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

Shed pounds fast without stress on your joints!

Check out this video from Yahoo news regarding how the new Alter-G technology can help you meet your fitness goals without stressing your joints.

Interested in trying it? OSR Eden Prairie has one that is open to the public! See our web page for more information, or call to schedule a 10 min complimentary trial: 952-873-7400. When calling for your 10 min trial, mention offer code: Social Media.

Do you eat fruit?

Here is a post this week from the New York Times that they recently shared.  It talks about a new study about different fruits and if certain fruits are better than others......enjoy!

http://well.blogs.nytimes.com/2013/09/04/some-fruits-are-better-than-others/

Fall Health Challenge Starts Tuesday!

Our fall health challenge starts Tuesday!

If you are interested in signing up contact Stephanie at Stephanie.Winters@osrpt.com

For more info you can also check out www.stephaniewinters.blogspot.com

Have a great holiday weekend!

Mint chocolate protein bites!

Looking for a quick no-bake treat? These mint chocolate protein bites are well balanced in carbohydrate-fat-protein. Have favorite treats and recipes to share? Leave us a post!