We All Need A Passion!

     Let's admit it, we all love saving money but we also love to have what we want. Almost everyone I know LOVES either Starbucks or Dunkin' Donuts. When we figure out where to meet and catch up/grab a coffee it's usually one of those places. People also use these places for the wifi, or to have not so fancy meetings with clients or partners, or a casual first date to break the ice. Now that it is the summer most of those people have converted to iced coffee, chillers, coolattas, and teas that these places offer(such as Tazo teas). I too love me an iced Passion Tea that Starbucks offers however my funds aren't what they use to be! I am a very social person and like to go out with friends, hang out, and have a good time but I have to make sure it's in the budget. So it got me thinking!!!

     If I can be so dedicated to do prep meals each week and not eat junk and workout every day then I sure as heck can make my own tea and save a little money. Here is what I found out after doing the math and realizing I wasn't missing out on anything... except money. Now I get to keep that money and spread the money saving tips to you!! You're welcome.

     One box of Tazo Passion Tea cost $4.39(plus tax) and one bottle of Vanilla Stevia cost $16.99(plus tax). Now I know you are thinking $16.99 for sweetener?!?!?!? Just hang with me and let me explain and show you how much money you are actually SAVING! Let me break both of those down for you. One box of Tazo Passion Tea comes with 20 tea bags so each tea bag is only .22 (mind is blown, isn't it). Now this is the tricky part when figuring out how many of what and the cost. One serving of Stevia is 5 drops. Each bottle is a total of 240 serving so that equals 1,200 drops. That is a lot of drops in one bottle, but that isn't relevant just interesting, so when you break it down it cost .07 per serving of Stevia (remember that is 5 drops). So in total you spend a GRAND TOTAL of .29!!!! CAN YOU BELIEVE IT?!?!? Too good to be true???? NO!!!!!

 

   Let's break it down a little more. You are thinking how on earth are you going to break it down more than you just did, all I can say is keep reading and watch the savings! So we already know that it's .29 for us to make our own tea so let's do the whole box. You will spend $5.80 to drink 20 of your own made from home tea! If you were to buy a Passion tea every time you went to Starbucks or at least 20 times you went to Starbucks you would spend anywhere from $29-$40. I just showed you how to spend $5.80 for 20 teas no matter the size! At Starbucks you have your choice of Tall @ $1.45, Grande @ $1.75, and Venti @ $2.00. Multiply each of those by 20 and you get $29-$40. That's also before taxes. So go ahead and add a little to those totals.

    Real quick lets go back to the shock of $16.99 for the bottle of Stevia. You get 240 servings per bottle so after one box of teas you still have 220 servings left to use on whatever you choose OR you can use the remaining 220 on twelve more boxes of teas! Choice is yours!

     But wait all this talk about making our own tea but we still want to go out with our friends!!! I totally feel you. I still do but still save my money. I make sure I keep a few tea bags in my purse or in my car and if I know I'm going out I'll drop the bottle of Stevia in my purse as well. It's small enough to put in there and not take up any space. I'm just going to Starbucks so it's not a big deal. You can order a water and it is usually free but some times they will charge .50 depending on the Starbucks but even still it only cost you .79! Better  than $1.45-$2. I hope this helped you because I know it has me! From time to time I will show you this mom's frugal ways to have what I want but not break the bank.

Traveling

  Traveling seems to always be a challenge for people trying to eat healthy. For me it's the easiest to eat healthy. I pack a cooler full and go. I have my fruit, hummus, guacamole, Greek yogurt, pita, organic all natural pb, oatmeal, and almonds counted out to 14 in a baggie. For drinks I have bottles of water and tea bags. I also have Stevia to add to my drinks and yogurt and oatmeal. I love Tazo passion tea (you can get it at Starbucks but they don't use Stevia to sweeten it they use regular sugar). When you get gas or have to go pee at a rest stop do a little exercising. Do some jumping jacks, burpees, tuck jumps, or what ever you want to get a little exercise in! So because I am on vacay I am keeping this short and sweet but I hope this helped you with your next trip!

Going Bananas!!!

    As a kid I HATED bananas. Thought they were the nastiest thing I had ever eaten and honestly that didn't change until I decided to train my palate to enjoy the foods that were good for me. Now I eat bananas every day. Either straight up peeled or in a recipe. They are so good for you and they are pretty cheap to buy which is always good!

Some of the benefits are:

    There are much more benefits than these 10 but these are 10 great reason to start adding bananas to your diet. I'll touch on a few personal reasons as why I now don't mind and actually crave them on occasion. 1) Helps over come depression- bananas have a high levels of trytophan which turns into serotonin which makes your brain happy! Who doesn't want their brain to be happy? After my divorce I was down for a bit and I'm not claiming that bananas brought me my happiness BUT I'm glad I was eating them to help with making my brain happy. 2) Helps protect against cramps during workouts and leg cramps at night. Being a personal trainer I work out all the time. I love working out and don't know what I would do with my time if I didn't.... what is it that people do that don't work out? I guess that's a topic for another post... 3) Improves PMS symptoms. Bananas help regulate blood sugar and produces stress relieving relaxation. Now I don't deal with serious PMS symptoms (other than wanting to eat EVERYTHING) but the stress relieving benefits I'll take all day! 4) High in potassium and low in salt. Great combo because just about all bodily functions depend on potassium to some extent. 5) High in fiber so that helps if you are dealing with any constipation. I don't have that issue however when I was pregnant it was a serious issue and I found relief through eating bananas. Thank goodness because being pregnant is already full of discomfort so you don't want to add constipation on top of that! Ask any pregnant women I'm 99% sure they will agree. 6) Bananas help in preventing anemia. I have a very big problem with this and have to take iron supplements to help with that so when I found out that bananas helped with that I was all for it! Pass a banana please! 7) Provides us with energy!!! Bananas have B6 in them so that will give you some energy....being a single mom and having two kids and two jobs I need all the energy I can get! (I also have coffee that helps with that, not sure where I would be without it! Matter of fact I have my iced coffee right beside me as I type.) 
    So those are some of the benefits and personal reasons why you should incorporate bananas (or nanas as my 3yr old use to call them) into your diet. If you are an absolute hater of bananas then try putting them in smoothies, or spread some all natural peanut butter on them, or dip them in some dark chocolate if you need to! No one is saying you have to eat them all day every day but you should try to eat them and don't give up on them, maybe one day you will bite one and be like hhhhmmmm I guess this isn't THAT bad. 

   One of my fave things to do with bananas is slice a banana and melt all natural peanut butter and drizzle on top then sprinkle some unsweetened coconut on top. YUUMY!!! Every now and then I will also drizzle some melted dark chocolate on top and some times I also add chia seeds. Just depends on my mood but that is a snack I have often! So try it out and hopefully that will help you get them down if you aren't the biggest banana lover.  

Believe In Your Dreams!

Nothing in life comes easy! That is so true on so many levels, however so many people give up right before things happen and never know how something could have affected them. They give up because it gets so hard that they don't see the end result anywhere close and just give up. Lately I have been in that "I just want to give up" mood and that is NOT acceptable. So I have lit my own fire under my own butt and decided I will not give up! I will continue to push forth no matter how hard or how long it takes because for all I know what I'm striving for could be right around the corner or even through the next door that opens up for me and I would never know because I didn't keep pushing!!! I have to keep believing in my dreams because I refuse to be ordinary. I hope you do the same if you are feeling that lost hope. I promise you things will get better and easier but until then stay strong!! You got this and no one can do it for you so push on my friend push on. This post is short and sweet and to the point and I am sorry for my long absence but I'm about to make some major changes that I have been working on behind the scenes for my blog! Hint: videos!!!!! So happy to be back and in full swing!


More to come,
     Stay Fabulous