Zucchini Spaghetti

I know I shouldn't even mess with spaghetti, but this is Curtis Stone inspired.

At the realization that eating Spaghetti makes you tired when you eat it, I'm going to tell you something that will having you run around the block after you finish eating.

Replace the pasta with slender length cut strips(no seeds) of Zucchini, since its Zucchini season in Arizona take advantaged of this. Gear to 1-2 Zucchini's per person, only boil them for one minute, or heat up with the spaghetti sauce.

If you don't want to go straight for Zucchini use Barilla Whole Grain Pasta, and Zucchini put them together.

Whole Grain/Whole Wheat anything is a Complex Carbohydrate that your body loves, and is really good for you because it has a lot of fiber in it.

Fully Cook 1box of Whole Grain Pasta, Drain, add Marinara sauce, and Zucchini strips to the pasta in the pot on the stove, and heat up the sauce, and Zucchini  along with drained pasta and heat for a 3minutes, then serve.

My Zucchini Spaghetti...Yum!

Remember 1 box of Whole Grain Spaghetti is enough for 4 people, and to use 1-2 Zuchinni Person.

Ask me questions if your confused on what to do.

Colorful Meals

Have you ever wonder what intrigues to eat foods, other than the smells, how about color?

Research has proven that to get kids to eat healthy make their meals and colorful. Otherwise they are less likely to eat it.

Well...also make it taste good, and be an example to your kids and eat healthy foods.

If my 9 month old daughter see's me eating a carrot stick, she wants it too. I give her a big stick so she can gnaw on it.

My old nanny boss, now of my closest friend's Mary, told me to mix up the colors in childrens foods to keep them intrigued.

That made me think, the same goes for adults.

If I were to make macaroni cheese and applesauce how boring does that look? Trust me, very boring.

Okay what could I do to make that Macaroni and Cheese more colorful. After you cook it, add chopped tomatoes, green onion, canned chicken or tuna for protein. Much more colorful.

Salads starting to get old?? Add red onion, tomatoes, cucumbers, or even bell peppers!

I go out of my way to make my food more colorful now, it's like a treat for me.

Why do you think you like places like McDonalds, they take advantage of the colors, red and yellow, because they make you hungry.

Next time you think your dish looks boring add some color to it with fresh fruits or vegetables! Yum-O!

My Peanut M&M's

I hid my peanut M&M's my greatest enemy!

Why hide it? Uh duh, they are high in calories, and so yummy! and I eat tooo many of them!

Where I hid them? In a cupboard in my kitchen I rarely ever use. The baking cupboard, I almost never use that, it's cupboard that holds them caramels, and Marshmallows too. I never touch those.

Out of sight , out my mind I guess.

I'm the type of person if I can't see something I won't eat it.

I used put my Easter candy in butterfly tin can, and then I wouldn't see it for two years and would throw it out.

If see it I will eat it, if I don't I won't.

This Sunday's dessert

I soooo took this from Trainer Momma's page, and will gladly admit you should check out her blog, seriously! She knows what she is talking about!

(source http://trainermomma.blogspot.com/2010/07/applesauce-whole-wheat-cake.html )

Applesauce Whole Wheat Cake


adapted from April



2 cups whole wheat flour

1 cup sugar

1 teaspoon cinnamon

1 teaspoon salt

½ teaspoon nutmeg

1 teaspoon baking soda

1 1/2 cup applesauce

1 cup mini chocolate chips (optional)



Mix it all together and pour it in a 9x13 pan that has been sprayed with non-stick cooking spray.



Bake at 350 degrees for 20-30 mintues.



24 bars at 110 calories each. Without the chocolate chips (gasp!) they are a mere 64 calories per bar.



**April's note: I always double and bake in a 12x 18 pan, they go fast!

Doesn't it sound sooooo delicious!!

My Snacks

I'm allowed to have 1 snack a day woohoo!

Gee Whiz what can I eat?

POPCHIPS! Yummy no preservatives, no fried, not baked, just popped!

Larabar -also no preservatives, and really yummy!

Also eat alot of vegetables for snacks, carrots, celery with reduced fat peanut butter and raisins, broccoli/cauliflower with lowfat ranch.

Or fruit, apple with peanut butter, or frozen strawberries sprinkled with sugar.

I'm still coming up with new snacks as I go along.

Biggest Loser Grocery List

FYI- Shay from Biggest Loser wrote this list not me. :)

Grocery Shopping


May 10th, 2010
9 Comments » These are the foods that we had on the ranch and I eat at home. The local stores here are Ralph’s , Whole Foods (W/F) & Trader Joe’s (T/J) but look for these items in your town and if you don’t have them ask your store manager if they would special order them!



FRUITS

Blue Berries – Ralphs

Strawberries W/F

Black Berries – Ralphs

Rasberries W/F

Apples – GALA, GRANNY SMITH Ralphs

Lemon W/F

Lime W/F

Melons- waterrmelon & cantaloupe ralph’s

Oranges Ralphs

Plums Ralphs

Peaches Ralphs

Grapefruit Ralphs



VEGETABLES -

Artichokes W/F

Spaghetti Squash – not banana squash W/F

Baby Carrots W/F

Brussels Sprouts – W/F

Asparagus W/F

Broccoli & Broccolini W/F

Bell Pepper ( Orange, Red, Green, Yellow) W/F

Celery W/F

Cucumber W/F

Eggplant W/F

Garlic – Already cut up W/F

Jicama

Lettuce – Romaine W/F

Spinach – Regular and Baby W/F

Onions – White W/F

Zuchini W/F

Tomato W/F

Cherry Tomatoes W/F

Mushrooms – W/F

Green Beans W/F



GRAINS -

Brown Rice – Short grain W/F T/J

Microwavable Brown Rice Ralphs

Whole Wheat Pasta W/F T/J

Brown Rice Pasta W/F T/J

Corn tortilla W/F

Low Carb Whole Wheat tortillas Ralphs

100% whole wheat bread Ralphs

Steel Cut Oatmeal T/J

Kashi Go Lean Ralphs

Fat Free Low Sodium Black Beans – Organic W/F

Eggplant Hummus T/J



NUTS -

Dry Roasted Almonds – W/F

Raw Cashews- Organic W/F



FISH

Wild Alaskan Salmon (Not FARM RAISED) Ralphs

Tilapia Ralphs

Shrimp Ralphs

Tuna Ahi W/F T/J

Orange Roughy

Alaskan Halibut W/F T/J



MEAT- LOW SODIUM OR SALT FREE

Chicken – Organic Boneless – Skinless (Raw) Chicken Breast W/F T/J

Turkey – Organic Ground Turkey Breast W/F

No Salt Sliced Turkey Breast W/F

Uncured No Nitrite Turkey Bacon T/J

Roast Beef Ralphs

Low Sodium Ham Ralphs



EGGS & DAIRY

Egg Whites W/F

Fat Free Greek Yogurt – 0% W/F T/J

Cheese Reduced Fat all varieties W/F

Reduced Fat String Cheese Ralphs

Reduced Fat cheese slices (various kinds) Ralphs

Laughing Cow Light Cheese wedges Ralphs

Fage Greek Yogurt 0% (nonfat)



CONDIMENTS, OILS, AND SPICES STORE

Balsamic Vinegar Ralphs

No Sugar Low Sodium Organic Pasta Sauce T/J

No Carb BBQ Sauce and Ketchup Ralphs

Galeo’s Salad Dressing (all flavors) W

Mustard (all different kinds) W/F



DRIED SPICES -

All spice, basil, oregano, curry, turmeric, chili powder, crushed red pepper, dill, cinnamon, rosemary, pepper, etc. Ralphs

ALL SODIUM FREE SPICE BLENDS Ralphs

Low Sodium Organic Chicken Broth W/F T/J

Extra Virgin Olive Oil W/F T/J

I Can’t Believe It’s Not Butter Spray Ralphs

Fresh Salsa – NOT from jar W/F T/J



DRINKS AND BEVERAGES

Coffee – ORGANIC W/F

Arizona Diet Green Tea w/ Ginseng Ralphs

Honest Tea- Black Assam Tea W/F

Almond Milk-T/J, W/F, Ralphs



There are a few products out there that I love and have in my new healthy lifestyle!

Larabars – I love the penut butter coookie and Banana bread ones!

Yogurtland- seriously 220cal for 10 oz! I love it once a week as my snack!

Kettle corn- I get the organic one from whole foods.. 120 cal for 3 cups! YUM

(source http://www.shaysorrells.com/blog)

Shay wrote this on her blog, naturally I wanted to share this with you too, so copied it. If you want to take a gander at her blog, go the link above. She is one of the Biggest Loser Women trying to lose weight, she is from Season 8, it's taken her over 2 years to reach her goal weight. Love her she is such an inspiration!!

Just in case any of you are wondering I DON'T DRINK COFFEE, OR ICED TEA! If anything I will drink non caffeinated herbal tea, and lots of water with lemon in it!

My Workout

Well it use to be Jillian Michaels 30day Shred DVD for the first 10 weeks, but the regular jumping jacks were to high impact for my knees at this point. I will eventually go back to it, when I'm lighter, and my knees can handle it. I love that DVD it's great for someone pressed for time, it's only 20minutes.

Anyhoo, my new work out I started a week ago. this is what it consists of:

Biggest Loser Cardio Max DVD 3times a week

Biggest Loser Powersculpt DVD 2times a week

I love these workouts because they are geared more towards people who are 50 or more pounds overweight. I know the easier version jumping jacks that aren't hard on my knees now. NICE!

The Cardio Max DVD is 30minutes long for level 1, along the Powersculpt DVD level 1 being 30 minutes too.

Now looking at the calorie burn for these specific workouts for my body weight, which let's face it my weight is in the 200 pounds area.

Cardio Max 30minutes 400calories burned, I figured this out knowing that my heart rate would be as high as if I were jogging for 30minutes. For a person of my weight I can burn 844calories per hour just by jogging. That's huge difference for someone weighing 150pounds jogging will only burn 476 calories per hour, huge difference if you ask me.(resource caloriecount.about.com)

Powersculpt 30minutes 200calories burned, if I'm lucky. Figure this out based on the fact that Bob Harper said if you do 50push ups and 100squats you will burn 200 calories,(www.mytrainerbob.com) I figured that would take about 30 minutes too. Since my heart rate is not that high while I'm strength training, I know I'm not burning as many calories as if I'm doing cardio.

To burn even more calories on top of what I 'm doing, I'm running during commercials while watching TV. I burn 42 calories running for 2-3 minutes. I do that at least 6 times during 1 hour of watching TV. That's roughly 220 calories per hour of watching TV at my current weight.

I also go on walks with my daughter, and do 20 second sprints randomly throughout my walk.

I make cleaning my house a workout, and walking around the mall a workout too. Calories keep adding up the more I'm moving around, the more calories I burn the more weight I lose.

Keep checking back at this page, the more I progress with my weight and my health, the more my workout changes, and my calorie burn changes too.

I fall down too...

I fall down like everyone else. Don't ever think I'm perfect at it. I have the knowledge to do this, doesn't mean I always do it perfectly.

I know exactly why I lost 0pounds in the last 2 weeks.

I occasionally drank a slurpee, 1 too many times peanut M&M's, Drank 44oz Soda, ate Hot Cheetos twice, and oily popcorn with salt.

It's no wonder why I didn't gain weight!! Seriously!

At 12am last night I had a Chicken Terriyaki Bowl with an Egg Roll, and Lemonade from Jack in the Box. Yes that was my dinner, but it was really late, and the rice itself is high in calories, and carbohydrates.  I broke the rule about not eating after 9pm, and I ate white rice instead of Brown Rice. I drank a lemonade instead of water. Urgh!!!

What was I thinking???? I have been doing so well up till I started losing ounces, and I was getting depressed about it, and practically sabotaged myself.

Amazingly maintained my weight because I'm still exercising.

You know what I'm going to do? Dust myself off, get up, and finished what I started!!!

I can do this! I can break by my barriers!! I can find me again!

Veggie Lasagna

I saw this recipe on NBC.COM Biggest Losers website, and couldn't pass it up, and not share it enjoy!! -Fit Mama



Veggie Lasagna


You'll never miss the pasta in this scrumptious, cheesy Italian favorite. Wrap and freeze any extra servings individually to thaw and warm for lunch in a hurry. Eggplant can be substituted for the zucchini.



Makes 8 servings



Ingredients:

2 large zucchini (about 1 pound), ends trimmed, thinly sliced lengthwise

3 links (about 4 ounces each) lean turkey Italian sausage

1 red bell pepper or roasted red bell pepper, diced

1 cup diced yellow onion

1 teaspoon minced garlic

1 cup low-fat marinara sauce

2 egg whites

1 (15-ounce) container fat free ricotta cheese

2 teaspoons Italian herb seasoning

1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper

2/3 cup shredded low-fat mozzarella cheese

1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese



Instructions:

Preheat the oven to 325 degrees Fahrenheit. Lightly coat an 8" x 8 - inch-baking pan with olive oil cooking spray. Set aside.



Lightly spray a baking sheet with olive oil cooking spray. Arrange the zucchini slices in a single layer on the baking sheet. Spray them lightly with olive oil cooking spray. Broil (or grill) the zucchini for about 8 minutes, or until tender and very lightly browned. Set aside to cool.



To prepare the meat sauce, cook the sausage in a nonstick skillet over medium-high heat for about 3 minutes, stirring occasionally with a wooden spoon to break up any clumps. Add the bell pepper, onion, and garlic, and cook for about 4 minutes longer, until the meat is no longer pink. The juices should be cooked dry. Stir in the marinara sauce and bring to a boil. Reduce the heat and simmer for about 5 minutes, stirring frequently. The sauce will be very thick.



Meanwhile, in a mixing bowl, combine the egg whites, ricotta, Italian seasoning, and black pepper until well combined.



To assemble the lasagna, spread half of the meat sauce in the bottom of the prepared baking pan. Layer on half of the zucchini slices, followed by half of the ricotta mixture and half of the mozzarella cheese. Repeat with the remaining meat sauce, zucchini slices, ricotta mixture, and mozzarella. Sprinkle with Parmesan cheese. Bake for about 40 minutes, or until bubbly and lightly browned. Let stand for 5 minutes before serving.



Per serving: 210 calories, 18 g protein, 17 g carbohydrates, 7 g fat (2 g saturated), 45 mg cholesterol, 3 g fiber, 340 mg sodium



Cheryl Forberg RD is a professional chef and the nutritionist for NBC's The Biggest Loser. She is the author of the new book Simple Swaps: 100 Easy Changes to Start Living A Healthier Lifestyle (Rodale 2009).

Jillian Michaels- Healthy Brownies

Jillian Michaels-Healthy Brownies


Olive Oil Spray for the pan

2/3 cup Mild honey, such as clover or orange blossom

1/3 cup Natural, unsweetened cocoa powder

½ cup white whole-wheat flour

¼ tsp aluminum-free baking powder

1/4tsp baking soda

1/4tsp Salt

½ cup unsweetened applesauce

2Tbsp Olive Oil

1 large egg, at room temperature

3/4tsp pure vanilla extract



Preheat the oven to 350degrees Fahrenheit. Spray an 8-inch square pan with Olive Oil. Set aside.

Place the honey in a large glass measuring cup. Microwave on high power until the honey is runny and just bubbling, 45 to 60 seconds. Add the cocoa and the stir with a fork until well combined. Let cool to room temperature.

Meanwhile, in a small bowl, place the flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Whisk until well combined.

In a large bowl, combined the applesauce, oil, egg, and vanilla. Whisk together until well blended. Add the honey-cocoa mixture and whisk until smooth. Add the flour mixture to the liquid mixture and stir until no traces of flour remain. Scrape the batter into the prepared pan.

Bake until the surface looks dry around the edges of the pan and a toothpick inserted in the center comes out with moist crumbs clinging to it, about 25 minutes. Do not overbake. Place the pan on a cooling rack and let cool completely before slicing into 16 squares (Store the brownies in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 3 days)

You can get this recipe at http://images.agoramedia.com/jillianmichaels/cms/jm08/brownies.jpg  I just made it easier for you to copy and paste this into a word docuement if you wanted to add it to your recipe collection.

Fiber Fiber Fiber

What is the big deal about fiber, well other than keeping your colon healthy. Fiber helps you to stay full.

If you're like me, when came to first counting calories was hard because you feel like your starving because your stomach has been stretched out and you're definitely not use to this.

There is one thing you can do help your tummy to feel full. Fiber!!

What to eat and how much?? Daily recommendation according to Food Pyramid 25g of fiber a day!!! Wow, I barely reach that myself.

Raw Non Starchy Vegetables:

Carrots are filled 3grams of fiber per serving (1oz) Best Part low in calories 35 calories.

3/4 cup Cauliflower 3 grams of fiber, 30 calories

Broccoli 1cup 3 grams of fiber, 30 calories

Tomatoes 1 cup 3 grams of fiber, 35 calories

Fresh Fruit:

1 medium Banana 3 grams of fiber, 60 calories

1 medium Apple 3 grams of fiber, 60 calories

How about them Apples??

I think you're getting the idea!!! The best part they are low in calories!!

Carbohydrates:


Whole Wheat bread look for breads that give 3 grams of fiber per Slice.

Whole Wheat / Whole Grain Barilla Pasta 3 grams of Fiber per Serving.

Whole Wheat Tortilla (Medium) 3 grams of fiber per serving.

WHOLE WHEAT!!!! Typically gives you 2 more grams of fiber per serving, than white flour. Beside Whole wheat is a complex carb and it's better for you digestion anyways.

So eat up!

Breaking through Weight Plateaus

Believe it or not even people like me who are exercising and doing what they are suppose to still hit plateaus.

I hit a plateau 2 weeks in a row, I was stuck, and begging for help.

I asked Trainer Momma, she said keep doing what you are doing, but add more activities to your daily life to burn more calories. Wow! Burn more calories a little tricky for being a stay at home mom.

Jillian says when you hit plateaus it's time to progress in your workout. Same thing Trainer Momma told me.

Okay....I'm thinking where do I go from here??

Trainer Momma told me to walk around the Mall, go swimming, walk around the neighborhood.

I started thinking outside the box too.

People might call me crazy or inspirational, I'll take either one of those names thank you very much.

I run in place, or around the living during commercials while watching TV to burn extra calories. While walk around the neighborhood for 30- 60minutes, I sprint 20- 30 seconds randomly to trick my body into burning more calories. I also jog to every place in the house.

Hey, if  you don't feel like running during commercials all the time, do jumping jacks, push ups,squats, or lunges. Get creative!!!

Bob Harper said in way to jump your calorie burn once a week do the workout twice in the same day. Or do 50push ups, and 100squats to burn an extra 200 calories. Sounds good to me. (source http://www.mytrainerbob.com/)

Trainer Momma told not to jump the gun when adding exercises/activities to what I'm already doing. Try adding 3 more activities a week, and slowly work up my way up.

It has been said that it takes 21days to create a good habit, and stick to it, so if you goof don't beat yourself up. Recognize what you did wrong, and start over, after all the world wasn't created in a day.

Basic Rules To Losing Weight

There are Basic Rules to losing weight, that everyone needs to know.

1. Eat every 4 hours, nothing in between except water.

2. Eat 3 meals, and 1 snack a day.

3. Every meal should have a little protein it.

4. Dinner should be the smallest meal.

5. Don't eat after 9:00pm- A hormone called Grehlin is a growth hormone that builds muscle, and burns fat while you sleep. It's also the same hormone that makes us feel hungry, rest assured feeling hungry after 9pm is okay, because you will be building muscles instead.

6. Eat within 1 hour of waking up.

7. Never exercise on empty stomach, because you'll end up burning off lean muscle, instead of fat. Your body needs fuel to get it jump started to burn that fat off.

8. Exercise within 45-60minutes after eating, so you have fuel in your body to burn, but won't get nausea.

9. Drink lots of Water. It's important to stay hydrated. Drink 1 quart per every 50 pounds of body weight.

10. Count your calories!! And keep a food log in a notebook, or on your computer. It's important to know how many calories you are consuming. Whether it's from food or drinks.

Average size woman trying to lose weight should consume 1200-1400 calories.
Overweight woman trying to lose weight should consume between 1400-1600 calories.
Overweight man should consume 1600-1900 calories a day.

Never go below 1200 calories a day, it's bad for the body and can cause Malnutrition. Very Bad. Especially when the body starts breaking down lean muscle to burn for fuel.

(Calorie Consuming Information comes from the American Diabetic Association)

11. Exercise 1 hour 5 times a week. Take 2 days off, for Example my days off are Sunday and Wednesday. It's important for our body's to have a chance to recover, and rebuild.

12. Strength training and cardio, building lean muscle will help burn more calories, than with just doing cardio alone.


FYI I learned this stuff mostly from Jillian Michaels, a certified trainer.