Just a little nutrition

Alright ladies...so I know that myself and a few fellow bloggers are working our butts off (literally) trying to get rockin' pinterest's bodies...some of y'all already have them...you lucky ladies you.

Motivation at it's finest.

Anyway, I thought I would use my background in nutrition for good and not evil and just talk about some good foods to include in our daily diet that are full of the good stuff...you know all that vitamin and mineral jazz.

I personally am a big fan of almonds. Love them. I try to have them within my grasp at all times while working...I always get hungry about 10 and 3, and almonds are great for those blood sugar lows in between meals.

Almonds are full of calcium and magnesium, which are good for building strong bones...which is especially good if you are being really active, they help build muscle and reduce cravings.

Legumes/beans

Legumes and beans are packed full of protein, which is a good source if you are strength training and trying to gain muscle. They help in the building of muscle, burning of fat and they aid in regulating digestion. Which is a dang good thing.

Soy beans...also known as edamame is a great source of protein and a really good snack. I love love edamame. I buy the frozen kind, put a cup or so in my little steam pot thingy and stick in the microwave for a few minutes and sprinkle some sea salt and mmm--good. One cup has about 17g of protein.

Let's talk salads...more importantly let's talk spinach leaves. I love spinach leaves. I rarely eat a salad that isn't made up of spinach leaves...I mean if you get a salad with iceberg lettuce you are getting no nutritional value whatsoever. Spinach leaves are chalk full of iron and fiber, vitamins A and C and it helps neutralize free radicals.

* Free radicals are very bad girls, they are what speeds up the aging process, and we don't want wrinkly skin...spinach leaves helps to stop that*

I notice that a lot of people tend to take fat out of their diet especially when they are trying to lose weight. Yes, taking the "bad" fats such as starchy, sugary, trans fatty foods out of your diet is a good thing. But you should leave the "good" fats such as monounsaturated and polyunsaturated fats in your diet. Examples of good fats are:

Olive oil will help lower your cholesterol and boosts your immune system. I pretty much only cook with olive oil.

Avocados...I love love love avocados. They provide at least 20 essential nutrients such as potassium, fiber, Vitamin E(is great with anti-aging), Vitamin B and Folic acid.

Other things that are really good to incorporate are just whole grains, no starchy or white breads, lots of fruits and veggies...can never have enough of those things. And water. Yes, water is so simple, and you would be surprised how many people simply do not get enough during the day. I have a 32 oz water bottle(pink of course) that I have with me everyday and I try to drink at least two full jugs, here lately though especially with working out I have been trying to drink three jugs.

Alright, well...that is my two cents on some good quality foods that I add to my diet, just thought I would share with the rest of y'all, What are some good healthy snacks or meals that you guys eat. I would love to know!

 

Halloween Post

With all the candy I have consumed in the last couple of months here at work and at home, I am very glad Halloween is here and almost over. With that being said, I get emails everyday from Self and thought I would share this one with y'all....turns out there actually is some nutritional value to all this candy I have been consuming.

Who would have thought??

As a person with a nutrition degree, I already knew that dark chocolate had it's benefits...but I didn't know that those who consumed a piece of dark chocolate a day were 40% less likely to have a heart attack or stroke. I'd say that is for sure a reason to indulge in a little chocolate here and there...wouldn't you?

My favorite candy...gummies and fruity candies. Those who ate this kind of candy have a lower body mass index and a smaller waist. Umm...bring on the sugary goodness please...of course this is all in moderation.

 

Apparently, chewing gum approves alertness. Guess instead of my morning pumpkin spice lattes I just need to pop in some gum.

 

 

Popcorn balls...the old standby treat is full of fiber and antioxidants. Here is a recipe to try from Self

 

 

Nuke 1/2 cup honey for 10 seconds; add 12 ounces semisweet chocolate chips. Pour over 6 cups popcorn mixed with 1 cup salted peanuts. Stir; form into balls; chill on wax paper until firm.

 

Finally an answer to all my prayers...a real reason that having a sweet tooth is a good thing...People who ate four low-calorie desserts a week lost 9 pounds more than those who had one weekly splurge. See, I knew that apple pie would be just fine : )

 

If these aren't good enough reasons to indulge just a little bit on Halloween candy, then I don't know what are.

 

Happy Halloween!

 

Oh and P.S. here is a picture of our Halloween costumes...I think we make a great Paper, Rock, Scissors. Notice all the glitter. Lots and lots of glitter. 

 

 

 

I have a problem

a sugar problem.

Yes, I have said it before...I am addicted to the sweets.

I love them all. Cupcakes, cookies, ice cream, candy bars.

You name it, I eat it.

I didn't realize the extent of my problem until yesterday.

See, I didn't really do much this weekend or go anywhere, I needed a weekend of nothingness. I needed to organize my closets, drawers, etc. Just chill and catch up on my dvr.

Well, I also didn't go to the grocery store and buy normal food either.

I made cupcakes on Thursday for my mom.

This weekend I ate them all, well not all of them but most of them.

I know, I hate to admit it, but it's true. I ate them for breakfast, lunch and dinner. Honestly I didn't eat anything but cupcakes.

Oh, I had some cookies too.

My body is cringing at the thought of running off all these sugary calories.

What is wrong with me?

I have a bachelors in nutrition...I know better than this.

Good grief, I have a sugar problem, Facebook must know of this because this morning I saw an article that "Self" magazine posted and it spoke to me.

It's how to overcome your sugar addiction.

For all you other sugar-olics, I know you are out there, here is an article on how to kick that habit.

http://goop.com/newsletter/103/%20%20'

Wish me luck, because I have a feeling I am going to be a grumpy, grumpy girl not having any sugar.

 

Blueberries

Did y'all know that July is national blueberry month??

I love me some blueberries. Blueberry pancakes, blueberry muffins, blueberry crumbles...yum yum yum.

In fact I love anything berry. Strawberry, raspberry, blackberry, cherry berry( I realize this is a frozen yogurt place, but still).

Thought I would share with y'all a healthy Blueberry recipe. Blueberries are super good for you too, they are full of antioxidants, only 80 calories for a cup of blueberries(fat free btw), they are packed with vitamin C, fiber, and manganese(which helps with your bones).

I know these things, I have a bachelor's degree in Nutrition ; )

Blueberry-Lemon Muffins

Ingredients

• 1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1/2 cup yellow cornmeal
• 1/2 cup sugar
• 1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1 cup blueberries
• 1 cup low-fat buttermilk
• 3 tablespoons butter or stick margarine, melted
• 1 tablespoon grated lemon rind
• 1 large egg, lightly beaten
• Cooking spray
• 1 tablespoon sugar

  Preparation

  • Preheat oven to 400°.
  • Lightly spoon flour into dry measuring cups; level with a knife. Combine flour and next 5 ingredients (flour through salt) in a medium bowl. Stir in blueberries; make a well in center of mixture. Combine buttermilk, butter, rind, and egg; stir well with a whisk. Add to flour mixture; stir just until moist.
  • Spoon batter into 12 muffin cups coated with cooking spray; sprinkle evenly with 1 tablespoon sugar. Bake at 400° for 20 minutes or until a wooden pick inserted in center comes out clean. Remove muffins from pans immediately; place on a wire rack.

Amount per serving

Calories: 164

Calories from fat: 22%

fat: 4g

Saturated fat: 2.2g

Monounsaturated fat: 1.1g

Polyunsaturated fat: 0.3g

Protein: 3.5g

Carbohydrate: 28.8g

Fiber: 1.1g

Cholesterol: 26mg

Iron: 1.1mg

Sodium: 209mg

Calcium: 66mg

My favorite healthy meals...

I have been slacking in the recipe department here lately. My apologies. Miss Football and I are trying to be more healthy this month. Well, she really came up with the idea because she does this "Happiness Project" where she does something different every month, this month is all about Nutrition. I decided that I wanted to do that as well...so we are trying  to keep eachother in line....which can be hard when you live in two different states. So, with that I decided to share some of my favorite, yummy and healthy meals.

Cooking light's Cheesy Chicken Enchiladas--I love all of Cooking Light recipe's, they are my go to for healthy alternatives.

Yield: 8 servings (serving size: 1 enchilada)

Ingredients

• 2 1/2  cups  chopped cooked chicken breast
• 2  cups  (8 ounces) pre shredded reduced-fat 4-cheese Mexican blend cheese
• 1 2/3  cups  plain low-fat yogurt
• 1/3  cup  butter, melted
• 1/4  cup  chopped onion
• 1  teaspoon  minced garlic
• 1/4  teaspoon  freshly ground black pepper
• 1  (10 3/4-ounce) can condensed reduced-fat, reduced-sodium cream of chicken soup (such as Healthy Request), undiluted
• 1  (4.5-ounce) can chopped green chiles, drained
• 8  (8-inch) flour tortillas
• 1  tablespoon  canola oil
• Cooking spray
• 1/2  cup  (2 ounces) finely shredded reduced-fat sharp cheddar cheese
• 1/4  cup  chopped green onions

Preparation

1. Preheat oven to 350°.
2. Combine first 9 ingredients in a large bowl. Remove 1 cup chicken mixture; set mixture aside.
3. Heat a large skillet over medium-high heat. Working with 1 tortilla at a time, brush oil over both sides of tortilla. Add tortilla to pan; cook 5 seconds on each side or until toasted and soft. Remove from pan; arrange 1/2 cup chicken mixture down center of tortilla. Roll jelly-roll style; place filled tortilla, seam side down, in a 13 x 9–inch baking dish coated with cooking spray. Repeat procedure with remaining 7 tortillas, remaining oil, and remaining chicken mixture. Spread reserved 1 cup chicken mixture evenly over enchiladas. Cover and bake at 350° for 20 minutes. Uncover; sprinkle evenly with cheddar cheese and green onions; bake an additional 5 minutes or until cheese melts.

These are the bomb.com...no joke.

Calories:           454

Fat:                   20.3g (sat 10.4g,mono 6.7g,poly 1.5g)

Protein:             30.8g

Carbohydrate:   36.6g

Fiber:               2.2g

Cholesterol:      73mg

Iron:                 2.3mg

Sodium:           757mg


Tortellini-Spinach Soup
from Ellie Krieger's So Easy
serves 4
1 teaspoon canola oil
1 medium onion, chopped (about 2 cups)
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 large carrot, peeled and thinly sliced (1 1/2 cups)
2 ribs celery, chopped (1 cup)
1 teaspoon dried oregano
1 teaspoon dried thyme
1/2 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
1 14-oz. can low-sodium diced tomatoes with juice (I used fire-roasted)
6 cups low-sodium vegetable or chicken broth
3 ounces baby spinach, sliced into ribbons (3 cups)
1 9-oz. package fresh store-bought spinach-and-cheese tortellini (2 cups)
1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese (1 1/2 ounces)

Heat the oil in a large stockpot over medium high heat. Add the onions and cook, stirring, until softened, about 5 minutes. Add the garlic and cook, stirring until the onions are translucent and the garlic is softened, another 3 minutes. Add the carrot, celery, oregano, thyme and red-pepper flakes and cook, stirring, until softened, 5 to 6 minutes.

Add the tomatoes with their juices and the broth and bring to a boil; reduce the heat and simmer for 10 to 15 minutes. Add the spinach and tortellini and cook until the tortellini are cooked through, 6-7 minutes. This soup will keep up to three days in the refrigerator in an airtight container. Serve topped with Parmesan cheese.

So yummy....you are going to love it!
Calories     380
Fat             12g
Protein       24g

Sorry there are no pictures...I haven't made these in awhile, I will try to be more like The Pioneer Woman next time : )

 

I need an intervention

I know normally Thursdays are set aside for nutrition and healthy goodness, but I haven't been very healthy this week nor have I had the "want to".  I know I need to but I would rather go home after work and catch up on my dvr. Lazy? Yes. Is this a good thing? NO.

Yes, I know everyone needs to have those days where they can just be lazy in some comfy clothes, veg out and watch tv and not work out for a couple of days. Well...I had about two weeks of those days due to the blizzard and I CAN'T GET OUT OF IT. I need help! Like, super bad help. Like Jillian Micheal's coming to my house and yelling at me to get my lazy, fat, cellulite ass off the couch, out of bed and into the gym. THAT kind of help. Yes, I said cellulite. Everyone has it. Movie stars have it. Freakin Queen of England to be probably has it. ( I mean...I hope people have it other than me) I would like to deny that I have it. But, its there. And now, I have proclaimed it to the world.

Why is it sooo difficult to get back into a routine after just a week or so set back? This has happened to me time and time again. I would be doing great, working out everyday, eating well. Then boom. I get like the plague and I am out for a month, then I go on vacation or something, and excuses keep coming and before you know it six months have passed  along with about a billion dozen boxes of cookies that have been eaten before I even went back to the gym. Please, tell me this happens to other people??

Well, I am determined to not let this be the case again. I have to get my jiggly, cellulite ass, chicken winged arms back into the gym. Jillian Micheal's or not. I need to do a million squats and lunges and get in bikini shape. I have to, I have to, I have to!!

I love to work out...I love the feeling after a good work out. I just need to get back into it.

"Exercise gives your endorphins. Endorphins make you happy. Happy people just don't shoot their husbands, they just don't." Quick...name that movie??

So, with this little proclamation. I decided I am going to do the whole 30 days of Jillian Micheal's 30 day Shred...lets see if she really knows what she is talking about. I have done it before...but not for a month straight. I will be doing this along with my normal gym routine.

If your wondering why I went on m little tangent about this. 1. I have my follow-up doctors appointment today about my dairy allergy. I thought I would have lost a few lbs...you know not having dairy and all. I haven't lost anything. In fact, I gained 2 lbs. I blame the damn blizzard and me getting snowed in with oreos. 2. I needed to post this to the world, so I will hold myself accountable and actually stick to something.

Nutrition Thursday

I apologize for this boring yet educational post today. I have decided to dedicate Thursday to all things nutrition. Since I  my parents spent all that money on getting me an education in Nutrition...why not share what I know, or claim to know, ha!

You may or may not know, but the USDA just released the 2010 edition of the Dietary Guidelines. I am not going to go in to too much detail. If your interested in reading the full release go here

Basically, in a nut shell the powers that be who decide the guidelines, realized our country is obese. You think? More than one-third of children and more than two-thirds of adults are considered overweight or obese. How sad are these statistics? For this reason, the USDA is focusing more on decreasing your number of calorie consumption and increasing physical activity. All I can say is...duh. Hasn't this whole mentality of eat less work out more been around for quite sometime? Maybe now that it is "official" people will actually get the memo. Lets hope.

If you go to the USDA website it will have a whole booklet that you can download and it will tell you what foods you should limit and what foods you should increase. The sodium intake did decrease from 2500mg to 2300mg. I know, I personally try to limit my sodium intake..who wants to fill all bloated and puffy anyway...so not attractive. If you follow a fairly healthy diet in the first place, then you are pretty much golden in terms of the new Dietary guidelines.

For example, if you consume more fruits and veggies, including a variety of veggies...like dark greens, red and orange colors ( basically colors of the rainbow as I like to say), choose whole grains over white and starchy, go for low-fat milk products, cheese's that are lower in fat and cholesterol or for us non-dairy peeps...soy milk (its actually not half bad), eat more proteins, like lean meat and chicken/turkey, eggs, legumes, nuts, soy, incorporate a little salmon or tuna for some Omega 3's and choose the good oils like olive oil, and incorporate more fiber in your diet...than you are set and on your way to a healthy lifestyle.

In other healthy news...did you know that February is American Heart month, go here to learn more about it.

90% of women have one or more risk factors for developing heart disease. If you are following the above diet guidelines above, than you are already taking one step in decreasing those odds.

Well, there you have it. I told you it would be quite boring. Next time, after the snow goes away and I can buy regular groceries and cook again...I will have some yummy nutritious recipes.

Nutrition Thursday

I really need to find a better name for this. Nutrition Thursday just doesn't have that WOW factor...and I need a WOW factor...thoughts?? Any and all ideas are welcome.


After Taylor's Top 2 Tuesday of Healthy Recipes and Snacks...I decided I would make Thursdays my go to day of all things nutrition and health. I love everything about nutrition ( I should, it is where all my money or my parents money went for four years of my life, studying it at college) so why not put some of that knowledge to good use and share it with all y'all!! I love to cook, I don't cook that often...I don't really have an excuse as to why I don't...its just hard sometimes to cook for one person, you know? Plus, sometimes I work late and just don't have time to cook. Now that I "supposedly" have -- I may or may not be in denial about this--a dairy allergy, I have to be more cautious in what I am eating. I can't just rely on my lean cuisine's anymore and fast food...which is not healthy anyway--I shouldn't have been doing that in the first place. Cooking my own food is really my best option to insure I am dairy free--at least until Feb. 17th when hopefully the doctor tells me I can have cheese again...fingers crossed people.


So, I will posting my favorite healthy recipes, nutrition facts and exercise tips, though I don't have many exercise tips...so anyone fill free to give me some : )


I subscribe to Cooking Light magazine, I get a ton of my favorite recipes from here. I love it because it lists the nutrition content for every recipe and they have a variety of recipes to choose from. I also love the Hungry Girl cookbooks and Ellie Krieger--she is a chef on the food network, an RD and has a great cookbook.


This is a recipe from Hungry Girl...its is a breakfast cookie. I love these. So filling and easy to make. Just grab and go with you for breakfast or a snack later. They are not the most attractive cookies, but looks don't matter...its all about the healthy goodness. Recipe below:


Hungry Girl Grab and Go Breakfast Cookies





Ingredients: 1/2 cup regular oats (not instant) 
6 tbsp. whole-wheat flour 
1/4 cup Fiber One bran cereal (original), ground to a breadcrumb-like consistency in a blender or food processor 
1/4 cup Splenda No Calorie Sweetener (granulated) 
1/3 cup Gerber Peaches (or another brand of pureed peaches, found in the baby food aisle) 
1/4 cup canned pure pumpkin 
1/4 cup fat-free liquid egg substitute (like Egg Beaters Original) 
1 tbsp. golden raisins 
1 tbsp. Ocean Spray Craisins (original) 
2 tbsp. brown sugar, not packed 
2 tsp. Coffee-mate Sugar Free French Vanilla powdered creamer
1/2 tsp. baking powder 
1/2 tsp. cinnamon 
1/8 tsp. salt 


Directions:
Preheat oven to 375 degrees.

Chop raisins and Craisins into small pieces. Set aside.

In a mixing bowl, combine the oats, flour, Fiber One crumbs, Splenda, brown sugar, baking powder, cinnamon, and salt. Mix well.

In a separate bowl, dissolve Coffee-mate into 2 tbsp. hot water. Add all other wet ingredients (pureed peaches, pumpkin, and egg substitute), and mix well.

Add liquid mixture to the dry ingredients, and stir until completely blended. Slowly sprinkle chopped raisins and Craisins into the batter, making sure they don't all stick together.

Spray a large baking pan with nonstick spray, and spoon batter into 4 evenly spaced circles. Spread batter out a bit with the back of a spoon. Place pan in the oven for 12 - 14 minutes (until tops of the treats are just slightly crispy). Remove pan from the oven and allow to cool slightly. Then grab 'n go


Nutrition Information:


PER SERVING (1 cookie): 154 calories, 1.5g fat, 166mg sodium, 32.5g carbs, 5g fiber, 10.5g sugars, 5g protein


I think I need to make me some of these tonight.

Top 2 Tuesday

Top two healthy recipes and snacks

I love this topic because having a degree in Nutrition and being the snacker that I am, I am always on the look out for new and fun ideas of healthy snacks. That being said, having recently been told that I quite possibly have a dairy allergy ( no bueno ) my snacks needed changing. Instead of my go to yogurt and nuts, string cheese, baby bell cheeses...I have to resort to something non-dairy and I haven't quite found anything as tasty : (

So, I will do my favorite snacks pre-dairy allergy

1. I love chocolate..who doesn't?? I also love granola so when I found these little guys I knew it had to be super tasty. Nature Valley Granola Thins Crispy Squares in Dark Chocolate. 1 pouch has 80 calories, 4g of Fat, and only 6g sugar. I like to crumble it and pour it into yogurt..I should say LIKED since both of these contain dairy. Bummer.

2. Another snack that is both yummy and dairy free is nuts. Preferably almonds. Almonds have more calcium than any other nut and are an excellent source of monounsaturated and polyunsaturated oils...the good oils, which will help lower your LDL cholesterol (the bad cholesterol) and help raise your HDL cholesterol (the good cholesterol), they are also an excellent source in protein, Iron, Zinc and Vitamin E. 

20-25 almonds contain as much calcium as 1/4 cup of milk...this is good for us non-dairy peeps. I like to buy huge bags of almonds and just eat handfuls at a time, but almonds can be pretty pricey, so I found this, Emerald 100 calorie pack almonds...its the perfect size for your on-the-go snack or your at-your-desk snack

Hope you enjoyed these healthy snack ideas as well as your useful knowledge of nutrition...gotta sneak in some facts every once in a while : )

Happy Tuesday Everyone!!

XOXO,

Lyndse

It's that time again...

If you don't like something, change it. If you can't change it, change your attitude.
-- Maya Angelou

As I stated in my first posts on this little blog of mine, I am getting my bootie back in gear and getting in shape even if it kills me...which it very well could, because these days I get winded just talking about it. I do have a bachelors in Nutritional Sciences, so you would think eating right wouldn't be a problem...for the most part its not. However, this girl...loves her sweets. Chocolate, Ice Cream, cake, sugar, sugar and sugar....they are all my friends. Its time that I have a little heart to heart with said friends in fact I am thinking of breaking up with them. Cold Turkey. Maybe not cold turkey, I don't want to eliminate my actual friends with my crazy behavior having gone off the sweets. It truly is an addiction. I don't have any other vices, so having a major sweet tooth shouldn't be that big of a deal. Oh but it is. If only I could be allergic to the stuff like my mom...poor thing, she is allergic to everything that is good. Milk, eggs, peanuts...oh and the big one CHEESE!! Holy cow, if I couldn't have cheese, like ever...I would literally go insane. If only I could trick my mind into thinking I am allergic to everything that is bad for me, but we all know that wouldn't work.

So, in order to keep me on track in my pursuit of consuming less sugar...I have download this little handy dandy app to my phone. It is awesome. Its called  My Fitness Pal. This little gadget is seriously amazing. First off, you can enter all your stats, like how much you weigh, how much weight you want to loose, your height, how active you are, etc. Once you enter all that it calculates how many calories you need to eat during the day to reach your weight loss goal. It also allows you to search for your food and enter it...so its an electronic food diary, as long as it has your food in its database, which it has a lot of different items, i,e. fast food/restaurant chains, foods you buy at the grocery store, pretty much everything. This keeps track of everything you are putting in your mouth and breaks it all down, fat, protein, carbs, fiber, sugar, vitamins. EVERYTHING!! You can also enter in your exercises and it calculates how many calories your burned. Surely with this little app...I will finally kick my sugar habit...or at least put a nice little dent in it : )

XOXO,
Lyndse