Peanut Butter Smoothie

If you want a smoothie with more than just fruit/water/leafy greens, try this Peanut Butter Smoothie. The peanut butter and hemp seeds are protein sources, which keep you feeling full longer than a fruit smoothie. At over 400 calories, yes, it could be a meal replacement..

I did add spinach into mine, but the greens are totally optional. Taste your smoothie without the greens first and see how you like it.

Peanut Butter Smoothie
- 3 frozen bananas
- 1 tablespoon creamy peanut butter
- 1 teaspoon to 1 tablespoon agave
- 2 cups unsweetened plain almond milk
-  a few dashes of powdered cinnamon
- 1 tablespoon hemp seeds (optional)
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract (optional, if you use plain almond milk. Not necessary if you use
vanilla non-dairy milk)
- 2 cups leafy greens (optional)

Blend!

For the frozen bananas, there's two options:
1. Peel and slice ripe bananas, then put them in the freezer inside freezer safe plastic baggies.
2. Put ripe bananas in the freezer. Run them under hot water to peel the skins. Break bananas in half. Then put inside your blender.

And if you're having chocolate cravings, add 2-3 tablespoons of cocoa powder. Then you've got a "Reese's Cup Smoothie."

Coming soon: Peanut Butter Smoothie's crazy rich cousin: Tahini Smoothie. :-)


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Peanut Butter Smoothie

Clementine Smoothie

Hi Everyone!

Here's a simple green smoothie for the holidays.
- 4 clementines
- 1 banana
- 2 tablespoons ginger
- 1 celery stalk
- 2 cups raw collard greens
- 1 teaspoon hemp oil
- water

Blend!

You can always add more of any fruit or greens, or even use another leafy green. If it's not sweet enough for you, add 1/2 of a peeled lemon and/or 1/2 cup pineapple chunks (the canned pineapple in its juice, not canned pineapple bathed in syrup). To replace hemp oil, use chia seeds, flax seeds, or coconut oil.

Let me know what you think.

Love,
Althea ◦

Clementine Smoothie

I love and approve of myself video

I apologize to my email subscribers. For some reason, the video didn't come through the RSS feed.
The video is on my blog. The direct link is:
http://theveganmochaangel.blogspot.com/2018/11/i-love-and-approve-of-myself.html

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I love and approve of myself video

I Love and Approve of Myself

Saying "I love and approve of myself" in the mirror is one of the hardest things I have ever done. I have been doing this for years. I've been more serious about it for the past six months. Some days I believe it. Some days, I'm like, ::eye-roll:: "whatever."

Why am I bringing this up? And why is self-love the cornerstone of my belief system? Because what we think of ourselves becomes the truth for us.

From You Can Heal Your Life by Louise Hay:
Some of the ways we don't love ourselves:
- We scold and criticize ourselves
- We mistreat our bodies with food, alcohol, and drugs
- We choose to believe we are unlovable
- We are afraid to charge a decent price for our services
- We procrastinate on things that would benefit us
- We live in chaos and disorder
- We create debt and burdens
- We attract lovers and mates who belittle us

If we deny our good in anyway, it is an act of not loving ourselves.

The clip below is less than three minutes long. It's Louise explaining the power of  saying, "I love and approve of myself." If it resonates with you, let me know.



Love,
Althea ◦

I Love and Approve of Myself

Why Can't I Eat Whatever I Want?

The not so long answer:

Again, you can absolutely eat whatever you want. You have free will. You may be one of lucky people who can do that and live to be 105 years old. I read about a brother who was over 100 and his secret to long life was drinking Jack Daniels everyday.

Good for him, I say.

For the rest of us, even those blessed with the genetics of longevity, pay a heavy price for eating whatever we want. In my family, it's been soul food. I have watched my relatives die from Alzheimer's, diabetes, obesity, and every cancer you can name.

If you're a subscriber to my blog, then you are already interested in health. You already know that food has the power to slowly kill, as well as the power to quickly heal the body. And that is why, if you want to live your best life, then eating whatever you want, whenever you want, wherever you want, is not the best choice.

Please know that you are not alone. It may seem that everyone else can eat what they want. That's not the case. I hear people's emotional battles with food almost everyday on my job, and in the emails from you all.

Eat what makes your body, mind, and spirit perform at optimal levels. And seek therapy if the emotional struggle is too much to handle alone.

Health is holistic. It's:
-good relationships with family and friends
-feeling good about your work
-restful sleep
-spiritual connection
-purpose
-living in alignment with your values
-lots of love, especially for yourself.

Focus on all of those things, rather than just the food you're eating.

Love,
Althea ◦

Why Can't I Eat Whatever I Want?

Food Changes: Keeping it Real

I got an email from someone who said. "Are you serious? That's not even enough food for me! (She's petite and weighs a buck fifty.) Are you really doing this?"

Yes and Yes.

Keeping it all the way real.....What's been the hardest part?

Cutting calories. Yikes. I had increased my calories originally because I was still hungry. My challenge was, well, challenging. I wanted to eat in a way that:
- doesn't leave me hungry
- doesn't leave me tired
- is not expensive
- doesn't have me in the kitchen three hours a day
- doesn't have me running to the grocery store every other day
- doesn't leave me bloated or constipated
- is vegetarian
- encourages weight loss
- is high in fiber
- doesn't trigger food sensitivities (like grains)
- has little, if any, processed food

Those are real challenges for a lot of people.

That sounds like raw food. The challenge with raw food is eating enough food to meet your caloric requirements. It also left me bloated and uncomfortable. Only two of my meals have cooked food in them. The rest of my day, including snacks are all raw vegan.

Rainbow Eating is as close as I've ever come to eating in a way that works for me. Although I've had:

Insane SALT cravings. I've spent my adult life battling chocolate cravings. Once I started the food plan I also started taking calcium supplements three times a day. Years ago, on a vegan mailing list, I read a suggestion from Elaine Rice-Fells to take calcium for chocolate cravings. I began eating calcium rich foods like sesame seeds. The cravings went away, but I didn't stick to the plan. Fast forward to now, I remembered what Elaine said. It's easier to take Calcium Magnesium Citrate supplements. Damn if it didn't work. Chocolate is a non-issue now.

Chocolate got replaced by salt. All I crave is chips and actual sea salt. I took it as a sign of mineral deficiency which is why I ordered Ancient Minerals from Body Ecology. And that's not an advertisement. I haven't taken them yet, so I don't know if they work. I'm just a fan of the philosophy of Body Ecology, which is a healthy and balanced inner ecology, especially the large intestine. (https://bodyecology.com/body-ecology-overview)

The Upside

- ZERO PMS. I mean 000000. Nothing. Nada. No chocolate cravings. No mood swings. No nothing. And that is a ginormous big deal.
- No cramping during my menstrual cycle. Again, huge plus.
- Evenness in my mood.

Next time: My long answer to the question: "How come I can't just eat whatever I want?"
My short answer: "You grown. You can eat whatever you want. You do you."
My long answer: "Well............."

Love,
Althea
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Food Changes: Keeping it Real

Quick Update

Sorry I have been gone for a moment. I have been recovering from a concussion. I hit my head at work on, believe it or not, the metal frame of a chest press machine I was about to clean. I hit myself square on the forehead. I instantly knew I was hurt. 

Long story short, I was out of work for two weeks. I'd had a concussion before in a car accident in 2011. Because it was a car accident I understood my whole body pain. This time, the pain, fatigue, and nausea were a complete surprise, which I underestimated. 

A concussion is super serious. My immediate symptoms were confusion, shock, dizziness, and I just didn't feel like myself. If you and anyone you know have these symptoms after hitting their head or falling, go straight to the ER to get a CT scan. I am a lot better now, and continuing to move forward with my goals. 

On to better news:

I have paid off both of my store charge cards. Yea!

And I have lost 9 pounds. Yea again!

I came up with this idea of Rainbow Eating. I was inspired by Ann Wigmore who said that disease is the result of toxemia and deficiency. I thought, why not eat all of the colors of the rainbow, plus white, brown, and black to get more nutrients in my body? Even with this plan, I still don't get every mineral and vitamin needed daily just through food alone. I added supplements to reach 95% of my needed daily nutrients. I tweaked the food plan I shared with you all on September 9. I also cut back on the calories for weight loss purposes.

Rainbow Eating: My Plan

Sunday Breakfast through Saturday Breakfast/Lunch

I eat what I want Saturday lunch and/or dinner 

Breakfast

-water with Emergen-C

-1 apple, 1/2 lemon, 3 c. of any green leafy vegetable, 1/2 c. pineapple, fresh ginger, water

-1/4 cup lentils, 2 eggs, 1 cup cauliflower, 1 tomato, 2 TBSP avocado, cilantro 

Morning Snack

-1 carrot, 1 banana, 2-3 clementines

Lunch

- 1/2 cup of black beans OR 1/4 cup lentils, 1 cup any green vegetable, 1 tomato, 2 TBSP avocado, cilantro 

Afternoon Snack

-Smoothie: Mixed berries (blueberries, raspberries, strawberries) and/or blackberries, 3 c. leafy green vegetable, 1 banana, water 

Dinner

-1/2 cup soaked gluten free oatmeal, 3/4 cup unsweetened almond milk, 1/2 banana, 1 apple, 1 small box raisins.

Supplements: women's multivitamin once a day, calcium magnesium citrate three times a day, acidophilus twice a day, Ancient Minerals (on order)

TOTAL: 1648-1660 calories

The colors:

white: cauliflower

yellow: pineapple, banana, lemon, ginger, eggs

orange: carrots, clementines

red: apple, raspberries, strawberries, tomatoes

green: spinach, kale, broccoli, collards, green beans, etc (I interchange them)

blue: blueberries

brown: lentils

indigo/violet/black: blackberries, black beans, raisins

Feel free to change the foods to match the colors. For instance, other good orange foods are sweet potatoes and butternut squash. Let me know what you think and if you decide to eat the Rainbow way, also let me know how it's working for you.

love,

Althea

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Quick Update

Exercise Plan

First, I have worked at the same gym for nearly 11 years. Do not waste your money on a gym membership. You can workout at home and outside. My plan is simply to move my body everyday.

The food is far more important in weight loss. Exercise is good for a hundred things, but weight loss is not one them. Most say weight loss is 80% food, 20% exercise, or 90% food and 10% exercise.
Weight loss is 100% eating less calories than you burn. Exercise helps you burn more calories and shape your body.

If you are a woman, you need to lift weights. Dumbbells, barbells, kettlebells, or your own body weight, whatever works for you. And not pink 2 pound dumbbells!! Humans lose 10% of muscle mass per decade. Women do not have enough testosterone to get bulky. If you see a woman with man-esque bodybuilder muscles, she is taking supplements. Start at once a week. Build up to twice or three times a week.

Here is what I do via YouTube.

These first three are playlists I created myself. My YouTube channel is private, so only someone with the link can see it.

My favorite dance videos:

https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLgST2BDAsNFc0mTXKje-wsfbMI9DUBfeV

Another favorite dance videos: 

https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLgST2BDAsNFflCXb5-H90DYXD08KnsCJG

Yoga with weights:
https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLgST2BDAsNFeqHY7LW07ac4j_uwPTqEaJ

The rest of these are my favorite dance/fitness/cardio/yoga/movement YouTube channels:

Fit Body by Ashley. A badass dance teacher. https://www.youtube.com/user/fitbodybyashley

Yogea Yoga. The most eclectic yoga ever. https://www.youtube.com/user/YogeaArtFlowYoga

The Fitness Marshall. Richard Simmons on steroids. You'll laugh while you dance.

 https://www.youtube.com/user/TheFitnessMarshall

Popsugar Fitness. Fitness for women. Lift those weights!! https://www.youtube.com/user/popsugartvfit

Fitness Blender. A husband and wife team here to whip you into shape. Male and female friendly. https://www.youtube.com/user/FitnessBlender

Leilah Issac Bellydance. https://www.youtube.com/user/liloliloish 

BollyX. Indian dance fitness. https://www.youtube.com/user/BOLLYXFITNESS

Movement Parallels Life. Eclectic movement. I love this guy.
https://www.youtube.com/user/kjmilad

Start here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8H9KbBM7FmI&list=PLeElSzqPKgixSyfXWL_lYkuNFX6rpyfBA
And here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IUnqoWVbvmg&list=PLeElSzqPKgiwvf3tlCpP7dAMB9A3BnVYA

All of these channels are appropriate for beginners. Feel free add these channels to your YouTube playlist.Also share your favorite fitness channel with me and I'll share with the other subscribers.

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Exercise Plan

Vegetarian Meal Plan

Quick correction to my last post. 

Pay off all consumer debt by October 2020. (I'd wrote 2019.)

Pay back all people I owe money by March 2021. (I'd wrote 2020.)

If you want to lose weight, learn what your Basal Metabolic Rate (BMR) is. The BMR is how many calories you burn if you laid in bed for 24 hours without moving. Decide how many pounds a week you'd like to lose: 0.5, 1, 1.5, or 2. Determine your activity level: sedentary, lightly active, moderately active, or highly active. Enter all that information into a food journal you trust. 

My recommendation is Cronometer. (www.cronometer.com) It's free. Although you can upgrade for $5.00 a month, don't do it. The free version does the trick. You'll see if you are hitting all of your vitamin and minerals each day. It'll ask for basic information about you. From there, it'll give you a daily calorie recommendation. For me to lose 1 pound a week, it recommended 1661 calories a day, which left me hungry. I chose around 1800 calories a day.

I'm not getting enough fat according to Cronometer, but I feel good about it. I'm hitting 96% of nutrients. That's only because I take a women's multivitamin.  

My Plan

Sunday Lunch through Saturday Breakfast/Lunch

I eat what I want Saturday dinner and Sunday breakfast.

Breakfast

-Lemon water

-1/4 cup lentils, 2 eggs, 1 tomato, 1 oz cucumber, 2 TBSP avocado, cilantro (423.25 cal)

Morning Snack

-2 apples (196.08 cal)

-Green smoothie: 1 apple, 1 banana, 1/2 lemon, 3 cups greens (any leafy green), 1 tsp chia seeds (231.86 cal)

Lunch

- 1/2 cup chickpeas, 1/2 cup lentils, 1 tomato, 1 oz cucumber, 2 TBSP avocado, cilantro (340.11 cal)

Afternoon Snack

-Green smoothie: 1 banana, 1 cup mixed berries, 2.5 cup greens, 1 tsp honey (200.02 cal)

Dinner

-Sweet or white potato, 1/4 cup lentils, 1 tomato, 1 oz cucumber, 1 TBSP avocado (373.17 cal)

TOTAL: 1764.49

Because it's a template, I can cut and paste. For instance, instead of a green smoothie for my afternoon snack, I'll have 2 eggs and 2 carrots, which is approximately 230 calories. 

For dinner, if I'd rather keep it raw vegan, I'll have a smoothie of 2 bananas, 2 cups berries, 1 TBSP chia seed, and 1 TBSP avocado which is approximately 390 calories.

And today, I had toast with my breakfast, so I skipped my morning snack. This way I'm not eating the exact same thing everyday, which can get boring. I suggest people learn how to count calories and understand macronutrients.

And yes, for now, I'm eating eggs, which makes me a vegetarian, not a vegan. Any recipe I post here will be vegan.

It took me MONTHS to figure this out. I wanted a plan that was super easy, quick, doable, flexible, and didn't leave me starving. Frankly, I needed more protein than I realized. That's where the lentils come in. Lentils are my new favorite food. They are easy to cook. I have some super yummy variations on simple boiled lentils, which I'll share soon.

If you have questions, email me at mochaangels@aol.com. Next up, I'll share my exercise plan.

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Vegetarian Meal Plan

Self Love + Simplicity

I’m still alive ya’ll 😊. Thank you to everyone who wrote me to ask how I was doing and if I’d ever blog again. I haven’t written anything since Prince died in April 2016. The past five years have been quite challenging, on every level. Grief is a real thing. I totally fell off. I have fought hard to get back to Althea. As I blog, I’ll share my experiences.

The biggest two lessons I learned from that time are 1) love yourself and life flows much smoother, and 2) a simple life leads to clarity, self-knowledge, and purpose.

My biggest challenge is that I distract myself with food and over-spending. If I’m emotionally unbalanced, angry, frustrated, unhappy, etc., I am going to eat or spend money. I’ve been so out of whack that I didn’t care what I was eating. That has led me to be 60 pounds overweight. I have lost weight, but I haven’t been consistent. I’m a stress-eater. No stress, no overeating. Stress = overeating. My biggest expenditure is food. Wegman’s grocery is my second home.

I am healing these dual distractions at the same time. They are not different. They are same. They are different manifestations of a mind that searches for distraction. With all the work I have done on me, I realized I wasn’t loving myself. I wasn’t paying attention. I can’t spend nor eat my way into the life I want to live.

I have certain goals that I want to share with you all, which will help keep me on task. I’ll get more specific later.

HEALTH

·         Sixty pound weight loss by March 7, 2019 (my birthday)

     

HOUSE/MONEY

·         Declutter my apartment. DONE!

·         Create an emergency fund. DONE!

·         Save $100 a month until I reach my goal number through October 2019.

·         Create a shopping ban.

·         Pay off all consumer debt by October 2020.

·         Pay back all people I owe money by March 2021.

·         Save six months’ worth of salary (not sure how long that takes.)

CAREER

·         Start Mocha Angels Yoga and Massage YouTube Channel by March 7, 2019.

·         Resume daily Mocha Angel messages on Facebook and Twitter.

KIDS

·         Clinically document massage and energy work treatments on my kids to track their progress.

(In case you missed it on Facebook, I did manage to graduate from massage therapy school. I graduated in July. I’ll be a licensed massage therapist by October/November. 😊)

I’ll blog at least twice a week. On the 1^st of every month, I’ll report my progress toward my goals.

I’m learning to love me. I have cared for and served others personally and professionally for decades. At 46, I’m finally taking care of me.

Also, I am retiring from doing intuitive readings. If you’d like a reading from me, this is the moment to get it. I’m removing the PayPal buttons from my website on September 15.

Thank you for reading. I’m excited about this next phase in my life.

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Self Love + Simplicity