The last few months have been an interesting journey for me. In an effort to lose the last of my 'baby weight' (she is 16 months after all), and having realised that just 'wanting' to be thin wasn't quite going to get me there, I decided it was time to bite the bullet and make some serious changes.
So I enlisted some help, and signed up for the 'Michelle Bridges 12 week body transformation'. This fabulous program provides you with weekly exercise and meal plans, including all your recipes and a shopping list. It also provides online forums and chat rooms to share your journey with the other participants, and lots of mindset videos from Michelle (one of the personal trainers from Australia's Biggest Loser) to help you identify your behaviours and to keep you on track. The most important thing you should know about this program is that it works, you just have to do it. Maybe I was a little relaxed about it at times, not willing to part with wine or chocolate completely, but I still managed to lose 6kg, and a total of 38cm from my curves - surpassing my own goals for the challenge. Aaron also dropped a few kg's by default!
The main things I have taken away from the last few months are these:
1. Be organised. Know and write down what you are planning to cook for the coming week, make some meals in advance, and have healthy snack options on hand. Keeping a food diary is really insightful too.
2. Identify and eliminate your excuses. I am always full of excuses not to exercise, so I opted for a home exercise routine. This meant that rain, hail or shine it is pretty hard to find an excuse to not get up and go out to your living room to do your workout. It just means getting up that bit earlier (5.30am and I are now good friends).
3. Being mindful of what you are eating. Ever since I started thinking about the calories in things it makes me a lot more conscious of what is going into my body.
4. Keep it real. I like wine. I like a little sweet treat in the evening. You can still have these things, just maybe not everyday, and look for lower calorie alternatives that won't leave you with a major blowout.
With a new found sense of awareness about what I am eating, but my old faithful love of baking and my sweet tooth still close at hand, I have been on a little net-capade to find some healthier versions of beloved treats. There is some amazing stuff out there, like the beautiful 'Green Kitchen Stories', the great sugar free recipe collection on 'Weight it up' or the interesting recipes from 'Chocolate Covered Katie's healthy dessert blog (she does some surprising sweets with tofu and chickpeas that I am still trying to get my head around).
I wanted to share two yummy cookies recipes that I have tried lately that I have been really happy with - particularly as they low on the guilt!
Flourless Oatmeal Raisin Cookies (adapted from Chocolate Covered Katie)
These little guys are ridiculously yummy, and super quick to make - do a double batch though, because they won't last long!
Ingredients:
- 3/4 cup rolled oats
- 1/4 tsp baking soda
- Pinch of salt
- 3 tbsp coconut palm sugar* (could use a combination of 2 tbsp brown and 1 tbsp white instead)
- 1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
- 2 tbsp sultanas/ raisins
- 1 tbsp coconut oil* (olive oil or melted margarine is ok too)
- 1-2 tbsp milk of choice (I've used almond and regular skim milk, both are good)
Preheat oven to 180° and line a tray with baking paper.
Combine the oats, baking soda, salt, sugar and cinnamon in a food processor and whiz until the oats have broken up and become a little floury (but still with some visible oatiness about them).
Stir in sultanas, oil and milk. Add enough milk to just bind the mix together.
Roll into 12 balls (about 3/4 desert spoons of mix each) and push flat, or I use a small cookie cutter and push the dough down into it with the back of a spoon.
Make sure you leave a decent gap between the cookies as they can spread.
Bake for 6 minutes, or until lightly browned. Allow to cool slightly on tray before transferring to wire rack to cool completely.
(Makes 12: approx 40 calories per cookie**)
Black Bean Cookies (from Green Kitchen Stories)
These cookies have a bit of a brownie texture to them, which is awfully appealing. As they are relatively healthy, they are also a nice treat for kids - our Ruby loves them.
Ingredients:
- 1 cup cooked black beans
- 2 tbsp coconut oil* (or olive oil)
- 2 tbsp nut butter (I used almond)
- 2 tbsp milk (they recommend oat/ plant milk, but I used dairy)
- 1/2 cup coconut palm sugar*
- 4 tbsp cacao powder
- 1 tsp cinnamon
- 1 tsp baking powder
- 1/2 tsp salt
- Optional: 40gm dark chocolate chips
Preheat oven to 180° and line a tray with baking paper.
Rinse the beans well under cold water and drain well.
Place beans, oil, nut butter and milk in a food processor and blend until smooth.
Sift together sugar, cacao powder, cinnamon, baking powder and salt and add to the bean mixture.
Process again until well combined. It will look more than brownie batter than cookie dough.
Dollop spoonfuls onto a lined tray and smooth them into cookie shapes (I made 16 cookies).
Dot with the chocolate chips if using them.
Bake for 15-20 minutes (they should still be a little soft when they come out of the oven).
Leave on tray for a few minutes, then cool on wire rack.
Made 16 cookies: approx 70 calories per cookie** (about 56 calories if not using choc chips).
* Coconut sugar and coconut oil are available at most health food shops, but can be pricey. I found some pretty cheap at a local Asian grocery store.
**Calorie information was formulated using Sparks Recipe Calculator.
I hope you enjoy these tasty morsels, and don't forget to share any great healthy recipes that have been hits in your kitchen too.
xx
