Celebrating 56 days of the diet!

I did it again!  I completed round 2 of the 28 day diet cycle (56 days).  I actually look at food differently now.  I lost 2 more pounds, so a total of 10.5 pounds.  I wanted to drop 4 pounds, but if I wasn't focused at all I probably would have gained weight.  I am definitely eating more fruits and vegetables now and have more energy.  Also, I am still rotating what I eat.

I have added back a little dairy to my diet, and making sure that I get calcium from my vegetables.  My omelets taste so much better with cheddar cheese sprinkled on top.  I also make sure that I add calcium fortified rice milk to my oatmeal and decaf coffee.  I found the acid in Kefir was a little strong once I added it back to my diet. So instead, I add it to food or dilute it with rice milk.

Wheat and sugar are still very limited in my diet.  I still can't believe how easy it has been to limit these.  Having fruit handy really helps with the sugar craving.  I have found some great substitutes for wheat, so it has been easy to eliminate.  I miss it when grabbing fast food, but started making sure that I order a salad instead.  One day, I ordered a turkey burger and wrapped it in lettuce.  I still enjoyed it, but noticed also how much the bread hid the amount of salt that is added to the burger. 

I nibble and splurge, but proud that I am sticking to the plan overall.  I am starting my next round, and hope to drop 2 more pounds.  Maybe 4 pounds was too high of a goal!  Slowly it adds up, just like gaining.

Fruit is great, but sometimes having some dessert is really important.  Food should be enjoyed.  I changed one of my favorites and enjoy it on Phase 3 days of the diet.  Instead of wheat flour, it uses cauliflower pulp. Sounds weird but it works.  I used pecans because they are one of the few nuts that I can eat, but feel free to substitute walnuts pieces (for 1/4 c.) or almond flour/coconut flour (for 1/2c.).

Cauliflower-Pecan Banana Bread

(or alter to make them Brownies)



1 cup cauliflower pulp (from juicer)
1/2 cup ground pecans (from food processor)
1/2 cup butter (1 stick)
2 eggs
4 bananas (ripe with spots are sweeter)
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp cinnamon (adds flavor, but eliminate if sensitive-this amount works for me)
1/4 tsp salt
1 tsp vanilla
1/4 c. pecan pieces (optional)
(add 1/2 cup cocoa powder to change this recipe to brownies)

Prep cauliflower, pecans, bananas, and get oven ready.
1.  It will take about 1/3 of head of cauliflower to make about 1 cup of pulp from a juicer.  If no juicer then place in food processor then drain and dry with paper towels. 
2.   Next, chop the 1/2 cup of pecans in the food processor. It will not be creamy but should start to look like nutty peanut butter that can mashed into measuring cup.
3.  Mash the bananas with a potato masher or fork.
4.  Heat the oven to 350 degrees.  Grease pan and set aside.

Now put it together.
5.  Butter should be room temperature, or melt the butter in the microwave for about 15 seconds.
6.  Cream the butter in a bowl with the mixer. 
7.  Next, add the eggs one at time and blend with the butter.
8.  Add the cauliflower pulp and blend.
9.  Next, add the ground pecans that were prepared from the food processor.
10. Add the mashed bananas and blend.
11.  Add the baking soda, salt, and cinnamon (and cocoa powder if making brownies) to the batter and blend.
12. By hand mix in the vanilla and 1/4 cup pecan pieces.

Banana bread takes about an hour to cook in a loaf pan.  In a rectangular pan for brownies it takes about 45 minutes.  The mixture should bounce when touched when ready, or a fork placed in the center should come out clean when ready. 

These actually taste even better the next day, especially the brownies version (more moist and flavor blends in or I am thinking about cauliflower less!).  So make them ahead if you like.

   

Great Comb Makes a Difference

Hope your natural hair journey is going well.  Today, I wanted to talk about hair combs for natural hair.  Pictured are 3 combs that I have in my drawer.  Not sure why I keep the traditional detangler.  It worked okay with a relaxer, but now it is just more layers for my hair to wrap around.  Funny, my hair actually becomes tangled in this comb!  The comb on the end is an example of what happens to most of my combs!  Yes, they break.  I have bought about 4 of the broken styled comb in the last few months.  I like the shape, but it doesn't move with my hair. 

My favorite of the group is the wide-tooth comb in the middle by Goody.  I wasn't looking for a comb.  I was in Kroger one day and noticed it.  It is flexible, and made of a softer rubber material instead of hard plastic.  I love this comb!  It bends and stretches with my hair, therefore reducing breakage.

Hate it took me so long to switch! I can see it being around for a while.

If looking for a detangling spray to use with your comb, try Fanuppa's.

De-clutter - Reset!

The focus last month became my new diet, so the declutter project slowly became inactive!  Now that the diet is becoming more routine, I should be able to give the decluttering more focus.  Decluttering is similar to dropping weight.  They both involve getting rid of stuff you don't want.

I also think that declutteriing should be part of a daily home cleaning routine.  So I am going to start my Fly Lady cleaning plan again, and get this done.  I liked the 28 day challenge for weight loss.  So I am going to apply it to the declutter project.  I am pushing reset!

Fly Lady is a fun plan.  You start by doing some "baby steps" daily, and before you know it your house is clean and organized.  Baby steps include putting on shoes and keeping a shiny sink.  I also like watching the Jen videos on cleaning and organizing.  Yes, I am pushing reset.

Celebrating 28 Days of the Diet

Pomegranate on stand (my trophy!)

I did it!  I completed 28 days of the Fast Metabolism Diet, and I lost 8.5 pounds.  I enjoyed it so much, that I have decided actually to incorporate the diet into how I eat all the time.  Before the diet, I was not eating enough fruits and vegetables.  So this will actually make me focus on eating better.  Also, I have to rotate what I eat anyway due to food sensitivity.  The diet makes you rotate food (fruit, protein, healthy fat...) every 2-3 days, so it is perfect.    

I gave up dairy for 28 days, and I will add it back to my diet.  Osteoporosis runs in my family, and my Vitamin D level is normally low without prescription supplements.  I found adding kale a good source of calcium, but think my body still needs the easier dairy source.  My goal is to add calcuim and Vitamin D with kefir, which is a healthy almost lactose free option. 

I will continue to keep my wheat and sugar intake limited.  I thought this would be hard but actually found this easy.  I eat more fruit now, so this has replaced my sugar craving.  I actually haven't had chocolate in 28 days!  That is amazing.  In the past, I actually ate chocolate almost every day.  Giving up wheat also hasn't been that hard.  The spelt bread is really good, and I couldn't tell the difference.  I have been eating more things like quinoa and brown rice.  I love rolls and hot water cornbread, but stopped eating them regularly years ago (because of the corn and yeast). 

Other changes included giving up bananas and potatoes.  I miss my bananas!  The book says they are high in sugar.  I will limit my intake of them.  Only using them as a sweetener for fruit sweeten cookies, and I will only add a 1/2 banana each week.  Also, I really miss kettle potato chips.  I had about 4 potato chips this weekend, so I will probably do that each weekend!  I can live without sweets, but potato chips...that is my favorite stress food.  I munched on carrots last week to cope with stress.  The crunch helped, but not the same.  Also, I missed mashed potatoes.  I actually had some this weekend because my schedule was so busy, and I was at an event and starving.

I did not drop any extra weight last week due to stress. Also not totally sticking to the plan, especially the goal of eating every 3-4 hours.  However, I only gained a half a pound.  Normally during a stress week, I would gain about 3 pounds.  So the plan is working. 

Follow what I am eating and journal what you are eating on the Two Grand app (my user name:  fanuppa).  I will update you on my new way of eating at the end of August.  Look for some fun recipes in future blog posts.

Thanks for giving me 5 minutes, 
-Fanuppa

Customers Love Lavender!

I am truly enjoying the opportunity to talk with customers every week at the farmer's market.  It is an opportunity to see what customers like, and what they don't like.  Kids are the most fun to watch as they sniff and smile.  They are also the most honest!  They shake their heads if they don't like it!  The Lavender/Sea Salt soap bar (exfoliates) has been the top seller, and next would be plain Lavender. 

I appreciate the benefits of Lavender essential oil.  It is a relaxing scent that is great for acne, burns, and cuts (has anti-bacteria properties).  At the market, I have found fresh Lavender in cookies and even lemonade. 

The funny thing is that Lavender is not one of my favorite scents!  I prefer something citrusy like lime.  I have to be careful with most floral scents, because they normally trigger headaches.  However, I have never had a reaction to Lavender.  So, I could see doing a combination of Lavender and Lime and really enjoying it! 

My favorite thing about Lavender is the color.  The purple is so pretty. 

I actually had a request to offer the facial toner in a Lavender scent.  I will be adding it soon. I enjoy listening and making the customers happy! 

What are some of your favorite scents?

www.fanuppasoaps.com


 

    

To Glycerin or Not

Should you use glycerin on your natural hair?  That is a great question.  It came to mind as I was outside at the local farmers market. I was trying to sell natural soap after it had poured down raining.  The rain stopped, but the air was really humid as you can imagine.  I had a hat on my head (lol).   I hate trying to sell soap when it is really humid.  My display had to be simplified.  Just one bar per type, and I kept the rest of the soaps covered to protect them.  Let's talk through why I covered the soap.

AN EXAMPLE
One of the great features of natural soap is that it contains glycerin.  Glycerin is a naturally occurring by-product of soap making.  It is the type in most beauty products.  There is also crude glycerin which is a by-product of bio-diesel production.  Glycerin is moisturizing for the body, but it makes my displayed soap bars feel wet and slippery just from being exposed to the humid air without rain ever touching them.  Why?

CLOSER LOOK
As my example indicates the air is a huge factor in deciding to use glycerin on your hair.  Glycerin attracts water from the air.  On a rainy day it will work great.  It also will work better during warmer seasons.  As it gets cooler and the air is dryer, glycerin will still absorb water but from the only source it has - your hair!  So how well your hair shafts allow moisture in, becomes a factor in using it too.  The season is a bigger factor, but the air where you work and live may be cool and drying too, regardless of the season.

ALLERGIES/SENSITIVITIES
Another factor in deciding to use glycerin is allergies and sensitivities.  I decided not to use it because of this factor.  Depending on the type of oil or fat used to make the soap, glycerin can be vegetable or animal based.  Normally it is derived from coconut or palm oil so it is not for my hair (salicylate and tree-nut sensitivity).  However, if you don't have any issues from using these oils then enjoy.

Hope this helps.  Got soap!

Week 3 of the Diet!

Salmon and veggies

Well, it will be 3 weeks on the diet this coming Monday!  I am really starting to see a difference in my clothes.  My face is smaller, and also my feet!  I have done Weight Watchers and the South Beach diets in the past.  They both had their advantages.  Weight Watchers forced me to look at my eating habits, and remember things like grapes are more filling than raisins.  South Beach taught me to make dessert out of ricotta cheese, flavoring, and artificial sweeteners.  However, I have to say that the The Fast Metabolism diet is my favorite.  The science behind this diet is really working.

Weight loss seems to happen when I go from phase 1 (high fruit) to phase 2 (high protein).  An example of Phase 3 is pictured.  The focus of Phase 3 is on healthy fats like those found in salmon.  Oils can be added too during Phase 3, that is the only way that I would eat asparagus and mashed cauliflower!  This phase is during the weekend, so it gives you more freedom when you need it. 

Weekends are hard though.  Usually more events and less time to focus on the diet.  My goal this weekend is not to gain weight (like prior weekends). So I must pack a lunch and snack bag just like it is a work day.

So far, I have lost 9-lbs! Hubby has lost 13-lbs!  I am so proud of our accomplishments.  Also, I am eating fruits and veggies now that work with my food sensitivity.  Planning ahead and staying focused.  Hope you enjoy the weekend.