Good Finds

    Today I woke up with the sun. Not something I've been accustomed to doing lately since I haven't been working and I've been sick. But I must say, the birds and the rising of the sun was most exquisite and refreshing as I poked my head out the door to observe them.... and then I quickly ducked it back in to keep away from the cold and to keep the cats from getting in. ;)

  The reason for my early rising was so that I could take a trip with some of the family to a local market place, which is only open on Saturdays and where lots of things are sold. They sell things like returned items and hand crafted objects.

   The key to these market places is keeping a good watch on what you buy, having some pretty good bargaining skills and knowing how to look for a good deal. Get these things down and you'll be doing fantastic!

  I love market places! Because I love bargaining and talking to people and finding cool things. There are always so many unique things to find.

  And another thing this particular market has is fresh fruits and veggies!! This is good news for me because I now have the opportunity to find good deals on lots of things that I need for juicing.

 So let me tell you about my finds, because I'm rather excited about it.  ;)

Lets just talk about the logistics of this for a moment...
An entire basket full of Jalapeno peppers, which I use to give some of my juices a little more kick. - $2.00
10 Red Navel oranges, which will provide plenty of juice to last quite a few days.
$5.00
5 Green Bell Peppers
$2.00
A basket of Tangerines
$2.00
And my favorite find of all! Because they will last a good while and we got them for such a good price. Tomatoes!!                                  

  These are hard to find in the winter time for a relatively cheap price. So I searched through the box this sweet old man was pointing us toward, found 18 of the best ones he had and then an extra because he told me to through in one more. And all this for a grand total of....
$6.00!!


So all in all we spent $17 on all these goods. Normally we would not have gotten this many tomatoes, probably only a few bell peppers, 6 or so oranges for like $5. No tangerines and probably a few jalapenos at two for a dollar. And we would have spent I'm willing to bet closer to $30 on much less then what you see here.

I also heard tell today of a Farmer's Market not far from us. And by not far I mean a good hour away, but we live way out next to a river and everything is that far away. ;)

Farmer's markets are more ideal for this particular type of shopping. They'll probably have even better selections then what I found today and really great prices. Plus they'll most likely sell seasonal produce, which means it they'll be sweeter and larger because they'll be what grows best this time of year.


Like all of these things I found today.

      In short, farmer's markets are an excellent idea if you are thinking about a juice fast or even just eating cleanly. If you are in need of lot's of yummy fruits and veggies then go online and search for local farmers markets in your area. And with spring on the way, they'll surely be full of lots of fresh, yummy things.

The loot.

Photo creds go to my little brother. ( Thanks Steven. ;) )

Now by the way, I'll be able to make one of my favorite recipes involving tomatoes and peppers to share with you all!


And just because I love finding good deals...




These are my other finds, spring colors in nail polish. Eyeliner and some base for only $4.50.


(Can you tell I'm ready for spring??)


And so after a day full of sunrises, adventuring, bargaining, rocking out to 70's rock music with my dad in the car, noticing a particularly cute construction worker on the way, finding good deals and lots and lots of walking ( also a plus of going to a market place ) I am now ready to make some delicious juice.

And then it's off to exploring a nearby town on the river and some downtime at a local cafe with my mom. I kind of love Saturdays.

Of Sick Days and Inspiration

  Today was another day of doctoring the sick. And because I was not feeling well myself a few days ago I have all these wonderful ideas about how to sooth soar throats and clear up noses and all those lovely things.

 I shared a soup recipe with you yesterday. Today I'll tell you  about a nice little drink I cooked up which does wonders for your immune system when your not feeling well.


 There are only two simple ingredients. Apple cider vinegar and honey.
 Two tbs of each in 8 oz of water. Warm it and mix it well. It may have a bit of a burn but it's certainly no worse than any medicine you have to take in order to get better! And the honey helps with this part too.
 Drink two mugfulls ( 16 oz ) of this a day and if your throat really doesn't feel well, gargle with a bit of it too.

Apple cider vinegar has anti-bacterial properties that will help fight off the flu and relieve inflammation of that swollen throat. It made mine feel so much better when I was sick and seems to be working rather well on everyone else too!

After doctoring everyone and making lunch ( which I can't eat ) I retired to my room, put on some Ella Fitzgerald and sat down to think. Something I haven't been able to do much of today.

My dream for La Santé Café is to one day turn it into an actual health food café.
Far fetched? Perhaps. Achievable? Absolutely!

But some days are more discouraging than others, like today for example.
All these questions circulate around in my head. Like, Would people even be interested in that sort of thing? Could I run a  café single handedly? How will we ever get to the place where this could actually work?
Etc., etc...But then I remembered the importance of seeing things through, even when it looks rather doubtful. Something I've learned from spending a month and a half juicing. ;)

Then my mother who has been out shopping all day showed me a few things she picked up for me while she was out. And my inspiration returned!

 

Every time I create a new recipe I write it down on one of these index cards and then rate it using a system of five stars. So that I give you the best of them. And so that in the future when I compile a book I'll know which ones were the best.
So my mom found a cute little box that says "recipes". It's perfect! And then this tea set that looks like it's right out of a small café is just lovely.

To summarize, inspiration is fickle. Don't rely on it to pull you through. Have some gumption of your own and take inspiration when it comes. Work through the harder times and you'll be glad you did.

Oh and thank you all for reading. I've been keeping up with how much traffic we're getting here and I am flattered to say it's much more than I expected!

I write for you, so thank you.

 Until tomorrow,
 Orevwa!

Introducing La Santé Café

  Enchanté fellow readers! I hope your day is going splendidly this morning. I would like to welcome you to the very first post La Santé Café has ever seen and introduce you to my blog.

 It is January 28th, 2015 and I find myself in the middle of a, so far, rather successful juice fast. Throughout the last month and a half I have been learning how to listen to my body and give it what it needs instead of just what it wants. Turns out, when you do this, your body is a lot happier and treats you better in return.

 I've spent most of my teen years and now into my early twenties dealing with obesity and being overweight. Trying many times to do something about it, but to no avail. Until one day I decided that what I needed to do was not lose weight.. but become a healthy person. And so my goals changed, I no longer wanted to eat anything I desired so long as I could burn it all off on the treadmill later. Instead I wanted to give my body the things it needed to begin healing itself from years of mistreatment at my hand.

 I've learned that losing weight is about more than just losing weight. It's about being kind to yourself, loving yourself and believing in yourself before you ever even begin. These things are essential, I assure you, to living a healthy lifestyle.

  For me juice fasting is only the beginning. My plans are to reach a healthy BMI ( Body Mass Index ) and once I'm there begin introducing food back into my system one thing at a time. But not the kind of food I used to eat. Live foods instead, or at least mostly live food. Like fresh veggies and fruits, nuts, seeds, lean meat and homemade bread. Yes, I said homemade and not whole grain. ;)

 I am no dietitian or nutrition specialist, I only plan to share with you what I have learned so far and how it has worked for me. I promise to be honest and straight forward and only tell you about products and dishes that I would use myself. And I promise to write for as long as you promise to read.

 Thank you for your time and stay tuned for regular developments on my journey. As well as recipes galore, posted two to three times a weeks. :)



                                                                                                                                                                                          Yours Truly,
                                                                                                                                                                                                     Chels



** If you are a little confused about what a juice fast is, check out my page above that explains a little more.**

** If you would like to measure your own BMI search for a BMI calculator online and type in your age, height and weight to find out if yours is a healthy one.**

The Beginning of my Weightloss Journey

 So I'm sure you're all wondering how in the world I lost forty pounds. Yes? Well I'll explain, but first things first, let's get some before and "mid-way through" pictures out of the way. I am about a week past the half way mark on this journey and hope to achieve losing at least 35 more pounds.

But here's the progress that's been made so far, the before...

  Oy vey, let's move on. I can't say exactly how much I weighed in each of those pictures...but I can tell you that the most I have ever weighed was 218 lbs. And that's as a 22 year old woman of 5'5". That's not good folks, not good at all. And I lived this way for a very long time, mainly because of a lack of knowledge about what my body needs and doesn't need.

  When I started my juice fast I weighed 199, that's because I spent about a week and a half gearing up for my fast by eating more live things and much less sugar. As a result I lost around 10 lbs. Back in the fall of 2014 I lived in Colorado for three months and did quite a bit of hiking and such while I was there which I'm attributing the other 8 lbs of weight loss to.
  So that's 8 in Co., which put me at 210 when I'd returned. 11 of those pounds I'd gotten rid of just by drinking more water and eating live foods and much, much less sugar. Then at 199 I started my juice fast and today I am swiftly headed towards the end of week 5 and 19 more lbs have gone.

  My goal is to be within a healthy BMI for my age and height. Which, according to my BMI calculator is between 111 and 150 lbs. So I'm looking to shed about...30 to 35 more lbs. Then I'll see where I am at that point.

 Okay so enough with the logistics.. let's get down to the mid way through photos!


Drum roll please....

 

 

And here are some failed selfie attempts..

 

 

Nope..

Not yet..

There we go!

 

 

 

 

And here are a few side by side..

 

 

I have gone from a size 18 in jeans to a size 14, and I can fit into a size 12 but there a little tight. Ten more pounds and they won't be! ;)
I went from a dress size of 18 to a 12, and that's a loose 12. The dress you see in the picture above on the right is a size 12, it also belongs to my sister and I could not wear it before, although I wanted to badly! Now I can put it on without even unzipping it and there is room to spare!

My latest accomplishment is that I have brought my BMI from a 36.3, which is in the obese I category, to a 30 even. Which is 1 pound away from a BMI that is no longer in the first obese category but in the overweight category instead!

That's quite an accomplishment I'd say.. ;) And my goal is to reach anywhere between 18.5–24.9, because that is where my healthy range is.

To calculate your own BMI just look online for a calculator. All you need to know is your height, current weight and age. Then it should tell you what your BMI is and what range your body type should be in so that you can be healthy.

I'll try and upload one to my page so you can do it in a faster and easier manner.


I still have a good ways to go, but I'm proud of my accomplishments so far. I hope this has been encouraging for you as much as it has been for me. Stay tuned for more updates!