My Favorite Weight Loss Foods

I wanted to share my absolute favorite foods I ate for weight loss. There are many different ways to loose weight and everyone needs to find what works for them but these are what really made me loose weight.
I posted below spring rolls and hand rolls. Now I know these are typical oriental foods and people always tend to match them with oriental spices but I don't. I mixed them with anything and everything possible. There are two ingredients I always use, a type of protein and a type of vegetable. I stayed away from foods high in carbohydrates like rice, bread and noodles. The rice paper and seaweed are great substitutes for those. If I made tacos for my family I would replace my tacos with rice paper. I have also made mediterranean spring rolls with a greek yogurt sauce that were great also. What ever protein I cooked for my family whether it is steak, chicken, shrimp, beans, etc the list can go on and on I mixed with whatever veggies I have. These are really healthy and nutritious for you and are low calorie. They taste amazing also!

Another reason why I also recommend cutting out foods high in carbohydrates is because I don't feel tired everyday. I use to feel so sluggish and exhausted all the time I could barely get house work done. I feel full of energy now and I love it. I also don't feel bloated and full which is really nice.

Quick tip for seaweed rolls. Make sure whatever you put on the seaweed first is warm. I heat up my hummas then spread on the seaweed. The heat softens the seaweed so it won't break.

Roasted Seaweed handroll with hummas, clover sprouts, cilantro, red onions, cucumbers and mint. 

Spring roll with hummas, lettuce, tomatoes, cilantro, carrots, green bell peppers and red onion

Roasted Pine Nut Hummas

Laugh and Love

Christine

For more Spring Roll recipes you can use the search box to the left of my blog page. Type in the word spring roll. Thanks!! ;)

Chia Pudding

I am super excited because an Organic Market opened up right down the street from me this week. I can't tell you how excited I was. When I lived in California I lived 2 minutes away from Sprouts so when I moved here it was a big change I didn't want to get use to. Now, I don't have to order any of my health foods online and I can pop in and out and get fresh ingredients. Did I say how happy I am?!! 

I made some chia seed pudding with what I bought this week. I literally drank mine it was so good.

If you would like to browse other chia pudding recipes you can type the word chia in the search box to the left of my blog page. It will bring up more recipes.

Recipe below ;)

Serving: 2 cups
2 tablespoons chia seed
2 cups plain hemp milk
2 tablespoons goji berries
Mint leaves

Mix the chia seeds and hemp milk together. Let sit atleast 2 hours.  The seeds will expand the longer they sit but I don't recommend letting them sit longer then overnight. They get a little mushy for my taste if they sit too long. Top with goji berries and mint leaves and eat up!

Laugh and Love

Christine

Steak Leftovers

A super easy way for me to eat healthy is salads. I know your probably feeling blahhhh when you hear that because I know salads can be boring! I definitely can relate, but for me it is all about the end result. Being able to discipline yourself or having self control is definitely worth all that hard work paying off in the end whether it is for losing weight, being healthy or just a mental challenge. I know eating healthy is very hard when you start in the beginning. You feel like your an alcoholic not being able to drink but after you start eating healthy on a regular basis all that junk and crappie food you ate will eventually sound gross to you! If your a junk food junkie and are trying to start eating healthy don't get angry with yourself for going off track! If your eating healthier then you were before then your off to a great start. Just keep it up and slowly add more healthy foods in your diet ;)

ON TO THE SALAD

 During the winter on cold days I always want something nice and hot to eat and eating a cold salad is just not satisfying! I will grab whatever vegetables I have in the fridge and cut them up. I will also get whatever protein I have as leftovers which was steak for me and sauté them in a pan, with olive oil and garlic until it is wilted. I'll pour some dressing (I used balsamic glaze below) and have a nice hot meal that is super lean and healthy!

* I try to not eat red meats too much and tend to replace it with chicken, beans or seeds. Everything in moderation!

Laugh and Love

Christine

Link up with Fitness Blondie, Pig and Dac

Natural Skincare

Hope everyone had a great holiday and the New year is just a day away! I wanted to share my favorite natural skincare products that would be great to start a healthy year off with. My rule of thumb is no parabens and no ingredients I don't know of. I try not to put any lotions on myself and especially my kids because I feel like I am contaminating them. Sort of like giving them tons of sugar, once in a while it's ok but not on a regular basis. Natural products are just as important to me as eating healthy and organic so I will do my best to have natural products at all times. My list of must haves:

1. WATER:
This is the most important part of healthy glowing skin for me on top of eating healthy raw foods (raw veggies and fruit). You are suppose to drink half your body weight in ounces of water per day. So if you weigh 120 lbs you should be drinking about 60 ounces of water(about four 16 ounce water bottles). I try to shoot for more so maybe 5 or 6. It makes a big difference in how smooth your skin looks and feels. If your one of those people who get out of the shower and need lotion right away, I would definitely recommend adding more water in your diet. If you want to read more about healthy water click here.

2. COCONUT OIL
 Now aside from cooking coconut oil is my favorites for hydrating my skin. I will place some in small container for my bathroom and use as lotion. You only need a tiny little bit because it will go a long way. Coconut oil I will also use as a mask for my hair, a facial scrub I will mix with 1 part baking soda to 2 parts coconut oil. It is also great replacment for vaseline and the best make-up remover I have ever used. There are many other uses of coconut oil but these are the main ways I use them.

Picture from Firstdecents.org

3. RAW HONEY
Honey is another great product I use on my skin and it's one natural ingredient again. I will get a lemon and squeeze some juice in with honey.  I'll take the rind and scrub my face with it. I'll wash it off then put some of the raw honey and lemon juice on and leave it on as a mask for about 20 minutes. It makes my skin super soft and smooth and has antioxidants which are great for aging. I see this brand of honey at local grocery stores so it is pretty easy to get.

Now aside from these natural one ingredient products my two favorites natural ingredient products are Neals's Yard Remedies and Burts Bee's. Both of these products are very close in ingredients the only difference is Neal's yard is ORGANIC. Both of these products smell so good I feel I could eat them, I love them so much. For a quick product that is sold at all drug stores, etc Burt's Bees is the most convenient and all natural ingredients. I love all their products and they are very affordable. The lotions are my favorite, Honey and Shea butter and Milk and Honey are my favorite. Neal's Yard is much more pricer but WELL worth it. I have tried all the products below, including more and recommend ALL of them. If your opted to try one product I would go for in order:
 Beauty Sleep Concentrate, Frankincense Hydrating Cream, Frankincense Toner and Rose Facial Wash. You can click the on them for more info. They are all amazing and will last a long time. You need very little and you can switch back and forth with the natural one ingredients I recommended above so they can last longer.

Some products from Burt's Bees I love and raw coconut oil. You can click the picture for more info.

Laugh and Love

 Christine

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More Burt's Bees...

Health Habits Grocery Shopping

An easy way to stay healthy is always have fruits and vegetables in your kitchen.  When I go grocery shopping I always go to the produce section first. I fill up on fruits and veggies. My kids love to be able to go in the refrigerator and just get a piece of fruit wash it and eat it. Quick, easy and healthy snack!

Portion Control

For some of you asking here are pictures of some portions I'll eat. For all of you trying to loose weight, good for you but do it mainly to fight off diseases and be healthy! xoxo

When I say being healthy I really mean it with all my ♥. Last year my oldest son Akai started getting eczema all over his body. Scaly red and white itchy eczema. It was all over his cheeks, arms and back. I couldn't look at him without my heart dropping. I took him to THREE doctors and they all said the same thing, he was allergic to something and it could even be the sun. They told me he would have to take benadryl or claritin for the rest of his life. I said to myself there is no way I'm giving him medicine everyday like that. Not going to happen.So, I thought about eczema. It's clear that if you have eczema your skin is dry. I figured it needed moisturizing. So I decided to make him drink a 16 ounce bottle of water a day including a juice and milk if he wanted and I made sure I was consistant. After about a month of doing this it was completely gone. I still make him drink a bottle of water a day along with moisturizing it with coconut oil.No medicine for the rest of his life. He will sometimes still start to get his eczema and when I see it coming I know he needs to drink more water.

If you have any questions feel free to comment away. You can also email me on facebook if you are more comfortable.Link is at top of page. xoxo