It's not so sweet as the title may suggest. :) Happy Valentine's Day... Song Written and Performed by Tiana Star
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It's not so sweet as the title may suggest. :) Happy Valentine's Day... Song Written and Performed by Tiana Star
It’s Friday. Like this post if you’d rather be here right now!
Plan your visit to the Aquarium.
In honor of Voting today. I voted. I hope you did. It's a privelege that many have died for and fought for, and still fight for in other parts of the world- or even in households the mothers and fathers that bring their baby and children down to vote to make a difference.
A Thankful Post
Source: 3wishescreations.com via Hannah on Pinterest
I felt joyful and thankful in this moment, and just wanted to take this time to share five things that I'm thankful for.
God and Jesus for loving us and wanting us to be with them
My amazing little daughter, son and husband
Being raised by my wonderful mother and father
My awesome sister
This job and company that allows me to fulfill my own dreams while helping others.
What are you thankful for? I'd love to hear! Hope you're having a wonderful November so far!
My son will love this picture. He just loves trains. He's almost four and been in love with Thomas the Train and all trains for 2 years now. (half his life!) Tonight I told him the story of how I used to read The Boxcar Children books and used to dream of living in a Boxcar in the woods with friends and going on adventures. Isn't wonderful to imagine things?
Days 3 and 4 of National Vegetarian Awareness Month
So, this month is full of lots of things already. So many possibilities in the air. Perhaps it's the beautiful fall weather. It was such a hot summer. It was my first summer not right on the coast in 5 years, so it took some getting used to (meaning, I'm not used to this inland heat). However, now that it's officially Fall, the leaves are changing and the air is filled with a cool breeze and the smell of Autumn. I just love it!
With other new things, I'm VERY excited about a new favorite site called Eating Rules. Andrew Wilder runs the blog and has a special thing going on this month called "Unprocessed" (CLICK HERE TO READ FULL INFO ON EATING UNPROCESSED IN OCTOBER. ) The jist is it's a commitment to not eating any processed foods at all for the month of October. I'm officially starting my commitment tomorrow and would love any of you to join me and talk about our journey. I think it will definitely go hand in hand with trying to eat more plant based and taking out the junk in a lot of our foods.
I just wanted to share that with you today! I tried out a new recipe tonight, but wasn't crazy about it. I'll try another new recipe tomorrow and hopefully I'll like it more, and then I'll share it. Just so you know, I only ever share recipes I've tried/made myself and absolutely love! :)
I'd love to hear from you and let me know if you want to take this Vegetarian/Vegan and Unprocessed Food Journey with me this month! :0)
Also- BIG news coming tomorrow about my musical journey and other stuff! :)
Yes please.
Peanut Butter Blondie Cake Bars Recipe for 3 flavors! Smores, mocha and chip almond.
YUM! I need to get on this!!!!
Being Vegan on a Tight Budget
I already posted today, but I had money on the brain (because I often seem to not have a lot of it) and am always looking for ways to save. I found this awesome new blog that I wanted to share with my readers because a lot of you have also asked about saving money.
Part of my journey in all this, is that I want to take control of my entire life- Spiritually, Physically, Mentally, Emotionally, and Financially. There's so many parts to life we can not control, however we can control ourselves and how we react to situations. So through this transformation physically, I am trying to also work on every aspect of myself and my life that needs improvement.
The blog I found is called, MoneySavingMom.com and here are a few exceptional articles I found in just a brief overview. I'm very excited about this site and it's an area I can really grow in. Even if you're not a mom, almost all the advice wasn't geared towards being a mom, but really towards planning your life and finances better. I hope it helps you as much as it's helping me!
Vegan Money Saving Article:
Plan Your Day
Wise Budgeting
Cool Raw Diet Photo and Info
A sample 100% Raw Food Week. I’m often asked what 100% raw looks like. So I created this chart to represent the components of a day’s intake. The main entrees (breakfast, lunch and dinner) represent 20% each of the days intake, totalling 60%. The remaining 40% is represented by two salads before the lunch and dinner entrees, a snack and a dessert. The three entrees and the remainders equal 100%. Change the chart to suit your needs. If you eat a big breakfast, but no dessert, maybe breakfast represents 30% of your day’s intake. The main thing is that you can see what a 100% week can look like.
More like 70% Raw.
Day 9 Ruby's 30 Day Weight Loss Challenge
What a day! I think I'm definitely still adjusting to having two kids instead of one. Wow, the time flies by twice as fast (wonder why?!?!) :) Both kids and myself were a little under the weather today, so although there were some demanding times, I'm glad it still flew by.
I did manage to barely squeeze in a 20 minute Bar Method workout with one of my DVD's. I was running back and forth between the baby and the toddler the whole time, and finally had to nurse, change a diaper and feed my toddler before I just said enough was enough!
Once my hubby got home tonight I made one of our favorite vegan dishes, a Mexican Casserole, vegan style, from OhSheGlows.com. It was especially delicious, even though I was out of Avocados and Daiya (dairy free) cheese.
So, I worked out, ate vegan, and am tracking my calories today. I'm also preparing for family coming in on Friday to meet the baby, so trying to keep the house clean during all of this! Thankfully, I have a very sweet and understanding husband who does a TON of housework and even steam cleaned all our carpets last night! So thankful to God for him and for my precious babies. No matter how hard the day, I can definitely go to sleep and wake up thanking God for my innumerable blessings, starting with salvation and then my fun family! :)
Also, I wanted to share that if you're thinking of going vegan, or just to try some healthier recipes, there are so many good ones if you search (and feel free to message me for my favorite and links). One of my favorite things to do when up for a really nice treat is to turn a brownie or cake mix vegan! Tonight my family is coming over so instead of using oil and eggs in the mix I substituted the oil portion for Coconut milk and the 1 egg for a 1/4 cup applesauce! Most people even like it better because it's moister and you can't taste the applesauce at all. It's amazing! Here's a pic of the Ghiradelli brownie mix I changed up to go Vegan for dessert!
Day 8 Ruby's 30 Day Weight Loss Challenge
Today was incredibly busy (what's new?!?!) and although I didn't get my daily exercise in, I seized the day with some sister time (who's in town) and had a delicious veggie salad and the best chocolate croissant EVER!!! So, I will still live on this health journey and splurge a bit here and there. It was SO good, and even better since the only "dessert" I'd had in quite a long time were a couple tablespoons of vegan chocolate chips. And even better than the food was some quality time with my dear sister!
I also went grocery shopping, and then picked up my weekly basket provided by Nature's Touch (and dropped at the local delicious restaurant The FIG) filled with greens and fruits from local organic farmers. I look forward to it every Tuesday to see what's in my bag!
tried a new meal tonight in the Everyday Happy Herbivore Cookbook (which is my favorite Vegan cookbook, and the Happy Herbivore blog is also awesome), a corn and bean mexicanish chowder. It wasn't my favorite, but I was so hungry I ate a full bowl! At least it was healthy, and on this journey I promised to try new things. Some I love, some are OK, and some are..well..YUCK! But hey, you'll never find the new thing to love without trying, and that means working through some yuck sometimes- just like everything in life, right?!?!
Well, gotta finish up some work work with my company, Firefly Media, where I help other business owners in social media and design, so ta ta for now!
Tomorrow's Goals real quick:
1. Get my Daily exercise in (Bar Method or Walking)
2. Track all my food
3. Smile and have fun! :)
Day 3 of Ruby's Weight Loss Challenge
So, my little newborn fell asleep while I was making myself a smoothie (of course she did!) and my 3 year old is with his Auntie and grandparents, so I decided to take this brief quiet moment to blog about this journey.
I've been really inspired and hopeful doing this challenge with Ruby and a bunch of other strangers I've never met. I love connecting with people and there's something so powerful about when people come together to change themselves for the better. I love that Ruby mentions God and that we should pray about this. My number one goal above all else is to please God since the bible says "The whole duty of man is to fear God and keep his commands." said by Solomon in Ecclesiastes. Solomon is said to be one the wisest men of all. He was the King of Israel and he lived many years and had many wives and concubines. He had what every man could ever want, and at the end of his very long life (because we all are only human, even if we live hundreds of years like Solomon) he said that "all is vanity" and ended by saying in Ecclesiastes 12:13 "Let us hear the conclusion of the whole matter: Fear God, and keep his commandments: for this is the whole duty of man."
The truth is, no matter how slim, beautiful, physically healthy, wealthy, poor, happy, sad, etc...we are as humans (and it changes day to day, right?)...it really doesn't mean anything if we're not putting God first. We're all going to die someday- sure we want to live the best life we can, but we need to know what is #1- and that should be God!
"Create in me a clean heart, O God, And renew a steadfast spirit within me."- Psalm 51:10.
(photo courtesy TiffanyNoth.com)
This happened to be the "verse of the day" on my bible plan. I will meditate on these words of God today, and pray you will as well. As I strive to "eat clean" and cleanse my body from bad foods I've put it in, my more earnest prayer is that God cleanses my heart from any selfishness and things that can keep me from Heaven and a content life on this beautiful created Earth.
God Bless you today and as always I'd love to hear from you and if you'd ever like a bible study or prayers, please feel free to email me and I'd be so honored to lift you up in prayer to our Lord and Savior.
Day 2 of Ruby's 30 Day Weight Loss Challenge
Well, I'm almost done with Day 2 of Ruby's 30 Day Weight Loss Challenge and it's going really well. The day started out awesome as I made a low cal iced soy latte from home and a delicious smoothie. I went to this local Cattle Drive in Paso Robles, CA with my family and turned down the temptation of the free mini muffins and pops and stuck with my bottled water and a Larabar I had packed, not realizing we'd be waiting for the cattle for so long. It was actually a lot of fun, and the weather here was in the 70's with a cool breeze- PERFECT!
After that my mom and my kids and I went to this small local market that sells local farmer's organic produce and organic dry goods. I picked up some delicious fresh fruits and veggies and came back home. While the kids were napping, I got started on dinner. I actually made organic, long grain brown rice from scratch (instead of pre-packaged or "instant"). I made enough for later as well as for the Bean, Kale, and Rice soup I made for dinner.
I found an awesome app for tracking calories that I find is better than the Weight Watcher's one, especially since it's FREE, and it's called MyFitnessPal Calorie Counter. It's amazing and I highly recommend it! I'm still deciding if I want to join Weight Watchers for the accountability or join the local T.O.P.S. group. Although the TOPS people were so nice, it was a little odd with the singing and there was no one close to my age- my mom was the closes to my age. I'd like to use these meetings to not just lose weight, but to also connect with others in the area since we're still new to the area.
So, I've been doing well, but I had some higher calorie snacks today, and it's only 6 p.m. and I only have 70 calories left. However, I'm pretty full and think I can stay close to my goal. I also didn't get a walk in today, but I did stand and walk the whole time at the cattle drive as well as the extra shopping, cooking and taking care of the kids kept me busy and active.
Goals for tomorrow will be to keep assessing the kind of calories I'm eating by eating more low cal high fiber fruits & veggies , exercising first thing in the morning, and staying loving, kind and positive to myself and everyone around me!
Healthy Book Club!
So I've been talking about and subscribed to Healthy Herbivore's Blog and was SO excited to see they started a new book this week for their book club- and it's the one I've been wanting to read!
After watching the documentary (you can stream for free on Netflix right now) "Forks Over Knives," some of the medical doctors featured in the film were the ones who wrote this month's Book Club book, Keep It Simple Keep It Whole written by doctors, and husband/wife duo, Alona Pulde MD and Matthew Lederman MD.
I read the first three chapters today so that I could answer the questions she posted on the book forum. I'm just so excited to be a part of this new community and trying to be healthier! I'm really proud of my husband as well, who is going on this journey with me, which is saying a lot since he was raised in Wyoming growing up with meat as the main food on the plate. Although it was mostly "wild, healthy game" as he likes to say, I'm just super proud of him!
Well, I hope you'll join me on this journey and read the book and comment with me! As always, please feel free to write, post a comment and say hi!
Happy Herbivore's Pantry List
Guest Blog from HappyHerbivore.com
My Pantry Food List
by Lindsay S. Nixon
There have been times in the past where I starred at my near-empty fridge and thought “there is nothing to eat!” but in reality, there was a meal lingering in my pantry.
One of my go-to’s is HH’s 6-ingredient Black Bean Burgers, which I recently made with kidney beans because I was all out of black beans!
A well stocked (and organized) pantry makes cooking fun, and also ensures you have a meal to fall back on. (If all else fails make pancakes or oatmeal!).
Below is a list of things I never let run out in my pantry, and as long as you have these you can make almost any recipe in either of my cookbooks or from this website.
Canned Goods: beans, tomatoes, pumpkin, tomato paste, tomato sauce, and vegetables
Dry Goods & Grains: brown rice, quinoa, oats, lentils, split peas, and dry beans
Condiments & Sauces: balsamic vinegar, white vinegar, marinara sauce, ketchup, Dijon mustard, yellow mustard, salsa, peanut butter, barbecue sauce, hot sauce, soy sauce, and steak sauce
Spices: nutritional yeast, grwww.tumblr.comr, www.tumbwww.tumblrwww.tumblr.comnd cumin, ground ginger, chili powder, ground coriander, oregano, thyme, garam masala, nutmeg, Italian seasoning, kelp, curry powder, paprika, pumpkin pie spice, red pepper flakes (or cayenne pepper), turmeric, and rubbed sage
Baking Needs: baking soda, baking powder, brown & raw sugar, agave nectar or pure maple syrup, cornmeal, flour (white whole wheat, white whole wheat pastry, chickpea), unsweetened applesauce, unsweetened cocoa, and vanilla extract
Produce & Herbs: garlic, onion, ginger, spinach, lettuce, tomatoes, potatoes, carrots, celery, seasonal fresh fruits and vegetables, bananas, lemons, limes, apples, and out-of-season frozen fruits and vegetables
Other: tofu, vegetable broth, non-dairy milk, and miso
I am extremely worried about running out of non-dairy milk, vegetable broth, and applesauce that I panic if I have less than 2-3 spare containers of each on hand! Some of my favorite pantry recipes are the Red Lentil Dal, Cinnamon Buns (p. 36, HHC) and Black Bean & Salsa Soup (p. 100, EHH).