New to Me: Sugar Cookie Sleigh Ride Tea

I have been a big fan of Celestial Seasoning's Teas since I visited their factory in Boulder, Colorado.  It is a really cool place, and they have a great business going on there.

Every Christmas, Celestial Seasoning's comes out with a holiday line of teas.

At Whole Foods, I found the Sugar Cookie Sleigh Ride flavored tea and decided to give it a try.  I love sugar cookies and would try pretty much anything that claims to taste like them.

The tea is very good!  It has a delicious natural sugar cookie flavor and tastes even better with a little stevia and some cream.  A cup prepared with stevia and a splash of cream has an S/C Value of 0/0.

I am going to experiment with the tea and try heating up some So Delicious coconut milk and brewing the tea in the coconut milk to see if I can make something similar to a Sugar Cookie Tea Latte.

Celestial Seasoning's also has some other holiday flavored teas.  All are listed on their website.

If you are ever in the Denver area, I really recommend taking the factory tour!

Quick Raspberry Chocolate "Tiramisu"

I was craving something sweet and wanted to come up with a really low sugar, low carb dessert that would not cost me one of my carb servings for the day.

I became a big fan of mascarpone cheese since the first time I had tiramisu.  This is inspired by a real tiramisu, minus the ladyfingers and coffee.  This recipe is for one serving, but could easily be doubled if you need a dessert for two or more.

The dessert has an S/C Value of 1/0 (only 3 grams of carbs) with 1 gram of fiber.  The creamy marscapone cheese and raspberries were enough sweet yumminess to make a satisfying dessert.

Raspberry-Chocolate Tiramisu

Serves 1

2 Tbsp. mascarpone cheese (this is similar to cream cheese and can be found in the gourmet cheese section of many grocery stores.  I actually got this at Meier today.)
1/8 tsp. vanilla extract
1 pinch of stevia (I use NuNaturals brand)
1 Tbsp. heavy cream
10 fresh raspberries
sprinkle of cocoa powder

Combine the cheese, vanilla, cream, and stevia and stir quickly until combined.    Scoop onto a dessert plate or bowl, and position raspberries around the cream, as desired.  Sprinkle with cocoa powder.  Enjoy!

Spicy Lemon Chicken Pasta

 I modified this recipe from a Martha Stewart recipe, and it turned out fantastic.  I can tell that this will be one of my new favorite meals.  I used a rotisserie chicken to make it even easier.

The S/C Value for 1/4 the recipe below is 3/2, and each serving has 6 grams of fiber.

Spicy Lemon Chicken Pasta

6 ounces of healthy pasta (I used Dreamfield Healthy Carb Spaghetti)

3 tablespoons olive oil

zest and juice of 2 lemons

3 garlic cloves, minced

2 jalapeno peppers, seeded and thinly sliced (You may also use 1/2 tsp. red pepper flakes if you do not have fresh peppers)

1 cup frozen peas, thawed

1 teaspoon kosher salt

1/8 teaspoon freshly ground pepper

1/3 cup freshly grated Parmesan

Cook pasta according to the package directions. Drain and set aside.

Heat 2 tablespoons of the oil in a large sauté pan over medium-low heat. Add the lemon zest, garlic, and jalapeños and cook until lightly browned, 4 to 5 minutes. Add the pasta, lemon juice, peas, salt, pepper, and remaining oil and cook until heated through, 3 to 4 minutes, adding the chicken at the end.  Add the Parmesan and toss well.  Serve.

Working Out- Lean, Long and Strong

So recently I started working out again.  Jorge says that working out is not necessary to losing weight, but I feel better when I am doing it.

I have to recommend a book that I used last year before my wedding.  I dropped the 15 lbs that I recently put back on by doing this workout and eating what I thought was more healthy.  Now I know the reason I could never get rid of the belly bulge was because of the sugar intake.  I would start out the morning with a fat free yogurt, fresh fruit, and some brown sugar.  There was more sugar in that meal than I have all day now!

The book is called Lean, Long, and Strong by Wini Linguvic. This woman is amazing, and really knows about fitness for women.  The strength training exercises can be done in 12 minutes once you get the hang of them, and they incorporate the moves with stretches that really create long, lean muscles.  You do 4 short workouts a week and they can be done at home with stability ball and light weights.  She also recommends doing 2-3 20 minute cardio sessions a week and explains how to get the most out of short cardio workouts. 

It really changed my body at the time.  I wish I would have kept up with it instead of going crazy and not working out after the wedding.  If I did, it would have gave me less work to do with Jorge!  I have been doing different exercise videos on demand because I like seeing the workout on a video, but since I got such quick and wonderful results from this book, I am going back to it.  The exercises are not terribly difficult, and the stretches really keep you from getting sore.  They are effective and make your body feel great.

Wish me luck!

A Great Video About the Dangers of Sugar

I really recommend watching this video.  It is 1.5 hours long, but it really is worth watching.  You could even listen to it while working or doing something else.

It is absolutely scary how bad sugar is for you and how the traditional ideas of health and eating are so wrong.

It is really important to watch this and get the correct information.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dBnniua6-oM

Sweet and Tangy Chili Meatloaf

Here is a healthy, tangy meatloaf recipe that I have modified slightly to make it a belly fat cure friendly protein that even has some added fiber.

I started making this a few years ago.  I previously used 1/4 c. of regular white flour breadcrumbs and 1/4 c. of rolled oats in order to limit the empty carbs and add some fiber.

However, today I was able to find wonderful whole wheat bread crumbs.  I decided to use 1/2 a cup of these instead.

If you cannot find whole wheat bread crumbs, I recommend it the way I used to make it.  By using half bread crumbs and half oatmeal, you get the flavor of the bread crumbs and the fiber in the oatmeal.

The S/C Value for 1/4 of the recipe below is 1/1.  

Chili Meatloaf

Serves 4-6

1 c. tomato sauce (canned with no added sugar- I used Muir Glen Organic)
1 Tbsp. xylitol
2 tsp. yellow mustard
1 1/2 tsp. chili powder
1 Tbsp. onion flakes
1 Tbsp. parsley flakes
1/2 tsp. salt
1 lb. lean ground beef
1/2 c. whole grain italian bread crumbs (I used Gia Russa brand.  This adds 8 grams of fiber)
1 egg
1 pinch of stevia

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Coat a 9 x 5 bread loaf pan with cooking spray.

In a bowl, combine 1/3 c. tomato sauce, 1 Tbsp. xylitol, mustard, 1 tsp. chili powder, onion flakes, parsley, and salt.  Stir.  Add beef, bread crumbs, and egg and combine until mixed.  Shape into a loaf and pat into the pan.

Combine remaining tomato sauce, chili powder, and a pinch of stevia.  Taste and adjust stevia until the sauce is slightly sweet.    Pour tomato mixture over the meatloaf.

Bake for 55-60 minutes.  Cool for 5 minutes and serve.

New to Me: WheatSticks

I found these delicious snacks at Cost Plus World Market.  I have had the original CheeseSticks snacks made by John WM Macy, but these are a new version with whole grains and fiber!!

They are a crunchy cheesy cracker with 2 grams of fiber and only 14 grams of carbs in 3 sticks!

The S/C Value for 3 sticks is 1/1.