"Tameka Corner" is a lifestyle & travel blog showcasing all things fabulous! We chat about Business, Beauty, Travel, Family, and a host of other things that make my corner of the world so special! Look forward to product reviews, favorites lists, useful info, and tons of laughter and smiles! Take a few moments to get away from it all and join me in my corner of the world, Tameka's Corner.
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I started off my morning with my Detox Tea!! YYYYYEEEEAAAA for making it to Day 2! LOL Hey, celebrate the little victories. :-)
I was a little bit more cautious this morning because yesterday, I got a slight headache between breakfast and lunch. I am
trying to determine if it's the natural process of the detox (I'm on Day
3 of drinking detox tea, even though it's only Day 2 of the eating
plan) or if it's the plant-based diet. It wasn't anything that inhibited
me from going about my daily activities. I still went to the gym and
did some work from home for my business. It was actually more annoying
then anything. It wasn't painful like how headaches typically can be so
we'll see how it goes today.
I had some meetings this morning so I prepared my travel cup and jumped in the car to start my day.
Today was also a horrible water day. I didn't get started on my water until well into the afternoon and that is never good. Drinking your daily allowance of water is one of those things where once you fall behind, you can pretty much forget about catching back up. It's like a bad Saturday College football game. That's exactly what happened to me today. SMH.
Since I enjoyed my salad so much yesterday, I went ahead and made that for lunch again today. it was just as yummy, if not better. I may stick to these for a good part of the duration of this plan.
For dinner, I whipped up some green beans and sweet potatoes. I also sliced some tomatoes to go on the side. I absolutely love sliced tomatoes. So much so, that sometimes when they come on a cheeseburger, I take them off and eat them separate from the burger. I also tried to be responsible and place the remaining sweet potatoes in a storage container so they'll be ready tomorrow if I have to travel for work.
Also, just for laughs, I wanted to show you all the torture that my family wanted me to cook today... my absolute favorite dish, Macaroni and Cheese sprinkled with bread crumbs!! I couldn't believe they did that to me. If you missed yesterday's "lifestyles of the Tempted" episode, you can check it out here. Anyway, I am happy to report that I did not touch one single morsel of that Mac & Cheese! Even when some cheese fell on my hand and it started to tremble with excitement and anticipation of licking it off my hand, I quickly washed my hands and kept it moving! I am so very proud of myself for resisting that today!!
Lastly, I just wanted to share with you all that I bought a new, little, manual lemon juicer that I so enjoy using. I know that it's 2017 and there are electric contraptions these days but this was just so cute sitting up on the IKEA shelf and it's so much fun to use!! I just love it!! Here it is in pics with the teas that I am alternating at the moment.
TODAY'S LESSON:
Social Media is a life saver when it comes to changing to a new eating plan and having never made the recipes before. I was scrolling through pinterest yesterday on the treadmill and every last one of those vegan deserts had me about to jet out of there just to head home and whip up some of those scrumptious blessings!! No more pinteresting at the gym! Period!
MY 3 CENTS:
~ It's time consuming to make the veggies fresh, instead of from frozen. But it's worth it in cases where they try to hide sugar in the veggies. (See pic from my Day 1 post)
~Drinking detox tea with my plant-based eating plan has helped me immensely to avoid hunger cravings
~ Staying up too late at night while on a eating plan is the devil. While there are multiple benefits to getting 8+ hours of sleep, one of them is that you are not able to raid the fridge.
What I Ate Today:
Breakfast - 12 noon
1 Whole Navel Orange
1 Bananas
Lunch - 3:40 pm
Salad with Green Leaf Lettuce, Black Beans, Corn, Cucumbers, Tomatoes.
Salad Dressing: Pomegranate Infused Red Wine Vinegar and Olive Oil
Dinner - 7:40 pm
Small Baked Sweet Potato
French Style Green Beans
Sliced Vine Tomatoes with Garlic and Pepper Herbs
WATER: 81oz, GYM: no. Did a cardio DVD at home. Hoping to hit the gym for a morning and evening session tomorrow.
So today, I felt pretty good and pretty optimistic. It's Day 1 so I felt prepared and ready to do this!!
I woke up and had my detox tea. I used some "Sugar In The Raw" but I plan to head to the store today for some Agave. Although I've never bought any personally, I've heard such wonderful things about it. I'm looking forward to seeing what my agave choices are.
After getting some work done, I decided to make me a salad for lunch. I've always been a fan of salad so I don't have any problems eating them multiple times, and for multiple meals. See the ingredient list below to check out what I put in today's salad. I hate having to use canned beans but I just don't have the time to soak my beans and such. But I did make sure to get the "no salt added" variety. I also was not too sure if I could have those olives but I tore them up anyway, LOL.
What you don't see in this picture is that the rest of my family in my house decided to come downstairs and make turkey sandwiches in the kitchen while I'm preparing my lunch. So, I'm sitting over here washing cucumbers and sweet potatoes in my vinegar/water mix ........ and next thing I know, I smell BUTTER melting in a skillet... REALLY? Then I hear the sizzle of turkey breast in that same skillet.... followed by the sight of MELTING CHEESE...... {insert side eye} The ding on the toaster of that fresh bread smell was the last straw!! I had to leave the kitchen at that very moment. I tossed those cucumbers back in the water and dropped those sweet potatoes like I was playing the childhood version of "hot potato!!" I'm out of here!!!
Now, I wish I would have gotten a picture so you could feel my pain, and see how tempted I was. SHEESH! MY SENSES WERE GOING CRAZY!! The sight, smell, and sounds were too overwhelming. LOL On the other hand, I did snap a nice pretty picture of my finished salad. YUM! I was pretty proud of what I had created! It tasted super yummy too! I even made my own salad dressing. I'd bought a set about a year ago that included the carafe that you see in the picture. I've used it several times and I absolutely love that thing!! The best $4 I've ever spent. It has the indicator lines n the side to ensure that you pour the right about of each ingredient. It's fool proof!! And that pomegranate vinegar was superb with the olive oil!
For dinner, I just had some brussels sprouts and some left over salad because I made too much at lunch time so I divided the portions. I was so upset when I turned over the package and noticed that there was sugar in the brussels sprouts. For the life of me, I just can't understand why they felt the need to add SUGAR to brussels sprouts. It freakin' says "Sea Salt & Cracked Pepper." It doesn't say anything about sugar. This is why reading the labels is so important. And I knew when I was out shopping that I should have just gotten the fresh ones or the frozen bag without the fancy title, SMH..... But I was completely suckered in by the marketing and name. I literally felt like all of the effort was kicked out of me because now I had to eat some brussels sprouts with sugar in them. I know, I know, I'm over exaggerating but I was so very disappointed. However, I did bake some sweet potatoes tonight and they have the house smelling divine!! I can't wait to through some cinnamon on those bad boys and satisfy my sweet tooth craving tomorrow.
I'm grateful that after all of that, I still made it to the gym. :-)
TODAY'S LESSON:
When you are trying a new eating plan, beware of our friends and family. I'm not saying that they won't be supportive but sometimes, they don't get it. God bless their hearts, they have good intentions, but they may not be as committed to your change/challenge as you are.
MY 3 CENTS:
~ Get a good grip on your mindset (My Momma taught me that!)
~ Prepare the day before because preparation is the key to success (Thanks KeKe)
~ Drink enough tea and water. Often times, you may think you are hungry but you really may be lacking enough water.
What I Ate Today:
Breakfast - 12 noon
Whole Navel Orange
2 Bananas
Small bowl of Steel Cut Oats
Lunch - 3:40 pm
Salad with Green Leaf Lettuce, Black Beans, Corn, Cucumbers, Tomatoes, Carrots, Olives, and Slivered Almonds.
Salad Dressing: Pomegranate Infused Red Wine Vinegar and Olive Oil
So it's mid November and while Thanksgiving and Christmas are still approaching, I have my eyes set on another upcoming holiday....... New Years Eve!!
Living away from my family means that there are some years when I am unable to go home for the holidays. This usually happens especially if it's the holiday season before our big family reunions, which happen every three years. This coming summer, we will be headed to Sacramento, California for our big gathering!!
I guess that brings me to my why..... I hope this doesn't sound shallow but..... I really want to wear (and look good in) a sequin dress for New Years Eve. Not just this year, but year after year, after year, after year, after year..............................Let's be real, sequin can be very unforgiving, it's just not one of those fabrics that everyone loves. But it can be so beautiful and festive during this time of year. Sequin makes me happy!! :-) Therefore, I'm going to work hard and try my best to ensure that I look good in my sequin dress.
Obviously, aside from feeling and looking good in my clothes, I'd like to try some variations of food to see how hey each affect my body. While I have grown to pay close attention to my body, my health, and how I feel, I have rarely cut out certain things and do a detox, of sorts, to see if I feel any different. I look forward to seeing which foods agree with me more and which eating lifestyle will give me maximize results in feeling great, having great skin and hair, and achieving overall wellness. I've heard so many great things about plant-based eating so I am going to try that for a few weeks and see how I feel and how it affects me.
Right now, It's Sunday Night, I just finished grocery shopping, washing my veggies, steaming, roasting, peeling, chopping, meal prepping, and having a cup of detox tea. This starts tomorrow and my good friend Keonna told me that being prepared is the key so I'm taking tonight to do just that.
I am also incorporating intermittent fasting into the eating plan mix. I've been doing intermittent fasting for about 3 months off and on, so that part will be a little easier for me. I've seen amazing results with IF and of course "results = motivation!!" You can check out my IF experience in a future blog post that I plan to write over the holiday break. Intermittent Fasting is an eating pattern where you have an eating window with is usually 8 hours of time (some people do 6 hours) and then you allow your body to rest from food for the remaining 16 hours of a 24 hours day. (I know you wish there were more than 24 hours in a day but........ I digress, LOL) Now, of those 16 hours that are remaining after your eating window closes, you should be sleep at least 8 of those. And that, my friend, is what makes IF so easy to follow. One of my favorite YouTubers to discuss IF is Dr. Eric Berg, DC. I'll post one of his videos below.
Of course I still have a ton of questions about food, nutrition, and Plant-Based Eating but you have to start somewhere. I'm sure I will make mistakes along the way. I'll have to find substitutes for my favorite foods, I'll fall off the wagon, and get back up. I'll have to take vitamins to make sure I'm getting a better balance of nutrients. I'll be confused. I'll be elated with results.................. So many questions and doubts, but so much hope and fun experimentation!!
I AM SO EXCITED and happy that you will be following my journey to New Years Eve!! Let's see what happens!!!
A FEW OF MY GOALS:
~ Commit to trying out 100% plant-based eating
~ Drink half my body weaight in water every day
~ Go to the gym at least 3-4 days a week
~ Drink a cup of detox tea every morning
~ Incorporate more prayer and meditation with my Intermittent Fasting
You know, there is something to be said about the holiday season, it's one of the most joyest, thought provoking parts of the year. We show our gratitude and thankfulness for our loved ones and the things that make our lives special, we celebrate the birth of Jesus with family and friends who have become family, and we reflect on the past year as we bring in another trip around the sun.
I absolutely love the holidays!! And I would be remissed if I did not mention that a big part of the holidays consist of gift-giving and shopping. While I am not a fan of extreme consumerism and people spending what they don't have or going into debt for the latest and greatest merchandise, sensible gift giving does the heart good! I do enjoy the look on a baby girls face when she gets a new doll, the expression of joy when a family can get a much needed furniture item for half the price to make their family time that much more intimate, and perhaps my favorite, price slashing on professional classes and products to help me run my business more efficiently. Being able to purchase items at an extreme discount and give gifts to those who could use a show of love, gratitude, and compassion, always makes me a happy girl.
That bring me to the point of this blog post............
As the holiday season started and I began to make my list of my gifting goodies, I also had to decide on the best way to budget my funds. I could not help but to notice that without using my AVON representative discount, those pennies did not stretch as much as they had in years past.
You see, I put my AVON business on hold this year for a few months while I worked harder at my part of the family business. While I don't regret m decision and we saw great growth with our family-owned transportation company, I longed to play in the world of colorful Make-Up, pleasantly scented Bath Products, the cutest Housewares ever, and Dresses & Shoes that made me feel like a confident, cute diva. I missed shopping at my AVON store personally, but more importantly, I missed servicing my customers. So you know what happened next.............
I CAME BACK TO AVON!!!!
YYYIIIIPPPPEEEEEEE!!!!!
How Can I Serve You? Need a little motivation to see what you might tickle your fancy? Check out our Black Friday Specials here: www.YourAvon.com/TamekaHorton
