Vegan Banana Milkshake <3

Looking for cool summer treaty? Try this recipe out, details are below!!

This is my all time favorite, guilt-free, yes....I said, guilt-free milkshake!!! It's a banana vegan milkshake! For those of you who aren't vegan, it is still a healthy option to a favorite summer treat! 

All you need is...

1 frozen organic banana

2 tbs of organic almond butter (with no sugar added), you can also play around with your butters and opt for peanut-butter, manna butter, or any spread of your choice!

1 cup of organic almond milk, hemp milk, or coconut milk (unsweetened), feel free to play around with your flavors!

1 tsp of nutmeg

1 tsp cinnamon

Directions:

freeze your banana overnight

let banana sit for a few minutes once you remove from freezer

slice  outside of  banana down the middle with a small knife and peel open

cut up banana and add to blender

add your choice of milk and other ingredients

blend, enjoy, and tell me your taste buds aren't happy after that!

No dairy, No added sugar, just natural goodness from old Mother Earth!! :)

Talk soon!

xoxo

 

New Year!

I have to say, in all honesty, as much as I speak so highly of self care, I have not always been applying it to my own personal life. It is something that I am still working on! Yet I have committed to 20 minutes per day to doing something that I love. I have been mostly using these 20 minutes for meditation, but it is always amazing! So since my last post, I have studied hard and passed my license independent clinical exam, I have been working out, volunteering, and putting a lot of my time into my family and being a positive support to them. 

For me? My birthday just passed this Sunday! Learning about meditation, wellness, etc, has also led me to learning more about numerology. Numerology states that we all live in 9 year cycles, with each year holding a different meaning. This Sunday, I entered my first year of my 9 year cycle! This means that I am starting anew, and that big changes are coming into my life. I feel these changes are positive and I welcome them! I have set my intent to follow my heart in every scenario that I am in so that I am always still and always present. 

For my "new year", I have decided to expand my horizon and try MORE new things! I have done a lot to step outside the box, but I have never been ordinary! Since I was a kid, I always wanted to do things with my life that was a bit different from what most of my friends were doing! For my birthday, I had a photo shoot, and I decided to be expressive and creative and man! We got some of the best photos I've had in awhile! This is but a small example! I know it may not be everyone's first year of their 9 year cycle, but I say, we all try something new together!

Now just for fun, I'll explain how you calculate your year! You add your month of your birthday, the day, and the year that we are currently in together! Check out mine below!

06/11/2017

add 6+1+1+2+0+1+7=18 and next... you take the "18" and break it up by adding 1+8=9!

The 9th year I was told equates a new start, a new year, starting your first year!

There you go!!! 

first year= new start, new beginning "plant the seed"

second year="seed is settling into the soil" it may not be visible but change and maturity is taking place

third year="seed breaks through the soil" It may feel difficult but you've done it before! Yet, this is the year that self-care really matters! It is so important to give yourself extra TLC <3 and take care of your mind, body, soul

fourth year="seed sprouts!' they say the fourth-eighth year is when you go for the gold because you are growing and the world knows it!

So fourth-eighth year, take risks and go for the gold!! 

xoxoxo let me know what you think!

Gratitude

It's May! Boy have we seen a lot of changes these last few months, and I hope that everyone is well. I wanted to discuss the act of gratitude today!

There is so much going on in the media, and I have noticed many people feeling overwhelmed or hopeless due to what they see read online and in the paper. It's important for us to know what's going on in the world, but be mindful at all times and remain neutral. We're human so it's only natural that we have emotional reactions to what we see and hear, but do your best not to internalize every bit of news that you may come across. If there is one thing that helps me to remain emotionally balanced with ease, that one thing is remaining thankful in every moment of my life.

Practicing gratitude allows you to see the good in everything. I have had lot of practice in my childhood of course, experiencing loss, trauma, and lack of stability, but I wasn't making a conscious choice as a kid to be thankful. I just appreciated the good in my life and I was a kid! All you do is use your imagination and enjoy yourself. Now as I grow in life, and expand my spiritual awareness, I make it a point in every moment of everyday to find something to be thankful for.

This makes you feel fulfilled, alive, and helps you to really enjoy your life. Not only that, but have you ever heard of "law of attraction"? The more you are thankful, the more you things you attract in your life to be thankful for! Remember, your inner most thoughts are still a conversation with the universe!

Blessings!

xoxox

Andromeda

Welcome Back <3

Hey everyone! 

My "Be Your Best Self" blog is back up and running. It took some time but I've got a new website and new look, and I am so happy with it :). I have managed to find a creative way of sharing my passion for leading a healthy lifestyle while working on my website by posting my "Wellness Wednesday" videos every Wednesday on my personal Facebook page, as well as my titleholder Facebook page, Miss Maryland United States 2016-Andromeda Peters. Thank you so much to everyone who has been viewing them and sharing them. Check them out if you haven't already because I'm going to keep them coming! It's been a great way for me to share parts of my life in it's connection to healthy living. Spreading more love is always my objective, and I'm happy knowing that my message is getting out there. 

Today I've been doing some reflecting. I'm competing for Miss United States 2016 in a week and I have received so much support on this journey. I'm overwhelmed with gratitude and excitement because of all the gifts that life has been giving me. I'm signed with a modeling agency now, and our non-profit is growing. This is a pretty happy time for me (does "happy dance") :). Yet, I attribute this to being positive, not trying to be positive, but being positive. I have so much appreciation for life and its experiences. Just a few moments each day of being thankful for the present moment can turn your whole day around and improve your mood, and that's always a plus right? :) 

Well, signing off and remember to "Be Your Best Self"

xoxo

Andromeda 

Meditation is my Medication <3

In creating my new blog, I lost a lot of material from my old site, but there was some information that I needed to find a way to hold onto, posts that were worth re-sharing. Below you find a blog post from this past summer on medication!

My friends have yet to try with me. In fact, many of them laugh at me. When I was a kid, I laughed at it too. But meditation is the best form of therapy for me! When I was 12 years old, my mom put me in marital arts. One thing that we did at the beginning and end of every class was meditate.  Our class was right above a water damn, so we would listen to the sound of the water and just relax every part of our body and mind. My first month of being in class, some of the other young girls and I would just giggle and think it was silly. But over time, we were able to connect to out body and mind. Three years later, I was leading the meditation classes! It literally changed my life forever!


My objective is to practice 30 minutes of meditation daily, but my reality is that I don't always get this time. Some days I can only get 10 minutes, and some says I can get 45 minutes! But I make this part of my daily routine in some way so that I can center myself.  There are so many benefits that you can get out of meditating, and here are a few!


Improves your immune system
Improves memory
Reduces stress
Gives you fabulous skin...probably because there's less frowning in your life when you are less stressed
Since stress is reduced, meditation increases fat loss due to the decrease of cortisol
Regulates blood sugar levels due to again...reduction of stress!  :)
Improves sleep

I love to be out in nature, barefoot just listening to the sounds of nature, birds, insects, rain, and the ocean is my favorite! The type of meditation I practice is the practice of mindfulness which originates from Eastern Culture and is said to have commenced as a Buddhist tradition.  Mindfulness consists of one being seated with a clear mind with a focus on one's breathing. This is a type of meditation I have been practicing since I was 12 in my karate classes! The objective of this meditation is to lead one to a state of self-awareness.  In the beginning, of course thoughts will pass through your mind. And when this happens, just observe! If you think about not thinking about anything, you will most definitely think about something! So be the observer, and gently bring your attention back to the present moment. Mindfulness over time and with practice, becomes much easier with letting go of thoughts and emotions that do not serve you well.  You can begin to emit this same relaxing form of energy in your every day life and  express compassion, gratitude, and awareness of the world around you. You will feel happy most of the time in your life, and sometimes for no reason at all! You will see the world and all of its beauty that has to offer. Even just 5 minutes will make you feel amazing! Then your time will increase that you can keep your mind clear and relaxed! My meditation has taken me far, and I practice everyday to expand this mindfulness and frequency of positivity in my life.  I hope that this can help others like it did for me!! Pleasant meditating! -xoxo
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