Breaking the Fast

I participated in the Daniel Fast for the first 21 days of 2012. I've never done this fast before, but it really wasn't too hard. I am a bit sick of tofu, and really missed eating my favorite fishies, but I did focus on growing my relationship with God and look forward to sharing the impact that it had on my life.

In order to properly break the fast, I celebrated with YOGURTLAND!!! AND they had two new flavors- that was par for the course for me! Score! Mango Mixer and Yo Frappe are my new faves. Speaking of new favorites... My new fave dress from Ross: $8.99.

-------------------------------------------------------------

I was in Seattle all of last week for worky. It wasn't very fun :( But a really cute outfit did come out of the last event of the week. I actually didn't have a top to necessarily go with the $15 H&M skirt that I bought a few weeks ago, but I really wanted to wear the skirt.

I also found these perfect little Steve Madden shoes at Ross for $12.99 to go with the skirt.

All I needed were black tights, which I found at Stein Mart (random), and a top which I found in the mall connected to our hotel. Of all places in a new city for me to go to, only one called my name-

Go Figure... But I did find the perfect lace top to complete my ensemble! :)

Tada!

Not the best quality pic, but you can get the idea.

Lastly, my view for the week:

It was beautiful, just wish I would have had the opportunity to get out of our never-ending meetings and enjoy the city for a second.

Extreme Shed & Shred

How have your January workouts been going so far? For me, it's been going GREAT! There's a really nice, totally overpriced new gym relatively close to my house that offers boxing classes. Like real boxing. I've been looking for a gym that offers this for a really loooong time! And it's finally been found @Champion Fitness.

Why I love boxing: Well Turbo Kick Boxing (TKB) is one of my absolute favorites, but something that boxing offers that kickboxing does not are real bags and contact. Which in turn leans the heck out of your body. Check out the classroom:

The class is awesome, but I'm not willing to give up all of the awesome classes that I take at my dirty 24 Hour Fitness. And I'm not paying over $100/mo to go to 2 different gyms. So, I've chosen to pay $15 (for a 24hour pass) to attend Tuesday night classes when I'm in town and take the lunchtime Wednesday class as well. I will gladly give up Mr. Drill Sergeant's class for a class with an awesome, encouraging teacher that is such an amazing workout!

Something else I just tried out:

I bought a couple of Jillian's DVDs on Amazon the other day. One, because I got 2 DVDs for $14 (that included tax and shipping). Two, because I like to be a home body on Sundays after church, but I wanted to get my workouts back to 6 days per week instead of 5.

For some really dumb reason, I just didn't think this was going to be hard. So there I am starting out in sweat pants and no shoes ready to work out thinking it will be easy peasy.... Next thing you know, I've got shorts and tennis shoes on, a water bottle and gym towel. I was really sweating! I only did the first workout which is 30 minutes of intense workout with a combined 15 min warm up and cool down. Next time I'll wear my heart monitor to see how hard it really is (:

My favorite exercise from the first sesh was this side plank crunch. You do a side plank, and then put your opposite arm behind your head and roll under until it touches your elbow on your straight arm, and then go back up. I was impressed and loved having Jillian in my home- Ha!

Have your ever done DVD workouts at home?

H&M Finds

I've had WAY too much fun going through H&M's after Christmas sales. And did I have some MAJOR scores- at least in my opinion :)

Floor length maxi dress with ruffled top and cinched empire waist, $10. I'm thinking that this would look perfect with flat sandals, or maybe even wedges, and layered long necklaces.

1920's fringed camel-colored dress, $10. I wore this on NYE- see here. H&M has some really funky sizes. I realize that it's European and a 6 is actually the size of an American 2, but this dress was an extra small, and it was still big. If you click on the link for "see here," you will see that I wore a black tank under the dress and paired with a black belt and these shoes. This dress actually photographed really well. I was impressed.

The hues of this dress are perfect shades for my coloring. The design of this dress gives off an exotic flair because of the side-cinched waist, the layered v-neck and skirt. For $10- I love it, and it can also be work-appropriate.

This cute little light pink dress can easily be dressed up or dressed down. I can see myself wearing it to a business lunch in the summer or out on the town. For work I would wear this with a black patent skinny belt and either black peep-toe heels or sandals. So many options for only $15.

Lastly, the purple bow skirt (which I originally purchased for $35 bc I loved it so much, and saw that 2 weeks later, it was priced at $15. Needless to say, I purchased the $15 one and brought the $35 one back- same skirt). I thought this could be dressed up for a work event that I have at the end of the month with a black cowl-neck top, black tights and maybe some black suede booties if I can find them.

What do you think of H&M?

Ringing in the New Year & New Way of Eating

Happy New Year from J.Flo & B.Flo!!!

We had a great time ringing in 2012 with great friends and some of our church familia! We started our first day of 2012 out right with this:

Double Double Protein-Style & Fries Animal Style- shared by 4 people

This was our first In-N-Out experience. Holy Cow- it was AMAZING!!! Like too good. I asked for forgiveness later. After that, the healthy, new way of eating was brought in.

The Daniel Fast: 

This "fast" is based upon Daniel in the Bible.

"So I turned to the Lord God and pleaded with him in prayer and petition, in fasting." - Daniel 9:3

The Daniel Fast is a 21-day partial fast based upon Daniel's own experiences as recorded in the Bible. The purpose is to restrict commonly enjoyed foods as an act of worship and consecration to God. Someone who chooses to undergo a Daniel Fast demonstrates a physical commitment that reflects a deep spiritual desire for a more intimate relationship with the Lord.

People interpret this fast differently, but to me, it's a whole food way of eating, no meat, no sugar, no bread, dairy etc. Some people only drink water. My pastor says that "bean juice" is natural, so coffee/espresso is allowed, but be careful what you put into it.

Here's what I've eaten over the last few days-

Caribbean Wild Rice- Delish!

This recipe has turned into a household favorite. Very colorful and Yummy! Enjoy protein from black beans and chickpeas. LOVE Avocado! Leftovers for lunch were just as awesome. Recipe found here. (click the work 'here')

Antipasto Pizza Pie

Crust made out of brown rice and oat flour (grind oats in food processor). Shredded tofu looks like "cheese" and I added a bit of ground cashews as well. This was very good- I love artichokes. The only problem was that it did not come out staying together as a whole piece of pizza. But even in a pile, it was tasty. Antipasto Pizza Pie recipe here.

Starbucks to the Rescue!!!

Tall Americano in a grande cup (I have spilling issues) with a bit of soy, honey and dash of cinnamon. I cannot believe that I successfully made it through an entire cup of coffee without Splenda! Miracles can happen- WooHoo! I really enjoyed this!

Snickerdoodle Smoothie for Breakfast

This smoothie wasn't "Awesome" but it was good, and easily consumed without having a sour look on my face. Maybe it was the frozen bananas that threw me off? I have no idea. Snickerdoodle Smoothie recipe here. I had a work lunch at Panera and ordered the Greek Salad- no cheese.

My Afternoon Snack

Two Moms in the Raw is Brilliant! Their website: http://www.twomomsintheraw.com. I used to always find these at Starbucks, and now they're becoming a bit sparse within many Starbucks locations. Yesterday I got lucky! Typically Blueberry has always been my favorite, but I tried out the Goji Berry and it was equally tasty!

Hummus Casserole

What made this recipe worthwhile was the hummus. I'm obsessed with hummus! I just used my favorite brand from Costco. This recipe was ok. Not sure I'd make it again. I did use fresh spinach instead of frozen, just a personal preference. But, yeah, it was alright. Hummus Casserole recipe found here.

This Daniel Fast way of eating for me is Fantastic. Because I am Gluten-Free and Dairy-Free already, it's not hard at all. I'm planning on incorporating these healthy eating habits into my life even after the fast, as I feel it benefits my body tremendously. 

Healthy Food, Healthy You!

Christmas 2011 Eats & More

I'm just a little late on sharing about Christmas with you all. We had a fabulous time with the family! This was our first Christmas in Dallas, so I wanted to show-off my Latin skills in the kitchen. Christmas dinner consisted of 4 types of tamales and brisket tacos! Ay yi yi! They were awesome! This Latina wanna-be doesn't use lard in her tamales. I made some using extra virgin coconut oil and some with extra virgin olive oil. This was my second experience making tamales, and my first time experimenting with tamales de dulce (my Mexicana Amiga told me they tasted like her mom's, so I guess I did good).

The rest of the spread:

Torturing my kitties in their Christmas duds:

I think nephew #2 likes his super hero tent.... He drug it around all day. :)

I hope your Holidays Rocked! 

I don't wanna go back to work tomorrow! ;(