The Down Side to Calorie Counting & Sugar

As someone who needs structure to stick with goals or plans, I'm finding it very hard to cope with some aspects of living a healthier life. For example, calorie counting. When it comes to dropping pounds, it's proven that you have to burn more calories than you consume to lose weight. It's a known fact. So my go to when I start trying to lose weight is to always use a program to help me track my calorie consumption. For me, My Fitness Pal has been the easiest to use (because you can use the app or their website). BUT many people suggest never counting calories but simply eating better. I find this very frustrating. Because I've seen the results that counting calories can have (two years ago I stuck to my 1200 cal/day for 3 months and lost 16 pounds) it's hard for me wrap my head around the idea of eating as I go without factoring the calories or measuring portions based on calorie count.

As someone who counts calories and tries to avoid the calories and addictions sugar brings, I've been a long time user of artificial sweeteners. Spelnda being my drug of choice. I know artificial sweeteners are highly toxic, I KNOW how bad they are for me, yet I will still reach for a yellow packet before I reach for sugar because I can add a 0 to my calorie count instead of 15. I tell myself it's better because at least it's not as addictive as sugar, but is it? Cognitive dissonance at its finest, people. Did you know white, refined sugar can be just a addictive as cocaine? The coca leaf (used to make cocaine) is inherently harmless, and is used in many things like tea, until it is refined and processed into the powdery, highly addictive drug. Refined cane sugar you buy at the store is not in its natural form either. It is highly processed and treated before it reaches your hands.

I have found what I think would be a great alternative for both cane sugar and artificial sweeteners in coconut sugar. It has a low glycemic index (between 35-38%, which makes it a great alternative for diabetics) and can be more nutritious than cane sugar. According to Madhava, "Coconut sugar has a nutritional content that is richer than cane or beet sugar; it has naturally occurring nutrients, including magnesium, potassium, zinc, iron, B vitamins and amino acids (including glutamine).  Unlike beet/cane sugar, nothing is added or removed in the production of coconut sugar." It is "an organic, unrefined sweetener that is derived from the nectar of coconut palm tree blossoms. The nectar is boiled to evaporate the water, and the remaining concentrated nectar is crystallized into sugar." Coconut sugar can be used as a 1:1 replacement for cane sugar (white or brown) in baking, cooking, your drinks, etc. It doesn't taste like coconut, more closely to brown sugar, so you wouldn't have to worry about that as a side effect in your recipes.

In trying to lead a healthier lifestyle I want to make the switch from cane sugar to coconut sugar but I'm finding it hard to get past the mental block of having to add 15 cal/tsp to my calorie count. It doesn't seem like much, but it can add up. I know it would be all around better for me, my body, my health, and probably my mental health, but I can't get past that number. This is something I need to work on if I'm going to pursue and overall healthier lifestyle. I may have to stop counting my calories all together and just go with my gut when it comes to making food choices, but I won't go that far. Not yet at least. I'm going to make it a goal of mine for 2014 to not be so hard on myself if I go over my calorie allotment, especially if my list of foods I've eaten for the day consist of fruits, vegetables, unprocessed foods, and overall healthy choices.

Have you ever had trouble changing the way you view your eating habits? Or struggled to overcome certain food addictions? Do you have any recommendations for me?

Today is a New Day

I caved yesterday. I can admit it. The day started fine, I had my tea and yogurt for breakfast and soup for lunch, but dinner is where I got off track. We had this very, very spicy rice (I don't do spicy well. At all) so I lathered it with sour cream to help tame some of the spiciness. Then I had three chocolate chip cookies and two pieces of fudge. The homemade fudge with marshmallow cream you make from the recipe on the back of Nestle Tollhouse's chocolate chip bags. My mom makes it every year for Christmas and it's amazing. It was just sitting there, being so tempting, and I gave in.

Normally, after a day like that, I would tell myself, "well, you've already messed it up," and go back to my old eating habits. Not this time. Today I'm going to get right back on track and keep going. Today is day 14, not day 1. I'm trying a workout schedule I found through pinterest where each day it gives you a new set of exercises (mostly just increasing the number of reps from the day before) and I already did today's before getting ready for work this morning. I think that's a step in the right direction.

Have you ever given up on a goal because of one set back or slip up?

Vanilla Bean & Sea Salted Caramel Cupcakes

As a Raley's Something Extra Try It member, I was sent a box of Raley's Vanilla Bean cake mix, a custom recipe for Salted Caramel Cream Cheese Frosting, cupcake wrappers, some coupons, and a handy whisk to help me put this concoction together!

As a huge fan of vanilla, especially vanilla bean, I was really excited to try this recipe. I mean, who doesn't like cupcakes, vanilla, cream cheese, and caramel?!

The cake mix was easy enough, just add 2 eggs, 1/2 cup melted butter, and 1 cup milk, and whisk together. Then add to baking cups, 2/3 full, bake at 400 deg for 14-16 min. I used my convection bake setting and they were done in 12 min.

Making the caramel was much easier than I thought it would be. Just add the heavy whipping cream, brown sugar, and butter, bring to a boil, then simmer at a low boil for 10 minutes. Add the vanilla and salt, stir, then put in the fridge to chill.

The frosting was the most difficult (for my arms at least - that's right, I use a hand mixer. I haven't been able to get my hands on a stand mixer yet. They're so expensive!). Using some of the caramel you made, cream cheese, butter, and powdered sugar, mix them all together until they're well mixed and fluffy.

There was tons of frosting leftover so I put it in a container in the fridge. Not sure what I might use it on yet, but you never know! It might come in handy. Using the remaining caramel, drizzle it over the cupcakes and add a pinch of salt to each. Man these are so good! My husband and I can't eat 22 cupcakes between the 2 of us, so I ended up taking these to work to share the deliciousness. They were a hit!

The finished product!

Have you made caramel sauce from scratch before? Or frosting? This took me about an hour and  a half to complete from start to finish, which I don't think is too bad considering the results! 

Recipes:

Cupcakes:

• 1 (16oz) box of Raley's Vanilla Bean Cake Mix

Salted Caramel

• 1/2 cup heavy cream
• 6 tbsp. brown sugar
• 2 tbsp. butter
• 1 tsp. vanilla
• Generous pinch sea salt

Frosting

• 6 oz. cream cheese, at room temp
• 1/4 cup butter, at room temp
• 1 tsp vanilla
• 3 cups powdered sugar

Instructions:

1. Prepare cake batter according to package directions. Let cool when done baking.
2. To Prepare Caramel: bring cream brown sugar and butter to a boil in a small saucepan. Reduce heat and keep at a low boil for 10 minutes, stirring occasionally. Stir in vanilla and salt and transfer to a small bowl; cover and chill.
3. To Prepare Frosting: beat cream cheese, butter, vanilla, and 3/4 of caramel together until light and fluffy. Slowly beat in powdered sugar until smooth.
4. Spread over cupcakes and drizzle with remaining caramel, warming for a few seconds in the microwave if too thick. Add a small sprinkle of sea salt to each cupcake.

Disclosure: I received this product free from the Something Extra Try-It program but all the opinions are my own.

Nob Hill Trading Co. Soups

If you're lucky enough to live in Northern California, you probably have the opportunity to shop at a Raley's, Bel Air, or Nob Hill store. They're very nice and have the best meats and produce around, hands down. They also provide a large selection of organic and all natural foods, which can be hard to find with no Trader Joe's or Whole Foods nearby. I was recently given the opportunity to try one of their Nob Hill Trading Co. All-Natural Soups by being a member of the Something Extra Try-It program.

Here's some info about the soups from their website:
Nob Hill Trading Co. All-Natural Soups are delicious because they’re simple, with a short list of real ingredients (all of which you can pronounce, even). And with no preservatives or artificial flavors and colors, these soups are just like Mom used to make. But some of the flavors aren’t like anything you enjoyed as a kid. Nob Hill Trading Co. soups come in nine heartwarming flavors in convenient 20 oz. containers (perfect for two adult-sized servings) priced at $4.99:

Butternut Squash
Farmers Market
Indian Curry
King Crab Chowder
Lentil Soup
Lobster Bisque
New England Clam Chowder
Quinoa Chili
Shrimp and Corn

I was able to go to my local Bel Air and sort through the different choices of 20oz soups and ended up picking out the Farmers Market Vegetable Soup. I know that's not on the list above, but my Bel Air only had a few 20oz soups available (most were 24oz for $4.99 instead of the 20oz for $3.99), and they only had about 5 options in total. I'm not sure if I just went on an off day and they hadn't gotten in a new shipment so I'll have to check the next time I go back. I don't eat seafood of any kind, so automatically the crab, lobster, and shrimp flavors were out, so I chose the vegetable soup. I like minestrone so I figured this would be a good choice for me.

I love that it's all natural (you can tell because it has a green lid) and was only 100 calories per serving! No unnecessary chemicals or preservatives, so you know you're getting the most for your money when it comes to nutrients. The Farmers Market Vegetable Soup was good, but not what I was expecting! It's not your usual blend of veggies for a soup. It had pumpkin seeds, cauliflower, carrots, tomatoes, and more. I will warn you that it was VERY peppery, but if you like that then more power to you! You get a generous portion that's enough to feed two people. It would be perfect with a side of grilled-cheese mmmmmm! I would definitely purchase this soup again. Hot soup is a perfect meal choice for this time of year. It's quick, hearty, warms you up, and you can eat it out of a cup or an awesome bowl (like the one that came with my kit). I love to get a bowl (or cup) of soup, snuggle up on the couch under a blanket with my husband and kitties, and enjoy. If it's raining outside, even better!

I know I will keep these in mind the next time I can't think of what to make for dinner! As a side note, if you haven't joined Something Extra yet, I would highly recommend it. I was able to purchase the soup, chips, and apple sauce shown above for only $2.59! Just for being a member, I received the soup and chips free. Can't beat that! Have you tried these soups from Raley's and Bel Air? Which one is your favorite? Would you choose a fresh all-natural soup over the canned variety?

Disclosure: I received this product free from the  Something Extra Try-It program but all the opinions are my own.

Strawberry Chobani Pops

In my quest to be the healthier me, I recently came across a tumblr blog through Pinterest called Undressed Skeleton. It's a blog made by a girl named Taralynn and it's about her story of making a choice to be a healthier person and how she's come a long way. Her story really is inspiring. She also has tons of recipes for low-fat and low-cal foods. A hard thing for me to get over is not having my sweets and she's found some great ways to get control of those cravings with things like non-fat Greek style yogurt mixed with sugar free Jell-O! I decided to make her Jello Chobani Pops with Fruit but my own way (you'll have to scroll down to find them on her page, there's no link to the individual recipe).


































Since her recipe doesn't list recipe amounts, I had to make mine to taste, and I don't have popsicle  molds, I decided to use cupcake papers. Here's what I used:

24 oz. Plain, non-fat Chobani Yogurt (3 small, 6oz containers)
1 packet SF Strawberry Jell-O gelatin mix
5-6 fresh strawberries, sliced

Yields approx. 15 servings

To make, I mixed all the ingredients together until well blended, then placed in the cupcake papers. I put a decent amount in each paper and I was able to get 15 out of it. Then place in the freezer. I made them at about 8pm and froze them overnight, and had one the next morning. I have never had Greek style yogurt before and turns out it's a bit grainy, but I can live with that! The mixture could also have maybe used another container (6oz) of yogurt because it is a bit tart, but I still like them. For only 26 cal. each, I'll take them! It was super convenient to just grab one and go in the morning as a quick breakfast on my way to work, then have my apple when I got here. The great thing about this recipe, is you can use virtually any combination of fruit and flavored jello mix to come up with any combo you want!

Cheesy, Chicken and Wild Rice Casserole

 I have recently become very addicted to Pinterest, spending hours looking through people’s pins, finding crafts I would love to try and recipes that sound amazing. One day last week I decided that I was going to stop imagining what one of them would taste like and actually make it. The recipe I decided on was a Cheesy Chicken and Wild Rice Casserole. From the recipe it sounded delicious, not exactly healthy, but delicious nonetheless.

Cheesy Chicken and Wild Rice Casserole
3 Tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
1 medium onion, finely diced
3 stalks celery, finely diced
3 carrots, peeled and diced*
*I subbed for sliced mushrooms
2 Tablespoons fresh minced garlic
2 Cups shredded, cooked chicken breast
2 Cups steamed white rice (1 cup dry)
16 oz prepared wild (1 cup dry)
1 teaspoon kosher salt
½ teaspoon black pepper
¼ teaspoon garlic salt
______
Cheese Sauce
4 Tablespoons butter
¼ Cup all-purpose flour
¼ teaspoon kosher salt
¼ teaspoon black pepper
2 Cups chicken broth
2 Cups shredded cheddar cheese
Top with 1 ½ Cups shredded cheddar cheese*
*I used a little more cheese on the top because 1 ½ cups wasn’t enough to cover everything.


1.  Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.  Heat oil into a medium dutch oven or pot over medium heat.  Sauté onion, celery and carrots until softened, about 10 minutes.  Stir in garlic and cook for 1 minute.  Stir in chicken, both rices, salt, pepper and garlic salt.  Reduce heat to low.


2.  To prepare cheese sauce: melt butter into a medium saucepan over medium high heat.  Whisk in flour, salt and pepper then slowly pour in chicken broth whisking continuously.  Whisk until thick and nearly boiling then stir in cheese until melted.  Pour cheese sauce into rice mixture then transfer to a 9×13 inch baking dish. Top with additional cheddar cheese and bake for 25-30 minutes or until cheese is melted through.  Serve. *I cooked for only 22 minutes and it was plenty so be careful not to burn it!
8-10 servings

I made a special trip to my local Bel Air to pick up extra ingredients I would need since my Safeway doesn't have a bulk foods section for things like whole grains, rice, etc. I decided to sub carrots for sliced mushrooms because neither my boyfriend nor I care for cooked carrots, and I had to use extra cheese on top in order to cover the whole dish.

Left: ingredients ready for the cheese sauce
Right: ingredients prepped to be sautéed 

In all, it took me approximately two and a half to three hours (maybe a bit more) to prepare and cook, but I think it was totally worth it. I cooked the white and wild rice together in my rice cooker, using the brown rice settings knowing that the wild rice would have to cook a bit longer than the white, and it worked out great! Plus it saved me some time from having to cook them 20+ min. each separately. I also had to pre-cook the chicken before sautéing the veggies, but that didn’t take long.

 Once the rice was done, I sautéed the veggies for 10 min. as the recipe calls for, added the garlic and chicken, and let it simmer while I prepared the cheese sauce. The recipe said to “whisk continuously until the sauce [became] thick and almost to a boil”. What it didn't say was how long that would take! It probably took about 15 minutes for this to happen. If I had known how long it would take, I probably would have started it at the same time as the veggies.

Top: veggies and chicken in the pan
Bottom: all mixed together with the cheese sauce

Once everything was mixed together and placed in the oven, I set my timer for 22 min. even though the directions said to let it cook for 25-30, and it turned out to be perfect. If I had let it go any longer, the cheese on top would have burned, so be aware if you decide to make it yourself.

The finished product

This is probably the most work I have ever put into a dish, and let me tell you, I was worried it was going to turn out terribly! BUT turns out it was amazing, just as I had hoped. My boyfriend and his brother loved it. We liked it so much we ended up eating the whole thing in less than a week (it was great reheated too!). If you’re looking for a great, hearty, winter dish, I would highly recommend this! If you make it, let me know what you think or if you made any adjustments of your own. Would love to hear what you think! Also, if anyone would like an invite to Pinterest just let me know :)