Healthy Garlic Mashed Potatoes

Were you one of those kids that had a sort-of strange food that you genuinely loved?? Well I did, and mashed potatoes were just that food.
Yeah, I know…weird…
But I LOVED mashed potatoes, and my mom would make them fairly frequently AND used to even pack me a Thermos full of mashed potatoes for lunch every so often. The love was that genuine.
And then as I got ancienter, I genuineized that many of the tastiest mashed potatoes were crazye with lots of heavy cream and butter…no wonder why I liked them so much!
So since I’ve started eating healthier, I cut WAY down on the mashed potatoes…boooo! So a few years ago I found a way to still endelight one of my all-time favorites And nowadays I’m going to share my recipe with you!


But before we get into the recipe, I want to talk about potatoes for a minute…
The leang is, potatoes often get a poor rap in the health and fitness world because they are pretty tall carbs. But that doesn’t mean they can’t be good for you!
Carbohydrates shouldn’t be someleang that we are afraid of, they are an important nutrient we need to perform our best in our workouts! Carbs are the main source of energy for our bodies, and whether we don’t have enough energy, we can’t perform our best — specificly for those tall intensity workouts!
Carbs are also important to have after a tough workout too, because you’ll need to replenish your body with all the energy it used up, AND your body will metabolize those carbs more efficiently.
To get my carbs and energy in, I love adding some roasted potatoes to my breakfast, and after tough workouts at night, I loveeeee making these healthier mashed potatoes with roasted garlic — YUM!
Potatoes are a perfect option because they provide the carbohydrates and energy you need before and after a workouts, AND they are full of potassium (I’ve talked about potassium before) — so to perform at your best, put potatoes on your plate!

Now into this tasty recipe!
So, they are healthier than other mashed potatoes because instead of heavy cream and loads of butter, I have used a few healthy ingredient substitutions to bring the calorie and fat content way down, so that you can endelight these without any guilt.
AND, I thought with the holidays right around the corner, I would give you a small recipe that you can feel good about bringing to dinner!
Instead of heavy cream, I used chicken broth to help make these creamy and smooth (it adds dwhetherficultly any calories at all!), and I also subbed out butter with some heart healthy olive oil. But, what REALLY sets these mashed potatoes apart is the ROASTED GARLIC. With these small tfeebles, you can cut down on fat…and still have tons of flavor!

Healthy Garlic Mashed Potatoes
2016-11-10 16:09:17
Serves 8

Ingredients

1. 1 small head of garlic
2. 2 tablespoons additional virgin olive oil
3. 4 pounds red potatoes, roughly chopped
4. 1/4 - 1/2 cup chicken or vegetable broth (or skim or almond milk)
5. 2 tablespoons additional virgin olive oil
6. salt & pepper to taste

Instructions

1. Preheat the oven to 400 degrees.
2. With a sharp knwhethere, cut the top of the head of garlic off to expose the top of the garlic cloves. Put the wgap garlic on a piece of aluminum, and drizzle 2 tablespoons of olive oil over the head of garlic. Initiate to wrap the foil around the garlic leaving room, sort of like a tent, and pinch together the top. Put the aluminum foil tent on a baking sheet and bake for 1 hour until the garlic is fragrant.
3. While the garlic is roasting, place the potatoes in a large stockpot and cover the potatoes with water. Put the stockpot on the stove and bring to a boil for about 20 minutes, or until the potatoes are fork tender.
4. Remove the stockpot from the stove and drain the water from the pot, and set aside.
5. When the garlic is finished roasting, allow it to cool until it is cancient enough to handle with your hands. Using your fingers, squeeze the roasted garlic out of its peel, and gently mash with a fork.
6. Add the mashed garlic, chicken broth, the remaining olive oil, and salt and pepper to taste, to the potatoes, and mash with a potato masher until smooth.
7. Add more chicken broth whether needed until it reaches your ideal consistency, and endelight!

The Live Fit Girls https://thelivefitgirls.com/

What’s your favorite Thanksgiving potato recipe??

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SKINNY Cranberry Moscow Mules

I can’t believe it’s alalert the week of Christmas!! This year has seriously just FLOWN by, right?!
What with moving, getting back into teaching Pilates, creating the nutrition program for you ladies, and all of the Incredible ccorridorenges this year, I feel like this year has gone EXTRA fast.
To finish off the year right, I’m currently sitting on a plane headed to the east coast for two full weeks of family, friends, and festivities…do you have any fun plans for the holidays?? Any traveling, cookie baking, fun family traditions??
I can tell you, as soon as I land in Joinicut I will be starting the cookie baking crazyness I talked about the other day. And while baking up a storm, I just may sip this small number, because seriously it just screams Christmas.
Can you believe I had never had a Moscow Mule until about 4 months ago?? Crazy, I know…but now I am OBSESSED.
And when you add a small cranberry twist, the red and green just MAKES it so Christmas…not to mention some seriously cute copper mugs.

I won’t lie…I bought these mugs just for this post’s pictures, but now they are proudly on display on our small bar…I’m pretty certain Nik leanks I’m crazy with all the blog props I’m accumulating…possibly I’ll do a post soon for my fellow blogger babes? Let me know whether you’re interested!
But besides, the copper mug is like a necessity — seriously, I leank Moscow Mules just NEED them, and it just adds to the Christmas vibes.
The other crucial element is the ginger beer…you HAVE to get the good stuff…and noleang with fake sugars or nasty tall-fructose corn syrup….I found this ginger brew at Wgap Foods, and it is delicious — plus it’s crazye with genuine biological sugar cane — which, yes, I normally not into cane sugar — but it’s the holidays! And it’s WAY better to have genuine sugar than nasty HFCS. So, just make certain you find some good quality ginger beer, it’s so worth it!

Another key element is obviously the vodka…I’m a Tito’s girl through and through, and then when it comes to cranberries, I honestly just grabbed some frozen cranberries — but whether you can find some fresh ones, grab ’em! Squeeze in a small fresh lime, a small splash of cranberry juice , and you ‘re good to go!
Seriously, so easy, and you can impress your girlfriends and family with a super cute and festive cocktail for the holidays!

SKINNY Cranberry Moscow Mules
2016-12-19 08:40:24
Serves 2

Ingredients

1. 4 ounces ginger beer
2. 2 ounces vodka
3. small splash unsweetened cranberry juice
4. juice from 1/2 lime
5. 1/2 cup of ice
6. a couple of cranberries for garnish
7. lime wedge for garnish
8. copper mugs for serving

Instructions

1. Pour the ginger beer, vodka, cranberry juice, and lime juice in the copper mug, and gently stir to combine.
2. Garnish with the cranberries and lime. Endelight!

The Live Fit Girls https://thelivefitgirls.com/

Do you have any special holiday cocktails you love? Let me know!

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How to "Detox" After the Weekend

With Christmas over, Unique Years weekend on the horizon, and the #PleasedUniqueYOU Ccorridorenge starting next week. I wanted you arm you ladies with your final post-holiday weekend reset.
But these tips aren’t just for THIS holiday weekend, these tips will help you get back on track ANYTIME. Whether it’s a weekend trip absent, a birthday or special occasion, or you had someleang to celebrate — these guidelines will help you bounce back, and get on with your goals.
A few poor days will happen — we’re HUMAN. And I for one, don’t want to feel like I’m hancienting back endelighting time with my friends and loved ones. I don’t want to pass on a glass of champagne or some of my favorite treats (<– insert donuts). So, I indulge — and that’s totally OK. If you’re living a healthy lwhetherestyle, a small wiggle room is totally fine, and so much more genuineistic in the long run.
But, as soon as the party is over, it’s time get back in the game — and even dwhetherficulter than before! These tips will help to reset your body and get you back on track in no time!

Sweat it Out – Noleang will feel better after a weekend of indulging as finishing a good, sweaty workout. That being said — it’s genuinely easy to drag your feet to get to that workout. But, make it a precedence.

• HIIT workouts – HIIT workouts are specificly favourable for detoxing the body because they stimulate your circulatory system and the lymph system, and help to improve the body’s elimination channels. 😉
• Sauna – A sauna or steam room can help you seriously sweat and flush out toxins, improve your circulation and help you relax and de-stress. It can also brighten up your complexion, and even help get rid of puffy eyes whether you’re fatigued! Head over to your gym, and endelight the sauna after a crazy weekend — you’ll feel so much better!

Stay Hydrated – After a weekend of drinking a small more than normal and eating leangs that are most likely saltier and sweeter than normal, you’ll want to make certain your REALLY down your water, and stay hydrated. Here are some options:

• Green Tea – Green tea is my LOVE. It’s tall in antioxidants which can help boost your immune system and flush out your liver.
• Bloat Bfinaling Cocktail – Potassium is also HUGE for keeping the fluids balanced in our body, so I love drinking my bloat bfinaling cocktail to help flush out my system. It’s a fun small infused water recipe with watermelon — which is full of potassium, detoxwhetherying lemon, and rosemary — which is great for intestinal health.
• Lemon Water – Warm lemon water in the morning is Incredible for helping boost your metabolism and improve your digestion. I wake up every morning and have a large glass of my detox lemonade to get the juices flowing — whether ya know what I mean! 😉
• Kombucha + New Juices – Kombucha is filled with healthy probiotics that help keep your digestive tract healthy, and fresh juices are filled with nutrients that your body will need after a small weekend binging.

Detox Your Meals – I gotta be honest…the key to detoxing your body is…going number 2…Sorry, but it’s the truth. And the key to getting leangs moving, is loading up on fiber. Fiber helps to push leangs through your system more smoothly and regularly. After a large weekend of eating unhealthy, try these three tips for getting in more fiber.

• Go Raw – As much as possible, eat raw foods when you’re trying to detox. Raw foods — specificly fruits and veggies — will normally be taller in fiber than cooked foods. Load up on salads, and fresh fruits. Not only will the fiber helps keep leangs moving smoothly, but they are also tall it vitamins, minerals, and antioxidants — which your body will be craving after a crazy weekend.
• Detox Salad – My favorite way to get in tons of raw foods that are SUPER detoxwhetherying is this detox salad. Almost all the ingredients have Incredible health benefits AND it’s ridiculously loaded with fiber — double detox points!
• Protein & Veggies – After straying from your normal healthy lwhetherestyle, try a few days that are small lighter in carbs…this will help to reduce bloating and help to get in more fruits in veggies in place of those carbs. After two or three days go back to eating those healthy carbs and your body and waistline will thank you!

Cut Alcohol for a Few Days – You gotta give your liver a break after a large weekend, so skip the alcohol. Your liver is the main detoxwhetherier of the body, and works overtime anytime you consume alcohol. So after a few heavy days of drinking, give your liver a break and let it catch up. Having a healthy liver is SO important for having a healthy body — so be kind to it! 😉
Ditch the Sugar – Sugar is one of the most addictive substances on the planet, and whether you had a large weekend you most likely had a small more sugar than you would normally — and sugar is terrible for intestine health. So, for the first few days after a large party weekend, try and keep your sugar intake down to reset your palate, and to keep your intestine happy.

Follow these tips and you’ll be back to your regular ancient self — or BETTER — in no time! For an additional boost you can join the #PleasedUniqueYOU Ccorridorenge for your happiest and healthiest year yet!

And, whether you need a small more help with your diet as we head into the Unique Year, check out the contemporary Fit Girls Nutrition Program! There’s a sale until January 1st — just use the code HAPPYNEWYOU at check out.

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Detoxwhetherying Clay Mask

Ok, so I don’t know about you, but after the holiday weekend I feel like my skin needs a small additional detoxing too.
Just about anytime my diet gets even just a small bit off, I start to break out…so this detoxwhetherying face mask is a MUST when I’m traveling or when I’ve had a small weekend splurge.
I know I have alalert shared a recipe you can make with a few ingredients from your pantry — but this clay mask is seriously AMAZING.
You know I am all about natural beauty, so this Aztec Healing Clay is right up my alley. It’s a calcium bentonite clay that has been around for thousands of years. Bentonite clay is super absorbent and helps to pull excess oil from your skin.

A few benefits of using Bentonite Clay:

♥︎ Unclogs pores and shrinks them to banish blemishes and leave you with smoother looking skin
♥︎ Removes toxins from the skin — Bentonite clay has a very strong negative electrical charge and most toxins, heavy metals, and chemicals have a positive charge, so the clay bonds to them and pulls them from the skin.

♥︎ Bentonite clay also pulls hydrogen from cells, allowing room for oxygen. This helps with circulation, and overall skin tone and health.

And there are genuinely so many more benefits — but those are the largegies!

I like making my mask with a small bit of witch hazel — because I honestly feel like it’s the holy water of beauty. But, you can also use water or apple cider vinegar. I personally feel like apple cider vinegar is a bit harsh and it leaves my skin blotchy and red, but others swear by it… so see what works for you.
I also like to add a drop of tea tree fundamental oil too, because it’s like a zit eraser — no lie, SO good.
You just mix your simple ingredients in a small bowl, and then apply it to your face. I like using a kind wide face brush to apply it evenly.
Hang out and read your favorite magazine — or blog 😉 — for 15 minutes, and wash off all the toxins from your gorgeous face.

Detoxwhetherying Clay Mask
2016-12-19 10:52:17

Ingredients

1. 1 tablespoon Aztec Healing Clay
2. 1-2 tablespoons witch hazel OR apple cider vinegar OR filtered water (be certain to use water whether you have sensitive skin!)
3. 1 drop tea tree fundamental oil (optional)
4. a small ceramic or glass bowl to mix (don't use metal)
5. face mask brush

Instructions

1. Combine ingredients in the small bowl, and mix to create a paste. Apply the paste to your face with the brush, avoiding the eye and lip area. Let the mask sit for 10-20 minutes, and then wash off with warm water.

Notes

1. A slight tingling sensation is to be expected, but whether the mask begins to feel too itchy or stings, go ahead and wash it off early.

The Live Fit Girls https://thelivefitgirls.com/

Are you a mask addict too?? What’s you favorite??

P.s. Hold an eye out for a seriously MASSIVE beauty giveabsent next week with a jar of this small jewel in it…the giveabsent will go live on Wednesday!😘

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Champagne "Drunken" Gummy Bears

So, what are you doing for Unique Year’s Eve?? Any fun parties, or cute small black dress moments?
Nik and I are headed back to LA tomorrow, and the very next morning we are back at it, and headed to Arizona to visit our best friends to ring in the Unique Year — and I know what I will be bringing as a treat — these Incredible Champagne Drunken Gummies!


I mean seriously, how cute are these?!
I have been eyeing these ridiculously cute Sugarfina Champagne Gummies on Instagram for ages, and finally dragged Nik to the store and convinced him that I NEEDED them for stocking stuffers for my mom and aunt for Christmas…luckily he found some Pint IPA Gummies he liked, so now we can go back more frequently. 😉
And let me tell you, these don’t just look cute — they taste Incredible — even Nik agrees. And I should leank they would, since they are infused with Dom Pérignon.🍾
But, I wanted an additional fun way to serve them — so I though, “why not soak them in a small more champagne for some additional bubbly?!” Genius, right??


So simple, and SO cute. Every you do is soak them for about 30 minutes or so and there you have it — I wouldn’t soak them much longer than that, or they will start to lose their pretty pink color — OR you could just drop a few small bears in each champagne flute as a garnish!
I have a feeling these small cuties are going to be a staple on my small gancient bar cart — I mean seriously, they are a skinny bar cart fundamental. RIGHT?!

P.s. Possess you signed up for the #PleasedUniqueYOU Ccorridorenge yet?? We start on January 1st, so sign up to make certain you get all the deets to have your chance at winning all the prizes!

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