How to Add More Dessert to the Meal Plans (Healthy, Low Cal, Low Fat Diet Desserts)

vegan black bean brownies

From a Subscriber: "Knowing I can have dessert the end of the day helps keep me on target. When I saw that a celery stick with peanut butter was a dessert, I was really disappointed. Can you formulate meal plans to include your "real" desserts?"

I'm trying to make the meal plans as filling as possible by giving you the most food possible, all within 1200 calories. Thus, 100+ calorie desserts (even Happy Herbivore's super healthy ones!) don't really make sense, but if you want a bigger dessert (and you still want to stay within the 1200 calorie range), skip the dessert and snacks provided and have a Happy Herbivore cookie], [[http://happyherbivore.com/2009/05/vegan-blackbean-brownies/|brownie, or other Happy Herbivore treat instead - just try to keep the treat under 140 calories.

Get the current meal plan now.

Enjoyed this post? Get our blog posts sent to your email

How much exercise is too much exercise?

gym weights and equipment

When I was working as a personal trainer, the question of too much exercise, or over exercising, often came up. Some of my clients hoped working out twice per day would help them reach their goals faster whether it was bulking up or slimming down. Others were training for their first triathlon, which often requires twice a day workouts and had them wondering, "Can I exercise twice per day? Once in the morning and at night? Is that safe or healthy?"

Instead of saying "yes" or "no" I would ask my clients whether they think it's best for them --and why.

For my triathlete clients, exercising twice a day often made sense for their goals. Triathlons require a lot of training time across three sports so if my client needed to bike 15 miles and swim 20 laps that day, it made more sense to break that up before and after work rather than getting up at 3 or 4 a.m. to do both back-to-back.

For everyone else, once a day was usually sufficient to reach their goals. It’s also important to keep the type of ‘workout’ in perspective, too. For example, I see no problem with a client doing bootcamp at 6 a.m. and then doing a little yoga before bed if she is feeling stressed or restless, or going for a run in the morning and then playing a game of basketball with friends that night. Technically, those are two workouts in one day, but that is healthy -- a fine example of keeping an active lifestyle.

I have always found that my exercise has a natural ebb and flow -- I have days where I am more active and days where I am less active. Most days fall somewhere in between these two points.

In closing remarks, I do applaud anyone's initiative to maintain an active lifestyle -- but if you feel compelled to exercise excessively everyday, you could be displaying Compulsive Exercise behaviors--where exercise becomes detrimental rather than healthy or helpful.

Remember for weight loss and fitness, diet is more important than exercise!

Eat right! Get the current meal plan now.

Enjoyed this post? Get our blog posts sent to your email

Healthy Sweet Potato Snack

mashed sweet potato in a bowl sprinkled with pumpkin pie spice

We're always on the lookout for filling snacks that are easy to make at work -- that also hit the sweet spot!

Our new favorite is a mashed sweet potato with a sprinkling of pumpkin pie spice.

Stab the sweet potato a few times with a fork then microwave for 8 minutes or so, until it's soft and cooked through. (You can also bake the sweet potato in an oven or toaster oven for an even sweeter flavor, or steam your potato before work). Place in a bowl (careful: that spud is hot!) and mash with a fork.

Once mashed, sprinkle generously with pumpkin pie spice and enjoy!

Nutrition (per 1/2 serving): 53 calories, 0.1g fat, 12.1g carbohydrates, 1.9g dietary fiber, 3.7g sugars, 1.2g protein

Get the current meal plan now.

Enjoyed this post? Get our blog posts sent to your email

Go Vegan, Get Healthy Tips from Kathy Freston!

headshot of Kathy Freston

Healthy Living Expert Kathy Freston shares her tips for staying on track with your diet goals over at Fitness Magazine:

  1. Switch out milk for soymilk, almond milk or coconut milk.
  2. Eat an apple a day. Apples are rich in dietary fiber and a lower calorie snack that will leave you feeling full.
  3. Stay hydrated by drinking eight ounces of water a day, 8x a day. If plain water is too boring for you, add an orange or cucumber slice to your glass.

Read the entire article here. Kathy also provided some great tips on happyherbivore.com

Keep up the great work! The journey to good health can be mighty tasty!

Get the current meal plan now.

Enjoyed this post? Get our blog posts sent to your email

Healthy Restaurant, Fast Food and On-the-Go Meals

No Name from Grasshoppers in Boston

In a perfect world, I would make every meal I eat, but "eating out" is social aspect of our lives and sometimes I forget my lunch at home or I'll be honest: I just feel like letting someone else do the cooking!

If you have to stray from the meal plan, that's okay! Here are some healthy options for dining out:

Starbucks Oatmeal with Nut Medley = 240 calories

  • Oatmeal (140 calories)
  • Nut Medley (100)
  • Dried Fruit (100)
  • Brown Sugar (50)

16 oz All Fruit Smoothie = 210 calories

  • add a boost of soy protein (30 calories)

Fruit Cup (Panera) = 70 calories

  • Panera breads are 80-90 calories a slice

6" Veggie Sub (Subway) = 230 calories

  • bread and veggies only

Burrito Bowl (Chipotle) = 265 calories

  • lettuce (30 calories)
  • black beans (130)
  • fajita vegetables (100)
  • tomato salsa (5)
  • rice (240) (optional, additional)

Bean Burrito (Taco Bell) = 350 calories

  • no cheese
  • Mexican rice is 190 calories.

Salad & Baked Potato (Wendys) = 345 calories

  • side salad (35 calories)
  • plain potato (310)
  • dressing packet (90-110)

Penne Pasta = 379 calories

  • Penne, 1 cup (210)
  • Marinara, 1/2 cup (109)
  • 2 c broccoli (60)

Steamed Vegetable Dumplings = 90 calories

  • Each dumpling is 45 calories.

Lettuce Tofu Wraps (PF Changs) = 140 calories

  • per serving, 4 total servings

Get the current meal plan now.

Enjoyed this post? Get our blog posts sent to your email

How to Stop Mindless Eating

baby carrots on white plate with a white background

I once plowed through an entire bag of baby carrots without blinking an eye. I stuck my hand in to grab another only to -- gasp! -- there weren't any left! At first, I didn't think much of it -- after all, carrots are healthy right? but excess is still excess and I'd mindless nibbled away a lot of calories!

Snacking has always been my pitfall. I love to snack, often because it gives me something to do. So what do I do instead? I brush my teeth.

That's right! Anytime I get the urge to snack mindlessly, I brush my teeth. There is something about brushing my teeth that silences my fake "bored" hunger signals -- and my dentist seems pleased with my enhanced mouth care!

Give it a try -- and don't feel silly doing it in the communal bathroom at work. It was actually a former coworker who turned me onto this practice. Stop on the way home to buy an extra toothbrush and a small tube of toothpaste!

  1. Buy toothbrush, toothpaste today!
  2. Leave it in the car or in your purse

Get the current meal plan now.

Enjoyed this post? Get our blog posts sent to your email