New Experiment

So I have been doing a lot of studying lately on the benefits of taking cold showers in the morning. When I first read this concept I thought that there was no way that I could do it. I love my hot showers. The listed benefits eventuall won out and I tried it. At first I could only do 15 seconds and I thought that was enough because I could say that I was at least doing it. Then I decided to take it a step further and do it for real. So now I take a 3 minute cold shower every morning. The benefits are supposed to be healthy hair and skin, increased circulation, and increased metabalism. The cold water hits your skin which makes your blood rush to your skin. The immediate rush of blood is said to help with depression as well as increasing brain stimulation. I also massage almond oil into my skin while I am showering. Not only does it distract from the intense cold but it is great for my skin. I am not sure yet how many of these positive results I am receiving yet but I can tell you that I now am much happier in the mornings, so that's one good thing!!!

Post Thanksgiving

If you are anything like me then you probably felt a bit full, bloated and a bit sick to your stomach after your Thanksgiving meal. This morning in an attempt to counteract the horrible effects of my Thanksgiving deliciousness, I decided to eat something healthy for breakfast. Of course, it was a smoothie but I packed it with protein, whole grain and spinach which is loaded with protein, zinc and is good for your digestive system. I used 1 cup of frozen blueberries which are very good to counteract bloating and excess salt, 1/2 cup of whole oats, 12 whole raw almonds, 1/2 cup of plain soy yogurt, 1/2 cup pineapple juice and ice to taste. It was really good and packed with nutrients which I really needed today....

Simple!!

Sometimes simple is great. Tonight my super cute husband made grilled chicken and baked an acorn squash. The squash was just cubed with a little bit of olive oil and salt and pepper. Bake it at 380 degrees for about an hour. It was so delicious and very nutritious...

Bean Salad

Beans are an excellent source of protein. 1 cup of red kidbey beans have 16 grams of protein. In comparison, one egg has about 6 grams per regular size egg. Beans have plenty of protein so don't worry if you decide to limit the amount of animal proteins that you have been eating. I just made a really good and pretty easy bean salad. I used 2 cups of dry red beans that had been soaked over night and boiled for 1 1/2 hours. You can use canned, but fresh tastes a little bit better. Dice green and red peppers as well as some purple onion. The sauce is 1 cup olive oil, 1/2 cup vinegar, 1/2 cup agave nector. I put cracked pepper, garlic powder, chili powder and a little bit of ginger in the sauce and poured it over the beans. It was really good and will be great to put over lettuce. Enjoy!!

SUPER TASTY ALERT!!!! So I am a super treat lover. I LOVE chocolate but most chocolate is full of processed sugar, lots of fat and much fat on the thighs!! I have been cutting out my chocolate intake as well as cutting out dairy. I have switched to using soy milk and it's actually pretty good.... So while at the grocery store tonight I found my newest favorite treat. Silk brand chocolate mint soy milk. I was a bit skeptical at first but once I tasted it..yowzers... It is creamy but not thick, the mint and chocolate are a perfect combination. It is made with cane sugars and no artificial flavors. It was so good but I'm sure it's only a holiday edition so get it while you can!!!

Day One!

So today is my first actual blog post so bear with me!!! I am a smoothie lover. I discovered a great trick the other day. Put a whole, peeled banana in the freezer then it is ready to go for an icy smoothie. Today's was 1/2 cup blueberries, one frozen banana, 1/2 cup soy yogurt, 1/2 cup pineapple juice and ice. A couple of great ideas to get a variety in your breakfast smoothie is to add ground up flax seed which is great for the digestive tract, also 1/2 cup of dry whole oatmeal. It may sound strange, but I love to add grapes. They give a nice sweetness without being overly sweet. Also, to get a green smoothie just ad 1 cup of spinach. If you have a decent blender you wont notice have any leaf left. This is just a couple ideas for great smoothies that will give you a lot of great taste and lots of good nutrients.