Pineapple, apple smoothie!! Frothy and perfect for a warm day!!

Ingredients 

2 cups of pineapple diced 

2 green apples diced 

3 frozen bananas, cut into chunks 

10 soaked dates 

1 cup of apple juice 

Blend and enjoy!!! Seriously so good and 950 calories!! Yaya 

Vegan "Caldo" (carb rich)

So when the weather is starting to get cold, and my allergies start to kick in, a good hearty Caldo was usually my first choice soup! Now that I am Vegan I still crave Caldo, and its delicious broth and veggies. Today I decided to experiment and try to make a vegan Caldo, that I could add white rice too and still was just as hearty and even more healing (no meat = easy digestion). Traditional Caldo has a chicken broth, with chicken, cabbage, carrots, and other various vegetables, with a side of rice you can add to soup. Here is my version! It is so delicious and instead of meat, I added red lentils (you can sub for extra firm tofu) Hope you enjoy!!

Ingredients:
Broth
8 Cups of Distilled Water
11/2 tablespoon of Garlic powder, Cumin, Chili powder, dried parsley, chives
4 not chick'n bouillon cubes
Soup
4 potatoes (cut into small bite sized chunks)
1/2 a head of cabbage (cut into 4 inch pieces)
1 cup of carrots (diced or cut small)
2 cups of broccoli (diced or kept normal)
1/2 a cup of onion diced
1 cup of frozen peas
2 corn on the cobs cut into chunks or 1 cup of corn
1 cup of red lentils (sub tofu, add last 15 minutes of cooking)
1 cup of diced mushroom

Directions:
Bring Broth ingredients to boil, then add soup ingredients. Bring soup to rolling boil, then reduce to simmer, cover pot and cook for 30 minutes.

While soup is cooking, cook rice in small quart sauce pan. I cook 1 cup of rice with 1 3/4 cup of water, until done (20 minutes) Add rice to soup once it is done

Sweet & Sour Oil free Homemade sauce!!

Oh my gosh!! This sauce was so delicious!!! It does take a little while to make, but the results were totally worth it!! Perfectly sweet, and perfectly healthy.

Ingredients:

1/4 a cup of packed organic dark brown sugar (or coconut sugar)
1/3 a cup of rice vinegar (white vinegar works just as well)
1/4 a cup of gluten free low sodium soy sauce (bragg's liquid aminos works as well)
1 tablespoon of organic ketchup
2 tsp of siracha (optional, but oh my goodness does it add great flavor, not spicy at all)
1/3 a cup of water (or pineapple juice if you have it) Add more if you desire a less sour sauce
2 tablespoons of cornstarch

Directions:
Add all ingredients to a small sauce pan, stir frequently and bring mixture to a boil.
Remove from heat, let cool (I put mine in the fridge for 30 minutes so the flavors combined, if you don't it will end up being a bit more sour than usual)
Re-heat on medium heat in sauce pan, add to whatever veggies and rice you like!!

*I made tofu and steamed veggies to eat with it!! great on top of rice by itself as well!! Enjoy

Creamy banana smoothie!!

The secret to a creamy, shake like banana smoothie?! Frozen bananas!! For a sweet treat for breakfast try this shake out!! Also very ripe bananas 😍

4 frozen bananas 

3 normal bananas 

1 cup of apple juice (for extra sweetness, I don't add sugar) 

1 tbsp of cinnamon 

1 tsp of vanilla 

Blend and enjoy!! 900 calories for breakfast fine by me, add another banana for 1000 

Lunch smoothie, that doesn't turn dark icky brown!

This smoothie was heaven!!! Delicious and perfecly sweet. Stays the same color as when you first make it, apple juice is light brown. 

Ingredients: 

1 red apple (I use gala or pink lady) 

2 green apples 

10 soaked dates

1 cup of apple juice 

1- 2 tsp of cinnamon 

1 tsp almond extract 

Coconut water to fill container you are taking mine is a 600 ml container so I fill blender to 500 ml (when fruit blends the drink gets larger) 

Blend and enjoy! 

My grocery list this week

Hello all! Here is my grocery list for this week. Cost a total of $55

20 lbs of bananas (no boxes at HEB) (o)

3 lbs of mandarins 

1 bag of green apples (o)

1 bag of red apples (o)

9 navel oranges 

1 bag of celery (o) 

Green leaf & red leaf lettuce (o) 

1 zucchini (o) 

1 bell pepper (o)

3 cucumbers (o) 

1 bag of baby carrots (o) 

3 cantelopes 

3 lbs of deglet dates 

1 bag of rice 

1 bag of black beans 

Gluten free not chickn bouillon cubes 

Vanilla extract 

6 ears of corn 

Simply apple juice large container 

I'll probably need more fruit but nothing was ripe so I didn't get much. 

Organic Skin Care for Acne: My routine

So,
Acne is a touchy subject for me. I used to have problems with it majorly in high-school, then got rid of it using a Acne Free Severe 3 step system. I was fine and dandy, until I had brain surgery. A couple months after my acne started coming back, more severe than ever before. Nothing was working, none of the old medicine was working and my skin looked horrible. After going gluten free, then eventually Vegan my skin started to clear up, but was still pretty bad. I had tried several make-ups that gave me allergic reactions and my skin is severely scarred from the horrible bouts of acne from trying to "cure" my acne. I found a website that has a very helpful Online Tool where you can enter the ingredient list for a product you are using and see what comodegenic (pore clogging, acne causing)  ingredients it has. Literally every one of my products had at least 2 ingredients that were pore-clogging, even the acne medication I was using was bad for my skin. So in light of this I decided to try natural skin-care products that had good reviews on the web. My skin was dry from benzyl peroxide, flaky, sore, covered in pimples, and red. I decided to try some online natural solutions for acne, and the results were nothing short of amazing. No more dry skin, no more cheek acne, and best of all my face was starting to heal. Of course I still have scars and a few pimples here and there during my period, or if I touch dirty things on my face (phone! clean your phone, it has tons of bacteria,if you have acne by your ear this is why), but in general my skin is back to its normal self. I can wear make-up and feel comfortable. Being on Raw till 4 has also helped, my skin is glowing and my scars are clearing up very fast, if I eat dairy or gluten, I will break out so sticking to the diet has kept me severe breakout free. The following is my skin care routine.

Products:

1. Braggs Apple Cider Vinegar (everyday)
2. Dessert Essence Organic Lavender and tea tree oil (everyday)
3. Queen Helene Ming Julep Masque (2x a week) 
4. Simple Ultra-Light gel Moisturizer (everyday) 
5. Need help quick?! Follow my routine, but add Neutrogena on the spot acne treatment directly to your pimples, not all over face. Add after you have applied, tea tree oil (let dry), before you use the gel moisturizer, let dry then moisturize. ONLY do this if you have a severe break out you are trying to clear up, and want to prevent scarring.

Morning & Night:  

Add water to clean bowl 

Add 1 tablespoon of apple cider Vinegar to water (less if you have sensitive skin) 

Dip cotton round in mixture and smooth over face (gently), do this several face until you feel your face is clean. (This is a face rinse!! make sure to clean your face thoroughly, I do not use soap) 

Pat dry face, make sure to be really gentle. Part of the inflammation in acne comes from us over scrubbing. 

Dot tea tree oil, directly on acne, let dry then use moisturizer. 

Once or twice a week use a mask to help deep clean your skin. 

Pimple Treatment, to get rid of them fast: 

Use cotton bowl to apply apple cider vinegar directly to pimple, gently pat on pimple. Leave for 5 minutes then follow routine. You may want to use Neutrogena's on the spot acne treatment to help, I would not use this all the time, it has horrible effects on your skin with prolonged use, just use it till you get your acne under control. If you have a white head, ready to burst, applying the apple cider vinegar will pop it, make sure to cleanse it thoroughly and be very gentle, to prevent scarring. 

Banana milk

Ingredients 

5 frozen bananas or normal ones

1 tsp of vanilla & cinnamon 

Water (as much as you can fit) 

Blend and enjoy!! Make two full batches for a meal 

Not sweet enough? Add 7 dates or 1/4 a cup of coconut sugar 

Pantry staples

I like to keep my pantries stocked and filled with healthy food. These days I make all my food at home. I had to re-stock my cabinets so I thought I might as well give a helpful list to my followers. The following pantry essentials are all I use for the recipes on this blog!!  Preparation is key! 

Seasonings: all organic 

Garlic powder 

Cumin powder 

Curry powder 

Cinnamon powder 

Chili powder

Ginger powder 

Ground pepper 

Rosemary 

Italian seasoning blend 

Ms. Dash salt free: spicy, garlic & herb, original blend

Rice vinegar 

Organic Unrefined coconut oil 

Organic canola oil 

Gluten free low sodium soy sauce 

Vegan mayonnaise 

Bouillon cubes (vegan & gluten free) 

Rice 

Beans (dry& organic Canned) 

Organic no salt tomato sauce (BPA free lining) 

Organic diced tomatoes (BPA free lining) 

My raw till 4 Week Meal plan $50 grocery list

The first day I went to work, I ate just fruits. I was hungry a couple hours later, and the stares were a little weird. I decided hey why just bring fruit, I can bring other things and have variety and a delicious filling lunch. The next day, I brought a salad, a date drink, and fruit. First off it took me a whole 25 minutes to finish my lunch! (very filling!) and on top of it all It was delicious the combination of everything was quite nice. I spent a total of $50 on groceries this week (I had bananas already) Here is what I ate daily! I was full, felt great and had energy to work 13 hours (teaching, working with parents) If you are looking for lunch ideas, here are some!!! Switch it up with your own fruits, and salad combinations!!

Breakfast: 

Date smoothie: 900 calories 

1/4 a cup of unsalted dry roasted peanuts 

19 dates 

2-3 frozen bananas

1 cup of apple juice

coconut water to fill blender 

Lunch: 

Date drink:450 calories 

15-16 dates

1 cup of apple juice, 

1 apple 

1/2 a cup of coconut milk 

1 tsp of almond/vanilla extract 

Salad: 

Romaine & red lettuce 4 cups 

Cherry tomatoes 16 

baby carrots 5 

Cucumber 1/2 

Asian salad dressing (choose a low oil, low sodium option) 

Fruit: 

1 cantaloupe, 1 pineapple, or 5 oranges, 10 mandarins, 3 apples 

Dinner: 

Fries, Roasted potatoes, or pasta 

Grocery List for the week: 

1 head of romaine, & red lettuce (o)

 1 lb bag of baby carrots (o)

1 container of cherry tomatoes (o)

4 Cantaloupe's 

2 pineapples 

1 bag of mandarin oranges

2 cucumbers (o)

16 bananas (o)

1 bag of organic potatoes (o)

5 ears of corn

1 box of gluten free corn pasta  (o)

1 jar of organic spaghetti sauce (o)

1/2 lb of dry roasted organic unsalted peanuts (o)

3 lbs of deglet dates 

Annies sesame ginger salad dressing 

1 container of Simply Apple Juice 

Silk Organic Coconut milk (o)

** (o) are the foods I purchased organic. I have researched and found the foods that you should  buy organic and ones that have low pesticide residue. 

Apple date drink for lunch!

I don't drink this drink by itself. This is more of a side drink to eat with salad and fruit. It adds a good amount of calories to your meal, and is deliciously refreshing! 

Ingredients: 

15 soaked dates 

1-2 tsp of ground cinnamon 

1 cup of apple juice 

1/2 a cup of coconut milk (organic unflavored) 

1 tsp of almond extract 

Coconut water (enough to fill your container) 

Blend and enjoy! 460 calories 

Rosemary, parsley fries! No oil/salt

Ingredients: 

1 tablespoon of organic rosemary, parsley, garlic & black pepper 

4 potatoes cut into fries (do not need to be perfectly uniform in size) the thicker the better with these 

Parchment paper 

Cookie sheet 

Bread pan 

Directions

Preheat oven to 400 degrees 

Mix seasonings with freshly cut fries 

Line cookie sheet with parchment paper

Fill bread pan 1/4 full with water. Place on bottom rack 

Place cookie sheet with potatoes above bread pan 

Add in corn still in husk to the bottom rack (with bread pan) 

30 minutes!! And dinner is done! 

 

Cranberry Lunch Smoothie!!

Every week I make sure to eat at least one smoothie with cranberries. Cranberries health benefits are long and always growing. First off they have tons of antioxidants , which are great for aging and overall skin health.

I struggle with acne, and I have found that adding in cranberries to my diet, has helped tremendously they are anti-inflammatory as well, so if I am having a bad breakout I drink this smoothie twice a day until the outbreak is gone.

Picture Source

Here is another link if you want to learn more Words Healthiest Foods

Ingredients: 

1 cup of Frozen or fresh cranberries

17 Soaked dates (overnight unless you have a vitamix) 

3 frozen bananas 

Tons of water (fill as far as you can with water, make sure not to overfill) 

Blend and enjoy!! 700 calories (need more? Use 20 dates & 4 bananas) 

This smoothie is a little bit tart, but very delicious!!! Add more dates if you want a super sweet treat.

My new favorite breakfast smoothie!

So in a previous post I talked about how I was going to start working more hours, and the breaks when I can eat will be hours apart. So in the morning I need my smoothie to be supercharged! My solution? Adding pb2 to my smoothie! This concoction was super delicious, you can also add the hazelnut/chocolate pb2 and it tastes just as great. I added pb2 to have some protein, which is known to help keep you fuller for longer, without the added fat of nut butters.

800 calories! I eat a couple oranges as well for a total of 1000 calories for breakfast 

Ingredients: 

15-17 soaked dates (overnight soaked) 

3 frozen bananas 

1 cup of apple juice or 2 apples 

2-4 tablespoons of pb2 powder*

Filtered water to brim of smoothie machine (do not overfill) 

 Blend and enjoy!!! 

*sub soaked almonds or other nut of your choice. Adding less will not give you as much protein but 4 tablespoons does give you a nutty smoothie 

Adobado flavored potatoes! Oil free, salt free with salsa Valentina

So if you have leftover Spanish rice! or you are just craving some potatoes with a little pizzazz you should try this recipe!!! These are deliciously seasoned potatoes perfect for your Mexican cravings and best of all?! Oil free with no added salt (except from hot sauce)

Ingredients:
2 organic russet potatoes
1 tablespoon of chili powder
2 teaspoons of ground cumin
2 tsp of garlic powder (omit if you want)
1 tsp of lemon pepper (salt free)
1 tablespoon of your favorite hot sauce!! I like Salsa Valentina personally, gives the potatoes a zesty flavor. Tabasco works great as well
Pans: Cookie sheet, small bread pan & parchment paper

*to make less spicy, add the juice of 1/2 a lemon 

Directions:
1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees, and line a large cookie sheet with parchment paper
2. Cut potatoes into wedges
3. In a large bowl mix potatoes and liquid ingredients, when coated add dry seasonings! Let sit for 10 minutes in seasonings.
4. Place potatoes on parchment paper evenly, with no potatoes touching.
5. On the bottom rack of oven place a bread pan, or similar pan half full with water
6. Place the cookie sheet with potatoes on the oven rack above the pan with water (note even if your potatoes are on the top shelf of the oven, they will still cook evenly, the only requirement is that the pan with water is below the one with potatoes)

How to deal with negativity about your diet

I have been raw till 4 for a very short time. It's kinda funny that the only time people started to care about what I ate, was when I started eating the way I do now. Is it really that ridiculous that you can get all the calories & nutrients that you need from eating fruit?
The following is a list of times that my diet has caused problems

1.  Going grocery shopping. I seriously always get asked what I am going to do with all those bananas? I always reply that I am going to eat them all, by myself, which gets a few laughs and stares. I even had a woman ask me if I owned a monkey. Seriously though my cart is usually filled with only fruits & veggies, rice & beans. It feels good to know everything that I am putting into my body, no chemicals just the good stuff. 
2. Friends: Usually this only causes a problem if we are going out to eat, but I do get the occasional, is that really all you are going to eat? or the infamous you eat like a rabbit. I am totally cool with that. You respect my way of life, and I won't judge yours. I do like to post videos and Instagram posts promoting Vegan-ism, but I will NEVER force someone to do it, or make them feel bad cause they are not vegan. I simply feel better not eating meat, and honestly couldn't imagine going back to it in a million years. 
3. Family: This one, this one is a doozy sometimes. My mom gets sad cause she cannot cook for me, my dad calls me a rabbit and does not want to go anywhere to eat that is Vegan friendly, so I don't go eat with him. I also have family members that say that because of their level of activity they could not survive on my diet. Truth is anyone can thrive off this diet. Even if you bike 15 miles a day, or play basketball, and go for runs. Getting all of your calories from plants is not hard, and the effects on your health are incredible. Everyone in my family is pretty healthy except for me. (I blame it on being the middle child) I wear glasses, have Celiacs disease,  lactose intolerance, acne, IBS and to top it off a weak immune system. Although I have all of these problems, I have never felt better since I became Vegan. I feel a lot more alive, my brain is healing (Brain Surgery June of 2013), I feel more active, I am a lot more pleasant and happy, I can walk for long distances, exercise without sweating really, and BEST of all NO DIGESTIVE PROBLEMS!! 
4. Work: So far I haven't had to deal with any problems at work, except that every single occasion seems to involve food that I cannot eat. I work at a school and everyone brings cupcakes, pizza, ice cream or other foods to celebrate occasions. I am going to start working over 40 hours a week, and I know that my calorie intake is going to need to increase dramatically to keep up. My plan? To add more dates to my smoothies and to eat fruit more often throughout the day! I am also bringing two Date smoothies to work to recharge me!! Although this diet calls for you to get most of your calories from fruit till dinner, I plan on eating nuts as well, especially since I have not been hitting the minimum recommended amount of protein and fats a day. 
5. The Internet: For me, this one is so ridiculous. I have an instagram account, I get about one person every week going on a post of mine and criticizing the raw till 4 diet. I usually delete their comments, sometimes I argue, then delete their comments. Who cares what someone across the world eats? I NEVER go one to peoples pages and leave mean comments, but I do offer help to people who ask for it. Learning to just delete and block for those meanies out there who like to harrass you and say you are going to get fat eating all those carbs.

Take what everyone ELSE says with a grain of salt. If you are feeling good, looking good and loving the raw till 4 lifestyle than who cares what anyone else has to say about it!! 

Adding dairy & it's consequences

If you have been on raw till 4 for a couple weeks and you decide to eat dairy cause well your will power has faded. Remember the dairy industry treats their cows like complete and total shit!! They inpregnate their cows, take away their babies and use the boys for veal and raise the girls to be dairy cows!! These cows are over worked and sick. They are used to their breaking point, they die over 20 years before they would naturally, and they are abused and never given love!! Of course not all farms are like that but if your buying cheese, and dairy from a grocery store you are supporting the dairy industry. 

You will also experience pains and bloat (even if you are not lactose intolerant) from eating these products since your body is starting to get used to healthy foods. You might even break out or feel weak and tired. These feelings might make you break your raw till 4 schedule even more!! It's not worth it trust me there are plenty alternatives. I have fallen pray and my face and body hate me for it. So please think about the cows 

Not getting enough fat/protein?

So, 

Your using the my fitness pal tracker and you notice that you are above 85% carbs and really low on protein/fats. I was in the same boat for a while. My solution was to add 1/4 a cup of dry roasted peanuts to my morning smoothie. You could also just eat 1/4 a cup of peanuts (more if you please) remember not to go over 80/10/10 all the time. 

Peanut butter banana smoothie 600 cal

1/4 a cup of dry roasted (no salt) peanuts 

3 frozen bananas 

1 ripe unfrozen banana 

Filtered water ( as high as you can fill in blender without over filling) 

Directions: blend and enjoy!! Seriously super delicious 

Blueberry banana breakfast smoothie!!

Ingredients: 

2 ripe normal bananas, 2 frozen ripe bananas 

2 cups of fresh or frozen blueberries 

1/8-1/4 a cup of coconut sugar 

3-4 ice cubes 

Directions: 

Blend and let sit for 10 minutes in fridge, then enjoy!!! (Letting it sit will let the mixture combine flavors and turn a deep purple) 

I need more food!!

So,
I went to work today, did more than usual throughout the day and I realized that I was dead, I mean DEAD by the end of the day, I was super tired and weak and could tell my blood sugar was low. Why the sudden drop? Well I worked till 6 pm. I am used to eating right at 4 or a little after, lunch was at 12 and I had gone six whole hours without a large meal. I ate 2 apples, 2 oranges and 1 banana while at work and I was still pretty worn down. My solution? I am going to take an extra smoothie to work tomorrow! A Datorade for me to drink around 3 pm, which is the time I will be leaving my full time job and going to the after-school classes I teach. This bumps my calorie intake up for the day which I am perfectly fine with since I eat around 2000 a day, and I know it is recommended to eat at least 2500. So if you find that you are weak and hungry, EAT MORE!! If you start to starve your self your body will store fat, which is not a good thing!