Can I get some vegetables please?!

Since becoming very strict on eating more veggies throughout the day I’m noticing that restaurants are stingy with the veggies. Today for lunch I brought a salad and cinnamon/raisin whole grain bread but felt I needed more. The Insanity workout this morning really made me feel I needed more fuel for my body. So I called the café near my job to order a vegetarian taco from their burrito bar.  

There is a three step process to ordering from the burrito bar.

1.       Choice of meat: beef, chicken, fish, vegetarian

2.       Choice of salsa: cilantro mayo, chipotle pepper, green tomatillo, jalapeno ranch

3.       Choice of topping: lettuce, tomato, corn, Pico de Gallo, red cabbage, mixed cheeses, sour cream

My choices were vegetarian, green tomatillo salsa, and tomato, Pico de Gallo, and red cabbage. Well before she completed my order I asked her what vegetables are included within the taco. Normally, the taco has grilled veggies like zucchini, red peppers, or maybe beans. She told me the “toppings” I selected would constitute as the “veggies” within the taco. They do not add vegetables to the vegetarian taco. Huh?!

If I selected chicken, I would have received chicken within my taco along with the green tomatillo, tomatoes, Pico de Gallo and red cabbage. What’s up with skipping out on the veggies in a vegetarian taco? What if I did not want the additional toppings? The menu clearly states I get a choice of “meat”, salsa, and toppings. Needless to say, I cancelled my order.

Weekly Inspiration

Lord, our Lord, how majestic is your name in all the earth!!
--Psalm 8:1

Work'n Twist-Out!!

Last weekend I decided to take out my mini twists and give my hair a good co-wash using my clarifying conditioner. Since the weather is nice this week with moderate humidity I decided to take advantage and wear my hair out. Today is day 2 of my twist out after two very hard Insanity workouts!

This is how I wore my hair during my workout. The scarf is to help soak up the sweat from my roots. The twists are in a ponytail to help with shrinkage and keep the ends of my twists away from my body. Normally by the time I get showered and fully dressed my roots are dry and hair ready to be fluffed. This morning I needed a little assistance from my blow dryer to help dry my roots. The workout this morning was INSANE!

 On day 1 I did not fluff or separate my hair much in order to stretch out my style. This morning I fluffed just a little and did not use my pick to lift my roots. I want to keep as much definition as possible to last the rest of the week.

 Since the Insanity workouts are really intense I retwist my hair at night. The retwisting is only with a little oil on my hands: no water for spritzing or additional product added. My hair is still very moisturized from using my conditioner mix.

The goal is to see how long I can stretch my twistout. Next month me and my honey are going to Chicago and I really want to sport my curls. However, I do not want to worry about re-styling my hair 3 days within our trip.

Now compare this pic to the pic above and you see that on day 2 of this twist out I have more shrinkage. The slight humidity outside and the damp roots this morning contribute to my shrinkage. But, I don't mind the shrinkage just as long as my hair is cute.

Hope you all are doing well!!

Weekly Inspiration

The blessing of the Lord makes a person rich, and He adds no sorrow with it.

--Proverbs 10:22

From vegetarian, to pescaterian, to vegan, to raw vegan to…Part II

This is part two to my last post explaining the changes I’ve made in my eating habits. Since making these changes I’ve experienced very positive changes in my digestion, energy levels, and cardio activity. For starters my digestion is back on track which leads to constant elimination. Secondly, I’ve finally bust through my weight plateau and now weighing 134lbs with only 9 more pounds to go for reaching my goal weight. Thirdly, I’ve experiencing lots of energy I have no idea what do with and I’m loving it.

Raw until Dinner

This is a wonderful tip I’ve incorporated into my eating habit from the book “The Raw Food Detox Diet”. Simply put I eat fresh raw fruits and veggies for breakfast, lunch, and snacks all the way up to dinner. For dinner I’ll eat a “cooked” meal that follows the food combining rules. By making this very simple change has totally eliminated the “itis” that we experience after eating a big meal. Additionally, I feel light on my feet and energized throughout the day. No late afternoon naps sitting in front of my computer for me. Furthermore, my body is able to fully digest all the food I’ve eaten throughout the day and use it for energy. This leads to faster metabolism, weight loss, and regular elimination. When eating raw fruits and veggies I make sure to follow the food combining tips as well.

So you may be thinking I’m eating celery and carrots all day which is boring, right? Not necessarily but I do love to snack on carrots when I start to get cravings or feeling hungry in between meals. For a better picture of what I eat this is my food diary for today.

5:30am – workout Green Smoothie (fresh spinach, banana, tangelo, nutritional yeast, calcium supplements, flax seeds, water, ice)

7:30am – Green Smoothie or Fruit Smoothie (fruit smoothie has no veggies but at least 2/3 different fruits)

9:30am – Grapes and apples

12:30pm- Sandwich (Ezekiel bread, broccoli sprouts, tomatoes, cucumbers, avocado, mustard) Salad (green lettuce, kale, cucumbers, tomatoes, oil/balsamic vinegar)

3pm- apples and oranges

5pm – in the car on the way home- snack on baby carrots

7:30pm – dinner – tilapia, collards, asparagus

As you can see I get a lot of meals in the day which probably barely totals 1000 calories. Since my workout routines are intense I must increase my calorie intake and eat more fruits and veggies. For instance instead of eating 1 apple and 1 orange, I’ll eat 2 apples and 2 oranges. This is a mindset I have to get use to since calorie restrictions were the norm for me. Since I’m eating fresh raw fruits and veggies throughout the day I can eat a lot more and should eat more to make sure my body gets the calories it needs. The reason is that fruits and veggies have very small amounts of calories. Remember the body needs an adequate amount of calories to do simple functions like typing this post.

This eating plan has worked very well for me and saving my “cooked” meal for dinner works out perfectly. Eating a cooked meal for dinner allows me to have dinner with friends without feeling like an odd ball. Kiddie Kurls does not feel forced to my eating lifestyle, she’s only 10. However, I still face strong temptations when eating out because a lot of the fish dishes have some type of cream base. The few times I’ve caved to those dishes I immediately feel a difference in my body and start to regret it. Fish and steamed veggies do my body good and I have to remind myself to stick to the basics!

Stay tuned for my third post in this series. Remember to stay healthy and happy!

Mini Twists Updo

This hair style was inspired by one my fav you tube gurus Ms. Vaugh so make sure to check her out.

The was slightly different but I loved it nonetheless. My twists were in this updo for a week and every day I misted with water to keep my hair moisturized.

Zara Haul

I absolutely love this purse. It's bigger than what I expected so not sure if it qualifies for my "everyday" purse. However, I'll definitely have this purse on my  arm when I travel!

I'm in love with this shoe and have a lot of fun plans for them this Spring/Summer!

Weekly Inspiration

The backslider in heart will be filled with his own ways, But a good man will be satisfied from above.
--Proverbs 14:14

Accidental Mini Twists…I’m in love

As you know with my busy lifestyle and workout regiment co-washing my hair and wearing twists and twist-outs have become a staple. After co-washing I twist my hair in medium/large twists to wear my hair in a ponytail to air dry. Within a day or two I take the twists down and wear a twist-out.

Well about a week ago rain was predicted for the entire week so I decided to wear my twists smaller. The smaller the twist the longer the twists will last and make for a better looking ponytail without all the parts. While twisting in smaller sections I ended up with mini twists that I absolutely love.

Unlike most naturals it took me only an hour and half to twist my whole head. Why, because I have naturally thin hair. My hair was divided into four sections and I started with the back and worked my way to the sides and front. Honestly, I never thought about wearing mini twists because of my hair’s thinness but I love them. To me my hair looks really nice and full, plus, the twists are very versatile.

This style is perfect for my workouts and wearing them in a pony tail helps to stretch them. Unless I just really want to wear my hair out, this will take the place as my staple style for the summer. So far it’s only been four days and I plan to see how long they will last. At this point I’ll settle for two weeks of wear out of them.

As far as maintenance, I will maintain my normal routine. However, I may alter how I co-wash in order to prevent the twists from unraveling. Despite what happens I will keep you guys posted.

Ciao for now!!

From vegetarian, to pescaterian, to vegan, to raw vegan to???

The last couple of months I’ve experimented with different types of eating styles as you can see from the title. As a result, I finally burst through my year long plateau and lost a total of 10 pounds. So far I have gathered a lot of information about veganism and raw veganism. In order to fit my life style I decided to encompass all the different eating styles in one. Over the next few posts I will break down my reasoning in sections to prevent very lengthy posts.

No chicken, beef, or turkey just seafood

In order to stay sane and enjoy life I decided to keep seafood in my diet. Where I live there is not a lot of vegan or vegetarian restaurants assessable. To speak frankly, my man and friends have expressed several times they are not vegans. When eating out sometimes they will compromise and decide on a restaurant like Sweet Tomato. Sweet Tomato is a salad and soup bar and there is no meat on site. This restaurant is great and has saved me many times when eating out. These last few weeks I’ve noticed that most restaurants do not have a “vegetarian” option. A few times I find myself getting creative with ordering off the menu. For instance, if the dish has rice I’ll replace it with extra vegetables lightly steamed.

Living a vegan lifestyle can cause deficiencies in the diet such as a B-12 deficiency. B-12 is not found in vegetables so you will have to consume dairy or meat. According to Fit Day, B12 helps in maintaining the health of the nerve cell and the nervous system. The vitamin B12 is also needed for the synthesis of the red blood cells. It has been found to be very much needed for the growth and development of children. 

As a compromise because I do not want to consume chicken, beef, pork, or turkey, fish or seafood became the best option. Even though seafood is back in my diet, I do not eat it every day. Normally, I save fish for days my honey wants to take me out or hanging with the girls on the weekend for dinner.

No dairy or sugar

In 2005 when I had a personal trainer assisting me with my weight loss goals, one tip he gave me was to stay away from cheese. He stated that cheese adds fat to the waistline. All these years later did I follow his advice, maybe but not all the time. But this time around, I plan to really stay away from cheese. Last year, during my no dairy/cheese challenge I ate soy cheese as a substitute. Well throughout my research I learned that casein which is found in milk can possibly lead to cancer.  One day I decided to check the ingredients of my favorite veggie cheese and casein was there. From that day forward I swore off of veggie cheese as well. Every now and I’ll fall victim to cheese but it’s real cheese and not the “vegan” version.

Additionally, I’ve stayed away from mayo, yogurt, and ice cream. Every now and then I’ll have a bowl of cereal but will drink almond milk instead of cow’s milk. By no means am I perfect so yes there are mishaps. When the mishaps happen I can totally notice a difference in my body because after consuming some form of dairy I’m immediately bloated and gassy.

These few changes discussed have made such an impact on my body. For one, at times I have more energy than I can deal with which is very new for me. One morning at work I was waiting for my cinnamon/raisin toast to pop up and I started doing one leg hops. Yes, for no apparent reason I started doing hops because I couldn’t keep still. Amazing! Stay tuned for more of the changes I’ve incorporated.

Ciao!

Green Berry Smoothie

This smoothie is packed with fresh yummy goodness! Before you turn up your nose, try it out. Kiddie Kurls loved it. Give it a try and let me know what you think!!

Ingredients:
Spinach
Mango
Tangelos
Black Berries
Strawberries
Water
Ice

Just put as much as you like of each in a blender and blend. No need to freeze the fruit because the ice makes the smoothie cold. Feel free to add more fruit if you like! Enjoy!!