A Dietitian’s Take on Shakeology

As a dietitian, I get asked countless times what I think of certain products. If I've tried this bar, that protein powder, this frozen meal, etc. It can get overwhelming, and I always first and foremost promote eating real, WHOLE foods. Packaging just makes things complicated. And can I just start by saying how much I used to hate shakes? Drinking your calories just seemed ridiculous to me. I mean, why would you drink, if you could chew? And all those protein powders out there just seemed crazy unhealthy with the who-knows-what ingredients they pack them with. And all-fruit smoothies? Don’t even go there…so much sugar in just a few gulps, sending your blood sugars skyrocketing and leading to the inevitable crash about an hour later. But, this past week, I started drinking Shakeology, a super-food shake made from whole foods, to understand what all the hype was about. As a dietitian, I was intrigued by the fact that this shake is not just protein, but contains antioxidants, vitamins, minerals, superfood, and probiotics (my best friends). The fact that it is made from high quality ingredients motivated me to try it. As a Beach Body coach, I wanted to be informed about the products that Beach Body endorses to form my OWN opinion of them before I start recommending them to my clients.

All I can say now is…WOW. This drink is FABULOUS. It tastes amazing, fills my chocolate cravings to a "T", and keeps me full for hours. I could spout off all the ingredients beside protein that it has (vitamins, minerals, antioxidants, probiotics as discussed above), but instead, I’d like to talk about how it makes me feel. This is a subjective post, but I believe in being real with people and I want to provide as honest a review as possible about my experience with this drink!

1. Energized! Shakeology makes me feel so energetic and ready for my day! I look forward to drinking it and can’t wait to slurp it on my way to work. It gets me geared up for my day, which definitely takes a lot of energy from me. I don’t know what it is, and it could very well be the fact that I am having chocolate in the morning, but I feel great after drinking my Shakeology and am ready to attack the day!

2. “Regular.” This part may me a little TMI, but as some of you know, I’ve had tummy issues for my entire life. Since drinking Shakeology, I have been scary regular, with no issues! That has never happened to me before in my 26 years of existence. Shakeology contains probiotics in a super-food form, which has helped my issues in that department. I have never felt this good taking OTC, super expensive probiotics. That alone is a reason enough for me to keep drinking Shakeology!

3. Cravings be-gone! I have experienced little to NO cravings since drinking Shakeology. The fact that it is the chocolate flavor, and actually takes like a chocolate chip brownie mixture, helps me feel like I am treating myself BIG time, while not feeling at all guilty for having my chocolate. My cravings have been almost nonexistent, and it is so much easier to make healthy choices throughout the day without those naggy cravings getting in the way.

4. Chocolatey goodness. Have I mentioned, it’s chocolate? Yea? Well, I wanted to say it one more time. This thing tastes AMAZING. One sip and I was hooked.

5. Versatile. It’s SO versatile. You can just blend it with some ice and almond/cashew/whatever milk and call it a day. The other day, I added peanut butter. Yesterday, I added half a banana. You could also add frozen strawberries, coffee if that’s your thing, or really anything you want! There are so many variations that it will never leave you bored and will always leave you satisfied.

6. Lastly, it is so convenient. I now know the desire to want to be able to drink something on my way to work. I've felt SO rushed in the mornings, especially this week with our time change. It's been such a relief to know that I have a healthy option waiting for me. Just some almond milk, ice, and a packet of shakeology blended up in my magic bullet, and in 5 minutes, I'm headed out the door! And I am confident that my meal choice is healthy and something that, not only I will enjoy, but that will fuel me until my next meal.

That's how I feel about my Shakeology. I never thought I would find a shake that I loved this much. I feel like I'm having dessert every day, and I could live with that! If anyone wants more information about Shakeology, leave me a comment or email me at TveenRD@gmail.com! I'd really love you all to feel as amazing as I do!

Pieology Pizza Dinner

I don't think I've met a single person who does not like pizza. People all have their different tastes and preferences. For me, I LOVE the crust. The thicker, the better. It is probably because I love bread more than a "normal" person would. However, when I had to give up gluten, one of the hardest things to give up was pizza from my favorite place because of their thick and delicious and bready crust.

I'm pretty sure this pizza is 90% bread, 5% cheese, and 5% sauce and veggies. Which is precisely the way I like it. I'm not even pretending it's healthy because it's NOT, but it is definitely delicious.

ANYWAYS, since going gluten-free, no pizza has measured up to the amazing gluten-filled pizza shown above. And with good reason, since most gluten-free crusts taste like a cardboard cracker. However, this past weekend, I was pleasantly surprised with my experience at Pieology. They just opened this place by my house and my fiancé suggested we try it out Friday night. I got my usual pizza with bell peppers, olives, and pepperoni.

My fiancé basically got every topping they offered....he is definitely a toppings man and could care less about the bread. Oh, how I wish that trait would rub off on me!

As I took my first bite, I expected the cardboard and the crunch and not the soft crust that I was accustomed to in my pro-gluten past. However, even though this was a thin crust pizza, the crust actually tasted like bread!! I was so excited when I took my first bite. I even had my fiancé try it and he agreed with me; the gluten free crust tasted great! I don't think anyone would have even noticed it was gluten free if they hadn't been told. I ate half the pizza and was so satisfied with this meal. I didn't miss my fluffy gluten crust...ok maybe I did a LITTLE...but this pizza definitely takes the prize of one that is similar to usual thin-crust pizza while actually tasting like bread. I would definitely try this place again and know that I would feel like I was eating normal, delicious, savory pizza. Thanks, Pieology!

Friday Favorites!

This is my first ever Friday Favorites post, and I'm excited to share the goodies I decided to add to my food collection this week. I started at a new site this week for work, and since I am finally at just ONE site, I decided to make it like my home. I have a drawer there in the kitchen that I can keep food or anything else in, and I decided to stock it up yesterday for those times that I do not have time to eat breakfast at home or pack my meal before heading out the door. Even though I always plan out and pack my meals, life happens, you run late, and you end up grabbing at whatever you can, right? Well I wanted to ensure that what I grab at was a healthy option while still being food that I enjoy. So here is a list of my recent Friday favorites!

1. Skippy natural peanut butter. This is my favorite peanut butter! It tastes amazing and is always so creamy. I decided this should definitely be a staple in my work drawer since I basically eat peanut butter every day!

2. Tuna. Tuna is another great and healthy fast option for food. I bought the water packs, no can opener needed! They are a perfect quick protein source when you are in a bind!

3. Rice cakes. I got two kinds of rice cakes. Rice cakes are great because you can top them with pretty much anything and treat them like toast! I figured I could top mine with the peanut butter or with tuna to make it like a sandwich.

4. Brown rice cups. These cups are easy to eat and make for the perfect whole grains source! I love anything that can be heated up in little time.

5. Cliff pumpkin bars. Okay, so these bars are not the healthiest...but PUMPKIN!! I figured I could keep a few of these in my drawer as a treat. And at least they have some protein in them! :)

A few other essentials I added to my drawer include tea, stevia, a toothbrush/paste with floss, and some cough drops. I figure you can never be too prepared!

That's it for my Friday Favorites! I hope you all have a great and fast Friday...I am so ready for the weekend!

Aquarium, Shrimp, and Early Birthday Celebrations!

This past Monday, my fiancé and I both took the day off work and decided to have an early birthday celebration, 5 days before my birthday. After brainstorming ideas, I decided I would like to go to the aquarium! I love zoos and aquariums and thought it would be a fun excursion to enjoy together. We headed to the Aquarium of the Pacific in Long Beach, and had a great day there!

We had so much fun roaming around the different exhibits and learning about all kinds of marine life. By noon, we were both ready for lunch and headed to Cafe Scuba, the aquarium's on site grill. I ordered a chicken breast lettuce wrapped sandwich with a side salad. I was pleasantly surprised with how yummy it was!

After lunch, we walked around a bit more and watched two informational videos in 4D! Pretty cool!

We got done with the aquarium around 3...and really wanted to eat at Bubba Gumps for dinner, which is right next door. We rested a little and then decided to just have an early dinner...at 3:30...yes we are 80 years old haha but it was actually a good idea to eat early because we ate a ton of food! I have never been a shrimp person, but after trying both popcorn shrimp and grilled shrimp, I will definitely be eating and cooking shrimp more often!

We started with the popcorn shrimp, which was not only shrimp but had fried vegetables too! It was SO good! As my dinner, I got the salmon and veggie skillet without rice, and my fiancé got their jambalaya! We also added a skewer of grilled shrimp because I wanted to make sure I would like grilled shrimp and not just the fried version! Grilled was delicious as well!

We were so full and happy after dinner! We decided to go to a nearby Barnes and Nobles and peruse the bookstore, which is one of my all time favorite things to do! After some reading time, we both wanted something sweet and headed to Yogurtland for dessert before heading back home. I walked in, and knew I just wanted all things sugar and chocolate. I have been trying to go for healthier options at froyo lately, but that night, I wanted to go big or go home.

And I did! And to be honest, I did feel a twinge of guilt because it had been a while since I had had sugar like that. But I told myself one treat is not going to kill the progress I have made lately, and sometimes I just have to let my sugar dragon win. Not all the time mind you, but once in a while, a huge sugary yogurt is completely acceptable.

I had a great early birthday celebration with Vasken this week. I can't wait to see what other adventures God will bring to us as we prepare to begin this new phase of our lives. 215 days until we get married!

One Day Vacation and True Shabu!

Yesterday I had a random, wonderful vacation day...and I definitely made the most of it! It was an odd Tuesday to have off, but I used it to my advantage and got so much done and saw so many people! All in all, it was a great day! My day started off with, of course, a workout! I had a preworkout meal of my high protein, gluten free pumpkin bread before heading to the gym for my run.

I had a really great 4 mile run!! I've been keeping my miles under 10 mins each, and then cooling down for a few minutes after. It feels great to be running again!

After my run, I had my post workout meal, then ran some errands!

I had a scramble, gluten free Milton's crackers (these are so yum!) and a plumicot which is apparently a plum-apricot hybrid, and soooo good! It was blood red and juicy inside!

Alllllll morning, I ran some errands, then headed home for a quick lunch. I had some leftover chicken so I decided to make some cauliflower rice with that. I usually just sauté the "riced" cauliflower with some onions and olive oil, but I decided to add some garlic and parsley to the mix and it turned out so good!

The rest of my day was spent in one of my favorite places...Orange County! I drove out there to visit my cousins and fiancé. I had such a great time! I bought a new purse (on sale wooo!) and had some wonderful quality time with my cousins!

As you can see, I also had some of my favorite nuts. I love making my own nut mix and mixed macadamia nuts, almonds, and cashews! Yum!

Probably the highlight of the night was going to True Shabu for dinner. My fiancé met my cousin and I there, and I was so excited for him to try this restaurant for the first time! True Shabu is an incredibly delicious and healthy place to eat! My cousin opened up this place with his friends a few months ago, and it's the perfect place to go if you want good quality foods and ingredients! You also get to cook your own food, which is pretty much a winner in my book!

They have grass fed meats and organic vegetables. The meat has such amazing flavor and doesn't need anything extra to make it taste better! I got the grass fed rib eye, with a huge plate of veggies and some miracle, carb free noodles (I love that they offer these!) The chef also makes two amazing sauces that are made from scratch with no MSG or gluten!

If anyone is in the LA/OC area, I highly recommend trying out True Shabu!! The food, service, and entire ambiance is incredible and you have such a great experience cooking up your delicious and healthy food!!

True Shabu was a great way to end my one day vacation! Now back to work today! Happy Wednesday everyone!

Messhall Kitchen Review

I've been wanting to write this review for a long long time! A few weeks ago, my fiancé and I went to a restaurant in the Hollywood/LA area called the Messhall Kitchen. It was spur of the moment decision, we are driving, hungry, and didn't wanna mull over the decision. We were driving down Los Feliz when we saw it and decided to turn in and eat there. It looked like a pretty snazzy place. The menu was awesome, lots of local produce options and everything seemed pretty high quality. We decided to start with the short rib nachos...which were basically fries, short ribs, and melted cheese. As unhealthy as this sounds, I didn't really care because this thing was DELICIOUS! The only downside is that we had to wait about 30 minutes for our appetizer...which was kind of frustrating. Everyone around us was eating and enjoying their food, which made us even hungrier! But we finally got our short rib nachos and devoured the thing.

Shortly after, we got our actual meals. We like to get a couple things that we both like and share the meals so we get to enjoy different foods. My fiancé got the Cobb salad and I got the vegan curry, to which I added chicken for some added protein. This curry was unbelievably tasty!!! It was light but flavorful at the same time. There was a variety of vegetables too, which made it even better! My fiance's salad was good too...just a typical Cobb...but we both definitely enjoyed the curry!!

Since we waited so long, the waitress informed us that the manager wanted us to have a dessert on the house. We chose the strawberry shortcake which was great!! A little heavy, but what can you expect...it's dessert! ;)

Overall, we had a good experience here. If the wait for our food hadn't been so long, we probably would have enjoyed it even more. But they showed great service with the free dessert, and their food was so delicious, so I would definitely go again and recommend it to others!

A Day at the Zoo!

This week has been soooooo amazing! I had Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday (today) off from work. These days off came at the perfect time because I have been really feeling like I just need some fun and relaxing time! I think we all need to learn to take breaks time and again, and I have definitely been enjoying my 3 day break! Yesterday, my fiancé and I decided to go to the LA Zoo! He took the day off so we could spend some time together. I love zoos and aquariums...I have no idea why, I just do!! I woke up extremely excited for the day! But first, I had breakfast, then went for a run! :)

I ran outside for the first time in a long time. It felt SO good to run outside in the fresh air! My legs are a bit sore today, but in a good way. I only did a 3-ish mile run, but still felt like I got a really good workout! We live in a slightly hilly area, so some parts of my run were definitely more challenging than others!

After my run I showered, got ready, and then we headed to the zoo! I was so excited, I felt like a little kid!

We walked around for a bit and saw these two lovebirds...

Then headed to lunch! We went to a little grill, where I ordered a Chicken Caesar salad!

I was pleasantly surprised by this salad. The chicken was freshly grilled, not the usual cold and chewy chicken they normally top salads with! It was so yummy and filling. After lunch, we walked around practically the entire zoo!

Giraffs and elephants!

We didn't realize how hilly this zoo was! We got more tired than we thought we would, and we had take a "let's-sit-on-a-bench" break!

I was so amused by this sign below...

The poor diabetic monkeys!!! :( I'm glad they have this sign so people can be a little more careful about what they just throw into the animal cages...which is so sad. But it also made me think about us as humans. We don't have signs hanging around our necks saying "I have sugar problems, don't offer me dessert!" We have to make our own conscious decisions...which is great because God gave us the ability to have discernment and make good and healthful choices! Not to say that it isn't hard...because it is! But at least we know that we have the ability to chose something healthy vs. something not healthy, and nothing is forced upon us! :)

After the zoo, we relaxed a bit and then headed to the mall for a nice dinner. We went to Cheesecake Factory. I love their Skinnylicious menu! I got the Skinnylicious burger, lettuce wrapped, with sweet potato fries...so yum!

It was such a fun day yesterday!!! Today is my last day of vacation before I head back to work tomorrow. I am already thinking about how hard it will be to go back after such a nice and restful week...but I'm not going to think about that and instead, I will focus on making today another fun-filled day!!

Have a great Wednesday everyone!

Little Beast Restaurant!

So, my boyfriend is pretty awesome at planning dates. No really, he never takes me anywhere that I have been before. He knows how much of a foodie I am, and always tries to pick places that are new, different, and that I would like. He spends time researching, calling restaurants, looking up menus, and doing extensive background checks on all the restaurants in our lovely LA area! Last night, we went to a little spot in Eagle Rock, CA called "Little Beast," and let me tell you, the flavors we experienced here were FAR from little!

The menu was very extensive and upon being seated we were informed that they change it seasonally, which always makes my ears perk up. Usually this means that the restaurant uses organic, fresh, local produce and supports natural foods. And I was right! The waiter told us their chicken dishes organic, and they had a variety of vegetables offered with every dish. After much deliberation, we decided to get the Burrata and Prosciutto and Crispy Sweet Potato as appetizers, and we also decided to split one of their entree options: Slow Roasted Jidori Chicken.

The burrata appetizer was broccolini wrapped in prosciutto and topped with this creamy, gooey burrata cheese. This dish was so good and incredibly rich! But, the main star for us was the crispy sweet potato appetizer..

Words do NOT describe how much I loved this dish. There were crispy sweet potato disks on the bottom, which were then topped with brown sugar sweet apple bacon bits, covered in jalapeño and arugula. Oh. My. Gosh. I could not get enough. The combination of the bacon with the sweet potato was to die for (and I don't even like bacon)! I felt like my mouth was doing a little dance of happiness every time I took a bite. Clearly, we liked both appetizers, but my favorite was definitely the sweet potato one!

Side note: I also LOVE when restaurants give you cold water in a glass bottle that you can leave ON YOUR TABLE!

A.) Because I drink a whole lot of H2O and,

B.) Because for some reason water always tastes so much better from a glass bottle!

Finally, our dinner came. They had pre-split the plate for us, so the pictured portion below is technically just HALF of their actual portion.

The dish was topped with the same sweet bacon as our appetizer was. The chicken was literally falling off the bone. It was cooked perfectly with an amazing au jus sauce covering it. They had placed the chicken on a bed of parsnip mash, which basically exactly like mashed potatoes! The dish also had swiss chard. The combinations of these foods together were basically like one big bowl of comforting goodness. My boyfriend loves comfort foods that are mashed and mushy, so he was definitely a happy camper!

By the end of the meal, we were both STUFFED. But our stomachs were singing with happiness! This restaurant was the perfect spot for a nice date night, with good food as well as good service and a nice ambiance! We even got to enjoy the patio seating because of their heaters (which worked very well I might add).

Overall, I give Little Beast in Eagle Rock, CA two thumbs WAY WAY UP, as the genie from Aladdin would say! :)

If you live in the area, I highly recommend that you try it out! Have a wonderful Sunday night folks!