Eat, Pray, Love....and be HEALTHY

May I Offer You A Drink To Start With?

This morning while doing my mile run Rihanna's song Cake came on and all I could think about was the red velvet cake I had from Cake Man Raven's Bakery  and Momma Barnes' "melt in your mouth and slap a baby" pound cake.  As I started to run faster I heard people clapping and cheering me on, only to realize it was my thighs rubbing together and my booty clapping.  Ugh, the horror!  So I scrolled up to Beyonce's Move Your Body  tune and went for the gold.

Bon Appetit!

 

                                                             Appetizer

Although I love to dine out and cook, finding a healthy balance and fitting exercise into my schedule is also very important to me and my fellow Din-HER Club girls.  I gained my freshman 15lbs at 26 years old instead and although my metabolism wasn't in agreement with my new fitness and eating promise, I went for it!   I love to eat and I will never be my college size 4 again, but I will not let myself go either.

 

Side Note:  Congratulations to my favorite TV Cooking Queen, Mrs. Paul Deen on her recent 30lbs weight loss! Although her battle of diabetes made her tighten up, it was better late than never that she decided to take off the weight and started exercising and making healthier choices for HER. So if she can do it at 50 something, so can I!

#inspiration #motivation #go-girl!

 Like many I have tried all types of dieting from; The Lemonade/Master Cleanse, Sadkins, Acupressure and simply eating just air.  None of these have worked for me and if I did lose a pound or two from it, I gained it right back times three when I started eating normal again.  So I learned to come up with realistic healthy meal choices and exercises that work for ME.

I indulge and stuff my face twice a week, which is usually on the weekend, but Monday through Friday I stay away from certain carbs like pasta, white rice, bread etc.,  I also stay away from fried foods, red meat and the skin on chicken.  I add flax seeds to my oatmeal or my egg white omelet.   I use olive oil to cook with, purchased a Foreman grill and drink lots of water.  I use a great app on my phone called My Fitness Pal  to help me keep track of my calorie intake and weight loss progress.

 I love workouts like spinning, cardio kickboxing, zumba and other high intensity cardio workouts. When I do not feel like going to the gym, I either run a mile and do some burpees and squats or pop in my favorite workout DVD that I have a serious love/hate relationship with...INSANITY.   I love the Insanity workout because unlike other workout DVD'S,  this 12 piece set is not boring and you feel like the Instructor Sean T is literally in your living room yelling and motivating you.  You do not need any equipment or weights because you use your own body weight.  The workouts are gruesome and hard! You would think it would get easier over time, but it doesn't! Although you build up your endurance, you still sweat like a pig and pass out like a drunken frat boy when it is over.

 
 

Entree

Outside of my regular diet, I have recently decided to do a  fast 5 out of 7 days, every week until my birthday in August. There a different variations of fasting, but this one is MINE.  It is also partly spiritual for me as well to sacrifice some things and pray more throughout the day.

I start with a saltwater flush when I wake up in the morning.  This process helps me to eliminate any waste and toxins in my body and BOYYYYY DOES IT WORK!  I cussed out my friend Marissa for not warning me how fast this process works. I will not go into any details, but just don't plan on going anywhere for a hour.

Salt Water Flush Instructions: 2 Bottles of Purified Water, 1tbsp Sea Salt, and 1 tsp of Lemon Juice. 

Mix it, shake it all up and drink!  I am not going to lie, the taste is horrible from the sea salt, so I chase it with a shot of my mango smoothie (don't judge me).  They say for better results to lay on your right side for a few minutes after drinking the mix.

Then throughout the day I will drink water, green tea with honey, make fresh smoothies (no protein powder) or drink the premade Bolthouse  brand smoothies (in moderation).  It is a challenge so if I do crave a solid I will eat a banana or my infamous black bean and corn guacamole, since it is mushy and easily digestible. (Hey, it's better than the Five Guys burger I was craving yesterday). WARNING: when you decide to stop any detox or fast be sure to gradually reintroduce your body to normal/processed foods, by eating soup, salads and yogurt and fish or else your stomach will do flips.

 Tori's Black Bean & Corn Guacamole Recipe (copyright) : 3 Avocados, Fresh Cilantro, 1/2 of a Red Onion, 1 Lime, 2 Plum Tomatoes, Can of Goya Black Beans,  Mini can of Corn, 2/3 tsp Minced garlic, Sea salt,  Honey, 1 tbsp Chardonnay Wine .  

- Blend or mash up the avocados.  Dice up the onion, cilantro, black beans & tomatoes. Mix everything together then add the minced garlic. Sprinkle in the sea salt and Chardonnay (to your taste). Squeeze in some lime juice, add a little honey & mix it all up again.

  

Dessert

While my Din-HER friend Shawniel is the one in the group with the diamond encrusted halo and caution sign AND I'm the friend of the group with the black liquid spandex yelling "YOLO " (You only live once).  I promise I mean well!  I just like to have some good wholesome fun and be spontaneous, but like many, especially my belated grandmother my goal is to become a servant of God and be more like him. 

So during my detox I sacrifice my wants and focus on my needs.  For instance; I need to eat, but I do not need a burger or cupcake, although I want it, a banana will do me just fine.  God gave up so much for us so it is only right that we try and do the same.  I won't go into the details, but in the Bible  fasting is a way of doing so.  I also spend more time praying and simply having talks with God, read inspirational quotes (God Promises Daily Devotional) and do some bible reading on the word. 

I know religion is touchy for some and not everyone believes in God like me, but if you're just a spiritual person, you can enjoy the beauty of nature while taking a jog, doing yoga or reflecting at the beach like I do.

I am only on day 4 and although my patience has only gone from only a 0 to 2.5,  I am absolutely more in tune with myself , peaceful and thankful. 

Like I mentioned in my latest blog, I have had a few rough weeks recently, but yet  I have this internal peace of mind and since of trust that everything will be just fine.

My two friends said it best:   

Bryan Deliz  in his recent blog:  " Though at times I lose it for a day.  I wake up and every morning it’s like God places it right back into my soul.  I still wonder, plan, and hope. However, I find myself questioning my life a little less and less and feel myself living it more and more.  Just living, loving, embracing, forgiving, and discovering a path full of righteousness and fulfillment.  Walking towards freedom and purpose, without questioning the journey."

Adwoa A. - God Promises Daily Devotional:  "God did not promise that we would not grow tried and frustrated as we strive to reach our heavenly goal.  Nor did he promise we would not experience setbacks or failure.  He promised to give us an eagle's strength and to rise above our circumstances and go the distance."

Cited Links: 

1. June 2012/Bryan Deliz - http://bdeliz.tumblr.com/post/25799881218/the-truth-about-me-is

2. 2012/Adwoa E. Ansah -  God Promises Daily Devotional

http://www.amazon.com/God-Promises-Daily-Devotional-ebook/dp/B007WZTI18/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1340917207&sr=8-1&keywords=god+promises+daily+devotional

"Special Water", Special Times

May I Offer You A Drink To Start With?

This blog is dedicated to my Din-HER Club girlies. The past few weeks have been a little difficult and rough for me, but my girlies always know how to turn my frown into Chuck E Cheese smile.  The past few weekends with them has been amazing and super spontaneous. I love them because we just go with the flow, don't partake in drama and make the best out of everything and anything.

I can't help but laugh because this subtitle alone draws up a memory of me sneaking in and spiking everyone's drink with the special water at our last Din-HER Club outing.

 Bon Appetit!

Appetizer

Last weekend we all decided that we needed to get out, leave the kids and boyfriends/hubbies home and just have a good time. We decided we were all going to wear dresses or as I would say " mission big butts in skirts", have dinner and dance the night away.  All of us in our own way are very much homebodies and don't club or party often, so this was absolutely like going to the prom for many of us.

  

      The Official Din-HER Club Divas

 

Shawniel...excuse me, I mean "Chaneeeeel" (her alias) picked the restaurant this time.  She selected a sushi buffet place in Hamden, CT called Sushi Palace.  Now, for those that know me, know I dislike buffets (except for Shoney's down south).  Call me prissy or boogie, but I just don't like everyone picking over the food or  lil' Billy or Emma coughing over the meat station while trying to reach for a chicken finger (yuck). Although, I was skeptical and attempted to change the location several times, I sucked it up and ended up just going with the flow.

Sushi Palace

Cuisine: Japanese

1473 Dixwell Ave.,Hamden, CT

                                                             

Price:$$($20 all you can eat)

Since I attended undergrad out there, I was familiar with the area and knew there was going to be trouble finding parking.  The place has a very small parking lot and is in front of a busy street, so some of us had to park elsewhere.  We walked in and to my surprise it was a little cute restaurant WITH NO BUFFET STATIONS! Our reservation was for 7:30pm, but our table wasn't ready (like the reviews on Yelp indicated), which was a good thing for our Din-HER Club member Coco, who is ALWAYS LATE...I swear she'd miss her future child's birth if her vagina...... you get the point!   Anyway, we finally sat down and our server handed us these sheets of paper that listed the menu items on them and next to each item you had to select your desired quantity. 

For example:

__1_ Godzilla Roll            __2__ Miso Soup         __2__ Spring Rolls        __3__ Pink Lady Rolls

 I was elated because I was dreading fighting, pushing and knocking down someones six year old trying to get to the spring rolls. Our friend Esther must have ordered two of everything on the menu. It was so funny because we swear we saw the sushi chef give us a dirty look once our server handed him our order slip.

I packed some special water (rum & vodka) I had left over from a BBQ I hosted (ghetto, I know) and our cranberry juices went from a maroon red to a blush pink color. Our appetizers came out and we were a little confused at first because instead of them giving us our own individual orders on single plates, they served everything family style on a large plates, so we had figure out who's was who. I had the flavorful seafood undon soup, while all the other ladies had miso soup, the ginger and crab salad, calamari and spring rolls. Next to Jamaican and Soul food, my third favorite cuisine is Japanese, so I was actually very surprised and delighted at how yummy, fresh and authentic the food was. 

  Crab Salad, Ginger Salad & Miso Soup

   

 Sushi, spring rolls and chicken teriyaki

Once our large plates of sushi came, all we saw and heard were chopsticks clicking and lips smacking. The sushi was pretty, colorful and so good! Our fellow Din-HER Jen who hates to try anything new, ordered boring chicken teriyaki, BUT as always I forced her to try a piece of sushi. Mind you, she sort of cheated because she only tried a sweet potato roll and not the raw pieces, but you would have sworn she was eating a live octopus by the way we all had to coach and convince this sushi virgin into eating the sweet potato roll. 

Look at Jen's face at the bottom.... Epic!

After the many laughs and talks of B12 (insider) and other nonsense we discussed, we headed to a little spot downtown Bridgeport called Metric Grill & Bar. Metric specializes in awesome Haitian cuisine (which I will feature another day), but after dining hours are over they turn their main dining area into a dance party. 

Before we went in, Terri and I practiced this new line dance/step called the Co-Sign  so we could show off our new moves on the dance floor....and that we DID!  Because as soon as the DJ played it, we were the only two on the dance floor that actually knew the dance.lol  (Look it up and practice: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HAp4gyipmAE&feature=related). 
Between DJ Juan Coon keeping the crowd rocking, dancing in 4 + inch heels, running into old boyfriends, pouring more special water etc., we had a great time! We always have fun together, but we really had a great time that night....just the girls!

Overall, I would give Sushi Palace a rating of 4 out 5. 

You can't beat the price for the quality all you can eat sushi and although I think the waitstaff was talking about us in Japanese, they were very attentive and quick.