So there’s been something rambling around in my mind lately
that I think I should share. I thought it would be the perfect entrance/apology
from my long break from posts, though I’m not sure who really reads my blog ha
ha. Anywho, the thing I want to address today is this: I am me for a reason!
You are you for a reason! We cannot change who we are and we shouldn’t want to!
Lately, I’ve been struggling with this because there is someone
I know who just seems to do everything better than I do. I try hard at eating
healthy, she does it better. I run fast, she runs faster. I try to be committed
and then fail, she’s committed and succeeds. You get the picture. Well, I have
had it up to here (my hand’s about a foot above my forehead right now) with the
idea that I’m not good enough because someone else is better at a few things.
SO WHAT???
The fact is that we are all good at some things and bad at
others. That doesn’t mean that we should give up on the things that we are
struggling with. In fact, because we struggle, we can become strong enough to
make that struggle a triumph. All you need to succeed is to give that little
try a whole lot of umph!
I’ll let you in on a little secret: I’ve lost 35 pounds
since my weight loss journey began. I’ve lost several inches from places I didn’t
even know I could lose inches from. The secret is that even when I lost that weight,
I still doubted myself and had mornings where I didn’t like what I saw in the
mirror. I had days where I didn’t want to keep going because the weight wasn’t
coming off fast enough. What does that tell me? That losing weight means
nothing unless love of self has prevailed all along.
So, love it 2 lose groupies, I dare you to forget about
weight loss, to forget about food and dieting (which by the way you shouldn’t
be doing any way-diets are bad, eatingthings in moderation is enough) and just enjoy being where you are! If
you have lost weight, if you’re losing weight, if you dream of losing
weight-wherever you are, just stop and enjoy the moment. Today will pass and
too soon tomorrow will be here. Wouldn’t we all be a little happier if we
stayed in the moment instead of wishing another moment would come? Love your
self. WANT to BE yourself. Just enjoy the thing that no one else in the world
will ever be able to experience; enjoy being you.
We've all been there: can't wake up so we keep hitting the snooze button. Sometimes it seems like the only way to wake up is to douse yourself with coffee...or just drink it. If its not coffee, it's something else: Vitamin Water, Sobe Energy, or even the Mio Energy. As great as these alternatives are, they all still have one thing in common: Caffeine.
Although the benefits can be increased mental focus and energy, the side effects can range from high blood pressure to bone loss (yikes!). Also, if you're like me and side pass coffee for the soda, soda can make your teeth sensitive and prone to painful cavities. Your local dentist thanks me for adding that once the enamel is gone, it won't grow back! In other words, your body was made to drink water. So ditch the coffee and add Cardio!!!!!
Here are a few ten minute exercises to get your bodies pumped and ready
to go for the day. How do I know they work? Cuz I just tried them and am
writing a blog post at 7:11 in the am.
Here's another! I combined the too and L-O-V-E how awake I feel right now!!!
So after you've finished and are sweaty enough to feel good about yourself, get on with your day. If its the first time with out caffeine, put some head ache meds in the purse on your way out just in case. Last of all, don't succumb around 2pm!! Just to keep you motivated, another unfortunate side effect of drinking caffeine in any form is weight gain which obviously inhibits weight loss. If you're working towards your goal, amp up the cardio and save moola by not buying drinks. Invest in yourself and nothing else!
As always, before ya go, here's some inspiration for your lovely day ahead:
YOU GOTSA LOVE IT 2 LOSE IT! Quit hatin' on yo'self!
Hey all! So I've been testing a lot of recipes out lately and wanted to share the most delicious and flavor filled recipes here. I have very particular taste buds and scoured the internet (mainly Pinterest and Youtube) for delicious recipes that were filled to the brim with nutrients and foods I could feel good about eating. I will include links and pictures that I took from other websites (my stupid charger for my camera has grown legs and ran away).
So the first meal that I have made repeatedly is a meal that unfortunately, I cannot find the original source for. Sooo, whoever made it first SORRY!!!
I call it Spicy Fire Roasted Scrumptiousness!
The ingredients are:
1 can fire roasted tomatoes (I buy the organic kind found at Walmart. Winco doesn't carry it...weird.)
1 can white beans (rinsed to remove that jelly nastiness)
1 cup free range chicken broth
3 diced adobo chiles (you can find these in the ethnic isle in a small can. If you don't want the heat, omit the seeds)
1 cup or half a tub of fresh salsa (I use the refrigerated Baja's or the jar without preservatives, Herdez)
1 cup frozen corn or a can (go with frozen-lasts longer, is cheaper, and has no added salt!)
To top it off, I use green onions (chives), a dollup of greek yogurt, purple onions (when I'm out of chives) and tostadas -best invention to mankind ever! They're low sodium, possibly fried (need to look into that), and are delicious! We buy those now instead of chips!
Just open all the cans and dump (except the beans). Heat til heated through and top with awesomeness. If you want added protein, you can add extra beans, chicken, or lentils. I love this meal because you can come home after a long day at work and open cans and eat! Again, I've made this repeatedly.
My next meal is the Santa Fe Chicken Salad.
I'm typically not a salad-made-at-home-lick-the-bowl type of girl, however, this converted me. Two words: YEEE-UMMMM!!! I seriously was considering hiding my husband's portion so I could devour it later (the angel in me saved it for him). Here is the original recipe, but for your convenience, the ingredients below. Note that I have modified the ingredients to make it a bit healthier and more nutrient dense.
For the salad:
A bag of your favorite lettuce (You can buy organic at Walmart. I don't know the brand, but it has a fox on it)
Organic spinach (I use the Earthbound Farms found at Winco because it's affordable)
Tomatoes, diced (If you're poor like me and can't buy organic, rinse REALLY well)
Purple onions
1/2 can black beans rinsed
1/2 c or 1/2 can corn (if its in the can, rinse it well)
Chopped cilantro (this totally adds a ZING!)
For the Chicken:
1 chicken breast per 2 people (cut it down the middle to make equal, thin halves)
Mix the following spices:
1/4 teaspoon garlic powder
1/4 teaspoon onion powder
1/4 teaspoon cumin
1/4 teaspoon coriander
1/4 teaspoon oregano
1/2 teaspoon smoked paprika
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon pepper
olive oil
Dip the chicken in the spices and put on George Foreman griddle/whatever else you have. Cook til done.
(I cut the chicken thin to make it cook faster and to cut down on the meat used)
For the Amazing lick your spoon dressing :D 1 clove garlic, minced
1 tablespoon diced onion
the juice of 1 lime (To make a lime easier to juice, roll it around in your palm for a few minutes to loosen the juice)
1/2 teaspoon cumin
1/2 teaspoon coriander
1/2 teaspoon smoked paprika
1/4 cup greek yogurt
1 tablespoon honey (I omitted because I don't like small hints of sweetness...gross. It's all or nuthin' baby.)
1/4 cup olive oil (I only used a splash to make the dressing thicker)
Put dressing, chicken and salad in a bowl. Cover with lid and SHAAAAKEEE! (If you want an extra work out, put some music on and salsa while shaking ;})
And you're done. You're welcome for bringing this idea to your table...seriously. You'll thank me later. Thank you Eclectic Recipes!!
My next recipe is for breakfast. This is a Biggest Loser recipe and is MMM-mmmm good! We all adore pancakes, or at least I used to. All the sugar combined with carbs and maple syrup had me dragging by noon if not heading to the bathroom with an upset tummy sooner. Thus, the search began for pancakes that didn't make me cringe while reading the nutritional label.
Enter, Oatmeal Pancakes
These babies are fan-friggin-tastic! They're creamy, delicious, and packed with protein. Here's how you make 'em.
6 egg whites
1 tsp vanilla 2 tsp sugar-I used a single packet of Truvia 1 tsp cinnamon 1 cup low-fat cottage cheese 1 cup rolled oats
Put all the above ingredients in a blender. Blend until smooth and make them like you would any other pancake. To make them sweeter, I put frozen blueberries in and top them with 100% Maple Syrup. Someone else did the following calculations for those of you who don't want to use cottage cheese:
If
you get 12 pancakes out of this, they're 51.8 calories with 5.8g carbs,
0.83g fat and 4.91g protein PER PANCAKE!! Double batch,
use 6 whole eggs instead of whites, sub 1 C of the cottage cheese for 1 C
almond milk, add 2 tbsp baking powder.
If you want to make this recipe even more nutrient dense, add 1 tbs hemp seed, 2 tbs flax seed, and 1 tbs chia seeds. You can't even taste them!
There ya go folks! Original recipe here.
Next recipe is Banana Pancakes. Enter Jack Johnson and his silky smooth jammin'. Wrong Banana Pancakes. This is seriously the easiest breakfast ever and full of protein as well.
Here are the ingredients:
1 Banana
2 Eggs.
You're welcome. Just mash the banana and whip in the eggs and BAM! You got yourself some delicious pancakes without wheat, added sugar (unless you top it with the amazing Maples Syrup-100% all the way), or sodium! I also include blueberries-blueberries have less sugar than Maple Syrup and adds some sweetness that requires less syrup- always a bonus. To make this more nutrient dense, add in the flax, chia seeds, and hemp. Again, you cannot taste the difference.
*Note: make sure you rinse the bowl. you used VERY well. This stuff with the flax/chia/hemp is ridiculously hard to get off when dried.
Next up are Chickpea Tacos. I found this recipe on the fantastic Undressed Skeleton blog. Tara McNitt is a used to be junk fooder turned health nut. She's got some amazing recipes including some vegan items which is where I found this gem.
Ingredients:
1 can rinsed garbanzo beans
Gluten free tortillas (or whichever you want to use)
Homemade Taco Seasoning (recipe found here)
Cilantro
Tomatoes
Chives
Avocado
Olive oil
Using a dash of olive oil, coat the garbanzo beans in the oil and taco seasoning until well coated. Put into a preheated oven of 400* and cook for up to 15 minutes. I don't like the whole crunch these buddies get when in for the full fifteen so I just cook them until they're sizzling. That way, they're soft and delicious! Just put into a tortilla and top with your fav toppings! Mmm!
This is the last I'll post for today so y'all can get on with your lives. I do have sooo many more coming though so stay tuned!! These are Fajita Quesadillas. I found this video on Youtube and absolutely adore the chef. I didn't make them completely vegan so here is the video and below is my recipe.
Ingredients:
Greek Yogurt
Avocado
Cilantro
1 red bell pepper, julienned
1 yellow bell pepper, julienned
1 zucchini, julienned
purple onions cut into strips
Adobo chile sauce (found in the ethnic isle)
olive oil
Combine the vegetables with the olive oil and fry in a pan until the onions are translucent. To make the sauce that is drizzled over the top, combine about a cup or however much you feel like of greek yogurt and a couple spoonfuls of just the red adobo chile sauce. Reserve the chiles for the Spicey Fire Roasted Scrumptiousness above. If you really want a "mayo" flavoring in this but don't want the extra fat and calories, just use a couple tablespoons of mayo and mix it in with the greek yogurt. You'll get the taste you want and feel great about it. Just whip this together and reserve. After the vegetables are done, you can add cheese to them to make the meal a bit more creamy, but I just put a little of the sauce on them instead. Cheese, although delicious, should be used sparingly...always.First of all, it's expensive, and second it is fatty (to make a little go a long way, I use a lemon zester when grating it instead of the GY-normis regular cheese grater. This makes a little go a loooonnnnggg way! I also use sharp cheddar so a little really can bring out the flavor). Put inside a tortilla and toast a little. Top with the rest of the adobo chile sauce, cilantro, and thinly sliced avocado. Then, prepare to be amazed. Something so healthy shouldn't taste so good...then again, I'm so glad it is!!
Alright my friends, before I go, here's an inspiration thought for the day :
Peace out Homies! Don't forget to Love it 2 Lose it!
Hello again, my friends. Yes, i know it's been waaaayyy too long since my last post. To be 100% honest with you, I fell off the health band wagon and went on a junk food rampage for about ...well since my last blog. However, since then, I've done a little soul searching and found something that has truly inspired me. Thus, I am here to share that with you.
My back story is that I grew up with very health conscience parents who did all they could to pave the way to health for me. They showed me, my brother and sisters what dieting did and the results that it could get if we were diligent enough. They also proved how healthy and disease fighting exercising can be. I say the following with the utmost respect: I am grateful for the dieting and health guidelines they gave me, but I think the first thing I needed to know was that I was alright just being me, whatever package I came in.
In high school, I was a competitive dancer. I ate what I wanted, when I wanted and then the calories would burn off when I went to the three hour long practices that happened sometimes three times a week. Duh. Well, when I stopped dancing, that's when I began to take the first few steps into real life. Weight gain happened. I became over critical with myself, forever striving for the perfection I believed would grant me happiness. I mean, it's plastered all over my dear television set, all over the magazines at the dentist, and smeared from heck to breakfast in between. We see size (I wouldn't even call what size they are a size. Our bodies clearly were never meant to look that way) zero and beyond strutting the latest fashions or showing off their fabulous skin in steamy shower commercials and suddenly, all I wanted was to appeal to others the way that those pictures appealed to me. I wanted beauty. I wanted what was only skin deep and I wanted approval from others.
After a few semesters in college, I began to pack on the weight. My dear mother always made us delicious meals and typically I was too lazy saying "Gimme more" than to learn how to cook, so I just didn't. I deemed that the food I had in my pantry wasn't good enough and went out in search of something better, something easier like Subway, Wendy's, McDonalds, and other cheap, easy and "healthy" boxed dinners.
I began searching for the "one" and was devastated when a lot of the boys I liked declined my invitations to like me too. I began to worry more and more about what others thought of me and bent over backwards to please them. In the midst of all of the drama that was my life, I worried and worried and worried some more about the weight I was putting on. I lost some a few months after I stopped attending college, but the results were not permanent. After I met my soul mate and love of my life, things were great...until he had to get back to school and life. So, to drown out the voice of sorrow, loneliness, and boredom in my head, I kept her occupied with cookies, cakes, fast food, and soda. I entertained her with Netflix, Youtube, and Hulu. I lived vicariously through those characters I watched and didn't enjoy the amazing life I had in front of me. Then, disgusted, I'd look in the mirror and wish with all my might that I had someone else's life.
I turned to food because I thought I was fat. I really, truly believed that I was worth punishing, not worth appreciating. Why, you ask. Why was I so willing to punish myself? Because of those extra fifteen, twenty, twenty five and now forty pounds I've put on since high school. I told myself that those pounds made me hideous, that they made me less of a person and as a result, those pounds became a part of me. Each now houses a symbolic scar of the person I thought I would never become or never amount to. It was not until I realized what I was saying to myself that I was able to take those first steps out of the darkness I put myself in and see the light. I am not what I weight. I am not how I look. I am who I am and that's soooo many things that run deeper than skin.
After therapy, much research, and soul searching mingled with prayer, fasting, and many, many tears, I can honestly say that I am leaving that person behind.
The past few months, I've been reading, researching, and scouring the Internet for information. I wanted to learn what food does to me and take myself out of the ignorant bliss I fed myself to cope with my issues. I wanted to stop making excuses and to make a change that was life long.
On the edge of making this blog much too personal, I will share with any one who reads this post that I am beyond terrified to raise children in this society. I hate walking down the halls of schools and seeing the walls littered with vending machines housing poisonous snacks that are void of nutrients. Most of all however, I am afraid that I will be that house for my children. We all know where babies are created-in us! So in my mind, my body is where their health begins. If I want to be at peace when I am pregnant and not constantly have to worry about the health issues I could be handing down to my future kids, I have to act now so that my bad health is not their future health. The first thing that needed to change, was my lack of love of self. The last thing I want is for my little girl to see me hating myself and because she sees her mommy do it, she thinks she needs to do it too.
To me, good foods help me see all the good things about myself. It's like they help me put on my rose colored glasses. There is something inside those vitamin rich, nutrient dense fruits and vegetables that connect me directly with peace with myself. I've been listening extremely hard for the first time to what my body is saying to me. The past couple of weeks (yes, it's only been a couple weeks since my revelation) I have felt better about myself than I have ever felt in my life. I can see the stretch marks and the bubble butt and see beyond them. I can shut the Negatory Nancy (as I call her) up permanently informing her that I am beautiful and that no matter how negative she gets, I am more positive because I am actively pursuing a lifelong dream: my health. But those veggies and fruits are only a stepping stone. The next step, comes from within, not what you put in. How often do we walk in the bathroom and truly smile at our reflection? I can tell you that the old me didn't smile at myself....at all!
On a documentary called Hungry for Change (found on Netflix), Joe Cross, the juicing fanatic from Fat, Sick, and Nearly Dead, talks about that negative person in our minds. He says if he knew someone who was as negative to us as that person in our head is, that he would stay as far away from them as possible. "So," he asks, "Why do we let them live in our minds? Why do we permit them to say the things they say?" I know that in my case, it was because of a lack of love.
Now, in the morning and sometimes in the evening, I lean over the counter and
look into my beautiful eyes and I tell myself, "You are
beautiful and I love you unconditionally right now." The first time I said that, I was expecting to feel cheesy or dumb, but I felt great. I felt free of the oppression I'd chained myself to. You see, when you hate yourself, there's always a reason. Mine was weight. I was punishing myself for gaining weight, but by punishing myself, I wasn't making my world right. I was tipping it upside down. Our loving Heavenly Father didn't create us and send us here to live in misery. He sent us to find joy and to find love and happiness. I was abusing myself for years and my outward appearance was proof of that. So, I'm here to give my blog's name a boost and reiterate that you HAVE to LOVE IT if you ever want to lose what you've been carrying around inside, be it sorrow, pain, regret or weight.
This week's challenge, tell yourself you love yourself unconditionally right now every day twice a day. Make eye contact and then smile. Then exhale and let the bitterness of life seep out of you. Don't let your Negatory Nancy or Fireball Throwing Fred enter your thoughts anymore. EVICT THEM! It's about friggin' time they get their own lives! Take back yours and love it to lose it. Peace out y'all! My next blog post (I figured this was too long to add on) I'll be sharing meals that are FANTASTIC and ways I've made over my lifestyle. See you then! Don't forget to leave comments below. If I've inspired you, please inspire me! Also, keep in mind that I'm not a professional and I don't claim to be. I'm new at this so teach me if you can!! Have a great, lovin' yourself day!
With the new year close and Christmas just ending, we're probably all doing a double take in the mirror and promising ourselves that this new year will be different. If you're anything like me, you're already planning out the ways you'll lose weight or the steps you'll take to become a better version of yourself. Well, that's great and all, but let's not lose focus on the overall goal of what we're trying to accomplish with this. We're trying to be happy. We're trying to find true joy. Isn't that what we're all looking for? Well, as obvious as it would seem that we'll be happy when we lose weight or whatever, we can't just assume that happiness will appear then. When will enough be enough? When will you finally be happy? Thus, today's blog is all about perception.
Although this picture was intended to be funny, I'm going to use it to present a challenge. This new year, may we all see this in the mirror. We're all the "tabby cat" in our own minds: cute, sweet, though hardly a powerhouse of mountain lion fantasticness. So this year, resolve to see a cougar in the mirror. See someone who is strong and powerful, even if the initial reaction is someone who needs to toughen up or slim down. You are who you perceive yourself to be. Perceive greatness, then go achieve it. CHOOSE to be happy NOW. Happy holidays and New Year to you all!!! Remember, you GOTTA love it to lose it! XOXO-Brooklin
So my friends, welcome back for the second week's post about my progress. First, I have to say, I'm soooo much better off than I was last week. I feel better, I have more energy and most importantly, I have more self esteem (this usually happens whenever I take an active "role" in my life :S)! This week, I've tried some interesting meals and some that were delicious. Not wanting to "bash" anything or anyone, I'm only including the recipes that are tried and delicious (there was only one that I couldn't/wouldn't eat). They are all off of Dani Spies' website, cleananddelicious.com.
Alright! So this week, I tried the Chicken and White Bean Chili. I was pleasantly surprised by this dish! It was DELICIOUS! I added some scallions, a little bit of cheddar cheese, and a dollop of greek yogurt to the top, stirred it up and yum! I am disappointed to say that no, I'm bad with my camera and did not get a picture of this deliciousness, but I would recommend it to anyone! It's great for a cold fall day when you come home wanting something hearty and delicious. Yum. Nuff said.
Next, I tried the Bison Taco Bowls. Again, I will reiterate that I am a poor college student and that there are very few, if any natural food stores around here. Thus, I ended up using low fat beef. OH MY HONK. These are the SHIZ!!!!! I loved these sooo much! I even took some to one of my friends who gulped it down within a few minutes (her husband helped). She said that she would eat this meal any day! I ended up making my own taco seasoning from allrecipes.com and it was soo good without the added sodium and preservatives. This dish also reminded me a lot of my mom's Navajo tacos she'd make when we grew up, so I dove into this dish.
The last meal I made this week was the Salmon Burger. I topped it with Dani's creamy dill sauce and ate it with a couple of toasted pieces of bread and it was SOOO GOOD! My friend upstairs again was going to be my guinea pig, but since she hates seafood, I watched her husband devour it within a few minutes. Scrumptious! One thing I will say is that this dish, if not immediately cleaned up after (I know that sounds like an Oh duh statement) will start to become rank...and fast! This week our kitchen was a disaster because we had a bug problem (not the kind that comes from being dirty, but the one that actually can come home from the store with you - ick!), so there wasn't really room to make food, let alone clean it up :S. So, after the exterminator left, it's been a process to try to piece things back together. Anywho, if you love fish, Salmon in a can is THE BOMB and totally delicious! Just watch Dani's schpiel in the video linked above for the burgers.
So that was my week! I was very busy, so most days, I ate leftovers or I accidentally skipped meals due to work (don't do that!). This week, my goal is to be prepared with foods to take to work and snack on them so I am never hungry. Once the hunger sets in, I kiss reality goodbye and start digging into the junk food :S.
A parting word comes from my wish-she-could-be friend, Tay Tay. She be wise :D
This week is all about being thankful for what we have and who we are. Be thankful you can walk, talk, run, and eat whatever you want. Take the time to decide who you want to be and what you want out of life. Then, go for it! Full blown run for it like you're running from zombies! Just as Taylor said, it's never too late so don't count yourself out yet. Peace out chicas/chicos! Don't go too crazy this week, but live it up with your holidays! Remember, you've got to LOVE it to LOSE it. XOXO.
Hey all, this week I am starting a transition or transformation really. I am tired of my overly processed, fast food lifestyle I've been living for the past 5 or so years. I have been mentally and physically drained not to mention the acne and the lack luster hair. So thanks to my dear friend Tyann (SHOUT OUT!), I have decided to focus my efforts on trying to transition to a clean diet. Actually, strike that, let me rephrase that... Lifestyle. Does it get to anyone else the fact that diet has the word "die" right in it? Well, I don't want to die and I certainly don't want to diet, so I'm changing my lifestyle.
If you haven't heard of Dani Spies at cleananddelicious.com, CHECK HER OUT! She is phenomenal! She is so knowledgeable and educated. Best of all, she gives full blown videos of her cooking so that her recipes are easy to recreate! You can look her up right on youtube and explore some of her videos.
Today my post is all about bettering myself. I am sick and tired of hating my life dieting to try to get to a point where I'll love EVERYTHING about me. Isn't it odd how we do things we hate to get things we love? What if we can have the best of both worlds and love the journey? With clean eating, I believe this is possible!
So over the next months, I will be posting what I think about Dani's clean recipes and others I find along the way. I will post my progress (and my set backs-I am human after all) with clean eating. Do remember that I'm not a dietitian so if you have any food/health related questions, speak to your health care professional. You can ask me and I will do my best to answer...but...again, I'm not a professional. Also keep in mind that I am a poor college student's wife, so I will do my best and make certain substitutions to make sure that this diet fits in our budget. By the way, I am also extremely picky about what I will or won't eat, so when I say something is delicious, I MEAN IT! I'm not just trying to get you to convert to clean eating...or am I?Jk.
Let's begin with day 1!
Today, I woke up and made some rolled oat oatmeal and added ground flax and chia seeds to get my Omega 3's and help to stave off hunger. I was afraid I'd dislike the added texture, but didn't even notice! I also added some frozen berries I got at Walmart instead of adding sugar. I was expecting a negative reaction so I prepped myself (and yes, I prayed that it would taste good). I was PLEASANTLY surprised at how delicious it was! The tip here is to make the oatmeal with milk instead of water. It gives it a creamier flavor. Also, if you have the time, I'd make it over the stove instead of in the microwave. I tend to overcook mine or it just explodes and makes a mess :S.To add to my oatmeal, I had a beautifully red grapefruit without added sugar on top like I usually do. I love the fact that they're in season! There's a stark difference in color and sweetness when they're out of season haha!
For lunch, I had Dani Spies recipe of Tuna pasta. Here's the link: Dani Spies Clean Eating Tuna Pasta Salad. This recipe is delicious! I made a recipe sometime last month that was clean and also had the purple onions. I have to admit, I HATED it. I did not like the red onions AT ALL!!! The flavor was so overpowering that honestly, the dish sat in my fridge and didn't get eaten (bad me!). This time however, the flavors of the whole grain pasta, peas, tuna and purple onions blended so well! In fact, they gave the onions an almost sweet tang to them. LOVED IT! And my husband loved it too :D That's always a bonus!
For dinner, I made Dani Spies Tilapia Oreganata. Dani Spies Tilapia Oreganata I don't think I made this one quite like she did. The picture was VERY different from how mine turned out. It was still good and we served it with a salad drizzled in olive oil and balsamic vinegar. My advice is to make sure you have a lemon zester (I used a regular sized cheese grater and then chopped the zest with my knife to make it smaller) which would have made the dish better. Make sure you also don't use anymore of the lemon than just the zest. Stop before you zest the white pith, otherwise your dish will turn out with a bitter zing to it. Also, this might be an "oh, duh!" statement, but make sure you coat EACH side in the herb oil, otherwise, it won't have the same flavor. Lastly, if you don't have whole wheat bread crumbs on hand, take a piece of bread and send it through the blender/magic bullet/food processor or whatever you have on hand. Each of these will get the job done. Bread that fits into the clean diet is a little difficult to find, at least in our extremely small town in Washington. I did find an organic bread that I figured would work. It's called Dave's Killer Bread. It's got 5 grams of fiber, 6 grams of protein, and is 100% whole grain. There are lots of nuts and seeds on the sides as well so it's delicious. It is a little tougher than regular bread, so in case this means it's going bad, I've been storing it in my freezer. Here's what it looks like.
After dinner is where I have to be really careful. I get all sorts of cravings! I turn into a prego woman on crack (and I'm not even prego!). So to avoid getting myself into trouble, I turned to some strawberries for "dessert." This helped with my sugar cravings, but just like always, right after I satisfied my sweet tooth, my salty molar jumped up and declared it wanted its fix too! This is where the night turned interesting...
Kale chips...for all those who have tried them, you know. For those of you who, like myself, were/are hesitant, three words. BOMB. DOT. COM. These are DELICIOUS! In my picture, you can see how they're cooked just right and when you put them in your mouth, mmm, mmm, mmmmmmmm! Them be lip smackin good :D! Here's a video of Dani Spies making them Dani Spies Kale Chips
Be warned that they are not potato chips. Do not go into that first bite expecting potato chips...you will be disappointed, but only minimally. Also, make sure you don't use too much salt (lesson learned on my part).
Last thing I made tonight was Dani Spies (I know I talk about her a lot, but that's cuz she's the shiz!) protein pumpkin pancakes. Mmmm! So good! Typically, I would prefer to stop at the kale chips, but I was ironically still hungry (this happens to my body when I transition into different eating habits, so whatevs).
This is when I whipped out my newly acquired coconut oil. I'm oober excited about coconut oil :D and rightly so. I bought this baby at Walmart. It's not organic, but again, I'm a college student doing my best. We also don't have any health food stores around her (that I'm aware of), so I'm workin' with what I gots!
Before y'all roll your eyes and say "Oh my honk! You didn't just say coconut oil! It's a saturated fat!" Well, yes, it is. However, it is a good fat! Repeat with me...GOOD FAT! I know-unlike unicorns, IT DOES EXIST! Not only does it help with preventing injury to your arteries, but it is 50% lauric acid which prevents heart disease and helps to lower cholesterol and high blood pressure. But wait, it doesn't stop there! Next it can help with hair that has been damaged or is extra dry. Next time you go shopping for shampoo/conditioner, look at the ingredient list on the back and see if there is coconut oil in there. If so, your hair will be repaired and on its way to gawgeousness in no time! Also, if you have psoriasis or eczema, whip out some coconut oil and rub it in. I have waitress hands since I work as a server and will be putting coconut oil to the test this week (come back next week so you can see the progress on my nasty, dry hands). Coconut oil also helps your body fight infection and sicknesses along with promoting an overall better health weight-wise and digestion-wise. To read more, click here.
Wondering why I brought up coconut oil? Because I oiled my pan with it! This makes the pancakes extra crispy and soooooooo gooooood!!!!!!
So back on track, I tried the protein pumpkin pancakes and they have my stamp of approval! They're very moist in the inside and drizzled with a few drops (notice I said FEW) of Agave nectar (picture below), they rocked my socks off. I'm excited to try this babies tomorrow and see how long they hold me over.
Dani also has a great video here to see how you can freeze some of the pancakes and be prepared when a hectic morning hits ya head on.
Now that I've officially dumped my brain onto this blog post, I hope you come back and read up on my next meals. I'll take pictures tomorrow of the meals I attempt so y'all can see how they turn out when an amateur cooks them. Please take the time to look at Dani's website and subscribe to her youtube channel. She posts once a week and again, is rockin' awesome! If you have websites or know of some videos, tried and true clean recipes or ideas, please feel free to post them in the comment section! I am always looking for feed back, help and inspiration. On the way out, I'll leave you with a niblet of pinteresting inspiration:
Enjoy today. Right now. There is someone out there wishing they had your life and the time you have. Make it count and make the changes necessary in your life to leave the negativity behind. Remember...you HAVE to love it 2 lose it. Peace out my Hottie-McHot-Hot friends!!
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