Good Habits Are Addicting!!

I read a quote that said "Good habits are just as addicting as bad habit but they are much more rewarding". I can honestly say that this is so true!!!

I have been juicing my breakfast for over a week now. If I don't juice in the morning, I don't feel right (now if only I can get like that about exercising)! I was making my breakfast juice every morning and posting what I made on my Facebook page. A cousin of mine said that she would like to juice but she doesn't want to clean the juicer every morning. Initially, I said that cleaning the juicer every morning was worth it to me because I practically knock out all of my fruit and veggie servings all at one time. So, I decided to make a big batch of juice to last me through the week. I am sharing the recipe with you. This juice I am calling the "Everything But The Kitchen Sink Juice". I made up just under 2 gallons of this juice. That should last me until Thursday or Friday!

1 Bag of Kale Greens
1.5 Bags of Spinach
2 Cans of Pineapple (in pineapple juice)
1 Can of Peaches (in light syrup; pour off the syrup and rinse the pears with water twice)
4 Pears
2.5 Cantaloupes
1.25 Heads of Red Cabbage
1.5 Bunches of Radishes
2 Pints of Black Berries
2 lbs of Strawberries
1 Bag of White Grapes
4 Apples
7 Oranges
24 Carrots
2 Papayas
2 Pomegranates
4 Celery Stalks

It took quite some time to juice all of this since my juicer is not very big but it was worth it.

This is a picture of what the juice looks like in the two 1 gallon jugs that I have it in. The color is deceiving because the juice is very good.



What healthy food choices are you making for a healthier you?? Please share!!!

Until next time loves!!!!

Weight Loss Journey Restart

Good morning loves!!!

Who all made the decision to be healthier this year and lose weight? I know that I make this decision every year, multiple times per year. One thing that I have realize about myself over the years is that I always start strong with the workouts but I don't really follow through with the diet. Being a carb junkie, working out would not help me a whole lot if my eating habits didn't change.

So to change that, I got a juicer. Just a $30 one from the department store. Juicing is a great way to get the servings and nutrients of fruits and vegetables in a quick and easy way. Here are some tips when it comes to juicing.

• When it comes to juicing, don't over think it. It is basically a throw together of fruit and veggies. 
• Yes, you need veggies! Try to have a leafy green veggies with each juicing. It makes the juice a funky color but veggies like spinach and kale are light in taste so you will taste more of the fruits than anything.
• Try to go with fresh fruits and veggies. If you want to use canned fruits, try to get one that are in fruit juices and not syrup. If syrup is the only option at your grocer, pour off the syrup and rinse the fruit twice in water. Canned veggies can be used too, just poor off the water and rinse the veggies since most have some salt added to the water to aid in keeping the veggies fresh. Frozen fruits and veggies are great too but you have to let them unthaw before putting them in the juicer, which would be more trouble than it is worth.

So this morning I weighed in at 267.2. My goal is to get down to about 150. And my first juicing recipe was great! I can't think of a name for it so I am just going to give it to you.

2 handfuls of spinach
1 tomato
2 handful of white grapes
1 banana
4 strawberries.

I drunk it all while typing this so sorry, I don't have a picture!

Have a protein like egg whites and some whole wheat toast with it and you have a very healthy breakfast!

Let me know what you think and share your juicing recipes!!!!

Until next time loves!!!!

Weight Loss Journey: Week 8

Hey everyone!!! Hope things have been great!

Since my last weigh-in, I have lost 0.3 lbs this week. Hey, a loss is a loss no matter how small!!! Still moving in the right direction. My goal is to be under 250 by the end of this month and I have 3.7 lbs to go!!!!

I got back into working out at home and went on a six mile walk yesterday. Also, once I finished scheduling my posts and updates for the week, I would run in place or do jumping jacks as fast and hard as I could during the commercial breaks. There will be a weight loss tip post about taking advantage of every minute, especially commercial breaks during your favorite shows later this week.

So I stocked my fridge with fruits and bags of salad for this week. I took a tip from a family friend of mine. She told me that everything that a person needs from the grocery store are in the outer aisles. Think about it, your bread (preferably whole grain), fresh fruits and veggies, dairy, meats, and whole foods are usually all on the walls of the store. Your beans, rice (brown rice), and whole grain pasta are usually found in the first two aisle from the produce section. That is the usual set up of a grocery store, however the one that is closest to my house has a very backwards set up. I believe they want to continue for their shoppers to be fat. The first thing that you see when you walk in are chips and cookies (my down fall). But I was strong!!!

How have you done this week? Make any progress? Have any tips to share? I would love to hear about them. Email me at deonanddion@gmail.com.

Until next time loves!!!

Plan to Succeed in Weight Loss

Planning is everything in all aspects of life!!! If you have no plan, then you plan to fail. It is a very simple concept that can be applied to weight loss.

So here is my planning tip: Plan out your meals for the week!!

This helped me tremendously last week. How many times have you been so busy with work, projects, family, or whatever else that you didn't realize that you were hungry until your stomach made a very loud proclamation saying "I'm empty, feed me now!"?And of course, the quickest "meal" that you can eat is more than likely not the healthiest. Between school, work, this blog, and trying to get my Etsy shop to the point where it will replace and exceed my income from work, this happens to me a lot.

On Saturday, figure out what you want to eat for the next several days and pick it up at the grocery store. On Sunday, make it and refrigerate it. I now keep a large bowl of salad and fruit in my fridge. So when hunger hits and waiting for something to get done cooking is not exactly feasible, I can quickly grab some salad and/or fruit. I also bake up a couple of chicken breast and some fish that I can just heat to go along with my fruit and veggies. It is an instant meal!

If you have school aged kids having a ready to eat bowl of fruit for them to eat when they get home from school is a great way for you to get your entire household on a healthy road and is a lot better than them heating up some frozen pizza rolls or corn dogs.

That is my healthy tip for the week!!!

Until next time loves!!!

A Very Berry Salad

You can do this with any fruit of your choice (I do not suggest using bananas and apples as they brown quickly) but I did this with strawberries, black berries, raspberries, and cherries (which really isn't a berry but it rhymes!). This is so simple and easy and you can make enough to last you throughout the week (planning your meals for the week is great for weight loss).

Clean all the fruit. Pit the cherries. Cut off the tops of the strawberries and cut into fours. Throw all of them in a bowl mix up and refrigerate. That is it!!!!

The juice that is left at the end of the week is sooooo good and can be used as sweetener in a cup of tea or fresh lemonade.

Until next time loves!!!!

A Healthy Spaghetti Recipe

One of my favorite food is spaghetti. This is how I make mine. It has plenty of protein and whole grains plus some veggies! This is simple, quick, and easy. This will be my lunch at work for the rest of the week.

What you need:

1 package of Jennie O Sweet Italian Turkey Sausage
A box of Whole Grain Spaghetti (brand doesn't matter)
1 Jar of spaghetti sauce (I use Ragu's Chunky Garden Vegetables)
Half of one medium size onion, chopped
Black pepper and garlic powder to taste
Optional: Half bag of frozen fully cooked small shrimp, thawed

The package of sausage looks like this (the sausage was already in the pan with I thought of taking pictures):

The sausage if very flavorful and smells great when it is cooking. You can find this at just about any grocery store

Remove the sausage from the package and cut open the skin casings. Put them in a pan on med-high heat. Throw in the chopped onions. Brown the sausage, just as you would with any type of ground meat. I use a potato masher to break the meat up while it is cooking. It is just easier for me that way (I learned that from Rachel Ray).

While you have the sausage and onions going, bring a pot of water to boil. Once boiling, throw in your whole wheat pasta. I use about three health pinches of pasta and break it in half. Use whatever amount of pasta you would use when making spaghetti with one pound of meat. Once the pasta is done to your liking, drain off water, put back in the pot your were boiling in (I have a designated spaghetti pot! lol). Add the sausage and onions and the jar of spaghetti sauce.

Fill the spaghetti jar to a little less than half way with water, swirl it around to get the rest of the sauce and pour it into the pot.

If you are adding shrimp, you would toss those in at this point.

Let everything marry together for a couple of minutes (about 7 minutes if you are using shrimp), stirring frequently. Then season with black pepper and garlic powder to taste & you are done!!!!

Let me know what you think!

Until next time loves!!!