Happy New Years!

First and foremost, Happy New Years!

I've made many new years resolutions, all of which never happened. That seems to be very common.

As I write this I sit here & reflect back on the one time I conquered my new years resolution. Then after that, everything seemed to click & fall into place.

New Years 2010: Lose Weight ✓
New Years 2011: Keep off the weight ✓
New Years 2012: Keep off the weight & tone my body ✓

New Years 2013: Keep off the weight, tone & define my body even more, eat better

I can't believe how much has changed in those short 3 years of my life. In 2010, I promised myself to change my life for the better and it has been the best decision I have ever made. Do you have a New Years resolution for 2013? If so, what are they? 

Most people laugh at that resolution, mostly because people dive head first into the goal early in January and by mid February they've given up.

You will mess up, you will fail, you will feel like you are losing, you will feel like the world is against you. Well I'm here to tell you something...
IT CAN & WILL HAPPEN!

I lost 31 pounds and guess what? I've kept it off. A lot of people ask me how I did it and I think they're always expecting a "real answer". Like..."I was on so & so diet" when in reality I was just altering the kinds of foods I was eating and working out. I'm sometimes at loss for words when I've explained how I did it and I know it wasn't the answer they expected. Here are 10 realistic advices that I'd give to anyone who wants to shed a few pounds:

1. Love yourself

• If you don't love yourself now, losing weight won't make you love yourself. This CAN NOT come from the image we see but from who we are and what we love to do that makes us love ourselves. This comes from within. I learned this when I lost weight and was still not happy. YOU MUST LOVE YOURSELF FIRST!

2. Eat at least 6 times a day

• Constantly eating (healthy stuff anyway) keeps your metabolism working. This means that your body is constantly burning fat for energy. This is what they mean when they say "Eat what you want & lose weight while doing it."
• Breakfast
• Snack
• Lunch
• Snack
• Dinner
• Small pre & post workout meal (counts as one)

3. Find motivation

• Workout with friends, siblings, parents. This is a good way to interact with people who have the same goals as you.
• Read motivational quotes (my favorite) Nothing gets me more motivated than reading a few uplifting quotes.

4. Ditch the sodas

• Water, un-sweet tea & coffee are the only drinks I drink on a daily basis. On special occasions I'll have an alcoholic beverage.
• Still miss the sodas? Try drinking flavored carbonated water. Try this until you're able to say bye-bye for good.

5. Portion/Self Control

• You need to know your portion sizes!
• This does not mean you need to restrict yourself to anything you want to eat. Want that chocolate cake? Have it, just remember to workout extra hard and/or swap out the next thing you eat with something much healthier.

6. Set realistic goals

• Chances are, you won't lose X amount of weight in X amount of time, especially in a week or two (like most crazy weight loss programs promise)
• Set goals like beating the time on your last run or lifting more weights every month. If you are watching your weight, aim for 1 pound every 1-2 weeks.
• If you're a beginner, try not to set a time frame on yourself.

7. Realize that this is a healthy lifestyle

• There should be NO time frame whatsoever. This is a lifestyle you have decided to live. You can't expect to stay healthy if you are putting yourself on a time frame. What's supposed to happen after your done with your highly talked about "10 week bikini bod" program? Chances are you'll gain back the weight.
• Every change you make should be a change for the rest of your life; until your last dying breath.

8. Cook at home

• Get rid of processed foods and start cooking fresh, real food.
• With the internet to powerful these days, all it takes is 5 minutes to look up a healthy recipe.
• If you're going out to eat, look at the menu ahead of time or check out the restaurant edition of the "Eat This, Not That" book.

9. Sleep

• Seriously, who doesn't like sleeping? Staying up late makes you grab for dirty greasy foods.

10. Exercise

• Abs are made in the kitchen but you also need to workout to tone your body if you ever want to see that six pack that we all have but is hiding under our FAT.

Remember to live your life & to love every second of it, most importantly, love yourself. You'd be surprised how much happier you can be if you just learned to love yourself. Loving yourself should be a sign of respect for yourself and to others, from there you and others will know your worth.

Good luck ;)

Make 2013 your year!

Cranberry Pear Sauce

I can already taste cranberry sauce in my mouth! This is one of those side dishes that can secretly be your dessert. This recipe isn't too sweet or bitter, it's just perfect!

And the best part?

There's pear in it! I always like making a recipe and added something in it to give it something extra special. I think the pear gives it something nice to look forward to eating!

This cranberry pear sauce is sweetened with honey and I love honey. I like it more than sugar and use it whenever I can to replace sugar.

Cranberry Pear Sauce

Ingredients: 

• 12 oz fresh or frozen cranberries
• 2 ripe pears, peeled and cored, cubed small
• 1/2 cup agave (or honey to taste)
• 1 cup water

Directions:

Bring all ingredients to a boil on high heat in a saucepan.

When boiling, reduce heat and simmer for about 15 minutes, or until the cranberries burst and the sauce thickens. 

Remove from heat and let it cool before refrigerating.

Serve chilled or room temperature. Makes 3 1/4 cups.

Makes 3 1/4 cups

I seriously can't wait for Thanksgiving so that I can make this again!! :)

Enjoy, my hungry little hearts!

Love, Angel xo

Garlic Cauliflower Mashed Potatoes

Fall is here (although it feels like summer here in Texas) and I am so excited. There is something very nostalgic about the holidays and there's no better way to spend it than with family...and eating!

So how the heck are you supposed to eat healthy around the holidays? Everywhere you turn there's Grandma Reindeer Sweater trying to feed you.

Well, you can still eat healthy and enjoy the foods you normally would eat around the holidays. Over the course of the holidays, I will have recipes that are healthier for you to eat!

I'm sure you realized by reading the title is says "cauliflower"...um what? How in the world is that vegetable supposed to match up to my carb filled potato?!

You're right, it probably wont.

But it probably will if you're not picky.

I love mashed potatoes. I don't care if they're super smooth or has chunky bits. I love mashed potatoes...and that does my waist line NO good.

I promise this recipe is just as good and way healthier!! And because I want to have a more mashed potato texture, I used one potato!

Garlic Cauliflower Mashed Potatoes

Ingredients:

• 1 head of garlic
• 1 tsp. olive oil
• 1 medium-sized russet potato (about 12 oz.)
• 5 cups cauliflower florets (about 1 head) 
• 3 tbsp. fat-free half & half
• 2 tbsp. light whipped butter or light buttery spread (like Brummel & Brown)
• 1/2 tsp. salt, or more to taste
• Optional: black pepper, chopped chives 

Directions:

Preheat oven to 425 degrees.

Remove papery outer layer from garlic, leaving skins around the cloves intact. Slice off the top of the garlic head, 1/4 - 1/2 inch, exposing the tops of the cloves. Place garlic on a piece of foil, drizzle with oil, and use your fingers to coat. Wrap foil tightly around garlic, enclosing it completely. Place in a baking pan.

Bake garlic in the oven for about 40 minutes, until soft enough to mash. Set aside to slightly cool.

Meanwhile, bring a large pot of water to a boil on the stove. While waiting for the water to boil, peel and cube the potato. Add potato and cauliflower to boiling water. Return to a boil, and then reduce heat to medium. Cook until potato and cauliflower are very tender, 15 - 20 minutes.

Drain water and transfer potato and cauliflower to a large bowl; set aside. Once foil-wrapped garlic is cool enough to handle, unwrap garlic and remove cloves; discard skin. Add the soft cloves to the large bowl.

To the bowl, add half & half, butter, and salt. Mash it all together with a potato masher, until completely blended. If you like, season to taste with pepper and additional salt. If needed, bring to desired temperature in the microwave or oven. Top with chopped chives, if you like, and enjoy!

MAKES 5 SERVINGS

Enjoy, my little hungry hearts!

Love, Angel xo

Knock Knock NOGGIN on Santa's door

Was that cheesy?

I have a confession, I don't eat eggs. BUT I consume them when I eat baked goods and when christmas time rolls around with the fabulous staple, egg nog. That's just really weird to some people but I like to pretend there really isn't any egg in those two.

I swear I'm sane.

I go to Walmart & Target all the time, it's kind of ridiculous and during Christmas season, all I see are eggnog cartons all over the store like their going out of style and you need to get them right away. But did you know that there's a whopping 340 calories per cup? Or even more!?

UHHH NO THANKS.

My waist will thank me later.

So what the heck am I supposed to do without my eggnog? I suppose I could put my big girl panties on and deal with it.

OR