wishful thinking of the day

GREAT NEWS

I HAVE FINALLY OVERCOME MY SODA ADDICTION!!!

My biggest problem with giving up soda was the withdrawal headaches. The only thing that made it better was another soda, which started the cycle over again. Then I heard about using pressure points to relieve the pain, I just had to tap on a couple pressure points while concentrating on the location of the headache. The pain was literally gone in minutes. WOO HOO!!! Now I have no desire to drink soda.

I found a website that discusses in more detail on how pressure points are used to relieve pain. Check it out.
http://www.painreliefessentials.com/conditions/fibromyalgia.htm

quote of the day

found a Wii game I can get down with

pasta with shrimp and sun-dried tomatoes

7 PointsPlus® Value per serving. Makes 5 servings, 8.5 oz. per serving

25g

Protein

4g

Fiber

6g

Fat

310

Cal

Ingredients

• 3 Smart Ones® Pasta with Spinach and Ricotta meals
• 1 can Non-stick cooking spray
• 1/4 cup Fat free chicken broth
• 2 to 3 cloves Garlic, minced
• 1 oz. Sundried tomatoes, chopped
• 1/4 cup Basil, fresh, chopped
• 1 pinch Red pepper flakes
• 12 oz. Raw shrimp, peeled and deveined
• 1 Tbsp. Shredded Parmesan cheese
• Black pepper, to taste

Preparation

1. Heat non-stick skillet over medium heat and coat with cooking spray.  
2. Add raw shrimp to heated skillet and sauté until fully cooked and lightly browned on each side, about 2 to 3 minutes.  Remove cooked shrimp from pan and set aside.  
3. Turn heat to low.  Add chicken broth and garlic to the pan and cook for 1 minute.  
4. Add sundried tomatoes, basil and pepper flakes.  Continue cooking on low heat for 4 to 5 minutes or until tomatoes have softened.  If needed, add a few additional tablespoons of chicken broth to keep pan from drying. 
5. Add Smart Ones® Pasta with Spinach and Ricotta meals and cooked shrimp to the skillet.  Heat on low for 1 to 2 minutes. Add black pepper to taste.
6. Once thoroughly heated, transfer to a serving dish and top with parmesan cheese before serving. Enjoy!

http://www.eatyourbest.com/living-smart/recipes/Entree/pasta-with-shrimp-and-sundried-tomatoes.aspx

Healthy Summer Salad

95 Cal

Ingredients

( You can cut down on calories by using light sour cream )

160gr Cherry Tomatoes

1/2 Cucumber

1/4 Green Capsicum

1/4 Red Onion

1 tsp of Sour Cream

Dry Parsley

Dry Oregano

Salt

Directions

Cut all the ingredients in pieces of your choice and toss them until sour cream and spices are evenly spread in the salad.

15 Reasons You’re Not Getting the Workout Results You Want

Physical Obstacles

• Exercise Rut: Are you a creature of habit, doing the same exercises with no variations? Your body adapts and improves when you challenge it. Stay with the same routine too long and your fitness could actually regress. Change up your routine approximately every four to six weeks to keep things fresh, motivational, and challenging.
• Inconsistent Training: Because muscle is metabolically active, it responds to being progressively stimulated with resistance training. Consistent training means your body must adapt to the demands placed on it.  Exercising once or twice a week followed by days of missed workouts will produce little to no results.
• Under-Recovering: How often are you working out? How long are your workouts? Recovery times vary from person to person; but there are signs to look for, like an elevated resting heart rate, sleep disturbances, lack of motivation, and lack of appetite. Never getting a chance to recover can lead to injuries and illness.
• Lack of Sleep: Your growth happens when you sleep. You might be able to get away with a few days of inadequate sleep, but your body will quickly communicate the need. Inadequate sleep disrupts the balance of the appetite, increasing levels of the hormone ghrelin, while leptin, the hormone that tells you you’re full, is suppressed [1]. People that consistently get less than six hours of sleep have a higher BMI. Sleep is necessary – not optional for health.
• Hours of Sitting: Hours at a desk is not only bad for your health but also leaves you with posture problems, muscle tightness in one area, and weakness in another [2]. And studies show that the effects can’t be offset by just a morning workout. Make the effort to stand up and move throughout your day.

Mental Obstacles

• Weekend Binging: All week you exercise and eat the right foods, but come the weekend you’re a party animal. Weekends are wonderful for relaxing from a hard work week, but be mindful of inhaling junk food as a way to unwind. You want to be full of motivation and feeling ready for a new week come Monday, not nursing a hangover and frantically searching for the elastic waist pants to deal with bloating.
• Eating Out: The problem with eating at restaurants is that most don’t provide nutritional information. Even if your chicken or fish is grilled or baked, it’s likely coated in butter and salt. Try requesting your chicken and fish without oils and seasoning, say no to the chip or bread basket, and stick with water with lemon. Ask to have any chips or fries left off your plate. You can’t eat what’s not in front of you.
• Analysis Paralysis: With a gazillion workouts available, deciding which one will give the best results can be a bit overwhelming. There’s HIIT, CrossFit, Zumba, Spinning, yoga, running, weights, circuit training, high reps, low reps, supersets, drop-sets, group classes, DVD’s, and more. The best workout is the one you’ll do consistently and meets your personal goals. Find what works for YOU.
• Poor Planning: Healthy living requires some organization and planning. If you’re hoping to squeeze in a workout and have no idea where your meals will be, you’re setting yourself up for failure. Plan by scheduling workouts in advance and food shopping for the coming week.
• Social Pressure: Although we can’t blame others for our own choices, we do need to recognize when they influence them. Avoid situations where you’ve caved to peer pressure in the past. You won’t regret the margarita guzzling and chip devouring tomorrow when you pull on your workout shorts.

Emotional Obstacles

• Negative Self-talk: Phrases like “I’ll always be heavy” and “I’m not good at sports” are all negative self-talk. Words have power; keep them positive. Most people never think twice about encouraging others when they hear them talk about themselves in a negative way, yet they don’t think twice about negative self-talk. Become your own best friend.
• Emotional Eating: Do you find yourself reaching for food when you’re sad or bored? Do you reward yourself with food? Sometimes we’re not even aware that we’re using food to medicate our emotions. Use non-food items as rewards like new sneakers, workout shorts, books, or movies. Emotional eating creates a cycle of feel bad, eat, feel worse, eat more. Be mindful of the food-emotion connection.
• Stress: Are you stressed out by a mountain of responsibilities? Chronic stress is linked to heart disease, a suppressed immune system, sleep problems, depression, obesity, and more[3]. Search for ways to positively direct and deal with stress. It’s often an overlooked source of underlying health issues.
• Guilt: I find guilt to be a very unproductive emotion. Guilt doesn’t seem to motivate you to be better. Guilty means you did something wrong and feel bad about it. Unless you can direct that negative feeling and turn it into motivation to do better, you can find yourself stuck. Realizing you have failed and need to change something is awesome, but when there’s no solution in sight, the guilt can create a downward spiral leading to a feeling of defeat. Go for the solution and ditch the guilt.
• Unworthiness: You can have all the best workout equipment and access to the most nutritious foods available, but if you feel unworthy of the investment in your fitness, you’ll stay at the place you are now. Although it’s awesome to have people and things that motivate us, ultimately we have to find that voice inside of us that tells us we’re worth it.
• http://www.coachcalorie.com/not-getting-the-workout-results-you-want/

note of the day

Low-Calorie Mango Pudding

 only 74 calories, 11% RDV of fiber, 16% RDV of vitamin A and 48% RDV (!) of vitamin C. Isn’t this awesome? ☺

Ingredients:
Mangos, peeled – 3
Truvia baking blend – 3 tbsp*
Water – 2 1/3 cup
Agar-agar powder – 1 tbsp
Plain greek yogurt, nonfat – 6 tbsp (optional, for serving with pudding)

* Not a fan of stevia? Feel free to replace it with 6 tbsp of your favorite sugar or sweetener.

1. Coarsely chop 2 ½ mangoes, dice remaining mangoes.
2. Process coarsely chopped mangoes in a blender until smooth.
3. Bring water to a boil in a medium saucepan. Add truvia blend and agar-agar powder, stirring until they both dissolve.
4. Add mango puree, stirring with a whisk. Divide mixture evenly among 6 dessert bowls or custard cups. Cover and chill for 2 hours or until set.
5. Top evenly with diced mango. You can also add a dollop of greek yogurt (whipping cream in the original recipe).
Serve and enjoy!

Basic information:
▪ Prep time: 10 min
▪ Total time: 10 min + 2hrs (for cooling)
▪ Serves: 6
▪ WW (Weight Watchers PointPlus) points = 2

http://www.myhappydessert.com/low-calorie-mango-pudding/

gotta love strawberries

lol of the day

Sweet Potato Nachos

Servings – 1

Preparation Time – 5 minutes

Cooking Time – 30 minutes

Ingredients

Sweet Potato Nachos

• 1 small sweet potato (approx. 250 – 300g)
• 1/2 tsp cumin
• 1/4 tsp cayenne pepper
• 1/4 tsp paprika
• 2 tsp melted coconut oil

Toppings

• 2-3 tbsp cooked black beans
• 1/2 a roasted red bell pepper diced
• 1/2 an avocado diced
• 1/4 cup (30g) cashews (soaked for at least 4 hours) + 2-3 tbsp water, 1-2 tsp nutritional yeast(optional)
• Coriander to garnish

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 200C (400F).
2. Slice sweet potato thinly ideally using a mandolin. Coat with coconut oil and spices and place on a non stick baking tray. Bake in the oven for 15 minutes. Remove, turn each one over and bake for a further 15 minutes.
3. Meanwhile blitz cashews with water and nutritional yeast if using. Season with a little salt and pepper depending on your taste!
4. When the sweet potato is cooked lay them “nachos” on a plate, top with red pepper, black beans, spring onion and avocado. Drizzle with cashew cheese sauce and garnish with coriander to serve.

Inside-Out Cheeseburgers

Makes: 4 servings

Active Time: 20 minutes

Total Time: 35 minutes

INGREDIENTS

• 1/4 cup shredded Cheddar cheese
• 1/4 cup shredded Gruyere cheese
• 1 pound 90%-lean ground beef
• 1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
• 1 1/2 teaspoons paprika
• 1/4 teaspoon freshly ground pepper

• PREPARATION

  1. Preheat grill to medium-high or preheat the broiler.
  2. Combine Cheddar and Gruyere in a small bowl.
  3. Gently mix beef, Worcestershire, paprika and pepper in a large bowl, preferably with your hands, without overworking. Shape into 8 thin, 4-inch-wide patties. Mound 2 tablespoons of the cheese mixture on each of 4 patties, leaving a 1/2-inch border. Cover each with one of the remaining patties. Crimp and seal the edges closed.
  4. To grill: Lightly oil the grill rack (see Tip). Grill the stuffed patties over medium-high heat, about 4 minutes per side for medium-well. (Be sure not to press the burgers as they cook or they’ll split open and the cheese will ooze out.) To broil: Cover a broiler pan with foil and coat with cooking spray. Broil the stuffed patties in the upper third of the oven, about 4 minutes per side for medium-well. In either case, let the burgers stand for 5 minutes before serving.

  TIPS & NOTES

  • To oil a grill rack: Oil a folded paper towel, hold it with tongs and rub it over the rack. (Do not use cooking spray on a hot grill.)

  NUTRITION

  Per serving: 264 calories; 16 g fat ( 7 g sat , 6 g mono ); 89 mg cholesterol; 1 g carbohydrates; 26 g protein;0 g fiber; 186 mg sodium; 405 mg potassium.
  Nutrition Bonus: Zinc (37% daily value), Calcium (15% dv), Iron (15% dv).
  Exchanges: 3 1/2 medium-fat meat
  http://www.eatingwell.com/recipes/inside_out_cheeseburger.html

help for hi chol

wishful thinking

got 3 choices

humor of the day

a prescription from the farm-acy

yeah, that'll work

fruit for breakfast?

Crispy Oven Baked Parmesan Chicken Recipe

banana bars

warning of the day

muy caliente

LOL of the day

for those of you still eating fast food

time for salad

Strawberry Blueberry Cream Smoothies

Ingredients

Red Layer:
• 3/4 c. milk {we used skim}
• 1 c. fresh strawberries
• 1 tsp. honey
• handful of ice cubes
White Layer:
• 1/2 c. milk
• 2 tsp. honey
• handful of ice cubes
Blue Layer:
• 1/2 c. milk
• 1 c. fresh blueberries
• 1 tsp. honey
• handful of ice cubes

Instructions

Red Layer:

Put all ingredients for the red layer in a blender and blend. Pour equal amounts into a two large glasses or 4 small glasses. Put the glasses in the freezer for 10 minutes.

White Layer:

Put the milk, honey and ice cubes into the blender and blend. Remove the glasses from the freezer, pour equal amounts into the glasses and return to freezer for 10 minutes.

Blue Layer:

Put milk, blueberries, honey and ice cubes into a blender and blend. Remove glasses from freezer, add the blue layer.

They are ready to serve! {we leave them on the counter for about 10 minutes to soften a little}

http://dailydishrecipes.com/patriotic-strawberry-blueberry-cream-smoothies-tie-dye-smoothie/

Healthy Memorial Day recipes

Dijon Egg Salad Wraps

Recipe by Steven Petusevsky

• Yield 4 servings

Ingredients

6 -- hard-boiled eggs, peeled and chopped

1 -- carrot, peeled and shredded

1 large rib celery, chopped

2 teaspoons Dijon or yellow mustard

1 tablespoon sweet pickle relish

1 tablespoon low-fat mayonnaise

dash Worcestershire sauce

4 -- (9-inch) whole-wheat tortillas

Instructions

1. Combine all ingredients well in a bowl with a mixing spoon.
2. Place tortilla on a piece of parchment paper or foil, top with a lettuce leaf. Add 1/4 cup egg salad to the center of the tortilla and flatten it. Add any vegetable you like, such as shredded cabbage, sprouts or red pepper, before rolling up, pressing evenly. Cut in half and wrap in plastic.

Read more: http://spryliving.com/recipes/dijon-egg-salad-wraps/#ixzz2UDjWPHOm
***************************************************************

Watermelon, Tomato and Cucumber Salad

Recipe by Relish

• Yield 12 servings

Ingredients

Red Wine Vinaigrette:

1/4 cup red wine vinegar

3/4 teaspoon salt

1/4 teaspoon black pepper

1/2 cup olive oil

Salad:

3 cups watermelon chunks

3 cups coarsely chopped heirloom tomatoes

3 cups coarsely chopped cucumbers

1 cup chopped basil

1/2 cup chopped red onion

3/4 cup crumbled feta cheese

Instructions

1. Combine vinegar, salt, pepper and oil; whisk well. Gently toss remaining ingredients in a large bowl. Pour vinaigrette over salad and toss to coat. Serve immediately.

Read more: http://spryliving.com/recipes/watermelon-tomato-and-cucumber-salad-2/#ixzz2UDjuvmhK
******************************************************

Green Bean Salad with Mustard Seeds and Tarragon

Recipe by Our Cookbook Collection

• Yield 4 servings

Ingredients

1 1/4 cups green beans, trimmed

2 1/4 cups snow peas, trimmed

1 3/4 cups green peas (fresh or frozen)

2 teaspoons coriander seeds, roughly crushed with a mortar and pestle

1 teaspoon mustard seeds

3 tablespoons olive oil

1 teaspoon nigella seeds

1/2 small red onion, finely chopped

1 mild fresh red chile, seeded and finely diced

1 clove garlic, crushed

Grated zest of 1 lemon

2 tablespoons chopped tarragon

Coarse sea salt

1 cup baby chard leaves (optional)

Instructions

1. Fill a medium saucepan with cold water and bring to a boil. Blanch the green beans for 4 minutes, then immediately lift them out of the pan and into iced water to refresh. Drain and dry.
2. Bring a fresh pan of water to the boil and blanch the snow peas for 1 minute only. Refresh, drain and dry. Use the same boiling water to blanch the peas for 20 seconds. Refresh, drain and dry. Combine the beans, snow peas and peas in a large mixing bowl.
3. Put the coriander seeds, mustard seeds and oil in a small saucepan and heat up. When the seeds begin to pop, pour the contents of the pan over the beans and peas. Toss together, then add the nigella seeds, red onion, chile, garlic, lemon zest and tarragon. Mix well and season with salt to taste.
4. Just before serving, gently fold the chard leaves, if using, in with the beans and peas, and spoon the salad onto plates or into bowls.

Read more: http://spryliving.com/recipes/green-bean-salad-with-mustard-seeds-and-tarragon/#ixzz2UDkSUrBg
**********************************************************************

Sweet Mango Slaw

Recipe by National Mango Board

• Yield 8 servings

Ingredients

1 pound shredded cabbage or coleslaw blend

1 -- mango, peeled, pitted and chopped

1/3 cup finely chopped red bell pepper

1/3 cup sliced green onion

1/3 cup light mayonnaise

3 tablespoons honey

3 tablespoons cider vinegar

-- Salt and pepper to taste

Instructions

1. Place cabbage, mango, bell pepper and green onion in a large bowl. Whisk together remaining ingredients and add to bowl; toss well to coat. Best served within 1 hour.

Read more: http://spryliving.com/recipes/sweet-mango-slaw/#ixzz2UDkt16E3
*******************************************

Faux Chicken Salad

Recipe by Our Cookbook Collection

• Yield servings

This vegan "chicken" salad is great as a snack or appetizer.

Ingredients

1 -- block extra firm tofu

1/4 cup walnut pieces

1/2 cup green apple, chopped finely

1/4 cup dried cranberries

1/4 cup vegan mayonnaise

1/4 teaspoon sea salt

-- fresh ground pepper

-- (optional) vegan mini fillo cups

Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 425 degrees F.  Press tofu to remove water for at least 15 minutes. Slice tofu into thin rectangles (about 1 cm thick). Grease baking sheet with olive oil (or spray with a Misto).  Place tofu on baking sheet, making sure none of the pieces overlap.  Bake for 15 minutes.  Flip tofu slices and cook for an additional 10 minutes.
2. Remove from oven and allow to cool as you chop the apple.  Chop walnuts as well if the pieces are large. Remove tofu from pan and chop as finely as possible.
3. In a medium sized mixing bowl, combine tofu, apple, walnuts, cranberries, and mayo.  Stir well to combine.  Add salt and more to taste, if you like.  Add a few turns of fresh ground pepper (I turned my pepper mill five times).  Stir once more to fully combine all the ingredients.
4. Spoon into fill cups, serve with crackers or over mixed greens, or use as the filling in a sandwich or wrap.

Read more: http://spryliving.com/recipes/healthy-in-30-faux-chicken-salad/#ixzz2UDlLm6BW
******************************************************

Peanut Butter Snack Mix

Recipe by Holly Clegg Kitchen Tested 

• Yield 6 cups
• Prep 10 mins
• Cook 60 mins

Store in refrigerator.

Ingredients

3 tablespoons honey

2 tablespoons butter

3 tablespoons peanut butter

4 cups Chex cereal (assorted wheat and corn)

2 cups mini pretzels

1/3 cup peanuts

Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 175F.
2. Combine honey, butter and peanut butter in a microwave-safe bowl and heat until smooth. Combine cereal, pretzels and peanuts in a large bowl. Pour peanut butter mixture over cereal mixture and toss to coat. Spread on baking sheet and bake for 1 and 1/2 hours.

Read more: http://spryliving.com/recipes/peanut-butter-snack-mix/#ixzz2UDlgY3xe
*********************************

word of the day

get out, have fun

One fun way of getting some exercise, is playing with your kids. Here's my Chloe outside building a fort.

benefits of coconut oil

tips for Summer

great grapes

humor of the day

tip of the day

Salad Calorie Counter

I found a web article that helps build the better salad with a calorie counter. Check it out:

http://www.fitnessmagazine.com/recipes/build-a-salad/

quote of the day

other protien

humor of the day by Garfield

point of the day

Caprese Burger (Biggest Loser recipe)

1 tablespoon all-natural light sandwich spread (Spectrum Naturals Light Canola Mayo)
1 cube (3.5 grams) frozen basil, thawed (Dorot All-Natural Chopped Basil)
4 ounces 96% lean ground beef patty
Salt, to taste
1/2 ounce very thinly sliced almond mozzarella cheese (Lisanatti)
1 all-natural whole grain or whole wheat English muffin (Rudi's Organic Bakery Whole Grain Wheat English Muffin), split
Small handful of arugula leaves
1/4"-thick large tomato slice

Preheat a grill to high.

In a small bowl, stir the sandwich spread and basil until combined.

Season both sides of the patty with salt. Grill for 1 to 2 minutes per side for medium rare, or until desired doneness is reached. About 1 minute before the burger is done, add the cheese and melt for 1 minute.

Meanwhile, place the muffin halves on the grill away from the direct flame to warm them.

Place the muffin bottom, cut side up, on a serving plate. Top it with the arugula, the burger, and then the tomato. Spread the pesto mayo evenly over the inside of the top of the English muffin and place it atop the burger. Serve immediately.

Makes 1 serving

Per serving: 333 calories, 31 g protein, 27 g carbohydrates (3 g sugar), 10 g fat, 2 g saturated fat, 60 mg cholesterol, 4 g fiber, 513 mg sodium