Very Berry Almond Snappers- 21 CAL EACH!

MY VERY FIRST RECIPE ON THE SITE!!!!!!! I am so EXCITED to share this recipe. I came home from the gym today and realized, damn i really want something dessert-ish. So i whipped up these babies!
They have a brownie texture to them, so they're soft. Sweet, berry & yummy.
Took me 8 MINUTES TO MAKE!

Whipped Cream is optional. If you use whipped cream, I use Reddi-Whip 5 calorie cream.

Only 15 minutes Prep time!

ENJOY! =)

Verrrrry Berry Almond Snappers

What you'll need + Serving Sizes for Recipe:


- Almond Breeze Unsweeteened Milk- (2 FL OZ)
- Trader Joes Almond Meal (15 gram- half serving)
- 365 Frozen Berry Organic Frozen Fruit (75 Grams)
- Better n Butter Peanut Butter (10 grams)
- Trader Joes Unbleached all purpose flour (30 grams)
- Trader Joes Unsweetened Cocoa Powder (one tbsp)
- Truvia Packets (3)..or any non calorie sweetener
- Ground Cinnamon (1 tsp)
- Non stick Extra Virgin Olive oil spray (Trader joes brand)



Nutrition Facts:
One Snapper: 21 Calories. Total Fat: 0.7g. Carbs: 2.7g. Protein: 0.7g

Serving Size: 14 Snappers
Calories: 294 calories.
Total Fat: 11g
Carbohydrates: 39 g
Protein: 10g
Sugars: 6g
Dietary Fiber: 6g

Mix together Almond Meal and Bleached Flour. Slowly wisk almond meal into the mix. It should start to look like a liquid/solid substance.

Then add in the Peanut Butter. Wisk Again.

Using Blender (I LOVE MY BULLET), chop up the berry mix. It should look like small tiny granulates. Mix that into your mix. Wisk again. your mix should start to look purple.

Finally add in the cocoa powder & truvia sugar. Wisk again.

Set oven to 350 degrees. Using a small spoon lift up a portion and divide them equally onto your baking sheet. If theres not enough room, thats ok because they bake in 8 MINUTES!

After 8 minutes are up, use a spatula to remove and set them in a cool place.

When all is done ENJOY!!

When you fail to plan, you plan to fail....

This post is inspired by one of my lovely friends who decided to embark on her healthy lifestyle journey. She went to the gym with me and has been going at it alone, while dieting. Im so proud of her, she lost 2 pounds already!!! I warned her not to go too crazy on the dieting in the beginning, because like every addiction, you have to wean off of it.

Today she tells me she had McDonalds for lunch because she was tired of the healthy stuff. Of course, I would want junk food too after being deprived for so long!!!

So my point is, when you fail to plan your diet, you plan to fail. Alot of excuses we make are at times and places where we feel that the junk food is the easiest access. WRONG. If you do your research ahead of time, there are restaurants/food spots that have lower cal options. I mean if your going to cheat, make that food at home that you want so bad from McDonalds. I bet doing that saves you so much calories, fat, salt, carbs, everything!

Bring your lunches to work! Yes it takes more work but in the end you wont wonder what to eat anymore. And if you plan to buy lunch, think ahead what you want to eat. Think about the costs, nutritionally and financially. Ask yourself, is this going to fill me? Will i be able to function after? Will I feel better after eating this about myself. Did I honestly make the right decision? If you can live with all those options then go for it!

Believe it or not, I am not the biggest veg/salad/health nut. BUT, I do plan my meals, and I variate to keep my healthy lifestyle going.

And please please please to all those that are STARTING to diet, take it slow. One day at a time. Wean off the bad stuff....Make healthier choices, but do not eliminate it all at once. WHY? Because then you will have a relapse. Overall, if you do relapse, get back up and get on it! No one is perfect and a perfect body isn't built in a day.

Happy Wednesday!

May Mayhem

One of my lovely friends sent this to me. Id thought id share :) HAPPY MAY!!!!

Blame it on the Alcohol..No seriously do...

If anyone knows me, they would now that Alcohol is one of my guilty pleasures. No I am not an alcoholic or have an addiction, I am just one to enjoy my cocktails! Well guess what, Alcohol is no good on a diet and that drink may cost you more than a burger would.

The wonderful cosmopolitan. My signature drink. This baby right here can range from 160-200 calories. Thats two bags of 100 calorie pack cookies, some hummus and chips, popcorn, a smoothie, some pink berry maybe. See all the options you have instead of the drink? 

But why is it that we are so engrained to have these beautiful colored drinks? And why is it the stronger it is, the worse it can get? I have no idea. But all i know is when It was time to slow down on the cocktails. I couldn't hang at happy hours anymore. Instead protein shakes were my new drinks. 

So Why is it that alcohol is so bad? Well according to an article on Sparkpeople.com by Liz Noelcke, 

"Alcohol is metabolized differently than other foods and beverages. Under normal conditions, your body gets its energy from the calories in carbohydrates, fats and proteins, which are slowly digested and absorbed within the gastrointestinal system. However, this digestive process changes when alcohol is present. When you drink alcohol, it gets immediate attention (because it is viewed by the body as a toxin) and needs no digestion."

Below is the link to the article that shows more details. But in short for me, I know for a fact that i will not give up my cocktails. But there are better options out there! Something my trainer used to always tell me was to always drink WHITE LIQUORS versus DARK. Why? He said the white liquor cleanses better than the dark. Thats one rule I follow. Another rule is to always use diet juices, soda with a drink. Diet Rum n Coke, The master mixes lite 10 cal margarita versions, diet cranberry juice. It truly makes a difference.

And lastly, Alcoholic beverages are becoming more fit conscious. Some new diet spirits you may have heard of is Skinnygirl margaritas by Bethenny Frankel, Voli lite vodka represented by Pitbull, and Tyku vodka (which won this years best vodka). I have tried all three and to be honest, they are good if you really want to be conscious.

If i am looking for a strong drink at the bar and these options are not available, ill just have my usual two drink minimum with a rule that one must have a diet option involved. This way i get my buzz while not killing my total diet. And if i do drink, i usually save it for a day on the weekend knowing I'm going to be in that social scene. Don't do it during the weekday or at home when you got stuff going on, it just isn't worth it. And if it has to be strong, JUST HAVE A SHOT! 

Wine is said to be a better option because it has better effects for the heart, but who knows. Id rather have a glass of wine (4 oz-100 cal) with my dinner one day after work then a hard drink.

Hope this enlightens and make you think twice before your next drink!

Article on SparkPeople.com

I wanna dance again...

She is so fly in this video!! I wanna dance again and be as fit as that! That is my motivation. Especially her new man casper smart! Do you see those cuts!!!!! =O!!!!!!

Meet your New Best Friend...

If you do not have one of these, I HIGHLY recommend you have one. I cant live without this. Every time I question the calories of something, I use it and measure it out and it tells me.. Yup folks im talking about a :::

                                      FOOD SCALE!!!


 & a handy calculator if you are not a math genius. Food scales are great because they tell you the weight of what your trying to eat. Whether it be a liquid or solid, the food scale will give you the right amount. When following a recipe, put the item on the food scale and you'll know if you have to trim some off or add. 

Alongside with measuring cups, these items should be your best friend. Even if your not cooking, and you want to have a snack and are worried if you'll have too much the food scale will tell you exactly how much the portion you choose is. 


The difference between the food scale and measuring cups is that the food scale can measure solids and liquids. If you want a bag popcorn and the serving size is 1/2 cup, putting it into a measuring cup may be a lesser amount than the actual amount your allotted.  Because popcorn is an airy solid, the actual weight (grams) is less, meaning you can have more! So when viewing the nutrition facts, always look at the serving size and the grams. Turn on the food scale and set it to grams, and booyah! You know how much your allotted. Surprisingly, even when we think we measure right sometimes, most of the time we are wrong.



I bought my food scale on sale for 20$ at sears. But you can get one anywhere! It does not matter how fancy it is as long as it tells you what you need to know.


                                                       Happy Measuring!

So you Wanna Start a Diet?..Steps that will help you start your healthy lifestyle today...

So you read my story, felt inspired, or it possibly gave you the kick to want to start a diet. First, lets not call it a diet, because by definition a Diet is:

a particular selection of food, especially as designed or prescribed to improve a person's physical condition or to prevent or treat a disease: a diet low in sugar.- From Dictionary.com

I do not agree with this. Diet's are not long term. Yes, the term DIET should be used to limit certain foods for a health risk or reason, but if your trying to lose weight it should be more of a change to a healthy lifestyle vs. a DIET.

 

Diets DONT WORK. Ive tried the 400 cal liquid diet, the NO CARB diet, using pills, diuretics, etc. If you ask me about weight watchers, it does work and may help to supplement and give you the push to the healthy lifestyle...But lets be honest...I do not want to be counting points my whole life!!!! And then after you get excited and really work towards it and do not see the results, you start to give up..

Here are some tips to get started on your new healthy lifestyle:

  

1.  Get your mind right!!! & Find a Focus   

 What i mean by this is stop stressing about losing weight and actually do it. Pick yourself up and formulate a mental plan. Imagine how you want to see yourself in a month or so. Set a goal. Do not set it so high. It should be 5-20 pounds in a time length of 1-3 months. 

  

     2.   Have high expectations for yourself, but not for fast rapid results

Its not going to happen overnight. Not in a week. Maybe not even in two. Sometimes you see results the first two weeks and then all of a sudden it stops. Your body is not a sports car. Its not going to burn the calories so fast just because you changed up your eating habits and visit the gym. IT TAKES TIME. Keep the motivation up and you will see the pounds sweat off. Being stressed about it isnt going to help either. The more you stress about not having results, the more your body is holding on to its fat because of STRESS.

    3.   GET RID OF THE HATERS 

I mean this in the nicest way possible. Get rid of all the negativity around you or better yet do not tell anyone you are on a lifestyle change. WHY? because 9/10 someone is going to criticize, try to give you their advice, and pretty much make you feel a little awkward about the situation. The sad part is, you know these people. They are your family members, close girlfriends, even your significant other could be a repeat offender of this. Whoever it is make it clear that this is what your going to do, and if they are not going to be supportive...BUHHH-BYEEE!

If you decide to keep a secret, when you come out with it make sure you say the same. 

    4.  Start changing your eating slowly...

Instead of completely cutting out EVERYTHING AND EVERYTHING, which will only make you miserable and hate the world and all the skinny girls in it, start slowly cutting off stuff the things you know you shouldn't be eating. You know what im talking about. Soda, junk food, cookies, pastries, (anything that does not have any nutritional value) PIZZA DOES NOT HAVE A NUTRITIONAL VALUE LOL. 

After you've decided what you know you cant eat, and are ready to give that up, look into your fridge and cleanse yourself of all these bad things. Start buying the stuff you should be eating, Whole grains, veggies, fruits, lean meats & fish. 

To keep yourself from bouncing back, have a cheat day. Yes i said it, have a cheat day, where you could eat something that you've been missing, and a dessert. After all, food is like an addiction. You cant just stop cold turkey. You need to ween off of it and its all about how much will power you have. On cheat day, do not go eating everything under the sun. At least have 2-3 things your supposed to be eating, then have dinner & small dessert. 

  5. Head to the GYM!!

Join a gym. Go back to the gym. Get started and get moving! Do cardio for at least a half hour. NOW LET ME MAKE THIS CLEAR ABOUT CARDIO......

30 minutes on the treadmill on the same stance and same pace is not going to cut it!!!!!

You need to trick your body. Variations is key. Get on that treadmill and set your incline to 1.0 and change your walking speeds. start walking, then briskly walking, then speed walking, then who knows JOGGING! If its too much to the point you want to pass out, then slow it down. But dont stop. Keep variating. I will later post some examples of what i mean.

If you use the elliptical, bikes, stair master. Do the same. Do not stay at the same pace. 

TAKE A CLASS! At first I hated doing this because I didn't want anyone else to see how weak I was. But um hello! Your at the gym! If you cant get a workout around your peers then where else can you do it? Remind yourself that everyone is there for the same reason you are. TO BE FIT. There should be no judging or criticizing. And who knows, classes at times introduces you to moves & free weight ideas that you can do out of class. SO TRY IT!

I would hold off with the free weights unless you really know what your doing. Taking a conditioning class should be done. You don't want to lift too much weights or do too much reps in which you end up bulking yourself up instead of slimming down.

LASTLY DO NOT GIVE UP. This is not supposed to be easy. If it was, everyone would be doing it!

Hope this helps to all my new followers! 

Comment if you have any questions, concerns or other ideas you'd like me to post about!

 

 

The Abs Website- 10 minutes

Ok... I noticed on my facebook that ive been getting questions about an ab website that gives you a 10 minute ab routine everyday. I HIGHLY recommend this. The abdominals is the hardest part to change. Trust me...I am still working on it.

Ive always heard not to do abs everyday, because your core needs time to stretghen, but if you do a serious ab routine one day and then the 10 minute the next, i see no harm in this.

They even show pictures and video of how to do the routines...


Random Abs Website URL

My FatGirl Story

This is My Story.....

Last Year, April 19th, 2011 I decided to embark on a journey that I didn't think I would be able to complete. Ok enough with the bull. Last year I walked into Bally Total Fitness, and started my first workout with my BFF. It was no easy task, I mean dieting was honestly the last thing on my mind. I was in a relationship with someone that accepted me for who I was, and was somewhat in denial of the fatty girl I had become.

Freshman Year of College

 When I orientated (pledged) for my sorority back in summer 2008, I lost some weight. But was still, plus size. Would I have ever dreamed of coming this far, no. Everyone in my family is overweight. Even our animals/pets. Food is the center of my Puerto Rican family and if you dared to tell my grandmother "no thanks im full", shell attack you with her broom.

When I crossed 2008

But that is not an excuse for gaining so much weight. Don't get me wrong, I was always a chubby girl. I was not born that way. Food was an outlet which I turned to. I knew i was not an emotional eater, but for some reason I always felt like I needed to eat. College days were the worst. Thinking about it now, all those late eating nights of Mia's Pizza & Wings, Letchworth fried mozzarella sticks, bosco sticks, chicken, burgers and to top it all off with BOOZE....I am surprised I was not heavier! I tried Weight watchers in college, lost 5 pounds and that was that. I was pissed. I wanted something quick, and to hell if my boyfriend loved the way I looked, why should I care???

But that was the problem. I DID NOT CARE. Did not think twice about what I was putting into my mouth. I tried and tried to diet but would bounce back because there was no real value in those diets. When i look back at these pictures, I think my friends and sisters were just being helpful. Not trying to make me feel like the elephant in the room while being the elephant in the room. I enjoyed my college years, I do not regret them. But do I wish I would have gotten the wake up call sooner, HELL YEAH....In short, my graduation of college was the realization that I was a tonka truck..

At a Banquet

Enjoying the high fat drinks....

Senior Drinking Night

Graduation Dinner

Graduation is supposed to be the happiest time of your life. I am the first to graduate from a four year university. Not only that, one of the top universities in NY & U.S. I am a proud SUNY Geneseo Alumni. Furthermore, it was when I took my graduation portrait that i had the revelation. My cheeks were so puffy I looked like porky pig. I cried and cried but still did not change. Just kept going with it.

My 22nd Birthday

I wont continue with the photos, but for those that personally know me can check my Facebook. Those pictures are still there purposely to remind me of the changes.

It wasn't until two ladies at my job opened me up into weight loss. I started a new job in August with five other women. While that may seem intimidating...well it was. Most of these ladies are well fit and beautiful. I felt uncomfortable being around them. I wanted to be like them....


With the help of Mildred, I started a diet. She told me this "Look, if you want my help in telling you what to eat and what not to eat, I will do it. I will be very blunt. Some days your not going to like what I have to say, but you will thank me later". And with that she kept tabs of what I was eating. She criticized all the bad foods which at the time pissed me off, but later molded me to not turn to them. No it is not healthy to eat a whole thing of chipotle, McDonalds, & other fast foods. If Mildred would not have opened my eyes on foods to try and ways to diet, I know i would not have been able to do this without her.

Liz brought the physical fitness into my life. Our intern at the time at our office decided to join Ballys and wanted a gym buddy. I volunteered with one condition, that she wouldn't quit on me. And you know what, she did not. We had a joint session with the Fitness Director, Josef & we both liked him. Then I thought, If i could afford to go out and drink and eat, I can afford to have someone TRAIN me how to be healthy. And he did just that. Yes I started with a trainer. I recommend it. If you are someone who has no idea how to work out, then yes a teacher, someone who will push you in the right direction is an outlet that should be looked for. Running on the treadmill on manual for 30 minutes is not going to cut it.

 For about 3-4 months Josef trained me. Gave me HELL. My summer was not fun. While everyone was at the beach, I was at the gym with Josef. And slowly but surely I was seeing results...

Me & Liz

Summer in Ft Lauderdale

  Good old summer times, pounds shedding and meeting new people and walks of life. I wasn't still happy with myself. It took some time, and once my training ended with Josef, there was the decision that I had to make within myself. Are you going to continue, or fall back into the same old trap? This time was different. I knew I was not the same girl. Josef gave me all the tools I needed. My mind was molded. I was no longer making excuses to NOT GO to the gym. I was giving people excuses to not meet with them and head to the gym.... There was one thing that Josef always said to me that i didn't understand at the time, but now stays remnant in my mind. "The only way you will be healthy is if you incorporate fitness into your life. Not like something that can be rescheduled...Something that is definitive and non-stopping. It has to be like a having a boyfriend, a baby, a job or school. A RESPONSIBILITY." Only then you will always be motivated to work out. Because its not a "what if" anymore, its a "MUST".

I left Ballys and moved on to Crunch. From there Ive been doing it on my own. You may ask, "ok this is your story but why have you shared no tips?" That's the whole point of this blog. Junk food police is a post-it that is still on my desk, that reminds me that I am the one who is patrolling where the junk food is going. Before, I used to always be the one in the office arrested for it.

The purpose of this blog is to share my tips, advice and new found love for Skinny Recipes. Thanks to skinnytaste.com, it has inspired me to create my own quick dishes and follow theirs. On this blog I will be sharing it all, my thoughts, my advice and everyday pulls. I hope you all continue to follow me on this continuing journey.

And thats all i have for now folks... Happy 1 year anniversary to my lifestyle change. 70 lbs lighter has never felt any better. This is the best gift ever. I plan to keep it going. =D

Thank you Liz & Milly <3