fourth of july recap and beach day :: day 5

 

 We had a great Fourth of July.  My Mom and niece came over along with some friends.  They have 3 children who are all about the same age as my kids.  Their youngest is a girl and Nickel and her get along well.  It's very cute when we take them along when the Mom and I go to coffee and they have their own conversation.  Usually they are having their own individual conversations, which makes it even cuter.

We cooked on the grill, like thousands of others around the country.  It was HOT so it was nice not having to turn on the oven.  I made some veggie burgers, roasted veggies (I still have turnips!), and this quinoa salad.

It has zucchini, black beans, dry toasted almonds, green onion, and dressed with citrus tahini dressing (yep, from Dreena Burton).  I would have liked to have put something red in there, but didn't have anything!  It was delicious and light but also filling.  We also had homemade ice cream.  I made strawberry and chocolate chocolate chip.  My friend made vanilla with her old-fashioned ice cream maker.

We did fireworks and we had the best ones yet! We spent less than $25 and most of them stayed on the road because of the dry weather  But the fountains we got this year were spectacular!  Sorry, no pictures of the day other than the quinoa.  I was enjoying myself too much to take pictures.


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Today we spent the day at the beach with my Mom and niece.  Our favorite beach, North Bar Lake in Empire, MI.

It's wonderful, just a long way to walk to our favorite beach spot.  After parking in the lot we walk along a dirt trail leading to the lake.  We then walk a short bit parallel with the lake along the tree line. 

About midway in the picture above is where we finally make our way down to the water and continue to walk heading around the lake some more (left, as in the picture above).

We continue walking along the lakes edge.  Keep in mind we are lugging along all of our beach paraphernalia (towels, toys, bags of food and drinks, a cooler, umbrella, camping chair, etc.).  We've found that walking in the water and letting the cooler float as we pull it along works the best.  But still...

...it's a long way around when you're carrying all of that stuff!

 

But it's worth it.  This spot is perfect for us.  The smaller lake is warmer for the kids to swim and also has a short canal that leads to Lake Michigan.

And the Empire Bluffs never disappoint.

 

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Now, onto my challenge.  I'm doing well.  I'm keeping with my diet but have been having cravings, starting last night.  I seemed especially hungry yesterday, not being fully satisfied after my humungous salad and really wanting something (that I shouldn't have) to eat after the kids went to bed.  Popcorn was calling my name, or cereal with almond milk (no gluten-free, sugar-free cereal on hand) and the last bit of granola wasn't quite enough.  Tonight I'm feeling kind of the same way.  I didn't eat a whole lot at the beach and now I'm feeling hungry, even after I ate a nice-sized portion of leftover Fourth of July dinner (see above).  

My sister's advice would be to drink a big glass of water, because I could be needing the hydration (true, since I spent so much time outside today).  But I think I may pop some corn tonight (air popper...no oil) too.  We'll see how I feel after drinking that glass of water.

Does anyone have cravings?  How do you deal with them?  Do you indulge?  I'm curious to gain some additional tips.

Happy weekend!

cleanse challenge :: day 2

Day two went well.  Because of an early morning thunderstorm and a late night up watching The Bachelorette (yes, I am one of those people) I didn't have time to do my morning workout.  And because life with 3 busy boys is shall I say....busy?  I wasn't able to work out today.  No worries, I will tomorrow. 

Aside from wanting a piece of chocolate and something crunchy I'm very satisfied by my meals.  To satisfy my crunchy craving I made some granola.  That did the trick.

Breakfast was a green smoothie with kale and spinach and some fruit.  Lunch was a yummy salad with nectarines and walnuts.  I used up the last of my dressing so I'll need to make more tomorrow.  Dinner was fried rice without the oil.  I was craving fried rice and didn't have all of the vegetables I'd wanted to put in.  My Co-op didn't have any snap peas or green beans.  Bummer!  I added what few veggies I did have:  mushrooms, carrots, onion.

All in all today went well.  I'm not craving anything specific now that I've had the granola.  I look forward to the coming days to see how well my body feels.

I'll be taking tomorrow off (off of blogging that is!), but returning for a full report of the holiday grilling menu on Thursday. 

Happy July 4th!

the cleanse challenge :: day 1

I decided I would give this challenge a name.  I thought The Cleanse Challenge was appropriate in that I'm focusing on cleansing my body of certain things:  sugar, oil, gluten.  I'm then focusing on adding whole foods like vegetables, beans, legumes, fruit, and grains (those free of gluten).  I'm also adding regular exercise including yoga to these two weeks.


I did my half hour of exercise thanks to Janae at Bring-Joy.  She is a whole foods vegan mommy to 4 kids and has some short fitness videos on her blog.  They're fun, easy, and get your heart pumping.


Breakfast was easy.  I have a green smoothie virtually every morning.  This morning was no different.

My breakfast green smoothie:

          ::  red chard
          ::  mango
          ::  1/2 orange
          ::  nectarine
          ::  banana
          ::  hemp nuts
          ::  water

 

Lunch was similar to my normal lunches.  Let me introduce you to my big salad.

I make my salads different almost every day.  I use what greens I have, what leftovers may be in the fridge, and then decide what fruit (fresh or dried), nuts, and dressing best fit in.  Below I describe what I usually (there are no rules!) put in my salads and then specifically say what is in the salad I ate today, the one pictured above.

My big lunch salad:

          ::  greens (red chard, red leaf lettuce, spinach)
          ::  fresh vegetables (red, orange and yellow peppers, tomatoes)
          ::  fruit (grapes)
          ::  dry toasted nuts (almonds)
          ::  beans (chickpeas)
          ::  oil-free dressing (citrus tahini dressing)


Dinner was easy today as well.  I need to start cleaning out my freezer because I just bought an ice cream maker attachment for my mixer.  I'm so excited!  I have a lot of ice cream recipes I can't wait to try...after these two weeks are done of course.  I found some Beans and Greens soup in the freezer and decided that would be great for dinner.  I don't have a picture, but it is a yummy soup.

I knew the evening would be the toughest part of the day for me.  That's usually when I pop my corn, have a piece of dessert, or a glass of wine.  I scoured the internet tonight, looking for something that would satisfy me.  I came across a recipe for a Neapolitan smoothie.  It was okay, but it was nice having a bit of cocoa in there to satisfy my desire for chocolate.

Now I'm just finishing up my last bit of cinnamon tea from this morning and then I'm heading off to bed. 

challenge

I enjoy challenging myself.  And I feel like it's time again.  I've happily been vegan since last October but think I can be a healthier vegan.  I eat mostly whole foods but sometimes I know I could do better.  So my next challenge for myself is to eat a whole foods, mostly raw, gluten free diet for the next two weeks.

Some might call this a cleanse, some might call it a fast, or maybe a diet, but it will be my diet for the next two weeks, beginning tomorrow July 2.  I will not be consuming sugar, oil, or wine (aack!!) either.  Potatoes and pasta will be taking a break from my diet these two weeks too.  Also, I'm challenging myself to exercise for 30 minutes 5 times per week and also complete my yoga challenges for the next two weeks (and beyond).  I'm a member of Dr. Melissa West's membership site and she posts weekly challenges, among other perks.  She is a loving, generous, smart, and talented woman.  If you like yoga or are interested in giving it a try, please look over her site. 

One last item on my list is bedtime.  I've been going to bed later and later and am embarrassed to admit I've been going to bed between 11pm and 12am (sometimes later) most nights.  That must change.  I challenge myself to be in bed by 10pm every night.  Maybe I can even make it earlier.

I'm excited to begin a challenge like this.  Why?  Because I know I'll feel good.  Sure I may miss my glass of wine during the Bachelorette tomorrow night.  I know I'll miss having coconut oil and salt on my popcorn the next couple of weeks.  I may even miss my usual baked goods, but I know I can make substitutes for those.  And a cup of herbal tea will be a fine substitute for the wine.  

It's all about challenging myself, pushing my limits, seeing what I'm capable of. 

Wish me luck!

thankful

It has been an interesting week, to say the least.  Three out of the five of us were sick (including mama) so we were house-bound pretty much the entire week.  We did get out today, since we were all feeling much better, having hot chocolate (and tea and coffee) with Grandma and my niece.  It was nice getting out amongst the living again and especially seeing my Mom and niece.

It's always easier to see the bad in the difficulties in life.  In light of the challenges I faced this week, I thought I would list the things I am thankful for instead...

     ~  two sick boys who were uncomfortable, tired, and unhappy...allowing us to slow down our pace and enjoy a relaxing week (not thankful that they were feeling this way, but thankful we were able to slow down...just thought I should clarify)
     ~  one middle boy who didn't get sick, but had to cancel three of his playdates
     ~  dinner tonight...a simple vegan meal that received no complaints!
     ~  family movie night where no one is complaining!
     ~  our trip to the doctor which confirmed an ear infection and strep throat and allowed us to treat our very uncomfortable and unhappy oldest boy
     ~  the day after beginning treatment when our oldest awoke as a new person...hooray!
     ~  a couple of inches of snow falling today, since we didn't experience much of a winter up here in Northern Michigan this year
     ~  my glass of wine that I'm enjoying while my feet are up on the coffee table
     ~  my husband who bought the wine a couple of weeks ago
     ~  "pet sitting" three dogs, two cats, and four chickens...allowing us to get out of the house and walk in the fresh air, even when we didn't feel like it
     ~  visiting with said pets (spread out between 3 homes, of which the humans are all on separate cruises!!) who made us feel as we were the best things in the world
     ~  my husband who worked late all week so he could watch a movie with me tonight after the kiddos go to sleep

Happy weekend to you all!

a good site, a bad site and some cookies

A beautiful site:

A not so beautiful site:

Somehow I overlooked a pen that was in Chris' pants and it exploded in our dryer.  I say "overlooked" but in actuality, I haven't been checking pants pockets...I guess I've gotten lazy.

I finished off Chris' bottle of Goof Off trying to remove the ink from the inside of the dryer drum.  It looked to be about 15 years old and it did a fair job at removing a lot of the ink...but not all.  I think I have to change my ways and start checking pants pockets again.

Another beautiful site:  oatmeal raisin cookies. 

I spent Nickel's naptime baking and speaking with a nice man from India about my Snapfish order.  I had ordered some home decor items and a they didn't quite turn out as I expected.  He was very helpful (even if it took 55 minutes) and I'm looking forward to hanging up some pictures of my cute boys.

A long phone call meant no time to make my soup that I was planning on making.  Nor did I have time to do my yoga class. 

My middle son is the one with the sickies now and I felt a little run down this morning.  I'm hoping I can fight it off with my ginger green tea and some immunity yoga...and a good night's sleep.

Until tomorrow...

extra days off and a cold weekend

Silly me...I thought my kids had school today, Martin Luther King, Jr day.  My oldest thought to check the school website.  I'm glad he did.  Since they had a snow day on Friday, we had a nice four day weekend.

A good time for Play Dough.

And boys concentrating very intently on their task at hand.

I love bringing out the Play Dough bin, after a long vacation down in the basement.  It keeps them occupied for about 30 minutes.  Just long enough for me to get lunch on the table.  Perfect!

It was especially nice having the day off today because it gave my oldest another day to recover from his camping adventure Saturday night. 

I missed my oldest boy.  Thankfully, Daddy called a couple of times to let me know they weren't freezing their you-know-whats off.  The building they slept in was nicer (from what I heard) than what I expected.  I was imagining them sleeping on a dirt floor of an old, drafty barn.  Apparently it was a finished pole barn.  Still, it had concrete floors, but it was heated.  And, Daniel informed me he didn't even need to sleep with his gloves on!  He also informed me that Daddy said he could sleep out in the snow next year.  What!?!?  Daddy and I will have to talk about that.

They helped the Boy Scouts build their snow forts that they slept in and did lots of sledding.  Another part of the fun was helping make the meals.  Note to self:  encourage boys to be in charge of more meals.

He went to bed early last night and slept well so I think he's recovering in that respect.  However, he's at a scout meeting right now....it's 8:47pm EST and he still isn't home.  sigh 

Now I think I'll sign off for the night, drink my wine, and watch trashy reality TV.  Yes it's Monday night and the Bachelor is on.

Good night.

give a green smoothie a chance

I kept to my diet over the weekend.  It's getting easier saying no to the things I used to say yes to, like soft drinks, sweets, processed foods.  We ate lunch out and I skipped the soft drink, opting for water instead.  Saturday's breakfast was my famous bowl of Cheerios heaped with fresh fruit and my ever faithful cup of chai tea.  Lunch was Qdoba tacos, veggie style, minus the cheese and sour cream but heaped with pico and lettuce.  Yum!  Dinner was leftover vegan lasagna...so creamy and still delicious!  I finished the chocolate chip cookies, so there was an emergency on hand.  Baking was definitely on the agenda for Sunday.

Sunday's breakfast was a favorite for me and my youngest:  steel cut oats with blueberries and cinnamon.  My 2 year old an I eat 3 servings of this easily!  It's so warm and delicious, it almost tastes like a blueberry pie.

Lunch was a simple PBJ with pickles and apples.

And dinner was a favorite, Spaghetti No's with Mini Lentil Meatballs.  I don't have a picture, but Isa's photo is great.  I'm working on getting approval from Ms Moskowitz to link to her site.  Once I hear back, I'll add in the link. 

I noticed I ran out of popcorn, and my pumpkin seeds were long gone, so I was starting to panic...what was I going to snack on?!?  Nuts and dried fruit to the rescue!  Cashews, brazil nuts, dried cherries and apricots did the trick.

I did some baking, chocolate marble banana bread...heavenly.  And, as of Monday night, it's gone.  I'll have to make another loaf because everyone loved it.  I didn't have everything I needed to make the cookies I wanted, so that went on the back burner.  Chocolate banana bread stood in well as dessert Sunday night.

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Today's breakfast was a vibrant green smoothie with toast topped with pumpkin butter.  I'm loving my green smoothies.  I admit, I was a little scared at first.  But, if you add enough fruit, and most of it should be frozen, then you can't taste the greens.  I like to use kale partly because I still have some in my garden, but mostly because they have a great amount of absorb-able iron.  And, I tend to be iron deficient.  I used kale, pineapple, cantaloupe, pear, flax oil, and hemp seed.  You can add flax seed in place of the oil and hemp seed.  I just used what I had on hand.  If you want it to stay that pretty green color, be sure not to add anything purple or red.  Blueberries taste delicious, but they do turn it into a dark purple color, just an FYI.

 Today's lunch was a big salad.  And, I forgot to take a picture!  Crazy!  Not to worry, I'll be having another one tomorrow.  More details tomorrow on what I like to put in it too.

Dinner was leftover lentil meatballs with velvety cheesy sauce.  You gotta try that recipe, I'm just sayin'.

Now, on to the fun stuff.  The boys have been raking leaves all weekend.  They've been disappointed that my extremely efficient husband has been, up until now, munching up the leaves before they've had a chance to play in them.  So, we had a talk and asked Daddy to please leave the leaves so they could get their fill.

 Daniel is saving some leaves by keeping them on the deck.  My two year old was then jumping off the deck box into the leaf pile.  sigh

 Fall is in full swing.  It gets dark now as we're eating dinner and the first forecast for snow is in on its way for Wednesday night.  We could quite possibly wake up to snow on Thursday.  Hooray!

Until tomorrow, enjoy your evening.

challenges

I've been vegetarian for 5 years and vegan for almost 1 year.  However, I cheat from time to time, eating dairy (cheese, ice cream) and eggs from time to time.  But, I have an extreme addiction to sugar.  I envy those who pass up dessert, wishing I could do the same.  I can't.  So that's why I thought I could use a good challenge.

I decided to give up refined sugar and flour.  gasp!  I know...what is a girl to do, the week before Halloween and I give up sugar?!?  Argh!!!  But, I have done it before.  I gave up refined flour and sugar once before, about eight years ago.  Boy, that's a long time ago.  And, I'd given up candy once just in time for Halloween, but that was, and I'd be guessing, about 1991 or 1992.  Sheesh!  It's about time for me to start giving that junk up!

So I'm talking on the phone with my sister the other day and she asks, "What do you eat?"


That gave me the idea to share some of the things I'm eating.


This was my breakfast this morning.  A big bowl of Cheerios topped with fresh raspberries, bananas, and unsweetened almond milk.  I also had a nice big cup of chai tea with agave nectar and vanilla almond milk.  

 

 

 

My youngest and I had music class this morning, so I brought some cantaloup to snack on.

 

 

 

For lunch I bought a vegan sandwich from our local Coop with some pears, and pickles.  You gotta have pickles with your sandwich, right?

 

 

 This afternoon I snacked on some pumpkin seeds.

Then, dinner was a yummy vegan lasagna with asparagus, mushrooms, cashew cheese (courtesy of the fabulous Dreena Burton), and topped with Daiya cheese.

 

 

I have some vegan, gluten-free chocolate chip cookies that I'd made earlier in the week.  You can find the recipe here.  You may wonder how they could be good if they are vegan.  Try them, I ask you, and then tell me that they don't taste like mama's home made cookies.  So, I have them been happily eating them for dessert.  

It can be done!  And, I made it through the day without any Halloween candy or ice cream!  Hooray for me!

I'm curious to hear about anyway you like to challenge yourself.  I encourage you to try to make one healthier meal a week.  There is a site called Meatless Monday that might give you a place to start.  Another easy way to start eating healthier is to substitute unsweetened almond milk for your cows milk on your cereal.  You may notice a slight difference in taste, but you will only notice it the first time.

Happy eating!