Tired of Salad? Me too.

Don't get me wrong, I love salad. It is maybe one of my all-time favorite foods. BUT.
Sometimes we get tired of eating like a rabbit, so replace it with...
Gazpacho!
A Spanish-Inspired soup, that you're supposed to eat cold!
AND, you can totally make it without spending hours dicing!
You can make it in MINUTES in a BLENDER!
And you'll probably use less oil than you would in a salad!

What you need:
*Tomato Juice, or V8 - about 2 cups (more or less to suit your desired consistency)
*Fresh Tomatoes - about a cup of grape tomatoes, or 2-3 large ones
*Celery - 1/2 cup
*Cucumber - 1/2 cup
*Bell Pepper - 1/2 cup (I usually use a contrasting color, to make it pretty)
*Red Onion - 3/4 cup (or to taste, and use any kind of onion, i just like red because it's not that sharp in comparison)
*Garlic - one or two cloves (up to you!)
*Salt and Pepper (a pinch? Remember, you can add more to your serving later)
*Olive Oil - one tbsp (for a whole batch of gazpacho, that's very little, and it helps to get your mixture soup smooth)

Optionals:
*Herbs (any really, and as much as you like! I even put in dill the other day, and it was amazing!)
*Avocado (for garnish, and some essential fats - if you're in the mood)
*Balsamic Vinegar or Glaze (also could be used for garnish)
*Hot Sauce (I like mine spicy!)
*Lime
*Crusty Bread

Directions:
1) Roughly chop your veggies (and herbs if you wish) and pop them in the blender
2) Add the tomato juice
3) Blend to desired consistency
4) Serve with any garnishes you desire (about 3/4 cup a serving!)

Yeah, it's that simple. Enjoy your salad substitute!

Tip of the Day: Low-Fat Brownies

Craving carbs and chocolate, and watching what you eat? Here's your solution!

We all use cake mix out of convenience. Sometimes you have spontaneous guests, or you're just in the mood for a good brownie - but you don't want to go through the hassle of actually making stuff from scratch. Besides, if Giada can spruce up cake mix, so can we!

What you'll need:
- Egg Whites
- Unsweetened Applesauce
- Brownie or Cake Mix (whatever you're in the mood for)
- Honey/Jam/Marshmallows/Chocolate Chips (optional)*

Why it works:
Applesauce is a great substitution for oil when you bake. a) it makes things taste sweeter. b) you're hardcore cutting down on the fat. c) it will be softer and fluffier.
There is a lot of nutrition in eggs, and its good to have one once a day. With eggs, and their yolks, being hidden in a lot of things - we eat a lot more of them than we should. If you eliminate the yolks, you're helping your body by cutting a little more bad cholesterol from your diet, as well as fat... YAY!

How you do it:
- For the exact amount of oil the box tells you to use, substitute applesauce (eg: 1/4 cup of oil -> 1/4 cup applesauce)
- Add one more egg white than the amount of whole eggs the box says to add. (eg: 3 whole eggs -> 4 egg whites)

Icing: also not so great for you, but there are alternatives!
1. You could drizzle honey on top, or spread jam on it. BUT...
2. You could also take a cup of marshmallows and a 1/4 cup of chocolate chips and add them to the end of cooking time to let it melt and ooze all over.
* Rather than 200 calories worth of icing on top of your piece of cake, this will only cost you 50 calories and your whole brownie would be cost you less than 200 calories! It's delicious, and I promise, you WILL NOT miss the icing.
3. Or you could always just serve your cake or brownies plain-jane, with nothing at all on top!

Extra tip: if you have those mini cupcake tins, that would be a great way to make your own version of two-bite brownies - but better for you than the brand name! And, you can treat yourself to a couple! You'll feel like you've indulged EVEN more.

That's it! Other than those substitutions, follow the instructions that the cake mix tells you. Because of the applesauce and egg whites, your baked goods may not last as long as they normally do. I'm pretty sure baked goods don't last that long anywhere though, so it's pretty much a non-issue. Enjoy these next time you get a craving!

Tip of the Day: KD

Kraft Dinner is delicious and easy to make in a pinch. Although many people would be quick to ban Kraft Dinner from their diet, once in a while it's great to indulge. And YES, there is a better way to eat this Canadian favorite.

The wonderful people at Kraft have recently released WHOLE WHEAT versions of their Original and White Cheddar dinners! Although still a weeeee-bit high on the sodium content, the whole wheat version is higher in fibre and therefore is a much better alternative to the regular noodles. Regardless of whichever version, KD is a solid source of Calcium! As well, on the box Kraft has provided a 'Sensible Solutions' way to preparing KD, which is 30 calories less than the original sauce recipe! However, there is an even more "Sensible" way to prepare KD, and it's a lot creamier too!

To give you an idea, we'll compare sauce recipes:
- Original Recipe: 2 tbsp butter or margarine, 3 tbsp of milk (roughly 300+ calories)
- Sensible Solutions Recipe: 1 tbsp non-hydrogenated margarine, 1/4 cup skim milk (roughly 200 calories)
- Foodie Recipe: 2 tbsp of skim milk, and 2 (big) tbsp of non-fat sour cream (about 100 calories)

Remember, often people make the mistake of eating the WHOLE BOX, rather than the proper serving size. For 2/3 of a cup (the suggested serving size), the 'Sensible Solutions' recipe would come out to 210 calories, and the 'Original' recipe would be about 250. How many calories in the Foodie Recipe? About 185.
Ladies and Gentlemen, I think we have a winner! Try it out next time you make Kraft Dinner!

Ew. Diet? What?!

More than ever, people are trying to lose weight and stay in shape. Typically, a person will try a fad diet, it will work for a little while, and then BAM - the weight is all back (and more!)...

Why? Truth is: if you do a stupid fasting diet (the cayenne pepper & lemon water for example), you are only really just flushing out your system. You lose the weight you want, and then as soon as you put something REAL into your mouth again, your body goes into a euphoric shock. It starts thinking "HOLY MOLY, FOOD!" and decides to store as much as it can because it NEVER wants to lose out on nourishment EVER again.

This information isn't anything new.
You need to eat to lose weight. Your body needs fuel. DUH.
This also doesn't mean that eating ANYTHING will make you lose weight. Another DUH.
There are certain foods, as I'm sure you've learned by watching The Biggest Loser or by sitting in 9th Grade Biology class, that will help you shred the lbs more than others. Foods high in saturated and trans fats and/or have a high sugar content would likely NOT be the best choices for someone wanting to lose weight.

HOWEVER.
This does not mean you need to cut out your favorites completely. ABSOLUTELY NOT.
AND this doesn't mean eliminating ALL fats and sugars all together.
That would be a BIG MISTAKE. We need these in our diet. And, we all have cravings.
So what do we do then? How do we lose weight?

MODERATION & A WELL-BALANCED DIET.
OBVI.
Although we hate to admit it, The Canada Food Guide isn't lying folks.
FUN TIP: they make 100 Calorie packs FOR A REASON! Because you really shouldn't be eating more than that for a snack!
Unfortunately, we are trained to think that we need MORE of everything, its the sort of society we live in.

EAT UNTIL YOU ARE CONTENT. Not more.
Why give your body more fuel than it can burn? Do we fill our car more than the tank can fit? No.
Your body is that way too. The food that isn't being burnt off is excess and therefore, it is the bit of extra luggage you've got to carry around with you. You can still eat the things you like, but you need to be careful about HOW MUCH of it you take in. Remember, you burn off calories with you exercise and therefore you can consume more if you burn more. Incentive? I think so.

An easy way of finding out how much you eat, is by keeping track of the amount of calories you eat in a day. You can find out how many calories you SHOULD be consuming per day by calculating your Basal Metabolic Rate (BMR). Then again, not everyone can be bothered with numbers. An average male should consume about 2500 calories a day, and an average woman about 2000, according to Health Canada.

Now that the formalities and background information are out of the way... What's the point of this blog? Who am I telling you this?
Well, I've been there. I've carried many more pounds more than I needed to, and hey, I still carry at least 10 more than I should. I'm NOT here to convince you of anything, that's for sure.
And I'm by NO MEANS any sort of nutritionist or whatever.
I don't think you should follow a diet at all, REALLY.
The point of this blog is to provide you with easy recipes, sneaky tips, and short cuts in order to promote a healthier lifestyle AND STILL have all the foods you've grown to love and crave!

Happy Eating! xo