Brussels Sprouts are in Season!

Good Day Everyone! 

It's fall and so many wonderful things are in season. Boots, Faux fur, Pumpkin everything and Brussels Sprouts (yum!)

These little balls of tastiness are almost perfect! Except for one thing. The way they're spelled/pronounced. I literally do not say Brusselsssssss , <--- Focus on the "S" at the end of brussels. I pronounce them as Brussel, no "s" at the end. Whatever I don't care. I don't like the "s" at the end of Brussels so I just leave him out. 

So besides the way they are pronounced, they are perfect. They're easy to cook, yummy to taste and filled with nutrition. 

10      N U T R I T I O N A L    F A C T S :  

1. Vitamin C (way more than most fruits)

2. Beta Carotene - Great for your eye health 

3. Vitamin K- keeps your blood running smoothly in your system, 

no blood clots, 

yay!

4. Folic Acid- helps body produce new healthy cells 

5. rich in fiber- oh yah. 

6. Iron- for cellular oxidation ( great for anemic patients) 

7. Manganese- controls blood sugar 

8. Sulforaphane- Cancer Fighting Properties

9. Low in calories 

10.  Low grams in fat. 

P R E P E R A T I O N: 

There are so many different ways to prepare Brussels Sprouts, and to be perfectly honest, I like my oven. I like to keep the heat as low as possible and I don't like to burn them. Still a little hard is all right with me. 

There are 5 steps and that is it

Step 1- WASH! SO IMPORTANT! 

Step 2- Add oil and seasoning 

(I add coconut oil, pepper,garlic powder)

Step 3- Cut stems off, cut in half and add to a

baking tray

Step 4- Put in oven at 300 degree for 20 minutes 

Step 5-  I'll add raw olive oil, a side of organic ketchup and EAT away. 

Hope you enjoy!

- The Wellness Enthusiast 

  

I love Mondays and Cruelty Free Makeup.

In may, PETA held a contest on their Instagram page for a chance to win 3 lovely lip glosses, aka Lip Tar, made by a company called Obsessive Compulsive Cosmetics. I thought, I'd give it a go plus would make for an opportunity to share this company with all of my instagram followers. Well, guess what? I WON! I genuinely was not expecting to win and would have been thrilled for whoever won, but when Peta tagged me that I had won, I think I jumped up and down for about an hour! 

I was so excited the day I had a little package at my door from PETA. I ripped open the package and there was this sweet card written from Peta and the 3 Lip Tars. I was even more thrilled when I saw how rad the colors were.

What I love about OCC Make Up Line is the fact that they are 100% Vegan and cruelty Free. Their make up is bright and bold. Their make up really does help their cruelty-free customers stand out more and look even more beautiful than they already are. Don't believe me? Go search the Hash Tag "OCC" or "LIPTAR" holy moly those people look incredible! If only I had such beauty! wow! 

They have so many colors and I can't wait to get my hands on a ton more.

I go through Lip Gloss, Lip Sticks and Chapstick pretty fast because I have big, natural, lips that eat it all up. What I love about OCC Lip Tar is that a little drop of it, goes a long way and it LASTS. These small Lip tars will last you a LONG time. I should know, I have huge lips! Lip anything doesn't last very long. 

A lot of make up companies still, unfortunately, test on animals which honestly makes NO sense. Like Ricky Gervais once said: 

 "Don't get shampoo in your eyes. It stings. There. Done. Now you can stop torturing animals. Ban testing cosmetics on the innocent."

Same goes for Make up, get an allergic reaction? Stop using it. Simple.

I'm no angel, I'm sure I use things tested on animals or something that may have harmed an animal, but what I do know is that I'm trying. AS long as we all try and do our part, the world would be a better place. 

It isn't easy living a vegan life style in a non-vegan world, but we have to try to do what we can.

So check out Peta's website for cruelty-free make up and skin care. Remember that MOST organic companies don't and won't test on animals. Don't beat yourself up if you're not looking out for these things, but maybe now you can think a little bit about it on your next shopping list!

Ill have to take another pic with the 3rd Lip tar and update soon!

- The Wellness Enthusiast

Just a normal Fri(day) with Vegan Doughnuts

Yesterday was such a lovely day here in Las Vegas. It was sunny, it rained a bit, and got windy towards the end of the night. I absolutely love days like these. You know, Bi-Polar days. You get a little bit of everything. As Forrest Gump once said "Life is like a box of chocolates, you never know what you're gonna get" I'm pretty sure by "life" he meant weather in Las vegas. 

Anyways, I knew it was going to rain and get a bit gloomy towards the end of the day so I decided to get some errands out of the way. I decided to take my little fur ball with me. He isn't small enough to be in a purse, and I would literally slap myself if I ever put him in one, So I have to carry him. I don't mind it though. It feels like a bit of an extra workout, walking around with an extra 12 LBS in my arms. 

Well, we stopped by the mattress store and jumped laid on some mattresses. Im in serious need of a new one. Ive been looking for quite some time I mean how do I know if I like firm? plush? Pillow top? Euro top? Soft? Cushion soft? extra firm? You lay on the mattress for 2 minutes and its supposed to tell you if you want to lay on that mattress for the rest of your life next 10 years? Just not my style. I like to test drive and then make a decision. Buying a bed and returning it to me, sounds pretty lame so I want to be absolute sure before I make any quick decisions. I guess I'm like that with everything in my life. I want it, but then I think it can wait. 

Anyways Romeo and I laid on some. Some were nice and some were NOT nice. I think I found one, but then again I'm not sure. 

Anyone have suggestions on picking a mattress? 

After Mattress window shopping,

I ran over over to a little store you might know as take every last penny you have plus your first unborn child Whole Foods to buy some groceries aka food for my dog. I was walking around the bakery area when all of a sudden the heavens opened, light was shining and I stood there in absolute amazement.  V E G A N    D O U G H N T S. I'm literally a sugar feen. My heart was pounding, and I got butterflies. Yep, I was that excited. 

I used to have this weird thing where I wouldn't touch doughnuts, they were just sickening. Out of no where about a year ago, I made my own (vegan and gluten free) and now I just love them. So anyways after my heart slowed down, the heavens shut and the light went away, I walked up to the area where you can grab your own and I picked out 4 mouth watering, delicious, cruelty-free treats. 

I got home, made some herbal mint tea and started blogging away. As much as I wanted to eat all four of them, I gave in to just one. I kind of felt sick after because it was a holy sugar over load, but it was all worth it. I'm pretty excited that whole foods has vegan doughnuts and they make them in their in house bakery. A W E S O M E E E E.

 I know doughnuts aren't healthy but you have to treat yourself sometimes, or in my case, every time. I'm also not saying that anything that says "vegan" is going to be healthy, but one thing for sure, if it says "vegan" it's CRUELTY FREE.

Now, Im not asking you to become vegan or even go on PETA and watch the behind the scenes of what they do to animals, but I will say this , if you're not willing to watch PETA undercover videos then you are already imagining the horrific conditions these animals endure during their short life.

BUT I am asking you to try and live a somewhat cruelty free life.

 How about trying being Vegan one day a week or buying vegan doughnuts or buying foods that are vegan here and there? or buying make up that hasn't been tested on animals? Anything and everything counts. 

I know if you're reading this, its because you're a good person and I believe you will do what is right and best for you and your family.

Just remember, Just because I eat a vegan diet doesn't mean I ONLY eat grass and lettuce all day. You can eat ANYTHING that you eat now just without the animal products. Let me tell you a little secret, if you make it at home, it tastes 100 x better. 

Any Followers vegan? What was your experience? Was it hard to change? Comment below and let me know.  

-The Wellness Enthusiast 

Vegan Chocolate Hemp Smoothie

I am not exaggerating when I say, this smoothie is amazing. If you like chocolate, then this is a smoothie you MUST try. It's very simple, its filling, and it's heaven in your mouth. 

INGREDIENTS: 

-2 Bananas (preferably frozen)

-3-5 dates (depending how sweet you want it)

4 TBS of Raw Cacao 

-2 cups of Almond milk (or milk alternative of choice) 

-a dash of Cinnamon 

-2 TBS of Hemp Seeds 

-A bunch of Ice 

DIRECTIONS:

It's simple, add ingredients to a blender and blend. I use my BLENDTEC and hit "smoothie" 

Pour in glass and ENJOY. YUM. 

- The Wellness Enthusiast