Makeover Monday

MAKEOVER MONDAY RECIPE~FETTUCINE ALFREDO!
Here's one of my favorites from "Cooking Light"
(original version has 1220 calories!! This has 441 calories, so enjoy on one of those days when you need a little comfort food, like Monday!)

Ingredients
1 tablespoon butter
2 small garlic cloves, minced
1 tablespoon flour
1 1/3 cups skim milk
2 tablespoons reduced-fat cream cheese
1 1/4 cups fresh parmesan cheese, grated and
divided
4 cups cooked fettuccine
2 teaspoons fresh parsley, chopped
fresh ground pepper

Directions:
Melt butter in saucepan over medium heat.
Add garlic and saute 1 minute. Whisk in flour. Gradually add skim milk, stirring
until blended. Cook, stirring constantly, 8 minutes or until thickened and
bubbly.
Stir in cream cheese; cook 2 minutes. Add 1
cup Parmesan, stirring constantly until melted.
Pour sauce over hot cooked fettucine and
toss to coat. Top with remaining 1/4 cup Parmesan, chopped parsley, and pepper.
Nutrition Facts
Serving Size: 1 (288 g)
Servings Per Recipe: 4
Amount Per Serving
Calories 441.4
Calories from Fat 150
Total Fat 16.6g
Saturated Fat 8.8g
Cholesterol 87.3mg
Sugars 0.9

AND A LITTLE FOOD FOR THOUGHT:
It's Monday! I know what you're thinking, "what is she soooo excited about?"....Alright, I know we all get a case of the "mondays", sometimes just the thought of getting back into the grind sends so many into a tailspin..BUT it doesn't have to be that way, and that's why I have dubbed monday, MAKEOVER MONDAY!
This is the perfect day to start anew on your healthy plan for the week. First let go of the weekend and any, lets say, "indiscretions". So you had a bigger cake slice than you had intended, so what! Today your back on track and feeling great! Why? Because your not perfect, your healthy! And besides have you ever met a perfect person? Perfectly boring, if you ask me ;)
So you have the next 5 days till the weekend to walk the path of enlightenment, both mentally and physically, let's start with one of my favorite quotes:

"You need to go beyond the ideas of succeeding and failing, for these are judgements. Stay in the process and allow the Universe to handle the details"

What does this mean for you? It means your human, you will try, you will succeed and at times things won't go as you had planned, but if you stay open to the possiblity of your own triumph, you will never fail, success is in the journey. We have all been on some wacky weight loss quest trying the latest fad diet. Why do we do this to ourselves when eating healthy and exercise are the only proven way to be healthy? Today is the day to "makeover" that thought process, and love you, simply for being you! Look in that mirror and see all the wonderful imperfections that make you one perfect person! And most importantly, stop dieting!
Here are 3 simple things to get you started on your own personal makeover this week to take you from that dreaded word "diet" and onto a choice to be healthy:

1.Breakfast, can't emphasize this enough. Stop denying that it's not true! You have a choice...jumpstart your metabolism, or slow it down to a snails pace and store more fat on your body.....hmmmmm I think the answer is A. So get on it, you don't have to cook! Pour yourself that fiber rich bowl of cereal and make your body smile :)

2.Don't go toooooo long before your next meal. Every 3 hours you should have something.....it doesn't have to be a full meal, but healthy snacks throughout the day will again, rev up that metabolism. On the road, at your deak, or busy mom running all over town? No excuses, pack your snacks and throw them into your purse. A bottle of water and things like, cut up fruit, nuts, your favorite protien bar, multigrain crackers will keep you satisifed until that next meal. And ziploc makes portion control baggies, so use them!

3.Sugar, take this week to think about it. I am not saying the obvious, desserts, etc. I mean your protien bar, your beverage choice, cereal and/or yogurt. Yes, you can overeat the healthy stuff, too! You could be getting more sugar than you realize and between 25-30g (recommended daily value for women, 45g for men) can add up quick! So if your favorite greek yogurt (high in protien and good for you BUT watch that sugar) has 15g of sugar, well you are halfway to your daily allowance. So pick and choose, perhaps yogurt one day, protien bar the next, but you don't need both in one day if they are chock full of sugar, even if they are natural sugars, your body doesn't need it.

So it's Monday, so what! Get out there and show your body who's boss! Healthy is a choice to be the best you in everyway, take the stairs instead of the elevator, grab an apple instead of the chips, and remember when cravings call? Don't deny, instead portion control.