Miracle weight loss noodles

I HAVE FOUNNNDDD THE CURE!!!!! The cure of craving pasta and getting chunky monkey because of it! BUT NOT ANYMORE! 

Sometimes you just want a big ol' bowl of pasta! Am I right? Ladies, especially on that... Special time. Your saviour? MIRACLE NOODLES 

I found these bad boys at Ralph's Farm Market on Fraser highway! I'm sure they have them other places but this is just where I discovered them! 

Their texture is that of a gluten free rice noodle, except thicker so they aren't so mushy and overlooked tasting! I really really enjoy them! They hit the spot and really make you feel like you're eating a big bowl of real pasta! And if that's not enough, take a look at how many calories per package... 

THATS RIGHT NONE! Not even a full gram of CARBS! I'm not lying about their tastiness either! YOU HAVE TO TRY!!! 

1 package of miracle noodle

1 handful of spinach

2 tablespoons of organic tomato sauce

YUMMMMMMMM!!

Want a meal close to 0 calories? Use fresh pesto or herbs to season your miracle noodle! Or make your own tomato sauce with fresh tomatoes!! 

ENJOY! 

Girls: You're beautiful

Today, I was truly inspired by my recent experiences, to write this blog. I want to make it clear how uniquely beautiful each and every woman is.

2 years ago, I was introduced to an entirely new world. My first year as a CFL cheerleader and hired with a promotional modelling agency. Constantly surrounded by BEAUTIFUL women, it takes a tole on you, especially for young girls. Always trying to look the best, to have the most expensive clothes & accessories, be the skinniest etc... At 19 I was taking diet pills like Hydroxicut or anything that promised to "shed weight fast" because I was comparing myself to literally everyone. Trying to throw my food up because I hated myself for eating those 5 fries. Calling plastic surgeon offices to find the cheapest ways to get my lips done, because more than half the girls I work(ed) with have fake boobs and huge lips, and it became the norm to have both as of the age 21. I became obsessed. I was never happy with myself. And I wish I had this blog post to read when I was in that stage.

What I'm trying to say is that I've been there. I've been at the point of hating myself because I wanted to look like "her". Now I am definitely not bashing my choice of work. I love my jobs, my bosses, the friends that I have made through them, and the opportunities that have come along with all of it. Let's make that clear.

I've noticed on my, and many other girls, Instagram photos, young girls proclaiming: "OMG YOU'RE SO BEAUTIFUL, I wish I looked liked you!" or "you're perfect!" I'll usually always comment back: You're much more beautiful being yourself. AND NO I'm not trying to be conceited, I am strictly stated a fact, and it's so true. It's sad seeing the desperation of young girls in the world having the dying need to look like someone they're not. First off, could you imagine a world of just a bunch of Me's? That would be the most boring world EVER. Everyone would be ugly because nobody would be unique. And secondly, I am NOT perfect, and you do NOT want to be me! Everyone has flaws, I sure do!

1. I am SO HAIRY. YEUP! That's right I said it. One time when I worked at McDonalds, I handed a bag out of the drive thru window to a bunch of boys, who all made Chewbacca noises at the sight of my insanely hairy arms. Okay I'm lying... that happened twice not just once.
2. I have VERY large sausage fingers and hands.
3. My hair is an afro unless I spend FOREVER on it!
& My list could go on forever, but i've accepted all that, and love myself for it. I think my man hands are beautiful :) cause they are me.

EVERYONE has something they don't like about themselves. But that doesn't mean you're not beautiful. LOVE YOURSELF!! IT'S SO MUCH FUN! It took a while for me to understand that and actually love myself. But I can sure tell you, what a wonderful life it is.

Stop comparing yourself to other girls, because those girls you're comparing yourself to... compare themselves to other girls too. Its one giant circle of WASTING TIME AND SELF LOVE!

Sure, "she" might be beautiful, but so are you!! You're your own kind of beautiful, and you should OWN it! Get made fun of because you take too many selfies? WHATEVER YOU LOVE YOURSELF AND YOU WANT TO SHOW IT! Get made fun of because of your outfit? I'm sure you're rockin' it WAY better then the girl making fun of you, wearing the same black dress that half the female population has.

Tell other girls they are beautiful. Tell yourself that you're beautiful. Love a certain part of yourself? Show it off. It makes you feel amazing. Accept the compliments you're given. Give compliments back. Never wish to change anything about yourself, because you're ruining your beauty and it is such a waste of energy!! Want plastic surgery? GO FOR IT! You'll just look like every other big breasted big lipped girl in the world!

I encourage you to not judge or make fun of others on their looks. Stop comparing yourself to every other girl in the world! It is so EXHAUSTING! Because its true what they say, beauty comes from the inside. Once you start accepting your own beauty, and seeing where beauty actually comes from, YOU, yourself, will become THAT much more beautiful. And guess what! You'll be happy :)

LOVE YOURSELF, you have no idea the wonderful positive life you're missing out on!! Inspire girls to do the same. I hope I have!

Adventure cleanse week 1

So the first week, excluding Saturday and Sunday, IS OVER AND DONE WITH!! 

I've been drinking 1-2 Litres of veggie juice per day! Eating mostly salads, fruit and a bit of peanut butter! Let's be serious, giving up peanut butter? Nice try. You're stuck with me you yummy sticky gooey nutty goodness! 

I work out everyday, I lift weights and do strength conditioning everyday, while cardio I do about 5 times a week! 

With the Colonic Hydrotherapy sessions, one on Monday and the other on Tuesday, and my cleanse I've managed to lose 4 lbs! 

Benefits of week one:

- I feel cleaner

- my skin is clear and glowing

- no bloating or headaches 

- I don't get overly full or insanely hungry

- not eating 3 hours before bed makes me feel amazing in the morning 

- I visit the ladies room very regularly :)

- I've been sleeping so much better! I used to wake up every 2 hours and not be able to fall asleep until 2-3 in the morning, I'm getting 7 hours a night with no wake ups! 

- it has been so much easier waking up in the morning

Down sides:

- the second & third day I was EXTREMELY out of it!! Light headed, confused, definitely could not do math in my head haha

- I was low on energy the first couple days because of my body going through withdrawals

But, the Pros beat the Cons!!! So Adventure cleanse... You win this week! 

Adventure Cleanse + Colonic Hydrotherapy

Alright my little fit fairies, yesterday one of my best friends, Katie Dunlop and I, started our 21 day adventure cleanse! The adventure cleanse is part of Kris Carr's book, Crazy Sexy Diet. The diet includes a LOT of juice, but you are also eating! A lot of salads and a lot of veggies! But still eating in a cleanse?! AWESOME! 

We wanted to make sure this cleanse worked. To completely rid our bodies of impurities and yuckies. So... We decided to take the plunge into the world of Colonic Hydrotherapy. What is Colonic Hydrotherapy you ask? Well here it goes:

Colonic Hydrotherapy is the use of enemas, intended to rid the body, focusing on the large intestine, of stagnant material, toxins and parasites. 

**WARNING!! THIS WONT BE PRETTY** 

Now, usually I am the most awkward person when it comes to conversation of fecal matter. To this day, I still can't even say the word p**p... >.< but I am determined to make my body the best it can be, even if I have to deal with the P word.

As I entered the Hydrous Clinic, I wasn't sure what to expect... Were they going to see my bum? Were they going to see.. It? ODORS? Oh god. 

Being the great friend that I am, I let Katie go first, whom sent me various pictures and texts as she went through the procedure! How lovely :)

 My turn had finally arrived. I walk into the procedure room, and there it is, my best friend for the next 45 minutes, what looked like a massage bed, but with an itty bitty hose/tube and a hole right in the middle. Oh and also a dixi cup filled with lubricant and a rubber glove. Lovely.

Procedure:

1. Put on the Tiffany blue rubber glove, take a nice finger size of the slippery lube and lube up that tushy! (Well not your cheeks, but you know...) 

2. Lay down on the bed and insert your new friend mr. Tube. "BUT WE JUST MET!!" Don't worry about it going to far in, you'll just know.

3. Pull the sheet over top of you, press the call button for the nurse to come in, and let the 45 minutes of fun begin! 

One of the things that made me feel more comfortable is that you do most of this yourself, you're in charge of everything! 

The nurse comes in, turns on the water flow, which fills you up by gravity, more like a nice light stream, rather than Niagara Falls shooting up your backside. After you are nice a full of this purified water, as the nurse explains... "Just release!"

I spent the next 45 minutes feeling like I had the worst food poisoning of my life, without any of the pain OR ODOR, and watching my past, I don't know how many meals, flow by me in a nice clear tube. (You're welcome mom for the picture) 

After my session, I literally felt cleaner, thinner, and lost 3 lbs! I definitely recommend this to EVERYONE! Your body and behind will thank you :)

Benefits of Colonic Hydrotherapy:

- Makes digestive system more effective

- Maintains regularity and prevents constipation

- increases energy

- increases body's ability to absorb vitamins and nutrients 

- improves concentration 

- kick start to your weight loss 

- decreases risk of colon cancer 

- increases fertility

- maintains pH balance in bloodstream

- improves your whole body well being

Why is it better than laxative?

1. You aren't afraid you're going to dirty your undies all day long

2. You do not have to excessively use the washroom after the session 

3. It gives your friends mr.bowels a workout so they work better naturally rather than laxative force them to work 

4. No mess, no smell 

And now a guest post from Katie Dunlop!! And her take on Mr.Tube and the Colonic:

Hello everyone!

So, unlike Miss Alexandria, I am not shy about the big ol “p word” at all! Everybody does it, and as long as there are no sounds or smells, what’s the big deal!? However, the thought of having something inserted into my behind to drain stuff out was a little bit scary, especially knowing I had to drive 30 minutes to work after. I was convinced I would not be able to leave the toilet all day! 

Ally, so kindly, did let me go first, all the while laughing hysterically as the nurse instructed me what to do and I probably had a look of pure horror on my face. I do agree though, the facility we went to is very modern and you do everything yourself so there is nothing invasive, other than having a nice little tube up your butt!

I don’t think I handled it too well to start out. I was terrified when  all of a sudden I felt like I was going to be violently ill and the nurse, quite calmly, kept telling me to “release, release, release”. There were a few times I almost screamed at her to “PLEASE LEAVE”. There is nothing nice about having someone in the same room as you when you are “releasing” your feces. Once you come to terms with the fact that it is basically 45 minutes of feeling like you are going to crap your brains out, and then not, it is all quite comfortable. 

After 2 sessions, back to back, I lost 2.5 pounds.  TWO AND A HALF POUNDS of built up crud! How gross! I feel great, basically like I hit a reset button on my body!

 I would recommend this to anyone, especially if you are changing your diet and lifestyle and want to remove the damage that you may have been doing up until this point! 

Don’t be scared, everybody poops 

Edgy Nails

I absolutely love these nails!! They are insanely easy to do!! Here's how:

1. Go pick up some matte top coat from Sallys! I got the OPI one for 9$

2. Paint your nails whichever colour you desire beauty queen 

3. Paint the entire nail with the matte top coat

4. Paint the tips with a normal clear shine top coat! Use the manicure sticker guidelines if needed! 

AND VOILA!! Cool, Chic nails! :) 

Instagram: @alexandriapatricia

Vegan Butternut Squash & Sweet Potato Soup

This soup is soooooooo delicious! It is great for kicking that cold or flu to the curb.

Health Benefits in Butternut squash:
- Low in fat
- Giant dose of dietary fibre
- Very high in potassium
- High in Vitamin B6, Vitamin A & Vitamin C
- Because of the yellow colour, butternut squash is jam packed with carotenoids, shown to protect against heart disease

Health Benefits of Sweet Potato:
- High in Vitamin C, Vitamin B6, Vitamin A and contain Vitamin D
- Good source of Iron & Magnesium
- Great source of potassium
- The natural sugars are slowly released into your blood stream, helping you with energy and blood sugar levels, without crashing or weight gain

Health Benefits of Ginger:
- Ginger improves the ability for your body to absorb all of its nutrients
- Clears microcirculatory channels in your body, as well as sinuses
- Helps tummy aches as well as tooting!
- Literally the fixer upper of all things wrong

So basically when we get down to it... This soup is frickin amazing for you and super tasty. Lets get to the recipe!

Before we get down to it, please be aware that you do need a Food Processor for this recipe. A blender could possibly work... but its questionable!

You will need:
1 Butternut Squash
1 Sweet potato
1 Medium sized onion
4 Cloves of garlic
1 Chilli pepper
2 Toonie sized pieces of Ginger
2 Cans of water chestnuts
1 Can of Coconut Milk
2 Boxes of Vegetable broth

1. Cut butternut squash in half, take out the guts, drizzle olive oil (or coconut oil) on the inside, a little bit of salt, pepper, and cinnamon. Bake in the oven for about an hour at 400 degrees.
2. For the sweet potato, cut off the yucky ends, peel the skin off, and place into boiling water for about 25 minutes, or until soft enough to stick a fork through.
3. When both are done, mash them together. Make sure to scoop the butternut squash out of its shell.
4. For the broth, bring 2 boxes of vegetable broth to a light boil. At the same time chop up your onion, garlic, chilli pepper and ginger and begin to sauté!
5. Add sautéed onions, garlic, chilli pepper and ginger to the broth also adding the squash and potato
6. Let all of this goodness simmer for about 15 minutes
7. Pour everything into the food processor and chop it all together making it nice and thick. (This could take a couple rounds because of how much soup there is!)
8. Pour everything back into the pot, and add in 1 can of coconut milk, making it nice and creamy
9. Chop up some water chestnuts and add those in right after
10. Let simmer for 5 minutes, and ENJOY!!!

DELICIOUS AND NUTRITIOUS!

DIY Old Hollywood Vanity

Ive always wanted an Old Hollywood Dressing room! So I decided... Why not make my own? It even costed less then 100$! I got all of my supplies at Home Depot.

Supplies:
- 2, 3 bulbed light fixtures (design is your choice) I went for the tradition 3 bulb vanity stainless steel look
- 1 pack of the smallest wire connectors. (the light fixtures I bought came with a pack in the box)
- 1 frameless mirror, the size I used was 20x24
- 2 outlet plug-ins with on and off switch on the cord. One end should have the prongs, the other should be two wires.
- You will need a screw driver for set up!

Step 1.

Take your outlet plug in and twist the white wire with one of the plug in wires, and the black wire also with one of the plug in wires. See next picture on how to do that.

Use your wire connecting caps to twist the wire together! When you insert both wires, and twist the cap, it will tie them together.

Step 2. Do this to both light fixtures, making them able to be connected by the outlet.

(I bought a extension cord with 6 outlets to plug the lights, and my hair tools in so I won't be unplugging and re-plugging things in)

Step 3.

Place the mirror where you'd like on the wall. Make sure to leave space on each side to hang the light fixtures. Your mirror will most likely come with plastic tabs and screws to hold it the wall. Use that to hang it up!

Step 4. Once your mirror is hung, hang your light fixtures on either side, and even up top if you wish. There are holes in the back of the light fixtures to hang with screws!

Step 5. Jump up and down because you have an Old Hollywood Style dressing room, right inside your home! 

ENJOY!!! 

Spaghetti Squash

Can I just say that this is the COOLEST squash EVER!!! It is so easy to make, and so very yummy!

Steps:
- Cut spaghetti squash into two
- Take out the seeds and guts
- Drizzle some olive oil or coconut oil with a bit of salt and pepper
- Wrap each half (inside facing up) in tinfoil
- Bake the spaghetti squash for about 40 minutes or until it is nice and soft
- Take out of the oven and let cool for about 10 minutes
- Take a fork and scrape the squash out of its shell. It will literally string out like spaghetti!

AND VOILA!! you can eat hot like this with some tomato sauce, and boy oh boy does it ever taste good! GREAT healthy alternative for people who cannot have gluten! I think it even tastes better then pasta!!

Another way of eating spaghetti squash is cold! let sit in the fridge, or this is great for next day recipes!
- Take spaghetti squash and put a couple scoops on top of a bed of spinach & kale
- Add some pumpkin seeds, hemp seeds and salad dressing (I would suggest whole foods' house made dressing... TO DIE FOR!!!)

BAM! such a tasty and health packed salad!

HOPE YOU ENJOY!

Ally's Vegan Protein Cookies

The most AMAZING cookie you will ever eat

EVERYBODY. YOU NEED TO STOP WHAT YOU ARE DOING AND MAKE THESE COOKIES! these only take MAX 15 minutes, and I swear you will be in heaven!! I took an original recipe and changed it to my own, so please tell me what you think!

1 cup natural crunchy peanut butter
1/3 cup honey
1 Banana (for Vegan recipe) in replacement for 1 large egg (use egg whites if you want a healthier substitute but not Vegan)
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt (I added only a couple dashes of salt for less sodium!)
1/2 cup shredded unsweetened coconut
1/2 cup flax seeds
one handful of pumpkin seeds
one handful of sunflower seeds
one handful of chopped pecans
one handful of chopped walnuts

Now mix everything together and if you want add 1/3 cup of organic dark chocolate chips
Get a cookie sheet, line it with foil, and make cookie size lumps with the batter! Its going to be runny at first but don't worry they will turn out.
Bake for 8-10 minutes at 350 degrees. Take out and let cool for 10 minutes and let harden.

This makes about 12 good sized cookies

BEST THINGS YOU WILL EVER TASTE I PROMISE! And they are healthy for you!