Leave it to me to find a way to eat unhealthily while going vegetarian for a a few days. The last couple of days have not been my proudest moment but they, I'll move on from them. On the other hand, I did stick to being meatless. I just had a major hankering for some sweets.
So, here's the good and the bad. I ended up going back to the store to grab a couple of things that I didn't know I was running out of when I went shopping last week. This means I have spent entirely too much money at the grocery store for one paycheck. While I was there, with my ridiculous sweet tooth, I said "I'll get me some cake." Then, instead of a whole cake, I settled on half a cake. Then, instead of half a cake, I got a small cheesecake...none of the above was a good choice, but I am happy to say that I only have had 1 slice of the cheesecake and its been in my fridge for almost 3 days now. The other thing I did was buy some fruits to make some sweet baked treats, but make them a little healthier than if I bought them pre-made from the store. The best thing I've made so far? Something that I'm calling Blue Bonnets. I'll post the recipe for that later but I just wanted to come on here and fess up to the not so good food choices that I made the past couple of days.
In other news, I'm thinking that this vegetarian thing may go a little longer than originally intended, for a few reasons. One: My hair looks better and is shinier and feels better. Two: this little slip up, or poor choice stint is liable to happen more often than not, but the fact that I went through it and didn't eat anything that I said I wasn't going to eat and worked to find a way to cater to a craving without going overboard is saying something for my efforts. So sticking with it longer would certainly be to my benefit. Three: Out of all of this money I have spent on food, I haven't done any frivolous shopping...that's always a plus. So if spending more money on food that good for me leads to me making better choices on how I spend my money and sticking to that curse word "budget" that can't be wrong right? And finally, for tonight, Four: I have only had one bad bout with heartburn and acid reflux in seven days! I have had an issue with those two devils for more years than I care to count due to an condition that I have. So all things point to good for this first week of going veggie/meatless and I look forward to what next week will bring. I have some kale that I need to cook up before it goes bad.
Good night people!
August 6, 2011
August 2, 2011
Veggin' Out
A few days ago, the desire to go meatless/vegetarian for a couple of weeks hit me. You know how people say "when you're ready to do it, you'll know"? Well, when the thought hit, everything else was automatic. If only that happened when it came to exercising! lol
So, the thought hit, I went grocery shopping and for the past 3 days have been doing it and feeling great! I've done this before but it was a lot of work for me to do it the first time. Primarily because it really wasn't something I wanted to do, but something I felt I needed to do. This time, I actually want to do it, and the time period popped in my head along with the thought. So I'm rolling with it.
What have I been eating, you ask? Well, for some reason I am on a Mexican food kick. I went out and bought kale to steam, shallow fry & bake...haven't cooked any of it yet. I also bought the fixings for triple succotash....haven't made it yet. I bought a lot of things to help me go along on this couple of weeks and out of all the things I bought, the only thing I have fixed out of that trip to the grocery store was a s fruit salad. Everything else I've eaten over the last 3 days came DIRECTLY OUT OF MY PANTRY!!!! Color me not so amused!!!! But I won't have to head out to the store any time soon, so I guess that's a plus.
Here's what I've made so far.
Fruit Salad (a week's worth for 1-2 people)
3 apples, diced, with skin (I used Pink Lady, Gala & Red Delicious-can add Granny Smith for a tart kick)2 firm plums, diced, with skin
1/2 can pineapples in juice (I chose not to use fresh b/c I needed the juice also...save the fresh for smoothies)
1/2 juice from the can of pineapples
1/2 cup red or green grapes, sliced in half
1/2 cup dried fruit mixture of your choice (I used raisins, golden raisins and craisins)
I sliced the apples, spritzing each with lemon juice to keep them from browning, then sliced the rest of the fruit, dumped it in a big bowl, added the dried fruit, poured the pineapple juice in, stirred and tossed and popped it in the fridge. It will keep for a week and the apples will still have crunch. Its great. I eat it alone, add some sliced banana to a serving, add some sweetened coconut to make it a sweet treat or add it to some vanilla Greek yogurt and have a good time. The longest I've been able to keep a fruit salad like this has been 7 days. After that it starts to look a little funky.
The other thing I've made so far was some black beans and corn and had it with white rice (can use brown, but I had white left over) homemade guacamole dip and sour cream. I really can't post the recipe for that because I don't remember what I did as far as measurements. I can just say I took 1/2 an onion and softened it up in some EVOO, drained the beans from the can, defrosted some corn I bought fresh, roasted & froze, chopped up 2/3 of a tomato and threw it in the pan over the softened onions. I added rep pepper flakes, chili powder, cumin, sazon, and chipotle chili powder to it and played with adding more chili powder and chipotle chili powder until it had the flavor I was looking for. I did add some pepper to cut into the sweetness of the corn and a few hits of hot sauce at the end. See, no exact measurements, but you can fix & taste as you go. So, anyway, I had that on top of some white rice with cheese, sour cream and my guac wrapped like a burrito and it was DELISH! I say wrapped "like" a burrito because I really don't roll it well at all. I could have just torn the burrito and made myself little bites, but it was so good it didn't matter. Added with the kick of my guac and the coolness of the sour cream....YUM. If it wasn't full of beans I'd have had it for dinner too.
Mind you, of these things, the only food used that I just bought in that trip to the store....the fruit salad, except for the pineapple.
That's it for today. I'll post how things go. Three days down and I'm not bored and don't feel deprived...and I still have plenty of food to cook. But for now....
Peace out!
So, the thought hit, I went grocery shopping and for the past 3 days have been doing it and feeling great! I've done this before but it was a lot of work for me to do it the first time. Primarily because it really wasn't something I wanted to do, but something I felt I needed to do. This time, I actually want to do it, and the time period popped in my head along with the thought. So I'm rolling with it.
What have I been eating, you ask? Well, for some reason I am on a Mexican food kick. I went out and bought kale to steam, shallow fry & bake...haven't cooked any of it yet. I also bought the fixings for triple succotash....haven't made it yet. I bought a lot of things to help me go along on this couple of weeks and out of all the things I bought, the only thing I have fixed out of that trip to the grocery store was a s fruit salad. Everything else I've eaten over the last 3 days came DIRECTLY OUT OF MY PANTRY!!!! Color me not so amused!!!! But I won't have to head out to the store any time soon, so I guess that's a plus.
Here's what I've made so far.
Fruit Salad (a week's worth for 1-2 people)
3 apples, diced, with skin (I used Pink Lady, Gala & Red Delicious-can add Granny Smith for a tart kick)1/2 can pineapples in juice (I chose not to use fresh b/c I needed the juice also...save the fresh for smoothies)
1/2 juice from the can of pineapples
1/2 cup red or green grapes, sliced in half
1/2 cup dried fruit mixture of your choice (I used raisins, golden raisins and craisins)
I sliced the apples, spritzing each with lemon juice to keep them from browning, then sliced the rest of the fruit, dumped it in a big bowl, added the dried fruit, poured the pineapple juice in, stirred and tossed and popped it in the fridge. It will keep for a week and the apples will still have crunch. Its great. I eat it alone, add some sliced banana to a serving, add some sweetened coconut to make it a sweet treat or add it to some vanilla Greek yogurt and have a good time. The longest I've been able to keep a fruit salad like this has been 7 days. After that it starts to look a little funky.
The other thing I've made so far was some black beans and corn and had it with white rice (can use brown, but I had white left over) homemade guacamole dip and sour cream. I really can't post the recipe for that because I don't remember what I did as far as measurements. I can just say I took 1/2 an onion and softened it up in some EVOO, drained the beans from the can, defrosted some corn I bought fresh, roasted & froze, chopped up 2/3 of a tomato and threw it in the pan over the softened onions. I added rep pepper flakes, chili powder, cumin, sazon, and chipotle chili powder to it and played with adding more chili powder and chipotle chili powder until it had the flavor I was looking for. I did add some pepper to cut into the sweetness of the corn and a few hits of hot sauce at the end. See, no exact measurements, but you can fix & taste as you go. So, anyway, I had that on top of some white rice with cheese, sour cream and my guac wrapped like a burrito and it was DELISH! I say wrapped "like" a burrito because I really don't roll it well at all. I could have just torn the burrito and made myself little bites, but it was so good it didn't matter. Added with the kick of my guac and the coolness of the sour cream....YUM. If it wasn't full of beans I'd have had it for dinner too.
Mind you, of these things, the only food used that I just bought in that trip to the store....the fruit salad, except for the pineapple.
That's it for today. I'll post how things go. Three days down and I'm not bored and don't feel deprived...and I still have plenty of food to cook. But for now....
Peace out!
July 14, 2011
Three Hundred Sixty Six!!!!!!
OM Goodness I can't believe I let the day pass me by!!! Yesterday marked a year that I have been transitioning to natural hair!!! I am so glad that I made it to a year and I haven't really had any setbacks and I have had no regrets about choosing to embark on this journey. It has been so wonderful and full of so much more support and positivity than I ever expected.
As a result of making it this far, I am more confident in my decision to go natural. I'm no longer scared of my natural texture. I have learned how to handle my natural hair, and, while I have only had my hair out of a braid-type style for 4 1/2 months, I feel that I have conquered what I have allowed to defeat me for years. This past week I had a friend, who has recently decided to transition, look at me like I was crazy when I told her I really only comb my hair once to twice a week...when I shampoo and when I co wash. I had to laugh because I remember looking the same way and thinking the same thing the first time I heard it. the only thing I could think was that, as time goes on, and she has more natural hair on her head, her mind will change.
I have been blessed to experience extremely little breakage from what I can tell. When I took out my final batch of kinky twists in March I had my mom both trim and even up my hair a little bit and to do that she had to cut just over an inch or less all over my head. So the processed hair I have is still in good condition and its much further from my scalp today! I'm still not at the point where I'm ready to chop. I know I have to get there, but I'm not there yet. I will probably end up forcing my own hand in the long run, but I'm not going to do that now. I don't get the itches and fidgety when I think about it as much as I used to, though.....That's what we call improvement!
So anyway, that's it for today's post. I've been thinking about doing some different things with my blog that would lead to more frequent posts, which is a good thing. We'll see how this brainstorming goes. When it happens, you'll know!
Be blessed folks!
As a result of making it this far, I am more confident in my decision to go natural. I'm no longer scared of my natural texture. I have learned how to handle my natural hair, and, while I have only had my hair out of a braid-type style for 4 1/2 months, I feel that I have conquered what I have allowed to defeat me for years. This past week I had a friend, who has recently decided to transition, look at me like I was crazy when I told her I really only comb my hair once to twice a week...when I shampoo and when I co wash. I had to laugh because I remember looking the same way and thinking the same thing the first time I heard it. the only thing I could think was that, as time goes on, and she has more natural hair on her head, her mind will change.
I have been blessed to experience extremely little breakage from what I can tell. When I took out my final batch of kinky twists in March I had my mom both trim and even up my hair a little bit and to do that she had to cut just over an inch or less all over my head. So the processed hair I have is still in good condition and its much further from my scalp today! I'm still not at the point where I'm ready to chop. I know I have to get there, but I'm not there yet. I will probably end up forcing my own hand in the long run, but I'm not going to do that now. I don't get the itches and fidgety when I think about it as much as I used to, though.....That's what we call improvement!
So anyway, that's it for today's post. I've been thinking about doing some different things with my blog that would lead to more frequent posts, which is a good thing. We'll see how this brainstorming goes. When it happens, you'll know!
Be blessed folks!
July 12, 2011
Product Review
Typically, I would follow the directions of many YouTubers that I have heard over the past few months in reference to doing product reviews, which is waiting until you have used the product more than once. Some even suggest using it for a month before doing a review because you can then tell how it would really work with and in your hair, body, gut...whatever the product may be. BUT, I am oh so excited about the results of my first use of this product that I just can't wait to use it again. Call me impatient but I gotta tell somebody!!!
Previously, I wrote that I was searching for alternatives to deal with my scalp itching so much and that one of the things I purchased was Head & Shoulder's Itchy Scalp Care. Well, I used it a couple of weeks ago and it was AMAZING! Not only was it amazing but my scalp didn't itch for four days after using it!!! This is a major feat people! I have washed my hair at 1 and would be digging in my scalp by 8, so to go beyond 24 hours is more than I expected.
So, what's the first thing I liked about this product? The Shampoo was creamy. Almost the consistency of some conditioners, like a lotion almost, and it felt like it was really working in my scalp as I was using it. I was a little disappointed because I expected a little tingle to take place and there was none. There is eucalyptus in the shampoo and conditioner and that's supposed to be one of the ingredients that's really helpful to your scalp, but I also thought it would make me feel a little something....it didn't. Then I went to use the conditioner which was creamier than the shampoo and I really expected the conditioner to be as creamy as the shampoo, not creamier, but that was a good thing and as soon as I started massaging that into my hair & scalp...HELLO TINGLE! It was refreshing and felt really good. If I could have sat for hours with that conditioner on my head I would have (lol). My head loved the product and I'm going to use it again....and again...and again.
Also, in my alternative post I mentioned that I bought tea tree oil, as some people had advised me that it was also good for dealing with itchy scalp issues from a number of causes. Not knowing what actually causes my itchy scalp, other than the possibility of eczema, which I have on other parts of my body, I thought that maybe that would help too. Well, I have been using that for a little while now and I can't really tell a difference in my scalp from that alone. I'm sure it is benefiting my scalp in other ways (that I haven't looked into yet) but for the purpose of healing my itchy scalp issues, it hasn't proven itself to be something that would work on its own. I have, however, added it to my pre-poo hot oil treatment container as well as my moisture spritz that I use on my hair during the week. I do happen to love the smell. I don't know why, but the medicinal aroma it has is pleasing to me.
That's all I have for today. I plan to do a growth post in the near future because I have a lot of hair on my head! This no heat-reduced manipulation-treating my hair good thing is proving to have great results. Who knows, if I had put more effort into these kinds of things while I was processed I may have had a completely different experience over the last five or six years....but oh well. I'm not going back!
Previously, I wrote that I was searching for alternatives to deal with my scalp itching so much and that one of the things I purchased was Head & Shoulder's Itchy Scalp Care. Well, I used it a couple of weeks ago and it was AMAZING! Not only was it amazing but my scalp didn't itch for four days after using it!!! This is a major feat people! I have washed my hair at 1 and would be digging in my scalp by 8, so to go beyond 24 hours is more than I expected.
So, what's the first thing I liked about this product? The Shampoo was creamy. Almost the consistency of some conditioners, like a lotion almost, and it felt like it was really working in my scalp as I was using it. I was a little disappointed because I expected a little tingle to take place and there was none. There is eucalyptus in the shampoo and conditioner and that's supposed to be one of the ingredients that's really helpful to your scalp, but I also thought it would make me feel a little something....it didn't. Then I went to use the conditioner which was creamier than the shampoo and I really expected the conditioner to be as creamy as the shampoo, not creamier, but that was a good thing and as soon as I started massaging that into my hair & scalp...HELLO TINGLE! It was refreshing and felt really good. If I could have sat for hours with that conditioner on my head I would have (lol). My head loved the product and I'm going to use it again....and again...and again.
Also, in my alternative post I mentioned that I bought tea tree oil, as some people had advised me that it was also good for dealing with itchy scalp issues from a number of causes. Not knowing what actually causes my itchy scalp, other than the possibility of eczema, which I have on other parts of my body, I thought that maybe that would help too. Well, I have been using that for a little while now and I can't really tell a difference in my scalp from that alone. I'm sure it is benefiting my scalp in other ways (that I haven't looked into yet) but for the purpose of healing my itchy scalp issues, it hasn't proven itself to be something that would work on its own. I have, however, added it to my pre-poo hot oil treatment container as well as my moisture spritz that I use on my hair during the week. I do happen to love the smell. I don't know why, but the medicinal aroma it has is pleasing to me.
That's all I have for today. I plan to do a growth post in the near future because I have a lot of hair on my head! This no heat-reduced manipulation-treating my hair good thing is proving to have great results. Who knows, if I had put more effort into these kinds of things while I was processed I may have had a completely different experience over the last five or six years....but oh well. I'm not going back!
July 5, 2011
EPIC Haul!!!
Okay, this month has been a very busy one. With me doing some much needed things for myself both mentally and physically as well as getting back in the swing of being back in the swing of many things. So I am, of course, excited to be doing some of the things that I am doing (it really doesn't take much to please me, lol) and I also took some time to participate in some much appreciated (whether or not it was "needed" is yet to be seen) RETAIL THERAPY!
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As you can see, I have
For those of you who were not aware, Bath and Body Works's Semi Annual Sale was this past month, in fact, it ended July 3rd. They have this sale twice a year, in June and December, and this is the time that I avail myself to stocking up on their anti-bacterial hand soaps for my bathrooms. So I walked into BBW with the intention to buy "hand soap." I picked up the mesh shopping bag to load it up with "hand soap." Then....I looked around me at the massive display of all things 75% OFF and in the "Hello, Goodbye" containers to see that many of the fragrances that I liked were on sale either because they were discontinuing them or because they were changing the packaging of the product. Either way, I couldn't beat the deals! I loaded up on shower gels, hand soaps, some of the fragrance oils that you can heat up in the little devices with a tea light (I have no idea what they are called). Long story short, I got a lot of stuff. Five trips in three weeks and seven BBW bags later and this was the end result:
As you can see, I have much more lotions and shower gels than hand soap.........But I can pretty much promise that I won't be going back to BBW for quite some time. I'm even considering giving away these coupons I earned while shopping....CONSIDERING! They would have to be used before 7/29, so we'll see.
Next in my retail therapy escapade was a trip to Lane Bryant. There, I stuck to my guns. For those who shop there you are very much aware that LB tends to be a tad bit overpriced and, while the clothes do tend to be long-lasting and of decent quality, trips there are better left few and far between and specified to the sale racks. Well, this time, I went specifically looking for shorts, which I haven't bought or worn in about 8 years, and tanks because the tanks were on sale and I love using them as a pop of color to my strapless sundresses. I walked out with 3 pairs of shorts and 4 tanks. Job well done!
Then, there was a trip to the outlets. Including my 5th and final trip into BBW (they had an abundance of the White Citrus shower gel that other stores had sold out of), I picked up these wonderful items:
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| First were these cute little babies from Adidas! I needed some new walking/workout shoes and these were on sale at an unbeatable price and they have a little bit of purple in the color scheme. Although my favorite color is blue, nothing with blue was on sale at a price that could beat these bad boys! |
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| Next were these cuties from Nine West. Now, I must admit, these were not what I initially went in there for, but they didn't have my size in the grey (which they called black) and upon rationalizing that I have no natural toned shoes that I could wear in the colder months, I scooped these up and they are adorable! I must give myself kudos for waiting for my payday to get these also because they had gone down another $10 in price when I went back to get them. |
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Then there were these little puppies from Charlotte Russe. I must admit, I am not a Russe shopper and only, typically, go into the store for their accessories (I also got some earrings for $4) but I had been watching these shoes for about 4 months and finally decided to buy them and was able to get them at less than half off!!! Yay me! That is the end of my haul and the finale of a wonderful Fourth of July weekend! Needless to say, I won't be doing much more shopping in the near future, but it was certainly fun while it lasted! |
June 30, 2011
Summer Protection
I am really...really....really ready to braid, cornrow or twist up this hair of mine for a couple of months. With it being so hot and me being the hot-natured person I am (I can sweat walking in snow with just a sweater on), its really hard for me to keep a hold on these two textures of my hair. I'm not ready to chop yet, but its just not appealing for me to start the day with pretty curls or twists and end it with straight ends, a curly middle and tightly corkscrewed roots. I mean, I can pull off a different look or two but that just doesn't look appealing on anyone.
So I think its time for me to put up my hair for the summer. I just don't know what to do with it. I'm a little against doing the cornrows because my hairline is back (LOL) and I don't want to send it away again, but I haven't decided yet what I will do. Hopefully by payday I'll have a plan in mind and a way to execute it.
It would be great if I could do my own braids. That would totally solve the problem.
So I think its time for me to put up my hair for the summer. I just don't know what to do with it. I'm a little against doing the cornrows because my hairline is back (LOL) and I don't want to send it away again, but I haven't decided yet what I will do. Hopefully by payday I'll have a plan in mind and a way to execute it.
It would be great if I could do my own braids. That would totally solve the problem.
June 24, 2011
I'm All Tressed Up Y'all!!!
Just wanted to share an article on a friend of mines website for her business. She's an awesome woman with an enormous gift and an even bigger heart! Thanks Kenyada for being of help to me along this journey!!!
http://www.alltressedup.net/makeovers/43-makeovers/403-tatianas-transitioning-journey.html
http://www.alltressedup.net/makeovers/43-makeovers/403-tatianas-transitioning-journey.html
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