Sugar Free Cake that Tastes Great!

I used to work at a very popular and fancy Café that had muffins as their speciality… And I’ll tell you, they were something special!

Wow, what flavours they came up with; White chocolate-banana, pistage nuts and raspberry… avocado muffin (!), they had it all and they were SO yummy!

But there was one muffin type that didn’t live up to my expectations. I’m not picky, but this was so disgusting that I had to spit it out:

The Sugar Free Muffin.

To be honest I had never tasted any sugar free cakes that were nice. Why is that? Is sugar really the one thing that makes a cake?

It can’t be!

I refused to accept that sugar is necessary for a nice cake, but since none of the sugar free cakes I had bought in Cafés proved me right I decided to take the case alone.

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Check Your BMI

The average American woman’s weight has increased with 11 pounds (7%) over the last 10 years.
Today for a woman who is 5′38″ (163 cm) the average weight is 163 pounds (74 kg). That gives her a BMI (Body Mass Index) on 28.
A healthy person should have a BMI between 19-25. Overweight is between 26 and 30, a BMI between 30 and 40 is obese, while a BMI over 40 is morbidly obese.

According The US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention 64% of the American population from the age of 20 are overweight.

An easy way to check wheter you’re underweight or overweight is to check your BMI. There are several websites where you just type in your height and weight and they’ll do the calculation for you.

Here is a goodwebsite where you can calculate your BMI:
http://www.bhf.org.uk/bmi/BMI_Calc.html

Exercise is the key…

Exercising….

god, only the word itself used to make me sigh and feel tired or a placebo feeling of actually not feeling quite well.

Two years ago I hated exercising, especially running. In school I was very creative at finding all types of excuses when I knew we were running on the P.E classes.

I was studying drama as my main subject, and I must have been quite a good actress since I convinced the school nurse that there was something wrong with my feet that made it impossible for me to run long distance.

I went to doctors several times a year, but nobody could find what was wrong with my feet… which is understandable, since it wasn’t the feet that was the problem, but my mind.

Somewhere along the way I linked up running with pain. And later on, every type of exercise with pain.

I have never been overweight, and I actually used to think I was in good shape, until one day when I realized how terribly wrong I was.

Within a year and a half I have gone from moving as rarely as possible, to being close to a health freak, all because of small changes in my everyday life.

You don’t have to go to a gym to get fit, you don’t need a personal trainer, you can find exrcise in all types of everyday chores.

All you need to do is take action and make small changes, step by step. I guarrantee you will get more out of this than just a hot body, the fitness is only a plus on the side.

You will feel happier, more confident and more energized.

Did you know that by…

… making your bed for an hour you burn 104 kcal.
… cleaning the floor you burn 234 kcal/h
… working in the garden you burn 336 kcal/h
… walking down the stairs you burn 426 kcal/h
… walking up the stairs you burn 600-1080 kcal/h
… ironing clothes you burn 252 kcal/h

Now I’m well aware that most people don’t walk up the stairs for an hour every day, but it gives you a good insight to see that you actually burn quite a lot by changing small things such as walk up the stair instead of taking the ilft.

The first thing I changed was that I started to take the bike to work instead of the tram.

That changed a large part of my life.

I felt proud over myself for biking, it made me wake up in the morning, I got some fresh air everyday and I saw myself getting fitter by every week.

The key to a slim, toned hot body is exercise! Try all the diet pills you like but you’ll never see the same results.

Good luck!

Healthier Weekend Movie Snacks

Hi girls, hope you’ve had a lovely weekend!

During the weekend people tend to let themselves go a bit and spoil themselves with a “treat” while watching a good movie. I’ve always sort of associated movie with movie snacks, they kind of go together, you know?

But having snacks doesn’t equal eating unhealthy food. And no, I’m not saying “Instead of a bag och crisps, have a carrot!”, but really tasty snacks. Some of them take a bit longer to prepare, but some are really quick!

Here are my facourite movie snacks.

Caramel Popcorn

Pop your popcorn as usual (no premade popcorn with salt, just plain and natural)

Caramel mixture:

Heat 1 Tbs Butter 1/4 cup honey over med heat until boiling. Boil 1-2 minutes until honey turns a little bit darker brown but not too dark.

Pour caramel mixture over popcorn.

Tip: When it cools you can make into popcorn balls by squeezing them into a ball shape with your hands!

(Blue)Berry Crisp

(this recipe i got from http://www.medicinenet.com Tastes delicious!)

Makes 12 servings

This recipe calls for just a half-cup of brown sugar for 12 servings. Rolled oats and wheat germ add the goodness of grains.

Filling:

5 cups fresh or frozen blueberries (don’t thaw before using). You can choose any kind of berries, I like it with strawberries!

Topping:

• 1/2 cup packed brown sugar
• 1/4 cup rolled oats, uncooked
• 1/4 cup wheat germ
• 1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1/2 cup butter or margarine, softened but not melted

Preheat oven ( 375? F). Place the fruit in a 13×9x2-inch glass baking dish. Combine the brown sugar, oats, wheat germ, and cinnamon in a medium bowl. Cut in the margarine with a fork until the mixture resembles coarse crumbs.

Sprinkle the brown sugar mixture over the top of the blueberries. Bake for 25 minutes or until the fruit is tender. Cool before serving.

Per serving (made with margarine): 152 calories, 3 g protein, 22 g carbohydrate, 7 g fat, 1 g saturated fat, 0 mg cholesterol, 3 g fiber, 68 mg sodium. Calories from fat: 41%.

Banana Popsicles

• 3 bananas
• 6 Popsicle sticks
• 1/4 cup natural peanut butter, softened
• 1/4 cup chopped peanuts or walnuts, granola, crispy rice cereal, or sunflower seeds

Peel the bananas. Cut them in half, widthwise, and push a Popsicle stick through the cut end of each half. Spread peanut butter on the bananas, and then roll them in the nuts, cereal, or seeds. Wrap them in waxed paper and freeze.

Banana/Strawberry Smoothie

I love smoothies, you can basically make a smoothie out of anything, and it tastes delish! Here is a great one I love, it gives you a lot of goodness and energy.

• 1/2 cup nonfat milk
• 1/2 cup fat-free plain yogurt
• 1/2 banana, peeled and chopped
• 1 1/2 tablespoons flax seed
• 1 teaspoon honey
• 1/2 cup strawberries

Just put it all into a blender and blend until it’s smooth.

Hope you all enjoy your movie night!

Food For Healthy Skin!

Great skin is important not only for your appearance but also for your confidence. When I was backpacking in Indonesia I got this really bad bacteria in my body and got really sick. That would eventually turn out to be the cause of bad breakouts on my skin!!

To make the breakouts go away I decded to (among other things) change my diet. There are certain food that will make your skin glow, and others you should avoid.

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Get Rid of Excess Face Fat

Most people think it’s impossible to get rid of that extra fat on your face or a double chin once you’ve got it, but it’s not!

Excess face fat is caused by genetics, slack facial muscles and calorie intake.

So, how do we get rid of it?

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Best Summer Hair Care

My bleeched blond hair is a victim for the cruel summer sun. If I want my hair to survive summer I need to pay some attention to it.

And believe it or not, this summer I have, and if you saw the difference, there is no doubt you’d believe me

What you need is something that treats your hair before, during and after sun exposure.

Scwarzkopf BC Sun Guardian does the job well, leaving the hair smooth and shiny.

It’s a a kit with four products:

• Hair & Body Shampoo
  cleanses and re-moisturizes. It leaves hair and scalp refreshed and soothed.

• Shine Oil
  A non-greasy oil-based formula against dry, frizzy and dull hair.

• UV Protection Spray
  A spray that protects the hair against the effects of sun exposure and re-hydrates dry and thirsty summer hair.

• After Sun
  Just like your skin, your hair need deep re-moisturizing and regeneration after sun exposure and heat. This after treatment quenches your hair with essential moisture and regenerates deeply.

With the shine oil and UV Protection Spray you can relax at the beach and not having to worry about your hair getting dry and frizzy, you have a great backup!

Summer Home Spa

Hi there, how is summer treating you all?

I’m enjoying the best summer has to offer; Sun, warmth, swimming, sunbathing, good food, outdoor activities…

But my body is taking a toll from all that swimming and sunbathing. My skin is getting really dry and irritated from sunbathing and swimming in salt water. My feet are tired and I’m starting to get calluses from being barefoot a lot.

It’s definitely time for a home spa..!

What I love about home spas is that it’s easy and cheap, and you decide everything yourself.

I guess you were probably all bombarded by magazines telling you to prepare for summer by exfoliating your skin and all that, but like everything else you need to keep up the maintenance.

Here is my advise for the perfect Home Spa for a summer day:

I like my home spas to be cheap, easy and quick to prepare, so you can spend more time enjoying it.

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