Holiday Products available!

I know, I know...it's been awhile since I last posted! Please forgive me! School started back up and I got super overwhelmed teaching 3rd graders, completing assignments for my Master's, playing softball and trying to get some sleep!

But I'm back with AWESOME news!

1) I'm going to Portland's Ladies Alive in less than 2 weeks and I can't wait to share with you all the super cool stuff I learn!

2) Advocare has come out with some AWESOME holiday products!

The Gingerbread AdvoBar is high in vitamins and minerals and has 11 grams of protein! It's an awesome choice for a quick breakfast or snack! Plus for every box purchased, $1.00 will go towards Operation Homefront! 

I'm super excited for the Orange Cream flavored Meal Replacement Shake! I ordered 2 boxes the other day and supposedly, it tastes like a Creamsiscle! Plus, it's only 230 calories and fills you up until your next meal! 


So drop your "pumpkin" before Thanksgiving and start your AdvoCare's 24 Day Challenge today! 

Avoid gaining all that extra holiday weight! Enjoy your holidays with high energy, a high metabolism and a new jump on an easy healthy lifestyle! 

Message me for more infomation at advovas@gmail.com on how to get started today!

Buying Groceries on a Budget

This article is taken from Anytime Fitness' Anytime Health blog with my own input added. For the full article, click here! 

The dreading 6 letter word.....B-U-D-G-E-T! Now a days, everyone is on one (or would like to be!) and most people seem to think that you can't eat healthy when you're trying to save. WRONG! You can!

This is my meal planning chart for August. Make sure to include on the calendar 

days that you know you won't be home to cook, so that you can budget accordingly! 

Here are 7 shockingly SIMPLE tips for buying groceries while sticking to a budget:

1. Plan Meals

The first step is meal planning! Challenge yourself to spend an evening looking through your healthy cookbooks, pick out your fav's or those that sound yummy to you and write them down. Then "assign" the meals to a day of the month (or week, if a month seems too overwhelming right now) and there you go! I make meal plans for our dinners for the whole month. I "assign" meals to days but I'm constantly switching around the meals during the week, depending on our moods. It works out because I shop for the week and so, I've already got the ingredients.

2. Make a grocery list

Ever walked into the grocery store to only get milk and toilet paper...and walk out having spent an extra $20 you weren't expecting? Without a list, you end up throwing things in your cart that you don't really need on impulse (on many occassions, I've boughten more tortillas thinking we were out...only to find 2 packages at home! Talk about a waste!). If you grocery shop for the week, write down the names of the meals and the ingredients needed for each. Cross out any repeats, double check your cupboards and only grab what's on the list!

3. Choose ingredients that you can use in many meals! 

When you're planning out your meals, try to pick recipes for the week that contain many of the same ingredients. Bean, lentils, brown rice, salsa, etc, etc are great staple items that you can stock up on (especially when they are on sale) and use in a variety of different meals.

4. Buy WHOLE foods when possible

Skip the processed stuff and opt for the real thing in order to save money and empty calories from your daily intake.

5. Double the recipe and have leftovers! 

Remember the college days when you wouldn't think twice about eating that remaining half of a pizza the next day? Why not think that same way with your healthy dinner?! You'll end up wasting less food, having to cook less and skip extra spending.

6. Shop seasonally for fruits and veggies.

Buy your produce at farmer's markets, local farms and whenever it's on sale at the grocery store. Most stores come out with their food ads on Sundays. If you check online before you go to the store, you'll be able to see what's on sale, plan meals with on sale produce and save money!

7. Buy in bulk and generic brands. 

Does the recipe call for some new ingredient that you've never tried before? Instead of forking over $5.00+ for a jar, head over to the bulk section! You can get the amount you need for the recipe and save money!

Also, READ the ingredients lists and COMPARE your favorite brands to its generic siblings. Most times, they contain the same stuff and taste almost the same. I love Special K cereal but at $3.00/box, I'd rather get the generic store brand for half the price and it tastes the same!

Recipe: Crockpot Azteca Chicken and TexMex Rice

My August Challenge is to make all of the dinners we are at home for (we've got a couple vacations coming up and then I'm back to work on the 22nd!) out of AdvoCare's 24DC Cookbook or recipes that I've found online that are what I called "Advo-Friendly". Sadly, it's the 8th of August and I've technically only made 2 meals out of the cookbook...but here's one that we had last night! The hubs gave it a 7/10 so I think I'll make it again but with some tweeks.

{ Slow Cooker Chicken Azteca }

Ingredients:

3-4 boneless skinless chicken breasts (minus fat)

1/2 cup chicken broth

1 cup salsa (No Sugar Added)

1 can low soidum black beans (rinsed and drained)

2 cloved garlic, minced

1 tsp cumin 

{I didn't have cumin so I improvised and used a Chipotle rub seasoning instead!}

 { TexMex Rice }

Ingredients:

1 cup dry brown rice (NOT Minute Maid!)

2 cloves garlic, minced

2 1/4 cups water or low sodium chicken broth (I used broth)

1 cup salsa (No Sugar Added)

Directions for Chicken:

1. Place chicken in slow cooker.
2. Top with remaining ingredients.
3. Cover and cook on low for 6-7 hours.
4. Serve.

Directions for Rice:

1. In a large sauce pan saute rice and garlic until lightly browned.
2. Stir in water/broth and salsa.
3. Bring to a boil then reduce heat.
4. Cover and simmer for approximately 30 minutes or until rice is tender and liquid is absorbed.

{I found that the rice was still a bit hard after 30 mins and probably could of used another 10 mins...}

You can serve this MANY ways! 

• Shred the chicken, stir in with rice... OR
• Remove the chicken breasts, place on rice and top with salsa...OR
• Make it into burritos like we did with whole grain tortillas! 

How did you like the recipe?! 

Product Review: Chocolate Mocha Meal Replacement Shake

My NEW favorite AdvoCare product is.....

The Chocolate Mocha Meal Replacement Shake!! 

While ALL of the meal replacement shakes are yummy, {seriously, they are! I've tried countless meal replacement options and I could have one of these shakes for every meal!} I ABSOLUTELY love the Chocolate Mocha flavor!

It was released at July Success School along with 3 other new products { O2 Gold Advanced, Nice Ice Breath Spray, and Pro 20 Liquid Protein Shot }. I wasn't able to go to SS but I was constantly on Facebook that weekend checking AdvoCare's status updates. As soon as they posted the announcement online, I went, actually RAN, upstairs to make my order for the shakes and O2 Gold {more on that UH-MAZING product in an upcoming post!}...It arrived 6 days later and I couldn't wait to taste it.

Before I started using AdvoCare, I relied on a minimum of 12 cups of coffee a day for my energy. Now, I'm not going to lie and say that I haven't had a few Starbucks stops here and there since then but I hardly drink coffee now.

Confession: I MISS THE TASTE OF COFFEE! 

So when the Chocolate Mocha MR debuted, I couldn't get it in my in-desperate-need-of-a-manicure-hands quick enough and boy was I doing the happy dance when it did! It doesn't have an overwhelming taste of chocolate or mocha. It's not "chalky" or "too rich". It's a perfect "in the middle" type of flavor that statisfies my coffee craving but gives me my much needed protein fill up for the day! LOVE IT!

Ok, who has tried it?! What do YOU think?

SALE: Labor Day Slim Down Challenge!!!

GET ON IT! :)

Shake Experimention!

It's been almost a month since I last posted and I'm sorry. I've been busy! Between celebrating my birthday (July 9th) camping for a weekend (which was totally fun and I got such a nice tan!), softball practice every week, watching/supporting my husband play softball, grad school work and trying to escape our hot weather...I'm exhausted almost every night and couldn't even think about writing!

But that doesn't mean that I haven't been forgetting to take pictures or write down recipes! Lately, I've been on a Meal Replacement Shake kick because it's a super easy, quick and filling breakfast. But I don't just want the regular vanilla, chocolate or berry flavor so I've been experimenting!

First Up: 

{ PB/Choclate "Blizzard" }

Ingredients

1 package Vanilla Meal Replacement Shake

1/2 Double Chocolate Snack Bar

1 tblsp. natural peanut butter

8 oz. water

1 c. ice cups

Directions

1. Add MR shake powder first into blender . Gently stir in water so that the water isn't just sitting on top of the powder. 

2. Add in everything else. 

3. Blend. 

4. ENJOY! 

JUST LOOK AT THAT DELICIOUSNESS! YUM YUM YUM! 

Nutritional Info

195 calories

6 g fat

18 g carbs

7 g sugar

16 g protein

New recipe: No-Noodle Stir Fry

As you know from yesterday, I'm on AdvoCare's 10 Day Cleanse. The last time I was on the cleanse, I got really bored with my food. It felt like I was on repeat...so, this time I'm determined to find new recipes that I can fall in love with BUT they've got some requirements first:

1. They have to be easy to make...duh! I'm a little "unexperienced" in the kitchen and have burnt many new recipes.
2. They have to be PACKED with flavor!
3. They can't have any crazy ingredients that will cost me an arm and a leg.

Well, ladies and gentlemen...I think I found a new favorite! A friend recommended it to me last week and I finally got around to trying it and I'M IN LOVE! <3 Enjoy...

 { No-Noodle Stir Fry }

 Ingredients 

Broccoli Slaw

Chicken breast strips

Stir fry seasoning packet

Extra virgin olive oil

*optional: any other veggies you'd like (I added broccoli flowerettes)

 { I didn't add measurement amounts because it depends on how many people you are cooking it for. But if you're on AdvoCare, I highly suggest that you only eat the recommended portions! }

Directions 

1. Add slaw, chicken and optional veggies to a frying pan on medium-high to high heat.
2. Add just enough olive oil to slightly cover everything. 
3. Occassionally stir until chicken and optional veggies are no longer frozen and cooked.
4. *FYI: some of the slaw will brown...that's OK! 
5. Once everything is cooked, remove from heat and add seasoning packet, mixing well.

Now dish up and add some low-sodium soy sauce and you're golden! How YUMMY does that look below? Yes, it ALL went into my belly and I loved it! :)

Nutritional Info 

 * Kroger Fresh Selections Broccoli Slaw (1 cup serving): 25 calories, 25mg sodium, 5g total carbs, 3g dietary fiber, 2g protein

* Foster Farms Chicken Breast Grilled Strips (3 oz. serving): 100 calories, 2g total fat, 25mg cholesterol, 520mg sodium {eek! I didn't check that first!} 1g total carbs, 19g protein

* Sun-bird Stir-Fry Seasoning Mix (1/2 tbsp. serving): 15 calories, 310mg sodium, 3g total carbs

My 2nd Cleanse & Result Pics

So, I'm on Day #1 of my second AdvoCare cleanse! My 25th bday is in a week and a half and I've kinda plateaued the last month or so in my weight loss so I'm excited that I'm due for another cleanse and get the chance to kick things up a bit.

This time I'm adding Catalyst (which I have used since I finished my first 24DC but didn't use during it). Catalyst helps you tone, define and preserve your lean body mass from all that exercise you've been doing. I've definitely noticed a difference in my arms since I've started taking it...in fact, I've gone up a whole INCH in my arms alone! When you take it during a Cleanse or a 24DC, Catalyst just gives it an added boost!

During my last 24DC, I lost a total of 9 lbs during the Cleanse phase itself...and I hardly exercised because I was sick with an ear infection (completely unrelated, according to the Dr.)! So, I'm really hoping that I can loose even more this time and be that much closer to my goal weight of..... {drum roll}...150 lbs! or as I like to call it, "pre-meeting my husband weight."

{ side note:  I actually did panic thinking that the 24DC cause me to get sick so at my appt. I brought in all of the ingredient labels to her and shoved them in her face! Her response: Oh, this explains why you've been able to deal with an ear infection for the last 2 weeks! So...I blame the kinder's I subbed for! :) }

In the mean time, let's drool over the amazing accomplishments of fellow AdvoCare believers and check out their Before & After pics! Enjoy! 

**Almost unrecognizable, huh?!** 

**Ian Keber from Seattle** 

Doubly Nutritious Chocolate Chip Cookies

Oh, come on! Of course my first recipe is a dessert! Why would it not be? ;)

These cookies are AH-MAZINGLY delicious, soft and full of nutritious goodness! Enjoy! 

 { Ingredients } 

1 package chocolate chip cookie mix (I used good ol' Betty)

1 package AdvoCare Chocolate Meal Replacement Shake

1 egg

5 tablespoons vegetable oil

1/4 cup water

 { Directions }

1. Preheat oven according to cookie mix directions (so, about 350 degrees). 

2. Combine cookie mix and Chocolate Meal Replacement Shake powder in bowl. 

3. Stir to blend (It will be light brown in color!).

4. Add egg, oil and water. Beat well! (I suggest using an actual hand mixer, as it gets heavy!)

5. Drop by rounded TEASPOONS onto ungreased cookie sheet.

(Please excuse the mess of a cookie sheet in the pic above...geesh! I need new stuff!)

6. Bake according to cookie mix directions (typically it's 8-9 minutes).

When it's all done, your cookies should look like this:

**It's been suggested to add AdvoCare's Chocolate Muscle Gain mix instead of a shake mix. It's a protein shake, so you'd only be getting more protein and who wouldn't want a special protein treat after a nice workout! If you try it, let me know!

{ Nutritional Info }

For 2 cookies--you mean I can have more than one?! HECK YES!, it's:

182 calories

3g Protein

25g Carbs

0g Fiber

15g Sugar

7g Fat

94mg Sodium

Visit my AdvoCare site to order the products used in this recipe today and start baking healthier! 

My story: Why I chose AdvoCare

WELCOME!

If you've gotten here then you probably already know about AdvoCare or have been researching healthy eating and tip ideas. I've been on AdvoCare's products since March 2012. I was introduced to it the January before by my BFF (I'm going old school with the acronyms..Best Friend Forever!) and was definitely very interested in them because she looked AH-MAZING! But I was recently married, living on a substitute teacher income and fresh into my "adult career" workforce. I thought that I couldn't afford it. The 24 Day Challenge was super pricey, but I wanted to know more. If you know me even a little, I research the crud on just about everything! I needed to do my research first.


You see, I've always dealt with a weight problem. I've always been overweight for my age and height. And I've tried everything I could think of...in high school, I dieted, took Aerobics class every quarter, etc., etc. but when I was 15 I realized that I was turning to food to comfort myself from an underlaying issue of depression. I could eat a whole can of chocolate frosting in one sitting. I could drink 2 liters of soda in one day. When I was a senior in high school, I unhealthly lost 40 lbs in roughly 4 months. I thought I was set and smoking hot...but the emotional eater in me and the stresses from my 1st year in college packed on 55 lbs. 


Flash to 5 years later, New Years Day 2012. I looked in the mirror and saw stretch marks under my belly button. I sat on the toilet and cried. What had I done to myself? Later that day, I met up with the BFF and she changed my life forever...


Anyway, later that night I hopped online and looked up everything I could find: their website, distributor's websites, recipes, inspirational stories...even the websites that call it a hoax and a total waste of money. The next morning, I was 85% convinced that it was the real deal. But I still needed more and this time I wanted to hear from someone else then my BFF (it's not like I don't trust her, but hearing it from a complete stranger made it seem real to me). The BFF hooked me up with her advisor, G, and I think we had a good 1.5 hour phone call that day.


It wasn't until after I talked to G that I was hooked. I ditched my Starbucks runs for a few weeks and sold some items at my local swap meet to come up with the cash. On March 4, 2012 I started my first 24 Day Challenge. I won't lie...it was difficult. Following new recipes, resisting temptation, drinking a GALLON of water every day and then, to top it off, a preschooler sneezed on me and I got an ear infection! BUT after the first few days, I found myself with a ton more energy, feeling fuller and not over eating, and powering (I mean POWERING!) through my workouts at the gym.


Wanna know my results?!?! After 24 Days, I went from 208.2 lbs (my heaviest EVER) to 196.2 (that's a loss of 12 lbs!) and lost 9.75" off my body...HOLY COW! I decided to create a blog about my journey, recipes that I find and try and a place to offer support and guidance to others like myself. 

Here's the proof pic:

I hope that you find everything you came here for and I wish you the very best in your journey towards a healthy lifestyle. You're welcome to vent (NICELY, without being belittling!), share your success story or ask questions! 

Love,

Cynthia