How I Found My Inner Sparkle With Anxiety

For me, I'll never forget when I had my first panic attack in March 2011 while I was at college. The empty feeling of having no hope and being consumed by the overwhelming sensation of being a failure will forever be with me. Feeling like your breath got knocked out of you. Crying but your not sure why. Light-headed, dizzy, mind-racing. I have never been in that dark of a place before and it was so scary.

Dealing with things that effect you mentally can be rough but for me, anxiety has been the hardest thing I have ever had to deal with. I've always been the the type to get overwhelmed very easily and I just thought it was the stress of life. Then during psychology class in the summer after that first attack, I finally understood that I need to get some outside help for this. All of the anxiety signs seemed to fit...

How I Changed My Eating Habits With Weight Watchers Online

*This post and this blog is not affiliated with Weight Watchers in any type of way. This is solely my experience with the company. I am not being paid for this post (although that would be nice), nor am I getting any other benefits. :)

August 2012 vs. May 2013
33 lbs down.

Many people have asked me about my Weight Loss Journey and how I was able to lose almost 50 pounds in a span of  2 years. To that I always answer, "eating right and exercise......OH and Weight Watchers!" I don't have a problem telling people that I needed extra help in losing weight because honestly, it's just not that easy!

When you come from a culture that loves food and is rich with flavorful dishes that are not always the healthiest, it's hard to steer away from what you've always known and begin to choose better options. My family has a saying, "We meet to eat!" because we do! That's just us and honestly, I wouldn't change it for the world. However, what happens when your life starts to revolve around food and that food is causing you to swell up and your arms are bigger than before, your favorite pair of jeans don't fit, you're out of breath after walking up one flight of stairs? That was me at 20 years old and I realized it was do or die. It really was time to make a change.

Meal Prep for Beginners

*No affiliation with any products mention, I just really enjoy using them*

As I said in 6 Tips for Packing a Cost Effective Heathy Lunch, Meal prepping on Sundays is an awesome way to have your lunch already prepared for the week. Personally, this saves me a ton of time during the week because I'm not scrambling around trying to find some unhealthy place to eat during lunchtime. Here are a few tips for you if you have never meal prepped before.

Meal Prep Recipes

These are a few of my favorite recipes to use when doing meal prep. I love them because they are super simple to make and cook. Hopefully this helps you to start out but do not forget to be creative! I cannot stress enough that you should not eat things you do not like simply because they are healthy. Enjoy! 

Turkey Spinach Meatloaf

Ingredients:

•   20 oz extra lean (99%) ground turkey

•   4 cups baby spinach

•   1/2 medium yellow bell pepper, chopped

•   1/2 white onion, chopped

•   4 cloves garlic, minced

•   1/2 cup Italian bread crumbs

•   1 egg

•   1 tbsp worcestershire sauce

•   1/4 cup no salt added ketchup, divided

•   1/2 tsp chili powder

•   1/2 tsp Italian seasoning

•   1/2 tsp oregano

•   1/4 tsp thyme 

•    No oregano or thyme? just add 1 1/2 tsp of Italian seasoning !

Directions:

•   Pre-heat oven to 375 degrees.

•   Heat 1 tsp olive oil over medium high heat.  Add garlic, onion and bell pepper and sauce until fragrant.  Add baby spinach, mixing with veggies until wilted.  Drain before adding to large bowl.

•   Mix with all remaining ingredients except for 3 tbsp of ketchup in a large bowl.

•   Spray a bread pan with non-stick cooking spray.  Add turkey mixture and push down into pan evenly.  Top with remaining ketchup.

•   Bake at 375 degrees for approx. 1 hr 

Printable Version Here 

Skinny Chicken 

 - Chicken lightly seasoned with garlic powder, onion powder and black pepper. sauté in olive oil in a skillet for 3-4 minutes on each side. 

Tuna Salad with Greek Yogurt

- Tuna Fish salad w/ Greek yogurt (making in the morning) (standard recipe except sub mayo for Greek yogurt, more protein) 

Tired of eating the same thing?

Take the meatloaf recipe and cut it in half (Half all ingredients)(Meatloaf cooking time between 35-45mins) .Then take half of the ground turkey and turn it into turkey lettuce cups!

•    Take half of the onions and pepper, chopped, add them along the rest of the ground turkey, then cook in the skillet with some olive oil until done and veggies are soft. Carrots are awesome in this and you can find them pre-shredded in the produce section! 

•    While cooking, add 1/2 teaspoon of ground ginger, 1 whole garlic clove chopped, (i love garlic so i always add more, 1 tablespoon of low sodium soy sauce or teriyaki sauce black pepper to taste. 

Spoon into iceberg lettuce cups and enjoy!!

If your not ready to eat the cups right away, store ground turkey mixture in tubberware until needed. Store lettuce cups wrapped in wet paper towel in another tubberware then combine when ready to eat. 

Sides 

- Microwaved steamed green beans with balsamic vinegar. (Sautéed in a pan with olive oil for about 2-3mins to finish) I used fresh green beans but the frozen ones that steam in the bag are just as good! 

- Steamed green peas (in frozen section, steams in bag) 

- Brown Quinoa (box of quinoa, instead of cooking in water, use chicken or veggie stock, more flavor, sodium free of course) 

- Roasted sweet potatoes( wash, cut in 1/4s, cover in olive oil, season with salt pepper, roast in oven for 50-60mins. I added the sweet potatoes and meatloaf on the same baking sheet! 

Things Can Be Substituted

Whole Grains

- Quinoa 

- Brown rice

- lentils

- use whole grain tortillas for tuna fish salad

- whole grain bread

Proteins 
Ground Turkey/Chicken 

- Salmon

- Any fish

Veggies

- all veggies can be changed and all can be found in the frozen section in steamable bags! Just email me if you have questions! 

Fruits

- Same thing with the fruits!! 

Snacks

- Be creative with your stacks, my current snack is these sweet potato & onion crackers with a slice of cheese. 

- Hummus

- yogurt

- low sodium beef jerky 

- Quest Bars

- granola bars (less sugar as possible)

- cheese

- grapes 

- apples

- Almonds and craisins

Printable version of everything here

Questions? 
Email me at eatwellandsparkle@gmail.com or message me on our Facebook Page.

6 Tips for Packing a Cost Effective Heathy Lunch

Is it just me or does it seem like life gets busier during the fall and winter months? For me, it just seems as if all the sudden I have so much more to do. Even my friends with kids and families, Im exhausted just listening to them tell everything that is coming up. Sadly, the first thing to go during these busy months is a home cooked meal and a nice healthy packed lunch.

While I'm fully aware it is very hard to stay focused on packing a healthy lunch and it is not easy to stay motivated to do so. The keyword here is going to be motivation. Not your gym motivation because that motivation just doesn't work for most of us; my gym motivation be like "Girl...if you don't stay on this couch..." (Remind me to kick her to the curb ASAP). Im talking about real motivation, like the kind you use to make your life better financially or the kind you use to motivate your children. Be motivated to provide yourself with the best possible lifestyle. To give you a good head start, Ive got 6 tips here to help to pack an awesome lunch!

1. Make Enough Dinner For Leftovers

This is by far the easiest tip and I'm sure the one you hear most often. When your preparing dinner, make enough to pack for your lunch tomorrow then go ahead and pack it in your lunch containers. Sure it is a little more extra work BUT it saves you so much time in the morning! That way, if your like me, you can enjoy that nice hot cup of coffee a little bit longer. 

2. Cook The Meals For Your Lunch on Sunday 

Personally, this is what I do when I am prepping my lunches for the week. Since it is just me, often times I'm super lazy and just make enough dinner for me. Cooking is super relaxing to me and Sunday afternoons are just slow enough so I can take my time to make a good meal. You don't even have to prep for the whole week; usually, I make enough lunch for Monday through Wednesday. Then Weds night, I will make a larger meal so that will be my lunch for the last two days of the week. 

3. Write Out A Packing List 

If your anything like me, I am not a morning person. My brain does not function well until around 9am so my memory is super foggy. I have to lay out my clothes at night before bed or I will forget what I had planned to wear. I know, it's bad but judgement shall not be passed.   Many times I have to make a list before bed of what all to grab out the fridge for lunch. It helps me tremendously and it saves me a morning headache. 

4. Have Backups Lunches Ready

I can be very indecisive sometimes so there have been times where what I prepped on Sunday, I am not really feeling on Wednesday. That is why I always keep some freezer meals ready. Usually it is a casserole I've portioned out or some kind of homemade soup. This saves me from scrambling the night before trying to throw something together. 

5. Don't Force Yourself 

Please whatever you do, do not force yourself to eat something you really don't care for just because it's "healthy". I rarely have a salad for lunch simple because I don't care for it nor does it actually fill me up. I don't know about y'all but who be mad and hungry around 3pm is me with a salad. 

6. Make a Smarter Sandwich

Sometimes you have to go old school with a good ol sandwich and thats ok; just be smart about it! Instead of white bread go with a honey whole wheat (my fav) or 100% whole wheat bread. use tortilla to make wraps instead. Usually we do lettuce and tomato, switch it up, try shredded carrots or sliced apple with turkey meat. Swap out hummus for cheese or avocado for mayo. Got leftover chicken? Use that!

Beauty Obsession: Combining High-Low Products

My obsession with skincare has grown so much over the last two years. With my interest in makeup steady growing, I've realized that having great skincare is even more important. As I've been scrolling  through beauty blogs and magazines, I'm constantly seeing high price skincare items being used with low price skincare items. So I thought I would share with y'all a few of my staple products I use every  single day.

My Bad Eating Habits

As a Nutritionist and a Public Health Worker, I have my fair share of healthy eating habits. Those same habits I share with my clients and anybody who is seeking a healthier lifestyle. However, as I've stated before, I am nowhere near perfect and I have my fair share of not so good eating habits. Im well aware of what I should be choosing to munch on buuuuuuuuuut I'm human and sometimes I need a sugar fix. or a salty fix. or both. I just thought i would share some of my not-so-good-habits in effort to A) Help me break them and B) to show you I'm human as well.

5 Simple Steps To Start Your Morning Off Right

Everybody, from school aged kids to grown adults, would love to be able to sleep in when morning comes. Even if we think our sheets are holding us hostage, we have to fight the urge to snooze the alarm clock for the third time and wake up to participate in life. I know. It sucks!

Luckily, not every morning has to be a drag. Here are 5 simple steps you can try to start your morning off right and have an amazingly productive day!

Straight 2 Curly: Holy Grail Products for Natural and Relaxed hair !

*This is not an affiliated post with any of the products, we just really enjoy using them* 

I want to first start off by thanking Eat Well & Sparkle for inviting me to share my knowledge about hair care! I personally think this blog is definitely informative and empowering for young people trying to navigate through the health and beauty world.

15 Reasons Why You Should Be Drinking Lemon Water!

Lemons have always been super popular for their skin rejuvenating properties. Usually by bring a nice glow to the skin. Did you also know that when you add lemon to warm water, the power of the lemon increases so much more! 

Youtube Feature!

First, let me start by saying thank you to everyone who has been following the blog so far! The traffic has been amazing and hopefully y'all are enjoying what you see! 

Detox Water: The Benefits You're Missing Out On

Whether you call it detox water, fruit infused water or spa water, you know there's something that has to be healthy (and tasty) about these infused waters that everybody's talking about. Well, this is the one time you should go against what your mom taught you and follow the crowd!

If you're trying to lose weight, rid your body of toxins, better hydrate yourself, or you just need a different flavor for your water, detox water is definitely a must in your daily regimen. Some benefits include:

• Boosts your energy and metabolism.
• Rids your body of excess toxins.
• Improves your skin.
• Helps promote weight loss.
• Keeps you and your organs hydrated. (Duh! It's water!)

Four Vitamins and Minerals Every Woman Needs

One thing that all health professionals can agree on is that women need a certain amount of nutrition that our bodies simply cannot make on our own. Obviously, the best source of essentials nutrients are complete whole foods. We get a good variety of vitamins and minerals through the foods we consume, assuming your're getting a balanced diet. The problem is that we are not 100% sure our nutrients are coming solely from healthy eating. Thank goodness for supplements!

When used correctly, supplements are the perfect sidekick in aiding us when we are not getting adequate amounts of nutrition.  However, with certain vitamins, you can the correct amount you need!