Urban Cave Girl

Zucchini Lasagna - YUM YUM GOOD!

2011-07-08T15:54:00.000-07:00

This recipe is long overdue because I actually made it a while back but never got around to posting.

It's a Zucchini Lasagna recipe and my inspiration came from the Everyday Paleo Cookbook. I didn't have all the ingrediants she used but I tried my best with what I had and came up with something that I must say was INCREDIBLE!!! YUM YUM GOOD!

Zucchini Lasagna

1 lb of hamburger

1lb of sausage

1 can of tomatoes

1 can of tomato sauce

1 can of sliced olives

some carrots

1 onion

5 zucchini (you could use much less)

some garlic

Oregano

Basil

After chopping up the onion I threw the carrots in the mini food prep (which has since broken and I'm beside myself) and chopped them up really good. I do this often if we have leftover carrots around. I'll use them in just about anything.

Put the hamburger, sausage and onion in the pot and got things cooking.

Then opened the fridge to get out my jar of garlic and realized....oh, leftover taco meat from our taco salads we had a few days earlier. Hating to waste I thought what the hell and threw that in the pot too. I tell ya, when I cook, it all goes in the pot! I added in some crushed garlic at this point too.

Then I added in the can goods - tomatoes, tomato sauce, and olives. Added in some generous dashes (maybe 2 tbsp of each) of oregano and basil and then let that all come together to a mild boil then turned it way down to simmer while I got busy on the "noodles"

I've always wanted one of these mandolin slicers and I had gone to my mother in laws house a few days prior to this cook off and seen she had just got this. I borrowed it right away. I love a new toy!!

It was ok to slice with. I don't think it's made that well and kept falling apart while I tried to slice. Also the part that is supposed to stab into the veggie wasn't working right so it's a good thing I still have all my fingers. The end product came out like this. Very nice! I was impressed and I'll keep my eye out for a good slicer of my own. If you have a recommendation, let me know.

I greased up a square baking dish and laid down a very thin layer of the sauce. Then I layered on zucchini. This is where I will tell you to layer it on thick. Do like 2-3 layers of the zucchinis cause I only did one and although it was delish, I would have liked more "noodles".

I covered it in foil and baked it in the oven for about 40 minutes. My husband loved it and I love it! The leftovers were especially fabulous! This is on our list of things to make again in the near future.

Enjoy!!

Pina-Colada Ice Cream

2011-06-28T13:30:00.000-07:00

Made this ice cream last week out of sheer desperation for ice cream. It was warm and everyone on FB was making ice cream with their ice cream makers and I don't have one *pout*

So, I came up with this Pina Colada Ice Cream. No ice cream maker required.

I used about 2 tbsp of raw honey ( you could use less and next time I probably will)

1 can of coconut milk

2 egg yolks

about 1/4 to 1/2 cup of frozen pineapple

1 tsp maybe more of coconut extract

I put the coconut milk and the honey in my make shift double broiler and started to heat it up.

Then I added some of the warm milk mixture into my bowl (not shown) of beaten egg yolks. Just enough to warm up the yolks so as not to "scramble" them when I add them to the entire milk mixture.

Then I added in the coconut extract and dumped the whole thing into my vitamix. Then I added in the pineapple and blended it all up.

Once pulverized by the blender I poured it into a glass dish. Put the lid on it and stuck it into the freezer to freeze overnight.

Then the next night we had Pina Colada Ice Cream and

IT WAS GOOD!!

Summer and a recipe

2011-06-20T16:56:00.000-07:00

It's hot! I won't complain though cause I was bitching and moaning last weekend about how cold it was. I even spent one afternoon scouring the rentals in San Diego on Craigslist trying to convince the husband we needed to head farther south. Aside from the Bay Area, which I ADORE, there are only two other places I would ever even remotely consider moving - one being San Diego and the other, Portland.

But....summer graced us with her beauty, I'm content, and we will stay put for the time being.

My point of popping on here was not to talk weather but rather to share an amazing recipe I threw together the other night that consisted once again of everything random and leftover in the fridge. Those meals always turn out the best and they are hard to duplicate. Go figure.

Stuffed Bell Peppers and Stuff Portobello Mushrooms - YUMMMMMM!

1 lb of hamburger and 1lb of spicy sausage links (I removed the casing) from Trader Joes
1.5 zucchinis
1 yellow onion
3 peppers (red, orange, yellow)
2 large portobello mushrooms
Salt, pepper, some dried basil and garlic

Here is a picture of all the "ingredients" once I pulled everything out of the fridge.

I browned up the hamburger and the sausage with the chopped up yellow onion. Then diced up the zucchini and the red bell pepper and threw them in too along with some salt, pepper, dried basil, crushed garlic, and the cut up stems from the mushrooms.

As the pot mixture was simmering I cleaned out the other two bell peppers and the mushrooms and placed them in a greased glass baking dish.

Then I took the mixture that was in the pot and put it all into my food processor and mixed it up till all the really large chunks were gone.

Then it was time to stuff the peppers and mushrooms. There was a lot of mixture in comparison to the compartments I had to stuff so the over flow was abundant. You could have easily filled 2 to 3 more peppers or mushrooms.

I then baked them in an oven at 375 for about.....30 minutes or so. When they look nice and browned on top they are done.

Served them up with sliced up avocado.

SOOOOO Delish!!

5 Star homemade Larabar!

2011-06-18T00:12:00.000-07:00

I've bought a total of 5 Larabars in my entire lifetime. It wasn't until recently, in like the last 3 weeks or so that we decided to give them a try. Mainly it was an on the go snack alternative that was good and easy.
The only downside was the price tag. However not extremely spendy...still a 1.29 more than I wanted to spend. I know, call me cheap. But I don't work remember.

So after reading the ingredients on the back, like 5 times, cause there was no way that's ALL that is in those things, I thought "Shit, I can make this" which is something I say to myself all too often.

After a pitstop at Trader Joe's for some dates we were on our way. Everything else I was going to use I already had on hand and chances are you do too.

I threw the baby up on the counter and we went to work. She ate berries while I tossed things into the food processor.

These bars didn't really have one specific ingredient and therefore a name was eluding me.
I just went with:

Larabar Try #1 (it was appropriate)

Also, I didn't measure anything. I've said several times, I'm not a measuring kind of cook. And, I'm sorry for that if you're trying to follow the recipes I post to a "t". It's an inherited trait cause my mom is the same way. I'm a pretty good eye baller though so even though measurements aren't exact...I guess-ti-mate them to be damn close.

1.5 cup of dates. Let me start here by saying this was my first real time using dates. I didn't know they had seeds. It wasn't until after putting them in my food processor and hearing a terrible noise did it dawn on me. Going back through the mutilated dates and pulling out seeds by hand was not only incredibly MESSY it was really time consuming. So, note to self, take out the seeds FIRST!

1/4 cup of slivered almonds
1/2 cup of golden raisins
handful of dried cranberries
1/4 cup of sunflower seeds (out of the shells. I know, DUH! but hey, I didn't seed my dates sooooo just covering bases here)

Everything goes in the food processor and eventually comes out looking something like this:

Basically a big glob of goo that smelled really good.
I scooped it all into a glass baking dish (which I actually greased a little with some coconut oil) and then patted it all out flat.

I covered it and stuck it into the fridge overnight. The next morning took it out and cut it into small bars and then wrapped each one in some parchment paper. I put them all into a plastic ziplock and back into the fridge they went, ready to be grabbed for a quick snack.

Then entire family LOVED THESE!!!
They were really good and so easy to make. I think you could use just about anything to make them. Next up I'm trying a cherry concoction.

Enjoy!!

What a day.....

2011-06-15T16:52:00.000-07:00

It went something like this.....

Then this..........

Bright pink permanent marker all over her face and legs and arms. Wasn't sure whether to laugh or cry. I got a picture before I did either.

Yum that looks tasty!

2011-06-14T17:38:00.000-07:00

I think by now everyone and their momma has read the bullshit article detailing the best and worst diets out there. I found it especially interesting how high Weight Watchers ranked considering it sells and advocates eating crap food. I did some digging today on some of their spectacular products you can eat on the "program" and my mind was boggled.

How appetizing does this look to you?

Weight Watchers Chocolate Creme Snack Cakes

Ingredients

Sugar, Whole Eggs, Enriched Wheat Flour Bleached (Flour, Niacin, Reduced Iron, Thiamine Mononitrate, Riboflavin, Folic Acid), Polydextrose, Water, Cocoa Processed with Alkali, Partially Hydrogenated Vegetable Oil (Soybean and/or Cottonseed and/or Canola Oils), Egg Yolk, Invert Sugar, Glycerin, Pea Fiber, Canola Oil, Soybean Oil, Cream Cheese (Pasteurized Milk & Cream, Cheese Culture, Salt, Carob Bean Gum), Food Starch-Modified, Mono & Diglycerides, Leavening (Baking Soda, Sodium Aluminum Phosphate, Monocalcium Phosphate, Aluminum Sulfate), Butter (Pasteurized Cream, Natural Flavors), Propylene Glycol Mono & Diesters of Fatty Acids, Corn Starch, Salt, Wheat Starch, Maltodextrin, Soy Lecithin, Dextrin, Calcium Carbonate, Calcium Sulfate, Dextrose, Sorbic Acid & Potassium Sorbate & Propylparaben (as Preservatives), Xanthan Gum, Sodium Stearoyl Lactylate, Natural & Artificial Flavors, Citric Acid, Agar, Arabic Gum, Tricalcium Phosphate, Sorbitan Monostearate, Polysorbate 60, Caramel Color, Propylene Glycol, Acacia Gum, Caprylic Triglycerides, Ascorbic Acid (as Dough Conditioner).

And guess what? It's only worth 2 points! That's it, 2 points per cake!
So essentially, with 6 cakes in a box, you could eat all 6 of them and on a 29 point allowance per day, you'd still have enough left over to eat a small McDonald's cheeseburger - 8 pts, and Burger King Dutch Apple Pie - 9pts.
Incredible!

Now if that menu for the day doesn't scream "healthy weight-loss" then I don't know what does!

I especially want to sink my teeth into a big bite of that Propylene Glycol Mono & Diesters of Fatty Acids from the chocolate cakes.

Feeling a little sick to my stomach actually thinking about all this "health" food. Who wants to eat healthy anyhow right?

I'm going to go drown my sorrows in a big grass-fed steak and a spinach salad made with....OMG, SPINACH!!!! Not partially hydrogenated spinach, but REAL spinach, the green kind.

Last night's Chicken Curry - Success!

2011-06-08T14:34:00.000-07:00

We've been trying to clean out the freezer and the fridge for that matter in anticipation of our next big meat haul this weekend. Beer (ok that was supposed to say BEEF but obviously a Freudian slip...lol) and lamb this time. Super excited about that!! (super excited about some beer right now too...go figure)
My gym will now host a chest freezer because the room in the other isn't enough. It has been learned through past meat buys that it's better to go bigger (I find this true with boobs too in case you're ever in a quandary).
Get the half instead of the quarter (D instead of the C).
YOU WILL EAT IT ALL and LOVE IT!

So, with all that being said, last night I was trying to come up with some dinner concoction that would use stuff I already had in the house.
I came up with a Curry Chicken that easily passed the family test.
My 9yr old even went back for seconds! SCORE for Mom!!!

4 chicken breasts cut up into bite sized pcs
4 green onions chopped up
1 can of coconut milk (full fat peeps, not the light)
3 tbsp of Thai Kitchen Green Curry paste that I've had for awhile and needed to use it
1 maybe 2 tbsp of chopped ginger (I actually never measure anything but this is a decent estimate, promise)
handful of dried cranberries
coconut oil

Melted the coconut oil in the pan and then added in the chicken and the green onions. Fried it up a bit and then added in the entire can of coconut milk and green curry paste as well as the ginger. Mixed it up really good and then threw in a handful of some random dried cranberries I had. Let it simmer for a bit....12-13 minutes maybe while I got the sweet potato mash made.

Here is a closer look at the Curry Chicken.

I need to comment on the sweet potato mash too and how in love I am with my pressure cooker.

12 minutes (yes I timed it) to make a pot of mashed goodness. That is starting at the sink, washing and peeling, to the final mix in the bowl before being served. AMAZING!
I used probably 6 sweet potatoes, peeled and chopped into 2-2.5 inch chunks
put them in the pressure cooker and got it rumbling then set the timer for 8 minutes.
Mixed the sweet potatoes with 2-3 tbsp of butter and two dashes of cinnamon.

That's it.

My 3 yr old won't touch this stuff. She will actually cry if it's on her plate. No idea why. I'm beginning to wonder if it's a texture thing.
My 9 yr old and my husband can't get enough of it. I try to make a little extra for school lunch the next day for my daughter.

Today I'm going to try my hand at some sort of Larabar creation. Should be fun!

June 4? Really?

2011-06-04T15:50:00.000-07:00

Seems we are in Junuary right now. Down right frigging COLD, rainy, windy and just plain bleh!!
Strangely enough...I kinda like it.

Have found myself in jammies most of the day. Cleaning, cooking, and lounging.

Threw together some primal chili this morning and then let it simmer for quite some time.

We'll call it:

Sans Kitchen Sink Chili (because I basically cleaned out the kitch and threw in everything but the sink)

1lb of sausage
1lb of hamburger
1 onion diced up
shit load of a garlic
1/2 can of chipotle peppers in adobo
4 diced up yellow squash
two cans of organic diced tomatoes
two cans of organic tomato sauce
cumin powder
chili powder
chipotle powder

Spicy warm comfort food on a chilly....June? day in sunny CA.....hmmmmm go figure.

New Eats in the kitchen....what a treat!

2011-05-26T16:35:00.000-07:00

Can't remember the last time I posted a recipe review and now here I sit with 3!!

The kitchen has been updated enough that we were able to move back into it, for the most part. The fridge went back in on Saturday and consequently I completely tore out my back helping the move. OUCH!!

At my desk right now typing this post is the first time I've been able to sit down in DAYS without excruciating pain. The dr gave me several medications, of course, and wants me to start therapy next week. I've sworn off the medications because I can't function while taking them. No driving, no walking, no talking. I basically lay in a heap and daze. Not good. They probably have amazing street value though.....hmmmmm perhaps I could make a little cash to buy a few more cabinets for the kitchen?

This side of the kitchen is almost done. We need one more cabinet to go above the fridge and there are some gaps on each side of the sink cabinet that need to be filled in. It's getting soooo close! The stove side still has a lot of work to be done.

It's all functioning though and I have to say I've been there COOKING like a crazy lady!!! It's been way too long! I didn't realize how much I missed it!

First I'll share a recipe I got from the Everyday Paleo Cookbook which is frigging fantastic!! If you don't have this book, get it, and get it FAST!!! I love Sarah. Love her blog and love her book!

I made these super easy stuffed peppers with sausage and hamburger, some yellow squash, lots of spices, and shallots, a can of organic tomatoes and viola! Delish! I didn't follow her recipe exactly, as most times I don't based on what's in my cabinets, but I'm sure it came out pretty damn close. This was a huge hit with my family. I served it with mashed sweet potatoes.

YUMMY!

Something else we had this week from that same book was roasted curry cauliflower. The kids weren't big fans but the hus and I loved it!! Toss the florets with some coconut oil (or whatever you have would work too) spice it up with some tumeric, curry, and garlic powder. Bake for about 40 minutes or so in the oven. Easy peasey lemon squeezy!

We had that with some chicken I had cooked in the crockpot. I love cooking whole chickens in the crockpot. It's easy!!! And you can do it so many ways and use so many different variations of spices! I get the two pack of organic whole chickens at Costco. I use one and freeze the other to have on hand later. This last one I used a little organic butter, lots of red pepper, sea salt, cayenne, paprika and shallots. Cook it for 5-6 hours.

I've more to share but it will have to wait.

Mommy duties are calling me........aka I smell a poopy diaper....eeecckkk!

Till later.

xoxo

What I've been up to

2011-05-20T15:40:00.000-07:00

In a nutshell I've been up to my ass in our kitchen remodel. It's been painstakingly way more EXPENSIVE and time consuming than we ever imagined!

Is it done? NO

Things have progressed though.....

I have a floor, and a few cabinets. My washer and dryer are back in their nice little cubby and my stove albeit not in the proper place, is hooked up and useable, THANK GOD! Not being able to cook has put a major crick in our physiques. We have a few cabinets up and we scored a fabulous temporary countertop at IKEA in the "as is" section that will work wonders until we've saved up enough for some nice stone.

Tonight....I might even get my sink hooked up! Yes, be still your heart, RUNNING WATER in my kitchen! No more dishes in the tub. Which reminds me my Vitamix is in there right now waiting to be washed.
And you wonder I've not been around blogging =(

Here are some pics of the progress so far. I also have several pics from when it was just studs and joists on the floor. I'll have to post those later. A few critters at that time even started calling our house "home". UGH

I'll have you know I tiled that floor. Every time I walk in the kitchen, (especially with no shoes on since it's been a hard hat area for so long ), I'm soooo proud!

If the world ends tomorrow I'll be so pissed off my kitchen wasn't completely done!

On a Paleo note....Tonight I'm making stuffed bell peppers! YEAH for an oven!!! Our eating sans kitchen has not been the best. It feels good to be cooking REAL food again! I'll post pictures and the recipe soon!

Thanks for sticking around even though I was MIA

Much love!

Dinner got a thumbs up

2011-01-21T15:45:00.000-08:00

Just a quick post about a really great meal we had last night.

Mashed Cauliflower -
Cut up and steamed a heat of cauliflower until it was soft.
Put it and a few tbsp of butter in my food processor and let it go.
Faux mashed potatoes. I like them even better cause I hate potatoes.

Chicken Breasts -
Mix .5 cup of brown mustard with 2tbsp of organic raw honey.
Dredge chicken breasts in the mustard/honey mixture and then coat
with chopped up nuts. I used almonds and macadamia nuts.
Place the chicken breasts in a greased baking dish and cook 40-45 minutes
(depending on size of chicken) at 375.

Mixed Greens topped with some avocado.

The chicken recipe I had originally found here, at Everyday Paleo.
Of course NOW I can't find the exact link to the recipe but it's there...some where.....
I hate to use a recipe spot on and not give credit. I'll keep looking.
The entire site is filled with great recipes though! Check it out!

Whole family gave the meal a thumbs up!
Even my 8yr old who proclaims she doesn't like cauliflower loved them last night.

My Primal/Paleo Pantry

2011-01-12T15:26:00.000-08:00

It's not rocket science.
I made a video...ok it bled into two videos...about some of the things we keep on hand to make living a healthy primal lifestyle that much easier. I just want to say that it's doesn't have to be hard.
You don't have to burden yourself with all the details.
Do what you can, with what you have, RIGHT NOW!!!!

Part Two

Husband's Bday Cake

2011-01-10T13:31:00.000-08:00

Yesterday was my fabulous husband's birthday!
Seeing how he loves PB I decided to come up with a cheesecake I could make it.
It was completely on the fly and I didn't follow a recipe.
But I'll share because it came out REALLY good!
(P.S I know Peanuts aren't Paleo/Primal)

I'm actually just going to paste in here an email I sent to a few friends who wanted the recipe. So much easier than retyping and I'm kinda lazy like that.

I got a bag of mixed nuts from trader joes. Roasted unsalted. It had no peanuts or macadamias, just everything else. I pulled out all the brazil nuts just cause they are Roberts fav and then I put all the rest into my processor and chopped them up. Not too much. I didn't want a nut meal and I didn't want a nut butter. But just enough so they get good and chopped up.

Mixed all those crushed nuts with 1 egg, a tiny tiny dash of my organic stevia extract from trader joes and about 1, maybe 2 tbs of melted butter.

I greased a pie pan with some coconut oil. It is a dark nonstick round pan..not very deep.

Put the nut mixture in the greased up pan and spread it all around the bottom and up the sides. I then baked the crust at 350 for about 10-12 minutes. Then pull it out.

Here is a picture of the crust:

For the inside I mixed up two boxes of cream cheese from traders joes, 3 eggs, about 3/4 cup crunchy organic pb, 2-3 tbs of heavy whipping cream, 1 tsp of vanilla, and then did about 3 dashes of the stevia extract. If you've never used the stevia extract BE CAREFUL!!!! seriously, it's soooo potent!!! Always err on the side of caution. I added the stevia at the very end of the mixing and kind of just did it to taste. I'd add a tiny bit, mix, then taste. Cause really too much would RUIN your cake or whatever else you're making.

I poured the mixture in the pie crust and spread it around. It was kinda thick-ish. Not super thick but like a mousse.

Then I put it in the oven at 300 and baked it for about 55 minutes. Then turned the oven off and let it sit for about another 20 or so minutes.

The top cracked and got kinda golden. After the oven I put it in the fridge till it was time to serve it.

At serving time I just melted up some 85% dark chocolate and then drizzled it over the cake. I made whipping cream too just cause I wasn't sure how the cake was going to taste and I figured some good ol' whipping cream can make everything better, but really Robert said the cake didn't need it.

I'll admit I had a TINY ever so tiny sliver this morning and it is WAYYYYYY better the next day after sitting in the fridge. Just my thoughts on that.

I didn't compute the carb count. But it's per slice it's probably pretty low.

Hope that makes sense.

Pee test results....

2011-01-06T13:06:00.000-08:00

Sorry, nothing good and kinky like an STD, or worse even a pregnancy test! It's just some nasty ketones.

I've been following my fat fast for four days now, feel fantastic and I totally think part of that is related to the no caffeine, and I'd like to say I'm about "back to normal" whatever that might be. Last nights pee test showed me to be a in decent state of ketosis. People - The Sugar has left the building!!

I'm unsure if it is moderate ketosis or large.....
I made my older daughter hold the bottle and stick for me while I took the picture over her shoulder. I didn't tell her exactly what it was till the photo was done because I knew that holding a stick mom peed on was NOT on her top 10 list of things to do. But she seemed to think the color was more dark. I made sure to take the test in the early evening after I'd drank a lot of water that day. I guess my thought is the more diluted my pee the better cause if it shows ketones in a really diluted state then it's more accurately reading that I'm definitely there. Make sense? Doesn't matter, to me it does.

The holidays always wreck havoc on me and it's because I let it happen. This year was pleasantly stress free and enormously filled with many treats, none of them paleo friendly. Well, except for the bacon ;)
I enjoy baking at the holidays, it's what I do. After the holidays are over and I feel like shit....I'm just not sure yet if it's worth it all or not. I did get by this year with no eggnog and brandy...hhmmmm imagine that. I think I made up for it with irish cream though in my many pots of coffee.

The last couple days I'm not going to lie have found me in major psycho bitch mode. I won't even try to sugar coat that one. I've snapped at several people, especially family. They always take the brunt of it. I've gone off on a few Facebook friends and even at one point contemplated deactivating my account because I thought I would kill some of them. I ranted a few days ago how much I hate people who've had weight loss surgery, which isn't even true, I don't really hate anyone, and I've gone from giggles to smiles in a matter of milliseconds.
Low carbs + PMS = Aint that a bitch (like me)

Today, MUCH better though!!!

So I think I mentioned a few posts back about how I was theming this year to be the year of "LEARNING"
Learning many things. Some fun and some not so fun. Some will probably free me and some will probably take up a shit load of my time.

The first on the list is learning to embrace ME! With all my faults and flaws. I am not perfect and I need to learn that is A-OK!

I think you all know by now about my 24 Hour Fitness campaign I did and if you know about it, then you probably also know I HATED the pictures. I actually can barely stand to look at them.
Well there are HUGE billboards and cutouts of me at the mall. A very busy mall! I never seen them but EVERYONE and their mother seen them and I can't tell you how many pictures I have in my email box from friends and family with them standing next to my posters.
Anyone in their right mind would think "wow how cool!" But all I could think was "NOOOOOO!!!"
I had NO intention of going and seeking out any of them. I hadn't been to the mall in like 7 months. I've even avoided the gym for a long time so I wouldn't see them. The only parts of the campaign I've seen are on their website and newsletters.
My husband though, being the wonderful guy that he is, drug my ass to the mall the other day. He said
"YOU WILL REGRET NOT SEEING THEM!" And, he was right. I let out a big exhale and said to hell with it and I'm glad I did.

Yes, it was kinda fun to see my face all over. I still hate the pictures though....lol (however my boobs looks fabulous!)

A year in review

2011-01-02T20:08:00.000-08:00

Happy New Year!

Is there anything better than a fresh start?!! I'm not a huge fan of "resolutions" but I am a big goal setter and I set goals several times through out the year. This time of year being one of them.

Every year I pick a "theme" for the year and then my goals some what follow along. Last year was all about trying new things and breaking out of my shell. Leaving my comfort zone and seeing where the trail takes me. It was a good year!

My 2010 in review went something like this:

1. Finished a Master Cleanse and kicked my caffeine addiction. Never thought I could live without caffeine (or food for that matter) and I proved I could. I did revert back though 6 months later and well....we'll talk about that down below.

2. Read everything I could get my hands on about anthropology and primal eating and found that we really do thrive off nothing but meats, veggies, fruits, and nuts. I've NEVER felt better! I'll admit, I was scared to let go of my yogurt and oatmeal.

3. Travelled to meet in person 3 people whom I had met on FB. From virtual friends to true, face to face real friends. Fantastic people!

4. Took two road-trips alone with my girls. One to LA with my oldest and then one to WA and ID with BOTH GIRLS. It was an adventure to say the least and something I normally would never do alone but, this year was all about doing new things. We bonded and had a wonderful time.

5. Went to a modeling casting call. OMG talk about NOT IN MY COMFORT ZONE!! Got selected and then went on to shoot a whole campaign for 24 hour Fitness and it turned out to be one of the single best experiences EVER! Being a supermodel is REALLY hard work though.

6. Got my business license for photography, made a website, began advertising and starting actually charging people money!!! I never felt confident enough in my work and even though I do still get a twinge of "ugh I'm not good enough for you to pay me" every once in a while, I'm making progress.

7. We bought our first grass-fed cow and it was delicious!!! I'd always just bought the meat pc by pc at the market and was a little leery of buying so much at once. It worked out though and that meat is already GONE. Getting ready to get some more!

8. Went to a trapeze class (hello I'm scared to death of heights) and had an amazing time!!! If you missed my video flying high in the sky, check it out here:

9. Read a LOT of books on the power of positive thinking and the laws of attraction. I kinda became obsessed with it and still sort of am, however not as severely as I was for awhile. There is a fine line between the laws of attraction and religious nut-jobs. It's a really fine line I tread carefully.

10. Drove with my sister in law cross country from CA to VA. It was awesome!! I was scared we might hate each other by the end but if anything it just made us closer.

So, those were some of the high points. It was a great year!

This year the theme is "learning" new things. Or, relearning old things.

I started the year again with a Master Cleanse because I did pick up my caffeine addiction on that cross country road-trip and I won't lie, by the end of the year I was back to drinking two pots of coffee a day. The withdrawal was the same as last year, only this time I knew I wasn't going to die. The massive migraines and vomiting went away after two days and now, feeling Grreeaaatt!!

I'm still working on some of the goals and I'll have them finished up by tomorrow and post about them later.

It's going to be a phenomenal year! I can just FEEL IT!!!!!

Alarming on so many levels....

2010-12-02T14:10:00.000-08:00

I heard this topic floating around.....

This morning Good Morning America had a little pc on it and then when I was reading the NY Times I came across the article.

The big pharm (big surprise) wants to lower the obesity requirements for lap-band surgeries. The FDA is considering (my ass, more like being bought to consider) lowering the BMI guidelines. Now Allergen, the company who makes these fantastic devices (please hear my sarcasm) can put them inside more people and "help" them shed weight and disease.

I mean really why bother going to the ROOT CAUSE of the disease and obesity....like say....I don't know...DIET!!!!!! Let's just put a bandaid over the problem. Lets fill you up with "devices" and mess with your bodies instead. It's so much more lucrative!! We will make a lot more money if we just keep feeding you shitty food and handing you distorted, and in my humble opinion DEADLY food pyramids, so we can keep you sick and fat and then, fatten our wallets by "fixing" you.

It's just disturbing on so many levels. I can't even get out the frustration I have right now. Is this what it's coming to? Does no one own any amount of responsibility for themselves anymore?
You are what you eat, and if what you're eating is shit, chances are you'll be the first in line for a new lap-band with promises that you'll have speedy weight loss and a whole new life.
But at what cost? Do we start putting these on children now? At what age?
I mean clearly putting toys in Happy Meals has made your children fat right, so now we are going to fix it by putting a "device" in their body. They can still enjoy those happy meals (that YOU BUY THEM), just in smaller doses. Don't change the diet. Please don't change the diet! Just keep eating what you eat.
It makes us RICH RICH RICH!

I'm completely beside myself.
Sorry for the rant. I just get soooooo livid sometimes.

My monthly blog....haha

2010-11-19T13:42:00.000-08:00

I FINALLY made the time to blog. Or rather Vlog.
I'm desperately trying to find time for everything in my life and it's challenging to say the least.
There needs to be two of me!!

Anyhow, here is a video for your viewing and babbling pleasure and an honest promise that I will TRY to be more regular (not in a poop sort of way..hehe) in the blogging world!

10.10.10

2010-10-10T09:26:00.000-07:00

Has it REALLY been almost a month since I last blogged??? Where does the time go?

I love dates like this!
10-10-10
We almost got married on 9-9-99 but then I decided I wanted to be engaged longer so we waited an extra year. Not a big deal really as everyone and their mother was getting married that day. It all worked out.

I'd love to tell you all that the kitchen remodel is done and we are back to normal life and I'm in there cooking up a massive storm everyday, but that is NOT the case. Kitchen status is pretty much where it was a month ago. Aside from a few plumbers who've came by and given us quotes, there isn't any progress. I knew it would be slow however, so I'm not too disgruntled........yet!

To distract myself from thinking about the kitchen now I'll share one of the most embarrassing things to ever happen to me.
I'm just gonna keep it short cause I don't want to relive every second of it.
I barfed. At the gym.
In front of everyone. Right in the middle of my circuit workout with my trainer. I made it to the garbage can, thank god! But still, the damage was done. Now when my campaign pics come out and they are posted in the gym everyone can point and say "hey, there is that girl that puked"
Great!

Just finished up reading Psycho Cybernetics. Fantastic book!!! It was written a long time ago but the information was still so relevant. I highly recommend it for anyone who has ever struggled with any type of self esteem or self confidence issues. Maltz is to the point and doesn't beat around the bush. Basically saying we are in charge of our life and our feelings. Period. LOVED IT!

Right now I'm about done with Robb Wolf's The Paleo Solution. This book is FUNNY!! It's so well written and easy to read. It's full of excellent information that would normally be hard to understand but Robb breaks it down kindergarten style and you totally find yourself going "ohhhhhh I get it!!"

My cooking has been pretty limited on acct of the kitchen situation. However I do have a photo to share of a roast made the other night. The rosemary might have been overkill but the husband said it was delicious I'm not a fan of roast so I actually didn't eat any. It sure smelled good though when it was cooking!

I opted instead for a beverage. At the famers market I found this "mixer" that is truly delicious!! I'm going to try to make my own version sans the sugar. I could tell this had way more sugar in it than I wanted to eat. It only takes a tsp or two in your beverage as it's really strong. I mixed it with some tequila I found at trader joes that was soooo smooth...almost too smooth, and some Pellegrino.
Cheers!

And lastly I'll share something I found rather funny. My husband and two year old giving one of our chicks, Omelet, a bath. I love how my husband has on his gloves...haha

That about sums up at the last month.
This week I'm going to TRY to post a vlog. It's been AGES since you've listened to me ramble ;)

Football already? really?

2010-09-12T16:22:00.000-07:00

UGH! not to be a complete whiner but I really hate football season. HATE IT! For many, many reasons. One of them being that my FB Newsfeed now is loaded with crap like.... "touchdown" "go niners" "bears" this and "Eli" that.....blah blah blah and it goes on and on and on. I'm taking this as a sign I need to stay off the FB for a little bit. Then there are the football pool fantasy things always going on and that disgusting food people usually eat while watching this stuff. It's just all too much for me. Entire lives revolve around this! I know it really shouldn't irritate me, but man, it DOES! Football insanity (or any sport for that matter) would have been a major relationship deal breaker with my husband.

We started our kitchen remodel project this weekend. WOW! It was fun for the first oh....I don't know, 30 minutes. Then I got bored with it, already. That isn't good people!! Apparently I was taking too many pictures and not working enough. JEESH!! My husband really likes to crack that whip.

You can see our above TINY TINY California Bungalow kitchen in all of it's 1940's glamour.

Bye Bye nasty black grouted tile that no amount of bleach would EVER even touch.

Here I am busting out some tiles. Safety first I always say, safety FIRST! That explains why I look like a nut in my goggles and gardening gloves.

What we ended with yesterday. The whole thing about gutted out. We left the sink on the frame and we can move it back and forth. Just so we still have some water and a place to wash a few dishes. I can't get over the layers of wallpaper and the nastiness that was lurking behind all those cabinets. ICK!!! I'm completely stunned we are all still alive really.

Today my husband worked on ripping up layers of linoleum. We are ripping things up to the subfloor so we can work on a few plumbing issues with the washer and dryer and then we will tile the floor back up.
I just keep thinking how nice it will be when it's all done.

On a Primal note have you all been over at MDA? There are contests and info on the 30 day challenge. Exciting stuff going on over there!! Everyone should check it out!
I submitted my dinner pic the other night to him. It wasn't too fancy. It was a BLTnA.
Messy but oh so good!

Trader Joes has the greatest organic heirloom tomatoes. I've found myself adding them to just about everything.

Last week I met with my new trainer at the gym (I got 10 free sessions for that modeling thing so thought i might as well use them) and it went well. The first day we did legs. I'm thinking that was.....Tuesday and today, I'm still having trouble walking up stairs and sitting down to go pee. Friday we did arms and I'm a little sore but nothing I can't live with. I still continued to pull down cabinets and bust up tile yesterday so clearly I didn't workout hard enough.

Pat on the back

2010-09-04T15:22:00.000-07:00

So we decided to do a kitchen remodel...on our own.....heaven or rather The Universe, help us!!! I have the utmost confidence though. Really, only good things are coming to us, only good things are coming to us. I repeat this many times a day to myself. I need the reassurance...lol

The plan is underway and we are moving our kitchen into the office during renovations. It has been my job this past week (lucky me) to pack up everything we won't need in the next several weeks and put it in the shed and then the stuff we do need I'm putting in the office/make shift kitchen.
(FYI, buy moving boxes at Home Depot as opposed to the storage place store. 66 cents vs 3.14 Just throwing that out there after I learned my lesson)
Yesterday when I was cleaning out the "pantry" cabinets I guess you would call them, I was totally surprised and COMPLETELY proud that it was pretty much EMPTY!!! No boxed foods, hardly any canned foods. No prepackaged crap/snack food of any kind!! A few random cans of refried beans that my daughter loves but doesn't eat very often. A couple jars of organic applesauce for the baby and then a WTF can of evaporated milk?? not sure what that was even for. My husband does like to make rum raisin rice pudding on occasion. I'm thinking that's what it was for....? who knows. And then there were my bottles of fancy vinegars and oils that I use to make salad dressings and what not. That was it!!! WOW! I was soooo proud! I had to stop for a minute and just pat myself on the back. My goal has been to get the entire family eating whole foods and I didn't realize but, we have been!! After reflecting a bit over the last few weeks of menus it dawned on me I had accomplished the task!

Today I finish up the last of the packing and then tomorrow we get underway with demolition. How long will this project take? Who knows!! We don't have a large "remodel the kitchen" fund sitting on hand so my feeling is that it might take a while. We will be stove top and oven free, so the BBQ will be my best friend for sometime. I'm going to have to learn how to steam veggies on the BBQ or in the crock-pot cause I hate using the microwave for stuff like that. Dinners usually always consist of a meat and a few veggies. I don't see that changing much. We rarely eat out and that won't change. Continuing to eat whole foods at home, even during this time of chaos, is the goal.
Looking forward to the challenge.

Off topic here a bit but I bought this new lipgloss and had to share it with you. The brand is Tarte and the lipgloss is fabulous!!!

The color is called 40 Winks. I got it in this awesome little 7pc kit. (I'm a sheer sucker for those little kits. Everything is so small and cute!) I also loved the bronzer and the primer. The other things I haven't tried as of yet. You all know I'm a make-up whore and when I find something great, I just gotta share!!!

Oh and Happy Labor Day Weekend!

Promise Yourself........

2010-08-31T14:01:00.000-07:00

I came across this at Barnes and Noble one night while there perusing the positive thinking/laws of attraction books. It spoke to me so much. I had to take a picture of it with my phone. It was a magnet and really I'm not a fan of magnets or I would have purchased it. The picture on my phone works wonders though. I can refer to it anytime I need to. Like today.

Promise yourself to be so strong that nothing can disturb your peace of mind. Look at the sunny side of everything and make your optimism come true. Think only of the best, work only for the best, and expect only the best. Forget the mistakes of the past and press on to the greater achievements of the future. Give so much time to the improvement of yourself that you have no time to criticize others. Live in the faith that the whole world is on your side so long as you are true to the best that is in you! - Christian D. Larson

Playing catch up

2010-08-25T17:08:00.000-07:00

It's another HOT day in The Bay today! WOWZA!!! annnnd, my damn a/c went out yesterday!!
GRRRRRRRR! We haven't had to turn that thing on all summer cause....what summmer?? It's been colder than a witch's tit around here. Seriously! Yesterday though was like 100. It went from low 60's to 100!!! Overnight literally. My husband thinks that the a/c has some slow leak of whatever that stuff is that goes in there to make it cold. Because.......flashback here for ya....it went out one other time. It was like late May 2008, I was 9+ months pregnant with the baby, we had a MAJOR heatwave with over 100 degree temps and......drum roll....the a/c went out!!!! I was like a sweltering PIG!! I put on my bikini and got in the kiddie pool to cool off. Here is a little eye candy for you.

I was actually a little disgruntled I didn't get the SI cover once again that year so I really had to do a little side by side comparison. PFFTTTT! What-EVER!

Digressing once again....

Happy to see that the photo loader is working because I have a few pictures to show you of our meatza we made the other night. It was delicious!

I mixed one pound ground beef and half a pound of pork sausage together with some egg and random seasoning. Flattened out the mixture onto a cookie sheet and baked it for 10 minutes.

After the 10 minutes I topped it with some spaghetti type sauce I found that was as close to homemade as I could get, some bacon, italian sausage, buffalo mozzarella (tiny bit of dairy for me), pineapple, jalapenos, and olives. Baked it again under the broiler this time for about 10 minutes and then when it came out I topped it with some sliced up avocado. I definitely recommend this recipe! You can find the original one I used here.

Today I've been playing catch up on some blog reading. I can't tell you how ecstatic I am to see so many of my fellow fitness enthusiasts back in the GROOVE!!! I feel like everyone has their mojo back and things are all right in this world again. I can just feel the energy! It's a fantastic thing!!

With all that said, I need to be completely negative for a few seconds, then, I promise, I won't say anything about it again.

I got my proofs back from the photo shoot for the 24 Hour Fitness campaign and OMG....I HATE HATE HATE those pictures!! I mean seriously people??!!! AM I REALLY THAT FAT? I knew when that stylist was putting me in capri pants that things were about to go downhill. BUT, I wanted to have faith and not be a diva, so I went along with the outfits, but come ON!!

NEWSFLASH - YOU NEVER PUT A SHORT CURVY WOMAN IN CAPRIS AND PHOTOGRAPH HER!!!

Yes, I wear carpis to the gym and to run errands etc BUT I'm not getting my picture taken in them and plastering them everywhere for the whole world to see. BIG DIFFERENCE! Ok that is my one beef. Second beef, they hated my boobs! Really they did. Every time I bent over they were complaining my boobs were hanging out. Constantly trying to put me in crew necks and always tugging up at my shirts. UM, I have boobs!! I paid good money for them and they are hard to hide! I get that they (24 hour) aren't selling "that" but at least put me in something flattering to the neckline. It doesn't have to be va va va voom cleavage, but it doesn't have to be a frigging mockneck either (not kidding people, a mockneck at the gym....wtf?) AHHHHHH! I feel much better. I haven't really been able to share that information yet and it feels good now that I got it out. I can't post any pics from the shoot till the campaign comes out and my particular part doesn't come out till January. Really, I shouldn't even be telling people that. Probably the less noticed I am, the better.

After seeing those pics though, it gave me all the fuel I needed to get this fire under my ass lit once again. I'll admit, I slacked off a LOT over the summer. With all the road trips and that constant sitting on my butt I feel like I've gained 20 pounds! It's been hard to get back to eating 100% primal too. Now that the coffee addiction is gone though things seem to be getting better. I've decided that I'm going to do the last round of BFL challenges this year. Obviously I don't do dairy, grains, and whey. But I can still eat primally and do BFL workouts. Which, I really like the structure of. I've tried and tried again to be like Grok and just go with the workout flow but I'm much better with a structured routine. I've said it before, I like my workout sheets, my weight logs, and I love to see strength increases each week. It keeps me motivated. AND I'm gonna need all the motivation I can get because......another drumroll folks....Im going to do a figure comp in March. I've given it a ton of thought. I'm going to be 36 next year....gasp!! and I really want to get a competition under my belt before I get any older. I researched lots of trainers and decided to go with the GORGEOUS Olesya Novik!

You know, I've had a picture of her in my gym for YEARS (the one right above) and had no idea her name or who she was but just KNEW she had this amazingly hot bod and when I was looking for trainers I came across her and was like OMG that is the girl in my gym!!! I took it as a sign!!! She is stunning and she is so damn nice too! I adore her already after only a few conversations. So, I will have her on payroll come December (um I need a JOB!). We will work together for the last 3-4 months before my show. Which means from now till December I need to get my ass in the best shape possible to ensure she has good raw material to work with.

And, that is my catch up. I had a lot to say and I got it all out.

Summer arrived!

2010-08-23T16:10:00.000-07:00

There are 3 things I think about every time I stop to pump gas. These aren't in any particular order as each time I'm cursed with the chore of getting gas they come to me at different times.

1. One of my best girlfriends accidentally put diesel gas in her suv. yes yes, she realized that the nozzle didn't fit in properly but she thought it was "broken" needless to say a short time after leaving the station the car broke down and she had to call AAA......."Ma'm sounds like you put diesel gas in your car"
my friend.... "what? who the hell would do that?"

I LOL EVERY SINGLE TIME!!! Cut her some slack, she had pregnancy brain!!!

2. One of my other very close friends drove off, away from the pump, with the nozzle still stuck in her car. I don't think she likes to talk about it because maybe it wasn't as funny to her as it was to me. But man, I crack up all the time thinking about it!!!

3. In Oregon you don't even have to pump your own gas. Just something I think about. Because I HATE HATE HATE to pump gas!

It was kind of like an unspoken clause in our marriage, I would NOT have to get gas. For YEARS my wonderful husband would take my car and fill it up. Fully knowing if he didn't, he would be brining me gas on the side of the freeway. God I love that man!!!
However, since I've stepped away from the full-time working world I've taken it upon myself to put gas in the car should it need some (aka the gas light is on the car is running on fumes) One time my Prius actually DID run out of gas on the freeway but thank god for that hybrid engine right?!!! It got me off the freeway and to a gas station with battery life to spare.

Really, this all has NOTHING to do with my post but just had to throw it out there since I was at the gas station today.

AND -

It is FINALLY hot! Summer has graced us with her glorious presence after all these days/months. I was beginning to really wonder about her and to be honest, started talking behind her back! Not all bad things though. I've been delighted that my power bill is so low on account of not having the a/c on. There is a silver lining to everything!

On a Primal front, I just finished up another fat fast. While on my many road trips this summer I picked up that nasty Starbucks habit and by the time I was home again for good I found out that caffeine and sugar had BOTH creeped in, substantially I might add, to my diet. The fat fast is a fantastic way to put a halt to those cravings and get me on the right track again. Coming off the caffeine this time was MUCH easier than my stint last January when I felt the need to commit myself into rehab.
Now, I'm clean once again and feeling FINE!

Saturday we went to the farmers market and met this delightful girl. She and her family have a farm up in the north NORTH part of CA and she was telling us all about it. I think we will probably have to get our next cow from them. We bought some pork sausage from her and some bacon. She was telling us that her dad will take hamburger and combine with the sausage to make hamburger patties. Maybe I'm sheltered but I have never heard of such a thing. Makes total sense though right?!! Sausage is like bacon and can ONLY make things better! So we tried it yesterday and OMG PEOPLE SLAP ME NOW!!! That sh*t was gooooddddddd!!!! My husband and I both said that those were the best burgers we had EVER HAD!!!!! I used one pound of ground beef from our cow and then half a pound of that sausage we bought from her and mixed it up, pounded out my patties, added a tiny bit of Himalayan salts and some pepper, a little coconut oil, and then grilled them on the bbq. I'm not gonna lie....I had a burger yesterday for lunch AND DINNER!!!!!

Tonight I'm going to make meatza and for the crust use a pound of hamburger and the other half pound of that sausage. I'm thinking I'll top it with some bacon, avocado, olives, organic pineapple, and some buffalo mozzarella I got today. Can't wait till dinner!

Why isn't that damn photo uploader working?? huh? UGGHHHHH

Friday tidbits

2010-08-13T09:53:00.000-07:00

Happy Friday the 13th!
Not sure about you...but, it's my lucky day!!

Whole Foods had Sigg water bottles on sale today - buy one get one free!
That is a STEALING DEAL!!! I had seen the sign yesterday when I was there getting a few groceries and made a mental note to be sure and go back this morning.
Bright and early I was there, getting my Siggs. (not CIGGS, as those will kill you, make you smell, and give you ginormous unattractive wrinkles. Steer clear!!)

Aren't they pretty??!!

Last night we had the first of our cow, Bertha. She was sooooo delicious! Of course I had to pull out and cook the filets first. I mean really, why save them right?! They were absolutely divine! We paired them with some steamed cauliflower and watermelon with mint. Talk about refreshing! YUM!

One more thing to share, not exciting, but definitely worth noting.
I'm a laundry detergent fanatic. It has to smell good and the scent has to last a long time!!! I normally always go with Tide because it smells good and it cleans really well. It HAS to be liquid though. I NEVER use powder. Every once in a while I'll go with Gain just because of the scent, however, it doesn't clean clothes for SH*T!!! Especially the clothing of my little Messy Marvins.

Well, while I was away last month my husband had to buy some laundry detergent and knowing my fondness for Tide he got this Febreeze Sport kind and OMG!!!!!! It is fantastic!!!! It smells marvelous AND the freshness and smell last for a LONG TIME!!!! While I was on my cross country road trip, every time I pulled a pc of clothing out of my bag the scent was heavenly!! I can't gush about this detergent enough.
It's the little things in life I guess huh?!

Cow says "Moooooo"

2010-08-11T16:34:00.000-07:00

We picked up our cow today. I can't wait to start eating it!!!
My daughter is super excited! She gave me a big hug and said...
"I'm so happy to eat this meat!"
She is still upset because she had steak the other day that wasn't grass-fed.
Apparently she thinks she has been watching too much Food Inc.
Gotta love that girl!!

After stuffing the freezer to the max (I even broke one of the shelves free)
I ended up taking some meat over to my mother in laws house and storing it in her extra freezer in the garage.

Beginning to wonder if a chest freezer would be inappropriate for the front room.