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Sweet Potato with Honey Cinnamon Almond Butter & Beautiful Blooms

Post author:Melanie
Post published:June 19, 2013
Post category:Dinners / Gluten-Free / Home Life / Lunch / Moose / Recipes
Post comments:11 Comments

To all you dog-lovers out there. A friend of mine is needing to find a home for Shelby, an intact female 7 1/2-year old AKC German Shepherd Dog.

She has her AKC papers, most recent vet records from early 2013, and microchip information available. She was trained as a puppy by a specialist in military and police dogs 6 years ago. She would NOT be good in a family with kids younger than teens or with cats. Any person with her will need to be comfortable being firm with her – anyone who has had Shepherds understands that that is a breed trait and not necessarily a personality trait. She has been socialized and is generally good with all other dogs – although large dogs are better – as long as introduced properly.

Shelby needs to find a home before June 27th or she will be placed into the humane society. Please email me at beautifullynutty@gmail.com if you are interested!!

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It’s Wednesday, you know it, it’s Wednesday and I’ll show it! I’m feeling a little cooky this Wednesday. I blame it on the sunshine. 😉 I LOVE it!

I’ve been taking the doctor’s advice and sticking to lower intensity workouts for now, mostly in the form of walks outside with Moose. It has been so beautiful outside lately and I enjoy the fact that when I go outside for a walk with Moose I am benefited in three ways:

I get to move my body and feel great
Moose gets to move his body and feel great
I get to soak in some much-needed Vitamin D.

Triple whammy!

Lunch

Part of my lunch yesterday was baked sweet potato slices with honey cinnamon almond butter.

I baked the sweet potato slices in coconut oil the night before, covered them when they were done baking, and put them in the fridge for later. When I was ready to eat the slices, I stuck them in the microwave for a short time and they were good to go.

For the almond butter, I mixed together almond butter, honey, and cinnamon and then tried adding water to thin it out but it actually made the mixture thicken. My original plan was to make a pretty drizzle over the top of the sweet potatoes, but instead I had to plop it into the center. It was really probably thin enough, I should have just left it. Oh well, next time.

What failed in presentation made up for in taste. This combo was spectacular. I have tried sweet potato and peanut butter but I don’t think I have ever had sweet potato with almond butter. I seriously think I prefer the almond butter on it! Who would have thought.

Changing gears…our yard is in full bloom. We have these beautiful pink peonies that I swear only last for a couple of days, so when they bloom, I make it a must to snap a couple of photos because they are absolutely beautiful.

I called in Moose to model in the yard and add an extra point of interest. He ~~put up with me~~ happily obliged and did an excellent job posing for the photos. 😉

Please excuse my poor photography skills. I couldn’t seem to exclude my shadow from most of the photos.

Moose enjoying the fragrant lilacs…

And the blinding sun…

If dogs could talk I don’t think I would want to know what Moose was saying to me in that last photo.

I am truly enjoying nature’s beauty in our backyard (and so is Moose)!

Random side note: I cannot for the life of me remember how to spell German Shepherd. I don’t know how many times I have probably spelled it wrong on the blog, on twitter, etc. Forgive me Moose if your mom embarrassed you.

Dinner

After one failed attempt at an over-easy egg, my second attempt was a partial fail as well. I could not seem to keep the yolk from breaking last night. I settled with my second attempt and served my “over-easy” egg on top of sautéed red bell peppers, onions, and quinoa.

Then topped it with salsa and cilantro!

It was absolutely delicious and very satisfying.

Happy hump day my friends. Do something that makes you happy today.

My Journey Towards Healing & What I Have Learned

Post author:Melanie
Post published:June 14, 2013
Post category:Health / Home Life
Post comments:14 Comments

Where to begin? I feel like this post is going to take a lot of energy to write but I feel the need to share what’s been going on in my life and in my mind and the reason my blog posts may have changed recently. There’s been a lot going on in my life…

This past year and a half has tested my patience more than I ever could have imagined. I’m still on what has become a very long journey towards balancing my body including figuring out some hormonal imbalances in my body, dealing with food sensitivities and dealing with ulcerative colitis/crohns. Not only that, my back had fallen out of whack and I had to start seeing a chiropractor. I felt like there was a black cloud hanging over my head and nothing seemed to be going right no matter how hard I tried to do the right thing. As much as I tried to stay strong and positive and know that everything will work itself out eventually, I couldn’t help but throw myself quite a few pity parties along the way.

Instead of waiting for my body to respond on its own, I knew I needed to enlist the help of specialists. I have gotten to know many medical doctors within the past year and a half: my gastroenterologist, endocrinologist, obgyn, chiropractor, and now my naturopath. Together, we have worked to find the best options for me and my lifestyle and the right medications to help my body heal and repair.

Going in to this back in April/May 2012, I really felt that I could kick this thing within a few months. I knew the importance of a positive attitude and I was going to use that to my advantage as much as I could. Along with the positivity, I began experimenting with my diet. I first tried a low-fiber diet, I then tried the Specific Carbohydrate Diet, then a modified SCD/Paleo, then gluten-free, and today I continue to clean up my diet as much as possible. I had tossed around the idea of doing an elimination diet to determine exactly which foods were aggravating my system, but the thought of having to cut out so many foods and be so strict about it gave me slight anxiety.

How can I fast-forward this story for you? After much experimenting, and a very slow healing process, my colitis/crohns symptoms are finally subsiding. I know I am still in the healing process but I am well on my way towards good gut health again. This is incredible news, and writing this now makes me realize how long of a journey it’s been and how much my faith and patience have been tested. I have grown so much as a person over this past year and a half. I really had to sit down and evaluate my lifestyle. What were my stressors? What can I do to reduce stress in my life? What else can I do for my body to move it towards healthy balance? What’s next?

When I began seeing my chiropractor, I knew that things were going to start turning around for me. I finally felt like a medical professional truly and genuinely cared for me and my total health and was going to do whatever it takes to get me there. He is a true believer in whole food living and together we worked on balancing my body through diet, and spinal alignment. He mentioned to me that they have naturopath who works with them and that I might find it really interesting to meet with her. I had seen a naturopath when I was quite a bit younger and remember being tested for food sensitivities through resistance exercises. This is where I learned that I was slightly intolerant to dairy and gluten.

I was willing to try almost anything to continue my healing process. Although my gut was beginning to heal, I was and still am dealing with extreme hormonal imbalances and I needed to do something more to help my body.

The clinic happened to have an event happening which included half off for naturopath visits. I figured, what’s there to lose? I made an appointment with the naturopath.

A naturopathic doctor “combines the wisdom of nature with the rigors of modern science. Steeped in traditional healing methods, principles and practices, naturopathic medicine focuses on holistic, proactive prevention and comprehensive diagnosis and treatment. By using protocols that minimize the risk of harm, naturopathic physicians help facilitate the body’s inherent ability to restore and maintain optimal health. It is the naturopathic physician’s role to identify and remove barriers to good health by helping to create a healing internal and external environment.” Source

The naturopath used electro-dermal screening to read stressors in my body. This screening can detect chemicals and toxins within my body, it can read how my body reacts to different foods, and it measures which components of my body are stressed, balanced, or weakened. We have now met twice and I have learned a whole lot more about my body. Here is what I have learned about myself…

My body absolutely adores cod liver oil.
My body hates white refined sugar.
My body tolerates my medications.
My body has a high level of chemicals and toxins, one notably aflatoxin which is found in peanut butter.
After testing specific foods I know that for right now while my body is still in major phases of healing, I need to stay away from: corn, yogurt, peanut butter, avocado, sugar, wheat, gliadin, and all-purpose gluten-free flour. Those were the foods I had brought in from home to be tested with. There are probably others that my body cannot tolerate right now.
Foods my body CAN tolerate right now based off of the foods I brought in to test: bananas, hummus, sweet potato, brown rice, blue corn, buckwheat, quinoa, oats.
My body was extraordinarily stressed the second time I went in for my follow-up visit which totally shocked me. After discussing the past month and a half with the naturopath, we discovered that the reason my body was so stressed was because of the intensity of my workouts lately…aka Insanity. My body is fighting so hard to heal the systems that are out of balance (endocrine system and GI system), but struggles with what to do when I throw stressed muscles into the mix that need repair too. I need to SLOW DOWN. She prescribed me rest. I need to give my poor body a chance to heal without the interruption of intense muscle repair. This doesn’t mean that I can’t pick it up in the future once I am healed and balanced, but for now, I must give it rest. This means no Insanity, and minimal runs. I can walk to my heart’s content and do light activity like yoga and leisure bike rides, but nothing intense for now. This was not easy for me to hear but it makes total and absolute sense, and I know that if I want to get well, I need to make some changes to my lifestyle temporarily.

I will find balance. I will continue to detoxify my body. I will slow down my workout intensity. I will not stress about trying to be in “perfect shape” for summer. I am doing this for me and my body will thank me.

I have learned so much about my body this past year. I have learned which foods I can tolerate, which foods cause my body stress. I have learned that I hate medications but will take them as long as I need to, but one day I hope to live med-free and rely solely on herbal supplements and a healthy diet. I have learned that our bodies don’t respond overnight and that it can take a long time to heal. I have learned that I need to scale back on intense physical activity for a little while, because my body needs that energy to repair my wounds, versus repairing stressed muscles.

I haven’t walked this journey alone. My friends and family have been my rocks through this all: going with me to my appointments, supporting my endeavors, praying for my health and wellness, and helping me to stay positive through all of this. There have been many tears, but I know there is a reason that all of this is happening. I hope that as I continue to learn more about my body and my conditions, that I can in turn help others reach towards total wellness within themselves.

I’m a little nervous to post this because I feel like this is such an unorganized portrayal of what is going on in my head and in my heart, but it’s real, and it’s me, and as hard as it is to be vulnerable, it’s harder to keep it all in. I thank you all for being so supportive of me through my journey.

Stay healthy, find balance, and do what’s best for you. Take care of your body and be kind to your body. It will thank you!

Memorial Weekend: Productive Yet Relaxing

Post author:Melanie
Post published:May 28, 2013
Post category:Dinners / Gluten-Free / holidays / Home Life / Lunch / Snacks / Sweet Treats
Post comments:7 Comments

Long time no see! How was everyone’s Memorial Weekend? Mine was very productive but also relaxing. That seems to be a common theme around our house on the weekends. We got so much done around the house and spent the majority of our weekend working outside in the yard.

I want to give HUGE shout-out thank you to the guys who came over on Sunday to help Dana dig the egress window well. THANK YOU times a million! They plowed through that job so fast I couldn’t believe it.

After the window was dug, I helped Dana lay the bricks in for the walls of the well. I felt pretty tough as I carried those bricks around the yard, and my arms are definitely feeling it today! One more trip to Menards for our last batch of brick and the egress window well will be nearly complete. The next step will be putting the windows in, but we’re going to have that done professionally. Then we can start finishing our basement! I’m just waiting for that money tree to start growing in the yard. It all adds up real fast.

Besides getting muddy in the yard this weekend, I also hung out with family, friends, and ate some delicious food. I was hoping to get a bike ride in with Dana but the weather wasn’t really cooperating. The sun hasn’t shown us its beautiful face around here since Thursday if I’m not mistaken. Our poor plants haven’t seen sun since we planted them in the ground on Thursday! We could all use a little Vitamin D around here. Soon enough though. Think positive thoughts, right? Maybe I’ll do a little sun dance later.

Alright, I’m planning on keeping it short today. I don’t have a ton of photos to share to recap the weekend, but I do have a few. So, I’m going to finish off today’s post with the collection of my photos from the weekend. And here we go…

Chipotle loaded with veggies! Proof that you can chose healthy fast food decisions; just go light on the cheese, sour cream, and guac, ditch the tortilla, and go heavy on the veggies and you have yourself an extremely delicious and healthy veggie-packed Chipotle bowl.

Almond banana muffin with almond butter and sliced bananas…

The Egress window well…

Salad: mixed greens, tomato, carrots, peas, avocado, olives, sunflower seeds, and Newman’s Own honey mustard dressing.

One of many trips to Menards…11% off everything right now really adds up when you’re there everyday. Spend money to save money, right?

Cherry Berry…with no skimping on frozen yogurt OR toppings. I meant business.

Homemade MAH bites, fauxtmeal raisin cookie style.

And the Bachelorette…

I had to throw that last one in there because I am super excited that the Bachelorette is back on again. I spent a good 5-miles on the treadmill watching the season premiere last night. It should be a good one! No favorites yet, though.

I have a nummy vegetarian meal planned for tonight that I am anxious to share with you all (inspiration from Denise). This is actually the only meal I planned for the week because I’m thinking there will be leftovers. Do you have any meals planned for the week?

I hope you all had a FANTASTIC weekend.

Did you do anything fun this weekend? Were you productive around the house? Did you relax with family and friends?

Sweet Orange Chicken

Post author:Melanie
Post published:May 20, 2013
Post category:Breakfast / Dinners / Family / Gluten-Free / Home Life / Recipes / Sweet Treats
Post comments:8 Comments

Well this weekend just like every other weekend, flew by very quickly, but it was packed with a lot of productivity and relaxation too!

A few scenes and tidbits from the weekend

A little change-up to my standard pb and banana breakfast. I made bananas with strawberries with a spoonful of homemade almond butter. This batch of almond butter turned out perfectly and I am so diggin’ it.

Throughout the course of the weekend I munched on a couple of these ALT bars by LARABAR which they so kindly sent me last week. This is their new protein bar made from pea protein that has 10 grams of protein. These bars are absolutely delicious and satisfying. So far I’ve had the peanut butter cookie (obviously I chose that one first) and the lemon pound cake. I let Dana taste test too and we both gave them two thumbs up.

Oh the joy of finding a package of these bars on your front step when you aren’t expecting it! I don’t think I could ever get tired of it.

Dana and I actually sat down and watched a movie on Friday night. We have been wanting to see Silver Linings Playbook for quite some time, and by chance I checked out our local RedBox and it was actually there!

Holy cow, have you seen this movie? If you haven’t seen it, please do. It was a little dark but there was humor throughout the entire movie which lightened it, and the ending made me happy. I seriously loved it. And I love Bradley Cooper and Jennifer Lawrence.

This weekend we worked on the yard: we pulled weeds, cut the grass, planted flowers in the window boxes, mulched around one of our front trees, painted the exterior trim that needed touching up, planted herbs in pots, and hung up a decorative piece above our garage door. It felt great to be so productive and the house is really shaping up!

This weekend we celebrated my father-in-law’s birthday. The weather was beautiful that evening. We grilled burgers and sat outside for a while and soaked up the sun. It felt like a summer evening finally! We finished off the birthday celebration with Dairy Queen ice cream cake which I thoroughly enjoyed.

To end the weekend, I threw together a sweet and tasty dinner in the wok…

Sweet Orange Chicken!

In the wok I cooked one large chicken breast in a touch of sesame oil. I then added the veggies, some orange juice, coconut aminos, ground ginger, garlic, rice wine vinegar, honey, and salt and pepper. I let it all cook through for a while (more detailed recipe below) and then served it up!

I was going to chop up some iceberg lettuce and have that as a base under the orange chicken but I completely forgot. You could serve this just as I did, or with cooked quinoa or brown rice.

It was sweet with a little hint of salty which is a flavor combination I adore.

Sweet Orange Chicken

Serves: 2

Ingredients

1 tsp sesame oil
1 large boneless skinless chicken breast, or 2 small, cut into chunks
1 cup onion, diced
2 garlic cloves, minced
¾ cup carrot, diced
1 cup sugar snap peas, chopped
1½ cups broccoli
½ cup red bell pepper, chopped
sprinkle of dried ground ginger
2 Tbsp coconut aminos (or soy sauce)
1-2 Tbsp rice wine vinegar
½ cup orange juice
2 Tbsp honey
salt and pepper
1 Tbsp orange zest

Instructions

In a wok or large sauce pan, heat sesame oil. Add chicken and cook for about 6-7 minutes until almost completely cooked through.
Add vegetables and cook for 2-3 minutes, stirring occasionally.
Add in remaining ingredients; let cook and boil for 4-5 minutes.
Turn off heat, use microplane to grate 1 tablespoon of orange zest over the chicken and veggies. Serve warm with brown rice, quinoa, or enjoy by itself!

You can use up whatever veggies you have on hand for this recipe. It is truly so easy (like the majority of my recipes) and it was something fun and different from your standard stir-fry!

Did you cook up anything nummy this weekend?

Fudgy Dark Chocolate Cookies (Gluten-Free)

Post author:Melanie
Post published:May 15, 2013
Post category:Gluten-Free / Home Life / Moose / Recipes / Sweet Treats
Post comments:7 Comments

Thank you for all of your sweet thoughts and kind words yesterday. Moose is doing very well! His swelling has gone down dramatically and after I posted yesterday, the vet actually called me back after having talked to a dental specialist who said a little swelling was absolutely normal especially on bigger dogs, so I didn’t need to bring him back in yesterday after all. They told me to keep an eye on the swelling for the next 2-3 days and if it doesn’t go down, then we would have a problem, but otherwise it’s totally normal. And since it’s gone down I am not worried at all!

He did some doggy modeling for me yesterday…

Gah! Love him. While we were outside yesterday I wandered over to our garden and spotted one beautiful little flower peaking on its own. It was absolutely gorgeous. Unfortunately, the wind was so intense that by the evening it was completely ruined, but at least I got to enjoy it for a short amount of time.

The temperatures crept to about 98°F yesterday, but since the air was so dry and there was quite a bit of wind, it didn’t feel very hot. So instead of thinking about making ice cream, or popsicles, or chomping on some watermelon, I thought it would be fun to bake up some cookies. Totally not normal I realize. The heat wasn’t going to stop me from my chocolate craving.

I got my inspiration for this cookie recipe from acouplecooks.com. Naturally, I steered towards a healthier cookie, and I knew I wanted to make it gluten-free too.

There is a secret ingredient in these cookies that might surprise you but you will be surprised to find out that you can’t taste it at all and it also packs in some protein and fiber into this decadent dark chocolate cookie and makes for one heck of a soft and fudgy cookie.

Have you guessed the secret ingredient yet? If you guessed black beans you would be absolutely correct. Don’t wrinkle your nose until you try them! I’m telling you–you can’t taste the beans at all and it does wonders for the texture of the cookie and when combined with the cocoa powder, gives these cookies a deep dark chocolate flavor.

I know you’re intrigued. Here is what I came up with!

Fudgy Dark Chocolate Cookies (Gluten-Free)

Ingredients

15 ounce can black beans, rinsed and drained (or about 2 cups cooked from dried)
1½ Tbsp coconut oil, melted
¼ cup applesauce
1 egg
½ cup honey
¾ tsp vanilla extract
5 Tbsp unsweetened cocoa powder
¼ cup coconut flour
1 tsp baking soda
¾ tsp salt
½ cup mini chocolate chips or more (I used Enjoy Life dairy-free, soy-free)

Instructions

Preheat oven to 375 degrees F. Line a baking pan with a non-stick mat, parchment paper, or non-stick cooking spray. Set aside.
In food processor puree the beans along with the oil, applesauce, egg, honey, and vanilla. Puree until smooth.
Add cocoa powder, flour, baking soda, and salt into wet mixture; blend to combine. The consistency will resemble brownie batter.
Remove blade from food processor and stir in chocolate chips.
Drop spoonfuls of dough onto prepared pan. Bake for 10 minutes. Let sit for five minutes before transferring to wire rack to cool. Store in the refrigerator or freezer. Enjoy!

What are you waiting for? Get baking!

Question of the day: Have you ever baked any sweet treats with beans or any other wacky ingredients? What did you think?

Nummy Leftovers & Puppy Dental Work

Post author:Melanie
Post published:May 14, 2013
Post category:Dinners / Home Life / Lunch / Moose
Post comments:11 Comments

Only in Minnesota can it snow one day, and then two weeks later reach 90 plus degrees. I guess it keeps us on our toes right? All I can say is the winter coat and boots have officially retired to the basement for the summer and they are not making a return for a loooong time. I am pretty excited for the warm weather and the thunderstorms too!

Yesterday was a fairly quiet one around here. The pooch had a rough day–I’ll get into that in a second.

Lunch yesterday was one of my favorites. I kept it very simple and did a slightly modified version of my sweet and creamy salad. In the mix was baby spring lettuce, fresh mozzarella, strawberries, avocado, black beans, and Newman’s Own Lite honey mustard dressing.

I also munched on a bunch of trail mix.

For dinner I threw together a plate of leftover taco salad from our Mother’s Day lunch. Why I don’t make large batches of food at all times and have leftovers frequently, I am not sure? Who doesn’t love a meal that comes together in a matter of minutes? Leftovers are the best! I think it tasted better this time around actually. Seriously so good.

After I snapped these photos I realized I forgot to add shredded cheese and a couple of crumpled up whole grain chips.

I may have to get creative with the rest of the chicken leftovers though—I do get tired of the same meal if I have it more than 2-3 times in a row. I may freeze it for another time too. We’ll see if I catch any creative vibes later on and that will be my deciding factor.

Moose’s Dental Work

Anyway, let’s talk about the pup. Last Friday, we were cleaning Moose’s teeth and noticed that one of his molars was completely cracked all the way up to his gums. My stomach turned when I saw it because it looked so painful, yet Moose wasn’t giving us one single sign that he was in discomfort or pain. After agreeing that we needed to call the vet asap, we first continued on to the other side of his mouth and noticed ANOTHER tooth that was cracked. What had this dog gotten in to?! Again, he had given no signs that anything was wrong meaning he probably was feeling just fine. However, you can’t just leave these two huge cracked molars sitting in his mouth because the risk of infection, abscesses and other dental related issues are sky-high. So, we called the vet and made an appointment for him for yesterday.

First of all, dropping him off at his appointment yesterday was heart breaking. As I handed him over to the vet and started to leave, he looked back at me with his puppy eyes that said, “Mom, where are you going? No, don’t leave.” My heart broke and I had to turn away. I know some of you are thinking come on, he’s just a dog, but he is my little man, he’s my child and his pain is my pain! I can only imagine how tough it’s going to be when I actually have a human child. Geez louise! I’m such a sap.

Going in to the appointment, we knew that they were for sure going to have to extract one tooth and possibly two, but for some reason I was thinking positively and thinking they would really only need to pull one. Well, at about 8:30 yesterday morning they called us and gave us the news that they would definitely need to be pulling both teeth. My heart fell to my stomach. My poor guy!

I didn’t hear anything after that until about noon when the vet called me to tell me how the procedure had gone. Unfortunately, they were only able to pull the one tooth yesterday because of his size (he’s 95 lbs again!), and because of the size of the tooth. They were having a hard time getting all of the roots of the tooth and the one tooth had taken 2 1/2 hours which means he was under anesthesia for 2 1/2 hours. The vet didn’t want to risk the same thing happening on the other side that day, because that is a long time to be under anesthesia, so we had to schedule the other extraction for next Monday. He has to go through all of this again. 🙁

He was so groggy when we got him home last night. He is on a lot of pain medication and he seems to be doing fine. He does have a little swelling this morning but again, he shows no signs of pain and doesn’t wince or whine when I look at his mouth. The vet is so kind and told me to bring him by this afternoon if I feel it isn’t going down and they can take a peak at it. I know he is probably just fine but I’d rather be safe than sorry and I will probably bring him in.

You can see a little swelling in this photo on his right side…

Needless to say, after we picked him up last night he did a whole lot of lying around.

Despite being a little groggy, I was actually surprised at how coherent he really was. He wanted to be outside, and he wanted to play, but I had to keep him inside for the most part and make sure he continued to rest. Oh my little baby!

Anyway, that’s what is going on around here!

Questions of the day:

Have you ever had to deal with any health issues with your pets? Does it break your heart as much as it does mine?!
What is your favorite “leftover” food?

I enjoy leftover tacos, and meatloaf always seems to taste better the second day for some reason!

The New Kitchen

Post author:Melanie
Post published:May 6, 2013
Post category:Dinners / Family / Home Life
Post comments:13 Comments

Hoowddddy, howdy, howdy, how. I just finished my morning cup of joe and I am feeling fantastic! I would feel fantastic either way but it really gives me that extra little boost some days.

How was everybody’s weekend? Mine was full of family time so in my book that means it was a great weekend. We celebrated Dana’s grandma’s birthday, my dad’s birthday, and had an early Mother’s Day celebration with Dana’s family. So many wonderful people to celebrate and celebrate with. The fun continues over the next couple of weeks with Mother’s Day and a few more birthdays to come! Wooo!! I love it.

I’m starting to adapt to this whole giving the camera a rest on the weekend bit, so again, I didn’t snap too many photos. Here’s a few that I did get…

My favorite salmon dinner on Friday.

A smoothie to-go as we ran errands on Saturday: strawberries, blueberries, kale, coconut milk, Jay Robb chocolate egg white protein powder.

Sunday’s birthday meal.

I realize I say this all of the time but I feel like the luckiest gal in the world to have such amazing families. My love for them is endless.

****************

Kitchen Countertops

Changing gears. I have some revealing to do! No more anticipating, the time has finally arrived. It is time to reveal our new kitchen countertops!

I forgot to do an official “before” photo, but I was able to dig up a few to give you a reminder of what it used to look like. So, without further ado…

Before

After!

Isn’t it beautiful?! I really don’t think it would be possible for me to be more excited about these countertops. They are exactly what I was hoping for. We were able to pick our the exact slab of granite that would go into our home. It’s hard to imagine what it will look like in your kitchen until it is actually in your kitchen and then there is no turning back. I was thrilled at the outcome. I feel like we have a brand new kitchen. It motivates me to do more baking and cooking too!

So there you have it. You can finally sleep tonight now that you have seen the official reveal. 😉

I’m off to tackle my Monday. I hope you have a BEAUTIFUL day.

What was/were the highlight/s or your weekend?!

Finally a Warm Run

Post author:Melanie
Post published:April 29, 2013
Post category:Health / Home Life / Moose / Sweet Treats / Workouts
Post comments:8 Comments

What an enjoyable weekend. The weather was incredible, I was able to relax, hang out with family, friends, and run a 10k with Dana!

I can’t believe I neglected to take one photo of the actual race site at Minnehaha Park because it is a very beautiful area, but I didn’t. We raced up the streets parallel to the river, crossed the river, came back down the other side, and then crossed the river again. I am always happy when the route is an actual large loop versus multiple laps.

If you are local and are interested in a really nice 10K loop, check out the race course here: Minnehaha Get in Gear 10k Race Course

On Friday we headed over to Minnehaha to pick up our race bibs and scope out the giveaway goodies. We were about to head out and then our eyes caught sight of this:

That is 25 lbs of pure salted nut roll heaven right there. They were cutting up sample bars and I just had to sample one myself and OMG. This was the best Salted Nut Roll I have ever eaten, and I’ve eaten my fair share. It was so soft and there was so much NOUGAT :smile:. I savored every last bite of that magical bar.

Moving on to race day.

Dana and I gave ourselves plenty of time to get over to the race site but unfortunately the shuttle buses to get runners from the parking area to the race site were not super efficient and by the time we got to the race site, checked our bags (this took a while too) and got into the bathroom lines, we had about 15 minutes until start time.

The bathroom lines were reeeeaaaallly long. I started to get my little anxiety spurts that I get just prior to races and was nervous that we wouldn’t be at the start line when the race began. I knew it didn’t really matter if I was or wasn’t there when it actually began because we had time chips in our race bibs, but I just like to be where I’m supposed to be at any given time.

They made the five-minute until go time announcement and we were still in line, with about eight people still in front of us. Then the two-minute announcement was made and we were still four people back. The National Anthem was sung and there was 26 seconds of silence to honor Boston and everyone involved in the tragedy. The race began and we were still in line.

We finally got our turn for the glamorous porto-potty’s and then made a mad dash to the starting line while “washing” our hands with antibacterial goop. By the time we got to the start, there were still TONS of people who hadn’t yet crossed the start line. So basically all of that anxiety and rushing to get to the start line really wasn’t necessary.

That was how our race began.

The course was really great and spectators were lined all along the streets almost the entire way. At about one mile in I was struck with side aches on both sides. I used the breathe in through your nose, out through your mouth technique to try to get rid of those bad boys but I wasn’t having much luck. It wasn’t until about mile 5 that they started to go away. Needless to say this wasn’t my best or most enjoyable run, however I am always proud to say that I finished it and I didn’t stop to walk even once.

I finished in 1:01:26 which was about one minute slower than my January 1st 10K race. I was a little disappointed because I had wanted to break the one hour mark, but I didn’t get too hung up on it. I just ran 6.2 miles and I was going to be proud of it!

It was SO nice to run in warm weather and not have to be bundled up from head to toe. The sun felt heavenly.

By the time we got home I was exhausted and hungry. I made myself some food and then joined Moose out on the deck to get some rays and relax.

Goodness he’s a big boy.

I gave my camera a rest for the remainder of the weekend but will tell you I had such an incredible weekend. The highlight was spending time with family and friends and enjoying the sunny warm weather.

What was the highlight of your weekend?

Spring Has Finally Sprung

Post author:Melanie
Post published:April 26, 2013
Post category:Dinners / Home Life / Moose / Snacks / Sweet Treats
Post comments:6 Comments

It’s finally happening people…spring is arriving in Minnesota! Yesterday the temperature got up to 50°F which being that we had these sights just days ago, gets us Minnesotans super amped up. Today is supposed to reach 69, Saturday: 72, and Sunday: 76. If every Minnesotan who is capable of being outside this weekend isn’t outside I would be truly surprised. We have been caged up for far too long. There will be people in shorts and flip-flops left and right, and possibly even bathing suits. Spring is finally ARRIVING! My heart flutters at the thought.

Tomorrow we run are running in a 10K race. Because of the nasty weather, and since the beginning of Insanity, we haven’t been running…at.all. I am hoping since we are keeping up on our cardio and endurance and building up our strength, that 6.2 miles will be a breeze (*fingers crossed*). The other thing that should help is the gorgeous weather. The adrenaline of warm weather and cheering spectators should be all that we need to make this race a great one. We shall see!

Last night there was no doubt in my mind that we were going to grill. At lunch time I started marinading two skinless chicken breasts in coconut aminos, honey, pineapple, ginger, and garlic powder.

When it was time for dinner we threw those bad boys on the grill and hung outside with the pooch while they cooked away.

“Look ma, no snow!”

To go along with the chicken, I put together a simple romaine salad with red peppers and lima beans. For the dressing I made a simple mix of rice vinegar, sesame oil, ginger, and a touch of honey. We plated the chicken over the salad, and dressed it with the Asian-inspired mixture. That’s what you call a springy-looking plate! So light and refreshing!

I’m officially welcoming salads back in as a dinner option now that the warm weather is rolling around.

After dinner we took Mooser for a 2 mile walk around the neighborhood. I underestimated my clothing and lack of layers and wound up being pretty chilly through the walk. It was still so nice to get out and not have to trudge through any snow. LOVE.

I am really hoping to make this a ritual in the evenings. So often I find myself wanting to snuggle into the couch after dinner and then I don’t end up moving from my spot until bedtime. I’m working on breaking that habit and the warmer weather will absolutely help that.

After our walk we came in and enjoyed Glee and I whipped up a batch of banana soft serve. I made it in the NutriBullet for the first time and it came out even smoother than when I make it in the blender. We went the simple au natural route and just used bananas and a little coconut milk.

Between the grilling, the salad, the evening walk, the banana soft serve, it looks like spring has finally sprung over here! Can I get a whoop whoop?!

What do you enjoy most about spring?

Happy Friday my friends!

Chicken Marbella & Weekend Scenes

Post author:Melanie
Post published:April 15, 2013
Post category:Dinners / Gluten-Free / Home Life / Lunch / Moose / Recipes
Post comments:10 Comments

Mother Nature is seriously testing my positivity and patience. It is ridiculous here. It has been consistently cold and rainy/snowy. Enough to make me want to crawl into hibernation again.

We weren’t able to get our normal weekend run in due to schedule conflicts and freezing rain conflicts, and today isn’t too much better. Although, it isn’t raining or snowing yet. The treadmill has my name on it today unfortunately. It sounds like we’re going to have a week and a half or so of not so nice weather and then it’s supposed to turnaround. We can only hope!

Okay, enough of the downer talk. How about some photos from this weekend?

Mom and dad and Abbie time…

Morning coffee with coconut milk and a fruit and veggie smoothie…

Saturday night steak dinner!

Moose shares my same love for peanut butter…

Leftover steak salad with red bell peppers, tomato, olives, avocado, and Annie’s Green Goddess dressing…

We planted some of the veggies for our vegetable garden which we will start off indoors and eventually move to our outdoor garden! These are the things we need to be doing to keep our spirits lifted.

A batch of homemade gluten-free almond flour bread…

And the grand finale of the weekend is a recipe inspired from epicurious and introduced to me by Dana’s mom…CHICKEN MARBELLA.

Chicken breasts, olives, dried apricots, prunes, capers, red wine vinegar, oregano, garlic, red wine, honey, olive oil, bay leaves, and salt and pepper were combined in an oven-safe dish….

And baked for an hour at 350°F…

The result was pure perfection.

I am a huge sweet and salty fan and this was the perfect dish to satisfy that taste combination.

Chicken Marbella

Ingredients

2 large chicken breast, cut into 10 large pieces
2 garlic cloves, minced finely
2 Tbsp dried oregano
¼ cup red wine vinegar
3 Tbsp olive oil
½ cup prunes, quartered
¼ cup dried apricots, halved
½ cup large green olives, rough chopped
¼ cup capers and some juice
3 bay leaves
¼ cup honey
½ cup red wine

Instructions

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
Arrange chicken in a shallow baking pan; set aside.
In a small bowl combine all remaining ingredients; mix well; pour over chicken.
If time allows, let marinade in the fridge for a few hours, otherwise place in oven right away.
Bake for 1 hour, basting chicken with juices frequently, until chicken is cooked through.

It is such an easy recipe that looks fancy but it is really so simple, and it tastes AWESOME. I highly recommend you make this one night this week. You won’t be disappointed.

I hope you all had a fabulous weekend and that your Monday is off to a great start!

Question of the day: Do you prefer salty or sweet?

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