Mixed Berry Muffin Recipe - 85 cals a muffin

I (well, my 10 yr old niece Leilani), discovered wild blackberries growing in my apt complex about a month ago; and it's been exciting to know I had free food for the picking (just like our ancestors did!)

I already had blueberries & strawberries at home, so I went foraging for some blackberries, in the rain, to make my muffins last night! They were delish! 

Recipe:

1/4 c butter

1/2 c unsweetened applesauce

1/2 t salt

3/4 c sugar

2 c whole wheat flour

1 T baking powder

1 t vanilla

1/2 c unsweetened almond milk

1/3 c blackberries

1/3 c blueberries

1/3 c chopped strawberries

Mix all the ingredients (sorry, I don't do the fancy step by step for mixing! lol). I used the mini muffin cups & baked at 350 degrees F for 15 mins.

Makes 24 mini muffins - 85 cals a muffin

Enjoy!

xo, 

Nancy

I Fed A Rhino....And I Liked It!

My husband & I haven't gone away for the weekend in over a year....so we FINALLY went down to Miami this past weekend; particularly to the Miami Zoo! (Don't judge us! We love the outdoorsy type outings!) 

While there, we both got to feed a rhino named Suru!!!! How awesome was that?! We've done the feeding of the giraffes, parakeets, stingrays & random barnyard animals, but a RHINO?! We could NOT resist!!!

The best two things: 

1. I walked away with rhino saliva on my fingers.

2. Scratched another item off my bucket list!

Enjoy & live life!

xo,

Nancy

New bathing suit after 100+ lb weight loss!!!

Believe it or not, I had the same bathing suit since 2009; even after I had lost all the weight, I was still using my purple bathing suit. For some reason, the purple bathing suit made me feel confident; in a way, it represented my weight loss. When I first purchased the bathing suit, it barely fit & I had to keep pulling it up to prevent "the girls" from spilling over. To date, I had lost so much weight since the purchase of said bathing suit, that the fabric was lose on me, hanging over like potential lose skin (thankfully, even after the 115 lbs I have lost, I have yet to experience lose skin) & in a way showed my accomplishment. I was holding the lose bathing suit as a badge of honor.

One day, while in the hot tub with my husband, the bubbles started to inflate my bathing suit (like it normally does) making me look fat again (there was a bubble that would show above the water). I guess it must have been me feeling super confident about my weight loss, that that experience with the bathing suit bubble (which I've experienced the bubble before, just no feeling behind it until now) made me feel "fat" & a failure for not buying a new bathing suit to commemorate my new body. 

This transformation has been easy at times & difficult at times. There has definitely been a LOT of emotion behind this weight loss. You begin to analyze everything about your past life; why you did what you did, why you acted like you did, why did you let people take advantage of you, etc.   

Needless to say, that same day I bought a brand spanking new bathing suit; for the first time in 5 yrs! I def feel super confident in it & it fits JUST RIGHT! Now I feel like I am finally showing off my new body when on the beach or at the pool. I no longer have that "lose bathing suit skin"

And the torn up purple one is officially in the trash!!!! Out with the old & in with the new!

Thank you,
Nancy
xo

Day 3 Juicing Week!

Right now, I am experiencing the aftermath of attempting to catch the darn blood on the moon last night! Got out of bed 3 times in the middle of the night last night & now I am exhausted! The juice didn't help today! lol

Today's breakfast & lunch!!!

Berry Veggie

6 carrots

1 pear

1 tomato

2 broccoli stalks (small or 1 long one)

1 cup blueberries

Tonight's dinner!!!

Sunset

6 carrots

2 grapefruit

3 cups spinach

Let's do this!

Lbs lost so far: 5!!!

Enjoy!

xo,
Nancy

Juicing Fast - Day 2

Oddly enough, I wasn't that hungry yesterday. I did guzzle down a lot of water. I had been lacking my water intake for a couple of weeks (since I lost my old water bottle), but I am refocused & chugged water most of the day yesterday & today.

I find it easier to focus at work, since I am so distracted with work. It also helps that I don't carry cash & I take what I need to eat to work; allowing me not to be tempted. I did have some mocha coffee in the afternoon, but still liquids. I did also have some Greek yogurt to attempt to keep up with my protein intake. 

Below is what I had for breakfast, lunch & dinner!

The Creamsicle

2 apples

3 celery stalks

1 orange

2 pears

1 sweet potato

This was my breakfast & lunch! It was really smooth!

Strawberry Mint

1 pear

1/2 pineapple

1 cup strawberries

15 mint leaves

I didn't have mint leaves; however I had mint oil, so I added a few drops! It was pretty yummy!

Lbs lost so far: 2 

Enjoy!

xo,

Nancy

Juicing Fast - Day 1

After moving to Orlando 10 months ago, it has been difficult for me to fall back into a rhythm. I have gained & lost the same 15 lbs these past few month & I am soooo tired of it. I want to be re-focused & get rid of the 50 lbs I have left to lose!

Yesterday, I started a juicing fast. I have been juicing for well over a year, but it had only been for a meal or for a day. This time, I plan on doing it for 7 days. I started 4/13/14, which was yesterday. I am using Juice Recipes for some of the recipes! Let's do this!!!

Yes, I use glass jars! Don't judge! Lol. Below is the recipe!

The Eye Opener

2 apples

14 carrots

2 oranges

Enjoy!

xo,

Nancy

Winter Gardening

I know, long time no see! Lots of things just going on at once & lots of overtime at work! But yes, I am still alive! I am always active on my facebook page: Health - The Ultimate DIY...so feel free to check me out there!

I am still doing grocery hauls on a somewhat sorta budget of $200/month, although last month we did go over a tad & November as well (with the holidays & all, extra food was bought for the occasion!) But we are kinda on track. 

Anyway, with winter in "full swing" (I'm in Florida...there really is no "winter" lol) I have decided to do some "gardening" (considering we now live in an apt, we are sorta limited to what we can do), but I don't want to let that stop me! So I dabbled away a bit in my kitchen & below is what I came up with:

I have alfalfa sprouts in the glass container & winter kale planted on the side. I will open the blinds in the morning & take out the pot during the day, weather permitting. Our apt is in the back of our building, facing the woods, so we have a bit of privacy & can probably have a few more pots if needed. We'll see how this one goes. 

Will keep this updated. I want the kale to grow so badly! I failed last time! lol. Thanks for reading!

xo,
Nancy