EAT HEALTHY – Yogurt

I love yogurts! I just had one this morning as a matter of fact. I used to buy all types and brands of yogurt as long as its on sale but then I realize it wasn’t the smartest move. Why? Because I found out that not all yogurts are created equal, not just the brand but also the type.

After listening to a health seminar by a nutritionist, I found out that 2 yogurts CAN contain sugar that equal to 2 doughnuts?! I was shocked! I realize that I never used to read the nutrition label of the yogurts that I buy till now.

(Credit to Red Bookmag)

Some yogurt’s sugar content can go up to 22g of sugar or more! That is the same amount of sugar in a 1.66oz of Snicker bar! That’s really outrageous! We may think we are eating healthy by choosing yogurt but it may not necessarily be true until we read the nutrition label. In that case, would you rather eat a Yoplait yogurt or eat the chocolaty Snicker bar that can possible be even healthier then eating the Yoplait yogurt?

(credit to The Skeptical Cardiologist)

You can also read about Dr. Pearson’s view comparing the health factors of a Yoplait yogurt compare with a Snicker here.

Many flavored yogurts in the market contains a lot of sugar whether its Greek yogurt, non fat yogurt or even organic yogurt. It really depends on it’s target audience.

You make think, okay, in that case I should go for non fancy flavor like Vanilla or just plain yogurt but even that can contain a lot of sugar. Nutrition Detective compared Chobani’s Greek Vanilla flavor yogurt with Yoplait Light and found that Chobani’s Greek Vanilla yogurt contains 13 g while Yoplait Light contains 15 g. That is still 2 g less in comparison with Yoplait Light.

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Rocksbox + One Month Free Coupon

Hi! I’m taking a break from talking about Miami but I definitely still have more to share from that trip, something artistic and erotic…. Today I want to share about my experience using Rocksbox. I’m not getting paid to share about it, I just want to share my experience.

What is Rocksbox? It’s a jewelry subscription service. For just $19 a month you have unlimited access to try designer brand jewelry ranging from earrings to necklaces to rings. You get 3 pieces of designer jewelry to wear on loan and you can return it at anytime to get 3 new pieces and as many times as you want in a month at no additional cost! Each set is worth an average of $200 so definitely not low quality jewelry. Usually you can even wear all 3 pieces together.

It arrives in the mail in a bubble bag with this beautiful box inside! I love the ribbon design. It’s like unwrapping a gift each time!

Inside the box it comes with a personalize note with a list of what’s inside your box and how much each item will cost if you were to buy it. They have an insider price which is cheaper then the retail price. If you are lucky you may catch a sale at a retailer store of that item but most likely not. I have tried looking up the items (6 items out of 2 sets of box) that I have received and I only found one item that was on sale at Saks. You also recieve $10 off any item you decide to buy that month.

It is wrapped nicely in a black and white zig zag pattern tissue paper.

After I opened it voila! Each item is wrapped individually in a small pouch by their company with a bubble wrap or a clear bag protecting it. I love the individual pouches, if I were to carry it around I would use the pouches.

Left Top: Slate Total Eclipse Cuff – Retail: $39

Left Bottom: Kendra Scott Sophee Drop Earring in Gold – Retail: $50

Right: Gorjana DIY Necklace with Arrow Chain in Gold – Retail: $75

I love each individual piece of jewelry! The Slate Total Eclipse Cuff was simple yet elegant. It fits in easily with my style and clothing however I have a very small wrist. It moves around too much for me and is too loose even after I adjust it. STATUS: Return

I love how the Kendra Scott Sophee Drop Earring in Gold can be paired together with Gorjana’s DIY Necklace with Arrow Chain in Gold. It looks great together! I love the earrings! It’s really simple and not heavy at all being that it’s hollow in the middle. I can wear it styled up with a suit or down with a party dress. STATUS: Return I return it simply because I want to explore more before I spend money buying a piece. I might go back and buy it in the future because I do love it.

The Gorjana’s DIY Necklace with Arrow Chain in Gold is delicate with a refined touch. The length is perfect for me and the small detail of the arrow chain is cute and can be a timeless piece. Being that this is a DIY necklace, I can replace the Arrow Chain with something else and can mix and match. However, I am a person who have bolder taste and would prefer it to have some bolder color or statement. If I receive another DIY necklace from Gorjana that is a bit bolder I might keep it. STATUS: Return

Even though I return every piece in this box, it’s okay. After I returned this box, 5 days later I got a new box in the mail! Will share the contents in the next box soon.

How did I returned it? When I recieve the first box it comes with a prepaid label that you can put back on the bubble bag, reseal it and drop it into any USPS mailbox and voila! Your done!

Last but not least I do have a code to try this subscription box for a month for FREE. If you are interested in try it out for a month for FREE, please leave a comment!

Also what of jewelry do like to wear?
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8 Week Weight Loss + Travel Diary – 3rd Week (Part 3)

So much happen during that week that it deserves a 3rd post to complete it. Other then being a vacation this was the main reason I was in Miami! Miami World Conference 2016! #MAWC2016 What is it? It’s a convention that updates us, unfranchise owners (entrepreneurs) of what’s the latest trend, products and newest technology that we are going to have for the upcoming year. It’s always a vision to behold.

I arrived at the American Arena at 9 AM. I missed the crowd and my team had already went in but I knew I was going to be embraced with the positive energy when I get in. Plus I was lucky enough to take a picture with this beauty.

After a very informative morning, it was time for lunch!

For lunch, I had a chicken caesar salad from the arena and I regret eating it for 3 days because it got me really sick. >_< Tummy ache and um…. bad for the other end of me.

After lunch we came back to see La La Anthony on stage!

She is an American radio and television personality, New York Times best-selling author, business woman, producer, actress and runs a Motives Cosmetic line for women of color. She was sharing the latest colors and products on her Motives Cosmetic line. They were beautiful!

Then Loren Ridinger and Scotty Pipen came on stage!

Loren Ridinger is an amazing and down to earth person! She is the creator of Motive Cosmetics, a skincare line, an exquisite jewelry collection, a true entrepreneur and an inspiration! Without her and her husband, JR Ridinger, none of us will here. Next to her is Scotty Pipin! Even though I don’t really watch sports, I do know who he is. He plays basketball and he is one tall guy! He also endorses one of our very powerful supplement for bone and joint support for free!

After a day of listening to inspiring entrepreneurs, I grabbed a quick dinner from Subways to go, another salad, this time a turkey chopped salad.

We wrapped the night up by sharing our thoughts and awaits for the excitement of the 2nd day.

8 Week Weight Loss + Travel Diary – 3rd Week (Part 2)

It’s about time I share more pictures from my Miami trip and weight loss journey. Breakfast that 2nd morning in Miami was boring, just another scramble egg but the real fun had just began!

After breakfast we headed off to Biscayne Bay! We took the bus there. I am finally back to Sailboard Miami! I came here last year and it was fun. Highly recommend this place! The people here are extremely friendly and helpful.

Last year my instructor was Jerry but he’s only there, Mondays. Donald was our instructor this time and I like him more because he made us go out to practice on our own after teaching us the basic skills.

That was extremely fun! I did get a knee scrape and one of my feet got scratched and bleed but it was worth it! I want to see if I can try in the spring here in NYC. Next year if I were to go back, I need to bring water shoes! There were alot of rocks by the shore.

After playing such a strenuous sport, we were starving. We went back to my favorite restaurant, Niu Kitchen.

We order oysters for our starter. It was fresh but could use a spicy kick. The Wahoo Tartare was a little too light and flavorless in my opinion. Could use a tad of sesame oil to give it a richer taste. Personally I wouldn’t order it again.

Then I mistaken order another tapas dish, Cured Marlin and I was sooo glad I did. It was amazing! The smokiness of it mix with the texture was TO DIE FOR!! Yum! I hope they will have that special again when I go next year! I got the Branzino filet with jamon iberico (cured ham) and it was devine. The jamon iberico had a nice aroma and gives a meaty flavor paired with the nicely grilled fish. Perfection! *Small cheat* friend’s ribeye steak with rosemary vinaigrette was nicely done too, very juicy but I forgot to take a picture of it.

In the middle of our meal, a very nice couple sitting next to us asked if we were doing anything after dinner. We didn’t have any plans so we said, no and they offered us their extra tickets to see Motown! Their daughter and son in law can’t make it so they have extra tickets and didn’t want it to go to waste! Lucky us!

The musical was good and the performers has excellent voices. The musical is base on the story of how Berry Gordy found and ran Motown Records label. It is also about his personal and professional relationships with Motown artists such as Diana Ross, Smokey Robinson, Marvin Gaye, and even Michael Jackson! It was definitely interesting.

After such a exhausting but good day, I was ready to go back to my room and sleep! The next day was another fulling and exciting day! Kiteboarding!

8 Week Weight Loss + Travel Diary – 3rd Week (Part 1)

I had such an awesome vacation that I did not get to update! How was I able to do this vacation yet eat properly?! Discipline, determination and don’t cheat too much and guess what! It paid off! This morning when I check my weight I lost 10 lbs!

 The weekend right before the trip I was trying to make snacks that I can bring with me to Miami. I found these two amazing recipes!

Eggplant chip and roasted chick peas! The Eggplant Chip recipe is by Leanne Vogel. The Spicy Baked Chickpeas recipe is by Emily Miller.

They both came out amazing. The crisp on the eggplant didn’t last as long as I wanted but was still really good in flavor. The chick peas were amazing! Pack full of flavor with a kick to it. I liked the chick pea recipe more.

Breakfast was egg again then tofu! For the rest of the weekend, my protein was steamed soft tofu with soy chili sauce. I tweak the recipe from the original recipe from Beyond Kimchee. It was simple and easy to make, and delicious to eat.

The day before my flight, I met up with a few close friends and had brunch. I LOVE Brunch and Egg Benedicts. I ordered the Florentine Egg Benedict. It have spinach instead of lox which was a change from what I usually order and it was an interesting combination. (I did skip the homemade hash but not the english muffin.) =/

For dinner, I didn’t want to cook so I only ate a container of soft tofu dessert. Technically I wasn’t suppose to eat sweets or wheat but I did cheat once in awhile… =( So bad!

8 Week Weight Loss Challenge -2nd Week (Day 8 to 12)

Sorry about the updates! Last week feels super long at work since I’m going on vacation this week. So one big post for this past week. I ate a lot of the food I prepare over the weekend and it certainly helps since I get home late most of the time.

I’ve been making one version or another of an omelette.

This one was Monday’s, 3 egg white, spinach and pepper. I saved the egg yolks. I think this was the best looking omelette I’ve made since I started the challenge.

Lunch was a salad with corn, avocado, pepper and of course the chicken breast I made over the weekend. I forgot to make my own dressing so I used just lemon juice, not the best option by itself.

In the evening, I end up trying to steam the egg yolks I had left from earlier. The results were not that good. It was too watery. I thought it was because I didn’t steam it for long enough. I still ate one and the next morning (Tuesday) I steamed the other two for longer, same results. =( Will have to change up the recipe to get better results.

8 Week Weight Loss Challenge – Day 6 & 7

I woke up pretty late on Saturday so I skipped breakfast and started prepping for lunch instead. Chicken meatball time! I’ve been eyeing a recipe called Firecracker Chicken Meatballs by Little Spice Jar.

(Photo Credit to Little Spice Jar)

Doesn’t that look sooo good! Love that rich color but I can’t replica the recipe exactly due to the rules of the challenge.

However as you can see they look completely different but it was just as good. I skipped on the panko breadcrumbs and sauce but flavor wize it was still tasty. Next time I will add more paprika to give it more of a kick w/o the sauce. I made 3 small batches of 6 oz portions and freeze them so when I want to make veggie spaghetti or just heat it up by itself as a snack I can. =)

Next after consuming a serving of those delicious chicken meatball, I start prepping the ingredients for a Milestone Soup recipe also by Little Spice Jar. I like how it’s very hearty yet not too heavy.

Chopping up the ingredients (carrots, celery, spinach, green beans, onions, and zucchini) were very time consuming since I’m still a newbie in the kitchen.

After everything was chopped up I put everything into the pot to do its work. 3.5 hours later and voila! Result a healthy and delicious veggie soup!

8 Week Weight Loss Challenge -Recap of Day 5

I’ve been so concentrated on preparing food for this week that I didn’t get to share what I have ate for the past few days. Did you guys miss my updates! Yesterday mark the last day of my detox week. Today is the beginning of phase 2 which will continue for the next 7 weeks. I know it’s hard but I am not going to give up!! I lost another 2 lbs a total of 4 lbs from the detox! (I had measure my body parts and will be keeping track of inches being shred off.) Detoxing really helped me get rid of the gunk I have stored in my body from all the junk and alcohol I had consumed through the year. If you want to know more about detoxing, please feel free to contact me.

On Friday, I was very excited to recreates some of the recipes I had found for the weekend. In the meantime I had to resort to something simple. I made myself an one egg spinach and pepper omelette for breakfast.

I only used one because I was saving some protein quota for my lunch. It was my favorite doctor’s birthday! We ordered chinese food, and since I was still doing my detox, I was restricted. In the end I had a mixture of chicken, mushrooms, peppers, and onions! No cheating or cake for me either!

It was a good lunch. Midway through the day I needed a snack so I had some edamame. I really love crunch food/snacks so this was perfect for when I want to snack on something healthy.

Fruit is oooo so important so I had an orange for snack too. As for dinner, I had a huge box of steamed chinese broccoli. I was stuffed by the end of Friday night.

Saturday and Sunday deserved a special blog entry. Stay tune!

 

8 Week Weight Loss Challenge – Day 4

Last night’s dinner was sooo good! I ate the rest of the St. Peter’s Fish for lunch. Literally dreamed about it. Lol.

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Since the fish is probably over 6 oz, I can’t have any eggs again this morning so I quickly made these instead. Edamame!

 

It’s really more of a snack then a breakfast but I didn’t know what to make since I’m not making eggs. I think for tomorrow morning I’ll make a spinach and pepper omelette or maybe a green smoothie? I need to brainstorm.

I have more blueberries and pomegranate seeds as snack today again. Last of the blueberries. Next could be blackberries? Strawberries? Maybe even grapefruit?