Good morning, loves! Long time since last post… I did enjoy my time off thoroughly, though.
I have a few cool product reviews in the works: Blendtec Total Blender
, which I am using on a daily basis nowadays, Ulimana
chocolates, and Sesen glass drinking bottles, which I use NONSTOP daily. These items are totally cool and I cannot imagine my day without them.
, which I am using on a daily basis nowadays, Ulimana chocolates, and Sesen glass drinking bottles, which I use NONSTOP daily. These items are totally cool and I cannot imagine my day without them. I also have a delicious giveaway in the works. You would not want to miss it! Two words: Coconut Bliss!
Meanwhile, I wanted to catch you up on things that are going on in my life, that are related to plant-based diet and exercise, well… almost :)
Trip to AZ!
First, here are a few pictures from our trip to Arizona.
Enjoying Lovin' Spoonfuls offerings
St. Xavier's Mission was my favorite stop in Tucson
Inside St. Xavier church
Demetrye's love/hate relationship with cacti was nonstop ;) Cacti won!
I got to enjoy locally grown grapefruit, which was HUGE [here I am comparing it to my hubby's head ;)]
I could not bring my Blendtec with me, so I had to use the blender we had at the resort... I went through 2 of them! They were so flimsy they just could not take the pressure ;)
My favorite ice cream comppany Coconut Bliss sent me this cute tote [along with a coupon for awesome ice cream bars to give away!] that I carried with me EVERYwhere. It comes with a little pocket and folds to a tiny-tiny size. Thanks, CB!
The Biggest Winner Challenge
The Biggest Winner Challenge is going full speed—we just reached our 4 week mark. The contestants lost combined 37 lbs! [Diana-15 lbs; Dan and Barb—11 lbs each!] How great is that?! To read about the rest of their [and my] adventures go to The Biggest Winner Challenge blog and leave some blog love ;).
We were blessed to have gotten sponsorship from two wonderful places that support healthy living: Excalibur Dehydrator sent our participants two 5-tray dehydrators—one to each family; and CSN Stores [who sell about EVERYTHING you will ever need in the kitchen, AND lighting and barstools!] provided two $40 gift certificates to each family. Diana was able to get herself a chemical free frying pan and Barb got herself a handy salad spinner [I use mine faithfully—my kitchen would not be complete without it!].
Raw for 30!
Another awesome project that just started to unfold has to do with my niece and sister. They both, totally of their own accord, decided to go on a 30-day Green Smoothie/Raw diet. It is really hard to believe, considering that these people thought I was totally insane for going on a plant-based [vegan] diet only a couple of years back.
I was very impressed and excited to hear about their adventure. So, this morning I made my sis 64 oz of green smoothies to take to work with her AND a delicious raw soup for lunch. I am going to share the soup recipe with you, so you can add it to your daily meal repertoire.
Creamy Tomato Corn Soup [RAW]
Ingredients
Soup~1/4 cup water
~2 middle-large ripe tomatoes
~½ large red bell pepper
~1 ½ cup yellow corn [fresh or frozen]
~1 clove garlic
~white pepper and Kirkland seasoning to taste
~sea or Himalayan salt to taste
~2 tbs hemp seeds
Garnish
~1 avocado, cubed
~2 tbs sunflower seeds
~1 tbs chopped cilantro
Preparation
~Blend all ingredients in a high speed blender [I used Blendtec Total Blender] until smooth.
~Pour in a bowl
~Cube 1 ripe avocado, add to the soup
~Sprinkle with sunflower seeds for crunch
~Finish with cilantro and…
~Enjoy!
I will chat with you all soon! Enjoy your day!
