Showing posts with label clean eating. Show all posts
Showing posts with label clean eating. Show all posts

Friday, November 21, 2014

Dessert group think

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Yesterday, my office had our Thanksgiving celebration; a potluck, of course. I brought the veggie and fruit trays, which, to the surprise of no one, went basically untouched next to homemade biscuits and mac and cheese.

I was able to stick to my 24 Day Challenge plan pretty well, filling my plate with turkey, ham, veggies, and a taste of sweet potato casserole. I even turned down the wine. Needless to say, I was feeling pretty solid about my willpower muscle, when one of my coworkers turns to me and goes “I think I want dessert.”

I actually didn’t want dessert. One, because I’m solidly committed to completing this challenge with as few cheats as possible and two, because I was pretty full and honestly had no room for pie.

So, I respond with “The dessert table looked pretty great!” And she immediately counters, asking if I’m going to have any. When I shared that I was going to pass, she looked disappointed and agreed that she probably wouldn’t have any either.

Obviously, I made that trip to the dessert table with her, and indulged in a half of a pumpkin truffle, while she filled her plate with the goodies she wanted.

Women of America, we need to have a conversation about Dessert Group Think.

Why is it that women are incapable of making their own decisions about dessert? Or fried food, for that matter? Why does it seem to be impossible to form our own dessert opinions?

I think a lot of us attach intense emotions, like guilt, to food. And so, we feel less guilty if other people are eating the “bad” foods because more people choosing to indulge automatically makes it okay.

Let’s think about that for a second: the same emotion that is attached to a car accident or missing a friend’s birthday is associated on a daily basis with eating – something you have to do every day. It’s unhealthy, and it’s got to stop.

If we learned to listen to our bodies – rather than obsessing over calories or what other people might think – we’d probably live healthier lives. We’d order what we actually wanted to order and recognize when our body needs vegetables instead of chocolate. Instead, we’re constantly obsessed over that food we can’t have, and we despise broccoli because it’s not a cupcake. And, news flash: broccoli is never going to be a cupcake.

Ya'll. The only person’s hunger/desire you get access to is your own. If you want the piece of pie (or the entire pie), eat it.


Even if you’re the only person at the table who is getting dessert. 

Monday, November 17, 2014

The sugar struggle bus

Today is Day 15 of my Advocare 24 Day Challenge. While there have definitely been visible results, I'm waiting until the very end of my challenge to take measurements, weigh myself, and post before and after pictures (I actually haven't decided if I'm posting those pesky before pictures yet), one of the best parts of the challenge is that it's killed my sugar addiction.

Ya'll, I was on the sugar struggle bus.

Like, "Oh, I'd like a snack. Sour Patch Kids sound good," kind of struggle bus. Every day.

It's no wonder I had gained a little bit more than I'd like.

Anyways, thanks to this Challenge, I've reclaimed my adulthood, and probably added about ten years to the life of my teeth.

I figured I'd share some of my favorite easy sweet snacks that curb cravings without killing my (mostly) sugar-free streak. This post is part one, and I'll be sure to post a few of my favorite sweet recipes this week!

Spark: Spark is pretty much adult Kool-Aid. With no sugar. Yes, really. Since having my first Spark, I haven't felt the need to eat any sugary gummy candy (my weakness) OR drink soda. It's filled with vitamins, and, as someone who works a desk job, I can honestly say it keeps me focused through that 2-3PM post-lunch slump. If you want to try it for yourself, you can purchase it here (my favorite flavors are Fruit Punch and Grape!): Try Spark here!

Chocolate Banana Nice Cream: 
I did not invent this recipe, but my Vitamix certainly perfected it :) I honestly think this tastes as good as real ice cream -- but you've got to freeze your bananas once they're ripe! Make sure they're pretty spotty before peeling and freezing.

Ingredients:
1 large ripe banana
1 Tbs. cocoa powder
1/2 tsp. vanilla
Unsweetened almond milk (to desired consistency)

1. In a Vitamix or blender, blend all ingredients until smooth, adding unsweetened almond milk until desired consistency is reached.
2. Top with whatever toppings you please -- my favorites are sprinkles and chocolate chips!
If you're feeling super fancy, make your own vegan chocolate magic shell! Melt 1 Tbsp coconut oil in the microwave, and add chocolate chips to your desired chocolate level. Pour over nice cream, let harden, and enjoy!

Baked Quest Bars:
The first time I tried a Quest Bar, I thought it was dis. gust. ing. Turns out, the secret is to bake it! Once baked properly, it transforms into a magic protein cookie, best dunked in unsweetened almond milk or topped with pb2.

Chocolate Brownie and Peanut Butter Supreme Quest cookies topped with PB2 and a side of Nice Cream.

1. Pre-heat oven to 350 degrees.
2. Unwrap Quest Bar of choice (I love White Chocolate Raspberry, Peanut Butter Supreme, Vanilla Almond, and Chocolate Brownie).
2. Microwave Quest Bar for 20 seconds.
3. Divide Quest Bar into three parts. Form into balls.
4. Flatten balls of Quest dough onto a greased cookie sheet.
5. Bake at 350 for seven minutes. 
6. Flip cookies and press down to flatten.
7. Bake for an additional two minutes, let cool, enjoy!

What are your favorite sweet treats? If you could "de-junkify" anything, what would it be?

Monday, April 22, 2013

We juicin' everything up in here

Last week, I bought a juicer. And not just any juicer, but the Breville Compact Juicer. THE juicer.

I figured it's probably the only way to keep up with my growing addiction to green juice, spurred in large part by the movie Fat, Sick, and Nearly Dead.

Clearly, I couldn't wait to break in my new toy, and if you follow me on Instagram, you've likely already seen these gems:

My first Mean Green juice... a delicious treat post-5k.

Veggies ready to go for three servings of Mean Green and three Apple-Beet-Carrot-Ginger juices for my dad.

This was my first time ever working with beets. I couldn't get over how pretty they were! I mean, seriously, check out the color and patterns!

The prep and finished products of yesterday's juice-stravaganza. I am totally loving the mason jars, and they're fun to drink out of.

So I got onto a juice kick after watching some food documentaries, but I certainly am not planning on juice cleansing. I just like solid food, and I think that it's really up to each of us to develop our own food philosophy. Right now, mine is looking like: limited processed foods, dairy, and gluten, lots of fruits and veggies. Juice fits in, and it certainly can't be doing any harm to up my intake of nutrients. Who knows if detoxing is a real thing or not, but it certainly can't hurt to get more greens!

I figured I'd leave you with the Mean Green juice recipe I've been loving the last couple of days. Taken right from Joe the Juicer, who lost 80 pounds juice fasting!


This is my mean green face.

Mean Green Juice
Ingredients:
  • 6 kale leaves
  • 1 cucumber
  • 4 celery stalks, leaves removed
  • 2 green apples, (optional, apple of choice)
  • 1/2 lemon, peeled
  • 1-inch knob ginger root
Directions:
Add all the above ingredients and juice. I juice the green stuff first, then the apple, then finish with lemon and ginger. I also find that by juicing the kale with the cucumber and celery, you get more juice. Just my two cents!