It's all about the dressing!

  Making salad dressing is so simple.  The bottled stuff in the stores has been sitting on the shelf for God knows how long!  Not to mention it's filled with mystery ingredients.  I'm eating a lot of salad these days so I need to get creative with dressings.  I'm not a creature of habit when it comes to food I like to mix it up every day.  So I have a great base salad dressing recipe that is sweet and tangy and super versatile.  I make a batch with whatever I have on hand and store it in the fridge.  Here is what I made today...

1 cup of unsweetened almond milk (or whatever milk you have on hand)
1 cup of raw almonds (any nuts work here cashews or walnuts would be great too)
1/4 cup of golden raisins (use whatever dried fruit you have cranberries, cherries, apricots get creative)
1/4 cup of balsamic vinegar (flavored vinegar would work too)
2 tsp of dijon mustard
1 clove of garlic
juice of a lemon

 

Throw everything into a blender or food processor and blend on high for a minute or two.

Pour onto your salad and store the rest in the fridge!  This makes a good amount of dressing you should have enough for at least 3 or 4 salads.  Today my salad was some mixed greens with cherry tomatoes, apple, and cucumber.  I kept it simple!

This dressing is so delicious I could eat it with a spoon!  Hope you enjoy it as much as I do :)

 

Satisfying your sweet tooth

  I have a wicked sweet tooth!  Sugar is my trigger so I really need to avoid it if I want to stay on track.  But who says my sweet tooth has to suffer because of it?  Dates are nature's candy and there are so many ways to use them to make sweet treats!  All you need is a food processor and a few ingredients and the possibilites are endless.  I made some chocolate peanut butter bites today and thought it would be a great recipe to share.  They are so rich and delicious you just can't believe they are healthy.  Not to mention they are ridiculously easy to make!

Chocolate Peanut Butter Bites

1/2 cup of organic chunky peanut butter  (if you must use creamy just throw in a couple of tablespoons of nuts)
1/2 cup of pitted dates
2 Tbsp of unsweetened cocoa powder
a dash of vanilla extract

 

Throw all of the ingredients into the food processor and process on high for a minute or two.

Then take small handfuls of the mixture and roll them into balls.  You could also make a few bars out of the mixture if you'd rather do that.  This makes about 6 - 8 bites.  Store in the refrigerator!

 This is such a great base recipe!  You could add chocolate chips into the mixture if you want to be really decadent.  Sometimes I make coconut almond bites and use unsweetened coconut and almonds with coconut oil and dates.  You can get creative, the base of the recipe is dates!  It's amazing how versatile they are, they really are the perfect sweetener.  Now go make some of these delicious treats!   Good luck not eating the whole batch ;)

Getting healthy and making better choices

  

   This was me 60 lbs ago.  I was not treating my body well to say the least.  I had no concept of my calorie intake and exercise was the last thing on my mind.  I was so disgusted with myself and I just kept eating and drinking my problems away.  I was a size 22 and had to shop in stores that didn't carry clothes I even liked.  But I accepted that this was my life and I was "meant to be fat".  When you hear that enough you begin to believe it. 

   I'm 5 ft 1 and I've always been a big girl.  Even as a kid I was always plus size.  No matter how much I exercised I always had a weight problem.  Friends and family tried to comfort me by telling me I had a pretty face and that I'm just not meant to be skinny.  It's in my genes!  Well I refuse to accept that anymore.  I have the power to get my health in order and treat my body right.  And it's taken me a lot of articles, books, documentaries, and research to figure out what works for me but I'm not giving up. 

   It's amazing how confusing food is today.  Low-fat, low-carb, all natural, organic, non processed the list goes on and on.  What the hell can we eat?!  Well the conclusion I've come to is whole foods!  Fruits, vegetables, grains, beans and legumes, nuts, seeds, and oils.  I love food!  I love to cook, bake, and feed people!  It's like a rush for me to feed people delicious and nutritious foods.  Because they truly do exist!  Adopting a plant based diet is the best thing I ever did for myself.  My energy level is even keeled, my skin is radiant, my eyes glow, and the weight is melting off.  Sure it takes effort to eat this way but it is so worth the effort.  I feel amazing and that's what is important to me.  Looking better is just an added bonus.  I want to feel healthy.  I don't want to feel sick and bloated.  I don't want to take medications.  I refuse to accept that lifestyle anymore.   I'm now a size 16 and I've got a ways to go but I'm on this journey and feeling so much better about the choices I'm making.  Because it is a choice.  

  Practicing yoga, walking, dancing, using the elliptical, hiking, doing pushups and situps these are all great ways I exercise my body.  I make it a point to move every day!  I juice and blend fruits and vegetables daily to boost my nutrient intake.  It's a great way to get those dark leafy greens in and it's super low in calories.  Raw vegetables are my best friend!  It's amazing how happy my body is right now because I'm feeding it the best fuel possible.  I feel light and alive rather than tired and weighed down.  And believe it or not I don't miss the foods I've given up.  All I have to do is remember how they make me feel and it's enough for me to avoid them.  

  My goal is to share more of the delicious and nutritious foods that I'm eating on here and to keep planting seeds in others' lives.  I want to have the stamina and confidence to do things that I've let my weight hold me back from in the past.  I've learned so much and overcome so many obstacles and I'm grateful for the experience.  But I'm leaving this girl behind me and I'm never looking back!