Guilt free Banana Bread

Just made this banana bread that knocked my husband's and my socks off!!! Try it asap!

Mashed three bananas with a fork, added 1 teaspn stevia, 1 teaspn vanilla, 1 egg, 1/4 cup unsweetened applesauce, 1/4 cup olive oil, 2 cups gluten free flour, 2,5 teaspns baking powder. Poured the mix into an 8x8" pan, topped it with sliced almonds, chopped pecans and ground cinnamon. Baked in the oven at 350 degrees for an hour. Yummy! It should come out crunchy on the outside and moist inside )))

I'm so cray happy when smth so delicious comes out of a few healthy ingridients!!!

Sugar-free coconut macaroons

Very easy, guilt free and delicious munchkins to have with coffee for breakfast or with tea at night.

You will need:
1. 2 cups of unsweetened coconut flakes
2. 2/3 of a cup unsweetened coconut milk
3. 1 teaspoon cinnamon
4. 1 pinch of salt
5. 1/3 of a cup any other dairy free milk or cream for extra moisture
6. 30 drops of stevia
7. 1/2 cup flour (gluten-free)

What to do:
Firstly, mix all the dry ingridients together till even. Then add wet ingridients and mix together. You will get a sticky moist batter. Roll the mix into balls of your favorite size and place them on the baking pan covered with foil about an inch apart. I usually get about 18 balls. Bake them at 350 degrees for 20 minutes till a slight brown color. Enjoy!

Non-dairy brownies with stevia

Made these a few times already! Quick, easy and go away faaaast ))

You will need:
1. 1/2 cup all purpose flour (mine is gluten-free)
2. 1/3 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
3. 1/4 teaspoon salt
4. 1/2 cup of vegan shortenings
5. 1 teaspoon of liquid stevia
6. 1 teaspoon of vanilla extract
7. 2 eggs
8. 1/2 cup of unsweetened baking chocolate
9. 1/2 cup crushed wallnuts

What to do:
Firstly, melt chocolate together with vegan butter in a heatresistent bowl over a simmering water till it all melts and gets even.
Take off the heat, whisk in eggs one by one. Add vanilla and stevia. Then mix in flour, cocoa powder, salt and walnuts. Mix it all till it evens out. Pour the batter into a 9x9 baking pan and bake it at 350 degrees for about 25-30 minutes. 25 if you like chewy brownies and 30 if you like them more crunchy. Enjoy!

Crepes Recipe

Since I am on a Candida diet I get to experiment with recipes a lot...

Due to my Russian background, I've always been a fan of crepes, or, Russian way of calling them blintzes. Not to miss them too much, I decided to try and make them with ingredients that are allowed on my diet and, to my surprise, they turned out to be pretty good! Success ))

I will share it with you not just as a Candida diet recipe but also as a healthier alternative. All of the ingredients are low in fat, sugar and calories, but the flavor is rich and yummy.

You will need:
1. Almond, Coconut, Soy or any other non-dairy unsweetened milk
2. 3 eggs

3. 1 cup of all purpose gluten free flour
4. 1 pinch of salt
5. 30 drops of liquid stevia
6. 3 tablespoons of Olive oil

In a bowl combine flour and salt. In a separate bowl mix milk with sugar first, then add eggs and oil into the mix.  Slowly add dry ingredients from a first bowl into the mix and then get a nice smooth liquid batter. Bake blintzes on a small pan buttered before each use. Enjoy!

Skin foundation tip

Yesterday I repeated the same breakfast. For my late lunch I had brown rice with three grilled chicken breast strips. I purchased it at Trader Joe's, and it is organic, no preservatives and fully cooked. White tea at night.

I realized something important for my skin in a last couple of days. I can't use a foundation brush!! It causes my skin to break out and get these small red bumps around my nose. Apparently it is a rush reaction to bacteria even though I would wash my brushes almost after each use. I knew my skin was sensitive but not this much! Clearly bad idea. So now I'm back to using fingers and suggest the same to you to avoid any issues.

Food diery
Breakfast:
1. Wheat squares cereal with unsweetened soy milk
2. Plain egg omelette with canned tuna and a rice cake
3. Coffee same way as before

Same late lunch as yesterday
White tea

My Food Diary

I decided to include my daily food diery in every post I upload. It'll help me track my level of nutrition and may give you an idea of foods I enjoy on my yeast free diet/Candida diet ))

Breakfast:
1. Decaf coffee from PRET with Soy milk
2. "Wheat squares" cereal with unsweetened soy milk and chopped walnuts
3. A breakfast pot from PRET with a boiled egg, basil, quinoa, avocado and tomato

Lunch:
Green salad mixed with tomatoes, cucumbers, peppers, onion, plain tuna, boiled egg and topped with olive oil.
I also had organic Mary's Gone Crackers Pretzels in Chipotle Tomato. They have no yeast in them, no sugar, no preservatives, no cholesterol and no corn. Just 4g of fiber. Love!!!

Dinner snack:
Same few pretzels dipped into hummus. Yum!
White Tea

Self improvement motivation

Can't stress this enough how my view at life has changed in literally a year. My decision process is different, my body is different, my skin is different and I'm loving every single step I take! I'd never exchange this feeling for anything I've gotten rid of for my own sake of self improvement. It includes junk food, alcohol, overpartying, lack of sleep, leaving make up on all night, forgetting to drink water, TV over fitness, antibiotics, late night dinners and so on...

There is a whole lot of people who still can't grasp the major factor of changing their livestyles due to cravings, weakness, lazyness, different priorities, and I understand how difficult it is! I've done it! But there is so much more out there that any person could feel and experience that would bring joy and self-accomplishment. My self-esteem has gone up. I'm feeling more powerful and more in control. And what looks better than confidence on a woman? Not even a $699 pair of shoes! )) With all my love to fashion, I personally believe that health and fashion go hand in hand. Clothes look much better on a woman that takes care of herself from within out.

Just go and take a first step!

My lip products

I get a lot of people during the day asking me what products I use on my lips.

Here they are:
1. My iconic Creme de Nude lipstick by Mac first
2. Any good nude lipgloss would do but I love my Vintage by Lorac on top
3. One more secret! To achieve a good nude lip simply outline your lips with a stick concealer that matches your skin tone. I prefer using my favorite CoverGirl one in a shade Medium (715).

Gifts

I was thinking of what I would like to get myself for Christmas and I came up with this short list of wishes for this second:

Tom Ford perfume
Zara leather pants
Iphone 5
Crate and Barrel home decor

Some news

So I've been following the Candida diet I've mentioned in the previous post for a month now. It is a dairy, sugar free, yeast and corn free diet. I do feel about 50% better, which to me is a great improvement! I've also lost a few pounds, which happens naturally when you cut all the sugar and alcohol out of your daily routine (not that I had planned on loosing any, but my doctor let me know it would happen any way). Now I'm in a constant search for new recipe ideas due to chocolate and sugar cravings. I surprisingly don't go too nuts over them but it happens occasionally ))

We had a Sandy storm here in NY which still continues to affect the city. It is getting slowly back on feet tho. Had to stay home for a few days with no power so of course that's when my cravings were the strongest lol Understandable enough ))

Candida diet

At first I thought that may be I should start a different blog specifically for this new topic of mine. I'm sure there are people out there that would share the same interests and dilemmas with me. May be I still will, but first I decided to share my news here just because it is relevant to a "vitamins" part of my blog any way )))

I'm starting a special diet that was recommended to me by my doctor. It is a strict time consuming no fun no bun sort of a diet that is built based on foods I have hidden (notice hidden) allergies to. The diet is basically customized following each patient's individual body reactions to different foods via skin test. Mine specifically consists of yeast free, sugar free, corn free and dairy free products. I am on my fifth day today and so far so good, meaning that at least I'm not suicidal yet ))) I've heard it gets tougher further in.

Grocery shopping during yeast free dairy free corn free diet got more difficult and fun at the same time. Reading all the labels has helped me realize how much "crap" our food market has to offer. There are products out there that may not seam like they have milk or yeast inside but holly cow! I find milk inside of the freaking noodles!!! Go figure...

Thank goodness I am at least allowed to eat wheat, eggs, coffee, soy, oat and nuts (except peanuts), meat and seafood. They really help me throughout the day. Bye-bye my lovely corn chips, Godiva chocolate, wine and cheese (( I will miss you a lot!

Couple of facts I've realized so far:

1. The main thing during this candida battle is to stay occupied so you don't start craving foods. There are temptations all around coming at you from different directions! Social environment, TV commercials, your loved ones and so on. As long as you find what to do until you pass out on your bed - you're good!

2. Another helpful point is to have appropriate foods available next to you at all times. So at work I have my rice cakes, wheat squares, organic vegetable salsa dip and these weird pretzels I found at Trader Joe's. At home I have hummus dip, plantains, rice, fresh organic chicken, eggs and oatmeal. Still looking for more stuff! I cook much more now and actually enjoy it! ))) Because the food is fresh, smells good and is full of vitamins!

3. I pass by sweets at grocery stores almost tearing up. No joke! I loved my japanese ice-cream balls, egg bread with Nutella and so on. Of course it was to be expected so no panic just focus on these delicious rice cakes with scrambled eggs ;)

I'll start a seperate blog to take you through the whole process as a diery with details so I could use it for myself also as a reference later on.

New Denim

I got these jeans in Saks about 2 weeks ago and I'm very happy with them. The brand name is not as popular yet since they're quite recent but I tried them on and they look very flattering on. The name is Genetic Denim Shane. Love the color too.

Flats obcession

My new babies for fall from Alexander McQueen. They run a size big so if you ever decide to get them then get smaller ones. My usual size is 37-37,5, and these are 36,5 ones.

Dior Black Diamond

This is one of my favorite highlighters. And it looks amazing! I got it a while back, honestly, just to beautify my makeup stand )) But recently I ran out of my usual highlighter and decided to finally give it a go. It's very shimmery, but in a subtle way without overpowering your daily makeup. What I love the most is the brush because of its shape. It helps to firstly create a straight vivid line by placing it vertically and then blend it by rotating it sideways.

Make up brushes

Got my two new sets of Real Rechniques brushes by Samantha Chapman and got a Kabuki one for free )) Great deal especially since it was exactly what I needed! Love the brushes. They do their job very well!

Bbq

For a comfortable 4th of July backyard bbq with friends I chose crochet Victoria's Secret bottoms and a Diesel red top. Oh! And Pina Collada ))

Accident

The last picture would've never happened on purpose )) I attended my good friend's bridal shower wearing a pop of blue

Shorts

My favorite piece of clothing this season! Very comfortable and easy to mix and match. The top is a actually a Forever 21 skirt that I pulled upwords. I like wearing it both ways!

The best breakfast

I'm loyal to my fiber:
Kashi Golean cereal
Activia fiber yogurt

Perfume choice

By favorite scent by Chanel