So, today I tried not one, but TWO amazing low calorie recipe, and I MUST share them with you IMMEDIATELY. Trust me, if you like cheese and/or dessert, you should read on. If not, then you aren't human anyway. So here are the super simple recipes for two amazing LOW CALORIE foods that you must make NOW!!!!!
One more preface.... one is stolen in part from Hungry Girl, so I will link her recipe too, (although I didn't enjoy it nearly as much as my modified recipe) I will also say that she kind of annoys me for some reason, so I am always damn determined to make her recipes better and/or lower calorie. Success.
Recipe #1: Mac & Cheese
Ingredients:
2 oz Ronzoni Smart Taste penne pasta (if you haven't already discovered this pasta, you should! 170 calories for real non whole wheaty tasting pasta vs 210 for other pasta)
1 wedge of Laughing Cow cheese (choose your flavor- I used tomato & basil because it's what I had)
1 slice of 2% Kraft American or Cheddar cheese
1 tbsp low fat sour cream
1/8 cup panko breadcrumbs (I use Kikoman because it has the lowest amount of calories)
Directions: Microwave cheese for 30 seconds. Stir. Microwave for another 30 seconds. Pour on cooked pasta. (Yeah its that easy) To fancy it up, top the mac & cheese with panko and toast for 10 minutes in the oven. (totally worth it) Add some crumbled turkey bacon for a little extra.
total calories (without bacon): 268
HG recipe: http://www.hungry-girl.com/show/edible-idols-bacon-and-peanut-butter-blt-rific-mac-n-cheese-recipe
...and now for the BEST. recipe. ever.
Recipe #2: Chocolate cupcakes with chocolate frosting
Ingredients:
Pillsbury sugar free Devil's Food cake mix
4 egg whites
1/2 cup unsweetened applesauce
1 1/4 cup water (according to box directions)
1 can Pillsbury whipped chocolate frosting
Directions:
(I can't stress this part enough) Put the applesauce in a blender or other blending device until it no longer looks like applesauce, but has more of an oil consistency. (aka: puree it). Mix cake mix, pureed applesauce, and egg whites together. Bake for 20 minutes. Makes 24 cupcakes. 65 calories each. Seriously.
Top with 1 tbsp of frosting for an added 45 calories (again, totally worth it.)
total calories: 110. Seriously. And DELICIOUS. Not "diety" or sugar-free tasting, or applesaucey AT ALL.
So when I say go do it people, I mean it. You will thank me later!
Sunday, February 19, 2012
Wednesday, February 15, 2012
week 5 in all it's "gory"
So here we are... week 5 weigh in. The mid-point of the Biggest Loser games. I thought I would be down AT LEAST 10lbs by now, but thanks to 2 weeks of increase, and baaaaaaaaasically eating whatever I wanted on date day on Saturday, I'm not.
The week itself was a continued struggle as always, but if I thought I was ready for anything, I was sadly mistaken. Enter "the trainer". John had 2 personal training sessions included with his new gym membership. It was recommend that he should meet with "the best". The "guy who is poised to take over soon" etc. It showed. He had him doing things that he probably hadn't done since high school. He came home exhausted, but excited. I couldn't wait for my turn. Ok, so I COULD wait. I was terrified that he was going to leave me as a whimpering puddle of pain in the middle of the gym floor. Finally, Friday arrived. I was told to eat extra calories to prepare myself for the awesome hell that was before me. The trainer said we would start with "a few" questions, and then he would show me some examples of what the sessions would look like if I chose to purchase training (for the low, low price of $1600 mind you................). I painfully answered what my weight was but was very proud to announce that I "already lost 9 pounds!" I realize in hindsight that my words probably sounded very similar to Ralph Wiggam's "I'm a unitard!" and I felt like my 4th graders telling a random fact in the middle of reading group. He looked at me pathetically. He tested me body fat, and his eyes widened. Yes. Widened. He then proceeded to tell me that A) I am obese. B) my body fat is 20% higher than "ideal" for my height C) I need to lose 35lbs MORE beyond the (whopping) 9 that I have already done. and finally, D) That "normally" it should take about 30 weeks to do that, but in "my case" it will probably take about 50.....Well nothing makes a girl want to run out into traffic faster. He decided that it might be better instead of actually working out, that he should determine my fitness level instead. He also (oh so delicately.....) informed me that EVERYTHING I am currently doing is wrong. That the kickboxing class that I was SO proud of completing is "way beyond me". That the machines that the gym is FULL OF "do nothing". That the reason I always gain my weight back is because I focus too much on cardio, and of course, not the correct kind, or amount of it. EVERYTHING. From that point on, he treated me like I was a 99 year old woman. Pitying looks. Sad little "you can do its" and "oh don't worry about its" throughout the rest of the session. I'm pretty sure he even gave John a sideways "I'm so sorry that you have to deal with THIS every day of your life man" look. But that could be my imagination. Although I don't think so.
The moral of the story is, I went home and cried. And sulked. And ate. I'm pretty sure we can cross him off the list for motivational speaker of the year.....
The week itself was a continued struggle as always, but if I thought I was ready for anything, I was sadly mistaken. Enter "the trainer". John had 2 personal training sessions included with his new gym membership. It was recommend that he should meet with "the best". The "guy who is poised to take over soon" etc. It showed. He had him doing things that he probably hadn't done since high school. He came home exhausted, but excited. I couldn't wait for my turn. Ok, so I COULD wait. I was terrified that he was going to leave me as a whimpering puddle of pain in the middle of the gym floor. Finally, Friday arrived. I was told to eat extra calories to prepare myself for the awesome hell that was before me. The trainer said we would start with "a few" questions, and then he would show me some examples of what the sessions would look like if I chose to purchase training (for the low, low price of $1600 mind you................). I painfully answered what my weight was but was very proud to announce that I "already lost 9 pounds!" I realize in hindsight that my words probably sounded very similar to Ralph Wiggam's "I'm a unitard!" and I felt like my 4th graders telling a random fact in the middle of reading group. He looked at me pathetically. He tested me body fat, and his eyes widened. Yes. Widened. He then proceeded to tell me that A) I am obese. B) my body fat is 20% higher than "ideal" for my height C) I need to lose 35lbs MORE beyond the (whopping) 9 that I have already done. and finally, D) That "normally" it should take about 30 weeks to do that, but in "my case" it will probably take about 50.....Well nothing makes a girl want to run out into traffic faster. He decided that it might be better instead of actually working out, that he should determine my fitness level instead. He also (oh so delicately.....) informed me that EVERYTHING I am currently doing is wrong. That the kickboxing class that I was SO proud of completing is "way beyond me". That the machines that the gym is FULL OF "do nothing". That the reason I always gain my weight back is because I focus too much on cardio, and of course, not the correct kind, or amount of it. EVERYTHING. From that point on, he treated me like I was a 99 year old woman. Pitying looks. Sad little "you can do its" and "oh don't worry about its" throughout the rest of the session. I'm pretty sure he even gave John a sideways "I'm so sorry that you have to deal with THIS every day of your life man" look. But that could be my imagination. Although I don't think so.
The moral of the story is, I went home and cried. And sulked. And ate. I'm pretty sure we can cross him off the list for motivational speaker of the year.....
Thursday, February 9, 2012
Water for Elephant
So here we are, week 4. I've decided that I'm not going to update you on the daily ins and outs of my life because A) who cares? and 2) my day to day is pretty much the same always. Instead, I will write once a week at least, more if something thrilling and exciting happens....but don't count on it.
So, good news since I last wrote.... I am FINALLY down a little bit! Hallelujah! I was beginning to think that maybe it wasn't ME that was the problem, but the scale that was for some reason stuck. Yeah,that must have been the problem. Don't remind me how illogical that is since my husband was weighing in and HIS weight was not the same as mine, and was changing. I like my story, so I'm sticking to it! Anyway, now that the scale is fixed, it's finally giving me different results. I think I finally figured out the secret. Water. Yup, the Colorado "Windex" if you will. The cure all for all that ails 'ya strikes again. I knew that I probably wasn't drinking enough in the first place, so I decided (with a SMALL amount of suggestion from my husband...............) that I should increase my daily water intake. Wouldn't you know it, he was right. (don't get used to it baby ;) ) Since I upped my ounces, the weight is starting to come off again. Combine that with the 200+ crunches a day, and varying my workouts, not to mention 15 trips to the bathroom a day, and I think I am really on to something!!!!
Now I am left with the theory that its ONLY water weight that I'm losing, and not real weight. Does this mean that if I decrease my water, I will start gaining again? Am I really just an overgrown water balloon with a small pin-hole leak? I would like to think it's more than that. I am currently 1lb from my first goal- 10 lbs, and I am hoping its really not 10lbs of water. It doesn't seem like much, especially in 5 weeks time, but its a start. My next is 20lbs by Vegas. I have 5 more weeks for that to happen. We shall see......
Keep the comments, encouragements, and suggestions coming! I love reading what you guys have to say!
Oh, and Dana M, and Denise W... you guys are my heroes!
So, good news since I last wrote.... I am FINALLY down a little bit! Hallelujah! I was beginning to think that maybe it wasn't ME that was the problem, but the scale that was for some reason stuck. Yeah,that must have been the problem. Don't remind me how illogical that is since my husband was weighing in and HIS weight was not the same as mine, and was changing. I like my story, so I'm sticking to it! Anyway, now that the scale is fixed, it's finally giving me different results. I think I finally figured out the secret. Water. Yup, the Colorado "Windex" if you will. The cure all for all that ails 'ya strikes again. I knew that I probably wasn't drinking enough in the first place, so I decided (with a SMALL amount of suggestion from my husband...............) that I should increase my daily water intake. Wouldn't you know it, he was right. (don't get used to it baby ;) ) Since I upped my ounces, the weight is starting to come off again. Combine that with the 200+ crunches a day, and varying my workouts, not to mention 15 trips to the bathroom a day, and I think I am really on to something!!!!
Now I am left with the theory that its ONLY water weight that I'm losing, and not real weight. Does this mean that if I decrease my water, I will start gaining again? Am I really just an overgrown water balloon with a small pin-hole leak? I would like to think it's more than that. I am currently 1lb from my first goal- 10 lbs, and I am hoping its really not 10lbs of water. It doesn't seem like much, especially in 5 weeks time, but its a start. My next is 20lbs by Vegas. I have 5 more weeks for that to happen. We shall see......
Keep the comments, encouragements, and suggestions coming! I love reading what you guys have to say!
Oh, and Dana M, and Denise W... you guys are my heroes!
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