Wednesday, March 30, 2016

Sweet TOOTH

Honestly, I have yet to tame my sweet tooth, sure I have been able to manage it over the years (who am I kidding, it's a full on addiction) and I've even been able to cut out the really bad things like cookies, cake, brownies and Reese's Peanut Butter Cups. I mostly stick to dark chocolate. But really, I ask you, what's life without cookies and Reese's PBC's? Very un-sweet.


At the end of last summer, I had finally taken the plunge and put myself through the hell (it wasn't that bad actually) that was Dr. Junger's Clean program. Once on it, I felt like I'd found the Keys to the Weightloss Kingdom! You can read my stunning revelations Here should you so choose. In fact I think I need to go back and read the damned thing because baby I am off the wagon. Ten pounds up, feeling tired, fat and all around dull (hair, complexion, mood) I'm probably just full of all sorts of crap again. Some of the more recent takeaways that I've held on to have been to stay off gluten as much as I can with the odd exception like Tofurkey because I'm sorry, it's my fave and I'm just not that disciplined. You do remember me saying "new chapter, same damed book" recently don't you?

Anyhoo - I've gone back to things like cheese, eggs, potato chips, don't judge, I feel horrible enough as it is. TEN POUNDS! Bitch please, I need to get back on the wagon.

Alas I did not come here to whine, okay maybe a little bit. But what I actually came here to do was share with you my new favorite smoothie. It's one I actually invented myself. I can bet you a million dollars that someone else out there has already come up with this freaking fantastic morning glory smoothie, but I promise you that I didn't get this from them, it came out of a morning crisis I was having when I knew I really needed to get back onto the damned smoothies but the real me wanted my effing Resse's alright?!? Oh yeah, btw I have raging PMS as I write this, can you tell? Hello run-on sentence.

I chose to take a middle ground here okay? I wanted to be as healthy as I could, but I just didn't want to be healthy at all so I went to the shop around the corner and I picked up my favorite brand of Almond Milk - Silk. I love them because they are free of everything. In fact they are so free of stuff I don't even know what's in them and they are so so free of stuff that it should be illegal to even charge for them, but that's a rant for another day.

Silk has no carrageenan, no gluten, no soy, no dairy - you see where I'm going with this? Excellent. I picked up their dark chocolate almond milk. 



If you've not tried this, I highly recommend it, it's so good. 

And this became the base for my one and only, soon to be world famous:

Shan's Chocolate Peanut Butter Cup Smoothie! 





Are you squealing with delight yet? I know I am. 

So what's in it? 

1 1/2 cup of choc almond milk
heaping tablespoon of peanut butter (the healthy kind, but crunchy)
1-2 medjool dates (depending on how sweet you like it)
1/2 to a whole frozen banana
and an optional 1/4 cup to 1/2 cup of frozen blueberries.

Put all of this in your blender and blend until smooth.
Pour and guzzle.


Don't even ask me how many calories are in this. And don't bloody tell me if you know because I certainly don't want to know. I just want to enjoy it in peace and denial.

NOTE: I add blue berries to almost every smoothie just because I love them so darned much! But they will alter the taste of this rocking PBC smoothie, so maybe leave em out the first time. 
Of course I should have left them out when I took the photo of this beverage, but I couldn't resist them, so you'll see the smoothie looks more purple than brown. Whateve's.
Also I choose crunchy over smooth PB even though it gets blended smooth because to me, those crunchy bits in there give an added peanut flavor. Is it all in my head? Could be, but so is everything else so...

When you're in a mood and all you want is the bad stuff, even for breakfast (that's a junkie talking, I'm just sayin') give this bad boy a go. I promise, you'll thank me.

Love,
Shan



8 comments:

  1. Hey, whatever keeps ya sane (ish) ;)

    I'm trying to not eat sweets, which is not my treat of choice, but oh man I can go to town on Cheez-it's, etc. that is proving to be more difficult.

    Thanks for the smoothie recipe! I can't help but think that would make a great variation on banana ice cream...served in waffle bowls..sigh

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    1. Yum! Waffle bowls.
      I know, I wrote this today and then decided that tomorrow I am going absolutely sugar-free for three days (as a trial to see if I can not murder myself) that means not even cane sugar in my beloved tea. Yikes. We shall see if I survive. If you have any tips that would be greatly appreciated.
      xo

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  2. Well, I'm on day 5 and there are "white knuckle" moments.

    I just picked "candy" and chips specifically. If I want an egg sandwich I'll eat one. I had some delicious ravioli left over for dinner Monday night.
    No "must eat only greens, organic, salmon only no dairy blah blah" . I was seriously pounding snack foods and candy so that is big for me.

    Also, eat enough. Make sure you're full and satisfied after a meal. The leaving the table not quite full just kept me in a state of hunger and susceptible to excessive snacking.

    I still do get hungry between meals as the husband gets home quite late but I try to ride it out as much as possible.

    Learning to live with discomfort is a great lesson but all day discomfort is too much.
    Hopefully some of this makes sense!

    You can do it girl! I'm praying for you!


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    1. This is so great Gia! Yes thank you. This isn't about depravation right? It's about making healthier choices. I am going to make a serious effort and today is day 1! xoxo

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  3. I have a legitimate love affair with my NutriBullet. Okay...that's not entirely true. NutribulletS. I have two. (Hangs head in shame, but secretly fist pumps with pride). It's deep and it's real. I was out to dinner the other day with friends, and my husband and I were joking about how I could totally be on the infomercial for it...."so quick, and easy, and a breeze to clean!". So....forgive my enthusiasm.

    My two favorites right now an uber red one (with all sorts of good stuff, but it includes one small raw beet and frozen raspberries...it's freakishly red), and the other tastes like a peanut butter and jelly sandwich. Oh, and the chocolate avocado one in It's all Good is pretty stellar. And I love making my own cashew milk in it. Half a cup of raw, soaked cashews, four-ish cups of water, pinch of salt....BRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRSSSSSSSSSSHHHHHHHH (that's the NutriBullet sound)...a quick run through of a sieve (I use one of those gold reusable coffee filters) aaaaaaaaaand cashew milk. Then you can add honey or cinnamon or cocoa or whatever you like. I'm going to stop, because I could really go on for ages about the joys of the NutriBullet. Jeez ... if I ever get a Vitamix....I might die....but first I'd blend all the things.

    You can do it girl. You're tough and full of smarts and moxie. I so empathize. Once or twice a year I do an elimination week or weekend to sort of reset my gut; However, I've kind of just adapted to that way of eating more regularly because, frankly, I feel better. So, I eat clean (whole foods, a lot of vegan dishes, and sometimes raw) about 90% of the time, and do okay maintaining my body composition and sanity (I have no idea what I weigh...but you know...things stay more or less cool).

    I guess, my biggest suggestion is (because my hubs is trying to do the same sort of thing for his sweet tooth) is see what happens when you start adding stuff back in. Like for me, I can't do high protein or paleo-style. I feel like crap and very lethargic. I can't go full vegan, because I go anemic right quick. White sugar is not for me, but I use a fair amount of maple syrup and honey, and my body processes that really well. This last time I realized too much dairy makes me all gut grumbly. And so on. Try to figure out what gets your system all jacked up and inflamed, find reasonable substitutions (I found a raw brownie recipe that even Nate thinks is pretty bomb), and listen to your body and intuition about what you need.

    (Oh, and pre stock that fridge with undressed salads, brown rice/quinoa, grain salads, roasted vegetables...whatever you like....I can't get through one of those weeks with out that...being hungry and opening the fridge to nothing ready to grab is a total bummer).

    You can do it Shan. Sugar is just a thing. You're a force.

    xoxo,
    myla (sorry for the length dude, but I just read both your posts and was inspired) :)

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    1. Okay listen, listen, listen! Im sure you THINK your nutribullet is the bomb and maybe it is. Like a teeny tiny torpedo type of bomb or something, but can I tell you? My VITAMIX? Ermaaaagerd! It's the atomic bomb of blenders. The BOMB. I wish my computer had emojis because I could use a mill at the moment. Invest in one. Seriously. I could also be the spokes person. If I had to choose between my TA real time and my Vitamix? Vitamix hands down.

      We couldn't justify the price (at first, now we would totally do it again) so we got a refurbished one from their website for a healthy discount. So good.

      Now, tell me about this beet smoothie? What else goes in it? I got me some beets in the fridge at the mo.

      Just watched That Sugar Movie and wow, what an even bigger eye opener. Zoiks. This time around I have even quit the sugar in my tea (which super sucks and I'm dying) but really hoping to recondition my tastebuds. Once that's done, maybe a few months down the road if I'm being optimistic, then I can add in all the healthy sugar free stuff like desserts made with dates. I did that on the last big "quit" and was quite happy with it, but right now it's no sugar at all apart from fruit in the smoothie.

      I will work my way back to doing Clean which I really love - same as you, Dairy is a bit squirrelly for me, soy too but I am eating those things to get me through the chocolate cravings. But have remained gluten free so far.

      Thanks for all the tips and tricks.
      Get yourself a vitamix.

      See what I did there? I made a rhyme.
      xxo

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  4. I have the opposite of a sweet tooth, but dang...my husband is a chocolate fiend. He'd demolish small cities for a peanut butter cup. So we're trying to wade into the waters of mutual clean eating ... with tasty snacks for him.

    The smoothie is one small/raw beet, a heaping palmful of frozen raspberries, half a frozen banana, a big grab of spinach or baby kale, the juice of a lemon (or one big wedge), a little vanilla, pinch of salt, and I toss in chia seeds and flaxseed because why not and then water (enough to make it the consistency you like). I don't know what it is about it, but I am obsessed. (Peanut butter and jelly is pretty dope too....cashew milk, 1 or 2 tablespoons peanut butter, 1/2 cup frozen raspberries, 1/2 frozen banana, 2 tablespoons oats, pinch of salt, chia and flax (again, cause why not).

    Ahhhh.....I dream of a Vitamix. We're contemplating a refurbished one. I KNEW it had to be that good. Gah!

    xoxo,
    myla

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    1. Thank you for these recipes I'll give them a shot. Yes, the Vitamix is THAT good. It's even better than that. It does sound like a jet engine but that's because I'm sure a jet engine is what's powering it.

      I have recently watched a documentary called That Sugar Film and it is totally helping me get clean. I'd recommend watching it with your husband if he's game. It's an eye opener, not just on sweets like candy but on foods we think and are told are healthy.
      xo

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