Cinch! Lunch

This mish mash of yogurtness contains non fat greek yogurt, almonds and blueberries. The Cinch! calls this the parfait but I just mixed it all together in a bowl. Also, I used blueberries instead of raspberries. The raspberries were a little to tart this morning and I did not want to pair it with already tart yogurt! Swapping out raspberries is acceptable on this plan, so no worries there.

How was your lunch?

Breakfast and my new motto...

Morning morning,

So my new motto from now on is to eat healthy whenever I can. This is because I KNOW I will have days that will throw me off or make me want to indulge. Rather than focus on eating well all the time, it's better to eat well when I can, delicious but well.

This mornings breakfast was not only delicious but was nutrient packed. I had a cup of non fat Greek yogurt with a tablespoon of chia seeds stirred in and honey drizzled on top. This was delish. I love the texture that chia seeds provide.

What did you have for breakfast?

Breakfast, light and smooth...

chia seeds

chia seeds stirred in...

On this hot morning I needed something cool, light and refreshing. I started thinking smoothie but did not want something as thick or sweet. Instead, I took a 6oz container of non fat Greek yogurt, 1 cup of unsweetened almond milk, a teaspoon of honey and whipped this in the blender. I poured this into a cup and stirred in a tablespoon of chia seeds.

I LOVE the texture chia seeds provide. Seriously, they are like little pearls of tapioca when placed in liquid. My breakfast tasted like a decadent bubble tea :-)

How was your breakfast?

Morning...thinking about breakfast

Mornin All,

This weekend was certainly fun filled and foodtastic! Yesterday I enjoyed a whole lotta Indian Chinese at Nanking and also learned how to make a delicious cheese toast for breakfast. Cheese toast recipe will be posted later on. Last night a huge portion of eggplant lasagna was also consumed :-)

Yes... A lot of good food was invloved this weekend, but I also managed to complete my last week of INSANITY's recovery week!! This evening I will start my first workout for month 2, which is suppose to be an hour long. Sean T better make that hour go fast :-p

So, it's not even 9am and my tummy is grumbling for food and I'm thinking about what to have for breakfast today. Right now, I'm heading towards a Greek yogurt, topped with blackberries and chia seeds. Although, a peanut butter almond milk smoothie doesn't sound to bad either. Ah, stay tuned to see what was decided!

How was your weekend? What are your breakfast plans for the morning?

Decadent Breakfast....

 

So, what did you guys have for breakfast this morning?  I had a deliciously decadent breakfast (please look left) of Greek yogurt, dark chocolate chips and sliced banana.  Not only was this delish breakfast decadent, but it's actually pretty nutritious.  Protein from the Greek yogurt, fiber from the banana, and antioxidants from the dark chocolate chips.  I used 60% cacao chocolate chips.  Delish!  Jealous?  You too can make this great creation with the help of the three ingredients. This makes me think...can I make a healthy cannoli cream filling for breakfast?

Ah, I love experimenting! 

Be happy, it's Friday!

Strawberry Almond Bowl...texturized



mmm...texture

 Hello Hello,

This morning I was craving a nice hearty bowl of delicious and nutritious...texture.  Yes, sometimes you want a little texture to your meal, and not something uniformly creamy.  I was thinking how I could do this with my regular cinnamon yogurt, fruit and almond bowl.

Here's what I came up. Instead of fully slicing my strawberries, I cut them in half and instead of using slivered or sliced almonds, I used whole almonds. I still had my yogurt with my cinnamon, but this tasted all the much better with the big chunks of fruit and whole almonds...mmm..yummy!

What did you guys have for breakfast?

Question of the day:  What is your favorite type of yogurt?

Yogurt Parfait...

Hey Guys,

Sorry for the lack of posting yesterday! First things first, I promised you guys the recipe for the yogurt parfait. Although I use the same ingredients, I like to eat my "parfait" bowl style vs actual parfait style.

Here are the deets: 6oz. Greek yogurt 1c of raspberries 10 whole almonds (the recipe calls for 2TB of slivered, but I like the texture of whole almonds) Procedure: Layer this baby up parfait style. I added a TON of my favorite cinnamon to the yogurt. This got me thinkin...why don't they make a cinnamon flavored yogurt? Question of the day: What's your favorite type of yogurt to eat and how do you eat it? My answer: Chobani non fat with almond butter stirred in!

Recipe Alert: Whole Wheat Pasta and Veggies

Yesterday for lunch I had a hearty pasta and veggies dish is a creamy sauce. The secret of the creamy sauce is Greek yogurt. This is such a wonderful trick,if you mix a tablespoon of pesto sauce into 6oz. of non fat Greek yogurt, you get a thick, rich, creamy sauce with such little fat and calories. Below is the recipe for my Whole Wheat Pasta and Veggies. Ingredients: 1TB of pesto sauce 6oz. non fat Greek yogurt 1tsp. onion powder 1tsp. garlic powder Freshly cracked black pepper 1/2 cup of cooked whole wheat rigatoni 1 1/2c of chopped veggies of your choice Preparation: Stir the pesto sauce, onion and garlic powders and black pepper into the greek yogurt. Place the pasta and veggies in a bowl. Add the pesto- yogurt sauce. Toss to coat. I enjoyed this meal cold and it was delish. Enjoy! Servings: 1 Here's how this meal shapes up: Whole grain: pasta Plant fat: pesto sauce Produce: veggies Lean protein: yogurt Sass: onion and garlic powders

Monday morning breakfast...

Good Morning All,

Well, another week has started.  I totally have the Monday morning/day blues.  Probably because of the wintry mix of weather we are having right now!  Nothing like waking up to a cold, rainy Monday morning. 

On a brighter note, breakfast was delish!  I'm continuing to following the Cinch! principles and each of my meals contains a whole grain, plant fat, lean protein, produce and sass.  Today I had a  yogurt bowl with some oatmeal in it.  Now, this may sound weird but this was a deliciously creamy bowl of goodness!  I took 6oz. of non fat Greek yogurt, 14 whole almonds, sliced banana, cinnamon and a 1/4c of McCann's Instant Irish Oatmeal in Maple and Brown Sugar (I cooked this quickly in the microwave with water), and mixed it all together for a creamy bowl of goodness!

mmmm....creaminess!

I LOVED this because I got just a teeny bit of sugar from the oatmeal, creaminess from the yogurt, fiber from the banana and almonds and plant fat from the almonds!  YUM!!

What did you guys have for breakfast?

Question of the day:  How was your weekend?

Recipe Alert: Yogurt and Granola Bowl

Good Morning Everyone,

I hope you all are getting a healthy start to the day.  If you haven't had breakfast yet, you should try making my Yogurt and Granola Bowl.  Breakfast this morning was so delicious and satisfying.  Also, a good change from my ricotta toast breakfast, don't get me wrong, I still <3 my ricotta toast :-)  Here are the deets for my wonderfully delish breakfast:

Ingredients:
6oz. of non fat Greek yogurt
Small banana, diced
2TB. of sliced or slivered almonds
1/4c of low fat granola
Cinnamon

Preparation:
Place the yogurt in a bowl. Top with banana, almonds and granola. Sprinkle cinnamon.  Enjoy as is or stir to combine all ingredients.

Servings: 1

Here's how this meal shapes up:

Whole grain:  granola

Plant fat: Almonds

Lean protein: yogurt

Produce:  banana

Sass: cinnamon

Snack Alert: Avocado yogurt

Who says yogurt needs to be sweet or flavored just with fruit? I decided to make a savory yogurt snack using avocado and some veggies.  Here are the deets for an easy and tasty savory yogurt!

Ingredients:
6oz. Non fat greek yogurt
1/4 avocado, mashed
1/2 red bell pepper, diced
1/2 tomato, diced
1/2 onion, diced
White vinegar
Black pepper

Preparation:
Add the vinegar to a bowl and place in tomato and onions.  Allow to sit for ten minutes.  In the mean time, place the yogurt in a bowl. Stir in bell pepper and mashed avocado.  After ten minutes, stir in the tomato and onions and black pepper.  Enjoy by itself or with a slice of whole wheat toast!

A Berry Breakfast....

Since I had too much of the bad stuff last night, I was craving some good stuff this morning!  This morning's breakfast was non fat Greek yogurt topped with delicious blackberries, cinnamon and almonds!  Just what I need to get my system going again!

Shape Up in 2011 - Recipe: Greek Yogurt and Fruit

Lately, one of my favorite snacks is Greek yogurt. I love Greek yogurt, but it can be quite expensive. This is why I make my own Greek yogurt and top with my own fruit concoctions!

Step One:

Buy a large container of your favorite yogurt. I love Stoneyfields low fat plain yogurt. Dump the yogurt in a strainer lined with cheesecloth or thick paper towels. Place the strainer in another bowl to catch all the liquid that will come out. Place this in the fridge over night. The next morning, you will notice your yogurt has reduced in size, but is very thick and creamy. The longer you keep your yogurt in the strainer, the thicker it will get.

Step Two:

Puree or mash your favorite fruits to eat with the yogurt. Puree in a blender or mash with a masher for a chunkier consistency. Leave as is, or mix in two teaspoons of honey into fruit. Mmm..think of the possibilities....mashed berries, bananas, kiwi, mango, etc.

Step Three:

Make your own fruit on the bottom yogurt or top yogurt with your fresh fruit. Either way, you can't go wrong. Put the yogurt in a cup or bowl and enjoy with your fruit!

Making your own fruit yogurt is so much better than buying store bought, sugary, preservative filled yogurt! This is so much fresher and so much more tastier! Best part is, you know everything that is in the yogurt and fruit!

image: seriouseats.com

Shape Up in 2011: Breakfasts

Good Morning Everyone,

So, we've all heard the saying before -'breakfast is the most important meal of the day'. This is sooo true. Breakfast literally means to break your fast and it's important to know that the first thing you put in your body after fasting should be nutritious and of course delicious. Studies have shown if you eat a filling, nutritious breakfast, you are less likely to binge through out the day. A filling breakfasts calms the hunger hormone ghrelin and keeps you satiated for a longer period of time.

It's best to make sure your breakfast is loaded with fiber and antioxidants. Here's a few of my favorite breakfasts, which are high in fiber, delicious and very easy to make, even if your on the go!

Oatmeal:

The possibilities are endless here. Keep your base as plain, unsweetened oats. You can even use the instant kind. To keep your oatmeal creamy, use unsweetened almond milk. My favorite oatmeal combo is oats mixed with cinnamon and raisins.

You can mix in any type of fruit or nuts. For example, chopped apple, with chopped almonds and cinnamon is delicious. Like I said, go ahead and buy the plain, instant oatmeal and add the mix ins!

Cereal:

Top cereal off with berries or a banana. Go for cereals that have at least 3 grams of fiber. Add some fruit and you could have a great 5 grams of fiber for breakfast! One of my most favorite combos for cereal is: cereal, peanut butter (1 tsp.) and chopped bananas. These days my cereal of choice is Cheerios (plain). Kashi also makes great tasting, fiber filled cereals.

Yogurt:

OK, so you can't go wrong with non fat Greek yogurt, topped with fresh berries and drizzled with honey! Not only do you get your fiber from the fruit, but you also get a great protein punch from the Greek yogurt! Just make sure you don't use too much honey. You can also mix in dry cereal for a crunchy, textured yogurt!

English Muffins:

If you are going to have an English Muffin in the morning, make sure it is made from 100% Whole Wheat flour or sprouted grains. My favorite English Muffin is by Ezekiel's. I love smearing a teaspoon or two of peanut butter and topping with sliced banana. Such a great fiber and protein filled breakfast.

I hope I was able to give you guys some quick and healthy breakfast options that you'll try. What did you have for breakfast today?

image: thedailygreen.com

How did your day go?

Today was another great day of eating right and exercising. I started my day off with a hearty bowl of oatmeal which I make with 1% milk and sprinkle cinnamon in. Lunch was a side of roasted brussel sprouts and grilled cheese sandwhich, which I made out of two slices of Ezekiel bread and two slices of light provolone cheese. I also add sliced tomatoes to this. This lunch seriously keeps me full for a few hours. My snacks were an apple and a low fat plain yogurt with cinnamon stirred in. I also got my 30 minutes of cardio in today. Yay for me!! How did your day go

Review: Yoplait Greek Yogurt

Today for my snack I brought Yoplait Greek Yogurt, in Strawberry. This yogurt ranks in at 130 calories, 0 grams of fat and fiber. Making this yogurt a total of 3pts. To be honest, I think 3pts. is a bit much for non fat yogurt. Especially since I like to mix a quarter cup of Kashi Go Lean Crunch into mine, which would make my snack a total of 3.5pts! Not only did this yogurt do too well in the points category but I feel flavor was also at a loss. There was nothing artificial about the ingredients, but something did not taste right. It did leave a weird after taste. So, all in all, I'd rather save myself a whole point (which I could have used for dinner tonight....ahem) and go for my usual 2pt., great tasting yogurt!

Snack time....

Hello Everyone! It's that time of day where my tummy is yearning to be filled with something nutritious and delicious. Today's snack is sliced apples with a dollop of Greek yogurt and a sprinkling of cinnamon. YUM!


My favorite type of apple these days are Gala. Not too sweet but oh so crisp! Also, leave the peel on your apple for that extra fiber boost. I hope this has inspired you to have a healthy snack today!