Bragg's

There are quite a few things that I use a lot. I like flavor in my food. I loathe eating things that are bland.

For instance, I have a jar of crushed red peppers in my desk that my office mate and I use on everything. I buy the big jar from Costco and refill it from that . . . I love spicy food. I think at last count we have around 8 jars of hot sauce in our refrigerator. I'm that girl.

I discovered the Bragg products last year when I was attempting to go Gluten Free.  I purchased some of the Nutritional Yeast Seasoning and decided to try it. I put it on pizza, popcorn and salads. To me, it tastes a lot like Parmesan cheese. My favorite way to eat it is on a kale salad. There is something about the flavors together that I adore.

After I liked that, I tried purchasing the Apple Cider Vinegar and integrating that into my diet. Apple Cider Vinegar as a lot of health benefits, if you buy the one with the 'mother' in it. It isnt filtered out and thats what makes it beneficial for you. I usually will do one shot of it a day (about two tablespoons) before I eat dinner to help aid in digestion. From my research, some of the benefits include helping lower blood sugar levels between 4-6% in diabetics, slowing cancer growth and can help contribute to weight loss. For more information click here.

Given that I liked the first few products that I tried, I bought the Liquid Aminos to see if they were all they were cracked up to be. I use it just like soy sauce. And you know what? You can't tell the difference. I've been trying to get my husband to try it, but he says that the Nutritional Yeast looks like fish flakes and he isnt interested in trying the Liquid Aminos.

He thinks some of this nutritional stuff I buy is voo doo. But, if I like, it, he doesn't really care that I purchase it. I've read some people like taking raw almonds and spraying two or three sprays of the liquid aminos on them instead of using salt.

There are lots of products out there that tout health benefits. I don't buy a lot of it unless I can find some type of substantive information on it.

I wasn't paid to write this about Bragg. I really wanted to share what I use to try to supplement flavor on my end without sacrificing quality and my health.

I also take health supplements from Hi-Health. I typically do a sub-lingual B-12 tablet (2 a day) and I take 5 HTP. It has B-6 and St. John's Wort in it as well. I've found it to be the best form of a carbohydrate craving suppressant that I can take that also helps with my mood. If I find myself getting up in the morning with crankypants and a snarky shirt on- this helps me regulate my mood. On and off, I like taking an adrenal supplement to try to get them functioning on a good level again. It also contains probiotics which can help with your immune system.

Do you have any favorite products you use all the time? Any supplements you rave about? 

Lazy Dinners

You ever get home from work after a long day. . . so tired and exhausted. All you want to do is sleep. Then, your husband looks over at you and says, "Whats for dinner?"

Usually, my response is something like this

Courtesy of tardthegrumpycat.tumbler.com

  I do most of the cooking in our house.  Its not that my husband doesn't like to or isnt decent. Its just that I am usually pretty particular with the way I like stuff so its easier to make it myself. For instance, I don't like soggy french fries. Or bacon. To me, they aren't worth the calories. If I am making the choice to eat them, I want it to be good. GOOD. 

So, for those nights that I don't feel like cooking I have some staples in the house that we can usually throw something together fairly quickly. 

A few ideas for you:

Flat outs pizzas

I use either the italian herb or the regular ones. I usually will parbake these for 5 minutes on one side and 4 on the other (at 375) so the sauce doesnt weigh it down. Take two tablespoons of organic marinara/pizza sauce and spread out- you don't want too much sauce because its going to eep through the flatout and won't get a crispy consistency. We add about a 1/4 cup of mozzarella then our toppings vary. One day it might be olives, one day it might be pepperoni. The last time we made it, it was hot italian turkey sausage and kalamata olives. Pop it in the oven (just keep the oven on during the time you're assembling) and put it in there for about 7 minutes. Check to see if the cheese is melted to your liking. I will always take the last two minutes or so and put it on broil so the ends get crispy on the edges. This is usually enough for me, but I've been known to serve it with a small side salad occasionally.

Boca Spicy Chick'n Sandwiches with Cottage Cheese

I know too much overprocessed food is bad for you, but I dig these things. They are fantastic. I even got my beef loving husband to eat them. Our oven is a little different, but for us, I just bake them at 390 for 15 minutes, flip then bake the other side for the same time. They get crispy and remind me of the McChicken. I serve them on 100 calorie thins with fat free mayo and pickles. We normally will have cottage cheese on the side. I personally have a love for a little bit of low cal italian dressing and capers on the cottage cheese with a little fresh cracked pepper.

TLT's with Cottage Cheese 

Much to my husbands dismay, I stopped buying regular bacon a while ago. I buy the Oscar Meyer turkey bacon (bonus: its $2.79 a pack instead of $5.99) because I like the fact that its much less greasy than pork bacon. Less cleanup. We bake it on a rack over a cookie pan for about 15 minutes at 400 (in our oven- yours might be different) then flip it and it takes about 5-7 minutes more on the other side to get crispy. Once its done, I serve the sandwiches on 100 calorie thins with fat free mayo. Cottage cheese is an easy side. 

Spaghetti with Turkey Sausage

Spaghetti is always an easy meal. I try to make it a little healthier by using two/three of the hot italian sausage links (I take them out of the casing) and sauteeing those before adding to the sauce. I adore the quinoa pasta and use this whenever I can sneak it in. Bonus: if you use the other two links of turkey sausage on your flatout pizzas, you have two meals off one 5 dollar package of meat. 

Grilled chicken and veggies

This is fairly hard to mess up. Grill chicken with your favorite seasonings and serve with a veggie on the side. I like the Steamfresh veggies and stock up whenever they are on sale. This way, we can have decent tasting corn all year round. I also have recently discovered McCormick's cajun seasoning. It tastes great on grilled chicken- I used that for a salad the other night. 

Veggie Burger and Cottage Cheese/veggie/side salad

I love the Morningstar Farms 1/4 pound griller burger. My husband, does not. On the days that I want one of these, he will usually take out a small round steak and grill that alongside my burger. I typically don't eat a bun with it only because its a little higher in calories than I normally have with dinner along with a side. We do either cottage cheese, a side salad or a veggie for that. 

Newmans Own Thin and Crispy Pizza

This is one of our favorites. Its a really thin crust, so it tastes better than the other frozen pizzas. It also cooks in 12 minutes, just enough time for me to prepare a side salad. 

Morningstar Farms Veggie Corndogs and Crispy Crowns

If you don't follow me on myfitnesspal and see my diary daily, you are probably coming to the conclusion I like the veggie products. This is by far the easiest (and probably least healthy) of what we'll have a few times a month. A veggie corndog along side crispy crowns (like tater tots, just thinner) ... put it in the oven for 30 minutes and you have dinner. Voila. 

Do you have dinner staples you make?  What's your favorite dinner to make??

Happy New Year!

I'm guessing that everyone is making a resolution this year...

..except me

I don't think that resolutions are things that people tend to really stick to.

Resolutions seem to be exactly that...what seemed like a good idea at the time.

Why break yourself into thinking that you have to do this or have to stop doing that in order to get through the year?

Losing weight isn't a resolution. Its a lifestyle change. You have to be committed. When I started losing weight, I told myself I wouldn't use the word diet in my vocabulary. Why? It makes you psychologically feel like you are being restrained. If you make a 'lifestyle change' you can still eat better without feeling all of the restrictions and negative connotations that stem from the word diet.