Wednesday, October 28, 2009

Pumpkin Spice Latte Recipe

Coffee drinkers, I know what you were thinking after the last post.  How many pieces of candy can I have if I skip the Latte and just get a plain cup of coffee?  How about this: Choose one tiny piece of your favorite candy over the next few days and make your own low fat pumpkin spice latte!




Here's the recipe:


Low Fat Pumpkin Spice Latte


2 cups low fat milk
3 T canned pumpkin
2 T white sugar
2 T vanilla 
3/4 tsp pumpkin pie spice
OR: 1/4 tsp cinnamon, 1/8 tsp cloves, 1/8 tsp nutmeg, and a teeny tiny pinch of ground ginger
3/4 cup brewed espresso or 1 cup strong brewed coffee





Directions: Whisk all ingredients together and put in a  saucepan.  Heat through, but do not let it boil.  Whisk again and serve with a cinnamon stick.  If you are having company, place all ingredients in a crock pot and cook on high for two hours.


Enjoy!


Tuesday, October 27, 2009

Halloween Treats




Treating yourself to a little treat this Halloween?
Watch the calories!
Here are a few stats to help keep you on track:

2 mini Reeces Peanut butter Cups:
80 cal
5 g. fat
10 g. sugar

2 mini size Snickers Bars
90 cal.
4 g. fat
12 g. sugar

11 pieces Candy Corn
70 cal.
0 g. fat
14 g. sugars




1 fun size pkg M&Ms
100 cal
4.5 g fat
13 g. sugar

4 pieces Twizzlers
160 cal
0.5 g fat
19 g sugar

Starbucks Grande Pumpkin Spice Latte
380 cal
13 g fat
49 g sugar

Tuesday, October 20, 2009

Eating Well on Vacations

Everyone is entitled to a little break once in a while, and there's no better time to do it than on vacation! Vacations don't have to be deal breakers for weight loss or healthy eating, though.
Here are a few tips:
  • On the drive to your location, plan ahead a little so you don't have to eat fast food. Pack a few sandwiches, fruit, and other favorite snacks. Save your calories and fat for higher quality food!
  • For breakfast, don't settle for the cheap pastries they set out at many continental breakfasts. That's something you can get at home if you really want to. Fill up on the oatmeal, and even bagels are a better choice. You can't beat hard boiled eggs for the nutrition!
  • Don't stuff yourself at meals. Split a main entree so you can get appetizers and desserts. Just don't eat the whole dessert by yourself. Share! Relax and eat slowly so you will know when you are full, this is your vacation after all! If I get something fried, I try not to get french fries too in the same meal.
  • Beware of the hidden fat in salads. Want to eat salad to conserve your fat and calorie intake, or to make up for the extra fried foods you may have treated yourself to? Some salads can have a whopping 70+ grams of fat! I'd take bread pudding any day to a salad!
  • The best sight-seeing can be walking around downtown areas. Plan into your schedule active walks, especially after a big meal!

I just went on the annual mom-sis vacation I take every year. We ate breakfast in the room each morning, which not only saved money, but I didn't start off the day every day wondering how bad I would eat that day. I split most lunches and dinners with someone, eating slowly, and stopping when I was full. We even brought appetizers to eat during the football games on Sunday that we had prepared at home. We just stuck them in the oven and relaxed. My luxury? Cream in my coffee! I am excited that I ate well, and didn't come back feeling like I had to work out extra hard to make up for it! When I travel, however, I don't ever feel that I drink enough water. Before my next trip, I will be thinking of ways to incorporate that into my vacation.

Wednesday, October 14, 2009

The beginning


I think of myself not as a fitness buff or even as business owner. I think of myself as an average stay at home mom. My name is Kristie. I never would have thought that I would own a fitness facility, let alone six of them. Six years ago, when my husband approached me with the thought of opening a fitness facility close to our house, since our area of town was under-served in this area, I told him he was crazy. Now, if you know my husband, you know that he loves a challenge, and if you really knew him, you'd know that he is always thinking of crazy ideas. It's the Einstein in him, if you ask me.
So fast forward four months and you will see me selling fitness memberships and balancing a baby on my hip at the same time. My life has become a juggling act ever since.
But the real reason for my post. I am an active person. I do not struggle with weight gain, and I have good genes to back me up on this. I was the kid at the lunch table reading everyone's food label to them. I enjoy nutrition and eating healthy, and have as long as I can remember.
Working out? Something I've never been consistent with. However, as long as I can remember, I have a good emotional connection to physical activity. I'll save that for another post. And that's where I want this blog to be. Follow me as I live what I sell. This is my journey to stay active IN THE GYM.