PB2 Woohoo!

Happy Tuesday! How is everyone doing adjusting to daylight savings?...Except those who are in states that don't have to adjust, I am jealous of you guys. 

I really miss that hour

I had a few minutes this morning before work and had to share my favorite snack find. Let me start off by saying I love peanut butter. I like almond butter, but I LOVE peanut butter. As you know peanut butter also comes with a lot of calories, not the best to devour while trying to shed a few pounds (just ask my scale). And sure you can have a serving size, but who really has a serving size of the deliciousness. Then some genius came out with PB2. 

Looks so simple,
yet so much deliciousness in a powder and less calories!

PB2 is powdered peanut butter and according to the label 85% less fat and calories than traditional peanut butter. You just mix the powder with liquid and voila peanut butter. Okay, sure it's not exactly like eating from a jar of the real deal, but it definitely helps to satisfy my peanut butter craving. I have also started using it in my morning shakes...chocolate, banana, and PB2...hello happy taste buds!!! 

I know there are lots of brands out there now, but I noticed some other brands have added "stuff" to them. No thank you. I love having a little bowl at night while watching tv or during the day with a cut up apple. 

Apples and PB2
Low carb, low calorie, super filling

Just a bowl of PB2 to watch some TV
I usually try to make it thicker but this was still delicious 

Hmm I wonder if I can bake with it...might have to play with that idea.

Have you tried it before? Do you mix it in shakes or eat it alone?  

Have a great day everyone. I am off to work!

It's a great day to have a great day!

Excellent Egg Muffins

As you know, I love eggs! They can be cooked so many different ways, combined with different foods, and so filling. 

I started back at my gym this week, which feels painful and wonderful at the same time, and I wanted to try switching up my pre-workout snacks. I was looking for something full of good protein and fat, not too high in calories, and of course low carb. One of the trainers I was talking to suggested making egg muffins. Egg muffins!  Why didn't I think of that. They are so easy to make and I can stick a couple in a zipblock bag to take with me. Off I went food shopping...

Ingredients: 

(Makes 12 muffins)

10 eggs

1 cup shredded mozzarella cheese

6-7 Broccoli florets

Salt

Pepper

Cooking Spray

Egg muffin ingredients; eggs, broccoli, cheese...sounds easy, because it is!

** You can use whatever cheese you like, and also add in any type of vegetable. I think next time I am going to try it with bacon added in. YUM! **

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit and spray the muffin tin with the cooking spray. 

Crack all 10 eggs in bowl. I like to crack the eggs first just in case some shells sneak past me I can get them out easier. 

Cracking the eggs and trying to not get any shells slip past me

Mix the eggs up and then it's time to add the 1 cup of cheese (add more or less to your tasting).

1 cup shredded mozzarella cheese added to the mixture

Since I am not the most professional or technical I just took a couple of broccoli florets and broke them apart with my fingers, it was quick and easy. Then just add your salt and pepper to taste.

Broccoli adds another level of nutrition and deliciousness

I used a 1/4 cup measuring spoon to make sure each muffin tin received the same amount of the mixture, it also helped me when figuring out the nutritional properties to enter into myfitnesspal. 

By using the measuring cup I knew exactly how much mixture
was going in each tin

Ready for the oven!

I set my timer for 15 minutes and was very excited to see how they turned out. Light and fluffy and delicious!!

Low calories, low carb, highly delicious egg muffins!

I love how easy they are to store!

These are an easy to store and quick to grab and go snack idea

I will definitely be making these again, just as soon I finish this first batch! 

Protein Snack Attack

There are some people that can do just fine only eating 3 meals a day, I am not one of those people. I tend to have three small to medium size meals and 2 snacks, sometimes 3 depending on the day. A few years ago my snacks would have consisted of granola bars, crackers, half a bagel, 100 calories pack of cookies or something similar. Not any more. Now I want my snacks to be healthy and help fuel me throughout the day. As I started cutting back on carbs and sugar and that processed stuff, I found it harder and harder to find good quality snacks. I mentioned this problem to my mom the other day when I was at my parent's house. We sat there for a moment trying to come up with good ideas, and then she got the aha face, walked out of the room and came back with a can of chicken, I thought yeah right this is going to taste good. She told me it has become one of my dad's new favorite snacks and really fills him up. My poor dad, every time us kids are over their house my mom is giving away his food for us to try. Love you dad!

I went home and tried a little, I was pleasantly surprised, it was really good, but I wondered what could I do to this can of chicken to make it even more filling and delicious? Then I has my own aha moment! I had recently tried this really delicious blue cheese dressing and thought why not mix it.

Canned chicken, I got the kind that has white and dark meat,
but they have just white meat if that is your preference.
This dressing is really good and the lesser of the dressing evils.
I am open to dressing suggestions if anyone wants to suggest some

For a 2 oz serving of the chicken you get 50 calories, 1.5 grams of fat, 0 carbs, 0 sugar, 9 grams of protein. When I first measured it out, it didn't really seem like much, but then you add in the dressing....

2 ounces of chicken

The blue cheese dressing really adds a whole other flavor to this dish, I am sure any dressing you like will work just as well. 1 serving size of the dressing is 2 tbsp you get 130 calories, 14 grams of fat, 1 gram carb, 1 gran sugar, and 1 gram protein. I usually only use 1 tbsp which is plenty. This little snack is packed with fuel and so filling and delicious!

Add 1 tablespoon of dressing to 2 ounces of chicken
Yep that cute black and white mug is my giant cup of coffee, waiting for me to enjoy

Quick, easy, low carb, low calorie, and very easy to take with you to work.
It doesn't have any weird fishy smell like tuna so you can eat it at your desk without it bothering coworkers

Look familiar, the chicken was part of my breakfast I talked about in
Mission Accomplished...For the Week

This snack has definitely become one of my favorites. I usually eat it in the afternoon, it gives me energy for my workouts and holds me over so I don't get the grumbly stomach feeling halfway through my routine, but it really is delicious any time of the day.  Hope you enjoy!!

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!