Thin Thighs & Sweet Potato Fries

Raw Foods Against Cancer

2011-10-31T23:06:00.001-04:00

Hey all! While it is literally the last day of October (Happy Halloween!), I didn’t want to let the month fully get away without sharing with you some pretty cool info and recipes from a recent raw foods class I attended at the Healthy Home Market. Many of you know how I feel about raw vegan living, and while I never did commit 100% to the lifestyle, I am still quite the raw vegan enthusiast! With October having been National Breast Cancer Awareness Month, the class was dedicated to recipes utilizing ingredients that have been said to prevent or reverse the growth of cancerous cells. They were all quite delicious too, so get ready! But first, a quick disclaimer:

*I cannot confirm the validity of the cancer-fighting claims made for the ingredients and recipes herein. I am simply sharing with you what has been shared with me. To learn more about cancer prevention and/or cancer fighting agents, please consult a medical professional.

Ok, so now that we got that out of the way, here’s the scoop on some of the ingredients used below: Cancer needs an oxygen-deprived, acidic environment, so veggies are said to be great cancer-fighters, since they promote good oxygen flow and alkalinity. In particular, cruciferous veggies (such as kale, cabbage, and broccoli, to name a few) are said to be anti-carcinogenic. In fact, some studies have made the claim that eating just 3 or more servings of cruciferous veggies per week, has been proven to decrease prostate cancer in men by over 40%. Vitamin D is also found in some of the ingredients below, which is said to curb the growth of cancerous cells, and folate rich foods (like oranges, leafy greens and sunflower seeds) are also said to fight cell mutations.

Tip: Folic acid is said to actually be cancer-inducing, so you want to get folate as much as possible, limiting your intake of its synthetic form, folic acid.

Fun fact: Did you know the average person doesn’t get the full benefits of eating leafy green vegetables because we don’t chew and break down our food enough? You’ll find that all of the recipes below call for blending greens for this very reason—to get the full benefits!

Veggie & Pesto Collard Wrap

Ingredients:

3-4 collard leaves
2 bunches of parsley
2 garlic cloves
2-1/2 pinches of pink Himalayan crystal salt
1/4 cup of olive oil
1 cup of pumpkin seeds
2 cups of macadamia nuts
1/2 jar of sundried tomatoes
1/2 cup of basil
1/2 bag of spinach
1-1/2 cups of cherry tomatoes
optional: additional veggies

Directions:

Place collard leaves in a bowl of warm salt water to tenderize, then set aside. Next, roll up baby spinach and chop finely (or pulse in a food processor) and place in a bowl, then cut cherry tomatoes into quarters and place into a different dish. Set both aside. Next, make pesto by blending the parsley in a blender or food processor. Once blended, add garlic, Himalayan salt, olive oil, pumpkin seeds, macadamia nuts and blend again until mixed. Finally, add sundried tomatoes and basil and blend once more. Next remove collard leaf from water and rinse to remove salt. Lay the collard leaf flat, spread with pesto, add tomatoes, spinach, and any other desired veggies (suggestions: sprouts, carrots, mushrooms). Fold and enjoy!

Cucumber Watercress Soup

Ingredients:

3-1/2 pickled cucumbers, chopped
1/3 cup of fresh lemon juice
3 cloves of garlic, peeled
2 tbsp of olive oil
2 tsp of sea salt
1/2 bunch of fresh watercress (tip: add last so the flavor is not overpowering)

Directions:

In a high-speed blender, combine all ingredients and blend until smooth.

Curry Cauliflower Rice Sushi

Ingredients:

3-4 heads of cauliflower
1 pack of untoasted dried seaweed (ex. Emerald Cove)
1/2 of a red onion, diced
1 tbsp fresh ginger, finely chopped
2 garlic cloves, chopped
1/2 cup of shredded carrots
1 small bag of sweet peas
1/2 cup broccoli, finely chopped into florets
1/3 cup of Raw Coconut Aminos Soy-free Sauce
2 tbsp curry powder (learn more about the cancer-fighting benefits of tumeric here)
1/3 cup of sesame oil
1 red bell pepper sliced
1/2 cup kale, finely chopped
1/2 cup spinach, finely chopped
1 pack of alfalfa sprouts

Directions:

To make curry cauliflower rice: Chop cauliflower into florets, wash and blend in food processor until it is the consistency of rice. Place in a bowl. Next add red onions, ginger, garlic, carrots, peas, broccoli, Raw Coconut Aminos sauce, curry powder, and sesame oil, toss all together and set aside. Next, chop red bell peppers, spinach, and kale. Then lay seaweed flat, and filling only about 1/4 of the sheet, add cauliflower rice mixture, then top with bell peppers, kale, spinach, and sprouts. Next, slide a knife under the seaweed sheet and roll forward. Once the end of the sheet is reached, dip your finger in water and lightly wet the top of sheet to seal. Cut the roll into 6-8 pieces and enjoy.

I never realized how easy it is to make seaweed rolls! I may start experimenting with this!

And lastly, before I left the class, I picked up this bottle of red wine, also said to be a cancer fighter, that I heard a woman in the class raving about. It’s organic and vegan and pretty good! (Is there a wine that isn’t vegan??? )

I sincerely hope someone out there finds this info and the recipes helpful, or at the very least, enjoys eating them as much as I did. If you try any of these out, or create your own recipe using some of these key ingredients, of course, be sure to let me know!

Jamie Oliver’s Pea, Broccoli & Penne Pasta Salad + A Healthy Chocolate Cake

2011-09-26T08:14:00.001-04:00

Lately I’ve found myself with a desire to be a bit of a homebody at least one night a weekend, so I’ve been making good use of that time by trying out some new recipes from a couple of great sources. At a hair appointment last week I was reading People, when I came across the most delicious-looking, healthy pasta salad by none other than Food Revolution’s Jamie Oliver. I knew I had to make this dish, so I snapped a picture of the page (isn’t technology great?!) and let me tell you, it did not disappoint!

Since the photo has now mysteriously disappeared from my phone, and I can’t seem to locate the official recipe on Jamie’s site, I’m gonna make an exception and break the best practice rule I learned at HLS about reposting recipes. Sorry, Jamie—hope you don’t mind!

Jamie Oliver’s Pea, Broccoli & Penne Pasta Salad

Ingredients

1/2 lb. whole wheat penne
1 head of broccoli, cut into small florets
4 tsp. red wine vinegar
1 tsp. Dijon mustard
1 tsp. honey <--- I recommend raw honey, if you can swing it
3 tbsp. extra virgin olive oil
1/3 c. frozen peas, thawed
1/4 tsp. red pepper flakes
1/4 c. chopped fresh mint
1/4 c. chopped flat-leaf parsley <---I couldn’t find fresh, flat-leaf parsley for the life of me, so I subbed for basil. Probably totally changed the flavor, but it tasted great, so I suggest trying it either way!
1 c. crumbled feta cheese
sea salt and black pepper

**Tip: I should mention that I personally found the amount of dressing the recipe calls for to be a little insufficient for giving the dish the amount of flavor I desired, so I added extra RW vinegar, mustard, and particularly honey directly to the dish, until I reached my desired flavor. For me, I felt it needed a bit more sweetness to perfectly off-set the feta and mint, so you may have to play around with this just a tad to find the flavor that suits you.**

Directions

1. Cook penne in a pot of boiling salted (sea or kosher salt is best!) water according to package directions. Add the broccoli florets for the last three minutes of cooking. Drain and set aside.

2. Meanwhile, combine the vinegar, Dijon mustard, honey and olive oil in a small, lidded container with a pinch of salt and pepper. Shake well with the lid on.

3. Toss the pasta and broccoli with half of the dressing in a large bowl. Stir in the peas and red pepper flakes and leave to cool.

4. Once the pasta is cool, add the chopped herbs and feta. Toss with the remaining dressing, add salt and pepper to taste, and serve.

For dessert, Jahari, who blogs over at J Lives Fit and Fab was sweet enough to send me a pre-packaged mix for the One Bowl Healthy Chocolate Cake she developed, so I could give it a try.

This cake is only 126 calories per serving (serving = 1/12) and some of the fats and refined, processed ingredients found in most cakes, have been replaced with healthier options.

**Couple of tips: The recipe simply calls for milk, but I actually used vanilla unsweetened almond milk, and used J’s suggested lemon method to create buttermilk. Also, don’t feel that you need to roast an entire pot of coffee for 1/2 cup. I used Taster’s Choice’s instant, single-serve coffee packets and it worked like a charm!**

I definitely recommend making this if you are a chocoholic like me, who likes to feel as little guilt as possible when giving in to the craving. As you can see, it didn’t even make it out of the pan before I started devouring it. That poor cake never stood a chance!

Have you discovered and tried any new healthy recipes lately? Feel free to share links below!

HLS Recap Part 3: A Final Farewell

2011-08-28T22:33:00.001-04:00

So, I forgot to mention in my last post that I injured myself on Saturday morning of the Summit. I’ve been getting this on-again-off-again pain in my knee after running over the last several months, and naturally it decided to rear its ugly head during an attempt at a morning 4-miler with a few of the girls. I made it approx. 1 mile before my knee was in so much pain, I couldn’t go another step. I had to turn around and limp back to the hotel. It was not fun. I share all this because I was sure this would ruin any chance of me participating in Sunday’s 5k Fun Run, but thankfully it ended up being more of a site-seeing walk than a race!

I took a quick shot with the Rocky statue and while, sadly, my dreams of climbing to the top of those stairs with that famous music playing in my head were dashed, I went up as far as I could and still got a stair shot!

The entire crew (those of us who were willing to get up at the crack of dawn, that is) posing in front of the “Love”statue.

After the walk, we went back to the hotel for an oatmeal bar, provided by Quaker Oats.

I topped mine with cinnamon, flax seeds, and a little honey.

Before heading back to my room to pack up, all the Charlotte bloggers who attended stopped for a quick photo opp.

And once, we were packed, Kelly, Stephanie and I took one last roomie shot (Tanya had already taken off for the airport at this point).

We headed with a few other ladies to the Reading Terminal one last time for lunch. I chose a vegetarian restaurant, where I opted for a veggie burger and my staple sweet potato fries!

After lunch, I headed to the airport for a long trip home, but made sure to pack some goodies from my HLS swag bag.

The summit was definitely inspiring to say the least, and I am so grateful for all the great people I met, in addition, to the valuable info. I definitely hope to stay in touch with them all and attend more blogging conferences in the future!

HLS Recap Part 2: The Saturday Sessions

2011-08-24T22:15:00.001-04:00

So this is where it gets interesting! This where you get to benefit from some of the valuable info I soaked up at the summit! I have to warn you that this post is a little long and also super picture heavy, (I couldn’t help myself) but I promise if you bear with me, there’s some really good info sprinkled in! Also, if you’re just catching up, here’s a link to HLS Recap Part 1: Friday Night Cocktail Party.

Breakfast

The Sessions

After breakfast, it was time for the meat and potatoes of the summit, a day filled with informative sessions.

The day started with a great session called “Writing a Better Recipe,” given by speaker Stepfanie Romine of Dailyspark.com.

So, what did I learn? That I suck at writing recipes! Lol! But thankfully Stepfanie gave some great tips.

Tips for Writing a Better Recipe:

The anatomy of a good recipe is: title, head note and tips, yield, prep and cook times, ingredients list, and instructions
Placing photos between directions is a no-no. It makes it too easy for the reader to skip a step
Don’t bury your tips within the recipe; give them at the beginning
1 cup chopped almonds and 1 cup almonds, chopped do not mean the same thing!
Don’t eliminate articles (i.e., the) <---I’m so guilty of this!
Be sure to include serving sizes
Separate prep and cook times
Most importantly, when it comes to adapting a recipe, don’t repost the entire thing. Only post your changes, then link to the original.

In the next session, I was smart enough to sit next to this girl!

Her name is Katie and she blogs over at Nourishing Flourishing… aaaannd her dough balls were amazing!

On my other side was Valorie from City, Life, Eats and Freya from Brit Chick Runs (I think she gets the award for “traveled farthest!”).

My favorite session of the day was with Dawn Jackson Blatner. She’s the RD and author behind a book called The Flexitarian Diet, which we all got copies of and I’m SO excited to read! You see, I’m mostly a vegetarian, but I don’t have anything against meat or dislike it. Plus, I readily eat meat whenever I feel like it. I do find, however, that I’ll typically opt for a veggie burger over a real burger, soy dog over a hotdog, etc. or I simply eat meals without meat. I never knew how to explain this to people until now! I’m a “flexitarian!”

The best part about Dawn’s talk was the action mantras she shared. These are fun little sayings to speak to yourself to help remind you to make good choices. Here are just a few of my faves:

Mantra 1: “Table, Plate, Chair”—Did you know people who eat all meals while sitting at a table with a plate (in other words, not standing in the kitchen, eating from the bag, etc.) eat 30% less and enjoy their food more?
Mantra 2: “Habits first, efforts later”—For 7 days, commit to getting up to drive to the gym (or wherever you exercise), then drive back home. By the 7th day you’ll be so ready to actually stay and exercise, you won’t be able to stand it!
Mantra 3: “One add-on only”— At a restaurant, in addition to your entree, there should only be one add-on (i.e, appetizer, glass of wine, or dessert).
Mantra 4: “Find the middle”—When at a restaurant, look for the healthiest thing on the menu, then the thing you really want to order, and create a compromise between the two. For example,if you want a crab cake, and the healthiest option is a salad, see if you can get the salad with a crab cake on top.
Mantra 5: “Dinner Deck”—Write 5-7 healthy meal ideas on note cards and always carry them in your purse (or somewhere else for guys). On nights where you need a quick, convenient meal, pick from the deck!

Aren’t these great?!! I also shared a few others on Twitter, but if you want even more geniusness from this woman, order her book!

After the session, it was time for...

Lunch

After all the sessions were over, we had the rest of the day to explore the city, making a stop at Reading Terminal Market to see it during actual business hours.

Then we went to see the Liberty Bell!

Me and Heather

With Tanya and Allison

And finally...

Dinner

Me and Brittney

For those of you who don’t know, this is what happens when you get a group of food bloggers together at a restaurant!

I had this seafood hotdog which was DELISH! It’s made with scallops, shrimp, and fluke pureed, then rolled in egg whites into the shape of a hot dog, and pan seared. The bun was spread with an avocado mayo. YUM!

After dinner, we met a few other bloggers for some drinks at a nearby hotel.

...where we unexpectedly found ourselves with front row seat to a pull-over and drug bust! Coke to be exact.

Gotta love the big city!

Was there any info I listed from the sessions that you found particularly useful?

Stay tuned for my final recap of the last day of the summit!

HLS Recap Part 1: Friday Night Cocktail Party

2011-08-22T23:38:00.001-04:00

Well, the Healthy Living Summit has officially come and gone! I had such a fun weekend filled with meeting new people, exploring a new city, and of course...healthy living! Here’s a quick recap of my first night of the summit.

This was one of the first sites I saw when arriving at the Philadelphia Downtown Marriot.

I registered almost as soon as I got in.

Then, got this amazing SWAG BAG!! I’ll be munching on these snacks for the next month!

My flight got in a little later in the afternoon, so it wasn’t long before it was time to get ready for the the kick-off cocktail party

But first...

We decided to hit the hotel’s bar before heading over.

We all learned of (and fell in love with) a delicious, low-cal cocktail thanks to Kelly. It has since been dubbed the “Kelly Cocktail!”

The party was held at the famous Reading Terminal Market

There was wine and beer served, along with chia-infused cocktails. Personally, I’m not convinced these actually included any alcohol. Just sayin’...

Me, Diana, and Katie

FOOOOOODDD!!! I hadn’t eaten since breakfast so I was beyond excited!

My new “blend” (that’s blog + friend in blogger speak) Jessica. This girl was SO funny, and since she’s from Wisconsin, I was excited to learn that she’s totally familiar with my hometown in Illinois (that’s rare)!

Fun blogger board. Apparently the velcro is on the pics because we were supposed to play a game where you match the blogger with their twitter handle, (which would’ve been so fun!) but the matching pieces got lost.

There’s MEEEE!!!

I met some fun ladies who were also HLS rookies! They were from the area, so they schooled me in what to look for in a Philly soft pretzel. Sadly, I never did get that pretzel (more on this later).

Then we took a quick roomie shot!

Me, Kelly, Tanya, and Stephanie

If you want to learn more about my HLS roomies, Tanya wrote the cutest post here! Be sure to stay and poke around her blog a little too to learn more about her!

Stay tuned for Part 2: The Saturday Sessions!

Philly State of Mind

2011-08-19T07:00:00.000-04:00

Hey guys! Yes, I know—I’ve been away for a little while. I guess you can call it an unannounced break of sorts. But I’m excited to share that as many of you are reading this, I am already likely several thousand feet in the air on my way to Philadelphia! I’m attending the 3rd Annual Healthy Living Summit and I am beyond excited! In addition to getting to meet several fellow bloggers face-to-face, I’ll be attending sessions (which will hopefully translate into some improvements on this blog), networking with healthy lifestyle brands, participating in a 5k, and enjoying the occasional chia-infused cocktail! Oh, don’t act like you don’t go to conferences for the cocktail hour! Just kidding!

I am hoping that the conference will re-ignite some blogging motivation in me, though I can’t promise that when I recap you guys on this trip, everything I ate will be entirely healthy. I kind of refuse to leave Philly without sinking my teeth into an infamous cheese steak and pretzel—I’m just sayin’!

I’m sure I’ll post some updates while I’m there to my Twitter, but for those of you who aren’t tweeters, I’ll just catch you when I get back!

Have a great weekend!

What I’m Loving Wednesday: Glowing Green Smoothies

2011-07-13T05:00:00.000-04:00

Hey guys! So confession time: I’ve had a lot going on at work lately and while I love my job, I’m quickly learning that doing social media for 9+ hours a day makes it a little difficult at times to find the time/energy to come home and dive into even more social media, so I apologize that things have been a little slow lately. I’ve also realized that when I don’t have an outlet for food and fitness talk or the time to read other blogs for workout inspiration, it takes a real toll on my motivation and my routine. But, that’s another post for another day. Speaking of other posts, I have one that has been in draft for almost a solid week, sharing all the goods of what I’ve been up to this summer, but since it’s a lengthier post and a bit more time consuming, in the meantime, you get this post instead. Deal? Deal! Ok, so there’s a new occasional breakfast in my life that I am quite crazy about, and I thought it high time I added a new installment to “What I’m Loving Wednesday” to share it with you.

Remember the book I was telling you guys about a couple months ago called The Beauty Detox Solution by Kimberly Snyder? Well in the book, Kimberly encourages the consumption of a morning green drink that she refers to as a Glowing Green Smoothie. Since I’m a bit of a special case, I really like them, but others whom I’ve let have a sip have informed me that it’s an acquired taste, so you can be the judge. Either way, I can honestly say that I personally feel great after I drink it, with a boost in energy and a bit more mental clarity. Here’s what you need to make your own:

Ingredients:

1-1/2 cups water
1 head romaine lettuce chopped
1/2 head of large bunch or 3/4 of small bunch spinach
3-4 stalks of celery
1 apple, cored and chopped <--- Pictured, you’ll notice I used 2 since they were smaller apples
1 pear cored and chopped
1 banana
Juice of half a lemon
Optional: 1/3 bunch fresh cilantro (stems ok)
Optional:1/3 bunch of fresh parsley (stems ok) <---These optional herbs are good for their cleansing agents and detoxifying properties. I add the parsley.

Tip: If possible, the book recommends opting for organic ingredients.

Speaking of things I love, I really love this blender/food processor. Even more than my Vita-mix. (Shhh! Don’t tell anyone!) Plus, got it for way cheap at Ollies!

Directions:
Add water, romaine, and spinach to the blender. Start the blender on low and mix until smooth. As you gradually move to higher speeds, add celery, apple, and pear. Next, add the cilantro or parsley if you desire. Lastly, add the banana and lemon juice.

Ta-Daaaa!

Now that I finally have a great-working blender, I’m gonna need more smoothie recipes!

Do you have a favorite smoothie? If so, share the recipe below!

Guest Post on Black Girls RUN! Today

2011-06-20T14:11:00.001-04:00

Hey all! If you haven't had a chance to check it out, I'm guest posting over at one of my favorite fitness blogs, Black Girls RUN! today. Be sure to go check it out and show some love! :) Whenever I do a guest post, I try to share information I haven't shared here, or at least not in quite the same way, so hopefully you'll learn something new!

If you're visiting from BGR!, WELCOME! Kick up your feet, browse around, and hopefully you'll find something you like!

Thai Curry Chicken Stir-Fry

2011-06-08T23:36:00.001-04:00

Tonight I made a semi-homemade meal that even I had to pat myself on the back for. SO good! And so simple. All it required was these 4 ingredients:

The best part is, I made a much larger serving than I typically would, so those with families will especially appreciate this recipe.

Ingredients:

6 chicken breast tenderloins; baked and cubed

3 c. Rice Pilaf (I used Kashi 7 Whole Grain Pilaf)

1 c. Thai Red Curry Sauce (I used Trader Joe’s brand)

1 pack of Trader Joe’s Asparagus Sauté Stir Fry. This is what it looks like:

FYI-If you don’t have a Trader Joe’s nearby, you can always chop your own asparagus, crimini & shitake mushrooms, and red onions. :)

To prepare, I simply, seasoned, baked, and cubed the chicken breasts; warmed the asparagus mix in a skillet; then combined the two and added the Thai curry sauce.

I prepped the pilaf according to the instructions on the packaging, and once done, I added the curry stir-fry on top.

As a finishing touch, salt and pepper to taste. That’s it!

Nom, Nom, Nom! :)

Weekend Grocery Shopping Trip

2011-06-05T23:32:00.001-04:00

It’s been a while since I’ve done a post about my grocery shopping adventures, mainly because my shopping list hasn’t changed much from previous posts, but with my cupboards getting a little on the bare side, and my inner-raw foodist dying to try several recipes from the Beauty Detox Solution book I picked up from Target, I made a grocery run for ingredients and a general restock. Because of the types of foods I buy, no grocery store is ever a one-stop shop for me. Trader Joe’s is almost always one of the stores on my trip, and this time the other was the Healthy Home Market. Here’s what I picked up:

Trader Joe’s Items: Boneless, skinless chicken breasts; Bran muffins (note that while I’m usually not a muffin advocate, these contained no added sugar); 1 bag each of kale, romaine hearts, and baby spinach; Dr Praeger’s California Veggie Burgers; 1 bag each of frozen pineapples, blueberries, and mixed berries; 1 whole pineapple; sack of navel oranges; bag of baby carrots; whole wheat sandwich thins; bag of lemons; Trader Joe’s Thai Red Curry sauce; Fruit & Vegetable Wash; a sack of fresh ginger; gala apples; pears; a sack of sweet potatoes; carton of red, seedless grapes; carton of strawberries; loaf of Cinnamon Raisin Ezekiel 4:9 bread; 2 cartons of “Quick Whites” egg whites; bananas; sack of avocados; tub of plain Greek yogurt; and fresh portabella mushroom, asparagus, and red onion sauté mix.

Healthy Home Market items: Pure, unrefined Shea butter; frozen acai berry puree (for smoothies); zucchini; raw, unfiltered apple cider vinegar; extra virgin coconut oil; tub of sweet white miso; and a jar of Chocolate Amazing Grass Green Superfood drink powder. I also find that it’s cheaper to get some items from the bulk bins (if you’re not familiar, this is the area, usually in the back of the store where you can self-serve and weigh) so I filled up 1 bag of dates, 1 bag of raw almonds, and a tub of nutritional yeast.

Here’s a closer look at some of the items that were first time buys for me, but that I’m loving already. This apple cider vinegar will come in handy for several of the recipes in the book I plan to try, and ACV has also been a long time fave of mine as a delicious and calorie-free salad dressing.

I’ve also heard good things about coconut oil for a while, and again, since a few recipes in the book called for it, I decided to go ahead and give it a try. It’s a little on the pricey side (I paid $10 and some change) but has several uses—cooking, skincare, hair care—so I think it pays for itself. You could probably even find it cheaper online.

P.S. Experimented with a homemade hummus this week, to which I added the coconut oil on a whim and it was DE-LI-CIOUS! Even my coworkers were in love with it! Recipe coming your way soon!

This Fruit & Veggie Wash is something I probably should’ve invested in a long time ago since I buy produce so often, but better late than never. It was pretty inexpensive too and the label says it’s guaranteed to remove pesticides, waxes, and chemicals, so I totally recommend!

Lastly, I grabbed some multi-vitamins. I’ve wanted to add a daily vitamin to my regimen simply because it can never hurt to make sure you’re getting all your needed vitamins and minerals. I actually grabbed this bottle at Target. I stood in the aisle for what felt like forever reading labels trying to find the most natural vitamin I could and this was the winner.

I’ve already made a few new concoctions that I’m really excited about from several of these grocery items so stay tuned for recipes!

How Target Saved Me From Eating Crap

2011-05-27T23:51:00.001-04:00

So you all know I’ve been struggling with keeping on track lately, and having my period this week has not been helping. I’m not gonna lie—I had a serious hankering for junk food tonight, and in the course of my trip to Target to pick up a few things, I had fully rationalized why I deserved to cheat and grab a box of garlic breadsticks. Don’t ask me why I was craving that in particular; I just always seem to crave bread the most when I’m in comfort food mode. So anyway, I even got as far as putting the breadsticks in my basket, when I stopped at the book section, and as per usual began browsing through the diet books. I found a book called The Beauty Detox Solution that seemed pretty interesting, so into my basket it went. Then, I made my way to the beauty aisle where I browsed the makeup selection, the natural bath & body products, and found a pretty nail polish—and before long I realized something. My craving for junk food had subsided. In fact, it had been replaced instead with a desire to nix the crappy food plan and treat myself to some fun and girly items to make me feel *pretty*. So, I made my way back to the grocery aisle to put the breadsticks back into the freezer and picked up a few healthy choices instead. I left the store without my initial craving for crappy food, but with the following items instead:

I almost forgot how much I love random trips to Target for fun “pamper myself” knick knacks. I honestly don’t know if shifting my attention to health & beauty-related items helped me combat my craving, or if roaming Target just gave me time to “cool off” and not focus on it, OR if I simply swapped my desire to indulge in food for a desire to spend money... either way, it worked! Now, off to bed I go so I can get up for a 90-minute Zumbathon in the a.m. Hope you’re enjoying the long weekend as much as I intend to!

Has purchasing health/beauty items ever worked as an effective “pick-me-up” for you?

What would’ve likely been in your “pamper yourself” Target basket?

Holy Fiber, Batman!

2011-05-25T00:44:00.001-04:00

Hey all! Oh, how I’ve missed you over the last several days! Thanks for being so patient with me as I adjust to my new schedule with the new job. Last time I posted, I was in the middle of my week off before starting my job, and just as I suspected, the week flew by so quickly. I couldn’t even begin to tell you what I did since it was basically a blur. Speaking of the new job, many of you have asked how it’s going and I have to say, it is going FABULOUSLY! Thanks for all the support, prayers, and well wishes! There’s a lot to learn, but I’m up for the challenge! Plus, when you’re getting paid to spend a good chunk of your days blogging, tweeting, and facebooking—all things I enjoy doing—you can’t really complain about that. The only downside, I will say is that I no longer have the convenience of an onsite fitness center as I did at my old job, so not getting my lunchtime workouts has definitely disrupted my exercise routine a bit. But as time goes on, I’m sure I’ll adjust to my new schedule and adopt a workout (and blogging) plan that is a good fit.

On another note, remember how I tried steel cut oats recently, but hadn’t found a natural flavoring method that I felt worked well with their nutty flavor? Well, during my week off, I had some time to experiment and came up with a quick and easy way to make all-natural, apple-cinnamon oats! I loved them and I think you guys will too, so hope you give them a try!

To prepare, cook oats as directed on packaging. As the oats simmer, add the following:

1 cubed apple (I recommend Gala)

1 tsp raw honey (I used my cinnamon honey! So delish!)

2-3 dashes of ground cinnamon

1 tbsp ground flax seeds

Between the oats themselves, the apples and the flax seeds, there is certainly no shortage of fiber in this bowl. But since research tends to suggest that most of us aren’t getting enough fiber in our diets as it is, think of these as a tasty way to keep you on track!

What are some of your methods for sweetening oats (or any other foods) naturally?

Good, Clean Eating

2011-05-10T23:54:00.000-04:00

Today was definitely a pretty productive day. As far as workouts, for the last two days I’ve gone back to the basics and whipped out my Jillian Michaels’ 30 Day Shred, and with a hair appointment scheduled for this morning + waking up later than I should’ve, a 20-min workout was just what I needed.

Breakfast

After my workout, I had a big bowl of my new steel-cut oats. I prepared them the way I prepare my instant oats everyday: a mashed banana mixed in and a scoop of Amazing Grass Chocolate Superfood powder. Only this time, instead of cutting the other half of the banana on top, I decided to top my oats with strawberries.

I can definitely say that I am a huge fan of these oats. They are ridiculously filling and have a flavor that’s distinctly different from instant oats. Because of this, however, I do think my typical oatmeal toppings didn’t quite hit the mark the same way with these, so I’ll be experimenting with some new flavoring options to find something better suited for these. After breakfast, I rushed out the door for my hair appointment. I tweeted earlier this morning that I was considering getting bangs cut (thanks for the input on whether or not I should go through with it!) and the results of taking the plunge, but just in case you missed it, here is the new ‘do!

It’s still growing on me, but I think once I get used to seeing myself with something different, I will like it!

Lunch

After my appointment, I stopped home for a quick lunch.I wasn’t in the mood to make anything elaborate, so I microwaved some TJ’s frozen brown rice, frozen stir-fry veggies, and tossed in TJ’s sesame soy ginger vinaigrette for a super quick and delicious meal.

Following lunch, I headed to the Farmer’s Market where I picked up these goodies:

The goods: Bok choy, cauliflower, parsley, sweet cantaloupe, cabbage, baby spinach, green peppers, asparagus, onions, gala apples, navel oranges, grapes, celery, and peeled garlic.

Going to the market in the middle of the day while most people are working was so perfect. It was SO much less chaotic than on Saturdays, so I felt like I was able to take my time, comparison shop, and really enjoy browsing as opposed to trying to get in and get out the way I would when there’s a large crowd.

I was most excited about finding the pre-peeled garlic, since I absolutely HATE peeling garlic. Is anyone with me on this?! TV chefs make it looks so fun and easy by smashing it with their knives and peeling away. Maybe it’s just me, but it never goes quite as smoothly in real life, so this was definitely the number one find of the day. Unfortunately, just in the travel time alone though, my car now wreaks of garlic.

Snack

When I got home, I dove right into the oranges for my snack, then got busy throwing in a few loads of laundry and tidying the apartment. Items 1 and 2 on my to-do list for the week; check and check!

Dinner

For dinner, I decided to make a healthy, clean chicken salad, adapted from Katy’s chicken salad at Think Pretty Thoughts.

Ingredients:

3 baked chicken breast tenderloins, chopped
3/4 celery stalk, chopped
5-6 raw almonds, chopped
handful of red grapes cut into quarters
1 sprig parsley, chopped
1/4 cup onions, chopped
1 tbsp non-fat Greek yogurt*
1 tbsp reduced fat mayo (I used Trader Joe’s dairy-free, reduced fat mayo)
1-2 collard green leaves
salt & pepper

*You can also feel free to use two tbsp Greek yogurt if you don’t wish to use mayo.

Inspired by my meal at Luna’s this past weekend, I decided to wrap my chicken salad in a collard green leaf; something I’d never even thought of doing before, but have now decided is totally genius. Collards are so much sturdier (and more nutritious) than the iceberg lettuce wraps often used in restaurants.

Ok, no joke. Of all the recipes I’ve ever shared on this blog, I think this one takes the cake! SO good! If you never try another recipe I share with you, make sure you try this one. It’s so quick and absolutely delicious!

Looking back on it, I realize I had a day of fully clean eating: fruits, veggies, whole grains, and nuts. It was so nice being reminded how truly satisfying good, wholesome food can be and not once did I crave “junk” today!

Life Goes On

2011-05-08T23:59:00.000-04:00

While my last couple of posts have been about all the changes taking place in my life, there are some things that are remaining constant. One of them being some of the wonderful people in my life, and this weekend, on the heels of my last day of work, couldn’t have been a more perfect time to get together with a few of them. Let’s rewind back to Thursday and take it from there. I always enjoy going out for Cinco de Mayo every year (gee, I wonder why...? ) so I rounded up some of my favorite girls for Mexican and margaritas!

We decided to head to San Antonio’s since they serve $1 margaritas everyday, not just on Cinco de Mayo, so it was the perfect spot for the night. I LOVE margaritas, but I’m working very diligently to get back on track and stay on track, so I decided splurging on one (which can range from 300-800 calories a pop—in some cases more) wouldn’t be worth it. Hey, it may have been Cinco de Mayo, but my waist has never heard of such a thing! I am, however, always trying to find ways to enjoy a happy hour here and there without doing too much damage, and I recently read in my Fitness or Shape Magazine—can’t remember which—about a new calorie-free margarita mix called Zilch. Has anyone heard of or tried it?

Apparently, you just order tequila and water, then add one of these packets for a significantly lower calorie margarita, since the calories would only come from the tequila. The jury is still out on the taste, however, since I’ve never personally tasted it. I was hoping to get my hands a few packets for the night, but unfortunately, I didn’t plan ahead to order online and the nearest retail location is Anderson, SC. So, I did the next best thing; grabbed some Target Brand sugar-free drink packets and ordered vodka and tonics all night.

Worked like a charm!

How do you like the sombrero I was rocking from a Cinco de Mayo past? The fact that I wasn’t embarrassed to wear it is proof alone that my drink concoction was just as strong as a margarita!

The following day was my last day at my job. I can’t believe how fast these last two weeks flew by! Packing up the last of my things was very surreal. I’ve been at my job since about 6 months after moving to Charlotte, and since I can barely remember life before Charlotte, it’s been a HUGE part of my life. Not to mention it was my first “real job” after college, so leaving is a very big deal.

I had a really nice lunch with my boss, then later that afternoon, my team held a small goodbye party for me which gave me a lovely little excuse to have cake!

I’m definitely going to miss everyone, and to be honest it hasn’t quite sunken in yet that I won’t be walking back through those doors for business as usual tomorrow, but I am beyond excited for this next chapter in my story!

Saturday, I started my morning by going for a run with Kelly, then met up with Michele for lunch at one of my favorite restaurants, Luna’s Living Kitchen. Since one of my goals in life is to try everything on their menu, (the raw-vegan enthusiast in me can’t help it) this time around I tried the Freestyle Wrap, which consists of raw veggies, sheered cabbage with almond sauce, and cashew crumbs wrapped in a collard leaf. Michele had the Sprouted Quinoa-Kamut Veggie Burger, which I haven’t yet tasted. Next time.

The Atherton Mill Market was right next door, so we popped in for a sec after lunch.

We stopped at a local honey stand which had the most unique and delicious blends of honey (chocolate honey, spicy honey, etc.) and both ended up purchasing the same two items.

This whipped cinnamon honey was TO DIE and steel cut oats are new to me, so I’m super excited about these. I've been more of an instant kinda girl, simply due to lack of time in the mornings, but I’ve always heard this is the oat in its most nutritious form. Luckily, I’ll have plenty of time to prepare breakfast over the next few days since tomorrow officially begins my week off before I start my new job. I have a few things planned here and there, but nothing big on the agenda. I feel like I need to come up with some sort of a game plan so I don’t completely waste the week away.

What would you do with an entire week off?

Any suggestions for how to make the most of my week?

Ch-Ch-Ch-Changes

2011-05-03T22:59:00.001-04:00

I love all my blog friends! Can I just say that?! I can’t tell you how encouraging all of your comments were on my last post. I literally went back and read each and every one of them several times and it has helped me get through this last week. I was so nervous when I hit publish on that post for fear of judgment and backlash (don’t ask me why) and instead I got nothing but support and encouragement! Thank you all so much! Lauren mentioned in her comment that she wouldn’t doubt there is something more behind my peanut butter and chocolate chip sandwiches and I’m pretty certain she has hit the nail on the head. A lot of changes have been going on in my life all in a very short period of time, and while not all bad changes by any means, I think my emotions had a bit of a delayed reaction. As some of you may know, while many don’t, a few months ago I ended my nearly 3 year relationship. I won’t go into detail out of respect for what was an amazing relationship and out of respect for the other party involved, (I’m sure I really have your wheels turning now, eh?!) I will say it was one of the hardest things I have ever had to do in my life so far—hands down. As a result of of this, I think I have been seeking comfort, and unfortunately I picked the worst possible place to seek it—food. On top of that, I recently ended my nearly 3 year relationship with my job. I turned in letter of resignation last week and Friday is my last day. This, however, is actually very, very exciting news!! I have accepted a new job here in Charlotte, which I am convinced is my dream position, (it involves PR, Facebook, Twitter, forums, and yes—BLOGGING!!! ) but of course, it is also a transition and any life transition requires adjustment. Thankfully, things have started to get easier with my food struggles over the last several days. On Saturday, I decided to spontaneously run my first race! I say spontaneously since I didn’t make the decision until Thursday to run the CPCC Skyline 5k! The pics aren’t available yet, so I will post more later, but here’s a quick shot of me before the race.

I absolutely LOVED this race! In fact, I’m in the process of picking out which one I want to do next! My time was 30:48, which isn’t too shabby for not training at all. Also, not only was it the perfect morning for a run, but it reminded me how exhilarating running is for me, especially in the mornings. As icing on the cake, this was the #1 item on my 2011 goals list! I even met a reader at the race! All around it was a really fun day!! After such a great experience at the race, I decided it was time to get back on track and told myself I was going to start the week strong. Do you ever have those days when you set out to do well, and it just seems like the universe is working against you? Yesterday tried its best to be one of those days for me...but I wouldn’t give in! I came home from work and put a spaghetti squash in the oven, then I set out to spend the hour while it was cooking, working out in my apartment fitness center. Let me first just say, it took EVERYTHING within me to drag myself down to that fitness center—only to get there and find every machine taken. I came SOOO close to giving in to the thoughts of “Oh well, I tried. Nothing I can do about it” when I remembered that I have a YMCA pass at the moment, then looked across the street at the Y that is literally 10 feet from my apartment and knew there was no excuse. As is usually the case with any workout you don’t want to do, I’m so glad I did! I had an incredible workout and the change of scenery was so nice! While I was pounding away on the treadmill, I kept thinking “Ok, just 5 more mins, then I gotta get home before I burn the squash” (something I’ve done before). But 5 mins, kept turning into 5 more and before I knew it...

Now this could’ve totally been the end of my plans for a healthy meal, but still on an endorphin high from my workout, I was determined to have the healthy dinner I’d planned, so I removed the burnt parts from the squash and thankfully was able to salvage my meal.

Just one more tiny problem. I totally forgot I was all out of the typical veggies I add to my homemade spaghetti sauce. Nice.

Since I’d come this far, there was no way I was turning back, so I raided the freezer for a bag of frozen veggies and made due. Is it weird that I put squash in my squash?

The funniest part is, I think this may have been one of the best bowls of spaghetti squash I've ever made!

Since last night required so much determination, it set me up for a successful day today as well. While I didn’t get a workout in since I stayed at work late packing up my desk, I did make a nice, healthy dinner: Cabbage, chicken breasts, and a baked sweet potato with a little cinnamon and agave.

I also hope to get a workout in first thing in the morning. I think I'm on my way back to feeling like myself again!

What are some ways you seek comfort during times of transition?

Made For More

2011-04-27T06:00:00.000-04:00

Generally,I like to keep things pretty lighthearted on this blog, but there’s something that’s been weighing heavy on my heart—and apparently my body—that I really need to address. Lately I’ve been struggling...a lot. I don’t know what it is, but recently food (particularly of the unhealthy nature) has become irresistible to me, and what was once SO easy—making healthy choices—has slowly become a constant struggle. A struggle that is finally starting to catch up with me according to the device in my bathroom, henceforth known as “the evil scale.” To be honest, it feels like I’m in the middle of a bad dream; I almost don’t even feel like myself. While eating well isn’t necessarily getting harder, making bad choices is getting easier and exercising is starting to feel like a chore at times. While I’ve dealt with a similar struggle in the past, this one has been a little more persistent. It isn’t at all like the “me” I’ve known over the past year and I’m counting on the fact that this is only temporary. I even debated for quite some time whether I would actually share these struggles here on the blog. I know it seems stupid and dishonest not to, but it’s hard to admit failures. Especially when friends and family have come to look to me as a source of inspiration. I love being a source of inspiration, and I can’t express how much it means when someone shares with me that my silly little ramblings inspired them to make a healthy choice—but lately I’m the one lacking inspiration. I truly hope that in sharing my personal struggles no one is any less inspired. Instead, I hope that this gives you a sense of comfort that this isn’t always easy...for anyone. And that it’s normal and ok to have times of struggle. Perhaps, I need that reassurance myself. A lot of changes have been taking place in my life lately (which I hope to get into in more depth in a post later this week) and perhaps this has something to do with it. But as I sat in my apartment alone last night, struggling not to run to the pantry to make a peanut butter and chocolate chip sandwich, (in my defense, I use raw PB and an Arnold Sandwich Thin. Don’t judge me. ) I picked up the copy of Made to Crave that has been collecting dust on my coffee table for the last few months.

I totally recommend this book! And cool fact: I learned not too long ago that the author actually attends my church! I started reading this shortly after I purchased it, but for some reason I’ve been taking my precious time finishing it, reading a chapter here and there. I really don’t know why because I’ve loved every bit of it that I’ve read so far. If I could, I’d probably have the entire book highlighted by now! Here are some of my favorite points and quotes so far:

“It’s not ‘how to’ I’m missing, it’s the ‘want to’...really wanting to make changes and deciding those changes are worth the sacrifice.” <—So true for me. It’s no secret that I know HOW to lose weight and make healthy choices, but lately my “want to” is waning.
“If the downfall of humanity was caused when Eve surrendered to a temptation to eat something she wasn’t supposed to eat, I do think our struggles with food are important to God.”
“We crave what we eat.” <—I know this to be true first hand. When I’m consistently eating well, I crave healthy foods, not junk and vice versa.
“Living in victory tastes sweeter than any unhealthy delicacy.”
“I am made for more than the vicious cycle of being ruled by food. I need to eat to live, not live to eat.”
“I knew vanity-seeking ‘want to’ would never last. Shallow desires produce only shallow efforts. I had to seek a spiritual ‘want to’ empowered by God Himself.”<— I might take this a step further to say, “Shallow desires produce only temporary efforts and results.”

That last quote stood out to me the most last night. I haven’t discussed my faith much on this blog, for no other reason than I’d never found a way to relate it to my healthy living journey before—but I’m coming to realize it’s more relevant than ever. I’ve been feeling God calling me to make some changes in several areas of my life lately (again, I’ll get to these in another post) and all of these changes have involved me surrendering those particular areas of my life to Him. I couldn’t help but think last night, “maybe this physical and emotional battle I’ve been having with food is actually spiritual in its root.” Maybe God is trying to show me that I’ve made my beauty ideals and plight towards bodily perfection an idol in my life. Have I been obsessive about it at times? Yes. Has my motivation for “healthy living” been primarily vanity-seeking? I can admit that. Of course, eating well and exercising makes me feel good and is good for me, but the physical benefits have played a huge role in keeping me going. I can also admit that I’ve neglected my relationship with God and I believe that He’s pursuing me.

Maybe this is His way of trying to get my attention—in the one area He knows I’ll stand up and take notice. I can’t help but think maybe God is taking the strong sense self-control I once possessed in this area away from me, so that I’ll have to seek Him to overcome this instead of relying on my own resolve.

To help with boosting my motivation, I placed another one of my favorite take-aways from the book in a very strategic place in my house:

What is your motivation for weight loss and/or healthy living?

How do you keep your “want to” when your motivation grows weak?

Eat Your Heart Out, Chipotle!

2011-04-18T21:37:00.001-04:00

One of my all time weaknesses is Mexican food. In fact, I’m fairly certain that about 90% of the excess weight I once carried was Taco Bell induced. Yup, I used to love me some 4th meal. There’s only one thing, though, I love more than a burrito from Taco Bell—a burrito from Chipotle. Little did I know back then, however, the nutrition profile for a Chipotle chicken burrito with all my fave toppings looks a little something like this:

[Source]

Umm...yeah. So needless to say, I’ve learned to make my own much lower calorie and just as tasty version at home! Do I still have love for Chipotle? Of course. But, it’s nice to have a version that I can eat any day of the week without any of the guilt!

Ingredients

Directions
Chop chicken breasts into cubes and simmer in a pot on medium heat with black beans, 1/8 c of chili powder, 1/4 c water, and 2 tbsp ground red pepper*
*optional

Prepare instant brown rice as instructed on the package, then mix in 10 tbsp of fresh salsa. I used Harris Teeter’s brand! SO good!

Prepare frozen peppers by sautéing in a skillet with 1/8 tbsp of canola or olive oil

Place all ingredients in your tortilla...

...and voila!

Additional toppings (optional)

For an even lower-calorie version, consider replacing your tortilla with a large iceberg lettuce leaf! I promise you, it’s just as yummy!

What’s a dish you’d love to learn a healthier way to prepare?

Strong is the New Skinny

2011-04-14T00:24:00.001-04:00

A few days ago I attended the official Tri It For Life kick-off meeting. I really think it wasn’t until the moment I stepped into the venue, that I truly committed in my heart to this Triathlon.

Not to sound trite, but it was truly inspiring to see so many (and I do mean MANY) women of all shapes, sizes, ages, and colors who have successfully tackled this race and crossed that finish line as triathletes, which made me even more confident that I can do it too!

I got a quick pic with Tri It For Life founder, Dr. Alyse Kelly-Jones.

*In my Paula Deen voice* So, it’s official y'all! On September 25, 2011 I will be swimming 250 yards, biking 9 miles, and running 2 miles—all in a row!

Yep, a real-life Wonder Woman in the making!

In other news, as you guys know, I’ve also been wanting to get back on the weight loss bandwagon. I’ve gotten a little comfortable in what has almost been a year since initially losing the weight, and there are still some goals I have for my body that I’ve yet to meet. Truth be told, I have secretly (or maybe not so secretly) always wanted to be a thin and petite person and used to curse the muscular physique I was given. But lately I’ve really come into an appreciation for the muscle tone that my body has naturally and have even started to find it—kind of beautiful. Who knew?! It’s interesting how I once believed Victoria’s Secret models had the “ideal bodies,” and now I don’t find that so appealing. I actually now think women like those who grace the cover of Oxygen Magazine are much more beautiful any day of the week! In fact, my goal as of late has been much less about “skinny” and more about being fit, toned, and strong…and just generally loving and appreciating my body for what it is. Of course, that doesn’t mean there can’t still be room for improvement! I’ve even begun efforts toward accentuating these parts of my body and being less afraid of strength training, as I have been in the past for fear of getting too bulky. I still don’t want to be bulky, but I do want to look, feel, and BE strong! As a result, my diet has been a little on the strange side lately, as I’ve been toying around with different methods, including cues from some of my blog friends, in an effort to create a new regimen that works best for me to achieve these results. All month, my friend Kyra aka the “Get in Shape Girl” has been hosting an April Fools Challenge on Facebook geared towards toning up, so she provided me with the suggestion to have a lean protein, fruits/veggies, and healthy fat at each meal. Here are some of the meals I had for breakfast as a result:

I have to admit, I haven’t been totally faithful to the challenge and even nixed the lean protein at every meal rule, since I didn’t like how stuffed it made me feel. I typically eat the oatmeal alone for breakfast and while I know the saying goes:

“Eat breakfast like a king, lunch like a prince,

and dinner like a pauper,”

I personally like to save up my calories and have excess later in the day, since I know I am more likely to snack in the evening. Not to mention, it just felt wrong to eat chicken and broccoli for breakfast. I, of course could’ve satisfied the veggie and lean protein requirement with a veggie omelet, but unfortunately, I just don’t have time to make those on weekday mornings, so I worked with what I had. I have, however, continued to incorporate some of her great suggestions into my diet, but just tweaked it a little to work for me. Another friend of mine, Michele, mentioned a goal she set for herself to eat a pound of veggies a day (which she later turned into a challenge on her blog) so I decided to take her up on it and try adding more raw veggies into my day. Not only have I been snacking on raw veggies and hummus the majority of the day, but I’ve even added additional veggies to my staple lunch. Here is what I’ve been consuming at work for the last few days:

As you can see, it’s been fruits and veggies galore!

Last, but not least, I was reading The Amy Layne Paradigm (my new favorite blog at the moment!) where Amy suggested drinking 2-3 liters of water a day. I have been doing this for the last 3 days and I can honestly say I have noticed a huge difference already! In fact, I didn’t even eat dinner last night simply because I genuinely wasn’t hungry. Like she suggested, I have been adding a lemon and/or lime to my water as well, which has really been helping it go down more smoothly and also works as a great “cleansing” agent if you have sugar and other bad food cravings to wean yourself off of. In addition, I’ve been drinking a cup of tea with breakfast each day to aid in my water intake.

By the way, be sure to check out Amy’s blog when you get a chance and read her transformation story. This girl is seriously my hero!

So, as you can imagine, drinking this much water is definitely a little—erhm—uncomfortable to say the least. But only for the first day or two; eventually your body gets used to it. It just has to let go of the old water it’s been retaining, to make room for the new!

On top of all this, I’ve been making it a priority to get adequate rest at night for the last few nights, which has also made a huge difference in the way I’ve been feeling. I’m still experimenting, tweaking, and learning, but I think I’m on a good track toward finding my way to some diet/habit changes that’ll hopefully re-jumpstart my weight loss and take me to the next level of fitness and health! I’ll keep you posted!

My New Rules

2011-04-11T21:45:00.001-04:00

I’ve decided it’s time to be honest with myself about something; I have not been taking care of myself lately! My schedule has been out of control with volunteer, social, and work obligations. While I love these things, personal TLC has completely gone out the window and it’s starting to catch up with me. I’ve been running on 3-4 hours of sleep most nights and I’m even starting to get icky bags under my eyes as a result. Not to mention I need an eyebrow appointment like...yesterday, these nails and toes could use some polish, and I’m even starting to get slack about what I’m putting in my body. Not.cool. As a result, I’ve decided to reevaluate a few things and implement some new rules that go into effect immediately. My goal is to try and successfully abide by these new rules for at least the next month, but hopefully they’ll stick and last a lot longer after that!

As for day one, so far so good!

1.) Eat fruits and veggies the majority of the day

2.) Drink at least 2 liters of water a day

3.) No negative self talk (or think!)

4.) Cardio 5 days a week (includes running 3 days a week)

5.) Strength train at least 2 times a week

6.) Allow myself a treat once a week (Fridays)

7.) In bed by 10:30pm at the latest during the week; Up by 6am each weekday morning

8.) Absolutely no less than 7 hours of sleep a night (shoot for 8-9 when I can swing it)

9.) Spend the first 30 mins of my morning in prayer

10.) Give myself a mani-pedi once a week

This poster has been circulating around the web and I absolutely love it! Awesome words of motivation!

If YOU created a list of new rules today to better take care of yourself, what would it look like?

The Pure Genius of Pure Barre + Other Randomness

2011-04-06T00:00:00.000-04:00

First, let me say thank you guys so much for all the support and advice you gave regarding my triathlon swim training and the hair/skin trauma it’s been causing me. While, I’m not happy to hear so many of us are dealing with these issues, it is still very comforting to know that there are others who can relate and offer such great suggestions. As an update, this week marked the 4th week (out of 6) for lessons and so far things are going well. Yesterday Susan, my “coach,” stripped me of my water buoy (aka my security blanket) and while I didn’t do as well as I would have liked without it, I have definitely come a long way! I’ve been told my form is perfect, however,the biggest struggle has been staying afloat for an extended period of time. We have now determined that my body’s muscle mass is to blame. It’s causing me to sink and is an obstacle I’m going to have to overcome if I wanna come out of this as a swimmer. I’m telling you…darned if you do, darned if you don’t, right?! I’ve been known to be a pretty persistent person though, so I’m not at all letting this little setback discourage me from continuing to try!

In other news, this weekend I finally blew the dust off the Living Social coupon I’ve been holding onto for almost a year, and attended my first Pure Barre class.

Having attended a Ballet Fitness class before (that I was less than impressed with) I’ll be honest that I didn’t have the highest of expectations for the class. Like the Ballet Fitness class, I assumed it would simply involve a lot of stretching with very little to get the heart rate up. As it turns out...I actually freakin’ LOVE this class! No sooner we got started, we were instructed to hold a plank while squeezing a tiny little ball between our thighs, which is a lot harder work than it sounds. Within a few minutes, I could already feel my face beginning to flush, and I glanced over at my friend Cassandra with a look that I’m sure must’ve said,“Is this seriously the warm-up?!”

This was definitely a total body workout. We did a lot of core, abs and bun work, and I am pretty positive I used muscles I never knew I had. If I had to describe this class in two words, “glorious torture” would about sum it up!

I thought this was so cute, so I had to snap a pic!

I also hit up the Farmer’s Market after class, where I got all these goodies for less than 20 bucks.

The bag on the bottom left contains the dried apples that I unashamedly devoured in one sitting! SO good. In fact, I need a dehydrator in my life asap! I once heard a rumor that by using the oven with the door partially open, it will work similar to a dehydrator. Does anyone know if this is true?

I really found some steals at the market. As someone who buys fresh produce weekly, I don’t know why I don’t go more often. I got this bag of 9 bananas for only $1.00. I kept a few out to use in my oatmeal, and froze the other portion for later use.

...And with the money I saved, I got this new pair of kicks!

Ok, not really...but they are new! What do you think of them? I figured it was time to get a backup pair of workout shoes so I’m not always working out in my running shoes and accelerating their life cycle. They were way too expensive for that! These babies, on the other hand, were a mere $35—at where, you ask? Off Broadway’s clearance rack! That’s another one of my deal spots, in case I haven’t shared. It’s my shoe secret weapon; it’s like a treasure hunt! I think I have a growing obsession with seeing how cute of an item I can get and how cheap I can get it, btw. Whenever I step into Off Broadway, I zero in on the clearance rack and make my way straight to the back of the store. I don’t even bother to see what’s on the regular shelves; nothing worth my time or money as far as I’m concerned. The clearance rack is where the real magic happens—albeit a little hit and miss at times. This time was definitely hit though. Loving these sneaks!

P.S. As if I didn’t get enough this weekend, I started a 2-week boot camp at work this week. It has only been 2 days and my body is already SO sore. It’s a nice change from my running and yoga routine though! Plus, summer is just around the corner; why not get a little BOOST!

So what about you?

Have you kicked up your workout routine now that warmer weather is here? If so, in what way?

Do you have a store that you consider to be your “secret weapon” when it comes to shopping for a certain kind of item?

Weekend Mini-Vacay Recap

2011-04-01T21:08:00.001-04:00

Physically I’ve been back from my mini-vacay to see my fam in Alabama and my friend Mollie in Atlanta for almost a week, but mentally, I’m just now catching up! It has been a long and busy week and I couldn’t be happier the weekend is here again. So how was my trip? Why, it was fabulous; thanks for asking! Since the rest of my family hasn’t quite jumped on the healthy living bandwagon, and I knew fast food was likely going to be the option at Mollie’s, before heading out I pre-packed a few food items so there’d be no excuse for not making good food choices...at least most of the time! I packed these containers of oatmeal, along with a banana to go with each so I could have my mashed banana oatmeal for breakfast each day.

I also packed some sweet potatoes for baking, nectarines, veggie burgers, and frozen veggies. Thankfully it all traveled pretty well despite the 6 hour trek.

I have to say, I really feel like I got much more “acquainted” with Birmingham than I ever have this time around. I suppose going out on my own to attend the food writers’ get-together and doing a little exploring on my own really allowed me to see the city differently and go places I’d never gone. One of the girls I met at the blogger event insisted I visit a brand new park in downtown Birmingham called Railroad Park, so I decided instead of running in my parents’ neighborhood, I’d head there instead. (Sorry for the phone pics!)

Bham’s downtown is very...ummm...industrial looking? But Railroad Park was a really nice place and perfect for running. I loved that it was on the water, adding nicely to the scenery, and it was the middle of the day on a Friday, yet a lot of people were there eating, reading, running, laying out and what have you!

One of the coolest things about the park was the outdoor fitness equipment! Charlotte parks MUST adopt this concept immediately!

There was this Gazelle-looking thing...

As well as this little contraption on the left that I saw someone using to do sit-ups.

I don’t know the guy on the right, but he was nice enough to let me snap a pic of him for the blog making use of this piece of equipment to do dips!

Of course the best part of being in town was getting to spend some QT with my nieces, Sage (L) and Peytan(R), who I don’t get to see nearly enough.

Saturday morning, I headed to Mollie’s in Atlanta, which was along the route back to Charlotte. As always we hit the town for a girl’s night out!

Though I love traveling, it can be SO exhausting and I still haven’t quite taken the time to recoup (or unpack for that matter ) so tonight will be a very chill, relaxing night for me. As soon as I hit publish on this post, I plan to spend what’s left of the evening snuggled up on my couch with this healthy, homemade mini-pizza:

Toppings: kale; red, green, & yellow peppers; and Daiya cheese.

And these movies:

Clearly, I’m in a Romantic Comedy kind of mood! Have any of you guys seen either of these? Don’t ask me why I chose two movies about parenting/babies! Lol! Anyway, I’m gonna to get my movie marathon going before I get too tired to make it through both. Have a great Friday night!

Birmingham Food Blogger Meetup & Herbal Water Giveaway Winner!

2011-03-24T23:50:00.000-04:00

Hey Guys! First, let me apologize for getting to this post so incredibly late tonight! Today has been a traveling day for me and this is the first time I’ve sat in front of an actual computer all day. I’m in Alabama visiting my family and had the opportunity to attend a really great food blogger/writers meetup put on by FoodBlogSouth. The meetup was at a littIe restaurant/bar called Parkside Cafe where I met some great people and had a really great time! Cool fact: Not only is Bham swarming with food writers, but did you know that both Cooking Light and Health have editorial offices here? Interesting, right?! Anyway, since I’ve already made you wait long enough, let’s get to the winner of the Ayala’s Herbal Water sample pack!

Congratulations to Z. Bediako!

Here is what she suggested:

“1. pulp. use lemon, grapefruit or orange. i peel the skin off of one or two slices (or a mix) of either one of these fruits and put it in my water bottle.
2. mint leaf
3. let a decaf/herbal tea bag sit for about 10 seconds. you get a little flavor without making it tea.
4. one of my favorites is slices of cucumber with a lemon slice and a raspberry.
i find there is no artificial flavors, colorings, or salts that can take the place of herbs and fruits.”

I loved, loved, loved the detail of her comment, and she gave not one, but four unique and great-sounding suggestions that I can’t wait to try out! Z., please be sure to email me your mailing address and your box of Herbal Water goodies will be on its way!

Honorable mentions definitely go out to Kelly who suggested adding fruit to homemade ice cubes so the flavor seeps into the water as they melt, and Lovely who suggested chewing a piece of gum to get her good and thirsty to drink more water!

Thanks so much to everyone who entered for your great ideas! I will definitely be utilizing these suggestions and I hope you learned something from each other as well!

Anyway, I’m absolutely exhausted so I’m off to bed now. Tomorrow’s agenda consists of a fun and relaxing day with my mom which will definitely include THRIFTING!!! Another cool fact: The Bham area has great thrift shops! Have a good night!

Ayala’s Herbal Water Review + Giveaway/Contest

2011-03-18T06:50:00.008-04:00

I always try to make a concerted effort to get my 64 ounces of water in everyday. Even though I primarily drink water with all my meals, some days are still easier than others. When I was first starting out, I swore by Crystal Light packets; they taste delicious and definitely made a world of difference. But overtime, I’m becoming more of a snob about what I put in my body, and artificial sweeteners have quickly found their way onto my “no-no” list, in turn sending Crystal Light and its chemical-laden ingredients packing! To compensate, I’ve tried adding lime or cucumber to my water, or I’ll even have a few cups of green tea (with Stevia), however, 64 ounces is a lot of water y’all, so I’m continuously looking for new ways to make my water more “enjoyable.” This is why it couldn’t have been more perfect when I was contacted by Ayala’s Herbal Water and given the opportunity to review their product.

*Please note that while I did receive these products for free, the opinions expressed here are explicitly my own and reflect my honest assessment of the product.

To give you a brief background, Herbal Water was created by Ayala Laufer-Cahana, M.D., a pediatrician and life-long vegetarian. Dr. Ayala began by blending her own herb-infused beverages at home as an alternative to sugary and artificially flavored beverages, from which Herbal Water was born.

Highlights:

Each bottle is filled with Artesian well water
Each water is infused with USDA certified-organic herbs
Contains zero calories, artificial flavors, or preservatives
Comes in 6 unique flavor combos

Review:
I have to be honest, based on assumption alone, I imagined this would be a simple water with a very light, subtle flavor that wouldn’t really do much for my palate, but I can truthfully say, I found this not to be the case at all. While by no means over-powering, these are actually a lot more flavorful than I was expecting! In fact, I was able to guzzle these down in a way I just cannot typically do with water alone and that to me in itself was impressive. There is something just...refreshing and even calming about drinking these waters that is difficult to describe. I imagine it is because the herbs engage both your sense of taste and smell making the flavor that much more powerful.

Of the six, my three faves were:

Lemongrass Mint Vanilla

Ginger Lemon Peel

...and Lavender Mint

Ok, so here’s what I liked and/or disliked about the product.

Pros:

All of the above “highlights”
Crisp, refreshing taste/calming aroma
Use of herbs such as mint and lavender known for health benefits said to include *improved digestion, *pain relief, and *skin health
Low cost: Retails for under $2 a bottle in store, and a case of twelve 16 oz bottles is $24 online, plus FREE shipping. Also if you “like” Herbal Water on Facebook, or follow them on Twitter, you receive $5 off your purchase!

*Claims not made by Herbal Water, but a result of my independent research

Cons:

There was one flavor I didn’t enjoy quite as much, which was the Lemon Verbena Geranium. While the flavor combination itself wasn’t bad, it just tasted a bit too “perfumey” for me, which I imagine is due to the rose geranium used.
These are also difficult to find in stores, (I am speaking only for my area). I did some calling around to see where I could purchase these and those who did carry it, tended not to have all 6 flavors. On the flipside of this, however, some health food stores may be willing to special order these for you by request, and of course there is always the online option, as mentioned above.

Overall, I really, really enjoyed these waters and definitely plan to buy them in the future! As I said, I found myself drinking these with ease and the herbs create an aroma that makes the drinking experience not only refreshing, but pleasurable! So...you ready to find out for yourself how good these waters are?

Giveaway/Contest

One (1) lucky winner will receive a box of 6 assorted Herbal Waters!

Let’s have a little contest, shall we?

To enter, simply leave a comment below telling me a tasty and/or creative way you’ve tried, created, or know about to help with getting your daily water intake (i.e., creative ways to make water more enjoyable, eating certain foods/beverages, and any other unique ways to sneak more water into your diet). Think outside the box! You may enter as many times as you like, as long as you post a different idea each time!

Comments may be left until 12am (EST) on Thursday, March 24 (aka Wednesday night) to be eligible. Thursday, I’ll choose my favorite comment/idea and that person will receive this lovely box straight from Herbal Water!

Please Note: The selected winner must provide an email address and a shipping address located within the 48 contiguous US states – no APOs, PO Boxes or shipments to Hawaii, Alaska, Canada or Mexico.

Good Luck!

Triathlon Training, Hot Yoga+ Hair & Skin Issues

2011-03-15T23:13:00.000-04:00

I’ve been having some major hair and skin issues lately. It’s no secret I love working out, but since I’ve been getting bored with my routine, I’m all about trying some new things lately which sadly have not been agreeing with my hair or skin. Let’s start at the beginning, shall we? First, I recently did something I never in a million years thought I would actually go through with. I signed up for a triathlon! Well...kind of. I signed up for a triathlon training program, but hey, that’s one step closer! It’s called Tri It For Life and I’m so excited to be a part of it! Someone told me about it last year and raved about how it will get anyone prepped for a tri, no matter where your athletic ability is currently. Unfortunately, when I looked it up last year it was already full, but I made a mental note to check back this March, and sure enough, I got a spot this time! I have no idea what I’m getting myself into, but I just jumped in with both feet. Nothin’ to it, bit to do it, right? Except—Did I mention there may or may not be two tiny little problems? A.) I didn’t really consider the fact that I don’t own a bike, nor have I ridden one in years and B.) I needed swim lessons—stat! The bike issue isn’t something throwing a little money at won’t solve, but the swimming was definitely going to be a problem. I knew as a part of the TIFL program, they offered training in every area including swimming, but since I never learned as a child and hadn’t even attempted to swim since taking lessons years ago, I wasn’t feeling so confident I’d be ready to swim competitively in just a matter of months.

But, apparently I was meant to do this because something pretty amazing occurred a few days later. A coworker who just so happened to be certified in training others for triathlons offered to give me lessons...for free! You guys have no idea how awesome this girl is! Not only did she not know me from Eve prior to this, but she is taking the time out of her very busy schedule (she’s in the process of planning her wedding, so you know she’s busy!) to do this for me, and asking nothing in return. So now I’m thinking I kind of owe it to her (and myself) to actually see this through. And to be honest, the more we train, the more excited I’m getting! We started with the basics (breathing and kicking) in our first lesson and yesterday in lesson #2, we moved on to the kickboard.

Can I just say that swimming is a lot harder than it looks?! I never realized how much body strength and endurance it takes! My hat seriously goes off to competitive swimmers everywhere!

While this might seem minor to some, I can’t begin to tell you how doing even just this much, was such a huge accomplishment for me! After yesterday’s practice, I honestly believe by September, I’ll be ready to kick this triathlon’s butt! I also felt strangely more in tune with my body afterwards. Perhaps it was my amazement at its ability to do something I never thought I could?

So while the swimming was definitely fun...unfortunately, dealing with my relaxed hair afterwards wasn’t quite as much...

Not to mention, the chlorine left my skin horribly dry.

In addition to swimming, I recently tried another new/fun activity that also happens to be a hair-killer: hot yoga! Dharma Lounge here in Charlotte offers it for free (donations are encouraged) three times a week, so my friend Cassandra and I went last Thursday night.

Totally loved the class, but to restate my Facebook status from that night, “hot yoga left my hair a hot mess!”

Sidenote: Stopped at Smoothie King after yoga. Have you ever had their smoothies? I had the Chocolate Slim-N-Trim. AH-MA-ZING!

Anyway, back to the topic!

So needless to say, one of the biggest issues a lot of us women face when it comes to working out, especially African-American women, is our hair. I had a friend tell me recently she plans her workouts around her hair appointments, and if that means only working out once every two weeks, then so be it! I couldn’t help but laugh when she told me this because I SO used to be that person! But once I fell in love with working out, I had come up with a way to incorporate it daily—without sacrificing cute hair of course! While I don’t have a universal solution to this issue, I will share with you what works for me. Enter my purple satin scarf! Anytime you see me working out, you can pretty much bet I have this baby on my head. It keeps my hair in tact, soaks up sweat around my hairline and is one of my top workout essentials! My thought is, I’d rather look crazy for one hour, than have my hair look crazy the rest of the day! You can pick up one of these at Sally Beauty Supply for $3.49. I have two: one to sleep in and one to workout in.

Swimming is a whole other issue in itself, though. Even my purple scarf and swim cap combo didn’t successfully save my ‘do, so I’ve had to come up with a new strategy.

My latest and greatest hair essentials:

As you can see I’m a big fan of KeraCare and Influance products. I bought every product my stylist uses on me for my at-home, post-swim hair emergencies.

I also invested in a good, high-quality flat iron. It was not cheap by any means, but you truly get what you pay for. In addition to this, I’m seeing my stylist once a week for the remaining 4 weeks of my lessons, just to make sure my hair doesn’t get anymore damaged than it needs to.

As for my skin, my sister sent me these really awesome all-natural skincare products a few weeks back that I’m loving right now. Not only has it cleared up the skin issues I was having, but my face feels so soft!

The bar says it can be used on hair and body, but for now, I use it strictly as a face wash.

I had a hair appointment today, so I’m feeling like myself again—until the next pool session that is. Speaking of, next week we’re adding the arms. Wish me luck on that one! You know I’ll keep you posted!

As for tonight, I’ll leave you with a super quick and easy meal idea I whipped up after my lesson last night:

Boil pilaf in a mixture of 3/4 cup of vegetable stock and 1/4 cup of water until dissolved. Add in a handful of your choice of frozen mixed veggies.I went with this asparagus stir-fry.

Stir in a tablespoon of Trader Joe’s Sesame Soy Ginger Vinaigrette.

Salt to taste.

Have you ever dealt with hair or skin issues as a result of working out?

Feel free to share any tips or tricks you have for busting a sweat without sacrificing the rest of your appearance as a result!

“All About Aubrey”—Or Her Weight?

2011-03-10T00:34:00.001-05:00

You guys remember Danity Kane, right? The short-lived, but popular girl group Diddy created on MTV’s Making the Band 3? I don’t know about you, but I personally used to LOVE Danity Kane! I still own both of their albums and I’ll never forget riding up and down Adams Street (the busiest street in my college town) with my friend Marissa, blasting Showstopper like it was going out of style—and still doing it even when it was! Oh, memories!

I was heartbroken when the group broke up, so when I heard ex-Danity Kane member, Aubrey O’Day, was getting her own reality show, (because, who isn’t these days?) I made sure to set the DVR out of pure curiosity. All About Aubrey premiered Monday night, but I just got a chance to check it out last night. As I expected, the show left much to be desired, but one thing did manage to catch (and hold) my attention. There seemed to be a not-so-subtle underlying theme carried throughout the entire first episode: issues regarding Aubrey’s weight. Being as familiar with the group as I am, I can agree that she is not the size she was a few years ago. But the way it was constantly brought up on the episode, you would think she’d put on a hundred pounds!

The show followed her meeting up with several music execs, voice trainers, and choreographers she’d apparently not seen since her days in the group, and each time the reaction was the same: “You’ve put on some weight, girl,” “You haven’t been taking care of your body,” “We’ve gotta get your body back on point!” There was even a scene where she sought a friend’s opinion, who candidly told her “Honestly, you could stand to lose 10-15 lbs…” Umm...am I missing something here?! Despite clearly putting on a few pounds, this girl is by no means overweight! Needless to say, I was disturbed. My blood pressure only rose higher during one particular scene where Aubrey finally reached her breaking point after being confronted (once again) about her body by her choreographer. Check out this clip:

Is it just me, or was there something very wrong with this entire conversation? First, was she being literal about being “anorexic all the time?” If so, that’s a whole other issue in itself. Secondly, could her choreographer have been more heartless? As I watched this, I genuinely sympathized with Aubrey. Empathized even. Plus, I applauded her for pretty much saying “I’m not 100 lbs anymore and I’m ok with that. Why can’t everyone else be too?” I imagine a lot of young girls who were Danity Kane fans look up to Aubrey, and this scene had the potential to be a beautiful teachable moment about the fact that it’s ok (and NORMAL) not to look like the girls on TV and the cover of magazines, especially if you have to starve yourself and be unhappy to get there. Aubrey flat out stated “I’m just not that person anymore.” And her choreographer’s response? "...And that’s what sucks!” Nice! I get the industry has certain standards, but come on now, Gil!

Perhaps I’m a special case. Maybe I identify with Aubrey a little more than most because I’ve been there. If you’ve read my fitness journey, you know that my weight loss story began with a comment made to me about my weight as well. In my case, the person had no malicious intent and felt that they were being a friend by telling me I’d gained weight, but no matter the reason, believe me it is never an easy thing to hear, and if like Aubrey, I had every person in my life pointing this out to me, I think I would’ve had a much bigger meltdown than the one seen in this clip.

I was raised to believe it is pure common sense NEVER to comment on another person’s weight—unless you wanna get decked in the face—but I’m finding it seems to be much more acceptable here in the South, and older women are the biggest culprits. I’m not the only one I know who has experienced it, either. My mom (who now lives in Alabama) has told me that Southern family members and friends have made comments about her weight, and one of my good friends who is a South Carolina native recently told me the same. Even on the flipside, when I began losing weight, I had women at work comment that I was getting too thin and that bothered me as well. So all this leads me to today’s question. I would really love to hear your feedback on this, so if you’re usually not a commenter, don’t be shy! ;)

What do you think? Is it ever ok to comment on someone’s weight?

Taking Some Me Time (Kinda)

2011-03-07T23:37:00.000-05:00

This past weekend was CIAA weekend (aka the biggest party weekend in Charlotte). Since moving here three years ago, it’s pretty much been an unintentional trend that I partake in the CIAA craziness every other year as opposed to annually, so naturally this was my off year and I decided to make good use of it. Since I knew the majority of my friends would be attending parties and events, I decided this would be a perfect weekend to not make any plans and instead opt for some quiet time to myself to relax and catch up on a few things. I swear I’m turning into an old lady lately. Truthfully, nothing sounded more enticing to me for the weekend than a date with my couch, DVR, and a bottle of O.P.I. for a homemade mani-pedi. I’d also planned to catch up on some reading and blogging, but knowing myself, I should’ve guessed I wouldn’t manage to stay in every night. Friday, before I could even walk out of work, I’d already let my friend Amanda talk me into going out for drinks right in the middle of all the CIAA madness, which ended up turning into a brief stint of bar-hopping.

I don’t know if it was the two king-sized margaritas I had, (on a slightly empty stomach, mind you) but when I got home that night, I was feeling extremely ENERGIZED, so despite the fact that it was midnight, I decided to hit the fitness center and logged a 4.5 mile run! I know that sounds crazy, but it was actually quite awesome! What I didn’t anticipate was that I would then be wired for the next several hours, so there was no sleep for this girl until around 3am. Good thing no agenda meant I could sleep in the next morning as long as I wanted!

Saturday, I woke up and jumped on Twitter where I noticed one of the people I follow mention they were holding a yard sale. You guys know how I feel about second-hand shopping, so since she lives in Charlotte, I was all over it! Before heading out, I made a quick egg-white omelet for breakfast. In fact, I ended up craving egg-white omelets all weekend.

This one was made with kale; red, yellow, and green peppers; red onions; and this delicious vegan cheese my new bloggy friend, Michele, introduced me to. I absolutely love this stuff! It tastes and melts just like real cheese!

I topped my Ezekiel toast with this yummy, all-natural apple butter I recently picked up at a local natural foods store. I was so excited to find this, since many apple butters I run across contain HFCS.

I also snuck in a very brief kettlebell workout.

On my way to the yard sale, I drove past a consignment store/antique mall my sister had been telling me about called Sleepy Poet, and got totally side-tracked. Let’s just say, I never made it to the yard sale, but I DID find a new favorite store!! Have you ever walked into a place where there was so much to see, you didn’t know where to look first? Yep, it was kinda like that!

P.S. I so totally want to redecorate my entire apartment now and completely vintage it out. For a thrift store, some of this stuff was a bit pricey though, so I mostly settled for taking pictures of the pretty things I wanted! My new phone’s camera didn’t do too bad, eh?!

Loved this chair and thought it would be so cute in the corner of my apartment!

Did NOT love the price…

In the end, I left with some fun finds…

This vase, which I instantly put to use in my apartment. And this lamp, which perfectly matches a painting I have on my wall. It doesn’t have a shade, but I’m planning to see if I can find a really cool one to add to it.

Of course, I had to grab some clothing finds as well (excuse the blur)!

Yep, that’s right. The highlight of my weekend was spent antiquing! Told ya I’m turning into an old lady!

Saturday night, I did finally get to have that date with the couch and DVR (my DVR is SO in the dog house right now, btw! It missed one of the episodes of 90210! ) but on the bright side, my mani-pedi turned out great and my weekend was not only relaxing, but felt longer than usual!

By the way, in case you were wondering, Katie’s bake sale was a huge success and she made enough money to pay for her trip to Nicaragua! Thanks to all who supported the auction! I guess I have some baking to do now!

What’s your ideal way to spend a weekend to yourself with no obligations?

Eat Cookies for a Cause! (And no it's not Girl Scouts!)

2011-03-03T10:16:00.000-05:00

Hey all! I hope you're having a great Thursday morning so far! I'm writing this post kind of unexpectedly and a little hurriedly in between some other tasks, (so please excuse any grammatical errors!) but I just wanted to share with you an opportunity on which I could really use your help and support.

Katie, a nutrition student and fellow healthy-living blogger, has been planning to participate in a trip to Nicaragua to volunteer as a part of a service learning project. The trip is only two weeks away, however, due to unforeseen financial circumstances, her trip is in serious jeopardy and there is a very real possibility she may not be able to go. In order to raise the needed funds for this trip, Katie is hosting a virtual bake sale auction on her blog TODAY ONLY from 10am-10pm EST. The bake sale features the delicious (and mostly healthy) baked goods and some other items from several healthy living bloggers across the country, and after learning more about the purpose of her trip, I knew I wanted to help. Here is what she will be doing:

Participating in an archaeological dig for ancient artifacts which will then be used to create a small local museum that will drive traffic to the area and build up their economy
Providing nutritional counseling and medical supplies to the local people. This will involve: planting a community garden, presenting cooking demos using local produce and participating in dietary recalls and evaluations at a free clinic that the group will be running with doctors from a nearby city. (All medical supplies have been donated by a doctor in the US.)
Acquiring an understanding of and compassion for a highly impoverished, malnourished population and contributing to a group effort to improve their way of life without imposing our own American practices, foods or ideals.

Ok, so, remember those iced pumpkin cookies I made for the cookie exchange over the holidays? Remember how I said my sis introduced me to a much better version by nixing the icing and using chocolate chips instead?! Well, guuueeesss whhhaaatt?!?! I will be whipping up a batch for the bake sale and if you're the winning bidder, they could be yours!

Bid on my Carob Chip Pumpkins Cookies HERE!

And not to toot my own horn or anything, but I have made these cookies several times since the holidays and they have gotten rave reviews every time...I'm just sayin'... ;)

*Some side notes:

As you'll notice in the name, I actually prepare these cookies using carob chips now instead of chocolate chips, which are just as yummy and all-natural, but if the winner prefers chocolate chips, I would be happy to oblige! :)
Though I use carob chips, these cookie are not vegan, as I use both eggs and real butter, however, the eggs are organic and cage-free, and I also use raw sugar and sea salt. There is nothing artificial in these cookies!
These cookies are very spongy/cake-like and DELICIOUS!
They are low in calories. Look whose blog you're on. You know I gotcha covered! ;)

Ok, so please, please, please head over the Katie's blog today to help her out. And even if you don't want to bid on my cookies--which I can't imagine why you wouldn't ;)--please take a look around and see if there is something else of interest!

Thanks so much in advance guys and please spread the word!! :)

Operation Go Raw

2011-03-01T00:00:00.000-05:00

First off, is it really March already?! I’m telling you, it will be New Year’s again before we know it! Craziness!

So, rewinding back to last Monday. I told y’all my goal for the following day (Tuesday) was to try and have an all raw day—and let me tell you, “Operation Raw Tuesday” was a success! Here’s a breakdown of what it looked like:

For breakfast, I had a nice tall glass of Amazing Grass Superfood (not pictured). Since I knew I’d be in a training class all day at work that day, for a snack, I packed a bag of raw almonds mixed with raw, organic dried goji berries.

For lunch I stuck with a simple bowl of raw fruit and for dinner that night, I had two helpings of the Wakame Hemp Power Slaw I made last Sunday.

While, I didn’t go completely raw every day last week, without even intentionally trying, the rest of my week could pretty much be categorized as “high raw.” Here are some of the highlights:

I found yet another way to get my daily intake of Amazing Grass Superfood: Chocolate-banana oats topped with strawberries. I sprinkled a few raw sunflower seeds into the mix as well. I said on Twitter, I wasn’t going to post a pic of this since it’s not the most appetizing looking dish ever, but what the hey!

On Thursday, I met up with Kelly for lunch at a local raw vegan restaurant I’d been dying to try called Luna’s Living Kitchen.

We both ordered the Lunasagna, a completely raw vegan dish made of zucchini noodles and served with sundried tomato sauce, spinach, crimini mushrooms, and green cashew cheese.

Isn’t it pretty? It was tasty too and I loved eating a meal out that didn’t feel heavy or greasy!

On the way out, I grabbed a vegan cookie to-go. It was to contribute to my research on veganism, of course!

Yup, just as I suspected. Just as yummy as a non-vegan cookie. Gotta love research!

Yesterday, I whipped up the cauliflower miso mash from my raw foods cooking class and took it to work for lunch today.

I’ve actually decided to rename my version simply garlic & herb mashed cauliflower, since I changed a few ingredients. Instead of Old Bay seasoning, I used my trusty Tony Chachere’s Creole seasoning, and instead of miso, I used hummus.

The texture was pretty much the same, so I figured swapping the two couldn’t hurt. Plus, I was just not willing to spend $9.00 on a tub of miso for a measly two tablespoons. Thankfully, the swap worked out great! I also added some fresh sage!

So, after nearly two weeks of experimenting with the raw vegan lifestyle, what is the verdict you ask? Well, while a week is certainly not long enough to tell you if the benefit claims are true, and considering I only went fully raw for one day, I can’t really speak on that. I do feel great when I eat raw foods, but I have yet to determine if it is truly a physical thing or if I just feel good because I know I’m doing something good for my body. I did come to one conclusion, though—not to label myself. At least not for right now. In fact, I’m not even sure why I felt I needed to. I’ll definitely continue to incorporate some vegetarian, vegan, and even raw food practices into my diet, but I’ve decided I don’t necessarily need to define myself as any of these. I just plan to continue to try out new ways of enjoying healthy foods and expand my horizons and if that happens to fall in the category of vegetarian, vegan, raw, or none of the above, so be it. I will say that I am still considering nixing the animal by-products (which I suppose would make me vegan) but again, I’m taking it a day at a time. As far as raw foods, a reader left a comment yesterday that I loved and I hope they don’t mind me sharing an excerpt:

“Turns out that raw food, even vegetables, has some cons. For one, some plants contain defensive toxins that are broken down when cooking meaning that by going raw, we could be taking in those unnecessary toxins. It also seems that some raw foods need to be cooked in order for us to digest the nutrients. Google Beyond Veg and Dr Weils article on going raw for details. That's not to say that raw is any worse than cooked. I'm sure they both have their benefits but some balance between the two may be the better way to go.”

The reason I liked this comment so much is that this is pretty much the conclusion I’ve been drawing myself. While many fruits and veggies are most nutritious when eaten raw, there are some nutrients whose health benefits are increased in the cooking process, like beta carotene for example. I also found the same info regarding the increased chance of ingesting toxins in some uncooked veggies, which I can only assume is why organic foods are heavily pushed in the raw food world...and let’s not forget that cooking food aids in digestion. Here is an interesting article, if you’d like to learn a little more.

I think for the time being, my personal approach will be a mixture of both raw and cooked foods, although I’d like to strive to go 100% raw at least a couple days a month, just for the boost! In the meantime, I do plan to continue to research and experiment with raw vegan recipes! So far, I haven’t tasted one I didn’t like!

Some Thoughts on My Fooducate Guest Post

2011-02-27T21:45:00.001-05:00

Hey all! If you haven’t had a chance to check it out yet, one of my blog posts was featured on the website, Fooducate, on Friday! Yay!! If you’re a regular reader, you likely already saw this post when it appeared on my blog about a month ago. On the contrary, if you’re a reader who has found your way to my blog via the Fooducate post, WELCOME! I can’t tell you how excited I was when Fooducate approached me to republish the post, given it is one of my favorite sites, and overall, I am very happy with how the post was received—thank you to those of you who sent kind words via email, Twitter and directly on the post! There is one thing, however, I feel I would like to address regarding some of the comments that were left on the post, (and even unnecessary messages I received afterwards—yes, there were people who actually took it that far!) as there were a few people who completely missed the point of the post and instead of embracing the message I was trying to convey, focused on criticizing my food choices instead. While I certainly don’t feel I owe them an explanation, for my own peace of mind, I’d like to respond:

As I mentioned, the post originally appeared on this blog and when I created this blog, it was as a place to share my journey as I strived to lose 25 lbs. While I wanted to do it “healthfully,” meaning through a change in diet and exercise, rather than the aid of unsafe supplements, fad diets, or anything else, I’ll be honest—in the beginning, I placed very little concern on the quality of food I was putting in my body and focused much more on the quantity of calories. If you’ve followed me in this journey, you’ve certainly noticed, however, that while calories are still important to me (they matter—bottom line) the types of foods I eat continue to evolve as I move more towards a focus on health and nutrition, rather than just weight loss alone. Even still, I am by no means a perfect eater and I truly hope that I’ve been transparent enough at least with all of you, my lovely readers, for that to be evident. These days, I do strive to feed my body the best foods possible, but have I eliminated every processed food from my life? No. Am I successful at eating organic, whole foods, or even eating well for that matter, 24/7? Absolutely not, and I feel pretty comfortable in saying that very few of us are. And if you are, then that post simply wasn’t written for you [smile]. I do feel, however, that if my post causes even just one person who doesn’t typically read food labels to do so and make a better (not necessarily perfect) choice as a result, then I’ve done my job!

P.S. I really look forward to contributing to Fooducate again in the very near future (hint, hint!)

If you haven’t had a chance to read the post yet, on Fooducate, or on this blog, please do and share your thoughts!

Raw Vegan (Un)Cooking Class at Healthy Home Market

2011-02-21T23:20:00.001-05:00

So as I mentioned yesterday, I attended a Raw Foods cooking (or I guess I should say “un”cooking) class at the Healthy Home Market last week, where I got my first taste of Raw Vegan cuisine.

It was taught by Chef Ami, a practicing Raw Vegan, who prepared 3 dishes:

Wakame Hemp Power Slaw:

Directions: Strip the leaves off of half a head of red or green kale and place in a large bowl. Chop and grate a half head of cabbage and add to the bowl along with a half bunch of green onions chopped, and 1/2 cup of dry Wakame (dried seaweed) and set aside. Next prepare a Brazil Nut Dressing by combining the following ingredients in a food processor: 3/4 cup of brazil nuts, 1 garlic clove,1 tbsp grated ginger, 1/4 cup hemp oil, 2 tbsp lime juice, 1/4 cup of water (adjust as needed), and 4 pinches of Himalayan salt. Blend until smooth, pour over salad, and toss. Sprinkle hemp seeds on top.

Miso & Cauliflower Mash

Directions: Chop 1 head of cauliflower coarsely, then combine in a food processor with 2 tbsp of Organic Mellow White Miso, 2 tbsp lemon juice, 1/2 cup of Extra Virgin Olive Oil, 1 garlic clove minced, and a sprinkle of poultry seasoning, then blend. *Add a fresh herb if desired.

Tomato Sage Walnut Soup

Directions: Combine 1-1/2 cups of walnuts (soaked if desired), 1 cup of EVOO, 2 garlic cloves, 2-1/2 cups of water, 1/2 tsp of black pepper, 3 tomatoes (cut into quarters), 3 sprigs of fresh sage, and a dash of Himalayan salt into a Vitamix, food processor, or blender and blend until the contents become slightly warmed. Pour into a bowl and garnish with a slice of avocado. *Can also blend the avocado into the soup if desired.

When reading some of the blogs I’ve been frequenting, I wasn’t sure how I would actually take to the raw foods, but I genuinely loved all three of these dishes. I think one of my biggest concerns was the fact that there are a lot of raw soup recipes, yet the thought of cold soup makes me cringe, so I was relieved that a high-powered blender can be used to warm the soups just enough without compromising the nutrients.

Saturday, I made a trip back to HHM, to pick up some groceries and try my hand at making one of these dishes myself. I decided to try the Wakame Hemp Power Slaw since it seemed the easiest and was the item I enjoyed the most.

While I was there, I picked up a few other items as well.Some cauliflower to make the Miso & Cauliflower Mash sometime this week, some organic goji berries, and of course a batch of Shea Butter! Can’t go to HHM without grabbing that!

These little rice cake looking things also made it into my basket, since I was feeling the ingredients more than the average rice cake!

Don’t ask me why this jar of Amazing Grass Green Superfood is smashed, btw. All I know is it was on sale for almost $10 off, so I didn’t mind!

Has anyone ever used this stuff? I’m new to it, but it seems to be filled with all kinds of nutrients and as an interesting little tidbit, the sale associate told me that Amazing Grass only harvests their products once a year, protecting the integrity of the soil. Interesting, eh?! Plus, I’ve already found a unique way to incorporate this stuff into my diet outside of just smoothies or shakes:

I mixed with a lil PB and slathered on top of my aforementioned grain cakes! Mmmm! No matter how healthy the items I buy are, I swear I always manage to find some way to turn something into a treat!

So anyway—back to my power slaw!

One of the biggest challenges I’m facing when it comes to going full force with this whole raw food thing right now is that I don’t own half of the needed appliances (food processor, Vitamix, juicer). They are all crazy expensive, so for right now I have to resort to my blender, and thankfully it has come through so far. I was shocked it even blended the brazil nuts, though probably not nearly as smoothly as a processor would have!

I’m gonna be honest, this looked a lot easier when Chef Ami was preparing it, but definitely felt like a lot more work when making it myself. It was worth it though; the slaw turned out beautifully and I’ve decided that there is no denying the difference in taste when using all fresh ingredients! Oh—and as one modification, instead of hemp seeds, I topped the slaw with raw sunflower seeds, since that’s what I had on hand.

I ate this for lunch and dinner yesterday and seriously felt like I experienced a boost in energy after eating it!

Dinner was a combo of both raw and cooked foods: my slaw paired with a baked sweet potato topped with cinnamon and organic raw agave nectar.

The plan for Tuesday is to try and have an all raw day! Wish me luck! I have enough of this slaw to last me through the week so I think I’ll be eating quite a bit of it!

To Raw or Not to Raw?

2011-02-20T22:33:00.000-05:00

If you follow me on Twitter or we’re friends on Facebook, you’ve probably seen me mention that I’ve been giving some thought to adopting a raw vegan diet. If you’re not familiar with this concept, it is simply a cross between a vegan diet (no animal by-products) and whole, plant-based foods heated at no higher than 115-118 degrees (to preserve vitamins and phytonutrients). I’ve been doing a lot of research on this lately and have just found myself absolutely intrigued. Not only by the studies showing a strong correlation between this type of diet and reduced (and possibly even reversed) occurrences of diseases, but also the physical affects that people have reported as a result.

Two blogs on the topic that I’ve found recently and am enjoying are Kristen’s Raw and Raw Vegan for Health. The latter hasn’t been updated in a while, but it still contains some great insight. Between these two blogs (and other research) here are some of the benefits those who have gone 100% raw vegan report experiencing:

Increased energy
Improved mental clarity
Better sleep
Easier digestion
Looking/feeling younger
Weight loss
Disappearance of acne/glowing complexion
Disappearance of cellulite
Disappearance of allergies and other ailments

The list goes on and on, and you can read more here.

While for me personally, I think going 100% raw vegan, 100% of the time is a bit unrealistic, I would really like to get as close as possible and have already started to slowly, but surely include more raw foods into my day.

FYI: There is a transition period associated with going raw (many people get sick at first due to the body detoxifying by releasing toxins into the bloodstream to remove them), however, I feel like I’ve been in transition for the last year, given that my diet is already primarily fruits, veggies, and whole grains, so I don’t think this would be too much of a shock to my system. Since I’m still in the infancy stages with this whole thing, during the times when I’m not eating raw or vegan, I’ve lately been at least trying to eat all natural foods. Here are some of my eats over the last week:

Overnight Oats

(Old fashioned oats, unsweetened vanilla almond milk, strawberries, blueberries, raw almonds, and a scoop of natural PB)

I figured these would be a good start to get myself in the spirit of uncooked foods! These have actually grown on me since my first time making them!

Fruit Bowl
(cantaloupe, blueberries, and blood orange slices)

Summer Salad
(spinach, pineapple, cucumbers, green peppers, raw almonds, sesame seeds, ground flax seeds, TJ’s Sesame Soy Ginger Vinaigrette)

Cantaloupe and Ezekiel Toast
(topped with natural PB, bananas, and raw sunflower seeds)

Hummus Sandwich
(hummus, The Laughing Cow cheese, spinach, cucumbers, green peppers, and carrots on Wasa Crispbread)

For Snackage: VitaTop (topped with PB and raw sunflower seeds) or a Raw Crunch Bar

Green Monster
(spinach, carrots, brussel sprouts, kiwi, banana, pineapple, raw almonds, cantaloupe)

As luck would have it, I found out on Twitter that a local health food store, The Healthy Home Market, was hosting a Raw Foods cooking class the other night, so I attended and learned some great and easy recipes; one of which I prepared today and had for lunch and dinner! I’d planned to share this experience tonight, but to avoid making this post a mile long, I will save the recap and recipes for tomorrow’s post! Deal?

Have you/would you ever consider going raw vegan?

If so, which benefit do you think would improve your life the most?

I’d love to hear from some Raw Vegans out there! What are some benefits and challenges you’ve experienced as a result of adopting this lifestyle?

Getting Inspired

2011-02-17T23:57:00.001-05:00

You guys may notice me playing ‘catch-up’ in a few posts over the next week or so. I have so much to share that has yet to make it on the blog, and I’m hoping to finally get caught up! I truly wish I could be one of those people who can blog daily, but unfortunately my schedule does not always allow it at this time, so I hope you don’t mind going back in time with me a few days (or weeks) from time to time!

So, with that being said—on to today’s catch-up post! Back in early January when the year was first beginning and everyone was setting goals, I noticed a lot of talk around the blogosphere about “Inspiration Boards” (aka vision boards & dream boards). I’d been wanting to make one of my own, but instead of sitting in my apartment doing it alone (bo-riiing!), I decided to plan an Inspiration Board Party with some of the girls! After all, who doesn’t love a good party, right?! So a couple weeks ago, we finally got together to make our boards and it was just as much fun as I hoped it'd be.

Wine+snacks+us always= a great time! Plus, I do believe it helped get our creative juices flowing!

Some of the girls had themes for their boards, but I felt like I was flipping through magazines forever, with no clear direction on where I was going with mine.

But eventually, it just all kinda came together...Whatd’ya think?

I may eventually add more to it as the year goes on, but these are the areas where my focus is for now.

I look at it everyday and I actually feel like it has been giving me a little boost of inspiration!

Do you have a(n) Inspiration/Dream/Vision Board?

If so, do you feel like it’s been inspiring you?

If not, what are some key things you’d put on YOURS if you did have one?

Apple Almond Veggie Quinoa

2011-02-15T22:53:00.001-05:00

Over the weekend, I was reading Oh She Glows and knew instantly I’d be trying a new dish this week when I saw the Cranberry, Apple, and Almond Quinoa Angela made for Valentine’s Day. I know I’ve mentioned several times how much I love a sweet ‘n’ salty combo, so this sounded right up my alley. And if for nothing else, her dish just looked so pretty! Plus, as an added bonus—it’s vegan!

But because it is my nature, and because I wanted to make the dish as ‘clean’ as possible, I ditched the dried cranberries (to avoid the sulphur dioxide and excessive sugar) and deviated from the recipes just a wee bit (see my changes bolded below). So this is my slightly adapted version of Angela’s dish. Since it has entirely too many primary ingredients to list in the name, we’ll just call this version Apple Almond Veggie Quinoa:

Yield: 3-4 cups

Ingredients:

1 cup uncooked quinoa, washed well
1 tbsp; 1 tsp olive oil, divided
1 cup chopped red onion
1 medium carrot diced
1 medium beet, peeled and diced
3 garlic cloves, minced (or 1-1/2 tsp of pre-minced, which is what I used)
2 cups vegetable broth
1/2 tsp sea salt
1/2 tsp cinnamon
One large gala apple
20 raw almonds, toasted
1 tsp vanilla
1 purple yam (1/2 cup), peeled and diced
black pepper, to taste
1 tbsp raw agave nectar

I kept the page open to Oh She Glows, and sat it on my countertop to guide me along the way.

Step 1: Add 1 tbsp olive oil into a pan over medium heat, then add chopped onion, carrots, purple yams, beets and garlic and sauté until the onion is translucent and beets, yams, and carrots are slightly softened.

Step 2: Add veggie broth, quinoa, cinnamon, and salt and bring to a boil. Then, reduce heat to a simmer, cover and let stand until the broth is completely dissolved (this will take several minutes).

Step 3: Heat oven to 350F, spread almonds onto a cookie sheet and toast. Once toasted chop into halves. I kinda forgot about my almonds, since I was doing so many things at once, but luckily I remembered them just in time and they were beautifully toasted!

(SN: This would be a great dish to prepare with a friend or significant other since there are so many elements. I found that it was a bit time consuming, so I wouldn’t recommend preparing this on a night when you’re looking for a quick meal).

Step 4: Heat 1 tsp olive oil in a nonstick skillet. Add apples, vanilla, and agave nectar and sauté until the apples start to turn slightly browned. Angela actually added her maple syrup once the dish was done, but I decided to add my agave nectar to the apples instead since I knew my purple yams would provide some of the additional needed sweetness.

Step 5: Combine almonds and apples, then pour mixture into the quinoa and stir thoroughly. Add pepper to taste.

I’m not sure if it was the red onion, purple yams, beets or all three, but my dish turned out a bright red-orange.I think next time around I may go ahead and go with a Granny Smith apple just for the splash of color!

This was definitely a little experimental and thankfully it was yummy (after all that work, it’d better be! ) So much so, that I found myself licking the spoon even as I scooped the leftovers—and there were plenty—into a Tupperware!

Raw Crunch Bar Giveaway Winner!

2011-02-14T07:15:00.001-05:00

The numbers are in...

Congratulations to Meagan !!! Please be sure to send me your mailing address as soon as possible, and your delicious box of 12 Raw Crunch bars will be on their way!

Thanks so much to everyone who entered and a big thanks to the Raw Crunch bar team for making this giveaway possible!

5 Tips For Dealing With Chocolate Cravings

2011-02-09T21:11:00.001-05:00

My chocolate cravings have been in overdrive lately. It started last week when it was “that time of the month” and they just haven’t really gone away since. SN: I’m sure that’s probably more than you ever cared to know, and I apologize for the TMI, but there’s a reason for this overshare—I promise!

Not too long ago, a reader sent me an email sharing with me some of her weight loss goals and asking me for tips, particularly when it comes to dealing with chocolate cravings. She shared with me that this is a struggle she too faces often during “that certain time of the month” and wanted to know how I handle it. I’ve made no secret of the fact that I’m a huge chocolate-lover, so I COMPLETELY understood where she was coming from. So how do I deal with chocolate cravings, you ask?! Well, by satisfying them, of course! But I strive to do it in the smartest way possible. Thankfully, over the past year I’ve managed to find a few “go-to goodies” that are satisfying without being complete diet-busters. Hopefully some of these suggestions will help you slay your own monthly chocolate-craving beast next time it’s unleashed!

1.) Dark Chocolate Dreams

I absolutely love this stuff! It’s dark chocolate mixed with peanut butter—nuff said! Ok, wait, there’s more! It also shockingly contains 30 less calories per serving than peanut butter alone—who knew?!

A light spread of this on a rice cake, and I’m seriously satisfied.

2.) VitaTops

Not only are these chocolate muffin tops SO yummy, but they’re also nutritious—and only 100 calories each! I like mine nice and warm and topped with a dollop of peanut butter and a sprinkle of raw sunflower seeds! Purely sinful!

3.) A Single Piece of Chocolate

You’d be amazed how satisfying a small piece of rich chocolate can be. And if you go the dark chocolate route, you can even pat yourself on the back for being healthful! Ghirardelli is my fave!

4.) Fudgsicles

Have you ever realized how low in calories Fudgsicles are? At only 40 calories a pop, you could eat 3 of these suckers in a row and still not feel guilty! I mean—not that I would do something like that or anything...I’m just sayin’...

5.) Silk Dark Chocolate Almond Milk

This stuff is so rich and delicious…MMmmmm!!! And again good for you!

Of course, Chocolate Raw Crunch bars could SO be added to this list now as well! Don’t forget to enter my giveaway!

Speaking of lighter ways to enjoy chocolate, I wanted to share with you guys a great way to enjoy chocolate without ANY of the calories! Hospitality House, a great organization here in Charlotte that provides shelter to families in crisis, is running a really cool Valentine’s Day fundraiser called “Give A Piece of Your Heart.”

Through this campaign, you can purchase one (or more) of 22 pieces of chocolate from a virtual box of chocolates. Each piece of chocolate represents one of the 22 beds available in the house, so by “purchasing a piece,” you’re providing shelter to a family for one night. Since it’s all online, you do not need to live in Charlotte to participate! For more information or to contribute, visit Hospitality House’s website.

Do you often struggle with chocolate cravings?

If so, what are some of your go-to chocolate snacks?

If not chocolate, what’s your junk food vice?

Raw Crunch Bar Review & Giveaway!

2011-02-07T19:14:00.001-05:00

Remember the DELICIOUS raw energy bars I was telling you guys I stumbled upon recently? The ones that are made right here in Charlotte and have made a believer out of this non-energy bar eating girl?! Well, the creators of the Raw Crunch bar were generous enough to send some my way for a review and GIVEAWAY!! Yay!!

I’m beyond excited about this, not just because giveaways are fun, but because I’m truly geeked about introducing you guys to this product. One thing I can promise you that you will never see me do on this blog is endorse something I wouldn’t buy, eat, use, etc. So believe me when I say, I feel confident that you guys will love these just as much as I do! If you aren’t familiar with these bars (which I have a sneaking suspicion you aren’t) let me give you the deets and my honest review:

The highlights:

Each bar contains not a single artificial ingredient; there are no added fillers, supplements, flavoring, colors, or preservatives (and yes, you truly recognize EVERY ingredient listed)
Each bar is handmade, uncooked, and unprocessed (with the exception of the chocolate bar which contains heated organic dark chocolate)
Each bar is only 150 calories (take that Lara and Clif!)
Each bar is made with all certified organic ingredients
All bars are gluten free, soy-free, dairy-free, peanut-free, and raw (with the exception of the chocolate bar which contains soy and heated chocolate)
Comes in four flavors: Cranberry, Blueberry, Goji Berry, and Chocolate

Review:

Pros:

All of the aforementioned highlights! I’ve always found it difficult to find light snack bars that don’t contain HFCS, hydrogenated oils, and/or aren’t high in calories; hence the reason I don’t typically eat them often, so these were a Godsend! Additionally, these are perfect if, like me, you are trying to incorporate more clean eating into your life.
These bars taste great! The chocolate is my absolute fave and contains just enough chocolate to satisfy without being too sweet.
The nuts make these very filling so they hold me over wonderfully when I need a pre-workout snack or just something to quiet my stomach until my next meal.

Cons:

In trying out each flavor, I have to say, Chocolate is the only one I noticed a distinct difference in taste. The other 3 flavors taste very much alike and it’s difficult to really taste the blueberries, cranberries, goji berries, etc. to differentiate them from each other. I’m hesitant to call this a con, however, because while they do taste similar, it is still a very yummy taste!
In comparison with other energy bars, they are a tad pricier at close to $4 a bar. But the fact that they are all handmade and packaged fresh (and freakin’ good!) makes it worth the price.

So, have I enticed you enough, yet? Great!! Now on to the giveaway!

Raw Crunch Bar Giveaway

One lucky reader will receive not 1 bar, not 2 bars, but an ENTIRE BOX of 12 Organic Dark Chocolate Raw Crunch bars (a $38 value)!!! While these bars can be purchased online, they are not fully available in stores nationwide just yet, so you’ll want to take advantage of this giveaway!

There are several ways to enter AND increase your chances.

Here’s How:

1 Entry= Leave a comment telling me the number one thing you look for (a specific ingredient, calorie content, whether it’s organic, etc.) when choosing an energy bar.

1 Entry= Follow my blog through Google Friend Connect (on the right hand panel), then leave a comment letting me know you followed me.

1 Entry= Follow me on Twitter, then leave a comment telling me you followed me.

1 Entry= Tweet about this giveaway, then leave a comment telling me you tweeted.

1 Entry= Blog about this giveaway, then leave a comment telling me you blogged.

1 Entry= Post a link to this giveaway on Facebook, then leave a comment letting me know you FB shared.

1 Entry = Share this giveaway with another blogger either by email or by commenting on their blog, then leave a comment with a link to the blogger you shared with (please leave a separate comment for each blogger you share with).

***Please be sure to leave one (1) comment for each entry and include a way for me to contact you (email address, Twitter handle etc.) in each entry.***

The Winner will be announced on Monday, February 14th! US residents only, please! Good luck!!

A Case For Reading Food Labels

2011-02-05T11:48:00.001-05:00

I’m a compulsive food label reader. I’m that girl you see standing in the aisle at Trader Joe’s with a jar of applesauce in each hand, analyzing one’s nutrition facts against the other. Sometimes I get stares—it doesn’t bother me. This is a habit I started when I first began losing weight, at the time, only concerned about the amount of calories in an item. Now, I look for other factors too like which product has more fiber, less total fat, more monounsaturated fat, higher vitamin content, etc., but I’m not gonna lie...the calories are still important! I have a rule that I’ve pretty much lived by for the past year: if the calories are too high, it doesn’t make it in the cart—it’s as simple as that. This way I make sure I don’t keep foods in my house that could be potential stumbling blocks for me. You wouldn’t believe the world of difference this simple concept can make. Because of my compulsive food label reading, I also notice right away when a sneaky food manufacturer tries to pull a fast one on me. Case in point:

Y’all know I love Special K, right? Especially the Blueberry kind...MMmmm...Well, ever since I’ve been eating Blueberry Special K it has always contained 100 calories per serving. (SN: A serving of Special K is 3/4 of a cup, which really isn’t a whole lot when you think about the average size of a bowl of cereal<---Another prime example why you should read your labels!) Recently, however, I picked up a box and noticed that the label now says 110 calories per serving.

I know it’s a measly 10 calories that I could probably burn off simply by typing this post, but I gotta be honest, I was a little ticked. Not so much because of the increase, but more so because if I hadn’t been as aware of the original nutrition facts as I was, I never would’ve noticed the difference...and I’m guessing the average consumer probably hasn’t. Plus, I’d always found it odd that Blueberry Special K had less calories than all of the other flavors (even though it tastes the best) and I couldn’t help but wonder if they were correcting a mistake they’d made all along. Hmm…food for thought.

Anyhoo, as you can see above, the majority of the changes made are positive like lower sodium and higher potassium and fiber, but on the contrary, the sugar content has increased. I will applaud Special K for one thing though; they put their information on the front of the box as well to make the consumer a little more aware, something I think is especially important for them since they specifically target dieters with their products.

Unfortunately, however, not every company is so forthcoming. Here’s another example:

I went to the store to purchase a can of diced tomatoes recently. I picked up two seemingly identical cans, with the only difference being one happens to be a larger can than the other.

But when I flipped them over, I noticed several differences in the nutrition facts.

Not only was one slightly higher in calories, but I noticed several vitamins had decreased, and as you can see Thiamine and Riboflavin are gone altogether on the larger can. Out of sheer confusion and curiosity (and because I think I’m just waaayyy too passionate about this stuff sometimes) I decided to purchase both cans and give the 1-800 number on the back a call to see what was up with the difference. I gotta be honest, the customer service rep I spoke with didn’t seem all that knowledgeable. I’m guessing she doesn’t get calls like this often. I could literally hear her shuffling papers, I assume for scripts, and she just kept averting my attention back to the fact that the company had been making efforts to lower sodium and make their product healthier, so the changes must be a result of this. She also looked up the labels and informed me that the smaller can was an older can and the larger reflects their reformulated tomatoes. Ok, fair enough. I applaud Con Agra for this change; lower sodium is always a good thing, but I’m definitely getting the impression from both of these experiences that as companies toot their horns for lowering sodium or other “frowned upon” contents, they’re leaving out the fact that they’re sacrificing some of the benefits as a result. I’m no food scientist, but if you’re eliminating one bad ingredient only to increase another to balance the taste of removing the first ingredient, is that really making your product healthier? Just sayin’...

I also feel pretty comfortable in saying that the majority of consumers don’t read their labels and just take what’s being advertised at face value. I’ve actually witnessed friends or coworkers, and even in the past I too have been scammed by products with big ads plastered across the front touting “Only 100 Calories!” then a tiny little “per serving” written underneath. Then when actually reviewing the serving size you see that one serving is equivalent to exactly one crumb of a cookie or cracker. Ok, I’m exaggerating—but you get the point I’m trying to make. Read your food labels. Not only will it help you make better choices by being aware of what you’re consuming AND the amount, but many food companies will only highlight the most positive information to present things in the best light, so it’s up to us consumers to stay informed for ourselves.

Happy label reading!

Do you spend time reading food labels at the grocery store?

Has simply reading the label ever saved you from totally derailing your healthy eating plan?

Have you ever had a similar situation where you noticed two identical products with differing nutrition facts?

Hi, My Name is Andrea and I’m a Carboholic

2011-02-01T06:46:00.001-05:00

All the best tasting foods are carbs. You know it’s the truth. And not just any carbs either! The worst ones—the “Leave em’ carbs!” As much as I’ve genuinely grown to love my fruits and veggies, I can’t deny that breads, crackers, and PASTA will forever remain my Achilles' heel. But sadly, the first rule in weight loss (and weight maintenance) is usually significantly reducing, or giving up altogether high-carb foods in some form or another—especially high-calorie bowls of pasta. It’s no wonder so many people struggle to stick with a healthy lifestyle. After all, living healthfully means depriving yourself and giving up everything that tastes good, right?!

WRONG! If I ever do anything on this blog, I hope I can successfully dispel the rumor for you that healthy doesn’t taste good. In fact, the more I delve into this lifestyle and learn about the different kinds of foods out there, the more I’m convinced that God has already provided for us some form of natural, healthy nourishment for every craving we could ever have. Whether you’re craving sugar, or even—gasp!—a big, heaping bowl of spaghetti!

1. Preheat oven on 375 degrees.

2. Cut squash in half vertically and scoop out the seeds.

3. Lay face down in a pan or on a cookie sheet and place in the oven for 1 hour.

4. Once done, scrape out the insides of the squash with a fork. The flesh will come out in strings like spaghetti!

The sauce:

1/2 cup of diced tomatoes
1/2 cup of tomato sauce
1/4 cup assorted bell peppers
1/8 cup red onions
1 tbsp chili powder
1 tsp ground red pepper
1 tsp raw sugar or stevia
Sea salt & pepper to taste

Simmer over medium heat until hot.

Wanna know the best part? This entire bowl of low carb goodness is only around 150 calories!!

Have you ever tried Spaghetti Squash? If so, how do you prepare yours?

What are some great natural/healthier substitutes you’ve found for some of the foods you crave?

Saturday Night Live

2011-01-29T23:00:00.000-05:00

It’s rare that I actually get to blog while I’m doing something. Usually I’m so busy, I end up doing some sort of a recap of my day the next day. Tonight, however, I’m coming to you live with a whole slew of randomness! But first, a small recap is in order to share with you the first half of my day!
I ran a 10k today y’all—On the treadmill, that is!

Yep, 6.2 miles. While it might not seem like much to some, I’m pretty proud of myself. This is the longest distance I’ve ever gone on the treadmill. Outdoors I’ve gone this distance, but on the treadmill I usually get bored with the monotony long before making it that far and typically go no more than 4 miles—and that’s on a good day! It definitely took me back to the days when running a full 10 mins without stopping was a huge success for me, and makes me smile at how far I’ve come. I had an incredible amount of energy today. I often exercise on an empty stomach, but today I didn’t, so that may have had something to do with it.

For a pre-workout snack, I whipped up this little treat:

The deets: Brown rice cake topped with all-natural peanut butter, raw honey, raw sunflower seeds, carob chips, and ground flax seeds.

Jarvis was over, so the second one was for him. Shockingly he actually liked it, although he later called it “bird food”—an attempt to salvage his manhood I’m convinced, so I’ll let it slide!

I gave my workout playlist a little revamp today too, which I think helped make my run a little easier. Am I the only one whose workout energy is sometimes completely dependent upon how motivational my playlist is? I’m telling you, adding a few new songs makes a world of difference sometimes. Here are today’s additions:

After my workout, I showered, then made a [very] late brunch:

And finally headed to a babysitting gig where I am right now. I stopped at the grocery store on my way here to pick up a few things. I wanted to make sure to have some healthy snacks on hand so I wouldn’t resort to eating whatever is in their house if I got hungry. I found a box of that delicious green tea I had at Starbucks the other day! I also grabbed a box of Stevia in the Raw to go with it.

I have to be honest, I’m not sure I’m the biggest fan of Stevia in the Raw. This was my first time trying it and since I love Sugar in the Raw, I thought it’d be a good choice, but it has somewhat of a bitter aftertaste that reminds me of Equal or Sweet ‘n’ Low. I’ve also been really making more of an effort when it comes putting the most natural things possible in my body, whenever possible, so I’m really trying to let go of Splenda and get on the Stevia train. Unfortunately, I think this may have been a miss for me though. I’m thinking when this box runs out, I’ll stick with Stevia, but try the Truvia version instead. Has anyone tried Truvia? I’d love to find out if it’s any better.

I was also hoping to grab another Raw Crunch bar tonight, but this particular Harris Teeter didn’t carry them, so I grabbed both a Luna bar and a Kind bar instead, and decided to eat whichever one I was craving when I got hungry.

I think I’m totally converting into an energy bar eater, btw. I’m loving them lately—but I of course eat them as a replacement snack for something else, rather than just adding the additional calories to my diet.

Once I got hungry, I went with the Luna bar. I put the munchkin to bed a little while ago, so I was able to curl up on the couch with my warm cup of tea, my Luna bar, and a book.

The book I’m reading is called The Fat Boy Chronicles. It’s a really interesting read. It’s written from the perspective of an obese high school student as seen through his journal entries. It’s really eye-opening and even a little heartbreaking. Are you guys familiar with Michelle Obama’s Let’s Move initiative to end childhood obesity? Well, I’m serving on the committee for a local spin-off called Charlotte Get Your Move On! and reading this book as a part of it. As a matter of fact, I’m gong to get back to reading and enjoying my comfort food now, but just wanted to share a quick update from my day.

Hope you’re enjoying your Saturday night!

Small Victories

2011-01-28T06:59:00.001-05:00

The other night I had plans to meet up with my friend Katie for coffee after work. We were meeting at Starbucks and since it was immediately after work, it was going to be a while until I’d get to eat dinner. So after my stomach proceeded to yell at me profusely for half the drive there, I finally decided to stop quickly for a snack once I was passing a grocery store. I’ve mentioned before, due to the high calories, I tend to stay away from snack/energy bars unless I’m out and about and need something healthy and quick, and this was definitely one of those times! While examining the energy bar selection, I came across this bar:

Have you ever seen or had one of these? I hadn’t—but the “handmade, uncooked, unprocessed” element intrigued me. And not only did I like that the ingredients were indeed, natural and recognizable, but it had quite a few less calories than both Luna and Lara, which made it the winner in my book!

I have to say, this bar was pretty freaking DELICIOUS and quieted my rumbling stomach! I also discovered they’re made right here in Charlotte and not available in every state yet! Do I smell a GIVEAWAY?! I think I do! Be on the lookout for it next week!!

I also found these babies while in the store:

I have not been able to find plums pretty much since fall began. Talk about excited!!!

I’m not much of a coffee drinker anymore, especially when it comes to Starbucks—again wasted calories (and money) in my book—so once I got there, I ordered a hot, brewed green tea.

I’d never had Starbucks’ green tea before, but this was really tasty! I know they use TAZO green teas and I’m pretty positive they used the Zen flavor because I noticed lemon and mint flavors that I don’t typically taste in green tea! LOVED!

While sipping, Katie and I talked about life, love, and weight loss; three of my favorite topics! Katie is starting out on a weight loss journey and I’m so excited for her! When she reaches her goal (and she will!) I’ll be sure to post her awesome “after” pic! I also got some great insight and recipe ideas from her that I can’t wait to try out and share!!

On my way home after Starbucks, I decided to make one last pit stop. As you may know, I’ve been dying to try purple yams and received a tip that a local International foods store carried them, which happened to be on my route home.

Score! You better believe you’ll be seeing some new recipes soon!!

Are you a fan of Starbucks or other coffee chains? If so, what are some ways you cut calories in your drinks?

What I’m Loving Wednesday: Smart Pop Mini Bags

2011-01-26T07:00:00.000-05:00

While these little bags have been around for a little while now, lately I’m really loving these Orville Redenbacher’s Smart Pop Mini Bags.

Popcorn, of course, has always been a great option for a light, low calorie snack, (granted it’s lightly buttered and salted) but I particularly love these bags because they are the exact perfect size for an individual serving. They are also only 100 calories, which means no need to feel guilty about finishing the entire bag by yourself!

I think we all tend to pop an entire bag of regular popcorn only to eat half and waste the other (or overeat simply because there’s more in the bag) so I’m kind of wondering why the folks over at the O.R. camp didn’t think of this sooner?! Heck, I’m wondering why I didn’t think of this sooner!

I also love that this particular box came with both kettle korn and butter flavor. I always have trouble deciding between the two since I’m a sweet and salty addict! I remember back in the day whenever I’d go to a movie, I would always get a box of Nestlé's Raisinets or Buncha Crunch to go along with my buttery, movie theater popcorn, and pop them both in my mouth at the same time! This was SO delicious! But these days as a lightened up version, (and an at-home version, since I typically stay far away from movie concession stands!) a nice, small piece of chocolate has been doing the trick!

Have you tasted this new Ghirardelli Pecan Pie flavor? Umm…Yummm!!!

Have you tried Redenbacher’s Smart Pop Mini Bags?

Are you a fan of a sweet ‘n’ salty combo? If so, what are some unique combinations you like?

Get Your Shape in Shape!

2011-01-23T12:44:00.001-05:00

First, I want to start off by saying THANK YOU guys so much for all the positive feedback and sweet comments on my last post. :) I’m so glad to hear that many of you have already discovered the art of thrifting, and for those who haven’t, I hope you’ve been inspired to give it a try; especially if you’re in the process of losing weight, or even if you aren’t!

Speaking of losing weight, you may remember from my New Year’s goals list that I have some things I’m still working towards as far as my body goes, so lately I’ve been trying to go back to the basics. I recently came back across some old notes I jotted down when I was first beginning my weight loss journey. They were from a late 2009 episode of the Tyra Banks Show called “Get Your Shape in Shape.”

I think we all remember this infamous beach picture of Tyra and how she transformed from frumpy back to fab in what seemed a matter of weeks.

So like every other viewer I’m sure, I was glued to the TV when it was announced that Tyra, along with her nutritionist, would be spilling all her weight loss secrets on this episode! I remember recording it on the DVR, rewinding at times, and meticulously taking notes as if there was going to be a test afterwards or something. The tips were pretty basic, yet still very useful. While I don’t follow every tip, this definitely helped lay the groundwork for how I try to eat even now, so I thought—why not share them with you guys?!

Here’s the gist of my notes. I also threw in a little of my own two-cents as well!

Tyra’s Tips

1. Write down everything you eat

2. Follow the rule of Love ‘em Carbs (Brown rice, corn, beans, peas, whole wheat bread, sweet potatoes, etc.) and Leave ‘em Carbs (Bagels, pizza, muffins, etc.)

3. Add light sauces to your Love ‘Em carbs to make them more enjoyable.

Andrea tip: Trader Joe’s is great for this! Check out this post and this post for inspiration.

4. Leave carbs for dinner—don’t eat them at breakfast or lunch.

5. Spices and seasoning don’t count so use as much as you want!

6. Try to have at least 2 servings of fiber everyday: consider fiber crackers as an alternative to bread and fiber cereal for breakfast.

Andrea tip: If you’re going to go with cereal, just be sure to check the sugar content as well as the serving size. You’d be surprised how small a typical serving of cereal is and the calories WILL add up fast!

I like mixing these two cereals together with banana, dried cranberries and almonds

7. Get the majority of your water at the beginning of the day; try to have a liter by lunch.

Andrea tip: Invest in a large water bottle and take it everywhere with you.

This one is 24.5 ounces so I make it a goal to try and fill it up at least 3 times a day to get my daily 64 ounces. I also try to make sure that 2 of those fill-ups are before lunch!

Meal Ideas:

Breakfast: Yogurt w/fruit; fiber cereal with added vanilla extract for flavor; eggs and tomato on a fiber cracker; oatmeal
Lunch: Chicken Caesar salad with vinaigrette instead of Caesar dressing; Caprese Salad (soft mozzarella and tomato); turkey sandwich on a fiber cracker.
- Andrea tip: I love Wasa Crispbread as a lighter and healthier alternative to traditional bread.

I have this turkey sandwich for lunch almost every weekday!

Between the slices: Turkey, tomato, baby spinach, cucumber, alfalfa sprouts, green bell peppers, and Light Garlic & Herb Laughing Cow cheese.

Snacks: Have a snack between lunch and dinner; it will help you eat less at dinner.Try to keep under 200 calories.
- Andrea tip: I personally tend to have 3 snacks a day (mid-morning, late afternoon, and early evening before dinner). I also shoot to keep my snacks under 150 calories. Some of my typical choices include: 2 pieces of fruit, a rice cake with a nut butter and honey, or sugar free Jell-O/Jell-O pudding cups.
Dinner: Your plate should consist of a protein (steak, chicken, fish, tofu, etc.), a veggie, and a carb (a Love ‘Em carb of course!).

Left: Baked sweet potato (love!), chicken breast, and cheesy veggies; Right: Quinoa, Chick’n Scaloppini patty, and steamed veggies

Portions: Your protein item should be no larger than two iPhones stacked; Your carb should be no larger than your clenched fist.
Fill up primarily on the veggies.
- Andrea tip: I use a mixture of frozen and fresh veggies, but frozen are definitely awesome for saving money and for convenience! If you haven’t noticed lately, I’ve been obsessed with filling up on veggies, by way of my cheesy veggie bowls:

As another resource, here’s a great blog post I stumbled across a while back that offers some tips that are very straight-forward and spot on! I printed it out, tacked it on my fridge, and still refer back to it when I need a little reminder!

If you’re someone looking to lose weight, I hope these tips can serve as baseline to help you get started, and hopefully work as well for you as they do for me!

How to Revamp Your Wardrobe After Weight Loss—On the Cheap!

2011-01-19T00:46:00.000-05:00

I recently received the Stylish Blogger Award from Stefanie over at The New Healthy. Thanks, Stef!

In order to accept the award, you’re supposed to take the following steps:

1. Make a post + Link back to the person who awarded you this award.
2. Share 7 things about yourself.
3. Award 15 recently discovered great bloggers.
4. Contact these bloggers and tell them they’ve won!

#1 is checked off the list, and I’ll definitely do #3 and #4, but I decided to bend the rules a little and make my own #2. After all, it’s my blog, and I can do whatever I want, right?!

Since it’s the “Stylish Blogger” Award, I figured—why not talk about style? But before I go any further, I would like to make a brief PSA—once upon a time, I made the statement that fashion has no place in health & fitness content. Allow me to take this moment to humbly retract that statement. I’ve since discovered that fashion actually can have a place in health & fitness content, and for me that has been evident through my on-going battle with my closet since my weight loss.

If you’ve been following for a while, you may remember this post. If not—stop reading right now, read the post—then come back!

You see, while I was and am still ecstatic to have reached my weight loss goal, 25 lbs kinda makes a huge difference, and I found that I could no longer properly fit half of the clothes in my closet. This definitely turned my excitement into frustration since I’m a young, single, 20-something (aka poor as dirt!) and totally didn’t feel like I could afford an entire wardrobe overhaul. But then something amazing happened! The lovely Kelsey (God bless her!) left this comment on that post:

After which, my whole perspective changed. I discovered the wonderful world of thrifting and clearance racks, and I haven’t looked back since! Kelsey was right too, I totally never sacrifice style! Don’t believe me? Let me show you!

I took the liberty of comparing some of my budget finds to clippings from the December 2010 and January 2011 issues of People Style Watch.

According to the mag, here’s “What’s Hot Right Now:”

Floral Dresses

Boho/Peasant Blouses

Nude Pumps

Gray, Cut-off Sweatshirts

Distressed Skinny Jeans

Their price: $207.00; My price: $6.50!

Beaded Blazers

$293 cheaper, AND it’s still designer!

The funniest part is, I purchased all of these items long before these two issues of PSW ever touched my mailbox. I predicted the trends! Maybe I am a Stylish Blogger after all!

And because I just can’t resist, here are some additional great finds!

A few of you commented on this scarf in my last post. I’m extremely flattered, especially considering I paid next to nothing for it!

Yep, this entire outfit is from Goodwill, and if you’re doing your math, it cost me a whopping grand total of $9.77 before tax. This does not include the shoes, however, though I did catch them on sale at Aldo!

I got this overnight bag just this past weekend. I SO desperately needed one of these. It was $29.99 which is a little on the pricey side for Goodwill and by far the most expensive item I’ve ever purchased there. But given it’s from the Limited and in immaculate condition, I’m sure I would’ve been looking at at least double at regular price, so I’m content with this deal.

So, as you can see, there is totally hope for your wardrobe after weight loss—without breaking the bank! I sincerely hope this post finds someone who may be as frustrated as I was.

And as promised by way of my Stylish Blogger duties, here are 15 great bloggers I love and think you should too: Katrina, Heather, Erika, Elizabeth, K. Rock, Julie, Leslie, Jennie, Jessica, Paula, Chinye, Nour, Aidan, Amy, and MrsTDJ.

Do you ever thrift store/bargain shop? If so, what are some of your favorite stores?

What are some of the best deals you’ve ever found?

Lunch at Harvest Moon Grille

2011-01-17T16:22:00.001-05:00

Yay! Happy MLK Day everyone! I’m excited to say I was one of the lucky people who got to sleep in on this gloomy Monday morning! Unfortunately, the same wasn’t true for Jarvis. He works at a museum and this is one of their prime days, so even though I feel like I’ve been eating out way too much lately, we agreed to meet up for lunch. I chose Harvest Moon Grille since it’s only about 3 mins from my house and 3 mins from his job. Plus, I’ve been wanting to go there ever since they moved up in the world from being just a little, orange food cart filled with local, delicious farm-fresh eats to a bonafide restaurant filled with local, delicious, farm-fresh eats. In fact, check out this post I did after my first time eating at their food cart just last year.

Their new space is really cute and cozy. We got a nice spot in a corner near a window with perfect views for people watching.

Too bad it’s a “Bank holiday” and we’re a banking city, so there weren’t many people out to watch. Ahh well, at least there wasn’t much of a lunchtime rush!

Jarvis ordered an angus beef burger.

Just look at how thick that is! It was so juicy and flavorful there was no need for condiments! I know this firsthand because I made sure to get a bite! It’s times like these when I’m reminded why I haven’t taken the vegetarian leap!

I ordered the sweet potato burger.

You’re probably wondering why it’s purple, right? Interesting story! When the waitress first brought it out, my eyes lit up because I thought it was a purple yam (aka Ube). I’ve been wanting to try one of those for a while, but it turns out that’s not what it was; it’s a purple sweet potato. The waitress informed me that they get them from a farmer in Winston Salem, NC who is THE only farmer with the gene for this particular sweet potato. It was extra sweet and the sandwich was yummy! Both of our dishes also came with a side of Asian slaw which was super good as well!

I think our plates pretty much speak for themselves!

Do you ever “eat local?” If so, what’s been your experience with it?

Do you taste a difference in this type of food versus chain restaurants and/or processed foods?

Fruitful Weekend

2011-01-16T23:19:00.001-05:00

I say this every weekend, but I can’t believe it’s Sunday again already. And Sunday night no less; the weekends go way too fast. Thankfully, I have tomorrow off work, so I get one more chance to sleep in!! (woot woot!). One thing I can say, I definitely made the most of my weekend. Here’s a quick recap:

Friday

Friday night, I had dinner with one of my besties, Shavon, at Charley’s Restaurant.

I ordered the crab cake dinner. It was served with garlic mashed potatoes, but I subbed for double veggies instead. All I have to say is, SO good!

What’s girl time without a little vino?

We wound up talking so long, we stayed until closing!

Saturday

Saturday morning, I got up waaayyy too early to try my first Body Pump class. The only time it’s offered is 8:30am, and since I only have a few days left on my Y Trial pass, I figured it was now or never—unless, I decide to join, which is still up in the air. Body Pump was ok. There’s a lot of hype surrounding it amongst the healthy living community, and while I personally didn’t feel like it was anything worth writing home about, I’ve decided to reserve my final opinion until after at least one more class, since I have a tendency to dislike a class at first, then love it later. I’m weird like that. Have you ever tried Body pump? If so, what’d you think of it?

After Body Pump, I met up with Kelly for a morning run. We recently discovered we live on the same street, just a few blocks apart, so we decided to meet up for a 5-miler through ours and the surrounding neighborhoods.

I downed half a Pro Bar as a pre-run snack. I picked up a new flavor the other night and it did not disappoint!

Ever since Friday morning’s breakfast, I’ve been craving fruit and cottage cheese so I pretty much stuck with that in some shape or form for the rest of the weekend. After our run, I came home and made scrambled egg whites with spinach and cheese, a side of fresh fruit and cottage cheese, and another grilled banana. I have a feeling you’re going to be seeing a lot of those on my plate going forward!

A few hours later, I was craving some snackage, so I had the other half of my Pro Bar and another side of fruit!

Sunday

This morning, I was up super early once again to work in the church nursery. Afterward, I had lunch with my sis, then did a little shopping. Ok—a lot of shopping—but it was all bargain shopping so it’s totally acceptable, right?! I found some really great deals and I didn’t finally make my way home until 5:30pm. I was too tired by then to whip up anything elaborate for dinner, so I went with a wrap and more fruit.

My wrap consisted of: a 90 calorie, Flat Out stone ground whole wheat tortilla, turkey breasts, TJ’s Reduced Fat Mayo, Laughing Cow cheese, spinach, tomato, cucumber, and alfalfa sprouts. It was simple, healthy, and delicious; my three favorite adjectives!

How was your weekend?

Are there any foods you can’t get enough of lately?

Looks Can Be Deceiving

2011-01-14T18:37:00.001-05:00

If you follow me on Twitter, you’ve probably seen me mention a few new dishes I’ve whipped up on a whim in the last few days. Btw, if you don’t follow me on Twitter—what are you waiting for!

I’ve been craving my fruits and veggies like mad lately, so on Wednesday night after getting home late from a hair appointment, I raided my freezer for every frozen veggie I could find, boiled a pot of whole wheat pasta, and whipped up this bowl of gooey goodness!

Now, I admit, from a food art perspective, this won’t be gracing the pages of Cooking Light anytime soon, but aren’t the messiest meals sometimes the best tasting?! And I promise you, this was a winner!

In the Mix: Whole wheat penne, peas, carrots, asparagus, red peppers, butternut squash, and broccoli. Since I was feeling extra experimental, I also chopped a sweet potato into cubes, boiled it, and threw that in as well, then mixed it all in Smart Beat cheese!

I also made a second run to the grocery store last night after my church small group; this time to Wal-Mart.

You’ll find as you watch my grocery store adventures that I have several “go-to” stores, and I get certain items from certain stores. Wal-Mart is typically not my “go-to” store for produce. I’m sure I’m not the only one who wonders where the health department is when observing the rotten fruit they allow to sit on the shelves. Last night, however, they actually passed the test, so I picked up a few items. I grabbed a pomegranate, which I’ve never had before (is that weird?) so I’m super excited about that! I also restocked the frozen veggies I cleaned myself out of for the aforementioned dish—frozen veggies ARE what they’re my “go-to” store for!

I found myself craving cottage cheese randomly while walking through the aisles, and that is how this morning’s breakfast was born!

As much as I love oatmeal, I will definitely be making some room for this a few days out of the week! And because this was just so freaking good, I decided more cottage cheese was in order for my after work snack.

**Warning—New Amazing Snack Alert**

I was reading Chelsey’s blog the other day, and that girl was onto something! She grilled a banana—something I’d never tried until tonight—and IT.WAS.DELICIOUS!

I threw it over my cottage cheese with some fresh blueberries and a little pumpkin butter.

Again, the picture does not do the taste justice! In hindsight, I could’ve done without the pumpkin butter because the bananas provided enough sweetness on their own. It’s amazing what a little heat will do!

This completely hit the spot and was just enough to hold me over until dinner. In fact, I’m meeting my friend Shavon in half an hour, so I better go get ready. Enjoy your Friday night!