Showing posts with label Healthy Living. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Healthy Living. Show all posts

Wednesday, February 15, 2012

Healthy Celebration

Dessert Platter

Valentine's Day is a time to celebrate Love & Happiness.
In our culture, most people like to celebrate by sharing a meal of delicious foods topped off with yummy desserts.  If you are watching your weight or just eating healthier in general, you can still enjoy delicious foods.  Here's what I chose to eat for my Valentine's Day dinner. It was healthy and quite delicious.
Dinner
For dinner, I served grilled salmon, spinach stir-fry and freshly sliced cherry tomatoes. I love tomatoes!
The spinach stir-fry and salmon were both prepared using olive oil and the tomatoes were simply sprinkled with sea salt.

Dessert (pictured above) was a raw dessert platter that included fresh whole strawberries. The strawberries were so sweet...they were perfect. So, what are those heart-shaped thingies? LOL!  They are delicious little morsels of raw goodness. I call them Brazil Nut Dateys (cookies). No sugar is added to these little bad boys making them a very healthy treat. They are made using raw organic Brazil nuts, coconut flakes, barhi dates, and a pinch of sea salt.  I added organic cacao powder  to some of the mixture to create a chocolate flavor.  After all, what is Valentine's Day without chocolate, right?  These little dateys were shaped into mini hearts using a heart-shaped mold, which created the perfect bite-size portion, in honor of Valentine's Day. No guilt there! :-)

I hope everyone enjoyed their Valentine's Day whether you are single or in a relationship. I really enjoyed my evening.

What did your Valentine's Day dinner consist of?

Thursday, February 2, 2012

My Chocolate Fix!

Hello Sweet Peaches!
It's been a while since I last blogged.
Here's what's been going on in my world...
Lots of lemons for the Master Cleanse

After the New Year rolled around, I decided to cleanse my body by doing the Master Cleanse.
I started my cleanse on January 3rd.
I did the Master Cleanse for 10 days and then I juiced for 4 days. On day 15, I added fresh fruit & vegetables to my juicing days.  So my entire cleanse lasted 20 days. I lost 10 pounds.
Since the cleanse ended, I decided not to eat poultry (chicken or turkey) for...I don't know...I don't miss those things so I may not ever eat them again.  Who knows! I'm taking my healthy living journey one day at a time.  I gave up pork and beef over a year ago and I don't miss those meats at all, so for me I don't think I'll miss the poultry much at all.  Lately I've been eating a lot of salads and whole fruits. I've also been making a lot of smoothies and juicing a lot.  As for juicing, my niece and nephew gave me a juicer about 3 years ago for Christmas. I used it a few times when I first got it, then I put it away. LoL!  I figured since I did the MC, I would end it with fresh juices and I've been using it almost daily every since.  I'm so glad I didn't get rid of my juicer and I'm so thankful for the goodness that it is providing my body.  I feel so good when I drink fresh green juices.  I've made juices with green leafies(collards, kale, green leaf lettuce, etc.), vegetables & fruit and I've also made juices with just green leafies and fruits.  I found that my favorite combination is a simple juice made with just 1 type of green leafy and 1 type of fruit.  The best 2 combos so far have been collards & pineapple and also kale & mineola oranges.  So simple, yet so good and nutritious.

Spinach & Salmon Stir-fry

So, what  other things have I been eating since January 22?
As far a cooked foods go, I've been eating a lot of stir-fries: salmon & spinach stir-fry and stir-fry collard greens. The recipes are in my booklet.  I've also just had plain grilled salmon with a side of cooked veggies. Yes, I've been eating a LOT of salmon lately! 
As I type this, I'm realizing I haven't eaten out but once since the beginning of January...and I don't miss it at all.  Even when I did eat out, I ordered fish & veggies and I remember thinking that I would have enjoyed it more, had I cooked my own meal at home. I'm getting better at this healthy eating thing that's for sure. :)

Wow! I just made an amazing chocolate shake. It is so delicious, I just had to share. I'm drinking it as I type this blog. Yum!!!
Just the chocolate fix I needed!
Recipe: Choco-Brazil Nut Shake
1-1/2 cups water
2 frozen bananas
1 tspn cacao powder
4 bahri dates
a handful of Brazil nuts
Place all ingredients in a blender and blend until smooth.
Pour in your favorite glass and drink up! Delicious!
Notes: if you don't have frozen bananas, use 1 cup of water and a half cup of ice.
Also, you may want to start out with 2 dates and add more until you get to your desired sweetness.
That's it!

Feel free to leave a comment or ask questions by leaving a comment. I'd be more than happy to hear from you!

Thursday, June 23, 2011

Almond Milk & Green Smoothies

Hi There! I've been missing in action for a while, but I'm back now.
I'm working on a really cool header for the blog. I should have it up within the next week or so.
I'm still trying to find my voice...my niche for the blog. I think I've narrowed it down now to
Fashion, Fitness, Food & Fun. Of course I will still keep the Business features in there so we can all network and support each other.

So today's post is about Almond Milk and Green Smoothies, just as the title says.
During my quest to get healthier, I discovered Almond Milk.  I'm one of those people that cannot drink regular cow's milk without wreaking havoc in my tummy, so I decided that all of the pain and discomfort is just not worth it. I've tried a couple of different brands of Almond Milk, but I like the Blue Diamond Almond Breeze brand the best. To me, the original flavor reminds me more of regular cow's milk. The texture and consistency is very similar. I've tried the Silk brand, but it is just way too thick for me. I can pour the Almond Breeze over a bowl of cereal and I honestly can't taste a difference. I love this brand of Almond Milk! As you can see, it come in both sweetened and unsweetened with original, vanilla and chocolate flavors. If you just want an afternoon treat, you can pour yourself a cold glass of the sweetened vanilla flavor and enjoy it all by itself. It is just that good! Also, if you are one to count calories, the calorie counts aren't that bad either. They are displayed right on the box so you never have to worry. The products displayed can be found in the healthy section of your local grocery store or you can also find jugs/cartons in the refrigerated section where regular milk is sold.
On to the Green Smoothies... I love these things! I discovered Green Smoothies(GS) during my "Get Healthy" quest too. This discovery was the best thing to happen to me...ever.  :)
If you are not familiar with GS, let me tell you a little about them. GS are very delicious & healthy drinks that are made with fruits, greens, milk and/or water. I like to make mine with a base of bananas, apples, spinach, almond milk and water. Then I usually add a nut butter (either almond or cashew butter) and another fruit such as a mango, strawberries, peach or whatever type of fruit I have on hand. I also add a small piece of fresh ginger or a splash of lemon or lime juice from time to time to give me some variety. Besides spinach, you can also use kale, romaine lettuce and any other green leafy vegetable that you like. It is good to rotate the green leafy vegetable, but I have to admit, I do not.
There is no set rule when making GS. Just use whatever fruits and greens you have on hand. Blend them up and enjoy.  I usually make a big carafe full (64oz) every morning and it last me all day.  Drinking GS helps to control my cravings for other unhealthy foods or drinks, provides me with plenty of fruits & vegetables servings, increases my energy and helps me to stay on track and maintain my weight loss. Nothing but goodness comes from drinking these babies!
(PS) If you decide to make GS and you carry them around with you (to run errands, to work or wherever), don't be surprised if you can't strange/funny stares and you may even get asked, "What's  that green gook you're drinking?".  Is gook even a word? LOL! I guess so.

Let me know if you decide to make yourself a glass of Green Goodness. If you have any questions about how to make Green Smoothies or any other questions, just leave a comment below and I'll be sure to answer immediately.

Thanks for reading. Look for more "Healthy Alternative" products that I've began to eat/drink since I've started my quest for a healthier lifestyle in future post. I'll also be sharing some simple, yet healthy recipes that helps me maintain my weight loss and helps me to feel better overall.

Wednesday, May 18, 2011

Master Cleanse - I did it again!

Hi There!
Laptop news: I'm still in the process of seeing if I can get my laptop fixed. I'll know for sure tomorrow.

Well, I've been doing the Master Cleanse (or some of you may call it the Lemonade Diet) for the last 10 days. Today is actually Day 10 for me.  This cleanse consist of drinking a mixture of Grade B Maple Syrup, juice from Organic Lemons, Cayenne Pepper and Water. You're suppose to drink 10-12 cups of this lemonade every day for at least 10 days, then slowly break the cleanse over a 2 day period. While doing the cleanse, you are suppose to drink an herbal tea at night and do a salt water flush in the mornings then drink the lemonade throughout the day.
I did the cleanse for 2 reasons. 1-to fast and find clarity on some things that are going on in my life right now and 2-to rid my body of toxins (part of my healthy living lifestyle).

If you do the cleanse correctly, you may lose some weight. I did the cleanse last year and lost about 15lbs. This year I've only lost 3lbs so far. You can read about my experience/comparison by checking out my other blog, RawBodyFitness. Click Here.

I'll be posting more frequently whether I get my laptop back or not. So check back in the next day or so. Also, please sign up to 'follow' my blogs. I'd also appreciate any comments and I don't mind answering any questions you may have. -rena