Mingo Mango Smoothie

Because I have a nephew who loves mango. Because I have a nephew who loves mango and he calls it “mingo mango”… that’s why this recipe is named that. It’s a fairly simple recipe and was really putting to use fruits that were a little on the softer side of things. This is also using a Chai Coconut Milk blend that I’d made earlier in the week.

Easy Iced Coffee

I am not a fan of cold coffee most times, but dress it up with some flavor, ice, and milk and I’m good to go.

• 3 cups room temperature coffee, whatever flavor you’d like
• 1/4 cup real maple syrup
• 1/2 cup half and half
• Ice cubes

First I filled my 27 ounce Activ v water bottle half full of ice cubes. Then I poured in the maple syrup and half and half. Next came the coffee. Put on your lid, do the hokey pokey and shake it all about. Done. Easy, right?

If you do this in a glass, just stir with a long handled spoon until well combined. 

 

Recipe: Homemade Pasta Sauce & Meatballs

I’ve been dieting. Yes, I have. By dieting, I really mean changing the way I eat and what I eat. I’ve been watching food portions and cutting out a lot of processed foods and refined sugars. In doing this, I’ve come up with some nice, good foods to eat and I’m sharing my very very simple recipes for pasta sauce and meatballs.

Morning Snack: Blueberry Cottage Cheese Delight

Normally I don’t like cottage cheese. There’s just something about the taste and texture. I also don’t like cheese curds, although I love cheese. I’m weird and I admit it. But when you’re looking for something to jazz up a boring morning snack, cottage cheese does the trick. So below is my cottage cheese experience that made me like this dairy product a little bit. Now I’m wanting more in season blueberries to make this again. I do recommend using the brands I name since they do have the most natural products. Daisy by far had the least amount of chemicals and junk in it. Actually, I’m not sure it has any added preservatives and sugars like other cottage cheeses.

Diet Reflection: Weeks 1-2

I have officially started on my third week of the Beyond Diet program. This program is nice because it does take the guess work out of trying to count calories and it is all about a lifestyle change of eating natural and organic foods versus eating all that processed junk full of bad sugars and bad chemicals.

Diet Day 1

Recently I read Wild by Cheryl Strayed. I even watched the movie, which I didn’t like nearly as much. The book really struck home with me as last December I lost my most precious person, my grandmother who raised me together with my grandfather since I was 1-and-a-half-years-old. Reading about Cheryl’s choices in life and how she decided to walk the Pacific Crest Trail to get back to the woman her mother would want her to be was inspiring. I enjoy hiking local nature trails, hate camping with a passion and am in desperate need to not to take any long breaks from my job. I know that my grandmother has always been concerned about my health, especially since I have not been to a doctor in like 20 years. And truth be told, I haven’t been 100% happy with the girl in the mirror, so I started this weight loss journey to become a happier and healthier person for both her sake and mine.

San Andreas Review

Ah, the Rock. Dwayne Johnson does seem to fit rather well in his all-American action hero niche, doesn’t he? At least his acting isn’t bad, which is always a bonus.

The movie San Andreas follows the story of really one family struggling to reconnect after the biggest earthquake ever hits the San Andreas fault which runs through I believe the entire state (or most of it) of California. Ray is part of the LA Fire Department and does chopper rescues. He’s currently estranged from his wife Emma (Carla Gugino) who is dating millionaire architect Daniel Riddick (Ioan Gruffudd). Ray is supposed to be going with his daughter Blake (Alexandria Daddario) to her school during a much needed vacation. However, a magnitude 7.2 in Nevada has him called in to work to help aid in the rescue operation, thus his daughter must go with Daniel instead.