Here is what I do:

• 3/4 cup  Unsweetened Almond Milk
• 1/4 cup Chocolate Milk
• 2 ounces frozen Banana – chopped into 3 or 4 pieces
• 2 or 3 ice cubes

Place all ingredients in your Magic Bullet (or blender if you don’t have a Bullet) and pulse until ice is chopped.

I love this because it’s healthy but it also really feels like a treat. It’s creamy and thick and sometimes I eat it with a spoon!

* You can use skim milk instead of the unsweetened Almond – you’ll actually get more protein from the real thing. But for me, this one is all about taste! The creaminess/chalky taste of the Almond Milk really brings out the banana and chocolate combo.

*Info:

Related posts:

1. Heathy Breakfast Ideas
2. Almond Milk
3. Grab and Go Healthy Snacks

Here is how you turn your Artichoke Heart into a pita replacement!

1. Wash your Artichoke Heart
2. Cut the base stem off and the pointy tips on all the leaves. This is best done with scissors.
3. Place your Artichoke In a boiling pot of water, and let it boil for 30 – 40 minutes.
4. Remove and cool.
5. Serve along side any dip!
6. Pick a leaf off! Use the bottom of the leave (the meat) to scoop the dip and then with your teeth you scrap the leaf so that you get the meat from the plant and a little dip too!

* You can also scoop out the top few leaves and put your dip inside the middle of the Artichoke for a fancied up version!

P.S- The ‘heart’ is the BEST part. it’s hidden under all the leaves at the very bottom of the plant! YUMM!

Now, here is the scoop on the Artichoke:

1. 25 calories in a medium artichoke with no fat or cholesterol!
2. 16 essential nutrients!
3. 12% recommended daily Intake (RDI) of Fiber
4. 10% RDI of Folate
5. 10% RDI Vitamin C
6. Not to mention Iron, potassium, magnesium and calcium to name a few!
7. All these vitamins and minerals can help reduce the risk of certain types of heart disease, cancers and birth defects.

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1. Heathy Breakfast Ideas
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3. Chicken Wraps – Part One

• 1 ounce raw nuts. I like Almonds, cashews and brazil nuts.
• Fresh cut up veggies. I like celery, carrots, cucumber and peppers. If you can’t stomach veggies on their own try it with 2 tbsp of hummus or 1 tbsp of low-fat Ranch or Cesar dressing.
• Cheese Strings. ( These last a few hours outside of a refrigerator)
• An emergency bar like a LARA Bar or The Simply Bar.
• Piece of fruit.
• Whole grain crackers like WASA crackers and some Light Laughing Cow to spread on top.
• Celery/ whole grain crackers and Natural Peanut Butter.

If you are going to have a snack like rice chips, pretzels or something processed like that. Just make sure you look at the back of the bag and portion out your one serving. Place your 8 chips or whatever it is in a zip lock baggy and bring JUST THE BAGGY to work with you.

Snacks for your house OR if you have a refrigerator at your office:

• 3/4 cups skim milk with 1/4 cup chocolate milk. Have it on the rocks or warm it in the microwave for a hot cocoa.
• Cottage cheese with cinnamon for a sweet tooth.
• Cottage cheese with cucumber and tomato for a savory tooth.
• Cottage cheese with fresh berries for a sweet tooth.
• Single servings of yogurt.
• 1/4 cup low fat Ricotta cheese with fresh berries.

I never leave the house without something on hand. And if I do find myself in a situation where I don’t have anything to eat and I’m out running errands – I grab a tall non-fat latte. It’s approximately 8 ounces of milk and a great tide me over snack that holds me until my next meal.

Feel free to write in with ideas and thoughts!

Related posts:

1. Damage Control
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3. On The Go Breakfast Ideas

I promised I would give you some ideas as to what to fill your cupboards and refrigerator with. Let’s start with breakfast. I’ll hit snacks, lunches, dinners and your purse/car in the next few days. Keep these lists handy and use them to help you grocery shop Even put them on your refrigerator door so that you can use them as a reference when you are deciding what to have in the morning. The key here is to have healthy (yummy) things readily available to grab in the morning on your way out the door. This way you don’t have the option of grabbing a high sugar processed cereal bar – or even worse, noting at all.

1. Skim or 1% milk.
2. 1% Chocolate milk
3. Yogurt – I personally would choose a Greek Style Non Fat Plain Yogurt- but if you hate plain yogurt, pick one that you like.
4. Eggs.
5. Cheese.
6. Cottage cheese.
7. Fresh fruit like apples, bananas, berries, grapefruit, kiwi’s and pineapple.
8. Oatmeal.
9. High Fiber, low sugar cereals like Weetabix and Bite Sized Shredded Wheat
10. Whole grain or sprouted wheat bread.
11. Natural peanut butter, almond butter or cashew butter.
12. Pea-meal Bacon.

10 healthy breakfast ideas you can make with this list:

• Fresh Fruit Plate.
• Cottage Cheese and Berries.
• Yogurt and berries.
• Toast with Peanut (or other nut butter) and a glass of 1/4 cup chocolate milk – 3/4 cup skim milk.
• Breakfast sandwich with pea-meal and eggs. – Great to go!
• Cereal. With or without fresh berries.
• Banana dipped in Peanut butter with a glass of milk. (add 1/4 chocolate milk to this for a delicious chocolate peanut butter banana breakfast)
• Oatmeal. You can add banana to sweeten it up. I have a client who puts 1 tbsp of natural peanut butter in her oatmeal!
• Scrambled, poached, soft boiled or sunny side up eggs and toast.
• Cheese Toast.

Related posts:

1. On The Go Breakfast Ideas
2. The Passover Challenge – Breakfast Ideas
3. Grab and Go Healthy Snacks

It’s very hard to find healthy energy/protein bars. Most of them are filled with chemicals, fake food and tons of sugar. They are branded andmarketed as healthy, but for 99% of the bars out there- healthy – they are not. This is why I love the LARA bar so much. It’s simple two ingredence make it top bar pic on my list. BUT I FOUND A NEW BAR I LOVE! It’s called The Simply Bar.

Here is why I love it:

1. Although it has more than two ingredents, all it’s ingredence are real whole foods. No preservatives, no chemicals.
2. It’s low on the glycimic index scale which means it won’t spike your insulin levels. AKA – you won’t feel hungry after you eat it.
3. Lower in calories than most bars, it’s a great mid – afternoon snack.
4. It’s packed with protein! For an all natural bar the amount of protein is very impressive at 16 grams a bar.
5. Great for those with food allergies- it’s milk and gluten free.
6. It contains 20% of you recommended daily intake of iron.

My favorite flavors are Chocolate Peanut Butter, Cinnamon Raisin (obviously) and Cocoa Coffee. You can find these at most health food stores. Big supermarket chains such as Loblaws are selling them as well.

Related posts:

1. Heathy Breakfast Ideas
2. Damage Control
3. Grab and Go Healthy Snacks

Here is what my snack list looks like- pretty predictable if you read this blog!:

• Skim milk/non fat milk
• 1% chocolate milk
• 1% cottage cheese
• Celery
• Cucumber
• Carrots. Not the baby kind, but the real ones.
• Cherry Tomatoes
• Almonds and Cashews – Raw, unsalted
• Non fat plain yogurt
• Cheese strings
• Brick of Cheese (Parmesan or Old Cheddar)
• Lara bar
• Fresh Fruit

When I get home from the grocery store (before I put these snacks away) I portion them. I cut up all my veggies and put them in water and store them in the fridge so they’re easy to grab and munch on. No prep work needed when I’m hungry at 2.30 pm and I don’t want to cut celery!  I also divide my nuts into one ounce bags.

For me personally it sets me up for success during the week. I know I have a house stocked with tons of snack options to choose from. When I get hungry at home- I have no excuse but to reach for one of theses healthy munchies. As well, most of these snacks travel well – so if I’m going to be out all day- I carry at least two snacks with me. If I don’t need them, I just bring them home! But chances are I eat them both Being prepared keeps hunger at bay which keeps a binge at my next meal at bay.

*Don’t feel like you have to have the same snack list as I do. The point of the list is merely to have one. Stock your house with healthy snacks and carry them with you. Chances are you are going to reach for what’s easiest when you’re hungry. And if the cut veggies happen to be the easiest thing to grab, your laughing!

Related posts:

1. Heathy Breakfast Ideas
2. Grab and Go Healthy Snacks
3. The Passover Challenge – Snack Ideas

Here is all that you’ll need :

• 1 ounce of sliced hard Parmesan cheese
• One green apple

1. Slice cheese thinly and place it on-top of apple slice. Voila!

The protein in the cheese and the fiber in the apple will help keep you feeling satisfied and full. Not to mention the over 300mg of calcium the cheese provides! The apple is also filled with great vitamins and minerals including Potassium, Vitamin A , Vitamin C and Folate to name a few.                 

* Nutritional Information

Related posts:

1. Healthy Crunchy Snack
2. Artichoke Hearts
3. Cheese Strings

Yesterday I wrote that I would rather grab ‘real’ food over a bar any day and a concerned reader wrote in and questioned whether a cheese string was ‘real’ food. My personal thoughts are this: In order to eat healthier, lose weight and maintain weight loss we have to find easy, convenient ways to help us do it. It’s really nice and romantic to think that we can cook all our meals at home and always eat whole foods – but the reality of the situation is that we are all busy with work, kids, school and a million other things.  And the majority of the time, unhealthy snacks seem to be easier to grab than healthy ones. So I’m always looking for ways to make healthy snacks the easy bite to grab.

A cheese string is a great pre-portioned snack that you can carry with you. With 15% (150 mg)  of your RDA of calcium and 6 grams of protein, this grab and go food is a good kick in the pants to help fight off the mid afternoon munchies- and it’s full of protein that will help keep you full. The ingredients are listed as follows: Partly skimmed milk, modified milk ingredients, bacterial culture, salt, microbial enzyme and calcium chloride (a common salt). Yes, there is definitely salt in a cheese string. And those watching their sodium intake should be careful not to eat too many, but at 140 mg per string, that’s about 6 or 7% of your maximum daily allowance.

I don’t necessarily think that this is the snack to end ALL snacks, but I do think it’s good for you. And I also think that it’s way better than going to work without a snack and then turning to the candy machine when you get hungry.A cheese string versus an apple? Well, they are both great AND they both provide different sources of energy and different nutritional benefits. With the cheese string you’re getting protein and calcium. The apple provides you with carbohydrates, vitamin c and fiber. When in doubt, take them both.

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1. Armstrong Cheese Strings
2. Milk. It Does Do The Body Good.
3. Damage Control

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These tofu based noodles are a great low calorie, low fat alternative to a high calorie meal.

Yup. You read that right. 20 calories and 2 grams of fiber for four ounces! They come in a little bag filled with water and the noodles float in the bag. Yes, they look strange and yes they kinda smell when you take them out of the bag, but don’t let that discourage you. I’m just warning you so you’re not surprised!

When you take them out of the bag, empty them into a strainer and give them a good rinse. Then pat them dry.

These noodles are great with dishes that tend to be ‘creamy’ or ‘asian’ in taste. I’m not so sure that I would make spaghetti and meat balls with these bad boys, but if you do and it’s delicious…Let me know!

Here is a no fail Recipe with Shirataki/ Wild Wood Pasta Slim Noodles:

Shirataki KD style

Serves One.

This recipe is very similar to the one of the back of the package, I just gave it my own twist. If you’re a fan of K.D, you’ll love this one.

1 pkg Shirataki fettuccini noodles, rinsed and dried

1 The Lauphing Cow light cheese

1 tbsp 0% Greek yogurt – or any thick plain low fat yogurt

1 tbsp Parmesan cheese

Salt and pepper to taste

1 clove garlic, mashed

1. Place your cleaned noodles, The Laughing Cow cheese, garlic and yogurt in a microwavable bowl.

2. Cook on high for 1 minute. Stir.

3. Sprinkle in Parmesan and cook on high for 1 more minute. Stir.

4. Salt and pepper to taste. Enjoy!

*Nutritional Information

Calories	Carbohydrates	Protein	Fat	Fiber
89	5.9	6.7	4	2

* Add 3 ounces cooked white meat chicken to this to make it more of a meal!

• 9213 Steps.

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