Creamy Pumpkin Pie Oatmeal- only 100 calories!

Makes 1 serving
Nutrition Facts: (Using water, no raisins)
Serving Size: 1 bowl, Calories 97, Calories from Fat 11, Total Fat 1.23g, Saturated Fat 0.13g, Cholesterol 0mg, Sodium 124.83mg, Total Carbohydrate 17.79g, Dietary Fiber 5.1g, Sugars 2.8g, Protein 3.44g

Ingredients:

• 1/3 cup canned pumpkin puree (NOT Pumpkin pie filling)
• 1/4 cup (1/2 packet) plain oatmeal (old fashioned oats can also be used)
• 1/2 cup water or unsweetened almond milk (1/2 cup unsweetened almond milk is about 20 calories)
• 2 tsp Splenda or other no calorie sweetener
• 2 TBSP Sugar free pancake syrup (about 20 calories per serving like Mrs. Butterworths) 
• 1 tsp Pumpkin pie spice (or to taste)
• I also like to add 1 TBSP raisins, yummmmm.

Directions: 

1. Cook oatmeal. 
• If using instant oatmeal and microwave, cook in intervals no longer than 1 minute and 30 seconds as the oatmeal might boil over. I suggest even putting a plate under your bowl just in case. Typically shouldn't take longer than 3 minutes depending on amount of liquid used. 
• Old fashioned oats take longer, about 15 minutes, since you need to use your cook top)
2. Once water or almond milk is fully absorbed add pumpkin and syrup. Mix and continue to cook until warm. (prob 20-30 seconds in microwave; 1 minute on stove top)
3. Remove from heat and pour into bowl. Add remaining ingredients and stir. 
4. Enjoy! You can even make this ahead of time to eat cold.

 You can also see this recipe on livestrong.com

Guilt free snack list

Yogurts, and Puddings and Cheeses, Oh My! Dannon Light & Fit Nonfat Yogurt (6 oz. = 60 calories, 0g fat, 10 - 11g carbs, 0g fiber) Weight Watchers Yogurt (6 oz. = 100 calories, 0.5g fat, 17g carbs, 3g fiber) Yoplait Fiber One Yogurt (4 oz. = 80 calories, 0g fat, 19g carbs, 5g fiber) Dannon Light & Fit Nonfat Smoothies (1 smoothie = 70 calories, 0g fat, 13 - 14g carbs, 0 - <1g fiber) Weight Watchers Smoothies (1 smoothie = 80 calories, 0g fat, 13g carbs, 2g fiber) Jell-O Sugar Free Pudding Snacks (1 snack = 60 - 70 calories, 1 - 2g fat, 13 - 14g carbs, 0 - 1g fiber) Kozy Shack No Sugar Added Puddings(1/2 cup = 80 - 90 calories, 3g fat, 11 - 14g carbs, 3 - 4g fiber)  Sargento Reduced Fat Colby-Jack Sticks and Slices (1 stick or 1 slice = 50 calories, 4 - 4.5g fat, 0g carbs, 0g fiber) Light String Cheese by Frigo, Sargento, and Weight Watchers (1 piece = 50 - 60 calories, 2.5g fat, 0 - <1g carbs, 0g fiber) The Laughing Cow Light Cheese Wedges and Gourmet Cheese Bites (1 wedge or 5 pieces = 35 calories, 2g fat, 1g carbs, 0g fiber) Fruity Fun Mott's Healthy Harvest and Plus Applesauce (1 container = 50 calories, 0g fat, 13g carbs, 1 - 3g fiber) Jell-O Sugar Free Gelatin Snacks (1 snack = 10 calories, 0g fat, 0g carbs, 0g fiber)The following fruity snacks each have a POINTS® value of 0* per serving  Chips, Crisps, and Other Snacks Special K Cracker Chips (30 chips= 100 calories)  Quaker Quakes Rice Snacks - Apple Cinnamon, Caramel Corn, Chocolate, and Kettle Corn (7 - 8 mini cakes = 60 calories, 0 - 1g fat, 13 - 15g carbs, 0g fiber) Quaker Multigrain Cakes and Minis (1 cake or 9 minis = 50 - 60 calories, 1g fat, 12g carbs, 1g fiber) Glenny's Low Fat Soy Crisps - all flavors except Olive Oil, Garlic & Feta Cheese; Sea Salt; and Creamy Ranch (18g = 70 calories, 1 - 2g fat, 9 - 10g carbs, 1 - 1.5g fiber) Jolly Time 100 Calorie Healthy Pop Bags (1 bag, popped = 100 calories, 2g fat, 20 - 24g carbs, 5 - 8g fiber) Orville Redenbacher's Smart Pop! 100 Calorie Mini Bags, Kettle Korn (1 bag, popped = 100 calories, 2g fat, 24g carbs, 4g fiber) Sweet Treats VitaTops, VitaBrownies, and 2-oz. VitaMuffins (1 Top, 1 Brownie, or 1 Muffin = 80 - 100 calories, 0 - 2.5g fat, 20 - 25g carbs, 5 - 6g fiber) Hostess 100 Calorie Packs - all flavors except Golden Cake(One 3-cake pack = 100 calories, 2.5 - 3.5g fat, 19 - 22g carbs, 4 - 5g fiber) Weight Watchers Snack Cakes (1 cake = 80 - 90 calories, 2.5g - 3g fat, 14 - 18g carbs, 2 - 3g fiber) Weight Watchers Soft Cookies (1 cookie = 90 calories, 2.5g fat, 17 - 18g carbs, 3.5 - 4g fiber) Luna Minis - Caramel Nut Brownie (1 bar = 80 calories, 2.5g fat, 11g carbs, 2g fiber) Chill Out! Breyers Double Churn Free Fat Free Ice Cream - all flavors except Chocolate Cookies & Cream (1/2 cup = 90 - 110 calories, 0g fat, 20 - 25g carbs, 3 - 4g fiber) Arctic Zero (1/2 cup= 45 calories, 0g fat, 7g carbs, 2g fiber, 4g protein) The Skinny Cow Skinny Dippers (1 bar = 80 calories, 3g fat, 11g carbs, 2g fiber) The Skinny Cow Mini Fudge Bars (1 bar = 50 calories, 1g fat, 19g carbs, 0.5g fiber) The Skinny Cow Low Fat Fudge Bars (1 bar = 100 calories, 1g fat, 22g carbs, 4g fiber) Weight Watchers GIANT Ice Cream Bars - Latte and Chocolate Fudge (1 bar = 90 - 110 calories, 1g fat, 21 - 25g carbs, 4 - 5g fiber) Weight Watchers Chocolate Mousse Ice Cream Bars (1 bar = 60 cals, 0.5g fat, 14g carbs, 3g fiber) Weight Watchers Strawberry, Key Lime and Passion Fruit Sherbet and Ice Cream Bars (1 bar = 60 calories, 0.5g fat, 13g carbs, <1g fiber) Healthy Choice Fudge Bars (1 bar = 80 calories, 1g fat, 13g carbs, 4g fiber) Fudgsicle Fat Free Fudge Bars (1 bar = 60 calories, 0g fat, 13g carbs, 1g fiber) Fudgsicle No Sugar Added Fudge Bars (1 bar = 40 calories, 1g fat, 10g carbs, 2g fiber) Sugar Free Popsicles (1 pop = 15 - 20 calories, 0g fat, 3 - 4g carbs, 0g fiber) No Sugar Added Creamsicles (1 pop = 25 calories, 0g fat, 10g carbs, 1g fiber) Blue Bunny FrozFruit Bars - Chunky Strawberry, Superfruit Raspberry Acai, and Chunky Tropical (1 bar = 60 - 70 calories, 0g fat, 15 - 18g carbs, <1g fiber) Blue Bunny No Sugar Added FrozFruit Bars - Chunky Strawberry (1 bar = 35 calories, 0g fat, 15g carbs, 3g fiber) Blue Bunny Sugar Free Bomb Pops (1 pop = 25 calories, 0g fat, 8g carbs, 2g fiber) Dreyer's/Edy's Snack Size Fruit Bars (1 bar = 45 - 50 calories, 0 - 0.5g fat, 9 - 13g carbs, 0g fiber) Dreyer's/Edy's No Sugar Added Fruit Bars (1 bar = 30 calories, 0g fat, 8g carbs, 1g fiber)Sugar Free Popsicles, No Sugar Added Creamsicles, Fudgsicle No Sugar Added Fudge Bars, Blue Bunny No Sugar Added FrozFruit Bars in Chunky Strawberry, Blue Bunny Sugar Free Bomb Pops, and Dreyer's/Edy's No Sugar Added Fruit Bars all have a POINTS® value of 0* per pop/bar. Hooray!

Leah Lunch: Happy Healthy Hannuka Latkes (Potato pancakes) With Apple Sauce

HAPPY

 

We cut the recipe in half and it fed 6 people here at Cynergy. 

 

Latkes

Traditionally latkes are cooked by frying in oil. This version uses zucchini and cuts back some of the frying in order to lighten up the calories and sneak in a serving of veggies at the same time. You honestly can not taste the zucchini and don't miss the extra oil!

Yield 32, cook time 30 minutes

Ingredients

• Vegetable cooking spray
• 2 pounds russet potatoes, peeled and grated
• 2 medium zucchini, grated
• 3 garlic cloves, minced
• 1/4 cup reduced fat Parmesan cheese
• 1/4 cup Fiber One bread crumbs (about 1/2 cup pre-blenderized cereal)
• 2 egg whites, lightly beaten
• 2 teaspoons kosher salt, plus extra for seasoning
• 1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper, plus extra for seasoning
• 3 tablespoons vegetable oil
• Serve with apple sauce, no sugar added or homemade

 

When I cook I always leave out the salt and tell people to add their own salt. Salt tends to lose some of its power during cooking. You can use less salt and get more flavor by adding it sparingly after cooking.

I encourage those with high blood pressure to omit salt both during cooking and at the table.

 

Directions

1. Place an oven rack in the center of the oven. Preheat the oven to 450 degrees F. Spray a baking sheet, liberally, with vegetable cooking spray. Set aside
2. Lay the potatoes and zucchini on 2 kitchen towels. Bring the corners of the towels together and squeeze out the moisture from the vegetables. Place the vegetables in a large bowl. Add the garlic, 1/4 cup Parmesan cheese, bread crumbs, egg whites, salt, and pepper. Mix well until all ingredients are combined.
3. In a 12-inch nonstick skillet, heat the vegetable oil over medium heat. Add the vegetable mixture to the pan. Using a spatula, press the mixture evenly into the pan. 
4. Cook for 8 minutes or until the edges of the mixture begin to brown. Slide the pancake, cooked side down, onto the prepared baking sheet. Bake for 20 to 25 minutes or until the top of the pancake starts to brown and the edges are crispy.

Giada's version includes a cheese sauce, see below link on how to make sauce. I substituted applesauce for the cheese sauce to make it more like a traditional Jewish meal.

Sources: This recipe was modified from Food Network (Giada's recipe)

Eating Healthy On-The-Go

Sometimes we just have time to grab protein bars, cereal bars, bags of chips, trail mix, and many other junk foods if we are eating on the go.

We want to grab healthful snacks that are keeping us full and not adding excess calories to our diets.

Tips for eating healthy on-the-go:

• Prepackaged foods: Make sure you are buying foods that contain only 1 serving per container.
• Fiber 1 bars (~150 calories each) are great because they contain 9 grams of fiber which will help keep you full. They are usually less calories than protein bars.
• 100 calorie packs
• String cheese and yogurt
• vegetables and dip (may contain full-fat dressing, double check before purchasing these items)

• "Snack Sacks": Use your weekends to pack 7 snacks into bags that you can keep in your fridge and grab when you are running out the door.
• Snacks should be balanced: Include a protein or fat free dairy option, a whole grain (no more than 100 calories per serving), and a fruit or vegetable.
• Protein/ Dairy Examples: fat free yogurt or string cheese, cottage cheese, 1 ounce of deli meat, powdered peanut butter.
• Whole Grain Examples: 1 serving of special K whole grain crackers (19 crackers are 90 calories), 1/2 serving of cheerios or other cereal, or 60 calorie mama lupe wraps. If you like to eat grains that have more than 100 calories per serving just use 1/2 of the normal serving size.
•  Fruits and veggies that travel well include celery, baby carrots, apples, plumbs, pears, etc.

• Items that will help you with portion control for these snacks include 1/2 cup sized Tupperware, plastic Ziploc bags, brown paper bags, and a kitchen scale.

• If you usually pair certain foods, keep them in a bag together so you don't have to remember to grab multiple food items for your snack. For example if you usually like crackers and cheese or fruit and yogurt, put them both in the same paper bag and store them together in the fridge.

Snacking Guidelines:

• Keep snacks to 200 calories or less
• Balanced snacks that contain protein and whole grains will help keep you full and satisfied until your next meal.  

Examples of balanced snacks include:

• Powdered peanut butter on celery (store in plastic bag)
• Yogurt with fresh fruit (keep together in brown bag)
• 60 calorie wraps with 1 ounce of meat with yogurt or fruit.
• Preportion cottage cheese into 1/2cup Tupperware, add frozen berries to Tupperware if desired.  

Meals on the go:

• Protein shakes (follow guidelines)
• Frozen dinners as lean cuisines and smart ones can be brought to work and microwaved there. For breakfast, Smart Ones and Jimmy Dean Delights are good options to bring to work or microwave at home before you walk out the door.
• Guilt Free Banana Oatmeal cookies can be made ahead of time and are great for breakfast

 Products that may have fooled you:

• Be aware of trail mix: usually comes with more than 1 serving per package (vending machine packages are usually 3 servings per small bag). They are high in calories and are not a recommended snack option.
• It may be a better idea to make your own trail mix.

• Many protein bars: A lot of times protein bars are high in fat and sugar. They are designed for body builders and not average Americans who are trying to maintain or lose weight. Protein bars can be used as meal replacements, not as snacks.

• Lunchables- are high in sodium, low in protein, and high in simple carbs (they provide little fiber).

• Some Quaker Rice Cakes

What do you snack on?

Leah Lunch: Smoothie Day!

Many studies have shown that eating protein at breakfast can help you feel less hungry throughout the day.

It is important to know that just because a smoothie contains seemingly healthy ingredients, they can still be up to 300 calories or more depending on what you add and how much you drink.

Smoothies from restaurants can be deceptively high in calories.

Chocolate, peanut butter, and banana smoothie: Makes 1 large serving

• 1 packet of "No sugar added" hot chocolate powder
• OR substitute the hot chocolate for chocolate protein powder
• 1 banana, Peeled then frozen
• 1/2-1C Skim milk plus
• Optional- 2 tablespoons of "P2" Powdered peanut butter

Directions: Add the frozen bananas and the milk to a blender. Blend until smooth. Use a spoon to stir in the hot chocolate powder and the powdered peanut butter. Blend again until combined.

Nutrition Facts:  ~230 calories without powdered peanut butter and protein powder.

About the Ingredients:

• "No sugar added" hot chocolate- At 50 calories per serving, this is half the calories of regular hot chocolate mix.
• I find that the "diet" hot chocolate mix, at only 25 calories per serving, does not taste as good and is less satisfying when you are craving chocolate. 
•  "P2" powdered peanut butter- At only 45 calories per serving (2 Tablespoons), it has less than 1/4th of the calories as regular peanut butter which contains 200 calories per serving (2 Tablespoons).
• P2 contains 5g of protein, which is the same amount of protein in regular peanut butter
• It is lower in calories because it doesn't contain all the fat that regular peanut butter has.
• Just add water to the powder and it becomes spreadable
• P2 can be found in the health food section at HyVee (this is the ONLY place to get it).
• It costs $5.00 for a 14 serving bottle
• It comes in 2 flavors: original and chocolate
• Skim milk plus- At only 80 calories, it is the same as skim milk but has the consistency of 2% milk.
• This is found at Gerbes.
• It has an orange cap and an orange label (be careful not to pick up the 1% milk which has a yellow cap).

Strawberry-banana orange juice smoothie: Makes 3 servings

• 1 16-ounce bag of frozen strawberries, NO SUGAR ADDED!
• 1 banana, peeled then frozen
• 1-2 cups Orange Juice, "Light/ no sugar added"
• Optional- vanilla protein powder
• Optional- Fat free vanilla yogurt. (Dannon fit and active has the least amount of added sugar)

Directions: Add the above at once. Add additional orange juice if needed.

Nutrition Facts: ~130-150 calories without optional ingredients

About the ingredients:

• "Light/ no sugar added" orange juice- At 50 calories per cup, this orange juice is half as many calories as regular orange juice but still tastes great.

A word about protein powders:

To make the above smoothies into a breakfast meal, add a scoop of protein powder. Not all protein powders are created equal.

Protein powders are commonly known for coming in vanilla and chocolate flavors but there are also flavorless options.

When looking for a protein powder make sure it fits the following criteria:

• Less than 150 calories per serving or scoop
• Less than 5 grams of fat per serving
• Less than 5 grams of sugar per serving
• At least 20 grams pf protein per serving
• MUST be made from whey protein isolates because whey has a complete source of protein.
•  A complete protein is one that provides the essential (meaning must come from foods) amino acids.

Where to buy protein powders:

• Complete Nutrition in the Columbia mall has a good selection and they will even let you taste them.
• GNC in the Columbia mall
• Some grocery stores and Walmart have protein powders
• Wherever you go, you must check for the above criteria

In summary:

When adding protein powders to your smoothie you are making them a meal because you are adding at least 130 calories (good calories are still calories).

When making as a dessert I strongly suggest leaving out the protein powders.

You can use what ever ingredients you want in these smoothies, you do not have to add all of the ones i have suggested.

If you try these smoothies, let me know what you think!