Need diet & exercise motivation? Buy Oxygen magazine!!

I usually stick to the mainstream women's health/fitness magazines, like Women's Health & Self but they always felt lacking in the info I was really looking for, namely practical meal ideas & workouts that felt new. I had seen this magazine on the newstand before but since many of the women are so buff (& some are even bodybuilders) I got scared off. But after many reccomendations from gals on a Fitness board I post on, I picked up an issue. Wow! This is exactly what I've been looking for! Lots of workout moves, none of that "Try this new walking workout!". And they whole magazine is focused on "clean eating". And while I haven't committed myself to that diet, I do like the straight forward approach. (Maybe I'll try to work that in with my calorie counting (that way I can still feel like I can eat chocolate & desserts. I can't ban anything without getting bitchy. lol)
If you are bored by the same-old fitness magazines, pick up an issue of this. You won't be disappointed.

Food: Things I've been loving recently

When I first started watching my weight I posted about the food I ate frequently that fit in with my diet. (You can see the post here: http://thelifeofamelie.blogspot.com/2010/05/obsession-phase-healthy-food.html ) Well, I've recently found some new loves & thought I should share them with you.




Crunchmaster Multi-Grain Crackers.
BF bought a big box of these at Sam's Club, I tried them & fell in love! They are a great salty fix, filling & are only 10 calories each (each cracker is about 2" big). I eat them quite frequently since I can only eat 4 or 6 & fit that into my daily calorie count easily.



Swiss Miss Fudge Bars
Only 100 calories each but quite a decent size. Guilt-free ice cream


World Catch Salmon Burgers
Another Sam's Club find (makes me wonder what kind of goodies we'd find if we had a Costco membership). Healthy, not too fishy. We like to eat them on the Oroweat Thin Rounds (I posted about them last time) w/spinach, tomato & dill mayo.



Luna Bars
I've been eating these for awhile. I always have one in my bag in case I'm out somewhere & get hungry (I get really shaky & sick when I feel hungry). At around 180 calories, these are nice for a snack when you don't feel like putting much thought into what you want to eat. I usually grab a variety from the boxes at the grocery store. They tend to be $.89-1.00 each. My fave flavor is Chocolate Raspberry.
NOTE: Another really yummy bar is the Clif Mojo trail mix bar in Mountain Mix. Has peanuts, pretzels, almonds, raisins & chocolate chip. It's also only 180 calories.



Mini Babybel Light cheese
At first I hesitated to try these because at $4-5 for 6, they were quite pricy. But then I found them at Sam's for $9 for 24, which is a great deal. These are 50 calories each & kinda taste like mozzerella. Individually wrapped so great to grab & go


Yoplait Greek yogurt
I was eating Chobani greek yogurt w/fruit but found that I preferred my yogurt plain w/a bit of honey. The main reason I chose this one is because it $1 for a 6 oz container at Walmart, which is the cheapest of the available kinds at that store.



Skinny Cow Peanut Butter & Chocolate Ice Cream Sandwiches
These are delish! 150 calories each


Pepperridge Farm Geneva cookie
This is my go-to cookie. If you only eat one (which is difficult), it's only 40 calories.


Werther's Original hard candy
I have quite a sweet tooth & having a cookie or a piece of chocolate a few times a day (even if only 40 calories each) does add up. Just 1 of these is around 25 calories, which is a bit better

Food: Black Bean Soup

This recipe is insanely easy & still really good.

1 T. olive oil
1 cup of salsa
1 can of black beans, rinsed
1 can of refried black beans
15 oz of chicken broth
Sour cream, optional

In a saucepan, heat the oil & add the salsa. Cook until hot, stirring frequently. Then add the rest of the ingredients, using a wooden spoons to break up & mix in the refried beans. When its hot & fairly smooth, it's done!

Food: Fajitas

This isn't something I normally make but I had leftover tortillas from the black bean quesadillas & an extra steak so fajitas sounded like a nice change of pace. It really was so easy & tasty that I think its something I'll have to make again soon.

For the steak, I cooked it ahead of time, let it rest & then cut into long strips. I then squeezed on half a lemon & used cumin, chili powder, onion powder & cilantro to season (I plan to experiment w/other seasonings though. Think the next batch will have more zest. Perhaps a bit of chipotle?)

I sliced up a green pepper into long thin strips, an onion into strips as well, and sliced some mushrooms. I heated up my cast-iron pan and added 1 clove of garlic, peeled but not chopped. Once garlic has browned, remove & throw in green peppers. Stir occasionally. When they start to brown, add the onion. I did the mushrooms in a separate pan but you could prob add them after the onions have browned if you want to have less dishes to wash. Once the onions are close to done, add the meat. Cook until heated through. Keep pan covered until ready to serve.

Warm up tortillas separately. Top with sour cream, cheese, salsa and/or guacamole.

Yes these could end up being high calorie but if you keep the toppings light it should be less than 400 calories.

Food: Black Bean Quesadillas

I got this recipe out of Women's Health Flat-Belly Fitness Guide book (the kind that's on the newstand next to the magazines). This tastes like something you'd get from Chili's & my BF has requested that I make it again (and he can be kind of fussy). And like everything else I make, its really very simple.

1 can of black beans, drained & rinsed
1 can of diced tomatoes with green chiles
2 T. ground cumin (sounds like a lot, I know)
1 clove chopped garlic (or 1 t jarrred)
4 fajita-size flour tortilas (I like the Mission Homestyle ones)
1 c. low-fat Mexican blend cheese

In a large skillet, cook black beans, tomatoes, cumin & garlic until liquid dissolves, stirring occassionally. (If you get impatient, feel free to pour some of the liquid off instead of waiting for it to evaporate.) Place folded tortillas on a plate, unfold & cover half with the bean mixture, top w/ 1/4 of the cheese. Fold the other side of the tortilla over the beans & cheese.
You can either broil these for 3-5 mins, flip then cook for 1-2 mins, watching carefully or cook on a cast-iron skillet (which is what I prefer).
Makes 4 servings.

Each serving is approx 330 calories.

Losing Weight: Progress Report

I am pleased to report that I have lost 7 lbs in the past 2 weeks! Which is 4 lbs under my pre-pregnancy weight. Only 6 more lbs to go before I reach my goal of 125. Then I'll re-assess to decide whether I need to lose more or not. I don't look great when I'm tiny - I have short stumpy legs & am flat-chested so I look best with a few extra lbs to make me appear more proportional.
I have lost this weight by eating between 1200-1300 calories daily. It can be difficult at times to stick within that range but I'm still able to have chips, dessert, etc. If I'm planning to have a big dinner I cut back during the day so that I won't go over my allotted calories. My snacking system works out quite well for this, since most of my snacks are under 200 calories. I also measure *everything*. Guesstimating is far from accurate & it messes up your running total. I don't have a food scale yet so I'm doing my best w/measuring cups & counting out individual pieces (for things like snack foods). Sparkpeople.com has been a huge help in keeping me on track. I've made it one of my homepages & I visit it frequently to input any foods I've eaten. Sometimes I put in everything I plan to eat for the rest of the day to see how much leftover I have for chocolate, chips, etc.
I like calorie counting because it doesn't cut out any food groups. Nothing is off limits, you just need to eat smaller quantities. It does encourage you to eat healthier because healthy food is usually much lower in calories. One pitfall would be all the super-fake, processed food thats low-cal but quite bad for you. I try to avoid that & concentrate more on smaller portions of real food.
As far as working out, I've been stretching & doing light yoga but I think my body is finally ready to start something a bit more strenuous. I will make a post about it when I start an actual routine.

Obsession Phase: Healthy Food - Calorie Counting

Finally had the baby (4 days late! A healthy, beautiful baby girl) so now I can kick my diet/weight-loss plan into gear. I am approx 137 & would like to get down to 125. I'll be eating pretty much the same as before, just smaller portions. To keep me on track, I signed up for www.sparkpeople.com so I could use their calorie counter. I only input today's food so far but already I'm seeing how off my guesstimates have been. Apparently I didn't think fruits or veggies had any calories. lol.
Hopefully I'll be able to stick with this for long enough to see results. I tend to be lazy & at least controlling what I eat doesn't require sweating. I still have a few weeks before I can start an exercise program. Exercise is something I have trouble making myself do so I will try to post whatever workout plans I'm doing to help keep me accountable.

Food: Dark Chocolate

I have a serious sugar addiction but I've been trying to curb it to just a few squares of dark chocolate a day. Now I've tried a few different kinds of dark chocolate & figured that I would write my thoughts about them.I started with Hershey's Special Dark. Even after trying other kinds, I still like this one & it's nice how readily available it is.
Next I tried Lindt 85% Extra Dark. This has a much more bitter flavor & a chalky feel is left on your tongue.

Next was Trader Joe's Swiss Dark Chocolate 70% (lime green box by checkout). I did like this one, very smooth & not too bitter.Then I tried Ghiradelli Espresso Escape. I was hoping this would have little coffee pieces in it but instead it just had a very intense bitter flavor, not really recognizable as espresso at all. I tried 2 pieces & actually threw the rest out.
Dove Dark was next. I think this is going to be my go-to, especially since I can buy a bag of the Promises & have them easily portion-controlled. Smooth, not bitter or overly sweet. Plus options like Almonds & Tiramusu.I also tried Cadbury Dark but this one was overly sweet.


I declare DOVE DARK CHOCOLATE the winner!!!!

Food: Tuscan Beans

Cook 1/2 lb of dry white beans according to direction on the package but add 1 T of dry sage to the water. When beans start to get soft (I start checking them after 20m or so) add salt to the water as well. When beans are tender, drain but don't rinse. Look through them & take out any empty husks that may have come off while cooking. Add a clove or 2 of minced garlic and more S&P.
Wash & cut up 1 red pepper. Cook in pan with a bit of water until tender but still firm.
Heat up 1 package of breakfast sausages, either in a pan or in the microwave. Cut into bite size pieces.
Mix all items together, reheat if needed, serve & enjoy!

Food: Flourless Peanut Butter Cookies

Yes, I've been trying to eat healthier recently but I still have a family & so I still end up baking. These cookies are very simple but incredibly rich tasting.

1 cup creamy peanut butter
1 cup sugar
1 egg

Preheat oven to 375. Mix all ingredients together. Roll into 1" balls, place on an ungreased cookie sheet. Press down with fork. Bake for approx 8 minutes (remember less is more with PB cookies, you don't want them to get hard when they're cooled). Cool for a minute on the baking sheet then transfer to a wire cooling rack.
Makes about 2 dozen

Food: S'Mores

I have *such* a weakness for S'Mores. I have a gas stove so I like to toast the marshmallow (using a fondue fork) over the open flame. Now obviously its not a healthy snack but when I calculated the calories, I found out that it's really not that bad.
1 graham cracker: 65 calories
1 marshmallow: 25 calories
1 mini chocolate bar: 75 calories

Total: 165 calories

So feel free to enjoy!!!!

NOTE: I buy the $1 packs of Hershey's fun-size Milk Chocolate Bars & break apart the squares so they evenly cover the cracker.

Books: Eat This, Not That: Supermarket Survivial Guide

Eat This, Not That: Supermarket Survival Guide. Since I've been on a recent health kick, its only natural that I've been trying to find whatever info I can about healthier food options. I read the 1st Eat This, Not That book but since I don't eat out all that often, it was more of a novelty than really useful. But this is exactly what I needed. Not only does it have a bunch of info about choosing healthier versions of popular foods but it also has recipes, best salad bar choices, when fruits & veggies are in season & how to pick & store them, and things to watch out for on nutrition labels.
This really is a great book. And while I would've preferred even more eat this, not that examples, I do realize that there is only so much you can fit on a page. Buy this & use it as a reference book.

A Day in the Life: Food

I need to start by saying that I absolutely cannot skip meals. I get shaky, dizzy, weak & mean if I don't eat something every few hours. So its only natural that I snack a lot. I've recently replaced my lunch with a snack so now I eat breakfast, 3 snacks & then dinner. I do not like to deprive myself & while I'm not at all picky, I will not eat anything I don't like. I do try to control portions whenever possible, including sectioning out large bags of things into smaller baggies so that I don't overeat. I am a bit addicted to sugar so I've worked it out so that I can have my sugar fix without going crazy.

7-8am: Kashi GoLean Crunch cereal. 1 cup measured out w/a handful of thawed blueberries. Hot water w/lemon.

10am, noon & 3pm: Various snacks. Here are some examples:
2 Wasa crackers spread w/1 Laughing Cow cheese, sometimes topped w/tomatoes
& lunchmeat (also scooped out bagel can sub for crackers)
Apple & slice of cheese
Baggie of Planters Nut Clusters
Celery w/ either PB or cream cheese
Carrots dipped in hummus
1 hard pretzel
3 cups air-popped popcorn (made w/a bit of butter, salt & cheese powder)
Rice cakes
Cottage cheese w/fruit
Greek yogurt

3-4pm: 1 cups of Nescafe Classico made w/1% milk & a piece of chocolate (usually 1 square of a good quality dark chocolate)

6pm: Dinner. Can be any number of different things & I'm not strict about portion control for this meal. Some examples:
Stromboli (recipe posted in blog)
Various salads
Steak, potatoes & a veggie
Chicken sandwiches & french fries
Tuna sandwich & french fries
Smoked salmon on french bread w/cream cheese, tomato & spinach
BLTs (with turkey bacon & spinach)
Pizza from Papa Murphy's (always thin crust, my favorite is the Chicken Bacon
Artichoke)
Pasta (many different varieties, trying to switch to whole grain pasta)
Black Bean Soup
Etc... We don't eat a lot of prepared foods but I'm also not hardcore about making everything from scratch either. Some prepared fods we like are the Birds Eye frozen bag meals (Garlic Chicken) & various things from Trader Joes like the Butter Chicken & the Spinach Quiche (very high in calories but a super yummy occassional treat).

8pm: Dessert of some kind. Recently either a Dreyers Fruit Bar or Skinny Cow ice cream bar

NOTE: I usually only drink water w/lemon throughout the day, except for my daily coffee. On a very rare occassion I'll have a glass of homemade sweet tea. Rarely ever drink soda although if I get a craving I have no problem drinking one.

Obsession Phase: Healthy Food - Thoughts

I want to eat healthier. It sounds so simple. But something that should be simple is actually a confusing minefield, with conflicting information pulling you in every direction. Not only do you have all the diet trends like low carb-high protein, HFCS (high fructose corn syrup) is evil, vegetarian/vegan, low-fat, organic, "natural", etc but you also have calories, chemicals, price, and most importantly, taste to consider. And that's not even to mention the "good" & "bad" foods that studies are talking about on any particular week.
And overall, it's pretty much acknowledged by every group that you should keep track of how many calories you consume. But at what point do you trade calories for more natural ingredients?
For example, since its summer, I like to eat frozen treats. My original choices for popsicles were Dreyers Fruit Bars (multipack Strawberry, Raspberry & Tangerine - No Sugar Added). BUT I know that artifical sugar isn't good for you. The regular ones with sugar have 60 calories each, the ones with Splenda have 30 calories each. I originally chose the kind that I did because those were the flavors I liked better. But now I'm thinking that maybe I should get the bigger fruit bars (only 1 flavor per box) because I can get the flavors I want but with real sugar. But bigger also means 80-ish calories each, instead of my original 30.
Another frozen treat dilemma is ice cream. I tried & liked the Skinny Cow products. 100-170 calories each, depending on the product. But the ingredients are far from natural-sounding & go on for a full paragraph. Whereas the Haagen Dazs 5 ice cream has only 5 very common ingredients, but the calorie count is 220(-ish) for a 1/2 cup serving.
So what are you suppose to do?

Obsession Phase: Healthy Food

I recently got an increased food budget so I decided to use that to eat better. I usually eat pretty well (except for all the baking I like to do) but my main focus was always cost-cutting. And since I cook a lot from scratch (not too fancy or anything) I was able to do a lot with a very small budget. But now I have a little more spending money so I've been buying some of the popular but higher cost items I've heard so much about. Now this is a fairly new thing for me so I'm sure things will change a bit as time goes on.

Some of the foods I've tried so far:
Kashi GoLean Crunch!
Now I normally ate Honey Bunches of Oats with Almonds, Multi-Grian Cheerios or Grape Nuts Flakes for breakfast but I hated how I would be hungry again so soon. Now I read that the best cereals have less than 200 calories per serving, more than 3g of fiber & less than 8g of sugar. This one has 190 calories per (1 cup) serving, 8g of fiber and 13g of sugar. BUT it also has 9g of protein (which is a LOT for cereal). Also the 1 cup serving is somehow much more filling than most other cereals. I like to top this with fresh fruit (when I have it) or frozen blueberries (which I always try to have on hand).
Laughing Cow Light Original Swiss cheese
Now usually cheese is the 1st thing I omit when I'm trying to watch my weight. But I heard so many good things about this cheese that I had to try it. I will say, I am impressed. Very smooth & creamy & only 35 calories a serving. I like to spread it on....

Wasa Light Rye Crispbread
These kind of taste like a Triscuit. They are perfect for spreading cheese on since they are palm-sized (putting anything on tiny crackers gets on my nerves. lol). And 2 crackers are only 60 calories. They are very filling & great to pair with some fresh fruit as a snack.
Nature's Own Multi-Grain Sandwich Rounds
My BF turned me onto these. He doesn't like thick bread for sandwiches/burgers & I usually just skipped the bread completely & either turned the filling into salad toppings or ate the item as a lettuce wrap. But I really do like these. They have only 100 calories, 1 g fat and 5 g fiber each. Plus they taste really good.Jimmy Dean D-Lights Turkey Sausage Muffin breakfast sandwich
In general I don't think of my BF as someone who eats an overly healthy diet but I keep finding myself mentioning him while writing this entry. This is another thing that he turned me on to. A sandwich of turkey sausage, egg whites, and cheese on an english muffin. This is another thing we found at Sam's Club. MUCH, MUCH cheaper there. 12 for $11.50 rather than 4 for $5-6 (at Walmart). These taste really good, esp when you toast the muffin in the toaster. Also, only 260 calories.
Chobani Greek Yogurt
My BF always preferred Greek yogurt over regular but for me I didn't love how much honey I had to dump into it to make it yummy. Then one day at Sam's Club they were giving away samples of this, I tried it & loved it! All the benefits of Greek yogurt but none of the fussing with honey or other addictives. It is twice the price (at least) of regular yogurt but its worth it. We get the variety pack at Sam's so it comes to about $1/6 oz cup. It's also 140 calories with 14 g protein (twice the amount of regular yogurt).Hershey's Special Dark chocolate
I have a serious sweet tooth so I need to have my chocolate fix. Normally I get those $1 pack of mini chocolate bars (like Mounds, Snickers, Kit Kats, etc) but I've been trying to switch to dark chocolate since its healthier. I've also tried the Lindt 70% but I prefer the Hersheys. Although I do plan to try a lot of others before I settle on anything that I will repurchase.

Snyder's Sourdough Hard Pretzels
These aren't really a healthy food but I love them. Each pretzel is 100 calories so portion control is easy.

Dreyer's Fruit Bars
I've been eating these for awhile. I have some issues handling heat and since I live in the desert (not a wise move, I know) I often need to cool myself down. These are *perfect* for the job. I prefer to get the multi-pack of sugar-free ones with the flavors Raspberry, Orange & Strawberry. Only 25 calories each so I don't feel guilty eating several (if I feel the need).

Skinny Cow French Vanilla Truffle bars
Skinny Cow is another brand I've been hearing about for awhile but I avoiding purchasing because it was so pricey. Since the reviews of all of their products are so positive I wasn't sure what to try first so I just got these, mainly because they had the lowest calorie count (only 100 calories per bar). They are quite good, very creamy. I now want to try all of the other products they have. lol

Other snacks I tend to eat a lot are fresh fruit (apples, oranges, grapes, strawberries, etc), hot-air popcorn (usually with butter, salt & a cheese powder stuff. lol. Portion control is key there), cottage cheese with fruit (usually pineapple but BF like mandarin oranges so sometimes I eat those with it), various rice cakes, carrots dipped in hummus, celery with peanut butter, etc.

I'm still wanting to try those mini Babybel cheeses, some kind of trail mix, etc. Please feel free to comment with the healthy foods you enjoy since I'm looking to try new things!

Food: "Stromboli"

I found this recipe in a magazine but instead of buying a pizza crust like it called for I accidentally got a pie crust instead. But it turned out so yummy that I continued making that mistake.

"Stromboli"

1 pie crust
1/4 c. spaghetti sauce
1 package frozen spinach, thawed w/all water squeezed out or 10 oz fresh spinach, wilted
1-2 chicken breasts, cooked & cut into bite-size pieces
1 c. cheese
1 T. milk
fresh parmesan

375 degrees. Unroll the pie crust on a baking sheet or pizza stone. Spread the sauce over the crust, leaving the outer 1/2" dry. Arrange the spinach down the middle of the crust, then layer the chicken pieces over it, topping with the cheese. Cut strips down each side & fold over each other (see pic). Brush w/milk & grate parmesan over the top. Bake 12-15m.

Food: Southwest Salad

I like to make simple, yummy meals. This is one of my favorite salads. It's spinach, crumbled up tortilla chips, corn, black beans, tomatoes & chipotle-ranch dressing. I usually skip the cheese just to save a few calories. Spinach adds even more vitamins. Don't skip the tomatoes, it makes the flavor even better. No meat required since you are getting protein from the beans so its quite cheap too. Since chipotle-ranch dressing can be difficult to find (and I'm in the Southwest US) just mix a bit of chipotle powder in with regular ranch dressing.

Try it! It's a great salad.