Healthy Thanksgiving That Does Not Suck!

Hello everyone and welcome back to Project Health! 
Where the hell have I been, you ask? And where the hell is that Vegan Pumpkin Spice Latte recipe? Well, the recipe is coming! I have been trying, trying, trying, to get together a nice little video for the VPSL (Vegan Pumpkin Spice Latte) grand release. With Thanksgiving madness this week... I'm thinking a little VPSL may be the treat everyone needs! 
As to where I have been and what's been going on.... well... let's just say, I have been reaching high and low to find myself! Through my lifestyle change journey, I kind of forgot to check in on myself and ask, "how are you doing?". My body and mind have been going through many changes during this journey and that can be a little frightening to someone that did not see it coming. I thought I would be able to walk into this lifestyle and breeze right along. It's really never that simple. Let's just say my mind had a freak out.
BUT on the plus side, I have found myself and found my focus. So let's do this! 

THANKSGIVING VEGAN STYLE. LET'S GET THIS GOING! 
Yes, it can be done. Many people "cheat" on holidays like Thanksgiving and Christmas because they wonder, "what will I eat?". It can be done, folks. Health is just right around the corner and sitting on your Thanksgiving plate. 
I'm not going to lie... I was kind of wondering the same thing-- then I turned to my resources.... better known as Youtube. 


Fully Raw Kristina from Youtube has posted a wonderful video with Thanksgiving ideas that are healthy, vegan and or course.... easy to make. Kristina is a Raw Vegan, so her recipes mirror her lifestyle. Naturally, she is fabulous and I love her energy. 

I also really enjoy watching Sarah Fit's videos on Youtube. She is not vegan but does often post vegan topic videos. Like, Fully Raw Kristina, Sarah Fit has posted a Thanksgiving tips video on how to have a healthy Thanksgiving that doesn't suck (really, it's in the title!!)

I hope you guys have found these videos helpful in some small way. 

Have a wonderful Thanksgiving and a safe Black Friday. 

Let the eating and shopping begin! 

Thank you everyone for reading! 

Vegan Story

Hello everyone and welcome back to Project Health!

Today's post is going to be a little different.... a week (or a little longer) ago, I shared my story with "What a Vegetarians Eat" blogger, Taylor. My story has been posted to her blog (cool, right?!). You can check out the article riiiight here: http://whatvegetarianseat.com/vegan-story-annie-carson/

If you have been following me from the beginning (like a whole month, hehe) you may know about my Youtube channel I have created to play along with my blog, Project Health. If you haven't already checked it out, I will have a link below. Please subscribe to be notified when videos have been posted.  https://www.youtube.com/user/anniedoesyoga/feed

Today's post was just a little (baby little) post with a few updates. I will be posting an awesome vegan pumpkin spice latte recipe this week. It is super yummy and great for those of us that find it impossible to live without our Starbucks holiday espresso. This a  perfect copycat recipe without the harmful ingredients and all the horrible calories. I hope you guys will check it out and try it yourself!

Thank you everyone for reading.

Creamy Dark Chocolate Pudding | Vegan

Hello everyone and welcome back to Project Health! Today, we are going to be making my super yummy, dark chocolate pudding! (And P.S.) It's vegan! 

So here's what you need:

2 Large ripe avocado, peeled and pitted 

1/2 Cup cacao powder 

1/3 Cup unsweetened vanilla almond milk

2 Tsp. All natural vanilla extract (Does not have to be all natural; just what I like to use)

1/4 Agave Nectar (or honey if you are not vegan) 

Dash of cinnamon

3 Drops of all natural liquid sweetener (of course, any sweetener will do)  

Pinch of sea salt*

Blender 

This is super easy to make! Here's how:

Basically, you want to take all your ingredients and throw them into the blender. 

Start blending and watch as this heavenly treat is formed. 

Blend until smooth..... AND EAT! 

Mine was a little extra dark for my taste, so I added more sweetener to make it less bitter. 

* The sea salt is important to this recipe. It majorly cuts bitterness and some magical way gives you gold! I tried mine without sea salt and it was very very very very very, did I  say very? Very, bitter.

11 Pounds Down & Pass the Coffee

Hello everyone and welcome back to Project Health. 

Saturday, September 27th made 3 weeks as a healthy green eater. 

The highs thus far: I've lost a total of 11 pounds in 3 weeks

The lows thus far: I miss Starbucks.

My plan was to not give up meat, but I actually do not have the desire to eat it anymore. Vegan I have become and I am loving it. I miss my Starbucks... badly. I've switched to organic coffee and Starbucks just doesn't have one. If I want coffee shop espresso, I have to go to Whole Foods and order from their coffee shop--- and let me tell you, it's not Starbucks.

The past 3 weeks have gone by super quickly and I have never felt better. It's crazy to think I have been eating clean for 3 whole weeks!

Some super super exciting news! I'm going Youtube! Yes, that's right. I'm going to be featuring yoga workout videos, cooking videos, vlogs, and much more. My channel is now live (search: Annie Carson) and we have an intro video up as of now. More videos to come! 

Yay for Youtube!  Below is a picture of our logo! 

Lastnight, I made vegan dark chocolate creamy pudding! Yes! Yummy! YES! The recipe for this to die for treat will be up Wednesday! 

Thank you everyone for reading! 

Vegan Peanut Butter Chocolate Ice Cream

Hello everyone and welcome back to Project Health.

Today I am sharing with you my Vegan Peanut Butter Chocolate Ice Cream!

Want to eat a whole bowl full of ice cream and not feel guilty afterwards? I know I do! This creamy, smooth, rich, ice cream will fix any sweet cravings you have.

Here's what you need:

3 frozen bananas 

2 tbsp PB2 chocolate 

1/4 cup unsweetened vanilla almond milk (optional) 

Blender or food processor 

EASY, EASY, EASY, YUMMY!

Let's make it:

First, you want to take your 3 frozen bananas and throw them into the blender.

My blender of choice is the Ninja Storm (Love it), but of course any high power blender or food processor will work.

Once your bananas are in the blender, you will then take 2 large tbsp of PB2 Chocolate and toss this yummy powder into the blender. 

I like to then add a splash of almond milk... it's a little easier on my blender. If you opt out on the almond milk, your end result will have the true texture of ice cream. If you opt for the almond milk, you will have something that looks like your ice cream has started to melt.

Either way, you have ice cream! It taste just like so yummy and you would never know the difference if you hadn't made it yourself!

*TIP* Bananas must be frozen or you'll end up with something that looks like a smoothie!

If you did not want to add PB2, you could always replace it with peanut butter and cocoa powder. BUT, for the sake of keeping it vegan and low calorie, I go for PB2.

ENJOY!

Mango Banana Smoothie Recipe

This is my Mango Banana Smoothie

It is light but creamy

Filling but refreshing

I hope you enjoy!

Here's what you need:

2 Ripe Bananas 

1 Mango

1/2 cup unsweetened vanilla almond milk

Ice (only if bananas are not frozen)

Blender 

Yes, it's really that simple!

Let's make this treat!

First you want to take 2 ripe bananas and toss them into the blender.

(I like to freeze my bananas before hand so they serve as the ice)

Once your bananas are in the blender, you then want to add 1 mango.

(I slice mine in cubes, but it doesn't matter, as long as it makes it into the blender)

After our yummy fruits are in, we will then add 1/2 cup of unsweetened vanilla almond milk. The almond milk is what makes this smoothie so delicious. You can eye ball the amount of liquid you would like in your smoothie-- play around with the consistency, you can always add more!

If you haven't frozen any of your fruit, you will now want to add ice to the mixture.

1, 2, 3, blend! 

It's really that easy and this smoothie is super yummy!

You can not go wrong with this amazing treat!

I hope you all enjoy!

Thank you for reading!

Week one, Friends, and Golf

Hello and welcome back to Project Health! 

Saturday made one full week of my new lifestyle, and what a week it was! I have lost five pounds since starting and I have never felt better. Everything I read said I would be feeling ten times better in just a week... and I have to say, I wasn't sure that was going to be me. Thankfully, they were right and I do feel better. Of course, I have a long journey ahead of me, but at least I'm enjoying the ride, right?! 

I have been trying to think of any issues I ran into this past week but I really can not think of any (Yay!) I few nights, I did find myself craving sweets... just going mad for them! I would have a few pieces of organic chocolate and my craving would calm down a bit. I was also finding, around dinner time I would be so hungry....  feeling sick, hungry. Once this happened a few nights in a row, I started looking at what I was eating during the day and how I could keep myself from wanting to go crazy at night. As it turned out, I wasn't eating enough for lunch. So, in return, my body was freaking out by dinner time. I felt like this past week was a learning experience for myself and my body... learning what foods worked for me and what foods kept me energized throughout the day. 

I haven't been missing any foods from my "old lifestyle", I think they only thing I have been truly missing is coffee. I have organic coffee from Whole Foods, but it's just not the same. Nothing about it taste like normal coffee. I'm still determined to find one out there! And I will... I will find one that fills the whole in my heart now that normal coffee is gone. (tears)

Saturday was a very happy day! I was thrilled to have made it through the week and I wanted nothing more than to work harder! Kelsey I were invited by two of our friends for a little golf and dinner. This is when my Saturday got a little scary. Having dinner at a friends house. Crap! Naturally, I could not eat anything that was on the dinner menu. But, instead of feeling bad for myself, we called our friends and told them the truth. The honest truth that I needed to bring my own food. And so that's just what I did. I was a little nervous that watching Kelsey and our friends eat yummy, tasty, lasagna would drive me right into a wall. To prepare for this, I brought tons of yummy food. And I have to say, I never once felt like I was missing in action. 

Oh, and golf really isn't one of my many talents. I came in last. Boo! 

Thank you everyone for reading