Let’s talk about NEAT: The Key to Affective Weight Loss

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Neat isn’t about how organized your house is, but cleaning definitely counts as NEAT.  NEAT stands for

Non

Exercise

Activity

Thermogenesis

It’s basically your amount of activity during the day apart from formal workouts.  It is the largest contributor to your daily calorie burn, even IF you workout. For that reason neat is the biggest indicator of  your body composition and overall weight.  Walking, laundry, cleaning, gardening, painting, carpentry, playing with the kids, riding bikes for fun, roller skating, hiking, walking the dog, bathing the dog, hula hooping….it all counts.  Any movement on your feet adds to your overall calorie burn for the day.

This is important because the amount of fat stored on your body is a direct result of the amount of calories you eat, vs the amount of calories you burn.  Fat is just stored energy and you can change the amount you have stored by using it for energy when the  calories you consume aren’t enough to satisfy the demands of your activities.

It’s important to track NEAT and the best way to do it is with a step counter.   This is the one I have.  Without tracking, most people don’t move around nearly as much as they think they do. Studies have shown that people who do formal workouts get much less NEAT than those who don’t.  It’s human nature to feel like you’ve done your workout for the day, so it’s ok to sit and rest.  It can mean burning fewer calories overall than someone who doesn’t work out at all.

Does that mean you shouldn’t work out?  Not at all.  Working out at a level that increases your heart rate into your target zone (aerobic) also increases the number of mitochondria in the cells.  Mitochondria are the power houses of the cells that govern how many calories they use.  The more mitochondria you have the more calories you burn and the more energetic you feel.  Wish you had as much energy as your child? Move more, move fast, move loads, and challenge yourself.

The other part of energy usage and calorie burn is the number of muscle cells you have in your body.  Muscles are the only cells that burn calories at rest.  Lifting heavy weight is KEY to increasing your metabolism.  While aerobic exercise uses fat for energy during the workout, once you stop working out, you stop burning calories at an accelerated pace.  When you lift weights, the calorie burn isn’t as high as aerobic exercise during the workout itself, BUT you burn at an accelerated pace for the rest of the day.  This results in an overall daily calorie burn that is HIGHER than aerobic exercise.  Plus you build new muscle cells that keep on burning even while you sleep.

You need all 3: aerobic exercise (for increased mitochondria), weight training (for increased muscle cells) and NEAT (for increased overall daily burn) for affective weight loss.

My personal goal is no less than 10,000 steps a day and YES that step count can include my formal workout.  NEAT plus workout > 10,000 steps.

Hope this helps!

Love,

Your Personal Trainer

Angela

10 Ways to Stick to a Fitness Routine

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Avocado Ranch Fajita salad

If you’ve been reading for awhile, you already know I had a 4 year struggle with my health that got better enough for me to care for my family, but still left me in unexplained states of exhaustion for days and an extra 30 lbs of stubborn belly weight. Doctors kept telling me I was fine, when I was obviously not fine. Last January I finally got so frustrated with the situation that I signed up for Personal Training school. I hoped along the journey to finally figure out why I was exercise intolerant and fix it forever.

School is the main reason my blog has been so hit or miss lately.  Juggling the 3 side hustles while keeping up with my studies was a challenge for sure. 

I passed my exam last Thursday and am an official personal trainer! While I don’t have all the answers I was hoping for, I worked closely with doctors through the process and have enough to safely pursue my own fitness while supporting others in their goals.  I am finally able to exercise without crashing.

Part of me feels ashamed to admit that I’m a personal trainer, because I don’t look like a fitness model. The other part of me recognizes that we all have our journeys in fitness. Just because I don’t look like a fitness model, doesn’t me I don’t know my stuff. A national certification board just gave me their stamp of approval and that’s something to celebrate no matter what my waist measurement is at this exact moment. I’m much further in my health than I was just a year ago and for that I’m grateful!

The hardest part for anyone on a fitness journey is consistency.  Showing up day in and day out with proper nutrition and physical activity is not easy.  Here are 10 things I’ve learned in my own journey that have helped me stay consistent.

  1. Have a plan.  Know what your workout is going to be ahead of time.  It’s hard to get started if you don’t know what to do.

2. Set out your workout clothes and pack your gym bag the night before.  Make it easy for the alarm to go off, dress, grab your water bottle and get busy.

3. Have a fitness buddy.  This is easier said than done, I know.  But people who have someone else in their life to work out with and share nutrition goals with are far more likely to stick to them.  It’s even more helpful if your workout buddy lives in the same house.

4. Keep progress reports. Take those before photos and measurements and repeat them every 2-4 weeks.  Collage them side-by-side so you can prove to yourself it’s working.  It’s no fun to take those before pictures.  I get it!  But one day you’ll be so happy you did.

5. Know yourself.  Are you an all or nothing person?  Perfectionists have the hardest time sticking to a fitness routine, because one slip up makes us want to quit altogether.  Let it be ok to make mistakes and get right back on track. On the other hand this type of personality also struggles with one taste of brownie leading to scarfing the whole pan.  In those cases, learn to be ok with not having a taste.  Then find treat recipes that are still supportive of your goals.

6. Schedule your workouts. Figure out the routine that works best with your schedule and personality.  While it’s totally ok to work out every other day by fitting both weight training and cardio into the same session, some people have to workout every day to stay consistent.  The first missed day, even when it’s scheduled will most likely become 2 missed days and pretty soon we aren’t going at all.  Others prefer every other day off to fit in their responsibilities. They are both perfectly fine ways to get fit, but make a decision about what’s best for you and then schedule it in.

7. Reward your hard work with rewards that support your goals.  It might be a new outfit , a pair of earrings, or an outing with your family. Whatever you decide write it down as a “When I…..I can…..” statement.  One of my favorite reward systems is participating in DietBet. I love that I can earn a little bit of cash by making healthy choices.

8. Focus on what you can control. You can control if you do a workout and how much effort you give.  You can control what you put in your mouth. You cannot control the scale.  It’s so freeing to stop worrying about the things we can’t control and taking action on what we can control. When everything else is in place, the scale will take care of itself.

9. Don’t self sabotage. Our will-power has limits.  We might be able to turn down a sugary treat once, but if it’s offered a 2nd or 3rd time chances are we’ll take a taste and then scarf the whole tray.  Don’t keep foods in the house that don’t support your goals. I get it that most of us live with people…and children….and there’s going to be stuff in the house we can’t always control. I ask my older kids to keep their fun foods hidden in their bedrooms and my husband locks his in the hunting safe. Find something that works for you.

10.  Meal Prep. People who plan their healthy food in advance and make it easy to grab instead of a unhealthy convenience item are way more successful in reaching their goals.  This is so true for me that I spend a lot of time each week putting together prep ahead meal plans and shopping lists for my own use and let members of Groceryshrinkplus have a copy to adapt or use as they see fit .

Please, leave a comment and let me know what you think. Which of these tips is the most important to you? Where are you on your health journey? How can I help?

The Secret to Great Energy and Well-Being

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Back before we moved into this giant project house, I made homemade bread, had a garden, and sewed our own clothes. I cooked a meal every night and we sat around the table as a family.  Since we moved (6 years ago — aak!) I just haven’t had the energy for it. It might have coincided with adding our 6th child, plus all the extra work from DIYing the house. Plus I took a part time job outside the home and then my health fell apart.

This picture is awful and I was definitely miserable, but it’s not the sickest part of my journey.  Just a year or two before this, I couldn’t walk unassisted because my blood pressure was so low.  If I tried to stand, I would sometimes black out and the room was spinning so fast, I couldn’t keep my balance. It was hard to even lift my arms off the bed.  Some days I was afraid my heart might stop beating in the night.

All that time in bed, I spent reading and researching.  I found a doctor who could help me. Traditional doctors scratched their head and wrote prescriptions for prednisone and other immunosuppresants. Some even suggested it was all in my head, but she guided me through nutritional healing.  The details of that process is a book all in itself, but it has motivated me to help others.  It’s why I’m in school right now to become a personal trainer and going on to become a health coach and fitness nutritional specialist.

Friend, your health is everything. While I was laying in bed, the only thing I had was God. (Which was huge!  I can’t imagine walking this journey without Him.)  I had no family life.  I missed sports games, music concerts, birthday parties, Christmas.  The world kept going with me trapped in bed on the sidelines. The kids did so much growing up in the years that I was sick. Those lost moments are my biggest regret.

I have energy to bake again! No more additives in bread for my family.

Even after I was well enough to get up off the bed, I had a long road of recovery ahead. I’m still on it and sometimes take a step back.  While each regression is frustrating, it also teaches me a lot about my body.

Sheet Pan Suppers make healthy food prep easy

The cause of my illness can be summed up in one word, STRESS.  I used to think about stress as worry, money problems, or a calendar full of too many events, and while that’s definitely part of it, stress is much more than that.  It can be physical stress from exposure to toxic chemicals, like ammonia and bleach or even paint fumes. It can be from toxic load from food additives. Stress can even come from light sensitivity or undiagnosed allergies.  Whether stress comes from internal or external sources, it creates a perfect storm that is the root of ALL disease. Even when we have a genetic disposition to disease, it takes a trigger to turn those genes on.  That trigger is some form of stress.

Research scientists are now discovering that the deadly diseases of aging adults began in their childhood.  This link is specific to heart disease, but I strongly believe that cancers and brain diseases also begin in childhood with root nutritional stress causes.

I’m hosting a free live class through zoom on May 3rd, telling some of the tricks I use, including how to use essential oils to support the thyroid, adrenals and good sleep. How I ensure proper nutrition and reduce oxidative stress. I’ll also show my favorite snack that boosts gut health, encourages fat loss, increases metabolism, boosts detoxification, and is super filling. Plus I’ll be showing my favorite non-toxic cleaners and skin care routine.  Just pop in your email address above to get an invitation. (Plus it’s live, so you can ask questions like “But what about picky eaters? And how can I afford it?”)

Sometimes I still feel discouraged about how far I have left to go in my health journey, then I look back on my progress photos and realize how far I’ve come.

I put these photos side by side yesterday and shared them on instagram. I still have a long way to go in fitness and the scale has actually gone UP instead of DOWN! So frustrating when I’ve been working so hard and if all I had to go on was the scale, I would have given up long before now. Some days I ask myself how I think I can be a personal trainer and health coach when I’m so overweight. “Who do you think you are?” Then I see the progress here and realize the scale can’t tell the whole story, and I keep going.

Even progress pictures can’t show everything.  Remember when I told you a few years ago I couldn’t lift my arms off the bed? This is last weekend, me hiking with my family.  ME!  I’m crying with joy because I was there, participating, living an energy filled abundant life.  If I can do it, anyone can.

I’m excited to share more of my story with you live.  See you May 3rd!

 

 

Makeover Strawberry Pretzel Salad

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Strawberry Pretzel Salad is more dessert than salad, and it’s one of my favorites.

The original recipe is packed full of sugar, excess butter, artificial coloring, and hydrogenated fats.

I saw some opportunities for nutritional improvement without sacrificing much flavor.  I started by reducing the amount of butter by half…and honestly it still was plenty.  I also cut the sweetener amounts way down and then substituted Truvia or Erythritol for the sugar.  I got rid of the hydrogenated fats by swapping out the whipped topping for protein rich Greek yogurt. And ditched a pile of sugar and artificial food coloring by using homemade gelatin from light cranberry juice that was colored with vegetable powder instead of box gelatin colored with food dye. This healthier version is worthy of potluck suppers.

Healthier Strawberry Pretzel Salad

2 cups (about 5 oz) roughly chopped pretzels (gluten free work too)

6 Tbs butter, melted

3 Tbs Erythritol or Truvia

8 oz Neufchatel Cream Cheese

8 oz Unsweetened Greek Yogurt

1/2 cup Erythritol or Truvia

1 lb fresh strawberries, hulled and sliced

2 cups Low Calorie Cranberry Juice, look for an aspartame free variety.  I got mine from Aldi and it has 5 calories per cup.

1 Tbs plain Gelatin

  1.  Sprinkle gelatin over 1 cup of cranberry juice.  Let stand for 1 minute.  Microwave on high for 1 minute or until dissolved.  Stir in the remaining cup of cold juice and chill until thickened.  (About 30 minutes to an hour.)
  2. Meanwhile, preheat oven to 350 degrees. Stir together pretzels, melted butter and 3 Tbs sweetener. Press evenly into the bottom of a glass 9×13 pan.  Bake for 12-15 minutes or until golden.  Cool to room temperature.
  3. Beat together cream cheese, Greek Yogurt and sweetener until smooth.  Spread over cooled crust.
  4. Top cream layer with sliced strawberries, then pour thickened gelatin over all.  Chill for 3 hours or until set.Note: If you don’t let the gelatin thicken before pouring, it will sink to the bottom and make your crust soggy. I learned from experience

It makes 8 generous servings each with 262 calories; 16g fat; 20g net carbs and 8g protein.  I enjoy a piece for breakfast, or a snack, or both.

For the same size serving, the original recipe has 510 calories; 29g fat; 57g net carbs and 4g protein.

Have you given a favorite recipe a healthier makeover?  I’d love to hear about it.

This post contains amazon affiliate links.  Linking to the products that I personally use in my home. If you choose to purchase anything through one of these links, I will receive a small commission.

Grab and Go Muesli Breakfast Cookies

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I’m constantly on the lookout for ways to simplify our lives, and if it makes us healthier too, it’s a double win.  Breakfast cookies are one of those double wins and are easy to grab and eat for a healthy breakfast on the go or an after school snack on the way to music lessons or sports practice.

I made these Muesli breakfast cookies last week for the Fit Mama meal plan and it was instant love. I had three the first day, one at breakfast and at each of my snack times. Inspiration for the recipe came from Sweet as Honey and I tweaked it to simplify the number of ingredients and to fit into the macro nutrition profile I needed for the Fit Mama plan.
I can imagine all sorts of different variations just by changing the type of dried fruit and seeds or nuts added.  Different fruit options include: dried blueberries, golden raisins, apricots, cherries, strawberries, apples, dates, bananas, mango, papaya, pineapple, prunes. Prunes are shockingly delicious despite their old person stereotype and taste sweeter than dates without as many active carbs . Nuts and seeds might also include macadamia nuts, almonds, pecans, walnuts, pistachios, cashews, filberts, or cacao nibs.

I love dried fruits and nuts so much that it’s easy for me to overdo it and gain weight on them even though they are healthy foods.  By baking them into these cookies, there’s instant portion control.

After dropping the dough onto the sheets, you’ll want to use a silicone spatula to flatten and shape them into cookies.

Something you need to know about these is that they are HEALTHY and they taste like it.  They aren’t super sweet, just sweet enough to be pleasant.  More the sweetness of a piece of honey wheat bread instead of the sweetness of a chocolate chip cookie.

For that reason, I’m going to share the small recipe first.  It makes 4 large single serving cookies, enough for your family to taste them before you waste large amounts of ingredients.

I found everything except the unsweetened coconut at Aldi.  I also chose to use Great Value Sugar Free Syrup from Wal-mart instead of honey to keep the macros in fat burning zone. If I were making these for kids, I would use honey or real maple syrup as listed.

Muesli Breakfast Cookies, Small Recipe

3/4 cup Old Fashioned Rolled Oats

1/4 cup Unsweetened Coconut Flakes

1/4 cup Whole Wheat Flour or Almond Meal

1/4 cup Craisins

2 Tbs Pepitas (Shelled pumpkin seeds)

2 Tbs Sunflower Seeds

2 Tbs Fresh Ground Flax Meal

1 Egg

1/4 cup honey or real maple syrup

2 tbs melted coconut oil

Preheat oven to 350 degrees and line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Combine all ingredients in the order given and shape by 1/3 cupfuls into 4 large cookies onto prepared baking sheets. Bake for 20 minutes, or until golden brown. Cool completely before moving so they don’t fall apart. Enjoy with your favorite warm beverage.

They are also really good frosted with Natural Peanut Butter.

Muesli Breakfast Cookies, Family Size Recipe

3 cups Old Fashioned Oats

1 cup Unsweetened Coconut Flakes

1 cup Whole Wheat Flour or Almond Meal

1 cup Craisins

1/2 cup Pepitas

1/2 cup Sunflower Seeds

1/2 cup Ground Flax Meal

4 eggs

1 cup Honey or Maple Syrup

1/2 cup Coconut Oil, melted

Preheat oven to 350 degrees and line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Combine all ingredients in the order given and shape by 1/3 cupfuls into 16 large cookies onto prepared baking sheets. Bake for 20 minutes, or until golden brown. Cool completely before moving so they don’t fall apart. Enjoy with your favorite warm beverage.

Made with Sugar Free Syrup instead of honey, each cookie contains: 270 calories; 16g fat; 24g net carbs; 7g protein.

The batter is moist enough that I think I could stir in some vanilla protein powder for extra sweetness plus protein.  If I try it out, I’ll update with the results.

Do you ever have call for grab and go breakfasts? What’s your favorite?

 

Little Chocolate Pots

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This recipe has changed my week.  It’s one of the rare “health” foods that my kids are crazy about. I tested it for next week’s FitMama meal plan and thought I had double what I needed.  But my oldest daughter is singing a solo at district contest for the first time today and Monday she walked in the door a complete emotional wreck.  When I handed her a little chocolate pot, words were no longer necessary.  I loved knowing it was a tiny bowl of superfood to nourish her adrenals and her brain.  It wasn’t a false stab at comfort food that would fill her body with garbage and drag her down further.

The tiny little bowls were from Big Lots.  At $2 each they were an affordable splurge.  I love the texture in the stoneware on the outside and the crackle glaze inside.

The only unusual ingredient in this recipe is Xylosweet.It’s a sugar free sweetener derived from probiotics+corn that I feel ok about using.  It tastes like sugar without messing with your blood sugar. You can use any sweetener you prefer or have on hand.  Another good choice is Monk Fruit In The Raw.  You can also use Truvia, but if you find it bitter, pick one of the other two.

Superfoods:

Coconut Oil: thermogenic to boost metabolism; nourishes the brain and helps memory; reduces inflammation and boosts the immune system; nourishes skin, teeth and hair; anti-fungal and anti-microbial

Unsweetened Cocoa Powder:  Rich in fiber, protein, and anti-oxidants; boosts metabolism

Collagen:  Builds strong hair, skin, and nails; soothes the lining of the intestines and helps with digestions

Eggs:  Full of protein, vitamin A, Vitamin B and zinc.  Good for your eyes, brain and heart and reduce the risk of metabolic syndrome.

Cinnamon: Boost metabolism, helps regulate blood sugar, good for the heart and aids in circulation

Little Chocolate Pots

½ cup refined coconut oil, melted*

¼ cup ground xylitol**

Pinch salt

¼ cup unsweetened cocoa powder

¼ cup collagen

2 large eggs, room temperature***

½ cup hot water with ¼ tsp cinnamon****

1.Add all but the eggs and hot coffee to a blender and blend well.

2.Add eggs and blend well, one at a time. (If your eggs are too cold, the coconut oil will solidify too soon.)

3.Slowly drizzle in hot coffee while blending. Blend well. The hot coffee will “cook” the eggs.

4.Pour into 6 small ramekins. Cover with plastic wrap and chill at least 2 hours or until firm.

6 servings: 242 calories; 21g fat; 9 net carbs ; 7g protein

*Refined coconut oil does not have coconut flavor. If you LOVE the taste of coconut, you can use unrefined pressed coconut oil. MCT oil won’t work, because you need it to harden when cooled.

**You can use any no calorie sweetener you prefer. I grind my xylitol in a little coffee grinder. It helps it dissolve better. If you are subbing all the sweeteners with honey, this is not the meal plan for you. The fat burning process with these specific ingredients rely on no sugars

***The temp of the eggs is super important here. I didn’t remember to take mine out ahead of time, so I ran some really hot water in a mug for each egg and dropped them in. They stayed in there for 3-5 minutes and were warm enough for this recipe.

****You can change the flavor by subbing hot coffee or mint tea

If you are looking for a weight loss plan that works with your busy schedule.  Check out FitMama. The food is prepped ahead so it’s ready to heat up and eat whenever you need it.  Healthy food could soon be as easy for you as grabbing a bag of chips.

Here’s the meals for the first day for the March 12th Fit Mama Plan.  We have a private facebook group too, so if you need help with ingredient substitutes for preferences we’re on it :).

Breakfast: Guacamole Eggs

Snack: Little Chocolate Pots

Lunch: Salmon Chef’s Salad

Snack:  Giant Frozen Eggnog

Dinner: Grilled Steak with Asparagus and Whipped Cauliflower

Snack: Hot Creamy Peppermint Sipper

This post contains affiliate links.  Thanks for supporting us :).

Chili Dog Enchiladas

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This recipe uses a few convenience items to get dinner on the table in a snap.  Since we usually cook from scratch, this change of pace feels really special.  Haha, yep, hot dogs are special.  This will only taste as good as your hot dogs are, so I recommend splurging a little on the all beef or turkey ones.   Read more…

Why I’m Bubbling Over With Excitement

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This month I’ve been hosting a spending freeze challenge for the Grocery Shrink Plus members.  It was an extra perk of their meal plan membership and they got some extra stuff, like printable worksheets and the super frugal $50 week meal plan to help them get the most out of the the challenge.  The best part is how the members encourage each other.

Here’s one comment from a member who gave permission for me to share her story but asked to remain anonymous:

This “no spending freeze” has been an inspiration to me. 
I finally talked with my husband about our budget. He is on board, and I am holding myself more accountable on our grocery budget. I am one of THESE people with overblown grocery budget, but can’t afford it. I am working hard on not stock piling, holding out for the true sales, and only buying what is needed right now (fruit for most part, along with paper products and toiletries). So far, we have only spent about 15% of our regular budget. I intend on keeping the same for February, and then keep our new budget to 2/3 of what we spent last year.
Our other budget items have remained at 0 for this month, except of course for what we spend our animals and pets, some homeschooling expenses and regular bills. When we had to eat out, due to lack of planning and time, it made my family more aware, and gave more tools to discuss with our kids why we are not going out every Sunday for dinner with our friends after church.
Is it hard? Yes, as I am trying not to obsess over the budget, but at the same time enjoy almost too much seeing our expenses going way down this month.
And from another member:
We were able to pay off the balance of a credit card that I didn’t expect to pay off for another 3 months! Getting this debt snowball rolling…. 
And we still have a week left!!!!
We wrap up the spending freeze, January 31st, but I’m keeping the group open for several ladies who want to continue freezing for a few more months and kick their debt to the curb.
But this isn’t the only reason I’m excited.  Have you ever noticed how much sticking to a budget is similar to sticking to a healthy eating plan?
That’s why the next official GSP challenge is a fitness challenge.  It starts February 6th and comes with special bonuses including fat shredding prep ahead meal plans, so you can have your meals and snacks all ready to go for each week, a private group where you can check in and get a pat on the back, and extra coaching.  If you’d like to join us, here’s a secret link for 50% off the membership.  It expires February 6th or whenever we fill up.

What I’m Into this Week

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Ashley Black Fascia Blasting.  The tools aren’t cheap (and I haven’t purchased yet) but I joined the facebook group and have been lurking for awhile.  The success stories and before and after pictures are inspiring.  I’m interested in the process to gain more range of motion and reduce body pain, especially in my jaw, neck and shoulders. When my husband heard the testimonies, he said, “Will you buy me one for my back?”  He had a painful back injury 3 years ago that hasn’t healed even after months of physical therapy.  We can totally share one. I also plan to convince my mom to try it on her knee.  She has had horrible pain for more than 6 months that even surgery and steroid shots haven’t helped. I think this could be really helpful to her. If you decide to lurk in the group, search #storytimewithjoanna to hear how the business began. It’s inspirational.  (PS side affects include loss of cellulite, increased hair growth, increased collagen production, and some temporary bruising.)  If you are a physical therapist, chiropractor, or massage therapist–this isn’t optional.  You should at least look it over.

Irlen Syndrome.  I alluded to this briefly in this post, but we have had even more experience with it since.  My daughters have struggled with learning disabilities from a very young age and I’ve spent a lot of hours and money researching and trying different things to help them reach their potential.  Both girls are extremely bright, but process slowly and have visual misperceptions.   The younger one was diagnosed with Irlen syndrome in August.   Since then we have discovered 2 more members of the family who also have it, and are screening the rest to rule it out.  This is a fascinating subject for parents of special needs kids, educators, and optometrists.  If you’d like to hear more about our experience with it, I can write more–just let me know in the comments.  I don’t want to bore you with the details if you aren’t really interested.  (This is likely the main trigger for my adrenal issues and I’m hoping with proper treatment, I will finally be able to heal.)

The Young House Love podcast. I’ve loved this blogging duo for years now. Their topic of expertise is home decor and I couldn’t figure out how that would translate to a radio show, but it totally does. I look forward to listening weekly as I do my kitchen chores.  I love the way the couple interacts with a big dose of humor.

Do you listen to podcasts?  Leave your favorites in the comments below.  (Also…let me know about the Irlen thing.)

Creamy Pumpkin Mousse: A Weight Loss Recipe

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I’m so excited about the flavors of autumn! Apples, cinnamon, maple, pumpkin, acorn squash….Yes please!  All of it.

Here’s a super simple recipe that is sure to please your fall cravings, but is still cool and refreshing for those warm afternoons.  It takes less than 10 minutes to prepare and is low carb.  If you’re following Trim Healthy Mama, this would be an S. The few carbs that are in it are naturally present in the Greek Yogurt and Pumpkin.

Pumpkin Mousse

Creamy Pumpkin Mousse

1 cup pumpkin puree (not pumpkin pie filling)

1 cup plain Greek Yogurt (I used fat free but any fat content is fine.)

1 cup heavy whipping cream

1 1/2 tsp pumpkin pie spice

1 tsp liquid vanilla stevia

4 packets Truvia

(If you aren’t counting carbs and just want to use sugar, I recommend 1/4 cup real maple syrup or honey to replace the stevia and Truvia.)

Put everything in an electric mixer with the whip attachment and whip until soft peaks form.  You’ll be able to see the trace of the beater through the mousse and the lines will stay when it is ready.

Transfer to 6 serving dishes and chill until ready to serve.  I’ve found my stevia sweetened things taste better when chilled for a couple of hours.  It helps the flavors blend and makes the stevia less bitter. My kids gave this 2 thumbs up even before chilling.

For a new prep-ahead weight loss meal plan every week, click here.

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