YUM. But, like, for real.

So, I have to say, I was always tentative to start a blog..but recently 2 things happened:


1) I was totally inspired by a fellow real-foodian http://ashleighfixesyourfood.blogspot.com/ She has great insight and knowledge, I realized from reading her blog, maybe people DO want to learn how to eat real food!

2) I was told by a friend of mine who, for lack of a better explanation, is the child of food legends that I was her "Furu" her food guru....



So here we are, back to the beginning;

I've spent my whole life dealing with my weight. The ups/downs, the happy/sads, the "i'm so fat, am I worth appreciating?" and the "wow, I'm a fox!" Lots of emotions that, at the end of the day all come back to one thing: FOOD.

Let's be clear: some of you may say, well, you never LOOKED that big, though that is lovely, when I reached my highest goal my body fat % and weight were at a VERY UNHEALTHY level. My doctors were concerned about it enough that I had to check-myself, before I continued to wreck myself.

I found my first success in a large amount of weight loss in college: for almost a year I didn't eat any bread, rice, pasta, crackers, or any kind of flour-y starch. I'd still eat chicken salad, ice cream, and popcorn... (does that make ANY sense?) but I did lose a boat load of weight. I felt great...but one slice of pizza later.... I was back to the drawing board.

Next, Weight Watchers: I totally believe in WW. I do. Sometimes I think it is confusing because I was able to eat X amount of points of cake as long as I stayed in my range...but I still lost weight, and felt good. Unfortunately, I didn't find on going success with WW. Like I said, I believe in it and I know MANY people who have been super successful on it... I just wasn't one of them... It was during this time I became a fan of Hungry Girl (www.hungrygirl.com) I think she is a revolutionary, truly, I do. I learned a lot of secrets from her that helped me lose weight during the WW time of my life, but more often than not her recipes/swaps contain lots of things I can't pronounce! so... ew.

Then, I move to LA. I stopped exercising, started eating whatever I wanted, and found out that my natural "not worried about what I eat/do" weight was a solid 30+ pounds to what I had ever had on my body before. SCARY. Also, not the way to start off your career in LA....for REAL.

Between April of 2010 and October of 2011 here are all the things I did/tried (and the problems I had)
~~ 9 and 30 day cleanses. (Though helpful, eating 1 meal a day for 30 days, you start to go crazy and forget how to live your life)
~~ Weight Watchers Points Plus (found myself CONSTANTLY eating low-fat/sugar-free, fake food-stuff)
~~ No Gluten (I believe in a sensitive intake of gluten along with the rest of a balanced diet)
~~ No Dairy (same, i believe in a sensitive intake of dairy along with the rest of a balanced diet)
~~ No Gluten AND No Dairy (Unless it's No "FAKE-FOOD" I don't really believe in NO anymore)
~~ Being Vegan (processed food, starch, soy, starch, and more processed food...)

EXHAUSTING.

In October of this year, I started working with my AMAZING trainer Nicki and I started Spinning/Yoga-ing at www.go2yas.com (best place EVER)

And I started to eat....wait for it... FOOD. Real food. Not Food-stuff, food-substitue, or "food." just real honest to goodness FOOD.

So. HERE WE ARE! I love snacks. I LIVE to snack. Since October I have lost 20 pounds and 10% of my body fat. I'm not done yet, but I'm WELL on my way! I'm the same weight I was in college BUT I'm musclier and healthier and I ... wait for it... LOVE TO EAT!


I believe that being healthy, sexy, happy, and satisfied can all go hand in hand, so thats what I'm here to blog about: delicious yummy snacks (and swaps) that have food in them. I'm the kind of girl who loves chips, popcorn, chocolate, cupcakes, all the good stuff, so trust that these recipes WILL be delish and you won't be substituting taste to look like Beyonce (OH EM GEE, I LOVE BEYONCE, just saying.) You won't feel deprived and you won't have to make a science experiment of your meals :)

Let's start with my new holiday favorite:

Dark Chocolate Pumpkin Custard! (see the photo at the top!)



Check it out!!!! Happy Reading and Happy Eating!