Who says "Fruit Is Not Dessert"?

Golden Chocolate Fruit Bouquet
by Delicious Blooms

Fruit is not dessert? Say What?!?  What you talking 'bout, People? (in Arnold's voice)
Well, I beg to differ.  All you gotta do is add a little chocolate...and there you have it...a healthy indulgence. 

The above bouquet was made by Yours Truly. :)
The strawberries are dipped in chocolate. So yummy! Especially the way I do it. (Okay. I'll stop bragging now. LOL!) Bananas dipped in chocolate is a very popular treat, but you can also dip pineapple slices, grapes and lots of other fruit in chocolate. The dipped pineapple is my favorite treat along with a bag of popcorn. mmmmm! There is just something about the sweet, tart, salty and crunchy combination that is just heavenly. I want some right now! Just talking about it makes my mouth water. Guess who's going to buy a fresh pineapple tomorrow?

Sprinkles Anyone!

So the next time you want to indulge, but you may be feeling a little guilty, dip your fruit in chocolate and enjoy.  Happy & Healthy...that's what I'm talking 'bout!

What are some of your favorite dessert treats?

Just right for Movie Night

Hi There!

Since it is officially the weekend, I thought I'd share one of my favorite snacks with you all.

This popcorn (Pop Secret - Homestyle) is a great crunchy, salty & buttery treat to serve when you are having Movie Night with the family or if you are just enjoying one of your favorite movies alone. I love to pop in a movie, get me a bag of popcorn, some chocolate dipped pineapple (I'll share this in a future post), a cool drink and enjoy my "ME" time. No Disturbances Please! :)

In case you can't read the caption in the red bar under the word "HOMESTYLE", it says "MADE WITH A SPRINKLE OF SALT AND A TASTE OF BUTTER". That's right...just enough salt & butter to give you a desired taste without adding on all of the extra unwanted stuff...like calories and pounds. Know what I mean?
As you can see from the box pictured, I like to buy the SNACK BAGS. I do this so I can have portion control. Yes, sometimes I want to eat more, but I know that a snack size bag is enough to consume without going overboard. I'm trying to maintain my weight and the snack size bag is enough for me to feed my cravings and enjoy a snack without feeling guilty.

What are some of your favorite snacks?

Nutter Butter

Hello Peaches!

Today I thought I'd introduce you to a food discovery I made since transitioning to a healthier lifestyle.  Meet my new found friend...Almond Butter...I'll just call her Almy. LOL!

 

This stuff is so good! It's just like the peanut butter we all grew up on, only it is made of almonds.  I use almond butter when making my green smoothies to add a little protein and to add a nutty taste.  I also like to spread it on toasted sandwich thins and have myself a good ole' Almond Butter Sandwich.  For snacking, I will spread it on fresh fruit or simply eat it by the spoonful.  Almond Butter can also be stirred into oatmeal to add a little flavor to your morning breakfast.  mmmmm! Yummy!

You can find Almond Butter at Walmart, Whole Foods and Trader Joe's.  I'm sure other grocery chains carry it too, but these are just the places where I've purchased mine from.  It comes in creamy, crunchy and a few other varieties...but not all stores sell them. You should definitely be able to find the creamy with no problem. There is even a chocolate version!

So the next time you're out shopping, treat yourself to a jar of Almond Butter. Switch it up a bit!

Inspired by J!

This outfit was worn on Monday, July 18th, to my niece's birthday luncheon.
We had lunch at Benihana's, then we headed over to CamiCakes for one of those cute & tasty lil cupcakes. CamiCakes is located a couple of doors down from Benihana's in Buckhead.  Check it out whenever you are allowing yourself to have a special treat.

This outfit was inspired by J of J's Everyday Fashion blog. This girl rocks when it comes to fashion. I love her blog! I read it on a daily basis and it is my absolute favorite blog to read right now. I was inspired to add fashion to my blog because of J. I'm learning so much from her. I know it is working because I'm beginning to get compliments on my outfits from strangers. :)
Please check out her blog for inspiration. She rocks affordable clothing that is accessible to anyone no matter what your budget looks like.
To see J's post on how to style skinny cargos, check out her post: Flashback Friday: Skinny Cargos.
Since following her blog, I have purchased 5 pair of cargo pants. Yes! I'm loving the cargos right now...And!?!

What I'm wearing:
Cargo Pants (Olive) - Target
Tee (Peach w/ a burgandy floral print)- Target
Tank (coral) - Sam's Club
Shoes (Madden Girl) - DSW
Jewelry (necklace & bracelet) - Khol's
Belt - Ross

A Lemon Twist Snack

The LARABAR is my new favorite thing to snack on.  I love these things! They come in all types of flavors (Blueberry Muffin, Cashew Cookie, Key Lime Pie...just to name a few). I started out with the Cashew Cookie being my favorite, but once I tried the Lemon Bar, I was hooked. I love all things lemony and these bars have just the right amount of lemon flavor.

So what makes these bars so special, you ask? Well, just take a look at the photo above and read the ingredients list. Only 5 ingredients! No sugar added. It is what it says it is on the package. There are no ingredients that you can't easily pronounce in these babies. The bars are also Gluten Free, Dairy Free, Soy Free, Non-GMO, Vegan and Kosher.  Healthy & Tasty...You can't beat that!

You can find LARABAR's in your local grocery store. I know that Kroger and Publix have them in stock, but they don't carry all of the flavors. I have to venture down to Whole Foods to get my hands on the Lemon Bar flavor, but it is well worth the trip. BTW, Whole Foods has a coupon in their latest flyer for either a BOGO Free offer or a $1 OFF when you buy 2 or more. Sorry I can't remember the exact offer at the moment, but either of those offers are very good. Right?

So the next time you are looking for a snack, skip the candy bar and grab a healthy LARABAR. You won't be disappointed and you will know that you are feeding your body a whole lot of goodness. :)

Salad Mania

Hello Peaches!

As I mentioned before, I lost about 25 pounds over the past year. Yep, this July makes a year since I started my Healthy Living Transformation. :)
I've done pretty good keeping the weight off so far, but it's time for me to seriously get back on track.
You see, I kinda been eating out a little too much lately. Plus I've been eating all of the bad things that I know don't agree with my body...like cheese. Now, I love me some cheese and it's one of the hardest things for me to put down, but I have to if I don't want to be walking around with a bloated tummy...So Not Cute! According to my scale, I've gained about 5lbs over the past 2 months. No big deal, but it is just so easy to slack off and the next thing you know, those 5lbs can turn into 10 and so on & so forth.
 

So this week, I'm challenging myself to eat "mostly" at home and to get back to the foods that helped me in the beginning like salads and green smoothies.

Freshly Prepared Salad

My body felt so good when I was eating mostly Raw Foods. I added salmon and eggs to my menu options and every now and then I would sprinkle a little cheese. I'm a work in progress, ya know?
I'll share some of the other foods I prepared during my journey in future post, but for now back to the salads...

Salads do not have to be boring at all. You can add all sorts of deliciousness to a bed of lettuce and create an awesome meal. I like to use a Spring Mix Salad that I purchase from Sam's Club. To the Spring Mix I usually add fruit (strawberries, apples, peaches or whatever I have on hand), tomatoes, cucumbers, nuts & seeds (walnuts, pecans, sunflower seeds), dried fruit (cranberries, raisins) and as you can see from the above picture, I like to sprinkle a little pepper on mine...that's just me.  If I really need a change or I'm craving for something a little bit meatier, I'll add salmon to my salad as well. Not a fan of salmon? You can add tuna or chicken to yours. For even more variety you can add hard boiled eggs and peppers & onions to your salad if you like eating those foods.

So you see... you can mix & match and switch up your salad toppings every day and get a different meal just by changing up your toppings. You can also give yourself some variety by switching up the salad dressing. I like to make my own salad dressings at home. When I do, I use olive oil and apple cider vinegar as a base. I recently started using balsamic vinegar on my salads, too. However, don't let the dressing stop you. You can always pick up a bottle of salad dressing at the grocery store. There are healthier versions of dressings available, but if your favorite dressing is ranch or blue cheese, then by all means have at it. The most important thing is that you are eating a healthy serving of greens, nuts & seeds, fruits and veggies. Right?

Oh and if you are out and about and need to pick up some fast food quickly, I suggest going to Zaxby's. I have found that they have a better quality salad than most fast food places. They have a mixed green salad and it is always fresh. You can get it with grilled or fried chicken pieces or you can just order a side salad. Now, I haven't tried the salads at Wendy's, but I heard they have come out with some pretty good salads as of late. Can we say, ComPeTition? It's a good thing.

If you are interested in living a Healthy Lifestyle, it can be done. Start with small changes and add on as you begin to make progress. I started out by eating salads and drinking smoothies. Once I got that down, I began to exercise. I chose walking as my exercise choice because of its simplicity and it worked. The more comfortable I got, I began to add more foods to my diet. I found that the best way to take control of your health is by preparing your own foods so I started cooking/preparing more. It's not hard to do, it just takes a little planning and a little bit more of your time.
If you are interested in making a Healthy Change and you need someone to coach you through, please feel free to contact me. I would love to share the knowledge I've gained over the past year. It would be my pleasure. As long as you have breath in your body, it's never too late to start.

See my post on the Green Smoothie here.

Ready For The Weekend

Hi Yall!

Not much was happening today(Thursday) so my niece & I decided to grab some lunch at one of our favorite restaurants.  Note: This is what I wore on Thursday, July 7th.

This is what I wore: (sorry for the sun being in my eyes)

                   

 Top: Ross
Cargo Pants: Target
Shoes: DSW
Bracelets: Burlington Coat Factory
Necklace: Stella & Dot

I found this shirt at Ross. I like it because it has all of the attached straps. I don't know...just makes it a little different. Besides that, when I tried it on in the dressing room, a young lady paused and said "oh, that's a cute shirt". Of course, I just had to get it then. LOL! I tried to show a close up of the back of the shirt, but you still can't really see how cute it is in these pictures.

The cargo pants were purchased at Target. I had my eyes on them every since the beginning of Spring, but I didn't want to pay $27.99 for them. So I waited. I went back to the store a couple of weeks ago and they were on sale for $14.98. I'm so glad I waited! I was able to get two pair for the price of one. I also purchased the Olive color cargos. I just love these pants. I'll be able to wear them in the Fall as well.

The shoes are my very 1st pair of Madden Girls from DSW. When I first purchased them, I thought the heels were gonna be too high, but they are quite comfortable to walk in. I've worn them quit a bit since purchasing them. Expect to see them more often.

The bracelets, I purchased from Burlington, were only $1each. I purchased the brown and green as you see in the above pictures. I also purchased black, pink and a turquoise/blue color.

I just love the Stella & Dot charm that I have on. This charm came in a 3-pk and it only cost $19. I plan to get a lot of use out of them. The gold chain was purchased at Khol's.

Fourth of July & Myrtle Beach

Hello Peaches,
I hope all of you had a great July 4th holiday weekend. I know I did. I went home to SC to visit my family & friends. I managed to spend a day on the beach with my best friend and we really enjoyed ourselves.
We went to an All-U-Can-Eat buffet that served all kinds of food, including seafood. I went straight for the crab legs, but I didn't take a picture. I just dove right in. I did manage to take a picture of the fruit platter I created for myself. It was so healthy & refreshing..

After eating lunch, we headed to the boardwalk to walk along the beach and pier.

I decided to wear a pair of shorts and a tee-shirt for our day trip so I would be comfortable. At first I put on a pair of wedges, but I knew I would need to switch out to flip flops after lunch once we started walking. Here's a picture of me with my wedges on. You can't really see them too well, but the heels are kinda high (at least for me). I've got to get used to them.

My best friend (left) and I (right)

SN: My best friend and I are both on a journey to live a Healthy Lifestyle. We are eating healthier and exercising. There will be more post about our Healthy Lifestyle Journey in the future.

What I'm wearing:
Camouflage Shorts - Wal-Mart
Tee - by Mossimo via Target
Shoes - DSW
Necklace & Bracelet - Khol's
Belt - Ross

After walking along the beach and on the pier, we strolled down the boardwalk and ventured into little shops. They had some really cute things there. I really wanted this cute purse I saw, but it wasn't in my budget. It was so hard leaving it there. :( However, I did purchase 3 necklaces that I will use as anklets by wrapping them around my ankle twice. I've been looking for these anklets (similar to the two I have on in the above center picture) for the past 2 or 3 years, and it finally hit me to try using a necklace and do a wrap-around. It worked and I'm so excited!  We also stopped by the outlet on our way home. We only had time to go into one store and that was the Forever 21 Outlet Store. They had some really cute things, but they didn't seem to be something that I would wear. I did end up purchasing a beautiful green & silver ring. I can't wait to wear it, but I will probably have to purchase something to style around the ring....yep, just an excuse to go shopping. :) Pictures of my purchases to come in future post.

Other than that, I went to a family BBQ and hung out with the rest of my family. The weekend was beautiful, but I'm glad to be back in Atlanta. I needed to catch up on my rest. :)