New Creations

This weekend I was so wanting eggplant! I stayed with my parents Saturday night and decided to make dinner there and take advantage of being creative in the kitchen. I really wanted to use eggplant as mentioned so I had seen a great recipe for an eggplant involtini which is sorta like a canoli shell made of the eggplant instead of pasta. The recipe I found was here... http://www.alexandracooks.com/2011/09/29/eggplant-involtini/

So, I made a couple of changes to lighten these up. Instead of full fat ricotta I used fat free and I omitted the cream and just used a canned tomato sauce. To bulk these up I also chopped a cup of mushrooms and lightly grilled them. I also added chopped parsley because I used parsley with my fish that I served with. It's important when you are cooking to stick with your herbs throughout the dishes to keep your theme and tastes the same otherwise they can clash and it may not be a great combo. Then I finished with light mozzarella cheese!

This morning I was wanting waffles (always) so I was looking through my recipes and came across a yummy Greek yogurt oatmeal waffle here...

http://edibleliving.blogspot.com/2012/03/motherhood-mondays-and-pancakes-parties.html?m=1

Of course I altered here is my version...

{Pancakes or Waffles}
1 2/3 cups whole wheat flour
2/3 cup old-fashioned rolled oats
1 tablespoon pure clover honey
1 1/4 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 heaping teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon fine sea salt
1 cup Greek yogurt
1cup dairy beverage I used coconut milk
1/2 cup egg substitute which =2 eggs
1 scoop protein powder

Whisk together flour, oats,baking powder, baking soda/bicarbonate of soda,salt and protein powder in a large bowl.

In a separate bowl, whisk together the yogurt, dairy,honey and eggs. Make a well in the center of the dry ingredients, and whisk in the wet ingredients until well incorporated. The batter should be thick if needed thin with dairy beverage.

Heat waffle iron or griddle for pancakes and cook like normal.

I stacked my waffles with fruit and even used a 1/2 tablespoon of nutella between the layers equals Ahhhhmazing!!

Enjoy and Mahalo!

Spread the Love :-)

Ahhhh, what a delightful day! I am very sore but the good kinda sore that make you go "I work out!" lol! I did a double work out today and I must say I love that my 3 mile runs are now a warm up for my actual workout(insert huge smile!). I am at the 10 pound plateau(uuugggggghhhhh!!!) Every 10 pounds I loose, I plateau!! This can be very frustrating but also okay because I know in another week or so I will start loosing again. This has gone on EVERY 10 pounds,grrr! But, that's okay because this next week I have exciting plans and am really going to focus on just being strong, maintaining my healthy lifestyle and not on the number that's on the scale that will just be a byproduct of my hard work and dedication annnnnd always remember this.......

I will be completely honest and say that every night I cannot wait to run, like, seriously cannot wait! Then there is the wake up and I'm in bed with my babies and its so comfy and cozy and I will tell you at the moment most days = absolutely no desire to do any physical activity AT ALL! After I get babas change the baby and get re cuddled(that's prob the main problem, exiting the bed and then re entering the said "cozy bed") I smooch and love on my little dumplings for a bit and check the Facebook feed. This is the moment where my excuses and my procrastination seem to suddenly fade away.

I have 4 or 5 or maybe more,haha, that I follow all day long  regularly. I love that I can pull strength from their amazing efforts and determination to attain their goals EVERYDAY! These women have become so much a part of my life, my journey and my overall well being. Hanna over at BouffeeBambini has been so amazing in maintaining her dreams of running even through multiple obstacles. She has been so amazingly inspiring everyday and just want to tell her thank you so much for being such a strong and courageous woman and for helping me along the way in my journey.
I am so blessed that God put them in my path and that I am able to power up and find strength to keep moving forward.

Another positive person in my life is my husband. He and I do a lot together and I am so grateful for our marriage and our friendship. One of the things we get to do is carpool to work and I love this time to just sit and reflect on our lives together and we are able to talk about dreams and goals and make plans together. My husband is an amazing man and I am so very thankful that the Lord put him in my path also. He has done so much for me and our family but also for this free country that he continues to serve in the US Army. He is so very supportive of everything that I do and encourages me daily.

Hot soldier husband ;-)

Last but certainly not least..Other than my husband my mom is so very amazing and always has been at telling me I could do/be anything that I want. She continues to nurture my creativity and adventurous nature and always has my back in everything that I do. She watches our dumplings when we cant and is so beyond generous with her time and love for us and our little babies!

Nana with me and brothers babies :-)

I'm just thankful today for so much and just want to remind you that if you surround yourself with positive people and only let the ones in that will lift you up and be in your life you will accomplish your goals no matter what they are. Draw strength from those when your weak and lift others up when you are strong!

Mahalo

How many layers?

Welcome to July! I am so excited this week for so much fun festivities to celebrate our Independence day! We are having our first BBQ today and I made a yummy layered dip. Typically there are 7 layers but this one I think I ended up wih 9! The point is use fresh yummy ingrediants and just be creative!

I used shredded lettuce,teardrop tomatoes,hummus mixed with some taco seasoning, black beans, fresh guacamole, pico de gallo,olives,fat free sour cream and light mexican blend cheese!!! YUM!!!

I will serve this with fresh veggie sticks and Pop Chips , my favorite low cal chips!

Mahalo!

Chocolate (Protein) Fix

So, around the Pinterest pins I have been seeing these yummy Greek yogurt chocolate muffins. This weeks current obsession has been higher protein foods. Greek yogurt has always been a fave of mine but I keep trying to find yummy ways to sneak in more protein into my regular repertoire of deliciousness.

This is the muffin that I have been eyeing the last couple days. The recipe I used I also found on this site http://healthyisalwaysbetter.tumblr.com/post/6583755120/lessthan300kcal-triple-chocolate-chunk-muffin

Ingredients:

• 1 3/4 c oats
• 3 egg whites
• 3/4 cup unsweetened cocoa
• 1/2 cup unsweetened applesauce
• 1 tsp. vanilla extract
• 1/2 cup plain Greek yogurt (or regular plain low fat yogurt)
• 1/2 tsp cream of tartar (or 1-1/2 Tbsp. vinegar)
• 1-1/2 tsp. baking powder
• 1-1/2 tsp. baking soda
• 1/4 tsp. salt
• 1 cup hot water
• 1 cup sugar substitute (like Splenda granular) OR 1/4 cup + 2 tbs stevia
• 1/2 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips (or use white chocolate or peanut butter chips!)

I cut this recipe in half because Lord knows I don't need all of those muffins laying around my kitchen. I also omitted the chocolate chips and replaced with 1/4 cup of unsweetened coconut. I also didn't have applesauce so I used Gerber baby food pears. In my skinny baking I have found any fruit puree works just the same and doesn't really alter the flavor too much. 

My version of the yummy Greek yogurt muffin is more like a cupcake because lets face it who doesn't love cupcakes?! I also made it a little less in calories by not using the chocolate chips. I also put 3 banana slices a dollop of canned redi-whip and topped with a little toasted unsweetened coconut! YUM!  In the recipe builder on WW these came out to about 1pp per muffin (recipe yields 24 muffins I halved it so I had 12 standard size muffins).

Mahalo!

 

 

Looking back to go forward!

Oh my,my! I have come a long way and this week has been sorta up and down emotionally. I find myself sooooo excited and still needing motivation to keep going!!! I received my latest award at WW another 25lb washer fro my key chain last Friday at my meeting. This may not seem like anything but to me this is so very much. The only thing that means more is that 5k charm because that's really when my life changed.

The 5k charm on my key chain is what I earned for running my first 5k,ever! I love that cheap little metal charm because of what it represents to me and how it set my pace (haha, pace!) for my weight loss journey. I love that I made a choice to sign up first of all for my 5k and then that I trained for it and then that I ran it. Those small steps were HUGE and mimic exactly what I have chosen to do with my life. I made a choice to lose my weight, I took the steps to make it happen and when I reach my goal weight It will be like receiving my charm for finishing what I planned. I need one more of those little washers on my key chain and I cannot wait for the day that I get it.

Breaking up my goal has really made all the difference for me if in July last year when I started all this I was like "I am going to lose 100 lbs!" would it have been attainable, sure. Would it have been overwhelming,scary and probably too intimidating to accomplish? most likely! I started with non-scale goals and running that 5k was key to me earning that key chain first of all and all of the following bells and whistles that accompanied it.  You earn the key chain when you lose 10% of your body weight. That sounds like okay, whatever 10% but the benefits to your health alone have been proven to be tremendous, that's why WW celebrates that.

So even though I have lost over 75lbs, officially with WW its 53.8 (and yes that .8 is everything;-P)
I have had 2 major plateaus in loosing one at around 40 and one at around 60ish that lasted a good 2 LONG....FRUSTRATING months. I know after loosing so much your body really just needs a break to adjust to the new weight and also I wasn't changing up my workouts because I was training for my races so it wasn't like I was feeling like"what am I doing wrong?!" But, It can still be frustrating and the one thing I have found is to really look back at those numbers and remember that I got past them and I am now at the new number. Its very helpful to look back for me and know I can do this and I will continue to do this.

I saw a little craft on Pinterest and I knew I had to make it. It required 2 containers and some little marbles or river rocks.

this is pretty much the easiest thing ever but this made a very visual reminder of where I was and whats next.

On one jar I wrote "Pounds Gone" and the other I wrote #untili'm@goal I love using hash tags and this is a # I plan on using for the next hopefully only couple more months. I need to get rid of 31 more little glass marbles and move them over and this will be officially 107 pounds gone and that will be a great day but this journey has been so much more than those silly little marbles. To see a visual for me other than my body, Is very helpful. I am still at the point where my mind has not caught up to my body and I look in the mirror and don't always see the changes. I don't mean this in a negative way either but when you have lived with being a certain size for a long time there are times when I still think I wear "that" size and every time I buy something and  I don't try it on I end up having to take it back for a smaller size, I know tragic!haha!

Never underestimate progress no matter how slow you are moving forward, YOU ARE STILL MOVING! This is one of the biggest things I need to remember!

Mahalo!

Oatmeal..in my smoothie!?

So, there has been so many different recipes posted on Pinterest lately using oatmeal inside of a smoothie. Of course I was intrigued so this morning I finally got around to it. I like to usually have something with protein after working out (especially a 2 hr workout that I did this morning, go me and my booty! :-) ) so I like to use Greek yogurt in my smoothies or I use a protein shake. The protein shake I used this morning was a Muscle Man protein shake and one of those bottles I use will make 2 smoothies. A full one is way too many calories for me so using half and half the other day works great! So here's the deal on the oatmeal I blended mine in the magic bullet mixer to make a powder and then added it in to ensure an even consistency.

Oatmeal,Protein berry-banana Smoothie

1/2 frozen banana cut up (I like to have at least one fruit that's frozen so that way you don't need ice and makes a better texture)
1 cup your choice protein shake or 1 cup Greek yogurt
mix berries
1/4 cup strawberries
1/4 cup blueberries
1/4 cup raspberries
2 Tbsp quick oats, blended to powder

blend and enjoy- 4 ww pp (3,1 c protein shake and 1 for oatmeal)

Mahalo!





Dina :-)

Pizza Party

I looooove pizza of all kinds and the kind I love most are healthy and filling! This last week and today I came up with some great variations on 2 of my most favorite pizzas. I like to think of myself as very semi-homemade. I enjoy cooking, baking and love it even more now that it is not my job. I love to use fresh ingredients but I also love fast and simple cooking. My time is precious and I do not need to prove anything to my family by "slaving away" in the kitchen all day/night to give myself and them way yummy, healthy food.

The first one I made was Caramelized Pear,Onion and Gorgonzola Pizza this is a take on the CPK version which seems like it could be healthy because its topped with a salad but guess again. I used a store bought pre baked crust(thin, to cut bake on carbs) and then added my own ingredients as I wanted. I also baked this in the oven and it tool from start to finish 30 minutes!

I started with these ingredients

Caramelized Pear,Onion and Gorgonzola Pizza

• Boboli thin crust
• 2-Pears- Cored,sliced thin
• 1/4 cup Gorgonzola
• 1/4 cup Shredded Mozzarella
• 1 Onion-sliced thin
• 2 Tbsp Candied Pecans
• 1 Tbsp olive oil

Caramelize, pears and onions over med flame, in olive oil till golden brown, this breaks down the sugar in the pears and onions and brings out that sweet flavor.

On crust sprinkle mozzarella evenly and then arrange pears and onions. Sprinkle candied pecans(yum!) over the top of that and then crumble Gorgonzola over the top of all of it.

Bake 450 degrees for 15 mins. While baking assemble vinaigrette and prepare salad topping!

Vinaigrette

3 Tbsp seasoned rice wine vinegar

3 Tbsp olive oil

1 Tbsp honey

1/2 cup plain yogurt

1/4 cup crumbled Gorgonzola cheese

pepper

mix together and toss with a bag of mixed greens.

This yummy pizza comes out to about 5 ww pp per serving, yields 9 servings.

Skinny BBQ Chicken Pizza

Now, for this one I used a handy,dandy pizza oven that I picked up on a trip to Kohl's. My girl friend Rachel over at Divalicious Dishes and I were virtual shopping together (she lives in MI and I'm in CA,we work with what we've got,haha!) and I asked her if I should get a cake pop maker or this Bella Pizza Maker Well, thankfully I agreed that although great to make cake pops super fast the pizza maker was way more practical and we use it ALL the time and so nice not to heat the house up on warm days.

 

So, for this one I used a pre made refrigerated crust and then added my ingredients. As you can see from my picture I have a thing for Fresh and Easy neighborhood markets,haha! I totally realized that everything I had to use was from there including stuff I had already in my pantry or fridge.

1 whole wheat pizza dough @room temperature

1/2 cup,cooked chicken breasts

1/2 cup white onions

1/2 cup tomatoes

2 tbsp bbq sauce

1/4 cup shredded mozzarella

basil, cilantro,green onions for garnish

1 tsp butter on maker or pan if using oven to cook, 450 deg 8-11 mins.

Spread pizza dough onto surface. Spread bbq sauce down. Spread chicken,tomatoes and onion all over and top with shredded cheese. bake 8-11 mins and when it comes out top with herbs and green onion.

I also was craving some cole slaw so to lighten up store bought cole slaw I used a bag of shredded cabbage to a 1/2 cup of pre made cole slaw mixed together and served.

This pizza comes out to 4 ww pp per serving and yields 8 servings,enjoy!

Mahalo!