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WE LOVE PUMPKIN!!!!

PUMPKIN…….. So beautiful, so orange... so delicious! Today we're giving props to our favorite form of the large squash. You know it, you love it, so put your hands together for... CANNED PUMPKIN!!!

                 

What Is It?

100% Pure Pumpkin

PER SERVING (1/2 cup): 40 calories, 0.5g fat, 5mg sodium, 9g carbs, 5g fiber, 4g sugars, 2g protein -- PointsPlus® value 0*

Why Do We Love It?

Full of fiber - If you've been following the ongoing series of HG Salutes emails, you may have noticed that we often salute foods that are high in fiber. This is not a coincidence. High-fiber foods help to keep us feeling full and satisfied (which is kinda the whole point). The fact that today's honoree features naturally occurring, plant-style fiber is an extra-special bonus.

Loaded with nutrients - In addition to fiber, there are many other nutrients packed into this gourd. Carotenoids like beta-carotene are plentiful, as is vitamin A (each 1/2-cup serving has 300% the daily value!). Muscle-fueling potassium?  Yup, got that too.  Yay for pumpkin!

Delicious yet neutral - The stuff is naturally yummy with a fantastic creamy texture, but it's not that sweet on its own. Its mild taste makes it an excellent base for all sorts of flavors: cheesy, spicy, maple-y... even chocolatey!  This means you can use it in SO many different recipes.

                 

Pumpkin BFFs

Cake mix! Pumpkin and cake mix are almost inseparable at the HG HQ. Whether you're combining the orange stuff with spice cake for a classically seasoned pumpkin dessert or keeping it low-key with devil's food cake (no one will even know the pumpkin is there), this is a match made in HG's oven!

Pudding! Don't feel like prepping a schmancy dessert, but jonesing for something that tastes somewhat homemade? No problem -- pumpkin is very flexible (and the canned kind is already cooked). Mix some up with a sugar-free vanilla pudding snack, add some pumpkin pie spice, and dig in! (Pudding and pumpkin also join forces in our Pumpkin-licious Nog.) Not a pudding fanatic? Go for fat-free cottage cheese or fat-free yogurt with some no-calorie sweetener and vanilla extract thrown in -- an easy sweet treat with seasonal flair!

Sauce! Pumpkin works AMAZINGLY well in more than just dessert dishes. We like to add it to savory sauces to add thickness, awesome texture, and extra fiber. Whether it's a silent partner (like in this spaghetti pie recipe) or a featured artist (like in this colorful fettuccine dish), pumpkin is a GREAT add-in for sauces of all sorts!

Nemesis: Pumpkin Pie Mix! They may look similar, but these canned cuties couldn't be more different. The pie mix has more than twice the calories and over three times as much sugar as the pure stuff! People often confuse the two (thus the rivalry) -- make sure the can you grab is labeled 100% Pure Pumpkin.

                               

Pump' It Up! Recipe Roundup

Grab a can... in fact, grab several. Pumpkin-fied recipes are comin' atcha...

The Whole Enchilada Chicken Soup - Pumpkin adds amazing texture to this swap for a soup served at Chili's. Love it!

Mr. Puffy Pumpkinhead Freezy-Cool Whoopie Pie - With all the Halloween stuff already on shelves, we got to thinking about this cutie...

Savory Pumpkin Grilled Cheese - Pumpkin in a grilled cheese sandwich. It's a thing now, people. At least in our world!

Pumpkin Pie Oatmeal Parfait - A dessert-inspired breakfast that we'd eat happily any time of day? This is it!

Creamy Pumpkin Faux-sotto - Just the kind of dish you'll crave when the temperature starts to drop... Is it dropping yet?

Pumpkin Pie Sundae - Like pumpkin pie a la mode... but without any actual pie. Don't worry; the flavor's ALL THERE!

Surprise, It's Pumpkin! Enchiladas - One of the best recipes to ever come out of a kitchen emergency. Pumpkin stands in for refried beans, and it ROCKS!

Old Time Rocky Road Fudge - The mashed squash works serious magic in this incredible swap. Yum, yum, and YUM!

Nicely Iced Pumpkin-Bread Muffins - Pumpkin-y baked treats with icing that won't make YOU pumpkin-shaped. HOORAY!!!!!

Thanks HUNGRY GIRL....We love you!!!!  :) 

               

What are you going to do with all those healthy zucchinis sitting on your counter???

OK....so I realize this recipe is not COMPLETELY healthy....however it does have a few redeeming ingredients.  PLUS, this blog is about things that make you happy also!   So go make a batch....I guarantee HAPPINESS will come about!  :D   If nothing else, at least you won't have those zucchinis taking up your counter space anymore!  :)

Zucchini Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookies
1 1/2 C Sugar
1 C Butter
1 tsp Soda
1 tsp Vanilla
1 tsp Cinnamon
1 tsp Salt
2 Eggs
3 C Flour
1 Bag Chocolate Chips
1 C Chopped Nuts (optional)
2 C Grated Zucchini
3 1/2 C Quick Oats

Cream sugar, butter, eggs, salt and vanilla together. Add zucchini. Mix in flour, soda, cinnamon, oats. Fold in chocolate chips and nuts. Drop onto greased cookie sheet.
Bake at 350 12-14 minutes. Makes 6 dozen cookies. For 3 dozen cookies, cut the recipe in half! =)  They also freeze well!!!  :)

Emergency Snacks courtesy of Hungry Girl

emergency snack, noun

plural emergency snacks

Definition of EMERGENCY SNACK

A guilt-free food that can be stored in a backpack, purse, mini fridge, or desk drawer. Suitable for chewing when hunger unexpectedly hits. Frequently filling and capable of squashing a craving. A Hungry Girl staple.

In HG Land, emergency snacks are a MUST. And while we stand firmly by our standard emergency snack list, it's always nice to change it up a bit. Here are some seasonal snackables and new products on our radar...

                               

Veg Out & Fruit Up!

Fruit and veggies are always great, but going seasonal is the best way to get delicious produce for a good price. Since we're creeping into autumn, some fantastic fruity bets are apples, pears, and plums. (Pears and plums can be kinda delicate, so pop 'em in a case or wrap them in foil for travel.) Late-summer veggies, like zucchini, are still around; slice those up for on-the-go munching. And as the weather gets cooler, grab some broccoli and cauliflower to hack into florets; throw some in a baggie and bring them wherever you go.

                 

Bar-Hopping...

Some GREAT new snack bars have recently hit store shelves! One of the best new picks is the 90-calorie Quaker Chewy Smashbar, which comes in Graham Pretzel and Pretzel Berry -- sweet 'n salty lovers rejoice! (But if you have milk allergies, you might want to avoid these.) KIND Mini bars are also great, with only around 110 calories a pop -- a perfect way to take the edge off your hunger without the caloric investment of a full-size KIND bar. If you like your bars crunchy, Clif Crunch Granola Bars should be just your speed -- they come two to a pack and are available in fun flavors like White Chocolate Macadamia Nut and Blueberry Crisp! Not into granola? No problem. Nimble bars (from the Balance Bar peeps) are protein-packed, nougat-like treats that rock our faces off for just 120 calories each -- the Peanut Butter version is heartbreakingly delicious! And our newest favorite is Perfect Foods Bar Lite Cranberry Crunch -- it's packed with amazing flavor and lots of energy-boosting stuff, and each bar has just 199 calories.

                               

Some Refrigeration Required...

Low-fat dairy snacks are GREAT because the protein is filling and, well, they taste awesome... provided you know which to choose. The first on our list of new finds isn't technically low in fat, but it's so tasty that we'll allow the extra fat grams. Mini Babybel, the beloved line of wax-coated cheese wheels, now features two more non-light varieties -- White Cheddar and Sharp Original, with just 60 - 75 calories each. (They'll be fine in your purse during a short day trip.) Also yummy and portable is Weight Watchers Smoked Flavor Mozzarella String Cheese, with only 50 calories per stick -- the smoked flavor is a total upgrade from standard string cheese! When it comes to yogurt these days, it's all about accessorizing. YoGreek Yogurt + Crunch pairs creamy fat-free Greek yogurt with a sidecar of granola for only 140 calories and 0.5g fat. Not to be left out, Yoplait has a new line of Light Yogurt with Granola; fruit-on-the-bottom yogurt with a generous amount of granola for a total of 190 calories per container. And in case you haven't heard, we're nuts about Fage Total 0% and 2% Greek yogurts with fruity add-ins,

which have 120 - 140 calories each (not including the honey options) -- Mango Guanabana is our favorite... and we're not even that certain what guanabana is!

                 

Sweet Street

A little something sweet can keep us from going overboard and eating heavy dessert items. A few of our newest sweet indulgences? Jelly Belly's Candy Corn Jelly Beans are so delicious that we can't wait for Halloween... but these beans will help tide us over -- a 25-bean serving has about 100 calories. We're also BIG fans of Panda All Natural Cherry Licorice... especially now that it comes in convenient 100-calorie bars! Finally, keep an eye out for new flavors in two of our favorite lines of sugar-free gum. The Apple Pie flavor by Extra Dessert Delights is mind-blowingly amazing, and the Trident Layers Sweet Cherry + Island Lime tastes kinda like a Cherry Limeade from Sonic. Mmmm...

                               

                 

               

                 

               

Year Subscription to SHAPE Magazine for only $3.99

Today on Discount Mags you can grab a 1 year subscription to Shape magazine for only $3.99! To get this price at checkout just use code 6952.
Considering that’s what you would pay for a single issue at the store, getting a whole year at that price is a steal!

How to Achieve One Pound of Weight Loss

Want to lose weight? Then you have to do a little math: To lose one pound of body weight, you need to subtract 3,500 calories from your diet or burn that amount of calories.

By Dennis Thompson Jr.

Medically reviewed by Lindsey Marcellin, MD, MPH

Weight loss is a numbers game. One pound of fat contains 3,500 calories. To lose one pound of fat, you need to tip your personal energy balance so you're burning 3,500 more calories than you are eating.
"To lose one pound a week you would have to put yourself in a 500-calorie deficit every day," says Sari Greaves, RD, registered dietitian with the Step Ahead Weight Loss Center in Bedminster, N.J. and a spokesperson for the American Dietetic Association. "It's the whole 'eat less, move more' guideline to help you lose weight."
Weight Loss: Doing the Math
To lose one pound a week, you need to have a good idea of how many calories you burn (use for energy) on an average day. Men burn 1,900 to 2,500 calories per day, depending on their level of activity, Greaves says. Women burn 1,600 to 2,000 calories per day.
To get a more accurate idea of your daily caloric requirements, you can turn to an online basal metabolic rate (BMR) calculator. BMR calculators take into account your height, weight, age, gender, and level of activity to work out exactly how many calories you need to eat every day, just to keep your weight constant.
Once you know your current daily caloric requirement, you can create your own formula for losing one pound a week. The idea is to create a 500-calorie deficit each day by eating 500 fewer calories, working off 500 more calories through exercise, or any combination of the two actions that equals 500 calories. For example, you might choose to eat 250 calories fewer than your daily caloric requirement, and then do a workout that burns another 250 calories. Some days you might feel like burning off 500 calories with exercise alone. Other days you might cut your intake by 500 calories. If, at the end of each day, you achieve that 500-calorie deficit, you'll lose one pound in seven days.
 Weight Loss: Easy Does It
Keep in mind that one pound a week is just one goal. If you want to speed up your weight loss, then make your caloric deficit larger. If you don't feel like pushing yourself, go for a smaller deficit. "Simply cutting 100 extra calories from your diet every day can lead to up to 10 pounds of weight loss in one year," Greaves says.
Experts say healthy weight loss involves losing a maximum of two pounds per week. More than that and you probably are not burning fat. Instead, you're cutting into your lean muscle mass and dropping water weight, neither of which provide sustainable weight loss. You'll gain all the weight back eventually, and feel tired and worn out in the meantime.
Weight Loss: Diet and Exercise
Whatever your weight-loss goal, losing one pound should ideally involve both diet and exercise. Pursuing one without the other is setting yourself up to regain the weight later on. "Exercise is not a free ticket to eat more,” Greaves says. “My motto is, 'Work on what you put in your mouth first.' Although physical activity is an essential component to a healthy lifestyle, you also have to eat less to see the numbers on the scale drop."
One way to help keep yourself on target is to start keeping a diary that notes every calorie you eat. The diary also should include calories you are burning through exercise.
Weight Loss: Diet and Exercise Tips
These diet and exercise tips can help you create the daily caloric deficit that will help you burn that one pound of fat:

• Cut down on fatty foods. Fat contains nine calories per gram, compared with four calories per gram for carbohydrates or proteins. Cutting a lot of fat out of your diet can cut hundreds of calories a day.
• Eat whole grains. They fill you up and take longer to digest than the simple carbohydrates contained in processed flour or white rice. Choose whole-grain bread, brown rice, and oatmeal. Whole grains also contain lots of healthy fiber.
• Think before you drink. Sodas and fruit juices contain tons of calories. Just sticking to water and diet drinks can decrease your caloric intake effortlessly.
• Eat regular meals. Skipping meals can make you so hungry you'll overeat later on, and also can cause your metabolism to slow down. Stick to three meals and a snack per day.
• Mix up your routine. Keep yourself from getting bored with exercise by pursuing different activities. Combine outdoor sports with fitness classes. If you're a jogger, ride a bicycle once in a while. If you like aerobics, try yoga now and then.
• Do regular strength training. Muscle at rest burns more calories than fat at rest. Increasing your muscle mass helps you lose weight more efficiently. The more muscle you have, the more fat you will burn.
• Break it up. You should do at least 30 minutes of exercise a day, but research shows that you don't have to do it all at once to gain weight-loss benefits. Take a brisk 10-minute walk around the block in the morning, and a 20-minute bike ride later in the day. This way, even the busiest of people can squeeze in calorie-burning activities.

Now that you know what it takes to lose one pound of fat, your weight-loss plan will be more effective and you’ll start building the motivation to lose more and more.

The Ten Commandments of Weight Loss

1. Thou shalt honor thy health and good spirits above all else.
2. Thou shalt not go on crash diets; therein lieth the way of madness.
3. Thou shalt not clean thy neighbor's plate.
4. Thou shalt not eat when thou art miserable, for food is not a medicine unto the soul.
5. Thou shalt eat not when thine eye lusteth, but only when thy stomach requireth sustenance.
6. Thou shalt sup chiefly on the fruits of the earth, the grains and vegetables thereof; on the fowl of the air and the fish of the seven seas, whence donuts cometh not.
7. Thou shalt take exercise daily, for why else hast thou sinew and bone, legs and sneakers?
8. Thou shalt be patient but not forgetful.
9. Thou shalt take delight in every good friend and good song, in every good walk and good day, for to enjoy them more is why these commandments are given unto thee.
10. Thou shalt not knit thy brow if thou transgress a commandment, but forgive thyself, for it is written, nine out of ten is not bad.