New Adventures

I have started blogging on other things besides food.  I have found that although this blog has helped me become way more health conscience, I am not all that enthusiastic about cooking.  So from time to time I will post a recipe that I love, but I will be spending most of my time writing on my new blogs.  I started "Soulful Answers" as a guide to understanding my own soul.  Writing on that topic quickly led me to dive into a much more personal journey that I have been on in regards to my health.
That blog is Hormone SOS. So that is where I will be for now...

I will leave you with one of my favorite recipes. It is an Acai Hemp Bowl.  It is so yummy and filling. 

Recipe:
1 frozen banana
1 packet of frozen acai packet (found in freezer isle)
1 cup of vanilla or plain almond milk (I like vanilla)
Mix above ingredients in blender.
Top with:
1/2 cup fresh strawberries
1/2 cup fresh blueberries
1/2 cup hemp granola

 www.hormonesos.blogspot.com
www.soulfulanswers.blogspot.com

Fiberlicious Fruit Smoothie

I am always looking for ways to incorporate fiber in my diet.  Not to mention trying to get all my fruit intake throughout the day is sometimes hard.  So I thought lets just cut to the chase and save a little time. So I made what I call the Fiberlicious Fruit Smoothie.

1/2 cup soy yogurt

1/4 cup organic frozen blueberries

1/2 cup organic frozen strawberries

1/2 ripe banana

1 teaspoon chia seeds

1 teaspoon flaxseed

1 teaspoon psyllium husk

1 teaspoon honey (or stevia if you are a vegan) 

a few ice cubes

*Sometimes I add water to thin it out.

This smoothie is really yummy and filling.  Not to mention your intestines will love you.

Chia seeds are something I started putting in my food last January when I read Crazy Sexy Diet.  They kinda freaked me out in the beginning, but now I love them.  Just beware they get stuck in your teeth.  So do a smile check before you go out in public.   

Dr. Oz mentioned psyllium husk (it comes from psyllium seed) on one of his shows.  He said his wife puts it in all their smoothies.  So off to Whole Foods I went.  It was right at the front of the store!  It has no taste, and boy is it packed with fiber.  Just read the instructions before you use it.  It can get thick quick so be sure to drink plenty of water after consuming it. Dr. Oz always mentioned "S" shaped poo on Oprah.  Personally I thought really are you sure Dr. Oz "S"?  Well, after increasing my fiber I can verify they really do exist!!

I have found anytime I make something new I ask myself how I can make it vegan?  It is a fun way to push me to be healthier.  Even so, I do prefer my smoothie with honey despite not being vegan.  Eating local honey is supposed to be really good in helping out allergy problems.  Not sure if it works but if it does that sounds a heck of a lot better then allergy medication!

Enjoy!

Banana Bread

This is my Christmas present to you!  My mom's amazing Banana Nut Bread!  You can make it the traditional way or the newly adapted vegan recipe!  Either way it is really great.

Recipe:

3 ripe bananas smashed

1 cup of sugar

1/2 a stick of butter (Or use margarine for Vegan)

1/2 a cup of buttermilk   (Vegan sour cream)

2 eggs (or 3 teaspoons Egg Replacer mixed with 4 tablespoons of water)
1/2 cup chopped walnuts

1 teaspoon vanilla

1 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 1/2 cups white unbleached flour

Mix up all the ingredients in no particular order. Put in a loaf pan that was lined with non-stick cooking spray.  Bake at 350 for 1 hour.   As for the vegan substitutes I am not sure if vegan sour cream is the best replacement for buttermilk?  Maybe a vegan cream cheese would be even tastier.  You can let me know if you find something better!

Your family and friends will love this bread.  It makes a great gift!  I wrap mine in pretty green cellophane, and give it to all my neighbors.  OK I am sure you might be thinking what is that pickle looking thing on the gift?  It is an ornament.  It is an old tradition to hide a pickle ornament on the tree.  The first person Christmas morning to find the pickle gets good luck for the upcoming year, and sometimes an extra present.  I have also heard the person to find it gets to open the first gift Christmas morning! 

Santa might like a piece too!

Merry Christmas!

New Beginnings!

As the holidays fast approach and the New Year only 2 weeks away it is time to get back in the swing of things.  The past 6 months have been a whirlwind.  Between getting fully settled in my new house, and getting my aging mom moved out of her house, life got pretty hectic.  

Well my childhood home sold this week.

  

The house I played barbies in, learned to ride a bike in front of, had countless sleepovers with my best friend, and the house my husband asked my to marry him! It is now part of my past.  So I toast to new beginnings!  

I am excited to...

Dusting off my vision board.

Eat healthy.

Writing More.

Having fun.  Lots of fun!

The list could go on and on. So here is to ending 2011 one crazy year, and looking forward to what 2012 has to offer.

What do you hope for in 2012?  I think it is going to be a great year!

PS Today is the anniversary of my first date with my hubby.  A date filled with Crocodile Dundee and First Kisses.  25 years goes by in a flash.  I was a teen, but I remember as if it were yesterday.  I think my hubby is going to get lucky tonight!! Ya!

P-Nut Yummy Smoothie

In the course of 1 minute:

1.Make awesome smoothie.

2.Toddler poops but not in the toilet. Again! (One of these days we will celebrate the big P in the toilet!)

3.Dog groomer knocks on door to return beautifully groomed doggie:)

4. Mom takes deep breath because it is all part of the job! Ok I know not that big of a deal, but it seriously all went down within 60 seconds! 

Well I guess if I had not been trying to recreate Robeks yummy P-Nut Power Shake my little boy would not have had time to sneak away to do the do.  One day soon he will realize he can do his thing on the big boy toilet and not in his Buzz Lightyear undies:) One can dream...

I had the best shake the other day at Robeks.  It had dairy in it.  So I thought maybe I could make it Vegan instead.  So off I went to Whole Foods for some non-dairy yogurt, but not before it slips out of my hand in the store and explodes everywhere.  Kaboom! Embarrassment!

I am sorry for those of you who don't like peanut butter. (You know who you are!)  This smoothie is sooooo good.  Filling and so yummy.  A respectable amount of protein 11.5 grams and fiber 8.5 grams.  Give it a try!

P-Nut Yummy Smoothie

1/2 cup plain soy yogurt ( I never tried it, and it was really good.)

1/2 cup vanilla almond milk

1 tablespoon peanut butter

1 teaspoon agave nectar

1 teaspoon chia seeds

1 tablespoon flaxseed meal

1/2 banana

a handful of ice

Blend Away and Enjoy

P-Nut Yummy Smoothie

Utah, Good For The Soul

I went to Park City, Utah for 5 days.  I had never been there and had zero expectations.  In a word...

Gorgeous!

The trees, old wood houses from the 1800's lining Main St., the awesome hiking trails, our hotel... To say I had been a bit burnt out before we left for Utah would have been an understatement.  My mom well she has about sent me to the funny farm from all of her aging antics.  So to go someplace so beautiful.  To have the time to feel inspired.  To just have some fun with my husband.  It was priceless.  

I knew the trip was going to be interesting from the time we landed.  Five minutes in Utah and who did I meet?  Marie Osmond!  I met a "A little bit country!"  She was so sweet, and can I just say she has a killer figure.  That Nutrisystem has paid off! 

It felt like heaven on earth.  All the times I have doubted myself in the past months were gone.  It was a chance to breath some clean air and leave my worries behind.  Not to mention with Facetime my kids were in our room whenever I wanted to see them.  Such an awesome invention, and it totally makes missing them so much easier. 

Well, I am back to reality.  I got big hugs from my kiddos.  I got heartache from my mom.   That is life... If you are in need of a slice of heaven Park City, Utah is pretty high on that mountain top.  Check it out: 

http://youtu.be/ezjKk9woCbg

Sandwich Generation Here!

It has only been 2 months since my last post!  That would make me a very flaky blogger.  The truth is I have been so busy dealing with family issues that I just didn't feel like cooking or blogging!  

Whah, Whah, Whah...

 Truth be told moving your mother from her home of 50 years to a Senior Assisted living community is kind of a huge deal.  I still feel like I need a mommy, but somehow I am more the mom than my mom at this point in my life.  So I am officially part of The Sandwich Generation.  

3 kids under 18 + one elderly mom = A sandwiched daughter, mom, and wife trying to find her way through this new role in life!  I am game to not only find my way but as Tim Gunn would say "Make it work!"

This does not at all mean that I won't have many sarcastic things to say along the way because  that is what I do! Since I last posted I fell off the veggie wagon, consumed massive amounts of meat, coffee, cheese... needless to say I have wrecked havoc on my digestive system!  All that hard work down the drain.  So where do I stand now.  Not a vegetarian but prefer to live most days as a veggie eater.  Truthfully I physically feel better that way.  Yes, I will occasionally have meat, but it won't be a staple in my diet.  I don't like too many rules in my life.  It feels confining.  So I would rather take care of myself, but also occasionally just say F-it and do whatever I want!

As my belly has become increasingly icky I decided the best medicine was a yummy vegan meal.  I just got Peas and Thank You the cook book.  Sarah Matheny a former lawyer turned writer, cook and mom has a new cookbook.  I have to say she knows her stuff in the kitchen, and appears to be the perfect mother and wife.  Truthfully I would really like to be a fly on her wall and see how she gets it all done.  I can barely fit it all in everyday, and she seems to effortlessly get it all done.  How the hell does she do it?  I will stop hating her now and tell you that I made her Tempeh Chili last night.  I made a few minor adjustments to the recipe to suit me, and I have to say it was pretty awesome chili!  I still don't quite know how to pronounce tempeh but I can confidently recommend using it to cook.  It had great texture not like tofu.  No funkie taste it seemed like ground turkey or ground beef.  The only thing that threw me off was the look of it when I opened the package. I quote from the package, " Occasional dark areas on tempeh are a result of natural culturing process and do not indicate spoilage."

Ahhhh OK... So I trimmed the dark areas off and proceeded with the recipe.  It was no more gross than raw ground beef or Turkey and no deadly salmonella either! Not to mention tempeh is high in fiber and protein.  I chopped up the tempeh as if it were ground and browned it with my onions, celery, and garlic.  It was thumbs up around the dinner table. My secret ingredient was pureed carrots.  It added a bit of sweetness and of course more veggies! 

OK in the time I have written this post my 3yr old has trashed my kitchen with his Play dough!  How does Mrs. Pea do it?? She must have crayon drawings on her walls!