Healthy Homemade Orange Smoothie (THM)

So a quick check-in on my Trim Healthy Mama journey. You guys: I am LOVING it!!  I am still a total of 9 lbs down because I took a month off of strict THM to take care of some other business.  I started back on it this week at 80-100% and have been trying some of the recipes from their new book and love them so much. But I always come back to this one...

Smoothies are possibly one of my favorite things. And obviously other people like them or we wouldn't have a million Smoothie Kings everywhere right? Even thought it is starting to get cold outside,

I still drink smoothies year-round (and wear birkenstocks...with socks of course) I try to make myself something that is indulgent and healthy to stave off the snacky cravings especially if we are going to eat wings and fries (football season staple, amiright?!). I'll eat a couple and enjoy them, but with something of my own that is filling and delicious, I never feel like I am depriving myself.

And the ingredients are super simple staples that many Trim Healthy Mamas already have on hand!



Since I started Trim Healthy Mama, I have at least 1 smoothie a day. Usually they are fuel pull smoothies, but every now and then, I like to fuel up with this E (energizing) smoothie. It tastes like a creamy orange popsicle and is seriously so delicious, I die a little each time I sip. I will make an "E" meal JUST so I can whip up this smoothie on the side!! My E meal is usually a turkey and laughing cow sandwich on sprouted bread. It's a little boring, so this on the side makes it luxurious!

You know what makes this smoothie even more fun? My brand new Ninja blender!! My blender took a turn for the worse after 5 years of faithfully operating day in and day out. My blender and my coffeemaker are in use daily around here. And they just can't suck or I'll be replacing them quarterly. Hooray for no more ice cube chunks stuck in my straw!! I'm feeling super fancy with this monster of a blender. I'm movin' up!!

If you are looking for a quick and healthy snack, give this smoothie a try and let me know what you think! And please tell me your best kept THM secrets so I can make sure to eat healthy through the rest of football/holiday season!!

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THM'd Orange Smoothie

Ingredients

1 medium orange

1 scoop pristine whey powder

1/4 tsp gluccie or xantham gum (optional)

2-3 tsp gentle sweet

1 cup Chobani Greek Yogurt (to make this THM E, pick fat free plain)

1 dash vanilla

1 dash probiotic (optional)

12 ice cubes

Instructions: 

Peel the orange and drop the sections in the blender along with the whey powder, glucci or xantham, gentle sweet, Chobani yogurt and vanilla. Blend for 3-5 minutes. Add the ice cubes and blend until smooth.

ENJOY!!!

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It makes a HUGE smoothie so you can share with everyone :)

Or not...

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Getting Started with Trim Healthy Mama

So you may have heard a little about Trim Healthy Mama, maybe you even googled it a little bit to learn about what it is an how to do it. But you never took the first step to give it try because it looked complicated or you just weren't in a place to start focusing on your own health. If you are anything like me you were confused by the "rules" and could probably research yourself into your grave before you ever get started on the plan. So let me try to help you out with a few tips!

When I was researching the best way to kick-start my weight loss, I just couldn't do another diet. I've done them ALL! Weight Watchers, NutriSystem, calorie counting, gluten-free, etc.  I firmly believe that you should not have to cut out major food groups or healthy foods when you are trying to lose weight. I stand by my "Eat Butter, Lose Weight" post. Healthy fats have a firm place in my diet and I won't drop them. But I also wasn't able to drop pounds just by eating healthily after I had Bridget (I'm getting OLD!!!).

So, I finally decided to jump on the Trim Healthy Mama plan and I have had SUCH amazing success with it so far that I must encourage you to give it a try!!!!  You can follow my weight loss on the left with the My Fitness Pal icon and see my progress since July 15th. I started working out and counting calories until I got very frustrated that the scale wasn't moving at all. On August 10th, I finally decided to give Trim Healthy Mama a chance on recommendation from a friend. Now this particular friend is extremely petite and had to quit a few weeks in because she can't get "too skinny"...

Credit

Yeah, I don't understand or relate to that issue at all.  But, I do know that she lost the last few pounds easily. Then, Wardee of Gnowfglins (a personal foodie hero of mine) posted her success with THM and I decided it was time to give it a try. After all, I had lost and regained the same 8 pounds repeatedly this past year and was done with all that mess!  I am currently down 8 pounds and the scale continues to move. I am eating healthy foods, tons of veggies and produce, tons of butter, eggs, avocados, and even my personal favorite: homemade sourdough bread! (I used to sell it at the farmers market!)  If you are looking for a plan to actually lose weight using science you can understand and food you love, this is definitely the one to get behind.

Here is your Trim Healthy Mama Crash course: 

• Eat tons of protein. 
• Enjoy fats and carbs, just not together. 
• Eat meals with protein and fats. 
• Eat meals with protein and carbs.
• Wait three hours before switching between a high carb and high fat meal. 
• Eat tasty food.
• Eat everything in moderation but never go hungry. 
• Don't count calories.
• Each meal is another chance to start over.

So, if you want to give it a try, here are the top 5 items you need to get started with Trim Healthy Mama!

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1. The Trim Healthy Mama Plan Book 

The book explains everything so well and highlights lots of different food combos and ideas along with a ton of go-to recipes that you will use daily! The sisters just came out with two new books:

Trim Healthy Mama Plan

Trim Healthy Mama Cookbook

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2. A high quality pure protein powder

Trim Healthy Mama Protein Powder

This is a daily staple. You will use this powder in a daily smoothie or other food. Especially after you try some of the awesome and filling recipes! My favorite is this Fat Stripping Frappa and I make one every day! It's like a huge milkshake but packed with protein powder! (I always put my probiotic in as well.)

I use the Trim Healthy Mama protein powder for two reasons

1. It is affordable! You don't end up with a 1 gallon container that cost you a fortune.
2. It only has one ingredient: Whey (Milk) Protein Isolate Powder

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3. Glucomannan Pure Powder

Glucomannan is Konjac Root Powder used to thicken various liquids!

I use a little Gluccomannan Powder in my daily "Fat Stripping Frappa" smoothie and also in my chocolate pudding (recipe found in the book). This can also be used to thicken soups or stews and sauces if you are on an "E" meal and can't use gobs of fat. I also make a strawberry vanilla topping thickened with a little glucomannan to put on pancakes, muffins, etc. So tasty!

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4. Gentle Sweet

Gentle Sweet is amazing! It is a blend of xylitol, erythritol and stevia and perfectly sweetens all of my favorite dishes!

THM Gentle Sweet

Now let me clarify that I am not a fan of artificial sweeteners like splenda or anything with aspartame. And I would prefer that the only sweeteners in my home are pure maple syrup and raw honey, but the reality is that I cannot lose weight by regularly consuming these items. I look forward to going back to "normal" once I have reached my happy zone. Until then, I am SO excited to have found Gentle Sweet!!  It is delicious and flavors all of my specialty foods like strawberry sauce, smoothies and skinny chocolate. Just make sure you don't eat a lot of it and use THM to dampen your sweet tooth. You will find that as you avoid sugar, you don't crave it anymore and the natural sugars in food begin to get stronger and more appealing. And you want to make sure your sweetener doesn't have any other ingredients than just the pure stevia/xylitol/ethyritol.

Skinny Chocolate for a little "pick-me-up"!

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5. Cocoa Powder

I have never gone through so much cocoa powder in my life as I do with Trim Healthy Mama! But everything that I make with it is healthy and nourishing. It is important to get a high quality cocoa powder and a pound is a good starting point! This cocoa powder is from Frontier, one of our foodclub sources, and it is certified fair trade. And delicious!!

Frontier Fair Trade Cocoa Powder

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And there you have it! These are 5 of the main items needed to begin Trim Healthy Mama.

If you are ready to jump in with both feet, here are a few other items that are key to add to your shopping list in addition to fresh produce and meats so you are fully prepared for Week 1! You should be able to find these in many stores like Aldi and Kroger. If not, you can get anything from Amazon!

• Flax Seeds - where to find
• Almond Flour - where to find
• Coconut Oil - where to find
• Chia Seeds - where to find
• Rolled Oats - where to find
• Unsweetened Almond Milk - where to find
• Greek Yogurt
• Cream Cheese
• Baking Powder (make your own aluminum free blend!)
• And TONS of eggs!!!

Now you are officially ready to begin. For inspiration, be sure to join us in the Trim Healthy Mama Facebook group.  You can see tons of recipes, before/after photos and hear testimonials for how THM is working for women and men in every age group and every circumstance!!  I will be posting my personal before and after photos as soon as the change is more noticeable. So far, I have lost 8 lbs and 8.5 inches and while this is a good start, but I have about 20 more to go!!  I will be some information on what I typically eat soon so stay tuned.

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GBTN: Why I brush my teeth with oil

Over the last few years, I have jumped even deeper in to natural and organic living.  My journey has extended from food items to everyday products and the majority of these products are relatively unknown and, in my opinion, underused! I wanted to take some time on my blog to share some of the best items I have discovered through my foodclub and introduce them to you.

We'll call this series Getting Back to Nature!

OraWellness Organic Brushing Blend

When I started my foodclub back in 2012, one of our members immediately asked "When can we place a bulk order for OraWellness??" I had never heard of this company, nor had I heard of brushing your teeth with oil, but after quite a bit of research, I was sold!

Quick story: A foodclub member once brought her sister, who was visiting from California, to help us sort and I force fed her home-brewed kombucha which she thought was the worst thing that had ever happened to her. Worse than that, when they left, she told her sister how disappointed she was that everyone looked so "normal". She didn't see one person in Birkenstock's and she didn't see anyone with dreads!!  We let her down...

See all the normal people?!

I have now been using this magical elixir for three years and it is about time I shared it with you all! The foodclub I left in Texas is still going strong with regular bulk orders but I'm going to have to start buying it on my own...unless I can find any locals in the Nashville area to go in on a bulk order with me - any takers?!

OraWellness is an oil based brushing blend with essential oils created to kill all the bad bugs in your mouth while at the same time supporting full mouth and dental health. It also leaves you with a "dentist-clean feeling" in your mouth every.single.time. I cannot go without it for even a day or my mouth starts to feel gritty and dirty.

From their website:

What makes the HealThy Mouth Blend so great?

• Made with Organic ingredients so you know you are getting the highest quality.
• Quickly kills the bacteria that cause gum disease while it freshens your breath.
• Supports the healing of damaged gum tissue.
• Increases saliva production which is highly beneficial to stop gum disease
• Does not contain any nasty fillers, artificial colors, flavors, or other toxins.

Ingredients:

Organic and wildcrafted essentials oils of:

~ cinnamon
~ peppermint
~ spearmint
~ clove
~ myrrh
~ manuka

in a base of Organic almond oil

If you decide to jump in and try this stuff out, you really have to get one of their toothbrushes as well.

Bass Toothbrush-Adult Size Product Description

Notice the staggered spacing of the tufts. This unique spacing allows for greater cleaning potential along and under the gum line. Best if used with the Bass brushing technique. Brushes come in red, blue, purple and green. At this time we cannot offer a choice of color. This helps us keep our cost to you as low as possible.

BPA FREE :)

MADE IN USA

As a family, all 6 of us use them (even though the brushing blend is too "spicy" for the kids).  The toothbrushes are specifically used in combination with the Bass Brushing Technique to significantly reduce bad bugs around your gumline and improve dental health.  I haven't used a conventional toothbrush in years and can't imagine going back now!!

For more information on the toothbrushes and the Bass Brushing Technique, watch this:

Will and his wife Susan, the owners of OraWellness, are super quick to respond to any and all questions! So if you have any, let me know and, if I can't answer them, I'll go straight to the source to get them answered for you!!

So there you have it, one of my favorite all natural, organic items that I tell anyone and everyone about when they give me the chance. I have a couple more staple items to share with you in the next few weeks so stay tuned...

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Updates Galore

So what have we been up to??

The better question is what haven't we been up to?!  Life is getting crazy around here but all in a good way.    Spring is in high gear and we are taking advantage before the heat of a Texan summer kicks in.

I am so excited to be a volunteer for our local Farmer's Market again this year.  I am trained by the City to distribute our nutritional assistance vouchers - this program is amazing because it keeps our local dollars right here by spending WIC money on produce from local farmers.  The Farmer's Market situation in our city is a little rough.  I try to do my part to promote and support our local farmers.  The local food movement is strong here but unfortunately, the competition is fierce.  Last year, a member of our market quit and started her own market to compete with ours.  It breaks my heart because the farmers split between the markets and now there is a weird and unnatural division in town.  And the farmers are too busy growing, cultivating and harvesting to worry about social media and promotion of their market!  So let me brag on our market real quick.

Each farmer who sells at our market sells only what they grow on their land.  

  No one is allowed to re-sell produce that they purchase and it is strictly monitored by the farmers themselves.  So if mother nature doesn't cooperate and they are left with no harvest the morning of the market - this is what their table looks like.  This is the real risk of farming though!!!

Our market is farmer-run and operated.  The farmers run the show and aim to serve the community.  This is what local really is!!

It doesn't get more fresh than this.  Have you ever had a strawberry that was all red throughout - absolutely NO white?  These true red strawberries are the real deal.  

And this year, I was able to participate as a "vendor" at the Market Bakery table because of the Texas Cottage Law! I spent all day Friday preparing and baking 8 loaves of sourdough bread to sell at the market.  It is a bit of a process and I need all the help I can get.  First step is grinding the wheat:

The finished product was pretty amazing.  I use this recipe without the added yeast.

It took over 24 hours to finish but I sold out completely!!  

I'm not cut out for farming (my idea of enjoying the outdoors is usually reading a book in the shade...) but I can bake the hell out of some bread!  The market season will end early for me since the baby is due June 28th, but I'll be there every week until then!  

Oh yeah - I'm still very pregnant with #4

And even though this is the most unflattering photo in the history of pregnant photos, it is the only one I have.  The kids are giving me a "spa day" at home.  Foot soak with epsom salts and herbs, hand massage, cardboard fan, and Roman promised not to jump on my belly one time while I was laying down (for the record, he lied).  I'm 2 months away from having the baby and too busy to stay uncomfortable.  Although I am pregnant in Texas and it is starting to get really hot so talk to me in a couple weeks!

So let's talk about the important updates:

These kids are amazing.  I really am too lucky with them.  We finished our homeschool year with Leo and now they spend hours each day playing together coming up with all sorts of games.  

Do you see her up on her tip-toes?  I'm not sure that her heels have ever touched the ground.

This third trimester has been SO different than the last two in the best way.  The kids are older and require a lot less time and attention from me (unless you count the 3,938,462 fights I break up throughout the day).  They play hard all day, they have chores, they clean up after themselves, they help me out when I get stuck on the couch and can't get up (Roman's only chore) and they are all so sweet that I am not stressed out at all about bringing another baby into the mix.  She is lucky to have these three as older siblings :)

We were able to get some seeds and plants in the ground to try our luck at another Texan garden!  Last year was a fail because of bad soil and lack of water.  This year, we are getting serious!

Some of their favorite jobs are watering the garden and sprinkling diatomaceous earth all over.  This stuff kills fire ants within a couple hours - I love it!!  And it is edible so it can't hurt the kids or our property one bit.

We had an awesome Easter Sunday celebration.  The kids were spoiled rotten but what better day to really have a celebration?!

We were supposed to participate in the post-Mass Easter Egg hunt at church, but as it turned out, if you stayed until the actual end of Mass, you missed the party.  The Creaster Catholics scooped up all the eggs before my kids even exited the Church!  So we redid an egg hunt at a party later in the day.

Lastly - wish me luck as I prepare for the first annual Foodclub picnic this evening!!  I have been running the foodclub out of my house for over a year and we have yet to have a group party.  So this is our first one and I'm a wee bit nervous we will forget something important...like the 3 huge chickens I have slow-roasting in the oven all day today??  Surely a pregnant woman won't forget the food right?