The definitive list of the 5 best foods ever.

May 22, 2014 | cheriarmour

First and foremost, you guys are amazing. The responses I got on yesterday’s post were nothing short of amazing, and you guys let me know what the hell foods would ruin your entire day. I have to say, the top food had to be mayonnaise, which ruled supreme as the creamy white food that you guys absolutely love love love to vomit to. I swear, you guys had me absolutely cracking up.

After this post from the other night, I can’t have you guys thinking that I’m just this negative Nancy who won’t eat anything, so I bring to you, the definitive list of the best foods ever.

5. Grape leaves.

I appreciate a lot about Mediterranean culture. But one of those things that I appreciate more than anything else, is stuffed grape leaves. These delicious little green cylinders are, in my humble American experience, typically stuffed with a rice creation, and so refreshing. So usually, if I’m at the mall, and I can’t find anything vegetarian to eat, I will find a Greek Fiesta and order a side of these to tide me over until I figure something out.

4. Wine

Red wine is a food group, right? You are mean and rude if you say it is not. Please leave. (Just kidding!) (Kinda!)

3. Donuts.

I maybe eat a donut once every 3-4 months. But when I do, it’s really amazing. And I’m not ashamed. Had one (two) on Sunday, and I promise you, I felt the earth move.

2. Mashed potatoes.

800px-MashedPotatoes — image via wikipedia.org

Yassss honey! Unfortunately, because I don’t have a potato masher, I only eat mashed potatoes like twice a year – once at Thanksgiving, and once again at Christmas. I also ate them two years ago when I got my wisdom teeth out from K&W cafeteria, cafe to the stars. My favorite way to eat them is to mix my corn into them and crunch my way through them. Thank you God, for this perfect, perfect human interpretation of potato.

1. Mac & Cheese.

Not the boxed kind either. The black kind, that you bake and there’s cheese going everywhere, the kind that makes you do a dance while you eat it, that’s what’s the best to eat. Thank you Lord, once again, for this amazing invention.

Honorable mentions go to….

>>Chicken friend tofu. Since I don’t eat chicken, this is about the only friend protein I can do. And it’s awesome.

>>A cold salad with balsamic vinaigrette on it. Backflips.

>>Biscuits. One of the things the south has gotten correctly.

>>Nachos. No explanation required.

>>Green beans. I can eat these any way you fix em. Except with bacon on them.

So let’s hear it! What are you favorite foods!?

The definitive list of the 5 worst foods ever.

May 21, 2014May 20, 2014 | cheriarmour

So, in addition to having a horribly irritable stomach, which I’ve shared with you time and again, some may say that I’m a picky eater.

I don’t consider myself a picky eater, especially since I eat a wide variety of weirdly healthy things, but since I was a kid, there are some foods I find absolutely reprehensible, and today, I share these foods with you.

5. Cauliflower.

There is literally NOTHING that I find okay with cauliflower. For one, it is a strange color, and for another thing, it looks exactly like the wart on the back of my hand after the dermatologist tried to burn it off. Why would I want to eat that? Fun fact: the only thing fun about cauliflower is nothing.

4. Broccoli.

800px-Broccoli_and_cross_section_edit — image via wikipedia.org

The green, less-disgusting (but still disgusting) cousin to cauliflower, I hate this more than you could ever know. The absolute worst way that it’s cooked, is when you’re at a cafeteria-type place, and they cook it by simply boiling it until it’s so floppy that you can’y even get it to stand up straight on your fork. ADDITIONALLY, when you eat it, it completely tears your stomach into 16 pieces. No thanks. The only way broccoli is delicious? No way.

3. Mealy tomatoes.

800px-Bright_red_tomato_and_cross_section02 — image via wikipedia.org

The only time I ever feel like no one cares about me is when I’m eating a salad, there’re tomatoes on it, and the tomatoes are mealy. It sorta tastes like someone sat on the tomato and then left it out for a day or so before chopping it up and putting in on your salad.

2. The gourds.

Now I don’t mind any of the gourds in a bread. And pumpkin, zucchini, or squash do just fine when you just throw them in a crockpot, and by the time all is said and done everything in there is the same texture. But when the gourds are only slightly sauteed, and their mushy gushy seeds kind of just hang off of your fork? Consider my entire meal ruined.

1. Mushrooms.

I cannot stress to you enough how badly my life is ruined once a mushroom is introduced into the mix of anything I’m eating. You know what mushrooms taste like? Exactly what they look like. Which is a grey blob from deep in the pits of hell. The worst part is, that since I’m a vegetarian, everyone assumes I must love mushrooms, and they punish me by offering me a giant mushroom on a hamburger bun. Literally that portabello mushroom sandwich you just offered me? Just cost you our friendship.

**Honorable mention**

>>I wanna give a shoutout to yellow mustard and to effing pickles even when you didn’t want pickles or mustard on your sandwich for ruining every sandwich the two come in contact with.

>>Another extra special shoutout goes to fruit in my chococlate, without which none of this would have been possible.

>>And finally, I want to thank citrus flavored desserts for making dessert taste like the 409 that you’d use to clean your stove. Sick me out.

Come on, let’s hear ’em! Comment with the list of foods you hate. 🙂

I slept for like 15 hours last night.

May 17, 2014 | cheriarmour

I’ve been eating clean for a good week now, and my meals have been amazing.

But the thing about clean eating is that you’re eating a lot of things that come from the ground, a lot of grains and salad, and not a whole lot of prepackaged stuff.

That’s all well and good, except I don’t think my body was ready for the fiber brick that was about to hit it. By the time Friday rolled around at lunchtime, I wasn’t feeling well.

Friday afternoon, I was feeling even worse, and by the time I got off of work, I went to bed.

I went to bed around 4:00, again around 6:30, and then once again around 11:00 and didn’t wake up until about 10:30 on Saturday morning, just before my Zumba class.

After all that sleep, a few swigs of pepto, and a double fist full of antacid, I feel okay. I’m not ready to slam like 8 pizzas or anything, but whewwww, next time, I need to make sure my body is prepped for the fiber party!

How’s your week been?

Confessions

May 15, 2014 | cheriarmour

Can we just talk about the fact that Usher (one of my hall passes) wrote an entire album based on cheating on a significant other, and it was a smash? And my parents let me buy/listen to the album on repeat in 2005, the year of my graduation? Why was I allowed to listen to that? But since you all are paying attention so nicely, here you go again.

And if you think there’s no way he could have gotten better with age….

He does the seemingly impossible.

Onto the good stuff.

I know a couple of bloggers do something called Confessions, where they confess to all the weird/funny/unknown stuff going on in their lives, so it’s my turn! Thanks to all of you guys who inspired me to confess.

I confess…

//That I fell asleep fully clothed last night. I was just laying down for a few minutes before I was going to at least shower and pack my lunch for today and catch up on blog stuff, and none of that stuff happened.

//I took a look at my bod today in the mirror, and I really liked what I saw. I mean, usually I’m not like spitting at what I see, but I think this clean eating thing has done my body really well 🙂

//I typically eat really well, but I took on the challenge of eating really clean this week and prepping all my meals. It’s made me more thoughtful about what I’m putting in my mouth. My stomach, which I have all sorts of problems with, has been really calm this week, and my heartburn has calmed down. I was only going for it for this week, but I’m going for it. No sense going back to anything that comes in a package.

//I love my friends so much. At any given time of day, I have like 2-3 group texts going on with folks I feel like are part of the inner circle. I take my friendships really seriously.

//My house is a mess. I fight a battle daily to keep in manageable, but I truly envy those folks who you walk in, and there are candles burning, the carpet is vacuumed, and it smells nice. May I provide you with an example?

This is my workspace, which also doubles as a kitchen counter. It’s a good workspace because I can stand up at it, but it’s not really be utilized to prep foods as it should be.

//I really insane opportunity has presented itself, and I’m really happy, but really overwhelmed, and I really can’t even tell anyone about it until next week. EEP!

Your turn! What are you confessions?

Oil pulling!

May 13, 2014May 12, 2014 | cheriarmour

A little while back, I read this article on Fashionlush (cutest, cleverest name, right?) about oil pulling. I was so intrigued, however, so I took to trip down the baking oil and grabbed a container of Organic Coconut oil.

**As a side note, one of my best friends, Chelsie, recommended that I try to put coconut oil on my skin for some of my acne issues with my forehead, so I finally went and got some**

So what is oil pulling?

So it sounds a lot crazier than it is, but oil pulling involves these steps.

Wake up.
Drink some water.
Put a teaspoon of organic coconut oil in your mouth and swish it around for 20 minutes.

It sounds intense because a teaspoon of anything is a lot, and swishing something that appears to be a solid around for 20 minutes in your mouth sounds insane, but hear me out.

Coconut oil does come in a solid forum when it’s cooled, but it’s not stinky or gross like an oil that you’d fry chicken in or something. It has a TON of uses. You can use it on your skin, on your hair, and in your cooking, but for the intents of talking about it’s (sorta ingestion), let’s talk about how this oil pulling things works.

Like I said, you swish for 20 minutes, and pretty soon, you’ll start to see some sweet bennies.

Fixes hangovers!!!!!
Pulls toxins from your bod.
Coconut oil is a natural antibacterial. Meaning that any funk that’s chilling in your mouth, waiting to attack your gums and teeth? This is gonna reduce them.
It strengthens your teeth and gums
And finally, for all of you who are TIRED of your teeth hurting like a mofo after you whiten with those Crest White Strips, I think we found a solution. This stuff whitens your smile without making your teeth hurt SO bad.

A few tips

Go for organic. It’s only slightly pricier, and it hasn’t been treated with persistent pesticides.
A teaspoon seems like a lot. It is, but just let the chunk melt in your mouth, and it gets a lot easier from there.
20 minutes seems like a long time, but put if in your mouth, then do something like get in the shower while it’s in there, and it flies by.
When you spit it out, spit it in the trash. Just like you wouldn’t pour cooking oil down the drain, don’t do it with your coconut oil either. Be friendly to your environment!

So go out and buy your Organic Coconut oil, and get to pulling!

Any of you guys practice oil pulling now?

Clean eating + the weekend.

May 12, 2014May 11, 2014 | cheriarmour

The weekend was full of a lot of joy.

And a lot of food that was just horrible for me.

Saturday afternoon, after I taught a killer Zumba class, I attended the graduation party of a friend, where there were some amazing sides (life of a vegetarian), and what I ate was not limited to:

Two types of macaroni and cheese.
Potato salad
Guacamole + Chips
Pasta salad
Deviled eggs
Baked beans
Diet Sierra Mist

Followed by…

A lovely thick slice of cheesecake made by my boss’s boss.

I ate disgustingly – and I kind of want to try something to kind of get rid of the nasty I ingested this weekend.

Before that!

Let’s review my weekend!

Because I am so beautiful and gorgeous, I did another photoshoot for Headbands of Hope. Okay, I kid, I kid, but I did another, and don’t worry, I will share those photos with you as soon as they are edited and ready to go! But I did get this sweet buff that made me feel like a fun hippie all weekend. I think I’m gonna buy a ton of these, because these are randomly really absorbent too!

WARK!

I ran home to my parents’ in Charlotte, and got to see my newly-engaged younger sister. Everyone thinks that I’m younger because I’m only 5’8″ and she’s like 5’10-5′-11″. I look SO short compared to her!

My brother kind of impressed me with his burrito making/folding skills and he made one for a ton of folks. I told him he needs to open something up and that he could give Moe’s a run for their money. He’s showing promise in the cooking arena. Between him, my dad, me, and my sister Kimmy (who cooks like a pro), we could have an excellent little family restaurant situation.

And my mom is liable to murder me, but there she is, feeling much much better. Not sure if you remember, but my mom suffered a stroke last year, and this time last year, she was not smiling. Good to see it this year 🙂 🙂

Onto the gross stuff that I ate this weekend and what I’m going to do about it.

I’ve been reading this week about clean eating, and to be 100%, I feel like I’m kind of fumbling around blindly with the idea.

I don’t believe in fads, and I don’t believe in cleanses, but I totally believe it eating good stuff, and prepackaged foods like my yogurt and my Fiber 1 bars are making me feel like crap. For a week, I’m prepping my foods, avoiding alcohol and coffee, and staying away from anything that comes in a wrapper.

My only hope is to alleviate some tummy troubles, and to get rid of this gross stuff that I spent this weekend eating and drinking.

Now….with all of that….what did you do this weekend?

Starbucks.

May 5, 2014May 4, 2014 | cheriarmour

Am I starting to get over Starbucks?

I never thought I’d see that day, but after I read this article at the Skinny Confidential, I kinda started to back off the Fraps. To be clear, I’ve always done the best I can to skinny my frap, but reading this, I was really over the concept of spending like $5 on something that was packed with a ton of fake sugars and crap that my body didn’t want to digest.

I haven’t quite figured out how I’m going to get my caffeine, but I do know this.

Two weeks ago, I changed my normal order (nonfat latté with two Splendas) and went for a venti iced nonfat caramel latté. A few hours later, I started to feel horribly ill. My head hurt, throbbed even. I felt nauseated, and definitely was experiencing symptoms that felt a little like food poisoning. I didn’t think anything of it, but drank as much water as possible, and kinda suffered through the next two days.

So I did a little experiment.

The middle of last week, I ordered the exact same thing, had a bottle of Aleve at the ready, and waited. And the same. Thing. Happened.

I’m not sure what’s going on, but something with that caramel flavoring takes me from 0-runners trots and I will avoiding that order for the rest of the foreseeable future.

Anyone else have a food that you literally not stomach?

Zevia Zero Calorie Soda Review + Reader Giveaway!

March 13, 2014March 13, 2014 | cheriarmour

Yep, that’s right, I said giveaway! Holla!

So in light of the awful fate that befell me yesterday, where I had a terrible reaction to some scallops I was excited to cook, I was shuffling around the apartment like a zombie – I looked and smelled terrible, and I felt like I’d spent the entire night partying. I was digging around in the fridge making my lunch when I spotted the 6-pack that Zevia had sent me a few days ago. I fumbled around for the ginger-ale flavor, and slammed it before my stomach had any time to go back on the promise that it would never to do me what it had done the night before.

So Zevia, which I first spotted at Whole Foods a while back, is a zero-calorie soda, sweetened with stevia, an artificial sweetener that my father (a type-1 diabetic) seems to enjoy more so than the other sweeteners out there, because it doesn’t leave that really weird taste in your mouth that diet sodas can tend to leave.

Zevia was kind enough to send me my very own variety pack of the stuff as a way to try a good bit of the flavors, and I was pleasantly surprised! There are a couple of things to remember when you’re drinking your Zevia, which comes in 12-oz. cans, very much the same way that a can of any old soda might come in.

Drink it cold . Zevia suggests this and reminds you that cold is not cold enough!
Drink it out of the can. Zevia tends to get warm and flat in a cup and that’s sorta gross for any soda.

So as I sampled Zevia, I was really pleasantly surprised with the ginger-ale, which is probably my favorite flavor, and the cream soda, which tastes like the cream soda that my mother used to give us from Haiti, minus the really weird dye, calories, and sugar. My least favorite would probably have to be the cherry cola flavor, but generally this flavor kinda creeps me out in real life, so that makes sense. Generally, the sense that I get with these is that they’re more water, less sugar, and lacking in the weird aftertaste department that I get with a Diet Coke. This morning, I actually gave my beloved caffeinated Diet Dr. Pepper away because the thought of the aftertaste was making me more nauseated than I felt like I needed to be at that point.

Onto the giveaway!

I’m giving 5 readers a 6-pack of Zevia! Enter below, and I will announce winners on or around 3/20/14!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

For more info on Zevia, visit their website

Or their Facebook

Or their Twitter

Or on IG

🙂 Enjoy!

Part 2 – Would I train with an overweight trainer?

February 18, 2014February 17, 2014 | cheriarmour

So before we get started on all the dramz, lookie at what Mama Chelsie sent me yesterday! I was laying on the couch yesterday, when she sent me a gorgeous pic and a recipe of what she’d made for dinner. Since I had nothing for lunch today, I decided to give her recipe a whirl, put a little more of a spicy twist on it, and pack it for lunch. I hope it’s good, cause it’s all packed up now!

So the way it all works is really easy. One can of seasoned black beans, drained, and I smooshed them all up in a ziplock. I mixed the smoosh up with an egg, some paprika, some garlic, and some hot pepper, added a half-cup of bread crumbs, and I grilled it up with some olive oil. With my refined palate, I added a dab of ketchup to eat it with tomorrow, and I’ll let you know how it turns out. But it smells BALLER. And in case you forgot about Chelsie, she’s the mom who helped out with my post last week. Click to read, it’s super, super good, plus there are pics of my super cute niece on there!

But moving right along.

Yesterday, without any prodding or judgement, I asked you all if you would work out with an overweight personal trainer. The answers ranged from “absolutely not,” to “why not,” to one particularly sweet answer from one of my campers, and here it is.

Considering I’m still considered overweight but I am very healthy and teach Zumba and am becoming a personal trainer I would say I would pay a person who was overweight because the weight doesn’t mean anything. I have a dangerously slow metabolism which makes it extremely hard for me to loose weight consistently unless I’m working out all day basically, but I still know how to help others to be successful, ya know?

God. I tear up when this beautiful girl says this.

Here’s my take.

Would I work out with an overweight personal trainer?

Yes.

I am very fit, and very active now, but if I ever freed up some of my time and got into weightlifting, I would employ the help of a personal trainer. Damn right I would allow an overweight personal trainer to train me, and here’s why.

I’m not perfect, and I don’t have x-ray vision. Can I tell if someone is healthy by the way they look? Can I tell if they know what they’re doing? Can I tell really much about them? Not a ton.

I’m not overweight, nor have I been. I’ve lost weight, gotten fitter, and learned to love my body. If, when I was in my transition period, someone had not given me a chance, I wouldn’t have had the strong Zumba following I have today. I appreciate folks who stuck around while I figured things out, and I would do the same for others, especially given if they know what they’re doing.

I am a counselor. Do I need to have gone through a divorce to counsel a divorced couple?

Does a heart surgeon need to have had a heart attack to successfully operate on patients?

To raise funds for Haitians in the earthquake last year, need I have been a direct victim of its devastation?

I think you know where I’m going here. And I don’t hate or fault anyone for their opinion. But for me, if Bre wants to train me? Bring it on sweet pea. I know you know what you’re doing. 🙂

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