Parmesan Tomatoes

I never used to be much of a tomato eater, but of course as I have altered my eating habits, my tastes have followed suit. A couple of days ago, I tried a recipe that I found on Pinterest for parmesan baked tomatoes. That was a very good decision. It is super easy, takes just a few ingredients, and reheats well in the microwave. It is comprised of tomato slices topped with parmesan, oregano, salt, pepper, and olive oil. All you do is bake it in the oven for about 10 minutes and then eat it all up!  I think it tastes the best with really good quality Parmesan cheese. Try it!

Homemade Almond Milk

I just made homemade almond milk. Oh my goodness. I feel like I should be getting started on churning  butter next! Haha just kidding. It was fairly tasty though and I thought I would share the recipe here.  Why did I go through all the trouble of making it myself you might ask? Well, this article explains it best, but basically there are things in the store brand almond milks that are not paleo and not necessarily good for you. Almond milk is nice to have to make things like paleo milkshakes if you want a slightly different taste than what you get when you use coconut milk. Ice creams, milkshakes and yogurts are some of my FAVORITE sweets so I like to have some recipes I can turn to when I am craving them.

As it explains in the recipe, the almond pulp that is left over can be used as almond butter or almond flour. These can be used in paleo tortillas, cookies and other foods that might normally require flour. Basically, the recipe is a win-win. Try it!

B

Coconut Milk again.

I almost forgot! I recently started mixing raw honey with coconut milk when I craved a sweet creamy drink, which is more often now that end-of-the-semester stress has awakened my sweet tooth. It is very yummy. I have added unsweetened cocoa to the mixture--that was okay, but I am going to try blending fruits in with it to make things like strawberry coconut milk, banana/blueberry milk, etc. Maybe adding ice would make it more like a milkshake. Who knows. Mmmmm I'm so excited for my next glass of the stuff!

B

Almond flour!!!

Okay so almond flour is SO great. I was craving something bread-ish today and decided to make these tortillas (the tortilla recipe is at the bottom of the page on the recipe site) made with almond flour. Oh my goodness they are good. Add some honey on top and they taste like sopapillas. This is a Paleo miracle!!! *cue Angelic music*

B

Squash Fritters taste good??

My boyfriend and I decided to try this recipe for squash fritters a couple of days ago. We made it with another paleo recipe but surprisingly the fritters were the best part of the meal! They are so good that even my anti-squash boyfriend was completely loving them. Try them!

B

Coconut Milk

Tonight I tried something I saw on a Paleo site for dessert. I put some frozen blueberries and some cut strawberries in a bowl and poured coconut milk over them. It's like fruit soup and it's awesome! I think it might be a good replacement when I am craving something like ice cream. WOOT!! Try it!

B

Bacon and Blueberries?

This morning I took this recipe from paleOMG for blueberry breakfast stuffed sweet potatoes and altered it a bit due to lack of proper ingredients and it was surprisingly delicious! I used leftover sweet potato instead of cooking a new one and I used bacon instead of sausage. It was SO good. I highly recommend it and it is pretty much paleo except for the sugar used in curing the bacon. I never  thought to use blueberries with bacon!

B

PaleOMG

I found this very cool fairly paleo website with a lot of recipes that avoid highly processed foods. I like the concept behind the paleo "diet" and this website definitely makes it look doable.

B

Nerd TV

Nerd Fitness has this really cool thing called Nerd TV to help keep you motivated. They also have some pretty awesome free ebooks, one of which I found very helpful because it helped me understand why my past attempts at changing my lifestyle had failed. You can access the ebooks by subscribing to the site which is free. I am excited about it! Anyone want to do it with me?

:)
B

To Succeed

Pain is Temporary

My brother sent me this link a few days ago and I think it is something worth listening to and maybe even putting on my iPod.

Eric Thomas--Pain is Temporary

B

Open-face Turkey Burger

Tonight I  made an open-face Turkey burger with an over-easy egg and a slice of cheese on top. I seasoned it with some basil. We'll find out if it's any good or not!

Fitness sites

I have recently been pursuing information about health and fitness, as it has become a necessary step in creating a more positive outlook. It is not something I want to walk into without any prior knowledge. Media and online searches can be overwhelming because of the vast amount of information out there saying new diets are good or bad and this exercise program is  better than that one. I searched and searched and bookmarked only a few sites in the end. They seem to focus on lifestyle change instead of diets or short term workout plans. I know a lot of people who are wanting to be healthier and take better care of their mind and bodies, so I would like to share what I have found:

http://www.nerdfitness.com/blog/
This blog is super cool. It provides inspiration and good ways of approaching healthier living while making it all sound like an epic comic book/video game/movie adventure. Make no mistake though, it's serious stuff.

http://www.crossfit.com
This seems like a really awesome site. Looking at the forums and the comments and especially the structure of the exercises, I think this is something I want to keep in mind.

http://www.unique-bodyweight-exercises.com
This site is kind of intense, but since it focuses on exercises that use body-weight instead of dumbbells, kettle bells, etc. it is much less expensive than some other exercise plans and you can do it in your own home.

It seems like the hardest thing is just getting up and doing it. I think for me it is because I am so fearful of failing or looking silly. I stay on the sidelines. The change is a little intimidating too, but I know I have to take it one step at a time and have fun with it. I took the first step (no pun intended) and ran instead of walked to my boyfriend's ultimate frisbee game yesterday. YESSSS! It's a little victory, but an important one.

Hope you all are well,

B

smooooothie

I just made a yummy smoothie for myself and I thought I would share it. I call it "Blu-nana" :)

I put one large banana and about 2/3 cup of frozen wild blueberries in the blender along with maybe half a cup of vanilla yogurt. I blended it up and I am a happy girl. It took about 5 minutes and was a much better choice than the milk chocolate in the pantry.

-B

A new start

You know what? It is time for a lifestyle change. I have things on my mind that I want to do and see and there is a person inside of me waiting to emerge. She is someone who is confident and adventurous and who is able to find joy or positivity in each situation she finds herself in.  She is healthy and excited to go do crazy things. She is not only a dreamer, but someone who reaches some of her big goals. Her relationships are not a burden to her and  the weight of depression and anxiety have been lifted from her tired and tense shoulders. As Rafiki says in Lion King, "It is time."I have the support of family and friends and my wonderful boyfriend. Let's do this thing.

Updates to follow.

B