Stepping Up

Hey guys!

So if you've read my profile, you know that I am a registered and licensed dietitian (RD, LD) or if you don't know what that is, I'm an expert in all things nutrition. I have decided to start incorporating this aspect of my life into my blog. I'll post nutrition tidbits and advice, yummy & healthy recipes, and easy lifestyle changes to help make you a healthier you.

I love dessert, so don't worry about me being one of those dietitians or nutritionists who declare sweets off limits. Everything can be included in your food for the day in moderation! Moderation is the key! Can you have a cookie today? Sure! Should you eat a half dozen of them? No, probably not. How about ice cream, cake, pie, pumpkin roll, brownies, etc? Absolutely, just not all of them every day and not in large amounts. 1/2-1 cup of ice cream, a small (2x2 inch) piece of cake or brownie, 1/2 inch piece of pumpkin roll, a 2 inch piece of pie. You get the idea. Small and only 1 or 2 a day. I also don't recommend making it an everyday habit, but a 1-3 times per week treat. All other foods should also be eaten in moderation and smaller portions than you typically see. Restaurants are notorious for portions that are 2-4 times as large as they should be, but that's another day ;)

My niche in the nutrition world is weight loss. It's by far my favorite aspect of the nutrition world and the area that comes easiest to me to educate and help clients with. I know a lot about other areas as well including disease states, diabetes, weight maintenance, lifestyle changes, etc. I am more than happy to answer any questions that you have for me too! Just leave a comment or send an email my way!

As an end to this post, I'll leave you with a couple of recipesrecipe that I found over at Chef In Training and The 36th Avenue for some fun (and not laden with sugar!) treats.

First up is from Chef In Training with a Jalapeno Popper Cheese Ball at just over 100 calories for 1/12 of the ball, so invite some friends over for a party and serve this with some fresh veggies for a yummy snack!

The second recipe I'm going to share is found at The 36th Avenue for Skinny Pumpkin Dip! Yum! Make this with sugar free pudding as suggested below the recipe and it is just over 100 calories for 1/6th of the dip!!! Mmmmm <3 A perfect fall treat when served with graham crackers broken into little rectangles!

That's all I have for you today! Remember to send me any questions or comments you have!

Kara :)

Tutorial: Tissue Ghosts

I promised you all a tutorial, so here it is! I was decorating the house for Halloween and realized that I had not a lot of decorations at all. Christmas, on the other hand, well, that's a different story ;) I set about decorating with what I had and realized that it still looked kind of plain. We have a wall decal tree above our front door in a large open space. I was talking with my husband about how I wish we had something to "decorate" the tree. Then it hit me: those little ghosts that people make out of trash bags and hang in their trees outside and those little tootsie pop ghosts that I used to make as a kid using a tissue and a magic marker! I ran and got some Kleenex, some scrap fabric, and set to work! This is how I did it!

Gather your supplies:
Fabric scraps (for stuffing)
Tissues
Twine or String
Sharpie
Tape & Scissors (Not pictured...cause I forgot to grab them)

You could definitely make these permanent decorations or at least more sturdy, but I wanted it done *now* so I just crafted with what I had. Next time I would use some white cotton, fleece, or flannel instead of tissues and probably some black felt instead of a sharpie, but hey, it worked. 

**Warning, this tutorial has TONS of pictures! :)**

First grab a small scrap of fabric to use for stuffing and roll or mold it into a rough ball.

Then wrap your tissue around it to form a ghost!

Cut a piece of string about 12 inches long and tie it around the base of the ghost's head, creating the knot toward the end of the string (I just tied once at this point, not a full knot, but you can create a full knot if you'd like)

Now take the long end and tie it in a knot on or close to your first knot to create a loop as shown.

I found that it was easier to hang these guys if I taped the string to the back of the head about half way. If you're using fabric instead of tissues, you may want to put a couple of stitches here instead of tape to secure the loop.

Use your sharpie (or black felt) to create a ghosty face. I did some of mine like above and I made a few with angry eyebrows for fun. I could have made a wider variety of faces, but I wanted them done quickly so I could put them up! :) And that's it!

Now go make a whole bunch of them (you can see some of my angry faced ghosties above ;))

Hang them up wherever you want. I put mine in my tree above the front door.

Here is my front entry! (my camera couldn't get the whole area :( )

I love decorating! I made the wreath on the door (I have a tutorial for it here) and added the yarn covered initial this year before I hung it up.

Hope you guys enjoy this! I'd love to see your creations, so leave a link in the comments section if you post them on your blog or somewhere else online!

Kara

Halloween

Let me start by saying I LOVE holidays! All of them. They are so festive and they give me an excuse to bake and decorate. I have a couple of tutorials to show you, but I haven't gotten a chance to upload my photos yet, so they will have to wait another day or two. In the mean time, I thought I would share some Halloween crafts and recipes that I have found in the blogosphere that I would like to make. Some of them may have to wait another year or two, but I will make them. Eventually. :) So this is what I like to call my Halloween Round Up!

Clockwise from the top left:

1. Decorating for Halloween with Masks by Marti Gras Outlet

2. Halloween Countdown Calender by Cutesy Crafts

3. 8 Instant Eek! Ideas by Martha Stewart

4. Halloween Party Invitations by Pottery Barn Kids

5. Spider Web Halloween Countdown by Cutesy Crafts

6. Pumpkin Yarn Wreath by Lizzy Designs on Etsy - This is a good inspiration to make your own or you can buy it from her Etsy shop!

Clockwise from Top Left:

1. Easy Monster Cookie Sticks by The Decorated Cookie

2. Funny Bones by Epicurious, exerpt from Ghoulish Goodies

3. Monster Cups by Collecting the Moments...One by One - used as part of a Monster Party

4. Pumpkin Spice Cupcakes with Cream Cheese Frosting by Taste of Home

5. Mini Pumpkin Pies by Makes and Takes - I bet you could make just about any mini pie like this...think Dutch Apple, Cherry, Peach, Blueberry, Mixed Berry...the possibilities are endless!!!

6. Candy Corn Rice Krispies by Glorious Treats - She also has tons of other cute candy corn inspired treats. She also uses the same method of these Krispie Treats to make Watermelon Slice Treats in the summer! Cute!

Ok, there you have it! I have TONS of other fun Fall and Halloween crafts and treats over on my Fall & Halloween Crafts Pinterest board.

Check back in a couple of days for a tutorial! :)

Wisdom...Or So They Say

     I found out on Tuesday that I have to have my wisdom teeth out...again. When I was 18 I had my lower wisdom teeth out and the doctor said he wasn't going to bother with the upper ones, because they were so high up in my gums, that there was little chance that they'd ever bother me. Well, 5 years later they are irritating nerves and causing jaw pain, so guess who gets to go through that lovely experience all over again! This is what I looked like last time after about a week or two (I'm the one in pink):

Notice the chipmunk cheeks? This is after the swelling had gone down some. I love that group of girls, by the way :)

     I'm getting them removed two weeks from today and I'm trying to come up with a list of foods that I'll be able to eat once they're out so that I can stock up this coming weekend. So far I have: jello, sugar-free pudding, fruit smoothies, mashed bananas, yogurt, soup, Carnation Instant Breakfast, and frozen veggies that are cooked really well so that I can smash them up. I can't use a straw for at least a week after surgery :(

     What are/were some of your favorite foods to eat when you had your wisdom teeth out? If you haven't had them out, do you have any creative suggestions of soft foods that are easy to swallow with little to no chewing???

Kara

It's been sooooooo long!!!

Hey all!
It's been forever since I posted on here, I apologize. I have taken the last 8-9 months off because I finished my last semester of college (which was crazy!!!) and then I had to finish up wedding planning and get married!!! :) My husband (!) and I were married on June 1st of this year and have spent the last few months getting used to living together and making our house our home <3 

Did I mention that we went to beautiful Punta Cana for our honeymoon? It was amazing!!!

I've also been crafting up a storm lately, so I'm going to try to start posting some of my projects up here and tutorials for some of them. Unfortunately, I didn't take photos of any of my already completed projects along the way, but some of them are rather easily explained and completed :) I'll try to make some complete tutorials of new projects in the coming weeks and some of the items I have made will be for sale as well! You can check out my Facebook page and Etsy shop (etsy only has a couple of things right now) for items that I have for sale. I'll probably post tutorials for a few of them, but if you don't want to make it and would rather buy, I am always happy to make up a custom creation for you!!! :)

I'm also planning to update my blog soon to make it look better and match my personality a little more. I may make it a little festive for the holidays as well :)

<3
Kara