Apple Cider Vinegar: Your New Best Friend

This AMAZING product has so many benefits and can help in 

Curing Acne and balancing skin pH

Removing Stains from Teeth

Getting Sexy Shiny Hair

Weight Loss

Now When I am talking about Apple Cider Vinegar, I am talking about raw, unfiltered ACV with Mother, not the chemical filled crap made by Heinz. My favorite kind to use is Braggs ACV with mother because it is pure and full of only the good stuff.

What is Mother and why is it so important?

Well it has nothing to do with calling your mom(a little joke, no? ok) It’s. the enzymes the vinegar is made from. ACV is naturally antiseptic, antibacterial and can help fight germs and bacteria. It’s FULL of amazing vitamins and rare minerals that provide some KICK ASS health benefits as well.

Pretty cool stuff from a bottle that looks like it has cobwebs floating around at the bottom!  Regular ACV has been filtered to remove the Mother and all the health benefits that come along with it, so skip that nasty shit and get the good stuff!

Acne- Take a tablespoon of ACV and two tablespoons of water, mix it up and use it as a skin toner to help clear up acne and balance your skins natural pH

Remove Nasty Stains and Whiten Teeth! Rub teeth directly with ACV and rinse your mouth out with water when you’re done, Voila!

Get some Sex Kitten certified Shiny Healthy Hair- add a few tablespoons to your shampoo and hair and watch as your scalp dryness vanishes and you are left with sexy silky hair!

Oh and my favorite benefit? A little thing called WEIGHT LOSS!! Mix 1-2 tablespoons of ACV into your tea in the morning or some water, some honey can help to dilute the taste if you aren’t a fan, but I found that I started to crave it after a few days! To each his own J This can help to fight cravings throughout the day too, so miracle drink? I think so

If this hasn’t convinced you that apple cider vinegar is the shiznit I don’t know what will, here are a few more sexy little health benefits

It can help you detox- add a few tablespoons of ACV to a warm bath and dip your feet in for a great foot detox bath.  

ACV can also help to balance the body’s natural pH level and detox your liver from icky toxins

Can help reduce Candida- a yeast that can be responsible for memory problems, yeast infections, and sugar cravings (buh bye late night chocolate binge)

So it’s a winner on all accounts, and something that every Young Fit and Fabulous girl should have handy in their pantry, and did I mention it’s only six dollars! 

Until next time

Xoxo

Harriet

The Detoxifying and Delicious Glowing Green Smoothie

The recent trend in smoothies and detoxing is everywhere these days, from healthy magazines, to celebrity gossip columns about who is fasting and what program they are using, I would like to add my two cents on the matter and comment about fasting and detoxing and the pro's and con's. 

One of the most talked about detox or weight loss solutions involves Green Juice or Green Smoothies. Kimberly Snyder, the author of "The Beauty Detox Solution" vehemently espouses that starting your day off with her glowing green smoothie or green juice is the most powerful way to simultaneously up our mineral and enzyme consumption. Green based drinks are the real superfoods, condensing healthy vegetables and fruits by blending them together or juicing them and she also insists that by drinking this smoothie every morning between when you wake up until the time you eat lunch, your body will naturally detoxify itself and you will become more beautiful and healthy inside and out. 

I have tried drinking these green smoothies everyday for two weeks and I felt amazing and energized and actually did not even need coffee to get me going in the morning and this was when I was working the 5 am morning shift! The recipe consists of 

- 2 cups of water
-1/2 head of organic spinach
-1 head of organic romaine lettuce
-juice of half a lemon
-3-4 sticks of celery
-1 organic banana
-1 organic pear
-1 organic apple 

You can make a huge batch at the beginning of the week and freeze individual servings(16-24 oz.) and then just microwave them when ready to drink. You might be thinking exactly what I thought upon making my first batch of this very green and vegetable looking smoothie, but honestly upon the first sip I was amazed, it tasted delicious!! I sipped on this smoothie from when I woke up to around lunch and felt energized, healthy, and full. This recipe will give you energy lasting for hours and make you clearheaded and calm. 

Overtime as your body's natural makeup shifts, your body will start rooting out the blockages and toxins in your system that cause those cravings for sugar, heavy foods and caffeine that you consumed frequently in the past. You will truly start loving these green drinks and the way they make you feel light and energetic, and also will help you drop anywhere from 5-12 pounds depending on how much unnecessary weight your body is holding onto. 

So overall I highly recommend starting your day off with a glowing green smoothie and seeing how wonderful it makes you feel for at least a week or two. Ask yourself if two weeks out of your entire life can be taken to make a positive step towards your overall healthy, and I think and hope that the answer is "heck yes it is".

Thanks so much and stay tuned for my next post, please let me know how you guys like this smoothie and when you start to see results!

Much love

--------Harriet B

I will admit it, like every normal everyday woman, whether you are a college student, career woman, a mom or any combination of the three, I fell off the healthy eating bandwagon for the past two weeks. I had been really stressed for the past two months and had not been eating much, but once I finally felt relaxed I just ate like nobody's business. Pizza, cupcakes, garlic knots, and chocolate truffles to name a few, but my body felt the effect very quickly and I began to feel sluggish and tired and I reverted back to my original motto of "your body is a temple and you can only expect to get out of it what you put into it".

This past monday I did a diet 180 and resumed my regular regimen of clean eating, low sugar, low carb, high protein diet, as well as working out every day for about two hours. I can say without a doubt that my body immediately responded so positively to this change it was thanking me with bounds of energy, and I woke up not even needing my regular cup of "clear the brain fog before starting the day coffee". That is the beauty of clean eating you see results, and my body is functioning so much better and I feel like a new person.

I have been following a diet of

Breakfast- one egg and two egg whites omelette with spinach and a little bit of avocado, a pinch of lowfat cheese

Snack- A lean body for her protein shake with a few strawberries and water made in my magic bullet

Lunch- Broccoli, carrots, spinach, and lean skin free chicken breast and a kombucha drink

Snack- either veggies with hummus or a banana with peanut butter

Dinner- Filet Mignon 4 oz., sweet potato, and veggies of some kind(asparagus, broccoli, or artichokes)

Occasionally dessert- with two tablespoons of lite cool whip and strawberries


My workout routine consists of an hour of cardio- either walking, or the spin class kind of bike for an hour. What most people don't know is that it takes at least 20-25 minutes for your body to get into tapping into and burning your fat reserves, so in order to do cardio and lose fat you should stick with at least 45 minutes to an hour each time.

I do cardio at least four days a week and hike on the weekends and then train a different muscle group every day, for example

Monday- Legs and abs
Tuesday- Shoulders and back
Wednesday- Arms, biceps, triceps, and abs again
Thursday- Legs again and obliques
Firday-rest
Saturday- hike and maybe some light weight
Sunday-yoga or rest day

I give myself one cheat meal a week and I promise if you stick to this program you will see results!

Hey there beautiful, you've come to the right place!

Hey there! My name is Harriet and I am young woman who has worked as a professional singer for many years and I have braved the harsh Los Angeles scene which definitely can takes its toll on a person mentally, physically and emotionally. I don't consider myself a celebrity or somebody who is "naturally thin", I like every other young woman have struggled with my weight and in Los Angeles where if you are anywhere over 115 lbs you are considered "curvy" or "chubby" 

            

I have definitely gone to extremes in the past to lose weight and stay thin. I have tried every diet under the sun and have spend weeks at a time religiously spinning or attending Bikram Yoga classes, all of which made me dread working out and anytime I was "dieting" I was really "depriving" which can lead to, you guessed it, binging! I know how many women struggle with their weight and I am not here to give you a magical fix to lose fifteen pounds in a week like some diets promise which is unhealthy and will most likely come right back the minute you put more than a celery stick in your mouth. I am not here to push products or anything else on you, I am here because I have read every diet book there is and have tried every exercise program that promised me "hip hop abs" in a matter of days, I have tried every skincare product that promised clear skin and never did, so I finally found my own remedies to all of those issues on my own, and in doing so I learned so much!

Working as a singer I also learned about how to stay healthy using natural remedies and how to clear up huge blemishes overnight for a concert the next day. I am a certified heated yoga instructor and am working towards becoming a certified nutritionist. I want this blog to show you who I am and I promise to take a no bullshit approach to giving you guys the lowdown on diets, fashion, skincare, makeup, nutrition, home remedies and so much more. I also studied Mandarin Chinese for years and have spent a lot of time in China and Japan where I learned so many amazing simple remedies for everyday problems that I will share with you as well! I am so excited to finally put all of my knowledge and passion into this blog! 

Life is too short to settle for anything less than extraordinary! Whether it is a body you are unhappy with, a job, a relationship, problem skin, or anything else, DON'T SETTLE!  Life is about doing what you love and also striving everyday to achieve balance every day while working towards becoming the best version of yourself that you can possibly be. I am so excited to undertake this exciting journey and I hope that you all will come along for the ride!

Away we go!

xoxo Harriet