10 Ways to Outwit Your Appetite

I subscribe to the Dr. Oz website, realage.com, I think I 've told you before. I received this email and really wanted to share it with you.

10 Ways to Outwit Your Appetite was the name of the post, and I thought it was brilliant. Here's a link to the actual article:
http://www.realage.com/food/10-ways-to-outwit-your-appetite?src=edit&chan=tip&con=tip&click=p3

If you don't feel like reading it all... here are the highlights:

•Feed it protein for breakfast.

•Make it climb a flight of stairs.

•Sleep on it.

•Give it something else to think about.

•Never let it see a heaping plate.

•Put it under the lights.

•Talk it down.

•Offer it a seat.

•Satisfy it with soup.

•Give it little choice.

And here's my advice.... make your healthy food beautiful!

Nice Nails- Valentine's Polka Dots

This has to be my absolute favourite nail design that I created so far. These nails are so festive and fun. The reaction I am getting around here is great! Even from the 'old-fashioned' traditionalists around me.

I got this new nail tool at 'Sally's Beauty Supply' last week, it's a 'dotting' tool, it makes nice dots, don't you think? It's just 'me', the user who can't make them all the same size. I guess that's how you know that these are real 'nail art'... not like my episode below. 

Ya, this was a 'not nice' nail experience. I got these for Christmas and I couldn't wait to try them on.

They come with these cool designs and you just peel and stick onto your nails....

They are made by Sally Hansen... but please don't waste your money...

See what they make you do, stick nails decals that just are way too big, and you have to spend so much time filing them down- ittook almost 1 hour, and they came out wrinkled....  Never doing that again! Sticking to my 'homemade' wacky designs from now on.

Skinny Red Velvet Cupcakes

These cupcakes are so delicious and so RED! You won't believe they are 'skinny'. They are not too sweet but the things that sends them over the top to deliciousville is the cream cheese icing.

Here they are, just iced, oh, and I added a few little sprinkles to make them even more festive.

Look at the colour of the batter. Just incredible!

Look at how luscious these look right out of the oven....they look just like red velvet, right?

Here they are all done up and sprinkled!

Skinny Red Velvet Cupcakes (from skinnytaste.com)

Servings:26 (I made 22 instead), Calories:141 (if you made 22 instead they would be 166 calories each)

Ingredients:

1 1/2 cups cake flour

1 cup white whole wheat flour

1 cup sugar

1 tbsp unsweetened dutch-process cocoa ( I would add another tbsp)

1 tsp salt

1 tsp baking powder

1 tsp baking soda

1 tsp white vinegar

1/2 cup unsweetened apple sauce

1/4 cup butter, softened

1 egg

2 egg whites

2 tsp vanilla

1 1/3 cup light buttermilk

1 tbsp red food coloring

Preheat  oven to 350. Line cupcake tins with liners. In a large mixing bowl, stir together flours, salt, cocoa, and baking powder. In another large bowl beat sugar, applesauce and butter.  Beat in eggs and vanilla. In a separate bowl mix baking soda and vinegar.  Add half of the dry ingredients into the egg mixture, mix well. Add buttermilk, red food coloring and mix well. Add the remaining dry ingredients and fold in vinegar and baking soda.  Pour in prepared cupcake liners 3/4 of the way. Bake 20-25 minutes or until a toothpick inserted comes out clean. Cool, then frost with low fat cream cheese frosting.

Low Fat Cream Cheese Frosting

8 oz 1/3 fat Philadelphia Cream Cheese (I just used light)

1 cup powdered sugar

1 tsp vanilla extract

Beat together cream cheese, powdered sugar and vanilla until smooth.  

Here we are enjoying a tray full of them for my mom and brother-in-law's birthday celebration!

Organic Garage Visit- Organic Chocolate Chip Mission

I was on a mission, looking for some healthy ingredients for my 'whole' food baking one weekend and I needed some Organic- good for you- dark chocolate chips, so I took another trip to one of my new favourite stores- the Organic Garage.

 Valentine's week, so I had to put hearts around it because I really do love it.

So, as I mentioned, I was looking for some healthy dark chocolate chips... the choices were crazy...

I narrowed it down to this brand, cuisine camino, there was semi-sweet and bittersweet.

And let me tell you, I stumbled upon a whole bunch of organic-good-for-you snacks. Look at this one called Love Crunch. It's made by Nature's Path. There were 3 kinds, cranberry, apple and carrot.



I chose the carrot love crunch, so when I don't have enough time to make my own homemade granola, this is a great organic healthy choice.

These were great snack ideas- packed with peanuts and honey and some dried fruit, what a

great on-the-go snack choice.

In fact, I got in my car and had to have one for a snack, I was starving and it had been 2.5 hourse since my last meal, I gotta eat. Look at the name- Honey Bar- this one was Honey and Apricot.

Honey, Honey, Honey, this is why they are called Honey Bars, look at those wholesome ingredients. So because they were packed with peanuts, I could only eat half the bar at a time- they are 200 calories per bar, so half the bar is a good portion size.





Red Hearts and Love All Over!

Look at all this heart stuff! My parents spoiled us over the weekend.

My Mom filled bags full of healthy chocolates and fun stuff!

She just spoils us all!

This is what I brought to work to share with my colleagues on Valentine's Day- strawberries, blueberries, homemade dark chocolate pistashio, almond and cranberry bark (recipe to come) and a lovely Starbucks Cafe Misto with a Big 'Ol Heart.

This was the Valentine's Buffet at my home on Valentine's night. Beautiful hand-made cards, knit coasters, jewels, healthy chocolate and hearts and love from Brent and Melanie.

Melanie took one of our blank cards and put her own designs on the front.

But look at what she wrote inside... it took my breath away, it brought tears to my eyes. This is one of those 'cute daughter moments', she was just so honest with her emotions in this card... she's only 10! And she's my baby.... this is why you have children.

There is my beautiful girl with her love shirt and kiss pillow, a little kiss in her hand, and a big pink flower in her hair.

Our heart socks! Bet you can't tell which is my foot.... the smaller black one, the pink one is Melanie's size 10 foot.

Melanie and I showing our pink, red and hearts.

Family Love

For dinner, some heart shaped rice and sweet and sour chicken meatballs (recipe to come).

I even made a heart shapped cake for my loves!

I bought a heart-shaped mold a Dollarama- love what you can find there- and I found this delicious recipe for a Light Vanilla Cake... check it out.

Light Vanilla Cake (adapted from http://www.recipelink.com/msgid/3113483 )
2/3 cup sugar
1/4 cup margarine
2 tsp vanilla
2 eggs (medium sized)
1 cup all purpose flour
1 tsp baking powder
1/2 cup fat free milk

Preheat the oven to 350 F. Grease a round 8 or 9 inches pan (Baking pan). Beat the margarine & sugar together, until you achieve a creamy texture. Add vanilla & eggs & continue beating. In another bowl, mix the flour & the baking powder, & continue adding everything to the mix, adding the milk gradually while continue mixing. Put the mixture in the already prepared pan & bake for 25-30 minutes.

I added a thin layer of Light Cool Whip.

Then I cut strawberries 'length-wise' so that they look like hearts and layered them on top of the cake. It was really good and so festive for this Love Holiday- what a wonderful day it was!

Lovely Fruity Pancake Breakfast

I made some lovely pancakes last weekend. I took my Whole Wheat Pancake Recipe and used 1 cup of all purpose flower and 1 cup of whole wheat flower as we had a little guest and I wasn't sure she would enjoy the 'whole wheaty taste'. Well, they turned out delicious!

I might do the half and half flower the next time too. If you use blueberries (which I did) the pancakes don't turn out as sweet, so the all purpose flower makes it taste nice. But if you use raspberries then they turn out sweet because of the sweetness of the berries.

I topped the pancakes with some delicious fresh cut fruits: bananas, strawberries and blueberries, and a little bit of real 100% pure Canadian maple syrup.

Love is in the air- Happy Valentine's Day

I want to wish you all great LOVE today, but also great love on every other day.lBut you know, at my house, I can't resist decorating for the holidays/seasons, and this time of year is no different. Check out the 'ode to Love Day' at my house!  BIG RED KISSES TO YOU ALL.

Front Door Love.

Front Hall Love.

Going up the stairs love.

Love in the window.

Love on my table.

Teddy Bear love.

Puffy red heart love.

Love in my ball bowl.

Love with music.

Always a good reminder for the Maid to Kiss Me!

Look, even my cats are in love!

and here too... that Diamond is a two-timing lover!