Check your pockets when giving to Goodwill!!

Here is the scenario: you go shopping at goodwill and find a $6500 ring in the pants pocket. Does something like this actually happen? Apparently it does so check out the story here and let me know what you think!

Have a great weekend!!

Weekly Inspiration

Life is like a game of cards. The hand that is dealt you represents determinism; the way you play it is free will.

Jawaharal Nehru

Organic or Non Organic Fruits and Veggies…Which do you buy?

The common practice I try to stick to is buying organic fruits and veggies. However, buying organic can be challenging because it is more expensive. The reason I buy organic is to try to eliminate as much pesticides and chemicals from my diet as possible. As a guide for determining what to buy organic I’m going to use the shopper’s guide found on the Environmental Working Group website. This guide can help save money and stretch my budget by buying both organic and non-organic produce.

This group works to protect the environment and bring facts to public about the foods we consume. Please check out their website because there is a lot of information there. Click here for the shopper’s guide to use the next time you head to the grocery store.

Bananas are a Girl’s best friend

Following a diet that is 80% raw can be a bit of challenge. 80% for my purposes means five out of six meals a day are raw because I eat one cooked meal a day. Normally, the cooked meal is always at dinner so my body has overnight to digest the food. Eating raw food during the day keeps my energy up and I no longer have the “itis” after a meal.

The weekends are a little difficult because I’m on out and about for most of the day. It’s really easy to fall off my plan because fast food restaurants are everywhere. Recently, I discovered eating bananas as a mono meal or snack throughout the day helps to keep my energy up while feeling full and satisfied. A “mono” meal means to have a single food item for that meal which in this case is bananas.

For example, one day I didn’t have breakfast before leaving for work and decided to stop at the grocery store. The easiest, cheapest, and quickest item to pick up was bananas. That day I ate 4 medium sized bananas for breakfast and did not feel deprived at all. According the cron-o-meter, four bananas contain 5.1g protein, 107.8g carbs, 1.6g fat, and 420 calories along with a host of vitamins and minerals. Again for me the high number of carbs are not a concern because these carbs were used for energy throughout the day. Also, since these carbs are consumed by fruit and not processed foods my body is able to digest them properly.

This is a quick tip for anybody, not just vegans or vegetarians, who needs a quick and healthy meal on the go. Not to mention the cost for this quick, easy, healthy meal was only $.78 which beats McDonald’s prices any day. Another quick tip is throwing the bananas in a blender and adding a little vanilla extract for a healthy “milk shake”. For those of you who are not banana fans try this with your favorite fruit. Remember eating healthy is only as hard as you make it.

WARNING - Watch out for 3D Films!!

Every now and then I get some of the craziest articles, pictures, or emails. This is one I had to share with you ladies.

Tell the truth shame the Devil

Cheese...why did I bother??

my bloated belly :*(

Recently my niece left to return home with my sister. While she was here I started experimenting with my diet so the grocery shopping didn’t change completely. Well now that she is gone there are a few things I need to get rid of but I hate to waste food. So last night I decided to make queso from cheese that I bought specifically for her.

Now I could have just thrown it away but again I hate wasting food and ate the queso anyway. Today I’m totally paying for it because now I’m bloated and miserable. Why did I bother? On this journey, I learned that eating dairy keeps me bloated and uncomfortable. This is a lessoned learned (again) and when I get home the cleaning of the refrigerator and pantries will start. Furthermore, my workout this morning wasn’t the best surely from eating the cheese last night.

On the bright side I did have a very good and healthy green lunch today. The salad was really good!

Salad: mixed greens, spinach, cucumbers, sprouts, olives, and avocado with my homemade chips and salsa on the side

Dressing: ginger soy

First Braidout of the Year!

It's been a long while since doing a braid out. This past weekend I wanted something different and since my hair was already stretched a braidout did the trick. For this look I lightly very lightly spritz each section with water, used a little conditioner, gel, and braided five plats. Simple!

Each section was pinned down before bed and I wraped my locks with a satin scarf. The next day I unbraided and fluffed with oil. Love the results!!

 This time around I opted for a side part instead of down the middle. Next I'll have to try the side part with my twist out.

Kiddie Kurls Hair Update

As you know my neice Kiddie Kurls was living with me for a while. When she arrived the transition back to natural immediately started because I refused to relax her hair again. She gained at least 5 inches in the short time she was here.

Last week she went back to live with my sister and I'll miss her so. Her transition is going well and at the time she left she reached bra strap length. She was so excited about her hair she wanted pictures taken and I'm sharing with you all.

Weekly Inspiration

"Unity, not uniformity, must be our aim. We attain unity only through variety. Differences must be integrated, not annihilated..." -- M.P. Follett

Fitness Update, Challenge, and Weight Loss Pics

Finally I have pictures of my weight loss journey. For some reason I couldn’t find the original pictures so I had to improvise. The “before” pictures are still shots from a fitness video update I never uploaded. There is a six month time lapse between the pictures. As you can see like most I struggled with blasting through a plateau as well.



me at 144lbs



131lbs

I was really self conscious about showing a picture from the back because this is a definitely a trouble area for me. But the difference is huge and I just had to share.



Now I’m only 6lbs away from reaching my goal weight. For the month of June I plan to do the 30 day Shred video to try knocking off the last 6 lbs. As far as meals, I’m going to continue eating RAW until dinner or one cooked meal a day when I’m in a crunch.

Here is what’s on the menu for today. According to the cro-no-meter today I’ll consume approximately 1261 cal, 26.7g protein, 255.6g carbs, and 27.9g fat.

Breakfast – Purple Smoothie (roughly 3 cups)

Mid-morning Snack – Cherries (roughly 4 cups)

Lunch – Apple Raisin Salad

Mid Afternoon Snack – Cashew (roughly 2 oz)

Dinner – Sweet Potato/Baby Carrot Bisque w/salad

8 glasses of water

Now I’m sure the carb count is freaking someone out but not me. The carbs I’ll consume today are from complex carbs like fruits and the sweet potato. As you see no white bread, cheese, butter, processed sugars, etc are consumed so all good carbs here. The fat content can be reduced some but I’m not too worried because majority of the fat is from the cashew nuts.

So what’s on your menu today? Are you closer to your weight loss goals?

Green Smoothie with a Cherry Twist

There is no need for measurements when making smoothies. This is simple and yet oh so delicious!! Just pile as much as you can of each in a blender and blend until smooth. Enjoy!

Frozen dark sweet cherries

Banana

Spinach

Almond Milk or water (enough to get the consistency you want)

Vanilla extracts (2 caps full)

Ice (optional)

The best part is this smoothie is red which makes it appealing to kids!!

Green Smoothie with a Peachy Twist

Pile ingredients in a blender, blend, and enjoy!

Frozen dark sweet cherries

5 Peaches (pitted, small, chopped)

Spinach

Water

Ice (optional)

Remember "the riper the peaches the sweeter the smoothie".