Healthy Banana Muffins

 

Newly engaged, my fience & I just moved in together & I'm definitely in "nesting" mode, making him breakfast smothies, packing his lunch & making dinner every night (haha the things LOVE does to a girl), so I plan on sharing some of my favorite recipes with you guys!  I'm definitely an extremely healthy eater & cooker & have been slowly converting my fince over to a health nut, too.

Before, we were putting Fiber One bars in his lunch, but I just didn't like the idea of all those preservatives & sugar.  I figured I could make a healthier version myself at home! 

After finding Keeping Up With the Joneses banana muffin recipe on Pinterest, I decided that I would tweak the recipe & amp it up a bit, adding some protein powder & other healthy additions & after several weeks of playing with the recipe I think we have a winner!  I love that there's no flower, butter, or sugar in these muffins & hope you guys like them too!

 

Healthy Banana Muffins

Ingredients 

-2 /1/2 cup old fashioned oats

-1 cup yogurt (I use goat yogurt)

-2 eggs
 

-1/4 cup organic agave (you can use stevia, but since these are for my fiance, I'm not too concerned with calories)

 -1 1/2 tsp baking powder

-1/2 tsp baking soda

-2 bananas

-2 tsp cinnamon (heart healthy & yummy)

-3 heaping tbsp vanilla protein powder (fills you up, adds extra a little extra protein to your diet, & also tastes super yummy in the muffins!!)

Instructions

Heat oven to 400 degrees Fahrenheit & spray your muffin pan with cooking spray.

In a blender, slowly combine ingredients together, being sure to add oats in little doses so you don't freeze your blending process.

Pour mixture into muffin pan & make for 20-25 minutes.

Tips

Store your muffins in the fridge!  They'll only keep for a few days before they get moldy in the pantry (the price you pay for preservative free food)!

You can add a wide variety of additions to these muffins, I've tried sliced almonds & want to try dried cranberries when it starts to feel a little more like fall around here.  

Get creative & ENJOY! 

xoxo Shauna

 

Add GLUTEN to the List!

Truth be told... I'm a picky eater. 

{wince}

That's not something that I readily admit.

At the age of 12, I decided that I no longer wanted to eat beef or pork.

I never looked back & haven't missed red meat.

At around 20, I decided that I wanted to stay away from milk & egg products, too.  

I switched to goat yogurt, almond milk, brown rice protein powder, applesauce when baking, etc.

I try not to sweat it when out in public, because I don't want to be "that person" (I'll have a bite of that yummy dessert or have a bread roll with butter) but truth be told your body gets used to eating a certain way, so now when I eat ice cream or butter my tummy does not like it at all. 

Lately, my tummy hasn't been very happy.  Sharp pains to be exact.  

Problem is, I haven't been consuming any lactose products or beef or pork. 

After scrutinizing my diet, I've realized that my stomach only hurts when I consume products with gluten (that tortilla at the mexican restaurant, the pasta salad at the bbq, when I had a bran muffin for breakfast).

Great.  

Sooo join me on my experiment where I try to lead a gluten free life & see what kind of results I achieve!  I plan on going to a nutritonist soon, but am going to cut out gluten until I see the doctor in the hopes of feeling better FAST.

I'll keep you all updated & please let me know if you have any advice or insight!

xoxo Shauna

"Cheap food is an illusion. There is no such thing. The real cost of the food is paid somewhere. If it’s not charged at the cash register, it’s charged to the environment, it’s charged to the people in the form of subsidies, or it’s charged to your health. In the end you get what you pay for." - Unknown

xoxo Shauna 

Craving Sweets

If you're like me, it's impossible to "just say no" to my sweet tooth.  And why would I want to?  Sweets make me happy!! 

For me... it's all about choosing options that are yummy, but not drenched in fat & calories.  

Here are some treats I always have on hand at home for those times when I'm craving something sweet, but don't want to ruin the whole day with a calorie binge...

 

I've posted on Arctic Zero before, and some of you were a little skeptic as to how healthy an ice cream so low in calories could be... Trust me, I thought it was too good to be true, too!   

 

The first ingredients are water & whey protien!  So in essence, you're eating a frozen protien shake as dessert!  An entire pint is 150 calories... which makes me wonder... Why would you ever eat regular ice cream again?!  

 

Vita Tops are another go-to for me.  Only 100 calories & full of fiber & vitamins!  

 

Sounds kinda silly, but I save my chewable vitamins for night time to have with my nightly tea!  I can't take regular vitamins because they make me nauseous, but secretly love the treat of having these gummy vitamins every day!  They're only 10 calories for 2 & these prenatal vitamins are full of good stuff for your hair, skin & nails (no, I'm not pregnant, I just like the added vitamins to help grown my hair long).  

 

I love hot tea at night!  Not only does it help de-stress me from a long day &  help me drink more water (something i'm always struggling to do), it also helps my sweet tooth craving.  My favorite is Red Lavender & Earl Gray Creme.  I add a packet of Stevia & almond milk if I want something a little creamy... 

 

Another trick I can attribute learning about to Pinterest.com... Broiled grapefruit!  The acidity turns sweet in the oven... Super yummy! 

Check out Pinterest for the recipe:  HERE

Hope my tricks help you ladies with your sweets cravings!  

xoxo Shauna

Healthy Ice Cream?

 

Sounds too good to be true... But it is true!!

Found this amazing ice cream at Mother's Market :)

xoxo Shauna

Restaurant Dining

I work in the restaurant industry... 

Actually, my office is actually sits ON TOP of a restaurant.  Therefor, I eat restaurant food for almost every meal of the day.  

As you can imagine, it can be extremely difficult to stick to a low calorie diet when eating out for every meal.  Over the last couple of years, I've tried to find ways to pick healthier options & modify menu items so that I don't consume a ridiculous amount of calories on a daily basis.  I thought these tips might be helpful to others so I decided I'd share what I've learned along the way & what works for me... 

Tip #1: Watch out for hidden calories!

Things that are seemingly "healthy" in restaurants have TONS of hidden calories.  This is how their food tastes SO much better than the re-creation you try to make at home.  For example, a couple months ago I went to Mastro's Oceanclub & ordered the Swordfish with a side of steamed asparagus.  Healthy, right?  WRONG.  1 bite into my swordfish & could taste the butter seeping out of my dinner.  With further inspection, I noticed that the swordfish filet bad been butterflied (cut in 1/2), smothered with butter, & then re-assembled & grilled.  The taste?  Amazing.  Healthy?  Hell no.  Lesson learned...  When ordering fish, chicken, or steak in a restaurant order it DRY.  Otherwise, butter, oil & other tasty but fattening goodness will be saturating your food.   

Tip #2: Skip dessert

You can eat steamed veggies for dinner, but if you follow your healthy din with a scoop of gelato or even a 1/2 of a chocolatey dessert, you just set yourself back a few hundred calories.  & you're not an ounce more satisfied or full, either.  It's just not worth it.  I've learned that you never stop after that ONE bite either, so it's better just to restrain... that way you never even know what your missing or how goooood it tastes.

 

Tip #3: Order everything on the side

Restaurants always put yummy but fattening sauce & dressing on their dishes.  If you still want the flavor, but want to control how much dressing/sauce you're eating, order it on side.  

Tip #4: Stick to the game plan

If your able to look at a restaurant's menu online, map out a game plan before you get there & stick to it.  I tend to eat the same things every day because if I just go down to the restaurant and wonder to myself "Hmmmmm what do I want today?", I'll end up ordering fish & chips, truffle mac & cheese, a chicken sandwich with french fries... or something as equally delicious but also DEADLY.  

Tip #5: Watch portion size

There is no reason to eat 16oz of ANYTHING.  Typically, a good portion size is about 1/2 of the amount a restaurant gives you.

Tip #6: Oil is your worst enemy

Even grilled veggies can by high in calories if the restaurant coats them in oil.  Try to say NO OIL when ordering your meal.  

Tip #7: Don't go to a restaurant STARVED

I have so many friends that "save up" their calories all day so that they can splurge at dinner.  I use the opposite technique & try to not be famished in a restaurant EVER.  Why?  Because that plan backfires.  You'll end up straying form your meal "plan", eat all the bread in the breadbasket, scarf your food down before your body can tell you it's full & then go for dessert because you "deserve it" since you saved up your calories all day.  GOOD JOB!  Your dinner was around 6,000 calories.  Better not eat for a couple more days!

Tip #8: Stay away from the bread baskets

Bread & butter = Empty carbs & calories.  

Try to stay away from the chips & salsa, too.

Tip #9:  Avoid the "fillers"

Whether I'm eating in my restaurant or another, I always stay away from what I call the "filler" side dishes that come on a main course.  These would be the rice & mashed potato sides that come with your protien.  I'd rather ask for extra veggies instead & fill up on those! 

Tip #10: Watch the booze

A glass of wine runs you about 150 calories.  2 of those & your turning your light 400 calorie dinner into a 700 calorie meal.  I'm not saying I never have a 2nd glass of wine, but just be aware that alcohol calories are empty calories just like that bread basket.

Hope my brutal honestly about restaurant dining helps someone out there!  Just remember, that servers in restaurants are used to people being calorie conscious about their meals & there's no need to feel awkward or embarrassed about modifying your meal.  If it makes you feel better, you can always tell your server you have a gluten allergy so that the chef will know to make your meal as healthy as possible.   

xoxo Shauna