Weekend Fun

Beauties from my CSA box.

I was doing a LOT of this last night & more today.
Graduation Decorations!!!



Morgan's 7th grade class was having a HUGE rummage sale to raise money for their DC/New York trip next year.

There was some really good stuff.

I just couldn't resist this cute little owl.


Or this stack of vintage books.

Set of bird prints.

I think I will put these in my guest bath.

Unopened box of jelly jars. Score!!

Some vintage fake strawberries.

Some new to me front porch furniture!!!

Biggest score of the day.

I want to spray paint the chairs.....just not sure what color.

Any ideas on what I should put on the table???

I also ended up with some water carafes, a wrought iron dress form, & a wicker tray.

I just love rummage sales.

Detox Diet: How I Did It

I wasn't really going to write a post about this but.......I am. :)

I have had many many people notice my weight loss lately.
I have also had many of my friends ask me how I did it.

It worked so well for me that I want to help others with it. So here goes......

Warning: It's NOT easy.

AT ALL.

It is so HARD.

But it was sooooo worth it. I lost 15 lbs and I am still loosing.

I don't know what the website claims but I truly believe that it reset my metabolism and definitely shrunk my stomach. It also changed my mindset in relationship to food and eating. I still love food and I still eat sweets, I just have a different attitude about it.

The plan I used is the 28 Day Action Plan from Whole Living.

It's more than just a detox. It's a lifestyle change.

There's a lot of clicking on links and reading this or that and a TON of prep work.

I will attempt to simplify most of it for you. It will make for a really LONG blog post.

Just forewarning you. :)

So first things first:

You will be eating Vegan, Gluten Free, Soy Free, Corn Free, No Caffeine, No Processed or Refined Foods, No Sugar.

What do you eat??

That's where I can help you.
Also, use the website for their recipes.

Step 1 - Sign up for the daily emails (some are really helpful, others not so much)
It helped me to see those daily reminders in my inbox either way.
It was like someone saying "HEY, you are doing this!!!"

Step 2 - Read through all the recipes & decide which ones sound good to you.

Step 3 - Make a Week 1 shopping list & buy all your supplies. (Week 1 is the hardest so it helps to clear all the junk food out of your cupboards, fridge, etc. and you MUST be prepared.)

Week 1 Tips:

• 
  
  The website has you starting on a Monday. If you work, don't do it. Start on a Friday or Saturday. You WILL FEEL LIKE TOTAL CRAP!!!!!!! Who wants to be at work when you feel like you want to bite someones head off. Literally. The first few days are tough. Have faith....it gets better and becomes so much easier.
  


• 
  
  Don't plan on going crazy with exercise, the first few days you need to take it easy. Walking or yoga are good choices.



• 
  
  Also, don't start this if you have any parties or events during your week 1. It's just too hard.



• 
  
  Anytime you leave the house for any reason take water and food with you. Every time. Trust me. Even driving by certain restaurants would make me hungry.
  


• 
  
  Try to eat 6 times a day. It was really hard for me. Most days I could only manage 4 or 5 times.

Ok so here it is......

What did I eat & drink??

My drinks.

I used these glass jars and filled them with water & some type of natural flavoring.

Some examples sliced lemons, limes, oranges, cucumbers, pineapple, mint leaves.

I always had these ready and waiting in the fridge.

And if I left the house I would make a 32 oz Nalgene bottle with the same water.

Breakfast & Morning Snacks

Every morning around 6:30 a.m. I would eat a bowl of my tweaked granola with almond milk & fresh berries or hot oatmeal with agave, almond milk & dried fruit.

I cheated and had a cup of green tea with agave the first few mornings.

My morning snack was my green smoothie.

I put 1 frozen banana, 1 scoop Amazing Meal (Whole Foods), 1/2 cup frozen fruit (peaches, berries, mango, pineapple, etc.) & almond milk in my magic bullet cup.

The smoothies are great portable snacks or meals. I just put them in a mason jar & I could keep them in the fridge or freezer at work.

Notes about breakfast foods: You will have to purchase Gluten Free oats. (Whole Foods)

You will have to look carefully for unsweetened, soy free almond milk. (Mar Val has it in the refrigerated section by the regular milk or Whole Foods)

Lunch & Afternoon Snacks

Every day for lunch I had some form of salad. At the beginning of the week I chopped up lettuce, carrots, celery, onion, tomato, beets, mushrooms, avocado, etc.

So I could quickly throw together a salad.

I would always add some type of beans & nuts for protein.

Examples: pinto beans, white beans, garbanzo beans, kidney beans, sunflowers seeds, pumpkin seeds, almond, pecans, walnuts.

I would top the whole thing off with olive oil & balsamic vinegar.
I also made an experimental dressing here's my recipe:

I put an avocado, cilantro, lime juice, & olive oil in my magic bullet blended until smooth.

My afternoon snacks would typically be veggies or crackers & hummus or some type of nuts/trail mix.

(Mar Val has a brand of crackers in the health food section called Mary's. They are vegan & gluten free.)

Here's an example of a salad. This is a week 4 salad (notice the corn) & it's huge because it was my dinner. I have my avocado dressing on it.

Dinner & Evening Snacks

We used several of the recipes from the website & they were actually really good.

We made the Millet Bowl with Black Beans and Vegetables, Almond Chicken Soup (Week 4), Quinoa Salad with Toasted Almonds, Two- Bean Vegetarian Chili.

I also used some of my own recipes which I will write up & post in the coming days.

I made a lot of roasted veggies.

I still had to cook for the others in my family so I would make them some kind of protein (meat for Matt) & a carb.

Here's an example of some of my roasted veggies.
Surprisingly, these are very filling.

Ok so there's how to start in a nut shell.

I will provide more in another post later.
If you have any questions or comments feel free to email me.
Best of Luck! :o)

Moving Day & True Love

Our Chicken Mansion is finally finished!!!!

We call it Fort Clucks!

I love my super cool ladder!

Matt made it using a manzanita branch.

We have a LOT of manzanita at our place.

The girls are excited about moving our chickadees into their new home!

They LOVED the roosts!

Trying to coerce the chicks through the door.

This man.......he loves me.

I know he does because he worked every weekend for over a month building me my dream.

I have wanted chickens....forever.

The irony in this story......he is allergic to eggs.

That's how I know it's true love.
He did it all, just for me.

In My Kitchen

There were some amazing spring onions in my CSA box this week!

It inspired me to make my Caramelized Onion Quiche.

It was sooo delicious I thought I would share my recipe.

You will need about 7-8 cups sliced onions & 6 tbls. butter.

Add them to a large skillet and cook over medium low heat, stirring occasionally until carmel colored.

It will take about 20 minutes or more.

While I am caramelizing the onions I make my pie crust.

I use my Grandmother's recipe.

Spread 2 tbls. dijon mustard on the bottom of the crust & bake for 9 minutes at 450 degrees.

This is what your onions should look like.

Once the onions are finished & while my pie crust is baking, I put 4 oz cream cheese & 1/2 cup milk in a blender and blend until smooth.

I add 5 eggs, some salt & pepper to the blender & blend.

Then I begin layering my filling.

1 cup of grated cheese.

The caramelized onions.

Top with another cup grated cheese & then add the egg mixture.

Bake at 350 for 35 - 45 minutes.

Check for a set center and a slightly browned top.

You can adjust this recipe and use any combination of veggies, meats, or cheese.

Some of my favorites are asparagus & red onion, spinach & bacon, or broccoli & ham.

This is by far one of my favorite things to make.

Only because I love eating it soo much!!!

Friday Evening

What do I do for fun on a Friday night???

I hang with my girls........

chicks.

Pick a few radish from the garden.
Attempt to weed my spinach bed.

Marvel at the columbine blooming in my garden.

Enjoy a beautiful spring sunset.

In My Kitchen

Simple Veggie Stir Fry

I chopped carrots, broccoli, cremini mushrooms, red onion, sugar snap peas, & water chestnuts.

In a large pan heat a few tablespoons of sesame oil.

Add veggies and stir fry for 5-10 minutes. (I like my veggies to still be a bit crunchy.)

Add one jar of Trader Joe's General Tsao Stir Fry Sauce and simmer for just a minute until heated.

Serve over white or brown rice.

We had potstickers with our veggie rice bowls.
Yummy!
Most of the veggies I used came from my CSA box.

My Entryway

It was such a beautiful day today.

I did a little redecorating in my entryway.

Fun little wreath I put together using my pendant banner from Lisa Leonard & 3 little birds from Micheal's.

Finally framed some of my pictures from our photo shoot with Joni in November!

My kids senior pictures, and some of my little eggs.

So happy to have some warmer weather, it inspires me to finally finish up some of my awaiting projects.

In My Kitchen

I got my first veggie box for the season from our local CSA today!

I was soooo excited.

I love fresh organic veggies.

I think I just really love food.......

there I said it.

I LOVE FOOD!

Beautiful rainbow chard & spinach.

I removed the stems, rough chopped, rinsed & dried.
I sauteed 2 minced garlic cloves, 2 tbls olive oil, & the greens until tender.
At the end I added a splash or two of balsamic vinegar, sea salt & pepper.

Dinner.

Cheese tortellini with tomato basil marinara & sauteed greens.
It was yummy.

Giant heads of lettuce from my veg box.

My box was packed full of goodness.
For those of you who aren't familiar with what a CSA is check out Local Harvest!

It's a good thing.