Coffeccino - perfect coffee substitute!

How AWESOME would it be to enjoy a warm coffee frappuccino drink without all the sugar, fat and calories!! Well, I'm here to tell you that I know where you can get just that!!

I'd like to introduce you to Coffeccino! 

Coffeccino is actually a vitamin and mineral supplement drink that I drink frequently. It provides key B-vitamins and amino acids to enhance mental focus and alertness and supports your body's natural energy production. It also helps manage appetite in conjunction with proper diet and exercise. 

Another bonus about this drink is that you can prepare it three different ways:

1.  For a hot beverage (great during the chilly days of fall and winter), you simply blend, shake or stir the contents of one pouch into six ounces of very hot (not boiling) water. Stir thoroughly. Flavor extracts can even be added at this point.

2.  For a cold beverage, blend, shake or stir the contents of one pouch into six ounces of cold water. For an iced drink, shake thoroughly.

3.  For a frappe, add with ice cubes to a blender and blend until smooth. Flavor extracts can be added as well. 

After having some pretty intense workouts the past two days, I took a breather this afternoon and had an enjoyable warm epson salt bath and wanted to relax a bit before picking the kids up from school. I decided to spend some time in my compression socks to help with the recovery from my long run yesterday and speed work today. Seemed to only make sense that I heat myself up a warm coffeccino and not only enjoy the delicious taste, but also the vitamins, minerals and amino acids that come with it, and get a little pep in my step this afternoon! 

Better yet, when you compare it to one of the high end coffee drinks you buy at your local coffee shop (Starbucks grande frap for example), you can really start to see the benefits of this supplemental drink, outside of the fact that it simply tastes delicious.

Theirs:

Calories:  400

Fat: 15g

Sugar: 60g

Caffeine: 110 mg

Advocare's Coffeccino:

Calories: 80

Fat: 4g

Sugar: 3g

Caffeine: 120mg

If you are so inclined to want to try this delicious drink, you can visit my Advocare site. And if you have any questions about this product, or any of the other Advocare products, please feel free to contact me.

Be Fit! Be Healthy! Be Inspired!

~Debbie

Green grilled cheese

I love grilled cheese sandwiches, and while it's not the healthiest of food options, it's certainly also not the worst. Especially the way I like to make it!  Take some whole grain bread, fresh mozzarella, spinach and avocado and you have a grown help, healthier version of a kid favorite! Give this a try and let me know what you think. This is also good with sliced tomato added to the sandwich, or subbing out the spinach with baby kale.

It's very quick and simple to put this sandwich together. Butter two pieces of whole grain bread (to make gluten free sandwich, simply use GF brand - I prefer Udi's)

Place one slice of bread, butter side down, in preheated nonstick skillet. Pile the bread with some sliced fresh mozzarella cheese, baby spinach, sliced avocado and sprinkle with some red cayenne pepper flakes and a little salt and pepper. Let the bread get toasty on one side. Should take about 2 minutes on medium heat.

Place the other piece of bread, butter side up, on top of the sandwich.  Like a stealth ninja, flip the sandwich carefully in the skillet to brown the other side. This should take about another 2 minutes over medium heat. Enjoy!!

Be Fit! Be Healthy! Be Inspired!
~Debbie

Coconut whipped cream

I made some Banana Pumpkin Chocolate chip muffins two days ago and there were a couple more left today. I wanted to jazz them up a bit, because honestly I was in the mood for a cupcake (true story). But, cupcakes really aren't a staple in my lifestyle, so I decided to make a healthier version of a cupcake, and made up a quick batch of coconut whipped cream to put on top of my healthy muffin. It was simply divine and I highly recommend you doing the same the next time you make up any of my muffin recipes.

Here are step by step instructions on how to make coconut whipped cream.

There are many brands of canned coconut milk out there, but this is my favorite one. It's non-GMO and organic and it whips up very nicely. It's imperative that you buy the full fat version and NOT the light version.

Place the unopened can in the refrigerator and let it sit overnight. I actually had this can in the fridge for over a week in anticipation of making some whipped cream at some point.

When you are ready to make the whipped cream, remove the can from the refrigerator and flip it upside down. The reason for this is because while the coconut milk is in the fridge it will separate. The coconut milk liquid will fall to the bottom and the hardened cream will be hanging out at the top. Simply pour the liquid into another container and save it for another use. I put it in a lidded container in the fridge and use it added to my smoothies. Delicious!

 

Scoop out the hardened cream from the can and place in a bowl to be whipped up.

I added 1 tsp of vanilla and 1 tsp of pure maple syrup to the bowl before mixing on medium speed for approximately 2 minutes with a hand mixer. (Other alternatives you could add to the cream would be cinnamon or liquid stevia for example.) 

Here is your yummy finished coconut whipped cream!

Really kicked my muffin up A LOT and curbed my sweet tooth with no problem at all!

Have a YUMMY DAY folks!!!

Be Fit! Be Healthy! Be Inspired!

~Debbie

Copycat Pecan Pie Larabars (Laraballs)

I really like pecan pie larabars. When I looked on the ingredients and saw there were only three (pecans, almonds and dates), I did what I always do.....made my own. Super easy and the perfect treat when you are craving something a little sweet and nutty. I made mine into balls instead of bars simply to keep it easy. Enjoy!!


It's just this easy........
Take 14 Medjool dates (pitted), 1 cup of pecans and 1 cup of almonds and process them all together in a food processor.  Roll them into balls and store in the refrigerator for a quick sweet and nutty (like ME!!! Bad pun......) pick me up!!!

This will make between 12 and 15 balls depending on the size you want.

Be Fit, Be Healthy, Be Inspired!
~Debbie

Banana Pumpkin Chocolate Chip muffins

While my Banana Oatmeal breakfast muffins have taken off on Pinterest over the past two years, reaching almost 800,000 pins (crazy I know), my Pumpkin protein muffins have always been my personal favorite.  Today I decided to take the best of both worlds and create a new muffin recipe combining these two favorites. I'm pretty sure that right here, and right now, I have created THE PERFECT MUFFIN, free of refined sugar and flour. Make these and see for yourself.

Be Fit, Be Healthy, Be Inspired,
~Debbie

Ingredients:

2 1/2 cups old fashioned oats (use GF oats for this recipe for GF diet)
1 cup plain 0% fat Greek yogurt
1 cup canned pumpkin
1 ripe banana
2 eggs
1/2 cup honey
2 tsp. baking powder
1 tsp. baking soda
1/4 tsp. salt
3 tsp. cinnamon
1 tsp. pumpkin pie spice
Dash of nutmeg
2 TBSP ground flaxseed
1 tsp. vanilla
1/4 cup dark chocolate chips (optional but recommended)


Instructions:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Spray muffin tin with non-stick cooking spray or line 12 muffin tins with muffin liners. If you use liners, make sure to spray the liners with a bit of non-stick cooking spray as well, as these muffins tend to stick a tad bit.

Place the oats in the food processor and process for about 20 seconds. Add remaining ingredients (minus the chocolate chips if using) to the food processor.

Process until everything is mixed together, about 30 seconds.

After processed,at this point, you can add in approximately 1/4 cup of dark chocolate chips to the batter before placing batter into muffin cups. I highly recommend this step :-)

Divide batter among liners, about 2/3 the way full and bake for 18-20 minutes. 

Let muffins cool in the pan on a wire rack for about 15 minutes, then remove from the muffin pan and continue to cool.

Muffins can be stored in an airtight container for a day or two and then placed in the refrigerator or put into a freezer bag and frozen for snack time on a later day. (I do love snack time.......) 

This recipe yields about 15 muffins.

Pumpkin Banana Protein Muffins

Here is my latest healthy muffin recipe.  I adapted it from my original Pumpkin protein muffin recipe and I have to say that it is just as good if not better!  As with most of my muffin recipes, this one contains no white refined sugar or flour and has some extra nutritional benefits as well with the addition of the ground flax seed.  I hope that you enjoy it as much as the kids, my Mom and I did! Both of my boys each had 2 muffins and some fruit for their after school snack.  I feel so much better serving them home made nutritious food over processed boxed goods. Yes, it is definitely more work, but so worth it!  Make up a batch of these delicious morsels for your next fall gathering and let me know what your friends and family think.  I guarantee you, they will NEVER believe these are considered "healthy treats!"  And you can give yourself a huge pat on the back for feeding your friends and family food that you have made with only the best intentions in mind.

 Ingredients: 

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Are you sabotaging your fitness goals??

 

Is it possible that you could be SABOTAGING your own fitness goals?  The answer is unfortunately.....yes.  You may be working your butt off in the gym, 5 days every week for an hour at a time and STILL not reaching your goals.  I'm listing the top 5 things in my professional opinion and from my experience that you may be doing or NOT doing that could be sabotaging your efforts.

1.  Not eating breakfast

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Lifting weights won't make you bulky, got it?!?!

So ladies.......you think lifting weights will make you bulky??  Hmmmm.......tell me again about that unicorn you just saw while passing by the pot of gold at the end of the rainbow.

Sarcasm much, Debbie??  I think so.......

But seriously, this is me, hanging out in my bathroom doing a selfie (cause doesn't everyone???) This image is unflexed with no special lighting. This is me at 5 foot 3 inches, post vacation at a good 125 pounds and 22% body fat.  I lift about 5 times a week for 30 to 60 minutes depending on my mood and throw in 2 hours of cardio throughout the week.  Ladies, lifting weights will not make you bulky.  Proof in pic below.

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The world's EASIEST "clean" meal

As an avid "clean eater," I've found that my cooking has actually gotten so much EASIER than it used to be when I was cooking with all sorts of crazy sauces and marinades.  Easy is good when you are a working Mom fo sho!!!! So I present to you the world's easiest healthy meal that the whole family will eat.  SCORE!!

Here is what you do:
Take a whole organic chicken.  Rinse it and please make sure to remove that little bag of innards as well. Pat it dry and sprinkle it with some Chef Paul Prudhomme's Poultry seasoning (or really any of your favorite seasoning will do).  This line is just one of my faves! They have a great one for steak and fish as well.

Then just dump the chicken in the slow cooker and put in the bottom about 1/4 to 1/2 cup of chicken stock or water.  Cook on low for about 6 hours or so.

Attend My Clean Eating Workshop - Learn More!

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Yes, I sell supplements............And I'm ready to talk about it

 

It's time for me to come clean.  I am an Advocare Distributor.  And I'm no longer afraid to talk about it.    

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Grilled tilapia with brown rice and roasted veggies

Easiest "clean" dinner EVER!!!!

I bought a couple pounds of of tilapia at Earth Fare today, brought it home and seasoned it up with some salt, pepper, garlic powder and paprika on both sides.  While the hubs was grilling it up I had some cauliflower and broccoli in the oven, roasting at 400 degrees for about 20 minutes.  Before putting it in the oven I just drizzled it with some extra virgin olive oil and seasoned with the same seasonings that I had seasoned the fish with.  I had some brown rice already made up earlier in the day (because it takes so FREAKING long) that I had cooked in chicken stock, so I simply heated that up and dinner was ready in a snap.  Squeeze a little fresh lemon juice over the fish when serving and voila!

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Banana Oatmeal Protein Pancakes

I love pancakes!  But gone are the days of making them with white flour with some chocolate chips thrown in (unless of course it's time for a good cheat meal).  But on any normal, given day I just prefer to make them with oats and pack them full of protein.  They serve as a great pre or post workout meal and they are SO GOOD!!  I almost feel guilty eating them because they are that good. Recently, I made just a few minor changes to one of my favorite protein pancake recipes and came up with the following.  I enjoyed these for breakfast today while my kids enjoyed their special chocolate chip pancakes.  Everybody won.

Ingredients:

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Clean Eating Challenge grocery list

In preparation for our clean eating challenge, it will be imperative to do a little shopping to get some key foods for the challenge.  It isn't all that complicated.  We will really be eating food in it's most natural state so you will find your meals and snacks to be rather simple actually!  Our ultimate goal is to stay away from most processed foods. So, in order to get us started on the right foot, I'll give you a list of some foods that you can have on hand in order to make this challenge a success. And make sure to read my previous blog post to get a true feel for what exactly we mean by eating clean.

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Clean Eating Challenge

Since January, I have been doing monthly Facebook fitness challenges over at Fit and Healthy with Debbie Reichert. Last week, a friend of mine mentioned doing a clean eating challenge for June.  Brilliant I said!! There are many people out there that work out consistently, but yet struggle with the nutrition component of their exercise program so I would like to help you with that this month if I can.  Here is what we are going to be looking at for the month of June when it comes to our clean eating challenge.

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Taco Night!!!

My family loves taco night.  I mean really what family doesn't right??  It's the go to meal for a lot of families.  What I don't like is processed foods and all the all the added crap you find in the seasoning packets, salsa and guacamole on the shelves.  So I choose to make my own.  Below is my recipes for both salsa and guacamole, as well as my recipe for home made taco seasoning mix. You can make up a big batch of seasoning mix at a time and then use about 3 tablespoons for every one pound of meat that you are using. Of course this is great with ground sirloin, but try ground turkey breast and ground chicken breast for an even leaner alternative and the kids may not even know the difference.......

If you have taco night in your house as frequently as we do, then you may even want to think about tripling this seasoning recipe so you always have it on hand.  And this will all taste so good you can say good bye to taco seasoning packets for GOOD!

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