Stop. Rewind. It's smoothie time!

Hey all! So, I decided my next post is going to be a "healthy" one. I know a lot of you probably drink smoothies, whether you make it yourself or you go to somewhere like Jamba Juice or Smoothie King. They are nutritional (DEPENDING how you make it) as well as delicious.

So, let me cue you in on some basic knowledge you should know about smoothies. Smoothies can be healthy for you, it just depends how you make it. If you add things like ice cream, frozen yogurt, sugar, nutella, chocolate, fruit juices, etc, then you are obviously making it an unhealthy drink. You can continuously tell yourself "it's good for me because there is fruit!", but FRP (for reals player), it's not a completely healthy drink. I will admit, I do add orange juice I buy from the store (not fresh made) and add greek yogurt (which has a good amount of sugar), but I am a college student and I survive on what I can afford.

So, I've decided to give my basic recipe for the smoothie I try to make on a regular basis.





The College Budget Smoothie:

1. Strawberries: one of my favorite fruits, strawberries pack a ton of nutrients and good juju to help with many of the problems people have today (like fighting off cancer and bad cholesterol). Normally, I put around 5-6 strawberries in my smoothie just because it is one of my favorite fruits. You're more than welcome to add more or less!

2. Banana: Although they are filled with sugar, banana's have always been a fruit that has been at the top of my list (after avocados and strawberries of course).  The reason why I add a banana to my smoothie is to pack a little punch into it to give me energy for the day. Normally, I only add one, but at some points I add two. Also, if you don't like banana, just replace it with an avocado (which is much better), although they are more expensive, they taste delicious in a smoothie!

3. Orange Juice: I unfortunately don't make my own orange juice, although I really should. However, if you are like me and money and time are tight, then just buy the bottled kind. Just make sure you don't add too much to your smoothie or it will be a little too citrusy (unless you like that, then add away!).

4. Greek Yogurt: The yogurt I use is the "Greek Gods Yogurt, Greek, Honey & Strawberry Flavored" and I know what you're going to say, "you should use plain greek yogurt, it's healthier for you!" Okay, I know it's healthier for me, but I'm not fond of just plain yogurt and I never have been. This is probably the unhealthiest thing I've added to my smoothie. I recommend that you do get plain greek yogurt though, it's healthier and has less sugar than this one. I normally add around 2-3 spoonfuls to the smoothie to give it that creamy texture.

5. Spinach Leaves: I am probably the only person in the world who didn't know spinach leaves could taste so good in smoothies. But that is probably because it is mixed with sweet fruits, so it loses the flavor, ha. Everyone knows that spinach is a great vegetable to eat and now you all know it is a great vegetable to drink! I add around 2 handfuls worth of spinach leaves to my smoothie, however, you are more than welcome to add less or more.

6. Carrots: I mean, I have to keep my big 'ole eyes looking fabulous, right? Carrots are yummy, sweet, and have great nutritional value. They add more sweetness to your smoothie than you think. I normally get the "chip" looking ones that can easily be taken as a snack and add around a handful or so.

OPTIONAL
7. Steel Cut Oats: People always wonder what is the difference between regular oats and steel cut oats. The biggest difference is that steel cut oats are the least processed oats out of all the ones you may buy. I normally don't put too much into my smoothie or it will become oat-y flavored. If you like steel cut oats, it's a good thing to put into your smoothie because it will fill you up faster (And it makes up for a great replacement for breakfast if you normally eat oatmeal during the day).


All these ingredients last me around 2 weeks, so it's a good thing to buy as a college student who doesn't earn as much money as she should...

But I hope you enjoyed this "health" post! If you have any comments or want to add any nutritional facts to help me improve my smoothie, PLEASE feel free to comment below. Criticism is always welcome, but remember, be polite about it, don't be rude.

xxx

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Back to the beauty of things

So, I decided to do a post for skin care today (gotta try to get back into the fashion posts).

One of my new favorite products I've been using is the Himalaya Herbarls: Purifying Neem Pack (for Normal to Oily Skin). My mother had bought this for me after she had seen it on Dr. Oz's show (she's absolutely obsessed with his advice). At first, I did not enjoy using it that much because I normally don't like putting any type of masks on my face. However, my skin in the past month or two has started to get really irritated due to all the stress and "mother nature" comings.

This fabulous purifying pack is made from all natural ingredients, including Neem and Tumeric. If you're wondering what Neem is, it is a type of vegetable oil pressed from the fruits and seeds of the neem (Azadirachta indica), an evergreen tree which is endemic to the Indian subcontinent (yes, I did get that from Wikipedia..don't judge!). It is most commonly used in India for treatment of acne, as well as other cosmetic uses. In some cases, it is used to help skin diseases and other illnesses.

But enough about that, let's get to the good stuff! So, I've been using this treatment on my face 3 times a week for the past 4 weeks, and it has done wonders. My left side of my face has cleared up and my right side is looking a lot better. For some odd reason, my right side of my face tends to get more acne and scarring than any other part. This purifying pack has really helped my skin a lot, along with other remedies I will post about later!

Let's get to the steps:

1. Make sure that your face is clean and clear. You can use your regular face wash to get off all the make up. I've noticed that make up removers don't get every spot of make up off, so always make sure to go over your face with a clean cotton ball to see if any make up is still on there.

2. Apply evenly over face (and neck if wanted) and allow to dry between 10-15 minutes (I had WAY to much fun with taking photos as you can tell)

*may cause a tingling sensation due to the herbal active ingredients, which is normal

3. Remove with a wet sponge or wash cloth with cool water (I look weird....)

4. TA-DAH, clean face (Sorry guys, still self conscious about being public with no makeup! Eventually I'll smile!)

5. And of course, always moisturize your face after using products like a mask. These type of products dry out your face. This moisturizer is amazing not only because it's all natural, but you don't even need to use that much! (Which is a good sign for picking out moisturizers)

It may take some time for you to see results, mind you everyone is different. 

REMEMBER: I am not a professional on skin care products, I am only promoting it because it has helped me out. Make sure to talk to your doctor or a specialist before using this product (if you feel necessary). 

Hope you guys enjoyed my little "tutorial"/info post! :) xxx

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Pre-Graduation Jitters

I guess you can say that I am getting per-graduation jitters. I'm getting more and more daunted of what the future has to offer. So far, I have applied to 0 jobs, so, as you can imagine, I have gotten 0 offers. There have been a few companies who have been interested, however, they all end up being recruiting jobs, something that I am not looking for in my future.

What scares me the most is the fact that I will be moving forward with my life, and it may be without the people that have always been there for me. Being alone has always been a subject I thought I understood. I thought that even when being surrounded by the people who brought you laughter and joy, it could leave you feeling alone. But, in my case, it never really has left that feeling in me. The concept of "being alone" is still a mysterious phenomenon I will probably not understand until I graduate from college. I will most likely be living alone in a city filled with pathways that, for the first time ever, I will have to tread down alone.

But it will be a good thing for me to go off, treading away from everything that is familiar. I'm not ready to settle down in just one place. I want to be able to say that I lived in different cities, maybe even in different countries. I want to be able to tell my friends (that end up staying my friends) that I met interesting people who told me stories of their crazy adventures that I should experience. I know, it's a rare case that this will actually happen to me, but I can dream and be optimistic about it.

I trailed off subject a little, but I've always tended to do that. I shouldn't really be afraid. I have a very caring family who will take care of me if I can't find work. But, it's not something that feels right to me. My parents have sacrificed way to much for me because I ended up being the black sheep in our four count family. My mom has always told me that my brother may be smart (he currently goes to Yale and is doing his Ph.D in Chemistry), but there are qualities in me that he doesn't have, but should and it goes vice versa. Sometimes, I wish I was as smart as my brother so I wouldn't find it so hard to get through f***ing Uni. BTW, I am taking 18 credit hours this semester, along with 12 hours/week of work at the Recreation Center, plus doing officer duties (mind you, I don't JUST do duties of my own) for American Marketing Association. So, yeah, I have a lot of things going on my plate right now.

I keep slamming my hand on the stress button that is in my brain. It's like I have some disorder which won't stop me from continuously hitting it. I may not show that I am stressed out of my f***ing brains, but trust me, I'm about to blow at any moment...

Truthfully, 90% is ready for me to to walk across that stage and throw a huge middle finger out to those who doubted my ability to succeed. But then, 10% of me is wondering:

What the hell am I going to do once I step down from that stage? I guess we'll find out, less than a month to go.

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A haircut tale

Yeah, I look kind of weird and tired here, but I felt like I needed to write something. I got a haircut around a month and a half ago (a little longer than that) and the lady kind of butchered the layers in my hair. So a few weeks ago, I decided that I wanted to get bangs and get my layers fixed. So, I ended up getting straight cut bangs and everyone loved it (or that's what they said). They are pretty long now, so I had to move it over to a side bang. 

This morning I got a text from my friend's brother (he used her whatsapp to contact me, which is weird). And he told me that he didn't approve of the fact that I got my bangs cut like that and that men don't like straight cut bangs. The first thought that popped up in my head was, why would I care what a "man" thinks about my hair? Is my hair what defines me? Is my hair the real reason why men want to date me? If a "MAN" wanted to date me, the first thing he should look at is my personality and then maybe my looks. The men I like notice me for more than my looks and that's what I love about them. The thing is, a boy would care how my hair looks, a man would care who I am.

A haircut does not define you. It doesn't create a "new you" nor does it lift off heavy burdens. All your doing is cutting off keratin and dead skin cells. I know, it's so weird, but that's truly all your hair really is. Only you can determine what defines you, whether it is what you do with your life or how your live it. Everyone will define it differently.

But I guess that's my little rant for the day. Lately, I have been writing in a journal for all my thoughts that I can't put on here and it's felt absolutely wonderful. Writing has become a new passion for me and I hope in the future, I can pursue a career in it. Back to studying, graduation is so close!

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