Frozen Yogurt Dots

I've seen these little guys floating around Pinterest the past few weeks and decided it was time to give them a try! Also, it's one of the easier ideas on Pinterest and I don't have much free time these days! Sorry for the lack of pics. Just use your imagination!!

I decided to use Greek yogurt because I really love Greek yogurt. It's better for you, has less sugar, it's thicker, it's yummier, etc., etc.... Plus the little A&E cups are 99 cents this week at Hy-Vee. I got a few different flavors but today I tried Almond Creme. I'm thinking a fruity flavor would be better for these after trying them. But almond was still tasty!

Super easy--- I spooned the cup of Greek yogurt into a small ziplock baggie. Cut a little hole in the corner and squeezed little dots of yogurt onto wax paper. BTW, it's like this yogurt was meant to be squeezed out of a baggie. It was so fast and easy and fun!

Anyway, I froze them for a bit and out came  pop-able yogurt-y treats! I think these will be great for summertime. Hoping Lucy loves them too! Carey told me they are too girly for him.....but I might be able to get him to convert. He'll probably sneak them. :)

This idea gets 2 thumbs up from me!

Healthy Options

I love sweets. Total weakness. Lucy loves them too. She wakes up telling me that she needs chocolate.

An old pic...but it gets my point across. :)

I made the mistake during the holidays of having bowls full of candy around the house. I didn't necessarily munch all of the time---but guess who did? Even if they were hidden way up high. Sneaky.

This week I bought cute little boxes of raisins and filled the previously chocolate filled bowl with them. Now when Lucy sees the bowl she asks for raisins. Brilliant! Why didn't I think of this sooner?

I also made some yummy cookies today. I have posted the recipe on Facebook before. They are really great and satisfy a sweet craving. The best part? They're pretty good for you! I don't mind my munchkin munching on these. She loves them. What a great way to get whole grains and oatmeal in her! Give them a try. You won't be disappointed.

*I didn't use rice flour--just added extra whole wheat flour. And I add a little vanilla for more flavor. Would also be great with dark chocolate chips!

The Rocky Cookie (by Sylvester Stallone in his book Sly Moves)

1/2 cup whole wheat flour
3/8 cup brown rice flour
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon salt
3/8 cup brown sugar
3/4 cup Quaker old-fashioned rolled oats
1/2 egg
1/4 cup olive oil
2 tablespoons water
1/2 tablespoon molasses

Preheat over to 375 degrees. In a medium-size bowl, combine wheat and rice flour, baking soda, cinnamon, salt, brown sugar, and oats. Make in indentation in the center and add egg, olive oil, water, and molasses. Mix vigorously until the dough is moistened. Roll into tablespoon-size balls and place two inches apart on ungreased cookie sheet. Bake 8-10 minutes or until done. Remove cookies from oven and cool on wire rack. They should be soft and slightly chewy.

Zumba Fitness

I want to write little things about health and fitness on here once and a while. Cause it's important to me. :) So here's the first installment!

Found these old pics. She loves "working out" too. This is why I go to the gym. I get nothing accomplished if I try to exercise at home! I have a little girl who wants to exercise with (or on) Mommy. :)

I really enjoy staying fit and being healthy. I don't especially LOVE working out. But I like the results---so I do it. Ha! I would love to go to the gym and hop on an elliptical for 30 min. and call it a day. BUT, there's this little secret about weight loss and being toned. Ready? *Whispers* Doing 30 min. of cardio a few times a week is not gonna do much for ya. *Gasp!* You have to do things that are hard and not so fun. Like lifting weights. And squats (sticks tongue out in disgust). This builds muscle which burns fat well after your workout is done. It gets results. Cardio is important....don't get me wrong. If you strength train the right way you'll keep your heart rate up. It's really hard for me to motivate myself when I'm doing a series of exercises that aren't fun for me. So I try to get in my cardio and build muscle in other ways. My favorite??

ZUMBA! Love it.

It's a super fun hour of dance. I never thought I would EVER be into dancing. Me= a pretty bad dancer. :) But I was surprised at how easy and fun it is! Ok, yes. For the first few weeks you will look ridiculous.
Like this:

Found this on Pinterest. It made me smile.

I still might look like this some of the time. Haha!
An hour of Zumba will wear you out (burns up to 800 calories/hour!) and tone your muscles. The peer pressure keeps you going and the hour files by. You occasionally have to do squats (yuck). But they don't seem as bad when everyone else is doing them too. I highly recommend taking a class!

BUT....I can't always do Zumba. And I still have a few baby pounds left. So I am on a quest to find other exciting workouts. I'm going to try a spinning class next week. Yes, spinning. Like when you get on a super fast spin bike for an hour and do crazy things. I'm terrified. But anything is better than trying to motivate myself. SO, wish me luck! I will write a little segment on spinning (the good, the bad, the ugly) in a few weeks. Stay tuned.