Feb 23, 2014

Beachbody Ultimate Reset

Twenty-one days ago, I decided to commit myself to a 3 week cleanse through Beachbody.  When everything arrived in the mail, I looked over all of it and couldn't wait to get started.  It does say in the packet to make sure you look at your calendar and block out three weeks of your life to fully commit to this.  It is not meant to be half-ass.  It's all or nothing.  It explicitly stated - NO CHEATING!  I saw Valentine's Day was ahead of me, but really, it is pretty much a Hallmark holiday and I can feel the love from my amazing boyfriend without food and chocolates, so....in one week, I began. 

What did I love about the Reset? 
   - the variety of meals
   - doubling recipes at times to have it ready for the next day
   - no cravings!!!!  (Except on day 18 when I was exploring Pinterest and wanted fish tacos and                  pancakes - DO NOT EXPLORE PINTEREST WHEN CLEANSING)
   - was able to resist my kryptonite...chocolate cake from Le Chocolat - TWICE! 
   - 21 days were broken up into 3 phases so it didn't seem so long
   - losing 10 pounds in 3 weeks!!!  That just deserves a raised eyebrow....
   - more energy during the day
   - feeling lighter
   - having a whole book of delicious recipes at my fingertips

What I found challenging at times about Reset?

    Rather than make bullet points on this, I'd rather explain it through complete sentences compiled into paragraphs.  :)  So, the first two days I had to get used to taking the supplements during the day.  Supplements are taken 4 times during the day - all before meals or snacks.  I teach in a toddler classroom where my focus is on 14 children - definitely not on myself and stopping the day to remember to take my supplements.  Like I said, the first two days were a learning experience and by day 3, I had it all calculated as to when I needed to take my supplements so that I could excuse myself for 2 minutes to do what I needed to do.  Another challenge was preparing all the meals.  I am a working mother (2 jobs), so I had to prepare lunches, sometimes dinners if I was staying late the night the next day.  There were a couple of times when it took about an hour to prepare my meals and my daughter's meals.  One fact I would like to point out is that I am a single parent, so by the time I got home after teaching 14 children for 8 hours, I was now faced with my own children and their demands of food.  My two hands were the only two hands available.  And yes, I made 2 separate meals for 21 days....that was probably my biggest challenge.  The last week of the reset was the easiest because the meals were definitely simpler. 
     My energy was great during the day, but by 9pm, put a fork in me because I was DONE!  That is the point of the Reset....to rest.  There were nights though that 9pm would come around and I had to push it one more hour because I still had either laundry to finish, a client call, dishes, meal prep, or....I was out with the love of my life.  But for the most part, I was in my bed, asleep.  Another unexpected challenge was around day 5 and 6, I had the itchiest skin ever.  All the toxins were coming out of my body through my pores.  For that, I used a body brush morning and night to get it off of my body.

Overall, I had a very good experience.  I did not miss all the sweets or breads or whatever's.  I managed to tackle it even with the challenges and received wonderful results.  It was only 3 weeks out of my life and now my body is in a much better place.  I am a picky person when it comes to food and honestly, Beachbody does a fantastic job with their menu and supplements.  I am impressed with the quality and substance.

If you are interested in purchasing an Ultimate Reset package, let me know.  I have been through it and am here to walk through it with you if you need my assistance.  My website is www.beachbodycoach.com/heidigeiger
 

Jan 28, 2014

Raw Chocolates

That Hallmark holiday is right around the corner....Valentine's Day!  What better way to say "I LOVE YOU" than with these raw beauties?  I have made these chocolates before, but tonight I got a little more creative with adding chopped almonds.  Full of antioxidants and anti-microbial agents, these chocolates are sure to please, easy to make and are truly beneficial to your health.  Are you feeling the love?

All you need are 5 ingredients, a stove top, a blender, flexible molds and a freezer.  I whipped these gourmet delights up in 15 minutes and they turned solid in less than 10 minutes.  Wilton can't touch these.  They want to, but...they just can't.  FAR FROM IT!

Ingredients:

7 oz. cacao butter, melted
1/2 cup coconut oil, melted
1/2 cup raw honey
2 cups cacao powder
Seeds of 1 vanilla pod

Melt the cacao butter in a double boiler or over a pot of water at low temperature.  Put the melted liquid into your power blender.  Add the melted coconut oil, honey and vanilla seeds and blend.  Slowly sieve the cacao powder into the mixture and blend on low speed until everything is combined.  All the ingredients can be mixed through by hand if you do not have a power blender.  Pour into chocolate molds or ice trays and allow to set in the freezer.

(recipe is from Rawlicious)

This recipe made a little over 35 chocolates.