Being in community is key to battling weight lose and striving towards a healthy lifestyle. Nothing’s worse than being surrounded by people who are eating greasy fast food all day and sitting on the couch while trying to eat that salad after a 5 mile run.

That is why I have love the Internet! People of interests alike can come together in support for one another in so many different ways, especially when it comes to healthy living and weight loss. An internet community that I have been extremely inspired by is Sparkpeople, a weight loss community created to SPARK people’s desire to live a healthy lifestyle and lose weight.

Sparkpeople is 100% FREE with the resources, support, and community to push people towards healthy living.

Upon signing up, one can create a weight loss or maintenance goal. Based upon the food pyramid, sparkpeople creates a range of calories, carbs, fats, and protein needed to obtain weight goals. What I love the most about sparkpeople is that their philosophy is all about eating the things you enjoy but in moderation, never going below 1200 calories, and finding joy in living healthy.

Keeping track of what is being put in the mouth is made easy with a nutrition tracker that will add up all your calories, carbs, proteins, and fat to find that balanced diet. Sparkpeople offers daily meal plans around your caloric needs, or you can input your own meals.

An exercise tracker is used to keep count of how many calories are being burned as well.

A nutrition and exercise tracker is great, but without a community there is no accountability! Sparkpeople has a message board where people can find healthy recipes, motivation, support, and a place to voice weight loss frustrations and achievements. I love the replied I get, not only from the sparkpeople dieticians/coaches, but also the members. When I need advice on my diet or support/motivation when I feel burnt out, someone is always there for me to push me through.

Other things you can find on this website are great articles on nutrition, exercise, motivation, and health topics. You can join sparkteams that focus on different topics/interests such as clean eating, specific age groups, and running. You can find tons of great recipes ranging from low calorie to high protein meals that can spice up your diet and prevent food boredom.

I love sparkpeople and can’t believe that so many people have never heard about it before. This site is great not only for people that want to lose weight, but also for those with diabetes, heart problems, and other health related issues in which to help control their specific diets and stay on track to a health living! So what are you waiting for, go check it out!!!

Question

Have you heard about sparkpeople?
Where is your community found in health living?

Sitting or standing… that is the question!

Let’s face it; the reality of sitting down to a home cooked dinner is so in the 90’s. Families and individual’s these days are finding themselves eating on the road, while standing in the kitchen, sitting in front of the television, or in front of the computer at work.

There are thousands of excuses to why people can’t find time to sit down for meals, but these excuses could be the culprit to an expanding waste line.

Research has shown that those who sit down to a COMPLETE meal, as well as snacks, are less likely to eat more calories throughout the day.

Sitting down to eat compared to standing up while eating plays a mental game with our food diary. The mind does not recognize when we eat on the go or while standing… leading us to snacking after the so called meal.

Visually seeing everything laid out on a plate also helps to visually satisfy those cravings/hunger and helps one pay attention to what we are putting in our mouths.

Eating while sitting down at the table compared to standing up or on the road ultimately makes the meal more satisfying and full.

So the question is, are your excuses for not sitting down at the table valid. Do you really have an extra few minutes to walk to the table?

Question

Where do you typically eat your lunch or dinner?

Do you eat your snacks on the go or sitting at the table without distractions?

I’m not one for power bars or granola bars. I figure the small little bars just aren’t worth eating because they don’t keep me full long enough so why bother? Not to mention that most power bars are full of sugar and high.

A few weeks ago I had the opportunity to try out Zing Nutrition Bars. At first I was a little hesitant because of my predisposed judgment on nutrition bars, but I thought that I would give a try with the help of a few friends from the office.

Unlike most nutrition bars, Zing bars were founded by 4 dietary nutritionists that sought out to create a nutrition bar that was gluten free, soy free, dairy free, and wheat free.

These all-natural bars are created from a nut butter base of peanuts, cashews, and almonds and naturally sweetened with agave, creating a high protein, vegan based nutrition bar.

The best part is all the wonderful flavors ranging from Almond Blueberry, Oatmeal Chocolate Chip, Chocolate Coconut, Peanut Butter Chocolate, and Cranberry Orange.

Here is the average nutritional break down:

Calories: 210

Total Fat: 9g

Saturated Fat: 1g

Trans Fat: 0g

Cholesterol: 5mg

Sodium: 115mg

Total Carbohydrate: 23g

Dietary Fiber: 5g

Sugar: 13g

Protein: 11g

At first I have to admit that I was a little shocked at the calorie and sugar content, but then I realized how nutrient packed these bars are. They are a great source of healthy fats, protein, and fiber.

These bars would be perfect for someone who is eating 5-6 small meals a day… and if you are anything like me who needs to up my fat intake, the bars are a great place to add in more healthy fats.

With the help from the healthy fats, protein, and fiber, these guys are sure to keep you feeling full and satisfied till your next meal.

So what’s the review of these little guys? With the help of my friends, this is what they had to say:

Taster #1 (Gluten-Free Dieter): Chocolate Coconut Zing Nutrition Bar:

“I liked this bar. The chocolate had a good flavor & the brown rice crisps & real coconut gave it a slight crunchy/chewy texture – something that you don’t often find in gluten free items.”

Taster #1: Cranberry Orange Zing Bar

“It was sort of like an oatmeal raisin type of bar except that it had cranberries. The orange flavor was present but wasn’t overpowering.”

Taster #2: Chocolate Peanut Butter Zing Bar

“The peanut butter part of the bar was really good, I liked the pieces of peanuts in the center! The dark chocolate coating on the outside was a little bitter, but overall I like it and would eat another one!”

Taster #3: Peanut Chocolate Chip & Almond Blueberry

“Zing Bars have a great natural taste. They are better than power bars or any other nutritional bar I have had. The Peanut Chocolate Chip was my favorite!”

I had a little bit of each one and I have to admit that they were all delicious. If I could do it over, I would have been greedy and sampled them myself ? I think my stereotype of power bars were thrown out the window with these guys.

Question:

What is your take on nutrition bars?

&

What Zing Bar flavor would you like to try the most?

Breakfast and Dessert are my two favorite meals of the day, so why not combine them together? Nothing says breakfast better than something sweet and tasty… right?

Crepes… they sound intimidating, don’t they? Well have no fear, these little guys don’t bite and friendly for all types of meals, including breakfast, lunch, dinner, and dessert.

Crepes are similar to pancakes, however they are paper thin and used as a wrap for all types of fillings . . . They are better than any fluffy pancake out there.

Here is a delicious Low Calorie Crepe Recipe that is to dye for and without all the guilt

Low Calorie Apple Cinnamon Crepes

Crepe Ingredients:

1 1/3 cup Unsweetened Almond Milk

1 cup flour

2 egg whites

½ cup water

Directions:

* Mix all ingredients in a large mixing bowl

* Preheat a large skillet with non-stick spray

* Pour 3 tablespoons onto skill and move pan around to make a large circle with the crepe till it is paper-thin

* Cook each side till Golden Brown

(32 Calories per serving)

Filling

6 apples

2 tablespoons stevia sweetener

2 tablespoons water

1 tablespoon vanilla extract

Cinnamon to taste

Fat Free Cool Whip

Directions:

* Core and skin apple and cut into make pieces

* Combined stevia sweetener, water, vanilla extract and apples in skillet an cover for a few minutes till apples are soft and brown

* Cover apples in cinnamon and toss

* Remove apples from skillet and mix with a dab of cool whip

(30 Calories per serving)

Place apple cinnamon filling on half of the crepe and wrap that little guy up. I use a little bit of “I can’t believe it’s not butter” spray to give it a little extra kick… butter always makes food taste better!

Bare with me, I don't have the greatest camera

It’s Bon Apetite Time… NomNomNomNomNom!

There are so many different ways to fill a crepe. Here are some other low calorie crepe filling options:

Dessert:

- Fat Free Cool whip mixed with coco powder, stevia, strawberries, and bananas

- Smuckers Sugar Free Jam

- Sugar Free Pie Filling

Breakfast:

- Egg Whites, laughing cow cheese, and lean turkey bacon

- Better N’ Peanut Butter and Smuckers Sugar Free Jelly

Lunch & Dinner

- Broccoli and Cheese

- Meat and cheese

- Cooked spinach, laughing cow cheese, and mushrooms

- Crumb Boca and Salsa

Question Time

Have you ever tried crepes & What is/would be your favorite filling?

Congrats to Janetha over at Meals & Moves for winning the Vitalicious VitaTop Giveaway !!!
I’m not going to lie, I might be a little jealous of all the goodies that will be coming your way.

Please e-mail me at SheFit.Ruth@gmail.com with your mailing address and phone number so that I can ship them out as soon as possible.

Sorry for those of you that were less fortunate than Janetha! However, I highly encourage you to head over to Vitalicious and sign up for their emails that contain great discounts on VitaTops Muffins and more.

* New post to come on my Bikram Yoga experience *

Just the name “Lettuce Wraps” sound like they would be a healthy option when going out to eat… but be careful. Some restaurants like to douse lettuce wraps in tons of oils, sauces, and fats.

Just check out the P.F. Chang’s Lettuce Wraps (one of my favorites) … 630 calories and 12g of fat. I’m afraid to know how much sodium is in these little guys.

Cooking at home is great for several reasons, but I mainly love the fact that I can control the amount of sauces, oils, and fats that go into food preparation.

Here is a great healthy, low calorie lettuce wrap recipe that will leave you satisfied without all the calories and fat!

Ingredients

2 cups Boca Ground Crumbles lightly seasoned with salt and pepper

½ cup diced onions

1 cup diced celery

¾ teaspoon garlic powder

8 oz sliced water chestnuts-drained and coarse chopped

6 scallions sliced thin on the diagonal

¾ cup snow peas

½ cup diced mushrooms

½ cup shredded carrots

Handfull of toasted almonds

Roasted garlic teriyaki sauce and or Low Sodium Soy Sauce

½ head iceberg lettuce, cored, quartered, and peeled into individual leaves

Directions

* Heat a large skillet or wok with a generous amount of Cooking Spray

* Add Boca, onions, celery, and garlic powder. Cook till the onions are golden brown

* Mix in water chestnuts, snow peas, mushrooms, and carrots

* Add enough Garlic Teriyaki Sauce to coat Boca Ground Crumbles and Veggies to your liking

Done!!!!!

Spoon into lettuce leaves and top with almonds, roll up and Bon Appétit`

ps- Only a few more days left of the VitaTop Giveaway!