The good news: When Fall (and soon Winter) brings the temps into the 50s and below, our bodies work harder to keep us warm. This means...wait for it...yes, our metabolism speeds up while acting as our own internal heater.
The bad news: It doesn't speed up enough to make holiday foods and big mugs of hot chocolate calorie-free.
So as tempting as that hot bread pudding might be, it's more important than ever this time of year to eat well most of the time. We can indulge, but our daily eating for the most part needs to be wholesome, clean - and delicious. Yes, delicious. Not cardboard rice cakes. Real food that's really good.
Deprivation when it comes to food is akin to torture in this Badass' book. So today, I present my favorite "comfort" foods for the fall and winter months. These don't scream "I'm a pre-packaged diet plan meal." Because, really, don't those fake foods just make you want to say "Blech! Pass me the cookie!"
Stock your fall and winter pantry with these bites of Badass deliciousness:
1. Oatmeal spiked with pumpkin and cinnamon: Oatmeal is one of the best foods to start your day, thanks to fiber and complex whole grain carbs that will keep you full without lots of calories (150 for 1/2 cup of dry oats). And when you add pumpkin and cinnamon, it just tastes like sweet sinfulness. Yet it's not. Pumpkin has only 40 calories in a ½ cup serving, plus potassium, Vitamin A and fiber. So add 1/2 cup of pumpkin to that cooked oatmeal, then sprinkle on cinnamon and a packet of Splenda or Truvia.
2. Buffalo Chili: When it's cold outside, what better way to warm yourself than with a hot bowl of chili? This is a hearty meal, but it's packed with good nutrient-dense calories and antioxidants thanks to the cooked tomatoes, beans, and green peppers and onions. Use ground buffalo, aka bison, and it is a lean bowl of protein that will power you through the next day's workouts.
3. (Lean) Beef Stew: My Grandma makes the best beef stew, with a cup of red wine cooked in. There are tons of recipes out there, and the best ones are packed with carrots, celery, mushrooms, and regular or sweet potatoes. Use lean beef and a slow cooker, and it eliminates the need for added oil or fat in cooking. Jut pour everything in, let it cook slowly for several hours, and come home to a meal rich in nutrition but not calories and fat.
4. Starbucks Tall (Skinny Sugar-Free) Cinnamon Latte: Less than 150 calories of pure sweet deliciousness. It is the best way to get through a cold morning or afternoon. Yep, if you want to make the Badass CEO happy, keep her well-supplied with these lattes!
5. Badass Foodie's Mac n Cheese: Old-School macaroni and cheese is high on the "not Badass" food list, thanks to the white flour-based pasta, excessive amounts of cheese and whole milk. But Badass Foodie's version is totally Badass. Each serving has about 200 calories, 8 grams of fat and 9 grams of protein, and the flavor is off the charts. This will be cooked several times by the Badass CEO in the months to come.
6. Turkey Meatloaf: Ah, the ultimate comfort food. Your mom made it. Grandma probably perfected it. But it wasn't exactly 'health food,' right? Well, it can be. Use lean ground turkey (or lean beef or buffalo if you prefer) and add in some unexpected goodness and flavor with salsa, dry oats, egg whites and seasoning. My favorite recipe includes all of these things and comes from an old issue of Oxygen magazine. I tore it out and have used it so many times, it's got the tell-tale splatters of salsa all over it. Oh, well. It's delicious and, paired with a salad and veggies, is a healthy and very satisfying meal.
7. Baked Apple with Cinnamon: Yes, you could eat warm apple pie. But that would cost you 400 or so calories depending on the crust. Why not get the flavor of apple pie without the crust? The apples are the best part anyway. Remove the core from an apple, leaving half an inch at the bottom and sprinkle in cinnamon and Splenda or Truvia, plus 1/2 tablespoon each of raisins and chopped walnuts. Bake it at 375 for about 30 minutes in a cake pan until it's tender. Eat it warm. Enjoy the awesomeness of less than 150 calories.
8. Sugar-free hot chocolate: When it's cold outside and you're sitting there after dinner, craving something sweet, make a cup of sugar-free hot cocoa. It's chocolate. It's hot. It's sweet. The Perfect Trifecta! And at about 60 calories, it's guilt-free. Heck, even regular cocoa is only about 100 calories. So dig in - it's better than reaching for that chocolate bar or slice of warm cake.
Coming this week: Lunges, lunges and more lunges = Best. Badass. Ever.