Holly’s Apple kale salad
Massage washed kale with lemon juice, salt, and olive oil. Rinse, add a touch more lemon juice and a cut up sweet apple!!! Delish!!
Cupcake replacement day 26
So far so good today! I brought my lunch for once!!!! Yea!!! And now a bite size larabar (apple pie) for dessert after my sandwhich! Yummy!
30 Day Challenge
So I have realized, (well I have actually realized this before) but I have a very addictive personality, and right now I am addicted to sweets! Recently I started working in an area of town where there are tons of restaurants and cupcake shops, and chocolate shops within walking distance of my office, and this is where my demise has begun. I probably have eaten cupcakes or gelato ice cream everyday since I started working here, needless to say that although my taste buds are happy my waistline is not! So I decided to do a 30 day challenge with a co-worker. I am giving up sweets and desserts and he is giving up cokes. We started Thursday afternoon July 28.
So how have I been? Well I am glad to report that I have made it so far without any sweets and without much temptation. Friday at lunch I had this for dessert and it was ssooooo good! I have to remember the natural sweetness of fruit!
Cantelope, strawberries, and watermelon!!! Really refreshing and good!
My next item of “cupcake replacement therapy”
Jamba Juice Apple and Greens smoothie! What a great thing they have created at Jamba! Its kale, spinach, carrots, lettuce,bell pepper, spirulina, apple- strawberry juice, peaches, mangos and banana in a smoothie!! So delicious and good for me! The other cool thing I noticed about Jamba Juice is now they have the calories listed next to the drinks so you know what you are getting! Love it!
So it looks like so far I am doing ok! I know it will be hard but I am hopeful that I can get back to my good for me sweets and remember how good these foods make me feel! “Cupcake replacement therapy” 26 days to go, hopefully I can make it even longer!!!
Just Think
If you think about anything today…. Think about where your trash goes??? Plastic Bottles, Old Computers, Cell Phones, anything you throw away into your trash! I am not a saint but I saw some pictures that helped me realize today that I myself can make an even bigger effort to recycle MORE! I also learned that most of our E-waste (computers, electronics) is shipped over seas and dumped in developing countries. This is insane when we can recycle it.
I ask that you look into your life and see what you can do to help preserve this wonderful place we call home — Earth! Thinking Logically there is only so much land and water mass and with billions and billions of people living on the earth producing trash everyday, Where do you think it will go? Where do you think it goes now? How does it impact the areas where it is now? and How long before it reaches your neighborhood? How does is impact animals that do not know what trash is? or how to live around it/ with it? How does it affect the quality of the environment? Our quality of life?
Today I just ask that you look at some pictures and realize what impact you have on the earth, and make a small change to make it better! If everyone recycled something today , Just think of the impact that will have on the Earth. Just think of what you can do, one small thing to help save a wonderful planet for years to come.
I know I am going to make a better effort.. Are you?
Sunday Cooking and New Patio in Progress
I think we have had the most productive weekend since we moved into the new house. We have attributed it to watching several episodes of Hoarders throughout the week. I could probably do a super long post just on that show, nevertheless it has helped us clean up and clean out some stuff from our house that we just were not using. I have a pile of clothes to try to sell to hopefully get some new ones, now that I am wearing slacks everyday to the new job instead of jeans.
Next project was to start building our patio on the back of our house. We had three 10×10 cement slabs poured on the back of the house when it was built. My parents built their own patio and came over this weekend to help us start ours. I cannot tell you how excited we are about this! The thought of being able to sit on our patio in the rain or under some shade in the sun is sooooooo amazing and exciting! This weekend we poured and set the 5 foundation posts. Hopefully by the end of summer we will have it completed.
This was not a hugely hard task but it was super hot outside and we worked and also cleared the garage to store the next round of wood. (something I had been wanting to do for a while) After this we settled in for a few games of Kinect on the XBOX (super fun if you have not tried it, but also a really good workout) We had a very busy and active day so today I did not think that I would have the energy to do all the cooking that I did.
First Up I put on a huge pot of Cabbage Soup! I got the recipe from the Cabbage Soup Diet. My cousin turned it onto me, the soup not the diet. I really don’t recommend the diet, especially if you are Vegan, but the Cabbage Soup Recipe is really amazing!!! I love it. So I will be having it all week to try to slim down a bit on my own kind of diet. A vegan eat lots of veggies diet!
You really have to try this soup, it taste so good and you can adapt the recipe in so many ways!
Next up I wanted to come up with something different for the Hubby’s lunch other than PB&J, so we threw around some ideas and he has really been wanting something with rice and beans. I looked on some of my favorite blogs and found this recipe : Vegetables and White Bean Burritos. This recipe comes from Savvy Eats, which is an amazing blog that I subscribe to. Please check it out. There are a ton more great recipes there too! With this one I did not do the exact same recipe but it sure did inspire me to create what I hope will be a wonderful lunch for my Husband. Recipe is as follows:
1 bunch of aspargus chopped up into bite size peices 1 bag of green beans chopped up into bite size peices 1 small white onion 1 1/2 of a green bell pepper 1-2 Tbsp of olive oil spice of your choice white jasmine rice
I cooked the rice according to directions. Then saute the onion and bell pepper in olive oil for about 4 min until onion is translucent. Season with your spices at this point. Then add the asparagus and green beans and saute until desired tenderness. Again add desired spices. Taste and adjust spice to desired likeness. Let cool a bit and mix veggies with rice in a large bowl and serve. Or in our case put into containers for lunches and pack with pita pockets. 
We will know after tomorrow if it comes out good eaten when cold.
How the vegetables look while cooking. Yummy!
Mix it together
Packaged for Lunches
To season this dish I used a Spice by Pampered Chef Called Moroccan Rub . I am pretty sure it is made for meat, but we all know that won’t happen in this house. lol I will tell you though this spice was really good, especially with the rice and veggies! I can’t wait to try it with some stir frys. Also once again thank you Julie at Savvy Eats for the great recipe and inspiration for this adaptation.
Last I wanted something to go with my cabbage soup for the week and thanks to some delicious Raw Shredded beets I had for dinner with My amazing Mother-in-law, I decided on Raw Shredded beets and spinach. Now making the shredded beets was definitely a “red” mess lol, so I thought I would share some pictures. As long as you rinse everything quickly afterwards nothing got stained red, although it did look like I butchered some meat in my kitchen…………
not too messy but super beet red!
the cleanup…
The yummy results that I will have all week with my lunch!
Well this is probably one of the longest posts I have had in a while. I am really trying to get on a regular blog schedule and have more regular updates, so wish me luck with that. Until next time have a wonderful Sunday evening/Monday morning.
1 Year ago today!
What were you doing one year ago today? Well us? We were getting ready to commit ourselves to each other for the rest of our lives! Yes folks today is our one year Wedding Anniversary! I cannot believe it has been a whole year!! Time sure does fly when you are busy. So today we are just hanging out for most of the morning and I came across some poetry that I used to write and what I found was an unfinished piece that pretty much sums up the way I feel about my husband so I thought I would share:
So you know the feeling?
A Warm Slow tingle down your spine
anticipation dances with heart palpitations
pounding and playing a giddy but unsteady rythm
your blood becomes emotion
your thoughts comotion
your skin becomes a ribbon of anxiety
Smile
is all you can do
it has captivated YOU!
I will also share with you a comic that Aaron’s Aunt sent us today!! Super cute and fairly relative to being a vegan!
Hope you have a wonderful day people, I know we will!
