Stripes!

Classy

In love with this color

Red Velvet Cupcakes

This is also another recipe from Medi Weight, my dietary clinic. These turned out to be incredibly taste, especially the frosting, which shocked the hell out of me! It was thick and creamy, and...tasted just like original frosting. But keep in mind, this is NO SUGAR ;)

Source: http://www.mediweightlossclinics.com/patients/resources/nutritional/796/

Here are some of my own pictures:

Not my picture:

Preparation

Prep Time:	5 minutes
Cook Time:	20 minutes
Serves:	24
Serving Size:	1 mini cupcake

Ingredients

• 2 scoop(s) Red Velvet Premium Protein
• ½ cup Bob's Red Mill® Almond Meal/Flour
• ½ cup Splenda® granulated
• ½ tsp baking powder
• ½ tsp baking soda
• 2 oz plain, nonfat Greek yogurt
• ¾ cup unsweetened almond milk
• 2 large eggs
• 4 oz light cream cheese
• ½ tsp vanilla extract
• 2 Tbsp Splenda®

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 325 degrees F, and prepare cupcake tin with liners or nonstick spray.
2. Add dry ingredients to large bowl and mix well.
3. In a separate bowl, mix yogurt, eggs, and almond milk, and then add to dry ingredients, mixing well.
4. Pour batter into cupcake tin and bake 20 minutes or until cooked through.
5. For the frosting, powder the Splenda® (or stevia) by pulsing in a food processor. Add cream cheese and vanilla extract and pulse to combine.
6. Cool cupcakes completely before frosting.

Additional Notes

Store frosted cupcakes in refrigerator.

Nutrition Facts
Serving Size: 1 mini cupcake
Calories   44	Calories from Fat 27
% Daily Value *
Total Fat 3g	5%

	Saturated Fat 1g	5%
	Monounsaturated Fat 0g
	Polyunsaturated Fat 0g
	Trans Fat 0g

Cholesterol 24mg	8%
Sodium 72mg	3%
Potassium 11mg	0%
Total Carbohydrate 2g	1%

	Dietary Fiber 0g	0%
	Sugars 1g

Protein 3g

6%

Vitamin A	2%	Vitamin C	0%
Calcium	2%	Iron	6%

* The Percent Daily Values are based on a 2,000 calorie diet. Your values may change depending on your calorie needs.

Positive thoughts!

Cheesecake Brownies

Yummy, healthy treats - GLUTEN FREE, SUGAR FREE, and ONLY 60 calories! You wouldn't believe how delicious these turn out to be. I'm personally not a fan of brownies in general, unless it's with vanilla ice cream ;) but these, I actually prefer! Oh, the irony. Very simple to make, also! 

Medi Weight is the dietary clinic I go, too, for my low-carb diet. Just want to point out that this diet DOES WORK, and I know this from experience (I lost 20 pounds). Anyhow, this is a recipe from them, so it does feature their specific protein powder, but I'm positive any chocolate protein powder will suffice! 

Source: http://www.mediweightlossclinics.com/patients/resources/nutritional/668/

Preparation

Prep Time:	10 minutes
Cook Time:	18 minutes
Serves:	16
Serving Size:	1 brownie

Ingredients

• 2 scoop(s) Chocolate Premium Protein
• 3 Tbsp coconut flour
• ½ cup unsweetened cocoa powder
• ½ cup Splenda® granulated
• ¼ tsp salt
• 1 tsp baking soda
• ½ cup Libby's® Pure Pumpkin
• 6 Tbsp egg whites
• 8 oz light cream cheese
• ¼ cup Splenda®
• 1 tsp vanilla extract

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
2. Combine dry ingredients and set aside. In a separate bowl, whisk pumpkin, egg whites, and 1/4 cup water.
3. Mix wet and dry ingredients until well-combined. Be careful not to overmix.
4. Coat a 7x10 baking pan with cooking spray and pour in brownie batter.(Wet hands and press in batter.)
5. Mix cream cheese, Splenda®, and extract and swirl onto batter.
6. Bake 15-18 minutes. Let cool and slice into 16 pieces.

Nutrition Facts
Serving Size: 1 brownie
Calories   65	Calories from Fat 27
% Daily Value *
Total Fat 3g	5%

	Saturated Fat 2g	10%
	Monounsaturated Fat 0g
	Polyunsaturated Fat 0g
	Trans Fat 0g

Cholesterol 14mg	5%
Sodium 201mg	8%
Potassium 51mg	1%
Total Carbohydrate 5g	2%

	Dietary Fiber 2g	8%
	Sugars 2g

Protein 5g

10%

Vitamin A	4%	Vitamin C	0%
Calcium	2%	Iron	0%

* The Percent Daily Values are based on a 2,000 calorie diet. Your values may change depending on your calorie needs.

Religion vs Spirituality

Often people don't understand the difference between religion and spirituality; usually, they think they're the same. And that's fine, but I personally see them different. There can be connection, of course, but there is a difference. I consider myself more spiritual than religious, and I'll explain why.

I'm a Christian, born and raised, and I've chosen this faith even after maturing and realizing that it's my own individual freedom to choose what to believe in. I see fellow Christians, in churches especially, who blindly follow scriptures from the bible and will be 'good' because the words say to be good. I'm the kind of person who yes, reads scriptures, but often disagrees with some of them - and often more unable to fathom them. What I'm trying to express is that instead of wanting to be good, for the sake of being good, Christians will often choose to do good out of fear of going to Hell, or because the rules say they have to be good.

I stray from that notion because I don't 100% agree with what's written down; I question the words, mainly because they were written by man, and the Bible itself is a piece of literature like anything else, so its context must be taken into consideration. It's composed mostly of contradictions and figurative language; a lot of it is based on interpretation. Thus is why if a piece of literature says it's alright to stone, say, someone who has had sex with every guy in town, I will disagree because it's my personal freedom to do so. To me, spirituality is the notion of my relationship with the universe; the striving to do good because I want to do good, not because a book tells me to do so, or a priest. Spirituality is everything apart from religion; religion tells you what to do and what not to do, and spirituality is something embedded inside all of us from which carries out how we make choices and how we perceive things. Consequently, religion are the rules - spirituality is our individual tranquility.

Please don't confuse this with bashing Christianity, or religion in general, because it's not. Spirituality is with everything and everyone - Jewish, Islam, Christians, even atheists; it's our own moral standards, our own believes between what's right and what's wrong. Our convictions, to think for ourselves, to follow our own hearts. Everyone has that, some just choose to ignore it, or feed the darker side of us more than to hear it. And I'll leave you with this:

A Quote by Cherokee Indian

One evening an old Cherokee told his grandson about a battle that goes on inside people. He said, "My son, the battle is between 2 "wolves" inside us all.

One is Evil. It is anger, envy, jealousy, sorrow, regret, greed, arrogance, self-pity, guilt, resentment, inferiority, lies, false pride, superiority, and ego.

The other is Good. It is joy, peace, love, hope, serenity, humility, kindness, benevolence, empathy, generosity, truth, compassion, and faith."

The grandson thought about it for a minute and then asked his grandfather: "Which wolf wins?"

The old Cherokee simply replied, "The one you feed."

Chocolate Chip Pumpkin Spice Bars

Source: http://www.recipegirl.com/2008/10/01/chocolate-chip-pumpkin-spice-bars/

I made this yummy treat yesterday - very easy recipe with delicious results! Excuse my poor food presentation, but here's how mine turned out (the chocolate chips on the frosting are all smashed but it still tastes orgasmic):

Here's a better picture, from the site.

INGREDIENTS:

BATTER:
1 3/4 cups unsweetened pumpkin puree
1 cup canola or vegetable oil
4 large eggs
1 1/2 cups granulated white sugar
1/2 cup light brown sugar, packed
1 cup all-purpose flour
1 cup whole-wheat pastry flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
1/4 teaspoon ground cloves
3/4 cup mini- chocolate chips

FROSTING:
8 ounces cream cheese, at room temperature
4 Tablespoons butter, at room temperature
2 teaspoons milk
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
4 cups powdered sugar, measured then sifted
1/2 cup mini- chocolate chips (for topping)

DIRECTIONS:

1. Prepare batter: Preheat oven to 350°F. Spray 10x15-inch baking pan with nonstick spray.

2. In a large bowl, whisk together pumpkin, oil, eggs and sugars until combined.

3. In a separate bowl, whisk together flours, baking powder, cinnamon, baking soda, salt, ginger and cloves. Toss in mini chocolate chips and stir to combine. Add dry ingredients to the wet and stir until moistened.

4. Pour batter into prepared pan coated with nonstick spray. Bake until the center springs back when lightly pressed in the center- about 25 to 30 minutes. Remove and place on wire rack to cool completely.

5. Prepare frosting: In a large mixing bowl, beat together cream cheese, butter, milk and vanilla. Slowly add the powdered sugar, 1 cup at a time, and mix until smooth. Frost bars and sprinkle with additional mini chocolate chips.