Healthy but tasty ice cream

Who doesn't LOVE a delicious oreo blizzard from Dairy Queen? I do! However, while OK in moderation, such as a cheat day (or so I thought), the nutrition facts make me want to never eat another blizzard again. Ever. 

Small Oreo DQ Blizzard

620 calories, 23 grams of fat, 11 grams of saturated fat (55% of your daily value) , 67 grams of sugar, and 92 grams of carbs in ONE SMALL BLIZZARD. I knew a blizzard wasn't a healthy choice, but I didn't know it was THAT bad. I will definitely have second thoughts before ordering another any time soon! I don't even want to know what the nutrition facts for a medium or large would say...ok actually I do. I decided to check out a medium cookie dough blizzard because, who doesn't love cookie dough? 

Medium Cookie Dough DQ Blizzard

1020 calories, 40 grams of fat (24% of your daily value), 11 grams of saturated fat (120% of your daily value!!! Are you kidding me?!) , 108 grams of sugar, and 148 grams of carbs in ONE MEDIUM COOKIE DOUGH BLIZZARD. I honestly get a stomach ache thinking about this. It is recommended to eat less than 50 carbs per day on a low carb diet and this ONE treat is almost triple that amount. This is very eye opening and makes me think twice about what I am putting in my mouth. I am almost afraid to even look at a large, but I have to! How about a large brownie batter fudge blizzard because that just sounds delicious!

Large Brownie  Batter Fudge DQ Blizzard

1510 calories, 63 grams of fat (97% of your daily value), 40 grams of saturated fat (200% of your daily value!!! I honestly just want to cover my eyes and quit reading the rest) , 156 grams of sugar, and 217 grams of carbs in ONE LARGE BROWNIE BATTER FUDGE BLIZZARD.  

I really do love Dairy Queen, so to see this makes me very sad because I am fairly certain I won't be eating a blizzard any time in the near future. Doesn't this just make you wonder what REALLY is all in the ice cream you are putting in your body? I am a big ice cream fan, especially on a hot summer day, so again, this is a food I really don't want to give up. However, after looking at those nutrition facts, it is fairly obvious that if you would like to make a lifestyle change and begin eating healthy and low carb, a blizzard really isn't a realistic option for a frequent treat. If you still really love DQ ice cream and aren't willing to give it up, a small vanilla cone would be a better choice. (Don't get me wrong, it still isn't healthy, but it is a better choice than a blizzard) I don't mean to bad mouth Dairy Queen because as i've said, I really am a fan, which is why I chose to use their treats as my comparison. Simply because I was curious myself as to what I was eating.

When I think about why I want ice cream I think the main reason I think of is the fact that it is refreshing. It's cold on my throat, I love the creamy texture, and simply because it tastes good. Good news! I have a recipe that can help fill your ice cream craving with just a few healthy ingredients!

Strawberry Banana "ice cream"

(This is not my picture. I haven't made any since starting my blog so I don't have a picture.)

Ingredients: 

1 frozen banana, sliced 

5-6 large strawberries

a splash of original, unsweetened almond milk

Directions:

Put all ingredients in a food processor or blender and blend until creamy. 

That's it! This one is my absolute favorite! And let me tell you first hand, you will fall in love. It tastes just like soft serve ice cream and you don't need to feel guilty about eating it often! It is also very filling! Oh, you don't like fruity ice cream flavors, you are more of a peanut butter or chocolate person? Sure! Here you go!

Peanut Butter Banana "ice cream"

Ingredients:

1 1/2 frozen bananas, sliced

1 TBS PB2 powder (less fat and calories than normal peanut butter)

1 tsp. vanilla

*you may want to add a splash of original unsweetened almond milk if it isn't as creamy as you would like. 

Directions:

Put in a food processor or blender and blend until creamy. If you like more of peanut butter taste, you may want to add more. 

Chocolate Banana "ice cream"

Ingredients:

1/2 scoop chocolate whey protein powder (the kind pictures above is the brand I use and I LOVE it!)

1 frozen banana, sliced

splash of unsweetened original almond milk

Directions:

Put in a food processor or blender and blend until creamy. The protein powder gives the "ice cream" a lighter and somewhat of an "airy" taste so it is important not to overblend. This is also good with a tsp of PB2 powder.

That's all I have for today! I hope you will enjoy these delicious alternatives to traditional ice cream!

Small but effective changes

A lot of times people say to me, "I could never eat low carb because I like real food." Well guess what, so do I. And we eat real food every meal. It's all about portion control and easy, yet effective, substitutions. 

So let's start with my favorite, bread. I LOVE BREAD. Before making the low carb switch I would eat a bagel or two pieces toast every morning for breakfast. For lunch I would pack a sandwich with "whole wheat" bread, because that makes it healthy, right? For dinner I would make garlic bread, rolls, pizza, etc. As delicious as all of that sounds, that is no longer what my daily meals look like. However, it's not like I never eat bread, because I do. One adjustment I made to my love for bread was the type of bread I eat. I no longer buy the 99 cent loaf of "whole wheat" bread, but instead spend the extra money on a healthy and nutrient packed loaf of bread, called Ezekiel 4:9. Ezekiel bread is made from the 6 following legumes and grains: wheat, barley, millet, lentils, soybeans, and spelt.  It is packed with protein, and rated 84.3% as efficient as the highest forms of protein such as eggs or milk. It contains 18 amino acids, 9 of them being essential amino acids.  It is easy for your body to digest the bread due to the sprouts breaking down the starches and making them into easily digestible simple sugars. Allows for increased absorption of minerals, increased vitamin C and B, and a great source of fiber. All ingredients in the bread are organic and kosher, there is no flour, no GMO's, refined sugars, or anything artificial such as shortenings or preservatives. With that being said, it is best to keep it in the freezer to ensure it doesn't mold. 

Ezekiel brand makes tortillas (our favorite), waffles, pocket breads, english muffins, buns, and breads. As I mentioned, it is a little more pricey, however, they are a much healthier choice than other breads on the shelf. Ezekiel bread can be found in the freezer section of the organic/natural isles. 

Another one of my favorite foods, noodles. Lasagna, spaghetti, noodles in tomato soup, chicken alfredo, yum yum yum.  As everyone knows, you can get a box of noodles for under a dollar. However, just like with bread, you get what you pay for in terms of nutrition. When I cook with noodles now, I always use organic brown rice pasta, which is made from brown rice as opposed to wheat. Below is a picture of the brand I use, which comes in many different kinds. 

 

These pasta products are also in the organic section of the grocery store. Again, they cost more than a $0.99 bag of noodles, however there is much greater nutritional value in the brown rice pasta. At first I was worried that I wouldn't like how it would taste, but you can't even tell the difference! This pasta is not mushy, tastes great, is gluten and wheat free, and packed with fiber, specifically insoluble fiber.

Another great noodle replacement are zoodles...noodles made from zucchini! I use the "As Seen on TV, Veggetti" and LOVE it! It's probably one of my favorite kitchen gadgets that I own and also inexpensive. I believe you can get them at Target, Walmart, Bed Bath and Beyond, Kohls, etc. for under $10!

It's super easy too. All you do is cut one end off of a zucchini, insert it into the end of the Veggetti, turn it, and out come your zoodles! You can also use yellow squash or carrots. 

You then add them to a skillet with about 1 TBS. of olive olive, cook for about 3-4 minutes or until tender, and wa-lah! You have some healthy, nutritious, vegetable noodles! I have TONS of recipes to go with these tasty noodles that I will post at a later date. 

These are just three easy alternatives you could make to your daily cooking habits that will help to get you started on your low carb journey!  

Eggplant Pizza

Eggplant. One of my the most delicious vegetables in my low carb life. It is high in fiber and can be transformed in flavor. I have been craving pizza a lot lately, but obviously a carb filled pizza doesn't fit into my diet. Instead of giving pizza up completely, I have been using eggplant to fulfill my pizza cravings. When cooked correctly, the eggplant takes on a similar texture to a pizza crust.  Below I posted my favorite eggplant pizza recipe! It's easy to make and tastes SO delicious!  I am trying to be better about taking pictures as I cook my food so that I am able to attach them to my posts!

Eggplant Pizza

Serves 2

Ingredients:

1 eggplant, approx. 9-10 inches long

1 TBS salt

2-3 TBS olive oil

3 tsp. dried italian seasoning 

1/3 c. grated parmesan cheese 

1/2 c. low fat shredded mozzarella cheese 

1 small onion chopped

** any other veggies you would like to include on your pizza

Ingredients for the sauce:
2 TBS minced garlic
3 tsp. olive oil
1 (14.5 oz.) can of diced tomatoes, otherwise you can use 2-3 diced fresh tomatoes
1/4 tsp. dried oregano
1/2 tsp. dried italian seasoning.

Instructions: 
Begin by cutting both ends off of the eggplant. Then slice your eggplant into 3/4 inch thick pieces. Line a cookie sheet with tin foil and use coconut oil to lightly grease the foil. Put the eggplant slices on the foil. Preheat the oven to 375 degrees.

Sprinkle the 1 TBS of salt on top of the eggplant slices to help draw out some of the moisture. Let sit for about 20-25 minutes. You will begin to see small puddles on top of each slice. After the puddles form, use paper towel to pat both sides of the eggplant dry.

Brush olive oil over each slice of eggplant and sprinkle on the italian seasoning.  Place in the oven for 25 minutes.

While the eggplant is in the oven, begin making the sauce. Heat 2 TBS of olive oil in a skillet over medium heat along with the minced garlic and onion. Once the garlic becomes fragrant and the onions are clear,  add in the can of diced tomatoes with juice, oregano, and dried italian seasoning. Let the sauce simmer over medium heat until the sauce begins to thicken. 

Once the eggplant finishes baking, remove from the oven and spread the tomato sauce mixture on top of each slice of eggplant. Then mix the mozzarella and parmesan cheese. Sprinkle the cheese mixture on top of the sauce and place back in the oven on broil. Broil until the cheese is slightly melted and beginning to brown. Remove from the oven and serve immediately. 

ENJOY!! Next time you are craving pizza, try substituting your typical pizza with these delicious, low carb, eggplant pizzas! I promise you won't be disappointed! 

Shrimp and Veggie Stir Fry

My post today was going to be about zoodles, but then I surprised myself with a delicious dinner tonight that Andy thought was blog worthy, so, here goes nothing. The majority of the foods I make are recipes that I find on Pinterest,and tonight I gained a greater appreciation for all of the food bloggers out there who create those recipes. They always have beautiful, bright colored pictures of each step and their final product looks incredible...I however, had a different experience. For starters, I didn't take any pictures during the process. To be honest, I didn't know how it was going to turn out and really had no intentions of sharing the recipe. Secondly, I didn't measure anything out when I made it. Instead I just dumped different ingredients in and hoped it would create a tasty end product. With that being said, I'm going to do my best to estimate ingredients amounts and next time I'll make sure to measure out my ingredients as I go. I'm new to this whole process! This dish also has no name so i'm just going to call it shrimp and veggie stir fry. Creative, I know. 

For lunch and dinner, we always try to eat at least 1 cup of green veggies. However, eating steamed broccoli gets old pretty quick. I try to switch things up as much as I can while adding as few additional ingredients to the veggies. So tonight instead of serving the shrimp aside from the veggies, I decided i'd give it a shot cooking them together in one pan and it was a success!

Shrimp and Veggie Stir Fry

Serving size: 2

Prep time: 5 minutes

Cook time: 25 minutes

Total time: 30 minutes

Ingredients:

1- 12 oz. bag of raw medium shrimp, thawed (I prefer without the tail, it's less work)

1/2 pound of asparagus, cut in half

2 TBS butter

3 TBS minced garlic

1 large onion, chopped

2 small zucchini, sliced

1 TBS italian seasoning 

1 tsp extra virgin olive oil

1/4 c. parmesan cheese 

salt and pepper to taste

Directions:

1.  Pour the olive oil in the center of a large frying pan and warm over medium heat.

2. Add the shrimp to the frying pan along with the garlic and 1 TBS of butter. Mix together and cook until the shrimp begin to turn pink. Flip the shrimp and cook until it is pink on both sides. Remove the shrimp from the pan and place it in a small bowl. 

3. Using the same pan with the remaining juices, add in the zucchini, onion, asparagus, and italian seasoning.  Mix the vegetables together, coating them in the garlic juice that was left in the pan. Then add the remaining 1 TBS of butter to the pan. Cover for 15 minutes, stirring frequently. 

4. Add the shrimp back to the pan, cover, and let simmer for another 10 minutes. 

5. Divide into two portions, top with a sprinkle of parmesan cheese and enjoy!

I am all about a quick and easy, but healthy meal, and this was just that! If you do decide to try this, please let me know how you like it. I hope you enjoy it as much as we did! 

Healthy Fries? WHAT!

When I began my low carb lifestyle, I never thought I would be able to do it. All of my favorite foods were loaded with carbs. I LOVE mashed potatoes, french fries, bread, and pasta. I quickly learned that I didn't have to give them up completely, but I could make similar tasting foods as healthier, low carb alternatives. I went on Pinterest and started looking up different low carb options and let me tell you, I have tried  A TON! Some were  DELICIOUS and some were, let's just say, not as tasty as they looked in the pictures. I am going to share a different recipe in each of my upcoming posts, but I just want to make it clear that I did not come up with these recipes on my own. I found them on pinterest and maybe tweaked a few spices or ingredients in order to make them taste the way I wanted. With that being said, here we go.

As I mentioned earlier, I LOVE french fries. I love a nice, warm, salted french fry as much as the next person, however, a deep fried potato is far from healthy. I came across this baked zucchini fry recipe and had to try it. I am a big zucchini fan, so I had a feeling this would become one of my favorites. I'm going to be honest, it is kind of tedious, but it is SO worth it. This recipe came from BudgetByte$ blog. 

        Baked Zucchini Fries

Prep time: 15 minutes

Cook time: 15 minutes

Total time: 30 minutes

Serves 5

Ingredients: 

1 lb. zucchini squash 

¼ cup all-purpose flour 

⅛ tsp salt 

1 cup panko bread crumbs

¼ cup parmesan cheese 

Tbsp Italian seasoning blend 

1 large egg 

Instructions: 

1. Rinse and dry the zucchini. Cut the ends off and then cut each one into strips, approximately ⅓ inch thick.
2. Place the zucchini strips on a large zip top bag and add the flour and salt. Shake the bag to coat the zucchini in flour. In a wide, shallow bowl combine the panko bread crumbs, parmesan cheese, and Italian seasoning. Stir to combine. In a second wide, shallow bowl, whisk a raw egg with about 1 Tbsp of water until fairly smooth.
3. Begin to preheat your oven to 425 degrees. Cover a baking sheet with foil and then place two wire cooling racks over top. One by one, take the flour coated zucchini strips and dip them in the egg and then the seasoned bread crumb mixture. Place the breaded zucchini on the wire cooling racks. The wire racks keep the zucchini up off of the baking sheet and allows hot air to circulate underneath, which will prevent soggy bottoms. Also make sure there is a small amount of space between each strip to allow circulation.
4. Once all of the zucchini strips are breaded, bake them for approximately 15 minutes or until they are a medium golden brown color. Cooking time will vary with the thickness of your zucchini strips, so keep a close eye.

I made these to go with dinner one night and I just couldn't stop eating them, they were that good! They offer a similar texture to a traditional french fry, but you don't need to feel guilty about eating them! We did have some left overs so I put them in a plastic airtight container and had them in the refrigerator a few nights before reheating them. They become a little soggy if you reheat them in the microwave, but they are still pretty tasty. However, I do prefer to reheat them in the oven. They seemed to be a little more crisp this way. 

If you decide to give them a try, I would love to hear if you enjoyed them as much as I did! Next up on the blog, zoodles! 

I

Budget Byte$. N.p., n.d. Web. 3 Feb. 2016. <http://www.budgetbytes.com/2012/07/baked-zucchini-fries/>.

Going from a size 12 to a size 4

The picture on the left is from July 2, 2014 and the picture on the right is August 30, 2015.

The picture on the left is from December 2014 and the picture on the right is October 2015

Before I made the low carb lifestyle change

Have you ever wanted to lose weight, but didn't know where to start? You tried to make changes in your diet, but quickly became discouraged and gave up? I have. I fought the weight loss battle for years. I never truly felt confident about my body and always felt that unless I gave up all the foods that I enjoyed, I would never be able to shed the weight. I had this picture in my mind about what I wanted to look like, but when I looked in the mirror, that wasn't it. I wanted to wear a size small shirt and size 3 pants, but instead I fluctuated between a medium or large top, and size 9/10 or 11/12 bottoms. It was the size that mattered to me, not the healthiness of my body. 

I spent hours on Pinterest, making "exercise" and "healthy food" boards as though that would miraculously make the weight just disappear. I would tell myself I was going to start eating healthy, but I didn't really know what that meant. My definition of eating healthy was a salad topped with a large amount of french dressing, croutons, sunflower seeds, cottage cheese, and a big handful of shredded cheddar cheese. I would eat one of these "healthy" salads a few days a week and on a good week, I might go for a short walk or two. I thought my "diet" was going well, until we went to a get together with friends or family and I couldn't resist the delicious array of food. A few pieces of dessert and a handful of chips won't hurt me, right? Wrong. 

Looking back, the importance I put on clothing size was just silly and whether I was a size small or size large didn't determine whether I was "fat" or not. My body is more than just a number size, and that number doesn't define me. I have devoted the last two years of my life to making a healthy lifestyle change that would make me feel more confident about my body. It isn't always easy, but it IS always worth it. I decided to start a blog to share some of the easy, but effective tricks I have learned throughout my journey that could help others make little changes to feel more confident about their body as well. I will post some of my favorite low carb recipes, how I meal prep for a week, and some yummy low carb snacks!

When I decided to make the change

 I was 22 years old, student teaching from 7:30 AM-4:30 PM, and attending night classes 4 nights a week from 5:00-8:00. My diet basically consisted of noodles, in a variety of forms. Noodles with sauce, noodles with tomato soup, noodles coated in breadcrumbs, etc. My busy schedule, carb loaded diet, and lack of exercise led me to put on about 10 pounds that year.

 On April 11, 2014, Andy, my boyfriend of 6 years proposed! I couldn't wait to start planning. The next morning I was already bugging him about going to look at venues. Who was going to be our DJ? How many people are we going to invite? Should we do cake or cupcakes? There were a million things I wanted to do, but dress shopping was pretty low on my list. In June, I finally ordered my size 12, beautiful A line, Mori Lee gown. This was 14 months prior to our wedding and although I had hopes of losing weight for our wedding, I wasn't expecting what happened next. 

A few days after ordering my dress,  my dad told me that he was looking into getting a personal trainer that he had heard great things about from a guy at work. I immediately asked if I could tag along to check it out. The first question we were asked was, "What are you hoping to achieve?" Without hesitation, I told him I just wanted to lose weight for my wedding. I had the same answer when he asked what goals I had and why I wanted to work with a trainer. To make a long story short, I began a low carb eating program and had two one on one strength training sessions a week with a wonderful trainer. I only spent 4 weeks at the facility, but continued the eating program for another 4 after that. In just 8 weeks, I lost 14 pounds! I couldn't believe it. My clothes began to get baggy, I felt more energized, slept better at night, and most of all, began to feel confident about my strong body. My husband was skeptical, but also took on the low carb lifestyle. In just six months, he lost 40 pounds and his pants size dropped from a 36 to a 32. It has been a year since the change, and he has kept all of the weight off! By the time our wedding came in August, my dress had to be taken in from a size 12 to a size 4. I was determined not to let this feeling fade and I vowed to never let myself gain the weight back. Instead, I fully embraced my new low carb lifestyle, made exercise a priority in my life, and continued to see amazing changes. Since starting the low carb journey I have lost a total of 26 pounds and haven't gained back a pound since! 

Until next time.....feel free to leave comments about what you would like to see next time! Dinner options, lunch options, meal prep, snacks, etc.!