damn tandemonium

Successful Toddler meal!!

2015-08-30T13:36:00.001-07:00

Healthy Toddler meal!

Plate 1 we have cut up green pepper from the garden, small cucumbers, avocado slices , a few black beans, a couple Kalamata olives and some fresh feta cheese chunks all surrounding a dipping cup of ranch dressing and its magic! Your 2 year old will eat a vegetable if you let them dip it themselves in ranch (homemade) In the bowl: a over easy runny egg which she also likes to dip stuff into the egg yolk her fav is toast but we are not eating bread in our house at the moment.

Totally healthy guilt free mac and cheese

2015-07-22T17:04:00.001-07:00

So I have the best mac & cheese recipe that is pretty much totally guilt free and your kids and your husbands will like it!! No joke!

I found these awesome single ingredient noodles a few months ago at Costco from a brand called tolerant. The only ingredient these noodles have is 100% Red lentils!! I have no idea how they do this but they are so good and the texture is perfect! You can find them at some Costco's, whole foods and you can get them also on Amazon. I want to kiss these people that created these. 11g fiber, 1g sugar 21g protein in a 3 oz serving. Sure there's about 53 carbs but it's a real food, in my opinion....totally ok!

Part two: the cheese part! The cheese is basically just yellow squash!

Steam 2 medium sliced up yellow squash until very soft.

Put steamed squash, 2-3 T of grass fed butter or Ghee (ancient organics is the best brand I've found of ghee) 1tsp lemon juice or apple cider vinegar and 1tsp pink salt or more.

Sometimes I add a pastured egg yolk or 2 for added richness if I'm going to eat it right away but not necessary

Mix all cheese ingredients in a high speed blender until creamy.

Pour over noodles serve while still warm

Bonus: you could sprinkle Parmesan and or bread crumbs on top if you don't care about gluten or dairy

PS:This recipe is 2 year old approved !😉

Plus you are getting everyone to eat more veggies and cutting the calories in half.

bulletproof coffee

2014-11-30T18:29:00.000-08:00

This is my new favorite thing in the world! Grass fed butter in my coffee! I look forward to it in the morning. I drink it and i am not hungry for hours!! Dave Asprey is the inventor of this coffee and his new book comes out this week, The bulletproof diet. I really trust his research and his "biohacks"that he does on himself.
The recipe for Bulletproof coffee is basicaly 2T grassfed butter (kerrygold) to 1T MCT oil Dave sells his own brand of MCT (i use NOW brand) or skinny fat from calton nutrition to 1 cup of coffee (bulletproof coffee beans are recommended for less toxins.
Oh and blend until frothy.
I found a really great book for women based on the bulletproof coffee by Skye St. John a personal trainer following the bulletproof lifestyle called "No fail fat loss for women" which you can get on amazon for 10 bucks. I highly recommend it. It lays out Intermittent fasting the bulletproof way pretty simply.

Get the real recipe here Bulletproof coffee recipe

Today I made coconut kefir and coconut yogurt

2014-11-25T18:20:00.000-08:00

I love my vitamix seriously. I also love ferments! I will be posting a lot more food projects here in the near future. There is so so much going on in my kitchen lately I'm like a mad scientist! Plus,I really really want to share what I've been into lately in hopes to maybe find some like minded friends here!!

I bought kefir starter this time, I usually use the grains or crystals for doing non dairy kefir. Turns out you can use probiotic capsules that you may already have as a starter for yogurt and some other fermented or cultured foods.. Good to know! I love Donna gates (body ecology) shes like my idol...she has a lot of great info and awesome recipes on you tube. Check her out if you get a chance.

Coconut yogurt made from meat of a young coconut and a little coconut water.

let sit on counter over night.

Coconut water fermented for about 24 hours or until it starts to turn white.

(i don't let mine sit very long)

Egg and sweet potato pancakes

2014-11-23T18:56:00.000-08:00

This morning we made sweet potato and egg pancakes!! I've been making and playing around with the recipe for a few weeks now and they are super good! I'm not a huge sweet potato fan either just so you know...
Basically I peel, cube and boil a large sweet potato.
(Boil and discard water. supposedly it removes oxalates which aren't that great for us)
Boil til it's soft enough to smush
Mix in 2-3 pastured eggs
I used Ghee or clarified butter which stands up great to high heat
Pink salt to taste
Serve with grass fed butter like Kerrygold for even more nutrition.

I just throw it in my vitamin to give it a smooth texture but you don't really have to do that I'm just lazy or something in a hurry most of the time
Add ons:
You can add some ripe banana for a sweeter pancake if you want
Blueberries work too
I added potato flakes today to hold them together better. Not necessary but it worked well.(Don't use the potato flakes with all the bad stuff in them. If you are lucky enough to have a whole foods nearby their 360 brand is only dehydrated potato that's it! No other ingredients on the box.

Obsessed with beverages

2013-06-26T14:28:00.001-07:00

Im really starting to think I have an obsession with drinks. Not the alcoholic kind but the health tonic sort of drink.

It's not a cheap obsession either,so I have to be careful. I could buy a pressed juice everyday (@ lunas living kitchen)
if I let myself but that would be about a $300 a month habit, so I've dialed that one down to maybe once a week.

Kevita Coconut kefir is a different story along with synergy Kombucha. I have to have one a day at least...what in the world am I doing? At least I get a 10% discount if I buy a case at a time.

I AM making the water kefir at home now so I have cut down some. I plan on make a 1/4 keg of it as soon as I get enough grains going!! Yes I am going to put it in our kegerator..(making my husband share it with me, half kefir, half beer)

I ordered a case of Thai coconuts to try and make the kefir out of coconut water at home by myself.(not any cheaper by the way)

I feel confident that it will work well and be delicious! My grains are doing a beautiful job and the recipe I have been using is really tasty.

Favorite things

2013-06-25T21:36:00.001-07:00

Living libations!!

I want to buy one of everything from Nadine Artemis! Today I got in the mail (so exciting) Everybody Loves the Sunshine with zinc its a sunscreen made with pure ingredients and zinc is the only sunblocking ingredient and it is just a gorgeous product! It feels so silky not greasy and it smells just wonderful!! I got it mainly because I really don't want to put a bunch of nasty chemicals on myself or my perfect 10 mo old baby's skin. I can't wait to test it out!

Go and get some

http://www.livinglibations.com

everybody-loves

-the-sunshine-with-zinc

I also unwrapped an underarm charm called palo santo and holy moly I couldn't have dreamed up such a wonderful smell ever!!

Everything Nadine creates just oozes with TLC! You just feel kinda special getting these products in the mail and using them. It's like bathing your whole being or something. I also have maverick pits which I have been using for years now..I actually add it to my weleda deodorant (in sage)

because I just wanted more of an earthy smell...also yummy.

Last but not least is sea buckthorn Best Skin Ever and if you try and explain this to anyone they'll look at you like you just landed on earth. Yeah, it's this oil and its from gypsys called sea buck thorn....what? You clean your face with oil? Its called Best skin ever for a reason. I don't have awesome skin but I know it's more awesome than it was before I started using this stuff. It's more like liquid gold! You can use it absolutely anywhere. The other day I mixed it with some organic cane sugar and made a scrub for my face, ankles,knees and rough spots and wow!!

Water kefir batch #3

2013-06-18T05:59:00.001-07:00

This is my third batch of water kefir in history. The second batch is in its second ferment stage flavored with blueberry juice (so excited). The first batch has already been consumed. I used a bit of molasses in the first and I'm not a fan. The carbonation I ended up with was super but I still found it ultra sweet. Hoping these next batches will be a little more refined. I have peaked my husbands interest in kefir, which is very cool, I'm glad he's interested.

For my next project, I will be trying do a Kefir with coconut water. Hopefully there'll be enough sugar in the coconut water to ferment. Before I do that though I want to get the kefir grains going really good. Gotta get a case of coconuts from my trusty Asian market. Ann Dao on south Blvd ❤ them.

Water Kefir!!

2013-06-15T21:49:00.001-07:00

Water Kefir!!

I have wanted to try making my own Kombucha for a very long time but I found it intimidating because in my little pea brained train of thought I was afraid of eating something "rotten". Turns out its not really rotten at all. It's one of the best ways to eat things on the planet.

So, I had a baby last August and I for some reason felt like I just couldn't recover. I felt so tired ALL the time and I slept plenty (the baby is an awesome sleeper)(don't hate me) the point is I wasnt feeling better like I thought I should. So I decided to start eating better which led to drinking a revita probiotic coconut water ..I would treat myself once a week. Slowly my habit grew until finally drink at least one a day. I also stopped drinking any alcohol so this would be my drink instead if we went out to a BBQ where everyone else was drinking. Anyways, this can be an expensive habit at $2-3 dollars each. So I did a google on non dairy kefir and I stumbled on a wonderful lady's website (annaskefirgrain.wordpress.com) and she gives the starter away if you live nearby or she will ship it for very little $. Turns out she lives in my city!! How cool is that!? On my way to her house she called me up and asked me if I wanted a Scoby (kombucha starter bacteria) and I said YES to that too. So she apparently has a fridge full of both:)

By the way I feel totally back to normal only even better. I have a ton of energy and my skin is clearing up and I am really never tired or sad in any way any more. I just have a lot of joy and I'm having a great time with the new baby and really cherishing it all and loving life. I guess I really wanna share with whoever will listen and kefir is one step in the journey I stumbled onto.

I'm going to post more pics of the kefir process as I take them. This is my second batch In the pic above. The first I am attempting a second ferment for more carbonation...we will see. I still have much to learn but I plan on fermenting every thing I can think of in the near future and hopefully for the rest of my life.

Coconut Palm Sugar

2012-06-27T07:23:00.001-07:00

My new sugar substitute
Coconut palm sugar has a lower glycemic index. It tastes really good! You won't miss real sugar. I use it in my tea and in my morning coffee. This 1 lb bag was about $5. It is almost equally as sweet a cane sugar.

the Queen City Style: New Hair--Ombre or Color Streaks?

2012-05-21T04:12:00.001-07:00

This is a beautiful color/highlight that I did in the salon last thursday.

She needed new hair for her Charlote BOB award for best new blog

Reposted from Whitley's fashion blog.

Check out theQueencitystyle.com

the Queen City Style: New Hair--Ombre or Color Streaks?: I got some new hair yesterday, and I am so excited! I could do back flips right now! Well, maybe cartwheels. I think I might be too ol...

2012-05-09T05:24:00.001-07:00

PALEOKIT

These are fantastic. 300 calorie or less meals/snacks. High protein. This one in particular is 180 calories. It has beef jerky, coconut flakes and strawberries. It's delish.
Its great not thinking about what to eat. I just keep one around just incase.
Goto stevesoriginal.com and see what else they've got.

2012-03-11T21:02:00.001-07:00

These are NOT tomatoes.
The picture here actually makes them look a little redder but I assure you they were probably the palest tomatoes I've ever seen!!
I just stared at them the whole time I was eating in bewilderment, wondering how a tomato can grow this way. Why doesn't it have more color? Why do restaurants serve these when even the tomatoes at the grocery store look and taste better? What is wrong with people? I took this picture because the thought crossed my mind to send it to the restaurant HQ and say something to them (hickory tavern in case you were wondering)

small baby update

2012-03-08T10:00:00.000-08:00

Just started to feel the baby move a couple of days ago which is so incredibly cool and a large comfort knowing it's moving around in there.
Right now it's few and far between but mostly at night when I'm just sitting still and relaxing.
My belly is definitely growing and taking on it's pregnant shape. I won't be able to hide it much longer...i'm already getting looks from people especially at the gym when my clothes are tight. I look like I just ate a really big meal all the time now. Like I should work out a little more or eat less, one or the other.
I don't care though. What is going on inside of me is so amazing. I feel so lucky.
I have only gained 4 lbs so far and I'll be 16 weeks on friday. I think that it's key to not over gain during pregnancy for optimal energy. I'm right on track so far.
Trying to go mostly paleo with this pregnancy and stay active. I really don't believe that we are supposed to sit around and do nothing and eat the whole 9 months. This only does us a disservice. We owe it to ourselves to stay in shape and stay full of energy to be able to take care of this new life that will be arriving. ok...blah blah blah.

We will be finding out the gender of the baby 3 fridays from now..............can hardly stand it.

Breakfast today

2012-03-07T09:00:00.000-08:00

Breakfast

Banana, strawberries, chia seeds, ice and filtered water.

Not really sweet but it will work as a first meal of the day.
I really like to drink my breakfast....haha...(not like alcoholics do) but blend it all up so your body doesn't have to work so hard to digest and you are also adding enzymes by using raw fruit and or greens! Win win.

2012-03-06T17:22:00.001-08:00

Homemade "Paleo kit"

Today I decided to mimic a "Steve's original paleo kit"(check out their website)
It's basically a 300 or less calorie, nutritionally balanced , unprocessed meal that you can take with you on the go. For days you don't have time to think about what to eat and to make sure it's healthy and good for you too. It takes out the guess work and any chance you may have to blow your valiant efforts of eating well. It follows the paleolithic diet which is basically a hunter gatherer diet of early man.
No Grains, No sugar, nothing processed etc. Google Paleo diet for more specifics..........

The picture above is the first step of the "meal".
It's basically a Trek mix from trader joes soaked in pomegranate,strawberry and blueberries that I juiced earlier in the week. Added some sea salt, paprika and a little maple syrup that a friend just brought back from up north last weekend. It's the real deal! So insane that it's from a tree. ...Anyways......

Next step I cut up strawberries and dehydrated them for about 4 hours in the excaliber.
Then added them to the trail mix.
Next I purchased Organic Turkey Jerky cut them up into smaller pieces and added them to the strawberry juice.
Now it's sitting on my counter melding together awaiting the next step.
I haven't decided if i want to dehydrate all of it for just a little while longer to dry up some of the moisture from the juice or to just stick it into individual ziploc bags for snacks.
Ideally I think that this mixture is a little high on the fruit/sweet side if you are sedentary but good to fuel you for a workout.

2012-03-05T07:17:00.001-08:00

Strawberry and coconut water breakfast. Pre-workout.Ingredients:
Fresh thai coconut water
7 medium strawberries
Blend until smooth

I've been buying coconuts by the case at a local asian market. 9 coconuts might last 1/2 a week between me and my husband:) we eat them for dessert!
They are loaded with electrolytes, calcium, iron,protein.
Great for hydration and energy.

2012-02-28T20:19:00.001-08:00

Tap tap tap.... Is this thing on?
I've been drinking the hell out of juices lately. Both green and fruit, plus coconut in between. I really feel quite amazing.
One quick add i'd like to say is that i made a brazil nut milk a couple days ago after work pre-dinner snack , mixed it with a banana in the vitamix and i was so freakin full that I could barely eat my dinner. I split it with my sister and she noted the same really full feeling. I thought to myself, i need to remember this next time i'm needing something to satiate but not a full meal.
Also, i've been eating a young thai coconut for dessert after dinner for that terrible sweet tooth that i have now that im pregnant and it totally does the trick.
I love watching Mimi Kirk uncooking on you tube! She's 72 years old I believe and you really just have to go see her for yourself...
She's really inspiring i love her. I ordered her book through her website youngonrawfood.com. Haven't gotten it yet but i cant wait.
My newest recipe idea is for a mint chocolate pudding. I'm soaking some cashews now for it...ill also add some young coconut meat, frizen bananas.sweetening it with pureed dates and adding an all natural peppermint extract. Ill post a picture of it when its done:)

2012-02-21T19:32:00.001-08:00

Eating for two

Yes, I'm preggers, and yes I did it on purpose.
I'm 13 weeks now almost 14 weeks along and
this will be #3 for me the other 2 are a lot older, with the youngest being 13.
I didn't exercise with either pregnancy before or even care about what I ate, so I am challenging myself to eat ridiculously healthy this time.
I had really bad nausea for about a month. It was hell, all I wanted to eat was "hangover food" and the thought of eating any sort of vegetable was out of the question.(insert extra 5 LBS right here)
So, started out really healthy up until about 8 weeks and the sickness set in until around 12 weeks to the day. Now I feel very energetic most of the day and excited about life again. I am motivated to eat well, in fact, it's all that I crave any more is fruit and veg. The extra weight has easily just about disappeared I think.
Diet now: lean proteins,lots of eggs, some beans (like really only garbanzos and edamame), avocados, greens (kale and arugula). I try and go to the farmers market every saturday since it's right around the corner from our house. I get local eggs, tomatoes,local cheese, greens,carrots,beets,milk pasteurized at the lowest legal temp because in NC it's the law. However in SC which is 10 mins away we can get the real deal milk, which tastes completely different. It's the difference between store bought tomatoes and homegrown. The smoked bacon is for the weekends really when we make breakfast as a family.

I really really wanna talk about how obsessed I am with pressed juice though right now!!
I more than anything want to buy a Norwalk juice press. My husband asked me how much it was and then he said, "no F#*ing way, we have a hole in our bathroom floor, theres no way we are buying a juicer that's $2,500 dollars!" I still want one and I will find a way, I don't care.

Just look at how beautiful this thing is!!

http://www.norwalkjuicers.com/

2011-10-05T05:40:00.000-07:00

Holy grail.

Cocoa Nova = love

2011-09-11T17:03:00.000-07:00

This sweet little drink is a treat made by Honest T company.
My newest love.

50 calories
50mg of Theobromine (the feel good stuff in chocolate)
made with cane sugar (about 13g) kinda a lot but oh well.http://www.honesttea.com/cocoanova/mocha_cacao/

Lettuce Wraps.yes.

2011-08-30T20:08:00.000-07:00

Lettuce wraps

Ingredients:
Iceburg lettuce (cored and cut in half) (don't cook this people)

1 tsp sesame oil for flavor

2 T olive oil
1/2 red onion diced
1 T rice vinegar
1 C veg stock
lots of chopped up mushrooms (these are the "meat")
green peppers diced
tomatoes (add last)diced
salt pepper to taste
red pepper flakes for heat

when stock is reduced its done
put filling into prepped lettuce wraps.

Vegan, gluten free

2011-08-13T12:21:00.001-07:00

Tomatoe pie....(not healthy AT ALL)
don't be fooled by the blanket effect
of entering a heathyish website and think
that everything on this website is good for
you. Yes, some of it is, most of it but.. buyer beware.

Recipe Below:

BASIL TOMATO TART (TOMATO PIE)

Preheat oven to 375 degrees Serves: 8

I unbaked pie crust

1 ½ cups shredded mozzarella cheese, divided (can be 2%)

4-5 Medium Tomatoes (or more if needed to cover the pie crust well – I like a lot of tomatoes in the pie)

1 cup loosely packed fresh basil leaves

4 cloves of garlic (I used minced garlic – about 1 to 1½ teaspoons)

½ cup regular or light mayonnaise

¼ cup parmesan cheese

1/8 tsp. ground white pepper

Put piecrust in 9 inch pie dish/pan (I use Pillsbury pie crust in cold section of grocery store)

Follow package directions for pre-baking (prick, etc). Remove from oven and sprinkle with ½ cup mozzarella. Cool on wire rack. Peel and cut tomatoes (I use slices). Some people drain on a paper towel – I just slice onto a plate and then put in pie shell (I don’t put juice in). Arrange tomato slices atop melted cheese in the baked pie shell. Combine basil and garlic and coarsely chop in a food processor. Sprinkle over tomatoes (doesn’t really sprinkle – just blob it around). In a bowl, combine remaining cheese (1 cup), mayonnaise, Parmesan cheese and pepper. Gently spread over tomatoes and basil mixture, spreading as evenly as you can.

Bake 35-40 minutes until topping is turning brown.

As an FYI – I go a little over on the mozzarella, mayonnaise mixture so I will have enough.

Tell vegetarian times...what's your most delicious sandwich creation..

2011-08-11T15:08:00.001-07:00

My sandwich made it in vegetarian times magazine! Readers wrote in what their most delicious sandwich creation was and whoa...mine was first out of six!! Yay me. It's an awesome sandwich really though..

Sprouted bread lightly toasted with butter (you can use any bread)

scrambled eggs

avocado slices

raspberry jelly

sriracha hot sauce

If you wanna make it super then add cream cheese, but it's already pretty ridiculous as is and you may find yourself with not enough room to put it all on the sandwich either.

tofu,bok choy and fresh figs "stir fry"

2011-08-11T15:00:00.001-07:00

i picked some figs this morning so they were on the counter, which helped inspire this dish.

This is a very simple meal...you can put it over rice or couscous or quinoa

i just eat it plain because rice takes so long

1 pkg extra firm tofu (cubed) (drain first and press liquid out for 10 mins while i prep other ingredients)

cube tofu after draining and cover with a decent amount of ponzu (soy/citrus sauce ) which is cheaper at an asian market btw.

3 bunches of bok choy washed and cut up

1 cup veggie broth or chicken stock (whichever you prefer)

3 medium-large fresh figs sliced up

1 T grated ginger ( i keep ginger in the freezer. Its easier to grate and it keeps for a while)

season with dash of powdered garlic,black pepper and everyday spice grinder($1.99) from trader joes

tofu goes in first for 1-2 min,then broth,then bokchoy,ginger,spices and lastly figs. figs simmer on top for only 2-5 mins stir in right before serving.