Focus+Determination = Success.

Focus+Determination = Success. C.I.P. (Christine In Progress)

We all scream for icecream!

Homemade ice cream made with bananas, assorted fresh berries and peaches. Ahhh mazing!!

 Made this healthy dessert using bananas, almond and coconut milk, frozen assorted berries and peaches. organic agave nectar and ice. I used the smoothie option on my blender till it became the perfect consistency then we froze it for a few hours. It was pure perfection!

Healthy Feels Good...

I killed it! 30 mins 15 elevation 3.0 speed stayed in my target heart rate zone. Thought I was gonna die LOL but I did it! Then I did my weight training and finished it all off with a delish green smoothie. Healthy feels so dam good!!

Become the Blessing...

The greatest gift of all is to become the blessing… (Ann Voskamp, Author, One Thousand Gifts) 

You have no clue who is watching you or who you are inspiring every day. I have been approached on numerous occasions by people who say they have been "watching" me and notice my transformation, they see the change in me and they are inspired to do the same. They are eating better, exercising, giving up

caffeine; they are even giving juicing a try… all sorts of wonderful healthy lifestyle changes are taking place all around me! Without even knowing it, I have been blessing others with my actions. Who knew that my challenges and my triumphs could be someone else’s inspiration and motivation?! I always say everything happens for a reason! And once again that saying rings true! Since last year I have faced down some hard core health challenges, but I have been determined to not give up or give in! My dad always said I had spunk! :) I have been determined to come through stronger and better than ever, I have been determined to be triumphant and I have believed that God would never leave me or forsake me during this or any other challenge in my life. I put the power of prayer, focus and determination into every minute every hour and every day. When I wake I start my day with this prayer/declaration… Thank you God for giving me another day of LIFE, sight and breath! I declare that I will be triumphant over my health challenges. I declare that today will be better than yesterday. I declare that I will never give up on me! I am so thankful for the realization that I am not only improving my own life and health but there is a domino effect going on around me as a direct result of my actions. I thank God for using me as a vessel to help inspire others to improve on their own health and wellness. I am so blessed to be surrounded by positive and supportive people all willing to help me or cheer me on as I continue on my journey, having that support helps me keep going on the days when I feel like I might not be able to. Feeling overwhelmed with joy and so thankful!

Go Outside and Play!

I took our daughters to the park by the lake this weekend. We walked the nature trail, spent some time chasing butterflies, had a wonderful picnic, fed the geese and a bunch of rowdy ducks! :) When we went to the playground; I was the only parent that was actually involved in play with my children, running, riding the see-saw and even swinging on the swings! (Swings are the best!) My inner child just refuses to stay “in” =) Go outside and play today! (Children are optional) ;-)

Mack and Cheese... maybe...

Made this over the weekend!

 Looks good right?! It was great!! And.... it’s Vegan! It was amazing!! No one could believe there was not any actual cheese in this Mac and Cheese! I picked up the recipe from a great blog called "That was Vegan?"  I added a little Braggs nutritional yeast to take the cheesy taste up another notch. It was Delish and healthy!!

If you are looking for comfort food without the calories, fat and cholesterol this is the one to try! If you are thinking about converting to a Vegan or Vegetarian lifestyle this is a great intro to what yummy stuff can be created without using animal products! Give this dish a try! Even our children approved this one!

Helpful tips to keep in  mind when making this recipe... I tried roasting my own butternut squash, I made too much so the first batch was more butternut squashy vs cheesy. For the second batch I went with the frozen butternut squash I say go that route, the recipe calls for 10 oz of butternut squash and the frozen package is exactly 10 oz so, no opportunity to screw up.  Also, I am a lazy cook so I put all the following ingredients in the blender

• 2 T Earth Balance
• 3 T flour
• 2 cups vegetable stock
• 10-12 ounces of butternut squash, thawed
• 1 cup soy cream

Then I poured it all in the pot to heat it up, and I tossed in the following ingredients:

• 1 small sweet onion very finely diced
• 1 bag  Daiya cheddar
• 1/4 teaspoon nutmeg 
• 1/2 – 3/4 teaspoon Herbamere (or salt of your choice)
• Pepper to taste

Once the ingredients came to a bubble I began to slowly add the Braggs Nutritional Yeast one table spoon at a time to taste, and then finally perfected the seasoning, sea salt, pepper and nutmeg to taste.

Here is the link to the full recipe: 

Butternut Squash Mac n’ Cheese 

 ENJOY!!

Share the Journey with me:

As I mentioned in the beginning, this space will serve as my public diary of sorts, I hope you will share my journey with me in love and support. As I have been going through this, friends, family and acquaintances began to pay attention and witness my physical, spiritual/emotional transformation, they wanted to know more. As I began to share a little more, I was surprised to discover, my journey was actually inspiring others! I could not believe that people I only know casually or never even met have started on their own health/wellness journey as a result of watching my personal transformation! Friends and Family have actually started Meatless Mondays to play around with the idea of transiting to a plant based diet!  Everyone I have had contact with has wanted to hear more, see more and learn more about my journey. So here I am at last, after a lot of thought and consideration I decided I want to share more and, for some crazy reason I want to do it all publicly. I have learned through my private struggles, there may be inspiration for someone else. My journey might actually be a blessing to someone and I don’t want to deny any person that opportunity!  I want this to be a place of positive energy and support, a place where we can share the best and sometimes the worst of ourselves.   I am going to be pretty vulnerable here and I hope you will receive that with love and support as I promise to do the same for you. I am not a Dr. or an expert, I am not selling anything and I have not found the magic potion to instant health and vitality!  Although it feels like it! I am just a woman, mom, and wife... in progress, every day, living life one day at a time, working hard to reclaim my own health and wellness, realizing the blessings in every day,  learning from and sharing my personal adventures and sharing some (hopefully) very valuable lessons along the way. Here’s to progress!