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Category Archives: Tidbits On Healthy Living

Here you will find tips and ideas for living a healthier lifestyle and also what I do to stay healthy and maintain my weight loss!

WIAW# 51: Same Ole, Same Ole

Happy What I Ate Wednesday ya’ll!

Yesterday I was in Baltimore, Maryland. It was such a blast, but we’ll talk more about that tomorrow. 20130521_155810Today another Wednesday is here and it’s time to show you some eats, right? This week I am going to show you meals that have made my tummy happy; no acid/ bile build up and no pregnant look. Yes, no more of that please and if you don’t know what WIAW is, go check out Peas and Crayons.wiawphotobuttonBreakfasts have pretty much been the same, this breakfast cake with some type of nuts/ seeds or fruit on top. On of my favorite for this week? The cake with sunflower seeds, almonds, milk and fresh blueberries.20130515_092035Just like last time, my snacks have been some type of fruit and nuts. I am getting tired of pears so I’ve been doing blackberries, bananas and even peaches.20130522_081239Lunches and dinners have been the same too. Since I found what foods work for my stomach, it makes me so happy. It gets boring at times but I try and do what I can. 292015_659391720741058_1173831911_nI found this yogurt at one of the local supermarkets here in the Bronx and this was the only one that didn’t have corn starch in it. It was pretty delicious I just wish I found a vanilla flavor.20130517_212706I’ve been digging this combo of black beans on top of chicken with some greens. My, oh my.20130516_110832Dessert? Well to be honest coffee, a banana or nuts have been my dessert as of late. Since I can’t really workout to the best of my ability due to my arm, I have to get more strict with food. And it feels great!969709_660563867290510_1730698749_nQuestion: Have you ever tried Silk soy yogurt? Ever had something “non-traditional” for dessert? I have to say have oatmeal for dessert one day was quite bizarre for this chocolate loving young lady.

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Vegan/ Acid Reflux Update + Ranting

I just don’t know. This week? Okay, I am going to get open and personal here. This week hasn’t been the greatest. A ton of things happened between dating, over training and me practically breaking myself at work. I feel like I don’t deserve all this annoyance, but I know it happens to best of us, even the nice ones.

I haven’t really took the time to focus on me. I’ve been busy focusing on training myself for the personal training exam, trying to get back in the dating world (which has been a complete an utter f$#%ing disaster) and falling down the stairs, messing up my elbow and burning myself three times a work. Yeah.

And then there is me being acidic, bloated and looking four months pregnant. It’s been embarrassing but I can pinpoint some culprits, which is good. Between cutting out dairy, attempting vegetarianism again and diving into veganism, I am finding what foods are happy for my tummy and which completely suck.

Here are a list of foods that make my tummy happy and unhappy. Now most of these foods are because I eat them, daily/ weekly. I don’t know about other foods, but here is what I know for me:

Happy Tummy Foods:

  • Baked/ Grilled Chicken (despite the fact that I really hate chicken for some reason nowadays)
  • Green/ Red Leaf Lettuce (found on accident, there was no spinach available for my sandwich)
  • Small Handfuls of Cashews
  • Soymilk/ Soy products (sorry iron absorption)
  • Dried Cranberries
  • Sunflower Seeds
  • White Rice/ Potatoes
  • Pears, Bananas (In moderation, however), Apples and Blackberries

Unhappy Tummy >.<

  • Carbs in EXCESS (especially oats, red potatoes, brown rice/ brown rice products)
  • Beans in EXCESS (especially red and black)
  • Red Meat (not the sausage!!!)
  • Spinach, Broccoli, Kale (accident too, because I ran out for a few days then re-ate it and omg bloat!)
  • Grapes, Blueberries Strawberries, Pineapples, and pretty much all other fruits
  • Pumpkin Seeds and Flax Seeds/Milk
  • Dried Cherries and Blueberries
  • Eggs (I don’t know why?!)
  • Nut Butters in EXCESS (since the fat content is way higher then if I just eat a few nuts)
  • Dark Chocolate in EXCESS (1/2 ounce is okay a day, but more then that I feel bloated and acidic)
  • All cheeses and butter products
  • All DAIRY (even fat-free, which makes me feel worse guess because there is either more sugar or salt to compensate for fat-free taste)

Then it dawned on me… why did I have my flattest stomach almost two years ago? I wasn’t eating much veggies, dairy or brown rice products and you know what? I have read about this, people who have a hard time digesting these things. The less greens I eat in a day, the better the tummy. I was pretty much eating a lot of bananas, apples, oats, chicken and soymilk.

Since I haven’t been feeling well because I am over-trained and broken, I’ve stuck to fresh fruits, nuts/ seeds, beans, mashed potatoes, organic soymilk and oatmeal and my stomach has been pretty much “unbloated.” That is until I devour chocolate r dried cherries or have a green smoothie because I am too lazy to cook.

I can’t do that anymore. I have to pay attention even if it kills me to not eat a vegetable at lunch or dinner. I try to be a good blogger (and health coach) and eat my veggies, but if it’s doing more harm then good, perhaps I shouldn’t over do it? I should go with what is good for my body, especially since my digestive system is super sensitive as ya’ll already know.

I hope this little list I put together helps some of you guys experiencing the same issues.  Right now for lunch I had a little chicken, a little beans and green leaf lettuce and I feel okay. Let’s keep experimenting and I will be sure to keep you posted!

Question: Any foods that your tummy just can’t stand that is not an allergen?

 

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WIAW #50: Feeling “Berry” Acidic

Happy What I Ate Wednesday!

What does this title mean? Well I am going to show you some of my delicious eats filled with all sorts of berries while talking to you about my acid and bile reflux. Head on over to Peas and Crayons if you are new to this awesome food party.wiawphotobuttonYou don’t know; ever since I started getting hyped up on coffee and had free coffee at my job, my body just went into acid overload. Not to mention I was eating TONS of chocolate and almonds. You see I get fed at my job, so I take advantage of chocolate and nuts since those are the “pricey” things I usually buy.

Breakfast: Oats w/ almond milk, flax/ sunflower seeds, cashews & blackberries

Breakfast: Oats with almond milk, flax/ sunflower seeds, raw cashews & blackberries.

Acid from coffee and acid + fat from chocolate and nuts equals a disgustingly acidic environment. I decided to tone down the coffee. I was tired of the acid/ bile build up. I have been coffee free for four days. Symptoms? I’ve had terrible migraines and caffeine withdrawal symptoms that make me sub the coffee with chocolate for the caffeine dosage, but it obviously makes things just as bad.

Snack: Blackberries w/ dried cranberries/ blueberries and cashew pieces.

Snack: Blackberries w/ dried cranberries/ blueberries and raw cashew pieces.

The withdrawal symptoms are getting better. Last week I said I was going to do a vegan week. I did most days meat and dairy free except when I had milk chocolate, some eggs and a little chicken. I did notice that I wasn’t as bloated as the week before but I was still uncomfortable. This week I wanted to get more strict.

Lunch/ Dinners: Veggie or Black Bean burger with nuts/ seeds and spinach.

Lunch/ Dinners (recycled pic!): Veggie or black bean burger with nuts/ seeds and spinach.

I’ve had two full vegan days and I feel pretty good, digestion wise. I’m as bloated and even people are noticing. I did find it hard to decide what to eat though.So as my loving readers, I do ask you to give me some moral support. Pretty please and crackers? Never mind the crackers…

Dessert: Dark chocolate with dried cranberries

Dessert: Dark chocolate with dried cherries

Question: What’s your favorite vegan dish? Have you every done a day or more vegan? How did you feel?

 

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April Favorites!

Here is a little post for you about my favorite posts from this past April! I had a lot of good stuff going on such as the sugar-free chocolate dip. Who doesn’t love chocolate and sugar-free? Win, win!IMG_20130410_195632Or what about “just some chocolate cake?” A hint of sugar never hurt anyone. Not in my book anyway.58183_10101550900240350_747036023_nOr getting back to basics for a WIAW post. Maybe even taking a step back and focusing on me? Can’t forget the release of my online coaching program. That has been an amazing trip. My favorite? Has to be the vanilla and almond protein “squares.” IMG_20130403_104948Question: What are you April favorites? Food, posts or anything wise?

 

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WIAW #48: Down To The Wire

Happy What I Ate Wednesday! Thanks Jenn for hosting this food party.wiawphotobuttonIt’s time to get cracking! I have one month until the conference and it is time to kick it into high gear. It’s down to the wire now; cleaner eats and less sweets. *cringe*

Breakfasts: Breakfast cakes again! But for this one I took out all the sugar except for maple syrup. I’m trying to cut back on “adding sugar” to things. Topped it with some pumpkin seeds and the Nature’s Path granola I found. I was seriously hungry.IMG_20130430_084259For snack, it’s some variation of fruit and nuts or cheese and nuts. 532302_10101549381459000_596674822_nLunches have been some homemade black bean and quinoa burgers topped with more black beans and some spinach with an olive oil drizzle.163577_644189342261296_1807677602_nI normally don’t do an after lunch snack because lately my lunches have kept me full and I have an earlier dinner. This ones was delicious; egg white omelette with Kerrygold gouda cheese, black beans, almonds, strawberries and yes… more spinach!100MEDIA_IMAG1180For after dinner, I have a trail mix of pumpkin seeds, raisins, sunflower seeds and a few chocolate discs. Since I have one month until my personal training conference, I’m buckling down.nutsQuestion: How do you eat “cleaner” for events? I definitely like to cut out the dairy, get in my protein, fruits/ veggies and lower the carbs a bit. 

 

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Health & Weight Update

Happy Friday my friends!

Today we will be talking about my health while showing you a few beautiful pictures from my walk with a good friend of mine yesterday in Fort Tryon Park. Now as you know between my food allergies, anemia, bile reflux and hiatal hernia, things haven’t always been good for me in terms of my health. But then as you know, I decided to gain weight. I’ll recap that in case your are new. My lowest weight was 138lbs, but I wasn’t healthy at all.

Sure I was skinny and got to my overall weight goal, but what happened? I was sick, sluggish and ever part of my body was fragile. At that time, my anemia was getting worse. When I worked out too hard, it would affect my body a lot. I simply had no energy what so ever. It took some time to decide, but I decided I wanted to gain and go to 155lbs maximum. I did just that, but then I got into a little depression in February. I was just not in the mood and most of the time I at ice cream for dinner. It was not a good point in my life and then my weight went up to 164lbs. Almost 10lbs more then what I originally wanted.

Where is my weight at now? I fluxuiate between 159-162lbs. At first it was annoying and I wanted to get back to the 155lbs, primarily because that’s the highest I could get without starting to need new clothes. Most of my clothes still fit now and in some I actually look better; more curves.   It was hard to deal with this new bigger, yet stronger and healthier body. It feels much better then striving to feel happy just to fit into a size 4 pair of jeans. I went to the doctor’s and they said nothing was wrong. I am perfectly healthy.

It amazing how food can cause sicknesses like in the case with my food allergies. But I never thought losing weight would make me sick too. I should have known, I mean… being 240lbs was not healthy for me at all. Literally everything is about balance; whether it’s eating of your weight.I’m am writing this for you now because it took me almost two months to accept this new body I am in. But honestly, I have never felt healthier, stronger and even sexier. At the end of the day, you have to do what you feel is right. I am happy that at one point in my life I could say I lost 100lbs, but now I am content knowing that my weight loss/ maintain/ weight gain journey has created a much healthier me.

I hope everyone is well and has a happy weekend. And tomorrow I will be announcing the winner of the giveaway and let you know the extras I added to it.

Question: How do you maintain a healthy balance; whether it’s food, weight or life realted?

 

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WIAW #47: Grocery Edition

It’s that time again.

What I Ate Wednesday is here! Head on over to Peas and Crayons to join this crazy awesome food party. For this edition of WIAW, we are going to go a bit into some groceries I bought this week.wiawphotobutton My breakfasts now have consisted of the non-chocolate version of this recipe with a drizzle of maple and sprinkle of trail mix. Oh my heaven!48069_10101552179406890_150544226_nOn to some groceries. Now of course, I do have things already in my pantry/fridge like black beans, organic burgers, flours, etc. I went and grabbed organic soy milk, coffee, pears, nuts/ seeds, organic oats, a Luna bar and chocolate. Can’t forget the chocolate!417787_10101552179352000_1612962632_nOh and this loaf by Ener-G actually tastes good untoasted. Not like that other one. Just ew.IMG_20130415_134605Okay… can you see what I am seeing? Quinoa burgers that are corn and gluten-free! I hope these are good. The other brand I tried was good, but needed to be cooked on the pan. These say I can put them in the toaster. Much easier option.537863_10101552179356990_546462330_nAlong with the burgers, I got some potatoes, string cheese (hormone free!), spinach, eggs, kiwi and ice cream. By the way I found the ice cream in Dollar Tree for… yep. $1.00! I would have bought the five that remained, but I restrained myself. Trust me, was very hard.48038_10101552179347010_1181992886_nMost of my dinners have consisted of black beans, some veggie, potatoes and a protein which usually is an organic turkey or beef burger. I’m back into my black beans and potato phase. Yum, yum!

Question: Any repeats on your menu lately? What are some staples you typically always tend to get everytime you go grocery shopping?

*Last day to enter giveaway (plus adding a goodies not shown) is tomorrow*

 

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It’s Been A While

Wow, I have finally updated with you on this!

I am quite behind on some of them but I will give myself some “lee-way.” and allow myself 5 things that I don’t have to do before I am 25, but I have to do it at some point while I am 25. Sounds good to me!

  1. Go to my SIXTH Broadway play (forgot I saw more!).
  2. See a comedy show with friends.
  3. Visit Boston and eat all day.
  4. Attend the personal training certification and pass!
  5. Visit a Vineyard and find a wine I like.
  6. Kiss a random stranger (and other crazy things, shh!)
  7. Take my parents out to dinner and thank them for all they’ve done for me.
  8. Take a trip somewhere, anywhere, ALONE.
  9. Finish reading at least FIVE books, not school related.
  10. Go hiking.
  11. Sign up for a 5k.
  12. Take my dad to a baseball gone, not in NEW YORK.
  13. Get a pair of sexy heels or dress
  14. Buy a good pair of jeans.
  15. Treat myself to a nice hotel.
  16. Start my coaching program.
  17. Complete a full week being solely vegan <–changed to Paleo.
  18. Have “x” amount of money in the bank.
  19. Get rid of half my wardrobe and donate it.
  20. Write a letter to my 40 year old self and open it then (love this idea)
  21. Learn how to let go and go with the flow.
  22. Be fearless, and get over my anxiety.
  23. Give new things a chance.
  24. *Personal-D*
  25. *Personal-H*

I have an idea as to which are going to get the “lee-way.” I’m still four books behind, so I think that may be one. I’ll try to read the 5 before summer is over at least. I still have some problems going with the flow, so I will definitely still be working on that. But I am learning.I went to grab some groceries yesterday with my mom. I also got organic turkey burgers, but stuck it in the freezer before I snapped said photo. Fruit, nuts, granola, milk, cheese, agave, some broccoli and a couple of Odwalla bars for myself. Can’t forget some coffee either.This one isn’t so bad, but I need to get my hands on Green Mountain Coffee. It’s expensive in New York. Maybe it’s time for another road trip? Oh and this has been my favorite snack.I just took 1 Tbsp of Almond Butter, 1/2 Tbsp of Vanilla Protein Powder and added milk til it got to a “dip” consistency. Sliced up a pear, oh my!

On that note, I hope everyone has a great weekend!

Don’t forget to check out the little giveaway and my Online Coaching tab!

 

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Let’s Celebrate!

I’m not sure if anyone notices a change on Nutritiously Sweet?

Yes? No? Well… the online coaching plan is NOW available! Go check it out here like now!

To celebrate, I am going to be doing a giveaway! Without you, my fellow friends, YouTube and DAMY Health, I wouldn’t be anywhere.

So what’s in it?

  • A couple of samples of day & night Intense Hydration Lotion with clary sage from Burt’s Bees. One for you and one to share or not. Plus coupons too!
  • 1 Emerald Natural Almonds 100 Calorie Pack
  • 1 Pure Organic Bar in Chocolate Brownie
  • 4 Packets of the New “monk fruit in the raw” Sugar
  • 1 Odwalla Sweet & Salty Almond Bar
  • 1 Packet of Nature’s Path Maple Nut Instant Oatmeal
  • 1 Packet of Justin’s Honey Almond Butter
  • 2 Packets of Teechino Vanilla Nut Herbal Coffee
  • 1 Packet of Bigelow French Vanilla Decaf Tea
  • 1 Kashi Dark Chocolate Coconut Bar

How do you win? Simple! Just leave a comment below telling me which thing you’d love to try or eat from this giveaway. USA & Canada Only, sorry :-[

Want a bonus entry? Like Nutritiously Sweet on Facebook or subscribe to me on YouTube.

Good Luck! (Entries will close on April 25th at midnight Eastern Time)

 

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Focused! (Plus Coaching Information)

Helllllllllllllllllllllllllllo! 73349_10101541398526860_986293466_n (1)Perhaps, that’s a bit too much on a Monday morning? But let me tell you, I am in such a great mood. As you can see, I ordered some business cards. Finally!

lp I’m restarting my whole health and it feels good. Let me not say restarting, but rather going back to what I know works. I love trying out new workout plans, foods, diets, etc. But you know what? It’s time I stick to what works. You know what it was? It’s MY plan.

544429_629472867066277_2032241512_nI mentioned earlier that through my weight loss experience and different things that I tried, I found what worked for me and made my own plan. DAMY definitely was a huge inspiration. I also learned from the Tone It Up plan, yoga and weight training.482751_629472870399610_2031721746_n It’s getting closer to when I put the plan up, but I do have the plan through inquires only. If you are interested, please e-mail me at NutritiouslySweet@gmail.com. Right now I have several clients and they are doing great. The prices (for the moment) are from as little as $10.00 to $40.00.20899_629472873732943_1092230047_nI even do grocery trips, if you are in the New York City area. I just did a little grocery shopping, myself. I’m going to try out Green Giant’s digestive health mix with white beans, carrots and spinach. I don’t normally do fruit pops or deli meat, but sometimes I just crave it.547749_629472910399606_1885692177_nLove this DeBoles multi-grain pasta and can’t forget some dark chocolate. I also found this Ener-G bread to try. Light white rice with flax bread, which has 50 calories and 1g of both protein and fiber. It tastes HORRIBLE untoasted, but is yummy toasted. I just had to be blunt there. 544116_629484633731767_967961_nI made “open-faced” chicken and spinach sandwiches. It was so good. I would definitely get this bread again. One thing I liked that it was only $3.69. Because seriously, so many gluten-free breads are $5.00 and up and this price is more reasonable for my budget.733810_629528920394005_1900445050_nYesterday I made a little batch of these but I used chocolate protein powder and melted dark chocolate. Perfect little night time clean treat.

Question: How was everyone’s weekend? Do you like to try different foods or diet plans. Or do you mostly stick to what works?

 

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