Low Calorie/Low Sugar Pumpkin Cookies

Halloween is a few days away and I knew I needed to make something that would help me avoid cheating by sneaking candy out of the kiddos dreaded candy bag. I knew I wanted something that would feel seasonal so I chose to make a treat with pumpkin. After doing a little Googling I came across this recipe for a pumpkin cookies that are made with steel cut oats and Truvia. I changed it slightly because I didn't have steel cut oats, only old fashioned and the PINK suggests we don't use the powdered form of stevia only the liquid form. Other than that I remained true to the recipe and I must say they are delicious. My kids even loved them which let me tell you is great on one hand because I feel good about giving these cookies to them, how often do you get to say that you feel good about giving my kids a cookie? But bad on the other hand because as they are eating them, I am wanting them to stop because they are going to eat all of my special treats...how selfish am I?

Remember these are a treat and should only be eaten as such. Also if you are on reset, they should be avoided. This recipe made about 60 cookies that were about 2 1/2 inches in circumference.

Ingredients

 

1 15 ounce can  pumpkin puree

1 cup applesauce

3 scoops of Vanilla Whey Protein Powder

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

1 teaspoon baking powder

1 egg

1 teaspoon cinnamon

1/2 teaspoon cloves

2 cups old fashioned oats ground in a blender to form a flour

20 drops liquid vanilla stevia

1 teaspoon salt

Instructions

Start by grinding your oats in a blender until a flour like consistence is reached. I used my magic bullet to do this.

Add the protein powder, baking soda, baking powder, cinnamon, cloves and salt to the ground oats

Add the wet ingredients to the dry ingredients, this would include the pumpkin, applesauce, stevia and egg.

Stir until it is combined

Using a tablespoon drop cookie dough onto a greased cookie sheet or use a Silicone baking mat. The mat I used is called  a Sil-pat.

Bake at 350 degrees for 12 to 15 minutes.

Enjoy and feel free to freeze these cookies so you won't be tempted to eat them all at once.

    

 

 

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Back in the Saddle

Hello everyone! Where do I begin? First by admitting that I disappeared for a bit. I took the summer off from blogging. I tried to maintain eating PINK but will fully admit that I strayed some, it certainly is hard to stay PINK while out vacationing and camping but I didn't do awful. I was pretty darn good until August and then a couple of silly things happened that sent my emotions into a tail spin. I am an emotional eater, always have been. The result of the poor eating and exercising choices made due to my emotional termoil was a weight gain of 6 pounds. I was surprised to find out just how powerful emotions can be in determining the food and exercise choices I make.
                                      

                                      

First, right around the beginning of August I had to go to the DMV to get my license replaced because I lost it while running in the Spartan Race. (Boy was that a fun experience, and yes that is me.) While waiting for 2+ hours at the DMV another gentleman there hit on me. Long story short he handed me a piece of paper with his phone number on it and said he thought I was nice and cute and that he would like to see me again. Yes, it was flattering. I had not been hit on in a very very long time. While it was flattering and did wonders for my self esteem, it made me feel uncomfortable. How is that for an oxymoron? I hate getting attention from men due to previous experiences in life. Subconsciously, I believe I ate myself fat as a way of protecting myself from all the bad things that "could" happen to me if people found me attractive. My  fat is/was my shield of protection. So to get this unwanted attention made me feel uncomfortable and fear that I could be in danger of getting hurt again which I believe attributed to me making bad food and exercise choices this summer. (Does that make sense to anyone else? If not that is okay, it makes sense to me.)

Secondly, in the middle of August, my husband and I celebrated our anniversary with a few days away in Las Vegas. This was a much anticipated trip because we hardly ever get  away without our 3 children. When we arrived in Vegas, we went to pick up a rental car and as we stepped up to the counter, the woman who worked there said to me, "How far along are you?" I knew that I must have heard her wrong because I had just spend the last six months working hard to lose 50 pounds, surely she wasn't asking me if I was pregnant, was she? I replied, "Excuse me?" and she said, "When are you due?" I told her, "Oh, no, I am not pregnant" and maintained my composure. The woman was mortified and wasn't trying to be mean, but man oh, man did those words hurt. We got to our rental car and I burst into tears. I thought to myself why in the world am I working so hard to lose weight if I am still going to look pregnant. Let's just say the eating went down hill right with my emotions. Wow, do words have a ton of power if you allow them to.

I allowed those words to have more power than they ever deserved. I dwelt on that one comment for weeks to come. That comment took my self esteem from sky high to right back where it was before I started PINK which was rock bottom. Now, looking back I can see this, but in that moment all of my old habits and thought processes flood back and slapped me in the face.

So here I am today...I started reset again this past Monday and lost the 6 pounds I gained back this summer. I have another week to go on reset and then I plan to start phase 1 all over again. I am not going to allow the fear of being hurt by words or actions have power over my weight and ultimately my health anymore. So if you gave up on yourself this summer for some silly reasons like I did, I have one question for you, will you join me again in trying to find your healthy self?    

Thai Peanut Coleslaw

I debated on whether to put this recipe up or not because it has an ingredient that I am not sure is PINK approved. That ingredient is a product called PB2.

Essentially it is a peanut powder made from dehydrated peanuts that have had 85% of the fat removed. I know that nut butters are not recommended on PINK and though I am not certain as to why I can guess it is because they tend to have a ton of fat and a lot of sugar added to them thus making it high in calories. The PB2 product has 45 calories for 2 tbsp only 1 gram of sugar and 1.5 grams of fat. While I like this product, I wouldn't recommend this product as a straight up peanut butter replacement for thing such as a peanut butter and jelly sandwiches, I have enjoyed adding it to things such as my protein shakes or in the dressing for this coleslaw. I however must emphasize that I am not sure that this coleslaw would be PINK approved because of this product so make it or eat it at your own discretion. I have chosen to use the product but I also completed the entire PINK program and am trying to find a balance to eating healthful everyday while still losing weight. I will be putting up a new tab called "Healthy Recipes" on the blog for recipes such as this one that I enjoy but that I cannot claim are 100% PINK possibly for use by those who are in preservation or trying to maintain their weight loss. Sorry for being so long winded, I just didn't want to get hundreds of emails from people saying peanuts aren't an approved food on PINK, I know this.

Thai Peanut Coleslaw (serves 2 as a main course or 4 as a side dish)


Dressing
3 tbsp PB2
1/2 tsp minced garlic
2 tbsp Bragg's Aminos or low sodium soy sauce
2 tbsp rice wine vinegar
1/2 tsp dijon mustard
1/4 tsp hot sauce
Salad
2 cups coleslaw
1 1/2 cup broccoli slaw
2 green onions sliced
2 tbsp cilantro diced
2 radishes sliced
Grilled Chicken (optional, I add it when I am eating it for a meal but often will serve it as a side dish when we BBQ)

Method

This is what PB2 looks like straight from the package.

Place all the dressing ingredients into a bowl and whisk together, let sit while you assemble the salad portion so that the flavors merry.

While the dressing sits, add all the salad ingredients to the bowl.

Pour the dressing over the salad, toss to coat the salad with the dressing. Top with grilled chicken if you desire and serve.

Enjoy!

Overnight Refrigerator Oatmeal

Hello....Hello...Anybody out there? Does anyone read this blog anymore? No? That's okay because I have neglected it something awful! I have been so busy with my children and their sports/end of the school year activities that this blog has become the last thing I think about.

So an update, yes I am staying true to PINK...I have messed up/cheated a few time but that is okay everyone does once in a while. The important thing is to get back on track and not let the cheating/messing up spiral out of control. To date I am down 45 pounds. I will post updated pictures in the near future though there isn't much change in my body, I don't think. I signed up for the Spartan race yesterday which will be on June 16th, the day after my birthday. That should be a fun challenge for myself. If you don't know what that is, it is similar to the Warrior Dash just a little longer and supposedly a little tougher, we will see. I am excited because it is not something I would have even thought about 6 months ago.

Hopefully when life calms a little bit I will be more inspired and come up with some more recipes but I wanted to share/pass along a link to a recipe I found on Pinterest yesterday for an overnight refrigerator oatmeal. I am not posting the recipe on this blog because I didn't create the recipe and don't have permission to post it but go to the link above and you will see 6 different flavors you can try or get the general idea and come up with your own flavor combinations. I assembled the chocolate banana versions before I went to bed last night and ate it for breakfast this morning...it was really good. I know it sounds odd especially because you don't cook the oatmeal but trust me it was really good and satisfying. It was rich and yummy and a perfect blend of protein and slow carbs for those of you who are in the primary phases of PINK and are following the blueprint for your meals. I can see this being a really good breakfast on those hot summer mornings where eating something warm just doesn't sound good. It is also a really good breakfast to take along with you when you are in a hurry in the morning. I made a raspberry version this morning for breakfast tomorrow, can't wait to try it. Give it a try and let me know if you come up with any good flavor combinations.

Arroz Con Pollo Pink Style

It was Cinco de Mayo yesterday which meant we had to have some form of Mexican food for dinner. One of my favorite Mexican foods is arroz con pollo. Prior to following PINK method, it is what I would order when we would go out to a Mexican restaurant. One day when eating some cauliflower fried rice, it hit me...I should try to make arroz con pollo using cauliflower rice, this is what I came up with. Not to toot my own horn but it was really good.

"Arroz" Con Pollo (serves 4)
1 head of cauliflower
1 lb. boneless skinless chicken breast
1/2 onion
1 red pepper
1 tomato chopped
1/4 cup chopped cilantro
1/4 tsp tumeric
1/4 tsp smoked paprika
1/4 tsp cumin
3 cloves of garlic minced
1/4 cup water
salt and pepper
olive oil

Method

Start by cutting up your chicken into bite size pieces and sprinkle with the tumeric, paprika, cumin and salt and pepper

Cook the chicken on medium heat with a mist of olive oil

While the chicken is cooking chop your onion and peppers either by hand or if you are lazy like me in the blender or food processor. Also mince your cloves of garlic.

Next create your cauliflower rice by adding your cauliflower florets to the food processor/blender and pulsing until the cauliflower resembles rice.

When the chicken is cooked through, add in the chopped onion, peppers and minced garlic and cook until it softens.

Add in the cauliflower rice and stir to combine the chicken and rice. Pour in the 1/4 cup of water and cover pan with a lid so that the "rice" can steam.

While the rice is cooking, chop your tomato and cilantro.

Add the chopped tomato to the pan and stir to combine.

Let cook a few more minutes and just before serving stir in the chopped cilantro.

Enjoy!

A great side would be some lightened up guacamole served with some chopped vegetables.

My go to Breakfast and sometimes Lunch

Just wanted to pop in and share what has been my go to breakfast and sometimes lunch (when I am in a hurry) lately. I know I am not reinventing the wheel and that this is something that a lot of people probably eat but one morning I found myself bored with the same old oatmeal I was eating for breakfast and began to look for something else that I could eat that would be a good balance of both protein and carbs. I decided on a yogurt parfait. I used Greek yogurt as my base which I have heard from a lot of you is not your favorite. Yes it is sour I agree with you and plain it is not something I can eat but I always sweeten mine with a little bit of stevia and some vanilla which makes it great in my opinion. Before you say yuck to Greek yogurt, have you tried to sweeten it up and add a little flavor? Try it you might like it.

Yogurt Parfait
3/4 cup non fat Greek yogurt
1/4 cup high fiber cereal (I used a grape-nut type cereal)
2 strawberries
1/4 banana
stevia (to taste)
vanilla (to taste)

Method

Start by sweetening and flavoring your yogurt with vanilla and stevia. I don't put an amount because everyone likes things at a different sweetness level. If I want to change the flavor, say if I am using raspberries instead of the strawberries, I will sometimes add a little lemon juice and lemon zest instead of the vanilla to make a lemon flavored yogurt.

Cut up your berries and banana

You will then start layering your yogurt, high fiber cereal, berries and banana.

When you have used all of your ingredients, your parfait is done. Enjoy!

Note: I am aware that the blueprint for breakfast is 1 protein and 1 slow carb or slow fruit. 1 serving of a high fiber cereal is 1 cup and I only used 1/4 cup along with what ends up being about 1/2 cup of fruit which is only 1/2 of a serving. So all together I am getting about what is allowed in the blueprint but if you don't feel comfortable with that, go with one or the other. Use all fruit and leave out the cereal or use all cereal and leave out the fruit.