On a Quest for Protein

One of the biggest things I have come realize is the large role food plays in our daily lives. I don't just mean because it tastes good or stops your stomach from grumbling during a meeting. I have noticed how certain foods make me feel. Some fuel me for a workout while others make me want to take a nap. Finding the right food for me to eat before working out has become a large part of my journey. I have discovered some really good food options, check out my chicken in a can blog post for that delicious option, I absolutely love eating that on just my cardio days. On days when I train with Mark I am really pushing myself and started feeling like I need a little something extra. I asked around the gym and found a lot of people drink protein shakes or eat protein bars. The next time I was good shopping I checked some labels and was bummed. A lot of them are FULL of carbohydrates, high calories, made with soy, gluten, tons of sugar, and not what I wanted. There goes that idea I thought, until one day on twitter someone mentioned QuestBars. I decided to check them out and was very pleasantly surprised.

My favorite flavor of QuestBar
Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough

The QuestBars weren't full of sugar at all, low in calories, gluten free, low in carbs, not full of so many crazy ingredients that I can't even pronounce. I was excited, but thought how good could these taste. I found out they sell them at the GNC down the street and off I went. I picked up a bunch of different flavors like, chocolate chip cookie dough, cookies and cream, white chocolate raspberry, and apple pie. These are just a few of the flavors they offer. The next day before my workout with Mark I ate the chocolate chip cookie dough bar. I loved that I was able to eat it in the car on the way to the gym, my meeting ran late and I wouldn't have had time to sit down with a fork and eat anything else.  So how did it taste you ask?  DELICIOUS!!!!  I loved it. Perfect texture, perfect flavor, didn't leave a weird after taste or leave me craving for more sugar or bad stuff.  Now the big question...how did it hold up against a Mark workout? PERFECT!  I was well fueled throughout the workout and even earned the nickname tiny beast.  I now have a bar before every workout.

There are so many different delicious flavors for you to choose from
Trust me you won't get bored!

I tried most of the other flavors and have to say the chocolate chip cookie dough and cookies and cream bars are my favorite. I buy them by the box at GNC. I have also used them as a dessert substitute. There aren't many desserts I can enjoy these days without feeling yucky after or guilty. One night after having dinner with my family I felt a little blah because I wanted the dessert, but knew I would regret it. I remembered I had a bar stashed in my purse so I took it out and got to enjoy dessert with everyone else without feeling guilty. I wouldn't recommend doing that all the time as the bars are high in protein, but for the occasional treat with friends and family I say indulge and have fun.

The box description talked me into giving them a try
so very glad I did

For more information about the Quest bars and ingredients check out the Quest website at http://www.questnutrition.com/ingredients/

Disclaimer:  I am in no way affiliated with Quest. I just love their product and wanted to share my new favorite find!!

TV/Movie Gathering Healthy Style

I thought with the weekend coming up this would be a fun post to share. I love to have friends over to just hang out around the coffee table relaxing and catching up. I also love when we sit around watching tv or a good movie. Usually these fun events are accompanied by some not so healthy food choices including pizza, chips, dips, fries, and of course brownies and cookies for dessert oh and usually some wine. Fun times, but after all that I usually regretted it the next morning.

In the past if your friends couldn't decide on dessert....you get all three!
Bring on the sugar hangover

Last week I made plans with a friend of mine to come over and watch the NBS show "Chicago Fire". The new season is going to start up soon and we wanted to be caught up with all the story lines. My first thought, awesome TV party time! My next thought...I don't want to eat bad food, but I want it to be a fun time and be a good tv party hostess. What to do...text mom. She came up with some great ideas, off to Shoprite I went.

Chicago Fire on NBC
New season starts September 23, whose watching?

The creative food ideas were flowing...I picked up cucumbers, broccoli, cauliflower, baby carrots, tomatoes and some ranch dip. Healthy, but I needed more flavors and some protein. I added to my cart cheddar and colby cheese cubes, pepperoni slices, and I stopped by the olive bar for kalamata olives and garlic and blue cheese stuffed green olives. I figured to be a fair hostess I would include chocolate chip cookies and Fritos just in case my friend wasn't looking to stay totally healthy that night.

Healthy and nutritious snack choices
Now to make it look nice and get everything ready to be served

It was the perfect spread. We nibbled on everything while watching, a little of this and that. I was able to eat within my calorie goal for the day and stay low carb! My friend mixed it up and did enjoy the fritos and cookies as well.

A little of this and a little of that but most of all lots of  fun for your guests
The majority are healthy snacks that everyone will enjoy, even those not watching their weight.
I also love that I was able to keep it low carb
ENJOY!

So the next time you are planning a get-together remember to find the balance of fun, healthy, and tasty snacks everyone will enjoy!! You will be able to enjoy and still have the button on your pants thank you the next day.

Here's to many fun tv parties!

Freedom Cups!

Happy 4th of July! A day to celebrate freedom and be thankful for it. Time for picnics, parties, fireworks, and fun. For those of us trying to not gain a ton of weight and trying to eat healthy these parties are more about what should I eat, what can I eat, should I be good or just say oh well for a day.  Sort of takes some of the fun out it. I say bring something you and everyone else can enjoy and make it one less decision you have to make; and it will keep you on track with your healthy goals! Let's talk dessert. My family loves dessert, it's what I struggle with at most birthday parties and gatherings. Not this time, this time I had an idea. I want to enjoy with everyone, so I came up with Freedom Cups.

Freedom Cups
Be Healthy and Enjoy!!

I found some wine glasses that had blue stems and were the perfect size, but you can easily find cups at your local store. Figuring out what went in them was easy, what is healthy and delicious and red, white, and blue...strawberries, cool whip, and blueberries! Works perfectly with my blueberry obsession.

Ingredients:

Blueberries

Strawberries

Cool Whip

Reddi Whip 

Cherries

Sprinkles

My Helpers
Ashley and Kaitlyn

I enlisted assistance from two of the best and cutest helpers I know...my nieces Ashley and Kaitlyn. My first step was cutting the stems off the strawberries. Then it was time to cut just the right size to fit in the cups. I decided to cut mine in half and then to cut the halves in half. Making the pieces large enough to still enjoy the taste but small enough to fit a bunch in the glass. Once I cute up all the strawberries I did a layer in each glass. You can decide how thick you want each layer. After the strawberries I did a layer of Cool Whip Lite. I recommend using a large spoon to scoop but a small spoon, even a kids spoon, to help layer it in the glass so you don't get too much on the sides of the cup.

How I cut up my strawberries and layered the Cool Whip Lite
Feel free to cut yours to how you like it and add as much or as little Cool Whip

 Next up blueberries! I did a layer of blueberries followed by another layer of Cool Whip and then strawberries. I topped it off with some Reddi Whip to get the neat spiral look and decorated with blueberries and strawberries on top.Tada!  Instant delicious dessert that is healthy and everyone can enjoy!

The different stages of layering fruit, Cool Whip, and Reddi Whip

My nieces had a blast helping me and got even more excited when I told them they could make their own! Ashley modeled hers after mine but added in cherries.  Kaitlyn is not a big fan of blueberries, I happily ate hers, so she used just strawberries, cherries and added some sprinkles for fun!

Ashley and Kaitlyn busy creating their delicious dessert
Picture to the right is Kaitlyn's Creation

Ashley couldn't wait to eat her dessert

I hope everyone has a safe and happy 4th of July, spending more time celebrating and having fun and less time worrying about what to eat.

Me and my sister Elyse enjoying our Freedom Cups!