Staying Stress Free This Holiday Season

Here are a few tips for staying stress free this holiday season.

Stay Organized/Clean/Prepared 

Take a few minutes each morning and night to do a quick clean up and keep your house tidy in case unannounced friends or family stop by. Keep some cheese, crackers, fruit and wine on hand. It will come in handy and takes little to no effort to serve. 

Wrap It Up

I collect those adorable little white boxes from Anthropologie all year long - they come in handy at Christmas time to just tie some twine or a bow on and you are good to go - and adorable looking too. Wrap as you go, do not wait until the last minute! If all else fails, I've been known to call my mom to help with last minute wrapping.

Give A Little - Get A Little

Almost every store is asking for donations for charities at Christmas time. Every time I go to Publix or Home Goods I always add a few dollars to the total to help families in need and St. Jude's research. You can also adopt families in need or keep items in your car to hand out to homeless people that you see on the streets. Your holidays will be a lot merrier if you GIVE. 

Plan

Be sure to meal prep and not leave all the holiday cooking to Christmas morning. Shop the week before Christmas to avoid the last minute shoppers at the grocery store. Be sure to visit Aldi for your cheese and cracker needs. You will thank me for this! They have the best assortments and the best prices.

Party On 

Enjoy the holiday season with family and friends but do not be afraid to say no. You cannot attend every event you are invited to. Don't overbook your calendar and end up stressed and not enjoying the most wonderful time of the year. 

Remember the Reason For The Season

And last but CERTAINLY not least, let's all remember the reason for the season. Without HIM, none of this would matter. 

Happy Birthday Jesus 

Catching Up Tampa

Wow, I have not blogged since summer.

Going to play a little catch up and also share some adorable shops around Tampa for the upcoming Christmas Season.

Chef Inspired Popcorn Company

Located on Howard Avenue

This little popcorn shop is adorable.

Would be great for baskets for the holidays, stocking stuffers or just a mid-day snack.

I chose the following:

Bar Mix

Bolt Corn for the Tampa Bay Lightning 

Buffalo Blue Cheese

Jalapeno Popper

Blow Hard Trump

Chocolate Salted Caramel

So yummy!

They have a contest going on between the Blow Hard Trump and Sour Apple Hillary

Looks like Trump is winning the battle. 

Enjoy. 

WW Update

Pizza seems to be the most filling to me.

Ole Xtreme Wrap, Aldi Fit and Active Grilled Chicken. Lettuce, peppers and onions. 8 smart points points. 

Kodiakcakes Donuts. (found the recipe on Pinterest) 4 smart points. 

Aldi Fit and Active Frozen Waffle - chocolate peanut butter and banana. 3 Smart Points

Black Beans, Pinto Beans, Homemade Salsa, Brown Rice, Aldi Fit and Active Grilled Chicken Nuggets and 6 Aldi Corn Chips. 8 smart points

GETTING THERE

If you have not tried this you are missing out. Arctic Zone Ice Cream! They are all 1 or 3 points for 1/2 Cup! Amazing - you decide for yourself. 

Another day another pizza - Flatout Bread makes the perfect crust.  Most are 6 - 8 points. 

Down a total of 18 pounds.

Started on May 15th

14 more pounds to my goal.

Weight Watchers Ideas and Update

I joined Weight Watchers on May 15th

Today is July 1st and I'm down 17 pounds

Yay!

Here are a few ideas that are really yummy and make you feel like you are not even on a diet.  Weight Watchers is actually just a healthy way of eating, not even a diet - you just get the great benefits of losing weight - another Yay!

This is water with rosemary, lemon, grapefruit and orange.  I find it makes it so much easier to hit the dialy goal of water intake if I spruce it up a little.  Lemon water first thing in the morning is such a good natural detox. 

I had seen these Kodiak Cakes all over Instagram so I decided to try them.  They did not dissapoint.  So good.  For this meal with egg whites and apple slices and lite syrup - total smart points = 6.

This might be one of my favorites so far.  Ole Xtreme Tortilla Veggie Taco. I baked a white sweet potato.  Added black beans, goat cheese, cilantro, garlic, salt and pepper.  This was amazing.  Served with fresh strawberries - total smart points = 5. 

Making smoothies has become my latest obsession.  Steve got me a Vitamix for my birthday and I'm loving it.  This one was frozen strawberries, peaches and banana with Bai Peach - yummy and ZERO points. 

Another favorite - I think they all are - this was flatout bread with Fresh Market Marinara Sauce.  Added fresh spring greens, peppers, tomatoes, garlic, salt and pepper - total smart points = 

This is a good treat - graham cracker, mini marshmallows, and chocolate cacao chips - total smart points = 3

Chef Salad - Lettuce, tomatoes, cucumbers, peppers, cilantro, feta cheese, turkey and turkey pepperoni.  Vinegar and lemon for dressing - total smart points = 4

Pineapple and ham Pizza.  English Muffin with ham, pizza sauce, low fat cheese and pineapple - total smart points = 6

Weight Watchers chicken burger.  Found these at Publix and a terrific find.  I love them!  Added some homemade salsa and Ole tortilla - total smart points = 4

Another awesome smoothie - Trader Joes frozen fruit and Bai of course - ZERO points. 

This is a tropical chicken fruit salad that I copied from Bahama Breeze.  Lettuce, strawberries, pineapple, orange, baked chicken, goat cheese - total points = 6

Another idea for drinking more water.  Voss water bottles have a wide opening so you can add fresh fruit and mint - another way to drink more water. 

This was yummy.  Ole wrap with a fat free hot dog, Weight Watchers cheese stick.  I pressed it and make the outside crispy - so good.  Total smart points = 4

Another day another smoothie!

This was interesting.  Not very filling but it's an egg cooked inside a yellow pepper.  Sriracha coleslaw - simply made coleslaw with fat free mayo and added sriracha to give it a kick - total smart points =  6 

Hope you enjoy! 

Life Lately

I love beautiful cakes!

Memorial Day - Mac and Cheese Burger on a Pretzel Bun

 More Memorial Day Fun - All American Corn Dog 

Special Theme Boxes or Baskets - Delivered in the Tampa Bay and Surrounding Areas

Just because!

Mother's Day Celebration 

Sav's 20th Birthday - Wish Away!

Currently Crushing On

Currently Crushing On

Seedtastic 21 Whole Grains and Seeds Bread from Aldi

Avocado

Poached Egg

Feta Cheese

It is fabulous.

Give it a try

Enjoy!

Overnight Oatmeal - Crock Pot Style

Simple and Easy

My favorite kind

Slice Two Apples

1/3 Cup Brown Sugar

1 Tsp. Cinnamon

2 Cups of Steel Oats

4 Cups of Water

Throw it all in.

Set the Crock Pot to Low

Cook for about 7 hours!

It is amazing.

(p.s. you can use any kind of fruit, I just happen to have apples on hand).

Enjoy!

Simple Cobbler

Simple Cobbler

Use any kind of pie filling that you like

(this one shown is apple/cranberry, purchased at my favorite store Aldi)

1 box of dry yellow cake mix

1 stick of butter

Pour the pie filling in the bottom of the pan and spread out

Sprinkle the yellow cake mix over the pie filling

Cut slices of butter and place on top (spread out)

Bake on 375 degrees for about 30 minutes

Enjoy! 

Egg White/Veggie Bake and a Cleanse

My little veggie garden is producing more peppers than I can keep up with.  Decided to put them to good use and make some egg white veggie bakes.  They are so yummy and low in calorie and carbs - win/win.

Spray your muffin tin well

Pour in the egg white about half way up

Chop up your veggies very small

onions

green and red peppers

tomatoes

jalapenos

Next sprinkle with goat or feta cheese

Bake in oven on 375 degrees for about 20 minutes or so - just monitor as all ovens cook differently.

They will last in the fridge for days so make a batch and heat up every morning for a healthy delicious breakfast. 

Hope you love them as much as I do.

p.s.  

I also did a Cleanse from Itworks today!

It's a two day cleanse.

• It Works! Proprietary Herbal Cleanse Blend™: Blue Agave Extract and Aloe Vera Leaf Gel work synergistically to help nourish microflora in your colon while promoting the cellular health of your colon’s cell walls.* Blue Agave Extract with a slow-fermenting, soluble fiber reaches deep into the colon, working as a prebiotic to feed good bacteria and rebalance microflora while slowly cleansing out toxins for a more comfortable cleanse.*

Let me know if you are interested in 

ItWorks and I can hook you up.

Make today great! 

xo  

California

Steve had a business trip to California

Sav and I decided to tag along

He worked 

We played