Dirt Cake Vi Shake Recipe

Twenty years ago I made a dirt cake for my friend's college graduation party. She NEVER forgot that dirt cake and still tells everyone about it. We are both on Visalus, aka Body by Vi. I will be visiting her soon, and instead of making her the uber fattening original Dirt Cake (cream cheese, powdered sugar, whipped cream, vanilla pudding, oreo cookies, etc..), I thought I'd create a shake for us instead.

Dirt Cake Vi Shake

8 oz unsweetened (or vanilla) almond milk
2 scoops Vi Shake mix
1 oz fat free cream cheese
1 tbsp sugar free fat free cheesecake pudding mix
2 tbsp oreo cookie pudding mix
ice to thickness desired
1 Oreo cookie (I prefer sugar free)

Crumb cookie in blender, Set crumbs aside.
In blender, mix all ingredients, EXCEPT the cookie crumbs, till well blended.

Pour into a cup and sprinkle crumbs on top.

Peanut Butter & Jelly Vi-Shake

I made these for my niece & I for breakfast this morning. I used PB2 powder instead of peanut butter & a little extra jelly. She said it was the best shake she's ever had, I hope you enjoy it too!

Visalus Oatmeal

I haven't tried this, but I love oatmeal so I have a feeling this is in my near future.....

Visalus Oatmeal This is oatmeal with all the nutrients, vitamin, Protein and everything else found in the VI Shake . 

8oz. of Milk, could be soymilk, 2% milk, or Silk milk
2 scoop of shake mix
1 tsp of vanilla

(Mix everything in your Blender) then add
1/2 cup of Quick 1 minute Oatmeal
Put it in the microwave for one minute, then stir, and add one more minute. Stir before serving.
Add 1tsp of cinnamon powder on the top.....

It is a great way to start your day in a healthy way! It is great for the HEART because It helps reduce cholesterol.

for more great Visalus recipes visit....

https://www.facebook.com/ViRecipePage

or my facebook page at

https://www.facebook.com/chelesvijourney

BIG NEWS!!!

All this hard work is paying off!!!! Not only am I down 77 lbs now (3 more until my next goal guys!), after 15 years, yes, 15 I am no longer diabetic!!!! WOO-HOO! Happy dance!

77 lbs, 23 more to go to main goal!!

The bummer is I still have to take the metformin meds, and, probably forever because I've always been hypoglycemic, aka pre-diabetic (or so I'm told). The metformin will help keep my sugar from getting too low, not just too high. 

On other news, in spite of quitting a jar a  week peanut butter habit, giving up croissants, & walking 2 miles a day, my cholesterol is up. Apparently this runs in my family. Luckily it's not bad enough to need meds, just monitoring. And, so maybe they didn't decrease the diabetes meds like I was hoping, but at least they didn't add any more on to my already giant list!

ViSalus Vi-Shape Competitor Comparison

I found this very interesting... I hope you will too...

xoxo chele :)

Vi Shape No Bake Energy Cookies

Andrea just sent me a picture of the no bake energy cookies she made with her Vi Shape Shake sample, she said they are delish! 
".I just made the no bake energy cookies...I used the recipe you posted & added a little.....Oatmeal, Crunchy Peanut Butter, Coconut, Honey, Ground Flax Seed, Vi-Shape Sweet Cream Powder, & Cranberries....So Delish!!!! Thank you!! :) xo"

No Bake Energy Bites

2 scoops Vi-Shape Nutritional Shake Mix by Visalus

1 cup oatmeal

1/2 cup peanut butter (or other nut butter)

1/3 cup honey

1 cup coconut flakes

1/2 cup ground flaxseed

1 tsp vanilla

I haven't made these myself yet, but I trust my friend Andrea's opinion. I've got a serious peanut butter addiction that gets out of control, and I mean a jar a week out of control! So, I don't tempt myself with even keeping it in the house! Otherwise, they would have been made by now, for sure! Hmmm, I could get 1/2 a cup of almond butter from Fresh Market, and make them, something to think about!!

Baby steps

Losing weight is a learning lesson. Most of the time it's 2 steps forward, one step back. Don't focus on your over all goal. Visalus teaches us to set a 90 day challenge overall goal. For me, my current goal is to get to a size 12 before October 10.
I take it further though. Baby steps. I don't look at the scale and think oh I want to lose 50 lbs. That is a MAJOR goal, and it will take a long time to get there, and when you set a goal that big, you keep seeing that big number and get discouraged because the scale isn't moving fast enough. Break it up! For example, set your goal in 10 lb increments and starting at the 9, not the 0. What I mean is instead of shooting for 160, shoot for 159, then you are down another decimal bracket. If you shoot for 160, great but you are still in the 160s. Shoot for 159 & wow, you are in the 150s!!!!
I said earlier that most of the time it's 2 steps forward & one step back. For me, it's a pure struggle. I will be down 2 lbs one day & the next day I can be back up 5-7 lbs, and for no particular reason! Then, I have to work my way slowly back down. Heck yeah, it's frustrating! But, I figure, hey if I got there I can do it again, right?
As far as working out, DON'T OVERDO IT. I think I told you already I have AS (ankylosing spondylitis). I have learned to take any exercise in minute increments. By this I mean baby steps too. I started walking my dog. Usually we go a few houses down & then back home. So, I started adding a house on, walking one house further. Before I knew it I could do half a block easily, with little pain. Next, I stretched it to a full block, and when I could manage that, I added another 1/2 block on. Every few days, as I got used to each distance I'd add a little more on until I could walk to the beach & back, 1.7 miles round trip!
Then, I got a little cocky. I went to Walmart Super Center & walked all around there, next to Fresh Market, finally, I came home and took my little dog on a 2.8 mile walk. Yeah, I over did it. And, I spent the next 3 days barely able to move, sick as if I had a terrible flu. 2 steps forward, one step back.
Now, I started walking again. A half mile round trip first time, 48 the next time. The latest was .75. I can honestly say my hips & lower back aren't too please with me, Tomorrow, depending on how bad the AS is I will walk either 1/2 a mile or .75, I'll take the baby step back if I have to. After all, I'm still moving!

Nutrition - Vi with almond milk vs Ensure

Like my friend who got me started drinking the Body by Vi (Visalus) shakes for nutrition, one of my new customers recently became worried about her mother's nutrition after her mom was advised by her doctor she needed more protein. My customer said she was sure her mom would like the Vi shake much better than Ensure. Of course my curiosity got the better of me and I had to compare the nutrition of both products:

	Visalus	Unsweetened Almond Milk	Vi + Almond Milk	Ensure
calories	90	60	150	250
total fat	1g	2.5g	3.5 g	6g
carbs	7 g	3 g	10 g	41 g
fiber	5 g	1 g	6 g	1g
sugars	<1 g	7 g	7 g	18g
protein	12 g	1 g	12 g	9 g
Vit A	30%	10%	40%	25%
Calcium	30%	45%	75%	30%
Vitamin D	30%	25%	55%	25%
Vitamin E	30%	50%	80%	30%
Vitamin K	30%			25%
Thiamin	30%			25%
Riboflavin	30%	25%	55%	25%
Niacin	30%			25%
Vitamin B6	30%			25%
Folate	30%			25%
Vitamin B12	30%	50%	80%	25%
Biotin	30%			25%
Phosphorus	30%			25%
Iodine	30%			25%
Magnesium	30%	4%	34%	25%
Zinc	30%	10%	40%	30%
Copper	30%	2%	32%	25%
Manganese	30%	4%	34%	25%
Chromium	30%			25%

Vi Magazine Debut & AWESOME Shakes

Last night was the biggest magazine debut party ever. Body by Vi (Visalus) will grace the cover of Success Magazine in August. I can't wait to get my copy!
I decided to "woman-up" and attend my local party, alone (social anxiety be damned!). A storm raged outside as the presentation got started, the restaurant's guests speaking loud to hear each other over the storm drown out the presentation for most of the Vi crowd, luckily I had chosen to sit close to the front. I heard some amazing success stories! People came from as far away as Los Angeles. Many people think Visalus is for weight loss, and yes, you can lose weight with Visalus, but that is not the only reason why people drink the shakes or use the Body by Vi system. For instance, the stunt man & his girlfriend from LA are extremely fit, they use the nutrition shakes to keep that way and to build muscle, same with Hulk Hogan, Lil' Romeo, and more.
I have made Chocolate Peanut Butter Shakes of course, in fact that is what got me addicted to the Visalus shakes to begin with.

Chocolate Peanut Butter Shake


8 oz. chocolate almond milk
2 scoops Vi Shape Shake mix
1 scoop PB2 powder (use your Vi shake mix scoop)
Ice to the thickness you like

But last night I was able to try a few flavors I hadn't yet. When your shake mix arrives you will find it comes with flavor packets. I had used the banana one before, but I prefer a whole banana & a tbsp of sugar free pudding mix. The woman sitting next to me last night told me her favorite flavor mix in is the peach. Peaches are probably one of the two fruits I'm not big on, so I haven't had that one.
The first shake I tried at the debut / challenge party last night was made with the chocolate flavor mix in. I have to tell you it tasted like cold hot cocoa. I loved it! One of my new favorite flavors! Also, the chocolate almond milk has some sugar in it, so if you use the unsweetened almond milk (what I usually use in all my non chocolate shakes), and a little splenda or other sweetener, you will have cocoa flavor too!

Chocolate "Cocoa" (with health flavor mix-in) Vi Shake


8 oz plain almond milk (if you use the unsweetened you may want to add sweetener to your taste)
2 scoops Vi Shape Shake mix
1 packet chocolate flavor mix in
Ice to the thickness you like

The second flavor I tested was pina colada, oh yeah! The pina colada was truly awesome. In fact, the next time I have the girls over for "girls night" I may have to make us a batch of Vi pina coladas (with rum tho!).

Vi Virgin Pina Colada

8 oz plain almond milk
2 tbsp sugar free, fat free vanilla pudding mix
2 scoops Vi Shape Shake mix
5 large chunks of frozen pineapple
coconut to taste
Ice to the thickness you like

I hope you enjoy these new recipes, I know I will!

Letting go of demons

I think we all have demons in our lives, things we've been through, things that have shaped us. One of my major hurdles in losing weight has been overcoming things I was told as a child, as a teenager. I remember being in high school size 5, all of 115 lbs and being told I was "fat & no boy would ever like me". Every time I started to lose weight over the next 27 or so years, I'd lose 20 lbs & then hear that voice inside my head telling me that and, being of the rebellious nature I had to prove that person wrong. So I would gain that 20 lbs and more back. As if I were saying "see, boys still like me, so ha!".
Finally, this negative, abusive person was removed from my life, and guess what? I started losing weight! Down 10 lbs, no voice, down 20 lbs, no voice, 30, 40, 50, 60, 70! Do you know what I feel now? EMPOWERED. Every time I get on the scale and I have lost another lb or two I feel like I have shed more and more of that person's abuse from my system.
Tell me, what is your hurdle? 

Raspberry Cheesecake!

Visalus recommends 2 shakes per day & a healthy dinner. I've never eaten like a normal person, which is what brought me to Vi to begin with. My "normal" habit, when I have one, is a coke zero & banana for breakfast/lunch, dinner, then a bowl of cereal for late night snack at midnight or 1 am.

Instead I have my Vi-Shape Shake for breakfast/lunch, dinner, and my second shake for late night snack. 

Tonight's concoction is a Raspberry Cheesecake Vi Shake. 

8 oz plain almond milk

2 scoops Vi Shake

1/2 cup raspberries, fresh or frozen (I bought mine fresh, divided them & then froze them)

1 tbsp of no fat, no sugar cheesecake pudding mix

Becoming a believer

One of my weight loss challenges is I tend to forget to eat. My college friend, knowing this about me, had been trying to get me to try these "nutrition shakes" for about a year. Of course I heard "nutrition shake" and thought "diet shake" and immediately said "NO, no way, nuh uh, not happening, no thank you, yuck". She even sent me samples & I ignored them.

Finally, I went to visit her for a weekend. During my trip she had a table set up at a green market. She was making shake samples. I looked at her and said "you're gonna make me try those, aren't you?" She said "yup". The shake flavor she made me was chocolate peanut butter. It was delicious (she really enjoys rubbing that in!". 

I started drinking the Vi-Shape Shake by Visalus the next week. I found I was not just getting nutrition, I started losing weight. 

Visalus is known as the shake mix that tastes like cake mix. Open the package and yes it really does smell like cake mix. But, the awesome thing is while the base of it has a sweet cream flavor you can make your shake whatever flavor you want. 

The basic recipe is 8 oz milk, 2 scoops of shake mix. You can put it in a shaker or a blender & drink it just like that and it's good. I prefer almond milk over cow's milk for my shakes, lower calories, more calcium. You can find almond milk right by the regular milk in the refrigerated section at the grocery store. Like I said though, what makes it awesome is you can make it whatever flavor you want. For example, my favorite morning shake is banana walnut Vi shake.

Chele's Morning Wake-up Banana Walnut Shake

8 oz plain, unsweetened almond milk

1 med banana

2 scoops Vi-Shape Shake mix

1 tbsp. no fat no sugar added banana cream pie pudding mix

Blend in blender. Add ice & pulse each cube until you reach your desired consistency. I like mine smoothie thick. My friend likes hers thinner, so littler ice for her. The last thing I do is add a few walnuts, then pulse the blender a few times because I like the walnuts left pretty chunky. 

I will be adding more recipes and giving you updates as I lose more weight about how I've done this with little exercise & how you can do it too. For right now, here is a link to the Visalus Shake Recipe Facebook page & the link to my Visalus page too. If you'd like more information email me at brokendamselfly@aol.com, visit my site, or leave me a comment here. 

http://chelekell.bodybyvi.com

https://www.facebook.com/pages/Visalus-Shake-Recipes/187100778005926

My friend, Negar, & I, she got me started on Visalus!