Trying new things

This week (this week as in yesterday and today;), I've been trying to incorporate more fruits and veggies into my lifestyle. The fruits aren't so bad, although I've never really been a fruit lover. The veggies on the other hand... UHG. I'd rather eat a... well a cupcake.

There are so many health benefits from eating your daily serving of fruits and veggies. I'm starting to feel like I'm robbing myself if I don't eat the healthy goodness that nature has to offer.

Here are just a few of those benefits:

• Lowers your blood pressure
• Helps your digestion system
  
• Helps your body to burn more calories
• Lowers the risk of several types of cancer
• Reduces the risk of heart disease and stroke
• Reduces the risk of Type 2 diabetes and better control of blood glucose

I know it's worth it. I just have to re-train my little taste buds. And my taste buds are snobs, so it might take a little while.

Since I don't want to eat my vegetables in the first place, it's hard for me to find the motivation to actually prepare them. These steamfresh bags have been a lifesaver. You just pop it in the microwave for 5 min. and you have perfectly steamed veggies. They're also the perfect size for the hubs and I to share. But since I love the guy, I give him the majority of the bag. There's no "I" in marriage. Oh wait, there is!

Another little thing I tried this week were brown eggs.
I always thought there was something "special" about brown eggs. They're more expensive, and they're brown...so that has to mean something, right? Apparently not. The only difference between a white egg and a brown egg, is that the white egg comes from a white hen, and the brown comes from a brown/red feathered hen. And that's it. But it was a fun little adventure ;)

THIS is a great article by Paula Deen.com, that explains the difference between healthy eggs, and not so healthy eggs.

P.S. It's my dream in life to own chickens, and a cute little chicken coop.
Chickens are the new dog. So naturally I have to get some.

What new healthy things have you been trying?
Do you love your fruits and veggies?

Easy Apple Dumplings, and my :Deliciously Healthy Thanksgiving Menu

The one and only Pioneer Women has this amazingly delicious apple dumpling recipe. It involves 2 sticks of butter,
1 1/2 cups of sugar, and 2 cans of mountain dew, among other things.

It's so good...but you know that's going to go
straight to my hips.

I also love her recipe, because it's very, very simple and quick. The prep time is seriously like 10 minutes.

Simple + Delicious = It has to find a place at my Thanksgiving table this year.

I just had to figure out how to lighten them up a bit.
A little less heart-attack in a casserole dish, and more Deliciously Healthy.

And I think that's exactly what I did.

I cut out some of the sugar, cut the butter in half, and used
apple cider in lieu of mountain dew.And it tastes exactly the same.
That always amazes me.

(because I was experimenting with this, I cut the recipe in half, making only 8 dumplings, instead of 16. I've listed the full recipe, but my pictures are of half the recipe)

Deliciously Healthy Apple Dumplings:

What you need:

• 2 granny smith apples
• 2 cans of Pillsbury crescent rolls
• 1 cup apple cider or apple juice
• 1 stick of smart balance buttery spread (it's half butter, half margarine... and half the cal.)
• 1 cup sugar
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• cinnamon

What you do:
Preheat your oven to 350. Butter a 9x13 baking dish. Peel and core apples, then cut each apple into 8 slices, so you end up with 16 apple slices. Roll out the crescent roll dough. Then roll up an apple slice into each of the crescent rolls. Lay them side by side in your greased baking dish. Melt 1 stick of butter in sauce pan over low heat. When butter is melted, add apple cider, sugar, vanilla, and just barely stir together. You want it to be lumpy. Poor the mixture over the top of the dumplings. Sprinkle cinnamon over top, and bake for 30-40 minutes. Then get ready for some warm gooey goodness.
My husband may, or may not have screamed like a girl when he had one.I added a little low-fat whipped cream. It would be divine with vanilla ice cream.

info:
servings: 16
serving size: 1 dumpling
calories per serving: 230
How many calories are in a traditional slice of apple pie? 410!
I nearly cut the calories in half.
I'm making these apple dumplings in lieu of apple pie. Because by the time you're done eating your turkey, mashed potatoes, cranberry sauce, and everything else, there's just no room to eat 5 different kinds of pie. You always hope there's going to be, but there never is. These apple dumplings are going to be the perfect solution, to the too many pies problem. A slice of pumpkin pie, and one of these, and I'm
good to go.

What other Deliciously Healthy yumminess is going to be on my table?
Funny you should ask:

• Turkey, of course ;)
• Mashed potatoes
• Gina's stuffing
• Whole wheat rolls
• Cranberry sauce out of the can. Thanksgiving isn't thanksgiving to me, without a can shaped mold of cranberry sauce on the table.
• And pumpkin pie. This is going to be this Monday's kitchen adventure. Wish me luck, and tune in on Monday to see how it goes!

I hope everyone has a very happy, and healthy thanksgiving!

Rewarding Myself (Homemade face mask/scrub and a treat!)

Lately I feel like I've been on a roll!
It dawned on me the other day, that
I'm actually doing this!

I feel so good inside, and I'm really quite proud of myself!
I'm taking care of myself for the first time in like...EVER!!

Last night I decided I wanted to reward myself, by doing something fun, and pampering myself!

What did I do?
I made a homemade face scrub and mask!

Honey Almond Face Scrub:4 tsp milk
4 tsp honey
4 tbsp ground almonds
mix and apply (makes 4)

Oatmeal Face Mask/Scrub:4 Tbsp. ground oatmeal (not instant)
4 tsp. fresh lemon juice
8 tsp. yogurt
Mix and apply (makes 4)
*This can be a scrub or a mask! (I used it as a mask)It was fun to make, and my skin felt so soft after!
Like seriously soft :D

Today I wanted to reward myself by making a
deliciously healthy treat for me and the hubs.
(I heart baking)

I made the hubs' favorite dessert, with a chocolate twist on it this time! (Because I also heart chocolate.)
Chocolate Strawberry Cream Cupcakes!I did the same recipe as before, only this time I used chocolate cake mix instead of white!It's oh so good!!
And only 220 calories!

It felt good to take a little time out to reward myself, and give myself a little high 5!
I have almost lost 40 pounds you know ;)
(I can't wait to take the "almost" out of that sentence! I'm gettin' there:)

Tomorrow I'm going to announce the GIVEAWAY winner on the original giveaway post!
You can still enter until midnight tonight!
Be sure to check it out tomorrow to see if you won!

I'll keep my fingers crossed for you! ;D

Ring PoPsicles! (and a giveaway!)

Today I was roaming around Ross, looking at all the things I'd love to buy if I had the Doe (Have I ever told you how much I LOVE Ross?).

I saw a stack of Ring Posicle molds that were on hold, and I was told there were none left.

"Nerds!"

"But wait! What's that?"
2 boxes were on some random shelf! 2!(I couldn't get the price sticker off. Don't judge;)
So, I grabbed one for me, and one for you!!

I went home, and made yummy, all natural,
Deliciously Healthy Ring PoPsicles!:
Although you don't need ring popscile molds to make these. You can use any popsicle mold, or make your own with popsical sticks and candy cups like bakerella did!

These were so much fun and simple to make! But most of all, they were fun and yummy to eat!

Here's the scoop! :(the box said to fill them half way, because they would expand, but they didn't expand that much, so I think I could have put more in)
In a blender put 1 cup of sliced strawberries (you can use any fruit you want), 1/2 a tbs of sugar, 1/2 a tsp of fresh lemon juice, a pinch of salt, and blend until smooth.
I put vanilla yogurt at the bottom of some of the molds, then poured the strawberry goodness into the molds.
Into the freezer they went for 4 hours (that part was hard;).
When the 4 hours was up (and not a second later) the hubs and I dug into those ring pops like two 5 year old kids on a hot summer day!
The yogurt and fruit ones were our favorite!
If you would like to enter to win this adorableness, just leave a comment on this post (even if it's your first time. Don't be shy!;) telling me what your favorite flavor Ring Pop is! Mine is grape!
I will announce the winner next Friday (8/06)!"He makes my heart melt, like a popsicle on the 4th of July."
Name that movie! ;D

And the winner is...

Sara!
She said, "Oh those are so fun!
I am so with you....mine is grape too!
-Sara"

CONGRATULATIONS Sara!!

Thank you to everyone who stops by my blog, and entered the giveaway!
xoxo

It's Ice Cream Season...

Every time I hear the jingle of the ice cream truck coming down my street, I'm reminded of it.
I swear Mr. Ice Cream Man drives extra slow when driving by my house.
He's saying to himself, "Hmm, wasn't there some chunky girl who would always run out of this house, waving money in the air, as she chased me down the street?"
Yes Mr. Ice cream man, that was me. But "WAS" is the key word there.

The new (and slimmer) me, comes up with Deliciously Healthy ways to enjoy the summer. Like fruit parfaits, in ice cream cones:

Here's what you'll need:

• All natural, low fat vanilla yogurt
• Blueberries
• Strawberries
• Waffle ice cream cones

This is what you do:

• Wash, and slice strawberries
  
• Wash blueberries
• In waffle cone, add a spoon full of vanilla yogurt, then fruit, another spoonful of yogurt, and top it off with fruit. I wouldn't recommend doing more then 2 layers. It gets kinda messy if you do... trust me ;)
• Put cones in the freezer, just until they're chilled..right before they start to freeze (about an hour) **or you could just eat em' up, and skip the freezer :)
  

Here's What I'm Thinking:

• Calories: About 110 for one cone

Or you can add almonds to the mix:

(Calories: 190)

Or some dark chocolate chips!(Calories: 190)

Or you could buy those little tiny waffle cones, fill them with yogurt and fruit, and serve them as little appetizers at a party!
You with me?! :D

Take that Mr. Ice Cream Man!
I no longer need you, or your fudgesicles!
These are way better!

Celebrating Some Sweet Victories, With Cupcakes!

Tomorrow, I'm going to have lunch with some friends, and I'm in charge of the dessert!

I've been trying to come up with the perfect Deliciously Healthy dessert to bring, that will be delicious for them, and low cal for me!

In the process, I ended up making my husbands "new favorite dessert". As we both tried it for the first time tonight, he was seriously raving about it! So much so that I had to tell him to stop, because it was getting kinda annoying! ;)

So what is my husbands new favorite dessert?

Strawberry Cream Cupcakes:
Here's What You Need:

For the Cupcakes:

~ I box of white cake mix

~1/2 a cup of low-fat sour cream
~1 egg
~1 tablespoon of water
~1/2 teaspoon vanilla

For the strawberry cream mixture:
~2 tsp of sugar
~1 cup of sliced strawberries
~1 1/2 cups of low-fat whipped topping

For the strawberry topping:
~1 cup of sliced strawberries

Final topping:
~1/2 cup low-fat whipped topping

This is What You Do:

For cupcakes:
~Pre-heat oven to 350
~Whisk together all the ingredients until blended
~Dived into 12 paper cups.
~Bake for 18 to 20 minutes.

For strawberry whipped cream mixture:
~In a sauce pan, combine 1 cup of sliced strawberries, and 2 tsp of sugar. Cook over medium/low heat, until soft.
~Place cooked strawberries in a blender and blend until it's a thick puree. Pour mixture into a bowl, and put into the fridge or freezer until it's cooled COMPLETELY.
~When the strawberry mixture is cooled completely, gently mix it into 1 1/2 cups of low-fat whipped cream.
**Note: You could place the sliced strawberries with the 2 tsp of sugar in a bowl, and let sit for 30min. Then blend it in the blender.

Assembly:
~Take cupcakes out of their paper cups, and cut the tops off of the cupcakes
~Layer the toppings evenly among all 12 cupcakes. Starting with the strawberry cream mixture, sliced strawberries, lid (cupcake top), and a small dollop of low-fat whipped cream.
**Note: If you put the strawberry cream mixture, and the whipped cream in piping bags (or a ziplock bag with corner snipped off), it makes it a little quicker and easier to assemble. Plus, it makes everything a little prettier in the end :)

Here's what I'm Thinking:

Servings: 12
Serving size: 1 cupcake with toppings
Calories per serving: 220MMM!

***

These past couple days, I've celebrated some fun victories! :

#1. Today's weigh in had me at 169! I've lost 3 pounds this week, and I'm FINALLY in the 160's!! Yay! I'm only 3 pounds away from losing 40 pounds! :D

#2. Feeling all excited over my good weigh in, I decided to go into my closet, to see if I could fit into anything that I haven't been able to. Guess what?! I totally did!
I fit back into one of my favorite button down shirts! I haven't been able to wear it in years!
TaDa!Of course when I'm finally able to wear it, it's too dang hot outside... but maybe I'll be able to on a cold/rainy summer day...

#3. On Saturday, the hubs took me out to lunch, to the Cheesecake Factory.
I had decided that would be my off meal for the week. (I don't have scheduled in off meals, but when something like this pops up, I use it as my one off meal for the week). I got the chicken and biscuits (my fav), and of course I could only eat half. Then I broke one of my rules: I brought the leftovers home with me! For the rest of the day, my yummy leftovers were calling me from the fridge. I could barley think of anything else! To eat them, or not to eat them? That was the question! Finally, I made my decision! I opened the fridge, grabbed my leftovers, opened the pantry, and tossed them into the trash! Yes, I know, there are starving people in China, but my yummy leftovers were either going to my hips, or in the trash. I decided they'd be better in the trash!
#4. Today I had a doctors appointment with my rheumatologist/lupus specialist. I hadn't seen her since before I started losing weight (which was bad on my part, since I'm supposed to see her every 2-4 months. Whoops). I'll never get over her reaction to my weight loss! She practically jumped for joy, for me! I heart her. I seriously do. She's the most compassionate, wonderful doctor I've ever met! Her husband is my orthopedic surgeon, and he's the exact same way (match made in heaven right there;)! They're both simply amazing! Any who, back to what I was saying. She pointed out that when I started seeing her almost 5 years ago, I was 185, and that
I was the lowest she had ever seen me!
That felt pretty darn good!

I'm pretty much on cloud nine right about now ;D

Deliciously Healthy Raspberry Shake

Why???
Doesn't the whole world know I'm on a diet?
Why do they send me pizza ads, restaurant ads, and coupons for Jack in The Box??!

Don't they know those are my weaknesses? Do they know their adds make my mouth water, and a tear well up in my eye?

Sigh...

I guess the world isn't revolved around me, and my struggles.
(But seriously. They should stop that)

But you know what? They're not going to bring me down!

Nope.

Because I am not on a depriving diet. I simply live a Deliciously Healthy lifestyle.

Deliciously Healthy = I can eat food that is yummy and delicious. I can still enjoy what I eat, and continue my (healthy) love affair with food, even while being on a diet. I can eat the things I want and crave, I just have to make a few healthy tweaks. (And keep an eye on my portions of course.)

So, that's exactly what I'm going to do!

The raspberry shake in this add is what made my mouth water, and even made me a little misty eyed ;)

Deliciously Healthy Raspberry Shake:
Here's What You Need:

~2 cups of frozen raspberries

~1 cup of strawberry ice cream (I was going to buy the low-fat ice cream, but after reading the label, it seemed like it had more crap in it, so I went with the regular kind)
~1 cup of low-fat milk
*For an additional 20 calories, you can add some low-fat whipped topping.
**Makes 2 servings

This is What You Do:

~In a blender, blend all the ingredients until smooth. Divide into two glasses, and enjoy!

My shake Vs. Jack in the Boxes shake:

(I couldn't find the nutritional information on their raspberry shake,
but I did find the info on their strawberry shake.)

Deliciously Healthy Raspberry Shake: 300 calories

Jack in the Boxes Strawberry Shake: 880 calories.

You save 580 calories!

Yes, 3o0 calories on dessert is a bit of a splurge, but this is how I see it:

Before the idea to simply eat Deliciously Healthy clicked in my head, I'd go on a diet, and deprive myself of everything yummy. I'd live on "diet food." Then, when an ad like this came in the mail, it would simply be too much. I couldn't resist the yummy temptation. Why? Because I hadn't eaten anything with real taste in days!
So, I'd grab the keys, and make a mad dash for Jack in The Box. And you know once I was there, I wasn't going to just get a shake! Nope, I was going to get the burger and fries to go with. It would probably total out to over 1,000 calories, if not over 2,000 calories!... And I'd be off my diet, and who knows when I'd go back on it.

Now, with my Deliciously Healthy lifestyle, I realize I can have the shake. Yes, I might be a tiny bit over my calories that day because of my 300 calorie dessert, but the point is, I'd still be on my diet. Because I gave into my Deliciously Healthy craving, I saved myself a trip to Jack in The Box, and probably 2,000 calories.

300 calories is way better then 2,000!
Take that Jack In The Box!
And whoever sends me these ads! ;)

My Deliciously Healthy Memorial Day

Today I made chicken, fruit, and dessert shish kabobs for memorial day!
They were delish! I was able to escape memorial day, without hamburgers and ice cream cones!For the fruit shish kabobs, I used srawberries, watermelon, and blackberries (I had a sudden craving for oranges, and wish I had bought some to add to the mix).

Then, for the dessert shish kabobs, I dipped strawberries, and marshmallows (cut into 1/3) in dark chocolate (I dipped the strawberries, and marshmallows half way into the chocolate)! It started out with strawberries, marshmallows, and bananas, but I wasn't feeling the bananas, so I left them out.
They were yummy! :
On a side note: I think it would be cute to put strawberries, marshmallows, and blueberries on a skewer for 4th of July!

Later on in the evening, the hubs took me shopping to get some workout gear!
Why do I need workout gear you ask?

Because I got me one of these! :A gym membership to Bally Total Fitness!

I've wanted to join a gym for forever but didn't because, A. with my RA I thought I wouldn't be able to really do much there, and so I was worried it would be a waste of money. And B. because I was/am horrified to go!

Now, after losing 35+ pounds, my knees have been feeling a lot better! I think I may actually be able to incorporate working out, into my weight loss plan! That's so exciting and rewarding for me! I've come so far (a tear;)! I'm proud of myself for facing my fears, and taking the first step: Getting the membership! Tomorrow I'm going to take the second step, and actually go workout!

My original plan was to get a gym membership, just so I could use the pool to do laps. That's still my main plan, as I think it'll be a great workout, and easy on my joints. Although while I was taking the tour of the gym, I saw some workout machines that I may be able to do with my arthritis. That would be a great bonus, if I'm able to take advantage of those spiffy little things! ;D

I'm still pretty darn nervous for tomorrow, but I'm working though it...
I feel like I'm in 1st grade, and tomorrow's my first day of school, lol!

I'm mostly nervous to swim. I can swim, but I don't know how to do the professional kind of swimming. I feel like a complete armature, and I totally don't know what I'm doing! You get a free session with a personal trainer, so I'm wondering if I can ask them to teach me how to use swimming as a workout. I feel stupid asking for that. I'm going to try talking to someone about it tomorrow. Hopefully I'll get it all figured out soon.

I also did my weigh in, on this Memorial Day.
171.
That's a 1 pound loss. I did pretty darn good this week, so I'm kinda confused. I know that the further you get in your weight loss, it tends to slow down a little bit. That's why it made me nervous that my weight loss started out at about 2 pounds a week. I thought, "Oh great! What's it going to slow down to?!" I feel that after losing 36 pounds, my weight loss has slowed to 1 pound a week. Although thus far, I've had little to no exercise. I'm hoping working out will give me the boost I need, to get back to a 2+ pound loss each week!

Well, that's it for me!

Wish me luck for tomorrow!

Hope you all had a great Memorial Day!(Flickr)

**Workout Update!**

I just got back from the gym! I survived!
It wasn't as bad as I thought it was going to be. Everyone didn't stop what they were doing to watch me enter the building, or pull up chairs to watch me workout, like I thought they would!
That's good ;D

I did 10 minutes on that thingy... what's it called? The elliptical?
And 10 minutes speed walking on the treadmill (well, at least speed walking for me)
I had planned to do more, but by the end of it, I seriously thought I was going to pass out! I have to take baby steps, to get to my goal... I'm not sure what that goal is, but I know it's more then 10 minutes on each machine, lol! I'd say for the first time working out in years, I did pretty good! It felt good to work up a sweat, and feel my heart racing!

I'm pretty darn proud of myself!

Tis The Season For Strawberries!

This past week, our local grocery store, had Strawberries on sale, for 10 for 10!

It was such a beautiful sign, that Winter is finally over!

I headed over to the strawberry stand, and picked out 10 beautiful cartons of strawberries!

Hmmm. What to do with 10 cartons of strawberries?

First, my husband and I and ate almost an entire carton of strawberries, all by themselves! Gosh, they are so good!
After our little strawberry feast, I froze 3 of them, to make yummy strawberry smoothies later! Can't wait for that goodness!

The next day, I met up with two of my friends, Betsy and Jill, so Jill could teach us how to make strawberry freezer jam! I was blown away at how easy it was!To make one batch, you need 45 strawberries, which for me, was 3 cartons.

First, you put about 15 strawberries at a time into a blender, and pulse until it's a chunky/smooth consistency. Then you pour all your blended strawberries into a bowl. In another bowl, mix sugar, and fruit pectin together. Then just add that to your strawberries, mix for 3 minutes (stirring constantly), pour into 4 containers, and then put them into the freezer! You can keep them in the freezer for up to a year, and it lasts in the fridge for up to 3 weeks!(When you buy the pectin, it has the directions on the back. I bought Ball no cook freezer jam fruit pectin, and these were the instructions they had on the back (in a little more detail of course;) If you buy another kind of pectin, the instructions may be different)

It's easier then it sounds...and it sounds pretty easy!
It's so easy, a cave man can do it! ;)

And seriously, it's the BEST strawberry jam, I've ever had! It tastes so....fresh! Having an english muffin with jam on it, has become a must every morning with my breakfast!It's also very economical!
I used 3 strawberry cartons, which were $1 each, and then I just had to buy the fruit pectin which was $1.50. So for 4 jars of strawberry jam, I spent $4.50!! Dude!

So, if strawberries go on sale where you live, you simply have to make some strawberry freezer jam! K?

The next thing I made with my strawberries, was a strawberry and spinach salad! :I got 1 bag of spinach, about 1/2 a cup of cubed mozzarella, a handful of sliced almonds, and 1 carton of sliced strawberries.

I got the idea to make strawberry dressing from another blog I read.
In a blender, I put in 5 large strawberries cut in half, fresh lemon juice from 1/2 a lemon,
drizzled agave nectar, added a dash of salt, and blended it all together, until it was nice and smooth!

I poured it over my salad, mixed everything together, and dug in! It was so light and fresh, and absolutely yummy!

Strawberries + mozzarella= HEAVEN!!
I had 2 cartons left.
So what did I do?
I dipped em in chocolate of course!I chopped up some semi-sweet chocolate, put it in a bowl, and put it in the microwave for 10 seconds at a time, until it was melted.

I was a little worried about using semi-sweet, since dark chocolate is the only kind of chocolate I don't like. I discovered that dark chocolate with strawberries is the exception! I also only dipped half the strawberry in chocolate to save on calories, but it also made it so the dark chocolate didn't overpower the strawberry.

I put them in the fridge, so I could have a perfect chocolaty, and deliciously healthy, quick snack, whenever I wanted!!

If you have some strawberries and chocolate left over, you should make Ellie Krieger's strawberry and chocolate stuffed french toast! Can you say, yum?!

I heart strawberries...

***

Today was weigh in day!

Today, I'm at 178!!

I already knew I had hit the 178 mark on Friday, when I weighed in for Tammy's weight loss challenge, so I wasn't that surprised this morning. BUT, I'm very excited to be 178!! I made it past my 180 mark (woo hoo), and I lost 2 pounds this week! Yay me!

My Deliciously Healthy Easter Menu

It's almost Easter!
Can you believe it?!

Sadly, my father-in-law isn't going to be here for Easter. My husband and I learned the hard way that you should really look at the calendar, before booking a flight! For some reason, flights going out April 4th, were $100 cheaper...so we decided to be cheap. It wasn't until a couple weeks later that we realized we were making my poor Father-in-law spend his Easter in an airport! I still feel really bad... So, we're going to try and make up for it, by doing some Easter festivities on Saturday. We're going to go to the Butterfly Pavilion, eat a Deliciously Healthy Easter dinner, and paint Easter eggs!

This is our Easter Menu:

Chicken with Sugar Snap Peas & Spring Herbs
Glazed Mini Carrots
Smashed Potatoes with Sour Cream and Chives
And
Carrot Cupcakes for dessert!

There's only going to be 3 of us, so I think this should be enough. There are so many mouthwatering healthy recipes out there, I wish I could make more!

Recipes like these! :

Savory Peach Chicken
Minted Peas and Rice with Feta
Roasted Spring Vegetables with Arugula Pesto

Meringue-Topped Strawberries & Rhubarb
Raspberry Fool
YUM!!
These are definitely on my list of things to make this Spring!!

If you don't hear from me before Easter (hopefully you will. I mean you should, but just in case...;) I hope you all have a great Easter!!