Pumpkin Pie & Apple Pie for breakfast... & Why I Think I've Failed So Many Times

So I heard about making Pumpkin Pie Smoothies (can't remember where) & I thought... I'm gonna do that!  (Beacuse that's just now I roll... I see or hear about something & I figure out how to do it) ... So... this is what I came up with...and it is amazing!  I've had it every morning for about a week now... Still lovin it!

• Left over sweet potato (from previous night's dinner) or pumpkin puree (about 1/3 cup)
• Coconut water/Almond milk - adjust ratios as necessary, depending on what you need the smoothie for
• Coconut or Almond yogurt (you could use other yogurt of choice)
• 3/4 scoop vanilla protein powder
• Ice
• Vanilla extract (about 1/4-1/2 tsp)
• Epicure's Pumpkin Pie spice (about 1/4-1/2 tsp)
• Stevia (about 1/4-1/2 tsp)

Depending on what I'm doing I will also add coconut oil (about 1 TBSP, melted) &/or chia seeds (1 scoop)

Blend away in the ol' Vitamix & I am good to go in about 5 minutes!  It is delicious!

It's yummy!

So then the Apple pie is actually a detox drink that has Apple Cider vinegar in it.  I originally found out about it from Powercakes blog here. There's a link to the orinial recipe in that post... But here's the break down:

In a mason jar I put *1 TB ACV, with 1 tsp cinnamon & 10-20 drops of stevia, some lemon juice & some vanilla extract.  (Just waiting for my liquid vanilla stevia to arrive from iherb.com) 


Now...onto what I said I would discuss a couple of posts ago... why I think I tried & failed so many times.
A few factors played a part. I wanted to lose weight, but not really enough to be completely motivated.  I felt uncomfortable in my body, but not enough to really commit to doing anything about it.  I struggled with self esteem, but not enough to be driven to fix it.

Also... I was & a little bit of me still is, very fickle.  I find the next greatest thing & be all over it... for like 2 weeks.  And whatever progress I made in that time was undone in a seemingly less amount of time. And... I never felt satisfied with whatever diet plan I was doing at the time.  It never felt like enough food, or I was depriving myself too much & would end up caving in & eating crap.  Because let's face it people...that's what binge food is.

Additionally, whenever I would lose a few pounds, I would feel entitled to take a mini-break...which usually meant a medium DQ Blizzard with Skor & Cookie Dough & extra hot fudge.  Then I would usually continue on with bad eating habits until I'd gained back everything I'd lost & sometimes even more.  Then I would get frustrated with myself & depressed about it & not be able to gain back my focus & dedication for weeks or months at a time.

So this time around...the way I'm eating, I don't feel deprived.  The food is good... & I'm getting used to not having sugar.  We'll have to see how it goes.  So far so good....fingers & toes crossed  :)