Blueberry Yogurt Parfait + Chobani Giveaway

 
  It's that time in the afternoon again. 

The time the kids are napping. 

The time I have some free time. 

The time I plan to do chores, but end up sitting down doing nothing. 

Ahhh, nothing feels good.

I like to enjoy doing nothing with a snack, don't you? A cup of coffee doesn't hurt either. Today, I made this yogurt parfait with the good intentions of eating half, then sharing the rest with Will. But it never made it that far. I started eating, and....

....just like that, gone. Good thing there's more yogurt in the fridge.

I like to snack on yogurt because it's packed with healthy goodness like protein, calcium, and bacteria that keep your gut healthy. Plus, most yogurts are fairly low in calories and fat. I buy plain, non-fat/low-fat greek yogurt and sweeten it myself with either jam, honey or splenda. To make this parfait, I added fresh blueberries and granola.

Right now I'm really loving Chobani yogurt because it tastes GREAT and comes in a variety of flavors. This week, I bought plain greek yogurt. Apart from making parfaits, I like to use it in cooking as a sub for mayo and sour cream. It's so naturally rich and creamy, no one knows the difference. Score one for mom!

And good news, the nice folks at Chobani want to send you some....for FREE! And not just any yogurt, their new flavors: peach, blueberry, black cherry, vanilla chocolate chunk, mango, and pineapple. Each yogurt is 16 oz each, so there's plenty to enjoy. I got to try them and they're goooooood. Eaten alone or used in recipes, you'll be a fan. You can enter three ways:

1. Post a comment telling me your favorite way to enjoy yogurt

2. Like me on Facebook

3. Have a smart phone? Follow me on instagram {tiffany_rd}

Enter all three ways, and your name with be entered three times! Just let me know what you did.

Good luck!

Have a Healthy Holiday

Did you indulge a little over Thanksgiving? I would be lying if I said I didn't eat an extra serving of turkey. An extra roll? Perhaps. Pumpkin pie? Absolutely! But thankfully, one meal of semi-indulgence doesn't reverse all my health efforts for the year. Big sigh of relief.

This year, the holidays come during a time when I'm trying to shed the last few baby pounds, so I really don't want to halt - or reverse - my progress. I've jogged a lot of miles and watched my portions too well to let holiday food get the best of me.

To help stay healthy during the holidays, I use a few tricks so my willpower isn't so maxed out. I mean, really. How many times can I say "no" before finally giving in? So I try to maintain a normal healthy lifestyle and save indulgences only for special occasions.

Here's the plan:

1. Make time to sweat once a day.
2. Eat small meals regularly throughout the day.
3. At holiday parties, eat small portions of foods you really like. Don't waste calories on foods you don't love.
4. Eat until you're satisfied, not full.
5. Plan holiday activities that aren't food-centered (make a Christmas wreath, dough art decorations, play games, or take a walk to look at decorated homes).

How are you planning on staying healthy this holiday?

Pumpkin Spice Oatmeal

 Do you love pumpkin pie? Do you love it so much you could to eat it for breakfast? Me too. Truth be told, pumpkin pie is my favorite part of Thanksgiving. That, and the crisp fall weather. Leaves!

I wish I could enjoy pumpkin pie more often, but between the added sugar and buttery pie crust (oh that glorious crust), it all creates a big calorie bomb I try to limit to a few times a year. So sad. 

I decided I must create a version that is a.) guilt-free b.) easy to make and c) preferably healthy. The perfect canvas? Oatmeal. 

Oatmeal is full of vitamins, minerals, fiber and whole grains. And best of all, it's easy to make. To oatmeal, I added pumpkin puree, which also contains loads of good-for-you vitamins (like vitamin A and C) and is low in fat. It's a winning combo, both in the nutrition and taste department.

Making this recipe tells your family you love them. 

Start with your oats.

Will was my little helper (he likes wearing hats).

 

Grab your pumpkin and pumpkin pie spice.

And here we go....

Recipe adapted from Pumpkin Pie Oatmeal

Serves one

Ingredients

• 1/2 cup water
• 1/2 cup milk
• 1/2 cup old-fashioned oats
• 1/4 cup canned pumpkin
• 1/8 teaspoon pumpkin pie spice
• 1-2 packets Splenda
• 1/8 tsp vanilla extract 
• 1 T maple syrup
  

Preparation

In a small saucepan, combine the water, milk, oats, pumpkin and pie spice. Bring to a boil; cook and stir for 5 minutes. Next, remove from heat and add splenda, vanilla and about a tablespoon of maple syrup.

Giveaway Winner + Chicken Pesto & Goat Cheese Pasta

 Hey Friends! Congratulations to Emily, who won the Attune Cereal Giveaway!

 
This week, it's back to work for me. I've enjoyed my time off so much, but am also happy to start back to my very part-time dietitian job (one day per week). Does that even count as a real job? I don't know.

In light of work starting up again, I like to have a few easy weeknight meals that require minimal prep work, but are still tasty and healthy. This one is just that: delicious, healthy and easy to make. First off, it's pasta, so, yeah it's good. Second, there's pesto! I have a love affair with pesto, rivaled only by goat cheese. So why not throw them together? A love pasta, of sorts.

Although both pesto and goat cheese are higher in fat, pesto contains lots of healthy ingredients like basil and heart healthy fats like olive oil and nuts. And because of the rich, creamy texture of goat cheese, you don't have to use as much.

I adapted this recipe from Pesto and Goat Cheese Pasta

Ingredients:

Penne Pasta (whole wheat for added fiber and protein)
Basil Pesto, Prepared
Goat Cheese, Crumbled
Baked Chicken Breast, Diced

Simply throw these together and let the magic begin. I didn't measure exactly since it's kind of up to you how much of each ingredient you want. I just made sure to go easy on the basil pesto and goat cheese, since these ingredients contain the most fat. I added just enough to coat - not saturate - the pasta.

We enjoyed this easy weeknight meal with steamed broccoli. Hope you enjoy!

Post #100 + A Giveaway!

This is officially post number 100 and I'm kind of excited. When I started blogging, I had no idea what would happen. I just wanted a fun way to share nutrition tips and recipes with my friends and family. Now, thanks to you guys I'm getting more readers daily and lots positive feedback. I appreciate every one of your comments, questions and emails and am so grateful for all I'm learning from you.

So, I guess I just want to say THANKS!

To celebrate and to thank YOU for reading, I want to send you a gift: Three boxes of healthy, tasty cereals from a company called Attune Foods. They make all types of nutritious cereals and - bonus - chocolate bars with probiotics. Yes, please. 

You can find their products at most local health food stores and I like them because many of the cereals are 100% whole grain, high in fiber and protein and low in sugar. Basically, they pack a nutritional punch at breakfast, which is an important meal that fuels our bodies for the rest of the day. I don't receive compensation for saying these things, it's just my dietitian opinion.

If you'd like to try some of their yummy cereals and receive a coupon for 2 free probiotic chocolate bars, choose one of the following ways to enter:

1. Post a comment below
2. Like me on Facebook
3. Subscribe to follow my blog

If you do two of these items, your name will be entered twice. If you go big and enter all three ways, your name will be entered three times. A winner will be chosen at random a week from today.

Good luck and healthy eating!

 

Almond Butter with Sea Salt and Agave

Who doesn't love a good almond butter? Okay, maybe if you have a nut allergy, you're not a fan. But otherwise, I think it's one of the yummiest, most versatile foods around. Almond butter also scores high in the nutrition department because it's a good source of protein and fiber, even calcium and iron.

One of my good friends is absolutely, completely and utterly addicted to almond butter from Trader Joe's. She stocks up so that she never runs out. This said friend is also a self-proclaimed non-cook. Case in point: she made a smoothie a few weeks ago and posted a picture on instagram to show how far she's come in the cooking world. But - good news friend - if you can blend, you can make almond butter! So, when I came across this delicious, easy-as-pie almond butter recipe, I knew I had to make it, not just for my one friend, but for all my friends (that's you)!

So, here we go. Prepare yourself for the most simple, tasty recipe your food processor has ever seen.

Start with your ingredients. Are you ready? There are three. Seriously.

Grab 2 cups of almonds, 1 teaspoon of sea salt and 2 tablespoons of agave nectar (it's like honey, but with a thinner consistency). If you don't have agave, honey totally works too.

Next, load the almonds and salt into a good food processor and blend (or pulse...whatever). After a few minutes, add the agave.

Keep blending for about 10-15 minutes. The nuts will start to ball up right before they get creamy. Just be patient, it'll happen. I like mine with a tiny bit of crunch, so I blended for about ten minutes. 

Aaaaaand....done!

I enjoyed my tasty salty/sweet/nutty creation with some sliced apples for a snack. Store it in an airtight container in your fridge.

The fun thing about making your own nut butter is all the easy variations you can try. Next time around, I might go for some vanilla, cinnamon or cocoa action.

Have you ever made your own nut butter?

Warning: This Post is Not Gluten-Free

You may have noticed a little trend these days: gluten-free foods. Lately, it seems like more and more food products are labelled "gluten-free". Do these labels look familiar?

Garbanzo beans don't naturally contain gluten.

This is a bag of coffee I recently purchased. Last time I checked, coffee beans don't contain gluten either. Granted, the gluten-free label may be on food products with additives that contain gluten or those that have been processed on equipment that may have been exposed to gluten. But I wonder if companies are placing these gluten-free labels on products in attempts to increase sales from consumers who believe gluten-free diets to be healthier? It sure seems like it.  

The truth is that while gluten-free diets have gained popularity in recent years, they are only medically necessary for those who have Celiac Disease or gluten sensitivity. But in other cases, simply restricting gluten in your diet is not likely to yield health benefits. 

A true "gluten-free" diet is very restrictive and omits things like wheat and other wheat products, barley, rye and triticale (a cross between wheat and rye). Wheat in particular is in so many food items that maintaining a strict gluten-free diet can be very challenging. Gluten is even found in some medications!

 I've read and heard claims that gluten-free diets can aid in weight loss but this just isn't true. Sure, someone who follows a gluten-free diet may lose weight, but it's likely because they're eating fewer calories from all the dietary restrictions than purely from avoiding gluten. 

So, that's the scoop on gluten-free diets. I'm not sure how much extra revenue food companies have earned from gluten-free adds, but it would be nice to see gluten-free labels geared towards supporting those who really need them rather than the latest fad diet.