Pumpkin Spice Muffins

It's that time of year where you can get pumpkin everything!  Pumpkin coffee, pumpkin beer, pumpkin ravioli.  You name it, someone's made it pumpkin!  I, for one, LOVE pumpkin, but most everything out there has been filled with tons of sugar and fat.  These muffins aren't exactly "healthy," but they are lighter than usual, have added fiber, and are portion controlled!

The muffin recipe is from HungryGirl.  It's so simple, you'll be amazed at how easy it is to get delicious results.
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Take one box of spice cake mix.  Add in one 15oz. can of pure pumpkin (be careful NOT to use pumpkin pie mix.  Only pure pumpkin).  Mix.  Fill 24 mini-muffin tins with the batter.  Bake according to package directions, or until a toothpick comes out clean.  Don't over bake.  That's it.  

While they are cooling, put about 1/4 cup of cream cheese frosting in a pan, and melt it over very, very low heat.  If you make the heat too high, it will separate.  Stir while it melts, and shut off the heat as soon as it's all melted.  Dip in cooled muffins to just glaze the tops.  

Viola!  Pumpkin spice muffins!  Each mini muffin has about 85 calories (depending on the exact cake mix and frosting you use).  Not to shabby, if you ask me!  So moist and delicious, perfect for something sweet this time of year!  They are best eaten on the same day as the frosting tends to get a little melty overnight.

Change of Priorities

Over the past 2 weeks, I've had a personal revelation of sorts- my priorities are being happy and healthy.  Not being skinny, not running a marathon, not eating certain things.  I want to be happy and healthy.

I'm not going to weight myself weekly anymore.  It's not a "goal" for me.  I've always been an extremely confident person, and strangely enough, when I focused on weight loss and did lose a whole bunch, I lost my confidence!  I remember being so confused, but I couldn't find my confidence.

I was also broken when I realized how much weight I put back on since then.  That also made me miserable.  I can't focus on that, though, or it will ruin me.

So, here's the new plan.  My goal is to be happy while being healthy, and hopefully losing weight will be a positive side effect.

Instead of trying to squeeze into my "skinny" clothes, I went out and bought clothing that fits.  I didn't buy an entire wardrobe, but enough bottoms and tops to get me through my days.

I got a full body massage.  It was glorious, as am I, both inside and out.

I got a mani/pedi, a new haircut and color.  Seems normal, but I never spend money on myself, especially not in the "pampering" department.  I am so happy that I did, I feel unstoppable!

I am trying my best to eat healthy, but if I really want something, I have it and don't regret it.  I'm not eating donuts and fast food all day, don't worry, but my fried calamari at dinner last night was AMAZING!!!  Like, the best I've ever had.  No regrets.

I am still going to the gym.  It makes me feel good, and I love when I surprise myself and am stronger than I give myself credit for. 

My self confidence is the highest it's been in a very, very long time!

So, here's my advice:  Make yourself happy and be healthy.  Live life, but don't go overboard!

Bai Bai Bai

I've been very curious about this new beverage that seemed to be popping up everywhere called Bai 5.  The flavors look so enticing!  
And I start singing *N Sync whenever I say the name!

I was having a craving for something coconut the other week, so I grabbed a bottle of their Bai 5 Molokai Coconut flavored drink.  And then I was hooked!  
I haven't tried them all, but so far my favorite flavors are the 
Bai 5 Molokai Coconut, Ipanema Pomegranate and Malawi Mango.  
The Bai 5 drinks have about 10 calories in a bottle.

I decided to look more into the product and ingredients before posting here, because, as we have seen lately, what might appear healthy on the surface rarely is under the microscope.

GOOD NEWS!!!  It appears that they are actually telling the truth about their product!  Unheard of!  First off, I can pronounce and know what the vast majority of the ingredients are.  The only one I wasn't familiar with was erythritol (labeled as a natural sweetener).  After reading a few articles about it, it's a sugar alcohol that has almost no effect on the body.  That being said, if you are avoiding "fake" sugars, etc, this would be the only downside about this product.  

Bai 5 drinks are gluten free, GMO free, soy free, and besides tasting yummy, they are also packed with antioxidants derived from coffee fruit (the flesh around coffee beans).

I have been making a habit of bringing a bottle with me to the gym.  I find it very refreshing, and hopefully the antioxidant component is having some sort of positive effect as well.

The downside?  Price.  It sells online for almost $3 a bottle (when you buy a 12 bottle case).  I was lucky enough to find it in my favorite grocery store for $2.19 a bottle, still steep, but not bad when I keep it to a workout beverage.  

Bottom line:  It's tasty and low calorie, so don't be afraid to try it!

Weekly Weigh In

Down another 1.5 lbs this week!

 

I can't get the pictures to be the same size.  It's making me a bit twitchy!!!

I finally went shopping since school is starting soon (gasp!). 

I feel so much better now that I have some nice clothes that fit me and that I feel good in!

My arms and abs are nice and sore today from my kettlebell workout yesterday, and I like it!  I'm going to keep that up, plus my workouts on the elliptical.

I've been doing pretty good with my food.  My next major change is going to be to try and reduce my sodium intake.  I never realized how much sodium I consume in a day!  It's crazy!  Little by little, I'm going to work on it!

Spicy Shrimp and Cabbage Soup

I love soup.  Doesn't matter whether it's summer or winter, I just enjoy a big, hot bowl of soup!  I was craving soup the other day, so I took a look through my always well stocked kitchen, and created this delicious soup!

I make it a point to keep my kitchen stocked with the basics, and then some.  That way, I always have something healthy to make, and can resist ordering out or grabbing fast food.  The only thing in this recipe that I don't usually have was the cabbage, but luckily I picked up a head at the store yesterday!  I make sure to always keep a bag of frozen, cleaned raw shrimp in my freezer.  They thaw out in minutes and cook quickly, and are such a great protein!

This recipe makes 2 servings.  

Each serving has 204 calories, 31.5g carbs, .5 g fat, and 15g protein.

Ingredients

• 4 cups chicken broth
• 75g buckwheat noodles (I use Sau Tao noodles, they are pre-portioned into 75g bunches.  Each bunch has 264 calories, so depending on your noodles, you might have a higher/lower calorie count)
• 2 cups napa cabbage, roughly chopped
• 12 shrimp, raw and cleaned (if frozen, thaw before using)
• 1 tbsp sriracha sauce

Bring broth to a boil in a medium pot.  Add noodles, stirring to avoid clumping.  After about a minute, add the cabbage and sriracha.  When noodles are almost done, add shrimp. Cook until shrimp are just cooked through, about 2 minutes.

Enjoy!

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Weekly Weigh In and Chicago

This week, I maintained my weight.  I am guessing that I did lose a little before I went away and then put some on.  My body feels bloated still from eating more salt/fat/sugar than I normally do on a regular basis.  I'm calling this week my detox week!

I spent 3 days in Chicago for a mini-vacation with my best friend.  She was there working, so I was on my own for the most part.  I had a great time!  The weather was beautiful, so I spent most of my days walking around.  The first day I forgot to track my miles, but I used my free Endomondo app the rest of the time (a really great app if you want to track any sort of outside activity!).  It tracks how far, how long, average speed, and more!  Here are a few examples of the feedback from the app:

I walked over 30 miles while i was there!  My legs are exhausted, but I'm proud of myself!  There were a few times when I really wanted to hop on a bus or in a cab, but I didn't!!!  

I'm not going to lie, I ate a bunch of stuff that isn't on the weight-loss wagon, but that's part of travel for me.  I did discover some delicious, healthy meals along the way!

Crepes filled with spinach and mushrooms at the farmers market (above)
Grilled fish tacos at Howells & Hood (below)

The rest of my meals weren't horrible, health-wise (except the deep dish pizza- which, in retrospect, I shouldn't have eaten- I was so disappointed in the taste!  I'll stick to NY style pizza, thank you!), but they weren't healthy, either.  

I'm glad to be home, back in my routine and my kitchen!

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Huevos Rancheros

I will start off by saying I've never had huevos rancheros before, so I don't know how authentic this recipe is.  I can tell you that it's delicious!!!

I often get in a breakfast rut, having yogurt, oatmeal or a shake.  Sometimes I want something different, and this was perfect!

The recipe below is for a single serving, multiply as needed.  Each serving has 247 cals, 24g carbs, 8g fat and 14g protein.

Ingredients
1/4 white onion, diced
2 tomatoes, diced
1-2 tbsp adobo sauce (from canned chipotle peppers in sauce, start with 1 and adjust depending on how much spice you like- I like mine spicy so I added 2 tbsp)
1 tsp salt
Pinch black pepper
1/4 tsp cumin
1 egg
1 corn tortilla (I used a Mission extra thin yellow corn tortilla, one has 40 cals)
2 tbsp reduced fat Mexican blend shredded cheese
olive oil spray

Spray pan and place over medium heat.  Add onions and sauté until softened and beginning to brown.  Add tomatoes, adobo sauce, salt, pepper and cumin.  Reduce heat and simmer, stirring occasionally.

Meanwhile, spray each side of the tortilla with olive oil spray.  Heat a pan over medium heat.  Place tortilla in pan, heat each side until it begins to form bubbles and brown.  Be careful not to burn!  Remove from pan.  

Spray pan , continue to use medium heat, and crack egg in.  I like to cover my pan with foil so that the whites set without overcooking the yolk.  Cook until desired doneness, I like mine yolky!

Plate tortilla, then egg.  Cover with sauce, and sprinkle cheese over top.  Enjoy!