Want to go Vegan?

Want to go Vegan or Raw Vegan?! Here are a few things to do and consider before making the choice! You NEED to do your research and be informed!
First, what is Vegan? What is Raw Vegan? Vegan simply means you do not eat animal proteins. No animal meat, including fish, and any animal bi-product including eggs, dairy and some people even choose to stay away from honey (which I think is a little extreme but to each his own!!)
Raw Vegan means you do not cook your food. Everything is pretty much made from scratch and you do not allow heat to touch your food. This protects your food from losing its nutritents. There are lots of different opinions about cooking your veggies so I will just leave it at that and you can do your own research and decide for yourself!

Here are a few reasons you may want to consider going vegan:

1) The meat industry is OUT OF CONTROL. The mistreatment and massproduction of animals is something most people don't want to think about but need to be informed of. Watch the doctumentary Food Inc for a full overview of what the food industry looks like here in th US.
2) You may have a lot of food allergies that can be relieved through eating Vegan
3) You may want to eat a more alkaline diet. Meat and dairy are VERY acidic and can wreak havic on the bodies cells and bring on disease.
4) You may just like the food!!

Either way, its a fun and humane way to eat :)

Here are a few things you need to consider or do before making the decision to become Vegan or Raw Vegan:

1) Eating Vegan or Raw Vegan does not mean just munching on veggies all day. There are TONS of creative recipes and substitutes for your favorite meals including Black Bean Burgers and Breakfast Burritos!
2) You can be vegan and still be unhealthy! There are lots of processed foods on the market that fit into the "vegan" category but they are loaded with fillers and just stuff you don't want to put into your body.
3) A vegan diet can be high in complex carbohydrates and healthy fats so you need to watch the balance of your intake with both.
4) Veggies and grains DO have protien but they do NOT have full amino profiles. You need to research and find combos to attain a full amino profile if thats what you are looking for! Beans and rice for example make a full amino acid profile!!

PLEASE do your research before going Vegan!! The best way to be vegan is to eat a variety of whole, fresh foods including: fruits, veggies, nuts, seets, legumes and grains.

Look up recipes on Pinterest or keep following this blog to get more healthy Vegan recipes!! And be sure to follow me on Facebook!!

Creamy Peach Cashew Dressing

SO healthy, SO yummy... Store it in a mason jar and you got salad dressing for DAYS!!

Recipe:
1.5 Cups raw cashews
1/2 cup sunflower seeds
3 peaches
3/4 cup white wine vinager

Blend in food prcessor or high powered blender until creamy and enjoy!

For more inspiration come and find me on Facebook!

For you Carrot Cake Lovers

Raw Vegan Mini Cakes with Cashew Maple Syrup Frosting... mmmmmm.
Find me on Facebook for more inspiration!

Here's how I did it:
For the Cake:
2.5 Cups Shredded Carrots
1 Cup shredded coconut
1 Cup pitted dates
1tsp cinnamon
1tsp pumpkin spice
5 Tbsp coconut flour
1 Cup trail mix (with no added sugar)

For the Frosting:
1 Cup raw Cashews (soak them while making the cake part)
1/2 cup coconut oil
3 Tbsp PURE maple syrup
1/2 tsp vanilla
2 tsp lemon juice

Directions Cake:
Put everything from the cake mix (except for the trail mix), into a food processor and blend until ingredients are easy to mold into a ball. Take a cookie sheet and put parchment paper on top. Squish the ingredients into balls and then flatten them 1/2 inch thick like pancakes onto the parchment paper. Should make about 8. Put them in the fridge while you make the frosting.

Directions Frosting:
Put all ingredients from the frosting into the food processor and blend until thick and creamy. Then take out the cakes and put one spoonfull of frosting on each cake.

The cakes can be eaten right away but put them in the fridge overnight and taste the magic the next morning. You won't be dissapointed ;)

• 
  

These Salad Jars Though...

Had a go at the newest trend... SALAD JARS!!! I did mine a little different though. Instead of just doing layered salads, I made already mixed salads and used the mason jars for storage instead of plastic tupperwear (which I'm not a big fan of for lots of reasons). So here you go, here's what I did! Come follow me on Facebook for more inspiration!!

Garbanzo Bean "egg" salad

2 cans garbanzo beans

4 stocks celery

2 cups shredded carrots

1/4 cup cilantro

1/2 cup sunflower seeds

1/2 tbs dried dill

1.5 tbs Dijon mustard

3 tbs veganaise (or regular mayo if desired)

Directions: Put all ingredients in big bowl and mix well! Store in mason jars or tupperwear.

Avocado and Tomato Caprese Salad

2 cups diced tomatoes

2 cups diced avocado

1/4 cup chopped basil

1 tbs lemon juice

Salt and pepper to taste

Directions: Put all ingredients in big bowl and mix well! Store in mason jars or tupperwear.

Layered Veggie and Chickpea Salad

Broccoli slaw mixture (from trader joes)

Shredded carrots

Sunflower seeds

Sprouts

Chickpeas or Garbanzo beans

Chopped red bell peppers

Directions: Layer the salad ingredients from bottom of list to top in a mason jar. Put dressing in when ready to eat and shake and enjoy!

Layered Veggie Protien Sweet Potato Salad

Brown or Purple rice

Cubed and cooked sweet potatoes

Sprouts

Sunflower seeds

Shredded carrots

Red Bell pepper

Directions: Layer the salad ingredients from bottom of list to top in a mason jar. Put dressing in when ready to eat and shake and enjoy!

Week 3 Of 21 Day Fix EXTREME Final Results!!!

Well here is it!!! Im Finally done and it was all worth it!!! The extreme meal plan was a challenge and it pushed me beyond my limits but nothing good EVER comes from comfort zones!! Here are my stats and before and after pics!!!

Starting Weight- 136
End Weight- 133
Total Inches lost- 5.25
Biggest area lost- Hips 35 start, 32.5 end!!

This program is amazing and when you put your time and energy into it you WILL SEE RESULTS. No pills, weight loss shakes, starving yourself, or hormone injections will even come close to taking the time to eat right and exercise. That's why I LOVE Beachbody! They don't claim to give you over night results but holy cow, look what happened in 21 days of clean eating and daily exercise!!! There is not one person out there that cannot do this and if you're finally ready to invest in your health and achieve your goals, I will help you every step of the way! Find me here on Facebook!!

Week Two of 21 Day Fix EXTREME

Week 2 of 21 Day Fix was challenging but amazing. I saw a lot of changes in my body this week especially with my abs and legs! I had a lot more cravings this week for carbohydrates but if it weren't for Shakeology I wouldn't have made it through. It balances out my blood sugars so much and I hardly ever crave sweets! This week I felt a lot stronger too. I could do more push ups, deeper squats and had more balance with Yoga! 

My 2 week progress pics! Legs on the right look tighter and more defined especially in the hamstrings! Love handles are going down too thank god! Haha!

Leg day is the scariest but the BEST!!! Round booty, round booty, round booty!!! Have to tell myself that the whole time lol!

21 Day Fox EXTREME Is changing my body quickly!!! I'm AMAZED!! Find me on Facebook here to learn more or to just be my friend!

Why I am a Beachbody Coach

. 

I'm going to be super real right now. I have BIG dreams. I want to help men and women all over the world get healthy. I want to move to Maui. I want to give my future kids opportunities to grow and become whatever they want to be.
When you realize Beachbody could be the vessel through which your dreams are actualized- your dreams to help others, travel the world, support your family, and give your children and yourself opportunities you would never have other wise,
THEN you will finally be able to actualize your greatest dreams. Dream big, then live your dream.
If you want to help others, if you want financial freedom and the freedom to work from home or bring your work anywhere in the world you may go, come join my team- Find me on Facebook here
Team LiveYourDream

Day 1-4 of 21 Day Fix EXTREME

Today is day 4 of the 21 Day Fix EXTREME!!! The first day for workouts was jump training (Plyometrics) and it was brutal!! But even now after 4 days the workouts and meal plan are getting MUCH easier. I even stopped drinking for these 21 days and I thought I would miss it but I feel so much better everyday not drinking! 

After 4 days I feel lighter, less bloated, happier, less anxiety, and WAY more energetic!! If you are interested in the 21 Day Fix find me here on Facebook and come be a part of one of my 21 Day Fix challenge groups!!

I LOVE my Vegan Chocolate Shakeology!!! This stuff has helped curb my cravings. give me energy, pretty much taken away my anxiety and depression and just tastes REALLY freaking good!!! To find out more about Shakeology Facebook Friend me here!!

Before Day 1 workout!! It was about to go down!!!

But we did it!!!!

All of the amazing food I get to eat!!! The picture above was just one SNACK. We have 5 meals a day on the 21 Day Fix but you can space them out however you want! 

Day 3 my cat joined me for pilates!!! She was so cute she just laid behind me on my mat but she wasn't very happy about me trying to use her as a pillow :)

Before Pics and Prep Day of the 21 Day Fix EXTREME

Prep day and the first day of the 21 Day Fix EXTREME!!! 

Im seriously in love with this program after doing the 21 Day Fix! When I did the 21 Day Fix I did amazing for the first two weeks and then fell of the wagon on the third week because I got sick. But I had never felt better than I did in those two weeks. I was eating clean, working out every day, and my emotions were finally balancing out because of Shakeology. This time around with 21 Day Fix EXTREME I'm going all in and not letting anything get in my way!! 

Prep day had its challenges with feeling a little pressed for time but me and my roomy, who is doing it with me, got it done! If you want to try the 21 Day Fix or 21 Day Fix EXTREME come and follow me on Facebook here and add me as a friend! Next Facebook Challenge group starts on March 16th!!

Here are my before pics!! Get ready for the after, its going to be AMAZING!!!

Thought For The Day

Thinking about relationships today... Why we gravitate towards the people we do, and why we tend to end up with our opposite. We, the universe, everything is always trying to achieve balance; homeostasis. There are those that love to need, and those who love to feel needed. Together we can feel complete. It's neither good nor bad... Just the way the world works.

Aloha