Stay Away From the Scale

During our journey to getting that slim physique, we may become a little ambitious. Which is great in moderation. Watching what you eat, monitoring your water intake, and exercising everyday are all great ambitions to attain. Even checking your weight every two weeks is good. However, when it becomes every morning and night or even 5x a day, then it becomes obsessive. Then we become stressed when we don't think the weight isn't coming down fast enough. This can lead to depression, especially in nursing mamas.

Stay away from the scale. In order to lose weight, do we really need one? If we raise our vibration daily by thinking positive, eat healthy foods, drink plenty of water, and exercise, eventually that weight will fall right off. If it doesn't seem to be working try other methods. For example, if you notice that you have poor digestion, this could be the culprit. So the solution would be to promote better digestion, not obsession.
In the beginning of our journey, we may only lose inches at first. So if your looking at the scale and notice no changes, then this can make you think that nothing is happening. However, when things are done in a natural way, they happen in degrees. 

This is to say for women losing weight, encouragement generally doesn't come from the scale, however, your state of mind. No matter what level of life we are in, if we keep our thoughts lofty and maintain focus for what we want to attain, it will be accomplished.

Stripped, Dyed, and Fried

We are on our journey to Curvaceous and we have to gather all of our nutrients. Vitamins A, B's, C, D, E....Potassium, Calcium, Iron...etc. So many nutrients for us to gather to aid us in our journey. The healthier we are, the easier it will be for us to lose weight. With the many nutrients that we need for our body, we have to utilize every avenue to preserve them.
In this society, stripped, dyed, and fried is what you find most readily available. Stripped of nutrients, dyed to enhance the color, and fried leaving your body unsatisfied.
As mamas, new, future or seasoned, we have to keep our energy. Losing weight requires energy because our bodies are going through a major change. 
One way to the keep the preservation of our nutrients is to manage how we prepare our foods. Frying the food kills all of the nutrients of the food and can cause the body to be more acidic developing free radicals- aging and cancer. Fried foods are a favorite of many, and can be done every so often. The less that we consume them, the more likely that we will be able to lose the weight and be healthier.
An alternative to frying food is baking. Everything that we love fried...french fries, burgers (veggie), eggs...yes, can taste delicious baked. The key to this is it being well seasoned and having oil drizzled on it upon entering the oven. Also, about a cup of water to a large baking pan will help most things cook faster when covered. Once the food is tender by fork test, if you want to get that crispy texture, uncover food and place oven on broil until it reaches the texture that is wanted.

The next level of food preparation to preserve our nutrients would be cooking without oil. Although food that is baked is much better than anything fried, with it being prepared with oil still carries a small percentage of acidity. Cooking food with no oil would require the same baking method without the oil. The oil can be drizzled after cooking to get the flavor of the oil. The same can be done over the stove, cook with water and cover with lid.

The ultimate level is to go raw. This may seem like a hard thing to do for some, yet, there are many wonderful raw recipes available. No matter what level you are at, eating raw can still be achieved. Incorporating raw vegetables: carrots, celery, spinach and fruit: apples, bananas, grapefruit can be an awesome start to your raw experience. Start where you feel comfortable and you will see the benefits in your body.

Love

Vinegar- The Pro-Digestion, Pro-Weight Loss...To Be Healthy Liquid

I have an amazing relationship with vinegar. I have started consuming it everyday. It is a must have. Before taking vinegar on a regular basis, I consistently felt bloated. My new found relationship with vinegar causes me to feel lighter. I am no longer bloated. Since taking this awesome natural remedy, I have noticed that I have lost some inches. If you are unfamiliar with vinegars properties, check this out:

-relieves bloating

-relieves flatulence

-relieves constipation

-a prebiotic- supports the digestive and immune systems

Organic Apple Cider Vinegar is the best available for healing.  I use Bragg's. It has a fresh, clean taste. It is excellent in salad dressings and even on its own.
For nursing mamas, a little bit goes a long way. Use it as a base in your salad dressing. We want to lose weight, however, in degrees. Losing weight too rapidly will put toxins in your milk from the release of stored fat. For the non- lactating mama, let's be more aggressive. Taking 1- 2 tablespoons a day of raw apple cider vinegar will relieve the body of waste, which will result in quicker weight loss. So, here's to vinegar.

Light Pleasures

In our journey to being curvaceous, raw foods definitely sit at the top of our food chain. Why? We get so many mood boosting nutrients from our green veggies and juicy fruit. Also, we cut back on fat tremendously because raw foods are naturally low in fat. Avocados are rich in fat, however, those are filled with the good fats that or bodies need. Try eating a salad daily. If this is hard for you, top it with some of your favorites like salmon salad, egg salad, chicken salad, etc. Taco salads are also wonderful. Smother with a variety of diced vegetables to get a full range of flavor and health boosting nutrients. Organic is the best way to go.
Remember your salad dressing. Here is a quick and easy recipe to make the 'Salad Skeptic' a true
'Salad Lover'.

Sweet and Tangy Oil and Vinegar

1/4 cup of Braggs Apple Cider Vinegar

The Juice of 1 Small Lemon

1 tbsp. of Agave

1 1/2 tsp. of  Dill Weed

1 tbsp. of Granulated Garlic or 2 Garlic Clove

1tbsp. of Granulated Onion or 1/4 piece cut from 1 Small Onion

About 2 cups of Olive Oil

Place all liquid ingredients with the exception of  olive oil into a blender. Then add the seasonings and/or vegetables. Blend on high until all is mixed together. Continue to blend and slowly drizzle in olive oil. Once the mixture becomes less liquid, remove from the blender and pour into a glass dressing bottle or whatever you choose. Place in the refrigerator for 20 minutes to allow the dressing to thicken more. 

This is an easy recipe that will make you run to eat salad everyday! Enjoy!

Organic Taste of Italy

 I have a wonderful, quick and easy recipe for the 'little Italy lover' in you. The key to making this acceptable in our journey to curvaceous is moderation and lots of water (smile)!

Organic Little Italy Toast

1 loaf of Your favorite Organic Twist Bread

1/2 stick of butter ( room temperature )

2 cups of Fresh Organic Spinach Leaves

1 1/2 cups of Cheese ( shredded )

With a bread knife, cut the loaf in half through the middle. On each half cut the bread in smaller sections. With a butter knife, spread the butter over the inner part of the bread. Lay bread on oven sheet and place in the oven on broil for 2 minutes until golden crispy brown or until the texture that you want is achieved.

Remove bread from the oven and add spinach and cheese. Place back in the oven and broil for 3 minutes or until the texture that you want is achieved. 

Ecco! A taste of Italy. This mini bread makeover can be eaten alone or paired with any pasta dish. Try this in the A.M. as a sandwich with eggs. Deliziosa!

All the Little Things

As mamas, we are operating on little to no sleep. Baby wakes up through the night nursing, Little Johnnie wet the bed and so on.Sometimes we are up until 2 a.m. detail cleaning! At times this can start to drain us and can effect our mood. When this happens, think about the small things that we may sometimes take for granted. Our health, shelter, food, and water are essentials in life. However, if it requires little to no effort to obtain these things, it may appear small. Just think, if we didn't have these things, what would life be like... no life at all.
Since I have began a conscious effort to show gratitude daily, I have experienced more happiness.Having gratitude brings a multitude of benefits.The one benefit that serves me daily is the reward of peace.
The moment that anything steps in to try to rob me of my happiness and peace, I immediately think of gratitude. I am grateful for my health. I am grateful for the blessing of having a beautiful baby full of life. When I express gratitude, it immediately raises my vibration, keeping negative from affecting my thinking. Being thankful definitely reduces stress. When we are free of stress, it makes it easier for the pounds to fall off. When we are mentally stressed it effects our whole being, down to the cells in our body.
Be grateful, happy, and at peace. This causes our journey from chunkalicious to curvaceous to be a joyous one!

To find out more on how gratitude rewards us go to:

http://ofthesun.org/?page_id=315

Vegetarian Chili Heaven

Chili, mmmmm! Chili is so delicious and is even better when it is healthy, without the extra high cholesterol and fat. Going from chunkalicious to curvaceous requires cutting back on fat, not flavor! Chili can be done with different types of beans, however, I enjoy lentil chili the best. A pot of chili can go a long a way and can be used for other meals. It's also inexpensive to make. This is especially good for a busy mama looking for healthy alternatives for her family. Check out these easy lentil chili recipes. Enjoy!

Pot-O-Chili w/ Lentils

Ingredients:

2 bags of 1 lb. lentils

1/2 stick of butter

1 large onion

1 garlic bulb

1 green pepper

4 whole celery sticks

5 vine tomatoes

3 tblsp. of  cumin

3 tblsp. of chili powder

2 tblsp. of curry

3 tblsp. of sea salt

2 tblsp. of white pepper

1 tblsp. of Agave

1 tblsp. of  apple cider vinegar 

1 large pot of hot structured or purified water

First put on a large pot of structured or purified water. Give the water a couple of shakes of sea salt to bring to a faster boil. Once the pot of water is boiling, add 2 bags of cleaned lentils and cover with a lid..Lentils will take approximately 45- 50 minutes to cook on high heat. Stir occasionally. As lentils begin to thicken, turn down heat to medium. 

Heat a large skillet on medium. Add 1/2 stick of butter and melt. Add finely chopped onion, garlic, green pepper, and celery. Sautee the vegetables in the butter coating the vegetables. Give 1 dash of sea salt. Add 5 tblsp. of structured/ purified water, turn the eye to medium- low and cover. Once veggies are tender and lentils have thickened, add veggies to the pot of lentils.

Season, season, season! Add the above said seasonings and stir. By now your lentils have thickened and will hold the flavor. Turn the fire to low for simmering. Add chunky chopped tomatoes.

Taste! Some like spice and some may like a salty bite. You can adjust some things to suit your preference. Enjoy with rice topped with cheese. Add salsa and sour cream/ vegenaise and savor!

Again, the wonderful addition to making a pot of lentils is that it can stretch and be used in other meals. Anyone for Chili Cheese Franks! Vegetarian, thank you.

Vegetarian Chili Cheese Franks

( serves 4, 2 franks per person )

Ingredients:

1 pk-Field Roast Veggie Franks

4 cups of Cheddar Cheese

8 cups of lentil chili

8 whole wheat hot dog buns

2 cups diced tomatoes

2 cups diced onion

2 tblsp. of corn oil

Heat a skillet on high heat. Add corn oil to skillet. Add veggie franks. Consistently roll the franks to allow for them to get brown. Reheat your lentils. Get your hot dog buns ready because it is all about to go down! After the franks have browned, place them in hot dog buns, top with lentil chili, diced tomatoes, onions and cheese and it's ready, set, go! This is a quick and appetizing meal. You can easily adjust the portion size for any event!

Mamas spend maybe 30% of their lives in the kitchen or more. Sometimes we can get burned out and may need to mix it up a little. Continue to check out my blog for time savvy, easy on the waist meals!