Love pasta, hate the calories? Try this!

I have my opinions about past.. I LOVE IT! I also Battle with it!
Here is a fabulous solution to help cure your carb fix!

Blog by Carrie Chesloff Rossenfeld, “Getting real about weight”.
Check out her web site!

http://gettingrealaboutweight.blogspot.com/

The Pasta Question

If you’ve been reading my blog for awhile, you know how I feel about starchy, refined carbs–limit, limit, limit! They really contain very little nutritional value for the calories consumed, and they can put weight on you faster than almost any other type of food. Yet I don’t believe in completely eliminating any food from your diet (except for trans fats, which I’ve explained before). So how do you incorporate pasta–a delicious starchy, refined carb–into your diet?

First of all, consider the type of pasta you’re eating. Is it made from 100% refined grains, 100% whole grains or some combination of the two? The more whole grains it contains, the great the fiber and nutrient content and the more healthful it is. This leaves room for a little more pasta indulgence. Second, how much pasta are you eating in a serving? A standard pasta serving is 1/2 cup and weighs in at around 200 calories, which is far, far less than what you’d typically serve yourself for an entree and way less than what a restaurant or takeout place would serve you. It’s very easy to consume large amounts of calories from pasta, particularly if it’s the main course of your meal–and also because it’s so yummy, right?

My solution is, on the infrequent occasions you eat 100% refined pasta, make it your side dish or “tasting” item rather than your main course. Sure, you can add veggies to it and a healthful sauce, but you’re still likely to consume more calories than you think and the type of nutrients your body will store rather than burn. Translation: fat storage! If you make pasta your side dish, you’ll be controlling your portion sizes more easily and leaving room for the stuff your body needs and that will help you shed pounds: lean protein, veggies, fruit, etc.

So be judicious about your pasta intake and you can treat yourself now and then so you won’t feel deprived. Pasta is one of life’s great pleasures, so enjoy–in moderation, of course.

Try this:Calories and cut corners $

Carrie Chesloff Rossenfeld, cLEANmomma fan, shares her two cents.

Check out her web site at http://gettingrealaboutweight.blogspo

If you’re like me, you not only attended several parties over the holidays, but you ate a lot more restaurant meals than usual, too. This impacts not only your budget (ouch!), but also your waistline. My solution? Be more creative with meals at home, and give the restaurants a rest, at least for a little while.

It is certainly possible to eat healthfully in a restaurant, but it takes work: scanning the menu, deciding what sounds appealing and possibly in line with the day’s allotment of calories, fat, etc. And without a doubt, we should be able to splurge once in awhile nutritionally and financially on restaurant meals. But when we start to go overboard, we feel it. Restaurant meals almost always have more calories in them than the ones you cook yourself–definitely the portion sizes are larger than what you’d typically serve yourself. With rare exceptions, chefs are more concerned with how the food tastes and looks than how healthful it is, and you never really know how much butter or oil was used to cook your meal.

So, if you want to reverse an upward trend in weight and/or spending, start eating more meals at home. If you have a family, make it a fun weekend project to cook meals together. Start by researching healthful versions of family favorites (www.cookinglight.com is a good place to start), maybe trying some exciting new cuisines or pulling out an old classic that you haven’t made in years. There’s a wealth of great recipes available online, so you’ll never be at a loss for what to make. A quick trip to the supermarket will ensure you have everything you need. No doubt, you’ll see the scale inch downward and your wallet fatten up before long.

How to lose a pound a week. Here’s how!

It’s now January people and if you  now suffering from “FATTUSHAPHOBIA”, because you have eaten your way through the holidays, then pay attention so you can trim your thighs and flatten your tummy with very simple baby steps!!

In order to lose a pound a week in a healthy way, you need to decrease your calories for the day by 500. That may sound very difficult to many of you, but here is a little secret. Split up the 500 calories. Cut out 250 calories from your diet and burn 250 calories by elevating your heart rate and doing cardio.

How to cut 250 calories with Cardio:

If you find that you don’t have time to burn it off with cardio, you are WRONG!

You can burn up to 300 calories if you do the “Rag Drag” for seven-ten minutes twice a day! Even if you are not cleaning your floors, you can do the “RAG DRAG”  in the bathroom watching your kid in the tub for 10-15 minutes, or try it while you are in the kitchen and your kids do their home work, be creative. The key to burning the most calories is to push yourself every other minute. This will elevate your heart rate. Do one minute at a low intensity then one minute at a higher intensity. I swear this is so doable and is an insane cardio work out that tagets not only your heart rate but tightens your tummy, inner, outter thighs and tush! It’s so easy to sneak in!

Here is how to do it!

How to cut 250 calories a day from your diet:

-Replace your morning bagel and cream cheese with an English muffin and cottage cheese.

___ Skip the large bakery muffin in favor of 1 slice of whole wheat toast topped with 1 tablespoon of peanut butter.

__ Instead of a big muffin, choose 3/4 of a high fiber cereal

___ Instead of scrambled eggs, choose egg whites

___ Replace your 450-calorie lunch with a high protein egg whites tossed in a salad

The key is, not to feel like you are on a diet, but with each meal or snack, modify it a bit and you will be surprised how many calories you will subtract by the end of the day!

Good luck and let me know how that woks for ya!

Order the cLEANmomma DVD today, for just 14.95 and get your FREE Ebook!

Solutions to mindless munching, stop it now!

I have to share this story with you…

When I used to put the kids to sleep, my full day of will power and healthy choices would slowly erode and eventually morph into a picture of an out of control woman – lying in bed watching “So You Think You Can Dance”, covered in Oreo crumbs, desperately try to clean up (with orange Cheetos-covered fingers). Next I would bust out my bag of pretzels, cream cheese and baby wipes (I did learn my lesson from my Cheetos-in-bed experience!). As much as I meant to avoid bad food choices, I ate it all anyway. Needless to say, there was no cLEANmomma webcam in my bedroom.

Since popping out Jack, I’ve worked hard at eating well during the day – lots of fruit, spinach, and foods high in protein – desperately trying to cover all four food groups.  Then along came 8:30 p.m. and the four food group triangle we all learned in elementary school slowly transformed into a four group rectangle – sugar, fat, starch, and salt, and it coincidentally looked like a graham cracker covered with peanut butter and jelly. Hey, we all have our weaknesses. With my new orientation to fitness, I did the math on my “harmless” snack and discovered that I might as well be eating a Big Mac… (no joke!)

Something Had to Change

I finally switched to a healthier night time snack and I have to say, it’s sooo fab and really satisfying.

Hear me out before you judge.

I take a jar of baby food (sweet peas are the best)… just kidding.

Clean Momma’s Night Time Cucumber Snack

I mix 2 tablespoons lowfat ranch salad dressing (40 calories) – I happen to like the the all-organic Nancy’s Healthy Kitchen brand -  with 1 tablespoon balsamic vinegar (10 calories) and start dipping a whole (unpeeled) cucumber in it and munch away while I watch my favorite dancers (Gotta love Brandon!).

So here I am these days sitting in bed eating an entire cuke with cream on it and watching male dancers (there is probably something subliminal going on but let’s not go there).

It’s really yummy and combines the crunchiness of the cucumber with the saltiness of the salad dressing.

Yum!

It may not taste like a Big Mac, but unless they start selling self esteem in a Happy Meal, I will stick to my healthy alternative.

C-

Eat smart tricks – Tips From My Nutritional Expert, Stephanie Lecovin

Stephanie Lecovin, my bff since the tender age of three, has joined me as my expert nutritionist to help create the cLean Diet. Steph has been a major influence on my new cLEAN Lifestyle™, and it’s an honor to share her brain with you!

Stephanie Lecovin MS, RD, is a Certified Nutritionist and Registered Dietitian. She combines her knowledge of clinical nutrition with her experience and passion for food and cooking. Stephanie educates her clients on developing healthy eating habits and empowers them with tools and resources for achieving optimal wellness. http://www.nutritionhousecalls.com/aboutme.html

Why learn the cLean Diet™? Because it’s Way of Life, Not a Quick Fad, People!

Here’s the Deal. When I Talk About a cLean Diet™, I’m Not Talking About Washing your Fruit.

Every Spring when I used to think about how I was going to strut around the pool in my bikini, the first word that came to mind was DIET – and what popped into my head was a list of things not to eat.

If that sounds familiar, then wake up people! Let’s be clear – “dieting” is the fastest way to the cookie jar of rebellion!

A cLean Diet is a way of life and a new perspective on eating.

Eat to Live… Don’t Live to Eat!

The first thing I did to change this pattern of thinking was to eat before I got hungry. I’m not talking about shoving a ton of food in my mouth every 5 minutes. What I’m talking about is watching the clock, and if its been over 2 hours, I’ll eat a handful of raw almonds or string cheese. That way I’m set and I don’t have to think about the inevitable cravings that come from dieting.

I also hate drinking water, so I came up with a drink of my very own!

I put a lemon in my large water bottle with a dash of Splenda. Eventually I lessened the amount of sweetener , and now all I need is the lemon. Now I have a chemical-free, natural drink!

I’ll be continually posting eating tips and recipes for you to check out.

And remember… you can still have the cookie or the chocolate, but don’t eat the entire box! Moderation is the key, and if that doesn’t work for ya, try duct tape!

Quick, smart breakfast choices.

Breakfast is an essential part of your diet

Having said that, sometimes coffee with my hazelnut creamer is the only thing I can stomach. However, by 9:30 I need some real fuel to avoid hitting that wall!

Here are Some Quick Breakfast Tips:

• Good old dependable cereal. I eat whole grain shredded wheat cereal, high in fiber and low in sugar. Add a little bit of low fat, organic milk and flax seed (high in fiber and actually tastes yummy).

• A handful of blueberries and a fist full of raw almonds go far!

• Gotta love a fuji apple and string cheese.

If you want to cook:

• Make an egg white (or use one yolk) omelet. I add a ton of veggies and some cheese.

These are all great options that fuel your body, fill you up, and help you avoid the bagel and cream cheese carb and calorie-fest!