Christmas in July – Let’s Party!

This July we are going to be celebrating Christmas in July every day and it’s going to be so much fun!

If you want to join in the fun you can find us on Facebook, Instagram or Pinterest so choose your favourite Social Media platform and follow us (or follow us on all of them, that would be amazing) and join in with us. After all why should we only celebrate in December?

The reason why I love Christmas in July is because I grew up in the UK and loved Christmas as it was a bright spot in the middle of winter, but when I was 19 I headed down under and now celebrate Christmas in summer. I have celebrated more summer Christmas’ than winter ones, but I just think a winter Christmas is a ‘proper’ one 😀

July in Brisbane (where I currently live) is during our winter so I can enjoy my hot chocolates (yes I prefer hot chocolate over eggnog at Christmas) and it just feels like a more Christmasy atmosphere. I am really looking forward to celebrating this year as I actually went back to the UK for Christmas last year and it was even more festive than I remembered!

Let me know your favourite part of Christmas on the social links and I will be adding more to this post as we travel through July. The links again are Facebook | Instagram |Pinterest – see you there!

Christmas Gift Giveaway

Will be given away 10 July 2023

This giveaway is running in both my Facebook and Instagram, there is only the one gift and it’s really to get the month up and running so how do you get your name into the draw?

Well as it says above it’s all about interacting so you can earn 1 entry by interacting on the posts – commenting, liking, tagging, sharing etc

You can also earn 5 entries if you purchase anything from our links, simply make your purchase and then message me to tell me what you have purchased.

If you want to earn 10 entries in one go then you can join to become a Preferred Client through my Arbonne business.

Good luck everyone and remember you can participate on both Facebook and Instagram (double the chances of winning).

Christmas Throw Pillows

Christmas Decor

Check out our range of Christmas Throw Pillows, a lovely way to add some festive cheer to your home.

Christmas throw pillows add a lovely touch of festive cheer to your home decor
Christmas Throw Pillows

Christmas Gift Ideas

Check out some of the amazing gift ideas collated on this next post, 20 gift ideas for women.


20 top gift ideas for women
Check out the article here

The image below shows up some of the gift ideas we shared in the 4th July gift posts on social media. The links to purchase are below and remember if you purchase anything to message Louanne on the SM platform that you are participating on for Christmas in July in order to qualify for some extra entries into the draw 😀

Christmas in July, Christmas gift ideas

Googly Eyes Eye Pads | Dinosaur Cable Bites | Funny Socks | Lego Flowers

More Gift Ideas

These gift ideas are available through Arbonne. Arbonne is a vegan company so if you have any vegans on your Christmas list anything from the company is 100% vegan. You can get any of them through my link louannecox.arbonne.com

Shea Butter Hand Care Duo
Shea Butter Hand Care Duo

The Shea Butter hand wash and hand cream both feel really luxurious and either would make a great gift on their own. This set though comes with its own bamboo caddy and is great to have in the kitchen or the bathroom.

TrueSport range - a hydration, pre workout and post workout supplements. A perfect gift for any sporty person on your list.
True Sport Supplement Range

If you’ve got a sporty person on your Christmas list then they might want some supplements. Getting the TrueSports range for them to try is a great idea, if they are after a protein powder you could also get them that as well.

If you know someone that likes to party and spends Sundays with a hangover here’s a little tip – get them a box of TrueSport hydration as well as a box of Energy Fizz Sticks and if they put one stick of each in a litre of water and drink that the next day I have it on very good authority that it is the BEST hangover cure 😀

Christmas Recipes

There are lots of different recipes to enjoy so let’s have a look at a few that we have shared:

Fudge Recipe

Gingerbread Recipe

The Ultimate Keto Hot Chocolate Recipe

Christmas Cards

Let’s check out the range of Christmas cards that are available to purchase, including this fun one from Zazzle.

Fun Snowman Christmas Card. See no evil, speak no evil, hear no evil, oooh it's Santa!
Buy card via Zazzle

And We’re Live!

In our live chat on 18th July we talked about Christmas Snow Globes and Bottle Fairy Lights. If you’re interested in checking out the selection we mentioned in our live then click on the links above.

Do You Need a Keyword Tool?

How Important is a Keyword Tool Really?

stop do you need a keyword toolIf you’ve read my resource page you’ll know that I use Jaaxy as a keyword tool and you’ll find most people say you need to pay for a keyword tool if you’re serious about making money.

Ready for your mind to be blown?   You actually don’t NEED a keyword tool to make money online!

There, I’ve said it!

However, a keyword tool is a great idea and does help you a lot.  When I first started making 4 figures a month online I did not use a keyword tool and it was remembering this that made me pause and really think – do you actually need a keyword tool?

do you really need a keyword tool

NOTE: As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases – more information below

I have been debating whether or not you actually need a keyword tool to make money online and I have to say that the jury is out for me.

I must admit I may have been able to make more money with a keyword tool, but on the flip side I could have lost a lot of money.   Quite a number of years ago I wrote about something that if I’d used a keyword tool it would have shown no search totals.   Basically I was ahead of the crowd and within days I was getting thousands of visitors each day – no joke!

I also looked at the search terms that brought this traffic to me (back in the day when Google gave you a lot more information on this) and decided to write another post which by itself started to make $100s of dollars every month – for just one post -(sometimes it even went into the four figures as well).   I decided to check out the keywords and see if I could target some better ones – according to the tool I would be hard pressed to even rank for the keyword phrase (I was number 1 on Google for a long time)!  I’m glad I went with what I was seeing and not what a keyword tool told me and I guess that’s the key – know your market and only use Jaaxy (or whichever keyword tool you use) as a tool not the end all and be all of the matter.

Know your market and write for it NOT for what just one of your ‘tools’ says!

About a year ago I discovered how to find the QSR on Google itself instead of using Jaaxy.

I’ve used this along with a few other tips for a few posts and they have performed extremely well in comparison to a couple where I have used Jaaxy.  The ideal seems to be using both together, but if you’re starting out you can use these techniques before you fork out for a keyword tool.

I’m just starting to feel that although it’s not very much to spend in comparison to how much money you can earn I’m not so sure that it’s worth it for me – other people will obviously have other results so basically the jury is still out.

How to Find the QSR on Google & Other Tips for Keywords

So if you’ve used Jaaxy you’ll know that they use something called QSR to rank keywords, but you can find this easily yourself simply by using google search.

Basically you put your keyword into google and hit search, next go to the last search page and you’ll see on the image marked 1 a section at the bottom of the page that I’ve highlighted.  The number in that paragraph is the QSR, so in this case it’s 280.

The other tip I have relates to the image marked 2.  When you put your keyword into Google note what comes up at the bottom of the page (which I’ve highlighted for you), use some of these keyword phrases in your article as sub headings.  If I’m doing a fairly small article and don’t want too many I’ll find out the QSR of the phrases and work out what ones to use from that.

using google search instead of a keyword tool

stop signHold the presses, as of January 2018 I’ve cancelled my subscription of Jaaxy!  I’m not sure if it’s a good idea or a bad idea.

This certainly goes against everything people usually tell you to do, but the internet changes rapidly and I’ve just got a feeling that it’s not going to impact my earnings by not using it.

I will let you know if I change my mind and start subscribing again.

So what will you do?  Continue to use a keyword tool, or try and work without one for a while?  I’d love to hear your thoughts below …

 One Simple Step to Get Traffic to Your Blog Interlinking with Your Blog Posts The Big Resource Page

Hi I’m Louanne aka Lou16, welcome to my blog! I just wanted to let you know that this post may contain affiliate links which means, at no cost to YOU, that I might receive compensation if you purchase something through a link on my site. In the online world this is called ‘affiliate marketing’ and is a very common way that bloggers make their money, if you want to find out more then check out this post to find out what is affiliate marketing and how we make money on this site,  If you want to see my full affiliate disclosure and the other ‘legal stuff’ then click here.

Personal Development Book List

personal development booklist
Personal Development Books on Amazon

There are so many different books recommended for Personal Development that sometimes it’s hard to know where to start.

I’ve compiled a list of books that I’ve been recommended by business partners of mine and friends, some I have already read and some are on my reading list.

Some of these have been recommended by several people and the ones that haven’t been recommended by several have been recommended by people who’s opinions I value.

NOTE: As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases – more information below

These books all link to Amazon in the US, but if you’re based in Canada or the UK it will redirect you to your site.

Most of these books were recommended to me as a network marketer as the company I partner with is very big on helping with personal development.  Personally I think we all need a hand with something whether we are lacking in self confidence or are being held back from doing things we want by fear of the unknown.

Recommended by Several Friends and Colleagues – Great Self-Help Books to Choose From!

In no particular order …..

Personal Development Books Recommended by People I Trust

personal development ultimate reading list

Hi I’m Louanne aka Lou16, welcome to my blog! I just wanted to let you know that this post may contain affiliate links which means, at no cost to YOU, that I might receive compensation if you purchase something through a link on my site. In the online world this is called ‘affiliate marketing’ and is a very common way that bloggers make their money, if you want to find out more then check out this post to find out what is affiliate marketing and how we make money on this site,  If you want to see my full affiliate disclosure and the other ‘legal stuff’ then click here.

The 7 Day Detox I Love!

7 day body cleanse
7 Day Body Cleanse from Arbonne

This 7 day detox is perfect if you have an event/holiday coming up and don’t have time to do a full 30 day detox.

Although I personally think the 30 days to healthy living and beyond is the way to go I know sometimes we have a wedding or a beach holiday to go to and we’ve lost track of time and it’s only a week or 10 days away.

This 7 day detox will allow you to get rid of a lot of bloating that you may have.  It’s said that the average person holds 5-20 lbs (approximately 2-9kg) of toxic sludge in their systems – yuk!  Imagine if you get rid of that – less bloating, flatter stomach and you would have to feel amazing wouldn’t you?

This detox is also a great idea to do before starting a healthy eating plan as it gives you a boost you need at the beginning of any change in the way you eat, so what is it?

The 7 Day Body Cleanse (to give it it’s correct name) is a delicious lemon-ginger flavored formula that you make into a drink and sip throughout the day.  It was designed to help detoxify your body and prepare it for a weight management regime.

It contains Ginger, Aloe, Glutamine and Choline which basically helps –

  • Detoxify the body while supporting the gastrointestinal system.
  • Assists with gentle elimination of toxins.
  • Supports healthy bowel movements.

Sounds Good?  What Do You Need to Do Next?

Click this link to buy the 7 day body cleanse.

While waiting for the cleanse to arrive plan your meals for the 7 days, for maximum results you want to avoid processed foods, sugar, gluten, dairy, alcohol and coffee.  Planning your meals and snacks ahead of time makes it more likely that you will stick to the plan (remember, it’s only for 7 days).

When the body cleanse arrives you can plan to start your detox from the next morning.

Mix the sachet with 1 litre of warm water (from the hot tap) and shake before sipping.   You want to sip this throughout the day.  Now before taking a drink throughout the day you will need to shake it as sediment does settle on the bottom.   I use my Arbonne water bottle to make mine in and drink it from!

What Can I Eat if I Have to Avoid EVERYTHING!

There’s actually a lot of things you can eat, but I must admit I would find breakfasts difficult if it wasn’t for my protein powder which allows me to make smoothies and/or smoothie bowls.  You don’t need to use it, but a good quality pea, rice and cranberry protein like the Arbonne Essentials Protein Powder that I use helps keep me full all morning and tastes delicious.

You don’t need it though, here’s a couple of recipes, one with the protein and one without …

Black Forest Smoothie

  • 200 ml water
  • 2 scoops chocolate protein powder
  • 1 tsp cacao powder
  • 1/2 avocado
  • 8 frozen cherries

Blend all the ingredients together for a really thick smoothie that you can eat with a spoon.  I serve this up in a bowl and top with a few nuts and some fresh raspberries when they’re in season.

Summer Blue Smoothie Bowl

  • 2 tbsp blue spirulina
  • 2 frozen bananas
  • 1/2 cup almond milk
  • 2 tbsp coconut yoghurt

Blend all of the ingredients together and serve in a bowl.

Main meals are easy, for lunch (depending on the season) you could make a batch of vegetable soup to eat or have a big chicken salad.

Dinners that I enjoy include steak with sweet potato fries and half a plate of salad, chicken in a creamy tomato sauce (made with coconut milk, basil and sun dried tomatoes) served over zucchini/courgette noodles or stir fry chicken and vegetables over brown rice.

If you’re interested in purchasing the 7 day body cleanse feel free to message me via my Facebook page first to see if you can save money.

What Are My Thoughts On The 7 Day Body Cleanse?

I loved it!  I had already done the 30 days to healthy living a couple of times before the 7 day body cleanse was available in Australia (where I live).  I took mine as part of the 30 days to healthy living (they recommend using it in week 3) and I loved the result.

I was amazed at how much toxins must’ve still been in my system when I took this, I felt a lot lighter (and I was!) after taking it.  It tasted fantastic and I had lots of energy.

I am a little way off of my goal weight so I’ll be continuing with the 30 days to healthy living myself, but when I reach my goal I can see myself taking the 7 day body cleanse before going on holiday or a special event where I want to look great.   It’s also something I will keep on hand for if I overindulge and feel a little sluggish (Christmas comes to mind!).

7 day body cleanse

 

 

NOTE: The products mentioned are all available through Arbonne. I am an Arbonne Consultant so if you purchase through my shop – louannecox.arbonne.com I will be compensated (at NO cost to you). Message me through Facebook or Instagram with any questions

Reminder: In case you’re new here all Arbonne products are available with a 45 day money back guarantee so if you don’t like them you can send them back for a full refund – you literally have nothing to lose, it’s basically a free trial!

Give The Luxury of Shea Butter

Shea Butter Gift Ideas

I love Shea Butter and have used it for years.  My daughter’s generation is all about the coconut oil for their skin, well when I was her age the Body Shop had an amazing Shea Butter body cream and I was sold on it – did I know what it was?  No, but it felt beautiful!

I do know what Shea Butter is now and I still love it, in this post I’m going to give you a few ideas for giving people the luxury of Shea Butter and let me tell you they will thank you for it!

Take me straight to the gift ideas!

What is Shea Butter?

Shea Butter is actually the fat that comes from the nut of the Shea tree.  It is a very thick and rich substance that is high in vitamins A & E as well as essential fatty acids.  It is essentially a superfood for your skin that feels just divine.

My favorite Shea Butter products these days comes from Arbonne as I know they are not just based on this beautiful product but are also free from all the nasties that I try to avoid in my skincare.

Shea Butter Gift Sets

There is actually a great little gift set that you can buy as is and would be perfect for your mother in law, a work colleague or as a housewarming gift.

Shea Butter Hand Duo
Shea Butter Hand Duo

I love the fact that this duo comes on a water resistant bamboo holder as I just think it looks really neat. The duo consists of a rich, creamy and moisturizing hand wash and hand lotion.

I’ll be honest I’d love this in my own bathroom let alone to give as a gift! It is something that you can give just as it is which is great and it’s bound to be appreciated.

Other gift ideas I have with the Shea Butter are to add to other things, let me explain …

Shea Butter Hand Cream – Gift Ideas

Shea Butter Hand Cream
Buy Shea Butter Hand Cream Here!

The Shea Butter hand cream is something that I love and so does my teenage daughter and my mother so it really is a cross generational gift idea.

Now a hand cream might be okay for a Kris Kringle office gift or as a stocking filler, but by itself it doesn’t look like much of a gift does it?

For a teen I think a Shea Butter hand cream in a basket along with some nail files and a few fun nail polish shades would be perfect.

For an aunt, mom or grandmother you could look at buying a pair of gloves and a beautiful Shea Butter hand cream (of course if they like doing their own nails then you could give them nail polish too) or alternatively a gift voucher for a manicure with the Shea Butter hand cream as well because a voucher by itself seems a little impersonal.

Shea Butter Lip Balm – Gift Ideas

Now the lip balm is to die for so I really wanted to find a way to incorporate this as a gift.

Depending on what time of the year it is you could go for a scarf and hat set with the lip balm.   You can even go for a fun bearded beanie like the one below if they have a great sense of humor (As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases).

 Beard Head – The Original Barbarian Vagabond Knit Beard Hat (Brown)

If it’s summer then you could look at a sun hat, beach cover-up, lightweight scarf or something similar and pop in the lip balm as well.

There really are lots of ways of incorporating a little luxurious Shea Butter into gifts for anyone special in your life.

NOTE: The products mentioned are all available through Arbonne. I am an Arbonne Consultant so if you purchase through my shop – louannecox.arbonne.com I will be compensated (at NO cost to you). Message me through Facebook or Instagram with any questions

Reminder: In case you’re new here all Arbonne products are available with a 45 day money back guarantee so if you don’t like them you can send them back for a full refund – you literally have nothing to lose, it’s basically a free trial!

My First Arbonne 30 Days to Healthy Living Plan – The Final Days

30 Days to Healthy Living
If you’ve come here from my previous posts about my journey then you’ll already know all about the Arbonne 30 Day Plan.  If you haven’t then you might want to check out these posts first –

What is the Arbonne 30 Days to Healthy Living and Beyond Plan

My Pre-30 Day Plan Journey

Week One of my 30 Days to Healthy Living Journey

Week Two of my 30 Days to Healthy Living Journey

Week Three of my 30 Days to Healthy Living Journey

Week Four of my 30 Days to Healthy Living Journey

Following are my journal entries for the final 2 days of my 30 Days to Healthy Living and Beyond journey, if you have any questions about the journey or want to start your own then please contact me via my Facebook page or in the comments section below (they are not published until I approve them so if you leave your contact details I will NOT publish them, I’ll just contact you).

January 29th 2018

So near the end and I’m still not feeling very well, talk about bad timing!  I was up and down during the night so I didn’t go for a walk this morning.  I did make myself a herbal tea to take back to bed this morning and thought all I needed was a few hours sleep.

My stomach still felt dodgy when I got up, but I thought I should try and have some breakfast anyway (I really didn’t feel like it though).  I had a vanilla meal replacement shake made with almond milk, scoop of fibre, baby spinach and a spoonful of almond butter.

Before I made my breakfast I did weigh myself and I’ve lost one kilo!

A green apple with almond butter in the late morning as I suddenly felt like I needed to eat something, followed by a fizzy as water was tasting funny to me (this sometimes happens when I’m sick).

Lunch was a chocolate protein shake made with water, greens balance and frozen strawberries.

My tummy started protesting again after lunch so off to bed for about an hour and then a fizzy when I got up.

By dinner time I was feeling quite a bit better and I had roasted sweet potato topped with some baby spinach and then vegan chili and topped with some fresh tomato and spring onion.

January 30th 2018

The last day of my first 30 day plan – woo hoo!  Up early to walk the dog and then home for a delicious breakfast of vanilla meal replacement shake made with almond milk, scoop of fibre and a handful of baby spinach.

It’s hard to believe I was feeling so bad yesterday as I feel really good today full of energy.

I enjoyed my Arbonne herbal tea while on a training call this morning and then I had to get everything ready to go off to work.

My lunch was a chocolate protein shake made with water, greens balance and frozen strawberries.

My afternoon tea was a handful of nuts and a fizzy.

Dinner was an omelette with sweet potato, baby spinach, tomatoes, spring onion and garlic.

I’m planning to have a week and a half off of the plan (I’ll probably do an 80/20 version) as it’s my 25th wedding anniversary in a week and it’s easier to celebrate if I don’t have to avoid this and that!  I will then start on my second 30 day plan because I love how I’m feeling, how I’m looking and I anticipate doing this plan for a few months until I become the best version of myself.

How Did I Go On The 30 Day Plan to Healthy Living & Beyond?

It’s Not Just About The Numbers (although they ARE good!)

Okay well I absolutely loved the 30 day plan as I’ve got my energy in general, even my husband has noticed that.  I am not having the bad mood swings I had been having.  My hormones are feeling more balanced (mood swings etc) and I haven’t had a hot flush since I’ve been on the plan which is awesome!

My concentration levels are also a lot better which is always a positive thing.

The scales don’t lie either from the 1st January through to the 31st of January (I weigh myself in the mornings hence why although I finished on 30th Jan when I went to bed I weighed myself in on the 31st) I lost a total of 5kgs exactly (11lb).

I also lost a total of 26.9 centimeters around my body (10.6 inches) which is fantastic as this is what other people are noticing.

Would I recommend this plan to anyone?  Hell yes, I think everyone should try it just so that they can feel this good!  I will be starting another 30 day plan on 12th February 2018 which I will be blogging about on my Facebook business page – I’d love to have you follow me there.

NOTE: The products mentioned are all available through Arbonne. I am an Arbonne Consultant so if you purchase through my shop – louannecox.arbonne.com I will be compensated (at NO cost to you). Message me through Facebook or Instagram with any questions

Reminder: In case you’re new here all Arbonne products are available with a 45 day money back guarantee so if you don’t like them you can send them back for a full refund – you literally have nothing to lose, it’s basically a free trial!

My First Arbonne 30 Days to Healthy Living Plan – Week Four

30 Days to Healthy Living
If you’ve come here from my previous post about my journey then you’ll already know all about the Arbonne 30 Day Plan.  If you haven’t then you might want to check out these posts first –

What is the Arbonne 30 Days to Healthy Living and Beyond Plan

My Pre-30 Day Plan Journey

Week One of my 30 Days to Healthy Living Journey

Week Two of my 30 Days to Healthy Living Journey

Week Three of my 30 Days to Healthy Living Journey

Following are my journal entries for week 4 of my 30 Days to Healthy Living and Beyond journey, if you have any questions about the journey or want to start your own then please contact me via my Facebook page or in the comments section below (they are not published until I approve them so if you leave your contact details I will NOT publish them, I’ll just contact you).

January 22nd 2018

Well I went for a walk this morning and then it was weigh in time – I put on 400g, although I wasn’t surprised as I didn’t feel like I lost anything this week.  It was a bit disheartening but then I measured myself and I lost a total of 5.2 cm including 3 cm around my waist so that will help me through the final stretch!

Breakfast was a vanilla meal replacement shake made with a scoop of fibre and almond milk.

Morning tea was a boiled egg.

Lunch was a delicious chocolate protein shake made with water, greens balance, frozen strawberries & blackberries

Mid afternoon I had a fizz stick.

For dinner I had steak.  I got hubby to cook my steak (he always cooks steak for some reason) and once it had rested I cut it in half and left half for a salad tomorrow.   I had used my spiralizer to make sweet potato noodles although these were a different shape to the zucchini ones and I roasted them as suggested online.   For my vegetables I sautéed off some garlic and then added chopped capsicum, spring onions and a medley of cherry tomatoes (halved and quartered).   To this mix I threw in some bok choy to sweat down and mix in – a different way of having this veg which actually tasted really, really nice.  Oh before I threw in the bok choy I had added some Italian herbs to the pan, I also added some Italian herbs, along with salt and pepper to the sweet potato.

January 23rd 2018

Breakfast this morning was a vanilla meal replacement made with almond milk, a scoop of fibre, handful of spinach and a few frozen strawberries.

I felt like I needed something to eat and realized it was lunch time so no morning snack for me today!  Lunch consisted of a chocolate protein shake made with water, greens balance and a mix of frozen strawberries and frozen blackberries.

This afternoon I had a fizz stick and then another one about an hour later – I had suddenly felt like a frozen coke (no idea where that craving came from) so I had the second fizz stick instead and felt good.

beef salad bowlLike a flash it was dinner time and no snack this afternoon either – obviously I’ve been too busy to think about eating!!  Dinner was a beef salad bowl made up with the half a steak from last night thinly sliced, mixed salad leafs, cucumber, mixed capsicum, mixed tomatoes, roasted sweet potato and about 5 or 6 blueberries scattered in the bowl for a surprising pop of flavour!

I actually feel quite slim today and mum rang and commented on a photo that I had sent her saying that I was looking a lot slimmer so that made me feel good.  My energy levels have been really high again so I really think the few days last week must’ve been the result of work stress or an anomaly.

January 24th 2018

This morning we took a different route with our walk as I’m still feeling a little unnerved after Monday’s walk, it really felt like someone was watching me as I walked through the bush trail.  Roman and I stayed on the streets this morning and it felt good, I missed my walk yesterday.

Breakfast was a vanilla meal replacement shake made with almond milk, baby spinach, fresh strawberries and blueberries.  It was a nice taste, but I think I prefer using frozen berries in the shake.

My tea was luke warm when I drank it this morning, but I still enjoyed it!  I had a fizz stick mid-morning today – I think that’s the first time that I’ve had one in the morning, but I just felt like something as I was trying to figure something out on the computer that just wasn’t working like it was supposed to!!

My stomach suddenly growled and I realized it was half an hour later than I normally have lunch (and I haven’t even had a morning snack!), as my stomach was growling I made a snack to have with my shake.  My shake was a chocolate protein made with water, greens balance and a mix of frozen blackberries and frozen strawberries.  I also had half a dozen fresh strawberries with almond butter as well.

After getting my bolognaise simmering and just increasing it’s flavour and I had my vegan tomato pasta sauce simmering along nicely as well I decided that I needed something a little sweet (it is too hot to be cooking!) so I had a few blueberries.  Looking forward to dinner though.

I was going to make zoodles for my bolognaise, but I really couldn’t be bothered after cooking pasta for the family so I had my bolognaise on some sweet potato that I had in the fridge – heated up in the microwave.  It was a nice combination actually.  I didn’t add any vegetables on the side because I had a lot of them in the bolognaise already.

January 25th 2018

The humidity at 5.30 was through the roof so no walk today!  I had problems breathing just standing on the deck.

Breakfast was a vanilla meal replacement made with almond milk, fibre, baby spinach, frozen strawberries and a spoonful of almond butter – it was very nice.  This was followed by my delicious Arbonne herbal tea.

Lumch was a chocolate protein shake made with water, greens balance, a mix of frozen blackberries and strawberries.

Afternoon snack was some really juicy blueberries, I love it when you buy a punnet of them and the taste just bursts in your mouth!

Also had a fizz stick.

Dinner was steak and veg – I meant to have rice as well, but I forgot to put it on to cook!  To be honest I probably only had about three mouthfuls of the steak as it was too bloody for me (certainly not like my husband to stuff that up!).  The veg were really nice and filled me up.  So what veg?  I was basically cleaning out my veggie bin, I sliced up some capsicum and a spring onion first, then I got out a small bunch of bok choy  and pulled the leafs off – there was  a little ‘stem’ at the bottom and a couple of really tiny leafs in the middle so I sliced them and added it to the capsicum and spring onion.

Next I grabbed a bag of mixed leaf salad and chopped it up (sometimes you have to be adventurous and cook your salad, it’s quite nice!).  Next I quartered a selection of cherry tomatoes to ensure there were lots of different colors – who doesn’t want to eat a rainbow?

I sauteed the capsicum mix for a bit before throwing in the salad mix, stirring a bit and then the tomatoes followed along with a generous sprinkle of dried oregano.  A little mix and sizzle and I popped the bok choy on top, then simply stirred it in until the leafs were wilted (the stems were still nice and crunchy).  The combination may not be conventional, but take it from me it was very tasty!

 

January 26th 2018

It’s Australia Day so we have a day off!  Well the husband and I do, our daughter has to work, poor thing.  So what did we do with our day off?  Defrosted the freezer!  It was a really hot day so after moving it outside to let the heat defrost it (after we’d packed our monster esky that we borrowed) and cleaned the sides of both the fridge and freezer and the floor where it had been housed it was first fizz stick of the day time!

Let’s back up first … no walk this morning, but breakfast was a chocolate protein shake made with water and fibre – a nice change to have no berries.

After the morning activity and fizz stick it seemed like no time at all before it was lunch time!  Lunch consisted of a vanilla meal replacement shake made with almond milk, greens balance and a spoonful of almond butter.  This was a lovely change from berries, but I did eat a few blueberries for my afternoon snack, it also looked very much like a green smoothie!

Dinner was clean out the leftovers!  I used up the black bean chips from my nachos last week (gotta love these clips that keep packets fresh once opened, we always use these on our corn chips), I heated up the leftover bolognaise from the other night – one layer of chips, layer of bolognaise, a scattering of chopped up salad leafs, another layer of chips, layer of bolognaise, scattering of chopped up salad leafs all topped off with a fresh tomato and spring onion salsa.  It was delicious and probably the first time I’ve ever had bolognaise nachos!

January 27th 2018

I got up and went for a walk this morning even though it was humid, about halfway through I was tempted to cut it short, but instead I just slowed my pace down and kept going – very proud of myself!

Breakfast was a vanilla meal replacement made with almond milk, scoop of fibre, baby spinach and a few frozen strawberries.

This morning we had to go out so I grabbed an Arbonne Sea Salt & Chocolate Protein bar to eat along with some water.

Lunch was a chocolate protein shake made with water, scoop of greens balance and a combination of frozen strawberries and blackberries.

A fizzy in the afternoon.

Dinner was a dish I kind of made up as I went along based on tomatoes and cannellini beans using things that I had on hand and the result was an enjoyable meal that both my daughter and I enjoyed (we also froze some down for another day –

Lou’s Tomato & Leftover Vegetables Cannellini Beans

I had only half an onion left so I diced that up and sautéed it along with a clove of garlic (minced), once the onion was translucent I added a small grated carrot and stirred it all around.  I added some smoked paprika (about a tablespoon), sprinkled some dried oregano (a tablespoon? I didn’t really measure it), a small amount of cayenne (maybe ½ a tsp as I didn’t want it too hot).

Next I threw in a tin of diced tomatoes and I filled the can up with water and added that to it as well, I also added about ½ cup of cooked brown rice which was left over from a previous meal)

I had finally diced up some zucchini so that was thrown into the pan next along with a few leaves of fresh basil (which I had chopped up).

I seasoned with salt and pepper and then added a can of cannellini beans (rinsing beforehand) and tasted the sauce.

I took a large handful of baby spinach, chopped it up and threw in the pan along with ½ chopped spring onion, another clove of minced garlic and a couple of pinches of mixed Italian herbs seasoning.

I let it simmer for about ¼ of an hour allowing the flavors to mingle together and have fun before I took about 350-400ml of the mixture out into a container and using my stick blender I whizzed it up and re-added it to the pan.

Once blended up the mix went very orange as opposed to the more dominant red and the addition of the rice in the mix gave it a creamy look.  I mixed it all in thoroughly and let it simmer on a low heat for another 10 minutes before serving.

I think this would be perfect with a loaf of crusty bread, but as I couldn’t eat bread I popped something else on top of mine –

I basically took the other ½ of spring onion, a few cherry tomatoes (chopped up) and  I also chopped up one brazil nut (to add crunch), mixed it all together and added it to my bowl as a topping!

January 28th 2018

My breakfast shake used up the final scoop of my chocolate meal replacement (from earlier in the month) with 2 scoops of vanilla meal replacement and this was made up with – almond milk, scoop of fibre, baby spinach & 2 tsp of almond butter.  It was really nice, although a little on the sweet side.

This was obviously followed by a morning cup of Arbonne herbal tea.  Now I believe I’ve said before that I usually get a second cup (and by cup I actually mean mug) of this tea out of a bag – do I have news for you.  There was a nutrition workshop the other day and one of the presenters told us that you could get up to 4 cups of herbal tea from one tea bag, so I guess I’m not being quite so cheeky after all!

Late morning I had a green apple with almond butter.

Lunch was a chocolate protein shake made with water, greens balance and frozen strawberries.

This afternoon I was planning on making a vegan curry for dinner, but I had a bit of a stomach upset which really made me feel sick so I had a bit of a lie down and a lovely fizzy to help keep me hydrated.  I really should get some of the phytosport hydrate  as that would’ve been really good to have.

I did start to feel like eating about 5.30, but definitely NOT a curry!  I decided to sautee some garlic and spring onion before throwing in a large handful of baby spinach to wilt, while that was wilting I reheated a few roasted sweet potatoes that my husband had made for me this morning.  Once the spinach was practically wilted I took it off the heat, popped a lid in it so it would finish off wilting by itself while I fried an egg.

I put the sweet potato on the plate, topped it with the spinach and then a fried egg on top that still had a soft yolk to soak through everything.

It tasted really nice – I do enjoy an egg when I have an upset stomach and this actually didn’t make me miss having toast!

Still not feeling too good as the evening wears on though, I decided to have another fizz stick this evening as I thought the minerals would be a good idea in lieu of any electrolytes in the house.

NOTE: The products mentioned are all available through Arbonne. I am an Arbonne Consultant so if you purchase through my shop – louannecox.arbonne.com I will be compensated (at NO cost to you). Message me through Facebook or Instagram with any questions

Reminder: In case you’re new here all Arbonne products are available with a 45 day money back guarantee so if you don’t like them you can send them back for a full refund – you literally have nothing to lose, it’s basically a free trial!

My First Arbonne 30 Day Plan to Healthy Living – Week Three

30 Days to Healthy LivingIf you’ve landed on this page from an earlier post then you’ll already know what the Arbonne 30 Day plan is all about, but in case you haven’t here’s a few links you might want to check out first –

What is the Arbonne 30 Days to Healthy Living & Beyond Plan

My Pre-30 Day Plan Journey

Week One of my 30 Days to Healthy Living Journey

Week Two of my 30 Days to Healthy Living Journey

Now here’s my journal entries for this week, but they come with an apology I actually didn’t do a good job of writing in my journal this week, sorry about that.  At least you know they’re genuine, I mean I can’t be the only one that misses things from their journal can I?

January 15th 2018

Well it was a lot cooler today and our walk was very pleasant, when we walked along the bush trail part of our walk there was a tree across the trail from the high winds of yesterday.  It’s funny because I do have to do a couple of things and I’ve been thinking about them quite a bit over the weekend, but my mind keeps throwing up obstacles – I wonder if the world is trying to tell me just to get over the obstacles like I went around the tree?  Anyway when we got home it was weigh in time …

I lost a whooping 400grams this week!  This is why it’s always a good idea to take your measurements as well because your weightloss isn’t always going to be in the kilos like it was for me on week one.

I lost a total of 8.6 cm this week – the biggest winner were my hips where I lost 3.7 cm.   Definitely a cause for celebration and knowing that I was still loosing centimetres (which are what gets noticed) helps to stop you feeling deflated if the scales don’t give you a big drop!

Breakfast was a vanilla meal replacement made up with a scoop of fibre and water.

I actually forgot to write anything past breakfast in here (I’ve been at work!), but I had a shake for my lunch and my twist on a turkey and sweet potato shepherds pie.  I used a turkey shepherds pie recipe from our private online support group (I don’t think I made any substitutions to it) for the ‘base’ part of the shepherds pie and then I adapted the sweet potato mash.   I personally love sweet potato, but not so much as a mash so I used my mandoline and sliced the sweet potato and laid the slices on the top like you do with a hotpot – I covered it with foil for half the time it was in the oven and then removed the foil.   I loved it, very nice indeed.

January 16th 2018

I had turkey chili on some black bean chips with fresh tomato and spring onion salsa on top for my dinner – delicious.  Technically I shouldn’t have had the black bean chips as they were processed, but all of the ingredients were on the approved list and it was just so nice to feel like I was having nachos with the family (I must admit I would have enjoyed them even more if I was allowed cheese!)

January 17th 2018

chocolate protein shake with greens balance and frozen strawberriesBreakfast consisted of a vanilla meal replacement shake made with a scoop of fibre and water.

A boiled egg was for morning tea.

Lunch was a chocolate protein shake made with water, greens balance and frozen strawberries.

In the afternoon I had a fizzy and a few nuts.

Leftovers, apple and almond butter made up my dinner.

January 18th 2018

Vanilla meal replacement made with water, fibre and a spoonful of almond butter – not my favorite with the almond butter!

Nuts

Chocolate protein powder made with water, greens balance and frozen strawberries.

Fizzy

Eggs and salad

January 19th 2018

I decided to shake things up today – I’m going to have my main meal at lunch time as the last few days I’ve really be craving carbs in the afternoon even after having my fizz stick.

We had a short walk and I came home and bagged up a couple of garbage bags of leafs from the front garden which hardly left a dent but did provide a different type of exercise!

arbonne herbal tea
I always have a cup of Arbonne herbal tea in the morning!

This morning I had a vanilla meal replacement and I added water, a scoop of fibre, a scoop of greens and a handful of frozen strawberries – this is yummy!  I’m really hoping that the scoop of greens in the morning will give me a boost as I’ve been feeling tired for the last few days.  I don’t think there’s anything wrong with the plan just that on some days when I’ve been at the office my brain doesn’t switch off early enough at night so I don’t get enough sleep.  The last two mornings I’ve actually gotten up at 7 and 7.30 respectively instead of 5.30!

Lunch was some turkey with a little brown rice salad (leftover brown rice, cherry tomatoes, baby capsicum, spring onion) and a large green salad (spinach, cucumber, lettuce, kale).  It felt really nice to eat something at lunch time instead of having a shake I must admit.

I had a fizz stick in the afternoon and then about 4.30 I had a green apple with almond butter (planning on having my evening shake late as we have a late night tonight).

My evening shake was at 7.30 which is very late for me to be eating (I usually try not to eat after 7), but probably won’t get to bed until midnight at least so..

The evening shake was a chocolate protein shake made with water, a handful of baby spinach and some frozen strawberries, it was really delicious.

January 20th 2018

This morning I totally overslept, I’m surprised by how tired I’ve been the past 3 days, not sure why this is.  My husband isn’t sure that I’m eating enough which is making me tired and I’m wondering if it’s because of someone I work with who totally saps my energy as I’ve been finding myself (pre-30 day plan) feeling exhausted for a couple of days after my 5 days shift and needing to just relax and collect myself.

Breakfast was a vanilla meal replacement shake made with a scoop of fibre, handful of spinach, a few frozen strawberries and almond milk – very nice.

We were out during the day and my daughter forgot to bring a snack so I only had half a green apple for morning tea!

Lunch was a chocolate protein shake made with almond milk, scoop of greens balance and some frozen strawberries – I found I didn’t really taste the strawberries so if I use almond milk with chocolate again I won’t bother with berries.

I had a fizz stick during the afternoon.

Dinner was some gluten free and preservative free greek lamb sausages with roasted sweet potato and a medley of veg – I sautéed some capsicum and spring onion, then I threw in some quartered and some halved (depending on the size) cherry tomatoes, a sprinkle of dried oregano and once they were warmed through I popped in a very large handful of baby spinach and let that wilt right down.  It was a delicious meal.

January 21st 2018

Breakfast was a vanilla meal replacement made with almond milk, a scoop of fibre, a small handful of baby spinach and some frozen strawberries.

Morning tea was a green apple cut into slices with a side of almond butter.  Whether you’re on the 30 day plan or not try dipping green apple into almond butter it is a d e l i c i o u s snack!

Lunch was a chocolate protein shake made with water, a scoop of greens balance and some frozen strawberries.

turkey salad bowlI had a fizz stick in the early afternoon and a boiled egg in the late afternoon (husband and daughter were eating M&Ms so I don’t think I was really hungry when I had it I was just trying to avoid the temptation!)

A quick evening walk and then dinner was a turkey salad bowl – turkey, roasted sweet potato, carrots, mixed lettuce leafs, cucumber, a fresh salsa on the top consisting of baby capsicums, spring onions and cherry tomatoes.

Now that week three is over, let’s check out week four!

NOTE: The products mentioned are all available through Arbonne. I am an Arbonne Consultant so if you purchase through my shop – louannecox.arbonne.com I will be compensated (at NO cost to you). Message me through Facebook or Instagram with any questions

Reminder: In case you’re new here all Arbonne products are available with a 45 day money back guarantee so if you don’t like them you can send them back for a full refund – you literally have nothing to lose, it’s basically a free trial!

Heart Shaped Aquamarine Jewelry – March’s Birthstone

aquamarine heart shaped jewelry Aquamarine is a beautiful blue gem that I personally think is gorgeous, it also happens to be the birthstone for March. The gem is said to symbolize happiness and I would certainly be very happy to receive one of these beautiful pendants.

Silver really helps to bring out the pale blue of the aquamarine which is why I prefer the silver aquamarine pendants over the more traditional gold ones, however with the increased use of white gold I’ve found that these also show off the aquamarine beautifully. These heart shaped pendants make a fantastic gift for that someone special whether for a birthday or a special date such as Valentines Day.

If you’re in a hurry you can jump straight ahead to any of the aquamarine heart shaped jewelry –
Rings | Pendants | Ear-rings

 

Did You Know…….Aquamarines are closely related to Emeralds – they are both members of what is known as the Beryl family.

NOTE: As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases – more information below

 

Aquamarine – A Beautiful Gem

Brazil is the leading producer of aquamarines and can boast that some of the largest (and most rare) aquamarines come from there. In fact for Queen Elizabeth II’s coronation the President and people of Brazil presented her with a gift of a matching necklace and earrings featuring oblong aquamarines and diamonds as you can see opposite. The Queen loved them so much she commissioned a matching tiara to be made

Aquamarines can also be found in some African countries such as Zambia and Nigeria as well as Afghanistan and Pakistan.

The name aquamarine comes from the Latin words aqua – water and mare – sea. This reflects the hue of this beautiful stone which is usually a beautiful blue, or blue-green like the ocean.

The first documented wearers of this gemstone were the ancient Greeks. Greek sailors used aquamarines on amulets believing that it would protect them from Poseidon’s wrath.

It’s considered extremely good luck to give someone their birthstone as it helps to enhance their own natural traits.

The traits associated with people born in March are the same as those that are associated with aquamarine – friendship, courage and fidelity.

Aquamarines are also considered to be great as a stress reliever, now I’m not sure exactly how a gemstone is supposed to help with stress, but I’m willing to try it out and see if it works 🙂

Aquamarine Heart Shaped Rings

Some believe that wearing Aquamarine increases the wearer’s ability to experience love – what better reason so give someone an aquamarine heart shaped ring?

 

Aquamarine Heart Shaped Pendants

 

I’ve selected some gorgeous aquamarine pendants for you to choose from….

 

 

Aquamarine Heart Shaped Ear-Rings

 

 

aquamarine heart shaped jewelry birthstone for March

Hi I’m Louanne aka Lou16, welcome to my blog! I just wanted to let you know that this post may contain affiliate links which means, at no cost to YOU, that I might receive compensation if you purchase something through a link on my site. In the online world this is called ‘affiliate marketing’ and is a very common way that bloggers make their money, if you want to find out more then check out this post to find out what is affiliate marketing and how we make money on this site,  If you want to see my full affiliate disclosure and the other ‘legal stuff’ then click here.

My First Arbonne 30 Day Plan to Healthy Living – Week Two

30 Days to Healthy Living
If you’ve come here from my previous post about week one of my journey then you’ll already know all about the Arbonne 30 Day Plan.  If you haven’t then you might want to check out these posts first –

What is the Arbonne 30 Days to Healthy Living and Beyond Plan

My Pre-30 Day Plan Journey

Week One of my 30 Days to Healthy Living Journey

Following are my journal entries for week 2 of my 30 Days to Healthy Living and Beyond journey, if you have any questions about the journey or want to start your own then please contact me via my Facebook page or in the comments section below (they are not published until I approve them so if you leave your contact details I will NOT publish them, I’ll just contact you).

January 8th 2018

Hubby’s back at work so I was up at 5.30 to take the dog for a walk (I think he’s enjoying the exercise!).  It’s definitely a better time to go walking than 7 as it’s lovely and cool and the sun has yet to get a bite to it.

Home and it’s weigh in time and I’m so excited that I’ve lost 2.4kg – how awesome is that?  I’ve also lost cms all over my body, but the biggest measurement that is spinning me out is a loss of 3.5cm around my waist!  Speechless!

In celebration of this achievement I had a chocolate meal replacement shake for breakfast made with water and a scoop of fibre.   Breakfast was followed, as always, with a delicious Arbonne herbal tea.

A boiled egg was my snack and I’m having a second cup of Arbonne tea (I used the same teabag though because I’m a little cheeky like that!)

I’ve just realized that the vegan chili that I was about to take out of the freezer for dinner tonight has corn in it which we’re not supposed to eat so that’s annoying.  I guess I’m making another chili for tonight.

Lunch was a chocolate meal replacement shake made with water, a scoop of greens balance and a handful of frozen strawberries – yum!

sweet potato nachos a delicious meal on the 30 day planOkay this afternoon I had a fizz stick and then made a throw together vegan chili for tonight aka make it up as I go along!  It was based on the Bonnie Bean chili in the recipe book, but as I wasn’t expecting to have to make it I didn’t have half of the ingredients so I improvised – hope my daughter likes it – she’d having hers on vegan corn chips while I’ll have mine on baked sweet potato – can’t wait.

Eating a green apple to keep me going until dinner time, the perils of getting up earlier is that you’re hungry earlier in the day!

So for dinner tonight I made the sweet potato nachos , popped on some of the vegan chili (which was a little hotter than I planned!), topped it with a little bit of salad, homemade guacamole and a fresh mixed cherry tomatoes and spring onion salsa.  It was delicious.

January 9th 2018

I really didn’t feel very well this morning and was going to miss out my walk, but  then I saw an inspiration post on facebook from someone who has just started her 30 day journey this week and I rallied myself.  I’ll admit it was a very short walk, but it got me moving.

When I got home all I wanted to do was crawl back into bed with a lovely cup of tea – proper English Breakfast with milk.

I didn’t though, instead I made myself a chocolate meal replacement with water and fibre and a cup of Arbonne herbal tea.  I think it might be a hard day today ~ sigh.

Okay today wasn’t quite that bad, I had a boiled egg for a morning snack and lunch was a chocolate meal replacement made with water, greens balance and a few frozen strawberries.

During the afternoon I also had a fizz stick.

For dinner tonight I decided I wanted steak as I haven’t had red meat in a while so maybe that’s why I was feeling ‘strange’ this morning.  Hubby cooked me a rather large steak (he always cooks the steaks) and I had half of it with some roasted sweet potato and veg.  The veg consisted of red onion, red, green and yellow capsicums, green beans, cherry tomatoes, kale and spinach oh and garlic.  Basically I sauted the onion and garlic until the onion was soft then I added the capsicum and green beans (although I steamed the beans for 1 minute in the microwave first), then when they were all cooked and looking like a fiesta in the pan I threw in some cherry tomatoes which had been cut in half and warmed them threw before popping in a handful of a kale and baby spinach mix and letting it wilt down – it tasted really yum!

January 10th 2018

This morning we did our walk really easily so I’m thinking it might be time to take it longer, but I’m working for the next couple of days so I might not until Saturday.

Breakfast was a chocolate meal replacement shake made with water and a scoop of fibre.  I’m feeling very on fire today!  I put some washing on and was doing a few household chores when I suddenly remembered that I hadn’t had my tea!  I can’t believe that I forgot that twice in one week, anyway situation remedied and I enjoyed it while watching videos on facebook LOL.

Morning tea was a boiled egg and lunch was a chocolate meal replacement made up with water, greens balance and frozen strawberries.

I had a citrus fizz stick this afternoon and dinner was vegan bolognaise over rice (sounds weird, but it actually tasted nice) with salad.

Tonight I prepped my dinner for tomorrow as I’m back to work so by the time I get in the door I’ll probably be ready to eat my arm off!

I’m feeling really good in myself today, this is definitely a great plan and I just want to get everyone on it so they can have this energy and feel empowered with only being in week 2, yet knowing that you’re losing weight because you feel lighter and your eyes can see your body shape changing….it really is wonderful.  Okay gushing over LOL

January 11th 2018

Well we got up and did our morning walk and it’s going to be a warm one today, talk about working up a sweat!  Anyway I’m glad I did it although the dog is still panting and we’ve been home for a while now so that’s a worry as I really can’t get up earlier than 5.30 especially on a work day (sigh).

Breakfast is a delicious chocolate meal replacement made up with water and a scoop of fibre.  After I make my lunch time one to take to work I think I might be finished and I’ll have to see what the protein one is like.

My herbal tea is steeping and I have got to get my lunch time shake made and snacks prepped before I go to work today so (insert Arnie accent) I’ll be back!

So today at work there was birthday cake in the afternoon, Tiramisu at that and I did not partake – so proud of myself.

blueberries and nuts a healthy snack on the 30 day planLunch was a chocolate meal replacement made with water, greens balance and frozen strawberries, I also had a boiled egg for a morning snack and a few nuts and blueberries during the afternoon along with a fizz stick just after three.

Even though there was a pile of work waiting for me when I got in my energy levels stayed high all day and I didn’t come home as exhausted as I have been which is great.

Dinner was the yummy beef salad that I prepped last night and it tasted so nice, really hit the spot.

This evening my daughter has just made me a second cup of the Arbonne herbal tea and I’m thinking I’ll probably have an early night.

January 12th 2018

I really didn’t feel like walking this morning so I didn’t!  I had a horrible headache (bit late to be getting withdrawal or toxin headaches I would’ve thought so probably something else, but…) so I drank some water and ate a few almonds (apparently almonds can help with headaches).

I am working today and Fridays I usually have to do a bit of walking so I don’t feel too bad about the idea of skipping this morning, although my dog is not very happy with me poor baby.

Delicious vanilla meal replacement meal for breakfast this morning made with water and a scoop of fibre.   Arbonne herbal tea is nicely brewing as I write this and another day of work looms ahead, but it is Friday!

This morning at work I had a few nuts and blueberries during the morning and lunch was a chocolate meal replacement made with water and greens balance.  This afternoon I had a green apple with almond butter.

Dinner was an omelette.  I sautéed some red onion, mixed capsicums (red, green, yellow) until soft then threw in a handful of kale and baby spinach along with some roasted sweet potato (to heat it up) , once the kale and spinach had wilted I added the eggs to make my omelette.  It was nice, but the first time I’ve ever had an omelette that didn’t contain cheese and it really didn’t hit the spot for me.

January 13th 2018

Up at 5.30, hubby had to work so I thought I might as well get up and go for a walk which was really nice this morning.  Breakfast was a vanilla meal replacement made with water and a scoop of fibre.  This was followed by a mug of Arbonne herbal tea.

Well I finished up my chocolate meal replacement powder (well there may be one scoop possibly 1.5 scoops left, but …) so for lunch I tried the chocolate protein powder.  Most people add extra goodies to the protein shakes, but I haven’t been shopping yet so I made mine up with water, scoop of greens balance and a combination of frozen blackberries and frozen strawberries – I like it!

I enjoyed a fizz stick in the afternoon and was planning on  a delicious variation on a shepherd’s pie recipe from our group, but it was so hot and humid I decided instead to boil some eggs and I had a salad with a couple of sliced eggs for protein and the rest of my roasted sweet potato for complex carbs.  The salad consisted of a little kale and spinach, some cucumber, medley cherry tomatoes, rainbow salad mix (basically matchsticks of beetroot, carrot, leek etc).  It doesn’t sound very inspiring, but it really hit the spot.   Hopefully it’s not as hot tomorrow as I’m going to be cooking up a few dishes  to make things easier as I’m working next week.

January 14th 2018

Well I didn’t wake up until 7 this morning which was surprising, we’re due for record breaking temperatures today as well so the walking was definitely off of the table!  I decided to try the chocolate protein powder for breakfast this morning with nothing added to it except the fibre support and water just to see what it was like.

I was surprised with the taste, the consistency was thinner than that of the meal replacement shake which was understandable and yet the taste was more chocolatey in flavour and almost tasted creamier which I found strange.  I have brought almond milk to have it with, but water tastes absolutely fine so I’m not sure what I’ll be doing!

Morning tea was a boiled egg.

Lunchtime was a chocolate protein shake made with a scoop of greens balance, frozen strawberries and water.

I had some mixed nuts for afternoon tea and a fizzy while cooking dinner.

Dinner was what my daughter calls her vegan mince with brown rice.  The vegan mince is made up of onion, leek, garlic, zucchini, mushroom, lentils, can of tomatoes and Italian herbs to season.  I also added a handful of kale and baby spinach.

There endeth week 2, be sure to check out week 3 to see what my weight loss was and check out the rest of my journey on this plan.

NOTE: The products mentioned are all available through Arbonne. I am an Arbonne Consultant so if you purchase through my shop – louannecox.arbonne.com I will be compensated (at NO cost to you). Message me through Facebook or Instagram with any questions

Reminder: In case you’re new here all Arbonne products are available with a 45 day money back guarantee so if you don’t like them you can send them back for a full refund – you literally have nothing to lose, it’s basically a free trial!