From Scratch: Pizza!

Pizza is a wonderful meal. You get your carbs, your dairy, your protein, and your veggies in one. or rather, on top of one another...

Anyways, take out pizza is a great last minute dinner but is not very healthy no matter what you decided to leave on or off the greasy meal.

But homemade pizza can be a nutritious option and you can enjoy it that much more knowing you made it from scratch!
   
So roll up those sleeves and make some!


Ingredients:

Dough
2 1/4 yeast (or 1 pkt), active dry yeast
1 tsp sugar
1 1/4 cup water 110 degrees *
1/4 cup canola oil 
1 tsp salt
1 1/2 cup wheat flour,
1 1/2 cup all purpose flour 

Sauce
1 can tomato paste, 6 oz
1/2 onion, minced
1 tbs olive oil 
6 oz of water
1/2 tsp sugar
1 tsp salt
1/8th tsp pepper, and crushed red pepper
1/4 tsp garlic powder, basil, cumin, and chili powder

Toppings (all optional-you choose what you want) 
2 cups mozzarella cheese, low fat
1 cup turkey pepperoni
tomato slices
2 strips of bacon, chopped

* microwave water for 1 min 10 sec to reach ~temp 

Directions:

Dough
Combine yeast, water, and sugar in a bowl. Let sit for 5 min. Add oil and salt, combine. Add in Flour and mix until soft dough forms. 
Turn dough onto a floured surface and kneed for 2-3 min. 
Place in a lightly oiled bowl. Cover with a clean towel and let rest for 45 min (will double in size). 
Meanwhile, start sauce
Punch dough down, roll/press into a greased 10x15in pan or separate into 2 doughs and  roll/press into (2) greased 12in pizza pans.

Sauce
In a sauce pan heat oil on medium heat. Saute onions until tender. Stir in tomato paste and water. Season with sugar, salt pepper, garlic powder, basil, cumin chili powder, and crushed red peppers.
Simmer for 15-20 min on medium low.
Return to finish dough. 

Preheat oven to 400
Once dough is ready, top with sauce--leaving about 1 inch of dough around the edges-- and desired toppings: Cheese first, then the rest, as desired. 

                   

Gently brush 1 inch edge of dough with a little olive oil. 

Bake for 15-20 min until crust is a light golden brown. 

Slice and Server with a side salad and you have meal under 400 cal!

ENJOY!!!!

Nutritional Info

*Based on the 10x15 inch pizza, 8 slices

Serving, 1 slice (large)

 344 cal * 44 carb * 1 sat fat * 17 g protein * 3 g fiber

No Sweets Week

Alright. 

This is my second attempt at no sweets for

 one whole week. 

This is not just no candy or dessert (which I normally help myself to every night...don't worry it's within my calorie count) this is a "no food that doesn't have natural sugar built in it" week. 

THIS IS HARD

 You have to constantly read labels and think outside the box but....

THIS IS REWARDING. 

The last time I did no sweets week it was the week of  

Valentine's Day. 

Talk about temptation week.

 Cookies, cupcakes, and chocolates galore were being thrown at me from every angle.

 But you know what....

I used self discipline, said no thank you, and by the end of the week I was 2lbs lighter!!!!

 (A HUGE LEAP FROM MY NO WEIGHT LOSS IN OVER A MONTH, PLATEAU STRUGGLE)

After that I was sold. 

I figure it must have been just enough of a change to kick my plateau in the bottom, 

change my digestive system and get the ball rolling on my final steps towards my weight goal  

(which I reached a month later!!! 133lbs from 180lbs) 

So why do it again? 

Well, since being married I picked up a few of those pounds, 

seriously not in a bad way,

 but I did find myself giving into the sweets a little too much. 

So No Sweets Week it is!

Also, I found last time that by not having sugar for a week I didn't crave it as much afterward.

(I'm not giving up sweets for ever, trust me!)

So give it a try and let me know your results. 

As ALWAYS, you know your body; you know your limits, so please be healthy about making a change in your diet. See your doctor if you have major medical concerns. 

NEVER STARVE YOURSELF or ABUSE YOUR BODY

Your Beautiful, Strong, and AWESOME.

Happy Healthy Living  My Friends,

~Felisha

Roasted Chickpeas

Sometimes we just need a little crunch in our life. 

Don't go for the chips.

 Go for the Chickpeas. 

Your body will thank you later. 

They can be made sweet, spicy, salty...pretty much anyway that you can concoct in your mind and toss in a bowl with them you can have. 

So make em'!

Ingredients 

• 1 can Chickpeas (Garbanzo beans)
• 1 tbs olive oil
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1/2 tsp pepper
• 1/2 tsp paprika
• 1/2 tsp garlic powder
• 1/2 tsp cumin
• 1/2 tsp ground mustard 

Directions:
Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
Rinse Chickpeas in a colander, and then dry VERY WELL. (they will turn mushy if not)
Mix spices and olive oil in a small bowl. 
Add chickpeas into mixture and toss well. 
Lay on a baking sheet and place in oven. bake for 30 min or until crunchy. After the first 20 min or so shake pan to make sure they don't burn. Repeat as you see fit. 
   

ENJOY your very healthy protein enriched snack!

Nutrition Information:

 Makes about 5 severing. Serving size 1/4 cup.

100 cal* 14 carb* 0 sat fat* 4g protein* 4 fiber

Healthy Carrot Cake (with Homemade Frosting!)

I made this for my brother's birthday. He didn't know it was healthy until after he took a huge bite, grinned with a mouth full of cake, mumbled out "this is delicious!", and dove in to take another bite when I announced it. 

Everyone was pretty impressed. 

So make it, and enjoy every last bite!

Homemade Healthy Carrot Cake:

• 2 cup flour 
• 1/4 cup brown sugar
• 1/4 cup white sugar
• 2 tsp baking soda
• 2 tsp cinnamon
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1 cup applesauce
• 1/2 cup vegetable oil
• 4 eggs
• 3 cups shredded carrots (Note: Use big carrots and grate on small part of cheese grater)
• 2 tsp vanilla

Preheat oven 350
Mix dry ingredients together and wet (wet includes carrot shreds), then blend together; slowly mixing them till fully combined.
Pour in two 8inch pans or one 13x9. 
Bake 35 min for 8 inc, 40-45 in 13x9 or until no longer wet in center.
Cheesecake Flavor Frosting:

• 8 oz 1/3 less fat cream cheese

• 1/4 cup softened unsalted butter (you can't really get around this, you need the fat to create the whipped texture)

• 2 tsp vanilla
• Powdered sugar

Mix together and add in 1/4 cup of powdered sugar at a time until desired texture is reached.

ENJOY!!!!

Nutrition Information
Serving 15 slices
175 Cal * 9g Fat  *  1 Sat Fat  *  22 carbs *  9 sugar  * 250 sodium

The Rough Edges of Life 9/9/12

            Recently I have been in a really weird stage in my weight loss/healthy living journey. I was on such a fast paced, highly motivated edge when I was in college and getting ready for my wedding! I reached my goal weight and learned a LOT of wonderful things and was even able to help some friends along the way!

             However, now I am married (pretty awesome, I know) and living in an entirely different part of the country (the middle of it to be exact), with a full time job (yeah benefits), and trying to balance workouts and meal planning (please give me some slack, I'm really new at this).

            So what I've done thus far is workout at home,(where I live it's not too safe to run on my own and the safe places requiring driving to and I'd rather save the money for other things...like INGREDIENTS for AWESOME recipes!), do every gym trial possible in my area (I chose the YMCA, yup. They have great classes and a money saving membership for lower income--ME!), and now attempt a 60 min workout almost everyday after work!

           Now, I am trying to eat healthy while feeding another who doesn't need to watch his weight (He's just a healthy guy...no really, he's mindful of what he eats unlike many-a-men who eat whatever/whenever...it will catch up to them, just wait) and maintain the weight loss--maybe lose a little more :) a healthy, MANAGEABLE way.

Next thing up, I think I am going to try out protein powder. I think I will start out with Nature's Bounty Protein and see how it work outs. Why? you might ask. Because I've been reading some pretty convincing articles about woman and the lack of protein in their diets (especially woman who want to loose body fat) because of the false conception that its bad calories and unnecessary. (If you're in the non-eating meat family, they have soy and plant protein...yeah....but for me, the Meatatarian, I will stick the whey--milk-based--stuff ).

I plan to vamp up my workouts by adding more weights (already started by doing the Summer Abs Challenge and the Summer Arms Challenge...MAN THEY ARE SHOWING SOME RESULTS as I start week 3!) and of course pumping up the cardio! 

I'll let you know how it goes. 

Got questions? Just ask!

~Felisha