Fitness Friday Recipe: Healthy Snacks

#TGIF #FitFam! Just because the weekend is almost here, don't forget all of your hard work this week to accomplish your fitness goals! While the weekends typically mean more going out, more snacking, and overall more calories, don't let it get the best of you. Here are a couple really easy, really quick, and really cheap snack ideas to help you stay on track the next couple of days. These are personally my favorite #CleanEating snacks. 

Love ice cream but don't indulge because the calories and fat just aren't worth it? Here's a healthy alternative... Frozen Nutty Banana Nibblers. This delicious-tasting treat is just over 160 calories per serving and offers 4.1 grams of fiber and 3.7 grams of protein, so you can feel good reaching for an extra nibbler or two. For an added bonus, they are a cinch to whip up, and since you can store them in the freezer, you'll have a go-to healthy dessert whenever your sweet cravings kick into high gear. 

Ingredients:

5 medium ripe bananas

1 tbsp. all natural creamy peanut butter

2 oz. nonfat vanilla Greek yogurt

1) Peel one banana and mash it with the peanut butter and yogurt.

2) Peel the other four bananas. Slice into half-inch thick slices.

3) Smear the banana, peanut butter, and yogurt mixture on half the banana slices and top with the other halves, making banana sandwiches.

4) Place on a wooden cutting board or a plate and freeze for at least two hours.

These Apple Sandwiches may look like a kid's treat, but trust me, adults will love it too! Especially if you are dieting and want to eat items that are packed with vitamins, minerals, protein, and good fats. Now don't get me wrong, if your kids love this snack then that's great too! Much better alternative to those french fries at McDonald's!

Ingredients:

1 apple-sliced into thin rounds

1-2 tbsp all natural peanut butter or almond butter

Handful of raisins

Drizzle of honey

Chopped walnuts or almonds

Cinnamon

1) Thinly slice the apple into 8 rounds.

2) Top 4 apple rounds with peanut butter, raisins, nuts and drizzle with a little honey.

3) Top each round with the other 4 apple slices and sprinkle with cinnamon.

Fitness Humor on Hump Day

Well it's HUMP DAY! For those working professionals that means your half way through your work week, but yet the weekend seems so far away! I thought I make a quick blog post to bring you some fitness humor to brighten your week. And, since the work day is winding down and about to come to a close, this means you are probably only a few hours away from hitting the gym and getting your much needed stress reliever on, your workout! You can find more humorous health and fitness posts and images at Facebook.com/FitFadFan and @FitFadFan. So please, take a moment to laugh and read these: 

Happy 4th of July... Diet??

For more diet & nutrition tips, visit Facebook or Twitter @FitFadFan

We all know that with holidays comes lots of eating. The 4th of July is all too often celebrated with backyard BBQ's, pot luck get-togethers, or all day food festivals. Don't let the Independence Day celebration sabotage your weight loss goals! There are ways to still enjoy the holiday festivities while keeping your calorie intake down. 

Which Veggies Pack the Biggest Punch in Nutritional Value

 Visit me on Facebook or Twitter @FitFadFan

If you don't like the taste of veggies, then you better learn how to love them because they are healthy little things, full of vitamins and nutrients to help you be successful in whatever your fitness goals may be. However, there are some veggies that pack a bigger and stronger punch than others. That's why knowing which vegetables are more nutritious than others can lead to even greater success! 

It's suggested that you eat 5-9 servings of vegetables on a daily basis. I'm just so thankful that I've always loved veggies and every single one, except carrots, eww! 

Don't Have TIME to Eat Healthy? That's BS!

Visit me on Facebook or Twitter @FitFadFan

Whether it's working full time, shuffling the kids around, making time for the gym, running errands, and the list could go on, we all live busy lives. Managing our ever growing to-do lists can often lead to failed diets from eating out or eating pre-made junk food just to save some time from not cooking. But, you can find healthy alternatives when your time is limited! So, no more excuses! Gone are the days you say you don't have time to cook healthy. I'm here to share some secrets on quick meals that are also healthy. The key is planning your meals ahead and stick to a strict shopping list. 

Diet Tips for Ultimate Weight Loss

While physical activity plays a big role in weight loss and overall health, your diet plays an even bigger role. I've heard that weight loss is a result of 80% diet and 20% exercise. Perfect example is my mom, she joined Weight Watchers and in a year, she lost over 115 pounds! The only physical activity she performed was moderate walking while out shopping for the day... Although, I am still a firm believer in exercise to build a healthy heart, strong bones and muscle tone. But, if perform physical activity and eat junk food, your results will not pan out how you'd like them too. 

Sticking to a healthy diet is a lifestyle change. And, self control is a top reason most diets fail. So here are some diet tips to help you when you're struggling to reach your weight loss goals:

Eat This Not That Diet

Dieting is difficult, especially if you love to eat as much as I do. Often, when we think of dieting, we think we need to give up everything we love to eat, but that's not entirely true. When we completely give up all the things we love in order to shed a few pounds, we get bored or we let temptation get the best of us and indulge...in the worst way! Instead of cutting things off, make modifications.

For example, if you love tacos you can make a lot of modifications to make this meal healthy:

Happy Valentine's Day!!

I walk into work today and find pink roses on my desk. The owner bought all the ladies in the office roses...how sweet! Then I also find donuts in the cafeteria and some sort of chocolate cake on my desk. Are you kidding me?!? Some holidays make it so difficult to stick to your diet! That or my coworkers are sabotaging the Body Transformation going on in my office, hmmm... 

In keeping with the spirit of sweets for Valentine's Day, I figured I would post one of my favorite dessert recipes: Raspberry Romanoff. Now, the original recipe has a higher calorie and fat count, but I came across Skinny Berry Romanoff and it's delicious too!

HotPants, Literally

I received a Groupon Goods email and the Zaggora HotPants were the item. Now, I'm very familiar with this concept of producing heat to burn fat as I was an avid user of the belly bands, slimmer belts, or whatever you'd like to call them. But, the HotPants really caught my eye as my bottom and thighs are my problem spot. The waist slimmer works great, so I gave the HotPants a try and bought them. Zaggora is a UK based company. Quite honestly, I was surprised the pants concept came so many years after the belly band! Why didn't I think of it?!? (Side note: I bought my belly band about 10 years ago)