How-To

How to Make Boxed Pancake Mix Healthier With 2 Simple Additions

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Shhhh…

Don’t tell my kids (ESPECIALLY my youngest, pickiest) but I’ve been doing something sneaky with their pancakes in order to make them a lil’ healthier.

And the best part… I did it using only TWO additional ingredients!

I used to ONLY make homemade pancakes but here lately, I must’ve lost my touch because the last time I made ’em… yuck.

So nowadays, when we have our weekend family breakfast, I only do the store bought, prepackaged pancake mix with a slightly healthier twist. [Read more…] about How to Make Boxed Pancake Mix Healthier With 2 Simple Additions

Valentus Coffee Not Working? How To Get The Best Results (4 Easy Tips)

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Inside: If you’re disappointed that Valentus Slim Roast Coffee is NOT working for you as well as it seems to for others, don’t worry. These 4 tips can help you get the best results from your Brazilian Roast.

Ugh. It was so annoying, it was intriguing.

“Try my tasty, healthy weight loss coffee!”

That’s ALL I kept seeing my friend post on Facebook and after a while, I couldn’t take it anymore. So I did the only thing a person could do.

I asked for a sample.

She obliged and sent me two sticks of Italian Roast – the only flavor available at that time.

I couldn’t WAIT to try it! Drink yummy coffee AND trim some of the fat off of my waist? YES, please!

The verdict?

I. HATED. it.

The original Italian roast had this… “nutty” flavor that, to me, tasted like what you’d expect sweaty socks to taste like. No matter how badly I wanted to love or even like this coffee, I just couldn’t get with it. 🙁

Oh well, back to Maxwell House I guess. *shrug*
(NOT!)

At first the coffee worked and then…

She followed up with me and I whined my plight to her. She suggested mixing it with something, so I mixed it with my regular coffee and that was MUCH better.

I placed an order, drank the coffee daily, and the results were in…

Nutty foot taste aside, that shit WORKED! 

My body fat percentage started dropping and then… Valentus went and did it.

They created the Brazilian Roast flavor and huneey, it was deeee-LISH!

Enter the monkey wrench.

While I loved the flavor of Brazilian Slim Roast, my results were NOT the same. I stopped losing weight and burning fat like I was before, which really bummed me out.

“Awww man. I gotta go back to the foot-flavored stuff to keep getting results?!“

Nah… I was just using it wrong.
(More on that in a minute.)

Thirsty for inspiration, I joined a Facebook group dedicated to sharing success stories and, ironically enough, quite a few of the group members weren’t having success.

After observing the experiences of the ones who did, coupled with my own experiences; I learned a few things.

4 Tips For The Best Results With Valentus Slim Roast Coffee

As I mentioned previously, I LOVED the taste of Brazilian roast, but the results were waning… at first. It didn’t take long before I figured out what the problem was and once I corrected it, the results came back with a vengeance!

My Valentus Slim Roast Results
Woo! Look at the difference in that waist line!

1. When To Drink SlimRoast

The corporate instructions (for the Brazilian roast) suggest to drink the coffee 30-60 minutes before a meal.  Those instructions, however, do NOT specify whether that meal should be breakfast, lunch or dinner.

But most people choose to prepare and drink it first thing in the morning.

Now, I’ve heard one person (who was very successful with getting results with this coffee) recommend waiting 60 min. before eating so that the appetite suppressing ingredients can REALLY kick in.

This is the lovely lady who suggested drinking the coffee 60 minutes before a meal. Check out her phenomenal results!

Personally, I DO find it to be true that if I wait a little longer than 30 minutes, I am not as prone to eat a whole lot during my meal.  But if you already have a small appetite, then 30 min. before a meal should suffice.

QUICK TIP: 

Consider the time(s) of day you need craving & appetite control the MOST and have the coffee around that time. If drinking it in the evening, I recommend no more than 3-4 hours before your bedtime, as it might boost your energy and keep you up!

2. How To Prepare Valentus Slim Roast Coffee

Depending on how strong or weak you like your coffee, use anywhere from 4 to 8 oz of hot water.
(Heat water to almost boiling, but NOT full boiling, as to not kill the nutrients and beneficial ingredients.)

The original formula (Italian) said you could use 10-14 oz. of water, however; when I used that same measurement with the Brazilian formula, I found that using 10-14 oz. of water made the coffee taste too weak (almost to the point of tasting more like tea than coffee) and did not produce the results I was accustomed to getting when I first used the original.

But once I realized that the packaging of the Brazilian version said to use 4-8 oz. of water, I used about 6 oz. and noticed that when you use less water, you get a better tasting coffee and (in my opinion) better results since it’s not so diluted.


My personal suggestion to better dissolve the coffee is to put the hot water into your cup FIRST, then add and stir in the coffee.  Stir well.  There still may be a small amount of undissolved settlement left at the bottom when you’re done, that is common and nothing to be alarmed about.

Now, if you prefer a cold coffee, feel free to use cold water although, the coffee may not dissolve well in cold water.

What you CAN do is stir it into a little bit (an ounce or so) of hot water, THEN add cold water.

Or… you could prepare the coffee using half the amount of hot water you normally would to make it more ‘concentrated’, then add ice and stir – kind of like how iced coffee is typically prepared.

3. What To Add Into SlimRoast

Add creamer and sweetener of choice BUT, you’ll get better results if you use something other than white, refined sugar such as: stevia, xylitol, raw honey, evaporated cane juice, etc and even those in moderation.


In terms of creamer; if you prefer dairy, I recommend using heavy whipping cream, or half and half.

For flavored creamer, I suggest using Coffee Mate Natural Bliss, as they have fewer ingredients and are a little more “natural” as compared to the regular Coffee Mate creamers AND (according to their website) they also offer almond or coconut milk creamers if you don’t do dairy.

Check your local store for availability, although you can still use regular almond, cashew, coconut, etc. ‘milks’ if you don’t want to use dairy products.

Valentus Slim Roast Sticks

4. How Much Valentus Slim Roast To Drink

The instructions on the packaging do not specify how many times a day to drink SlimRoast (Brazilian Roast), however; the corporate website says: “For maximum weight management results, drink one SlimRoast 2 times per day.“

But many people drink just one per day and still have great success!

Find what works best for you. If one packet per day isn’t producing the desired results, try 2 packets.

Some even choose to add half a packet of SlimROAST to half a serving of their regular coffee and do two cups of that each day.  Again, find the variation that works best for you.

BONUS TIP: How To Best Measure Your Slim Roast Results

The last thing in the world you need is some device constantly insisting you’re not getting results when, in fact, you are! I’m talking about none other than… the scale.

That thing has made so many people cry, cuss, and toss it clear across the room with it’s lies and deceit. I mean, it does tell “a” story, but it doesn’t tell the FULL story.

It doesn’t tell you if the number reflects fat, water retention ’cause it’s “that time” of the month and it certainly doesn’t tell you that you need to do a colon cleanse because you’re literally full of… you know.

So, I always advise my weight loss customers & clients to do a starting weigh-in and then ditch that scale.

Instead, opt for:

  • how your clothing fits
  • measuring with a tape measurer
  • gauging your fat percentage with either a scale that has that feature or with calipers
  • taking before, during, and after pics to monitor progress

Because truth be told, oftentimes you may think you’re not getting results from Valentus Slim Roast Coffee but you just have tunnel vision and only see what the scale tells you.

But if you utilize other means of measuring your success, you just may find that you’ve gotten further ahead than you thought!

How To Make Iaso Tea Taste Better

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Inside: If you’re looking for ways to make Iaso Tea taste better, here are some tips and ideas to give your detox tea a little more “oomph”.

A while back, I wrote a review on Iaso Tea… perhaps you’ve seen it.

One thing I noticed was that a LOT of people find that particular article when they Google, “how to make Iaso Tea taste better“.

And because I have made & drank the tea on multiple occasions… I wanted to weigh in on this whole “taste better” thing.

[Read more…] about How To Make Iaso Tea Taste Better

Why Did I Stop Losing Weight? How To Get Over A Weight Loss Plateau

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Why Did I Stop Losing Weight - How To Get Over A Weight Loss Plateau

Let me guess…

You’re on a certain eating plan (whether temporarily or permanently) and up until this point, you were WINNING because you were losing… weight, that is.

The pounds were dropping off like leaves from a tree in autumn.

Then all of a sudden…

*SCUUUURRRREEEEEEEECH*

[Read more…] about Why Did I Stop Losing Weight? How To Get Over A Weight Loss Plateau

How to Eat Healthier When You’re Picky

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Trying to eat healthy can be a challenge when you’re a picky eater, but it doesn’t have to be.

In the mid 2000’s, my diet consisted of mostly of uncooked plant-based foods. And while I grew to like things I didn’t before, my food choices were very limited because I was finicky.

Some of the things I hated (and still hate to this day) were mushrooms, cilantro, Thai coconut and squash. And my pickiness made for a very difficult raw vegan lifestyle because those same foods were key players in many of the raw food recipes.

When I began eating a cooked food and animal products again, I still wanted to keep things healthy, for the most part.

I’m guessing that you’re in a similar boat, right?

Prefer to watch/listen to the video? Click “Play” on the video below.
Video NOT as detailed as the article!

So, how do you eat healthy when you’re picky?

For starters, define what “picky” is to YOU.

I was doing some research and found that people search for, “recipes for picky eaters“, and I’m like…

“HOW could anyone write a recipe book for picky eaters?”

I mean, if you’re picky, who would know what the heck you like and dislike in order to create recipes for you? lol

It just didn’t really make sense to me.

Anyway, the first thing you’ll want to do is…

1. Identify What Foods You Like

Make a list.

And from that list, pick out the healthy items and write those into a separate category.

Really think about this now.  Don’t limit your healthy choices to just fruits and veggies.

Think about other foods such as:

chicken, fish, turkey
beans & legumes
eggs
yogurt
oatmeal
nuts or nut butters

Stuff like that.

Once you have your complete list of healthy foods you like, decide if they are truly healthy.

What I mean is… if you eat oatmeal, for example; do you buy plain old fashioned oats, or the instant kind in the box of little packets in various flavors?

If it’s the latter, then try finding ways to make it healthier such as buying the old fashioned kind and putting your own sweetener – preferably something like raw honey, real maple syrup, or even unrefined evaporated cane juice [sugar] as opposed to white sugar – and other healthy add-ins like apples, cinnamon, real butter, etc.

So, look over your healthy items and decide if you can make ’em a little bit healthier.

2. Identify What Healthy Foods You Dislike

Now I want you to look over the foods you don’t like and think about WHY you don’t like them.

The reason for doing this is to see if there is something that can be done differently that would cause you to like them.

For example: I used to hate broccoli.

I tried it boiled, I tried it raw, and neither appealed to me.

Boiled was too mushy, and raw was too tough and hard to digest; and I just didn’t like the flavor of it, even with ranch dressing.

However, later down the road I tried it again; this time sautéed in butter with sea salt, garlic, a little soy sauce, and ginger.  Also, it wasn’t cooked as long so it wasn’t too soft and still had a nice “bite” to it.

I LOVED it!

I also tried it roasted on a baking sheet in the oven, with similar seasonings, and I LOVED that as well.

Sometimes it’s just a matter of first impressions, based on how it was prepared; so try the foods again, prepared differently.

Another thing you can do, if doable, is to try something you don’t like IN something you do like.

For example: I find that bell peppers in an omelet, on a pizza, or in chili are much more appealing to me than eating them alone, as a side dish, or stuffed.

You may find yourself the feeling the same with one or more of the foods YOU don’t like if you try it mixed in with something you like.

3. Don’t be scared… Try something new!

I know, I know. It can be scary venturing out and trying new foods, ESPECIALLY if you have preconceived notions about them.

One year, we had our annual family camping trip and my brother-in-law and his girlfriend roasted oysters over the fire pit.

Needless to say, I was reluctant as hell to try them (slimy, gross, disgusting OYSTERS?? *bleh*)

But I DID try one and guess what?

It wasn’t slimy!  At least, not the way she prepared them. They were actually pretty good.

Now, I haven’t added them to my not-so-vast list of foods I regularly eat (and probably won’t) but I can say I’ve tried them and “sorta, kinda” liked them.

So, be willing to at least give (healthy) foods you “think” you don’t like a try… you just never know!

As a picky eater, be sure to cover your butt

One of the main issues I ran into when my family and I were raw fooders was, because we were super-picky eaters, we suffered nutritional deficiencies that COULD have been avoided, had we known better.

“Oh you don’t need supplementation, you can get it from the fresh, raw foods you’re eating.“, they said.

HA! Yeah right.

When you’re eating a very LIMITED variety of fruits, veggies, etc, you simply cannot rely on food alone. Some argue you shouldn’t rely on food alone anyway due to soil being depleted.

But all-in-all, just know that if you’re super picky, you definitely need a good multi-vitamin supplement to fill in any gaps, due to your limited choices of healthy foods, especially if you’re not eating enough vegetables!

Here is the one I use: My personal pick for daily dietary supplement

I hope these tips on how to eat healthier when you’re picky have been helpful to you.  If so, please share this article with others who can also benefit from the information.

More Health-Related Resources For Picky Eaters:

How To Eat Vegetables When You Hate Them

How To Drink More Water Even If You Hate It

The Picky People’s Guide to Taking Liquid Vitamins