Protein Packed, Clean Eating Pizza!

Pizza can't be good for you, right?

That's a relatively true statement, until now! I came across this recipe a while back and i've just now decided to try it. I HAVE NO IDEA WHY I WAITED SO LONG because my mouth is in heaven! 

What you will need :

2 oz 99/1 ground turkey

1/2 cup quick oats

1 Tbs Tomato PASTE (not sauce)

Chopped Peppers

1/4 Fat Free Feta Cheese

Italian Seasoning/Seasonings of choice

Garlic Powder

Steps :

Preheat Oven to 400 degrees

1. Kneed 2 oz turkey and 1/2 cup quick oats. This could take a few minutes to do but don't get frustrated because they will combine.

2. Form "dough" mixture into pizza pie shape.

3. Cook for 5 minutes. Take dough out and flip to the opposite side and cook for an additional 5.

5. While dough is cooking, chop peppers and saute in pan with Italian seasoning. 

6. When dough has finished cooking, remove from oven, add 1 tbs tomato paste, 1/4 cup feta cheese (I crush mine with a fork to spread it more evenly), and sauteed peppers. 

7. Put back in oven for additional 8 minutes.

8. SIT BACK AND ENJOY!

Nutritional Value : For entire pizza!

Calories - 270 

Total Fat - 3.4

Cholesterol - 32.5

Sodium - 305.7

Total Carbs - 33.2

Dietary Fiber - 5.2

Sugars - 4.1 

Protein - 26.4

My Journey!

I haven't always been a healthy person...

I grew up being morbidly obese. To be honest I don't ever remember a point in my life where my pediatrician or family doctor told me I was healthy at my weight. It took me 17 years to take a step back and ask myself if who I was was someone I should be proud of. I was 250 pounds and miserable. Being a high school senior meant dances, parties, beach trips before everyone goes off to college, and possibly even dates. (The last one didn't ever happen but we get the point.) With all of these exciting things coming up for me to involve myself in there was always one thing that clouded my enjoyment; My weight would always hold me back from living my life to the fullest.

August 2009...

I began a strict diet regime in order to get my health in order. My motivation? Prom. I wanted nothing more then to step into that ballroom and feel happy, healthy, and confident. I started my journey on the weight watchers program which was something I had grown familiar with. I had started and stopped the diet countless times before but for some reason it absolutely felt like it would finally work. And it did, much to my surprise. Weight watchers helped me fit into the beautiful prom dress of my dreams and I had never felt happier. While the program got me exactly where I wanted to be, I knew I needed to start working on researching foods instead of relying on a points system to keep me on track.

Where I am now...

After some ups and downs with my weight (I did gain back a significant amount during the first few months I started dating my fiance) I can now honestly say I have found the perfect balance between my love for food and my love for health. After researching different ways to live a healthy lifestyle I came across one that would trump anything i've ever tried. I became a clean eater. To those of you who might not be aware, this is  the site that first inspired me to live the way I do. Click Here, Never in my life has my body felt as amazing as it currently does. It helped me finally beat the battle of my "last 15" by only allowing myself to eat whole foods in their natural state. (nothing processed here!) This is something I pretty much just jumped right into. I gave up almost everything I normally ate (eggo waffles, boca burgers, microwave dinners, etc) and replaced them with more clean protein (99/1 turkey, chicken, etc) and lots of veggies. While the clean eating lifestyle is one of the most strict regimes i've ever tried I would absolutely recommend it to anyone. While weight watchers helped me lose the weight, eating clean pushed me to make sure I only put good foods inside my body. After all, we only get one of those. 

I will get back to a normal blog in my next post, but I wanted to put a little bit of my history out there so you can all see the struggle a little better. There is no one who wants you to succeed in your journey more then I do. Anything is possible if you PUSH yourself. No one is gonna lose the weight and get healthy for you, it is something you have to do for yourself. Until next time, Jessica.

Healthy Fats!

Fat...

For some of us just hearing that word will make us cringe. The question is though, are there HEALTHY fats? And the answer is YES! Believe it or not fats are not always bad for you. They fill you up and help slow down the desire to overeat! 

Two fats you should start growing more familiar with are Monounsaturated fat and Polyunsaturated fat.

These fats are good for your cholesterol, heart, and blood pressure levels! Some even aid in weight loss!

Here are some great examples of monounsaturated and polyunsaturated fats that are easy to add into your daily diet. (Let's not forget delicious!)

Monounsaturated 

Avocado! 

Almonds!

Peanut Butter! 

Olive Oil & Olives

Polyunsaturated 

Salmon!

Soymilk!

Walnuts!

Safflower Oil!

Keep in mind...

These are all great additions to anyone's healthy lifestyle. Switching out that bag of potato chips for 1/4 cup of almonds will not only give you that same salty crunch, but it will make your body feel and look better as well! As with all things, eat these fats in moderation and keep an eye on your fat intake throughout day.

Fats to stay away from!

Saturated and Trans fats are commonly known to raise cholesterol and increase the risk of a disease. These two fats are easy to find in everything from candy bars, pizza, to the butter you're putting on your brocolli.

Make sure to try to avoid eating these fats as much as you possibly can!

Images are copyright to original owners. They were found on google search and are not my own.

Know Your Greek Yogurt!

Greek Yogurt...

It's the new "popular" yogurt you have probably seen everywhere from the grocery store, magazines, and possibly even your best friends fridge. While Greek yogurt is somewhat of an acquired taste and is certainly not for everyone, it packs a substantial amount of health benefits and perks you could be missing from the regular yogurt you have been eating. This being sad, much like regular yogurts, Greek yogurts use pretty packaging and eye catching words to reel you into what might not be the best yogurt option. Let's go ahead and look at what I consider the best Greek yogurt option at the local grocery store compared to a much more popular and eye-catching brand. 

Fage Total 0% Greek Yogurt

The packaging is a snore fest, I agree. Don't let it's plain exterior fool you though. 

At 130 calories per 1 cup this yogurt will cost you ZERO grams of fat (both saturated and trans) and cholesterol. It has a low sodium intake of 85mg (about 6% of the suggested daily amount) and is perfect for carb conscious dieters with only 9 grams. This yogurt is also jam packed with protein (23 grams to be exact). But what really catches my eye? The sugar content! For one cup of Fage greek yogurt you only take out 9 grams of sugar from your daily intake! (You will find out later why this is such an amazing thing.)

Chobani "Fruit on the bottom" Greek Yogurt

Now we might be talking about something you've probably seen floating around more frequently then the Fage Greek yogurt. The packaging truly is more eye-catching and the addition of fruit makes this yogurt much more appealing. However, let's dig a bit deeper. 

I got lucky on this yogurt and was able to find an actual picture of the nutrition label. As you can see there are some differences. 1. 10 more calories (this isn't a huge deal in all honesty) 2. Lower sodium content. 3. Less protein. 4. Higher carb content. 5. MUCH MORE SUGAR! Just over double that of an entire cup of the Fage Greek Yogurt.

Now you may be wondering what the point of this blog post is. Well, to me this is a perfect example of one of the most basic rules of living a healthy lifestyle - ALWAYS look into the nutrition label in full detail. You may think you're making the healthiest choice when you're really not. However, keep in mind that like with all things Chobani is not extremely unhealthy when eaten in moderation!

One more tip - if you DO plan on running out to the grocery store to pick up some Fage Greek Yogurt, make sure to pick up some stevia sweetener to counteract the bitter taste. 

Copyright for above images go to rightful owners - found on Google search.