Being Healthy at Restaurants

We all love hanging out with friends, but we all hate being the only one at a party just eating the salad. When we have been so good for days and suddenly we throw a burger at our face, we may begin feeling discourage and even guilty. You don't want to order a 2,000 calorie meal, but you also don't want to stay home just to save calories. One quick trick that can save you hundreds of calories and also save you big chunks of money is ordering water at restaurants. A single soda can pack up to 300 calories plus dozens of grams of sugar, and I am not even talking about the big beverage cups at fast food restaurants! Getting into the habit of just drinking water can help a lot if you are trying to stay healthy, besides its free! and you can have as many as you like. Another helpful tip is going to restaurants that offers a healthy menu. Olive Garden has a delicious plate of Tilapia that is only 450 calories that comes with steamed veggies and a delicious lemony sauce. If what you want is fast food, one of my favorites is Daphne, a greek restaurant that has the most amazing protein packed burger that is not deep fried and is freshly made. Besides, options like veggies with feta cheese or humus sauce can be a great substitute for those calorie-pack fries. Another favorite is sushi, it is delicious and very affordable, just don't bathe your roll on soy sauce because the sodium can keep you bloated and dehydrated. You can have delicious edamame as an appetizers or even the stuffed jalapenos in moderation. And of course, once in a while enjoy your burger, even with the animal-style fries! It is good for your cravings and your sanity.  
This is the website for Daphnes :)
http://www.daphnesgreekcafe.com/
Hope you guys found this helpful and see you next week <3,
the guilt-free girlz

Gluten Free is the Way to Be

I wanted to share this clip with all of you to show you the great alternatives to wheat, dairy and sugar.  Gluten has been linked to many food allergies, obesity, depression and more.  I recently went to a blood analyst to see why I was not loosing any weight with proper food and exercise.  I found out that my blood type was type O and that there was a whole list of foods I could and shouldn't be eating.  Among those items that I shouldn't be eating was gluten.  Gluten is the number one cause of obesity in type O blood.  I have been learning to change my eating habits to accommodate this new gluten free life style which has actually been easier than I thought.  So if you are feeling sluggish, having a hard time loosing weight or are constantly having upset stomachs and headaches, try cutting out gluten and see how you feel.  Obviously if your symptoms become a problem you should seek medical attention.  My new gluten free lifestyle is finally paying off, I am loosing weight and haven't had an upset tummy in months. 
I am a big pasta eater and would love to give you a great substitute for my favorite dish:
Baked Ziti
1 egg
2 cups part-skim ricotta cheese
1 cup low fat cottage cheese
1 bag of brown rice penne or fussili noodles cooked (gluten free)
1 bag of low-fat mozzarella
1 jar of marinara of your choice
1 lb of ground turkey meat cooked

mix first 3 ingredients in a bowl. In a baking dish layer sauce, meat, noodles, cheese mix, and mozzarella until you have it as high as you want to go. bake in the oven at 350 degrees for 45 minutes or until cheese is browned.  You will love this quick fix any night of the week and of course we always keep it guilt free and now even gluten free!

Love,
The Guilt free girls

Home Cooked Greatness

So the goal of this blog is to share with you all great ways to stay healthy. Staying healthy involves eating right and exercising and going to the doctor...Being concious of your decisions really. In order for me to stay healthy I like to do thing that dont make the process feel so rigid, like modifying good old fashioned recipes. I LOVE Mac n' Cheese, so I found this great recipe that allows me to eat it guilt free. Here is the link:
http://recipes.sparkpeople.com/recipe-detail.asp?recipe=192212
Now remember everyone there is no quick fix to losing weight, you are looking for long lasting results so make life style changes not short term changes. Find things you love and stick to them.

Have a great week!
Love
 The Guilt Free Girls

Drink Water... Lose Weight

The human body is mostly water believe it or not. However many people usually don't drink a lot of water. Choosing soda, juices, fancy coffee drinks and other beverages instead. There are other ways to stay hydrated but water surpasses any other options. It's by far the best fluid for your body, and has no substitute. Drinking water is one of the most important elements of any weight loss program. You can live for a long time without food, but not without water. Drinking water helps our bodies to eliminate water. In the same way that your body holds on to fat when you fast or starve yourself, the body will actually hold onto water if you aren't drinking enough of it. And guess what that means... WEIGHT GAIN! Water is the way our body gets rid of the waste created by the process of metabolizing fat. Drinking more by default means using the restroom more. This allows us to flush away all those nasty by-products. So, drinking more water helps keep our metabolism running at optimum levels. Try to drink at least one hundred ounces of water per day. An easy way to make sure you're drinking enough water is to buy the fifty-ounce bottled containers. And then refill it yourself when it runs out and drink two of those a day. Drink in the car, at school, at work, at the gym or wherever you happen to be. Drinking enough water is just as important as eating healthy, but is sadly overlooked. Hopefully after reading this you'll think H2O. So remember... drink more water!

If you need some variety, supplement your water intake with some of these drink ideas:
-Iced tea (with lemon and no or little sugar)
-Black coffee or hot tea (with no or little sugar also)
-Low or no sodium sparkling water (but no club soda, it's packed with sodium!)

Best of luck from the Guilt Free Girls :)