Lovin' It: Shakeology!

I'm a big fan of meal replacement shakes because they make it easy. I'm not a very good cook so having one less meal to think about is AMAAAAZZZZZIIIINNNNNNNNGGGG! One thing I haven't enjoyed is my long road of trying to find the perfect shake for me. Have you ever noticed that most of those "weight loss shakes" taste like flavored sugary glue? So gross. And then you look at the ingredients and you can't even pronounce half of them, and if you look them up they're all some variation on sugar. So basically, the idea behind them is that you're losing weight because you're starving yourself by skipping a real meal with this nutritionless goop. Aargh.

Well, then Shakeology happened. It is a Beachbody product which just makes me happy to be involved with a company that has produced something so awesome. It doesn't taste like goop, is a nutritional powerhouse and I'm just feeling so great. I've been drinking a shake a day for two and a half weeks, and all I have to say is WOW! Want to find out more? Check it out here.

Court

Lovin' It: Steel Cut Oats

So yesterday I talked about Tosca Reno's book The Eat Clean Diet Recharged! Well, she's always mentioning the use of steel cut oatmeal as opposed to regular ol' Quaker Old-Fashioned Oatmeal. My first reaction: Isn't oatmeal just oatmeal? I really had no idea that there were more options. So what exactly are steel cut oats? According to my googling and Wikipedia, they are whole grain groats (the inner portion of the oat kernel) which have been cut into only two or three pieces by steel rather than being rolled, and resemble small rice pieces.

Yesterday morning was my first experience of making my morning power oatmeal with steel cut oats, and let me just say that my little Scottish genes were doing a jig! Yum! I still have to perfect the cooking time, but this stuff is just the right amount of chewy. I've talked about my power pumpkin oatmeal before (I'm getting even closer at perfecting the recipe), BUT I've been getting tired of it's goopy look. These steel cut oats are definitely NOT goopy.

You should definitely try these out, and think about adding them to your must have breakfast list.

Here's the living the fit life!

Court

Lovin' It: Flat Out Flatbread

So I first tried this Flat Out Flatbread last year as a wrap, and I won't lie, I was not too excited about it. But then, this last week I had an amazing thought. I know it was not my original thought, but I'm not too sure where I got it. I did hear about using the Flat Out to make a healthy pizza, but that's not what I'm talking about here.

I'm talking about chips. I love chips. I'm not kidding, I LOVE chips. Pita chips are yummy too. Have you figured out where I'm going with this yet? Oh yeah, I made my own "pita chips" out of the Flat Out Flatbread. After I came up with this, I realized that they totally have the recipe for it on their website so then I didn't feel so cool; they refer to them as Flatties. Oh well, they had some cool ideas to add to my little one...like adding seasoning, cinnamon & sugar, etc. The three main reasons I'm lovin' these now: 1) one flatbread is only 90-100 calories, and just one makes a hefty serving of chips; 2) they're so easy to make!; and 3) uh, they're yummy!

Here's the quick and easy of how to make them:

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.

Pick out your Flat Out Flatbread Flavor (I'm a fan of the Italian).

Cut it up into wedges.

Spritz your bake ware with some non-stick spray.

Spread out the wedges on the bake ware.

Give the wedges a quick spritz with the cooking spray.

Bake for about 10 minutes until crispy.

Now here's the kicker that I learned the hard way. Since I wanted to individually package my servings, I put each batch of "Flatties" in their own container, but then I put the lid on without letting them cool completely. So you absolutely need to let them cool completely before putting the lid on these little guys. Why? Well, if you do what I did, then you end up with not quite crispy/kind of stale pita ickies. Don't do it.

There you go! A healthy little snack - dip 'em in hummus, salsa, etc.

I'm going to try out the Flat Out Pizza in the next week or two - I'll let you know when I do!

Court

Lovin' It: The Ultimate Diet Log

I know, I know. It's mundane. It's tedious. It's a food log. It doesn't get much more exciting than that, now does it?

Seriously though, I love this new log that I found: The Ultimate Diet Log by Suzanne Schlosberg & Cynthia Sass. So much so that I sold a copy for Borders the other day. Yes, the Borders employee was floundering in the diet section when this woman asked for help finding a food log. The customer was totally lost in the Atkins diet logs (nothing wrong with those as long as you are actually following the Atkins diet, and this woman was not), and the Borders employee had that look that I know I have when I'm clueless. You know, deer in the headlights. So I piped in, showed the woman my new found love and she bought it for herself! Score for me.

So why do I love it so much? Oh, let me count the ways!

• You are set for six months. That's awesome!


• You set goals for yourself right on the inside cover along with spaces for you to report your results. These goals don't just stop at the usual number on the scale, but add in fitness assessments, exercise habits, and focus areas and goals for your eating habits.


• The introduction includes a five-day assessment. Yes, you track your normal eating habits for five days. Once the five days are up, the book walks you through looking at your current diet to see what changes you need/want to make. And don't worry, you can still take baby steps in making those changes.


• It is amazingly flexible, and will work with whatever diet or non-diet you are following at the time. Each page includes two columns next to your food list which are your focus areas. These can change every week or stay the same. Example focus areas are fiber intake, protein intake, fat intake, calories, etc. Right now, I'm using my two columns to track my calorie intake as well as my POINTS for Weight Watchers. It's a dream come true for me! (And yes, it really was something I had been wanting to find before I found it.)


• And don't let me forget the daily diet tips on each page. Monday's Nutrition Shocker: A chocolate chip cookie at Starbucks has 540 calories, 10 more calories than a McDonald's Quarter Pounder with cheese. Betcha didn't know that!

I really could keep going on and on about this, but I don't want to ruin the other surprises in the book (hint: weekly check-ins). Sure, keeping a food log is hard, can be annoying at times, and can also be time-consuming, but it's a habit that will pay off in the end because you will be more aware. What did I say yesterday about setting yourself up to succeed? If you bite it, write it. If you don't write it down, then it's that much easier to pretend that you didn't finish off that entire bag of chips all by yourself in one sitting. Been there! Done that! Not fun!

Until tomorrow!

Court

P.S. If you need help finding the information on the foods you want to track, then try http://www.calorieking.com/. It's my go-to for nutrition information.

Lovin' It: Odwalla Bars

I've been lovin' Odwalla Bars for about a year now, and I absolutely adore them. My trainer from 24 Hour Fitness told me about them when we were trying to find a way to work more carbs into my diet (I know, weird). **Side note: Don't be so carb-o-phobic. They're good for you! Especially when balanced with lean protein and good fats.** Okay, back on track. These bars are made with whole grains, 30% organic and no GMOs so they're healthy and tasty.

Here's the lowdown:
Calories range from 200 - 250

Fat grams range from 2 -8, with .5 - 2 grams of saturated fat

Carbs range from 33 - 42g

Fiber range from 3 - 5g

Protein ranges from 3 - 8g (and the Super Protein bar packs 14g)

Weight Watchers points range from 4 - 5

The Choco-walla is my favorite since it tastes like a chocolate no-bake cookie. Okay, so maybe not exactly, but it's an awesome substitute. My other favorite is Chocolate Chip Peanut - yum is all I can say. Oh and then there's Banana Nut which tastes a bit like banana bread. Again, it isn't a perfect match, but an excellent substitute. The other flavors the website is showing off are Mocha-walla (I think I need to find and try this one pronto!), Berries Go-Mega (1000mg of vegetarian omega-3s), Superfood (think green), Strawberry Pomegranate (another tasty one), Super Protein, Sweet & Salty Almond Bar and Sweet & Salty Peanut Bar. Add these bars to your grocery list.

Here's to living the fit life!

Court

Lovin' It!

I fell in love this week...with Laughing Cow Light Cheeses. Those of you who know me and my lactose intolerance, never fear, these little yummy wedges are just enough to satisfy my "cheese" tooth without upsetting my anti-cheese tummy. Hooray! Anywho, these are fantastic. I tried out the Garlic & Herb first with some multi-grain water crackers. I'm not really sure how I've missed out on these for so long since my old roommate always had some in the fridge, but I guess the lactose issue killed my curiosity. They have Original Swiss, Garlic & Herb and French Onion - yum! (Have I mentioned yet how yummy these are?)

Here's the lowdown: One light wedge has 35 calories, 2 grams of fat, 1 gram of carbs and 2.5 grams of protein. And yeah, that's for all three flavors! Add that to four water crackers, and talk about an amazing 100 calorie snack. This was much tastier and much more satisfying than a Nabisco 100 calorie pack of chocolate covered pretzels or shortbread cookies. Those are pretty good, but they always leave me wanting more which is really not my goal for a snack. I mean, isn't a snack supposed to tide you over and not make you hungrier?

If you aren't into the Light version, then go for the Regular version - it's only 50 calories, 4 grams of fat, 1 gram of carbs and 2 grams of protein. Follow your taste on these ones for sure!

So now you can head right out to the grocery store...seriously, go right now!

Here's to living the fit life!

Court