RESISTing the temptation...
I used to wake up looking forward to Wednesdays. Why, you wonder?
Because Wednesdays are days the corner break room is freshly stocked with Panera bagels, croissants, scones, cookies, and/or donuts. And this bounty of beautifully tempting & tasty treats extends throughout the remainder of the week.
Each time I walk to the water cooler, it's like I have to talk to myself into obedience. I, at times, consider taking just a little bite (ok, if I'm honest, it crosses my mind often). Somehow I have manage to talk myself out of self-sabotaging by reminding myself that I can never have just one, but not after I give these little sprinkled wonders a good once-over.
Some days are worse than others. But bypassing the temptation does get slightly easier as time goes on and I have more separation from processed/complex carbs. The fact that I feel better without them is a nice consolation; however, I sometimes wonder if I will ever forget the euphoria of the first crumbly break of a sprinkled cake donut, or the melted glaze of several donut holes, or the crunch of a freshly toasted everything bagel with melted cream cheese dripping off the edge onto my finger. Like I said, somedays are harder than others. :)
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Get Juiced!
B and I have been juicing it up every AM! I seriously feel so good when we drink this stuff! The only pain in the a** part is peeling the fruit and cleaning the juicer afterwards. Our usual juice consists of piece of ginger root, oranges (1-4), apples (1-2), carrots (2-4), red cabbage (1/4 head), and an occasional 1/4-1/2 beet.
Our juicer spits out so much pulp I am convinced to put it to good use. The only ideas I have had so far though consist of creating my very own organic fruit compost in the backyard. I'll keep working on that. Read more...
Huevos + Juice: Ring the Alarm!
8.30.2011
Try this healthy breakfast! Corn Tortillas smothered with scrambled eggs (2 yolks to 4 egg whites), avocado slices, chopped onion, Soy Cheese, Salsa, sprinkled with a bit of cilantro! I would have added soy chorizo, but I forgot I had put it in the freezer, so next time. :)
I also thought of adding black beans, but I needed to whip up breakfast in a jiffy so I opted out...
My sister in law knows how to cook tortillas on a stove top practically in her sleep. She handles that stovetop like Sir-Mix-Alot. I have to become her understudy ASAP; well that, or purchase myself a nice big, accessible fire extinguisher because I now have third degree burns on my phalanges and nearly lost all of my hot air blowing out a small fire.
Which only reminds me of good times, when we were kids and would bug my mom about when dinner would be ready. My mom would reassure us, "You'll know when dinner is ready when you hear the fire alarm; come and get it while its hot!"
It was either the alarm or the cow bell which lead us to the table!
Every time I attempt to warm a tortilla on my stove, I have grand visions walking past the windows of the ladies making the fresh tortillas in Old Town San Diego. It never turns out anything like my memory. But I digress, maybe I need to get one of those grills with the holes in it? Does anyone know what that is?
To wash down the Huevos Semi-Rancheros - a nice freshly juiced cocktail full of:
Cabbage
Orange
Apples
Beet
and Ginger!
Get your AM drank on! Read more...
Bird Seed Dinner, Party of ONE
8.28.2011
I ended up making a vegetable saute, cooked quinoa (or bird seed as B calls it) with chopped onion and a garlic clove ...and salad with leftover guacamole and olive oil, apple cider vinegar and balsamic dressing. Topped with soy mozzarella cheese.
I sprinkled a bit of Bragg Soy Protein below on top of the quinoa for taste.
I will help you out though, take notes: DO NOT DRINK Apple Cider Vinegar straight from the bottle.
It tastes like - it tastes like....I don't even know, just don't drink it.
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Gluten Free, Sugar Free, HomeMade Guacamole Tacos
B and I were actually surprised how good this dinner was! I had my meal sans tacos, but the above tacos are in fact GF tortillas.
Top with kidney and black beans, homemade guacamole (two avocados, 1/4 chopped onion, 1/4 c. salsa, few pinches of sea salt, and a squeeze of fresh lime) and top with shredded soy mozzarella cheese! Read more...
Phood Phetish!
Phood on Main is one of my all-time favorite eateries in Riverside.
Last time I visited Riverside I had lunch with a good friend of mine at Phood. Not only are they Vegan and GF friendly, they have the most amazing tasting entrees and desserts.
Naturally, I couldn't resist a Red Velvet Gluten Free cupcake. I spoke with Chef Maria Cohen about the gluten free options, and she said everything on the menu is pretty much gluten free and that it would be easier for her to tell me what was NOT gluten free than what IS...there are only a few items on their entire menu that are not gluten free!
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S'More Erotica...Disclaimer: For True Sugar Lovers Only!
8.25.2011
This trip down memory lane inspired me to share s'more of my top 5 confectionary erotica:
Sunset Magazine's Grown-up S'mores Sandwiches starts off the tantalizing list.
Baking Addiction's cupcakes knows how to tip me off the wagon...
S'Mores Cupcake Ice Cream Sandwiches.
Annie sure knows her S'Mores. Recipe here.
For those of you wanting more than a cupcake, see Annie's Eat's S'Mores Cake Recipe here.
Bakerella give's Annie a run for her money with these S'Mores Cupcakes.
Whether my longing for all things saccharine is healthy or not, I consider my day dreams and Pavlovian salivary reaction to photos like this simply a stage in my grieving process since my recent separation from all things sugar.
The only thing that keeps me going is the genius invention of Stevia. Thank GOD for that leaf!
Check out 6 new S'mores recipes here! Read more...
Peanut Butter Pie for Mikey- A Must Read!
Peanut Butter Pie for Mikey from Todd Porter & Diane Cu on Vimeo.
I ran across this video created by White on Rice Couple the other day. Not only is it beautiful, but the tragic reality behind the creation of this video evokes raw, true, introspection and evaluation of how we live our own lives each day. These may be strangers, but when live brings pain and suffering like this to a fellow human being, you can't help but get emotional and empathize with their hurt. I shared this story with B last night, held him tight, and told him I never wanted a day to go by where he did not know how much I am in love with him.
You can read posts about Mikey on Jenny's blog here. Read more...
Bye Bye Fro Yo
8.24.2011
On another note, Juicing fresh Orange, apple, carrot, ginger, and red cabbage is a nice sweet treat OR if I don't feel like tacking the mound of dishes that accrues daily, I will opt for a easier clean-up option such as:
Perky's crunchy flax cereal with Hemp/Rice/Coconut Milk are my new post-dinner snacks (Dairy Free, Gluten Free, Wheat Free, sugar free, not 100% raw though, but still a decent snack!)
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Fancy Vitamin Drink!
8.22.2011
I have to wonder, how exactly do I know the vitamins allegedly housed in the cap of this bottle are actually legit?
Weird, but cool. Has anyone tried this before? It was the first time I had seen it, the taste is actually pretty good. But to be real, I struggled with the dang cap for like 5 minutes before I figured out how the stupid thing worked. By the time I got it open, I was almost over it.
New to Juicing
She has inspired me through my gluten free conversion as I see her improving her health through her journey of juicing, cleansing, eating 80% RAW, dairy free, sugar free, alcohol free....and I have to admit, I have been reticent to get on board with her system due to plain old stubborn habits and a general selfish unwillingness to fully commit. I struggle, as any woman I think does, with cutting out sugar and soda, so I rationalize sugar free dark chocolates, diet sodas, gluten free cupcakes - when in reality - those foods are not doing me any good.
K knows me, and she also knows from experience how juicing has helped her. And sometimes when you don't want to hear the truth, you need a good pep-talk from your true friends who will tell it to you like is, no sugar-coating (pun intended). And that is exactly what K did - she told me this past weekend that if I was going to really give this holistic health thing a go, I need to commit, not half-a** it like I feel I have been doing.
And what I mean by that is I have been slowly converting to purchasing organic fruits, adding supplements like Krill oil and Probiotics, cutting out gluten, trimming back soda and candy...and to give myself some credit- these are good changes!
But if I am honest with myself...I have not made the full on conversion, because IT IS NOT FUN! What else is not fun, however, is waking up feeling like you got hit by a big rig, or someone replaced your 28 year old bones with a geriatric skeleton. See, I have been operating on caffeine since law school, and placating aches and pains from an old high school volleyball injury with NSAIDS (Non Steroidal Anti-Inflammatory Drugs). And, I have this bull-like drive within me that I will keep pushing and running on nothing but adrenaline until I drop.
Switching from artificial stimulants that exist in altered foods and drinks (read: Monster energy) to obtaining all natural energy from live fruit, minerals, vitamins and enzymes is a full-blown culture shock for my cells. I was slowly sampling juice blends from Robek's or Mother's as I would grocery shop, or replace a lunch or breakfast here and there with an all-fruit smoothie, but I started to wonder, how much good can those antioxidant and nutrient boosts do me if I am not 100% consistent?
I figured now is as good a time as any to jump into juicing - So I trekked to Costco and purchased our very first Home Juicer! (see below). B and I read all about it and watched the introductory video, and juiced our first oranges last night! Then I made my first juice cocktail with an apple, ginger root, an orange, and two carrots, poured over ice because I enjoy cold juice much more than room temp - it was fantastic. I am excited and hopeful for my body to start feeling the effects of juicing. And though 80% Raw is not exactly convenient or cheap to implement, I am giving it a shot. 80% raw means most food comes from pure organic raw ingredients, as you find them in nature, in their original state. (i.e. NON processed)
The other 20% comes from the occasional cooked Quinoa, meats such as chicken, turkey, steak and fish. I also spread Valencia Peanut Butter with Flax Seeds over sprouted grain bread (not gluten free, I will switch to Udi's when I run out of the Ezekiel bread in my fridge)...the point is, you have to make it work for you, but be honest with yourself and give it a good shot. I will be updating and reporting on how the progress is coming along!
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Snack Fav's
Snacking can be hard, whether you are trying to eat healthier, gluten-free, sugar-free, organic, or whatever your health needs are. But the above snacks are always on-hand in the cupboard or at my desk for when I am hungry and need a hold-over until the next meal.
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Pink chicken :( and sweet potatoes :)
Sweet potatoes, though they contain more vitamins and nutrients, aren't exactly the picture perfect vegetable of health. Much like Corn. Those vegetables like to take on the appearance of "fitting in" with the cool veggies, packed with vitamins and minerals and enzymes. But the glycemic index on potatoes and corn is high, and they really are more of a carbohydrate posing as a vegetable.
On another note: Does anyone else notice that ORGANIC chicken is tough once cooked? Chewy...and kind of a strange pink color? (not in an uncooked kind of way - it's almost too cooked, yet still a tinge of pink?)
Had to put this in, my happy hubby. Notice the green lid to the Sriracha bottle on the bottom right corner? Ha. Cracks me up. Read more...