Molten Brownie Bites

So, I know a lot of people that when you diet you have to cut out all desserts, chocolate, etc etc. I'm here to tell you, that is not true. You can still indulge in a delicious, rich, chocolate-y dessert once in a while and still keep on your diet. Now, this is not to say that you can have dessert every single night, because that would only be counterintuitive to your diet. You shouldn't deprive yourself of a treat now and then.

Here is a recipe for Molten Brownie bites that are only 300 calories per serving compared to, say, Chili's Molten Chocolate, which has 1,270 calories! (And that's JUST dessert!)

Molten Brownie Bites
12 servings
Ingredients

• 1 (20 oz) box Ghiradello Double or Triple Chocolate Brownie Mix
• 2 eggs
• 1 egg yolk
• 1/4 cup low fat mayonnaise
• 1/2 cup unsalted melted butter

1. Preheat oven to 400F. Coat 24 cup mini-muffin (2") pan well with cooking spray
2. Place brownie mis in large bowl. Beat eggs, yolk, and mayonnaise in small bow with electric mixer on high speed for 2 minutes. Add egg mixture and butter to mix and stir 
3. Spoon batter into muffin pan, filling each to the top. Bake 10 minutes or until top is just cooked and inside is still soft
4. Remove bites from pan gently and serve immediately.

Hunger Versus Cravings

While most of the time it feels nearly impossible to tell the difference between the two, we're going to break it down today and learn the difference.

Hunger is defined as a compelling need for food. *

Craving is defined as longing for, great desire, or to desire eagerly. *

So, what is the difference? Usually when you're hungry, you feel an emptiness in your stomach, your stomach may growl, or you might even get a headache. Low blood sugar usually triggers these reactions so that you consume something.When you crave something, you usually aren't hungry. Usually you're just bored. Humans, by nature, are orally fixated, some people more than other.

Some ways to cope with a craving:

• Drink a glass of water
• Chose high fiber (fruits, veggies, and whole grains) or high protein foods (nuts, chicken, and fish), they help keep you fuller longer 
• Allow yourself a small portion of what you're craving (ie Hershey's kiss instead of Hershey's bar)
• Take a walk (if possible) when you have a craving
• Wait 20 minutes before going for a second helping. It takes your brain that long to get the signal we're full!

Another way to curb cravings is to eat several smaller meals in a day. Eat Breakfast within an hour of waking up, have a healthy snack 2-3 hours after Breakfast, Lunch 2-3 hours after your first snack, another snack 2-3 hours after Lunch, and then be finished with Dinner at least 3 hours before bed. 

Don't starve yourself! That is one of the worst things that you can do! Sure, you may "lose weight," but when you starve yourself for so long, your body will start breaking down your muscles for energy. Another reason why starving yourself doesn't work, is because your body will start storing fat for when it needs it. You're starving your body, and it's trying to save it's self. 

So, resist the urge to snack on those chips while watching nightly Prime Time! Your body doesn't really need to be filled with half a bag of chips, even if they're baked and not fried! Have a glass of water instead! Save your calorie intake for a meal, when you're actually hungry. Don't forget, commercials are a fantastic time to get in a few crunches, push-ups, and jumping jacks! 

Mini-Meatloaf Burgers

Mini-Meatloaf Burgers  
Serves 8

Ingredients

• 2 lbs 96/4 ground beef
• 1 package dry onion soup mix
• 1/2 cup chopped celery (about 1 large stalk)
• 1/3 red bell pepper
• 2 Tbsp minced garlic
• 1 1/2 Tbsp BBQ seasoning (dry)
• 1 1/2 Tbsp Steak seasoning (dry)
• 1 egg
• 10 crackers
• 1 Tbsn Cajun spice

Directions
Chop bell pepper, garlic & celery, crunch crackers into small bits.

In a medium bowl add all ingredients and mix until just combined.
Form into 8 equal sized burgers and place on grill until done.

The trick is to not over work the meat! If you do, it will be tough. These burgers are very flavorful with a hint of smokiness. This reminds me of Moms meatloaf, with a fantastic twist!

173 Calories per burger
2 slices Pepperidge Farm Very Thin 100% Wheat- 74 Calories (total)
1 Tbsp "Simply Heinz" Katsup- 20 Calories
Tomato slice- 5 Calories
Lettuce- Approximately 5 Calories
1 slice Kraft American cheese- 60 Calories

Without Cheese- 277
With Cheese- 337

Welcome!

So, it's no secret that America is fat. There are multitude of weight loss pills on every shelf whether you are in Wal-Mart or your local super market. There are also isles and isles of prepackaged, high fat, high calorie, first ingredient is High Fructose Corn Syrup foods as well! I'm not saying that we should all go back to everything home made, as much as I would LOVE to tell every single person to start making everything from scratch because it's so much healthier, I realize that not everybody has that kind of time.

So, with this blog, I'm going to help people with simple exercises, recipes, and tips on how to eat better, get fit, lose weight, and turn some of your favorite foods from fat to fit! I'm also not going to lie to you. I'm not a very creative person. I'm not a master chef. I'm going to take recipes that I find and give them a make-over. I'll tell you where I got the recipe from, so that the original author has credit.

My hope is that this blog will be a source of useful information for everyone. I want to help people, it's my number 1 goal!