Healthy Snacks: Pretzels

I know it's been a while since I've posted one of this healthy snack posts (sorry for the redundancy)! it been waaaay too long! 

I love Pretzels, really really love them. I have been recently obsessed. I buy them every one or twice a week when I'm a little hungry but am really not feeling like grabbing some nuts or almonds or any fruit. It is my "cheat" snack. A better option to the junk food that you buy that are full of oils, fats, salt, over fried or else. Pretzels do have salt, but is the chunky one that just give a little of taste to the whole stick. 

They are cooked in the oven. So they are "Fat Free" as in the "not fried" portion or category of the salty snacks as the potato chips you can get your hands on. And of course I had to have them while I am writing this post! (some of the inspiration came from that!) 

I really recommend to try them, of course, don't indulge too much on them, they are still carbohydrates from white flour, but it's nice to switch it up a little bit every once in a while. Plus the chunky salt will cause the retention of liquids, it absorbs them and them make you puff up. So that is a little bit of a problem. Don't worry, it will happen if you eat them 24/7. But if you just switch it up, with all the other healthy foods, every once in a while (as mentioned above) you'll be fine. 

I hope you like them as much as I do, plus how the pretzel was born is a very interesting story, and a yummy one too! you can check it out here if you want to. 

xo, 

S.A 

Update: Back to School

Hey Everyone! 

I am just about to start University again, I have my timetable all figured out, my school supplies bought and ready to be used and I just feel I've had way to much spare time during this Summer vacations that I forgot how to write on paper. 

But all in all, I am exited to see all the familiar faces of my class mates and the people that I've gotten to know through all these years. I know it is going to be a much much more interesting semester, I am pass half of my career and loving it still. I need to find a place to do intern-ships to get the credits in order to fulfil the ones necessary for me to graduate. 

Many other things have been happening, I got off track with my daily routines and just made an awful mess with my beauty and eating habits through this time. I will make a list and start by getting right in track so that I start the semester ready and able to continue a routine so my life will be more organized than these couple of months I had free. 

I have to concentrate more in the classes that I am taking, so no social life for me, at least, not as complicated and active as it used to be. I have to keep nice and steady grades to apply for a good job and to make it where I want to get as a professional. 

Yesterday was my father's birthday and we celebrated it quite nicely and we got him a couple of nice things as gifts. While trying to find him the presents, I found SHOES and of course i fell in love and bought them. A nice treat for me while I can. I may do a post about them because I love them so much I just could resist them, they are two pairs of shoes, some moccasin-like ballerinas and brown wedges. <3

I thinks that's it for now, until next time !

xo, 

S.A

picture from here. 

BBQ lovers

Hey guys!

Yesterday we spent an awesome night with great friends and amazing food! it's that time of year were the semester just ended and you got a lot off of your chest and brain... and now you want to spend all the leisure time having fun and making the best out of every moment. 

For summer days and pretty nice spring nights, we tend to like going out to dinner and sometimes our choices are not the best and we end up eating a huge plate of pasta and drinks filled with sugar. But i have a pretty nice option for you! and a healthy one too. 

Instead of going out to eat, why not gather your friends at your house or apartment complex for a barbecue? it's fun, it's easy and it's so good and tasty! What i like the most of bbq's is that you don't fry stuff, the food is completely clean from the oils you use in your kitchen and while grilling them some of the fat contained in the meats just melt away and are not re-absorbed by the meat you are grilling. 

Side the meats with a nice big salad and in that way you are eating balanced, if you like baked potatoes, go ahead and but them in the grill covered with tinfoil and they will be super nice and will have a smoked taste to them. 

As for the meats, I recommend buying chicken, pork and even lean beef which has less fat then the normal steaks. Try to avoid hot-dogs and hamburgers, but one every now and then does not hurt anybody. the buns are not a must, because if you have potatoes... then don't mix carbs try having either one or another to avoid temptations. 

BBQ's are great ideas to spend those summer evenings and nights with your family and friends staying healthy and having a balanced diet 

I hope you guys are enjoying this month <3

xo, 

S.A 

picture is from here.

Christmas excitement!

Hey Everyone! 


So I am finally done with the semester, my finals went, the majority of them, great! i am closing with really good grades and I am proud of it :) all the hard work is paying off. My cousin has just ended her career and i feel sooo proud of her also! she's graduating from the same university i'm in and now i see that all the hard and long hours of not sleeping do pay off <3


And now, what I've been waiting for this whole time! Christmas time! shopping for the presents, cooking and trying not to gain those extra pounds from the food, specially because bikini season is starting for the southern hemisphere and I am, unlucky me, there. 

I love the fact that now I am going to have more time to write my blog more often and get in touch with you all more. 


let the christmas spirit take over my blog to make us all more happy <3 


xo,


S.A


picture is from here

Crepes & Waffles

Hey guys! 

Today I am going to grab dinner with my cousins and we are going to crepes and waffles. It is one of our favorite restaurants and they have a lot of different healthy choices. It is a great local restaurant for Latin America and it has franchises over different of the countries. 

My favorite dish is the chicken and mushroom crepe which is super tasty and nice! it has a milky type of sauce and it just doesn't have that much calories. 

here is a picture taken from Trip Advisor of this dish, it just look AH-MAZING :) 

Tell me, what are your plans for this Saturday night? 

Have a nice day! 

xo, 

S.A

Healthy Spotlight: Almonds

Hey guys!

I recently found a new love. Almonds. They are super nice and I find that they are a great snack to keep you going mid morning or mid evening. I like to eat them raw, just because, to me, they taste better. You can eat them toasted also. I like to steel cut them and then toast them to accompany my yoghurt and a banana. 

Ever since I started eating them I started to do some research and found out that they carry a lot of proteins and good fats that help you loose weight eating them the right way. You can eat 20-25 almonds a day because that is the optimum amount of proteins and oils that are going to be good for you, lets say 5-8 grams of proteins  are contained in each almond, so adding up they make you feel full and not starve till your next meal. 

Vegans are all nuts about almonds, they love almond milk which is a really good substitute of regular milk and even has almost the same amount of proteins milk has. As you can see, almonds have really beneficial  characteristics and components in them that will make you feel good. 

So what are you waiting for?! grab those almonds for a snack and start feeling the effect!

I hope you enjoyed this small post as much as I did writing it and sharing with you my new found love and the benefits it has for your health. ;)

xo, 

S.A 

University Busy Day: Lunch/Dinner Plan

Hey Guys! 

Today I have a long day and it is probably the second longest day I have in the week. Yesterday (Wednesday) I had class from 3 pm till 11 pm and had 3 hours of free periods where I had to take something to eat. What I did was take a small portion of what has been left from lunch and ate it at 7 pm when I felt hungry. It was just a small portion just to keep my tummy feeling good and I bought some hot chocolate as my drink. 

And today (Thursday) I have class from 2 pm till 9 pm and have 1 hour free in which i will take also a small portion as my dinner so in that way i have no need to eat when I get home at 10 pm, at that time I will only drink a cup of coffee. 

I had to figure this type of things out because I couldn't last long enough without eating and feeling hungry. It is not healthy for your body to feel hungry because it will just start building up the calories because it enters into starvation mode in which it says that "ok i have to save food and calories because i might not receive any, any time soon". 

So i hope you liked this fast little blog about what I am doing since yesterday when I have this long days of classes in which i have to spend a lot of time away from home and don't want to eat the food at the cafeteria which is just not healthy at all.

xo, 

S.A  

picture is from here

Meal Diary: Monday 22/08/2011

Hey guys!

I hope you liked the second part of the working out clothes, and if you haven't read it click here to check it out, and now I am in the mood to fill you in with the food I've ingested today (wow, that felt so scientific) so that you have an idea on what I am having for meals. I have Mondays free because I am not ready to give up the weekend just like that, I know, lazy me! haha but it feels good cause I can catch up with the readings and some homework and also can write posts for both of my blogs! :)

And now, my day meals:

Breakfast: 

• A Mandarin


• Cup of Black Coffee


• Sunflower cookies

Lunch:  

• Tuna Soup 


• 2 Potato Slices

Dinner: 

• A mandarin 


• A cup of Coffee 


• one slice of toasted whole-wheat bread

So here you go guys! this is my meal diary from today!

Hope you guys are enjoying your day! 

xo, 

S.A 

Sunday: Brunch and Pastas

Hey guys! 


Today I had brunch and it actually was more of lunch than anything else. 

They served a pasta with lemon chicken which was so good that i had to get the recipe from the chef, she was kind enough to come and talk to me about the secret of this pasta (the credit goes to my lovely aunt) and therefore I got it and now i can make it at home! i would change some of the things to make it a lot more healthy. 

Here is my version of it: 


Ingredients: 


1) 1/2 kg of whole-grain pasta
2) 2 lemons (green lemon for it to be more sour) 
3) 1 spoon of ground garlic
4) 1 seasoning envelope
5) Salt
6) Pepper
7) Half a chicken breast
8) Milk 
9) Olive oil


Preparation: 


1) Boil the whole-grain pasta with some salt, no oil. 
2) cut the chicken breast, previously remove the skin, in small squares. 
3) Pour just a little of olive oil in a pan, let it heat and then fry the ground garlic to let the flavour become more noticeable. 
4) Add and fry the chicken breast with some salt and pepper and the seasoning envelope together. 
5) Add a cup of milk to the chicken and mix well, if you like it to be a little more consistent just dissolve in a cup with a small amount of water one spoon of flour and then add that to the milk while boiling. 
6) Finally add the juice of the 2 lemons. Don't worry of the mixture starts separating, it is normal, just mix well. 


For the final serving put the pasta in a plate, and spread the just made cream with the chicken. 


I assure you that it is amazing and fills you the right way. 


(i wish i had taken a picture of my plate!) 


hope you enjoy it and if you try it, tell me what your thoughts are! 


xo,


S.A


picture is from: the foodnetwork.com

Thursday: Meal Diary + update

Hey Guys!

I am finally done with my final exams and i am so happy about it! it has been a long couple of weeks and i now feel the relief and ecstatic about it.

It's been a crazy week and as I told before in this blog, i tend to eat a lot when i am anxious or stressed, so i found great healthy snacks to munch on while studying. Click here if you want to see those snack ideas and maybe try them! they are way better than those fatty and fried chips and endless types of stuff.

My meal diary so far has been like follows:

Monday:

      Breakfast:

• Bowl of cereal with milk and just one teaspoon of sugar 
• An apple 
• Orange juice

     Lunch: 

• Turkey with lemon sauce and steamed veggies

     Dinner: 

• Cup of coffee 
• Water crackers. 

Tuesday: 

     Breakfast:

• Slice of toasted bread.
• cup of coffee 
• an orange

     Lunch: 

• Criollo Beans (nice Peruvian recipe) 
• Rice

     Dinner: 

• Cup of coffee 
• Crackers

Wednesday: 

it actually has been the same for breakfast and dinner as Tuesday and for lunch i had Pasta with some steamed veggies and olive oil.

So that has been so far what i have ingested for meals. I think that balancing out what you eat is better so you don't deprive your appetite so when you are facing temptation you will eat like there's no tomorrow and then feel guilty about it. 

I hope you guys have a great Thursday and remember that eating healthy doesn't mean not eating at all 

xo, 

S.A

Friday: Almond Chicken

Hey Everyone! 


I was reading Elle and Blair's Fowler site and found an amazing recipe of Almond chicken that they have found in the Eatingwell.com site. So i decided today was the day i was going to try this recipe and see if it is as good as it sounds and looks like. 


During the weekend I went grocery shopping and bought my almonds, which i really love so i am pretty sure i will enjoy this meal a LOT, and all the other ingredients they said you needed and stashed them for today, it's Friday after all and is the end of the week!. I am going to follow some of the changes they made in Elle and Blair's site because i find them to be healthier options and practical tips. 


Tomorrow I will be posting some pictures and I am going to give my opinion about this. 

I hope you all have a great day and try some new recipes ! If you have one and love it please don't hesitate on sharing it with us in the comments below! and I am sure that i will be trying it and who knows, maybe writing a blog post about it! 


Have an awesome Friday my loves


xo,


S.A

Meal Diary: Monday&Tuesday

Hey Everyone!

So I have been eating really good lately and specially i had no idea that i was good at cooking!

Making these meals have made me realize the importance that a perfect balance makes and to know how to mix the things you eat. 

For the past days, Monday and Tuesday, i ate:

Monday:

• Breakfast: a bowl of special K with milk
• Lunch: A chicken filled in with asparagus and Edam cheese. with steamed vegies and just a little ampunt of rice. 
• Dinner: an orange and half a banana 

Tuesday: 

• Breakfast: A bowl of special K with milk (it's my go to breakfast, and it is easy and healthy)
• Lunch: A chicken kind of soup with potatoes and raisins and carrots and a little rice by the side. (here in Peru we have to have rice as our side dish, we are characterized by that.)
• Dinner: A bowl of oatmeal and an orange. 

These are all the things that have gotten into my tummy and i feel really happy about it. It's not too much food and it is well balanced in order not to lack of anything. 

I cooked the first dish on monday, lunch. and i think it was pretty awesome that i can actually cook! this is a big deal! now i can live alone and not starve! hahaha 

such a drama lady. 

I will attach a picture when i download them to my computer. 

So what have you been eating? tell me about it in the comments below :) 

love,

S.A

Healthy Spotlight: Healthy Eating and top 10 foods to improve your diet!

Hi everyone


i was searching the internet and kind of stumbled upon an amazing site that shows how to balance your food and making it fresh ans not boring at all. http://www.healthyfoodtips.org/ shows how to plan a meal and which foods to combine in order to take a full vitalizing and vitamin intake of good foods. They help to keep your body free of bad stuff such as saturated fats that, if consumed too much, can fill your arteries and block them with the grease and cause heart attacks, embolisms and more. 


It is a good thing that more people are being aware of what they eat so that the obesity is taken over with healthy choices and the life expectancy is longer. 


Now i also found a good site that talks about the 10 healthiest foods in the world and I was amazed with it and realized that we sometimes just don't know the benefits a banana has or a kiwi, which are really good.  
http://www.livestrong.com/article/89515-healthiest-foods/ It is a study from the Lance Armstrong Organization LIVESTRONG. 


I hope you guys find this information useful and feel free to send me your comments and how you take healthy food habits in your life. 


XO, 
A




* I am not affiliated to any of the sites mentioned in this blog nor received an economic compensation to talk about them or show their content.