Healthy, Happy Gifts for Fitness Friends

My favorite time of the year is just around the corner and I have already started Christmas shopping. I have been brainstorming gift ideas for a while now and I have come up with some really great ideas for gifts that promote a healthy lifestyle. I think these gifts are not only good for those fitness junkies but also those who are a little intimated by the thought of getting fit or living healthier.

1. Hamilton Beach Personal Blender with Travel Lid  -  $14.85

A really great gift for those on the go. I love this for making quick and easy smoothies at work or on a road trip in a hotel.

2. Groupon
Don't forget to check Groupon for some really awesome activities that could be given as gifts. There's the typical things such as yoga or kickboxing classes and there's even out-of-the-box ideas like self-defense lessons or backpacking trips.

3. Veggetti Spiral Vegetable Slicer  -  $12.13
My new favorite kitchen tool. Veggetti spins vegetables into long pieces of spaghetti. I've used it for the typical zucchini but also for butternut squash. It makes a really great gift for those trying to cut back the calories or just love experimenting in the kitchen.

4. Fun Gym Tanks
Do you have a bestie that you workout with or just a good gym buddy? Funny and sarcastic tank tops are an awesome gift for any of the above. I am in love with these Mean Girls Quote Tank Tops  It's hard to go wrong with anything Mean Girls related.

5. Nalgene BPA-Free Water Bottle  -  $9.97
Who doesn't love a reusable water bottle? Nalgene water bottles are my favorite because they have the wide mouth that you can fill with ice. They also come in tons of awesome colors! If you want to go the extra mile you can get a vinyl monogram from Etsy ($5) to personalize the gift.

6. Fitbit Zip  -  $47.94

My favorite gift to give or get is a Fitbit. The Zip is the cheapest but does what most of the other Fitbits can; it's not only a pedometer but also tracks calories burned, miles, and distance. It syncs to other fitness apps like MyFitnessPal to help achieve weighloss goals. I love giving the Fitbit as gifts because you can compete with your friends and family to see who walked the most that day or week, turning it into a fun little competition. 

What healthy, active presents are you asking Santa for this year?

Being Healthy at the Movies

It's hard staying on track especially when I'm going out with friends. A couple days ago I went to go see Annabelle, which by the way was SUPER freakin' scary. I wanted to stay on track so I packed my own snacks and a big bottle of water.

I brought my bottle of water and a packet of Crystal Light just in case. I also brought a mini bag of Boom Chicka Pop and a little bag of organic gummy bears. I'm a gummy bear addict and these ones by YumEarth Organics are super yummy.

I've gotta say if you like horror movies Annabelle is a must see. I'm a bit of a horror movie junkie and Annabelle is one of the scariest movies I've ever seen. I haven't been this scared in theaters since I saw Paranormal Activity the first time and Annabelle is probably 100x scarier than Paranormal Activity.

Homemade Egg White Delight

I'm back!!! And hopefully for good this time. Quick catch up since it's been months since I've posted anything. The company I was working for closed down and it got me into a bit of a rut and I was too stressed being out of work to count calories and diet and I kind of fell off the wagon but I'm back. I have a really great job at an accounting firm and I'm ready to get back in this.

I have a terrible habit of running late for work. When I notice that I'm running late and ran out of time to make breakfast I end up stopping at the McDonald's on the way and picking up an Egg White Delight. It's only 250 calories and its super tasty but it's probably not all that great for me or my wallet. So I decided that I would go ahead and make a few of my own and stick them in the freezer. Whenever I am running a bit late I'll take one from the freezer, stick it in my bag and heat it up in the microwave at work. After the egg was done I placed the three slices of ham on the hot skillet and let them fry up a bit.

Ingredients:

1 light whole grain English muffin

2 large egg whites

1 mini Babybel light cheese

3 slices thin sliced lean smoked ham

I just threw the English muffin in the toaster oven and while it was toasting I fried up the egg in Pam. While the egg was cooking I rolled out the Babybel so that it was fat and large enough to fit on my sandwich.

For the rest of the sandwiches I just wrapped them in aluminum foil and placed them in the freezer. So now whenever I'm running late I can just grab one and take it to work. All I have to do now is unwrap the sandwich and place it in the microwave for 2 minutes. 

Nutrition Facts

Serving Size 204 g

Amount Per Serving

Calories  220                     Calories from Fat  51

% Daily Value*

Total Fat  5.7g 9%

Saturated Fat  2.6g 13%

Trans Fat  0.0g

Cholesterol  45mg 15%

Sodium  1128mg 47%

Potassium  108mg 3%

Total Carbohydrates  25.4g 8%

Dietary Fiber  8.0g 32%

Sugars  0.9g

Protein  19.6g

Vitamin A 6% • Vitamin C 0% Calcium 35% • Iron 9%

Nutrition Grade B-

* Based on a 2000 calorie diet

Getting Back On Track

I haven't posted in over a month and I have about a million excuses but I still feel really guilty. Back in the beginning of December I had finals that I was studying for and I started stress snacking. I know, I know I could have been snacking on good nutritious things but I sabotaged myself. BUT I will have you know that I did get all A's this past semester :) 

After finals it was the holidays and I love holiday treats. My holidays consisted of a smorgasbord of healthy nutritious foods and homemade sugary treats and of course copious amount of Champagne. My workout schedule dwindled down to nothing and now it's time to get back in the game.

For the past 2 weeks I have slowly been fixing my eating and going to the gym at least 30 minutes each day. 

Here are a couple of things I was eating last week. (top left to bottom right) 1.Cranberry walnut salad with feta, 2. Jimmy Dean's Breakfast Delights with the egg removed and two clementines, 3. grilled chicken and cheese quesadilla with grape tomatoes and cilantro, 4. brown rice with black beans, corn, and grilled chicken topped with guacamole, 5. cucumber and hummus.

It's been difficult to get back on track and I am constantly forgetting my lunch at home and having to improvise with what I have at work but I'm slowly getting back to where I was before. 

It's just a good reminded to always stay focused because it's harder to start back up than to just keep going.

Celestial Seasonings Sugar Cookie Sleigh Ride

I love Christmastime! But it's tricky staying healthy during the holidays because there are soooo many treats everywhere! I wanted to share this really great tea I found at the grocery store the other day. It's Celestial Seasonings Sugar Cooke Sleigh Ride. It's delicious! It doesn't quite taste like a sugar cookie but it does help when I have a sweets craving and can't afford to actually have sugar cookies. 

What is your trick to avoiding too many holiday treats?

How to Survive Thanksgiving

Thanksgiving is one of my favorite holidays! Food, family, friends, what more could you ask for? But it can be hard to stay healthy on a day that revolves around food. I thought I'd share my tips for surviving Thanksgiving. 

1. Remember to eat breakfast. I know it may seem like a good idea to wait until dinner to eat but by the time dinner comes you're starving and will eat everything. I plan on having pumpkin pie oatmeal for breakfast so that I can handle the rest of the day without going crazy at dinner time. 
2. Help with the cooking. If you can help cook than you should totally do it. When you're in the kitchen you will not only know what's going into the food but you may also have some say in making things healthier. 
3. Make a dish. To ensure that there are going to be healthy options I plan on making sauteed green beans. I'm also going to throw together a salad. This way I know I have something healthy to eat and I won't be entirely filling up on mash potatoes and stuffing.
4. Stick with the turkey breast. If your family is like mine we typically have several meat options, turkey, ham, roast beef. Try to stick with the turkey breast and remove the skin (the skin is the best part! but that's where most of the fat and calories hide). 
5. Eat dessert. Don't deprive yourself of dessert. Grab a slice of pie and enjoy. I will be enjoying my crust-less pumpkin pie with a huge dollop of whip cream.
6. Play Football. I've heard a lot of families play football after dinner. My family doesn't do this awesome tradition but I think this is a great year to start. It doesn't matter how many people you can gather to play as long as you can get outside and run around for a bit. 
7. Bonus tip! A friend gave me great advice a couple years ago about how to handle those AWFUL personal questions that family always seems to ask during the holidays. When are you graduating?, Do you have a boyfriend?... Respond to their question with a question. Relatives love to tell stories about when they were younger so if your aunt asks you about your last date turn it around and ask her about her best or worst date when she was your age. It works every time.

Happy Thanksgiving ya'll! 

Do you have any tips for surviving Thanksgiving?

50 Calorie Brownie Bites

Happy Halloween!

I'm getting ready for my Halloween Party this weekend and was asked several times to make my brownie bites. I love these things because they are wicked easy to make. I've made these before and I swear to you that no one could tell they were low-cal.

I cannot take credit for this recipe though because it it a Hungry Girl Recipe . 

It's really simple. Just two ingredients; Ghirardelli Dark Chocolate Brownie Mix with Chocolate Chips and one can of Libby's Pumpkin (Pumpkin Puree NOT Pumpkin Pie Filling). I like the Ghirardelli mix the best because it is super chocolatey but you could make it even lower calories if you used a sugar free brownie mix. 

I pinky promise to you that you do not taste the pumpkin at all. I made these for my mom a few weeks ago and she hates pumpkin and she had no idea they were made with pumpkin. The chocolate completely masks the pumpkin. 

The pumpkin also makes these brownies much healthier than the regular egg and oil recipe. According to the National Cancer Institute, pumpkins have the antioxidant beta-carotene, which can help prevent cancer. Pumpkin is also loaded with Potassium. So if you needed an excuse to eat brownies there ya go!

Following the directions on the box of Brownie mix I set the oven to 325.

Just mix both ingredients in a large bowl until smooth.

Then drop a heaping Tbsp of the batter into a greased mini muffin pan. I used a mini muffin pan but you could also use a brownie pan and just cut them into small squares. 

Before placing in the preheated oven I measured out 2 tsp of sprinkles and sprinkled a little on each little brownie.

Bake for 30 minutes.

Take them out and let them cool. 

I like them best warm, my mom likes them when they are frozen. Really they are good no matter what AND they are ONLY 50 calories each! 

Yay! for low-cal chocolate treats!! :)

Today at work I wore a little witches hat. 

What are you wearing today for Halloween?

Nutrition Facts

Serving Size 23 g (1 brownie bite)

Amount Per Serving

Calories50 Calories from Fat17

% Daily Value*

Total Fat1.9g 3%

Trans Fat0.0g

Cholesterol0mg 0%

Sodium39mg 2%

Total Carbohydrates10.5g 3%

Protein0.7g

Vitamin A 25% • Vitamin C 0% Calcium 0% • Iron 2%

Nutrition Grade C+

* Based on a 2000 calorie diet

Makes 48 Brownie Bites!

October Before & After

Just a quick post for today. I was going through my iPad photos earlier today looking for pictures of Halloween last year and I found this picture and thought "Wow! I don't remember being that big." I thought it would be a good picture to do a before and after. I just snapped a picture of me to compare and I think there is a pretty noticeable difference. (My hair is definitely not as cute as my before but whatevs).

It hasn't been the fastest journey ever but I'm working at it every day and I am so happy and so much healthier. 

What's New!

October is almost over and I have not been posting nearly enough. I just wanted to share with ya'll what I've been up too and what I've been eating lately. 

I have become addicted to the grilled shrimp tacos from Wahoo's. 146 calories for one taco and another 100 calories for a side of guacamole. The best thing about the tacos is that one taco comes with two corn tortillas so I always separate them and make one taco into two tacos! 

My snack drawer in my desk at work. It is definitely looking healthier in here. Apples, oranges, banana, carrots, celery, grape tomatoes, Luna bars, Sun Chips, and my peanut butter and banana sandwich in the Tupperware. 

My current favorite blog (www.gosupersisters.com) has these AWESOME monthly workout/goal calendars that I am in love with! 

What have you been doing to keep healthy this month?