have a healthy halloween

ok, so I'm changing up the final week of the 7 ways to a healthier you this week in celebration of Halloween!  If you love candy as much as I do, you have to figure out some way to fit it into your plan... so here are points values of tons of Halloween goodies that I snatched from the Hungry girl email I received this morning :)... who, by the way, I found out is a huge Cardinals fan... anyone else see that game last night? UNBELIEVABLE!!! I'm still reeling!

I <3 you David Freese :) hometown hero! this guy has quite a career ahead of him!

anyway... back  to the candy! 

Each one has 20 - 35 calories and 0.5 - 1.5g fat (PointsPlus® value 1*).

3 Musketeers Minis
Hershey's Kisses
Sixlets 8-piece tubes
Tootsie Roll Midgees
Whoppers Malted Milk Balls 3-piece tubes

Minis are the small, typically square morsels. The kinds below have 35 - 55 calories and 1.5 - 3g fat (PointsPlus® value 1*) per piece.

Baby Ruth
Butterfinger
Hershey's Special Dark, Krackel, Milk Chocolate, and Mr. Goodbar
Kit Kat
Milky Way
Nestlé Crunch
Reese's Peanut Butter Cups
Snickers
Twix
 
Snack-size and fun-size candies are usually about 2 inches long and weigh in at around half an ounce. The ones listed here have 60 - 85 calories and 1 - 4g fat (PointsPlus® value 2*) per piece, pack, bag, or box.

3 Musketeers
Baby Ruth  
Butterfinger
Hershey's Milk Chocolate
Junior Mints
Kit Kat (one 2-piece bar)
M&M's Milk Chocolate
Milky Way
Nestlé Crunch
Raisinets
Snickers
York Peppermint Patties

Same specifics as the last list of snack-size/fun-size treats (about 2 inches long and half an ounce in weight), but these are a little higher in stats. Each bar or pack has 90 - 95 calories and 4 - 6g fat (PointsPlus® value 3*).

100 Grand
M&M's Peanut
Mr. Goodbar
PayDay

30 - 50 calories and 0 - 1g fat (PointsPlus® value 1*) each.

AirHeads mini bars
Laffy Taffy mini bars
Now and Later (2 pieces)
SpongeBob SquarePants Gummy Krabby Patties
Starburst (2 pieces)
SweeTarts Chews
Twizzlers Cherry Pull 'n' Peel snack-sized pieces
Twizzlers Strawberry Twists snack-sized pieces

Each of these small sacks has 50 - 55 calories and 0g fat (PointsPlus® value 1*).

Brach’s Candy Corn
Hot Tamales
Mike and Ike
Sour Patch Kids
Swedish Fish

Each  pack has a reasonable 60 - 75 calories and 0 - 1g fat (PointsPlus® value 2*).

Dots
Mini Chewy SweeTarts
Skittles Fun Size

Just around 20 - 25 calories and 0g fat (PointsPlus® value 1*) each.

Dum Dums
Everlasting Gobstopper mini pouches
Pixy Stix (3 straws)
Smarties rolls
 
50 - 60 calories and 0 - 0.5g fat (PointsPlus® value 2*) per pop.

Blow Pop
Ring Pop Halloween
Tootsie Caramel Apple Pops
Tootsie Pops

35 - 50 calories and 0 - 1g fat (PointsPlus® value 1*).

Fruit by the Foot Mini Feet
Fruit Roll-Ups Mini Rolls
Jet-Puffed BooMallows
Pop-Tarts Mini Crisps Fun Size pouches
Rice Krispies Treats Mini Squares
Snyder's of Hanover 1/2-oz. bags
 
Each one has 60 - 70 calories and 2 - 3.5g fat (PointsPlus® value 2*).

Angie's Artisan Treats Authentic Kettle Corn Halloween Snack Packs
Pirate's Booty Aged White Cheddar 1/2-oz. bags
Quaker Chewy Fright Night Chocolate Chip mini granola bars
Sun-Maid Vanilla Yogurt Raisins Mini-Snacks

100 - 120 calories and 3 - 3.5g fat (PointsPlus® value 3*).

Herr’s Chocolate Mini Pretzels Halloween Treat Size bags
Keebler Scooby-Doo! Baked Graham Cracker Sticks packages
Peeps Chocolate Covered Marshmallow Pumpkin

180 - 200 calories and 9 - 10.5g fat (PointsPlus® value 5*) if you indulge in one of these tricky treats.

Cheez-It Baked Snack Crackers packages
Keebler Mini Fudge Stripes packages
Reese's Peanut Butter King Size Pumpkins (1 pumpkin, half of package)

happy {almost} Halloween! I'll be attending 2 school halloween parties today, how about you?

{robyn}

week #3... 7 ways

welcome once again to my little bit of healthy tips for the week. I hope you're enjoying & finding my tips helpful to you! This week I thought I'd share all websites. The internet is full of lots of useful information & it seems I'm finding more & more places I want to visit & things I want to try because of what I'm finding on pinterest! So I'm going to show you some sites I've found through there & also a few I've found & use on my own...

this has been one of my constants for logging my miles on my runs/walks over the last several months. I started out using Nike+ & still do, but I've found Nike+ can be very testy & doesn't always want to work, so I found DailyMile & love it!  It's free, you can still use your Nike+ gadgets & it will sync your workouts from them.  You can post your workouts to your facebook page or your twitter account as well {this works great for me, as it makes me feel more accountable}.  I have really found that logging my workouts helps me. I can see the improvements I've made, how much farther & faster I'm going now than when I started.

Lisa Lillian is the Hungry Girl & I love the way she comes up with so many clever, ingenious ways to make favorite foods skinny!  She has several cookbooks & between that, her website, her TV show & her newsletters, you can find TONS of recipes!  Another reason I love her? Everything she makes has Weight Watchers Points Plus values!

Gina has lots & lots of awesome recipes as well. It's really one of my favorite websites to find real food that the entire family will eat.  She also figures all the recipes with Weight Watchers Points Plus values & she also has the "old" program points listed for those of you who were fans. 

this is one I really just discovered over the last few days.  I've become very interested in the idea of clean eating & so have been trying to find different recipe ideas to help me out with heading in that direction. I've found several sites, but this one has some recipes that look sooo good & I'm excited to try them.

this is another recent find that I have tons of recipes that I'm ready to try... lots of family friendly ones!  She not only has recipes, though, there are lots of inspiring posts about fitness & weight loss as well.  I can already tell this is going to be someplace I check in on often!

 

I don't need to eat gluten-free, but one of my creatives for my digital team does & she led me to this website a while back. The whole idea of gluten free living is very interesting to me as well. I'm very interested in the stories that bring people to different ways of eating. Most people that follow a gluten-free diet do so out of necessity & it is so amazing to me how a diet can cure so many things. It's one of my to-do's before the end of the year to try some gluten free recipes.

you totally knew I couldn't do this post without this website, right?  I owe my weight loss sucess in part to this program & this website. It is so truly amazing all you can do if you have access to the tools that are here. Tons of recipes, exercises, success stories, articles, tools like tracking your weight loss, measurements, daily food intake, exercise points earned... so much on one site! One of my favorite things is the recipe builder where you can put in your own recipe, or a favorite recipe from your mom :) & see how many points it has... then you can start changing things up to help it out a little in the points department! So cool. I love going on there & seeing how far I've come.

so there you have it!  7 great websites that can help you on your healthy journey! hope you enjoy :_

{robyn}

week #2... 7 ways

hey everyone, I hope you enjoyed last weeks 7 ways... here we go with week #2

write it down, log it, keep track... however you do it keep track of what & the amounts you're eating each day.  this is one of the key things they teach you at weight watchers & even though i'm not always the best at it, if i feel like i'm getting off track, this always brings me back around.  it will really suprise you when you start doing this how much you may be fooling yourself.  when i first started i realized i was snacking, munching, whatever all the time. big eye opener!  anyway, there are several ways you could go about it, get yourself a pretty little notebook you can keep in your purse, log it on your phone {there are lots of great apps out there for any kind of smart phone that will make this easy!}, use your computer if you're in front of it the whole day, seriously, use the awesome technology that's out there. just google diet log & you'll be overwhelmed with the number of websites out there that are just for this purpose.

i mentioned last week to try to find substitutions or solutions for foods you love... well I found an awesome one for the pumpkin spice lattes from starbucks!

photo & recipe via loveveggiesandyoga.com

Pumpkin Spice Latte (Vegan, Gluten Free)

1. Make coffee (a pot, a cup, in whatever fashion and however you prefer making your coffee.   The stronger the better)

2. Make Pumpkin Milk

1 c milk (I used almond milk but use any kind you want from half and half to rice milk)

1/4 heaping cup pumpkin puree (more if you really love pumpkin)

2 tsp pumpkin pie spice blend, or to taste

1 tsp cinnamon, or to taste

1 tsp vanilla extract

sweetener of choice, to taste (I suggest 2 tbsp agave or 2 tbsp brown sugar or a pinch of stevia to taste; or try honey, maple syrup, etc. to taste)

Optional: pinch of ground nutmeg, ginger, garam masala, cardamom, or other warming spices to taste

Directions: Combine all ingredients in a small bowl and whisk well by hand or blend all ingredients using a Vita or blender

Optional: Warm the finished pumpkin milk mixture in the microwave or on the stovetop (I do a quick nuke of about 1 minute)

3. Pour 1 c of brewed coffee into a mug and pour half the pumpkin milk mixture over the top of the coffee and enjoy.  (Optional: Finish by garnishing with real whipped cream/whipped topping such as CoolWhip or TruWhip; and a sprinkle of pumpkin pie spice/cinnamon on top)

The other half of the pumpkin milk mixture is for the refill you know you will want.  If you truly don’t want a refill, refrigerate it for up to a few days and use for your next latte, in a smoothie, or drink it as is.  As long as you’re dirtying dishes, I always make a little extra for refills or for later.

Notes:

The spices will not “blend” or entirely dissolve.  This is to be expected and normal.  If this bothers you, this may not the recipe for you and you may want to experiment with other recipes or techniques.

{yum}

source

seriously true on every one of these. great tips to remember... especially number one. i really get so annoyed by the people who try the quick fixes like shake diets & such.  how can you live like that for the rest of your life? you can't... that's it. don't take the easy way, work hard & you'll be rewarded.

source

make the right choices for not only you, but for your family. if you don't feel good about eating it, you shouldn't feel good about your kids eating it either. i admit, there are still some treats i let my kids have, but i try to make it a special thing, not an every day thing. plus it's expensive! healthy food may seem expensive, but look at how much you're getting for your money!  & just think how far ahead of the game they'll be later in life by knowing healthy eating habits. this is so important.

try your best to plan ahead. do you know you'll be going out to eat, going to a party, at work, or just will be away from home for longer than usual? make sure you're prepared with a healthy snack in your purse or desk! a snack bar, apple or banana, almonds, dried fruit, crackers... they all travel well & can really be a life saver! we recently went on a day trip with the kids & weren't around too many great places to eat. i had packed lots of healthy snacks, so i basically ate all my meals from things i had in the car.  it could have been a big hiccup in my week, but i didn't overeat, or use too many of my points on my ww daily allowance, so i was happy :)  right now it's just like an automatic response to have something in my purse when i leave the house, you just never know!

enjoy what your eating, or it's just not worth it!  i figured this out as well while going through ww... if it didn't taste good & i wasn't enjoying it, i just stopped eating & chose something else.  seriously, why waste your calories? luckily, i work at home, so it's generally just something small i whip up at home, so i can save it for leftovers for someone else to eat or change it up so it does fit the bill.  think about what you're putting into your mouth, though. don't just shovel it in, making it the requirement you need to eat for that meal, but really think about if tastes good, enjoy it.  it's not just food, it's fuel that your body needs.

source

i found this list on pinterest, but if you go to the source link on dr. oz's website, you can get a printable version.  this a great guide to take along with you & to make sure you have a good, healthy stocked pantry, freezer & fridge to create lots of great recipes for you & your family.

well, that's it for this week...have a great weekend everyone!

{robyn}

week #1... 7 ways

welcome to the first week of my new blog feature 7 ways to a healthier you! I hope you join me each week to take in these healthy tips & they help you on your way to improve your life in a positive way! so, here we go!

do your best to eat more "whole" foods.  what exactly does that mean? more fruits, more veggies, more lean proteins, more whole grains.  this, in turn will automatically cut down on your intake of sugar, salt & all the other junk. seriously, this is a biggie. your body has to work so much harder to get rid of all those processed foods.  it will be so much  more efficient if you feed it better fuel.  i'm not saying you can never have processed foods, {i mean really, who can realistically do that?} but just try cutting a little more & more from your diet each week...  you'll feel so much better!  i used to have headaches almost on a daily basis & since i started decreasing the processed foods in my diet, i am happy to say i rarely have headaches any more!

try a new twist on a old standby... a great way to start the morning is with oatmeal, especially with the cooler weather.  i love a nice hot breakfast on a cold morning!  just yesterday i made this apple pie oatmeal & loved it! 

here are a few other yummy oatmeal variations!

-pumpkin oatmeal

-banana bread oatmeal

-peanut butter oatmeal {& I had this one this morning... oh.my.yum!}

water. water. water.  i used to be a water hater. didn't like it, didn't drink much of it.  i was a diet coke, diet dew & diet dr pepper fan. i now drink water almost exclusively {well, other than my morning coffee}.  i never thought i'd be able to survive without soda, but now when i occasionally have one, my stomach hurts & i feel yucky & bloated.  i also used to be a real fan of crystal light-like products, but i've also cut those out & am feeling good about that because of all the artificial color & sweeteners that are in them. 

don't give up everything you love... you'll be doomed for failure. really, there are lots of things you should give up, like donuts, fried foods, candy bars.. that's not to say you can never have them again EVER... just make it a super special treat that you have say, once a month, or maybe you make an allowance that you save up for having a certain thing weekly or daily. the important thing is, know what you can handle. if it's a really hard for you to stop eating cookies, or candy, or chips, it might be better just to keep away from them completely.  you need to know yourself what are your weaknesses & once you figure that out, it's much easier.  another way to not give it up is to find substitutions in how something is made or finding something that is similar to what you love.  you can make most anything that is fried in the oven by baking it... for instance, I love french fries, so we always bake out fries on a cooking sheet.  my ultimate love is pizza & I have it several times a week, once a week I may have the full on version from our favorite place, but for lunch I might make mini pizzas with healthier ingredients, like low fat cheese, turkey pepperoni & these for crusts...

only start with as much as you can handle. i jumped full on into weight watchers & so i started off really focusing on the eating part of it.  as much as i'm embarrassed to say, i rarely exercised in the 8 months i took to lose the weight.  i only really started in exercising when i had nearly reached my goal weight.  but it was what i could handle at the time.  when i had the knowledge & more confidence in knowing what i should & shouldn't eat & was controlling my portions, then i felt like i could take on the exercise. now i try my hardest to get in at least 3 workouts a week.  during the summer, it seemed easier to run for 45 minutes 4x a week, when there wasn't so many committments with the kids as there are now, during the school year. but i'm working on changing things up so i can make sure i get back to doing as much as i can, but again, trying not to take on more than i can handle. i don't know about you, but when i get overwhelmed, that's when i start turning to food & that won't work either!  ok... so I'm challenging myself this month {well, I just started yesterday} to do my Jillian Michaels dvds as much as possible... I'll check in at the end of the month to share my count.  if you never tried them, she'll kick your butt, but definitely gives you results! here are a few of my faves...

 

one of the best things I've found is to search the web for new healthier recipes... there are really some great websites out there!  these have not only great recipes, but you can follow their examples of how to make healthier choices to transform your own favorites! here's a few of my favorites right now...

the Gracious Pantry... Tiffany focuses on "clean eating", which is basically the idea of eating more whole foods & including them in your recipes.

the Skinny Crock Pot... and she has this site as well, focusing on healthy crock pot recipes. super awesome, because I love being able to make crock pot meals!

 

portions... here's the part that was a HUGE shocker for me, but it made the biggest impact on my ability to lose weight & feel so much better.  we have been raised in this "supersize" nation where all the portions in restaurants are 2-3x larger than the actual portion size. even our kids' meals are 2x the adult portion size at times. crazy. i don't know about you, but we were taught to "clean your plate!", so the thought of leaving food on your plate? but if you go out, split your food with your companion, take at least half of it home, whatever you have to do to NOT eat everything on your plate!  I found a few visuals to you to give some perspective on portions...

well, that's all for this week! i hope i gave you some good info & ideas to use to make your everyday a little more healthy.  if you have any questions or suggestions of things you'd like me to address in next weeks post, please let me know :)

{robyn}

7 ways...

In a slight panic today, I realized that as of tomorrow, I'm just a month away from my 37th birthday. ouch. The number does hurt my pride a little, but I do love the number 7 & I'm sorta excited that I'll turn 37 on the 7th.  Also, even though I'm annoyed with the fact of getting older, I'm even more annoyed to think back to me 20 years ago, when I was 17 & 30 pounds overweight as a junior in high school.  I truly feel so much better at this point in my life than I have ever felt... am in better shape than I have ever been & feel like I am more confident in myself and my abilities than ever before.  So, with that I want to start a new blog feature starting tomorrow...

I am in no way a health professional {nor do I play one on tv}... but the things I want to share with you will be simple things to add to your week,  your day, your month... things to build on, to change yourself for the better.  Maybe it'll be a challenge, a new healthy recipe, a tip, a new exercise, links to great websites, a great product I've found... whatever it is, every Friday I'll have 7 ways to a healthier you!  I can't wait to share with you & hopefully influence you along the way... see you tomorrow!

{robyn}