Simple Healthy Snack - Salsafied!

Here's an idea for a simple tasty snack....

I love chips & salsa, but I try not to eat chips too often - but I eat salsa almost daily.

My favorite is black bean & corn salsa.... Newman's Own & Great Value (yep, WalMart) are both fantastic.  They each have a different taste even though they are both black bean & corn - but they are both very tasty!  A while ago I randomly decided to try cucumbers with salsa. It quickly became my new favorite snack!! An entire medium cucumber only has about 45 calories -- and the salsa only has 20 calories per 2 Tbsp.  Woohoo - healthy and tasty!  Try it!  :) 

Pumpkin Yogurt!

And the pumpkin saga continues... 

I love yogurt - so I thought why not pumpkin yogurt?  Though I've never seen that as a pre-packaged flavor, I thought it must be do-able!  And all I can say is YUM!

This is high in protein - low in carbs & calories - AND high in Fiber!  Major SCORE!  You could make this your entire breakfast, or if you want a little something more, pair it with a tasty egg white omelet. 

1/2 cup Weight Watchers NonFat Vanilla Yogurt

1/2 Cup Canned Pumpkin (Libby's 100% Pumpkin)

1 packet Splenda

1/4 scoop Syntrax Nectar Sweets Vanilla Bean Torte Protein Powder

Pumpkin Pie Spice to taste

Combine all ingredients in bowl - stir until smooth/mixed.  

115 Calories

1g Fat

14g Carbs

7g Fiber

95mg Sodium

11g Protein

Pumpkin Spice Latte - Gone Skinny!!

Continuing with what looks like my Pumpkin obsession....

After I finished at the gym today, I wanted some coffee -- DECAF of course!  (It was a cold rainy afternoon - hot drinks are always good!)

I stopped by 7-11 ($1 refill in my reusable cup - score!) and saw that they had pumpkin spice latte!!  Woohoo!  But upon looking in my most favorite app ever - MyFitnessPal - that a 20 oz serving of the Pumpkin Spice Latte has 250 calories.  NO THANK YOU!!

So, being the foodie genius that I've become, I decided to fill my cup about 2/3 of the way full with decaf coffee - and then added 1/3 (about 4oz) of the Pumpkin Spice Latte -- ONLY 50 calories!!   Just as good as the full calorie version!! :)

I'd imagine you could do this with any of the latte flavors there at 7-11 or anywhere else....

Something a little different...

I think I saw a pizza omelet in a cook book somewhere, I know I didn't just randomly think of this on my own - though I did not follow any recipe - and it turned out pretty good!  You can add veggies if you like, I just didn't because I didn't have much on hand - but I wanted something tasty and high protein for breakfast!  

3 Eggs - Whites Only

1/8 cup Prego Light Smart Spaghetti Sauce

a sprinkle of Reduced fat Shredded Mozzarella

10-15 mini turkey pepperonis

Start cooking egg whites in pan -- add some cheese and pepperonis.  cook for a minute or two, fold, and cook for another minute or so, flipping half way through. 

Top with a little cheese & the Spaghetti sauce after plating. 

86 Calories

2g Fat

4g Carbs

1g Fiber

576mg Sodium

15g Protein

I paired this with another pumpkin pie protein shake -- a little different than the one I had yesterday.... Now, this does make a large smoothie, you could easily share this with someone else - or for the calories, you could just have it all yourself - It could be a meal in itself! 

1/2 scoop Nectar Sweets Vanilla Bean Torte Protein Powder

just under 1/2 cup Canned Pumpkin - Libby's

1 Container - Stonyfield Oikos Greek Yogurt - Caramel - comes in 4 pack

Pumpkin Pie Spice to taste

5-10 Ice cubes

1/4 - 1/2 cup water

Combine all items in blender - blend until smooth.

192 Calories

0g Fat

20g Carbs

4g Fiber

124mg Sodium

24g Protein

Awesome breakfast - under 300 Calories!!

Bring out the pumpkin!!

I love anything pumpkin... so naturally, Autumn is one of my favorite times of the year just because all things pumpkin come out!  I was super excited yesterday to see that my gym has brought out their Pumpkin Pie recovery shake so I decided it was time for me to make my own!!

Under 150 calories and only cost me about $1! 

just under 1/2 scoop Syntrax Nectar Sweets Protein - Vanilla Bean Torte

1/2 cup Libby's canned 100% Pumpkin

Pumpkin Pie Spice

Cinnamon - for topping/garnish!

Honey (about a tsp - just a small squeeze!)

1/2Tbsp Weight Watchers Reduced Fat Whipped Cream Cheese

1/4 cup Lactose Free 2% Milk

1/3 cup water

5-10 ice cubes

Combine all items in blender and blend until smooth!  Top with cinnamon!

Almost like drinking Pumpkin Pie - but way better for you!! 

144 Calories

3g Fat

12g Carbs

5g Fiber

104mg Sodium

14g Protein

Southwestern Tuna

I was just going to make a normal boring tuna sandwich today - I have always loved tuna!  BUT then I didn't have any relish - and I happen to like a little relish in my tuna (which I know is weird because I don't like pickles).

But then I remembered I had rice cakes, and salsa -- and my lunch took on a whole new flavor!! 

Quaker Lightly Salted Rice Cakes

Black Bean & Corn Salsa

Chunk Light Tuna in Water

Light Mayonnaise

So I had already mixed the tuna and mayo - but you don't have to put mayo in this if you don't want to - it was quite good with it though. 

Mix 1/4 can tuna with 1/2 Tbsp Light Mayo.  Top Rice cake with Tuna.  Top it all off with a couple TBSP of salsa.  I use the black bean & corn salsa (LOVE the Wal-Mart/Great Value brand) because that's my favorite but you could use whichever kind you like.  

UNDER 100 CALORIES!

2.5g Fat

11.5g Carbs

1g Fiber

230mg Sodium

6.5g Protein

Double the recipe and have a hearty healthy lunch for under 200 calories!! Pair it with some raw veggies and/or fruit -- SCORE!

Coffee, coffee, coffee!

So lately, it seems like I can't get enough coffee!!

 It's cool enough in the mornings now that hot coffee makes me feel toasty.... I love a good coffee shake or iced coffee anytime of the day - And blast of java can really hit the spot after my workout!  It's not even the caffeine, it's the taste.  Don't get me wrong - the caffeine is good - especially in the mornings - and in the afternoon if I'm feeling tired, but it's more about the yummy taste of it for me.

Today I concocted a choco-java shake/smoothie of my own - and it turned out so good I had to share!

1/2 scoop Syntrax Nectar Sweets - Vanilla Bean Torte

1tsp instant coffee

1tbsp Hershey's chocolate syrup

1tsp Coffee Mate Creamy Chocolate

1/4 cup oats

1/4 cup 2% or skim milk

1/4 cup water

5-10 ice cubes

Combine all ingredients in blender and blend until smooth. 

177 Calories

3g Fat

101mg Sodium

22g Carbs

2g Fiber

16g Protein

photo borrowed from: coffee.wikia.com