Aloe Vera Juice, Tempt Coupon

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Two more days until Thanksgiving!

Truth be told, Erik and I won’t be doing much for Thanksgiving this year. Due to work issues, we’re unable to make it to Nebraska (Go Huskers!!) to see my parents. My mother-in-law and her husband are out of town, and my father-in-law is still staying in a living community due to cancer. Besides going to see him there probably won’t be much of a traditional Thanksgiving meal this year. I could go all out and cook for just us  but I don’t think I will (and I’m okay with that : )

Erik does, however, want me to make a “healthified” sweet potato pie so I will be doing that. Does anyone have a recipe suggestion for sweet potato pie? I’ve never made it, but am excited to see how it will turn out.

Thanks

Thank you all for the positive comments about our business venture!! I knew you would all be just as excited about a healthy vending machine as we were ; ) I will definitely be giving you all the inside scoop as we start out!

Snack Time

Here was my morning snack: Toasted cinnamon raison sprouted bread with Justin’s almond butter, banana slices, and chia seeds. I never get tired for this combination!

New Food Review: Aloe Juice

I love trying new, healthy foods and drinks!

While we were at Whole Foods this past weekend we picked up some ALO Awaken juice. It’s ingredients are: spring water, aloe vera pulp, aloe vera juice, wheatgrass concentrate, cane sugar, citric acid, calcium lactate

You can even see small green “floaties” when you look into it. Right away, I had serious doubts whether or not this would taste good and I didn’t know about the texture. But of course we got it anyway. I’ll try (almost) anything once.

Surprisingly, it was actually really good. The “floaties” were more sweet than anything and the texture of them wasn’t a problem at all because there wasn’t an overpowering amount.  Very refreshing. Erik’s already bought a different flavor to try.

Why do we get these products that sound so “gross”? Because they’re good for us (not to mention it’s just plain fun!!) Some claimed health benefits of aloe juice:

• Aids in healthy digestion.
• Contains vitamins A, B1, B2, B6, B12, C and E, Folic Acid and Niacin.
• Minerals in aloe include: calcium, sodium, iron, potassium, chromium, magnesium, manganese, copper, and zinc.
• Contains anti inflammatory properties
• Naturally detoxifies the body and cleanses the colon.

The recommended amount is 2-4 ounces twice daily. (I don’t know that I’ll be drinking that much but now you know ; ) Have you ever tried any type of aloe vera juice?

Coupon

After seeing my mini review of their help milk ice cream, Tempt e-mailed me sharing a coupon for $.75 of any of the products. Check it out!! : )

It’s Biggest Loser Time for Erik and I … have a great night, everyone!

 

-Lesley

 

Getting down to business

 Happy Thanksgiving Week!

Thanks for all the encouragement regarding my new look thus far! My comments were unfortunately inoperable last night :( but they’re back now. Thanks to Erica and Tasha for letting me know! So for those of you who might have tried to leave a comment and couldn’t … thanks : )

Before I get to our new small business news, I can’t forget to talk about two wonderful foods I got this weekend … POM pomegranates and chia seeds.

My morning snack: Toasted Ezekiel bread with natural peanut butter, pomegranates, and chia seeds – perfect combination!

This was my first pom of the season and it did not disappoint. This was also my first experience with chia seeds so I’m excited to try them in different ways with different things.

And now to the exciting stuff. Erik and I are now the proud owners of …

Originally Organic Vending, LLC

While the ball is already rolling, starting sometime around January we will be serving the Kansas City Metro and Buchanan County, Missouri area with natural, healthy vending machines. They will include both food & drink, debit card swipe abilities and will predominately be housed in schools.

We are working with a healthy vending company called Yo! Naturals. They look similar to this: Those of you who live somewhere other than in the Midwest have probably seen Yo! Natural machines in your area as they’re becoming quite popular by the coasts.

Erik and I are beyond excited because we feel as though it’s a step in the direction we want to go with life, in promoting and helping others live a healthy lifestyle.

You will definitely be hearing and seeing more about Originally Organic Vending! : )

(A wonderful perk is that these delicious and healthy snacks and drinks will be stored in my house ; ) and you better believe I WILL be snitching from our stash!)

Do you have any healthy vending machines near you?

 

-Lesley

 

Welcome to Lesley Lifting Life!

Hey everyone! : )

Welcome to my new blog!! This has been in the works for awhile and I’m so excited to be able to finally share it with you all.  When I started Lesley Living Life I had no idea how much I would enjoy blogging and what it would turn into. I realized "Lesley Living Life” just wasn’t “me” so I started thinking about what else to call it and my husband suggested “Lesley Lifting Life”.  Right away, I knew that was it : ) For an explanation visit my new Welcome page.  And I’d like to thank Melanie for the blog makeover, she’s been great to work with!

I may have a few kinks to be worked out yet, but I just couldn’t wait any longer to launch Lesley Lifting Life! Regularly scheduled posting will commence soon in which I will reveal our business venture I mentioned to you all the other day.

But for now, so picture teasers:

I’ve got some wonderful things planed for Lesley Lifting Life and am so excited to share my new blog! : )

Stay tuned …

 

-Lesley

 

Staying active in the office

Happy Weekend!!!

After working a lot of overtime the past few weeks I’ve been thinking about how much I actually sit in a day.

Being stuck in a cubicle all day long, every day, here are some things I do to try to move as much as possible during the work week.

• always take the stairs. when i come to work, i take the stairs to my floor, when i take breaks, i use the stairs and when i leave, i take the stairs. it all adds up!

(these are the  very stairs I use each and every day ; )

• walk or stand during break. i use my morning break to get personal things done like phone calls and writing “to dos” but for my afternoon break i walk around with one of my coworkers.
• drink plenty of water. i aim for at least 52 ounces while at work but most of the time drink more. when you’re not dehydrated you’ll have more energy and will want to move around more. (plus, you will probably be getting up to use to bathroom frequently which equals more walking ; )

What other tips do you have on how to stay active with an office job?

 

The Weekend Plans

Tonight I plan on relaxing, blogging and flipping through my new Real Simple that just came in the mail today.

And for the rest of the weekend, my known plans are …

• make bagels
• hang out in Kansas City
• do some shopping for Samaritan’s Purse shoeboxes
• put together a diet/fitness plan for my co-worker and friend (with some professional advice from my PT husband ; )

Have a fabulous weekend!

 

-Lesley

Exciting day!

Today was an exciting day!

It’s official. Erik and I are now small business owners. I’d love to share it all now but to make things more exciting, I’ll let you guys in on all the details with the launching of my new blog (which should be soon) … until then here’s a hint: it has to do with healthy food and drink. Right up our alley … I’m excited!!! Any guesses?

My iron pumping muscle group of the night was biceps. (aka, tonight I did bis).

*please try to excuse how bad these pictures are … i lift in the dungeon that is my basement and it’s dark and gloomy down there … bad for picture taking

I did a workout from Oxygen Magazine. It’s a four week “Your Stunning Arms Workout”. This is my third week doing it and I really have been noticing definite results. I love Oxygen!

1. Incline bench dumbbell curl; 3 sets of 6-8; rest 45 seconds --- benefits: stimulates muscle strength and growth

2. Wide-grip EZ-bar curl; 2 sets of 8-10; rest 45 seconds --- benefits: stimulates muscle growth

3. Seated dumbbell curl; 3 sets of 12-15; rest 30 seconds --- benefits: improves oxygen and nutrient delivery and training endurance.

A fairly quick workout with great results!

I can’t wait to share what our small business is all about and reveal my new blog to you guys!!! : ) 

Have a great Friday! Any weekend plans?

 

-Lesley

A few groceries

Apparently I’m not the only one who has eggs & oats : ) It’s a great way to add protein to your morning, making you feel full longer!

Tonight after work I stopped by the  grocery store to pick up a few random things we were out of. On the list … peanut butter. (I’m not entirely sure what I would do without peanut butter for a day).

On my random list of items:

• peanut butter
• Ezekiel cereal
• frozen berries
• agave nectar ketchup
• Amy’s frozen pizza (for Erik)
• organic mac n cheese (also for Erik … he likes his mac n cheese lately)
• a couple Trio bars (I like to snack on these at work when I get hungry – and I love that they’re only 99 cents!)
• Stevia in the Raw

For some reason, cashew cookie Larabars were on sale for $1 so I got a couple of those also.

I’m getting so excited to reveal to you all the new blog!!!! (Will hopefully be soon). But until then …. have a great evening : )

 

-Lesley

Letting the cat out of the bag

This morning I was happy when I remembered I had an empty jar of peanut butter sitting in my cupboard. I love the combination of oats, bananas and peanut butter especially on a cold morning.

I mixed 1 egg & 2 egg whites (cooked) in my oats. At first eggs and oats might sound a little odd (I thought it did) but I actually really like it. Am I weird or does anyone else do that?

I topped it all with some hemp seeds.

Upon getting to work, I drank my delicious hot tea and filled up my water jug. 

(I once accidentally microwaved my thermos mug that clearly has metal on it, hence the deformed looking “miGo” label).

And here’s a random snack that Erik ate last night … he said, “this would be a good picture” and he was right so I took one to share with you all : ) 

• cottage cheese
• raisons
• almonds
• small handful of oats
• frozen berries

I’ve been busy all night working on some blogs chances so sorry for not being around! 

Speaking of blog changes … time to let the cat out of the bag … I’m going to have a brand new blog soon … layout and name! I’m very excited for the makeover and I can’t wait to reveal to you all what Lesley Living Life will be changing to! : )

Stick around to find out soon …

 

-Lesley

Wet day at work

Happy wet day, everyone!

I looked out the window this morning at work to seeing giant snow flakes falling. It was beautiful but it made we wish  I was at home bundled up with a book.

It continued to snow for the next several hours. By the time I went to lunch it was done and the snow wasn’t sticking much because it was so heavy and wet. Here’s the pond outside of work post snow.

When I got back to work from lunch, my cube friend and I were craving something warm! I haven’t had coffee in over a year but I knew it’s what I wanted.  So, being my only coffee choice I got some $.85 plain black coffee out of a coffee/tea/cappuccino/soup vending machine in the cafeteria.

I knew it would be gross work coffee but it was good gross work coffee! ; )

Here’s my cube friend demonstrating how good our vending machine drinks were. (Jenn is my fitness/foodie friend at work … thankfully she’s the person who sits in the cube across from me because she doesn’t think it’s weird when I take pictures of my food at my desk, haha).

We had a fun Monday at work and probably annoyed our co-workers by all the uncontrollable laughing we did.

On break, our mission was picture taking …me of the snow and Jenn of a random Twilight poster she saw on a random stranger’s cube.  We got a bunch of weird looks (thanks, Jenn; ) but she got her picture of Edward so that’s all that matters, haha.

A little later I snacked on a Trio bar. I’m seriously loving these delicious and only 99 cent bars!!

Finally upon leaving work at 5 (is it really dark at 5 now?? Ugh!) the snow was almost all melted and it was raining, leaving even more wetness!

The forecast is more snow and more rain and more cold.  I used to hate cold weather but I’ve decided to embrace and fully experience each season so I’m planning to love every minute of it : )

Now I’m about to go lift (chest night), eat dinner, and relax until I get to do it all over again. 

How was your Monday??

 

-Lesley

 

Groceries, Shopping, Changes

Ahh, the weekend is over already! It went by too fast and I didn’t do nearly as much as I wanted. Plus, weekends are never as good when Erik has to work.

Oh well … here’s some highlights of my weekend in bulleted form :)  (I like lists).

• Got some groceries. I discovered that my Hyvee health foods section has our almond milk in 1/2 gallon containers now (rather than 1 quart) … score! We go through almond milk like its our job.

• While getting groceries, I checked out the NuVal cards around the food that our Hyvee has recently added to the store. I’m not yet sure how it all works but I’ve been talking to Tina about a future NuVal post. I think it’s a great system for those that don’t really know how to read labels.
• I did some bargain shopping. I love to hit up all the clearance racks! I actually went to Target twice this weekend :s haha. But I got some really good deals … including this huge purse. I love it!!

I tried to take a mirror picture of myself in the mirror with my new purse but it was too dark. Whoops.

• Went to church.

• Got some boots. I’ve really been in need of some brown boots and I’ve had a heck of a time finding any I like! I’m a pointed or square toed kinda girl most of the time and all the boots out these days seem to be rounded.  Though I don’t absolutely love them, I decided on these.

• Played with my dogs. Here’s Adrian and Bubba getting along.

• Helped my husband with a business plan he’s putting together. I’m hoping to be able to share what that’s all about soon because we’re excited about it!
• Did some blog work. Expect to see changes soon! ; )

What did you do this weekend?

 

-Lesley

Our “gym”, the two greatest veggies

So glad it’s the weekend! I’m hoping to have a productive one, especially since the husband will be working most of it and I’ll be all alone.

First up in exciting news …. this is what I’m now doing my morning cardio on : )

We have been eyeing this very simple but cute little elliptical for awhile at our MC Sports. I’ve wanted one ever since we decided to cancel our gym membership and start working out at home.

I like my treadmill but I find that I feel like I get a better workout on an elliptical because it’s low impact and I can “run” as much as I want with no problems. For whatever reason, I also just find the elliptical more exciting and entertaining.

Do you work out at home or go to the gym??

I think there’s definitely pros and cons to both scenarios. We’re collecting quite a “gym” at our house and we’re now up to:

• Boflex Blaze (used mostly for exercises where you need cables)
• Bench press with leg press/preacher curl attachments
• Dumbbell set from 5lbs to 50lbs
• Treadmill (though technically my MIL’s ;)
• Elliptical

I’d say we’re set for awhile! To us it’s worth the initial investment because we get use of it everyday and will save money and time in the long run. 

Our plans are to make our unfinished side of the basement into the official “gym” but we’ve got some painting and cleaning up to do! As soon as we do that I’ll have to give you all the official online tour ; )

Dinner was quick tonight and the star of the show was asparagus.

I love asparagus! It’s one of my favorite veggies. Probably falls right after Brussels. Haha. I’m quite sure I could eat either of those every single day and never tire of them.

What’s your all-time favorite veggie?

Erik’s currently singing to me making up a song about how he’s ready to leave so I’m out … have a great weekend!!

 

-Lesley

 

The Green Bible

Hey everyone!  : )

I don’t know about you but I am so glad the weekend is almost here! (Erik has to work which is sad buuut otherwise, I’m excited for it to be here).

I’m tired. Tonight I plan on hanging out with Erik for awhile and then reading some of this:

All throughout Jr. High and High School (and even after really up until I got married) I’ve always loved to journal. Every single day I would journal and write my thoughts, my prayers, my worries, my feelings, everything. It was always such a great release and way to focus myself on what’s really important.

Life gets more hectic and busy when you get married and have a full time job so I haven’t journaled in such a long time. I’ve been feeling like doing so more and more lately so that’s what my plan is for tonight along with reading my Bible.

I got this Bible about a year ago and I love it. It’s called “The Green Bible”. As the website says,

“The Green Bible will equip and encourage people to see God's vision for creation and help them engage in the work of healing and sustaining it. With over 1,000 references to the earth in the Bible, compared to 490 references to heaven and 530 references to love, the Bible carries a powerful message for the earth.”

I truly believe that. God cares about the Earth and his plan is to restore it to all it’s goodness. 

About The Green Bible

(from their website)

The Green Bible is the definitive movement Bible that shows that God is green and how we can care for and protect God's creation.
Featuring:

• Green-Letter Edition: Verses and passages that speak to God's care for creation highlighted in green
• Foreword by Archbishop Desmond Tutu
• Essays by Brian McLaren, Cal DeWitt, Barbara Brown Taylor, Pope John Paul II, Ellen Davis, N. T. Wright, Ellen Bernstein, Matthew Sleeth, James Jones, and Gordon Aeschliman
• Inspirational quotes from Christian teachings throughout the ages
• A green Bible topical index
• A personal green Bible trail study guide
• An appendix with information on further reading, how to get involved, and practical steps to take
• Recycled paper, using soy-based ink with a cotton/linen cover

I will leave you all with some quotes from the forward:

(This Anne Frank one is my favorite!)

Don’t forget to stop for a moment and pay attention to the beautiful fall leaves and feel the crisp autumn air ; )

 

-Lesley

Working out, leftovers

Ha, so apparently we were all crabby yesterday! ; ) I was glad to hear I wasn’t the only one. Lu said it must have been a terrible Tuesday or something and I think she might have been right. Maybe it really is the weather … either way … today was a new day and I was happy! :)  Were you?? I hope so.

Fitness

Even though working out is a big part of my life, I rarely talk about it. I think it’s because of lack of pictures and I’m usually just focused on working out when I’m working out, ha. I’d like to talk about it more in the future but I’m not sure how to work that yet.

Here is what I just got done drinking after working my back tonight. 

Since I decided to start lifting this past March, I’ve really grown to love it. My goal in the beginning was to tone up, get strong and be challenged. I’ve come a very long ways doing just that but I’m still going at it.

I’ve thought about working towards a fitness competition but we’ll see what time brings. I not sure that I really want to compete but I think it would be a fun experience that would really challenge me. 

Food

Sorry, I have no exciting food pictures. Today is leftovers. I made quite a bit of chicken last night and Erik’s been gone most of the evening helping his dad.

So that’s it! :)

Hope you’ve had a wonderful & happy day!

 

-Lesley

Crabbiness, organizing & normal dinner

Today was one of those days. For whatever reason, Erik and I were both crabby. We made for an interesting pair. But after we argue I’m even more aware of how great of a husband I have. It’s sooo wonderful to have the assurance that he loves me. He always makes me feel loved just as I am & no matter what … and he always will : )

When I got home from work I did some dishes and decided to organize the cupboard a little bit. Here is the finished product:

Okay, it might not look that organized, but you should have seen it before! ; )  (as you may  be able to see, we have this “problem” with opening a new peanut butter jar the jar before is all the way gone. But I eventually use it for oats in a jar so it’s okay:) And if you’re wondering why we have 4 boxes of Ezekiel cereal, it’s because we stocked up while we were in KC last weekend because it’s cheaper there.

Dinner

After eating cereal for dinner last night, I was ready for something warm and “normal”. Broccoli & peas …

… Annie’s mac n cheese for Erik. (I ate more carbs than normal today so I tried to stay away from Annie tonight) …

… and Smart Chicken on George. Mmm.

It’s Tuesday night … guess what we’re doing now? Ha … yep, Biggest Loser. It’s also a nice way to relax and wind down.

What’s your favorite way to wind down?

 

-Lesley

Bison, cereal & hemp milk ice cream

Happy Monday : )

First up … Sunday’s dinner. We got some ground bison at Whole Foods this weekend and had it with some sort of spinach pasta and delicious sauce that Erik made topped with 1/3 less fat Parmesan.

Rainy Days

Right as I was getting off work it started raining and it’s been a gloomy evening. When I got home Erik and I ran and grabbed a few groceries. Since it was raining we decided to have a “chill” evening and we’re watching a movie. 

For dinner, Erik had some leftovers and I decided I really wanted some cereal.

I had a big bowl full to the brim of puffed grain cereal that I talked about yesterday with:

• a banana
• cinnamon
• stevia
• almond milk

Erik made fun of how full my bowl was. Oh well. I love cereal … especially when it’s not high in calories, really sugary or full of sodium ; )

Dessert

We recently discovered some new (to us) ice cream – Living Harvest Tempt mint chip -- that Erik was eating tonight made with hemp milk. I don’t know how fond I am of hemp milk on its own but in this, it was delicious.

I’m loving all these new ice creams lately made with coconut milk and hemp milk!

Here’s the nutritional stats … for ice cream, not too shabby! And tastes great.

Now I’m off to read blogs, and do nothing the rest of the night : )

Hope all you lovely people had a wonderful Monday! : )

 

-Lesley