Never too full for ice cream

So, I attended a work function last week - and after two days of eating everything in sight thanks to an array of high-calorie breakfast, lunch and dinner offerings, I was basically walking around so full I could barely breathe, wishing desperately I'd brought along pants with an elastic waistband. And yet despite my bloated belly, the organizers went and opened up a sundae buffet at the very end of the event. How does one possibly turn down a sundae bar? I tried...I really, really tried not to go anywhere near it. But it's siren call was too strong for me...I was weak. Still, I only took one scoop of ice cream - and tried to limit the hot fudge, strawberry and caramel toppings to a mere drizzle. So I feel I did triumph just a wee bit.
Anyway, you'd think after that frozen treat that I wouldn't be so tempted to celebrate National Hot Fudge Sunday Day tomorrow. But if you know me at all by now, you know I love to honor the food holidays. So I just may have to indulge the tiniest bit.
Luckily, there are so many low-fat, sugar-free sundae variations now available, I no longer have to worry about eating a day's worth of calories in one sitting.
Here are a few examples:

CARAMEL APPLE ENCHILADA SUNDAE

DOUBLE WHIP COOKIES AND CREAM CUP

CRUNCHY APPLE PIE SUNDAE

Finally, if you're completely lazy in the kitchen (like I often am), I've discovered that the SmartOnes Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough Sundae (found in the frozen meal area of your local grocery store) is absolutely delicious and low in calories. Apparently many others agree, since Women's Health Magazine chose it the winner of the Best Ice Cream Sundae (for packaged foods) in 2007.

That's all I got for now so...enjoy!

That's all 300 calories will get me?!?

A friend directed me to this site and, well, I'm not sure if I find it enlightening or depressing. Unfortunately, it seems to be a combination of the two.

Anyway, the author of this entry decided to calculate the weight of various foods and beverages adding up to 300 calories and then photograph it for the visual impact: 300 calories, for example, will get you about two pounds of watermelon but only two ounces of milk chocolate. In some of the pictures, 300 calories looks surprisingly generous, like the heaping pile of cooked spaghetti and the deep bowl brimming with chocolate corn cereal. Others, however, made me a bit blue, such as the wee portion of almonds. The gouda cheese image particularly bummed me out - because as I mentioned in my last entry, I love me some cheese. And I've been known to eat that 300-calorie amount on a single, solitary cracker. Okay, okay...I exaggerate. But you get the idea! Thanks to today's super-sized meals and steadily growing plates, I think many of us have lost sight of what a portion should really look like. I read once that many restaurants will quadruple portion sizes, just so consumers feel they're getting their money's worth. And we wonder why there is an obesity epidemic in this country??
At least I can squeeze three glasses of red wine out of 300 calories. Sigh.

I assume it goes without saying that you have to pay attention to more than just a meal's calorie count? Don't forget to check out fat grams and carbs and dietary fiber, for example. But obviously, the less calories you consume, the less weight you'll carry.

To wrap up the week, and this particular entry, I'm attaching a few recipes hovering around the 300-calorie mark that I found on www.Splenda.com. Later skaters!

Thai Grilled Chicken with Chile Dipping Sauce

Dulce de Leche Sandwich Cookies

Homemade Risotto Topped with Caramelized Apricots

Wake up with some sucralose-sweetened juice!

I don't know about the rest of you, but I tend to get a wee bit sleepy every afternoon right after lunch. And then I typically have to go chug a cup of coffee or caffeinated tea to perk up. When it's really bad, I bust out the sugary, unhealthy energy drinks (hangs head in shame). Well, move over, Red Bull. There's a new competitor in town. And I'm digging it - big time - and with much less buyer's remorse.
Ocean Spray recently unveiled Cranergy (TM) Energy Juice Drink, a sugar-free, low-calorie beverage made with green tea extract, five B-vitamins and vitamin C. Sweetened with Splenda, it contains only 35 calories per eight-ounce serving - which is 50 percent fewer calories than other leading energy drinks.
Still not sold? Well, look at the health benefits. The vitamin C helps boost immunity and improves iron absorption, while cranberries and green tea are known to be high in antioxidants that help the body fight free radicals.
Cranergy(TM) is available in two flavors - Cranberry Lift and Raspberry Cranberry Lift. Next time you start yawning and nodding off at your computer screen, hit the closest grocery store and buy one of these. It's worth a shot, right?