Cize Transformations!

Cize is seriously the program to end all other workout programs! LOL! I really mean it though, because I had so much fun dancing and sweating, and the results are actually real! You can actually tone up and lose weight with a dance workout....and trust me I was skeptical. ;) Today, I really wanted to shout out two of my challenge group girls for their success, and I invited them to share their experience. Show them some love!

Michaeline is the awesome girl above, and she rocked Cize for sure! I mean look at the transformation! She said, "I really like cize a lot. I liked how it didn't feel like I was working out while doing it, and actually had fun. it was the first and only program I've actually finished and it felt really good to complete it. I also really liked having motivation from other girls doing the same thing, and didn't feel like I was doing it alone, and the best part was seeing results after having fun!" 

Sasha blew me away with her progress, and she was such a positive light in the group! She said, "I love to dance so when I heard about Cize, I got so excited... Dancing as a workout, hell ya! To be honest I didn't expect much result wise, I just saw it as a fun way to stay active. Well I was mistaken, the further you get in the routines the more challenging you can be and Shawn T is not afraid to make you jump around until you're pouring sweat! I lost 10 pounds in 30days, gained confidence and some dance moves! I LOVE Cize and it will always be my go to for exercise or a fun dance session!!!"

This is nutrition, support, and at-home workouts put to the test, and these girls totally rocked it! 

Red Lentil Potato Soup

Before making this soup, I had NEVER had lentils before, so I wasn't really sure what to expect to be honest. I was pleasantly surprised, and will definitely be making this soup again! There is nothing to describe the flavor really except that it tastes just like fall and is the perfect soup to ring in the new season!

What you need
6 cups veggie broth (I made my own but you don't have to)
1 yellow onion (diced)
Garlic to taste
Red Potatoes (this will help give your soup texture so use as many as you want)
2 cups red lentils
3-4 large carrots (diced)
Spices (I used paprika, cayenne pepper, chili powder, and salt)

What you need to do
Place the onion and garlic in your pot over medium high heat and sauté for a few minutes.
Add in carrots and pieces of your potatoes and cook for another 3-5 minutes.
Pour in your veggie broth, lentils, and spices and bring to a boil.
Once boiling, reduce to medium low heat and simmer until soup is thick and potatoes are soft. (This took me about 30 minutes, and I added water a few times to keep it to the consistency that I liked.)

Remember to have fun in the kitchen! Find the enjoyment in cooking, change the recipe if you have to, and work with what you have! :)

Stuffed Red Bell Peppers

I was really hesitant to try this recipe because normally I hate all things healthy. LOL. I have found super yummy ways to make recipes I would normally dislike, but I was super nervous that there was no fixing this one. I had the ingredients in my house already though, so I thought....Let's do this! And it was AMAZING! Don't look for specific amounts of ingredients here, because I'm not a professional  ;)

What you need:
1 red bell pepper
Cooked brown rice
Broccoli
Your choice of seasonings (I did garlic, salt, pepper, nutritional yeast, and italian seasoning.)

What you do:
1. Preheat the oven to 400 degrees
2. Cut the bell peppers in half and remove the core
3. Place the peppers face down on a greased baking tray and cook for about 25 minutes
4. Chop your broccoli finely or use a food processor to get the pieces really small
5. Place the broccoli and the rice in a pan with seasonings and sauté until broccoli is cooked
6. When everything is done, spoon the rice mixture into the bell peppers and enjoy!

How to Stay Healthy and Still Travel

Here we are in the middle of summer! It’s the time of warm weather and vacations! I love to travel, but I know that it usually brings a certain sense of anxiety when it comes to my health and fitness goals and staying on track! However, when we went to Nashville for our coaching summit, I was able to stay on track! Here are my tips for staying healthy while on the go this summer! :)

1. Take an hour or so to think about what you will be doing, when you will be stopping, where you will want to eat, and how long you will be gone. Planning these things out will help you when it comes to being mentally prepared for the temptations that may come along

2. Bring your own food – Yep, I want you to be that person! I don’t mean that you need to bring your own food with you every where that you go, but go ahead and back a bunch of snacks and a cooler full of fruits and veggies in the car. These are great for the trip, but also to keep in your hotel room or  wherever you are staying. This way, there is no excuse to be snacking on unhealthy stuff all day!

3. Opt for water – This is one of the easiest things you can do in terms of staying healthy while away from home. I know that ice-cold sodas and alcoholic drinks can be tempting, but they are also super high in sugar and dehydrating! You’re already going to be in a new place with a new climate and new temptations…drink the water.

4. Tell your travel companions and friends and family at the destination about your goals – You will do so much better if you have support along the way, and your loved ones will feel special that you asked them to help you! Make sure that you let them know why this is important to you. You can even plan to make some fun, new healthy recipes or make a game out of who can find the best options on the road.

5. Stick it out until 5pm – If you MUST splurge on some not-so-good foods (and I get that….trust me), then just try your best to make your choices as healthy as possible until dinner! This will keep you feeling awesome all day, and you won’t be as upset about having that extra scoop of ice cream for dessert! :)

My first week eating MOSTLY RAW

 Before going about 80% raw, I had contemplated it for a very long time. I was always watching FullyRaw Kristina's videos on youtube (sometimes just because all the colors made me happy...seriously, check her out), and I just couldn't shake the feeling that it made sense nutritionally. Not to mention that it always made my previous vegan senses tingle a bit. I found myself binge watching her youtube videos and talking to my fiancé a lot about what I was learning, so finally I decided to try this thing out in a way that would work for us.

I want to make sure to say that we are not 100% raw. Yet. I don't know that we ever will be, but we do eat mostly raw foods. There is an occasional day in which we pig out on non-raw foods more than others, but the majority of the time, it's mostly dressings for salads, croutons, pieces of dark chocolate, and the occasional zevia that make up the part of the diet that isn't raw.

Let's just get right down to the pros and cons of this type of diet from my perspective. Do you want the good or the bad first? Just kidding, it's only me that gets to decide here ;) I always like to finish up with dessert, so let's do the bad first and sweeten it up.

CONS

• When we first stockpiled up our food stash, the bill was a bit much. We are people who believe on investing in our health, so it wasn't really a problem for us, but it was a bit of a shock at first. When replenishing the supply and getting enough food to keep a good rotation of ripe and unripe food, we saw that the number wasn't as high as before. So it's just the initial hit. However, you must keep in mind that it is not the fault of the fruits and veggies that they are more expensive. Please do not take it out on your body by buying things just because they are cheaper. Your dollar is your vote, so vote on your health by investing in it if you can. 
• I still get cravings for cooked foods. BUT, you can only crave things that you are used to. As the week went on, I noticed that those cravings went down a lot because of the fact that my body was becoming more accustomed to the raw foods. Get past the cravings by staying strong, and you will feel much better. 
• It was difficult at first, and still is, to eat the amount of food that I need to eat to get enough calories. I'm getting used to it a bit more now, but sometimes it was a bit overwhelming to eat 2 or 3 heads of greens at a time. It helps to get them in with smoothies if you find that it is a problem for you. 
• I had a bit of a detox and it was very disheartening for bit. I am still detoxing, just so you know, but it has decreased. There are many different things that can happen to different people when your body releases all the toxins that it has built up over time of eating foods that aren't good for you. I had a bunch of acne pop up on my face, and it isn't all gone yet. It has subsided a lot though! I have found that it is very helpful to remember that your body is cleaning itself and the symptoms of that are probably a GOOD THING. 
• People talk a lot about the "weird" amount of fruit that I carry with me all the time. This isn't really a con, but it can be a bit overwhelming at times for me still. At times, I don't have all the answers for their questions on why so many bananas or why can't you cook things or where do you get your protein. It has been helping tremendously to educate myself more and more on the topic so that I feel comfortable when people ask or look at me funny. Trust me, they will. And it's okay :) You are feeding yourself the normal amount of good foods. They're the weird ones!

PROS

• I have been trying out all types of fruits that I had never even thought of trying before. I was so stuck in the same fruit and veggie rut all the time before, and since doing this, I realized that I needed to branch out if I was going to be successful and happy. I haven't done a ton of branching in the vegetable area yet, but I have since tried more than 5 different types of fruits that I had never tried before, and for a picky eater like me that is a big adventure!
• My body is reacting nicely and loving this change. I am a VERY pear shaped girl. I eat a donut and I promise you that my cellulite level skyrockets. I've still got my share, but I have noticed that eating this way has decreased it in a really awesome way! I am so much more confident about the lower half of my body, and even without seeing the physical changes, I am way happier knowing that I am doing something for myself that others won't do. 
• I wake up craving good foods. It's such a treat to wake up and know that I get to drink a bunch of fruit infused water followed by as much of my favorite fruit as I want. We're talking a whole watermelon or a huge bag of cherries. It's been amazing to watch my cravings change. 
• There isn't a limit on how much I can eat. Don't take that as a challenge to eat as much as humanly possible :) I get to eat basically as much as I want of these foods, and I don't have to worry about counting calories or portioning it out. I follow a couple of guidelines on how I structure my meals, but that is it. 
• Lastly, looking at colorful food all day has increased my mood. The same joy that I got from watching these videos on youtube is now being created by me in my own home. I'm creating beautiful fruit plates and seeing how many colors I can incorporate at once, and it's very uplifting stuff! 

Let me know in the comments if you would like more information on how I decide how much food to get at the store, how I structure my meals and my day, and how I store the produce! I'll create more posts like this if it's something that you all want to see :) 

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Cauliflower Mashed "Potatoes"

Let me just start out by saying that I was NOT a believer in this when I first heard of it. In fact, it was a big HECK NO in my book. It's funny what an almost empty fridge and a need for dinner will do to you, though. The first time that I made this, I made it as a stir fry with tempeh...it was literally all that we had in our fridge and grocery shopping wasn't happening for another day. These mashed potatoes aren't a totally whipped texture, just so you know. I'm sure that you can make them that way, but I love the in between texture of a mashed potato and rice/couscous. I can add in some protein and go!

What you need
1 head of cauliflower
1/4 cup parmesan cheese
Minced garlic (I'm not one to limit your garlic, go crazy!)
Pepper and salt to taste
Food processor or high-speed blender

What you need to do
1. Cut the cauliflower into smaller pieces so that they easily fit into the processor.
2. Shred the cauliflower in the processor until they reach the consistency you want (rice like or a little more fine for a mashed potato consistceny)
3. Transfer the cauliflower to a pan over medium heat and add in your garlic, cheese, and whatever spices you would like. I play around a bit each time and add something new, so just do what sounds good.
4. Cook for about 7 minutes, and you're done!