Home for the weekend.

Hey guys! How was your weekend?

Mine has been sooo relaxing! I visited my parents who live about 1.5 hrs from me Fri-Sun and my mom waited on me all weekend and treated me like a little princess. Why can't this be my life all the time?

My mom had to go to work for a couple hours on Saturday so my Dad asked me to join him at the gym. Of course I would! A little background on my Dad... he is the most in shape, healthy person I know. Seriously. He used to be a dairy farmer when I was a baby and worked really, really hard. Up at 4am and done working at 9pm. Since then he has started and successfully ran his own business that involves physical labor and has recently gotten his scuba diving license and visits Belize every other year or so for the wonderful diving! He has always grown food in his garden and helped our family appreciate fresh fruits and vegetables for all of their greatness. I feel so fortunate to have been raised by such a great dad, I'm very appreciate :) . So getting back to the gym, we ran 3 mi on the treadmill (he outran me! I took 2 one minute water breaks) and then swam laps in the pool for about 20 minutes. I felt amazing when we were done, swimming is a new exercise I would definitely like to start regularly doing. Its hard work but the water still feels really good, plus, you will not get bored.

Rewinding on Saturday morning, I had overnight oats prepped in the fridge. In my mom's yellow bowl... I'm pretty sure I used this bowl when I was 5.




For lunch I made my newest favorite! Whole wheat wrap with tomato, cucumber, pepper, onion, hummus, salsa, and hot sauce. On the side thats a sliver of some local swiss cheese made in a little shop by my parents house. Good stuff.



Apple with cinnamon and Better n' Peanut Butter.


For dinner, my mom grilled salmon!


My plate!

My dad wanted me to take a picture of his plate too, lol. He has always put his dinner on a bed of lettuce/spinach! I used to think it was weird, but now I do the same thing sometimes! Oh and I chopped that tomato on his plate, it was by MY plate because I obviously was planning on eating the whole thing and when I came to the table, all of the slices were on his plate! I was like Excuse me, you took my tomater?! Haha. Ahhh..exciting times on my Saturday evening.

We went outside before the sun set and I snapped a couple pretty pictures.


My moms kitty, Cali. Don't let her cuteness fool you, she's actually pretty mean! Most days. But she has her a good days. :) We've had her since she was a kitten, got her from a farm!





I wish I had a green thumb like my Dad. Maybe someday...

Then my mom and I decided banana/raspberry soft serve was a great idea..

Haven't tried banana soft serve yet? Just throw a frozen banana and a tiny bit of milk or water in your food processor and let it run till its creamy. The perfect substitute for fattening ice cream.

I sprinkled bear naked granola on mine for crunch!



And as if the weekend couldn't get any better, my mom made me french press coffee Sunday morning. It was my first time having french press, and I wanted to cry! The flavor was so rich and deep.

And there you have it, my weekend of indulgence...great food, family and friends. Thank you to my mama for being so ~sweet~ .

Have you ever tried french press coffee? I drink coffee maybe once every couple months, normally I prefer green tea!

Latest obsession(s)

I just couldn't possibly wait any longer to tell you about my new obsession! :D

Enter: Siggi's

Now, I have not eaten cow's dairy in almost a year. I've been quite happy with my almond 'milk'. But for health reasons I have been trying to find new ways to get a lot more protein. I picked up one of these at the store on a whim, the Orange & Ginger flavor, and at first I disliked it...then I liked it halfway thru...then I loved it and licked the container! Yes, I did.

Its luxurious, and tastes like dessert. Its expensive, but I don't care. I will forgo other things to be able to buy this because it is such great quality yogurt.

INGREDIENTS: Skim Milk, Agave Nectar, Madagascar Bourbon Vanilla, Live Active Cultures, Vegetable Rennet

CULTURES:
B. Lactis, L. Acidophilus,
L. Delbrueckiee Subsp. Bulgaricus,
L. Delbrueckiee Subsp. Lactis,
S. Thermophilus

I like to add fresh fruit, crunchy cereal, almond butter & jam, there are so many things you can add!! I am enjoying my new yogurt love affair. Perhaps the biggest selling point to me is this yogurt comes only from grass-fed cows from a rural farm in New York, no hormones or any preservatives are added. Its sweetened with agave nectar and boasts 16 g of protein in 6 oz!



Today I came home and was planning on taking a quick run with D but my bed just looked so comfy......3 hrs later I awoke from my planned 'half hour' power nap! I feel like I wasted my entire evening, but I guess my body needed it? I was curled up with this new book I just got before I dozed off. I wanted to read Jeannette Walls' first book, The Glass Castle, recommended by Jenna, but it was checked out at the library so went with this one instead. I can't put it down! Nothing better than a good book. This one makes me feel warm and fuzzy inside. I could blame it on hormones, but I was already tearing up by the 3rd page. Not because its sad or anything - it's just a heart warming book.


I woke up around 8pm and wasn't too hungry but really wanted to eat. I made quinoa seasoned with cumin and cayenne and a Sunshine burger. All drizzled with hot sauce. And a salad on the side with Annie's Goddess dressing. I have not been into salads lately, unsure why?? It's very weird for me not to. They just don't appeal to me right now.

Then me and the hubs made a very necessary trip the grocery store for ice cream and batteries. I picked up these coconut milk ice cream bars and knew they would be amazing. And they were! I only had one. I'm very proud of myself. :D

I'm off to curl back up with my book. Have a lovely evening!!

7.26.10

To me dear readers, I am so sorry for neglecting you for this long. We moved this month to a new place and I am now back up and running with internet and a comfy chair to blog from. :D

This past month has also brought about some major changes to my way of eating. I'm still getting comfortable with it and trying to figure out what is right for me. You may see some new foods around here! A lot of you that know me may know that I followed a high fruit, low fat way of eating. I loved it but my skin was breaking out for months, and I even broke down and went to the dermatologist which I hadn't been to in at least 2 years! I have never had breakouts as bad as I had this past year, even as a teenager. Something was seriously wrong...

My mom and dad sent me these two links:

http://www.acneisdead.com/acne/home-remedies/fruits-for-acne/

http://www.natural-acne-treatments.com/sugar-acne.html

These articles are really interesting. For anyone struggling with blemishes, I would recommend reading them. From there, I went to the library and checked out a book by a dermatologist who specializes in healing from the inside out. The relationship between your blood sugar, hormones, and acne is something I have not really realized until now. I also realized lack of protein could have been the problem. Like I have said before, I am new to a lot of this and still figuring out what is right for my body. Everybody is different, thats for sure! For now, I am focusing on eating much more protein, green smoothies (duh!), and less fruit. I have been sticking to apples and berries (low sugar fruits) and I really feel good. More importantly, my skin has dramatically improved since cutting out all the sugar.

I also started using a new face cream, I can't wait to review it for you guys soon. :)

Does anyone have any thoughts/input on this? I'd love to hear from you. Tell me what you know!

I now live about a ten minute from my favorite farmer's market!! What am I going to do when it ends this fall? I can't wait to pick up some zucchini this week, and make zucchini muffins I've seen around the blog world...mmmm...

I've been meaning to share this food porn with you...



Open faced sandwich, Ezekial toast with hummus, tomato, avocado, black pepper. I dream about this meal. Those tomatoes were so red and flavorful.

Not my puppy, wish it was!! This is my friend's rambunctious terrier/English Shepard mix. She's the cutest thing I ever laid eyes on!

Well, besides this cutie. My 3 yr old niece, Bella. She loves pink and purses, just like me. :)

I'll be back soon!! xoxo Kat

Farmer's market!!

Right now I'm munching on the most delicious local blueberries. Yesterday was Thursday which means it was my farmer's market day. They had a few more options this time, even came across a couple early season tomatoes... I was ecstatic. The big cucumbers remind me of my mom in the kitchen making pickles when I was girl. Boo! I wish I had some right now. I'll be juicing these babies.



These baby cucumbers are the best! They have a mild, sweet flavor. I chomped one on the way home!

I also picked up green leaf lettuce, broccoli, and zucchini. I was talking to one of the farmers and noticed her sign said they were from Dakota, IL...which is about 20 minutes from where I grew up! What a small world! I was so excited to chat with her and a big plus was she was the only farmer I saw who's produce was certified organic.

His & Her salads. Shout out to my veggie loving husb. <3>

Also wanted to let you know this is the best chocolate that has ever been made, EVER. That is all.

Beet, cucumber, lettuce, carrots, apple, lemon, and ginger juice. On the Rocks. This was my breakfast this morning...sounds crazy but this juice kept me filled up for 4+ plus hours. In my old juicing days, I always was amazed I wouldn't get hunger pains but seriously, the juice is just so good for you, your body is so content and doesn't need anything else! Perfect meal right there!

What are your plans for this weekend? Tomorrow I'm going to a 'princess party' with my sister and 2 nieces. I hear there may be a bouncy house in the front yard. Which is where you will find ME!

Bye!! xoxo

Juicy

Hi!! I'm so happy to be back.

Remember my little truffle nuggets?

4 ingredients! All I did was process walnuts, a spoonful of softened coconut butter, cocoa powder, and a few medjool dates. Popped them in the freezer for about 20 minutes to chill. Yum! I snacked on them all week.

I made a fresh green juice this morning - something I haven't done in a while now. I used up farmer's market lettuce, 1/2 cucumber, 4 stalks of organic celery, 1/2 apple, ginger, and lemon. I slurped every last drop.

Other fancy eats included fresh veggies with organic salsa.

Berries galore! I can't stop buying the organic berries at Costco. I think I'm becoming an organic berry snob, because they really are SO much better than conventional.

I also treated myself to burger king this week. Well, sort of. I asked in my sweetest voice if I could please order a cup of ice for my coconut water. She was ever so kind and obliged. Thank you nice burger king window gal.

I couldn't chug this bottle quick enough. I was a stinky, sweaty mess because I decided to jog over my lunch hour outside. It was just too nice to be stuck in the gym. I did about 2 1/2 miles in a half hour and spent the rest of my lunch hunting down icy cold coconut water.

Much better.

So this has nothing to do with food or health at all, well not completely true - laughing is great for your health! and you should go to your closest library and rent a couple Bob Hope films and laugh like crazy. He is the best. I probably scared a couple people when I squealed at the post office when I saw these stamps.

Just another reason I should've been born in the 40's. Bob Hope, you will always have my heart.

Scatter-brained.

We've had some internet issues...ok, ok, you got it out of me. I may have forgotten to pay the bill, I swear they didn't send us one because I did not see it! (sorry, husb!) I leave you with a fudgy, chocolatey, RAW truffle. Be back soon with the recipe :)


Ps. Tasha over at Voracious Vegan is hosting a giveaway!

Goose Island Brewery

This past weekend we got to try the Goose Island Brewery downtown! We went with some friends for their one year anniversary. Obviously, all the guys could not wait to get their hands on some great beer. I couldn't either! I hardly ever drink beer but love the taste of it. I stole about 5 sips from 5 different beers over the course of the night...my favorite was a beer our friend got for 'dessert'. It was called Bourbon County Stout . According the website it is a 'liquid as dark and dense as a black hole with thick foam the color of a bourbon barrel. The nose is an intense mix of charred oak, chocolate, vanilla, caramel and smoke. One sip has more flavor than your average case of beer.' I tasted the chocolate more than anything else. It was delicious!

I made a protein smoothie before we left around 4 and it held me over until we finally ate around 8:30. I ordered sweet potato fries for an appetizer that came with 'curry catsup'. I love curry so I knew this ketchup would be awesome. It definitely was and we ordered extra just of the ketchup!!


For my entree I was hankering for a big salad but did not see anything on the menu that looked good. Our waitress was extremely friendly so I asked her if she could ask the chef to make me a salad with just about every vegetable they had. She was happy to oblige and brought me one of the best salads I have ever had from a restaurant. They piled high the veggies - tomatoes, cucumbers, radishes (!) , onions, leeks, fennel, avocado, and so many more that I can't even remember! Don't you love when chefs are more than happy to accommodate you?

We had to go to Costco to stock up on food this past weekend too. Love how cheap their bananas are - only a $1.32 for a big bag. I got kiwis, melon, apricots, peaches, tomatoes, and unpictured organic strawberries and raspberries. I freeze a lot of my fruit to use in smoothies. Frozen fruit makes all the difference.

I am still trying to use up all my veggies from the farmer's market! This salad I made had a gazillion pounds of lettuce underneath all those veggies! I topped it with tomatoes, cucumbers, snap peas, green onions, mustard and Annie's Italian dressing. YUM.
With a side of Ezekiel bread and Earth Balance. Haha - don't pay any attention to that piece I cut out. There was an unidentified white spot that I couldn't be sure was mold or not and instead of throwing the bread away like a normal person, I ate around it. I hate wasting food and I don't think a little mold killed anyone right? Right? :-/

Blackberries and peaches for dessert!

You may have noticed I don't talk a lot about exercising here. Well, there's a good reason for that. I don't! Haha. I go in spurts, honestly. I was a member of a gym and for awhile D and I went all the time together. I loved it - I get really into exercise when I actually do it. But somewhere along the way I stopped and you know how hard it is to get back into exercise after stopping for some time. Well I joined a gym close to my work and I'm excited to start back up again. To show I'm serious this time I taped my Elliptical workout on this cardboard so I can take it with me and it won't get all bent up. I used to do this workout before and I LOVE it. Its high intensity and it gets you sweating in no time.


Well I'm headed to a work lunch. See ya later gators!