When it comes to changing your eating habits I’m a fan of making changes that best fit your life. If you’re trying to lose weight, or simply to eat better, the ideal thing to do would be to prepare most of your meals at home.

However,  If you’ve never been much of a cook, expecting you to change your eating habits and your life habits can seem daunting and may ultimately mean you end up not making any changes at all.

So for those who frequent fast foods restaurants as part of their daily or weekly routine, here are five healthier meal options you can choose from some the more popular fast food chains. Each option is less than 500 calories. And while calories isn’t the only thing you should take into consider when changing your diet it is a good starting point.

1. Wendy’s

-  An Ultimate Chicken Grill Sandwich with a Mandarin orange cup and medium iced tea.

• Calories: 480
• Fat grams: 7 (1.5 g saturated)
• Sodium: 980 mg

This is the healthiest sandwich on the menu. To make it an even healthier option, toss aside one of the buns and make it a one bun sandwich. You can even pair it with a salad if you’re looking for some variety with the mandarin oranges.

2. Subway

- 6in Double Roast Beef Sub with fat free Italian dressing and a medium iced tea.

• Calories: 455
• Fat grams: 8 (3.5 g saturated fat)
• Sodium: 2100 grams

Yes you could get a single meat sandwich, or a turkey or even chicken sandwich and fall even lower on the calorie scale,  but if you eat out often you want variety and this is an option that, even with double the protein, is still less in fat and calories than say the tuna salad or one with different condiments.

3. Pizza Hut

- Two Slices Thin ‘N Crispy Pizza (12″)  with quartered ham & pineapple, and a medium Diet Coke

• Calories: 360
• Fat grams: 12 (5 g saturated fat)
• Sodium: 1,110 mg

If you want meat on your pizza that’s not chicken, ham seems to be the way to go. A Hawaiian pizza with ham and pineapple seems to be the healthier option for those who want meat on their pies. A veggie pizza on thin crust would be even healthier for those who don’t mind meatless pizzas.

4. McDonalds

- Premium Grilled Chicken Classic Sandwich with a side salad with Newman’s Own Low Fat Balsamic Vinaigrette, and a medium iced tea

• Calories: 480
• Fat grams: 13  (2 g saturated fat)
• Sodium: 1,945 mg

Turns out the Premium Grilled Chicken Classic Sandwich has the same number of calories as the Quarter Pounder with Cheese, but lacks the trans fat of the popular burger. And with most fast food options choosing a salad or fruit keeps the calorie count down instead of the standard french fries.Once again toss one of the buns aside to further lower the calorie count.

5. KFC

- 3 Crispy Strips with Green Beans and 3″ corn on the cob with a medium diet pepsi

• Calories: 475
• Fat grams: 22.5 (6 g saturated fat)
• Sodium: 1,165 mg

The side of green beans is a good source of fiber and vitamins K, A & C which are good your bones and reducing cancer-causing free radicals.

Now looking at this list it would be easy to point how high the sodium count in much of these meal options. But as I mentioned before it’s about making healthier options when you eat out, and if you’re of the burger and fries, pepperoni on my pizza school of fast food eating this list gives you some much needed alternatives. For more meal options under 500 calories from your favorite fast food restaurants click here.

Now if you’re wondering why the extra four weeks – well, when Dr. Oz announced his fitness challenge at the beginning of the year it was 11 weeks. He said he chose 11 weeks because that was the length of time it took to really change your body. Not that you couldn’t make great changes in less time, but do do it safely and have abetter chance at success 11 weeks was the magic number. Which is great, because P90x is 90 days or 12 weeks.

Why P90x? Well, I’m a big fan of Beachbody products. So much so I became a Beachbody Coach – more importantly I walk six days a week, but wasn’t getting the results I want for lack of weight training. Since I can’t get to the gym and this site is dedicated to home fitness, P90x was a perfect fit. Now I’ve started it several times already and haven’t managed to get past week two. And yes, while it is as hard as advertised the main reason for my failure was because I started the program with my Godsister, and when she bailed on me it just wasn’t as much fun to do it solo.

There was no one to suffer with me, so I decided the best way to handle my workout loneliness, and manage to complete P90x was to involve my virtual family. This is the reason I started the blog in the first place, to get black women to workout more, get healthy and form bonds, virtual or otherwise that could aid them in their weight loss. So here I am. And that’s how we have the new and improved 12 Weeks to a Better Body Challenge – P90x edition.

How can you participate?

Simple.

1. If you have a copy of P90x just dust it off and get to working out on with me starting Monday August 20.
2. For those who don’t have P90x you can purchase your copy here.
3. Next register for Sweet Potato Pie and join the P90x Challenge group. The group is where we will update our progress and help motivate each other and log your workouts.
4. Download the P90x Workout Sheets so you can keep track of your workouts and progress over the 12 weeks.
5. Take your before pictures and measurements. You don’t have to post those on the site – at first. But be prepared to showcase your after photos once the Challenge is done.
6. That’s it. You’re ready to participate in Sweet Potato Pie’s first ever 12 Weeks to a Better Body Challenge.

So I look forward to you taking this challenge with me. Think of this round of the Challenge as a test run to see how it will work in the future. But test run or no, I will complete P90x this go ’round – come hell or high water and you will be right there with me. Sign-Up today!

Based on characters created by best-selling crime novelist Tess Gerritsen, RIZZOLI & ISLES stars Angie Harmon as Jane Rizzoli, a tough-as-nails Boston police detective, and Sasha Alexander as Maura Isles, a smart, impeccably dressed medical examiner from a privileged background. Despite being complete opposites, the two women share an offbeat chemistry and strong working relationship that has helped them bust some of Boston’s most notorious criminals.

So how do you cope when your friend and partner shoots your estranged father?

That’s the question Maura (Sasha Alexander) is going to have to answer in season three of TNT’s Rizzoli & Isles after her father, the wanted mobster Patrick Doyle (John Doman) was shot by her friend and partner Jane (Angie Harmon) in a sting set-up to catch an arsonist in the season 2 finale.

There’s also the little tidbit regarding Maura’s biological mother. In the end her dad repeatedly whispers the name “Hope” and at first it seems as if he’s trying to tell Maura his last wishes for her, but it becomes pretty clear that the “Hope” he speaks of is likely the name of the biological mother he’s been promising to reveal to her throughout the episode, a woman he described as being just as brilliant as her daughter.

The other interesting reveal in the season finale surrounded Patrick’s relationship to Constance Isles (Jacqueline Bisset), Maura’s adoptive mother. It becomes clear, after Maura discovers Doyle in her mother’s hospital room after the accident, that these two know each other. She even asks if Patrick was there with her when she awakens. There is a history there between the two that will be interesting to delve into in season 3.

The rest of the season finale dealt with a fire that turned out to be arson, one of many, that was set by a fireman trying to prove that the city’s budget cuts to emergency services were causing more harm than good. While moderately interesting it was basically a plot device to get Doyle and even Agent Dean into the story and set up much of the drama for season 3, namely Jane and Maura working on their relationship and Maura discovering her past.

What did you think of the Rizzoli & Isles season finale? Does it make you exited for season 3? Sound off in the comments and be sure to tune in to season 3 of Rizzoli & Isles all new Tuesdays 9/8c on TNT.

Disclosure: Compensation was provided by TNT via Glam Media. The opinions expressed herein are those of the author and are not indicative of the opinions or positions of TNT.

I’m a snacker. Throughout the day I’d much rather snack on something than to eat a full meal. Now snacking in and of itself isn’t a bad thing, it’s what you snack on that’s key.  So following are a few of my favorite snacks that can work as meals on their own or as between meals munchers.

1. Fruit – Yes, this isn’t exactly original, but it is a great way to get in your servings of fruit and fiber for the day and satisfy your sweet tooth. Fruits are naturally sweet and really convenient when in need of a quick and easy snack. If you’re feeling particularly adventurous make a nice fruit salad filled with all your favorite fruits. If that sounds like too much work, just pay a little extra and buy a pre-packaged fruit salad from the grocery store, you can’t get any more convenient than that.

2. Homemade Trailmix – I like a good trailmix, but most store bought trailmixes come with things I don’t eat or are completely unhealthy (marshmallows and chocolate chips I’m looking at you) so I make my own. My favorite is a mix of pecans and raisins. It’s tasty, filling and easy to mix and transport. Just buy a big bag of pecans, a big box of raisins and some sandwich bags. Mix 1/4 cup of raisins with 1/4 cup of pecans in a sandwich bag, seal and you’re ready to go.

3. Yogurt – Or what I like to call a mini-meal in a cup. Yogurt is a great snack between meals, an easy way to get a serving of fruit and calcium in during the day and a nice way to satisfy a sweet tooth without munching on cookies, candy or some other undesirable sweet snack.

What are some of your favorite snacks? Take to the comments and let us know what you like to snack on during the day.

New Activia Harvest Picks is a deliciously fruity and silky smooth yogurt. You will enjoy a Harvest of real fruit in every silky spoonful.

Disclosure: Compensation was provided by Activia via Glam Media.  The opinions expressed herein are those of the author and are not indicative of the opinions or positions of Activia

I LOVE yogurt. So much so I fancy myself a bit bit of a yogurt connoisseur. So when I was presented with the opportunity to try Dannon’s Activia Harvest Picks of course I said yes, and I can honestly say I wasn’t disappointed. I look for three things when I decide if a particular brand of yogurt is right for me:

1. The consistency – Is it smooth and creamy or lumpy and bump?
2. The mix of yogurt to fruit – Some yogurt brands give you lots of yogurt and not so much fruit.
3. Taste – Obviously you want your yogurt to taste good. You’re not going to buy if it doesn’t.

I’m happy to report that Dannon’s Activia Harvest Picks passes my yogurt test with flying colors. It’s very smooth and creamy with the right mix of fruit and yogurt and it tastes great which is ultimately what matters right?

Now, since I love yogurt so much I often use it in various recipes throughout the day. My favorite however is my Power Breakfast Smoothie. It’s simple, quick, nutritious and filling.

Power Breakfast Smoothie

Ingredients

• 1 Dannon Activia Harvest Yogurt
• 2 Scoops Favorite Protein Powder
• 8oz Soy Milk (or your milk or mix of choice)
• Ice

Directions

Add ingredients to a blender and blend until mixture is smooth and creamy. Pour in your favorite glass and enjoy!

Notes

Remember, new Activia Harvest Picks is a deliciously fruity and silky smooth yogurt. You will enjoy a Harvest of real fruit in every silky spoonful.

Disclosure: Compensation was provided by Activia via Glam Media. The opinions expressed herein are those of the author and are not indicative of the opinions or positions of Activia

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