Free video workouts!

You are eating a lot of calories of fruit,over 2500 cause that is what agrees with your body, that's great!! Now you have to start working out and getting that body in shape! I paid for a gym membership for the longest time, now I don't really like it. Something about everyone running on machines going nowhere in a crowded air conditioned place, rubs me the wrong way lately. I have been going on long walks, in Texas heat (100 degrees) and trying, emphasis on trying to do workouts at home! I enjoy going out and walking, going places takes longer, but I get to soak in the sun, and work my muscles to get there. I get groceries without a car, of course I can only carry a couple days worth but I love the workout, and the feeling of not getting in a car just to go grab organic fruits & veggies. If you can ride a bike I suggest taking it out and running errands with it! (I cannot ride bikes due to health reasons) Here are a couple workout links to help you do stuff at home!! Who doesn't love working out while watching TV! Makes me feel productive

Free workout videos, you choose intensity

My workout Pinterest board

Customized printable workouts! Make cards or take to gym

Blogilates for beginners

Blogilates begineer calender that goes with videos on website

Easy Baked potato & Corn meal

Ingredients:

2 Russet potato (rinsed) or 1 russet potato and 1 sweet potato! (my personal favorite) 

2 ears of corn 

1-2 cups of broccoli 

Vegan Ranch dressing, or vegan sour cream (whatever toppings you like on your potato) 

Aluminum Foil 

small sauce pan with lid for steaming broccoli 

Directions: 

1. Pre-heat oven to 450 degrees 
2. Using a fork poke holes in Potatoes, I usually poke them all around potato, about six or seven with fork will work. 
3. Bake potatoes in oven for 70 minutes (longer if your potatoes are large, as you can see my sweet potato was cut in half and my baked potato was small. 
4. After the potatoes have been in the oven for 40 minutes, add the corn (still in husk) to the oven rack. 
5. After you have taken the potatoes & corn out of the oven, you may start the broccoli. 
6. Add in 1/4 a cup of water in the sauce pan, add in cut broccoli and put the top on the pan and steam for 5-6 minutes (until soft) 
7. I put Organicville ranch dressing and steamed broccoli atop my russet potato, and cinnamon,coconut oil & pecans on my sweet potato.

Great meal 

Wondering if your store bought items are healthy? Read this blog!!

Hey guys,
So sometimes I have cravings for stuff that is not a fresh fruit/ vegetable. I know crazy right? Nope. This diet is more like a lifestyle, in order for you to follow it make sure to give into cravings every once in a while. If you are wondering if your gluten free cookies, or crackers are healthy check this website out Fooducate. This is a great resource that rates food items and gives you more info on ingredients listed!!! It also has healthy recipes, daily tips, nutrition info, food label info, kid-friendly recipes and allergy friendly recipes. Browse the website to see all the goodies! (keep in mind some of the recipes do not follow the vegan lifestyle, just find the ones that fit your lifestyle)

Typical Day of eating on a budget!

Morning: I always drink Datorade in the morning!! It really wakes me up, and as a former coffee drinker I love the boost it gives me.
Datorade

Lunch:
Datorade
Mono-meal of fruit. I eat 3-4 mono-meals per week
Banana Smoothie
Fruit & banana smoothie

Dinner: It is recommended to eat a small salad to improve digestion of cooked foods! No fruit should be eaten after your cooked meal, this causes digestive problems, if you are still hungry after your meal eat more cooked carbs! Or drink a large glass of lemon water!!
Roasted potatoes or Fries with Salad
Baked potatoes & corn
Baked Sweet potato & corn
Spanish Rice, black beans & vegetable
Asian Fried Rice
White Rice with steamed veggies & braggs liquid aminos
Vegetable soup with rice (I cook rice then and add once soup is in bowl)
Veggie Burger atop of cooked brown rice
Mixed roasted veggies, corn & potatoes
*note about dinner! If you want to go out to eat for dinner make sure to stay conscious of your carbs! Order foods with carbs and make sure not to eat foods cooked in a lot of oil!! You can also ask for no salt in many places

Snacks:
Fruit, fruit and more fruit!!! Veggies are okay too! Just make sure to stay raw until 4!!

Make sure you are drinking enough water!! If your pee is not clear you need more!!

Roasted Potatoes! No oil/ Salt

Ingredients:

1. 3-4 Russet potatoes 
2. Ms. Dash Seasoning (any flavor)/ Or 2 tsp of garlic powder, 2 tsp of chili powder and sprinkle of black pepper! (Season to your flavor, don't skimp on the seasonings either!! 
3. Parchment paper 
4. Cookie sheet (largest you can find)
5. Bread pan, or similar small pan that can hold liquid 

Directions: 

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees 
2. Line cookie sheet with parchment paper 
3. Cut russet potatoes into wedges or fries (uniform in size) 
4. Season potatoes as soon as you cut them, so the moisture grabs onto the seasonings! 
5. Seperate potatoes on parchment paper (not touching) 
6. Fill the bread pan half full with water, place the bread pan at the bottom shelf of the oven 
7. Place the cookie sheet on the shelf above the bread pan!! 
8. Cook for 35-40 minutes until brown and roasted
9. Serve with your favorite condiment!! (I mix siracha, organic ketchup/mustard, and veganese) 

Remember depending on the size of your potatoes you may need to cook two sheets of potatoes!! Meet your 600 calorie goal! If you had a long day you may eat more, as long as you are not adding oil/salt you are free to indulge. I usually throw in a corn (still wrapped in its leaves) and bake with potatoes it is a delicious side that doesn't need seasonings, once roasted!! 

Date Recipes for breakfast and Lunch

Basic Datorade: 

2 frozen bananas 

17 dates (soaked overnight so that they blend well in blender, if you have a nice blender you can skip this step)

2 tsp of cinnamon 

3-4 ice cubes 

Fill the blender to the top with coconut water, or filtered water) 

This is a very delicious frothy breakfast!! almost 600 calories, depending on the size of your bananas. I eat an apple shortly afterwards so that I eat over 600 calories at least. You may add more fruit to the smoothie, to switch it up a bit in the morning. 

Apple Pie Datorade: 

2 frozen bananas 

17 dates soaked 

2 tsp of cinnamon 

1 tbs of vanilla (non alcohol organic) 

3-4 ice cubes 

2 apples 

1/2 a cup of apple juice (optional) 

1 week of groceries!!

This is my typical week on Raw till 4! You may switch out fruits/vegetables, to ones that you really enjoy! Check calories on My fitness Pal to make sure you eat enough calories! Do not starve yourself when you are hungry eat!! Eat fruits during the day and After 4 you can have nut butters, and veggies if you need a snack. I go out on Sundays and buy all the food I need for the week, this saves time and keeps me on track with the diet!

Fruits:

• Oranges 30-40 (For me these are the cheapest option for a mono meal*, 9 oranges usually costs around $3, so one meal for $3 can't be beat)
• Bananas 28 (I consume around 4 bananas a day, If you want to make a couple banana mono-meals* I would suggest buying around 40)
• Apples 20 ( If you want to eat a mono-meal of apples then buy more, you need to eat around 9 apples in one sitting to consume the amount of calories you need)
• Dates 2-3lbs (I use 17 dates in one smoothie, so I usually grab around 3 lbs a week) 
• Your choice, find a fruit that is on sale and buy at least 2 lbs of it!! This will be for snacking or for use in a mono-meal. Remember to check calories, for example if you want peaches you will need 10 per meal! Buy more fruits if you want, be concious of how much you are spending. I would suggest using this meal plan and if you are running low on fruit, go and buy some mid-week, keep track of everything you buy so that you can add to your Sunday grocery list for the next week. 
• Frozen organic fruit: Great additions to smoothies, to change the date smoothies up a bit. I buy 2-3 bags will last a couple weeks. I usually buy mixed berries, strawberries and blueberries

Vegetables: 

• Corn 25 (For one mono-meal of corn for dinner you need to eat 9, I usually pair corn with baked sweet potato) 
• Russet Potatoes 1-2 bags (you will be making baked potatoes, baked potato wedges, and fries, such a cheap and delicious dinner) 
• Peas 2 bags frozen or 1 lb fresh, add protein to your diet, can be eaten during dinner. I steam my peas, and add 1 tsp of coconut oil 

Other: 

• White rice, or brown rice 1 bag
• Bag of beans (optional, but having some in the pantry is never a bad thing 
• Quinoa (optional for a side to meals)
• 2 cans Organic diced tomatoes (in a BPA free can)  
• Salt free seasonings (Ms. Dash salt free seasonings)
• My pantry staples all organic!: garlic powder, ground cumin, ground cinnamon, black pepper, chili powder, curry powder  
• Vegan Bouillon Cubes (You will need this for soups or to make rice! buy low sodium gluten free ones, whatever is available at your store) 

*Mono meals are when you eat just one fruit or vegetable for a meal. You will get all of your calories from this one type of food, so enter it into My fitness Pal to see how many you need to eat to get around 600-700 calories. 

Budget Friendly Tips, use this with the Grocery list

Budget Friendly Tips 

• One budget friendly tip is to find the organic fruit & vegetables that are on sale!! always buy sale items, because this usually means they are in season. This also gives you a chance to try new food. All the different kinds of apples, and oranges available, why not?! 
• When you buy bananas buy them by the box. Most stores give a 10 cent discount per lb if you buy a whole box of bananas. Since you are buying organic this knocks down the price to about 50 cents a pound depending on where you live (I live in Austin, Texas). Trust me you will eat all of the bananas and none will go bad!! Once they are ripe I freeze them for smoothies, they add a creamy texture that can't be beat!! 
• Instead of buying pre-cut fruits & vegetables take the time to cut your own and store in bpa free containers! This goes for leafy greens as well! The bags of spinach, and romaine are at least $2 more than the fresh ones. To store greens, I rinse them, cut them and let them dry then I put into a Tupperware container, with two paper towels, one at the bottom and one at the top of greens. This keeps them fresher longer! 
• Have quick snacks ready for when you are hungry! This means fruit that is already washed and ready to eat, does not need to be peeled/ or cut. I have apples, and canned pineapple around for this. I buy canned pineapple with no preservatives, in it's own juice. 
• Not all fruits/ vegetables need to be organic! The link below will direct you to a list showing the top fruits/and vegetables contaminated with pesticides. If you have money to buy all organic, I would recommend doing so, right now I cannot so I use this list for my groceries all the time.   The Dirty Dozen & Clean 15
• Shop around to find out which store sells the cheapest dates. Dates are a staple for this diet, they are loaded with nutrients and give you a good amount of calories for breakfast & lunch. I find that a banana date smoothie, fills me up and gives me a good burst of energy in the morning. (I will post recipes, in another blog) Medjool dates are usually around $8-9, these are a treat that I will buy at least once a month. The Dates I use are called Deglet dates, I live in Austin and sprouts has them on sale for $4-6, which is very affordable for the amount that I eat. Usually 17 but sometimes 34 if I drink two smoothies with dates. 
• Store bought juice, is the cheaper option for additions to smoothies, or to refuel you. I recommend buying fruit juice that is NOT MADE FROM CONCENTRATE!! Concentrate fruit juice has been through too many chemical processes and is similar to high fructose corn syrup in our body (meaning it raises insulin levels). The juice I choose is from the Brand Simply. I do not buy orange juice, if you want to know why check out the Formula for orange juice. I do buy the apple juice from them, and the cranberry juice since they are minimally processed. Whole foods has fresh squeezed orange juice you can buy, it is expensive but not made in a factory. If you buy the large bottle, you will have a whole meal! It is around $9 but it is better than buying fast food, or not following the raw till 4 diet if your in a rush head there to buy some juice. (HEB has fresh squeezed juice as well!!) 
• When you are buying potatoes, the bag of organic potatoes is always the cheaper option. I go through about 1 bag a week sometimes two. The cost is around $5-6 but provides dinner for 3-4 days. Sweet potatoes do not need to be bought organic, as well as corn. So find deals on these and buy in bulk. Corn will keep in the fridge as well as potatoes. 
• Look for grocery coupons, Target has online coupons you can print out. Sometimes there are $3-5 coupons for fruits/vegetables. HEB does deals, and so does Sprouts and Whole foods. Save money!! 

Download Free App to track your carbs/protein/fat! Info below

First before you start anything, before you start to consume food, download the MyFitnesspall app! It is free, and will help you keep track of your calorie intake. It provides you with a graph that shows the percent of carbs/protein/fats you are eating!! This is essential to starting this diet!! You need to make sure you are following the 80/10/10 rule to avoid gaining weight, and digestive problems.
This is an example of the pie graph that I use to make sure that I am following the 80/10/10 rule
On the home-screen you will see an option at the bottom right of the screen that says more, click on it, then click nutrition to see the bar graph!! I would suggest using this program to make sure you are getting enough calories as well. Set your daily calorie limit to 2000 manually, do not use the preset recommendations.

THE APP RECOMMENDS 55/30/10 DO NOT COMPARE THIS TO YOUR GOAL. YOU WANT AT LEAST 80 % CARBS, AND 10% OF FAT & PROTEIN 

My story

Hey guys,
So if you are visiting this blog it is most likely cause you are trying to transition to a healthier lifestyle or lose weight. My journey started over 3 years ago. I was 20, feeling really sick, constantly bloated, obese, and fainting. I went to the doctor and found out I had Diabetes. I could not believe it, I had been thin my whole life, I had just gained weight after high-school and could not seem to stop gaining weight. I was at 192 lbs when I went to the doctor, I am a short girl, only 4'11 so this was really unhealthy for my body. I went on a diet, well several, 15 lbs later I started to see results. I started to cook more food at home, eat less fast food, I gave up soda and started to workout. It took me over 2 years to lose weight. I got down to 140 and I was pretty proud of myself.

Then I got into a cycling accident. I had brain surgery and everything changed. My immune system,could not handle things that I could eat before. I found out I had a gluten allergy, which eventually was confirmed to be Celiacs disease. My whole life spun out of control, as I realized that my brain & body would never be the same. I got down to 120 lbs during my recovery, mainly because I fractured my mastoid bone (jaw bone) and could not eat. I felt really sick and weak, and the fact that I was 120 lbs didn't really matter to me. I started to eat more fruits, more vegetables and gluten free foods. I was introduced to super-foods; coconut oil, Quinoa, Chia seeds, flax seeds. Everything was different.

 As I researched more into food, I found an overwhelming amount of evidence that animal products were not good for me. I started to watch documentaries, I never really thought about how animals were treated. Honestly I always envisioned a farm, happy cows, never thought about their death or how it was done. Then I watched the documentary that changed my life, Earthlings. (click link to watch for free). This was when I said no more, no more eating meat, no more promoting companies that  exploit innocent animals. It took me several months to completely transition to a vegan lifestyle. When I did I gained weight, 10 lbs to be exact. I was 134 lbs but happier than I had ever been! It opened my eyes to a whole new lifestyle, a kind lifestyle, it changed my outlook on life, and I began to love myself and the world more than ever before. But, of course the fact that I was gaining weight, was not a good thing. I remembered how easy it was to get to 192lbs, and I did not want to go back. Thats when I started doing research again.

During my research I found Freelee the banana girl, spunky, blond, and very well informed. Her videos stated that she had been a vegan for over 7 years, most of which she spent as a raw vegan. I was instantly hooked, I went through all of her YouTube videos and found out more about her diet. The transition to the rawtill4 lifestyle was quick for me. I went out bought dates, bananas and tons of fruit that I enjoyed. I had never eaten dates before, they looked pretty gross to me after soaking overnight and I honestly threw the first batch of soaked dates away! (I think about those dates all the time now, those sweet delicious dates that I wasted) I drank banana, strawberry smoothies at first. Then I decided to take the plunge and try a dateorade. Best decision I have ever made. I fell in love!! My first date breakfast smoothie got me hooked!! I have been following the raw till 4 diet for over a month now. I feel great & look great. I am down to 124 (not trying to lose weight), and feeling better than ever!!!

Finally why I am doing this blog!!! So money has been short since my accident, I cannot afford to spend more than $250 a month on food, so I have to budget wisely. I have found a way to eat healthy and stay on budget and I would like to share my tips with you!! I will also share recipes, workout tips, and overall health and wellness tips on this blog.