Category Archives: Weight Loss

Dukan – Consolidation – Day 20/500

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Thursday was Consolidation Day 20 of 500 🙂

Daily Weight: 149 (please don’t yell at me, Mom!)
Goal Weight: 155

Early start for me because I’m going to Dongguan to one of our hospitals there to do a comprehensive health and safety audit and to give 2 lectures on International Patient Safety goals. I love visiting the hospitals in our group (my company owns 20 maternity hospitals in Southern China) and I always feel warmly received… This was at the main entrance when I arrived…

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A big shout out and thanks to my Guangzhou PA Rose, who sent out this picture to the branding department at Dongguan so a more up-to-date me is on the posters 🙂

These hospitals have amazing branding and marketing departments and the are FINALLY using new pictures on the posters. Here’s a poster from April 2011. The pic is one that they were still using a month ago!!

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That’s my Vivien in the picture above. She’s the Director of the Hangzhou International Medical Care Center… My home base hospital. Pic was taken April 2011. I’ve changed a lot, Vivi still looks awesome!

So, after getting a nice tour of all 7 floors of the hospital and enough tray brewed Chinese tea to have a good buzz going, I was off on my own to do the audit. These are some of the challenges that I came across. What I love about finding these things is that they are wonderful for educational purposes and a way for me to be a change agent. Having the support of the administration of the hospitals is key.

Can you guess what’s behind this picture frame?

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You’re correct if you guessed fire fighting equipment!

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Sure looks pretty, unless there is an emergency! At least they don’t have any hiding behind couches like this one…

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One thing I really loved was that these posters were everywhere in the hospital…

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And they take it seriously with a zero tolerance policy. This is the first Chinese hospital I’ve been in that I could not smell cigarettes! All of our hospitals have a no smoking policy, but the nurses are too polite to say anything. This hospital has empowered the nurses to say no! So exciting!

A big issue I have with H&S here is Sharps containers. I either find yellow bags in cardboard boxes or like this…

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They put yellow bags inside the Sharps container and when it’s full, they take it out and put it with the medical waste. I can’t imagine the needle stick injuries that occur 😦 There is a very high Hepatitis B rate here and I shutter to think how high it must be in the healthcare practitioner field. I am currently trying to get our company to convert to snap on top Sharps containers. They are very good at complying with my suggestions!

This is another really cool thing I found today. One of the elevator doors…

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After the inspection I did 2 health and safety presentations. The first was on patient identification and the other on the “time out” procedure. And then, as a bonus I showed them my Water Birth in Pictures presentation which is my daughter Tiffany’s 4th birth. A huge hit. Lots of questions, everyone loves that presentation 🙂 Heck I love it. I’ve presented it probably 20 times and I still beam with pride at Tiff’s beauty in labor and the moment she and Joey bring the baby up out of the womb.

This is right before I left to go back to Guangzhou. Me and the Admin from Maria Maternity…

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Crazy drive back to GZ and I hurriedly changed clothes and ran to the subway because I had a 7 pm appt with Joey, the torturer, errr my personal trainer. It hurts my triceps to type this post! Lol. We focused on arms and abs for an hour. I then went out to run. It was 84 degrees and 96% humidity… I didn’t get too far…

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Note that the stadium I’m running around is to the southeast of where the GPS has me running in circles, lol? Anyway, I pooped out. I couldn’t get any kind of rhythm going, so I jog/walked/limped to the subway and went back to my room.

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Food:
Breakfast: Low fat Greek yogurt with flaxseed and Splenda
Lunch: broiled fish, garlic stems, broccoli raub with big chunks of ginger
Dinner: 2 chicken sausages, low fat cottage cheese
Snack after workout: 20 almonds and 2 oz low fat sharp cheddar

Ciao!

Dukan – Consolidation Day???

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I’ve lost count of the days since I’m in Hong Kong, but all’s well in the Consolidation Phase.

Daily Weight: 152 lb/69 kg
Goal weight: 155 lb/70.5 kg

Monday:
Early morning train into Hong Kong for shopping and rest 😀

Shopped until I dropped! I bought a pair of Nike running compression pants in Tight Fit. They feel SO much better than the freaking garment I’ve been wearing.

I had a 1 hour foot massage at Joy Foot Club…

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And a 25 minute head, neck and shoulder massage. I then went and did more shopping 🙂 I also went for a 3 mile walk.

I finished my Monday with a Skype chat with Kira, Dan, Søren and Helena which made me very happy! 🙂 I love Skype! A few days ago I got to chat with both daughters, sons-in-law and all 6 GRANDKIDS!

Breakfast: Almonds and Edam cheese
Lunch: Street pork… Mmmmmmmm
Dinner: Rocket salad with artichokes
Snack: FF Greek yogurt

It’s Tuesday afternoon now. This is what I’m doing this very minute…

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Typing 2 blogs while getting a pedi… Cheeky, I know 😀 I just finished a one hour full body massage… A light massage, cuz I’m still tender in spots!

This morning I got up at 545 am and went out and did this…

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Those are from the entire trek… This is the run portion…

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Great morning, followed by some shopping and now pampering… After my toes are dried I’m walking to the subway and getting back to mainland China… 6 days and I fly HOME!!!

Ciao!

Dukan – Consolidation Days 11&12

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Tuesday was a gym day and Wednesday was an off night.

Daily weight: 153.38 lb/69.72 kg
Goal weight: 155 lb/70.5 kg

Tuesday was filled with rewriting PowerPoint presentations and then out the door at 5! I got to the gym and did 15 minutes on the treadmill and the a one hour BodyBalance class… It kicked butt! It is by the same people that do BodyPump, but it incorporates yoga, Pilates and tai chi into one pretty intense hour. I’ve decided after the class that I cannot wear my pressure garments during workouts. They prevent me from using my abs and I need to use them. I’m on the lookout for compression garments that don’t have hooks and aren’t s hardcore to wear while working out.

After the class I took the subway back to my side of Guangzhou and walked 1.2 miles to the Arabic restaurant where I had mixed grill and hummus with cucumbers to dip in it.

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Then a 1.7 mile walk back to the hospital.

Wednesday was a great day, as evidenced by the water birth post 🙂 After the birth Jenny and I took the subway downtown so I could have western food. And I had my first CELEBRATION meal… Not that I did much different, but I had a burger, no bun, with bacon, cheese and mushrooms and a side salad. For dessert I had a créme brûlée and cafe latte. Nice dinner… I had the jitters from the dessert… Lol. Not sure I’ll do that again any time soon. I then hopped the subway back to the hospital.

Today (Thursday) is 2 weeks since my surgery… I can’t believe how fast it has gone by! I am still bruised, but feeling better. I have weird nerve ending kind of stuff going on and the back of my legs still smart, but they are healing. Rose, my assistant took this pic this morning. Oddly, I have bruises on the bottom nowhere near where the lipo was and they hurt!

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Another odd thing I notice when looking at this picture is that my hip width is smaller than my shoulder width. I’ll do measurements when I’m back in Hangzhou June 3rd. And for those of you who don’t know… Shane, Sofia, Sydnie, Sadie and JR are my grandkid’s names. Celeste has a special place on my ankle 🙂

Dukan – Consolidation Day 10

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Monday was a RETURN TO WORKING OUT DAY!!! WOO HOO!!!

Today’s Weight: 152.72 lb/69.42 kg
Goal weight: 155 lb/70.5 kg

So, while it’s kinda cool to see my weight in the 60’s kg range, it’s not where I want to be. My goal is 155 and because of a number of reasons (age, body type, lack of ovaries since I was 21) I need to keep some body fat. God knows I don’t want hot flashes!

I’m eating, lots of food. I’ve added on some fruit and cheese and nuts. I think it may be the swelling and edema are going down and the inflammatory response to the liposuction. For those that are curious, the fat they sucked out of me weighed 3.96 pounds or 1.8 kg, so it isn’t that 🙂

Breakfast: 3 scrambled eggs, cooked in 1 tsp coconut oil with onions and ginger and 1 ounce Edam cheese (thanks Kira, for getting me hooked on its yummy goodness!)
Snack: Half a pear
Lunch: A salad with romaine, red cabbage, 1 ounce Edam cheese and half a chicken (deboned)
Snack: Half a pear
Dinner: Salmon Shashimi with wasabi and soy sauce
Snack at gym: 18 raw almonds
Water: 3.5 liters, 2 cups coffee

Exercise: 35:36 on the treadmill WALKING (can’t run until Thursday). I walked 3.30 km and burned 148 calories. I took a 30 minute break and then I did a 90 minute yoga class… Awesome! Took the subway back to the hospital and didn’t get back until 1015 pm. I felt great after working out!

Breakfast:

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Lunch:

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I LOVE red cabbage… I could eat it like an apple. I love cutting it up and drizzling with olive oil and a pinch of salt… Yummy!!

Ciao!

Dukan – Consolidation Day 9

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Sunday was a shopping day 🙂

Today’s weight: 154.5 lbs/70.22 kg
Goal weight: 155 lbs/70.5 kg

Holding steady! I had a short presentation to staff in the morning and then did some Internet research and blog catching up then read “the book”.

Breakfast: Scrambled eggs with onion and chives
Lunch: tin of tuna and romaine lettuce salad with I’ve oil and herbs and 1 ounce Edam cheese

At 1 I went up to say goodbye to the patient who delivered with me the other night and got to kiss and cuddle the baby and take pics.

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At 2 I left the hospital to go meet Jenny for shopping. We probably walked more than 5 miles over the course of the afternoon and evening.

I bought a gorgeous and overpriced dress that is silk and yummy!

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We then had dinner at a sushi house and a long walk to the gym, where I signed up for a mont, even though I’m here in Guanzhou 2 more weeks, believe me I’m going to get my money’s worth 😀

Then subway back to the hospital and fell asleep reading “the book”!

Ciao!

Dukan – Consolidation Day 9

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Sunday was a shopping day 🙂

Today’s weight: 154.5 lbs/70.22 kg
Goal weight: 155 lbs/70.5 kg

Holding steady! I had a short presentation to staff in the morning and then did some Internet research and blog catching up then read “the book”.

Breakfast: Scrambled eggs with onion and chives
Lunch: tin of tuna and romaine lettuce salad with I’ve oil and herbs and 1 ounce Edam cheese

At 1 I went up to say goodbye to the patient who delivered with me the other night and got to kiss and cuddle the baby and take pics.

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At 2 I left the hospital to go meet Jenny for shopping. We probably walked more than 5 miles over the course of the afternoon and evening.

I bought a gorgeous and overpriced dress that is silk and yummy!

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We then had dinner at a sushi house and a long walk to the gym, where I signed up for a mont, even though I’m here in Guanzhou 2 more weeks, believe me I’m going to get my money’s worth 😀

Then subway back to the hospital and fell asleep reading “the book”!

Ciao!

Dukan Consolidation – Day 8

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So, this is my first official Consolidation Phase post. I’m so used to starting with:
“Today was a PP or PV Day” That I’m going to have to come up with something else!

I decided to make my Consolidation Phase start date May 12. I fasted for surgery on May 10 and was clear fluids only May 11. I had my first piece of fruit on May 12… Mmmmmm 🙂

So Saturday was Consolidation Day 8 out of 500! That might seem daunting to some of you, but Dr. Dukan explains in his book why it is so important to do 5 days for every pound you’ve lost, thus for me it’s 500 days. He says to rest your laurels now is very dangerous, and he’s been right about everything else, so I’m believing him! I like this quote, “Get rid of the illusion that you’ve at last finally taken care of your weight problem and can go back to your old ways. That would be catastrophic”. This phase is to “reset” your body’s internal weight level. My body needs to learn that this is my true weight, not 250+ pounds. I’m in this for the long run!

So here’s the stats:
Today’s weight: 154.7 lbs/70.3 kg
Goal weight: 155 lbs/70.45 kg

I’m still a bit bruised and still sore, but getting better. I’m also still quite swollen in a few places. Didn’t take any Tylenol on Saturday. I am taking a calcium supplement as I’ve been getting a funky cramp in my left foot. I had a lovely foot massage to help with that on Saturday night, as well.

Breakfast: Scrambled eggs with onion and chives cooked in 1/2 tsp coconut oil
Lunch: tin of tuna, two tea eggs and a small container of low fat cottage cheese
Snack: 1 ounce of Edam cheese… I missed cheese!
Dinner: Stir fry steak with onions, green peppers and curry spices, green salad
Snack: FF yogurt with flax seed meal and Splenda

On Friday night me and the Guangzhou girls went to dinner at the Arabic restaurant that I love! We spent 3 hours eating, chatting and laughing. I kept it Dukan friendly (not hard with mixed BBQ) and we talked about weight. As it turns out Jenny only weighs 43 kgs and I LOST 45.9 kgs! So we took this pic to compare…

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This shot really put things into perspective for me… I lost a WHOLE adult person!

On an exercise note, I walked home from dinner Friday night 1.5 miles. So, so hard not to run. So, so weird to say that, lol! I miss running and I’m living vicariously these two weeks through my running blogger friends! I’ve also decided that in the fall, I’m going to start training to do a triathlon next spring! I’m also looking at 10Ks to run in the late fall.
I’m also back to taking the stairs (I’m staying on the 8th floor of the hospital). Going up, no problem, going down hurts in my upper midline abs area. Not sure why, but sucking it up, supporting with my hand and doing it nonetheless! And I get to start back at yoga tomorrow (Monday!!!).

How is everyone else’s weekend going? Later today I’m going shopping for shoes and a new pair of jeans… I deserve them 😀

Ciao!

Dukan Diet 101

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Going on a diet and following it to the letter is kind of like going to college. If you’re going to do it right and get a degree and be successful in your ‘career’ you have to study it, learn it, live it and breathe it. That is how college was for me and that has been how following the Dukan Diet has been for me. I bought the book at the urging of my friend Lucy. I threw it in my carry on to read while on vacation in the States last August and didn’t pull it out until I was on the plane going back to Abu Dhabi having been at my class reunion and being horrified at how fat I was in the pictures. Did everyone love me just the same? Of course they did, but OH MY GOD I was fat.

At the very start of the trip I met with my a school colleague, John Geraghty, for some life coaching. My weight was just one of the issues I wanted to discuss and it wasn’t even a major one. I wanted to talk about my career, moving forward, opening myself up for relationships and my weight. I admitted to John at the session that I weighted 255 pounds. The words coming out of my mouth astounded me. How did I get there? John gave me many tools for making changes that needed to be made in order to move forward. In fact, I changed jobs (and countries) the following month and I read Dr. Dukan’s book, word for word on that plane on the way home.

I’ve read all the books… Seriously… ALL OF THEM… This one MADE SENSE. Dr. Dukan’s philosophy on low carb and low fat and learning how to eat well and stay healthy made sense. And so, I embarked on his program August 20, 2012… Dukan Diet 101….

THAT 101 STANDS FOR A LOSS of 101 POUNDS!!! That’s 45.9 KILOGRAMS and 7 STONES 3 POUNDS. A LOT 🙂 A side note… They sucked out 3.96 pounds of fat last Thursday.

I’ve exceeded my goal by one pound. Now, I know, I promised not to weigh for 10 days post op, but I just couldn’t do it. My scale is my friend. It’s literally been there through thick and thin… Literally 😀 I’m not sure what my true weight is, because I still have quite a bit of swelling and edema.

So, what does this mean? IM IN PHASE 3!!! CONSOLIDATION!!!! WOO HOO!!!! I’m actually Day 8 consolidation, as I added cheese and some fruit in my diet last Friday. I felt like I needed the extra good fat in the cheese and the little bit if fructose (I’ve only had 2 apples and 1 pear) for energy while healing. That’s Day 8 of 500 days. Dr. Dukan recommends that you do the consolidation phase 5 days for every pound you lose. In the Consolidation phase you can add back in 2 slices of bread per day… I will NOT be doing that. After reading Wheat Belly by Dr. William Davis and just knowing how amazing my body feels without it, I plan on being wheat free for life. Since going wheat free due to the Dukan diet in August I have not had a migraine, vertigo, reflux (heartburn), allergies, joint pain or IBS. NONE. I will pretty much follow a Paleo type meal plan throughout my Dukan Phase 3. I have done extensive reading on all of it… Seriously, like going to college for nutrition, and I have figured out what is best for me.

I’m back to nightly walks, I will do yoga (gentle yoga) starting Monday (okayed by doctor) and can start running again next Thursday, thank God since my first 5K is only 3 weeks and 1 day away!

So that’s the update 😀 I cannot thank all of you enough for the support, love, cheering and good wishes. To my family and friends… You are the BEST… To my new blogging friends… I am so glad we’re on this journey together… You inspire me… All of you!

Ciao!

Parting shots:
Me in April 2011
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Jan-April 2011
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May-August 2011

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Sept-Dec 2011

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Today 154 pounds 🙂

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One Week Post-Op

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Warning… Photos ahead.

I’m one week out from my liposuction and I still feel pretty beat up. I am still pretty bruised up. I’m taking Tylenol twice a day and Traumeel by mouth three times a day. I’m also putting the arnica cream on in the morning after my shower.

I had my 11 sutures removed this morning by a doctor wearing a skirt that was very short! She’s cute as a button, I’ll have to try to get a pic of her. She can’t be more than 23!

I’m going to share bruising pictures today. I could find very little info about this and I think people should be prepared. I had NO idea how much pain and how much bruising I would have.

Also, I have a lot of numbness everywhere that was liposuctioned and the skin/muscle whatever feels very tight and sensitive over the flank area on my back. I also have the sensation that something is poking me in that area, even when nothing is touching it and that is the area that I have the most pain in when lying down.

DAY TWO:

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DAY THREE:

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DAY SIX:

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DAY SEVEN:

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My thighs are still pretty tender and swollen… See, Momma, I haven’t withered away to nothing… Still got some meat on my bones 😀 my thigh looks huge in this picture, lol and no, I’m not suffering body dysmorphic issues. I’m very pleased thus far with the results.

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And finally this morning, DAY EIGHT:

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I keep getting new bruises in different places. I have one right between my breasts and one that developed the last couple days on my left breast… Odd, but I’m presuming normal.

I’ve bought my own groceries and the chef here at the hospital is cooking for me. Brekkies just delivered:

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Scrambled eggs with onion and Edam cheese and chives. Scrambled in a tsp of coconut oil.

Big news in the next post. Time to eat and get to work so you’ll have to wait 😉

Ciao!

Dukan – Tea Eggs with a twist

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I traveled by train this morning from Hong Kong back into mainland China to Guangzhou. I’ll be here for 2.5 weeks doing water birth training (we have 2 ladies waiting to go into labor) and helping to open their International Medical Care Center. I’ll also be doing staff development training in international standards of care. Should be a fun couple of weeks!

I’m still recovering from my lipo 5 days ago. At times I feel like I’m in a fog. If I sit or stand too long my legs swell up. And I miss running, dammit! I’ve searched the Internet all day for info on compression shorts for my run June 9th, because I can’t wear the ones I’m in now! 😀

I’m making Tea Eggs on the balcony of my room. When I went to get the ingredients earlier, I found FRESH LAVENDER!! So I threw in a TBS of that to the mix! I can’t wait to have an egg in the morning!!!

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My room smells yummy! Here’s the original recipe… Add your favorite extra! I bet vanilla bean would be awesome or cardamom. Mmmmm!

Tea eggs

Ingredients: 8-10 eggs, 1 tsp. Salt, 3 cups of water, 2 TBS coconut aminos (you can use soy sauce, but it is no gluten free or Paleo friendly), 1/4 tsp Salt, 2 TBS black tea leaves (you can get this in bulk), 2 pods Star Anise, 1 cinnamon stick.

In a large saucepan I placed the eggs and 1 tsp of Salt. I then covered it with cool tap water and brought to a boil, then turned down and let simmer for 20 minutes. I then put them in a colander and let them drain and cool for 10 minutes. When they are cool I roll them VERY GENTLY across the counter to form little cracks… DO NOT PEEL
In a large saucepan mix all the rest of the ingredients EXCEPT the eggs. Bring that to a boil, reduce heat and simmer for 3 hours. You then turn off the heat and add the eggs. Let them steep over night, at least 8 hours. You can reuse the liquid. I put mine in the fridge in a tight sealed bowl and bring back to a boil and let the eggs steep again. I have reused this liquid 3 times, then tossed. Also, you can store the eggs up to 4 days in a tight container as long as you don’t peel them. Mine NEVER last that long, lol, I eat 5 a day.

**Edited to say that I also put the eggs back in the pan after cracking them, throw in 3 of these tea bags Cardamon Cinnamon Herbal Tea Bags and one of these Spiced Chai, a TBS of Coconut Aminos and simmer for 2 hours. That’s what I’m doing today (12/02/17) and my WanderLust Beach Bus smells FANTASTIC!

Ciao!