A Day Full of Vegetables

Hello everyone! I hope you are all doing great. It sure was a beautiful day here in Arkansas! The sun was out and shining bright.

This morning I went to our local Farmer's Market and scored on some delicious greens--
Zucchini, Kale, Chard, and Basil!

Leafy greens have so many health benefits! Along with tasting great, they are full of vitamins, minerals, and disease-fighting phytochemicals. It is recommended to eat 5 servings of vegetables a day, including leafy greens. 

Kale is a good source of antioxidants, calcium, potassium, iron, and vitamin K just to name a few. 

Swiss Chard is also a good source of antioxidants, vitamin E, beta carotin, magnesium, potassium, and vitamin K. 

I use the kale in my smoothies on a daily basis. 

The chard I use on sandwiches or use as a "lettuce" wrap.  It has a delicious earthy taste. 

For dinner, my husband and I cut up all of our veggies: We had squash, eggplant, zucchini, and beets. They tasted amazing hot off the grill. 

Fresh vegetables are so quick and easy to prepare. If you do not have time to fire up the grill, they taste amazing cooked in a skillet. We sprinkled some Olive Oil, Turmeric, and Bragg's Organic Sprinkle on top.

To go on top of the vegetables, I made a raw zucchini dip. It consisted of zucchini, fresh basil, and a handful of walnuts. Throw all of it in the food processor and voila! This was delicious. It would make a perfect dip! 

You can use red pepper, carrots, or whatever with a good crunch to eat with the dip. Aren't those baby carrots so cute? I got them at the Market today as well. 

Until next time, have a blessed day!! Oh and go eat your GREENS! :) Your body and mind will thank you!

JP

Homemade Almond Milk

Hello everyone! I hope you each are having a great day so far! My day started with a great 5am session at the gym!

I do not know about you, but at my household we go through at least 6 liters (approximately 1.5 gallons) of Organic Almond Milk a week. My husband and I have decided to make our own because we know it only contains almonds, no added chemicals and ingredients.

This was our first time to make some.

Things you will need:

-A bowl or pitcher
-Ultra Fine cheesecloth (I got mine from Amazon)
-Blender (we use a Vitamix)



Ingredients:

-1 cup raw almonds (soaked overnight for at least 8 hours)
-4 cups water
-1 teaspoon vanilla


Steps:

1.Soak the almonds overnight
2. Rinse almonds until water runs clear.
3. Add almonds and water to blender
4. Blend for about 2 minutes
5. Pour through cheesecloth into container
6. Squeeze cheesecloth till no more liquid comes out
7. Add vanilla
8. Refrigerate

This milk will last for 3 days in the refrigerator, if you do not drink it all before then! :)

Creamy Goodness

There you go, it is that simple! You just made homemade almond milk.


Until next time, I hope you have a blessed day!
JP

Day 3 of Cleanse Complete!

Hello everyone! I hope each of you are having a great day! If you do not know all ready, I started a juice cleanse 3 days ago. I just completed my last day with my dessert drink!

Before I started this process, I was pretty nervous I would be hungry all the time! To my surprise, I was not hungry at all. Seriously, the juices, water, and herbal tea kept me full!

While going through a cleanse you are helping get rid of the toxins and impurities in your body. There are some potential side effects such as headaches, fatigue, stomach cramps, and hunger. Increasing your water intake, during the process, helps keep these at bay. On the morning of my second day, I woke up with a slight headache. Thankfully, after I consumed my breakfast juice I was good as new.

My body feels lighter, healthier, and just happier! My skin is even brighter. :)

I have been asked by different people if this was worth it and if I could tell a big difference. My answer is YES! You will just have to go and try it for yourself now. You will see!

My last dinner and dessert!

Dinner is served "Green Supreme" 

The most delicious "Vanilla Cloud"

The "Vanilla Cloud" is simply divine. I LOVE almond milk and at my house we go through it like crazy. We are actually going to start making our own tomorrow. I can't wait! The almond milk combined with the nutmeg and cinnamon hits your taste-buds just right and makes them go "ahhhhhhhh." It reminds me of Christmas for some reason; another reason I love it!

So if you are interested in doing a cleanse, go for it! Your body will thank you!

Until next time, I hope you have a blessed day!
JP

Day 1 Cleanse Complete

Hello everyone! I hope you are all having a great day! I was up super late last night making sure the severe weather did not come into our area. Thankfully it did not, but others were not as fortunate and my thoughts and prayers are with them. Hopefully the southern plains will not have to experience very much more (fingers crossed). 

Today was the first day of my cleanse. I woke up and drank some warm water with a tablespoon of apple cider vinegar to get started. About 30 minutes later I was ready for my "Glow" juice. It contains green apple, cucumber, celery, collard greens, spinach, kale and spearmint. This one was pretty good!

Breakfast

Before I headed to the gym, I had my mid-morning "Fuel" juice containing carrot, apple, pineapple, orange, lemon and tumeric. The carrot and pineapple really popped in this one. Carrot juice is my FAVORITE and I could drink it everyday. My husband calls it my "Carrot Dirt", hence where I got the name for my blog :)

Photo by JP

When I got back from the gym, I drank my "Purify" lunch juice containing carrot, apple, celery, cucumber, lemon and beet. 

Lunch

My mid-afternoon juice"Fiji" contained apple, celery, cucumber, spinach, kale, collard greens, lemon and ginger. The cucumber was strong in this one so I enjoyed it very much! On this cleanse you can incorporate fresh organic fruits and veggies as well. Since I had a good workout this morning, I ate a fresh red apple along with this juice. 

Afternoon Snack

Last but not least, dinner, I had my "Green Supreme" juice containing kale, green apple and lemon followed by the "Vanilla Cloud" dessert. I will have to admit "Green Supreme" was hard to drink. It's not that it was necessarily unpleasant tasting it is just that the kale/lemon was overpowering. Add to that, I was not very hungry to begin with and was really craving something with actual texture. In order to get some texture to compliment this juice, I ate some honeydew melon, strawberries, and cherries. 

Photo by JP: Dinner & Dessert

Dinner

The "Vanilla Cloud" dessert is out of this world! It is absolutely delicious! It contains almond milk, coconut milk, vanilla bean, honey, filtered water, nutmeg and cinnamon. Yum yum!!!! 

Dessert

All in all, day one was fairly easy! I am sure tomorrow will be a little more tough. I am going to incorporate some fresh vegetables tomorrow. I will keep y'all updated! 

Have a great night everyone!!

JP

Juice, Juice and More Juice

Hello everyone! I hope you all are having a great day! 

Juicing has always been a hobby of mine. My mom got me started on the idea of it when I was in junior high. She would try to explain to me the health benefits of drinking fresh juice. As I have gotten older and researched on my own, I am now glad she introduced it to me. 

Over the past few months, my husband and I have been juicing quite a bit. Fresh organic juice a long with my smoothies keep us quite full; Full of nutrients, energy and pure goodness :)

I found a company in California, Suja Juice, who offer cold-pressed organic juices. At first, I did not notice they shipped them overnight. I thought it was a only local deal along with being offered in Whole Food stores, which we do not have, sadly.

You hear about how the body needs to be "cleansed" at least once a year. I have always wanted to try it, and now is my chance. I have committed myself to doing a three day cleanse with my freshly shipped Suja Juice! I will start tomorrow and go through Monday. Of course, I will be keeping you guys updated on the process. 

Suja's states:
"The body's internal system is a hardworking machine and just like us, it needs a break from time to time.That's where Suja’s cold-pressed, organic juices come in handy. Allow your digestive system to rest and repair while old toxins are escorted out of the tissues and eliminated from the body. Our unique certified organic blends combine the most delicious flavors to make the experience a treat from start to finish!"

JUICE!!

My meals for the next three Days plus extra!

The 3 Day Cleanse

We opened one of the Vanilla Cloud drinks to taste and oh my goodness it was amazing!! Even Zoie, my 11 year-old niece loved it. 

Anyways, I will keep you guys updated! As I am sure I am not the only one who has been intrigued by cleanses!

Have a blessed day!!

JP 

Sorry So Late...

Hello everyone! I hope you all are having a great day! So, I have been having major issues with my blog. For some reason I could not sign in for the longest time. Thus, I have been unable to post the results of my 28 day Eat Clean Challenge.

Also, I have gone back and forth on if I actually wanted to post the results. This is a HUGE step for me because my entire life I have been made fun of for my weight. Even when I was not overweight. To this day I could tell you every name of every person who constantly made fun of me. So please be kind!

Since I have transformed myself into a healthier me, I have decided to also step out of my comfort zone and post them. I am very proud of the progress I have made over 2 years. I met my goal of losing 75 lbs. I still can't believe I did it all by myself. I am proof that anyone can do this!

 At the end of the 28 days, I lost a total of 7 lbs. I can tell a difference in my back, buttocks :) and upper chest. I am happy with the results and will continue my journey of living healthy. One day at a time is all we can do.

Right is before--Left is After

 Before----------- After

 Before -------------- After

Current Weight 150 lbs. I was just over 140 in high school.

Anyways, there it is. There I am laying it out there for all you to see :) Imperfections and all!

Did I mention I got my boot off and can now slowly start to run again! I am one happy girl!!

Until next time, I hope you have a blessed day!!

JP

Fruits and Veggies Kind of Day

Hello everyone! I hope you all are having a great day! It is a beautiful day here in Arkansas! The sun is shining bright and it feels great!

This morning I went to the gym and completed my workout. I did some lower body weights, the rower, and the bike. The rowing machine is great cardio. I have worked myself up to 45 minutes on it and by the end of that I am spent!

The other day I bought a bunch of veggies and fruit in order to juice them. This afternoon, my husband and I got to work and filled four mason jars!

Photo by JP

Here are the apples, pears, kiwi, celery, lemon, and cucumber used in todays juicing. The strawberries and spinach used are not pictured (all organic). 

Photo by JP

From left to right:

1.) Apple, lemon (amazing lemonade)

2.) Apple, lemon, strawberries (heavenly lemonade)

3.) Spinach, cucumber, kiwi and pear

4.) Spinach, celery, cucumber, pear and apple

Juicing can get messy, but the juice deliciousness is so worth it. Also, the health benefits. :)

This afternoon, we were all craving a snack. I decided to try a new smoothie recipe and it turned out perfect.

The smoothie is called "Strawberry Shortcake." The name had me from the get go.

Ingredients:

-2 cups unsweetened vanilla almond milk

-1 and 1/4 cup organic strawberries

-2 medjool dates (pitted)

-1/2 teaspoon organic lemon rind

-1/2 teaspoon organic vanilla extract

-1 cup ice

This makes 2 servings.

Blend well and enjoy! 

Photo by JP

Smoothies are so quick and simple. You should give them a try! 

Until next time, I hope you have a blessed day!

JP 

Keeping it Up

Hello everyone! I hope you all are having a great day so far! This week was somewhat stressful. Life will definitely do that to you! On the bright side, I did very good on my Clean Eating Challenge.

My wonderful brother came up to visit this weekend and brought me a few of my favorite things from Whole Foods. He also brought several GiGi Cupcakes (Oh my!) I am only human and I am going to be completely honest--I ate one! I savored every bite of it. It was insanely delicious!

Tomorrow I will be back on track 100%. Tomorrow will mark the end of the 2nd week of my 28 day challenge.

This morning, I had a VERY good workout. By the end of my upper body weight session, my arms were jello. I finished with a great cardio session.

I wanted to share a few pins I came across on pinterest:

Over the past several days, I have received several sweet messages about how I am inspiring people to become healthier. I absolutely had no idea I was inspiring others like that. It sincerely touched my heart in more ways than they will ever know.

Make sure to look for my posts this coming week. I am trying out some new clean recipes and will be sharing them!

Until next time, I hope you have a blessed day!! Remember, you can do it, just take it one day at a time.
JP

Clean Eating Cookies

Hello everyone! I hope you all are having a great day! Today, I was craving something sweet and decided to make some clean eating peanut butter and chocolate cookies. 

So, I am sure you are asking," how can a cookie be clean?" Well they are with this easy recipe.

Healthier Peanut Butter Cookies

1 1/4 cups chickpeas
2 tsp vanilla
1/2 cup + 2.5 tablespoons natural peanut butter
1/4 cup natural honey
1 tsp baking powder
1/2 cup cacao nibs

Preheat oven to 350°F.  Combine all the ingredients, except for the cacao nibs, in a food processor and pulse until extremely smooth. It took about 30 seconds for me. Next, fold in the cacao nibs.  Roll into balls. The resulting mixture will be thick and sticky. Place cookies onto a non-stick baking sheet.  Bake for about 14 minutes. Mine made 14 cookies.

(Recipe based off of http://mywholefoodlife.com/)

Photo by JP

Cacao Nibs

You can replace cacao nibs with regular chocolate chips, white chocolate chips, nuts, etc. I chose Cacao Nibs because of their health benefits. 

Did you know that Cacao is one of the MOST antioxidant-rich foods on the planet? The Navitas Naturals website states that, "Research has shown that antioxidants like those found in our cacao nibs offer immune-boosting properties as well as the ability to prevent serious health conditions including heart disease and cancer. One of nature's richest dietary sources of magnesium, cacao nibs are also an excellent source of iron and dietary fiber. You'll feel really great about eating cacao nibs, due to the alkaloids theobromine, phenylethylamine and anandamine, which boost your mood and can make you feel like you're in love!"

Besides being used in baked goods, you can also sprinkle these bad boys on your cereal, yogurt, ice cream, oatmeal or whatever you wish. 

I definitely recommend giving them a shot! 

I paired them with a glass of unsweetened almond milk to which I added a dash of cinnamon--delicious and my sweet tooth is satisfied. 

Until next time, have a blessed day!

JP

1st Week of Challenge Completed

Hello everyone! I hope you all are having a great day! Well, the first week of my Eat Clean challenge is complete! Clean eating combined with my normal cardio and training, I lost a little over 4 lbs just this week. Yay! I am a little less than a pound away from reaching my initial goal I set a year ago--75 lbs! I know, I will have it accomplished by next week!

Last night, we went out to eat with family. This was my first time to eat out on the challenge and I was able to stick to it just fine.  Ordering off the light menu, I got grilled rainbow trout, a plain sweet potato, and garden salad. The trout was delicious and the sweet potato was even better. The only topping I might add to my sweet potatoes is cinnamon. I find no need to add brown sugar or butter because they are already so naturally sweet.

www.positivemed.com

Last night, I was unable sleep, not even a minute! I have no idea why, but I was wide awake. By the time 4:15 am rolled around, I decided just to head off to the gym. My plan was to go at 6, but I was all ready wide awake. I completed some upper weights and an hour of cardio. It was a very good workout!

Did you get your workout in today? Did you eat healthy clean food today?

Over the past 2 years I have became a smoothie maniac. I am curious, what is your favorite smoothie ingredients? Please share them with me!!

Until next time, I hope you have a blessed day!

JP

Relaxing Friday

Hello everyone! I hope you all are having a great day!

Last night, I could not go to sleep whatsoever. I am hoping tonight will be much better!

For breakfast this morning, I had greek yogurt with blueberries and a few slices of pineapple. I will confess after I ate my breakfast, I went back to bed. When I got up, I completed my hour of spinning! My love for spinning and the bike is growing everyday.

My midmorning snack consisted of an apple and some almonds. For lunch I had tuna with red onion, spinach, mustard, broccoli, and sweet potato. Mid-afternoon snack, was more greek yogurt and blueberries.

For dinner, I made a DELICIOUS spicy tofu sandwich with some raspberries on the side. I was at the health food store the other day (imagine that) and stumbled upon this spicy tofu.

This is a ready to eat tofu. It can be eaten straight out of the package, crumbled on salads, or mixed in a stir-fry.  I put mine on toasted Ezekiel bread, topped with red onion, tomato, spinach, vegan cheese, and Sriracha. It was amazing!!

Photo by JP

 I scored a sweet deal on these organic raspberries today! They are usually $4.99 per carton and I got them on sale for 2 for $4.99!! You can't pass that up. I got a few extra to freeze for my smoothies.

Photo by JP

Day 6 is now completed of my Clean Eating challenge.  Have you started your challenge yet? There is no better time to start than now. 

The Eat Clean Diet

Until next time, I hope you have a blessed day!
JP

Clean Eating Challenge Day 5

Hello everyone! I hope you all are having a great day! Today has been a somewhat lazy day due to the cloudy, misty, and cooler weather. Day 4 of my eat clean challenge went great! I ate my 5 meals throughout the day and am going strong.

This challenge has really opened my eyes to how I was eating before. It was not that I was necessarily eating bad, it was that I was not eating enough. Being able to eat a lean protein and complex carbohydrate at every meal keeps you full all day long.

Eat Clean Diet

These were my meals for today: 

1.) 1/4 cup oatmeal with unsweetened almond milk, cinnamon and half an organic apple. For protein, I had 1/2 a cup of fat free greek yogurt.

2.) Apple and almonds

3.) Organic turkey burger, spinach, broccoli, red onion, mustard

4.) greek yogurt, watermelon

5.) Organic chicken apple sausage, broccoli and sweet potato with cinnamon

Breakfast is by far my favorite meal of the day. I am slightly obsessed with oatmeal :) I will let you in on one of my secrets. The night before, I measure out my 1/4 cup of oatmeal, mixing it with 1/2 cup unsweetened almond milk, 1 tablespoon ground flax and cinnamon, cover and put it in the refrigerator. When I wake up in the morning it looks like double the amount from what I had before. Then, I simply add my other 1/2 cup almond milk and heat in the microwave. If you choose, add a chopped apple (or whatever fruit you like) and tad-uh! Easy and filling! Soaking the oats allows them to be more easily digested.
Another thing, I noticed I was not doing was eating enough greens. Now, my plate is always half filled with them! 

Eat Clean Diet

This week I ate a lot of broccoli. 

Who knew Broccoli had so many health benefits along with being so simple to make. For this week, I bought a few bags from the health food store and steamed them in the microwave. 

Next time, I am going to try roasting some in the oven with some garlic and chili flakes!

Until next time, I hope you have a blessed day!

JP