit: So many choices! Tasty Bite offers over 30 products across 4 categories: entrées, rices, noodles and meal inspirations. 
From Bombay Potatoes to Tofu Corn Masala, Tasty Bite will more than likely have something to match your craving!

Travel Tips!

Spring is FINALLY here! If you're like me, then Spring Break is just around the corner! Unfortunately, I'm not traveling to a special destination, but this blog is for those of you who are. ESPECIALLY those of you anticipating a long road trip!

When you're traveling, it can often times get pretty boring in the car, depending on who you're traveling with. One thing I always do when I'm bored: EAT! As you stop at gas stations along the way to your vacation destination, here are some snacks to consider that won't leave you bloated and gassy!

1. Beverages: Try flavored water! Drinking plain water can be boring, and you're already bored in the car, so you don't want to do that... most other beverages are LOADED with sugar. You could also try out an unsweetened tea or coffee! 


2. Almonds! Who knew there were so many different flavors of almonds?? I've always loved just the original salted almonds, but recently I tried the mocha almonds and they're amazing! They also have all kinds of other crazy flavors! Seasoning on an almond is MUCH healthier than seasoning on a chip!

3. Trail Mix! There are also lots of different types of trail mix to cater to your cravings! There are pieces of chocolate in most of them, which isn't necessarily good for you, but it's spring break! You deserve a treat. You shouldn't deprive yourself of all the good things in life :)

4. Snap pea crisps! I still don't quite understand how they make these, but they're delicious, and kind of addicting. The only ingredients: Green Peas, Vegetable Oil (Canola, Sunflower and/or Safflower Oil), Rice, Salt, Calicum Carbonate And Vitamin C (Ascorbyl Palmitate). The only flavors I've had are the caesar and original. Caesar was interesting... but I highly recommend the original!




You can get creative with your snack choices along the way, these are just some of my favorites! Also, don't make yourself feel too guilty for eating poorly over the break. If you're going to indulge, INDULGE! Feeling guilty about it doesn't make it any healthier. 

Happy Spring Break!

An EGGcelent meal!

This is by far one of my FAVORITE things to eat, and one of the EASIEST things to make. And the best part: It's not terrible for you! Don't feel insulted that I'm about to tell you how to make an egg sandwich. There are some key elements to THIS egg sandwich that are important to note!

Ingredients:
2 pieces of bread: Whole grain bread!
3 eggs: (organic is best!) This part is flexible. I've found that 2 is not enough, and 4 is too many, but that's just my experience.
Sausage: Morning Star Original Sausage Patties

Preparation: 5-10 minutes!
1. Get out a medium sized frying pan, spray the pan, and turn stove on to medium high
2. Mix 3 eggs (give or take) into a small mixing bowl then pour into frying pan
3. Put two pieces of bread in the toaster (if you're toaster broke like mine you can warm up your bread and slightly toast it in the same pan you cook the eggs)
4. Place two morning star sausage patties on a plate and heat in the microwave for 1.5-2 minutes. 
5. Put it all together!

Wallah! You're done.

If you're like I was you may be a little skeptical of the veggie sausage. I grew up eating meat until a couple years ago when my parents switched to a vegan diet for health reasons. I still eat meat, but much less often. For a lot of vegetarian meat imitations I just try to not think of them as meat, because usually they don't taste like what they're supposed to taste like. Especially veggie hot dogs... I do NOT recommend those. However, these veggie sausage patties have a very similar taste to sausage. I don't just tolerate them, I ENJOY them! The texture is a little bit different at first, but if you can get past that the health benefits are way worth it! 

Don't Sweat It

Part of the struggle to working out is that there's just not time to do it. It takes time to muster up the motivation to actually work out, it takes time to do the workout, and it takes time to clean yourself up after you get all gross and sweaty. So much time... 

But does it have to be such a time consuming activity?? What if there were simple workouts you could do during the day where you didn't have to shower after? 

I just tried doing these workouts today and it actually worked pretty well! These workouts are designed to give you quick boosts of energy, focus, and stress relief in a short amount of time!

Here is one example!

Timer set for 7 minutes, AMRAP (As many rounds as possible)
(If you aren't familiar with any of these exercises, click on the link to learn how to do them!)

• 5 pushups – 5 seconds up, then 5 seconds down
• 10 squats
• 3 burpees
• 20 second count on bridge

This only takes seven minutes and you barely break a sweat! It's a workout that you can do at any point in the day, or multiple times during the day. But if it's only seven minutes it causes you to wonder.... is it really doing anything?? Matt Ragland from The Simple Gym makes an excellent point: 
"Short workouts may seem unnecessary and unhelpful, but there’s a growing body of research that is showing the benefits. It’s easy to make the excuse of thinking “I don’t have time” or “A 5 minute workout isn’t worth it.” But when we take the time to consider the benefits of movement, the inverse almost seems silly in comparison. “I can get all the benefits of being happier, productive, and less-stressed, just by moving around a bit!?”"

Take the time to move! It does a lot more for you than you think. 
For more of these workouts check out:  http://thesimplegym.com/no-sweat-workouts/

Carrots and Peanut Butter

Celery and peanut butter is a pretty common snack, but I HATE celery... so growing up I always ate carrots and peanut butter. It seems like an interesting combination, but trust me, it tastes good! Peanut butter really does make most things taste better. If you like thai food you see spicy peanut sauce mixed in with vegetables (including carrots), so really it's not TOO crazy of an idea. 

Not only is this a tasty treat, but carrot's are a power-food with numerous health benefits! Just to list a few: 
1. Improves Vision
2. Helps Prevent Aging
3. Slows Down Cancer
4. Promotes Healthier Skin
5. Helps Prevent Infection

The peanut butter is where you have to be careful! There is a reason that peanut butter tastes so delicious. 

To the left is a jar of Jif Creamy Peanut Butter. Looking at the label on the back it says it only has 4 grams of sugar, which really doesn't seem too bad. However, that 4 grams of sugar is per serving with each serving only being two tablespoons. Processed peanut butters like Jif also contain many other ingredients to get to that rich and creamy state. There are many additives such as hydrogenated oils. These oils keep the peanut butter at the same consistency no matter what the temperature. The downfall: 16-20 percent MORE SATURATED FAT!

What I suggest is natural ground peanut butter. It's not as creamy, but I was always more of a crunch peanut butter fan anyways, and what can be crunchier than peanut butter with the only ingredient being peanuts?? With the only ingredient being peanuts you don't have to worry about the sugars of processed peanut butter. 




                      
                          Take Jim Gaffigan's advice! Don't be a coward. GO EXTREME!

Frozen Foods

One of the HARDEST parts about being healthy is eating healthy.... Is it just me or does it seem like everything that tastes really good is not good for you?? For the first time ever I am living in an apartment where I have been forced to cook for myself. As I'm grocery shopping, I walk down the frozen foods section and see things like pizza rolls, hot pockets, chicken nuggets, mozzarella sticks, frozen pizzas.... all things that are cheap, taste delicious, and are quick and easy to make! The only downfall.... they are terrible for you. There are a couple ways that I've been able to resist the temptation of these transfatty treats.

1) After eliminating these foods from your diet for an extended period of time, every time you DO eat them you feel terrible! Once your body gets used to healthier foods it will begin to reject processed crap.
(I haven’t actually found any evidence to support this, but I am speaking from experience. My freshman and sophomore year of college I used to order a corn-dog combo (french fries, soda and a corn-dog) at least twice a week, just as a late night snack. The past year I have adopted a healthier eating style avoiding fried foods and excess sugar. Now every time I eat anything fried or super sweet it tears me up inside! It's a blessing and a curse...)

2) Finding healthier alternatives that TASTE GOOD!

In our culture food is the center of almost everything. We eat it when we're happy, we eat it when we're sad, we eat it when we are celebrating, we eat it when we are grieving... It is just too important not to enjoy it. Stay tuned for my first healthy suggestion for eating well and being happy! (You CAN have both!)

There's still time!

Who actually ENJOYS working out? Eating healthy? Avoiding fatty (delicious) foods? It takes a lot of will power and motivation to pursue a healthy lifestyle. Something else it takes a lot of is time, which is something that most of us don't have a lot of. Time to physically work out, time to create a workout plan, time to prepare healthy meals, time to research what foods are actually healthy. It can be intimidating. It's so much easier to just not... It's tempting to go through the nearest fast food drive through and have your food ready in 5 minutes, or stay on the couch and watch a couple more episodes of your favorite t.v. show rather than dragging your butt to the gym. I'm here to suggest that healthy eating and exercise do not have to be extensive time commitments! There are ways to fit in fitness, and it is worth it! In this blog I will provide quick and easy meals that are nutritious, as well as a variety of workouts to fit your schedule. Don't let time be an excuse any longer!

DISCLAIMER: I am not a fitness expert, or a trained nutritionist. I am not proposing recipes for the HEALTHIEST lifestyle, but rather a HEALTHIER lifestyle. I don't want to eat like a rabbit, and my end goal isn't to look like a fitness model. Ultimately, I just want to feel good.