i have started to realize that i do have a lot more energy since finding wellness mama, primal toad and a few lots others. eat fat, get fit had just posted about having energy. and i'm realizing that i am getting more energy. even amongst all of my daily major stresses.

i've been up today (got today off of work) about 6:30 am. ate bacon for breakfast about 10 or so. drank water til then. walked my little k to school and back. worked on the cake (not for me, but that cheesecake part sure is tempting), cleaned, blogged, shopped, cleaned a little bit more, went on another walk and i could still be active. this is a big accomplishment for me. whereas i would love to have a nap, i haven't really been tired for a nap. 

i have been sleeping pretty well at night because i can remember my dreams. 

last night i dreamt about the mayans (if you are a SOA fan, you know what i'm talking about)

anyway

energy is great. less stress would be great too, but i'm working on that slowly but surely. 

eat lots of fat. 

i can tell when i need fat. 

for breakfast on the go, i will scramble up one or two fresh eggs with coconut oil, maybe some prosciutto and then i typically top it with avocado. 

yummy! 

that makes my day at work so much smoother. i might even have the raw protein powder, just to make sure i have enough protein and fat. 

i have been basically sugar free since august 1. i have had refined carbs i think 3 times and every time, i felt sick.
so instead of feeling sick, i feel good.
i am feeling better, thinking better and perhaps even looking better!

i made the cake. i want to try it so bad

i made the cake part like i said

with the fresh strawberry cake

and cheesecake

but then i changed the icing to this

1 lbs cream cheese

1/2 lb butter

2 cups powdered sugar

whatever flavoriing you want

make sure your cream cheese and butter are softened. 

mix butter and cream cheese til well blended. 

add powdered sugar. 

this came from a professional or semi pro cake maker

and it worked great for my cake

even spread on the regular cake and the cheese cake filling

oh yeah

i frosted the bottom layer

put on the cheesecake layer (almost broke it, so be gentle)

since there was a little lip/edge thing from the cheesecake, 

i mixed strawberry puree with some frosting and poured it in there

i forgot to take a picture, but here ya go, an afterthought

it was perfect

and i think is going to make this super delectable 

then i put the top layer on

 and i tried a new method of using straws to strengthen the cake.
i'm not sure if this needed it, but it would hold all of the pieces in place.
and it was easy, so why not

and iced that sucker with the cream cheese icing.

and smoothed everything out with dipping my spatula in a bit of water

i wish i could dig in. because i think this will be one of the tastiest cakes ever

who cares what it looks now

a friend requested a cake for her 16 year old.

decorated like a golf green.

but she wants a cheesecake. 

maybe even strawberry cheesecake.

so this is my idea that i will try out

fresh strawberry cake (which i've made and was perfect, not too sweet or anything)

with this cheese cake filling

and this cream cheese frosting

and then color the cream cheese green and conquer the most unique request for a cake in my short history of making cakes.

next request is a carrot cake with cream cheese frosting for a smurfs birthday. 

and cupcakes. 

ideas anyone?

one more recipe.

that was a total hit. 

but first off...

breakfast was fried eggs and bacon. yumm. and a plumcot.

throughout the day, i finished the rest of the bacon. 

yum.

and then i didn't have any bacon left. 

dislike.

during the day, my hubby said he had been craving fish.

and i had some flounder in the freezer.

with a recipe that needed a lot of improvement.

so here goes.

1 lb or more of flounder

1 onion

bacon grease

butter

carrots, peas, potatoes (i was lazy and used a mixture of frozen and canned)

put flounder in a baking dish. saute onions in butter from the fried eggs. add in the carrots to the onions sauteing. add in all of the bacon grease. saute that sucker like crazy. put the potatoes and peas in with the flounder. add salt, pepper, celery salt, and whatever other spice sounds good.

dump on the bacon greased/sauteed onions.

bake in oven for 30 minutes at 350

eat up and enjoy!

let me know what you think

a completely paleo friendly recipe that i made up all by myself. 

i'm quite proud of this feat. 

but even more amazing, is that it is ridiculously easy. 

and anyone can have skills like this

1 lb ground beef

1 onion

some mushrooms

1 clove garlic

1 bag frozen cauliflower

4 T butter

4 T sour cream or yogurt

garlic powder

salt pepper

brown up ground beef. throw diced onion. toss in mushroom and garlic. salt & pepper.

in a pot, cook the cauliflower with some water, until it is very soft.

i blended it up in my blender with some butter and sour cream and garlic powder

spoon on the mashed cauliflower to a plate. then add on the ground beef yumminess. 

ENJOY!!! 

oh, and i top just about everything with parmesian, which i did here too!

Milk, Minus the Cow

as i'm bored and not really focusing on much, i start flipping through the "yahoo news" (still not sure who decides what makes the news, but anyways) i see this article about alternative milks. coconut milk is my fav... and the con they put for it should be a pro... the saturated fat is good for your brain, development and just about everything else. i was pretty amazed to see that they did list that soy milk has been linked to breast cancer. i wonder how many people actually will listen. i've noticed that soy is the most popular in the stores, next to cow's milk. and that everyone thinks they are being super ultra healthy when they eat soy milk, soy butter, and all those other soy things... alas, my rant for the day

Milk, Minus the Cow

i made a yummy breakfast that i wanted to share.

and a new recipe i found for coconut flour pancakes

Recipe Notes: Both cow and coconut milk work well in this recipe. You can also add cinnamon or fruit as desired. Just keep the pancakes small and watch them so they don’t burn.

Ingredients

·         4 eggs, room temperature

·         1 cup milk (raw cow’s or coconut both work)

·         2 teaspoons vanilla extract

·         1 tablespoon honey or a pinch of stevia

·         1/2 cup coconut flour

·         1 teaspoon baking soda

·         1/2 teaspoon sea salt

·         coconut oil or butter for frying

Directions

1.       Preheat griddle over medium-low heat. In a small bowl beat eggs until frothy, about two minutes. Mix in milk, vanilla, and honey or stevia.

2.      In a medium-sized bowl combine coconut flour, baking soda, and sea salt and whisk together. Stir wet mixture into dry until coconut flour is incorporated.

3.      Grease pan with butter or coconut oil. Ladle a few tablespoons of batter into pan for each pancake. Spread out slightly with the back of a spoon. The pancakes should be 2-3 inches in diameter and fairly thick. Cook for a few minutes on each side, until the tops dry out slightly and the bottoms start to brown. Flip and cook an additional 2-3 minutes.

4.      Serve hot with butter, coconut oil, honey, syrup, or fruit.

i burned mine. well, they were black. but they tasted good nonetheless!

add that with some sausage, onions, potatoes and a bit of cheese toasted in the broiler. 

even all the kids ate, without a fuss!

enjoy

my body has done some pretty crazy stuff since i started paleo. well, kinda. i started on august 1 mostly. on july 29, something happened to my eye and next wednesday i'm going to have a sty drained from my eye. i was told it was due to a very clogged oil gland in my eye. never had anything like that before. 

during this, i found out that i have a bacterial infection. instead of doing the antibiotics, i've been downing the garlic and cooking everything with garlic. i have no clue if it has helped, but i'd be in the same boat had i taken the antibiotics. 

weather here has been pretty crazy. on tuesday it was 110. on thursday, the high was 70 for a minute. today the high was 90. and due to this, my throat hurts and i think i'm running a low grade fever (which i just let run its' course). but i haven't wanted much to eat. 

which all leads me to my point here. 

even though i don't feel well and my brain kinda said for me to eat some toast with butter, but my body said no way! i ate the topping off of the pizza tonight because i was too lazy to make any meatza or such. but i still don't want toast. or pizza crust. or anything else. which i think is a pretty big feat! yesterday i ended up eating an entire avocado with tomato and ham for lunch. it was so good and made me feel good too. today, i made some mushrooms, garlic, spinach sauteed in coconut oil and then scrambled in two eggs (we raise our own eggs). it was so yummy. 

but i still want something comfort-y. something to make me feel better. i got online and happened across this blog  at the primal parent talking about paleo eating and shared custody. that is my life. it helped me feel better, so even though i don't have the food yet, i just had to talk about this post. my husband and i have 4 kids, his and hers. and diet and food is horrible at the other houses. so even though my house isn't paleo perfect or anywhere close, i know that at least my kids (all of them) have a good diet while they are here. 

and i'm still looking for something good to eat. 

chocolate is always good, right? dark yummy chocolate!

maybe with some of the coconut butter that i just made. oh so easy! i'm going to do it again and take pics, but here is where i learned. so easy!!!

bacon. bacon. bacon.

it's what's for dinner.

today i had leftover frittata with spinach and portabella mushrooms, watermelon (a lot of it), a couple pieces of cheese and bacon. mmm, bacon. check out what primal toad has to say about bacon. 

while i didn't pair it with anything tonight (not feeling like cooking or anything else) it was still yummy, i still have the yummy bacon flavor in my mouth and i'm not craving sweets. 

7 quick takes

~1~

i was an entrepreneur when i was younger. my 6 year old, little k, is selling plastic bags parachutes in front of our house for only 25cents. 

~2~

i am saving all of my pennies and nickles to get to italy in two years. i even take any money from the laundry as my "payment" and may or may not have gotten $1 the other day from my kids' laundry. 

~3~

i'm digging the paleo style right now, and my dedication. i made a grip load of "regular" chocolate chip cookies and i didn't even try one, or a half of one.

instead, i made my yummier version. 

~4~

i have way too many projects in my head and not enough time or energy to do them. one is a project unique to me (i didn't even find it anywhere!!!) i am trying to make a hall tree/shoe and backpack storage behind our door, where there isn't much space. every time i sit on my couch, i look at it and plan in my head how i can do it. and it will get done one day. hopefully soon. and before winter, so there is someplace to actually hang coats. almost like a central command station.

~5~

speaking of projects, my kitchen, where the cabinets are trying to come down from the walls, is a project that i fear and dread, but plan and look forward to all the time. i'm so scared that one day, i'm going to come home and my kitchen will have fallen. it is so odd, but the cabinets are pulling away from the ceiling AND from each other in the corner. i'm still saving the money for that. which is hard, since, as of yesterday, we are a single income home. eek.

~6~

even though i've been paleo for over a month (or mostly paleo) and have been walking 5 times a week for the past 3 weeks, i'm still a sleepy little girl, and l.o.v.e. to nap!

~7~

no matter how crazy my family life is. i love it. and i'm planning for family pictures. i've realized that trying to get them yearly isn't always feasible. so i'm planning and thinking and planning. and from all of this, i've realized that i plan a whole lot!

linked at conversion diary

when stress hits

and you don't have much time

or patience

and you eat *pretty* healthy

and haven't really wanted to eat healthy much today

finish off your day with some yummy chocolate chip cookies

~recipe below~

and coconut milk

and ncis

in a quiet house all to yourself (for the time being)

what do you do???

I found a great polish market. It smelled so good. And yummy. And tempting. I love culture, travel and food. So out went primal for a meal to feel as if I were travelling through Poland, like I did so many years ago. My tummy is heavy, so full, I'm drowsy, but oh the experience!

-- Sent from my Palm Pixi

my challenge started before this month. i knew i had to do something and in july, i decided i would begin something in august. i saw that you were doing a challenge, and i hadn't really followed wellness mama too much; however, i did really like your homemade recipes for toothpaste, deodorant, etc.

 i decided to do your wellness challenge.

 i had no clue what it would entail. i had never heard of paleo or primal before a month ago. i've always lacked protein. and i love bread, pasta and all those other grainy foods. but i decided to go for it, see what it would be like to give up the grains and sugar. 

typically, my attention span is short, 

so a month is usually too long. i decided to see what i could do and just go from there. 

some of my major 'health' problems have been a major lack of energy, being tired, not feeling rested in the mornings, stress, and wanting to tone up/lose some weight. my family history is rich with bad health and i have always said that i did not want to have such problems, so i have focused on my health for a while. 

i started off the month with carb flu. it passed pretty quickly, but i did feel the effects of it for sure. but on the first sunday of the month, i fasted for 24 hours, from saturday night until dinner on sunday. and for the first time in my life (i'm a regular faster), it was easy, i wasn't starving and

 i didn't scarf down food as fast as i could get it. 

i made crepes and chocolate decadent dip for my family. i realized how family and kid friendly a lot of the food was. i also realized how many carbs are in a banana, and putting two of them in a smoothie is probably too much. i watched fathead over the course of a week, as i cooked paleo. 

i researched more paleo and found tons of recipes. i bought my first coconut flour. and my second. but i'm only half way through my first pound. after all that i baked, the cookies, brownies, crepes, pancakes, fruit dip, pizza crust, cheddar biscuits and who knows what else. 

i made mayonnaise and realized that there is a major learning curve. i haven't given up and i'm going to try it again. slowly this time. which is hard since i'm so impatient. 

i made meatza. again and again. and have requests for it again. so i learned that 

our family's tradition of pizza friday night can continue, 

and i can participate. 

for the first time in my life, i bought 10 lbs of ground beef at one time. i'm more or less, meat retarded. i barely know how to cook it and typically have a lot of problems. but i'm learning and didn't screw up anything this month. i made the grain-free one pan spaghetti. and got to eat the leftovers, which was the best part. 

i refrained from bread all month long! and i felt the difference. it felt good. and i never, not once, craved sugar. i did want chocolate or i had the munchies, but no sugar cravings. 

i had already cleaned out most of the chemicals in my house, but i did a few more, made my own non-poo, have some vinegar infusing in the sun and my own "organic sea mist" for my hair, which i love. i use lavender in some water for the "smell good stuff" to help my kids go to sleep. 

i typically get enough sleep, and am in bed by 10 or 10:30 at the latest, on almost every night. 

i made the yummy probiotic lemonade. i am getting another scoby for kombucha from a friend, but i have my roobios tea to make with it. and i can't wait. i made whey for the first time. how cool was that! 

my stress hasn't gone down. but i guess that is because of my job. 

i have had energy problems still, but for the most part they are better. 

i know when i need to eat some fat and protein though and can listen to my body.

i know i don't have any major problems, such as gluten or dairy intolerance or any other allergies. 

i still wake up and could take a nap within an hour or two. i know its a problem. i like sleep. 

i lost some weight, but also stopped checking after the mini challenge. but it's still in my mind.

one other odd thing, that i'm going to have checked again though, is that my blood pressure was very high for me towards the end of the month. higher that it ever has been. i'm going to see if it was a fluke or what. 

i have made some good friends. i really like writing and checking in the forum. i started posting more on my blog... you still need to get a button so we can put them on our blogs to link to you.... and i have talked to so many people about how i feel. people i work with know that i'm the health guru/nut/freak/genius and i have been able to share my knowledge with others around me. 

this wellness challenge has turned from being something i thought would be fun to try, to a whole new way of living. it is my wellness challenge so i can be in control of my body and life. 

school has started. 

i'm behind at work. 

crazy stuff going on with my family and a motorcycle that is giving us just enough grief to top everything off. 

but it seems like i am still eating healthy. 

my energy can definitely be better. but it is more than it was a month ago. I will admit  i am lacking a lot of voglia/want to do some of the more mundane parts of my life. i love the walks I go on with my princess and the talks with my big one. through it all, i have been grain free and sugar free all month. i have learned how to have some healthy and yummy foods. 

stress will come and go, but my body will be with me forever and i need to love it and give it more attention than all those other external problems.

-- Sent from my Palm Pixi

it's been a rough day. and what is a lazy unrested girl to do for dinner and such. 

out comes the frozen pizza (it's pizza friday night and i just make a meatza tonight or anything else. so my not-so-perfectly-paleo answer is to just eat the toppings off of the pizza. which i like to do anything.

and instead of wasting using my energy on the meatza, i decided i needed cookies and sweets. healthy of course. i figure i've gone 26 days without any grains (27 days ago i thought that was impossible) or sugar or processed foods. this is what facebook shared with me today and i am now waiting for them to come out of the oven!

2 T coconut flour (plus a bit extra if you need the dough thicker)

1/4 t. salt (i used Himalayan)

1/4 t. baking soda

3-4 T. organic cane sugar (i used turbinado, not sure if that is paleo approved, but i know it is way less processed and good for you and tonight that is the best that i'm coming to eating well!)

2T. unsweetened shredded coconut flakes

1/3 cup melted coconut oil (cool though)

2 large eggs

1/4 cup dark dark chocolate chips

Combine all the dry stuff and mix. Combine the eggs and coconut oil in a separate smaller bowl and whisk. Then mix dry and wet together. Let set for several minutes and thicken up, then add in some chocolate chips. 

Place spoonfuls onto a cookie sheet, lined with parchment paper (i forgot this and my cookies were flat). bake for 10 minutes or so on 350. 

mine just finished and i have had one already. they are so yummy and unique. mmm. enjoy!!!

UPDATE:

these are good. perhaps too good. i ate 11 of the 12 of them.
and i'm going to make them again!
i checked out the nutritional value per cookie.
98 calories with 72 calories from fat
5.63 g. of carbs (can't beat that!)
8.09 g. of fat
1.54 g of protein
thats about 70% fat, 23% carbs, 6% protein
not too shabby for some yummy cookies!!!

i had some ground beef and had no clue what i was going to make, so i googled "paleo ground beef recipes" and i found this gem, that i touched up 

brown and crumble 1lb ground beef with chopped onions and garlic and mushrooms. 

add in some cooked quinoa (only about 1/2 cup or so)

stir in a package of chopped spinach, cooked and well drained (or a frozen package).

stir in 3 or 4 beaten eggs, and stir until eggs are set. add salt and pepper

top with cheddar cheese

YUMMY!!!

it doesn't look the prettiest, but it is good and makes a lot!

i just made some "sea mist".

i always loved how my hair was after i was in the ocean and i have been looking for something great for my hair. so i finally made this spray that i found.

while making coconut flour pancakes from WM.

i haven't tried it yet (because it's breakfast)

but in less than an hour, this super easy, super cheap, and super yummy smelling spray is going on my unwashed hair luscious locks.

i might take pics and show you later... if i remember. this will also be going on little princess's hair too. 

i'll post the recipe for my non-shampoo later. i loved it, but i put in a tad bit too much of one ingredient, so i'm working on that. 

here is the super easy recipe for an expensive spray!

1 cup water

1 tbls sea salt

1 tbls aloe juice (optional)

1/8 tsp argan oil (optional)

5 drops essential oil or your fave perfume (optional)

Put all the ingredients in your spray bottle and shake well.  Use on damp hair for best results.  I find the spray gets clogged every now and then-if this happens, just run it under hot water.  Shake before every use. 

i made a crockpot dinner today that turned out really yummy

here are the ingredients, with rough approximate of measurements

chicken, enough to serve your family (or whoever), i used about 5 breasts that i had to use up

celery tops (leftovers from my bunch)

zucchini (i used two)

garlic (i used dry and a lot of it)

chicken broth (8 ounces or so)

mushrooms (4 ounces)

butter (2 -4 T)

salt

pepper

celery seed or salt

bay leaves

onion (if you remember to)

put all of that in a crock pot, let cook all day on low.

shred up the chicken, mix in some sour cream and serve on cauliflower or broccoli. 

i found a recipe on fast paleo that i tried out tonight. i had some scallops and had no clue what to do with them. so here goes!

Ingredients (with my adaptations)
1 bag scallops (500g)
1 large chopped onion
3 chopped garlic cloves
2 rashers of bacon chopped (except i had no clue what a rasher was, so i just took about 7-8 strips or so and chopped it up)
1 can diced/chopped tomato
1 large field mushroom (i used 8 oz of baby bella mushrooms, once again, clueless about a field mushroom)
1 heaped dollop of double cream (if i would have used cream, it would have been sour cream, not sure what double cream is, but i forgot... oops!)
1 T ghee (i used butter b/c i still don't know what ghee is, i'm somewhat slow here)
1 t basil, 1 t parsley
3/4 t chili flakes, salt, pepper

1. Melt the ghee/butter in the pot, add onions, garlic and cook until it begins to turn translucent. Add bacon and cook for a few minutes
2. Add tomatoes, herbs and spices and cook for about 10 minutes on low
3. Stir in scallops and cook for 2 minutes
4. Take off heat and DON"T FORGET to add in the cream.
Put on a bed of cauliflower (i used diced up zucchini) and then top with parmesan

it was super good! my husband had 2 or 3 servings!!

Coconut Flour Cupcakes

i made these super yummy Coconut Flour Cupcakes, but i didn't make them as cupcakes, but more like brownies. oh yeah, and i added cocoa. so good.

however, my lil curlz decided that it was missing something. she said it was sugar, however, she did just come back from not being home for a while. she ate out all the time and ate tons of processed and sugary foods. i'm sure she'll love it soon enough!

here is the recipe

6 eggs 

                                                                      1/2 cup honey 

1/2 cup melted coconut oil  

1 Tbl pure vanilla 

1/2 cup sifted coconut flour  

1/2 tsp sea salt 1/4 tsp baking soda

1/4 cup cocoa (about, i didn't measure) 

Heat oven to 350.  Mix wet ingredients in a blender. Mix dry ingredients in a small bowl and mash with fork so all the coconut flour chunks come out. Blend together in a blender. This is the tricky part. I find that I have to blend it on medium/high to get it to a good cake like consistency. The batter should be thick. If it's not, add a little more coconut flour until it is. Butter a 8x8 pan and pour in mixture. Bake for 18-20 minutes. and enjoy!! 

i just made this grain free one pan "spaghetti" for dinner last night, when we had company over, the LDS missionaries. it was super yummy. no one knew it was "healthy". i cut up strawberries and we had the decadent fruit dip too. mmmm, good!!!

you should try it. 

i had planned on having a super yummy breakfast tomorrow, but since i will be fasting, i decided to make coconut crepes and this Decadent Fruit Dip for lunch.

let me know what you think! add in all sorts of yummy fruit!

i've had a good day with the kids, saturdays are always fun. for breakfast, we had leftover meatza and pizza. before that, i went and did a horizontal boot camp. total killer and i've been tired all day from that, but otherwise, had a lot of energy. i took my vitamin, vitamin d, bio astin and chlorella with ashwaganda. came home and made the coconut crepes (made with coconut flour)  with the chocolate and vanilla cream sauce. so yummy and sweet.
and so good for you!
we had lots of fruit, including a plumcot (plum and apricot) that came in our bountiful basket today.
for dinner i'm making quinoa (i know, it's not on the challenge, but i have guests over that wanted it), roasted potatoes (request from one of my sons), roasted asparagus (another request from other son) and honey dijon onion crusted catfish.

here is the catfish recipe
1 onion finely chopped
1/4 cup (or so) of honey dijon mustard
garlic salt and pepper
catfish fillets (or nuggets like i used)
parsley flakes (which i forgot)

mix onion, mustard and some salt, pepper, garlic powder and i added some crushed garlic
lay catfish on a baking sheet and cover with garlic salt and pepper. then spoon on the mustard/onion mix. sprinkle on parsley flakes
bake in oven at 350* for 20 minutes, then on broil for 4-5 minutes

oven roasted potatoes
1/2 cup olive oil
1/2 cup butter melted
2t beef bouillon paste
1 t thyme
1 t marjoram (which i didn't use)
3 T dried onion flakes
1/4 t celery salt or seed
2 lbs potatoes

chop up potatoes small and put on baking sheet. mix everything else and drizzle over potatoes and coat with the mixture. bake for about 30 minutes on 450*. turn potatoes while baking. bake until tender and golden brown

cheese roasted asparagus
1 t olive oil
asparagus, ends trimmed off
2 T green onions (i only had dried onion flakes)
2T celery, chopped
2 T grated parmesan
1/4 c. bread crumbs (i did not use this to keep it more with wellness mama's challenge)
1/4 c. melted butter
1/4 t. salt (i put more on than this)

oil baking sheet. layer asparagus on. mix all other ingredients and spoon over asparagus.
bake at 375* for 45 min or until tender. serve on a white platter to bring out the green, vibrant color. top with more parmesan!

i just whipped this up and it is tasty. i didn't add in the chili peppers and used lemon instead of lime (my lime was rock hard after only a couple days!!!) i used a white onion, but next time, i would probably use a different, sweeter type. i added in some more water too, to mellow out the onion. finally, i added some cinnamon, maybe a teaspoon. it is yummy and chilling right now

SPICY MANGO GINGER SOUP

Ingredients:
1 large mango, peeled and destoned
1/2 onion, chopped
1/2 cup cold water
1-2 small chilli peppers, minced (or to taste)
juice from 1 lime
1/2 tsp grated or minced ginger
Preparation:
Process all ingredients together in a blender until smooth and creamy, adding a bit more or less water as needed. Chill before serving. Makes two servings.

linked from raw recipe a day on facebook

i am a health freak. health nut. green smoothie queen. whatever. most of the time anyway. so when i saw wellness mama doing a wellness challenge, i got super excited. i really like a lot of her recipes and ideas. so i'm doing it. i took the plunge. i've had more energy today and for the most part yesterday. yes, i'm on day two. it's great. yesterday, she posted a bunch of mini-challenges. #1... grain free. all grains. i've never done this, never wanted to yet i'm curious to see how much of my tiredness will go away with going grain free. by the end of the day, it will be two days, which is amazing. i'm already seeing a difference with my body and detox symptoms. i'll let you know how it goes. i'm keeping it simple! 

see those recipes

s.i.m.p.l.e.

i just made two yummy meals with mushrooms!

spinach and mushroom frittata
spinach (i used half bag of frozen)
Portobello mushrooms, one - two, or some sliced ones, or whatever else
palf an onion
6 eggs
salt, pepper, garlic powder
your favorite cheese (cheddar)

whisk up the eggs, salt, pepper and garlic powder, then i threw in a splash of almond milk. then a couple T (a small handful) of grated cheese.
in a skillet, get some olive oil going, about 2 T, saute the onions, then the mushrooms. add the spinach and saute until the spinach is either wilted or not frozen. pour the egg mixture on top of the veggies, then cover and turn heat to medium high, cook for about 5-6 minutes. put on another 2T of cheese, then put in the broiler for 1-2 minutes, until the middle is firm.
ENJOY!

while trying to figure out what i wanted for dinner and what DH would eat, i stumbled upon a very simple recipe on allrecipes, so i decided to make both and then i'd know i'd have something to eat tomorrow too. i doctored it up to make it healthy!

half head cabbage, shredded
chopped portobello mushrooms
olive oil
half onion, chopped
salt, pepper, garlic powder

saute onion. add in shredded cabbage. salt, pepper and garlic powder. let it cook down for a bit, then add in the mushrooms. cook for about 5 minutes or so, on medium-medium high heat.
yumminess.

now both of these recipes are super easy to make at the exact same time! what a way to save time and energy!!! i haven't tried the frittata, just yet, but the cabbage is sooo good. i will definitely be making it a lot!!!

i just made the yummiest vegan dinner. my body craves healthy stuff... nd then it craves something sweet i wish i had the time and resources to do all or most everything vegan... but alas, i don't and my family would completely revolt. but here is my recipe

saute up some mushrooms, onions, yellow pepper (or any color i'm sure would be great) and a zucchini in some coconut oil. i added some garlic powder and raw salt. 

toss with raw kelp noodles. first time i had used them and they are yummy. 

i bought mine from naturalnews.com for less. i only used half the package. it is a completely raw noodle/pasta with hardly any calories! 

so, toss veggies with noodles, and then put in some bragg's liquid amino. this is super yummy. and fresh. 

goes great with the chocolate chip cookies that i'm making right now too... anyone else do that? make something healthy with something unhealthy???

here is my cookie recipe (i did add in 1 cup oat bran in place of 1 cup flour)

• 1 cup butter, softened
• 1 cup white sugar
• 1 cup packed brown sugar
• 2 eggs
• 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
• 3 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 2 teaspoons hot water
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 2 cups semisweet chocolate chips
• 1 cup chopped walnuts

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).
2. Cream together the butter, white sugar, and brown sugar until smooth. Beat in the eggs one at a time, then stir in the vanilla. Dissolve baking soda in hot water. Add to batter along with salt. Stir in flour, chocolate chips, and nuts. Drop by large spoonfuls onto ungreased pans.
3. Bake for about 10 minutes in the preheated oven, or until edges are nicely browned.

because my life is usually super busy and it takes me a while to get projects done... here is one that has been in the works for about a year. my boys bedroom is going to be a space theme. pretty hard to figure out something for a 12 and 6 year old, but this is gonna be cool. so last year, we painted the one main wall black. and that was as far as we got. confession, the blue tape was still on the ceiling because i'm too short to get it off without a chair and i kept forgetting to get a chair.  

alas, yesterday, i had about 3 hours to finish the project. i have had this tiled wall mural of the earth from the moon for years. multiple multiple years. in all fairness, i was going to get the mural up a lot sooner, but then i found out that it was slightly too big and i was going to have to cut it down. well that also took a long time to realize what i could do and how i could do it. finally, yesterday, i got a spur in my boot and figured up the math (for the most part, i did it right too) and got it cut down. so i was by myself and had to call my mom to see if she would help me. so with mom's help and then the fes (foreign exchange student) to get the tall stuff, this is the final product of their wall. the boys want a bookshelf to be hung on this wall to look like it's floating in space... 

what do you think?

my goals for this weekend is to finish up the boys room, so maybe future pictures will be coming soon. at least a more final project. 

birthday spread
we are having our monthly birthday spread at work. and since i'm pretty bored at home these days (shockingly, pretty calm and not much to do) i am bringing 3 things. one is
pineapple cream cheese bread. it's baking right now and smells sooo good. get the recipe here!

the next thing i'm making is divine halfway bars. recipe here.

i've seen some like this before, but knowing that this is "divine", i just had to try it.

i will say, mine isn't turning out as pretty as launi's but i have to see what it is going to taste like. 

i'm sure divine!!! 

this recipe is courtesy of launi, the wonderful woman who taught me about hypnobirthing. it was amazing and saved my daughter's life and made a possibly stressful birth and complications very calm and peaceful for me. she is in utah, so you should check her out if you live there. 

last day of school was on thursday. and my princess had an amazing teacher (well both K teachers were good, so they both got treats) we did something for each day of the week for teacher appreciation, but i didn't take any pics. here is what we did for the end of the year, with a sugar scrub and a good little poem i found

here is the poem. we did the brown sugar scrub instead of lotion. teachers loved loved it!!!

A teacher has such special hands,

So many things they do,

They teach the tiny children

And yes, the big ones too!

They watch over precious lives

while parents can’t be there.

They reach and teach so lovingly

To those for whom they care.

They work on crafts, they clean the mess

They know each book that’s read

They lift, inspire and touch a heart

With each kind word that’s said.

A teacher has such special hands,

So many things they do.

May this little bit of lotion

Help preserve those hands for you!

i'll link up the recipe for the sugar scrub. i love it. this link has honey in it, and i haven't used honey, but it sure does sound good.  i use it in the shower all the time. and it is so simple and good for your skin!!!

enjoy