Meal Plan & Exciting food find!

Hello loves! I hope everyone is having an amazing day so far! I wanted to make a quick post combined with another one because recently a girl I went to high school with contacted me about how she read my blog and how I inspired her to start to eat healthy and work out! I was so excited and giddy when I heard that because it makes me so happy to hear that I am inspiring people to change their lives for the better! Anyway, she started talking about how going to the grocery store and coming up with healthy meals is confusing and she asked me if I could make up a meal plan for her and I jumped on that right away! It is exciting for me to share with others what meals I have come up with and what healthy foods work for me and which ones didn't work for me. I went through quite a long trial and error phase where I experimented with every kind of health food there is! Some...not as good as I hoped they would be but I am glad that I experimented so that I could cross certain foods off my list. I wanted to share this with you guys because I would be honored to make personalized recipes and meal plans for any of you! All you would have to do is shoot me an email and I will send you some of my favorite breakfast, snack, lunch, dinner and dessert recipes with you that I loved and trust me I am a picky eater! I focus mainly on easy, simple, inexpensive meals which I am sure most of you out there are looking for as well. 

My email:

ddeb12@aol.com

Another quick random thing I wanted to talk to you all about today is something that I have found out about that I am extremely excited to share and it involves food. SCORE!

I am sure most of you have heard of Panera Bread, right?! I hope you have because Panera is one of the best restaurant/cafes I have been to! I call it more of a cafe because it is more of a relaxed place and they also have a drive thru so I guess you could call it fast food. The difference between regular fast food and Panera is how fresh the ingredients are. I have a friend that works at a local Panera Bread and she told me that they freshly bake all of their breads, muffins, bagels etc in the early hours of the morning every single day so they are fresh for the customers and at the end of the day they throw out everything that hasn't sold, which makes me sad that all of that yummy food gets thrown away but also makes me feel better that I am not getting day old food! Anyway, the only downside is that most of the food comes with a hefty calorie count and is not the healthiest food in town. There are lots of rich soups, also they are known for their amazing panini's which are hands down amazing! Recently I found out about their salads which come in full size and half size. I had never had one of their salads before because I strictly stuck to their broccoli cheese soup and panini's back in the day when I was not on a diet. I hadn't been there in so long because I didn't want to get anything else off the menu besides what I usually got mostly because I was stubborn and because I still thought everything else on the menu was unhealthy.

After I found out about their half salads and about how most of them were only 230 calories including dressing I couldn't have jumped in my car fast enough! Before I started losing weight I could literally consume so much food it was embarrassing because my stomach was larger and it seemed like nothing could fill me up! When I started losing weight I noticed how much less food I could consume and how much my stomach had shrunk. So the reason for the story was I got their "Spinach Power Salad" and it was one of the best salads I have ever eaten and I got the half and it completely filled me up! I almost couldn't finish it!

Link to ingredients 

The nutritional facts for HALF:  

Calories - 230

Fat - 13

Protein - 7 g

Sugars - 11 g

There are so many more that I have tried that blew my mind on how good they were and an extra bonus is that the half salads are only around $5-$6! It comes with your choice of a piece of bread, an apple or a bag of chips so you should obviously go for the apple to keep the calories strictly at 230. How amazing is that for an entire salad including dressing? Most people are probably thinking how crazy I am for freaking how this much over a salad but I haven't found a lot of places that offers half salads that are packed with so much flavor for such little calories. Most salads after adding all of your toppings can be up to 400-500 calories! Another reason why I wanted to share this with you all is because it is amazing for people who are always in a hurry on their lunch breaks or for people who do not have time to pack a lunch before they leave the house and they are starving! You don't have to settle for a greasy meal at another fast food joint, you can get this amazing half salad and you won't feel bad after eating it. I had to ask the person behind the counter twice if those calories were including the dressing to make sure and she reassured me time after time that is the right number I am looking at! 

I hope you guys enjoyed this quick post about some topics that I have been wanting to share with you all! Love you guys and make sure to email me if you are interested in not only a meal plan, but some advice on recipes and some suggestions! 

Saturday

I know as a kid Saturday was my favorite day out of the week because obviously we were off of school and we had the entire day to play outside and go to the park and do whatever we wanted! I distinctly remember waking up early with butterflies in my tummy about my upcoming soccer game that day. The smell of gooey sweet cinnamon rolls baking in the oven waiting for me to hop out of bed and devourer them. The sounds of Saturday morning cartoons on the downstairs TV. Also for some miraculous reason, the weather outside always seemed to be absolutely perfect just on this one day out of the week. Saturdays are meant for relaxing, spending time with loved ones and hanging out with friends. As I get older I still make an effort to make the most out of my weekends, especially Saturday. Luckily I do not work on Saturday's so in the morning I like to wake up reasonably early and first thing first...make my beloved cup of coffee (my addiction...). 

I personally keep coffee in my diet even though it is probably

not the greatest because I add creamer..but that is just something

I cannot give up! I also checked the label for my creamer and because

I use the correct serving size that is on the bottle, the calories and

sugars are not bad at all! 

While I am enjoying my coffee I love to catch up on all of my social media, Instagram (which you should follow me, user name: dbrownnn), Twitter, Tumblr, Pinterest, and all of my lovely bloggers. Since I am older, Saturday morning cartoons aren't really my cup of tea (or should I say coffee) anymore so I usually go with any reality TV or catch up on some of my recorded shows. Some of them being, Pretty Little Liars, Twisted, The Fosters, Vampire Diaries (my obsession), and Keeping Up With the Kardashians (I know I know but it's my guilty TV show). Now by this time my stomach is rumbling and I need to eat some breakfast! I have been really into cooking breakfast and getting creative with my healthy recipes. For some reason I find making healthy breakfast food is much easier than lunch or dinner. There are so many different options I love to try out which I will do a full blog post on all of my favorite breakfast recipes soon! This morning I opted for one of my favorite green smoothies because my throat as been sore and I haven't been feeling my best so I need all of the vitamins and antioxidants I can get! 

Ingredients:

- Handful of Spinach

- Handful of frozen raspberries

- Handful of frozen strawberries

- Handful of frozen pineapple

- Half of a nectarine

- 1 packet of 'EmergenC'

- Water up to the "Max" line

BLEND BLEND BLEND (:

This of course isn't sweet gooey cinnamon rolls but it is delicious! As you may notice I put frozen in italics because that is my secret to my smoothies. I personally do not like really runny and watery smoothies because I am a huge texture freak when it comes to my food. I only like really thick almost Icee texture to my smoothies. That is why I do not use regular cut up fresh fruit in my smoothies I use frozen fruit so it gives my smoothie a much thicker consistency because they are basically like ice. And if it isn't thick enough I add even more ice! The health benefits that are packed into each smoothie is amazing and it gives me so much energy as well as keeping me full throughout the day. 

After I eat I like to go upstairs and get ready for the day. I know most people never get ready for Saturdays unless they have something to do that today specifically but I love getting fully dressed and ready for whatever the day brings me. Getting ready in the morning by doing my makeup, doing my hair and putting a nice cute outfit on just makes me feel better right away and gives me more of a confidence boost. Lighting a candle is a must and right now I am trying to burn through all of my Bath and Body Works Christmas candles but when I don't feel like smelling a Christmas tree I burn my all time favorite candle which is the "Capri Blue Jar Candle" in the scent "Volcano"! You can usually find these at the store "Anthropologie". 

I also have to listen to music while I get ready so it makes me pumped up for the day and I also just normally listen to music 24/7. I normally only listen to Alternative and Indie type of music but some days when I am really feeling girly and confident I listen to my girl Beyonce! I don't think I have found one person who does not like Beyonce, she is amazing! I love this song <3 font="" nbsp="">

After I get ready for the day, my favorite way to spend my Saturday is doing things that I love to do and also make me happy. If none of my friends are available to do anything I usually go out to my nearest craft store and pick up some new materials for making some jewelry and then one of my favorite things to do ever is window shop. By no means do I have the money to go out and fully shop but I love going to places by myself and looking around and getting inspiration for everything. I am such an old soul and sometimes act like an old lady to my friends, but I love going into home decor stores and looking at all of their displays and merchandise and coming up with different ideas on how to recreate them. That is where my mom and I are twins. She is an interior decorator and spends most of her time re purposing furniture and designing so I love watching her work her magic for someones home and getting inspiration from her as well. 

Basically what I am saying is that if you have some free time this weekend whether it be Saturday or Sunday, take some time for yourself and do things you love to do. Spend a little extra time in the morning getting ready and maybe treating yourself to a coffee and a muffin at your local cafe while reading the paper. I find that if I am constantly doing things that I love to do and that make me happy I am a happier person all around. If I wake up late and sit around all morning watching TV and sitting on my phone I don't feel good at all. To some people who work all week long, lounging around and sleeping in is most likely on your agenda and I do not blame you I would be the same exact way! By no means am I saying you have to get fully ready and you have to be outside the entire day. That is just what I love to do on my Saturdays (: Starting my day off with a healthy plentiful breakfast and going out to window shop and crafting is what I love to do on my weekends and I hope that all you have an amazing and relaxing weekend. Take time for yourself because that is extremely important to maintain a healthy lifestyle. Sleep is actually one of the most important aspects to staying balanced and healthy so by all means sleep in and get your beauty sleep! (; Love all of you and see you very soon with another post!

What are you thankful for?

Gratitude.

Today's post is quite random, but something I felt the need to share with all of you. As some of you may know from some of my previous posts, I have been struggling with extreme anxiety and depression for awhile now. I was not happy with the path my life was taking mentally and physically. When I decided to change my lifestyle and start becoming a healthier person, I decided at the same time to really put everything I have into finding my inner happiness because at the end of the day, the way you look on the outside does not matter if you are not happy on the inside. True beauty is when someone is happy with themselves because they emit that to everyone around them and you can tell when someone is happy. 

Of course I have been "happy" in the past when I spent time with my friends and we laughed and when I am with my family I am "happy", but something was missing. I wasn't and still am not "happy" with myself. If we don't love our selves how are we going to love anyone else? This is still a work in progress for me and since I have started to lose weight and change things around in my life it made me more of an open book I guess you could say. I was always one to talk about my feelings with my friends and what not, but I never talked about how I wasn't happy with myself because I figured I would get weird looks etc. When I decided to be truthful with myself and not make up anymore excuses for myself it made me more open to so many more things. I was in a vulneraeble state and was out of my comfort zone trying something new and changing the way my everyday life was. If you know me personally you can agree with me when I say I do not do change well. I absolutely hate change and stepping out of my comfort zone. When I started to get serious about losing weight and changing my life it made me so much more open to change because I realized that when I changed my eating habits and changed certain things in my life good things came from it! So that's when I decided to remove certain people from my life which was really one of the best things I could have done, as well as painting my room and re decorating my room which seems small to some people but I couldn't even switch bedding without feeling uncomfortable. 

The reason behind this post was because I have been thinking a lot lately about what my next step is going to be in life. I am still trying to figure out my place in this world and what I want to make of my life. I so many dreams and aspirations that I want to achieve in my life and there is no one stopping me but myself. I wouldn't recognize myself one year ago if she came up to me and hit me in the face (okay weird anology) anyway you guys get what I am saying. I feel like I am a completely different person in a good way. I am more open to change now, and am excited to see what the future holds for me. 

Inner happiness is one thing that I am still trying to find though. When I look at myself in the mirror I see a completely different person physically looking back at me, but I still see pain in my eyes. Even though I have changed some things about my life and have gotten better at certain aspects there is still so much more that needs adjusting in order for me to feel complete happiness. 

I don't think that people really think about the little things in life. Gratitude. I read a blog post awhile back from this guy who lives in Austin Texas all about gratitude. I always knew what the word meant but I never used it in my own vocabulary. There may be so many bigger things in life that seem more important such as money being the number one, having a significant other, or having the best job etc. But do we really pay attention to the little things in life that we never notice make us happy? I created a list to share with you all some of the things that I never stopped to notice how happy these things make me. After making this list, I have a greater admiration and outlook on life. If everyone made a list and focused on these things along with everything else that made them happy on a day to day basis and not focus on what they are not happy about everyone would be so much more enjoyable and so much more fulfulled.

This is a line from Alex's post about gratitude that I loved and it has stuck with me. “Every good and perfect gift” is already yours; it’s only awaiting your recognition.

Gratitude List

The still of early morning when no one else is awake in the world

The smell of freshly brewed coffee

Finding that last cold water bottle in the refridgerator

When there is that one square in your waffle filled with the most butter and syrup

The unexpected hugs from parents or loved ones

Finding that perfect quote that resinates with exactly what you are going through

Trying a piece of clothing on that you love and having it fit perfectly

Finding out that piece of clothing is actually 50% off (my favorite)

Seeing an older couple holding hands

Seeing people do something good for someone else

Climbing into your freshly washed and perfectly made bed at night when you need sleep

Falling asleep to your favorite song

A nice hot bubble bath with a book

Finishing a project you have been working on forever

Looking at the scale and seeing all of your hard work pay off (;

Sweating profusely after a long workout

A compliment on your outfit

Witnessing little kids find out something exciting

Watching my niece expierence everything in life and seeing her innocence

The perfect bowl of queso

Waking up and realizing it's Saturday

The groceries in the car staying upright on the way home

When your feet hit the cold floor in the morning

Seeing your waiter approach your table with your food

That mouth watering feeling when your food is set down on the table

Turning your car on, and your favorite song is playing on the radio

Laughing uncontrolably you start crying (guilty)

The sound of crashing waves

The smell of corn dogs and cotton candy at a fair or the Rodeo

The butterflies in your stomach when you see your crush

The anticipation for exciting plans you have coming up

Laying in bed at night thinking about everything in the world

Witnessing God's magic and prayer working

How my niece's nose and cheeks get red when it's cold outside

The perfect combination of salsa to chip so it doesn't spill

Frito's on your chili

Sliding back and forth in the bath tub to get the perfect ratio of hot to cold water

Going to bed at night knowing everything on your to-do list is crossed off

Cooking a meal from scratch

When your plugged up nostril randomly decides to open back up

Road trips 

Loud music

Freedom, love and faith

These are just some of them that I could think of and maybe a few from Alex's post that I think were made for me! I didn't know that someone else noticed the same things I notice! It is so important for everyone to stop and realize these things in life that not a lot of people think about. I am sure all if not one of you guys have either noticed or done one of the things I mentiioned before, but I wonder how many you guys have stopped and realized how happy those things made you feel. The next time something happens where you get a little smile on your face stop and take it all in. Relish in the beauty of life and what it has waiting for all of us. I cannot wait to go out and see the world and add more and more to this list. I also want to know what some of yours! Here at the end I am going to add in some pictures of things that make me happy. Find a picture and set it as your phone background so you are constantly thinking about what makes you happy. Another amazing idea that I saw on a documentary one time was a gratitude rock. It might sound silly at first but it can really make a difference. Just find a smooth rock anywhere, clean it and write "Gratitude" on it. Put it in your pants pocket, your purse or your car, just put it somewhere where you will find it throughout the day. Everytime you find it or touch it, stop and give thanks for what makes you happy and the things or people that you love. Throughout the day things can get hetic and people can forget about the important things in life and let things like their job, money and stress overcome them and get in the way. 

Facetiming with my niece and getting her ready for bed

Unexpected heartfelt Valentines Day card from my cousin at college <3 span="">

Fresh Flowers <3 span="">

Fresh Fruit!

Imersing myself in Tumblr for hours...

John Mayer's music 24/7

Mumford and Sons

MACARONS <3 span="">

Lastly, Smiling (: 

1 year. 52 weeks. 365 days.

 

Wow. One year ago today I made the best decision of my entire life. One year ago today exactly I started my "diet" and lifestyle change. I made the decision to change my life for the better and get my life in order. This time last year I went to a bridal shower and it was the first day I had started my diet and had told everyone what I was doing. You can already guess the amount of yummy food there was there...I remember sitting off the side trying so hard not to eat any of the food. I held out for the entire party without eating any of the fattening finger sandwiches and the cupcakes (yes I said cupcakes...). I was so proud of myself, and I was still so new to the entire thing that I didn't know that I probably could have had some of the food just not the cupcakes but I was so determined and I wanted everyone at the party to take me seriously. 

Anyway, this day last year was one of the best days of my life because if I hadn't decided to make the executive decision to change my life then I wouldn't be where I am today. I could not have done any of this if it wasn't for the support from my family. They have been there from Day 1 through it all and I wouldn't take any of it back. It has been the hardest yet most rewarding experiences of my life and I am so glad that I decided to track this journey with all of you. Woo! Getting emotion writing this out, but I am so excited to see how the future plays out and how much more of a change will come with more weight loss. I am almost to my final goal and I can see the light at the end of the tunnel! 

I just wanted to mark this special moment with all of you because you guys are so important to me and because of you all, I am more motivated than ever! We are like a giant support group for each other and I hope that my success and encouragement will help at least one person reading this so they can make the same decision I made to become healthy. 

THANK YOU TO EVERYONE, and stay tuned for so many more exciting posts and milestones. 

Take a Look Into My Jewelry Bag

Jewelry is a girls best friend, right? Although the original phrase involves diamonds, I don't own any of those unfortunately. BUT I do love to accessorize as I would assume most females do. It adds that extra touch to any outfit! I have always been fascinated with different types of jewelry and how there is so much to choose from, but just recently I have seem to accumulate some fun pieces that I wear on a day to day basis that make my outfit feel complete. 

In previous posts I talked about how I love to craft. It's not just a hobby for me, I could seriously spend twelve hours a day crafting and creating different objects etc. About a year ago I really got into making my own headbands and some rings here and there. Recently I really took on the challenge to create some real bohemian jewelry because I could not find the kind of necklaces and rings I wanted without spending a load of money! So I went to my handy dandy Michael's craft store and picked up some different pieces. These are by no means perfect, I still have a lot of learning to do about the jewelry making process but I think I find my new niche! 

I am obsessed with Turquoise for all of the seasons, but especially spring/summer.  I can literally wear Turquoise anything, from jewelry to clothing to shoes. Especially in the jewelry department, where I have to have every single Turquoise piece I come across. I am really into long layered bohemian necklaces, here are some examples from my tumblr page of what I love and what I will hope to recreate soon!

Sigh...I want all of it! As you can tell by the pictures my obsession with turquoise. I love layering all types of different necklaces and also mixing metals such as gold, silver and rose gold. Here are some pictures of my favorite pieces I have in my current collection. This is by no means my entire collection just some of the ones I am wearing today.

 This is the "Sincerity" ring from Pandora. I couldn't get a good picture

of mine, but here is one off the Internet. This is one of my most prized

possessions because I got it as a birthday present almost two years ago

and I wear it no matter what every single day. My sister and mom have it as well

because the stone in the center is "Mother of Pearl" so it is a constant reminder of 

how close we all are. 

 On the opposite side of the spectrum price wise, this is one of my 

favorite watches and one of my staples in my jewelry collection and it cost

only $5 on EBay! Can you believe that?! Neither could I! I have been obsessed with

maps for as long as I can remember and I saw a similar one here at Urban Outfitters

for almost $40 and I knew I could find on cheaper! It also screams "Boho" to me which 

describes me perfectly. See, you don't have to spend a fortune to look good (;

 This gorgeous piece is from probably my favorite store of all time

Cost Plus World Market. If you have never been there before you need

to minimize (not close out) my blog and go there now! They have some

of the most interesting and unique pieces from all around the world for a 

fraction of the price. Everything from accessories, home decor, to international

food and wine. Ah, I could seriously live there. Plus I only got this necklace for 

$8 on sale (SCORE!)

Now getting into some of the jewelry that I created myself. As I have talked about many times before, a way that I can relax and unwind is to craft and make jewelry. There is something

about grabbing a hot cup of coffee (maybe a macron..he he) and diving right into

crafting and creating. I am my mothers daughter when it comes to all things

DIY and home decor. If you haven't figured it out by now, I am obsessed with anything turquoise

so obviously that is where my eyes go to first when picking out jewelry to make. 

This necklace below is one of my proudest pieces even though it is really simple. I love

how simple it is. Everything is from Michael's, they have an amazing jewelry making section.

Get creative and I always say that something one of kind that no body else has

is so much better! 

This necklace is really simple, but one of the ones I am most proud of. 

Everything is from Michael's, they have an amazing

jewelry making section. Get creative and I always say that 

something one of kind that no body else has

is so much better! 

Another turquoise piece...now I am kind of embarrassed he he! I just saw this charm

in a local craft store and immediately fell in love and somehow it ended up in my car

and then in my house! It already came with a jump ring on the top and I simply

attached it to some chain and BOOM there you go! It adds a little something to one of outfits.

Ex:

I recently went on a girls trip to Austin, TX and this was one

of my outfits for a night we went out! Love the pop of the turquoise against all the black.

Also I haven't posted a lot about fashion but I am in love with fashion and really creative

when picking out outfits. My style is constantly changing and I am always trying out new things!

This a picture I adore mostly because of the jewelry and my freshly done nails, but

also because of my moms desk <3 cannot="" color="" enough="" fantastic="" font="" get="" i="" is="" it="" of="" the="">

Anyway back to the jewelry, The only piece that I made is the fabulous ring.

I have seen so many rings similar to this on tumblr and everywhere else but did not

want to pay a fortune for one so I made one myself! I simply found a necklace at

Michael's (local craft store) that had this rock crystal pendant for only $1 on sale! I took

the crystal off and bought a packet of adjustable rings with a flat top from another craft

store and super glued the crystal on top! So easy and total cost me $4! The pack also came

with multiple rings so I can create so many more rings in the future! The bracelet if you are 

wondering with the turquoise (okay last one I promise...) stone is thrifted and cost me

a whopping $1.99 (YES!) and another one of the thicker silver bangles is from the same

thrift store for $0.99 and the rest are from one of my friends that did not want them anymore.

Well there is a little peek into my jewelry collection and some of the pieces you will find me wearing all the time. I hope you guys enjoyed this different type of post but I hope to do so many more like this in the future. I will definitely be doing a lot more fashion and beauty videos very soon because that is was I love the most! Along with home decor and DIY! Love you guys, and comment down below some of your favorite places to shop for jewelry! 

Updates and Where have I been?!

Hello everyone! I am so sorry for the lack of posts, I have not been feeling creative lately about blogging but I have some exciting things coming soon!

To update on where I have been on my weight loss and what progress I have made. I am officially down to 190 pounds! I still cannot believe that I weigh  less than 200 let alone 190! I have been slacking lately on my diet and excercise but I will not let myself slip anymore and I am ready to take control of my weight loss once again. I wanted to show all of you that are still reading my blog that I am not perfect and that weight loss is a journey within itself. You are going to go over bumps in the road, some may be small some large but you can get through whatever life throws your way. Nothing significant has happened for me to feel discouraged and slack off, but I have just been craving fatty foods and have been extra lazy lately which stops now. Every time you feel like you are slowly falling off the wagon on your weight loss journey, it is never too late to get back on track. If you have a couple of days where you do not exercise and you don't eat the best foods that is okay, just remember to pull it back together. No one is perfect, and loosing weight and getting healthy is hard! 

This post is going to be a short one but I wanted to quickly update you all and let you know that I am still alive and still going to be posting! I have a post coming tomorrow that you all will hopefully love and get ready for so much more! Recipes, exercise tips and tutorials, as well as some DIY's, fashion, beauty and lifestyle posts because there is so much more to me than losing weight. Hope you all are still there and still reading!

Love you all
xoxo