Who we are and why we are here:

'He' started out at 450 lbs. 'She' started out at 300 lbs (although had been as high as 330 lbs at one point). Between them they've lost weight, gained weight, and learned a lot along the way.

What you'll find here are our educated thoughts, opinions, and tips for a healthier lifestyle. 'He' minored in psychology, 'she' majored in history - two research heavy fields that have made them both skeptical and able to weed through the sludge in order to find gems. Neither of us is perfect by any means, but as much as possible, we will try not to lead you astray with unfounded, sensational, or fad information.

We are intentionally avoiding fad diets, expensive meal plans, and other extreme (expensive!) weight loss plans.
Showing posts with label treats. Show all posts
Showing posts with label treats. Show all posts

Wednesday, August 31, 2011

Baking

I miss baking so much. I didn't even bake all that much a couple years ago, just time to time, but I haven't wanted to waste any calories on goodies so I haven't baked much of anything all year. Finally decided I had to bake this excellent pumpkin cake recipe I got (Thanks, Becky!!) and it made me return to baking.

I've invented a new lime cupcake which people seem to enjoy (naughty baking recipes will appear on a different webpage) and today I'll be making zucchini bread.

What does this have to do with this blog?

Of course it's okay to have a treat once in a while. It's when you have one every day or multiple in a day that your hips and thighs begin to look like jodhpurs. The solution is easy. We all know people who love treats and aren't watching their caloric intake. Give them away! I've been spreading the love, a few here and a few there, so as not to dump a whole bunch of sweets on any one person, but allowing everyone to have that once in a while treat. I'll be doing the zucchini bread in small pans so that I can offer just a few servings.

Point is, I love the baking part and am so glad I can do it and still find will power to give the delicious goodies away.

Have lost a couple more pounds. Progress is slow going, but it's still the right direction and I feel pretty great which, we remind ourselves constantly, is the real goal.




Saturday, May 7, 2011

Warm weather brings cold cravings...

With the weather finally warming up, the cravings for cold treats will likely increase.

1. Frozen Yogurt - A fabulous alternative to ice cream, frozen yogurt tastes much better than it did years ago. We've already tried a few spot, but it is still dangerous ground so tread carefully. We don't go more than once every two weeks and even that is probably a lot.

Frozen yogurt is difficult to find at the grocery store, but maybe it's for the best not to have it in the house. If it's expensive and you go out occasionally to purchase just one serving, it will be much easier to stick to the diet plan. The problem is, frozen yogurt joints are not as they used to be either. They are self serve and you pay by weight. My frustration is that the smallest cup is usually 16 ounce, but one serving size is 8 ounces so it's difficult to judge your calories.

TIP: 1 cup should look no bigger than a baseball.

Read the labels at each frozen yogurt machine. Some are sugar free, some non-fat/fat free. Non fat is your lowest calorie option, but still comes in around 160. I count mine as 200 even though a few can be a little more than that. (If I'm really trying to be good, I will count it as 250) Again, if it's a treat, you can go over and still lose weight over all. Toppings all need to be counted no matter what you choose. 2 Tbs chopped fruit will be your safest bet; around 40 calories. Syrups are well over 100 for a couple tablespoons and those chopped up candy bars or nuts are better avoided completely.

Farr's Fresh has a variety of yogurt, ice cream, and frozen custard in their location near Macey's in Sandy. The yogurt tasted delicious, but because of the variety, there were few options. The tastiest looking choices were in the 'naughty' area so I will probably avoid going there.

We've tried TCBY (Fashion Place Mall) and Planet Yogurt (Quarry Bend) as well as Frogurt in Fort Union. If pressed, we would choose TCBY because they have creamier frozen yogurt and offer many flavors in a nice twist. Planet Yogurt comes in second, I think, though they don't offer all of them in twist and some of the combinations seem a little weird.

2. Juice bars - cool off guilt free with Dreyer's fruit bars. Many of them are 50 calories per serving and they taste great.

3. Creamy - Snickers and Twix offer 100 calorie ice cream treats, but they are tiny and a little grainy. Skinny Cow has delicious ice cream bars - my preference being the white mint. Their other products are lower in calorie than similar items, but still more calories than I usually like to have so we have skipped things like their ice cream sandwiches.

4. Target has a nice rainbow sherbet. I believe it is about 120 calories per serving, but it tasted wonderful and could be a nice treat.

My suggestion? Skip the cone. It's only a few calories, but that's all the more calories you can enjoy in the actual frozen yogurt.