Blue Diamond Wasabi Almonds!

We light to fix crazy dinners for our football get togethers.

Made stir-fry using Blue Diamond Wasabi Bold Almonds and Smokehouse almonds 

I was able to try these for free from Blue Diamond.

 

Protein Powder Pancakes

Been dying for pancakes. Really didn't want a shake today. So for my brunch I made some!

With about 19.5g of protein in them.

I made some for my mom too she loved them!!

Since buying the Quest brand I've been trying to find a equivalent to it to make pancakes. This is what I've come up with. I don't like spending sooo much for protein powder.

Basic Protein Pancakes:

1 scoop vanilla protein powder ( I use EAS) 

1/2 tsp baking soda

1 tsp imitation vanilla extract

1 egg (I used medium)

1/4 cup self-rising flour

Water (your idea of pancake batter lol)

I fried mine on a non-stick pan, with zero calorie Olive oil spray, zero calorie Butter spray is good too. :) 

Served with light butter and sugar-free syrup.

Thanks for reading!

Gina ❤️

Blue Diamond Sriracha Almonds

I was sent Blue Diamond Sriracha Alomonds to try recently. I'm a big Sriracha fan so I was super excited about them!

Opening them they smell delicious. I was hoping for some heat but the flavor is amazing. 

They are my favorite flavor from Blue diamond, and my husbands too. I really hope they keep this one.

They are so good eating with my carrots and hummus, and pepper jack cheese.

I make a lot of Chicken Habachi Stir-fry, and these are wonderful crushed over top.

Also on salads!! I love them! 

Sriracha lovers I so recommend even though they have no heat. Even my 5 year old loves them.

Thank you for reading!

Disclosure Note:

I received Blue Diamond Sriracha Almonds to try for free. All opinions are my own and no compensation was paid. Blue Diamond Taste Makers

Ultimate Turtle Cheesecake

For Father's Day I wanted to make my husband a yummy cheesecake.

I've never made one so I found a easy one from Kraft

I altered it a bit but it still came out great!

Made it a little bit (just a little bit) less calories. 

Here is the original recipe.

What you will need:

• 20 finely crushed Oreo cookies (or about 2 cups)
• 6 Tbsp. light butter, melted
• 1 cup chopped Pecans
• 3 pkg. (8 oz. each) 1/3 less fat neufchatel cheese, softened
• 3/4 cup sugar
• 1 Tbsp. vanilla
• 3 eggs
• 2 oz. Semi-Sweet Chocolate
• Smucker's Sugar Free Caramel Sundae Syrup

Heat oven to 325°F.

Grease pan.

Mix crumbs and butter; press onto bottom and 2 inches up side of 8-inch springform pan.

Mix caramel sauce and nuts together. Pour half into crust. Refrigerate 10 min. Refrigerate remaining caramel mixture for later use.

Beat cream cheese, sugar and vanilla in large bowl with mixer until blended. Add eggs, 1 at a time, mixing on low speed after each just until blended.

Bake 1 hour 5 min. to 1 hour 10 min. or until center is almost set. Run knife around rim of pan to loosen cake; cool before removing rim.

Refrigerate 4 hours.

Microwave reserved caramel mixture 1 min.; stir. Pour over cheesecake. Melt chocolate as directed on package; drizzle over cheesecake.

Tips:

• Reduce oven temperature to 300°F if using a dark nonstick springform pan.
• After completely done let set overnight for best flavor and texture. Trust me make at least a day ahead of time. Its worth the wait!

Test out this recipe and let me know how yours turned out!
Share pictures and links in the comment section below!

SlimFast 10g Protein Powder

Recently I received a coupon for $1.00 off one SlimFast product. I was looking on Walmart.com and come to find that SlimFast made a protein powder. I have been trying to find some alternatives to "other" expensive brands, because honestly I don't have the extra to spend big bucks on protein powder that I might not even like, Then I'd have a huge tub that I would have to drink, and feel guilty about.

Mixed with 8 oz. of fat free milk it has 10g of protein. Its 200 calories, 4g of fiber, and 24 vitamins and minerals. Though I wish it did have MORE protein, it is a better alternative than a regular milk shake. 

After tweeting the company that I wish there were more grams of protein in their product, I had looked on their website to find out that they do in fact make some that has 15g of protein. But unfortunately my Walmart didn't have any when I bought them. If mine never gets them I still would buy the 10g one either way because I made myself a recipe they tastes JUST like a chocolate milkshake. (With a hint of peanut butter taste)

Knockoff Milkshake

4 frozen cubes of milk (about 4 oz)

4oz of fresh milk

1 plain ice cube

1 scoop of SlimFast Rich Chocolate Royale

1 TBS of PB2 Chocolate (Can be found at Walmart)

I halved the recipe, then put it in the freezer for a dessert. Here is the end result.

This recipe is DELISH! I LOVE it!

I personally use Myfitnesspal and the calories on it says 232. But Sparkpeople says its 234.5 calories.

So its roughly 230-235 calories.

12.2g of protein

You can see all the Nutritional Facts for this recipe here.

I also bought the French Vanilla though I haven't tried it yet. My mother has though. She made hers with frozen peaches.

Frozen peaches

4 frozen cubes of milk (about 4 oz.)

4 oz. of fresh milk

1 plain ice cube

1 scoop of SlimFast French Vanilla

She said she really likes it. Which I'll probably make that next.

If you want to find out more about SlimFast Protein Powder products click Here

Thank you for reading!

oxox Gina xoxo

The opinions in this post is all my honest opinion. All products featured in this post was paid from my own pocket. No compensation was paid.

I got featured!

I recently found out that I was featured on Chef Irvine's Fit Crunch Blog!

They had asked about my journey months ago, and they had told me they would take a look.

They never said yay or nay on weather they would actually post it.

I honestly didn't think I would be featured due to using MyFitnessPal in my journey.

Here is a link to see it!

2 Year Fitness Anniversary
I've lost more since this blog post, but it's still pretty cool!

Here is a link to Chef Irvine's FIT Crunch Facebook Page


WooHoo!!

Thanks for reading!

XOXO Gina OXOX

Banana Pudding Protein Shake

I get to test Blue Diamond Almond Breeze AlmondMilk Original. I personally have bought this before. I really like it.

For my recipe today is going to be a "Banana Pudding Protein Shake" 

I try to get extra protein in since trying to lose weight.

For the recipe you'll need

Measuring cups

Blender/bullet

Vanilla protein powder, I'm using Slimquick Pure French vanilla

Blue Diamond Alomond Breeze Original flavor

Animal crackers, vanilla wafers

Banana fresh or frozen

Take measure out 1 cup Almond Breeze AlmondMilk.

Using blender blend AlmondMilk, protein powder, banana.

Until blended.

Then drop 4 animal cracker in blender. 

Pulse a few times to keep animal cracker chunky.

Pour. Serve. Enjoy!

Serving yield 1

Calories 266

Roughly 12g protein 

Thank you for reading!

Friend me on Myfitnesspal Mrsginataylor 

Disclosure Note:

I received Blue Diamond Almond breeze Original AlmondMilk to try for free. All opinions are my own and no compensation was paid. Blue Diamond Taste Makers

  

No Longer Obese! (Post #6)

Yesterday (4/22/2015) I weighed, and after a good long platue I finally broke through it. I lost 2 pounds! 162.3! Logging it into myfitnesspal I wanted to check to see how much longer I had to cross over the line from Obese to Overweight on the BMI Chart scale.

Click to make larger.

I finally, finally broke over! Now I have to work through the field of Overweight to Normal.

3 years ago when I started I didn't realize how good it feels to lose so much.

The accomplishment is overwhelming.

I still have 28 pounds to go. (Wow, I didn't realize I'd ever get to say that.) 

And it's going to be super hard, I know. But I know I'll get there. I've gotten this far. Toning up is my goal. 

Thanks for reading 

xoxoGinaoxox

Want to read my whole weightloss journey? Click HERE

Add me on MyFitnesspal? MrsGinaTaylor
Want to follow me on Twitter? MrsGinaTaylor
And on Pinterest? MrsGinaTaylor

2 Year Anniversary

It's been two year exactly since I decided to get healthy for myself, my children, and my husband.

I have to say it was the best decision I ever made. 

When starting I didn't tell my husband until that night. He was all up for a change, and hey it was free so if we couldn't do it at least it didn't cost us anything.

That first week I lost 5 pounds. It was great! I couldn't believe it. Though I realized real quick where most my calories were going. Soda. I drank so much soda! I was drinking up to 6 liters LITERS of soda a DAY sometimes!! Ohmygod. It was a wake up call. I know I was addicted. It was so very hard going from that amount of soda to only 1 can a day. It took me a little over a month to finally kick the regular soda habit.

But, I switched to diet soda. Though I had a very hard time starting to drink water after I kicked the regular soda, it seemed a slight bit easier to get the plain water down, at times.

I know, I know what your thinking "diet soda is just as bad as regular soda" yes I agree! That's okay. But it has helped me make healthier choices though. I portioned everything I put in my mouth. 

I spent some money and bought me some super cheap food scales. I keep my measuring cups and spoons in hands reach, so I don't have an excuse NOT to measure it out. 

January 11th 2013 to January 11th 2014 I had lost exactly 44 pounds. That's me rarely exercising. Basically walking the mall and walking trails our small city provides luckily. Sometimes doing DVDs for hand weights.

 My husband and I were so out of shape we couldn't even walk Hanes Mall without being in pain, and too tired to walk the whole thing. By the end of the trip we would be exhausted. 

By mid-year we could tell a difference. We actually wasn't huffing and puffing. We could tell we could walk faster, and less pain.

I've had back, leg, and ankle problems since I was 4 or 5 years old, and Andrew has had two surgeries on his foot from breaking a bone in it, and then again breaking the screw in it, so now he has a metal plate.

But also in January I found out I was approximately 3 months pregnant. I was on the fence about it. Yes another baby would be great, hoping a little girl to complete our family, but on the other hand I would have to stop using myfitnesspal. My journey, everything I had worked for, for a year. I had logged EVERY SINGLE DAY for a year. I finally got over the fact and then started getting the cravings, using my knowledge of serving sizes I ate whatever I craved, but ate it but serving size, sometimes a little more. With my first pregnancy I gained around 50 pounds. With this pregnancy I was smarter. For the first and second trimester I didn't gain much at all. Actually I lost just a few pounds first trimester. Doctor said it was okay, normal, and such. Fast forward my pregnancy was 40 weeks and 3 days with a baby girl. I had to have an Emergency Vertical C-Section due to Cord Prolaspe. I had gained 32.9 pounds with this child. I was scared that I would have to start all over again, that I wouldn't lose it. Surprisingly I lost it all within a month. I was so happy. Not happy about my scar or my "butt crack" stomach as someone said. But I'll just have to accept my stomach. 

Oh and after I had Sophia I quit diet soda. I've had a few sips here and there that abou killed me, or at least it seemed like it. 

So since 2013, 9 months of pregnancy, recovery, and the holidays I have to date lost 50 pounds.

I still have 33-34 pounds to go on this journey. And a whole lot of toning up is in store for me too.

Looking back to 2013 I was looking forward, wondering if I could keep it up. Knowing it was going to be a slow hard journey, but if I didn't start somewhere I wouldn't be here. 

So happy anniversary to me and my husband for changing our way of life. Cheers!

Thanks for reading!

xoxoGinaoxox