I'm Peelin' the Love. Are you?

Hey y'all!  Have I ever told you what my favorite fruit is?  No?  It's the banana.  I love everything that I've ever tasted that's made with bananas.  Banana bread, banana sandwiches, banana in my oatmeal, banana ice cream, banana everything! 

Did you know that bananas are super healthy?

• They help regulate and/or lower blood pressure
• Studies have shown that kids who eat a banana a day are 34% less likely to develop asthma
• Bananas can help reduce the risk of childhood leukemia and they are associated with a lower risk of colorectal cancer
• They support heat health and can help reduce a person's risk of cardiovascular disease
• They help reduce the risk of stroke, muscle loss, and preserve bone density and aid memory
• Lowers blood glucose levels in Type 1 diabetics and improve blood sugar, insulin and lipids in Type 2 diabetics
• Can be used to treat diarrhea

When I was contacted by Dole to be a Blog Ambassador for their Peel the Love Tour I was so excited.    What is Peel the Love?  It's a year long Dole campaign that celebrates the fun, irreverence, and whimsical side of bananas.  They are doing a Peel the Love "Banana Cabana" Tour that is traveling coast-to-coast.  It's going to cover 26 cities and luckily Jacksonville is one of them!

Here's the dates that they will be at the Winn - Dixies in the Jacksonville area. 

7/20 – Winn-Dixie (96076 Lofton Square Ct., Yulee, FL) – 10am-1pm

7/20 – Winn-Dixie (947 Amelia Plaza, Fernandina Beach, FL) – 3-6pm

7/21 – Winn-Dixie (450078 SR 200, Callahan, FL) – 11am-2pm

7/24 – Winn-Dixie (1545 County Rd. 220, Orange Park, FL) – 10am-1pm

7/24 – Winn-Dixie (290 Solana Rd., Ponte Vedra, FL) – 3-6pm

7/25 – Winn-Dixie (703 Chaffee Rd., Jacksonville, FL) – 10am-1pm

7/25 – Winn-Dixie (5647 Roosevelt Blvd., Jacksonville, FL) – 3-6pm

Not in the Jacksonville area?  Click HERE to find out when the Peel the Love "Banana Cabana" Tour will be coming to a city near you!

Here's one of my favorite banana desserts.  I even made this for myself for dessert on vacation!



Grilled Peanut Butter Banana

Ingredients
1 banana
1 T PB2 mixed with .5 T water
1-2 T sugar free maple syrup
Cinnamon

Directions

1. Spray a piece of aluminum foil with pan spray
2. Slice your banana in half lengthwise and lay on the foil
3. Spread the PB2 on one half, sprinkle with cinnamon and drizzle half of the syrup
4. Put the two halves back together, drizzle with the other half of the syrup, and wrap the tinfoil tightly around the banana
5. Place on the grill for 10-15 minutes until the banana is warm, soft and brown.
6. Let cool for 2-3 minutes before eating

{It can also be done in a 350 degree oven for 15-25 minutes}

Option 2:  

Directions

1. Wrap whole banana in sprayed tinfoil
2. Grill for 10-15 minutes
3. When it's cool enough to handle {but still warm} mush it with a fork
4. Lay out 8 graham cracker halves
5. Spread PB2 on 4 halves, and top with a chocolate square.  
6. On the other 4 halves spread a thick layer of the warm banana mush.  
7. Put a PB2 cracker and a banana cracker together

Voila!  A Peanut Butter Chocolate Banana S'more!  Perfect, healthy camping dessert!

What's your favorite banana recipe?  Are y'all going to join me at Winn-Dixie???  

Pure Lyft Review

I got the chance to sample Pure Lyft Energy Sticks.  I stuck it in my purse and ended up testing it out while I was waiting for Kaylee at swim practice.  It gave me just enough of a pick me up.  

I have been trying to cut back on soda and MiO and this was perfect.  The energy is an all natural green coffee bean extract.  It has vitamins A and B, and no calories.  It has just as much caffeine as a tall cup of coffee.  You just put the stick in your drink and let it sit for atleast 20 seconds.  I stuck it in my water bottle and just left it there.

I love this stuff.  I will definitely be buying more of these.

Check out Pure Lyft Online
Or on Facebook
Or Twitter

Vega Sport Preformance Protein #FuelYourBetter

Since I am a SweatPink Ambassador I occasionally get the opportunity to review products.  I love product reviewing!  Honestly I haven't recieved a product to test and review that I haven't loved.

The review opportunity this time came from Vega Sport.  I could pick from the many Vega Sport products.  I chose the Recovery Protein.  Have you ever felt this way?

I know I do from time to time.  The theme of this campaign was #FuelYourBetter.  I drank it after each of my workouts.  {I normally have a snack at 10 after the gym} 

I definitely noticed that I wasn't as sore for the 12 days that I drank it.  It honestly helped me so I could hit the gym the next day, and the next day, and the next day.....

What is Vega Sport Performance Protein?  Well, it's a plant-based {vegan} protein powder.  It has 5,500 mg of BCAAs {Branched-chain amino acids} and 5,000 mg of glutamine {another amino acid} per serving. 

Vega Sport Performance was created to:

• Improve strength and exercise performance
• Repair and build muscles
• Reduce recovery time between training

Vega Sport Performance Protein is great because it only has 0.2 grams of fat per serving.  Perfect for people like me with fat issues.  

For more information on Vega Sport Recovery Protein and all the other Vega Sport products click HERE

Birthday Pie....Oh My!

Yesterday was Kaylee's birthday.  My oldest baby is now 11.  It's crazy how the time flies.  This little girl has been with me through so much.  I realized something Saturday though.  Many people get depressed because their kids are growing up, or that they are getting old.  That's not what upsets me.  It upsets me that as each year passes that means that I'm another year closer to her leaving for college.  Another year closer to her leaving me.

And I'm going to stop right there.  I'm starting to tear up just thinking about it and trying to type while crying isn't exactly easy.  But, in this house, we don't do normal birthdays.  When it comes to birthdays we kinda march to a different drum.  My kids know that birthday desserts aren't just limited to cake.  They know that anything that can have a candle stuck on it is acceptable.  For past birthdays I've made ice cream cakes, brownies, watermelon cakes, and trifles.  This year Kaylee decided on a birthday pie.  A chocolate mousse birthday pie to be specific.  I used a fat free cookie crust, did a layer of chocolate ganache on the bottom and filled it with chocolate Dream Whip mousse.

For the cookie crust
2.75 cups flour
.75 cups cocoa powder
1 t baking powder (optional)
.5 cup applesauce
.5 cup plain fat free Greek yogurt
egg substitute equivalent to 2 eggs
1 - 1.75 cups sugar
2 t vanilla

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350
2. Place flour, cocoa powder, baking powder and sugar in a mixing bowl.  Stir to combine.  {You'll know it's well combined when it's all one color}
3. In a separate bowl whisk together applesauce, greek yogurt, egg substitute and vanilla.
4. Pour applesauce mixture into flour mixture.  It should form a doughy ball.
5.  Grease a pie pan or large baking dish
6. Using cocoa powder, "flour" a cutting board and roll out the dough into about a 1/4" thick piece that will cover your pie pan. {If dough is too sticky knead a little more cocoa powder into it before rolling it out}
7. Lay dough in pan and cut to fit.
8. Using a fork prick holes in the pie dough {this is so it doesn't rise as much as it bakes}
9. Bake for 16-20 minutes until done.

Chocolate Ganache Layer

1 cup chocolate chips

.25 cup skim milk

Directions

1. Bring milk to a boil
2. Pour on top of chocolate chips
3. Stir until melted and combined
4. Pour in pie shell and refrigerate until hardened

For the filling

2 envelopes Dream Whip

2 (4 serving) packages of any flavor Jello pudding mix

2.75 cup skim milk
.5 t vanilla

Directions

1. Mix Dream Whip with 1 cup of milk and vanilla in bowl of mixer
2. Beat on high speed for 6 minutes until peaks form
3. Add milk and pudding mix
4. Mix on medium, then beat on high for 2 minutes
5. Fill pie shell

If you leave off the ganache this pie is fat free.  So, are the people in your house traditional birthday cake people or nontraditional birthday dessert people?  What are your favorite birthday desserts?

Protein + Caffeine = Road Trip Bliss

Hey guys!  Sorry it's been so long since I've posted.  Life has been crazy recently.  Sunny's birthday, Easter, studying, training, cheer competitions....it's been full steam ahead with no option of stopping.  

I love protein powder.  It's so versatile and it's great for someone like me who doesn't necessarily get their daily protein needs in.  Ken likes it mixed in with his morning coffee.  It's his breakfast, and it makes a good creamer.  

When we went to Kissimmee for Mantha's cheer competition last month I didn't know if the room had a coffee pot.  {I know it sounds crazy to think that the room had a full kitchen and no coffee pot.}  Luckily, I had recieved a free sample of Nature's Best JAVAPRO Caramel.  It's made by the same company that makes IsoPure.  

JavaPro = Coffee + Protein

Each serving of JAVAPRO contains:

• 20 grams of high quality whey protein complex: a combo of whey protein isolate, whey protein concentrate and whey protein hydrolysate
• 80 milligrams of caffeine
• Only 110 calories (compare that to your local barista's mocha!)
• 1.5 grams of fat and 2 grams of carbs
• Amazing, full-bodied real coffee in every serving.

It was delicious!  It actually tasted like a caramel iced coffee.  It makes you feel like you're drinking a Dunkin' Donuts, or Starbucks iced latte early in the morning.  It feels so sinful but it isn't.  I actually mixed it with milk instead of water.  {I just personally think protein powder tastes better that way}

It comes in 6 different flavors (Espresso, French Vanilla, Latte, Caramel, Mocha, Hazelnut) and is sold at GNC, Vitamin Shoppe and a few online retailers.  

For more info on JAVAPRO or any of Nature's Best's products click the link below:

Nature's Best Website

What's your favorite protein powder?

Happy Mother's Day!

Happy Mother's Day!   Did you know that this is the 100th anniversary of Mother's Day?

Dare Foods Contest -- Gluten Free Breaded Fish

I'm pretty certain y'all have heard of Celiac Disease.  Celiac Disease is "an autoimmune disorder that can occur in genetically predisposed people where the ingestion of gluten leads to damage in the small intestine.  It is estimated to affect 1 in 100 people worldwide.  2.5 million Americans are undiagnosed and are at risk for long-term health complications."  This is according to the Celiac Disease Foundation. 

What is Gluten?
Gluten is the protein that give wheat it's shape and elasticity. 

Where is it found?
breads
baked goods
soups
pasta
cereals
sauces
salad dressings
roux
malt
food coloring
malt vinegar
beer
soy sauce
meat substitutes

And so much more!  Gluten is found in foods you wouldn't expect them to be.  People who suffer from Celiac Disease and gluton intolerances have to read every product label to double check if the food has gluton.  

Did you know that May is Celiac Disease Awareness Month?  And to honor Celiac Disease Awareness Month Dare foods has given The Recipe Redux members a challenge.  To make a light and healthy dish using their new line of Breton Gluton Free Crackers.  They were even nice enough to send out free samples. 

Disclaimer: I received free samples of Breton Gluten Free Original with Flax and Breton Gluten Free Herb and Garlic from Dare Foods Incorporated mentioned in this post. By posting this recipe I am entering a recipe contest sponsored by Dare Foods Incorporated and am eligible to win prizes associated with the contest. I was not compensated for my time.

When I started thinking about what to make I immediately thought of the girls.  What is one of their favorite foods that I have not seen in a gluton free variety?  Over my standard dinner of fish I realized that I have never seen a gluton free fish stick.  And that's how this recipe was born.  It's quick, it's simple and it's REALLY good.    

Gluten Free Baked Breaded Fish

Ingredients

4 tilapia filets
2 eggs, beaten
1 package Breton Gluten Free Herb and Garlic crackers, crushed


Directions

1. Preheat oven to 425
2. Dip filets, one at a time, in egg making sure to completely coat it
3. Coat filets in cracker crumbs then lay on a baking sheet that has been sprayed with pan spray
4. Bake for 10-15 minutes, flip then bake for another 10 minutes until your fish is done and breading is browned.

I serve it with rice and vegetables or a nice salad.

An InLinkz Link-up

Healthy Frozen Foods

As of today I have {once again} banned frozen and crappy foods from the house.  I do allow some frozen convience foods.  I am allowing things that cannot be made.  I'm not going to lie, with 3 active kids who need to be run to various activities in the evenings I'd love to be able to pop things in the microwave and serve them for dinner.  But, as a Health and Wellness Consultant, a Sports Nutrition Consultant, a personal trainer and an all around Health Freak, I feel guilty doing it.  I feel like I am aiding the possibility of my kids gaining weight, slowing down at their respective sports and causing my children's health to decline.  

I, myself, actually do sit down stand in the kitchen, to eat 4 out of 5 meals.  The only meal I actually SIT DOWN to is dinner.  And I love quick foods.  If you have searched the frozen food aisles you'll have noticed that 98% of all frozen foods are loaded with fat.  {Isn't 98% of all PACKAGED foods like that?!??}  

I have found a few low fat/fat free options in the grocery store.  I have these in my freezer most of the time.

Quorn Kung Pao Chik'n 
240 calories
1.5 g fat
10 g protein

I found this one just the other day.  I bought it and will give y'all a review on it when I actually try it.  But, it's vegetarian, microwavable and only has 1.5 grams of fat.  Can't beat that!
Click HERE for the Quorn Website

Peas of Mind -- Veggie Wedgies
70 calories 
0 g fat

I love these so much!  There's 4 different flavors, broccoli, cauliflower, apple, and carrot.  They look like french fries (if you ignore the color), and they kinda have the same texture.  The kids love them too!
Click HERE for the Peas of Mind Website

Garden Lites Souffles
140 calories 
1.5 g fat  
11 g protein

This is another quick dish for me.  Little personal souffles in a bunch of different flavors.  Check the box though because some are not as low fat as the others.  But, they taste delicious and they only take 3.5 minutes in the microwave.
Click HERE for the Garden Lites Website


Lastly, of course are veggie burgers and veggie dogs.  My favorites are the MorningStar Farms veggie dogs and the Original Vegan Veggie Burgers by Boca.  Both only have .5 grams of fat per serving and a good amount of protein.  

Have you found any healthy, lowfat/fat free frozen options that I haven't?  Let me know!!

Dining Out While Out of Town

I have totally changed my views on eating out due to this weekend.  I finally decided I am TIRED of getting sick and ending up in ridiculous amounts of pain due to eating out.  

This weekend was spent in Kissimmee because Mantha had a cheer competition.  With 3 dogs and 3 kids I really didn't want to make the 4 hour round trip drive in 1 day.  {I also didn't want to have to fight with everyone trying to get out of the house at 7 AM}  We opted to stay the weekend down there.  We stayed at the Studio 6 in Kissimmee.  It was a pretty decent hotel and it had a kitchen.  

After the competition we had 3 meal ideas.  Joe's Crab Shack, Chinese buffet, or pick something up at Publix and cook it in the room.  The room only had 3 of everything so we crossed Publix off the list of options.  The girls wanted to go swimming after dinner so we decided that the buffet would be quicker and would allow us to swim for longer.  

I chose what I thought would be the safe options.  Cold shrimp, crawfish, and clams, a few pieces of sushi and seaweed salad.  Halfway thru my first plate I was in doubled over pain.  When we got back to the hotel room I started sobbing.  

I'm sick of the pain.  I'm done with it!  I can hear you now "just stop eating out".  Honestly, we go out once a month.  I cook dinner 29 days out of the month.  I need 1 day that someone will cook for me.  

I have come up with a few tips on eating out.

1)  Never choose the buffet
       You don't honestly know what is in the food.  The fat content could be outrageous and you'd never know.

2)  Do your research
      The internet is your best friend when you want to dine out.  Look at every single restaurant's website and see what they offer.  Most of the chain restaurants have the nutritional information available.

3)  Be THAT person
      When I first got sick I vowed to not be the person who goes into a restaurant and completely customizes a meal to fit their diet.  SCREW THAT!  I make sure that my meal will not hurt me when I goto a restaurant.  I also tip more if a server deals with my demands nicely.

4)  Mom and Pop restaurants are good options.
      Alot of times the food is made to order so, go in and explain your situation. Many times the chef will whip you up something special.  

5)  Head to the grocery store seafood counter
      This sounds odd but, if you can't find any restaurant that will work for you, goto the local grocery store (or seafood market) and have them steam you some shrimp.  That and a bag of microwaveable vegetables is a great dinner!

An Ode To My Mother....Kinda

Growing up I remember my mother used to make a lemonade cake.  It was amazing.  Kind of sweet, super lemony, just great.  I'm a sucker for anything lemon.  So, when I thought about the Recipe Redux theme {Treasured Cookware}, this recipe came to mind.

There isn't a piece of cookware in my kitchen that WAS my mother's but, she has stocked about half of my bakeware throughout the years.  Every Christmas I get a new piece.  One of the things she bought me was my angel food cake pan.  

Honestly I used to hate angel food cake, until it was the ONLY cake I could eat.  Now I love it and love playing around with flavors and different ways of using it.  For this recipe I used sugar free lemonade mix since there is SO MUCH sugar in the cake and then the glaze has added sugar.  I prefer to not have a complete sugar bomb. Pink Lemonade would make this rather pretty too.

Angel Food Lemonade Cake

Ingredients
1 angel food cake (I normally use a box mix and make it myself but, you can use a store bought one)
.25-.5 cup sugar free powdered lemonade mix (depending on how lemony you want it)
1 cup powdered sugar
2-4 T water


Directions

1. Poke holes in the top of the cake with a fork
2. In a small bowl mix together lemonade mix and powdered sugar
3. Whisk in water and continue whisking until you have a nice smooth glaze
4. Pour glaze over the top of the cake making sure some of the glaze gets into all the holes.
5. Refrigerate for at least an hour before serving.

An InLinkz Link-up

Happy Easter!

Happy Easter!  

I hope y'all have a great time with your families today.  


Remember, getting in a workout today is easy and it can be a family event!  Take a walk around the neighborhood after dinner or, run around with the kids hunting for those eggs!

Easter Recipes

From:  Wide Wallpapers

2014 is a year of change.  Everything is changing.  I have gotten my certifications, Sunny starts school this year, I'm doing a fitness competition.  So many big changes!  After making the same holiday dinners for the past 3 years I've decided that since this is a year of change I'm also changing all my holiday dinners.  Easter is the first holiday that has food associated with it so, it starts here!

So, with that being said, here is the 2014 Easter menu.  Recipes follow the menu.

Main Dish
Simple baked Cobia

Grain
Herbed brown rice 

Vegetables
Roasted carrots
Asparagus (if the price isn't too high)
Salad

Bread
Yeast rolls

Dessert
Meringue nests with whipped cream and berries

_________________________________________________________________________________

Foil Wrapped Cobia

Ingredients
2 lb Cobia Fillet
Seasonings of your choice

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 400
2. Spray a large piece of aluminum foil with pan spray and lay fish down.
3. Spray again with pan spray and season then tightly wrap foil around fish.
4. Place on a baking sheet and bake for 25-30 minutes until the fish is done.
5. Rest for 5-10 minutes before serving

Roasted Carrots

adapted from:  Ina Garten's Roasted Carrots

Ingredients
1 lb carrots, peeled
seasonings of your choice

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 400
2. Cut carrots into 1 1/2 inch chunks
3. Spray baking sheet with pan spray, lay out carrots in a single layer and spray them.
4. Season to taste
5. Roast for 20 minutes until brown and tender

Herbed Brown Rice Pilaf

Adapted from:  Herbed Brown Rice Pilaf
8 servings
Calories:  84.5
Fat: 0.5 g
Sodium:  592 mg
Potassium:  65.8 g
Carbs:  18 g
Protein:  1.6 g

Ingredients
1 small onion, diced
2 cups brown rice
5 cups vegetable broth or water, warm
2 T minced garlic
2 t thyme
2 t parsley
6 green onions, sliced

Directions

1. Saute onion in a medium saucepan until translucent.
2. Spray pan again with cooking spray, dump in rice, and coat with pan spray.  
3. Pour in broth, thyme, garlic, and parsley
4. Cover pot, turn stove to medium, and cook for 40 minutes. 
5. Turn off heat and let stand 10 minutes.
6. Fluff with a fork and stir in green onions

Meringue Nests

Ingredients
4 large egg whites
.5 cup sugar
.25 t cream of tartar
food coloring
8 oz tub of Cool Whip {you won't use all of it}
6 cups of your favorite berries, fresh or frozen {thaw if using frozen}


Directions

1. Preheat oven to 200 degrees
2. Spray 2 baking sheets with pan spray and line with parchment
3. With an electric mixer beat the egg whites with the cream of tartar until the whites reach soft peaks
4. Add in sugar and continue whisking until stiff and glossy.
5. Drop 4 mounds of meringue on each baking sheet and use the back of a spoon to make an indentation in it and spread them out to about 4 inches {you can also use a piping bag and pipe your nests}
6. Bake meringues about 1.5 hours, until they are dry, rotating halfway through.
7.  Cool completely then fill with Cool Whip and top with fresh berries.

Greek Yogurt Comparison

I'm a compulsive label reader.  (When you have medical issues that afftct your eating you have to be, right?)  Plus, I want to make sure to eat the brand that has the least calories and the most nutritents.  Nutrients are especially important to me since I started working with my prep coach.  I have to make sure to eat a certain number of carbs, proteins and other nutritents every day.

Well, Greek yogurt has been a part of my diet for a while now.  I love it.  I don't think I could live without it.  I had 2 different brands sitting in my fridge and I started looking at the labels.  I was really surprised when I noticed that the numbers vary so much between them.  I started looking into the other brands.  I compared 7 factors (calories, cholesterol, sodium, potassium, total carbs, sugars, and protein) across the 4 major Greek yogurt brands (Fage, Chobani, Oikos, and Stoneyfield) and Walmart's store brand, Great Value.  All the nutritional facts are for an 8 oz (1 cup) serving of non-fat plain Greek yogurt.

The calories and protein between the brands isn't very different between the brands.  Calories are either 120 or 130 and protein is either 22 grams or 23 grams.  Carbs are 9 across almost all the brands and sugars are 9 grams except for 1 brand.   When you look at the cholesterol, sodium, and potassium, that's where the numbers seriously vary.  

I don't completely understand how the numbers can vary so much.  Carrots made by 2 different growers have the same nutrient levels, right?  Well, shouldn't greek yogurt (especially since it's plain) be the same?

**Note:  Any brand of Greek yogurt is a healthy choice.  You shouldn't make your decision one whether or not to eat it because of what I post here**

From: https://www.facebook.com/FAGE

Fage Plain
Calories: 130
Cholesterol: 0 g
Sodium: 85 mg
Potassium: 0 g
Total Carbs: 9 g
Sugars: 9 g
Protein: 23 g

From: https://www.facebook.com/Chobani

Chobani
Calories: 130
Cholesterol: 10 g
Sodium: 105 mg
Potassium: 0 g
Total Carbs: 11 g
Sugars: 6 g
Protein: 22 g

From: http://www.oikosyogurt.com/greek-yogurt/greek-nonfat-yogurt/plain

Oikos
Calories: 120
Cholesterol: 15 g
Sodium: 80 mg
Potassium: 240 g
Total Carbs: 9 g
Sugars: 9 g
Protein: 22 g

From:  http://www.stonyfield.com/products/yogurt/greek/plain

Stoneyfield Greek
Calories: 120
Cholesterol: under 5 g
Sodium: 95 mg
Potassium: 350 g
Total Carbs: 9 g
Sugars: 9 g
Protein: 23 g

From:  http://www.walmart.com/ip/Great-Value-Fat-Free-Plain-Yogurt-32-oz/10450107

Great Value (Walmart)
Calories: 120
Cholesterol: 10 g
Sodium: 115 mg
Potassium: 510 g
Total Carbs: 9 g
Sugars: 9 g
Protein: 23 g

Calories:  

Winner - Tie between Oikos, and Great Value

Cholesterol:

Winner - Fage     

Loser – Oikos

Sodium:

Winner - Oikos

Loser – Great Value

Potassium:

Winner – Great Value

Loser – Tie between Fage and Chobani

Total Carbs:

Loser - Chobani

Sugar:

Winner – Chobani

Protein:

Winner -  Fage, Great Value and Stoneyfield

Losers – Chobani and Oikos

What's your favorite Greek Yogurt brand?  Am I missing any?

Mushroom Quesadillas

Kaylee is so happy!  Today was her first day back to the swim team {they switched pools for the winter and it was too far away to take her and still take Mantha to practice also.}  I have a feeling I'm going to have one very sore 10 year old tomorrow.  As a fitness enthusiast and personal trainer I'd love to know how many calories she burns during one practice.  But no matter what, she burns a bunch.  And every athlete needs a nutritious meal after they exercise.  What's a better nutritious meal than QUESADILLAS???  

The kids and I have been craving Mexican for a few days and Vegetarian Times Magazine did a piece with various quesadilla recipes.  

One of the things I love about quesadillas is that they are so versatile.  There are over handful of different tortillas to choose from, dozens of different cheeses, hundreds of different filling options and thousands of different combinations you can put it all together with.  

But, in the fashion that my recipes for this blog have been going recently, something went wrong when I made this.   I opened up my bag of tortillas and they were moldy.  I had bought them the same day!  I was so annoyed.  But, today I wasn't going to let that get me.  I took one of the tortillas I bought for Ken and the kids and made this quesadilla into a quesadilla salad.  I baked the tortilla into a shell in my tortilla shell bowl that my mother gave me for Christmas.  If you don't have one you can always bake the shell flat.

Creamy Mushroom Quesadilla Salad
adapted from Vegetarian Times

• .5 small onion, chopped 
• 8 oz. white mushrooms, sliced 
• 1 tsp. ground cumin
• 1 oz. fat-free cream cheese, softened
• .25 cup grated sharp Cheddar cheese
• 1 8-inch fat free tortilla
• Fresh spinach
• Your favorite salsa 
• Fat free sour cream

1. Preheat oven to 450, spray tortilla bowl mold and fit tortilla inside
2. Bake for 10-15 minutes until lightly browned
3. While the tortilla is baking, saute mushrooms and onions.
4. Turn off heat and stir in cumin, cream cheese and cheddar until the cream cheese coats the mushrooms mixture and the cheddar cheese is melty. 
5. Take tortilla out of the mold and fill 3/4 of the way full with spinach
6. Top with mushroom mixture and garnish with salsa and sour cream.

What's one of your family's favorite after workout meals?

Check In

Since the last time I checked in I've hired a coach.  He has put me on a training schedule and has set certain protein, carb and fat numbers that I have to reach every day.  

I follow alot of IFBB and NPC competitors on Facebook.  It's no secret that they eat the same thing every day.  {Before I get comments let me say that I already know that 100% of them don't.  But, many of them do}  When I first started my competition diet I swore I wasn't going  to be one of those people.  I was going to vary what I ate.  2 days in that completely changed.  I understood why they ate the same thing day in and day out.  It takes ALOT of work to vary your diet.  You have to calculate everything every day.  When you eat the same thing you know exactly what your macros {fat, carbs, protein, etc.} are for the meal.  

Here is my typical days menu:

Breakfast - 7 AM
1 cup of egg substitute or egg whites
1 slice of Sara Lee 45 calorie bread

Snack - 10 AM
1 cup of Plain Nonfat Greek yogurt
1 T PB2

Lunch - 1 PM
1 scoop of protein powder
1 cup of Silk light soy milk

Dinner - between 4 & 5 PM
I switch this up but at every meal I eat some sort of seafood and a salad {gotta get those veggies in!}

Snack 2/Dessert - between 6:30 & 8 PM
1 cup of Light and Fit Greek Yogurt 
1 scoop of protein powder

And before breakfast, snack 1, lunch, and dinner I eat 1 teaspoon of peanut butter.  I use the Peter Pan whipped so 1 teaspoon only has 1.33 grams of fat.  My coach is aware of the fact that I can't eat fat and it was actually him that suggested this.  "You can't build muscle without some fat."  

Sunday I decided to try "prepping" my meals.  When your meals are so simple, why should you prep?  Because, running back and forth to the scale before every meal was getting REALLY annoying.  Cooking and making meals isn't easy anymore.  It's not about cups, tablespoons, or teaspoons, it's about weight.  Everything must be weight to get the accurate macros.  Saturday my scale died and I told Ken that I couldn't eat until I got a new one.  


Ken has decided to compete in the same competition I am.  I'm actually really excited about it.  He made the decision to compete less than a week ago and it's been amazing to watch his mindset change.  His thoughts on food and nutrition have done a 180.  I'm really proud of him and can't wait to see his transformation.  {And I'll keep y'all updated too!}

Lastly, I finally finished my Nutrition and Wellness Consultant certification!  By the end of April I should have my Sports Nutrition Consultant certification, end of May will be my Weight Management Consultant certification and then the end of June I'll become a Master Nutrition Consultant.  2014 is going to be a good year!

A Shot of Frosting....and Protein

First off, look what came!!!

Now I feel official!!

If you follow me on Facebook you know that I started with a prep coach.  As part of my competition prep I'm expected to eat 150 grams of protein.  I was finding this a tad bit difficult.  The first few days I came up so short!

I came up with this way of adding additional protein into my diet AND treating myself to dessert every nite.  Add a scoop of protein powder into my yogurt.  You can use either the flavored yogurt or plain.  I use the Danon Light n Fit 80 calorie yogurts.  Plain yogurt will work just as well and if you use the right protein powder it will flavor the yogurt for you.  But I have to warn you.  I've tried this with my other protein powder and it wouldn't thicken.  It still tastes good but, it's thin.  

I calculated the calories using Danon Light n Fit Greek yogurt and Spiru-tein Cookies and Cream protein powder.  

Fat Free Frosting Shots
Calories:  200
Fat: 1 gram
Carbs: 24 grams
Protein: 26 grams

Ingredients
1 5.3 oz container fat free Greek yogurt
1 serving protein powder

Directions

1. Stir together until evenly combined
2. Enjoy!

You could honestly use this to frost a cake.  It would probably be delicious.  And the flavor combinations are endless.  Tell me, what flavor combinations do you think would taste good together?

First Day of Spring, A Few Days Late

If I could change one thing about myself it would be the fact that I could stop giving the girls dessert.    5 years ago, before I started trying to lose weight and get healthy, my girls RARELY ate dessert.  It was a special treat.  They were fine with that.  Fast forward 5 years and they are really disturbed if they don't get dessert after dinner.

How could someone adapt a healthy lifestyle THEN start giving their kids dessert every night?  Easy.  My kids eat healthy nutritious food 99% of the day.  There are not many days that they eat crap food.  So, dessert is allowed.  {Please remember, these are my opinions on the subject.}  Plus, my new rule is that there's a calorie limit.  200 calories is the max for dessert.

I made a festive spring dessert that comes in at half of their dessert limit for a HUGE piece.  I originally planned on making these to celebrate the first day of spring but, our house was overrun with Girl Scout Cookies so, they had to wait a few days.  

I love cereal treats.  They are so versitile.  You can use the traditional Rice Krispies or, you can mix it up and use a different cereal.  My mom used to mix Rice Krispies and Fruity Pebbles.  They were almost as pretty as these and just as tasty.  You can also add stuff to them.  Chocolate chips, nuts, dried fruit.  Cereal treats are a blank slate that you can totally go wild with.  Let the kids design their own treats!  

Super Spring Cereal Treats
12 squares/16 squares
Calories:  106/ 80
Fat:  .6 g / .4 g
Carbs:  25.4 g / 19.1 g
Sugar:  16.3g / 12.2 g


6 cups Froot Loops (You can use Fruity Cheerios, or Trix instead if you want)
4 cups mini marshmallows
.25 cup light corn syrup


Directions

1. Line an 8x10 cake pan with plastic wrap and spray with pan spray.
2. In a microwave safe bowl combine marshmallows and Karo.  Microwave on high for 1 minute, stir, then microwave another minute and stir again.
3. Put the cereal in a separate bowl.  When the marshmallows are done pour them into the bowl with the cereal and mix carefully until all the cereal is coated with marshmallow.
4. Press into pan and leave until completely cool.
5. Cut into squares.

What combinations do you think would taste good?  Do you allow your kids to have dessert?