The Evolution of Dee & Updates!

Hello my friends! Let me just start off my saying how much I love you all for sticking with me through this journey and watching me change physically and mentally and supporting me through everything. I have gotten an overwhelming amount of support from my friends and family that keep me going day to day. It absolutely warms my heart to hear my peers talk about how proud they are of me and how much of an inspiration I am. I never really stop and really think about all that I have accomplished and I get reminded every time someone says something about how good I look or how proud they are of me. I don't want to sound braggy or like I am bragging because I am the last person that likes a lot of attention on themselves but I just wanted to share how blessed I am and actually how proud I am of myself for sticking to something for the first time and following through with losing weight!

Anyway you may be asking what is this "Evolution of Dee" that you saw in the title? Well I haven't posted an updated picture of me in a long time, actually I don't think I have posted a full length picture of myself besides my before pictures! Late one night I couldn't sleep so I decided to try my best to make a picture collage of pictures of me throughout this journey and so you can see how much my body has changed while losing weight. It's so crazy to look at myself in the beginning of this journey and to now look at myself today because I can't even recognize myself in that first picture. I have people all the time pass by me and then stop and turn around and do a double take because they didn't recognize who I was! So enough of the rambling here is the "Evolution of Dee" up until this point, I still have awhile more to go (;

AH this is so crazy! I am so excited to continue on this journey and to hopefully have more professional pictures of me coming soon, sorry about the iPhone pics! Thank you to everyone who has been there to support me and this blog because this was honestly the best decision I have ever made and it is never too late to change your life. I NEVER thought that I could lose this amount of weight ever and I surprised myself and and now know that the quote "You can accomplish anything you set your mind to" is completely true. There is no one or nothing stopping you but yourself, and you are capable of accomplishing anything your heart desires. I hope I can inspire some of you to do the same or to do something else you have always been wanting to do! I love all of you so much and thank you again for everything! I hope you guys aren't sick of me yet, because I am going to keep improving and keep posting on my blog and it can only go up from here! 

Updated Weight & Inches

Starting weight: 260 lbs

Current weight: 170 lbs

Starting pant size: 18

Current pant size: 6

Starting chest measurement (band on my bra): 46 inches

Current chest measurement: 36 inches

So that is 90 pounds gone, 6 pant sizes down, and 10 inches lost around my upper body...I haven't measured anything else but that is crazy, and AMAZING! Ah I still can't believe it! I hope you all enjoyed this updated post and I will back to share some of my favorite summer lemonade recipes, love you all!

Healthy Chocolate Brownie Recipe

Yes ladies and gents you heard it right. A healthy version of one of my favorite desserts, Chocolate Brownies! I am constantly searching for healthier versions of my favorite desserts because lets me honest here, I would rather eat sweets for breakfast lunch and dinner..thanks mom for my sweet tooth. I hope you all enjoy this recipe and I am so excited to share it with you all because they are that good! It also doesn't hurt that these babies are only 130 calories each! WHAT?!

Ingredients:

- 1 large egg

- 1 large egg white

- 1 cup PB2 (powdered peanut butter)

- 1/2 cup cocoa powder

- 1 tsp baking soda

- 1/4 tsp kosher salt

- 1/2 cup plus 1 tbsp water

- 1/2 cup raw honey

- 1 tsp vanilla extract

- 3/4 cup chocolate chips

- Cooking spray 

- 9 x 9 baking pan

What to do:

1. Pre-heat oven to 325 degrees F

2. Beat your one large egg and egg white in a small bowl with a whisk and set aside.

3. Grab a large bowl and combine your next 4 ingredients and stir well.

4. Add in your egg mixture and stir well.

5. Add in your next 3 ingredients and stir well.

6. Fold in your chocolate chips with a spatula.

7. Spray your pan and pour brownie mixture into your pan.

Cook for 30 minutes, or until a clean knife is inserted and comes out clean.

These are SO GOOD and they have the perfect texture, and that well known "soft spongy" feeling that my mom and I know all too well (hehe). 30 minutes was the perfect time for them to cook, and I don't know if you can see but the chocolate chips were the perfect added ingredients that made the brownies that much richer. As you can see from the ingredients, there is no processed sugar and instead of regular all purpose flour I used the PB2 which is commonly used as a peanut butter substitute because it is way more healthy than regular peanut butter. It comes in a powder form and all you have to do is add equal parts water to the powdered peanut butter and it turns into peanut butter and tastes exactly like the regular version! The coca powder in this recipe makes it have the rich chocolate taste and the raw honey gives it the sweetness it needs along with the chocolate chips. Also there is no oil used in this recipe which cuts out a lot of your unhealthy fats.

Nutrition Facts:

Above is the link to where I found this recipe including the nutrition facts! I hope you guys try this amazing flour less brownie recipe that I now love and will be making over and over. 

Trader Joe's Healthy Foods Haul

Hello everyone, I hope you all are enjoying this Spring season so far, I know where I live we have been having gorgeous weather! Today I decided to switch things up a bit grocery shopping wise since I usually go to H-E-B when I go grocery shopping. I have seen a lot of girls on other blogs talk about how much they love and how many yummy healthy foods they found at Trader Joe's and I had been there once or twice in the past, but didn't know they had a lot of healthier alternatives. I went today, and I got so many things that I absolutely fell in love with that are super healthy for you that you wouldn't think would be because they taste so good!

They have such a good selection of ready made salads so I decided to pick up this Harvest Salad with Grilled Chicken, Green Beans, Corn, Hard Boiled Egg, & White Cheddar Cheese on top of a Spring Lettuce Mix with a Creamy Dijon Dressing. I love any kind of salad and so I like to stock up on these for when I need to bring my lunch to work with me on the go. The key to keeping this a low calorie meal if you are focused on calories is to only eat half of the salad and make sure to not use the entire packet of dressing. Also you can cut calories even more by taking the cheese off of the salad if it is on top and not mixed in. 

Nutrition Facts for Salad

As you can see it tells you the serving size is 1/2 of the container, so only 200 calories including dressing is amazing! You are getting your protein from the grilled chicken and the hard boiled egg. 

The next thing I picked up was another salad, this one being a little different than a normal salad but still super good! The Vegetable & Grain Country Salad on a bed of Shredded Cabbage. It has chickpeas, Cherry Tomatoes, Cucumber, Roasted Red Bell Peppers, Balsamic Vinegar, Olive Oil, Fresh Dill, Cumin, & Salt and Pepper. Basically a salad packed full of Vitamins and fresh ingredients that you will not feel guilty about eating! 

The Nutrition Facts for 1/2 of the package

I picked up this amazing twist on one of my all time favorite dips, Spinach Dip! I cannot indulge in Spinach Dip as often as I would like to unfortunately because of how unhealthy it is, but I found this delicious healthier version at Trader Joe's that tastes exactly if not better than the cold version of Spinach Dip.

  It is made with Greek yogurt as the base which gives it the creamy texture and adds extra protein. It is also made with spinach of course and kale which sounds like it might taste nasty, because to be honest I am not that big of a fan of Kale but you cannot taste it at all! It also has 50 % less fat than regular spinach dip and 50 % less calories than regular spinach dip! HECK YES! 

The Nutrition Facts: 

Serving size for 2 Tbsp

I am always looking to snack on something quick and easy when I don't have time to cut up an apple or make a yogurt parfait etc so I was so excited when I read about these "Inner Peas" baked green bean snack and I was immediately interested because I love green beans and I was pleasantly surprised at how much these tasted exactly like a potato chip! They were delicious and have the same salty taste like a normal potato chip and they are baked not fried so they are way healthier for you. I am so glad I found these and am hooked. 

(if you couldn't tell I love them, the bag was opened as soon as I got in the car...hehe)

Nutrition Facts:

Serving size for 1 oz or 22 pieces

I next picked up this one Luna Bar in the "Chocolate Peppermint Stick" flavor and wow these are delicious! I am not a big protein bar person, I made a post about the only "bar" that I eat but I wanted something low in calorie and low in sugar that I could have during the work day to hold me over for dinner and these are perfect! I am in love with anything minty or peppermint and it had chocolate so I was sold and it is so good!

The Nutrition Facts for 1 bar

I saw another blogger rave about these and I tried other brands from H-E-B and thought they were disgusting and I even tried fresh Mango and did not like it at all. I kept hearing people rave about the Trader Joe frozen mango's and so I went for it and I couldn't believe that I liked them. I still have to get used to them and the taste but they are such a good alternative to a sugary unhealthy desert like ice cream etc. These are perfect for a late night snack because they are super sweet and although they have a high sugar content, it is a good source of sugar so don't be discouraged when you see the sugar. 

 I did not get the nutrition facts, but they are basically nothing to eat because the main and only ingredient is "Mango" which is super important that you make sure to get frozen fruit that the only ingredient is the actual fruit so you are not adding extra preservatives and added sugars etc.

I picked up some basic Organic Broccoli Slaw because this can be the base of a lot of different meals. My dad and I are huge Asian food lovers so I was thinking about making some sort of stir fry with this as well as some grilled shrimp and veggies, YUM!

Nutrition Facts: 

Serving Size for 1-1/4 cups

To go along with the broccoli slaw, and the stir fry dinner idea, I picked up the Trader Joe's Asian Style Spicy Peanut Vinaigrette which I thought would be delicious on top of the slaw, veggies and shrimp! As well as on top of a lot of different things!

Nutrition Facts for Serving Size of 2 Tbsp

Last but not least, I picked up one of my favorite things to make for dinner, Salmon Burgers! These are just the Trader Joe's Premium Salmon Burgers. I like to eat these without a bun but add grilled onions, bell peppers, lettuce with some ketchup and mustard with a side of fruit and you have a healthy delicious dinner. These are such a good way to add protein in your diet with a whopping 15 grams of protein per patty!

Nutrition Facts for 1 patty:

That is all I picked up today from Trader Joe's but am definitely going to be going back! It is such a different experience grocery shopping which can sometimes be stressful with screaming babies, loud noises etc. This is such a calm experience and they have a lot of really interesting foods there so if you have a Trader Joe's near you make sure to check it out and make sure to check some of these foods out and let me know how you like them! Sorry for the picture quality, I was so excited to share these items with you that I picked up today I just decided to do a quick post for you all! I hope you all enjoyed this post and I will be back with some exciting new posts about my style and some of my recent outfits that I have been wearing recently.