Month: December 2013

I’m on DAY FOUR! Going strong and feeling amazing, my cleanse officially ends on midnight tomorrow night as I ring in 2014 and I could not be happier! But WHY am I cleansing!? Even my dad asked me,”You are already so CLEAN from all the food you eat, I don’t get it, why do you need to cleanse?!” haha Leave it to dad! Well for me, it’s not really about losing weight or even necessarily “cleansing”. Juicing gives me AMAZING energy, pure, all natural drive and a clear head. It helps me zero in on what I need to accomplish and also connect to a deeper place inside me so that when I meditate and write, it’s really coming from a deep loving place that’s true to my core. Of course, after thanksgiving and christmas, it’s always a beautiful reminder of just how GOOD are bodies can feel when we are putting the good stuff in and not weighing it down. I thought what better way to say hello to 2014 than with a clear head, an open heart and an energized body! If you have any questions about juicing or are thinking about juicing in the new year feel free to comment below and I will do my best to answer all of them! For more info on the juice cleanse I’m doing, just check out my book “Juicespiration”. peace, love and green juice! Cassandra

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You ARE far too smart to stand in your own way!! STOP IT! Okay, enough tough love, but seriously what are you getting in your own way about? Take a few minutes right now, take three deep breaths and ask yourself – where am I getting in my own way? The answer might surprise you. It might even be a major breakthrough!
I recently did this for myself a couple weeks ago and had a radical revelation. I was getting in my way in a MASSIVE way with my work. This might sound ridiculous but unconsciously I think I was really scared of my unlimited potential. I was SCARED of success!! There is a great Marianne Williamson quote that goes,”Our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate, our deepest fear is that we are powerful beyond measure.” And that is exactly what was happening to me.
Luckily, the greatest blessing is in the acknowledgment of where we are blocking ourselves because then we can simply open our eyes to how we can bust through that block. I’ll spare you the story of how I busted through mine but it’s safe to say now I am more ready than ever to embrace success with open arms.
Now for you, if your dealing with a body weight issue, this could look like being scared to be skinny! Are you nervous to have attention called to you? Does it scare you a little bit to step into that ideal body? Maybe it’s the effort that it will take to get there that scares you? Take a minute to think about what it could be. This could be a great time to free write some ideas. Whatever you come up with, ask yourself, what am I sacrificing by holding on to this belief? Write that list, get honest and emotional with yourself. Decide that you want whatever it is more than you want to hold on to that limiting belief.

Have a beautiful day! I’d love to hear about what beautiful blocks you’ve discovered – comment below so that I can help support you!

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Merry Christmas from my kitchen to yours! I hope you are having a fabulous evening enjoying delicious food with your loved ones!

These adorable little Santa men I made were an easy, delicious and healthy dessert! Just slice open strawberries, carve a little out in the middle and let them dry a bit on a paper towel. In a separate bowl, mix some tofutti cream cheese and powdered sugar till you get an icing like consistency and then place into a pastry bag (or plastic bag) and let it sit in your fridge for a 10-20 minutes. Pipe your icing in your little strawberries bodies and stick some vegan chocolate chips for eyes, it’s strawberry hat and a little extra icing on top! Voila! Adorable little Santa men!

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MUST HAVE GIFTS FOR YOU & YOUR BESTIES:
10 BOOKS TO CREATE A NEW YOU IN 2014
  Money Love by Kate Northrup. Who doesn’t want to get out of debt, gain financial abundance and start creating the life they want! Kate Northrup’s book is the perfect gift for any loved one in a pickle with their finances. Click here to learn more about it.
 
Skinny Bitch by Rory Freedman and Kim Barnouin. This book made me try out veganism for the first time and till this day it is one of my go to guides when I feel like I need a refresher. These ladies write the same way you would talk to your closest girlfriends. It’s a fun, easy and highly educational read, even if you are a meat eater! Click here to learn more about it.

 Spirit Junkie by Gabrielle Bernstein. This is probably the most transformational book I read all year. The effect it had on my life was tremendous. Gabby B takes your through her journey from rock bottom to her current spiritual guru success. This is a great gift for anyone who’s going through a tough time this year. Click here to learn more about it.

  $100 Start Up by Chris Guillebeau. This is a great book for that friend or family member who’s always talking about starting a business. It’s an inspirational collection of successful start ups and walks you through everything you need to get a small business going! Click here to learn more about it.

  Lean In by Sheryl Sandberg. I had the absolute pleasure of meeting Sheryl this past July and listening to her speak at BlogHer ’13. She encouraged all of us to start thinking about what we would do if we weren’t afraid. We need more ladies to lean in and be fearless! This book should be required reading for females all over. Click here to learn more about it.

  Crazy, Sexy, Diet by Kris Carr. If Skinny Bitch was what the doctor ordered while I was in college, Crazy Sexy Diet is my latest prescription. Vibrant and inspirational Kris Carr gives you a whole new perspective on how you take care of your body. Click here to learn more about it.

  Place of Yes by Bethenny Frankel. This book boasts 10 ways to get everything you want in life and actually delivers some pretty amazing tips to living a life of your highest potential. Bethenny is a huge inspiration to me and this is the kind of book you’ll read over and over again. It’s a great gift for one of your close girlfriends! Click here to find out more details.

 The Best Advice I Ever Got by Katie Couric. This is a fabulous book for anyone on christmas list. There is such a wide variety of amazing people sharing their stories that everyone will find something that moves them. You might even want to get yourself a copy while your at it. Click here to learn more about it.

  The Alchemist by Paul Coelho. If you or anyone you love has not read this book, you MUST, I repeat MUST buy it for them ( or yourself). There are so many beautiful life lessons to be learned from this book that I have quotes from it all over my notebooks and in my cell phone. It’s a fast read and a great gift! Click here to learn more about it.

  Make Every Man Want You by Marie Forleo. Marie (along with Gabby and Kris) is one of my power female gurus. She gives absolutely incredible business advice that has helped me tremendously with GSS. So it was a bit of a surprise for me when I found out her book was called, “Make Every Man Want You”. Regardless, I read it anyway and it is about SO MUCH MORE than men. Yes it will definitely make you irresistible to the opposite sex but it will also totally upgrade your entire life. It’s a fun read and will have you being your BEST self in no time! Click here to learn more about it.

It was so much fun to meet up with Jordan Younger, vegan smoothie queen and creator of TheBlondeVegan.com. She is such a vibrant and inspirational lady and I’m very pleased to share with you part 1 of our interview! Check her out! 🙂

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I love butternut squash and this maple cinnamon recipe is a super easy crowd pleaser for the holidays!

maple cinnamon butternut squash

1 butternut squash
1/2 tsp of cinnamon
1/2 tsp of nutmeg
1/2 tsp of cloves
1 tbsp of brown sugar
2 tbsp of macadamia nut oil

Preheat your oven to 375 degrees and get out your Pyrex or whatever oven safe dish you’d like to use. Skin and chop your squash to small chunks. Place your squash in the oven dish and drizzle with oil. I love using macadamia nut oil or coconut oil but regular olive oil will do if your in a bind. Next sprinkle some brown sugar, cinnamon, nutmeg and cloves. I’d use about a tablespoon of sugar and two shakes of each spice but do it to your preference. Next, move your butternut squash around in the pan to evenly distribute the spices and oil. Let it bake in the oven for 45 minutes till squash is nice and soft. When it cools, drizzle some room temp grade b maple syrup over it and enjoy!

I hope you had a WONDERFUL Thanksgiving and that you enjoyed lots of delicious food and quality time with your family! I know I certainly did! I filled up on some delicious veggies like dijon brussel sprouts, gluten free stuffing and butternut squash with kale and apple. I even contributed some skinny sweets like vegan chocolate covered ‘caramels’ made from dates and almond butter as well as my vegan pumpkin oat balls! I ate reasonably but somehow still feel kinda yucky post-Thanksgiving and wanted to get myself back in line. I wanted to provide you guys with five easy tips to help you do the same because I know the holidays are a diet danger zone for most of us and it’s pretty impractical to do a full on detox or juice cleanse when you have holiday parties up the wazoo and family gatherings at every turn. So instead, just take these five, relatively simple steps seriously and put them into action. I guarantee you will start feeling better and looking better after just a few days!

FIVE TIPS FOR SLIMMING DOWN FOR YOUR HOLIDAY PARTIES

1. HYDRATE. I can’t stress how important drinking enough water is, especially this time of year! Drinking water is always crucial to helping you feel good, digest well and keeping your hunger at bay but with all the sugary concoctions tempting you at every corner this holiday season you need your H2O to stay strong. Drinking around 8 glasses a day will help your body de-bloat and flush out toxins, so not only will you look better, you’ll feel better! Who doesn’t want that?

2. ADD VEGGIES. Instead of focusing on what you shouldn’t be eating, why not focus on what you SHOULD be eating at every meal, veggies!! Want to feel better, have more energy and slim down? Well, it’s time to fall in love with veggies! I love to challenge my clients with eating 3 vegetables a day to get them in the habit of incorporating them into their routine but if you really want to kick it up a notch, challenge yourself to make half your plate veggies at EVERY meal. You’ll start filling up on the good stuff and be less tempted to mindlessly eat those christmas cookies hanging around the office.

3. SIP SOME TEA. Tea is a wonderful, wonderful thing. In my opinion, it’s nature’s medicine, you name an ailment, there’s probably a tea for it! I love peppermint tea for settling my stomach, ginger tea for improving digestion and oolong tea for digesting fats. It’s cold outside and we all love a nice, steaming hot beverage to warm our hands and tummy with but start choosing teas this season instead of that eggnog latte. You will feel SO MUCH better and your waistline will thank you.

4. SKIP SWEETS, MOST OF THE TIME. Don’t hate me for this one. I don’t like excluding anything, that’s why I say “most of the time” but if you want to get down to business and see an improvement in a minimal amount of time, sometimes you got to be a little stricter than normal. Processed food in general will keep that nice insulated layer around your middle but sweets, I feel, are particularly tempting culprits during the holidays. There’s chocolate, cookies, gingerbread houses, cupcakes, etc, everywhere you turn, which is why I say CHOOSE WISELY. I love sweets, obviously, but I’m very careful to make sure I’m getting the best bang for my calorie buck. I think a good rule of thumb is to pick one day a week where you allow yourself to indulge in a special decadent treat. Save it for those amazing cupcakes your girl friend makes ( wink, wink) or your mother’s bread pudding, something special and delicious. Don’t waste it on some store bought cake or overdone cookies from someone at work. Be smart with your sweets!

5. GET MOVING. I will be the first one to tell you that losing weight is 70% diet and 30% exercise. So why does ‘get moving’ even make my top five you ask? It’s for your own sanity! The holidays can be an incredibly stressful time and it is SO important to release some of that stress and anxious energy in physical activity. Take care of yourself! Working out will help keep your stress levels down, burn some calories and keep you on track for your happiest, healthiest body. It’s so easy to forget about taking care of ourselves in the season that’s all about giving to others, let exercise be your me time! Just remember that you are the best version of yourself for your loved ones when you are taking care of YOU! So make yourself, job one and don’t skimp on your exercise and self care.

I hope you find these tips helpful! I promise if you really put them in to action they will absolutely help you get through the holiday season feeling great and looking slim. I do still have a couple coaching slots available, so if you’re serious about getting into gear and need a partner to help you achieve your happiest, healthiest body – take action! Reach out, email me at gosweetandskinny@gmail.com (or just reply to this email) and let’s schedule a 30 minutes skype breakthrough session to help us get to know each other and see what goals we can accomplish together.

Looking forward to hearing from you!

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A yummy nut milk can be a saving grace while juicing. I know that’s how I first fell in love with cashew milk! I made my first batch a couple years ago during a made at home juice fast to quell my late night stomach grumbles and fell quickly in love with this easy recipe and delicious ‘milk’!
Cashews are nature’s Prozac, they increase your feel good hormones and in my own opinion, make you feel all warm and fuzzy aside. So you can imagine what a delicious and soothing drink this can be. It’s also loaded with protein and is great post work out as a healthier substitute for a protein shake.

Cashew Milk
1 cup of cashews
2 cups water
Tsp of vanilla extract
Optional – agave, unsweetened cocoa powder or spices (cinnamon, nutmeg and cloves)

Soak your cashews in one cup of water overnight or for at least 4-6 hours. Drain nuts and add them to a blender with one cup of (new) water. Add vanilla extract and whatever other flavorings you desire. I love to use some unsweetened cocoa powder for a decadent but healthy treat – it’s almost like a chocolate milk shake! Although, I have been a huge fan of adding cinnamon, nutmeg and cloves during the holidays because it gives it more of an eggnog like flavor. Have fun, be creative and enjoy!