Following Through With My Resolutions . . . Fitness & Food

Good morning!  

I <3 the turquoise color!

I'm super excited about my new FitBit Charge 2!  A friend of mine was telling me about hers, and I decided that it would really help me get on track and stay on track with two of my resolutions - food and fitness.  The app makes it super easy to track food and portion, and seeing how many calories I've eaten throughout the day compared to the amount of calories I've burned is extremely motivating.  I've been super terrible at following my no sugar etc. . . . way too much ice cream and donuts and sweets and ALL the things I shouldn't be eating have been consumed over the past month.  But I resolved again this week to actually cut it out.  I sacrificially consumed the rest of the ice cream in the house last night, so no more temptation there.  And I've eaten so many bad carbs the past few weeks that I no longer really crave them, which is also good.  So now to keep that up and attack the portion control - which is where the FitBit calorie tracker comes in.  Plus, I can also track my water intake - which will help me meet that goal AND keep me less hungry.

Being able to track my sleep is another cool feature that will help with overall healthiness.  I got 6hr, 56min of sleep last night - only 6 minutes of which was awake/restless sleep.  That's good, right?  Honestly, the fact that the FitBit Charge 2 tracks my sleep at night is one of the key reasons I took the plunge and bought one.  I've wanted to be able to track my sleep patterns etc. for a long time, but every app on my phone requires the phone to be IN BED with me . . . which just doesn't sound like a good idea.  Thus, having a device that I'm not terrified of dropping or squishing is AWESOME!

Finally, fitness.  I love how customizable the FitBit is for every goal - steps; stairs; exercise; weight; etc.  I know I need to exercise more, and I'm still struggling to keep on top of everything else going on in my life . . . which is why I haven't yet found the time to actually think about fitness, let alone incorporate any exercise into my life.  But my current goal is to make meeting at least the 10,000 step goal a daily habit.  I figure if I can at least be moving that much during the day AND eating right for my blood type, I'll be on track with making these regular habits.  An added bonus is the heart rate tracker.  I'm hoping that I can have the presence of mind to take note of my heart rate when I start to develop anxiety so that I can remind myself to take time to calm down and focus.

How do you keep track of fitness and food?  Any tips?

Recipe Corner - Pecan Pie Cheesecake

This post is a few days late (ok almost a week) . . . But surely all will be forgiven when you see the amazing and decadent dessert I'm sharing with you today!  I've made this cheesecake twice now this week (one for each Christmas celebration we had - it's been fun experiencing our first Christmas together as a married couple and celebrating with both sides of our family.) And it's been a delicious treat to share with both families.

I found the recipe via Pinterest (check out my page for many more food pins) and ultimately used the recipe from Lil' Luna (which can be found here).  Fair warning - this cheesecake is extremely rich and decadent.  Go easy on the serving sizes.  :)

Pecan Pie Filling

The first time I made it without the crust since we're gluten-free, and I couldn't find any vanilla wafers that were also gluten-free.  Still tasted amazing.  The second time we made it with a crust, and it was still amazing.  Another change I made was substituting honey for the dark corn syrup.  I did a 1-1 ratio substitution; however, you can use the corn syrup or do another substitution.  My family decreed the pecan pie filling bottom absolutely the sweetest part of this cheesecake.

Once the pecan pie filling is made and in the pan, the next step is cheesecake (my favorite part)!  I would advise letting the pecan pie filling part cool in the fridge while you mix the cheesecake to keep the cheesecake from filling the center and pushing the pecan pie filling up the sides.

Next came the hard part - letting the cheesecake sit overnight so that we could mix up the topping and finish it the next day.  But the topping tastes and looks amazing!  And, as an added bonus, it hides any mistakes or imperfections in your cheesecake top!  I do recommend, however, baking your cheesecake in a water bath.  This helps prevent cracking.  But also wrap the bottom of your cheesecake pan with tinfoil to avoid getting water inside.

And voila!  You've got an amazing and decadent dessert perfect for any special occasion!  As an added bonus, I used my leftover heavy whipping cream to make my own whipped cream - 1 c. whipping cream + 2 tbsp. sugar/honey + 1/2 tsp. vanilla extract.

What do you think?  What's your favorite dessert?