Smelly No More!

Hi everybody!!! I am SO excited to tell you about my most recent discovery that I can hardly stand it!!!! I read somewhere that you can use coconut oil as deodorant. Thinking to myself "...heck, you're washing your face with honey, you might as well try it...", I did! AND would you believe it, IT WORKS GREAT! Just rub a little on (enough to cover) after showering in the morning(after drying off, of course), and that's it!! Try it! It's cheap because you use SO little at a time! LOVE IT. I even had Brenton do a whiff test (hahaha) and he said "uh... I don't smell anything...". YES!! Try it, folks! Stay away from the yucky chemicals in the commercial deodorants. Your body will thank you!

Gettin Clean... With Honey?!

Hi everybody!  Sorry for the lack of posting yesterday!   I went to the 311 concert at a total spur of the moment.  Remember 311?  They're the ones that play such songs as:




and...







It was a good show as usual, but boy I'm tired today!!

So if you'll remember my 'Confessions' post, I talked about how I've always had an issue with acne. In college I got so desperate that I resorted to this:

The good news-  it was a face saver (as far as acne was concerned), but loaded with TONS of chemicals.  Then I ran across this video from Raw Radiant Health:







Raw honey to wash your face?!  YES!  You better believe that I ran out to Trader Joe's and got:

$5.99 for this big-ol' tub!!!  The verdict?  My face feels great!!!  I'm floored.  My pores are smaller, my face is smooth (NOT dry or flaky!!), and no new problem areas popped up!  (Heavens open....choir sings....)  I'll let you know over the next day or so how it goes! 

Have a great FrIdAy!  I have a BUSY weekend coming up-  tonight we're going to a Greek restaurant to celebrate Brenton's birthday, then tomorrow I teach EARLY in the morning, and Sunday I have a band concert.  Hopefully I come out the other side alive!  Make it a great day!

Happy Birthday to ME! (part 2)

So to continue on with the birthday festivities.... Brenton and I went over to my parents' house for dinner!


Presents for Brenton and me (his birthday is tomorrow).  That polka-dot package on the right is a cast-iron skillet.  HEA-VY!  

Dinner-

On the menu was whole wheat pasta with sun dried tomatoes, garlic, onion, olive oil and arugula and salad.  VERY YUMMY!


For dessert, papaya and almond flour cake:

Happy Birthday to ME! (part 1)

Hi everybody!  Yesterday was my birthday!  I decided to treat myself (and Brenton) with some Vegan Pancakes!!!  Seriously, easiest pancake recipe ever.

Vegan Pancakes

1 C Flour (whatever flour you want!  I used Whole Wheat)
1 T Baking Powder (Aluminum Free, of course!)
2 T Oil or Apple Sauce
1 T Agave Nectar (I used Honey instead)
1 C Milk (whatever milk you want!  I used Almond Milk)
Any seasonings/fruit to taste.  I added a dash of Cinnamon, but blueberries would have been fabulous!

Mix all of the dry ingredients, then mix the wet.  Spoon into a pan over Medium High heat, and cook until the top bubbles.  Flip, then cook until the edges are golden brown.

I made an oopsie...

Hahahahaha....

I ate the oopsie pancake (the one on the top of the pile HA!).  Topped with fruit...OMG so good.

There's a pancake under there somewhere!

After breakfast, I opened my present from Brenton.  He got me Fancy Love perfume by Jessica Simpson (the BEST smelling perfume I have ever had.  Ever.  ...ever.) and Ani's Raw Food Essentials (among other things that were spread out throughout the month LOL)

















I'm addicted to this book.  I can't put it down!!!  You have to go get it-  there are TONS of easy raw recipes that all look so yummy!!!

Stay tuned for part 2! 

My Exercise Playlist

Good morning and happy Friday to you all!!  When I work out (ha, or do anything for that matter!), music is EVERYTHING to me.  I have 5k playlists, travel playlists, housecleaning playlists.... you name it!  I wanted to share my exercise playlist with you to help give you motivation!  When I work out at home, I throw on YouTube with my own created playlist and it just runs until I'm done!  Here are some of my favorite work out songs for the summer.  Enjoy!

Breakfast Cookie Experiments...

Happy Tuesday!   Just a quickie post about a new breakfast cookie I'm trying (right now, actually!). 

Gingerbread Breakfast Cookie

1/2 Banana, mashed
1 t Vanilla Exctract
1 T Cinnamon
1 t Ground Ginger
1 T Chia Seeds
1 T Black Strap Molasses
1/2 c Rolled Oats


Mash all together, refrigerate overnight.

It's like eating gingerbread cookie dough with a fork.  Delicious! 

I'm getting blood work done tomorrow-  after a year of being vegetarian, we're going to check and see how all of my levels are doing!  I start my 'fast' at 9pm and will be poked in the morning.  I'll let you know how that goes!

Have a  great day!

Busy? No Problem!

Can you believe it's Monday already?!  Where did the weekend go? 

People often tell me "I'm too busy to eat healthy" or "I'm too busy to exercise".  Those comments are not true, if you set yourself up for success.  Here are some tips:

1-  Don't buy junk food.  That way, you have no choice but to eat healthy at home!  Easy snacks are apples, bananas, almonds, raw food bars, cut up veggies, or green drinks. 

Make your lunches to bring to work the night before.  Some things I like to throw together are an avocado taco with an apple and some trail mix, or a salad with an orange and some almonds.  Both of these lunches take no more than 5-8 minutes to make.

It takes a lot less time to make a meal at home than to go out to a restaurant, whether it's a drive through or a sit down place.  My favorite breakfast is oatmeal, and it takes 3 minutes to prepare.  I take 1/2 c of quick cook unflavored oats, and add in 1 c of water.  Put the oats in the microwave to cook, or cook over the stove.  In the meantime, cut up whatever fruit you would like to put in, and get out whatever spices you like (I use cinnamon and pumpkin pie spice the best).  I also put in a little bit of organic black strap molasses for a little sweetness and iron.  Once the oats are cooked, I throw it all together!  That's it!

As far as exercise, there are a TON of short workouts (20 minutes!) that you can squeeze in.  Here are some ideas:

*On your lunch hour at work, spend 20 - 30 min taking a walk.  If you have stairs in your building, use them! 
*Jillian Michaels 30 Day Shred is CHEAP on Amazon (under $10!), and each work-out is 20 min long.
*To get the most from your work-out, incorporate weights and cardio.  For example, if you are riding a stationary bike, do some arm curls, shoulder press, and tricep extensions at the same time.  The goal is to get your heart rate up to make the most of your time.
*Cleaning the house really gives you a workout!  If housework is looming over your head, do some calf raises while you put away dishes, or squats while you load the laundry.  It all adds up!

So the moral of the story?  You are not too busy to eat healthy, nor are you too busy to work out!  If you don't have your health, you don't have anything.  Make your health a priority.

Oh the Burger...

Hi everybody!  I'm sooooo happy to share that the weight is STILL going down!  151 on the nose yesterday!  4 lbs to go!!  ALLLLLMOST THERE!!

I started the day with a LOVELY Breakfast Cookie

Lunchie was an Apple with Almond Butter and Chili, with a loverly Larabar for a mid-afternoon snack.

Dinner took a little while to make (BUT IT WAS SOOOOO WORTH IT!), so I snacked on a little bit of Barbara's Shredded Oats.  LOVE this.

So I have to share my dinner recipe. THANK YOU GENA AT CHOOSING RAW!!!!  I gotta tell ya, these are the best veggie burgers that I have EVER made.  Ever.

As you can see, I was copying the recipe LIVE from Gena's site hehehehe.

Here is her recipe, from choosingraw.com :

Gena’s Homemade Sunshine Burgers

1 cup sunflower seeds, ground in a food processor or coffee/spice mill

1 cup cooked brown rice

2 tbsp ground flax seed

2/3 cup chopped carrot

2/3 cup chopped celery

1/4 cup chopped onion (optional) (**I did put this in**)

2 tbsp water

1 tsp Herbamare seasoning (or to taste) (**I used whatever herbs I had in the spice cabinet**)

--------------------------------------------

Here's what I did:

Preheat the oven to 375

In a food processor, process the sunflower seeds, then process everything else.

Mold into patties and place on an oiled baking sheet.

Bake 15 min, then turn over and bake 15 more.

DEVOUR.

 

I put mine on toasted TJ's Sprouted Bread with Tomatoes, Lettuce, and Brown Mustard.  O.M.G people, this is the best veggie burger ever.  Thanks for sharing, Gena!!!

Dessert was a date, that I got on SALE at Kroger!  Can't beat $2.99 for a big old box of dates!!!

Have a lovely evening, all! 

Slow and Steady Wins the Race

Good Tuesday morning to you all!  Hope you had a nice weekend and didn't have a case of the Mondays! 

I don't have a whole lot of time, so here are the highlights.  More pictures, less chitter chatter, right?!

Breakfast Sunday-

Barbara's Cereal with Pineapple and Almond Milk.  I don't know why I hadn't been putting this yummy fruit on my cereal earlier!!!!  YUM.

I then went to Trader Joe's,

And picked up some B vitamins since we're getting away from most all animal products now.

They were kind of big, so I took it with a piece of Sprouted Bread and Peanut Butter.

I exercised on our bike with hand weights and burned 200 calories in 30 min!  NOT TOO SHABBY!!

Once lunch time rolled around, I ate a leftover Veggie Burger with Avo, Tomatoes, and Salsa on top...mmmm...  and some Cherries. 

I cleaned the house a bit, did some laundry, and a little bit of work, and snacked on a TJ's Whole Wheat Tortilla with PB and J.

I was really hungry that day- not sure why.  Oh yeah... maybe it's because I'm on a diet....


For dinner, I made Brenton's FAVORITE.  Tempeh Chili.

Oh yes yes- that's yummy stuff right there.  And what better dessert than a big old date?!?!?

Tasted like honey-  the best!!  Weigh in of the day-  151.6  (woot woot!)


Monday rolled around, and I made another Breakfast Cookie Beast!

And of course, my cocktail of pills-

People often ask me what I take everyday, so there it is!  Vitamin D, Multi-Vitamin, Calcium, and B Complex.  They're all about actual size...  pretty big.  Good thing I'm a pill champ!!

I packed up lunch, ready to go to work-  An Orange, Tomatoes and Celery, Hummus, TJ's Tortilla with Peanut Butter, and an Oatie.

I decided to take some time and go eat my lunch at the Airport and watch planes land.
















Too much fun.  I'm obviously ready for vacation LOL.


For dinner, I made Spinach and Pea Pasta.  Yeah, it's pretty fabulous. 

And finished the day off with Pineapple and a Date.

Dates are my new favorite dessert.  SOOO NUMMY!!!


Morning weigh in:  151.4! 

I wasn't going to tell you until tomorrow what today's (Tuesday) weigh in was, but heck- why not?!  151 on the button!  Sloooooowly but suuuuurely, creeping down!  Thank you for all of your kind words and support.  You ROCK!!!  Thanks for keeping me motivated!!!