Whole Wheat Blueberry Muffins

These muffins will in no way help you lose weight, but they are definitely a good, healthier alternative to most other muffins. Enjoy!

Yield: 10 muffins

Ingredients

• 1 1/2 cup whole wheat flour
• 1/2 cup agave nectar
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1/3 cup vegetable oil
• 1 large banana, mashed
• 1/3 cup milk
• 1 cup fresh or frozen blueberries

Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Grease muffin cups or line with muffin liners.
2. Combine flours, agave nectar, salt and baking powder. Add in milk, banana, and oil and stir until just moistened. Fold in blueberries. Fill muffin cups 3/4 full.
3. Bake for 20 to 25 minutes in the preheated oven, or until a toothpick comes out clean.

 

Tip #25: Educate Yourself About Food

I recently discovered an awesome tool that I now use every time I take a trip to the grocery store. A free app called Fooducate has many functions, but the best part about it is that it allows you to scan bar codes on food and drinks, and gives you an analysis. It provides you with a letter grade, healthy alternatives, and nutritional information. Here’s iTunes description of it:

 FOODUCATE HELPS YOU:
• Track your diet, calorie quality, and exercise
• Automatically scan a product barcode, search for products, or browse by categories
• See a food’s nutrition grade (A, B, C, or D)
• Learn about a product’s pros and cons
• Choose healthier alternatives
• Add your own foods to track
• Share your feedback with the community
• Create a healthy shopping list
• Submit new products for analysis

WITH FOODUCATE, you get to see the stuff manufacturers don’t want you to notice, such as
✓ excessive sugar
✓ tricky trans fats
✓ additives and preservatives
✓ high fructose corn syrup
✓ controversial food colorings
✓ and more…

 

Pumpkin Pie Dip

Ingredients:

• 15 oz can pumpkin
• 1 package fat free, sugar free vanilla pudding mix
• 1/8 tsp cinnamon
• 1/8 tsp pumpkin pie spice (or more to taste)
• 8 oz cool whip free

Mix ingredients together in a large bowl. Chill before serving. Serve with sliced apples or graham cracker sticks.

 

Tip #24: Maintain, Not Gain

With all of the holiday feasts, treats, and parties, it is easy to gain weight. For the next couple months, instead of trying to lose weight, focus on maintaining your weight. This will allow you to indulge in that piece of pumpkin pie or an extra helping of stuffing. Trying to lose weight during the holidays can lead to a feeling of deprivation, which makes it easy to ditch weight loss efforts and then promise to start up again after the holidays. By then, you may have already gained several pounds. By focusing solely on maintaining your weight during the holidays, you are more likely to lose weight successfully in the long run.

 

Pasta Fagioli

Ingredients:

• 1 tbsp olive oil
• 1/2 onion
• 3 cloves garlic, chopped
• 1 celery stalk, chopped
• 1 carrot, finely chopped
• 1 15 oz can cannellini beans
• 15 oz can tomato sauce or crushed tomatoes
• 1 large bay leaf
• 1 tbsp basil
• 1 tbsp parsley
• 1 tsp oregano
• 2 (14 oz each) cans fat free chicken broth (or vegetable broth for vegetarians)
• 2 cups water
• salt and pepper to taste
• 6 oz dry Ditalini pasta or other small pasta
• grated parmesan cheese for topping (optional)

Directions:
In a deep pot, saute onion and garlic in olive oil over medium heat.

Blend the can of beans with one can water in electric blender until almost smooth.
Add blended beans to pan then add the can of tomato sauce, celery, carrots, chicken broth, basil, bay leaf, parsley, oregano, salt and pepper. Add 1 cup water and bring to slow boil. Let simmer for 20 minutes stirring occasionally. Add pasta and cook uncovered until pasta is al dente, according to pasta directions.

Ladle soup into bowls and top with grated cheese.

Recipe was found here.

 

Tip #23: Practice Healthful Holiday Eating!

The average American gains 1-2 pounds over the holidays. This may not seem significant, but studies have shown that this extra weight sticks and accumulates over the years. This post will give you helpful suggestions to avoid those extra pounds.

1. Don’t skip meals throughout the day in preparation for a big holiday party or feast. It is especially important to eat breakfast. Research shows that those who eat breakfast tend to consume fewer calories throughout the day.
2. Include lots of fiber in your meals by eating fruits, vegetables and whole grains. High-fiber foods are high in volume and will satisfy hunger but are lower in calories.
3. Use a smaller plate to encourage proper portion sizes. Also, start by filling your plate with vegetables and salad before going to the entrees and desserts. Research shows eating a salad before your meal can help you eat fewer calories overall.
4. Eat slowly and savor every bite, and before you go back for seconds wait ten minutes to see if you really are still hungry.
5. After dinner, consider getting some physical activity. This is a great time to go for a walk and catch up with family members, or you can play game of basketball.

 

Snack-O- Lantern

Ingredients:

• Navel orange
• Canned or fresh fruit salad

Directions:

1. To make one lantern, use a small knife to slice the top off a navel orange and cut around its interior to hollow it out. Scoop out the orange segments, chop them, and mix them with canned or fresh fruit salad.
2. Carve small facial features in one side of the orange, then cut a slit in the lid to accommodate the handle of a green plastic spoon. Fill the lantern with fruit salad. Insert the spoon and set the lid in place.

   

 

Tip #22: Ditch the Clean Plate Club

My parents were big on the whole “clean your plate” thing. I heard it all, there were starving children in India/Africa/China/Italy (depending on what our dinner was) who would love to have the food on my plate. No dessert until you eat everything on your plate.  Leaving food on your plate is wasteful. While I agree that leaving uneaten food on your plate is wasteful, it is just as wasteful to eat food that your body doesn’t need. By consuming those extra calories, your body is storing fat, which can end up being more costly than price of the food you should have left on your plate. If you are still worried about not wasting food, box it up to eat later as leftovers, or dish yourself smaller portions if you are eating at home.

 

Pumpkin Pie Frozen Yogurt

Ingredients (makes 4 1/2 cup servings)
– 1 cup canned pumpkin
– 1 cup Greek yogurt (such as Fage)
– 3 tablespoons honey
– 1 teaspoon pumpkin pie spice (or 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon, 1/4 teaspoon ginger, 1/4 teaspoon allspice)

Nutrition per serving
Calories: 100

Fat: 0 grams

Protein: 7 grams

Fiber: 2 grams

 

Original recipe was found here.

 

Tip #21: Satisfy your Sweet Tooth with Snacks on a Stick

Nothing has to be eliminated from your diet as long as you eat everything in moderation. The problem is, most of us have a hard time with limiting ourselves to eating the appropriate amounts of our favorite things. If you find yourself needing a sweet snack, you may have good intentions of only eating half a scoop of ice cream. But that can easily turn into half the tub of ice cream. When you are at the store, instead of buying a carton of Rocky Road, pick up low-fat or sugar free treats that are already portioned out. These include popsicles, low-fat ice cream sandwiches, ice cream bars, and the mini cartons of ice cream. This will make it much easier to know what portions are acceptable and keep you from dishing yourself too much dessert.