Cucumber Tomato & Cheese No Bread Sandwiches

Ingredients:

10 cucumber slices, peeled

5 tomato slices, seeded

1oz cheese sliced into 5 slices

Salt

Pepper

5 toothpicks

Directions:

Top each of the 5 cucumbers with 1 slice of tomato and 1 slice of cheese. Dash with salt and pepper then add a top cucumber. Insert a toothpick into each "sandwich" to keep it from falling apart.

Enjoy.

Green Tea Vanilla Honey Sorbet

Ingredients:

2 Green tea bags

2-1/2 cups hot water

1/4 cup honey

1/2 tsp vanilla

Directions:

In medium sauce pan, bring 2-1/2 cups of water to boil. Remove pan from heat and add tea bags. Steep tea for 2-3 minutes until water turns light green. Return pan to heat and add honey. Bring honey and tea to a boil. Remove from heat and set aside to cool. Add vanilla. 

Pour mixture in dish and place in freezer. Stir every 30-45 minutes until shaved ice consistency is reached.

Makes 5 half cup servings. 56 calories per serving.

This recipe is the best recipe ever, honestly. It is the perfect skinny summer snack because it is refreshing and low in calories. It is super sweet and perfect for the whole family. The kids will love it. They might be afraid to try it because it is green, but they'll love it once they do. 

You can also add your own personal twist to this treat, like a sprinkle of cinnamon, nutmeg or pumpkin pie spice. 

I think my next plan is to make a spiced Chai version of this sorbet. If I do, I'll post the recipe.

Cinnamon Grilled Pineapple & Greek Yogurt Recipe

Ingredients:

1/2 tbs coconut oil or coconut oil cooking spray

1 cup sliced pineapple

1 tsp cinnamon

1/2 cup Greek yogurt

Directions:

Heat oil in grill pan until hot. Place pineapple in the hot pan (it should make a sizzling noise). Sprinkle upright side of pineapple slices with all of the  cinnamon. Cook pineapple for two minutes, until desired grill marks are achieved. Flip and cook other side for two minutes as well.

Remove pineapple from heat and serve over Greek yogurt. Enjoy.

 Voila, here is what your finished snack will look like. It is sweet, crunchy, tangy, and all under 200 calories for the entire recipe.

Benefits of Weightlifting

Exercise is a must for a healthy mind and body. Everyone knows cardio is a must for a healthy mind and body, but did you know weightlifting and resistance training is another must for a healthier body. 

Weight training improves bone density, lean muscle tissue, strength of muscles and tendons, and it helps you maintain your weight or burn more calories. 

Weight training isn't only for men. That's right, ladies it is time to grab some weights and bust out a few reps. It is impossible to get as bulky as a man without taking steroids or other testosterone boosting supplements, so you don't have to fear lifting heavy.

Another bonus from weight training is that it actually helps you burn more fat. It burns calories to do the exercises and after your body continues to burn calories to heal the muscle fibers. So, why wouldn't you want to lift weights?

When I can't get to the gym, I use 8 lb weights for my arms, 15 lb weight when squatting and resistance bands for everything else. these three items can make any space like a gym. There is so much you can do with free weights and resistance bands that you'll never get bored or need a gym membership.

Muscle Milk

Muscle Milk protein powder makes the best tasting protein shakes ever.

They have Vanilla Creme and Chocolate flavored protein powders that are only 150 calories a serving. This 150 calories gives you roughly 32 grams of protein. Sounds good, right? Just wait, the recipes I made using this powder are even better.

The first recipe is a super easy pumpkin pie protein packed smoothie.

Pumpkin Pie Protein Smoothie Recipe:

1/2 cup canned pumpkin 

1 tbs coconut milk

1 cup water

1 scoop Muscle Milk vanilla creme protein powder

1/2 tbs pumpkin spice

1 frozen banana

1/2 cup ice

Place all ingredients in blender and blend until smooth. Enjoy. This recipe is absolutely delicious. It tastes like a mix between a pumpkin pie and a spice cake. You will enjoy your workout even more with this drink. It supplies lasting energy and keeps you full longer than most protein smoothies. Also pumpkin aids in fat burning, so it is the perfect smoothie for your diet and your health.

The next recipe I made using the Chocolate Muscle Milk protein powder. This drink is better if you have chocolate cravings that are hard to control.

Chocolate Protein Icee Recipe:

1 cup water

1tbs coconut milk

1 scoop chocolate Muscle Milk protein powder

1/2 banana

1 tsp cocoa powder

1 tbs Almond butter

1 1/2 cups ice

Combine all ingredients in a blender and mix until icy. 

Disclaimer: Products were given in exchange for my honest opinions. All opinions and pictures are my own.

Ecco Bella

Hurry and check out www.eccobella.com for Ecco Bella's Paperback Single Compact and Natural Blush Refills. The compact is a hot, new release. It is refillable, biodegradable, eco-friendly, and will last you years. Ecco Bella's products come in cute flower matchboxes that are biodegradable.

Here is the Paperback Single Compact. It is perfect for travel and on-the-go make up kits because it isn't a bulky compact. It also features an elastic band to keep the compact closed.
You buy this empty compact and then fill it with Ecco Bella eye shadow, eyeliner, shimmer and blush colors. It only holds one of your choice.

On the inside you can secure your favorite Ecco Bella blush. This is Ecco Bella's Natural Blush Refill. It is infused with FlowerColor Waxes. If you like this color, it is called Peach Rose. 

I love Ecco Bella's compact. It's a great compact for busy people. It conveniently fits in any purse. 

The blush is perfect for a natural look. It's not too thick and doesn't make your face look caked in powder. It actually looks like a natural blushed face, the way make-up should look. All you need is a light swipe of the blush on each cheek. This blush will last a long time because you need very little to brighten your cheeks.

Disclaimer: Products were given in exchange for my honest opinions.

Double the Dough

Vanilla Rich Extra Large Pecan Cookies

2 cups (4 Sticks) butter, softened

1-1/2 cups granulated sugar

4 teaspoons vanilla extract

4 eggs

4-1/2 cups flour

2 teaspoons baking soda

1 teaspoon salt

2 cups (11.5-oz package) HERSHEY'S Milk Chocolate Chips

1 Cup pecan halves

1. Heat oven to 375 degrees.
2. Beat butter until creamy.
3. Add granulated sugar and brown sugar to butter and beat until creamy and smooth.
4. Add vanilla and eggs. Beat well.
5. In a separate bowl, stir together flour, baking soda, and salt. Gradually add flour mixture to butter mixture, beating until completely blended. 
6. Stir in chocolate chips and nuts.
7. Drop by large spoonfuls onto a cookie sheet. Bake 10-12 minutes or until golden brown. Cool Completely.

Enjoy your really big and delicious cookies!

Fitbit Charge

I absolutely love my Fitbit. It keeps me going. It's funny to think something like a wrist pedometer can keep you going, but it sure does. I've seen myself progress from 10,000-30,000 steps a day. It allows me to see if I've had enough activity for a day or if I need to step it up a bit. It helps with every aspect of your health, like diet, exercise and portion control. 

This is the Fitbit I purchased from Best Buy about 2 months ago. I have to say it was worth it. I feel so much healthier now that I have this device. Well, it isn't only the device that makes you healthier, it takes a little work on your end too. The Fitbit makes the challenge more exciting and visible. 

You can see how many steps you get each day and the steps from previous days too. It vibrates when you reach your daily step goals and cheers you to keep up the good work. Not only does the Fitbit want you to keep going, but you and your friends will want you to too. The Fitbit app allows you to friend other people who have Fitbits and set challenges between you and them. It's really exciting to cheer and taunt your friends.

Here is the tracking of my steps for the week. It not only keeps this record, but it also keeps a record all the way back to when you first put your Fitbit on. You'll always know how much progress you've made or if you need to put a little more work into your routine. It's a great way to keep you motivated.

It also tracks how many miles you walked and you can set distance goals as well as step and calorie goals.

It tracks how many calories you burn naturally and how many you've burned from walking and exercising. This is one of my favorite features on the Fitbit. It has a food log and you can log food by scanning the bar card on common food labels or typing in the food and calories. The log keeps track of how many calories you've eaten throughout the day and if you have burned enough calories to lose or maintain your weight.

The only thing it doesn't have is a goal source for individuals looking to gain weight.

It keeps all of these logs in a tidy little page inside of your Fitbit app. Along with these, it tracks how many steps you've climbed, how much food you logged, and how long you were active for each day.

You can challenge your friends and other Fitbit users to daily/weekly challenges and earn badges. It's a really fun way to stay motivated in your fitness journey. It's really fun to see how many badges you and your friends will earn.

It also has a place to send messages, taunts, and cheers to your friends, to help them keep up with their journey too.

I haven't found one reason to not love my Fitbit and I'm sure I never will. 

Paleo Pro Products

www.paleoproproducts.com offers a wide variety of proteins that don't contain ingredients that aren't paleo friendly, unlike other common protein powders and products.

This is the Chocolate protein powder. It is delicious mixed with coconut milk or Silk Soy Milk. I tried it in 8oz of Water, 1 Tablespoon of coconut milk and 30g of the Paleo Pro protein powder and it was excellent and very satisfying. They also offer this protein powder in Aztec Vanilla and Plain Naked.  

For the Plain protein powder I made a Blueberry Smoothie. 

It was the best smoothie I've made so far.

RECIPE:

1/2 Cup Blueberries

2 Tbs PB Fit Peanut Butter Powder

1 Tbs Coconut Milk

1 Cup Water

1 Cup Ice

30g Plain Naked Paleo Pro Protein Powder

Put all of the ingredients into a blender and blend until smooth. The smoothies tasted exactly like blueberry pancakes. It is sweet and peanut buttery and very smooth. Most Protein powders have a chalky, weird aftertaste, but this one tastes exactly like the ingredients I put in it and nothing more.

For the Aztec Vanilla Paleo Pro protein powder, I made protein pancakes.

They turned out to be better than normal pancakes. 

RECIPE:

1 egg

1 banana

30g Aztec Vanilla Paleo Pro protein powder

1/4 cup blueberries (optional)

1 Tbs coconut oil

2 Tbs Peanut Butter (optional)

Cut and mash the banana up into a pulp using a fork. Add the egg and protein powder and mix until combined. Add Blueberries to the mix. 

Place coconut oil in pan and heat. Spoon out batter like normal pancakes in pan and cook like a pancake. Use peanut butter spread on top of pancakes for additional protein and flavor.

The Paleo Recovery Powder is perfect after any workout and will leave you feeling refreshed. It is perfect mixed in water or in a smoothie.

Disclaimer: Samples were given in exchange for an honest review.