Dawna Stone

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Healthy Made Easy

Wheat-Free Decadent Chocolate Cake in 8 Easy Steps

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When I have some free time to explore new recipes, I often find myself creating a healthy sweet treat. There is no denying that I am a chocoholic. This dessert is wheat free, but is so decadent and yummy!

P.S. Trying to eat clean and get healthy? Join me for a quick and simple 5-Day Detox!

As you can see from the video, the cake is made so easily and quickly. For more videos like this, visit (and subscribe) to my YouTube channel. And for the full recipe, see below.

Wheat-Free Decadent Chocolate Cake
Servings
2
Servings
2
Wheat-Free Decadent Chocolate Cake
Servings
2
Servings
2
Ingredients
Servings:
Instructions
  1. Divide ingredients into two ramekins. Whisk until all ingredients are combined. Place ramekins in microwave and heat on high for 1 minute. (Or, if you prefer, mix together all ingredients in a medium bowl and divide evenly into two ramekins before microwaving.)
  2. Optional: top chocolate cake with a tablespoon of yogurt.
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How I Lost 40 Pounds By Eating Clean

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As originally published on mindbodygreen:

Best-selling author and weight loss expert, Dawna Stone, has inspired thousands of readers over the years. If you're looking for a quick and simple plan, check out Dawna's 5-Day-Detox or if you're looking for a more detailed action plan, check out her course A 14-Day Clean Eating Program: How To Kick Start Weight Loss In Two Weeks. Read on and find out how Dawna lost 40 pounds and kept it off. 

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In my 20s, I was fat, exhausted and desperate to lose weight. Even though I was 40 pounds overweight, I was much more concerned with fitting into the clothes in my closet than I was about my health.

I had gone from being an extremely fit teenager to being a somewhat fit college student to a 40-pound overweight working woman. I still remember turning down company get-togethers and blind dates because I was so uncomfortable with the way I looked. Desperate to lose weight, I tried just about every diet available.

Unfortunately, none of them satisfied my craving for good food. On each weight loss attempt, I'd lose a few pounds only to give up and gain all the weight back and then some.

It wasn't until I realized that fad diets weren't a viable solution for me that I started to work on a solution. After years of failed attempts to lose weight, I finally found a way to drop all 40 pounds and keep it off for good — in fact, I've been at or near my goal weight for nearly 20 years!

The solution wasn't about depriving myself of treats or starving myself. The solution was simple: Clean Eating.

I started by eliminating excess sugar, processed foods and artificial sweeteners. I also quit eating anything with chemicals or preservatives.

When I finally found a way of eating that had me dropping the pounds quickly and allowed me to eat good food (like fish tacos with mango-avocado salsa, kale and maple-roasted sweet potato salad, 3-bean chili and even gluten-free, dairy-free triple chocolate brownies), I knew I'd found my weight loss silver bullet.

I know what it feels like to be overweight and unhappy but I also know what if feels like to finally fit into a smaller size pair of pants and smile when you step on the scale. I wish everyone who is struggling with their weight and feeling hopeless, like I felt, could know what it feels like to finally lose all the excess weight.

I know what it's like to lie in bed and cry, thinking you'll never lose weight. I know what it's like to turn down invitations because you have no clothes that fit. But I also know how great it feels when the weight starts melting off.

If you've just about given up on ever reaching your goal weight, if your tired of depriving yourself of good food and if you're tired of seeing the number on the scale creep up rather than down, clean eating may be just what you need to jump start your weight loss and once and for all reach your goal weight.

Now that I'm in my late 40's, I believe the most important benefit of being a healthy weight and eating a clean diet is countering disease and keeping your body working well and healthy. But I can't lie: I also love the feeling of fitting into my skinny jeans!

Whether you pick up a copy of the, The Healthy You Diet, (and/or join me for my video course The 14-Day Clean Eating Program) or embark on my quick and simple 5-Day-Detox, I hope you'll give clean eating a try.

You have nothing to lose but your excess weight!

Photo Credit: Sheri Kendrick

Take Control of Your Cravings with Junk Food Funk

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Do you feel sluggish, experience frequent headaches, crave unhealthy foods, have lackluster skin, suffer from poor sleep or find it difficult to lose weight? If you answered “yes” to any of these, you may have fallen into a Junk Food Funk.

At one time, I would have answered “yes” to all of the above questions. Although I was exercising regularly, I didn’t feel healthy. It wasn’t until I realized that the junk I consumed was keeping me from living my best life that I began to search for ways to make a change. I felt held back by excess weight, exhaustion, headaches, brain fog and many other symptoms that I simply couldn’t explain.

At first, I didn’t really know how to describe how I felt. I visited my doctor several times and, although I could list off my symptoms, I couldn’t really explain the overall feeling I was having. After some time I realized that the best way to summarize all the symptoms I was having was to tell the doctor I felt as if I was in a “funk” or “funked up.”

So what is this so-called funk? For me, the funk was tied to being out of balance and teetering on what could easily turn into a full-blown health crisis.

If you feel “funked up” or like you’re in a “funk” maybe its time to take action. Put yourself first and give your body the attention and caring it needs but doing a junk food detox. Even a short 3, 5 or 7-day junk food detox can dramatically change how you feel—allowing for increased energy, more stable moods, deeper sleep, and fewer cravings.

By ditching junk food, you’ll even look better with clearer skin, brighter eyes, and fewer wrinkles, along with countless other benefits. My newest book Junk Food Funk provides you everything you need to succeed with a junk food detox and take back control of your cravings and your life.

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I’m Back! Here’s Where I’ve Been…

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As you may have noticed, I’ve taken a short break from my blog. It wasn’t intentional; I just had several things all come to fruition at the exact same time. Sometimes that’s how life works. Sometimes you have ample time to work, play, etc. and then all of a sudden you have three or four things that all happen at the same time and the convergence can seem nearly impossible—but somehow it has to get done.

Over the past few months, I had a book manuscript due, a large 5-day festival (that I started and manage) take place, several articles due and I launched a local food magazine.

Why I bit off so much, I don’t know but somehow it all got done. My new book, Junk Food Funk: the 3, 5 and 7-Day Junk Food Detox for Weight Loss and Better Health, had a successful launch in September and is now available through Shape magazine or on Amazon.com. The St. Pete Wine & Food Festival took place at the beginning of November. The 5-day festival which included a Charity Wine Pairing Dinner, a Tacos and Tequila Festival, a Craft Beer Festival and a 2-day Wine & Food Grand Tasting was a huge success. In addition to that, I wrote several articles for Shape.com and Fitness.com while at the same time launching LocalsDISH, a local food and lifestyle magazine in Tampa Bay.

I know all the above may sound like an excuse for my social media hiatus, but I truly have never been so busy in all my life. Just trying to keep up and still be a great mom (my number 1 goal) was utterly exhausting.

I do however apologize for the silence and hope to get back on track, as I love sharing with all of you!

I have included some photos from the past few months and promise to share more about my new book in my next post.

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Coconut Vanilla Cake

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Another dessert to satisfy my cravings! This Coconut Vanilla Cake is a nice, quick and easy (healthy) sweet treat. I love that the cake is moist and airy. Topping it with coconut and yogurt gives it that extra something special.

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Coconut Vanilla Cake sml

Coconut Vanilla Cake
Servings
2
Servings
2
Coconut Vanilla Cake
Servings
2
Servings
2
Ingredients
Servings:
Instructions
  1. Divide first 8 ingredients evenly into two ramekins. Whisk well to mix.
  2. Place ramekins in microwave and heat on high for 45 seconds to 1 minute.
  3. Optional: top vanilla cake with 1 tbsp plain yogurt, sprinkle of unsweetened dried coconut and sprinkle of cinnamon.
  4. (*If you prefer, in a medium bowl, add coconut oil, yogurt, eggs, honey, vanilla, coconut flour, baking soda, and salt. Divide the mixture evenly into two ramekins. Microwave on high for 1 minute. Top with 1 tbsp plain yogurt and sprinkle of unsweetened dried coconut and cinnamon.)
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What I Tell My Clients To Eat In A Typical Day To Lose Weight

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As originally published on mindbodygreen.

As a certified health coach and author of an award-winning weight loss book and cookbook, I always get asked for quick tips on how to lose weight. Check out the short video below (in the previous post) for my ideal day of eating for weight loss.

If you want even more info about the relationship between food and weight loss, check out my course A 14-Day Clean Eating Program: How To Kick Start Weight Loss In Two Weeks.