Mother's Day Weekend Wrap-Up, Motivation, Lemon Caprese Pasta Salad and Spaghetti with Meat Sauce Recipes

Hope all you moms out there had a wonderful Mother's Day weekend!  I had the best one yet (out of all four I've celebrated so far).  It was my first one as a mom of two, and my first one as a complete family.  I kicked it off with a trip to Paducah, KY, to run the Iron Mom 1/2 Marathon Relay with a group of awesome gals, and it was a blast!  It was great to get away for an overnight trip too (and Justin did just fine with the boys on his own!).

On Sunday the four of us went out for sushi for lunch (well, Harlee and Elliot didn't have any but Justin and I indulged - we love sushi!), did a little shopping, and got frozen custard later.  Yum!  I'm pretty sure I added back all the calories and then some that I burned off on the run... but oh well.

Now I'm back to the grind.  I did a crossfit workout this morning, then I came across an awesome post by Felicia Newell, a nutrition coach I follow on Instagram and Facebook.  I wanted to share her post with you and reflect on it a bit, both for my own benefit and maybe yours, if it resonates with you.  Here's the link to her post, but I'll copy and paste it in case that link doesn't work.

One of the very first (and most difficult) steps to making a lifestyle change is finding the motivation.

Do you, like many others, struggle with self motivation? Having a hard time getting yourself to your regularly scheduled workouts? Finding more and more reasons to cheat on your healthy diet?

Guess what? You're not alone! We all struggle with motivation sometimes, but I have some tips that can help you self-motivate and reach your goals.

A healthy dose of motivation coupled with determination will get you almost anything in life. So how do you know if you’re genuinely motivated?

- Motivation will tell you to get to your workout no matter what.
- Motivation will nag you to put down the doughnut.
- Motivation makes passing on fries a reflex.
- Motivation makes a sweat drenched workout exciting.
- Motivation constantly reminds you why you do what you do.

Self-Motivating Tip #1: Find Your Motivator.

Motivation stems from having a goal. What is your goal? Why do you want to get into great shape and/or make a lifestyle change?

Once you uncover your personal motivator you’ll find that motivation flows quickly your way.

Take a minute to really uncover the reason that you want to lose the weight. Don’t say something vague like you want to 'Be thinner' or 'Look more attractive.' Dig deeper – there is a very specific motivator in your life, you simply need to uncover it.

Here are some possible motivators…
- I want to have more energy to keep up with the kids.
- I want to improve my health through weight loss to extend and improve my life.
- I want to lose 15 pounds before my vacation.
- I want to restore my confidence to wear sleeveless shirts.
- I want to regain my figure to impress and attract my significant other.

Self-Motivating Tip #2: Make It Official.

When you write something down it suddenly feels official, doesn’t it? Write down your motivator for getting into great shape, and post it where you will see it often—next to your alarm clock, on the bathroom mirror, or in your car.

Each time you see your written motivator take a moment to visualize yourself accomplishing your goal. Try to make the scene as clear in your mind as possible. This is a powerful tool for maintaining your focus and direction.

Self-Motivating Tip #3: Be Practical.

It’s game plan time. You know what you want, and now you need to map out exactly how you’ll achieve it. It is important to be practical in your planning, rather than throwing out ideas that you know you won’t stick with.

With any weight loss goal it is important to 1) maintain a healthy low-calorie diet, and 2) participate in a consistent and challenging exercise program.

Plan a routine that will fit into your schedule and you’ll be more likely to stick with it. Also choose an exercise program that you enjoy—don’t force yourself to jog everyday if you hate jogging.

Self-Motivating Tip #4: Call For Backup.

Enlist the support of your friends, family and co-workers. Tell everyone about your goal to lose weight and get fit, you’ll be surprised how supportive most people will be. By being open about your goals you’ll likely be an encouragement to others to make healthy changes in their own lives.

I really liked that post, and it got me thinking about my own motivation.  I struggle with motivation to work out on my own, to go for a run on my spare time, and to eat healthy as often as possible.  Swimsuit season is fast approaching and I've just felt kinda "eh" about it.  And I know I won't feel that way when it's time to actually go swimming, so to do something about that I need to start NOW.  Apparently I need to dig deeper than the swimsuit though.  What is my motivator?

Feeling good is a motivator.  I came to a realization in the last couple days - when I eat foods that contain a lot of gluten, I have allergy attacks out of this world.  I feel like I have glass in my eyes, my nose is constantly running, sneezing, the works.  If I watch what I eat, I can tolerate the great outdoors without much trouble.  And I've been finding that it's not worth the great taste of food with gluten in it to put up with allergy attacks like that.  Added to that, I feel better all over when I eat right.  I have more energy, I have more mental clarity, I have more balance when I eat right.  Motivation.  And that's my step #2 mentioned above - writing it down.

What is your motivation?  I don't often get comments on this blog.  Feel free to comment your motivation!  Let's work together and fulfill #4!

So how about a couple recipes?

Remember that vegetable spiralizer I mentioned in my last post?  Yeah, that thing has been getting a workout!  I made classic spaghetti (though I just took a shortcut and made meat sauce instead of meatballs) and it was like the real deal.  Honestly, now that I have this spiralizer, I doubt I'll ever mess with a spaghetti squash again.  These zucchini noodles are way closer to the real thing.  They're awesome.

Sorry about the bad lighting...

Yellow zucchini squashes turn out even closer to the look of real pasta!

Basic Spaghetti Meat Sauce

1/2 lb ground beef (or venison in our case)
~ 30oz tomato sauce
1 6oz can tomato paste
2 tbsp rice vinegar
2 tsp garlic powder
1/2 tbsp basil
1/2 tbsp oregano
1/2 tbsp Italian seasoning
Salt and pepper to taste

Brown the beef in a skillet and drain off the grease.  Meanwhile, combine all remaining ingredients and cook over medium heat.  Add the beef and mix until well incorporated.

I added about two zucchinis worth of noodles to this recipe and cooked it all together until the noodles were soft enough to my liking.

And it was delicious.

So this morning I was feeling inspired and decided to pluck some of my basil growing outside and use up the last of my zucchini  noodles with some of cherry tomatoes we had in the fridge.  Allow me to share my recipe!

Lemon Caprese Pasta Salad

1/3 cup extra virgin olive oil
1/4 cup lemon juice
1 clove of garlic, minced
salt and pepper to taste
1-2 tbsp chopped fresh basil
1/2 cup cherry tomatoes, halved
1/2 cup mozzarella cheese cut into 1/2" pieces
2 zucchinis, peeled and cut into noodles

Whisk the olive oil, lemon juice, garlic, salt, and pepper together (I used a glass measuring cup).  Add the basil, tomatoes, and mozzarella cheese and stir until combined.  Let sit while cooking the zucchini noodles over medium heat in a dry skillet, about 3-5 minutes.  Don't overcook or the noodles will become mushy!  Once they get a bit of a transparent look to them take them off the heat immediately.  Let cool, drain off the water, and add in your lemon caprese mixture.  Toss until well combined and enjoy!

Cooking the noodles a bit

Lemon caprese mixture

Tossed together

Serve!  Yummy!

A Week in the Life of Jami - Karate, A Paleo Meal Break-Down, and Discipline

I am mighty proud of the week I've had.  I've decided to write about it too, in hopes that I can maybe provide some inspiration.  I understand my circumstances are different from a lot of people's, but maybe you can adapt some of my advice into your lifestyle.

Last week Harlee started karate. I'm super excited about it, and he's enjoying it too (and he's adorable!).  I can tell this is going to be good for both of us. I'm a free-spirited person - routines, structure, and sometimes effective discipline aren't really my thing.  Bedtime and naptime is whenever they're tired, dinner time is whenever they're hungry, and as far as chores go, well, we have some general ideas of chores, but nothing that's enforced.  I encourage him to put his clothes in the hamper, to put his shoes away when he takes them off, to put his toys away when he's done with them, and to collect the eggs from the chickens, but sometimes his clothes are all over the floor (just like mine), his shoes are not on the shelf (also like mine), his toys get left out (much like my stuff), and I make up excuses for him and just collect the eggs myself.  This karate thing is all about focus, discipline, respect, structure - all that stuff I feel we need to work on.  I'm still not going to be very structured in every aspect of life, I'm just not that kind of person, but I feel with this he's getting a balance.  But I must say it is actually encouraging me to be a bit more routine at home, and to find structure.  This was his second week of karate, and my first week of structure and discipline in my own life.  Bedtime has been at 9pm every night, consistently including brushing our teeth, changing into pj's, reading a book, and going to sleep.  And it feels kinda good, which I wasn't expecting...

But the best part for me has been the new structure I've found with meal planning.  First of all, karate is at 6:10.  I pick him up from the sitter and we drive up to karate and are on the road home by 6:45.  I REFUSE to be a drive-through family.  REFUSE.  The first week we went to Dairy Queen the first evening and Subway the second.  That in itself was enough of a kick in the butt for me to figure something out.  That second evening, we stopped at the store on the way home and I had Harlee pick out his very own lunch box.  He found one he liked and was super excited about it.  But what was I going to put in it?  Let's face it, Paleo is tricky enough when it comes to feeding kids, and even harder if meals happen on the road.  It was looking like I may have to resort to sandwiches.  But I haaaaate store-bought bread.  Since cutting bread out of my diet, it all smells like chemicals to me now.  Probably because it is.  Well, turns out we have a bread machine that we got as a wedding present, that hasn't been used since going Paleo, and I thought, perfect.  I'll make the bread.  And for you haters out there muttering "overachiever" under your breath at me - seriously, it takes 5 minutes.  If that.  Load the ingredients, and push a button.  That's IT.  I do it at night, we have fresh bread in the morning.  It's stupid to buy bread.  Get a bread machine, and I don't care how busy you are, you do have time to bake your own bread.

Anyway! I digress.  So this week was super successful.  Justin has been on night shift so I didn't have to really think about a family dinner, but I know I've been needing to think about my diet.  I gained weight over the holidays, and apparently decided to extend the holiday season on into Easter.  I kept making excuses - I'd get back on the Paleo wagon after New Year's.  Then after my birthday in February.  Then once I started personal training in March.  Then after Easter.  Excuses excuses.  Now I guess I'm not THAT bad - I don't eat bread or pasta, but we'd go out to eat and I'd get a burger without the bun but eat all the fries.  Kinda defeats the purpose.  Going out to eat was becoming a problem, whether with Justin, friends, family, or even by myself.  Oh and don't get me started on all the Easter candy.  Plus I was only working out two days a week and that's it.  I completely stopped all physical activity in my basement gym, which totally sucked.  And I was feeling it.

I guess in the spirit of discipline and self-control that was being exercised in karate, and my determination to not swing myself and my kid through a drive through twice a week, I finally cracked down.  Lunches packed for Harlee, and stir-fries like they were going out of style for me and Justin (usually salads would be my go-to but they just seem super boring and unappealing lately).  And protein shakes for supper for me.

Monday I ran a mile and worked out in the basement.  I had bacon and eggs for breakfast, and for lunch I started working on meal prep for the rest of the week.  Most people meal prep on Sundays.  I prefer to keep holy the sabbath day.  Haha just kidding I'm not religious you know that, but I do like some time off.  Monday feels like a good day to kick start a good week.  I had thawed out some pork chops and cut them into cubes, and I started prepping veggies.  Fresh green beans got trimmed, broccoli got split into florets and stems cut into small pieces, brussels sprouts trimmed, and everything got put into bags.  Carrots, onions, cauliflower, snow peas, you name it.  That way I was ready for the week - grab a handful of whatever veggies sound good, throw them in the skillet, and voila.  So Monday I had pork and a bunch of veggies, olive oil, red wine vinegar, a drizzle of maple syrup for a bit of sweetness, and some spices - garlic powder, salt and pepper, basil and oregano.  I like to play around.  I made enough for me to eat for supper and for Justin to take to work that evening.  I work late on Monday nights so that evening I made a protein shake - I like Jay Robb's Chocolate Egg White Protein - because there are 5 recognizable ingredients in it instead of a long list of ingredients I can't even pronounce.  A scoop of that, a scoop of Barlean's Greens Chocolate Silk (I like chocolate, can you tell?), a scoop of almond butter for extra calories and flavor, and I blend it all up with a handful of spinach and almond milk (though I'm going to be switching to coconut milk once I run out since it's better for you).  Yes spinach - I love it in my smoothies.  Personal preference.

Tuesday I actually got up early enough to make a 3-serving stir-fry - one for breakfast for me, one for lunch for me, and one for Justin at work.  I used the last of the pork and whatever veggies sounded good, and did the same thing with the oil, vinegar, syrup, and spices.  I then made Harlee a turkey sandwich, filled a cup with carrots and cherry tomatoes and another cup with grapes, and packed it in his cool new lunch box.  I also made another protein smoothie for that evening.  I had personal training that afternoon, then that evening we went to karate and Harlee was thrilled with his packed supper.

Wednesday I had bacon and eggs for breakfast.  I ran almost 3 miles that morning, and since I was home that afternoon before evening clients I made another double-batch of stir-fry, one for me for lunch and one for Justin to take to work that night.  Then I made a smoothie for supper and headed to work.

Thursday was pretty much the same as Tuesday, only I decided to mix things up with the stir-fry.  I made chicken and added some tomato sauce, some Italian seasoning, Parmesan and mozzarella cheeses, and made it pizza style.  It was delicious!  Next time I'll add pepperonis and black olives to it.  I made Harlee a ham sandwich, packed a cup of tomatoes and carrots and another of blueberries, packed it in his lunch box, blended up a smoothie, and headed to work.  Personal training that afternoon, karate that evening.

And today is Friday.  I'm off on Fridays.  I made my almond flour pancakes for breakfast (yum!) and then made a broccoli/chicken stir-fry for lunch with a cheese sauce made with unsweetened almond milk, arrowroot powder, and freshly grated cheddar cheese.  Garlic powder, salt and pepper, YUM.  To top it all off, I got out my vegetable spiralizer and made some zucchini noodles.  Seriously, invest in a spiralizer, these things are great!!  And zucchini noodles are even better than spaghetti squash, not even kidding!

I'll admit, I haven't been perfect - pretty much every day I snuck in some candy, and occasionally a sample of that homemade bread.  But I've gotten better - while Monday I feel like I grabbed chocolate and munched on it all day long, today all I've had were a couple of jelly beans.  The main thing is I'm not going to beat myself up, and every day is a new day - tomorrow I'll try harder.  But I'm focusing on my accomplishments - I made food for me, my husband, and my kid every day and I kept it pretty healthy too.  I exercised every day too, which is a great feeling.  And ya know what?  I'm seeing the difference!  I feel good, and I'm finally starting to LOOK good.  My clothes and the scale are both finally showing me that I've made progress.  And that's got me motivated to keep up the good work next week too.

So that's my week.  Hope it provided some inspiration!  Now off to snuggle in for a movie and not go to bed at 9 because it's the weekend.  Cheers!

A Day in the Life of Jami: Easter, Turkey Hunting, Paleo Fajitas, and Arnica

Got a few random topics today!  NOT going to talk about essential oils though.  I'll save that for a different time.  So whoever is reading this that reported me, you don't have anything to worry about this time ^_^.

Sorry.  The full moon is still having effects on me - still feeling a bit snarky.

I hope you all had a great Easter weekend!  We sure did, the boys (well, Harlee anyway) had fun hunting eggs and getting goodies from the Easter bunny, and we all had a great time with family over the weekend.

Today was the first day of turkey season, and my ONLY day to get to go.  Justin had made arrangements with our good friend Clay for me to go hunting at his place (what a good husband), so bright (well, dark actually) and early in the morning my mother-in-law came over to sit with our sleeping boys while we suited up in our camo and headed out to the blind.  I kept in mind my lesson learned from the last time I had gone turkey hunting, which was to just let go and let it be, because things always work out the best that way.  I went into this with no expectations except for to have a good time with my husband and close friend.  It worked out in my favor!  We had an amazing experience, turkeys were gobbling all over the place all around us, Justin and Clay took turns calling them, and we got to see six jakes (young male turkeys) wander through our hunting area towards the decoys.  Two came out first, and I took a shot at the first one (the bigger one) and knocked him to the ground instantly!  Very exciting!  Finally, after 6 years of turkey hunting with Justin, I got one!

Me being goofy with Justin, Clay, and my first turkey!

I've adapted that attitude in a lot of things in life.  Just surrender to what's going on around you and let it be.  Of course I'm not perfect at it, and I forget that lesson sometimes and let stress get to me, and usually that's when things tense up and don't go as smoothly as I'd like, but for the most part I do try to remember to just relax into my environment and let life happen the way it's meant to.  It's amazing how things just work out, and even if things don't go the way I would have preferred, I always find out soon enough that they worked out the best.

There are things that require a bit of our control, though.  For me, that's food.  Good golly I have fallen completely off the healthy train again.  In fact, I've fallen off the healthy train and tied myself to the tracks.  I feel like crap, my system is backed up, I'm sluggish, and my allergies are really starting to kick in despite supplements I've been taking to ward them off.  I've sent my system into inflammatory overdrive, and it is not good!  I miss Paleo.  I miss how good I felt, how good I looked, and how good everything tasted.  Easter weekend was so bad to me.  So many carbs in our meals, so much wine, and so many jelly beans, gummy bears, chocolate eggs, peeps, etc., etc.  Ugh I feel like my blood sugar is spiking just thinking about it!  Just feeling like this makes me feel motivated to change.  I'm off to a good start, too, and thought I'd blog about my lunch as a reminder to everyone else that it's really not hard to throw a tasty, healthy meal together.

For breakfast I had bacon and eggs.  I always have bacon and eggs, though, so nothing exciting there.  It's quick and easy for me, it's low carb and high protein, and tastes good.  Lunch, I was just going to cut up some pork steaks I had in the fridge and throw them in the skillet with some veggies and eat them plain and boring like that.  By the way, Justin and I were both home and I have to work tonight so lunch became our main meal - this would normally be something I'd throw together for dinner.  Anyway.  I started out that way, then threw in some orange bell pepper and onion slices.  Which made me think of fajitas.  That sounded good!  I threw in some chili powder, paprika, garlic powder, and cumin to the meat and veggies, and then I whipped up some paleo tortillas while those were frying.  And by whipped up, I mean whipped up.  I can't believe I haven't posted these yet!  It's high time I do that!  These tortillas are sooooo good - the best paleo version of a tortilla I've had yet.  I'm not really sure where the original recipe came from, but it was passed along to me from my mom's friend Sandy, and I'm so grateful for it!  It's much easier than my flaxseed tortillas, and they're much softer and tastier than those too.

Here's the recipe:

Paleo Tortillas

1/2 cup almond flour
1/2 cup arrowroot powder
2 eggs
1/4 cup water
dash of salt (and any other spices you might feel like flavoring it with)

Whisk all ingredients into a batter and pour or spoon a bit into a hot skillet, and use the back of your spoon to help spread it to about an 1/8 inch thin circle.  You can use a little coconut oil depending on how non-stick your pan is, but I fry in cast iron so I don't put anything on it.  Once it's hardened up enough to slide your spatula under it, flip it over and cook it for a few more seconds, then transfer to a plate to cool.  Finish up the rest of the batter this way, and voila!  Tortillas!

These work great as crepes for fruit or wraps for sandwich ingredients, or in our case with lunch today, tortillas for fajitas or tacos.

Then I remembered I had a couple avocados, and they were ripe and ready to go!  So I sliced them open, scooped the meat into a bowl, and made up some quick guacamole with what I had on hand:

Quick Guacamole

2 avocados, peeled and pitted
1/4 white or yellow onion, chopped
1/2 tomato, chopped
juice from half a lime
salt, pepper, and garlic powder to taste

Smoosh all the ingredients together and voila! Tasty guacamole!

It turned into a perfect addition to my fajitas, adding just the creaminess sour cream usually does and the flavor salsa usually has.  I was quite pleased with the turnout, the flavor of everything put together was fantastic!  On top of that, I had a delicious lunch put together in under 30 minutes, with all the ingredients made from scratch!  Although I probably should have made a double batch of tortillas to keep in the fridge for another time, but oh well.

I think this lunch really helped motivate me - reminding me of how easy paleo actually is, how good it tastes, and how good I feel (I got up 3 hours before I usually do and I still feel great - not sluggish or heavy or anything like I have been this weekend with all the junk I ate).  To stick with the ease of it all, I think I'm just going to keep stir-frying meat and veggies.  I think I forgot what a quick and easy go-to stir frying actually is, and this recipe today was a great reminder.

One more thing before I go - the gun I used this morning had quite a kick!  Of course in the moment I didn't even notice it - I was so focused on shooting that bird that the gun fire actually startled me after I pulled the trigger, almost like I wasn't expecting it!  That's how in the zone I was for that shot!  But after I stood up, I noticed my sternum was pretty achy, and so was my back in a similar spot.  I'm pretty sure I knocked a rib out of place.  I'm not sure when I'll be able to see my chiropractor, so in the meantime I'm taking homeopathic Arnica, which is great for injuries!  Not sure if it'll help my body realign itself, but I will say I'm feeling a bit better since I've taken a couple doses!  I love homeopathy!

Well, that's my story!  I'll try to check back in soon, but with a family and a business - you know how that goes :).

Snow Day, Getting back on the Healthy Wagon, and Turtle Fudge Cheesecake

Both the boys are snoozing and the snow is still blowing around outside so I've finally got a moment of free time to share with you yet another AMAZING "cheese"cake recipe.  I'm addicted to these things!  It's my new favorite dessert.  I think I may have mentioned before that Elliot really doesn't seem to have a dairy intolerance anymore - I've been eating it and he's handled it just fine - but I can't stop making this dessert.  The first time I made it was because I wanted something to make me feel like I was still kind of eating a cheesecake even though I couldn't eat cheese.  And it turned out so freaking amazing that I just haven't stopped.  And there are so many different ways to make this, too!

So far the "cheese"cakes I have made include:
Cookie Dough
Pumpkin
Cherry
Chocolate Heath
Lemon-Blueberry

The lemon-blueberry has been my favorite so far.  But I'm a sucker for that flavor combination, and those flavors by themselves.  Girl Scout cookies came in and so far I've resisted busting into the box of Savannah Smiles and eating the whole thing all in one sitting...

On a side note, I actually haven't busted into the box because I've finally cracked down on my diet.  Like, gotten serious about it, for REAL this time.  Remember my first post of the new year?  I admitted that I'm human and have made mistakes, I totally fell off the Paleo wagon and have been gaining weight steadily and feeling crappier and crappier about myself.  And I said in that post that I'd try to do better, and I haven't.  It's March now, we're a quarter of the way into the year, and I haven't changed.  I've been slacking in my workouts more and more, still eating way more carbs and processed food than I care to admit, and it's been showing.  My skin is blotchy, I feel tired and run-down, and my "spare tire" keeps growing.

A few things finally hit me, which I'll probably write about in a future post, but I finally found the motivation to crack down and stick with it.  One thing that helped was starting up personal training again.  I'm just the type that needs that sort of exercise.  I need to be on someone's schedule, I need to have accountability, I need someone to tell me what to do and how to do it.  I'll put it on my calendar and show up.  This time, it's with a totally new trainer, in a totally new location, with a totally new system.  I got soooo much out of Flex and had such great success with Derek, but the timing just wasn't there this time, and I'll admit I've been nervous about trying something different, coming from knowing what he came up with for me worked so well.  But at the same time I'm excited about the change of pace, the different scenery, the different trainer - it's mixing things up a bit for me, giving me something new to look forward to, and that helps keep me motivated.  My first day was Tuesday and I'm sore today!  I felt so happy after I left - I'm back on track, getting back into the swing of things, and there's a light at the end of a tunnel that I dug myself into - a tunnel that just kept getting longer and darker the more I fell into the clutches of my bad habits.

And with this new exercise routine, I'm feeling a sense of motivation.  She took my weight, measurements, and body fat percentage, and being able to have tangible numbers in front of me made me feel determined to keep those numbers changing.  I want to burn off the body fat, regain my confidence, and most importantly, my good health.  But that's not a goal that's met in the gym, and I know that.  These are goals that will only be met if I behave in the kitchen too.  I guess the realization set in that I really do need to take the bull by the horns and crack down.  So all day yesterday I've been gluten-free, and all day today I've been 100% Paleo.  I'm going to focus primarily on gluten-free, as I'm sure non-paleo carbs will sneak in here and there, but I'm going to do my best to keep it as Paleo as possible.  I'm already feeling better, it's amazing what just two days have done.

Anyway.  That's where I am right now.  I'm excited and motivated and feeling really good about the future.  Bring on bikini weather!  (No seriously, please bring on bikini weather, this snow is getting OLD.)

Here are some snow pictures:

My brother Joel and I with our Buddha snow sculpture

Justin built a snowman

 Us with our friends Clay and Barbi with our igloo that we built in the front yard of my office

Alright, now for that "cheese"cake recipe!  It was Mom's birthday on Saturday (happy birthday, Mom!) and I told her I'd make her one of my cakes, and I threw some ideas out for what types I'd like to make, and she requested turtle fudge.  I was totally okay with that idea!  And ooooh my goodness it turned out great!!  We went over Sunday and played in the snow, then went inside for lunch and then to indulge in this fabulous dessert.  It tasted sinful.  I'm just blown away by how delicious it was, without having anything bad in it!  Of course it was chock-full of calories... I guess we can't get off THAT easy... but at least it contained a fraction of the carbs of what the SAD (Standard American Diet) version of this cake would be.

Doesn't that look heavenly??

So this was almost-vegan.  You can definitely make it totally vegan if you want, but I didn't want to.  It was also involved.  It took a few days of prep-work and had a lot of different steps involved.  But I'm telling you, it was SO worth it.  Plus Harlee got a kick out of helping me, as usual.

First, I made dairy-free sweetened condensed milk.  I found this recipe on The Detoxinista.  It's super easy to do, here's how:

Sweetened Condensed Milk being poured into fudge mixture

Dairy-Free Sweetened Condensed Milk

You need:
1 14oz can of full fat coconut milk
1/4 cup honey (or sweetener of choice)

Pour the coconut milk into a saucepan and bring to a boil over medium heat, about 5 minutes.  Whisk it while it's heating so it doesn't burn, and watch closely so it doesn't boil over.

Reduce heat to a simmer, and pour in the honey, whisking until it's dissolved into the milk.  Simmer for about 30 minutes, until the milk is reduced by half and thick.  Let cool.

I put it in an airtight dish and kept it in the fridge til I was ready to make the cake.  This is an ingredient for the fudge, which I made after I made the crust for the "cheese"cake.  The crust was pretty much like all the other crusts, only this time I used both almonds and pecans:

Crust

You need:
2 cups pecans, ground into flour
1 cup almonds, ground into flour
3 tbsp coconut oil, melted
4 tbsp pure maple syrup
Dash sea salt

Mix all ingredients until combined.

Line a springform pan (or 8x8 glass baking dish) with parchment paper.  Spread the crust mixture out evenly on the bottom, pressing flat.

Now that the crust was done, I was ready for the next layer: Fudge.  I actually got this idea when I happened to catch an episode of Giada at Home on FoodNetwork, and she made Cinnamon Fudge.  I got online and realized, I can totally Paleo-ify this!

Yummy melting fudge

Paleo Fudge

You need:

1 recipe Coconut Sweetened-Condensed Milk (see above)
1 tsp vanilla extract
2 cups dark or milk chocolate chips (I used a combo of both)
3 tbsp butter or coconut oil (I used butter)

Combine all ingredients in a glass bowl, and place the bowl over a saucepan of boiling water.  Stir the ingredients until melted and smooth.  Remove from the heat and, if you want just plain fudge, spread it out in a baking dish lined with parchment paper.

Or, in the case of this cake, spread it out over the crust mixture and let cool.

K, so you've got a crust, a layer of fudge, now you need the "cheese"cake!  That part hasn't changed, only this time I added an extra cup of cashews so I could have a little more :).

"Cheese"Cake

3 cups raw cashews, soaked in water overnight
3 tbsp coconut oil, melted
1 tsp vanilla
3 tbsp pure maple syrup
Dash sea salt

Discard the water the cashews were soaking in and place in a food processor or blender along with the other ingredients.  Blend until smooth.

I spread this mixture out over the fudge, then I sprinkled on more chocolate chips as well as chopped and whole pecans.  Then came the last step.  Caramel.  I got this recipe from Simple Roots Wellness and modified it to what I had on hand.

Paleo Caramel

1 14oz can full fat coconut milk
⅓ cup honey (original recipe called for coconut sugar - that would have worked better but I didn't have any on hand)
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 Tbsp coconut oil (or butter)
¼ tsp salt

In a small saucepan add coconut milk and honey.  Bring to a boil over medium heat stirring the whole time.  Once boiling turn down heat and stir continually at a slow boil, careful not to let it burn.  Continue boiling until sauce has reduced and thickened, about 25-35 minutes.  Remove from heat and stir in vanilla, oil or butter and salt.  Mine was light in color compared to regular caramel.  I'm sure using coconut sugar would have changed that.  But it still tasted awesome!

Drizzle this all over the top of the pecans and chocolate chips and pop the whole thing in the freezer for at least two hours.  Transfer to the fridge to thaw and soften, and dig in.  And marvel at how amazing it is.

Facebook - My Lenten Resolution

I decided to try giving up my Facebook newsfeed for Lent.  I haven't participated in Lent in over a decade, but I always liked the idea of doing something to better myself.  And I have a confession to make (and I'm making it because I believe there are a lot more people in my boat than are willing to admit) - Justin and I play on Facebook waaaaay more than is appropriate (in my opinion).  That and I was sick of seeing so many controversial, bold statements being made by a lot of people and groups I was part of.  I decided we needed a break.  We needed to pay more attention to each other and to our boys and to the people we were around in social settings.

But I think that's what we need to work on the most - WHEN we play on our phones, more so than what we're doing on them.

I like Facebook.  I stay in touch with my friends, with out-of-town family members, with clients.  I post pictures of my boys so people can see what they're up to as they grow.  I see what my friends are doing and it gives us more to talk about when we're together.  I like seeing my friends' pictures and statuses.  I'm part of groups of like-minded people, and I usually learn new things through them.  I also do a lot of advertising on Facebook for my business, and I share things I feel are important by posting articles I've read or snippets of articles, which makes the information get around more quickly than these blog posts.
I've missed out on things in this short week.  A few friends had babies, a few other friends had children who reached milestones, and different new around town has been shared that I didn't get to see.  People brought things up while in massage sessions with me that I would have known about had I been online, and I felt out of the loop.  I guess it's not overly important that I know all the latest gossip, but some things are actually important and not simply gossip.  As a business owner I almost feel like it's necessary to be online.  As a business owner you need to keep up with the times, stay current with social networking, stay in touch with your community the most efficiently.

Facebook can also hold a lot of drama.  People get courageous when they're not face-to-face with a person, and they feel they can say whatever they want, however they want to.  And they do.  I've seen it, and it does bother me.

But, in this first week of Lent, I've realized that it's not the use of Facebook that's preventing me from being a better person, it's HOW I use it.  And that goes for everyone.  If you're going to use it to stir up drama, yeah that's not good.  If you're going to browse it when you're supposed to be playing with your children, or on a date with your significant other, or hanging out with your friends, that's not good either.  And unfortunately, Justin and I have been guilty of that.

So for Lent, and forever after, we're going to make an effort to not play on it.  If we're alone and nobody needs or wants our attention, we can play on Facebook.  If not, our phones need to be put aside so we can focus on the people who are present with us in real life, not on cyber space.  Cyber space can wait.  Real life is happening now.

And on that note, we're going to have family movie night.  Have a great night!

More Vegan Cheesecake (Cuz It's My Birthday!)

I love birthdays.  I've probably mentioned that before.  I made two vegan cheesecakes for my birthday too and I'm SO happy with the turn-out!  By the way, I've been eating dairy little by little and Elliot has shown no adverse reactions to it.  So I'm thinking we are in the clear from his former dairy allergy!  I still don't eat it a LOT because I've noticed I personally feel better when I avoid it (and my skin is clearer, too, among other things), but sometimes it's hard to pass up (like in the form of cheese or milk chocolate...).  However, even though I don't HAVE to avoid dairy, I'm not going to stop making this dessert.  Seriously, it's THAT good.

This has been a great birthday weekend so far.  I couldn't have asked for better weather for February, thanks Mother Nature!  Friday night I had some friends over - I decided it's easier to just have everyone come to me rather than going out, that way we can hang out at our own leisure and nobody has to worry about getting sitters for their kids or anything like that.  Plus Justin makes pork steaks that rival anything I've had at a restaurant so I'm always happy to stay home if those are on the menu!  Everyone brought a dish and we had a great evening.  And I'm pretty sure everyone gave the thumbs-up on my "cheese"cakes!

Me, the girls, Elliot, and his two little buddies on the way :)

Saturday we took Rachael with us to the St. Louis City Museum, because you're never too old for that place, and I wanted to do something I don't normally get to do.  We got sushi for lunch and then played the rest of the day.  It was fun!  And a little rough on the knees... The weather was so perfect, though - which worked out great for playing outside!

Sunday Rachael and Cassie came over for a birthday party workout, which was so much fun!  I really liked this one - Rachael surprised me with the line-up, so it was nice to not have to make one up myself.  It was a rough one though!  We started out doing 86 lunges... which we immediately decided to change to 86 front kicks and did 19 lunges instead.  My butt is sore from all that leg work...  I really liked that it was a 29 minute AMRAP though (As Many Rounds As Possible).  It forced us to get a good half-hour workout in, when normally my crossfit workouts have been done in 5 minutes.

Later we took the Harleys out with Clay and Barbi and rode up to Bully's Smokehouse in Columbia for a late lunch.  Ooohhh I've missed the bike... We hardly rode at all in over a year, being busy with the house and me being pregnant with Elliot, so it was nice to finally get a good ride in.  Hope we can get more in the books this spring and summer!

Justin and I watched The Giver after the boys fell asleep.  Holy crap that movie was powerful.  Or at least I thought so.  I read the book a loooong time ago so I kinda forgot what it was about, but I remember liking it.  Don't remember it being that intense though...

After a busy weekend, I spent today, my actual birthday, not doing anything too exciting at all.  We went to the chiropractor, then I had to get blood drawn to check my thyroid and adrenals (more on that some other time), happy birthday to me... Then we did a little shopping.  We did eat at Olive Garden, per my request, and now I feel lazy and sluggish from the breadsticks and pasta.  Good reminder why I try to keep my diet clean...  Clay and Barbi are coming over again this evening for pizza (yeah, I'm doing it to myself again!) and that's a wrap for my birthday!  It was a great welcome into the last year of my 20s!

Here's the recipe for my "cheese"cakes!  I'll start with the lemon-blueberry.  That was originally going to be my only cake, as I'm a sucker for lemon and blueberry flavors, but it's not a favorite flavor combo for everyone, so I did a back-up cake with a chocolate-heath flavor.  It was way less healthy... but so freaking good regardless... haha :)

Lemon-Blueberry "Cheese"cake

For the crust:

2 cups pecans, ground into flour
2 tbsp coconut oil, melted
4 tbsp pure maple syrup
Dash sea salt

Mix all ingredients until combined.

Line a 7x11 (or 8x8, which is what I used) glass baking dish with parchment paper

Spoon in crust mixture and flatten evenly

For the filling:

2 cups raw cashews, soaked in water overnight
2-3 tbsp coconut oil, melted
1 tsp vanilla
2 tbsp pure maple syrup
Dash sea salt
2 tsp lemon extract

3 tbsp lemon juice

 

Discard the water the cashews had been soaking in.

Combine soaked cashews, coconut oil, vanilla, maple syrup, and salt in the food processor.

Blend until creamy and smooth.

 

 

For the topping:

2 cups blueberries, frozen or fresh
1/2 cup honey
1-2 tbsp arrowroot powder
1 tbsp lemon juice
1/2 tsp vanilla extract

Combine the blueberries and honey in a sauce pan and bring to a boil while adding the lemon juice and vanilla.  Simmer about 5 minutes and add the arrowroot while stirring until it is all combined.  Simmer on low until thickened and take off the heat. 

 

Take half the filling a set aside.  Mix the other half of the filling with some of the juice from the blueberries.  Swirl the two halves of filling together and spread out in the baking dish.  Top with blueberries, place in the freezer for a couple hours to set, then move it to the refrigerator to soften before serving.  Enjoy!

 

 

Chocolate Heath "Cheese"cake

 

For the crust:

2 cups pecans or almonds, ground into flour
2 tbsp coconut oil, melted
4 tbsp pure maple syrup
Dash sea salt

Mix all ingredients until combined.

Line a 7x11 (or 8x8, which is what I used) glass baking dish with parchment paper

Spoon in crust mixture and flatten evenly

For the filling:

2 cups raw cashews, soaked in water overnight
2-3 tbsp coconut oil, melted
1 tsp vanilla
2 tbsp pure maple syrup
Dash sea salt
1 tbsp cocoa powder

 

Discard the water the cashews had been soaking in.

Combine soaked cashews, coconut oil, vanilla, maple syrup, salt, and cocoa powder in the food processor.

Blend until creamy and smooth.

Spread filling out over the crust, top with melted chocolate and Heath toffee bits, and freeze for a couple of hours.  Move to the refrigerator to soften for a couple hours before serving.

Slow Down, People!! Essential Oils Safety

I've been itching to write this post.  So so eager to get this information out there.  Our little community has exploded with essential oil users, my Facebook newsfeed is loaded with posts about people using oils or recommending oils or boasting about oils.  You all have probably heard at least something about the amazing healing power of essential oils by now, and you probably have an awareness that essential oils are so much more than something to smell.

But, do you personally know an aromatherapist?  Do you even know what an aromatherapist is?

If you started getting into essential oils, who got you started on them?  A chiropractor?  A massage therapist?  How in-depth have they been trained on using these gems of natural healing?  I'm a massage therapist and I can speak for our category that we are not specifically trained in essential oil use - aka aromatherapy.  I'm pretty certain chiropractors aren't either.  They're trained in the manipulation of bones and in working with the nervous system.  We're trained in working with the muscles.  Aromatherapists are trained in healing with essential oils - using them safely, properly, and effectively.

We're all learning as we go.  I know I am.  I was under the impression essential oils are totally safe.  I was under the impression you can use any of them anytime anywhere with no repercussions.  I was under a lot of impressions...  But I wasn't raised around them - they've been a totally new concept to me as a natural healing method for only three and a half years.  I've been raised around herbal remedies and homeopathic remedies my entire life.  I certainly don't know everything about those remedies, but I've had quite a few years to research them and learn as I go.  Three and a half years isn't a very long time.  Not for something as broad and complex as essential oils.

Essential oils need to be treated with a bit more respect.  I realize people have gone a bit overboard with them, including myself.  But just as you wouldn't OD on a pharmaceutical drug (I hope), you shouldn't OD on essential oils, either.  They are medicine - the chemical components of the healing elements of a plant - real, powerful, effective medicine and should be used for their intended purposes.  They can do amazing things, as my family and I have experienced first-hand.  But if overused, they can cause harm, which we've also experienced first-hand.  The last thing I want is for anyone to get hurt out of good intentions, and then on top of that wind up with these oils getting a bad name all because of misuse.

I wish I had learned more about them before diving in head-first.  We've had a few negative experiences due to my lack of knowledge.

The realization of my huge lack of knowledge set in when I attended the first class conducted outside of my Young Living oils (yes, I've branched out, more on that later) by and actual aromatherapist - somebody who specializes in essential oils and aromatherapy.  She spoke of overusing the oils, and not going overboard with them because it takes a toll on our livers.  The liver needs to filter everything, and these oils are so incredibly potent that they create extra work for your liver, so you can see how overusing the oils can possibly wind up causing more harm than good.

That was us in late November/early December.  We had cold symptoms going on for quite awhile - runny noses, coughs, whatever, and several times we kept catching bugs going around resulting in fevers or fatigue, etc.  This was all happening despite my daily use of Thieves, applied to our feet as well as diffused in the air overnight, along with other oils that are supposed to be good for the immune system.  I was using these a couple times a day, every day, and we were not getting better.  Why were we not getting better?  I brought this up to the woman conducting the class and she suggested I cut the oils out.  Give our bodies a break.  So I did.  I didn't apply Thieves that night, nor did I diffuse it, and I didn't touch them at all the next day.  I took my normal supplements, and gave Harlee his normal liquid vitamins in his juice, and left the oils out.

Wouldn't ya know, within days we were better.  Coughs gone, noses clear, feeling good.  All of us.  And we haven't been sick since (well, Harlee just recently developed a cough but I'm treating that homeopathically and relieving it with intermittent use of essential oils).

Another experience I had came from doing too many Raindrop sessions at my office.  The Raindrop Technique basically uses a bunch of essential oils that are antibacterial, antifungal, anti-infectious, anti-microbial, etc., etc. and they are applied to the feet along the reflexology points of the spine (the edge of the arch of the foot) and dripped directly along the spine and worked in with different massage techniques.  It's supposed to boost your immune system and give you added health benefits.  But after I learned about overusing the oils, I've been a little leery of doing these sessions anymore... especially because Wintergreen, Oregano, and Peppermint were three very strong oils used in the session and those are ones that I've learned should be used sparingly.  Among them are Basil, Thyme, Cypress, and Marjoram, and the Young Living blends AromaSiez and Valor (which has frankincense in it, another very powerful oil).  I had been performing these sessions at least 1-2 times a week since the end of October.  Now that more excitement has spread through town about the effectiveness of essential oils, it seems like EVERYONE wants to get their hands in them.

Meanwhile, Elliot developed some terrible eczema on his back.  It covered his entire back, from his butt to his neck, and occasionally I could tell it bothered him, which I tried relieving with coconut oil and lavender oil.  I couldn't figure out what would be causing it - my diet?  Our laundry detergent?  I was at a loss.  Until I spoke with the aromatherapist I had met at that last class about learning something to replace Raindrop therapy, and we scheduled a class for myself and two other gals (one being a nursing mom as well).  The instructor said she was going to check and make sure that this class was safe for nursing mothers, and at that moment I thought, wait, you mean that's something we should be concerned about?  I told her how many raindrop sessions I had done, and at that moment she said "Oh my goodness STOP.  Don't do anymore.  I guarantee that's where your son's eczema is coming from."

I haven't done another session since the first week of January.  I haven't changed a single thing in my lifestyle otherwise.  And wouldn't ya know, Elliot is all clear - not a single speck of eczema to be found on his skin anywhere.

At that moment, I felt an intense desire to spread the word about oil safety.  I'm working on scheduling a class for her to come out and teach my community about safe essential oil use, so stay tuned.  I hope everyone can make it, no matter whether you're a Young Living user or a DoTerra user or Mountain Rose Herbs or Plant Therapy, or what have you - we're all using the oils and we all need to know how, and the way to learn is through someone who's been specifically trained in using them.

So many of my clients have come through and rattled off the arsenal of essential oils they've been using on themselves and/or their kids, and I've really been getting worried.  Quite a few pregnant woman have been using them too much too, like taking them internally, which is soooo so dangerous.  I knew the experience I had - I'm so thankful it wasn't worse.  I'm feeling scared for all the people out there using them so much and getting so gung-ho with it thinking they're completely harmless.  While there are plenty of oils that are a lot safer than others, like lavender, there are also a lot of oils that should be used sparingly, like peppermint, oregano, and wintergreen.  I used peppermint all the time, especially to ease an upset stomach (which it works wonders for, by the way!).  But you absolutely should not use peppermint on children under 3, as it can possibly cause breathing spasms, and otherwise should use it sparingly.  It's powerful!  Oregano has been a household favorite, especially after it cured Justin's strep throat, but again should be used sparingly.  Using it too much can be toxic to the liver.  Yet I've heard of so many people using it in "homemade flu shots" and I've seen those recipes all over Pinterest.  Slow down!  Oregano packs a punch and should be used in big situations, like the strep throat incident.  I'm glad I learned this - we started using it simply to cure a sore throat just as a precaution.  We've since quit using it at all and will only save it for acute situations (which hopefully we won't run into but it's good to have on hand).  And Wintergreen - it's one of few of the only plants in the world that naturally contains methyl salicylate, which is the main ingredient in aspirin.  No wonder it's such an effective pain killer!  But using it too much can create a toxicity, just as taking too many aspirins would.

I could go on for days.  And I have so much more to learn too!

I'm excited about what I've already learned, and excited to continue to learn more.  Keep those oils on hand, but use them with a little more reverence.  They're powerful, and should be respected as such.  I know I'm going to be a bit more careful with them!  I'm going to keep learning more about them, too.  I've finally found an opportunity to get REAL education about them, unlike any other I've been able to find before, even through Young Living.  And don't worry, Young Living is an amazing company.  I'm just realizing there's more beyond that.  Email me if you'd like more information, otherwise stay tuned, I'll definitely be writing more about it soon!