Healthy Fall Cocktails

Holiday cocktails are a must but healthy festive cocktails are always the better alternative. It's great to indulge in meals or drinks every now and then, but holidays seem to be the time of the year where people over-indulge with the meals and drinks. I like to maintain a happy medium-sized indulgence around the holidays. Here are some healthy holiday drink recipes that will warm any old scrooge up.

Whiskey Autumn Delight: *SERVED WARM OR CHILLED*
2 oz. of whiskey
6 oz. of organic apple cider (or apple juice if you're not a fan of cider)
A dash of cinnamon
Garnish with an apple slice or a cinnamon stick

Autumn Apple-tini: *SERVED CHILLED*
1 oz. vodka
1 oz. whiskey
1/2 oz. of grade A maple syrup
2 oz. organic apple juice (freshly juiced if you have a juicer)
Garnish with a dash on cinnamon on top

Sizzling Sangria: *SERVE CHILLED*
1 cup of brandy
1/3 cup of triple sec
1 cup of grand marnier
1 bottle of red wine
2 apples and 2 pears diced
1 tablespoon of cinnamon
*OPTIONAL* you can add club soda if you want the sangria to have a spritzer feel to it

Thanksgiving Cider: *SERVE OVER ICE*
2 oz. vodka
3 oz. apple cider
1/2 oz. of grade A maple syrup
Splash of club soda
Garnish with cinnamon or an apple slice

Pumpkin Delight: *SERVE CHILLED*
2 oz. of pumpkin puree
2 oz. of spiced rum
1/4 cup of milk
1/3 cup of half and half
Garnish with a dash of cinnamon
*If served in a martini glass, rim with brown sugar*

I hope some of these festive drink options will make the holidays more warm and enjoyable. Let me know if you will be giving any of these fall drink recipes a shot.

Turkey, not just a holiday meal.

Any time I see turkey being prepared it is always around the fall holidays. I find that somewhat odd because turkey is a great meat source of protein. Just like chicken, turkey serves an import part in diet as well. I typically buy the ground turkey breast meat because the meat from the breast is white meat and we all know white meat is the best meat to put into our bodies. I buy the ground meat because I find it easier to cook and integrate into other recipes other than a whole turkey breast. Like I said, turkey is very simple so I encourage everyone of you to try a non-holiday dish incorporating some turkey.

The turkey dish I decided to make was a sautéed ground turkey with veggies. It was very filling and the recipe made enough for two plates. I thought it turned out delicious and now turkey is my meat of choice.

The recipe:

1/2 lb of ground turkey breast
1/2 of a small pumpkin (skinned and cubed)
1 cup of kale leaves
1 cup of mushrooms
1/2 cup of broccoli and cauliflower
1/2 cup of celery
Onion powder (to taste)
Cayenne peper (to taste)
Topped with pine nuts

Hope you all enjoy this recipe and try incorporating some turkey in your non-festive meals till the holidays.

Pros and Cons: When cooking without oil.

Cooking without using any oils sounds nearly impossible, but using no oil tends to be much easier than your standard cooking methods with oil. Using other ingredients that will substitute for the oil opens numerous healthy-cuisine possibilities.

First let's cover the pros when cooking without oil. There are numerous cooking oils out there, but not all are good for our bodies. Oils can clog our arteries, can cause cravings, usually leads to feeling sluggish, and it can pack on some serious pounds. So an advantage for cooking without oil is an providing overall health change for your body. Like I said above; cooking without oils opens your eyes to the numerous recipes when using oil-free ingredients. Let's move on to the cons. First con is for anyone trying oil-free recipes for the first time, more than likely it is not going to be what you expect. Anyone switching from 100% oil usage to no oil is going to experience a bitter taste and the food won't taste or feel as smooth. This happens because our bodies get accustomed to what you put into them daily. Greasy foods alter your taste buds to like sugars and fats, thus leading you to ungodly cravings throughout the day. The best way to ease into oil-free cooking is by using vegetable or chicken broth, the food will be rich with flavor so it would be hard to taste a significant difference without the oil. The next con of cooking without oil is not getting enough healthy fats. Yes oil is terrible but there are a few oils that are very beneficial to our bodies. Extra virgin olive oil is one of the healthy oils to use while cooking because it is a healthy fat. Now a little goes a long way, so don't over do it. Try sticking to 1 teaspoon to 1 tablespoon, but do not exceed a tablespoon. The is one of those health topics where people can lean towards either side because both sides are good and bad. The trick to maintaining healthy oil consumption is balancing by balancing out your usage and learning what your body needs verses what it wants.

Now onto the interesting part of this post, the oil substitutes. These food items can be used in various way when cooking oil free dishes. These ingredients are typically very moist which is what makes oil-free cooking possible.

• Bananas
• Tofu
• Greek Yogurt
• Pumpkin Puree (basically any fruit or vegetable puree)
• Applesauce
• Vegetable/Chicken Broth
• Coconut Oil
• Water
• Olive Oil (in moderation)
• Milk (of any kind)
  

These are the typical ingredients used for oil-free cooking, let me know if you try a recipe with any of these substitutes or if you know of any other substitutes for oil-free recipes.

Cheating Made Easy.

This may be a little odd but during my challenge I did not step on the scale at all, mainly because I did not want to psych myself out by just seeing a number change, I wanted this challenge to mainly focus on the progress picture because then you are seeing results first hand. A few people were curious to know how much weight I lost during the challenge, even after the challenge was completed I refused to step on the scale because weight in my mind it is just a number and we should never let it control our healthy habits. Even with a couple people still hounding me about weighing myself I could not escape the scale at my doctors office. As I sit in the lobby I think of what the scale will say my weight is, I know I have nothing to worry about because I have lost weight and majority of my clothes are baggy now, but it's the fact that I am stepping on the exact scale that read my highest weight to me back in 2010. I was 179.6 pounds back then; that is the time where I ran into a few health problems and those being combined with my horrible eating habits just became a recipe for tremendous weight gain. The doctor calls me to the back room to take my weight, I stand with angst as I wait for the scale to calculate my current number that defines my bodys current state and just when I felt like it was not going to be a drastic change the scale read 142.3 pounds. I was ecstatic, I could not believe I lost almost 14 pounds during this challenge, since I weighed myself a few weeks before this challenge and I was at 156 pounds. I thought that was a great way to end the 30 Day Challenge with, I know this challenge was the best decision I have made for my health and body in awhile and now it's not only a challenge but a lifestyle.

The 30 Day Challenge is completed, and now I just want to eat any cheat meal I can get my hands on. For the last 3 days I have found myself wanting to eat something bad but when it's right in front of me is when I now no longer want it, I just can't seem to even stomach the idea of eating something that is unhealthy for my body, yet I still wanted a super sweet treat. Just this week I came across an email from the Tone It Up girls, it was about a 3 ingredient cookie. I didn't open the email because of course it was going to be a healthy recipe and at that time I was really wanting a normal dessert and not a healthy dessert. After a couple days spent having no sweet treats I decided to open the email and try their cookie recipe. Boy was I missing out, these cookies hit the sweet tooth spot and I felt awesome while eating them because I know that they are 100% good for you. The 3 ingredient cookie recipe can be found here.

I followed their recipe when I made them and it made 11 huge cookies, I might make the cookies a little smaller next time and I plan to use pumpkin purée instead of bananas. You can also add in some other fruit to the original recipe, just remember to always play around with healthy clean-eating recipes because you will always end up with a better version (your healthy rendition) of the original. I'm glad this 30 Day Challenge altered my previous eating habits because a lot of people were warning me about if I binge right after the challenge then I will gain everything back plus some more. Ironically I think by making myself stay committed to this challenge for 30 days change my habits and now I can't even stomach the idea of processed and unhealthy foods.

Drinking Made Healthy.

Ever wanted to loose weight but not give up drinking? I know that drinking is typically a social setting kind of thing and most people in their early twenties to mid thirties are found in the nightlife scene. Drinking was a big thing for me to give up during this challenge since I'm at the age where all my friends want to go out and party on the weekends and of course I did not ever want to be the friend who says no to going out for a bit while on a diet. The trick is to set a number a number for how many nights you are allowing yourself to go out an have few drinks with friends. I decided to choose three nights during my 30 day challenge. I chose three because I had my boyfriend's birthday weekend during this month as well as Halloween, and drinks were allowed on those days only. The other trick is to stay healthy with your drink choices. Mainly you want to stick to clear liquors since they will have the lowest sugars, you also want to avoid any flavored liquors because those tend to be distilled with sugary flavor syrup which is not good while dieting. If you really want flavored liquor start your research and look up the nutrition fact for whichever liquor you desire, if that liquor is not the healthiest choice then pick a different kind. If you want to see results you will really need to commit to little to no alcohol because even if the alcohol you choose has low sugars your body will still convert that alcohol into sugar, that's why people typically are bloated after a night of drinking.

It wasn't until recently where I discovered healthy drink recipes because typically I just stuck with vodka and soda water or tequila and soda water. Those drinks are pretty bland but very low in calories and sugars. One day I stumbled across a Tone It Up post that focused on drinking healthy. Their post includes what you should and shouldn't do while out drinking. They give great tips on how to keep everything healthy and nutritious for your body. The Tone It Up post can be found here, make sure you print their recipe card out and read all of their drinking tips. I enjoy all of their drink recipes and I have concocted a few of my own. I am a big tequila fan, I prefer clear tequila, so margarita's are typically my drink of choice. I also like to have vodka in any of my fruity drinks just because vodka is a lot smoother than tequila in some cases. I have been juicing a lot and I have used some of my juices as the mixers for my vodka drinks, this is a better alternative to store bought juice since you know all the ingredients in your juice.

Margarita Recipe:
1 shot of clear tequila
2 table spoons of lime juice
2 table spoons of agave nectar
A splash of water or soda water to make it less syrupy
Some stevia to taste and garnish with a lime

Vodka Drink Recipe:
1 cup of your juice of choice (I chose homemade pear juice)
1 shot of vodka
*Optional* Garnish with whatever fruit you prefer or muddle up some mint or strawberries and enjoy

Soda Water Recipes:
1 shot of vodka or tequila
1 cup of water or soda water
Garnish with a lemon or a lime

Irish Coffee Recipe:
1 cup of black coffee
1 shot of whiskey (since whiskey is also low in calories)
Unsweetened almond milk to taste and some stevia to taste
*Optional* serve in a martini glass and use coffee beans as the garnish

These were just a few of my favorite healthy drink options. Remember going out to drink is just like going out to eat, if you order what is on the menu it will have a lot of calories but if you know what your doing and order smart you will be able to avoid all those unwanted calories. Most bars already have the healthier options so do not be afraid to ask for these "bizarre" drink choices.