Tuesday, April 24, 2012

Tuesday Testimonial.....

Healthy Options......

Lately I've been looking for ways to update foods that I love, to a "healthier" status. Two of my new favorite finds, are doing just that.

#1 - PB2 Powdered Peanut Butter - Made by Bell Plantation, this peanut butter has 85% less fat than regular peanut butter. How does this compare to other peanut butters? 

A typical serving (2tbsp) of a popular brand (not naming names) - contains 16grams of fat, 190 calories and 3 grams of sugar. The same serving size of PB2? 1.5 grams of fat, 45 calories and 1 gram of sugar!! A majority of the oil is removed from the peanuts in their process, leaving a peanut butter powder. 

To make a serving, you simply add a tbsp of water for each serving (more or less depending on desired consistency) and you're all set. It also comes in a dark chocolate option, which is very good too. Something to note - For anyone who loves those popular brands of peanut butter and are used to that very sweet taste; this may be a difficult taste to acquire. It really is just peanuts, so the taste is decidedly less sweet, but I believe those who love peanuts will love this as well.

#2 DAMY Health Natural Weight Loss & Body Transformation Experts  - The website is run by a husband and wife team of Amy and David Layne, who specialize in anything health and fitness related.

Now, let me preface this by saying this site does promote a couple of different diet and exercise programs that are available for purchase. I haven't purchased any of the programs so I can't speak to their effectiveness, but there are a number of testimonials available to read from satisfied customers. However they do offer, for anyone to access, all of the recipes that they use in their meal plans. They offer lunch, dinner, snacks and desserts

The part that fascinates me about this site is the way she creates seemingly decadent food, using extremely healthy ingredients. You can find anything from homemade LARA Bars, cheesecake made from Greek yogurt, pizza crust made from cauliflower, to a peanut butter cup made from pumpkin puree (I think that will be my recipe for this weekend.) The pictures she uses to show off her creations make it hard to believe that they're made from anything but the bad stuff. (I wasn't able to copy any pictures here so please,please check out her site to get the full effect of these recipes!)

So far I've tried her recipes for hummus, bread sticks, cauliflower pizza dough and cauliflower bites, chocolate chip protein balls, Spicy lime roasted chic peas and my personal favorite.....chocolate chip cookie dough made from......chic peas. I kid you not.....

Many of her recipes are considered gluten free and vegan, but just a warning for anyone with a nut allergy - many of her dessert recipes do call for nuts. Overall, a very refreshing take on how to eat more healthy using a very creative imagination.

Happy Eating!!




 ~Adrienne
 



Sunday, April 15, 2012

Daisy's Big Day.....

So, I realize that I've been MIA lately.......
I've been trying to move myself along in the book writing, which means other things have taken a back seat. That and a longer than expected recovery from my eye surgery (just a lot of annoying eyestrain), has meant no new blog posts. (I also spilled coffee on myself this week, resulting in a 2nd degree burn on my arm, so we're doing just great.)
 I promise to try and get back on track soon, but in the meantime I have a guest host today.......

Anyone who knows my cat Daisy, knows that she has an extreme personality (she pretty much thinks she's human). So I thought she could give an insight into what a typical day is like for her.......

Day 1....Morning
My owners refuse to draw my bath for me......so I'll sit in the tub and wait. I'm sure that I can outlast them.



Breakfast time........they aren't attending to my needs fast enough, so I will just help myself.....can someone help me get this Tupperware open??





Mid-morning.....Time to play who will blink first......or what I like to call torturing my big brother.



Time for my morning snooze......talk amongst yourselves........





 Lunchtime.......can't get the fridge open so I guess I'll just rearrange the magnets for them.





I could look at myself in the mirror all day.......in fact I do sometimes....



 .......as long as it doesn't interfere with my afternoon nap........





 Late Afternoon......Dammit - they've got some kind of bars on my cell.......my escape is foiled again! Curses! Oh well, maybe I can see if my big brother wants to play hide and go seek again........


Does it look like I want to play hide and go seek???






Fine.....I'll leave you alone grumpy pants. 
Here I sit.....alone.....waiting for my servants to return from toiling in the fields.....or whatever it is that they do.







Evening.......Sigggghhhhhhh....my people have returned and all is right with the world.






All right.....enough with the picture taking! Move along, shows over!