So, I Made Homemade Mayo....

I admit that I've fallen off significantly from my little health and fitness kick I was on last year. After feeling like a lazy slob and with a renewed desire for bikini-worthy abs, I'm slowly but surely easing back into it. To start, I need to get back into eating healthier. That doesn't mean I'm gonna become a vegan or anything (because lord knows I love a good sausage, egg and cheese breakfast sandwich) but the least I can do is start making healthier choices in my diet.

I was over on a website/blog called 100 Days of Real food started by a mom who took the challenge with her family to cut out processed foods for 100 days. That's a bit much for me and I know I couldn't just jump into it. They also have a 10 day challenge which I may start at a later date. For now, the idea of slowly cutting out processed foods appealed to me.

My homemade mayo. I think it looks pretty good.

I've never been one to read labels but you'd be surprised at all the extra crap in everyday food. Things like mayonnaise for example. Anyway, long story short I was inspired to try to make my own mayonnaise and the results were pretty good. This is the recipe I used ---> click here.

I only had two real issues with my results. At first it came out more like a creamy salad dressing than a mayo but after being in the fridge a couple of nights the consistency is more like real mayonnaise. I also don't care for the olive oil taste. It's a bit strong for me so next time I'll either add a bit less or use a different type of oil (some have suggested grape seed.) Try it for yourself and enjoy!

And again....yum!

Date Smoothie Recipe

So I'm still experimenting with different flavors of smoothies so I'm not just alternating between the same two recipes ALL the time. I recently bought some dates from Trader Joe's because I love them and wanted to see what they might taste like in a smoothie. I looked up some recipes online and pretty much took bits and pieces from each to come up with my own recipe. I didn't make too much because I didn't want to waste it in case I didn't like it so feel free to alter the amount of ingredients used to yield more servings.

                         

-Pitted dates, chopped ( I didn't count or measure them so I really have no idea how many, sorry)
-1/2 cup of unsweetened vanilla coconut milk ( I may use more in the future)
-2 Tbsp of vanilla coconut milk yogurt (I added this mostly just to thicken it up a bit)

                         

Blend it together and boom! There you have it. My one issue is that there was still some date chunks in the blender that I just couldn't get rid of. Maybe I didn't chop the dates up enough? I'm not really sure what happened but for the most part everything blended together nicely. My taste buds are VERY happy.

Stuff I Like: Wholesome Sweeteners

To be more specific, organic blue agave vanilla flavored syrup by the company Wholesome Sweeteners. I found this product while I was browsing the aisles of Whole Foods yet again. I was actually looking for honey and more coconut manna but I happened to see the line of agave syrups and sweeteners. Now I've never tasted agave anything before so I wasn't sure about this purchase but it was definitely the right decision.

As soon as I smelled it, I knew I did the right thing because it smells SO good. Then of course I had to taste a little drop (just on my finger because I didn't want to just pour it in food without knowing how it would be). Heaven. I seriously want to eat this stuff by the spoonful it's so good. I may never buy regular sugar or honey again. It's that deep. The best part is that it's healthy. According to the label it's "organic, low glycemic, gluten free" AND it's 25% sweeter than sugar. I'm in love. You MUST try this stuff if you haven't already.

Stuff I Like: Red Jacket Juices

The purpose of this post is to pimp out yet another healthy drink I discovered at Whole Foods. Gotta love that place. Admittedly I haven't done much research but from what I understand, Red Jacket makes a line of apple juices mixed with other fruits. This is not to be confused with a regular mixed fruit drink. The primary component is apples. I haven't tried all of them but the ones I have tried I really like. My favorites are the strawberry apple juice and raspberry apple juice. The best part is that this drink is healthy and really tasty. And according to the label the only ingredients are apples, strawberries (or another fruit) and vitamin C. 

I'm sure they sell these at places other than Whole Foods but honestly I haven't bothered to look. Give them a try and enjoy!