Day 1: Chocolate Gone.

Greek lent starts today. Instead of giving up meat (which I don't consume for the most part, anyway)- I have decided to give up something I eat absolutely EVERY SINGLE DAY: Chocolate.

I am not saying chocolate is bad by any means. It can be beneficial for your health- your heart, happiness, reducing stress. But, the bad news is-- I eat it a lot. And depend on it after almost every single meal.. when you are dependent on a single kind of food or eat it at 3AM in the morning when you get up? Not good.

Today is the first day. Instead of grabbing my chocolate protein luna bar for breakfast, I bought Special K Protein shakes in the vanilla flavor. (which are actually pretty yummy.) I almost cheated at the supermarket forgetting that chocolate covered jelly beans count.

This is a 48 day stretch (Exactly until Easter) . Let's bet on how many days I can do it. Comment below :-)

Crazy for CUPCAKES

I often don't like to brag but when it comes to skills, I am a natural Betty Crocker. On a given day off, you can find me in the kitchen whipping up something sugary and delicious.

BUT with my commitment to also eating healthy I've tried to find ways to bake healthy. I know you're saying: "impossible!" or "how can anything sweet and HEALTHY be good to eat?"

Well I've learned you can have your Cake and Eat it too. That is- if the frosting isn't like most brands.. eating a spoonful of sugart. It's by far the best part of a cupcake- but the worst.

SO- why not change it up and make your own frosting?? I made Strawberry Cheesecake cupcakes.. used regular cake mix but made my own frosting with low-fat cream cheese.

You can make ANY flavor frosting with three simple ingredients: 1/4 cup cool whip, 2 tbsp fat-free cream cheese and as much sugar-free jello pudding mix as you want. (I made cheesecake).

Also-- to make it look more natural, add food coloring like I did here to make the frosting pink. It tastes yummy, and I promise no one will even suspect the frosting is HEALTHY.

Or-- add a tsp of peanut butter and mashed banana to cupcake mix to make-- yup-- peanut butter and banana cupcakes.

My final tip?? To get really creative use extract to give cupcakes the ULTIMATE flavor. You can use egg substitute and skim milk for lower calorie/ fat cupcakes and then add in pinapple extract (for pina colada), mint or other fun flavors. The possibilities are endless.

Bon appetit!!

Bar Breakdown

Breakfast is the MOST IMPORTANT meal of the day.. this is probably nothing new to hear. But what do you chow down on when you wake up so early in the morning?? I have experimented with oatmeal cups and frozen breakfast sandwiches-- but by far my most successful snack is throwing an energy bar in my bag.

Why, you ask? It is easy to eat on the run.. delicious and satisfies the sweet tooth.. and they also give you some of the nutrients/ protein you need for the day (especially if you are like me and don't eat meat). Most importantly-- many of them are FILLING and I don't hear my stomach grumbling on camera. 

Here are my rave reviews on some popular energy bar brands:

LARABAR: The most disappointing. Looking online, I saw a lot of rave reviews on this popular brand.. but it didn't make me feel full and actually had the most calories-- most bars being over 200. HOWEVER-- 1 bar = 1/4 of a cup of fruit and many of them are gluten-free and some of them are vegan. 

LUNA PROTEIN BARS: 

http://www.lunabar.com/products/luna-protein

These are a winner.. especially if you are a CHOCOLATE fanatic like me. The bars are coated in chocolate and are ALL GOOD and filling in my opinion- averaging at 180 calories.. my personal favorite?? COOKIE DOUGH. 

Zone Bars: Most affordable.. some delicious flavors with a rice- crisp center. My personal favorite again is the chocolate chip cookie dough-- but there are plenty of yummy flavors. Personally, I don't like the nut-trail mix type of bars but they have a lot of those: http://zoneperfect.com/

So do you agree/ disagree with these reviews?? Or have a suggestion for a better bar? Dish it out :-)