May 2016 - Alyssa Grieco

Zucchini Pizza Crust {Low-carb, Gluten-free}

Happy Monday everyone!! Hope you all had a great weekend! I feel like summer is finally on the way. This past weekend, T and I basically landscaped our whole yard!! It really got us excited for summer and this new season in our home. We are so happy with how it turned out! Last night, we sat out on our porch feeling super accomplished and enjoyed the evening! On top of all of our hard work, I made a few new recipes to reward us… right?! Anyway, today I want to share the Zucchini Pizza Crust I posted the other day on my Instagram.

When T and I started dating, prior to me going gluten-free, we would eat pizza somewhat often with our families on Sunday Funday. Since then, it is very rare that we eat pizza. One gift we received for our engagement was a pizza stone from one of our dear friends. Recently, I have been on more of a pizza kick so I got it out and experimented by making a zucchini crust. Don’t we all want to be able to enjoy pizza but not feel totally guilty afterwards? I have made cauliflower crust in the past and have done many gluten-free pizza crust recipes; but the other night I was dying to try something new! 😉 This was a total hit and super easy. My husband is super honest with me when it comes to the healthy dishes I am always making and he was in LOVE with this! To say he least.. the pie was completely gone by the end of the night!

The health benefits of this crust make it all worth it. Even if you do not eat gluten-free, you will still enjoy this as it is a low-carb/healthy option!

If you try this, be sure to let me know how you liked it!!

xoxo,

Alyssa

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Zucchini Pizza Crust {Low-carb, Gluten-free}

2016-05-22 17:33:56

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Ingredients

6 cups shredded Zucchini
3/4 cup shredded cheese - I used 1/2 mozzarella and 1/4 cheddar
2/3 cup amond flour
2 tsp garlic powder
4 tsp oregano
1 tsp black pepper
1/2 tsp salt
2 eggs (whisked in separate bowl)

Instructions

Preheat oven to 450 degrees. Cut parchment paper the size of your pizza stone.
In a large bowl, grate the zucchini and set aside for about 30 minutes so that the water drains to the bottom of the bowl.
Take a clean cloth and press from the sides of the bowl inward to get as much of the moisture as possible out of the squash.
Once the squash is dry, mix in the other ingredients. Place the zucchini mixture on top of the parchment paper and spread the mixture into a thin layer, pinching it along the edge to form a crust.
Bake in the oven until you see it starting to brown -- approx 15-20 minutes.
Take out of the oven and top as desired then place back in the oven for about 3-6 minutes or until toppings are cooked to your liking.

By Alyssa Grieco

Alyssa Grieco http://alyssagrieco.com/

Perfectionism can be Sabotaging your Health & Fitness

Hi everyone! Hope the week is off to a fabulous start for all of you! I wanted to share something that has been on my mind recently!

I spent a lot of my life thinking that if things weren’t perfect, they weren’t worth doing. For example, if I didn’t have hours to work-out, it wasn’t worth it at all. If I went out to lunch and I didn’t make healthy choices, the whole day was ruined so I should probably just eat candy the rest of the day. If I consumed too much at breakfast, my portions were already out of wack so I should just continue the day/week. If I didn’t eat healthy Monday, then I would just give up and think of restarting the next week. ETC. ETC.

I am all about having goals in order to achieve success; but I found that holding yourself to too high of a standard can lead to complete sabotage, when you fall slightly short of perfect. It becomes obsessive; that idea where you are either going towards something full force or not doing it at all. I originally saw this in my own life in the workplace and within business as I held myself to such a high standard that it had an effect on me obsessing over it lonnnggg after I got home at night. A year or so went by and I realized this same idea took place in my personal life too! I was either working-out for hours on end or not at all and either eating super clean or Dairy Queen Blizzards every single day.

All of this leads me to the picture on my post today, “Done is Better Than Perfect”. Although many of you reading this probably say you either lack time, energy, whatever it may be to get up, work-out, eat healthy and so on, I encourage you to not let these thoughts get in the way from starting. Because you only have 15 minutes in the morning should not be a sabotaging thought to you to not do any exercise at all. Only 15 minutes is 15 great minutes of exercise! That is 15 more minutes than you have been doing! I encourage you to start where you are and make changes later. You can always tweak things as time goes on.

The all-or-nothing mentality will most likely have you “waiting” for the right time to start something, especially when it comes to losing weight or working-out. That whole idea that you need the perfect environment or the perfect day, or the perfect timing will keep you in the same place you are today, tomorrow and the next day. Ever since I was a young child, my mom would use the phrase, “Later means never” in various instances. While at the time I was never really fond of the statement, I would find out that if I waited until “later”, I usually never got around to whatever it was that I was going to do. The phrase still holds true today as we often put things off because we are waiting until later — that perfect time!

Breaking free from the all-or-nothing mindset is not easy but it is definitely doable! My solution to this in regards to nutrition is not being “perfect”. Don’t strive for perfection all week so it backfires at you. That only leads to giving up when things don’t go as planned. Don’t let deprivation be what leads you to give up. Shoot for healthy choices 80% of the time. If you could eat well 80% of the time, you will still see results. Eating “perfect”100% of the time would be miserable. When you slip up get right back on track; expect slip-ups! They are all part of the journey. 🙂

Don’t forget to sign up for the weekly email here!! Have a wonderful week!

xoxo,

Alyssa

5 Tips to End Night-time Eating

Happy Monday!!!

I hope all of the mother’s out there had a fabulous Mother’s Day. T and I had an awesome time celebrating our Moms and spending time with our families! Today I am sharing a post that has been on my mind alot recently.. night-time eating! As I walked down the grocery store aisle, I thought to myself, there is so much junk we could fill our pantries with and night-time is usually when we bring it out. I was inspired to write this post because I know night-time snacking is often a struggle for many!

“I’m really good all day long, then at night I give up!” – a quote I heard recently from a friend who I just started on a new nutrition plan. Night-time eating can be one of the most difficult habits to break, but one of the habits that can make or break long-term weight-loss and fat-loss!

With so many different theories out there, it is hard to decide HOW to curb the night-time eating and snacking! Knowing how to deal with these cravings is key to effective and sustainable weight-loss and fat-loss. It’s interesting how the mind works because you may have willpower during the day, or in the beginning of the week, but eventually it all wears away and you are left asking yourself, where did all of my willpower go?!? Whatever the case may be, these 5 tips may help.

5 tips to end night-time eating:

1. You may have gotten into the habit of eating in front of the television. Maybe your nights are less structured so you find yourself mindlessly eating while you relax. Night after night eating in front of the TV, your brain now relates sitting in front of the TV and eating, together! Limit your eating when in front of the TV and instead drink tea/seltzer. I drink this awesome lemon ginger tea and the strong taste satisfies me. Try eating all food only in the kitchen. This way, you will no longer associate sitting in front of the TV with food. Additionally, take a walk before you sit down for the night. Leisure walking lowers cortisol and stress hormones. I am not talking about a power walk here- I’m just referring to a smooth leisure walk. You should be able to talk casually with a partner at the same time you are walking, so nothing too strenuous.

2. Start planning more – I found that if I come home and THEN decide what I am going to eat, I end up snacking on half the food in my pantry, either before I start or while I am making dinner! It’s ridiculous, but when I come home, I am typically ravishingly, so while this is not an “easy” tip, try to prepare as much as you can ahead of time. Sometimes I will prepare the full meal the day before and other times I will simply chop the vegetables in the morning so when I come home it is that much easier. With summer right around the corner, grilling is a simple way to make healthy food in a jiffy!

3. Go to bed earlier. Part of night-time snacking is simply boredom. You are not hungry, you are bored. Ask yourself, “why am I eating?”. Are you eating out of habit? Didn’t you just eat dinner? Hunger and cravings increase when you do not get sufficient sleep. Aim for 8 hours every night.

4. Avoid being “perfect” during the day. Unfortunately, this idea of being “perfect” during the day often means you have saved a lot of calories for the evening. This may sound like a good idea but in reality, the deprivation and restriction during the day only leads to going overboard at night! Oddly enough, our bodies become used to this and this suddenly becomes routine where we barely eat all day, then go crazy at night. To change this, I typically tell people to eat a balanced breakfast, lunch and dinner, not going overboard at any meal. Avoid restricting yourself but also practicing moderation. Example — if you enjoy cheese on your salad or cannot live without salad dressing, use it, but use it moderately. Perfection can actually hinder weight-loss so it is a good point to keep in mind.

5. Cravings Reducer – for me – this is peanut butter cookies. I’ve talked about this before but this is always my go-to “tool” because I don’t believe in restriction for it is not about restricting yourself, but instead about choosing the healthier option. Whether it is these cookies or a 60%+ cocoa chocolate square, use these tools to satisfy your cravings and also try eating them before the cravings even start so you are snacking preemptively!

If you are reading this and are not on my email list, add your name to my list! Additionally, send any other questions/struggles on night-time eating my way! I would love to talk with you!! Hope you have a great week!!

xox – Alyssa

info@alyssagrieco.com