Detox & Rehydrate

I have never had a problem drinking water, in fact I am a bit obsessed with it.  So naturally, I wanted to try out the detox recipes involving infused water.  It is especially great if you want to start drinking more water. I chose Blogilate's Natural Belly Slimming Detox Water, pictured above.  The water sits overnight with mint leaves, and slices of oranges, lemons, and cucumbers.
The creator explains the reason behind each ingredient on her site in the link above, check it out! I felt energized and cleansed after just one day. Recently, I have begun experimenting with different detoxifying and mood lifting ingredients. I try to make a pitcher each night for the day ahead!
Some other cleanse superstars to try include:

• Parsley- Helps rid the body of heavy metals it comes into contact with
• Mint- Helps digestion
• Ginger- Helps the body absorb nutrients and aids digestion
• Berries- Not only high in antioxidants, but the frozen berries give the water a cool color (see the blueberry water above) and help keep your drink cold when added right before drinking. 

No matter what you put in your water, a healthy body needs at least 8 cups of water MINIMUM to keep hydrated.  Stick to water based drinks or nutrient filled options like fresh juices, or coconut water.

xox

1-2 Liters water

1 cucumber

1 lemon

1 orange

10-15 fresh mint leaves

handful of ice

Read more at http://www.blogilates.com/blog/2014/02/03/natural-belly-slimming-detox-water-recipe/#dzLDjEKsuxCFyPgG.99

Buzzfeed Clean Eating Challenge

 These were super filling & refreshing wraps!

 Yogurt topped with berries, almonds, and flax seeds

 Asian inspired salad

 Mediterranean style salad 

Homemade hummus with carrots

Now that I am all done with the detox, here are my final thoughts and pictures! 

(See previous post for the details on the how it works)

Best recipe for converting the non-vegetable friendly:  Black Bean Chili with Paprika Yogurt, super simple & my boyfriend loved it. 

Top detox downfall: The cleanse incorporated more meat/fish/eggs than I like to consume, talk about cholesterol! So sometimes I would opt to skip a dish in favor of something lighter. 

Overall: Try out a few of the recipes, learn something new. I would not recommend the entire detox unless you are meat/egg friendly and have a good chunk of change to spend on it.  

Challenge: Buzzfeed Clean Eating Detox

 Lunch Day 1

 Lunch Day 2

Dinner Day 1

As I continue my journey to be a healthier happier self aware person, I have decided to take on Buzzfeed's Clean Eating Challenge!

Length: 2 Weeks

What: No Processed Food- All Homemade, No alcohol or Coffee, High Protein, Low Carb, Gluten-Free

How: Super detailed and organized meal plans with weekly grocery lists and ahead of time prep guides

Who: Omnivores looking to get away from fast food and take out

Thoughts so far: Day 2

• PROS: So far, I love the breakfasts and salad dressings in particular! Today, I had yummy overnight oats with blueberries. The meal plans  have been creative thus far, aka a great place for recipe inspiration. I would check out the recipes, even if you are not sold on the entire detox. . I have made my own adaptions to keep it meat-free but still high protein, hence the almonds in the last salad. I plan to substitute quinoa, almonds, chickpeas, etc wherever recipes call for a portion of protein. The salads are HUGE, so no worries at all about getting full. 

• CONS: The groceries add up fast, for the first week I spent close to $100, and that is not including the ingredients I already had at home.  Some of the ingredients were difficult to find; I needed to make substitutions. Although in the first photograph, I used spinach because I forgot the asparagus (my bad!). In the Day 2 salad, I was not a fan of the large dose of fennel.  Fennel tastes too much like black licorice. 

You can also follow my experience on instagram: sugarsprout  

Lots of love! 

-Monica

The Graduate Essentials

Enjoying my new freetime & reminiscing on study abroad 

Enjoying the time between graduation and graduate school is harder than it sounds.  At first, I was in full blown panic mode.  What does an overachiever like me do without a job or classes? I could not let myself find peace with the fact that I am not in control right now.  Slowly, I have come to embrace the fact that right now is not about control.  I have plenty of challenges ahead, this is my time to enjoy the calm.  Being able to catch up with friends, read books, and binge on Netflix is kind of the dream. ;)

After watching the Olympics, I decided I could use this time to try out some new skills.  Seeing teenagers who have already achieved world recognition- I felt slightly unproductive in comparison. Therefore, I have taken up meditation, vegan cooking, and learning about craft beer.  Not exactly as challenging as snowboarding, but quite rewarding regardless.

In all seriousness, I have spent years cultivating knowledge, but very little time cultivating my mind on a deeper level.  To tackle my next adventures, I need to realize my potential through self awareness.  No one ever taught me how to be healthy, brave, and self confident, but those seem like essential skills to have.  Those are the ones I am focusing on now. Meditation has been especially helpful!

Today I want to update you guys on my survival tools for this journey...

Inspiration/Meditation/Passion:

• Check out Gabrielle Bernstein for her take on miracles, meditation, and living life with purpose. Absolutely amazing. http://gabbyb.tv/
• Headspace is a great app for introducing basic meditation into your daily life in small doses. It includes an alarm to remind you to meditate, and "buzzers" with little bits of mindfulness wisdom sent to you as often as you wish. 

Kitchen:

• Trader Joe's Very Cherry Berry Blend- I keep it in the freezer for smoothies or to eat instead of ice cream. It's one of the best tips I ever got.
• Coconut Oil- For cooking veggies, making raw desserts, or used instead of face lotion. This stuff is magical. 
• Spinach- fresh for salads or cooking; frozen for smoothies
• Chocolate powder unsweetened (kind used for baking etc) is my go-to cheap and easy addition to make healthy chocolate desserts. I mix it with coconut oil, sometimes almond flour, or coconut flakes, anything really and drizzle it over fruit. For a bit more sweetness I'll add honey too.

Beer:

• I'm only 21 after all, so here are a few must haves: Great Lakes Edmund Fitzgerald Porter, Big Sky Brewing Moose Drool Brown Ale, Tyranena Sheep Shagger Scotch Ale. 

Recent Runway Fashion Inspirations

Emilia Wickstead

 The coat's silhouette is so feminine.

 High necklines seem to be everywhere right now & I adore the color

 Classically girly made modern

Hermione De Paula

 Such a fun twist

 If I was a housewife, I would want my every outfit to be similar to this

More youthful while still incredibly elegant

Post Grad

Life after graduation is kind of like being trapped in a monologue.  A one woman show in response to the inevitable "So what are you going to do now?" There is a feeling of dread that goes along with delivering that stale speech based on uncertainty. The more people ask, the more I want to jump out of my skin.  Truth is, I have no idea what my plan is.  I wish I could pause life and enjoy this moment of freedom, or skip to the part where my life is figured out. The worrying and wondering is no fun at all.  For now, I'll avoid those thoughts and stick to what I do best: Netflix marathons and cooking. With wine. Lots of wine.

xxx

Oh Resolutions...

It has been quite a few years since I have made any New Year's Resolution.  Mainly, because the moment I give myself a restriction of any kind I feel compelled to break it. I used to beat myself up too much, and then think I could never change.  Goodbye resolution. Trust me, I've been there.  This year my finals week has been a nutritional nightmare, but I've taken a "focus on progress and forget the rest" attitude.

So this year I want to share a different approach that I learned from the film Hungry for Change: 

"The best way to change your eating is to add in things. By adding more and more healthy food, eventually you won't want the bad stuff. This way you don't feel deprived." 

I love the idea of a resolution to add healthier choices or activities to your life, as opposed to trying to place impossible goals for yourself.  Do what you can, when you can. The film is a great place to start if you want to gain a better understanding of what food you should avoid. Plenty of surprising insights and tips. If I haven't quite sold you on it, then please check out the trailer below!

Recently, inspiration has also come to me from Jamie Oliver's Food Revolution.  The overall message of getting back to real food, as opposed to food-like substances resonates strongly with me.  Less and less children learning to cook and suffering from obesity is a cause near and dear to my own heart. Providing wholesome options for children is a challenge when they are targeted with chemical junk engineered to be appealing.  So many adults are unaware of the risks they are enabling by giving in to the frozen food, processed sugar options. The fact that ingredient lists have become completely unrecognizable is horrifying. 

The movie above and this series have been around for awhile, so they should be easy enough to find (YouTube, iTunes, Netflix, etc).

If you want to dive in and try some Super Food recipes check out British nutritionist Madeleine Shaw. Her nutrition plans will help get your skin glowing and body energized.  It is not about cutting out fat, she wants you to trade out your sugar-laden refined options for some all natural additions.  Her recipes are definitely worth a shot if you are looking to cut down on sugar and get the glow! I recently made her cinnamon and chocolate raw Christmas balls which have absolutely no added sugar- they were AMAZING. There are definitely plenty of protein packed meat dishes too if you are looking for simple ways to make a healthier hearty dinner.  Enjoy! 

Best of luck to you in surviving the holidays xox