Sugar-free desserts...

Hey I thought I would post a few of these for those of you who have been struggling like me with the sugar issue..

White chocolate strawberry mini pies.

1/2 c grape nuts finely crushed into crumbs
2 T plus 2 tsp. strawberries blended with a bit of honey
1 3/4 C skim milk
1 package sugar free, fat free white chocolate pudding mix

In a small bowl, combine the crubs and 2 T of the strawberry mixture.  With a large spoon, stir to mix well.  Divide the mix into 4 ramekins or small desset bowls.  Press the mix into the bottom of the dishes and set aside.

In a medium mixing bowl, combine the milk and pudding mix.  Whisk to blend. Pour into the ramekins or bowls.  Dollop 1/2 tsp. of remaining strawberry mixture on top of each.  Cover with plastic wrap.  Refrigerate for at least 1 hour or up to 3 days.

Makes 4 servings with  approx. 145 Calories, 6 g protein, 30 g carb, less than 1 g fat, 2 mg cholesterol, 2 g fiber, 357 mg sodium. per serving.  I will be posting more recipes on my blog as I try them, come check it out at www.naturalbliss4u.blogspot.com

Chase Week 1

HaHa wow this is harder than I thought it would be week 1 was pretty much a complete failure for me. There is just not enough time in a day. oh well I got 55 points last week hopefully this week will be better.

Randi- Week 1

Wow! You guys are impressive! I did terrible this week. It didn't help that it was a Holiday weekend. I got 57 points this week. I really struggle with the water and the sugar. I LOVE DESSERT!! Here's hoping for a better week!

Christy's Points

Sorry to post so late. My husband and I went away for the weekend. We took the time to take some nice walks for exercise and I even had the breakfast they served minus the breakfast sweet bread, juice and syrup. I got all 78 points! Even more, I am feeling great. I need to keep this up because I love the way it makes me feel.

Probably the hardest for me was sleeping 7 hours at night. I usually sleep about 5-6 hours, so that has been a big change for me.

Week 1

So my total for the week is 57 and I am Sara (no h) and it says 74 by my name :) I'd love to claim that but it's not me. Maybe we should put Sara P to keep from mixups. I had a nasty cold alllllll week long! So I'm sad to say i did not exercise and the sugar thing is so hard because how can you resist dessert?? And on days that I decided I wasn't going to get my sugar point, I went crazy on the sugar! Any tips? I'm addicted!

Alisha Points - Week 1

Ok-so I've been on vacation since last Friday. I was "forced" to eat sugar two of the days I was in Seattle. I did manage to get everything else in amazingly enough! While I was home, getting the 7 hours of sleep was the hardest for me, especially when I was trying to get all packed and ready for my vacation. I do EVERYTHING after my kids are in bed. Sugar was actually not as hard as I thought it was going to be. As long as there is plenty of fruit around, I'm good. The water was also hard but I found that if I have a water bottle with me at all times it helps! Total points for the week: 75

Roxie's Points - Week 1

I received 77 points for the week. The caffeine was hard for the first 2 days. I think I should get a special reward for no sugar and working 32 hrs. in the bakery. I found my self bringing the sweets up to my mouth and then catching my self. I learned to have my healthy snack on hand and lunch and of coarse my water bottle. I 've been babysitting for Alisha over the weekend and I did pretty good except I remembered that I didn't drink the rest of my water early the next morning.

Ashley Week 1

60 points total for me this week.  I thought I would do much better. I didn't buy a multi-vitamin until today, so that was an easy point I lost every single day.  Friday and Saturday were bad days for me, so that is what got me! 

I am also tracking my food on www.myfitnesspal.com. Very helpful. I am trying to stay under 1500 calories a day.  Check it out if you are interested!

Good luck to everyone this week!

Trisha Week 1

I had the most trouble with water. I HATE water! 2 of the days I was able to hit the mark for water, but the rest.....not so much! I missed a couple of days of excercise because I was visiting family.....I know....20 min should not be hard to conquer, but it is so easy to miss!

Anyway I am not a huge blogger, so my total points was 66. Good Luck with week 2 everyone!

Week 1

I know most of you don't know who I am so I feel kind of weird posting on here. I got a total of 76 points this week. The thing that I messed up on a few days was sugar... I just love it so much! It's been so hard for me to get into the habit of drinking enough water. I have to constantly remind myself to drink more. I'm used to only drinking about 16 oz. a day. (My body is just used to being dehydrated I guess.) I feel like my body is starting to adjust to the change. Hopefully this week will be easier.

Kelli

The slacker reports :)

Ok, so I just recorded the points that I earned, and didn't worry too much about trying to be better. I know, pitiful! Anyway, I got a whopping 35 points. I know, try not to get too excited about that ;)

I had a very exciting week though! I've lost a total of 5 pounds since I started running. Possibly more. I haven't weighed myself yet today and it's been a couple of days. So, even if I don't win this, I'll still be healthier, right?

-Emily

Sheena - Week 1

Okay so not eating sugar is so hard!! I have known for a while I had an addiction, I just did not realize it was this bad.  I missed my sugar point most days.  Also the soda, my hubby is a bad influence on me.  Okay so I just need a little more will power.  I am hoping to have a much better week this week. I did have a few fun recipes that I came across as I was doing this.  The first was a spinach smoothie... I know it sounds gross, but I thought they were pretty good.

1 Banana (this is supposed to cover the spinach taste)
1/2 C Strawberries, I  used frozen ones.
1/2 C Peaches (again frozen)
Water (you could use milk or juice, but I thought I would spare myself the calories)
1/2 C spinach leaves (i used baby spinach)

Blend in the blender and you have a yummy little treat. 

In mine I actually added some protein powder, and some raw oatmeal.  The oatmeal gives it a little bit of a chalky texture, it didn't bother me, but it might some.  But this way I could count it as my entire meal.  Great if you are on the go.

Another recipe I came across was a protein pancake...  I have not actually tried this one yet, but my mom did and says it is good. 

2 egg whites
1/4 C cottage cheese
1/4 oatmeal
1 tsp Vanilla

Cook like a normal pancake and spread with fruit.  I am probably going to test them out this week. I will let you all know.  Okay so now for the awful truth... I am down 1 lb, which is nice.  but my points well my total for this week was a whopping 60 points.  I am going to do much better this week.

Sarah- Week 1

This week was harder than I expected it to be, I am SO addicted to sugar!! I thought the caffeine would be hard, but it really wasn't bad.

The sugar is what got me! 

 I tried to find alternatives, I chewed a lot of gum, ate a ton of fruit and just kept thinking that I didn't want to lose that point. I did notice that because I was eating balanced meals and healthy snacks I rarely felt hungry and (I think) my mood was better because I didn't have the sugar crashes. I'm hoping it gets easier because it has been so hard to not have the sugar. 

 I realize that I was grabbing something sugary really often, and even if it's a small amount, it adds up over the day. 

My point total for the week is 74

Report points on MONDAY!

Since we have our 7 hours of sleep rule you couldn't count your point for Sunday until Monday morning (provided your free day isn't Sunday). So....we are going to change the day you report your points to MONDAY! The first reporting day will be Monday, May 31st! And again, for every day after Monday you do not report your points you lose a point. Also, make sure you accept the invite to become an author on this blog so you can report your points. Let me know if you didn't receive the invite or are having any trouble getting it to work. Thank you!!

The Healthy Challenge

At the end of last month my sister in law invited me to join her in a healthy challenge group. I chickened out with everything that was going on in my life and decided I would do it "next time". Yesterday a couple of my friends TOLD me (not asked) I was joining them in a 5K run this coming July. There is a "couch to 5K" program that they told me I could follow and now I have 9 weeks to get ready. As I was doing my first day last night, I thought, "You know it might help a little if I was eating healthy too. Too bad I didn't join the healthy challenge group to give me a little incentive....WAIT! I could form my own healthy challenge group!!!" And this is how the Love 2 B Healthy blog/group was born. I pretty much copied the plan the group my sister in law belongs to with the addition of one point.

So, here are the details:

All contestants donate $10 into the pot. Winner takes all the money! If there is a tie, the money is divided. There are 13 points that can be earned each day.

Here is the breakdown:

• Healthy and correctly portioned breakfast - 1 point

• Healthy and correctly portioned lunch - 1 point

• Healthy and correctly portioned dinner - 1 point

What is healthy and correctly portioned? 1/2 of your plate should be fruits and vegetables, 1/4 should be whole grains, and 1/4 should be lean meat/protein, one serving of each. It doesn't have to be complicated. Just use your best judgment!

• 2 healthy snacks a day - 1 point
  

• Take muli-vitamin - 1 point

• Exercise at least 20 minutes per day - 2 points

• Drink 2 liters (or 67 oz.) of water - 1 point

• No Sugar - 1 point

This basically means no sweets. No candy, cake, cookies, brownies, fruit juice with sugar, soda pop, etc.

• No Unhealthy snacks - 1 point

This goes one step beyond the no sugar rule. Unhealthy is defined as any product high in fat or salt (processed foods like chips and hot dogs).

• No caffeine - 1 point
  

• No food 2 hours before bed - 1 point
  

• At least 7 hours of sleep at night - 1 point

FREE DAY: Each week you can pick the day of the week that will be your "free day". You will not keep track of points on this day. You can also not use your free day to "catch up" on points you lost during the week. No points can be earned on your free day. Be sure to plan ahead for family parties, date nights, etc.

The total you can earn in a week is 78 points (13 points a day for 6 days). You will then report your points every Sunday on this blog. When you sign up, I will put you in as an author on the blog (I will just need your email address). For every day after Sunday that you send in your points, you will will lose a point! This will give you a chance to see how you are doing in comparison to everybody else. (Obviously, a big factor in this competition is honestly!) You also can post how you are doing, healthy snack ideas, great dinner ideas, exercise routines, struggles, successes etc.

The competition will start May 24th and end June 21st (4 weeks). That will give us a week and a half to get geared up! All money is due by May 24th.

There are no requirements for weighing in or measuring, although it is recommended! If you don't win the challenge at least you'll be able to see if your body changes over the 4 weeks.

GOOD LUCK TO ALL!!!