Lifestyle changes

Sorry I haven't blogged in awhile. Blogging and no one commenting/reading/subscribing gets kind of disheartening sometimes. Anywho, I just went on a vacation to Florida for 4 days and I feel like just being there in the beautiful weather really pulled me out of a rut. During winter I pretty much went into hibernation. I didn't want to go to school, I didn't want to get out of bed, I didn't want to work out, I just wanted to eat warm comfort foods like soup and stew and the like. Anything with fat, I wanted it. It was cold here in Michigan, very cold and we got a ton of snow this winter. I hated having soaked clothes, too-hot classrooms, being cold. But after going to some nice weather and hanging out with a friend of mine who is very active, smart and gets a lot done. She gets up early in the morning, around 7am, and she has 2 dogs and rabbits and an apt, school, a bf, and all kinds of other things to take care of, and she did. So I'm taking a page from her book: I'm on spring break right now, only for 2 more days, and I have been getting up around 7-8 every morning and staying up all day, no naps or anything. I have been getting a ton done, I've been to 2 doctors appointments, just having checkups and tying up lose ends, and I've cleaned my apartment and taken my bunnies to the vet for their annual checkup. And all before 2 or 3 in the afternoon! I caught up in Youtube vids, episodes of Dr. Oz and also The Biggest Loser that I had TiVo'd from the semester, I figure I'll do it now and then I won't have anything to distract me when school starts back up. I also go to bed earlier in the evening, around 11pm instead or 3 or 4 (or even 7:30am!) like i was doing before spring break. I also am going to be starting the Jillian Michaels 30-Day Shred on a recommendation from a friend, tonight. I have been eating a lot less too, for breakfast I had a whole wheat piece of toast with a tablespoon or 2 of all natural peanut butter and about a cup of orange juice. For lunch I had a bit of macaroni salad that I made (i cut the recipe in half and cut out all the sugar and replaced the may with low fat miracle whip) and a salad with olives. For dinner tonight I am making a spicy veggy stir fry with brown rice. I'll probably have a snack later on but no more eating past 8am except for water!

I hope I keep up with this! i want to lose a significant amount of weight before the next time I see my Floridian friends :)

Review: Glittersniffer Cosmetics

I would like to introduce my readers to some AWESOME makeup! I stumbled upon this company "Glittersniffer Cosmetics" while searching through blogs on this website, which led me to her etsy page. Lela, the owner and creator of everything Glittersniffer, is a wonderfully talented woman who has an eye for color, sparkle and quality. I placed an order with her at the beginning of February, and the colors that I purchased were as follows:

Pink Pistol: a hot pink pigment completely saturated with silver microglitter. It's gorgeous!
Playboy: a goldenrod yellow, almost the color of pollen on flowers, full of tons of silver glitter. It looks like powdered gold, only better!
Angry: A beautiful carbon black pigment, almost the color of coal, with pink/purple glitter throughout.

and with almost every order she adds a little something as a sample, which I received "Pink Stiletto's" A bright, almost metallic pink. Theres no glitter in this color, but when you swatch or wear the color you can see the as the light hits it, it glows.

I love all the colors that I received. They are all so different from anything I have ever owned. I showed my friends and even my family. I actually made my dad look at them haha.

As for the quality of the shadow, they all are amazing...
Here are some pictures of the swatches I made. I used Urban Decay Primer Potion under these, but they are awesome even without primer.

From left to right: Playboy, Pink Pistol, Angry, and Pink Stiletto's.

Sorry my camera isn't the greatest, I need to upgrade! The 3rd picture down actually is without primer. You can see that Angry (the black) is a bit less pigmented that way, but you can always pack on the color a bit more than I did! The one thing you have to worry about is fallout. But since these are pigments and not packed shadows, it is to be expected.

The pigments went on really easily and when I wiped them off (I use sensitive baby wipes to remove my makeup) they didn't scratch my lids like sometimes eye makeup with glitter can do.

How long does it last, you ask? Well it lasts just about all day!

I would definitely recommend buying from Lela at Glittersliffer.etsy.com. She has TONS of colors to choose from, even a new Avatar inspired pigment!

Play Boy, Pink Pistol, Angry, Pink Stiletto's. Then a combo of PP and PB.

Day 5/40 on Sugar Detox aka Lent

So far so good on giving up sugar. Since I gave up sugar (as well as aspartame and high fructose corn syrup) I don't drink any pop. Well on day 2 I started getting bad headaches on and off throughout the day. I'm assuming that it was a caffeine headache since I hadn't had any caffeine since I started. By day 3, however, it was fine again and I was completely fine and without cravings until about day 4. My boyfriend bought a slurpee and we were driving home from my parents house which is an hr and a half away. So I get myself an unsweetened iced tea which tasted horrible to my pallet. I like sweet! I was craving his slurpee so bad and was holding myself back from just reaching to the cup holder and saying "screw it" and taking a drink. But I didn't!

If I had to complain about something, it would be the lack of sugar-free options out there in the beverage world. If I am on the run or stop at a fast food place (filet o'fish on Friday!) there are literally no options besides water and unsweetened tea to drink. Even the waters that are "naturally flavored" like Propel have aspartame in them. I don't know about anyone else but I am still not too sure about aspartame. I don't trust food that is fake and made in laboratories.

But I have to admit, to all my readers, that I did NOT go all 5 days without sugar. Yesterday was Sunday and according to Google (I haven't been to church in awhile lol so I'm not sure if this is legit or not but I remember doing it as a child) you are allowed to have whatever it is you gave up on Sundays since it's considered a day of "feasting". Well heck, I wasn't going to argue with that, so I got a coke. One bottle of coke and it took me all day to drink it. It wasn't AMAZING like I thought it would be, after being off sugar for 5 days. But it did taste pretty good. I sipped on it throughout the day so I didn't go crazy eating all sugar in sight. HOWEVER, once I had that pop I noticed that it took me awhile to get to sleep last night. It made me think and realize that all the nights that I went without sugar I was sleeping almost as soon as my head hit the pillow, which is great.

So today, being Monday, I am back to being sugarless and this week I have to go 6 days without sugar before I even get to a Sunday, so we will see how it goes. I will keep you posted!

XOXO

Day 1/40 on Sugar Detox aka Lent

So some of you may be wondering how did day 1 go on the no-sugar "detox". It went pretty well. I found myself thinking about it all day long because I didn't want to make a mistake and also wondering what exactly I'm going to allow myself to have. I started off saying I wasn't going to drink any juice. But I decided that I'll allow myself a little juice as long as it is 100% juice. None of that fruit juice cocktail crap. I do this because let's face it, orange juice has vitamins, it probably my only source of Vitamin D in this horribly cold, cloudy state I live in. So day 1 down, no slip ups. I went to Tim Hortons to do some work and ordered a green tea, no sugar. Burned my tongue and part of my lip on it, but still felt good about my choice :) Stay Tuned!

Lent!

I am giving up sugar for lent. Yep, that's 40 DAYS without chocolate, candy, soda, sweetened tea, lattes, cookies, ice cream... the list goes on and on. Thankfully the bf gave me my box of Valentines Day chocolate on Friday instead of Sunday or else I'd have no time to eat it! It's going to be tough and I already warned my bf that I may not be very easy to live with for the first week of this, but I'm going to try my hardest. I am pretty scared of this task, it is a big one, and I am addicted to sugar. I have sugar at LEAST once a day, and not to mention all the things its in that we don't even think about. So for those of you would would like to follow my struggle, stay tuned. I have one day left to eat a bar of chocolate, drink some Arizona iced tea, drink some pop and then its cold turkey! WELL except for the fact that I'm not giving up fructose, so I can have fruit and things that are naturally sweet. I bough seedless red grapes that taste amazing and also some nice red raspberries. So wish me luck!

XOXO

Recipe of the Week #4!

Ok so I know that I'm doing awful keeping up with the "weekly" recipes, but bear with me :) hopefully this DELICIOUS soup recipe makes up for it! Healthy, yummy and great for those cold winter nights. Thats right, I'm talking about Broccoli-Cheese Chowder!!

Ingredients:
1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil
1 large onion, chipped
1 large carrot, diced
2 stalks celery, diced
1 large potato, peeled and diced
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 tablespoon all-purpose flower
1/2 teaspoon dry mustard
1/8 teaspoon cayenne pepper
2 14-oz cans vegetable broth, or reduced-sodium chicken broth
8 oz broccoli crowns, cut into 1-inch pieces, stems and florets separated
1 cup shredded reduced-fat Cheddar cheese
1/2 cup reduced-fat sour cream
1/8 teaspoon salt

Directions:
1. Heat oil in a Dutch oven or large saucepan over medium-high heat. Add onion, carrot and celery; cook, stirring often, until the onion and celery soften, 5 to 6 minutes. Add potato and garlic; cook, stirring, for 2 minutes. Stir in flour, dry mustard and cayenne; cook, stirring often, for 2 minutes.

2. Add broth and broccoli stems; bring to a boil. Cover and reduce heat to medium. Simmer, stirring occasionally, for 10 minutes. Stir in florets; simmer, covered, until the broccoli is tender, about 10 minutes more. Transfer 2 cups of the chowder to a bowl and mash; return to the pan.

3.Stir in Cheddar and sour cream; cook over medium heat, stirring, until the cheese is melted and the chowder is heated through, about 2 minutes. Season with salt.

My changes:
I didn't use the broccoli stems, just the florets. I brought the broth/spices mixture to a boil and then added the florets, covered and boiled for 10 minutes. I also didn't add the salt at the end. It tasted great without it and I mean why bother eating more salt if you don't have to?

ENJOY! please comment and let me know if you tried it!
XOXO

How to trick water #2

Once again I am here spilling my secrets to making water more appealing. I was watching TV and I realized that I was craving something seriously bubbly. I think that is the reason that I love soda so much, the fizz. BUT I think we all forgot about the fizzyness that is carbonated water. You can buy carbonated water in many different flavors or just plain. For the latter I recommend cutting 100% juice with the water - a bit of fizz and a bit of flavor.

Happy hydrating!

XOXO

The BEACH diet

On Dr. Oz yesterday he spoke about the BEACH diet. It's a very simple diet, pretty much designed to get you beach ready by summer :)

Here is what the BEACH is all about:

B: Breakfast. Eat a wholesome breakfast every day.
E: Eliminate. Get rid of excess sugars and syrups, such as jelly, junk food and soda.
A: Antioxidants. Eat a diet rich in color. Fruits and veggies are full of antioxidants. The brighter the fruit or vegitable, the better.
C: Chocolate. Now I know everyone is going to love this bit. For a wonderfully delicious snack, eat chocolate. But not milk chocolate, white chocolate, or chocolate filled with caramels and creams, but DARK chocolate. The higher the percentage of cocoa the better.
H: Hydrate. Drink water. The recommended daily amount of water that a women should drink is 9 cups. Spreading that throughout the day isn't so bad. See my "How to Trick Water" blog for some ideas.

Now by following those simple rules and also walking at least 10,000 steps a day and get in some strength training and cardio, and the lbs will just melt away. Trust me :)

Let me know how it goes!
XOXO

How to trick water

Is one of your New Years resolutions to drink more water? Water is amazing for your body, your cells need it to maintain your body, to regrow skin, to build muscle, to burn fat. Yet we just dont drink enough of it. Instead we turn to sodas and sugar laden flavored water. I can totally understand that sometimes water just doesn't taste all that appealing, in fact, it tastes a lot like nothing. Besides buying a Brita filter, here is my #1 tip on how to trick water into tasting a whole lot better: add citrus. You know those lemon shaped bottles with the green caps that they sell in the produce isle of the grocery store? The ones that are full of lemon juice and they sit in your fridge forever? Well a little splash of that into your glass of water will make a world of a difference. I like to add a ton into my water, but even a teaspoon will brighten up your water and give it a little zip and it tastes clean and amazing. Try this tip and let me know what you think, and if you are really feeling bold, the grocery store also sells lime juice :)
XOXO

New Year's Resolutions

Happy 2010 everyone! I am going to dedicate this blog to new beginnings. 2009 was not the greatest year for a lot of people, but lets face it, every time we come to the end of a year or the beginning of a new year, we always think about how much the year prior sucked and we want a fresh start.

So at first lets all think about the GOOD things that we got to do, the things we laughed at, the good times we had with our friends, our families, or just enjoying time by ourselves.

For instance, I was able to live in Europe for 6 weeks. It was one of the best decisions of my life. I was able to visit Paris, Prague, Salzburg, Berlin, Dresden, Weimar (as well as the Buchenwald concentration camp, which is horrible but eye opening at the same time) and a few other places in between. I lived in Germany and took classes 4 days a week and am now one class away from completing my minor in German.

I adopted my 2nd rabbit, as a companion to my first rabbit, Pucci. Her name is Viola and she is a great addition to my family. Pucci absolutely adores her :)

My parents adopted a great little puppy named Harley. I've mentioned him before but he's one of the good things about 2009.

I've kept in touch with my friends, my grandparents, got to see my aunts and uncles and little cousins on Christmas.

I got good grades all year, I worked pretty hard but probably not as hard as I should have.

I'm still with my boyfriend of 4 years, and he just got accepted into a Medical internship at a very prestigious hospital in the area. I am very proud of him.

I got a new car (new to me) this year (even though it was due to the fact that I totaled my other car, but hey we are looking at the positive, right?) and I like it a lot.

And to end this list, I lost 20 lbs. Which isn't a lot, but I'm trying to work at it.

And without further ado, my New Years Resolutions!:

1. Lose weight. I make this resolution EVERY YEAR. But it is imperative for me to feel better, look better and just be healthy. I'm thinking about joining weight watchers but I need to see how much time I have in between school because my classes are all over the place.

2. Floss every day. I did a pretty great job of this in 2009, I would say I managed about 75% of the days to floss.

3. Go to the dentist every 6 months and gyno once a year. I always keep the gyno but I don't really like the dentist, so I need to go.

4. Get back my youthfulness. This doesn't make much sense, but I'm so tired of being stressed out all the time and worried about grown-up things. I want to be happy about small things and do small things to make myself happy.

5. Save money. Money tends to burn a whole in my pocket, as well as through my debit card obviously. I also need to work more so that I can get more money to save. I tend to buy dumb stuff like candy (see resolution #1)

6. Put more effort and energy into my school work. After all, that is the reason I am going to college after all.

And so that is the end of my list. I'm sure there are plenty more rolling around in my noggin, but that is another day.

XOXO

My top 5 must have hair products

Having healthy hair is very important, it makes you look good as well as feel good about yourself. Your hair ties together your whole outfit, I mean why bother dressing up and doing your makeup if you have dry, dull bedhead?
My suggestions:

Must have #1:
Shampoo. Buy a shampoo that is geared toward your needs. If you color your hair in any way, shampoos that are geared towards color treated hair will prevent your hair from fading and your hair color will last longer.
Clarifying shampoo. I suggest also buying a clarifying shampoo if you use a lot of products in your hair. After awhile, products such as jells, hair sprays, wax, etc can build up in your hair. Using a clarifying shampoo once a week or twice a month will strip your hair of all that funky gunk, leaving it shiny, lighter and healthier. But it is not suggested for every day use as it can strip your hair of nutrients and good-for-you oils.

Must have #2:
Conditioner. Just like shampoo, buy a conditioner that is geared towards your needs. If you have dry hair, use a moisture-rich conditioner. They also make conditioner that is geared towards color treated hair that is great when paired with the color treated shampoo.
Leave in Conditioner. I use a leave in conditioner every day of the week. I use Aussie shine spray that you can purchase at any convenience store such as Target or Walgreens. In the winter especially, the air strips your hair and body of its moisture as the atmosphere is very dry and craves moisture. Just like our hair. To prevent static, stiff and dry hair, and also tangles, I suggest a leave in conditioner. Just spritz on pre-brushed hair and scrunch it in and you are done!


Must have #3:
A heat protectant. Heat protectant is very important in maintaining healthy hair. They come in sprays or gels and are very easy to use. I use Tresseme heat tamer spray that you can purchase at Target or Walgreens, etc. With this spray you can apply it to wet or dry hair, so you can use it before blowdrying, straightening or using curlers. This is a must must must in my opinion. Using straight heat on your hair can cause it to snap and split, but with a heat protectant it forms a protective layer around the hair follicle.

Must have #4:
A good blow dryer. A blowdryer with a hot, medium as well as cold setting is best. For women with curly hair I suggest buying a diffuser to use with your blowdryer to help get those beautiful curls. For those with straight hair, an attachment that aims the air is a great tool. You don't have to shell out more than $25 for a blowdryer either. I bought my pink one at Target :) Did you know that cold air actually sets style better than hot air? If you use curlers or a round brush to style your hair, blast your hair will cold air. It will hold the style better, longer and without damaging your hair like hot air can. Always use a heat tamer!

Must have #5:
A good straightener. A straightener can do more than just straighten, it can also flip your hair out, flip your hair under, and give you gorgeous curls! A straighter should have rounded edges if you want to use it to curl with. Spending a little money is well worth it. You don't want a straightener that catches and pulls your hair or that leaves those awful kinks. I personally have a straightener from Tool Science but I also know that Chii makes great ones and Zoe makes cool different colored and different designed ones at Ulta.

I hope this helps! Please let me know if you have any questions!

XOXO

Happy Holidays!

I just want to stop in and wish everyone a Happy Holidays! I hope that everyone got to spend some time with loved ones and I hope those of us who are off of school for a bit are resting up! If you didn't get what you wanted for Christmas, just remember that there are those less fortunate than us out there who didn't get anything. I think Christmas is a good time to give back to those in need, maybe volunteer at the local food bank or soup kitchen. Anyway, I just want to mention a few of the gifts I received for Christmas, not to brag, but to see if anyone wants me to do any reviews on the products.

Here are some of the things I recieved:
1. The Anastasia Brow Kit
2. Festive Fuchsia nail polish by OPI
3. L'Occtaine shower oil
4. Wii Fit

I will def. be doing a review next on the Anastasia brow kit. I love it!

XOXO

Dark Chocolate and Mint Chip cookies :)

Thinking about a last minute cookie recipe to make for Santa? Forget someone to give a gift to? How about making these amazing dark chocolate and mint chip cookies? I just made 4 dozen of these cookies and they are amazing. To me, they taste just like thin mint cookies from the Girl Scouts. Without further delay, here is the recipe!

Ingredients:
2 cups all-purpose flour
2/3 cups unsweetened baking cocoa
1 tsp. baking soda
1/2 tsp. salt
1 cup (2 sticks) butter or margarine, softened
2/3 cups granulated sugar
2/3 cup packed brown sugar
1 tsp. vanilla extract
2 large eggs
1 2/3 cups (10-oz package) Nestle Toll House Dark Chocolate and Mint Morsels

Heat oven to 325*F

Combine flour, cocoa, baking soda and salt in a small bowl. Beat butter, granulated sugar, brown sugar and vanilla extract in large mixer bowl until creamy. Add eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition. Gradually beat in flour mixture. Stir in morsels. Drop by well-rounded tablespoons onto ungreased baking sheets.

Bake for 11 to 13 minutes or until cookies are puffed and centers are set. Cool on baking sheets for 2 minutes; remove to wire racks to cool completely. Makes about 4 dozen cookies.

For this recipe I liked my baking sheet with tin foil to avoid sticking and a mess. These are delish! You can buy the morsels at Target but hurry! I believe they are a limited holiday edition. If you can't find them, try substituting crushed Andies mints.

HAPPY HOLIDAYS!

Christmas is near!

A bit about me:


Eggnog or hot chocolate? Both! Eggnog is probably first, considering you can't really get it at any time of the year


Does Santa wrap the presents or leave them open under the tree? Santa ALWAYS wraps presents :) usually with bright pink wrapping paper :D


Colored lights on a tree or white? Right now I have white lights on my tree but I'm not apposed to colored lights, which I have hanging everywhere else. 


Do you hang mistletoe? No, I never have but I'd like to. Most people thing of Holly when they are actually thinking of mistletoe 


What is your favorite holiday dish? I would have to say anything on Thanksgiving but I think that we are talking about Christmas here so probably cinnamon rolls which we usually have on Christmas morning, then the ham. Oh yummy ham. 


Do you open a gift on Christmas Eve? Sometimes, it depends if my family is working on Christmas day or not. My mom is from Germany and it's traditional to open gifts on Christmas Eve night. And then of course sometimes I bug my parents so much that they give in and we dive in :)


How do you decorate your Christmas tree? I live in a small apartment so I have a mini 3 foot Christmas tree that is pink with white lights, silver tinsel, red, purples and silver ornaments and also small white snow-ball looking ornaments and silver ribbon. Still searching for a tree topper! 

Snow: love it or hate it? I have a serious love/hate relationship with snow. I love when it falls and everything is white and glittery, but then when I go outside and spend 15 minutes digging my car out of a foot of snow I really start to hate it. Can you blame me?


What is your favorite holiday dessert? German gingerbread :)


What is your favorite holiday tradition? Spending Christmas with my parents and usually going to my Uncles for Christmas brunch, seeing him and my aunt and my little cousins 


Candy canes: yum or yuck? Yum! Though I haven't had a single one this year! :(


Favorite Christmas show? I don't have a favorite SHOW but A Christmas Story is my all time favorite Christmas movie. I've seen it twice already this season and it is playing 24 hrs on Christmas Eve!


What is everyone doing for Christmas?
XOXO

Product Review

Hello all! I said I'd be back so here is another blog, this time reviewing a product that I am excited to share. I just had a birthday 2 weeks ago and my boyfriend bought me Benefit Cosmetics' "She Laq" makeup sealer :) I have hooded eyes and couldn't wear eyeliner on my top lids near the lash line. It would always smudge off onto my upper eyelid and form like a mirror image of the liner on the lashes. This makeup sealer was stating that it would seal liner, shadow, blush, lipstick, you name it and it comes with different brushes for different things. When I got it at first I wasn't too sure. It looked like a bottle of nail polish top coat and smelled almost like it too. But after trying it out, I have to say that I LOVE THIS PRODUCT! It does exactly what it says and I am so excited to finally be able to wear eyeliner! I have used it almost every day without any reaction whatsoever and I do not have any bad things to say about it at all. I have so far tried it with gel liner, pencil liner and the almost creamy liners like the ones from Urban Decay that I really love. The product is around $30 and you can get it at Sephora. It is worth the money in my opinion and it seems like it will last a long time :)

Enjoy!

I can breathe again!

I AM SO SORRY that I have left you all high and dry lately! The past 2 weeks have been insane. I had tests and papers and everything else out there to do. Just a quick update in case anyone is interested. I got a new car :) I used the money the insurance gave me from my accident and then my parents paid the rest. I am so grateful to them! The car isn't my dream car but it is a great car none-the-less. And it is great to have something different to drive, ya know? But then as soon as I got it my tire went flat and it turned out that there was a nail in the tire when i bought it, the whole tire had to be replaced. figures! Then yesterday my classes FINALLY ended for the semester. It felt like a super long semester! Turns out that I only have a few more classes left until I get to graduate :) And my boyfriend just got accepted to an awesome medical internship at a great hospital. I'm so proud of him! My parents just got a puppy yesterday, a little Chihuahua boy that we named Harley. He is a sweet heart. he's a great addition to our already 3 dog full family. he is 10.5 weeks old and is already practically paper trained. Also it was my birthday on the 10th, I turned 22 :) I got some great presents from my best friend (nail polish and makeup! Whoohoo!) and some pjs from my parents. My boyfriend got me makeup as well. Anywho, I just wanted to let everyone know that I didn't disappear and that I will be posting some fun stuff asap :) I hope everyone is well and that they are getting super pumped for Christmas!!

XOXO

Surrounding myself

I've been thinking about it and the best way I have found that I think is going to keep me on track to lose weight is to surround myself with weight loss and healthyness. I'm talking about using healthy cookbooks for cooking, reading nutrition books or success stories on my down time, watching The Biggest Loser, reading fitness magazines, etc etc. By doing this I will not only educate myself but I will also be constantly reminded of my task. Yep, thats my plan and I'm sticking too it. I'm still reading Jillian Michaels book but I'm short on time. I really want to join the gym again. I really liked the gym that I was in last year and I really took it for granted. It was literally a 5 minute or less drive from my apt and it was never crowded and I loved it. If I could have one wish it would be to have my membership back, even if it means driving 10 minutes a day or so to get to it. I wouldn't mind. Alas, I need money for that, so I guess I better work hard. But guess what my readers, I am now on my way out the door to go for a walk/run :)

XOXX

Recipe of the Week #3!

Hey there everyone! Sorry I'm late on the recipe of the week but, trust me, it will be worth it! For everyone who is looking for a great new taste that is packed with a ton of flavor, this Curried Beef dish for you. I have made it both with meat and vegetarian and both times I was not disappointed. As always I will first post the recipe and then the things that I have changed. Enjoy! Feedback is appreciated!

Ingredients

• 1 tablespoon all-purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1/8 teaspoon pepper
• 1 pound beef top round steak, cut into thin 3-inch strips
• 3 tablespoons canola oil, divided
• 2 cups sliced onions
• 1 garlic clove, minced
• 1 teaspoon curry powder
• 1 teaspoon beef bouillon granules
• 1 cup boiling water
• 1/2 cup tomato juice
• 3 tablespoons tomato paste
• Hot cooked noodles or rice

Directions

• In a large resealable bag, combine the flour, salt and pepper; add beef. Seal bag and shake to coat. In a large skillet, brown beef in 2 tablespoons oil; drain.
• Add the onions and remaining oil; saute until onions are golden brown. Add garlic; cook 1 minute longer. Sprinkle with curry. Dissolve bouillon in boiling water; pour over beef and onions.
• Bring to a boil. Reduce heat; cover and simmer for 1 hour or until meat is tender.
• Add tomato juice and paste; cook for 5 minutes or until heated through. Serve with noodles or rice. Yield: 4 servings.

The first time I made it I made it exactly as the recipe said to. And it was great. The 2nd time I made it I decided to try vegetarian, so I added cauliflower florets. So to make the cauliflower curry you follow the directions as specified but skip the entire step having anything to do with the meat. Put the florets into the saucepan BEFORE putting in the tomato paste/juice and put the lid on for about 6 minutes on until the cauliflower is tender. The first time I used egg noodles and the 2nd time I used brown rice. I prefer the egg noodles, use yolkless noodles for a healthier alternative, you can't taste the difference! 

Enjoy!!!

Thanksgiving

I, Pucciola, would like to know what my readers are thankful for this Thanksgiving. Many bad things happen in the span of a year. I've seen bad things happen to good people, good things happen to bad people, I've seen things fall apart and people get hurt. But in the end, there is always something to be thankful for. This is the time of year that I like to take a minute to stop and think about what is most important in my life.

I am thankful for:

- My family
- My friends
- My boyfriend
- My pets
- My health (what's left of it :P)
- My job
- Being able to go to a university and get an education
- To have a place to live
- Waking up every day
- many many other things

I am thankful every day that I am given, though I may go days of even weeks without thinking about how thankful I am or how fortunate I am to have certain things in my life.

What are you thankful for?

XOXO

Caffeine withdrawals

SO sorry it has been so long since I have last blogged. I'm behind on the Recipe of the Week as well! Since Thanksgiving is coming and that is the last major divider between normal school and finals, all my professors decided that everything was going to be due on the same day. Today, for instance, I had a paper and an exam. So most of my time has gone towards finishing those.

But I wanted to update and share with everyone my fight with Caffeine Withdrawals! DUN DUN DUN! Since I decided to eat healthier (that's not going well at the moment, btw, and that will be a different blog), I decided to give up soda. Visit my blog about water and brita filters and such to catch up. Anyway, I gave up pop and I did GREAT for an entire week. I didn't have any soda what-so-ever and in fact I didn't drink ANYTHING except water and a bit of milk in the morning. I noticed I was feeling kinda awful every day but I didn't put 2 and 2 together until last Thursday. I felt nauseous, light headed, sleepy, had the worst headache ever, and just felt all around crummy. I didn't feel like I was getting sick or the flu, so I just dealt with it. I was sitting in my class one day and it just sorta dawned on me. A friend of mine was addicted to coffee for awhile and she tried to quit drinking it cold turkey and she went through the same things that I was. So I talked to her about it and she confirmed that she thought I was going through the caffeine withdrawals and that I should get some tea or something other than pop to give myself a little boost. Needless to say I went right home and bought a soda! oh my willpower is so small! And I have been drinking almost a soda a day since... I think part of me is afraid to feel sick again without it and the other part of me just plain craves it. I need to do something about it though. I want to get some of that Oolong tea that aides in weightloss. I'll let you guys know how my progress is but let me tell you, this getting healthy thing is NOT easy. Especially with a full day of school, work, cooking, cleaning, pets, boyfriend, homework, etc etc.

Stay Tuned for my progress :) And have a very Happy Thanksgiving