Pinspiration- Dinner style

I know I posted a while ago about how great of a motivator pinterest can be, since you can pin gadgets you want, or sayings that help remind you that you don't really want to eat that cake.

It can also be home of drool worthy cupcake photos, so when using pinterest one must tread lightly.

However what I want to focus on today are all the healthy ideas you can find on pinterest!

One of our major downfalls is pizza. It is quick, and cheap and convenient, and delicious. Even if it isn't quick or convenient, it is so delicious that- well who cares! It is also LOADED with calories, which is why this onetime staple of weekends has been forced to be an occasional treat.

But here are some ways to help keep pizza in our rotation, without busting the calorie budget (and since they are recipes that you make at home they are easy on the dollars budget too)

I have not tried this one yet, but I am thinking it just might need to pop up on the menu for the week:
Cauliflower Crust Pizza: 
There is a whole blog post, that is totally worth reading, but here is the gist:
CRUST:
1/2 LARGE head cauliflower (or 2+ cups shredded cauliflower)
1 large egg
1 cup finely shredded mozzarella cheese (or try another kind!)
1 teaspoon dried oregano
1/2 teaspoon dried minced garlic (or fresh garlic)
1/2 teaspoon onion salt


(click the link for the step by step how to) 

I just love this idea! 

In a time pinch, I also love the crust alternative of zucchini! 

No recipe needed, since you just use zucchini in place of a pizza crust! It would be super easy to cut the zucchini in to circles and make pizza bites out of this too, perfect for a sports party in a calorie conscious way! 

So don't get too distracted by all the cupcake pins, there are healthy ideas too! 

"free" food- how to discount your calories!

One of the techniques that has helped me lose 30 pounds since November, is trying to eat as much that is "free" as possible. Not monetarily free, but caloricly.

By my definition, caloricly free (or um on sale) is a food that takes work to get, so you burn all the calories (or at least some) in the process of getting it.

My favorite way to do this is to walk to subway on my lunch hour.

A 6 inch veggie sub, with no cheese and only mustard as a condiment (Since mayo= yuck anyway) is 230 calories.

I have to walk about 13 minutes to get to Subway, so I round down to 25 minutes for calories. 168

That burns 168 calories, so my lunch only "costs" 62 calories. 

That isn't bad! Throw in a diet coke, and some sunshine and it is a pretty good lunch! 

Another great way to get a calorie "discount" is to go on a picnic over the weekend. For me, the weekend is a dangerous time, because I have less of a schedule, and boredom eating is a huge pitfall. So packing a picnic lunch and hiking it to a nice spot to eat is a great way to lower that calorie count. 

Especially if you have a craving you just HAVE to satiate, walk or run or bike to wherever you have to go to  satisfy that craving!