This delicious recipe is fun to prepare and serve + it is ideal for a family project throughout the fall and winter season when sweet potatoes are in season.

Ingredients
  3 lbs sweet potatoes (about 5-6)
  1 T. Coconut Milk (or any milk)
  3 T. Coconut Oil (or butter or any oil)
  1″ Piece of Ginger, grated
  Grated Nutmeg
  Salt & Pepper
  approximately 2 T. sugar, any kind
  1 celery stalk

Instructions
  Peel the potatoes and chop them into chunks. Cover with water and bring to a boil. Boil until they can easily be pierced with a fork. Drain.
  Press sweet potatoes through a potato ricer into a large mixing bowl. Add the coconut milk, 2 T. oil, and the seasonings to taste (start with a lesser amount, taste once it’s all mixed up and add as needed).
  Beat the sweet potatoes and other ingredients in a mixer until a smooth mash is created. Chill until cool to the touch and slightly firmer.
  Using moist hands, shape the mash into balls and place them on a greased cookie sheet. Smooth them with a rubber or silicone spatula. Use the tip of a table knife to create the ridges around the pumpkin. Smooth with moist finger tips as needed.
  Melt the remaining coconut oil, and brush it onto the tops of the pumpkins. Sprinkle them with the sugar. Cut the celery stalk into approximately 1 1/2″ inch pieces and press one into the top of each pumpkin to form the stem.
  Broil the “pumpkins” until the top of the celery stalk and the sugar are browned a little – about 5 minutes or so.  Watch so they do not burn.

We know we have to eat more fruit and vegetables on a daily basis, but sometimes, that is just plain hard to do!

Here are some quick tips on how to add more servings of fruits and vegetables to your diet.

Let today be the day to begin to adapt an attitude of gratitude.

It is helpful to start a journal, write down what you are grateful for and read it from time to time.

Quality vs. Quantity.  More is not better in this case.  A study on gratitude found that people keeping a journal were happier after six weeks when they tracked their gratitude once per week vs every day or even three times a week.  Test it out and find what works best for you. 

If keeping a journal is not for you, you may just think or say what you are grateful for out loud at random.  I find as I get out of bed each day I say ‘Thank’ as the one foot hits the floor and ‘You’ when the other foot hits the floor and add what I want to be thankful for that day.   ‘Thank You for putting me in the right place at the right time today’  

Thank you for the love in my life or my health or the fact that I was able to put my two feet on the ground.  These are your gratitude statements for you and by you.  Your gratitude declarations should be those you believe and trust vs. one you hesitate putting down on paper or one you do not believe. 

“Gratitude unlocks the fullness of life. It turns what we have into enough, and more. It turns denial into acceptance, chaos to order, confusion to clarity. It can turn a meal into a feast, a house into a home, a stranger into a friend.” –Melody Beattie

“Let us be grateful to people who make us happy; they are the charming gardeners who make our souls blossom.” – Marcel Proust

So, that time is here, where temptation in the form of food is all around us! Don’t give in and say you will start over next year! Stay on track with your weight loss plans with these simple tips:

If you need help with your weight loss goals, we are here for you with some great tools to keep you on track.  Check out our Weightloss2Go Mobile App.  Track what you eat, your workouts and weight loss to stay motivated.

Dieting is the only game where you win when you lose!

Check out our meal plans to stay on track with your goal.

Here are just a few tips to help you get optimum results from your exercise and fitness routine.  Did you know if your heart rate is below or above the recommended target for your gender and age you will be moving but not burning calories or fat?

Weight Lifting should always come first.  Often women start with cardio exercise before weight training.  A drawback of this is that it is possible to miss a significant component of the routine and spend all of it on cardio training. Often the results are less than desired even after long hours at the gym. Reverse the order and see the difference it can make. Trainers agree this reversal guarantees a visible positive outcome.

Monitor Your Heart Rate: I find it helpful to wear a heart monitor devise to keep myself exercising at the suggested rate of 75-85% of the maximum heart rate. When you go below OR above that you are going through the motions but not doing very much good. To ensure you work out at the prescribed target heart rate use a heart monitor you wear or use exercise equipment with this feature.

How Often To Exercise:  20 minutes 3X a week is better than zero. How long to work out is always a question. This should be part of your day you look forward to vs. dreading. Start at 20 minutes and work out for an hour or less. Also focus on the exercise and what you aim to accomplish as this will make the work out session more efficient as you begin to see the results.

Social Support: Fitness social support can be an important element to improve your road to ‘fitness babe’ and should not be underestimated. It is helpful to work out at a gym once in a while if you generally work out at home. Try some classes in activities that have always been interesting such as yoga, Pilates, Zumba, etc. Consider joining a walking club or running club for support.

Pep Talk Yourself. Often an athlete will pump fist during a game to keep motivated. Pep talking yourself can have the same effect for your workouts.“I am a success no matter the challenges I encounter in life.”, ‘I did that and I can do it again’, ‘Yes!’

No Pressure. Remember not to pressure yourself too much. It is best to congratulate yourself and shower yourself with words of encouragement before, during and after exercises.

Positive Feedback. Keep in mind to never overlook giving yourself positive feedback to yourself. Here are a few examples to get you thinking.  ‘I had a great workout today’, ‘You did great today’ ‘I’m proud of you – that was a fantastic workout’ ‘Don’t worry; be happy, because I am closer to success.’‘

Let today be your first day to become a fitness babe. 

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It has been proven time and again you are what you think.  When combined with healthy eating, your attitude, belief and positive thinking are key to achieving sustainable weight loss because the body believes what we tell it. 

The famed book ‘The Secret’ refers to a Genie who grants our wishes.  When you think “I am thin”, the Genie says “Your wish is my command”   …and when you think: ‘I am fat” the Genie again says ‘Your wish is my command”   What will you say today?  

Attitude is so very important, and yet, it is generally the first thing to go.  We gain a pound, get discouraged and the positive attitude is the first thing to go and the will power is next thing to go. We can eat all the right food, do all the exercise but without the right thinking and attitude healthy food and exercise alone are not going to help us achieve optimum ;long term results. 

Positive thinking is not about a ‘rah, rah’ cheerful or optimistic outcome we hope to achieve.  Positive thinking IS about our mental and emotion thinking process where we create habits and skill that we need to support achieving our goals.

You mind set (What You Think) is one of the 4 Simple Steps needed to achieve permanent weight loss. The effectiveness of using positive thinking has proven to help in the treatment of physical illness including extending remissions and improving life expectancy for cancer survivors.  With that kind of potential, it is easy to see why if you want to change your body, you’ve got to change your mindset.

Right now without further delay set your mind to positive.  Change your mindset, believe that sustainable weight loss is ‘easy’. Your body will follow and soon you will easily achieve the positive results you want and deserve.  

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In a year-long study published in the Journal of the American Medical Association, participants of an online weight loss plan lost more than twice the weight of participants who took part in a more traditional program.   

It has been shown that people who have used online weight loss plans for 18 months were able to maintain significant weight loss. Many studies now show that Internet programs are viable tools to help people maintain weight loss over the long term. In one study, a group of 250 people lost weight over a six-month period and maintained weight loss for 12 months afterwards using an online weight loss plan.

The low cost combined with the lack of need for face-to-face meetings with a nutritionist or personal trainer make Internet programs easy to maintain long-term loss. The requirement of constantly updating weight and other measurements helps to hold the user accountable as well. This could help people maintain weight loss over a long period. Many studies even show that participants that logged in to their online programs more also experienced, on average, more weight loss.

WeightLossVillage is the leading provider of online registered dietician meal plans with Personalized weekly menus, cutting edge tools to track your calories, workouts and weight loss …. and our amazing app to take us with you where ever you go.

People lose more weight with an online weight loss program.   NOW, You can too! 

Skill Level: Beginner  |  Serves: 4  |  Start to Finish: 1 hour 15 minutes
By:   WLV Team Member

With the chill of fall in the air I love roasting veggies.  One of my favorites is sweet potatoes with butter, spices and either brown sugar or maple syrup.  In addition to being sweet, delicious and tender the aroma in the house is delightful while they are roasting.

Ingredients
3 Sweet potatoes, peeled and cut into bite size cubes
2 tsp olive oil ( I prefer Extra Virgin Olive Oil)
1 tbsp butter
1 tbsp of brown sugar or maple syrup (more if you want it sweeter)
1 tsp of ground cinnamon*
1/4 tsp of ground nutmeg*
Pinch of ground ginger*
Sea Salt to taste
*Alternative 1 1/4 tsp of pumpkin pie spice

Directions
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Coat a small baking dish with cooking spray or parchment paper. . Once you’ve peeled and diced the sweet potatoes into bite size cubes, place in the baking dish. Mix together the melted butter, olive oil, salt and spices you selected.  Add more sugar or spices if desired. Toss to coat evenly. Bake 60 minutes or until potatoes are tender.  Gently stir one or two times during roasting.

Serve warm with meat or poultry of choice and a salad for a meal the entire family will love.   Enjoy!