Been a while!

So it's been a while since I posted a blog. I have been super busy getting our house back into order and gearing up for school again. I start school next week and I am in my last semester for my associates degree. I have just been binge watching some TV before I have to start getting into school work and working hard again. I got a lot of my amazon packages in the past couple days. We are trying a more healthy and natural eating approach. I ordered Chlorella (sea algae), ashitaba, acas powder, cacao powder, maca powder, chia seeds and some freeze dried raspberries. It has been pretty fun trying to come up with some smoothie and acai bowl recipes using these ingredients. I have to say that I feel so much better after eating foods with these in it. It makes me feel full longer and more energetic. This is my go to smoothie recipes:

Energizing Breakfast Smoothies:

2 tsp steel cut oats
1 tsp flaxseed meal
1 tsp acai powder
1 tsp cacao
1 scoop chlorella
1 scoop ashitaba
1 T powdered Peanut Butter
1 T chia seeds
1 Banana
1/2 cup of frozen mixed berries
1/4 cup of coconut milk

Blend all together and garnish with Tsp Steelcut oats and Agave Nectar in optional.

Lunch/Healthy Goodies

So today I wanted to explore the one of the only organic stores that I know of on island. It is called GreenLeaf and although it is pricey it is so cool. I went with Austin before and we got Carob Chips and they were delicious. Carob is just like a chocolate substitute that is made from a legume plant. So today I drove to the bigger of the two GreenLeaf's and got Carob Powder, Dried Apples and Organic Ginger Ale, which is one of my favorite sodas. They had a nice little cafe hooked to the store, so I decided to give it a try and got their Acai Bowl. Oh my gosh, it was absolutely delicious. It had raspberries (which is a rarity in Okinawa), blueberries, raw cashews, granola and sliced banana. I was in heaven eating every bite. It was a bit of a drive and right by the ocean, so the view driving to it isn't half bad. It was a very busy morning. Luna and I did a longer walk than normal because it was so pretty out today. We walked 1.5 miles when normally we just do .75-1 miles. She definitely enjoyed being outside for the extra time and enjoyed the sunshine. I came home and cleaned and did some yoga and went to the post office to get our packages and then ran my errands. It is nice to finally take some time to rest and relax for a while before Austin gets home.

Hailee

Seawall Date Night

So Saturday night Austin (my husband) and I decided to do a date night. We went to a place on the seawall called Transit Cafe and it was absolutely amazing. The view was absolutely gorgeous and peaceful. Our only complaint was how hot it was. We decided to sit outside on the patio and we were melting the whole time. Never again will we request to sit outside when the heat index in 124 degrees. We planned on walking the seawall after dinner and before our movie started, but needless to say we were feeling overheated and definitely needed to go home and change into fresh clothes.

After we went home to cool off and get ready for the movie. We ended up seeing Sausage Party, which I was not a huge fan of. I was really disappointed because I love Seth Rogen and all the people that were cast in the movie. I just found it really hard to enjoy and it was a little out of my taste. Austin, on the other hand, absolutely loved it and he was the one that did not want to see it at first. It was a great night though and I loved spending time with Austin and doing something fun just the two of us.

Hailee

Grocery Goodies

Hi guys!

So today we went grocery shopping at the mall here. Crazy, right? We have this huge five story mall in Okinawa and they have a grocery store hooked in there. I decided that I wanted a change of scenery for my off base grocery shopping and decided the mall would be a fun place to spend our Saturday. I didn't really find too much food food (meat, dairy, veggies etc.) that we needed yet, so we ended up trying two drinks and getting some snacks. I picked up more corn on the cob puff chips for my mom since she is addicted to them. I found this cool new energy drink that I had never seen before, but it had Maca, Guarana and Acai in it, so I decided to give it a shot.

This was so delicious! It's all in Japanese on the back, so I went to amazon and looked it up and it had a lot of good, natural ingredients. I have Acai powder, Maca powder and a few other powders on the way, so this was definitely nice knowing it had those in this drink. I also found some Chia Seed pouches that are supposedly good as a replacement meal. I think I may try them out for breakfasts this week. 

What I am getting from the pictures on the pouches are that the purple is more berries and purple yam, the orange is like carrots and veggies of that nature, and green is like banana, apple and leafy greens. I am so excited to try these out and see how good they are.

Tonight we have dinner on the seawall and then a movie. We are seeing Sausage Party, so we are so pumped for it.

Hailee

Starting the Day...

Hi guys!

So it is a beautiful, sunny day here in Okinawa. I have a lot of my to do list today (grocery shopping, yoga, library and making a vet appointment for Luna). I like to have a morning routine set everyday. This usually consists of me getting out and walking Luna for 15-20 minutes right when I wake up. During this I usually call my mom and chat with her about how I am and what my plans are today then we just talk about whatever else we need to. After that I come home and start boiling water for my morning tea and start fixing breakfast, which today was a breakfast shake. (Recipe will be down below).  By this time, the water should be done boiling and ready for my tea. I let it steep per instructions and check my Facebook or read my bible plan. Finally after about 5-10 minutes I am ready to drink my tea and begin my day!

I am currently drinking Yogi DeTox blend and it does have a bit of a spicy kick and is very cinnamon-y flavored. I decided that I wanted to check in and post a little before I really start my day and begin errands. I will check back in later and show some of my goodies I pick up today!

Recipe for Breakfast Shake:

8 ounces Almond Milk

1 Scoop of protein/meal replacement powder ( I use Purely Inspired Plant Protein Natural Vanilla)

1 Scoop of powdered peanut butter

1 teaspoon of Chia Seeds 

Blend this in a blender and you are good to go!

Hailee

Life Update #1

Hi guys!

I am coming up on my one year anniversary (Okiversary) living in Okinawa, Japan. What an adventure it has been so far! I have explored this beautiful island I get to call home and even go to Mainland Japan and check out some of their theme parks. I am currently looking into a more natural and healthy lifestyle, since everyone here is so healthy. It's never too late to start. Being on a tropical island kind of limits you on your resources and being able to go to Whole Foods or Sprouts like I did when I was back in the states. Amazon has recently become my best friend! I am super excited because I put in an order to get some pretty sweet stuff to try out.

Let me tell you a little bit about myself. I am 19 almost 20 years old. I am currently in school to become a teacher. I have an adorable miniature dachshund named Luna She is such a blast and has a HUGE personality for such a little dog. I like to spend my time reading, exploring, shopping, relaxing on the beach and yoga. That's all I have for now, but stay tuned because I have tons of interesting stuff I will be talking about in the future! :)

Hailee