Fresh Juice (Food Blog-- Last Sentence ;)

Fresh juice is packed with nutrition! Today was "stock the frig day" for fresh juice, and carrots were definitely a main ingredient. :) Carrots have lots of vitamin A - a great choice for cancer prevention and  fighting it, too!

{10 pounds of carrots = 64 oz of juice}

Carrots are rich in beta carotene, essential for the human body to function optimally. 

I went for a 3.25 mile run before a breakfast banana/protein green smoothie. :) {Aaahh - can't believe it'd been a wk since my last run!}

I made some pumpkin muffins (gluten-free) for my Granny this morning. I hope she enjoys them! The "health nut" title comes legitimately for me. :) My great-grandmother was a juicer and my grandmother is into Yoga and healthy food, of course! What can I say . . . inherited?

I had some of my mom's leftover vegan bean soup for lunch today. :) I need to do a recipe share on this one - I think you guys would really love it! It's an excellent source of protein, and it's a complete one at that because it has both brown rice and beans in it. 

And, now for the exciting news! Our sweetie pie Australian shepherd had her first litter of puppies!!!!! They are SO cute and tiny, too. Bonnie is such a good mama. :) 

Tonight's dinner was a lovely spinach salad, homemade muffins and leftover chicken & rice casserole. :-)

So, how about you - do you juice or hope to make fresh juice apart of your future? I'm interested to hear what you guys think about juicing, who's into it, and who wants to get into it. :) 

And, as much as it looks like all I do is make and eat food-- that isn't so.... This is a food blog so I'm sticking to the topic! Lol

Starting the Week

Welcome, October! I'm so glad you're here and can't wait to fully embrace the cool, crisp evenings you will undoubtedly present us with. I'm anticipating the trees releasing their glory and the sound of fallen leaves crunching beneath cute riding boots. And, just the thought of watching majestic sunsets painted in bright shades of orange, pink and yellow disappear beyond the tree tops while sipping some hot spiced tea makes me smile. Ahh, yes - I'm glad it's October. :)

I got up early this morning - a great way to start off one of my most favorite months! I hopped on the treadmill just after 6am (after devotions and prayer) running for 30 minutes and covering 3.4 miles.



I had class this morning after a delicious strawberry/spinach smoothie for breakfast {sorry, no photo!}, and then onto the day's work. :)

I threw together some "overnight" oats on my way out the door this morning because for some reason or another (even though I was up before 5:30) I was feeling the crunch for time. :P It make a delicious lunch alongside an apple and PB. :)

To make the oats, it's just 2 parts oats to 1 part water. From there you can add whatever you want! Maple syrup for sweetener, chopped bananas and spices (cinnamon, nutmeg, allspice, etc)



For supper, I made a simple salad. Harris Teeter has a fantastic deal on mushrooms right now. Just $1 for a huge pack!

This picture is from last Friday night's supper. Homemade granola served on the side w/ wild salmon and a green salad. I have to do a recipe post on this granola for you guys soon. Amazing!!! It's my sister's recipe - simply out of this world and I think you would really like it.

I hope your week is off to a fantastic start!!! Please comment and let me know how you spent this first day of October and what was special about it. :) 

Day 2 of 7: Green Smoothie Challenge and Fudge Brownies

Ha! You're probably laughing at the title of this post because a green smoothie and a fudge brownie just don't see to go together - BUT really they do. At least in my opinion :P And, when you consider the ingredients of these succulent fudgey brownies, I think you'll agree with me. :)

It's Day 2! Hurray for all of the GSC participants! We made it to the 2nd day :P I've enjoyed seeing all the different bright and cheery, enthusiastic blog posts and how much fun everyone is having! Doing a healthy eating challenge with others certainly motivates me!

Tropical Flair Green Smoothie Recipe:
1 orange
1/2 banana (the riper the sweeter)
1 cup frozen strawberries
2-4 cups spinach
1/3 cup plain Greek yogurt
1 cup ice

Blend it all together and slurp it up!

{Recipe inspiration}

Although I've enjoyed a green smoothie almost everyday for nearly a year now, this challenge is still really good for me! I'm branching out with new recipes, and trying different ingredients that I hope will tempt even the most skeptic green smoothie drinker :)

I'm normally perfectly content with the same ole green smoothie recipe, day in, day out but I thought you would appreciate me attempting to make things a little more interesting :P

~

Since yesterday was my sister's birthday, I made these brownies for last night's dessert! Here's the link to the original recipe and then here's what I did. That seems to be the story of my life doesn't it? "Here's how you're supposed to do it and then here's what actually I did" . . . lol!

1 1/2 sticks butter
8 oz semi-sweet chocolate
1 teaspoon organic molasses
2 cups honey crystals
2 tablespoons honey
3 large eggs
2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
1/2 teaspoon almond extract
1 teaspoon sea salt
1/8 teaspoon baking powder (no aluminum)
I think I used about 1 1/3 cups of whole wheat flour but I pretty much just did it to consistency. :)
1/2 bag dark chocolate chips? something like that . . .

Okay, so in the directions they tell you to melt the butter in the microwave, but I'm desperately trying to move away from that free-radical creator so I used the stovetop instead. Although it takes a little bit longer, it works just as well and is much healthier. 

I served the brownies with Neapolitan ice cream. :)

Last night's supper was amazing. Kristen requested salmon and salad, and we obliged. :) I love wild fish!

I packed this little sandwich for lunch today. Sprouts, avocado, tomato and cucumber on a multi-grain thin. I threw an apple in a bag, along with one of Artisana's squeeze butter packets for a mid-afternoon snack. Delish!

I got up this morning, spent time in the Word and prayer (so refreshing!), worked out, practiced piano, grocery shopping, made a green smoothie (happy dance!) and then I was out the door for a fantastic start to the day at the office. It's amazing how the way you start your day can have such a positive impact on the rest of it!

As I was scanning the headlines this morning, I ran across this article (click here) with thoughts on organic food. My ears always perk up when I hear the media reporting their opinion on what we eat. What do you think about this article? Did anyone get in their green smoothie for the day? Feel free to share your recipe in a comment below or leave or link. :) 

Sunshine :) ~Katherine

PS: For all of you "greeners" - Go "like" and repin the Green Smoothie Challenge on PinInterest :)

The Weekend's Here!

Oh boy! Vegan pizza - what a treat! The kitchen was a fun place to be this evening :) Everything here is homemade, including the sauce.

Here's the recipe to the dough, and for the sauce I sauteed a bit of freshly pressed garlic, added 2 cans of quality petite diced tomatoes, 1 teaspoon Italian seasoning, and a 1/2 teaspoon of oregano (anyone notice the Julia Child influence???) Simmer until thick, mashing the tomatoes with a fork. This will probably take about 25 minutes to get to the right consistency.

Mushrooms make a great meat substitute for any pizza. Just sautee them in a little olive oil and a shake of garlic salt to soften them up before you toss them on your pizza. Yum!



I'm lovin' summertime! Delicious green smoothies help keep me running :)



Since I had a piano lesson yesterday afternoon, I couldn't resist taking a picture from lunch with this beautiful Brahm's book!

Picking piano back up is helping me in so many ways beyond just improving skills. Becoming a student again (not they we ever stop) reminds me to be patient when I teach others. My teachers don't get frustrated with me, and although they put the pressure on me because they care about how far I go they don't get upset when it takes some work to get there. I'm learning, and enjoying the application process :-)



My Pappy took me and my little sister out for ice cream this afternoon. Ahh, heavenly . . .



My cup - peanut butter and chocolate are wonderful compliments :) Joie de vivre!



We had peaches on hand and I thought a peach cobbler would make a delicious dessert to top off last night's meal. I used the same recipe for this as I did the naturally sweetened blueberry cobbler because it's so good, except I used peaches :-)

I made some homemade ice cream too. It's so easy! Here's the recipe:

Freezer Bowl Homemade Vanilla Ice Cream  

2 cups almond milk

3/4 cup sugar in the raw, turbindo sugar

2 cups heavy cream

salt, pinch

Dissolve your sugar with a whisk in your milk and cream (don't skip this step - very important!). Add you sugar. Churn according to your ice cream maker's directions.

Today's lunch - a delicious Greek salad. It was so huge I couldn't finish it!

Yesterday I ran 3 miles. Thus far, I've logged 9.4 miles for this week. I know, a low number in the running world so tomorrow I'm looking forward to running some more to add a few more miles to that total number :-)

What weekend foods are you enjoying? Anyone making pizza? Or running?

Natural Cold Remedies + Artisana Giveaway Winner

What a beautiful week it's been! Now, to what you've all been waiting for! We have a winner for the Artisana Organic Food giveaway!!! I apologize for this post being so late in the day; I'm sure there must have been some suspense :P I've had trouble with Internet access, hence the reason. So, now onto the winner! And, it is . . .

Audrey!!! Congrats, girl! You've won a free 8oz jar of  Artisana Organic Raw Coconut Butter & the  Assortment of On-the-Go Squeeze Packs :) 

Since my last post I've experienced my cold from bad to worse and now to better :) I had a painful ear infection which tempted me to get antibiotics. I'm all for meds when you need them! I'm currently out of town, though, so it wasn't as easy as running to the family doctor for help. Plus, it was late in the day making it harder to find something open. I guess you could say I was "forced" to go the natural route :P And, I really didn't want to use antibotics unless I absolutely had to and now that I'm over the hump- I'm glad I was able to muscle through it :-) 

I made an onion poultice which REALLY helped to calm me down. Has anyone else ever done this with success? For those interested: you slice an organic onion in half, boiling until soft. Then you wrap it in a cheese cloth, holding the onion next to your ear as you tilt your head to meet the steam as it rises. This soothes the pain, and helps to move the congestion that is clogging up the ear. 

Some of my family went hiking at Grandfather Mountain yesterday! They did this 8 mile rough terrain hike in 4 1/2 hours. Joey did it too and he's only seven! I wanted to go SO bad!!! I had to be left behind - which almost killed me because I was sick as a dog. In the end, I was okay with it as I needed the rest :)

This picture is from last year, though! 

Delicious chocolate green smoothie from earlier this week :)

I love this picture! It's one I took from a picnic adventure this afternoon.

This was our delicious packed lunch. Chicken salad & lettuce stuffed into whole wheat pita pockets and ginger snaps for dessert!

And, of course - if you go on a picnic and there's a creek you have to stick your feet in, just for the experience :) 

Have a great weekend everybody! Let me know what recipes and workouts you've been up to of late :0) 

2 miles (mostly) PAIN-FREE!

I'm smiling :) I ran 2 miles before breakfast this morning! This is the farthest I've run in almost a month because of injury. I'm very thankful to report I'm healed and ready to up that mileage {happy dance}.

With my smoothies, I've been improvising of late. Instead of using protein powder (which can get really expensive!), I've been just using fruits and vegetables.

Here are a few things I've been throwing in:

• chia seeds (the longer you let them soak the better, and thicker your smoothie will be)
• banana (peel & throw in the freezer if you like your smoothies cold)
• carrots (carrots are a great natural smoothie sweetener!)
• kale (I think I might be a kale-aholic)
• ice (lots and lots- great way to help your smoothie consistency and stay hydrated)

I had carrots on my sandwich as well as in my smoothie today :) This little sandwich is really so simple: real mayo on whole wheat bread, 1/2 cup + shredded carrots, fresh lettuce and a spoonful of saurekraut. Be creative with it and have fun! 

I'm not much of a meat eater (I used to be though!) so I can skip the lunch meat on my sandwiches, but there are others in my family who can't. I added bacon bits to my little brother's sandwich - anything to tempt them! Plus, a growing boy needs the protein more than I do :) 

And, we just finished up an early delicious summer supper: home cooked roast beef slices on ww bread with garden fresh, sun-warmed watermelon. So good! What did you have for dinner?

The Gift of Life

I witnessed a miracle, an incredible miracle, early this morning. The miracle of birth! At 4:18am a beautiful, healthy little baby was born to a wonderful loving family who is so grateful for this gift from God. Welcome to the world little Aaron!

So, I've been going to bed rather late the past week (getting maybe 5-6 hrs a night). Yeah, I know . . . probably not the best idea when you're on call for a birth :) Last night, I was thankful to at least get the 1.5 hours that I did! Quarter to 1am a phone call, quick dress, grab birth bag and camera with plenty of memory cards, then rush, rush out the door. Baby was born shortly after 4am :-)

This was my 5th attendance as a birth doula. It's something that I just plain love, helping other women - in the little ways I can during one of the most significant and memorable moments of their lives. 

When I got back home I knew I needed something green :) A kale smoothie sounded right up my ally. This time I added a little cultured coconut milk for probiotics. 

Lunch? I've been too tired to eat much today so I just snacked. That works! The afternoon I had errands and tons of other stuff that needed to be done, but about 2 o'clock I crashed. Yup, a power nap was just what I needed. For some reason, initially it was hard for me to just lay down and get some rest. Seeing a new little person enter the world is too exciting! Plus, I kept thinking about my to do list, but then I finally convinced myself that I wasn't being at all productive walking with no sleep :P I felt much better after a nap.  

This evening we celebrated my sweet cousin passing the medical exam to receive her license as a doctor in physical therapy. So proud of you, Ash! 

And, now? Now, I'm heading off to bed to catch up on some much needed sleep :) 

July 4th Recap :)

I think I'm spoiled... I've had lots of ice cream in my lifetime, but today's was by far the best! Most things homemade taste better than store bought, in my opinion, simply because you made it with real food ingredients. Add a little love on top of that and - wow! 

This is the fresh, unpasteurized, "pet milk" I was telling you about. There are risks that go with drinking it so I'm not advocating it or encouraging you to try it at all. Do your research and take personal responsibility if you go this route. 

I love how this picture turned out simply because it looks so pure and wholesome.

Since we made the ice cream ahead of time, it was difficult to restrain from using the excuse, "I'm just tasting" over and over again!

 Thick, creamy, and distinctly vanilla. "Out of this world!!!" as Paula Deen would say :-)

This picture is from Tuesday. My brother Bobby (to my left) and I had a lunch date with some old friends at Mi Casita! Yummy :) I ordered vegetarian quesadillas with beans & rice. It was a ton of food and I was stuffed to the gills afterwards - take away boxes are great for such situations! As are brothers, I should add :P

Wednesday morning, July 4th, I tired to think of a way to make my green smoothie patriotic. A red, white & blue smoothie didn't sound too appetizing so instead I just went with this background to snap the picture.

I'd had the fun idea of making blueberry pancakes to celebrate too but that just didn't happen :/ We were up the night before with friends which made the morning a little slower. So, instead I just arranged a semi-patriotic scene for my delicious banana/kale smoothie :)

I keep offering sip samples to other members of the family... hopefully one day they'll be excited about me serving 'em up a glass of this green goodness.

Posin' for a picture in the kitchen with my sweet Momma. She made the gorgeous festive trifle to the right. Delish! I enjoy eating healthy, but I also enjoy special occasions :-)

You can barely see the creamy vanilla ice cream in this picture (with the cow scoop), but it was so, so good. Wish I could share!!!

We went swimming at my grandma Mimi's and did a little cookout at her house. I love events with food, family and fun!

I couldn't remember the last time I'd had a real burger! This was a super big treat!!! I think everyone in my family was really looking forward to this picnic style meal :) Hanging out at my grandma's house brings back great memories from being a kid! It's times like these that make me grateful for my wonderful family, and miss my grandfather - I remember grilling out with him as a little girl. So special. It's interesting how you think things will always be the same, but they won't. Time changes, people change, life changes... Even though there are blessing all around me, I feel I can always be reminded to have a grateful heart :)

Happy Birthday, America! Enjoy this music clip "God Bless, America" from Martina McBride :) How did you spend the 4th with your loved ones? Any good food or fun activities?