Looking for a great dessert or special treat? These make-ahead popsicles will disappear quickly. Learn how to make these healthy Kefir popsicles today.
We all know eating ice cream all the time isn’t the smartest option when it comes to being conscious about our food choices. If you happen to have a weak spot for ice cream or popsicles but don’t want all the yucky stuff that is found in most of them, these popsicles are a great alternative to satisfy that craving. Plus, these healthy Kefir popsicles are a great way to incorporate kefir’s probiotic health benefits into our diet. And sweet or tart, you can adjust the honey to suit your taste.
Whatyouneed for this recipe
3 C. Plain Unsweetened Kefir Cultured Milk Smoothie
1/2 – 3/4 C. Raw Honey
1 tsp. vanilla (optional)
1 C. Fruit
Howtomake this recipe
Place fruit into popsicle molds.
Blend kefir, vanilla, and honey in blender or ninja until smooth.
Pour into popsicle molds, insert sticks, and place in the freezer until frozen.
To unmold the popsicles, hold the mold under lukewarm water for a few seconds until the popsicles release.
Recipe Tips
You’ll need to scale the ingredient amounts to the size of your popsicle molds. The basic formula you’ll want to follow is 2/3 base + 1/3 fruit to fill each mold.
Always taste your mixture before freezing to make sure it’s a little sweeter than what you like. Remember that things are not as sweet to your taste buds when frozen.
I had fresh blackberries, raspberries, and pomergranate so that is what I put in these pops. You can use any fresh or frozen fruit that you enjoy.
I used the smoothie cup that came with my Ninja to blend the kefir mixture. It makes just the right amount to fill my 6 molds.
If the pops aren’t completely frozen, they may break or may not come out of the molds completely.
Make Red, White, and Blue Popsicles: Place 1 pound strawberries, hulled and chopped, 2 tablespoons lemon juice, and 2 tablespoons honey in blender and puree until smooth. Fill the into popsicle molds 1/3 full with the strawberry purée and freeze until it’s firm, about 2 hours. Next, whisk two tablespoons honey into 1 cup Plain Unsweetened Kefir Cultured Milk Smoothie until well-combined. Remove the popsicles from the freezer and create the middle layer by evenly spooning the sweetened kefir into each of the popsicles. Gently push blueberries into the middle layer leaving enough room in the mold for the final puree layer. Place back into the freezer and freeze until firm but still soft enough to be able to put the sticks in. For the final layer finish filling each mold with the remaining strawberry puree. Insert sticks and return to the freezer until all layers are set, preferably overnight.
Fun mix-ins: crushed peanut butter cup pieces, peanut butter poweder and chocolate chips, 2-3 Tbsp. unsweetened cocoa powder per cup of kefir, add a pureed banana to the kefir mixture, crushed oreos, replace 1/3 the kefir with chopped mango, strawberries, peaches, or your favorite fruit for a fruity popsicle base,
Make them fancy: Pour melted chocolate into a tall, narrow glass, or something that fits the popsicle with just a little room around and dip your pop into it. Place in freezer on a baking sheet lined with parchment and then dip the next one. Repeat until you have dipped all the pops 3 – 4 times and there is a solid coating of chocolate on your popsicles. On the final dipping, gently roll your popsicle in your topping of choice. Chopped nuts, coconut, tiny candies, sprinkles, or dried fruit bits all make great toppings.
We have been using YS Eco Bee Farms Raw Honey for the last several years because we have found that it offers the maximum level of antioxidants and healing agents. This company is a pioneer in organic bee farming so their honey does not contain any pesticides, herbicides or pollutants. Two places that I know you can find it are on Amazon and Kroger Ship.
What is Kefir? Pronounced like Kee-fer Sutherland or Keh-fer that rhymes with Heifer, it is an amazing yogurt-like drink that has tons of health benefits. One of them being that it is loaded with probiotics that can boost our immune system.
In addition to these great popsicles, I’ve also been doing protein shakes. Have you started using protein powder? Do you know how many scoops you should be using a day? If you’ve got questions about adding protein powder into your diet, you gotta check out this informative post: https://totalshape.com/supplements/how-many-scoops-of-protein-powder/
Enjoy Your Vacation Without Blowing Your Diet When you take a trip your diet doesn’t have to go on vacation, too!
After my long absence, I knew that I had to stay on task this week to get my self-confidence back. Then, just before our trip Hurricane Florence shows up! What a week this has been. However, it did give me a chance to buy lots of water and we now have a large supply of paper and plastic products filling our closet. Thankfully, the days of preparation for the storm were a practice run for the next weather event. Which here on the coast will be sooner rather than later. But for now, we will focus on our upcoming vacation. Since this is the first one we’ve had in ten years this will be a new experience for me. Vacation and dieting? How will I manage that! Keep reading to learn more about how I plan to enjoy my vacation without blowing my diet.
Plan Ahead – Planning ahead is always the best idea if you want to stay on track. Research restaurants in the area and find out diet-friendly foods you can get at each one.
Be Realistic – Realize that vacations can be unpredictable and something unplanned will come up. Be ok with that. One meal, one day, even one week will not undo all of your progress. Try to eat good 80% of the time, but realize there is going to be 20% of the time where you may indulge a bit. Just don’t let it get out of hand and you’ll be just fine.
Once you arrive, find a local market and stock up on,
Fresh fruit. Having it in your hotel room and in your daypack for breakfast and snacks will stave off hunger and prevent trips to the vending machine.
Protein bars. You can put them in my pocket or daypack and take them with you. Plus, you don’t have to worry about having to mix with water like a powder.
Convenience Foods. Tuna, jerky, instant oatmeal, and healthy snacks, like nuts and dried fruit, not junk food.
Foods that can microwave and eat in the room. Get things like rotisserie chicken, heat and serve products like rice or veggies.
Milk. cheese, and eggs. Milk for cereal and drinking. I can only have noncow’s milk so having a carton of my milk in the refrigerator will allow me to have my morning cereal. If your hotel doesn’t offer healthy cereal choices pick up a box while you’re at the market. I’ve tried the preboiled eggs in the dairy case. They pack a lot of protein and they’re not bad tasting. Some low-fat cheese and a piece of fruit make a great snack.
Bottled water. Be sure to take a few bottles with you when you’re on the go so you’re not tempted by all those high-calorie drinks. It will also prevent dehydration which can be mistaken for hunger. For more on hydration while dieting read this post about the importance of hydration.
Eat Smart – You won’t want to eat all your meals in your room so try find local restaurants with low-calorie options. McDonald’s, Wendy’s, Applebee’s, Subway, Logan’s, Cracker Barrell, Outback, and Chick-fil-a are national chains that offer diet-friendly menu items. If you’re at a restaurant and don’t know what to get to help you stay on track, lean meat and veggies or a side salad is always a good choice and is something you can get pretty much anywhere you go. Order smart and stay away from the fat, sugar, and carb-laden items. Before ordering ask how it’s prepared. Request that extra butter and oils not be added. Get your sauces and dressing on the side. For more tips check out these smart tactics for dining out.
To stay on my diet and still enjoy my trip I plan to choose the foods I eat wisely, make moderation my vacation mantra, and with all the events I plan to stay as active as possible during our trip.
Stop focusing on the scale! Our weight is just a number and it doesn’t define who we are. Rather than just focusing on our weight, we should be focusing on the bigger picture — on our general health and wellbeing.
Weight Watchers Freestyle Progam – Learn more.
How my freestyle weight loss week went:
With Hurricane Florence behind us and our big trip just two days away, I stepped on the scale to confirm that I was back on track. I was excited to see that I am on my way down again with a small but important one pound loss this week. My next weigh-in will be the day we return from our trip. Wish me luck! Until next week… Remember to stay positive and keep looking forward.
OnlinePlus – Put the power of Weight Watchers in the palm of your hand. Learn more.
We love hearing from our readers. Please share your thoughts, tips, and insights with us by leaving a comment below or on my Facebook fan page. Facebook fan page.
I am not a medical professional. The contents of this website are for educational purposes and are not intended to offer personal medical advice. You should seek the advice of your physician or another qualified healthcare provider with any questions you may have regarding a medical condition. Never disregard professional medical advice or delay in seeking it because of something you have read on this website.
Weight Watchers Get Healthy Freestyle Journey
GOT CRAVINGS? You Can Banish Them!
It’s been a while since I posted. But I’m back on the wagon and it’s time to continue our journey into health and wellness. Thank you, for joining me as I reflect on the past weeks and explore the new! After my last post my laptop had to be repaired, then I went to my parents to visit, and before I knew it a month had slipped away from me. Last week we received Kiss Your Cravings Goodbye so this post is about how and why it works. Keep reading to learn more.
KISS YOUR CRAVINGS GOODBYE is a revolutionary lip treatment that curbs cravings with its all-natural formula made from a blend of essential oils & rare plant extracts. Upon application, this formula induces thirst, redirecting your urge to snack to hydrating with water instead. Additionally, the physical activity of applying the lip gloss temporarily shifts focus away from snacking, helping to modify your behavior with consistent use. It is available on Amazon and directly on their website.
It is currently available in NO-SIN cinnamon™ (cinnamon flavor), they have introduced two new mint flavors, NO-DISCOURAGE mint™ (Peppermint), and NO-REGRET mint™ (Wintergreen). They sent us samples of all three to try!
Ready to break up with junk food?
Try lip sensation FOR TRICKING TEMPTATION.
This product works as a “Behave-Aid” to help you redirect your mind away from junk food, and focus instead on hydration.
HERE IS HOW KISS YOUR CRAVINGS GOODBYE WORKS SO WELL:
This lip moisturizer was formulated with a proprietary blend of essential oils, rare plant extracts and lip-conditioning agents that simultaneously curb your lust for junk food and leave your lips feeling smooth & hydrated.
Using KISS YOUR CRAVINGS GOODBYE changes the methodology of cravings by adding the physical activity of applying the lip moisturizer. This will temporarily shift focus away from snacking and help modify behavior by replacing the urge with a tangible action. Therefore, the more consistently you use it, the more effective it is.
Working the moment you apply it, the moisturizer hydrates your lips and makes you thirsty redirecting your impulse to drink water instead of reaching for junk food.
ORGANIC & NATURAL FLAVORS INGREDIENTS: Natural Flavors, Helianthus Annuus (Sunflower) Seed Oil, Olea Europaea (Olive) Fruit Oil, Oryza Sativa (Rice) Bran Oil, Persea Gratissima (Avocado) Fruit Butter, Ricinus Communis (Castor) Seed Oil. CONTAINS: Tree Nut Oil (Almonds).
KISS YOUR CRAVINGS GOODBYE is a Behave-Aid® or a behavior modification tool. Using it changes the methodology of cravings by adding the physical activity of applying the lip moisturizer. This will temporarily shift focus away from snacking and help modify behavior by replacing the urge with a tangible action. Once KYCG is applied, the essential oils freshen your breath and moisten your lips, while slightly drying your mouth. This triggers thirst and your cravings are redirected to water.
I’ve been using the NO-SIN cinnamon since it arrived last week and am loving it! This product really does deliver what it promises. I am huge carb craver and had been working on modifying my behavior. Six months ago I went from eating huge amounts of carbs to eating them in moderation. However, I was still craving certain ones. Like, pasta dishes, artisan breads, and most of all sour candy. Since I’ve been using this lip moisturizer not only do my lips feel and look so much better but doing so has helped me get rehydrated. Even after a visit to the doctor and a concentrated effort to drink more water, I’ve had a long, hard struggle with dehydration this summer. I love having this great tool in my arsenal to battle both my cravings and dehydration.
KISS YOUR CRAVINGS GOODBYE
Stop focusing on the scale! Our weight is just a number and it doesn’t define who we are. Rather than just focusing on our weight, we should be focusing on the bigger picture — on our general health and wellbeing.
Weight Watchers Freestyle Progam – Learn more.
How my freestyle weight loss week went:
With preparations for Hurricane Florence in full swing, and me back on track I stepped on the scale to face the reality of my detour. Yes, it was only a detour because I’m back on the road to success. I was excited to see that I hadn’t done to much damage and can keep moving forward. Since I had gained two pounds, my goal of reaching 50 pounds lost before our trip to Richmond in September may not be in the cards but I’ll be there before and after Halloween. Now, that’s a holiday that diet nightmares are made of. Until next week… Remember to stay positive and keep looking forward.
OnlinePlus – Put the power of Weight Watchers in the palm of your hand. Learn more.
We love hearing from our readers. Please share your thoughts, tips, and insights with us by leaving a comment below or on my Facebook fan page. Facebook fan page.
I am not a medical professional. The contents of this website are for educational purposes and are not intended to offer personal medical advice. You should seek the advice of your physician or another qualified healthcare provider with any questions you may have regarding a medical condition. Never disregard professional medical advice or delay in seeking it because of something you have read on this website.
Weight Watchers Get Healthy Freestyle Journey Week 27
How Much Food Does It Take To Gain Weight?
It’s MONDAY and time once again to continue our journey into health and wellness. Thank you, for joining me as I reflect on the past week and explore the new! This week I as was looking for motivation for this post I started thinking about how I got to where I’m at. This is not the first time that I’ve had 100+ pounds to lose. How did I, after 10 years of keeping all 147 pounds that I previously lost off, did I find myself right back in the same boat? What changed so that I began gaining what I had worked so hard to lose back? Keep reading to learn what I discovered.
If you’ve ever eaten a ridiculously huge meal and ended up feeling that you were ready to explode, you’ve probably thought that you instantly gained weight. Well, there’s good news and bad news.
Good News
What you eat or overeat does not instantly turn into weight gain.
Bad News
How much you eat over the course of a few days or a week, however, can result in weight gain.
“Weight gain simply happens when we have an imbalance between the kilojoules* we’re eating and the kilojoules we’re burning off,” Jemma O’Hanlon told HuffPost Australia. “It doesn’t occur just from one meal — it’s when this imbalance occurs over a period of time that weight gain can creep up on us.” – Huffington Post Australia
If you’re moderately active, you need about 15 to 16 calories per pound of body weight to maintain a healthy weight, according to the University of Washington and Harvard Medical School. However, as with anything related to the body, the amount of food we need to eat before it ends up as body weight depends on the individual. Each person has their own energy requirement which varies depending on numerous factors such as age, height, illness, and activity. Also, the rate at which we burn calories, otherwise known as your metabolism, varies from person to person.
Not surprisingly, since weight gain occurs when we don’t burn off the calories we consume the amount of food it takes to gain weight varies from person to person. One pound of stored fat comes from 3,436 to 3,752 extra calories. You can gain 1 pound per week by consuming roughly an extra 475 calories each day. That’s the equivalent to two slices of pizza or two iced doughnuts!
*1 Calorie = 4.2 Kilojoules
Reality Check ~ Lifestyle Changes
Eat Until Your Full. It’s often when we eat past the point of being full that we’re likely to gain weight. Eat slowly and listen to your body. Stop when you feel comfortably satisfied. If you’re eating until you’re stuffed full, chances are you’re eating more than your body needs.
Eat In Balance. When it comes to eating in balance, one meal can’t ruin your weight loss efforts. The key is to enjoy all foods in the right balance. Keep portions lean and focus on eating smart.
It’s much easier to gain weight than it is to lose weight. It takes almost 20 minutes of jogging to burn 80 calories. That glass of wine you drank with dinner takes approximately 40 minutes of brisk walking for your body to burn off.
Weight is influenced by what and how much you eat. You gain weight immediately when eating food or drinking liquids. You initially gain precisely as much as the food or the drink weighs. What happens after that depends on what you ate and on your energy-balance. Whether you’re taking in more energy than you’re spending or using more energy than you’re taking in will determine if you gain or lose weight.
Timeline for weight gain. The process of ingestion, digestion, and egestion occurs over a span of roughly 12 hours on average. That’s the time it takes for the residual waste of food to pass out of us. The useable parts have all been put to use for energy expenditure, as heat generation, or placed into storage, as either glycogen or fat.
Although the question seems extraordinarily simple one, there is not a simple answer to it. While it is easy to say how long it takes for your body to digest food, it is very difficult to answer the question, how quickly does it add weight to my body? That’s a very individual phenomenon, based not only on the make-up of someone’s diet but on their unique hormonal and physiologic response to it.
I gained the weight back because not only did I quit being active and kept eating the same way I did when I was burning lots of extra calories. But, I also started to eat lots of the wrong types of the foods. The weight gain didn’t happen overnight. It was years of eating poorly and sitting in front of the computer for hours. Now, I am working on finding a proper balance in my life.
Stop focusing on the scale! Our weight is just a number and it doesn’t define who we are. Rather than just focusing on our weight, we should be focusing on the bigger picture — on our general health and wellbeing.
Our weight is just a number and it doesn’t define who we are. Rather than just focusing on our weight, we should be focusing on the bigger picture — on our general health and wellbeing.
How my freestyle weight loss week went:
I am still struggling to get and stay hydrated so the battle continues to drink and eat more water. With the two teens gone, this week was very quiet! Just two trips to Charleston for physical therapy and the pain specialist. We stopped by the store and restocked I was shocked at how much yogurt and cereal they ate. I sure do miss them though.
With preparations for back to school in full swing, before we knew it Sunday was here and it was time to step on the scale. I was excited to see that I had lost two pounds this week. I am two pounds closer to my goal of reaching 50 pounds lost before our trip to Richmond in September. Until next week… Remember to stay positive and keep looking forward.
OnlinePlus – Put the power of Weight Watchers in the palm of your hand. Learn more.
We love hearing from our readers. Please share your thoughts, tips, and insights with us by leaving a comment below or on my Facebook fan page. Facebook fan page.
I am not a medical professional. The contents of this website are for educational purposes and are not intended to offer personal medical advice. You should seek the advice of your physician or another qualified healthcare provider with any questions you may have regarding a medical condition. Never disregard professional medical advice or delay in seeking it because of something you have read on this website.
Weight Watchers Get Healthy Freestyle Journey Week 26
Fighting Obesity In Children And Teens
It’s MONDAY and time once again to continue our journey into health and wellness. Thank you, for joining me as I reflect on the past week and explore the new! This week as I was responsible for feeding my grandchildren healthy food that they would like I took time to reflect on what we had been feeding them all these years. Knowing that overweight children are much more likely to become overweight adults unless they adopt and maintain healthier patterns of eating and exercise I have been trying to educate my grandchildren. Keep reading to learn more about this.
The problem of childhood obesity in the United States has grown considerably in recent years. In the past 30 years, childhood obesity has more than doubled in children and quadrupled among adolescents. According to research from the World Health Organization and Imperial College London, the number of obese children and teenagers worldwide is 10 times higher than it was four decades ago. In real numbers, that’s 124 million young people ages 5 to 19 who were obese in 2016 compared to 11 million in 1975. In addition, 213 million boys and girls were overweight but not obese last year according to the study, which looked at data from 200 countries.
“These data highlight, remind and reinforce that overweight and obesity is a global health crisis today, and threatens to worsen in coming years unless we start taking drastic action,” Fiona Bull, program coordinator for surveillance and population-based prevention of noncommunicable diseases at WHO, said in a statement. – ABC News
While obesity is among the easiest medical conditions to recognize, sadly it is most difficult to treat and frequently becomes a lifelong issue.
Ways to Manage Obesity in Children and Teens
Start a weight-management program
Change eating habits – Teach them to eat slowly and develop a routine (structured meal and snack times).
Plan meals and make better food selections (provide less fatty foods, avoid having junk and fast foods available)
Know what your child eats at school
Teach them to control portions so that they consume fewer calories
Increase physical activity (especially walking) and have a more active lifestyle
Eat meals as a family instead of while watching television or at the computer
Do not use food as a reward
Limit snacking
Attend a support group (e.g. Overeaters Anonymous)
Just like adults, the reason most obese adolescents gain back their lost pounds is that they tend to go back to their old habits of eating and exercising. An obese adolescent must, therefore, learn to eat and enjoy healthy foods in moderate amounts and to exercise regularly to maintain a healthy weight.
Set Up Lifestyle Changes
Helping them tweak some of their habits can help them slim down and be healthier overall. The right amount of sleep, less time in front of the TV, phone, and computer, and stress-relief tricks all help to have more energy to make good choices. The best way to change how your teen eats is to keep it simple. Start with five basic steps.
Lose the soda. Swap those calorie-heavy drinks, including juices and sports drinks, for good old water or low-fat milk.
Make vegetable and fruits easy snack choices. Keep them clean, cut, and waiting in the front of the fridge so they’re easy to see and eat.
Encourage breakfast every day. Teens will often give up their morning meal to sleep later, but that could mean they’re so hungry at lunch that they’ll overeat or give into junk-food cravings. So hand them something to eat on the way to school, like a smoothie made out of yogurt and fresh fruit, or an apple and a wedge of cheese.
Don’t keep junk food in the house. Although you have limited control of what your teen eats outside your walls, you can keep the bad stuff off the menu in your home.
Eat at home. Restaurant foods have an average of 33% more calories than the same meal cooked at home, research shows. One study found that the more often a family ate together, the less likely a teen was to be overweight.
Overweight people often have self-esteem issues. Parents and other family members, caregivers, teachers, and friends of an obese child can improve their self-esteem by emphasizing their strengths and positive qualities rather than just focusing on their weight problem. Don’t hesitate to seek help. When a child or adolescent with obesity also has emotional problems, a child and adolescent psychiatrist can work with the child’s family physician to develop a comprehensive treatment plan.
They have to be on board and involved with any plan to lose weight. Your approach is key.
The CDC’s Division of Nutrition, Physical Activity, and Obesity offers a great collection of resources to help children and teens maintain a healthy weight and prevent obesity. Two great resources are their BMI calculator which provides BMI and the corresponding BMI-for-age percentile based on the CDC growth charts and guidelines for how much and what type of physical activity children need. Children and adolescents should do 60 minutes or more of physical activity each day! But if your child isn’t too active now, they’ll need to build up to that goal. Try these tactics to get them moving:
Help set small, achievable goals. It’s fine to start with 10 minutes a day — as long as they do it. Then have them slowly add a few minutes every day. When they succeed with small steps, they’ll build self-confidence and stay motivated.
Get the whole family involved. Take family hikes, or go on bike rides together. Keep jump ropes and hand weights around the home. Get pedometers for everyone to help you all take more steps. It’s easier for a teen to move more if everyone is doing it together.
Be a coach, not a sheriff. You have more of an influence over your child than you might think. The trick is to not force a healthy lifestyle but to encourage them to find their own reasons to change their diet or get more exercise.
Don’t change everything at once. Don’t suddenly outlaw all sweets, demand long workouts, and hide the video-game console. That will backfire and set your teen up for failure. Start with the simplest changes — ones that your child can complete and feel good about. Focus on doing them every day, and then encourage them to do more over time.
People who make judgments based on looks are not seeing you for the wonderful person you are.
Comment on your teen’s strengths and positive qualities regularly. Let them know that they are wonderful, and you love them unconditionally.
How my freestyle weight loss week went:
I am struggling to get and stay hydrated so the battle continues to drink and eat more water. We also spent the week with our two teenage grandchildren. What an eye-opener it was! They have been at their great-grandparents and have been eating pretty much any and everything they want all summer. The health risks became apparent and unavoidable when I took my granddaughter for a shot and they were concerned about the pressure on her heart from the excess weight. I’ve struggled with my weight all my life and do not want that for children or grandchildren. So this week we really worked on making better choices and arming them with the knowledge on how to make them for themselves.
With two teens in the house, meal time was interesting. We did do pizza but paired it with a big salad and corn dogs shared the plate with green beans and corn instead of fries. A visit to my parents was spent working in the yard and roasted chicken with veggies for dinner. What a difference from a few months ago when it would have been a high carb meal followed by dessert. Saturday we had dinner at my sister’s after a day of swimming. She did a wonderful job cooking salmon on the grill. It was so good and healthy!
With smores over the fire and such a busy week, it was soon Sunday and time to step on the scale. I was relieved to see that I had lost a half pound this week. I’ve got a goal to reach before we go to Richmond in September and can see me reaching it! Until next week… Remember to stay positive and keep looking forward.
OnlinePlus – Put the power of Weight Watchers in the palm of your hand. Learn more.
Did you struggle with your weight as a teen? Do you have any advice for overcoming weight problems? Please share your tips and stories with us by leaving a comment below or on my Facebook fan page.
I am not a medical professional. The contents of this website are for educational purposes and are not intended to offer personal medical advice. You should seek the advice of your physician or another qualified healthcare provider with any questions you may have regarding a medical condition. Never disregard professional medical advice or delay in seeking it because of something you have read on this website.
