Home made Pumpkin PIE recipe

Fall is here and I'm really into the whole Holiday baking but this year I have decided to find healthy alternatives to all my favorite recipes. Experimenting can get costly though so I try to use more ingredients I already have and I tweak my recipes a little at a time till I find what works. Last night my co-worker & country neighbor gave me about 12 sugar pumpkins to experiment with! So I decided to start with a homemade pumpkin pie. I took the easy route on the crust cause I was scared to mess with two recipes at once cause I wouldn't know which one worked & which one didn't. Also for this recipe I boiled my pumpkin. I baked one the same night and I'm not sure what the benefits are but boiling was done 30 minutes faster than baking.  So here is my recipe.

Ingredients:

1/2 of a small sugar pumpkin (6-8inches tall)

approx 1-2 cups almond milk

2 eggs  

1/4 cup stevia

1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg 

1/4 teaspoon pumpkin pie spice

Directions:

(preheat oven to 425 degrees)

1. cut pumpkin in half and cut into 10-12 chunks

2. put in a large pot of water & boil on high for 30 min

3. drain all water from pan & let cool for 2 minutes

4. put pumpkin in blender and add cinnamon, nutmeg, & pumpkin pie spice

5. add 1 cup almond milk and blend (if to thick keep adding almond milk slowly)

6. put in a large bowl and fold in eggs and stevia

7. pour into you favorite ready pie crust

8. place in oven and bake at 425 degrees for 15 min

9. lower heat temperature to 350 degrees & bake for 45min or until golden & firm

I used a pre-made graham cracker crust just for this testing process but now I am going to work on a healthy pie crust recipe...I will post when I perfect it too.

Homeade Vegetable Soup

We had our first rain here last week and I decided I needed to find a good healthy recipe for soup. I decided to see what I already had in my refrigerator so I could make it with TONITUP approved ingredients. It came out so good that I had to share the recipe.

Homemade Vegetable Soup

Ingredients:

2 zucchini squash sliced

2 Roma tomatoes cut into chunks

2 1/2 cups green cabbage cut into chunks

1 1/2 cups baby carrots quartered

1 1/2 cups fresh whole green beans cut into 2 inch pieces

1/2 small yellow onion quartered & separated

4 cloves of garlic finely chopped (add more if you like)

1/2 teaspoon garlic powder

1/2 teaspoon onion powder

1 teaspoon sea salt

pepper just a dash on top

1 large can of tomato sauce

Directions:

1. Put all veggies into a large pot and cover with hot water.

2. add tomato sauce and spices

3. bring to a full boil then lower heat to med (slow boil)

4. cook for 30-45 min or until all veggies are tender

5. if needed add any extra salt & pepper to your taste

6. serve it up & enjoy

LET ME KNOW WHAT YOU THINK

  

My low-cal caramel Starbucks frappuccino

So during summer I am addicted to the Starbucks caramel frappuccino except they can be over 400 calories. So I played around at home until I found the perfect recipe using low cal alternatives. And my at home recipe makes it cheaper too :) since u can make 10 drinks for the price of 1

Here Is my recipe:

Caramel frappuccino (under 90 calories)

1/2 a pack of Starbucks via iced Caramel
Add 2 packets of Truvia/Stevia powder
Dissolve the powder in 6oz water
Pour into blender
Add 1 1/2 cups of ice
And add about 1/2 cup almond milk( add just to ice line & add more if it's to thick)

Ansle Adams wilderness backpacking trip

On august 26-28 2011 we went on another backpacking trip on the mono trail. The approx mileage there was 2 1/2 down and another 2 1/2 up. We went off trail there and really hiked down some rough areas. The distance wasn't that far but the terrain & grade was more difficult and made up for it. On this hike I felt strong again and never doubted my ability to handle it. I'm so happy with the choices I have made in my life to eat heathier and workout. TONEITUP is a life changing plan & I'm so glad I found them.

Just a update of Dinkey lakes trip

So I looked it up and read all the trails and decided the trail was approx. 9.5 miles and we added a hike to 3 lakes that was 1mile each. The Dinkey lakes wilderness trail was easy/moderate. The hikes that went of the trail to the upper lakes were a little more intense. After we followed the trail to 2nd Dinkey we dropped our packs and set up camp. Then we hiked up to island lake, rock lake and little lake. I did awesome up there! I felt great and accomplished a huge goal in my life.

First backpacking trip

Wow how far have I come on my journey...right now I'm on my way to the mountains to take my first backpacking trip. I have been hiking before but never have strapped a huge pack on my back and had to hike up 5-7 miles just to reach a upper lake to camp at. I am so excited and plan to take tons of pics of my journey. I have made it so far with TONEITUP! I wouldn't of even considered going before cause I didn't think I would make it. Now I feel I STRONG and I am going to power through the mountains. I'm heading up to Dinkey lakes trailhead and stopping at a few of the upper lakes on our hike. I will check back in when I get back after I have all the details on the level of difficulty and total miles we traveled. I am so excited! Wish me luck...

Quick cilantro crusted chicken recipe

I just wanted to share a recipe that I came up with one night experimenting in my kitchen with items I already had in my home. Its a simple and easy no mistake recipe. I don't eat much meat so when I make one chicken breast it feeds 2-3. I served mine with a side of spinach to keep it lean&green (but I made my family a side of rice).

CILANTRO CRUSTED CHICKEN BREAST

what you need:

1 boneless skinless chicken breast cut into 2 inch pieces

1 whole bundle of cilantro with stems removed (it really breaks down during cooking)

1 clove minced garlic

juice of 1/2 a lemon

1/4 teaspoon lemon pepper Mrs. Dash

pinch of sea salt

pinch of pepper

1tbs olive oil

how to prepare:

1. place chicken, cilantro, garlic, lemon juice, Mrs. Dash, sea salt & pepper in a bowl and mix

2. put olive oil in small non-stick pan and put on med-high heat

3. add all ingredients from the bowl slowly into oil

4. use spatula to flip chicken every 2-3 minutes

5. cook 10-12 minutes or until chicken is browned (cilantro will start to blacken, be slightly crispy, and stick to chicken)

I tried to zoom in on my picture but it ended up a little blurry. I tend to only eat 4 pieces of chicken with lunch and dinner and alot of veggies. Please let me know if you try it.