Yum!

Start your week off right with this fiber rich salad! Easy to pack and chill with by the pool or on a picnic....or at work while you dream about that summer vacation you're going on! Fill your body up with good nutrition and like a sunny summer day, your body is going to SHINE!! Simply YUM salad 1/2 cup can white beans 1 stalk celery chopped 1 carrot chopped 1/2 tomato chopped 1/4 cup cucumber chopped Salt, pepper, oregano to taste Tbs olive oil Tsp fresh lemon juice Toss all together and served chilled....eat poolside and relax, it's summer afterall!

Two tips you should do....TODAY!

Weight loss comes from small things you do everyday....key here....EVERYDAY! A small change in your eating habits can bring BIG results! Just as eating a donut everyday will inevitably make love handles your enemy ;) choosing a salad everyday at lunch will make bathing suits your friend :)

So two tips for you to adopt into your eating lifestyle...TODAY!

Eat a salad everyday for lunch. Swap that big 'ol calorie laden sandwich at your local deli for a salad with lean protein, lots of veggies and you can even have some extras like walnuts, or dried fruits tossed on there. Go for lowfat dressings OR at least keep dressing to a serving, 1-2 tablespoons. Nothing wrong w/ carbs, but losing them here at lunchtime, can help you LOSE those inches in the long run!!

Measure out those snacks!! Do not, we repeat, do not bring an entire box or bag of chips or crackers to the pool, beach, OR road trip this summer. Measure out snack bags to portion out that chips or cracker snack for your on the road or chilling adventures. It's easy to eat tooooo much when you're vacationing SO don't use that as an excuse for bad nutrition. Save on your calories when snacking, then you can indulge in a cocktail later. It's all in the BALANCE!! Pick and choose AND you will LOSE ( those unwanted pounds)

Breakfast Coooooookies!!

So I love a great Breakfast Cookie, BUT when I buy one at a restaurant, I often wonder just how good this "cookie" is? That is, how good for me? Are they putting "breakfast" before cookie to make me think this is healthy?? AND so with that I set out to create a better version of a breakfast cookie, B-FIT4U style! 

A lot of fiber to keep you full, and enough good for you ingredients to make your healthy smile! And did I mention it's picky kid approved? Yes!! So don't scoff at any of these ingredients until you try it all together, it's so YUM!!

Breakfast Cookies
2 cups walnuts ( place in cuisinart or blender until finely chopped, almost a flour consistency)
1 1/2 cups Old Fashioned Oats
3/4 cup wheat flour
2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 cup Smart Balance spread
1/2 cup brown sugar
2 Tbs. Ground flaxseed
1 1/2 tsp finely grated orange zest
1/2 tsp kosher salt
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1/2 cup vanilla lowfat yogurt ( we used dairy free, also an option)
1 egg
1 1/2 cups dates, pitted and chopped pretty finely, like raisin size
1 cup dark chocolate chips

Preheat oven to 375 and grease baking sheets. Combine ingredients, folding in dates and chips at the end. Mound breakfast cookie dough into 1/4 cup measuring cup and place on baking sheet to measure out each cookie for baking. Then press down with palm of hand to flatten before placing in oven. (Each cookie is meant to be one large cooking serving.) Bake 18 to 20 minutes. Let cool, then transfer to Tupperware to keep in fridge. (They stay fresher longer and a better consistency if refrigerated). Makes about 16 cookies. Similar calories to a protein meal bar at 230 calories. Great breakfast option or on the go meal "cookie". Enjoy!!

I need a new GOAL....

Have you felt this way before? That inner dialogue that comes with a Monday morning, (after perhaps a weekend of eating a little too much on the wrong side of the healthy train?)

Hey that's what Mondays are for, fresh starts!!!

So your goal is to eat healthier, lose weight, consume less sugar, find an apple everyday AND eat it!.......whatever those goals are...START small! If you need to lose, you have to CHOOSE small goals, or you won't last to the end of the race. Sure keep your eye on the prize, perhaps that wedding you're headed to in a month or two, or that bathing suit ready bod for that vacation you're excited for....whatever your motivator, start with small WEEKLY goals. This will keep you on track AND before you know it, 5 lbs will turn into 10, to 20 and so on!!

Sooooo this week make your FIRST SMALL goal....a great one is....for the next 5 days count your calories or food log what you're eating to stay on track. How about very little sugar, instead opting for natural sugars in fruit for dessert OR an apple a day, a salad for lunch everyday, or no carbs at dinner, opting for lean proteins and tons of fiber filled veggies. A 7 day goal will be easier to keep on track to your 3 month goal to overall change! Each week, add to the first goal, and before you know it, you will have formed new healthy habits that will last a lifetime.

REMEMBER....Small goals BIG RESULTS!!! YOU GOT THIS!!!!


TOMORROW.....A Breakfast Cookie Recipe sooooo delicious, you'll never know it's healthy and SOOOO GOOOD for you!!

This weekend.....

If you can do one thing for yourself THIS weekend....MOVE!! Get off that couch and get out there into nature and get back to yourself. Whether you're meditating yogi that loves to whisper to the butterflies while breathing deeply...namaste...a running firecracker ready to hit the pavement with great gusto....or a hiker with a new pair of boots ready to break in that trail...GET OUT THERE AND MOVE!! Just like eating healthfully is an everyday decision....EXERCISE will not do you any good if you only visit it every once in awhile. You cannot keep getting off that horse and expect results; you must stay on it to go from a successful gallop to an all out run into your fitness routine!

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BE consistent! CONSISTENCY is KEY to losing weight, maintaining and keeping it off!!! So don't let the stale walls of your local gym deter you from exercising....put those sneakers on and GET outside or put on an exercise tape (rainy days are great for this!) AND do so something really awesome for yourself THIS weekend.....MOVE!

Always in good health ~FoodieGIRL

80% / 20%

No excuses...food is the problem in your weight loss regimen....YES you have to exercise...don't shutter at that word either...exercise can be hiking your favorite path while meditating, or speed walking with a friend through your neighborhood while catching up on the news....the point here is MOVE!! But in all that moving....DON'T waste that exercise on BAD NUTRITION!!

80% of your weight loss is going to come down to the food you are consuming. If you don't address that, you will not lose the weight....repeat NOT lose weight. Sucks right? But seriously, I don't want to waste my time, do you?? Fitting exercise in a busy day is difficult enough, WHY sabotage that progress by overeating??

SO HERE'S THE DEAL.......
You CAN EAT YOURSELF THIN....yep it's true!!! Let's get real here...did you gain the weight by eating good for you foods, watching your portions and serving sizes, sugar and carbs? NOPE you didn't. You ate in a way that caused you to gain weight. SO guess what...you can eat in a way to make yourself thin, too!!

Don't play coy, you know what's good for you and what's bad for you when it comes to food.
Sugar, processed carbs avoid them! Start with swaps like lean proteins, high fiber meals ( veggies, fruit, multigrains) Bring down your large meals by practicing serving size/ portion control. AND eat 5 times a day, that is 3 meals, 2 snacks that are spread 2-3 hrs apart to rev that metabolism.

Stop sabotaging your exercise and weight loss with bad nutrition and poor choices with food. If you don't address the food as you do the exercise, with great gusto....then you will be forever stuck in a pattern of gain, lose, gain, lose. It's time to get real and accept the fact that the KEY to your weight loss is indeed FOOD.

DON'T BE afraid to ask for help and guidance....
Great ways to gain food knowledge, proper nutrition, and portion control:
Food program that reworks your relationship with food in a positive way like, Weight watchers
Your local gym ( trainers or food coaches)
Wellness center
B-FIT4U

M.I.A.

Hello B-fitters!! Where have I been and why haven't I posted? Just giving you a chance to catch up on ALL the great posts from the present and past! You're busy enough, I wanted to give you some summer leisure time to read, reflect and use all that good nutrition and wellness advice that B- FIT4U has to offer! And on that note....

Let's talk about the chain SMOOTHIE KING.....I have to admit, I had to see it to believe it BUT they have really changed their format....no longer are there these ambiguous calorie laden smoothies of the past BUT they now call themselves "nutritional centers" ......and I have to admit once again....they had me at whey protein, vitamin extract and immune booster. You see now you can taylor your smoothie to your nutritional needs and wants, even getting vegetable juice, kale and wheat grass shots in your drink. Their calories for each smoothie are clearly labeled....a great thing....but make sure that you are still serving conscious ( sometimes I order the kids version of things, half the calories!!) But you can have your higher calorie smoothie as a meal replacement, something I love to do when I'm busy, or just want something refreshing in this summer heat AND when I want a quick energy boost, or serving of fruits and veggies. SO stop into the SMOOTHIE KING and get creative with your nutrition!!