Healthy Food Choices

Curb Sugar and Caffeine Cravings With Healthy Smoothies

One of the ways, I have curbed my sugar and caffeine cravings is by making healthy smoothies at home either in the mid-morning or in the mid-afternoon.

Not only do these take care of the sweet tooth, it also gives me a great shot of nutrition that helps combat the caffeine cravings.

While I’ve written about Smoothies as Healthy Food Choices and shared one of my favorite smoothie recipes, I ran across this article and thought you might enjoy some of these recipes.

Enjoy!

…Shannon

P.S. For more ideas on how to curb sugar and caffeine cravings, be sure to check out Craving Secrets. It really helped my husband and I learn how to control the cravings.

Cure Cravings With These Healthy Smoothie Recipes

by Grace Denniss

Do you often find yourself craving something sweet in the afternoons? In order to combat these cravings, it’s a great idea to have a list of go-to snacks and meals that will quickly help satisfy your taste buds without destroying your diet. For some people, the craving may be for a thick, creamy milkshake. If that’s the case, a smoothie can fit the bill perfectly. Make yourself, you can ensure quality nutrients go in so that it’s a healthier variety than the classic fast food milkshake you might have otherwise picked up.

Here are a few great recipes that will help you satisfy your cravings in a second.

Choco-Banana Smoothie

For those who love the taste of chocolate banana, this smoothie will be a huge hit. Loaded with potassium, it’s a terrific option for before you hit the gym for a workout session.

1 scoop chocolate protein powder

1 frozen banana

1 cup skim milk

2-3 ice cubes

1 tbsp. ground flaxseeds

Place all ingredients except the ice cubes in a blender and blend until smooth. Add ice and pulse blend until desired consistency is reached. Serve immediately.

Orange Creamy Smoothie

This orange creamy smoothie is the perfect treat when you crave something sweet and want to add more protein into your day. The pudding powder gives this shake extra thickness, so make sure that you don’t leave it out.

1 scoop of Designer Physique vanilla protein powder

½ cup skim milk

½ cup fresh orange juice

1 tbsp. vanilla diet instant pudding

1 cup frozen strawberries

1-2 ice cubes for added thickness

Place all the ingredients but the ice cubes and pudding powder in a blender and blend until smooth. Add the pudding powder and blend for 20 more seconds. Finally, add in the ice and pulse blend until the shake is thick and frothy.

Peanut Butter-Chocolate Smoothie

If you are a peanut butter lover, this smoothie will be sure to please. Combined with the rich taste of chocolate, it will closely resemble that of a peanut butter cup. You’ll definitely enjoy what this smoothie has to offer. It also has a perfect balance of protein and fats along with a few carbs, so is ideal for those on carb reduced diets.

1 ½ tbsp. natural peanut butter

1 scoop chocolate Designer Physique protein powder

1 cup skim milk

3-4 ice cubes

Place all ingredients in a blender and pulse blend until a thick and creamy shake is formed. Serve immediately.

Mocha Smoothie

If you need a smoothie to give you a jolt first thing in the morning, this mocha smoothie will do the trick. It’s lower in calories than most smoothies and will make for a great way to start your day.

½ cup prepared coffee, cold

½ cup skim milk

1 scoop vanilla or chocolate protein powder

1 tsp. cinnamon (optional)

3-4 ice cubes

Place all ingredients into a blender and pulse blend until smooth. Note that this shake won’t be quite as thick and creamy as the others but more of a slush-type of consistency.

So next time you would like to whip yourself up a snack on the go, consider any one of these healthy smoothies.

for 100% natural protein powders and supplements visit http://www.tonysfeir.com.au

article source: EzineArticles.com

A Healthy Breakfast Choice at Denny’s

I was totally surprised today. As a special treat for the kids, since I’m going to be gone for a week, I decided to take them all out for breakfast. We started to go to IHOP but that was so crowded and loud we walked out and headed over to the newer Denny’s.

Now I was prepared that I was going to have to peice something healthier together off of the sides menu, since in my mind, Denny’s is NOT a place I associate with as healthy. I remember looking at some of the nutritional info for their breakfasts at one point in the past and making note NOT to eat breakfast there.

Well… today was  a special occasion, and my skinny kids don’t have a problem with calories and fat…so we went.

And I was totally surprised.  Denny’s has added  a few new things to their breakfast menu since I’ve been there last. 

The Build Your Own Grand Slam allows you to pick up to 4 items, including healthier choices like turkey bacon, chicken sausage, egg whites, whole wheat pancakes, fruit, oatmeal, and yogurt. Very cool.

I wish I had had my camera, but I didn’t. So you’ll have to take my word for it… I built My “Healthier” Grand Slam out of

- chicken sausage

- turkey bacon

- egg whites scrambled

- whole wheat pancakes (which I took off most of the butter and only ate 1/2 of  because the portion size is huge.)

and then I paid extra for a side of fruit.

Yummy! Starting out the day with protein and healthy carbs has really helped today, especially as I’m running around trying to get errands done before I leave tomorrow.

I’ll have to remember this for another time when the kids are up for a special morning out.

Are Artificial Sweetners Making You Fat?

As I mentioned earlier, I was finally convinced that drinking diet soda was hindering my weight loss, so I’ve cut it off. No more soda of any kind for me.  If you have a copy of Craving Secrets, I recommend reading through the sections on soda, caffiene, and artificial sweetners. 

But even then I wasn’t fully ready to give up my habit – until I listened to Isabel De Los Rio’s explanation of what’s happening biologically – How I was sabatoging my efforts by drinking diet soda (and eating foods with  artificial sweetners) .

Isabel  has such a good way of explaining the why artificial sweetners hinder our fat loss, so I’ll leave it to her to explain.

How Artificial Sweeteners Are Making You Fat

By Isabel De Los Rios, The Diet Solution

In my practice as a nutritionist and personal trainer, new clients are always coming to me telling me they are doing everything they are “supposed” to be doing, but still, do not lose weight. Of course, this is frustrating. Losing weight is hard enough, and to change your eating habits and still see no results, that’s even more frustrating.

 Why do these people not lose weight? If I had to pick the most common reason why most people’s efforts have proved no results, I would say it is the deception of artificial sweeteners and processed diet foods. Yes, you heard right. It is the diet coke, diet snacks, processed foods and artificial sweetener in your coffee that is keeping you fat.

How is this so?
Read more…

Healthy Food Choices: Napa Valley Salad with Cranberries and Almonds

I think I have a new favorite salad!

Last Saturday for special time, my 6 yo daughter had us back at Fuddruckers – and again, it was a no carb day for me.  So that ruled out my favorite, the turkey burger. But I was hungry so, after searching the menu for a good no carb choice, I settled on the Napa Valley Salad with grilled chicken (minus the blue cheese).

Oh this was a good choice, and again, I wish I had brought my camera so I could show you a picture. I’ll have to make it again and show you a picture of it later.

This salad does contain carbs – in the form of apples and cranberries. But I decided that it was better to have my carbs in the form of fruit than with a hamburger bun and fries.  Anyway, here’s how I would (will) reproduce this salad at home.

Ingredients:

2-3 cups chopped Romaine Lettuce

1 sliced apple (slices chopped in half)

a sprinkling of dried cranberries

a sprinkling of slivered almonds

one grilled chicken breast, sliced (I’d probably do a 1/2 chicken breasts)

Assembly order:

1. chopped romain lettuce

2. add in apple, cranberries, and almonds

3. toss all together

4. top with sliced grilled chicken

Yum!

I’m not big on salad dressing, and usually go without. But you can always use your favorite salad dressing on the side, and then dip your fork into it then get your forkful of salad to get both the flavor of the dressing for a lot less calories and fat.

Eating Out Healthy: Cheddars’ Grilled Chicken and Steamed Veggies

When my husband and I need to discuss anything, our best bet is to leave the house and for a restaurant. The reason – because there’s no outside distractions, no kids interrupting, no computers or TVs to compete for our attention. We fall kind of in a rut, ordering the same things at the same restaurants. But given we are on a new meal plan, and are trying to stay true to the weight loss theory behind the meal plan, we’re working on eating out healthy. So we decided to try a new place.

A Cheddars Casual Cafe opened recently near us and it’s always busy when we drive by, so we decided to give it a try last week. It was a no carb day in our rotation of high carb-low carb- no carb days (according to our meal plan), so I was trying hard to find something healthy on the menu that was heavy on the vegetables and lean grilled meats and low on the carbs, without being a salad. I really didn’t want another salad.

At first glance the vegetable plate sounded good, but the buttery croissant is not a healthy choice, and looking at the sides…not many that really count as healthy or that I could eat on a no carb day.

So what I found that looked really good was the grilled chicken with steamed veggies. But one problem: it’s on the children’s menu. I looked all over the menu to find another version of it, and couldn’t find an exact match.

So when the waitress came, I said “I know I’m not a child, but this is really what I want” and she let me get it! (I also ordered a cup of chicken tortilla soup.) And it was perfect. Just the right serving side for me and I was happy with the flavor of the seasonings. My husband thought I was rather nuts for ordering from the kids menu, but hey – it was healthy and what I wanted.

I did leave the rice alone, again, because I’m trying to honor this carb rotation meal plan. But the pile of steamed broccoli (yum!) and the chicken was yummy  and worth getting again. I ate some of the chicken and broth from the cup of soup that I ordered, but didn’t really want it after eating the chicken.

But I will admit – I did sabotage myself – by eating some of my husband’s onion rings. Deep fried vegetables, while good are NOT a healthy choice. (yes I’m admonishing myself).

Anyway, there  are several healthy choices on Cheddar’s menu (but not on the appetizer menu!). Cheddars does not provide nutritional information for their menus and their menus apparently vary a little between locations. So as usual, the same rules apply to eating out healthy at Cheddars as anywhere else – avoid the fried, sauced, battered, breaded, and “loaded”. Embraced the Grilled chicken, fish, steak, and steamed veggies.

Next time I think I’ll try the lemon pepper chicken. (and my camera!)