Happy Halloween

Here are some candy fun facts:

-Americans purchase 600 million pounds of candy for Halloween

-More than 400 million M&Ms chocolate candies are produced in the U.S. every day.

-For candy producers, Halloween is the sweetest holiday of the year, even beating Easter, Valentine’s Day and Christmas in candy sales.

-The Snickers candy bar was named after a horse owned by the Mars family.

-California leads the nation in the number of chocolate and cocoa manufacturers, with 146, followed by Pennsylvania, with 115.

-Americans consumed 24.3lbs of candy per capita last year

-Americans are expected to spend an average of $20.29 on candy this Halloween season

-More than 35 million lbs. nearly 9 billion pieces of candy corn were produced last year.

-The Halloween season accounts for 75 percent of the annual candy corn production.

-The average American will gain 9-11 lbs between now and New Years day (don't be average)

Have a Happy Halloween!

Healthy Football Meals, Snacks and Treats

Since it is Football Sunday we wanted to share with you some healthy meals, snacks and treats! Enjoy!

Meals:

• Chili Bar - make a large crock pot of chili and then have toppings to add to the Chili.  Some great toppings include: plain greek yogurt, lettuce, tomatoes, onions and rice
• Taco Bar - This is so simple, just brown some ground beef or ground turkey in some seasonings and add some fixings!  Great toppings include: Corn tortilla, rice, lettuce, tomatoes, onions, hot sauce, plain greek yogurt, avocado, lime, pico, peppers, jalapeños and corn
• Chicken Wings - Just bake or Grill some un-breaded chicken wings and drumies.  You can then make a great ranch dip by adding ranch seasoning to plain greek yogurt.

Snacks:

• Homemade kale chips - they are so easy, just put some kale on a baking sheet, add coconut oil and sea salt, bake until crispy and enjoy
• Homemade sweet potato fries - similar to the kale chips, just cut up to your liking and add seasonings, coconut oil and sea salt.  Cook until crispy and enjoy
• Homemade buffalo chips - cut either regular or sweet potatoes, season and cook.  Then make a dip of greek yogurt and seasoning salt to dip them in.
• Potato skins - cut either regular or sweet potatoes in half, bake them with bacon and add chives
• Broccoli Salad - the dressing is vinegar, truvia, and olive oil mayo.  Then mix the dressing up and pour over broccoli, bacon and sunflower seeds.
• Potato salad - cut and boil potatoes, after they cool mix with plain greek yogurt, onions, celery, dill, mustard and sea salt

Treats:

• Black Bean Brownies - make the brownies like normal but instead of the oil and eggs use pureed black beans, I will also season with cinnamon
• Banana Ice Cream - mush up frozen bananas and peanut butter, you can even add a couple of chocolate chips for taste
• Baked Pears - cut pairs in half and bake with cinnamon 

Hope you can enjoy some of these healthy game day foods!

Here is a great game day salad, with a pork chop, baked beans and healthy potato salad

Protein pancakes

For the past few weeks, I've been on a quest to find a delicious and HEALTHY protein pancake. Here's the recipe that I've enjoyed. Feel free to give it a try, or share your own by leaving a reply!

Ingredients:

• 2 egg whites
• 1/4 c cottage cheese (2% fat)
• 1/4 c gluten free oats
• 1 tsp butter or cooking oil 

Directions:
1. Place the butter in the skillet and heat on medium until butter melts.
2. Place the egg whites, cottage cheese, and oats in a magic bullet type blender. Blend until smooth.
3. Pour mixture into frying pan and cook 2 min/side or until slightly brown.
4. Top with your favorite fruit or other topping.

Nutrition content: This recipe makes 1 serving.

• 16 g carbohydrate
• 20 g protein
• 6 g fat

Interested in a different macronutrient ratio?

• Want more protein? Add more egg whites or whey protein to the batter
• Want more carbohydrate? Top with fruit or add a little more oats to the batter
• Want more fat? Top your protein pancake with your favorite healthy oil or nut butter