Creamy Chicken Dijon
Creamy Chicken Dijon.
I am relieved to say that my exercise science midterm is over! It is such a relief to have that thing off my mind or at least not to have to study for it anymore. I admit that it is still on my mind a little bit. I can’t help but wonder how I did and have gone over some of the questions in my head (and even checked an answer in my book…don’t let me do that anymore. It made me upset!). I realized I made a couple dumb mistakes, but in the moment, I took a chance because I was unsure. Whatever. I know I passed and I studied my buns off, so hopefully it paid off and at least scored me a B. I’m pretty confident that I got at least that, but who knows, maybe I did even better!
Studying for that blasted exam is what the majority of my weekend consisted of. The weather was so nice and sunny, which made it challenging, but I took advantage of studying outside on the patio. Really, I just wanted to hang out outdoors, bum around on my bike and drink wine. I got the outdoors, did ride some on my bike (commuting), but didn’t drink wine. I needed clarity, so I stuck with kombucha and memory boost tea. As you probably know by now, I very rarely drink, but there’s something about warm weather that makes me want to, particularly when the weather first starts turning summery.
Jason’s event at Whole Foods on Saturday was a lot of fun and a nice break from studying. There ended up being a smaller group than expected because a couple people cancelled last minute and some didn’t show up, which I attribute to the warm weather, but it was a success among those there and nice to have a small group. Naturally, it ran over because there was a lot of questions and much to talk about in only one hour’s time. Everyone was very engaged and Jason was entertaining and brilliant, as always. Honestly, that guy cracks me up, but man he knows his stuff! It’s always a pleasure to listen to him speak. To all my readers and followers who have not bought his book, The Paleo Coach, I strongly encourage you to do so. His message and information is too valuable not to share.
Here are a couple pictures from the event. Ashley, Whole Foods Pearl District’s Healthy Eating Specialist and blogger at Craving4more, also put together a neat picture from the talk on her Instagram, which you can check out here.
The spread of paleo food that Ashley, the Healthy Foods Specialist made for the event (with the exception of the date and honey-sweetened Stirs the Soul raw chocolate — my favorite!). She also blogs over at Craving4more.
Jason, doing what he does.
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Meanwhile, I’m still really loving mustard, particularly Dijon. It makes a difference in so many recipes and is often the missing flavor I’m looking for. It tantalized my taste buds once again, in this recipe. Hope you enjoy it!
Ingredients:
- 1 Tbsp US Wellness Meats grass-fed beef tallow
- 1/2 yellow onion, chopped
- 3 cloves garlic, finely chopped
- 1 lb boneless skinless chicken breasts or thighs, cut into 1-inch pieces
- 3 medium carrots, chopped
- 1.5 cups chopped broccoli
- 1/2 cup zucchini, chopped
- 1 tsp dried thyme
- 2 tsp dried oregano
- Sea salt and pepper to taste
- Pinch of red pepper flakes
- 1 Tbsp Dijon mustard
- 3 Tbsp bone broth or low-sodium chicken broth
- 1/2 cup full-fat coconut milk
Directions:
- Melt tallow in a large skillet over medium heat. Add the onion and garlic, and saute for a minute. Then, add the chicken and season with a bit of sea salt and pepper.
- Continue to cook for about 5-6 minutes, and then add the spices, carrots, broccoli and a bit more sea salt and pepper. Stir well and continue to saute.
- In a small mixing bowl, whisk together the coconut milk, broth and Dijon. Add mixture to the chicken and vegetables; stir.
- Continue to cook for 5 minutes or until chicken is cooked through and vegetables are tender. The sauce will thicken up a bit as well.
- Serve as is or with steamed leafy greens, cauliflower rice or zucchini noodles.
Yields: 3 servings
Turkey Sausage Veggie Hash
Before I rant about this recipe, I want to announce an exciting event coming up in Portland this Saturday. Some of you may have seen it on my Facebook page, but I want to share it again! Anyway, Jason Seib, author of The Paleo Coach, is giving a FREE talk at the Pearl District Whole Foods from 12-1 p.m, this Saturday, May 4th. There will be copies of Jason’s book available for purchase and he will also be available for signing. In addition, there will be some delicious paleo recipes to try made by the lovely, Ashley Kipp, the pearl store’s Healthy Foods Specialist and blogger behind Craving4more. Space is limited and an RSVP is required, so if you want to sign up, please email Ashley at ashley.kipp@wholefoods.com. It’s only two days away, so make sure you reserve your spot now! The presentation will be held upstairs in Salud, the demo kitchen next to The Mezz.
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Meanwhile, this simple and tasty dish is versatile and pretty much foolproof — at least in my opinion. Honestly, I don’t have too much to say about it, other than the fact that it’s just plain good. Eat it for breakfast, lunch or dinner. It’d also be great mixed with some scrambled eggs, but a runny egg on top is lovely too. Can you believe that I used to detest runny yolks? Up until a couple years ago, I only ate my yolks cooked through. That’s just blasphemy!
Ingredients:
- 1 lb ground turkey thighs
- 1 Tbsp US Wellness Meats grass-fed beef tallow
- 3 cloves garlic, finely chopped
- 1 bunch radishes, chopped (about 1 cup)
- 2 large carrots, chopped
- 3 cups fresh spinach, torn into pieces
- Sea salt and pepper to taste
- 1 Tbsp dried parsley
- 1 tsp dried marjoram
- 1 tsp ground sage
- 1/2 tsp dried thyme
- Dash of nutmeg
- 3 Tbsp bone broth or low-sodium chicken broth
- 1 Tbsp grass-fed butter
- Sunny side-up pastured egg for serving, optional
Directions:
- Melt tallow in a large skillet over medium heat. Add the ground turkey and break up with a spatula. Then, add the chopped garlic. Season with a little sea salt and pepper, and continue to cook.
- Next, add the radishes, carrots, spices, bone broth, and a bit more sea salt and pepper; stir. Continue to cook over medium-low heat, stirring occasionally, until meat is cooked through and vegetables are crisp-tender. Then, add the torn spinach leaves and butter. Cook another couple minutes, until spinach softens a bit. Adjust seasonings as needed.
- Optional to serve with a sunny-side up egg and let the yolk ooze all over.
Yields: 3 servings
Everyday Paleo Workshop Recap
As some of you know from my Facebook page, I attended Jason Seib and Sarah Fragoso’s Everyday Paleo workshop this past Saturday. It was my second time attending, but this time it was at Jason’s gym, Clackamas Physical Conditioning, about 25 minutes from my house. Last time, I drove four hours to attend their workshop in Grant’s Pass, Oregon and it was well worth it. Anyway, there were about 100 or so people in attendance, including Cain Credicott of Paleo Magazine, Tammy Credicott of The Healthy GF Life and author of Paleo Indulgences, Ute of Grokette’s Primal Musings and FastPaleo.com, the founders of Fatworks and more! It was such a great crowd! I was humbled to have a few people come up to me and ask if I was Paleo in PDX, and then proceed to introduce themselves. It was kind of strange, but neat at the same time.
Great crowd! (Photo credit: Everyday Paleo).
The infamous, Deb Hunter, helping Sarah. (Photo credit: Grokette’s Primal Musings).
You know what really made me feel special though? Being invited to the cool kids party after the workshop. Jason invited me over to his house for dinner that evening to hang with him, his family, the Fragoso’s, Tammy and Cain, and possibly some others. I had to about pinch myself thinking about the awesome offer. Holy sh*t, I felt honored and like a really flippin’ cool lady. Sadly, I could not attend because Jesse and I had plans at 4 p.m. to meet our friend who’s officiating our wedding, and I really didn’t want to cancel with the wedding only 4-ish weeks away (and considering the fact that we hadn’t even discussed anything with him yet). If I would’ve known beforehand and not the day of (thanks, Jason), I could have planned for it, but it was too short notice. So, it’ll have to happen another time and I’m confident that something of the sorts will. Still though, isn’t that pretty rad?!
Preach it, Jason! (Photo credit: Grokette’s Primal Musings).
Anyway, back to the actual workshop. It was so engaging, even a second time around. I learned new things and took completely different notes than I did before. The questions and discussion always change, of course, based on the audience. This particular audience asked a lot of questions! Jason was as science-y, thorough and funny as ever, and Sarah was down to earth, vibrant and spoke from the heart. They really complement one another well and make a great team. Here are some of my takeaways this time around:
- When you intervene on original diets, disease interferes. We changed the rules with the introduction of agriculture and processed foods, which is why we have the pronounced rise of modern illness today.
- In a study with over 5,000 Swedish men (I believe it was just men), 74% had undiagnosed celiac disease. Just get it out of your diet, people! Don’t even bother with a test that may or may not even tell you that you have it!
- People are not stuck with autoimmune conditions the rest of their lives (unless a rare, chronic issue), despite what they think or are told. The question that needs to be asked is, “what caused it?” It comes back to systemic inflammation, leaky gut syndrome and celiac disease. There was even a woman in attendance who had been diagnosed with MS and was bound to a WHEELCHAIR! Well, guess what? She switched to a paleo lifestyle and is no longer debilitated, and can walk and move freely! Chill-worthy, right? The proof is in the pudding, folks. This is not the first instance of this I’ve heard either. There is another prime example in Jason’s wonderful book, The Paleo Coach, which I recommend buying if you haven’t already.
- Jason shared a quote from Nora Gedgaudas that is so spot on, “Science isn’t the last word, it’s the latest word.”
- 50 percent or more of people that die of heart disease have LOW cholesterol.
- There is a strong correlation between calcium supplementation and heart attack.
- Eliminating vegetable oils (canola, safflower, sunflower, corn, cottonseed, etc.) from your diet makes it HARDER to get skin cancer.
I see my head! I’m the blonde hair on the far left. (Photo credit: The Healthy GF Life).
- Chia seeds should be treated like grain. (Lucky for me, I already avoid these puppies. They’re SCD-illegal. Isn’t it basically bird seed anyway?).
- A few years ago, an Iowa State professor was fired for saying that cows eat grass! Corn is the answer they were looking for since Iowa grows tons of it.
- If and when you do indulge in booze, drink earlier, so it’s out of your bloodstream before you go to bed.
- There is not a single study showing that people who are on statins live any longer than those not on statins. And, in people who have had a heart attack or have advanced heart disease, studies show that they might live 13 days longer than they would have otherwise. 13 days longer…is it worth all the terrible health risks? Did you know that people at Jason’s gym are not even allowed to be on statins to workout there because of all the risks? You actually have to sign off that you’re not on statins.
- When you yo yo diet, you lose WEIGHT and gain FAT. You don’t want to lose weight, folks because that includes precious muscle mass.
- “Paleo treats,” as a staple are like candy cigarettes.
- STOP doing lots of cardio! Six 20-second row sprint intervals have the same EPOC (Excess Post Oxygen Consumption) as 30-minutes of steady state cardio at 80% VO2max, but without the cortisol and prolonged stress. Do you know what excess cortisol and stress equals? Increased fat storage! (This is not new to me, but I like the study Jason mentioned, especially since I understand the terminology, thanks to exercise science).
- “This isn’t a diet, it’s a perspective and perspective will set you free.” – Jason Seib
**Read about my first time attending Sarah and Jason’s workshop here and here.**
I Bow My Head in Gratitude
(Photo credit: Wikipedia)
I am taking a break from food today to say express my gratitude. I just have to get it off my chest, and nearly want to shout it from the rooftops!
I am thankful, every single day, for this life and what I’m creating for myself. Up until 10 months ago, I never knew life could be this satisfying and amazing. I was at a job that made me unhappy and stressed (stressed because I felt like I could never do anything good enough and I often felt like I was walking on eggshells), and I was not pursuing my passions or using my energy to its greatest capacity. I’ve said this before, but getting laid off from that job was the best thing that could have happened to me. Since that time, I’ve changed my attitude and perspective, surrounded myself with positive people and finally started pursuing things that mattered to me. And guess what? Opportunities fell into my lap effortlessly, and all the jobs I have now I did not apply for, but rather, they were offered to me: coaching at Recreate Fitness, making treats at Cultured Caveman, freelance writing for a former co-worker’s side business and now, doing some PR work for Jason Seib, my mentor and author of the fantastic new book, The Paleo Coach. Having people who believe in me and want ME is an awesome feeling. I am so blessed and I know it might sound sappy, but sometimes, all I can do is cry because I’m so happy. I also am a bit of a softy and show emotion easily. But, do you see how important it is to be pursuing the things that matter to you? Don’t settle for less…it’s not worth it and life is too short.
What are you creating for yourself? Are you pursuing the things that are near and dear to your heart? If not, what’s stopping you?
Don’t mind the grammatical error on here, but please know, I did not create this! It should read: Optimism, it’s the best way to see life.
Weekend Highlights
Wow, what a great weekend! Saturday, in particular, was outstanding. Before I get rolling about that, I just want to say that a Monday – Wednesday school schedule is SO much better than going through Thursday. One less day of school during the week really makes a big difference. If you’re curious, my classes this term include exercise science, fitness assessment II, and professional activities: special populations (fitness programming for older adults).
My post-workout Saturday morning breakfast: pastured eggs scrambled in grass-fed butter with leftover US Wellness Meats Easter ham, kale, avocado and raw sauerkraut. There’s a splash of full-fat coconut milk in the scramble too. Yum! (Taken on iPhone).
Anyway, Saturday started with another great workout at Recreate. Then, it was breakfast at home and a little downtime before heading to Whole Foods for a healthy fats presentation by my friend, Ashley, also the blogger behind Craving4more, in case you didn’t remember. The event was actually titled, “Fat is NOT the F-word!” Ashley had a great spread laid out, as usual and we had the opportunity to sample the delicious food. I tried the macadamia-crusted halibut, a fig olive walnut tapenade, roasted watermelon radishes (roasted in coconut oil), and lemon pound cake bites (grain-free and similar to a larabar). She also had an avocado chocolate mousse with port berries and spiced pecans, but I needed to opt out. I brought some home for Jesse though, and he said it was delicious. Ashley also had some freshly made grass-fed tallow and grass-fed ghee on display for participants to see.
Ashley’s spread (Taken on iPhone).
Freshly rendered grass-fed beef tallow (Taken on iPhone).
Ashley gave a great overview of the types of fat, which to cook with, which not to cook with (finishing oils), which to avoid, omega-3 vs. omega-6, myths and overall benefits. I knew most everything already, but it was neat to see others learn about it that did not know all these details. It was fun and I was happy to be there to support Ashley, and taste the delicious food too! Be sure to keep an eye on Ashely’s blog this week because I know she’ll be posting some of the recipes.
The macadamia-crusted halibut and roasted watermelon radishes were my favorite! I plan to make the halibut for dinner tonight, actually and probably the radishes too (Taken on iPhone).
Then, when leaving Whole Foods, I randomly ran into two different friends, one of which I hadn’t seen in a long time (also a former lululemon co-worker). The other was one of my special yoga buddies. I love them both and was happy to see and chat with them, even if it was only for a few minutes.
Fast forward a little later in the day and I remembered that Nora Gedgaudas, author of Primal Body, Primal Mind, was giving a talk at a local bookstore about 5-10 minutes away from my house. I called to make sure there was still spots available, and lucky for me, there was, but I wasn’t sure if I’d make it in time or not. I had dinner going and realized I’d have to eat quickly and bolt, and I really detest rushing! I knew I’d regret missing it though, so I made it work.
Here’s the description of Nora’s presentation, as stated by New Renaissance Bookshop:
“Dietary fat has been treated like a villain for the better part of the last century by medical authorities, the USDA and other mainstream nutritional authorities. Instead, dietary carbohydrates have been lauded as foundational to human dietary needs largely without question and now makes up the majority of mainstream dietary intake. Dietary fat is demonstrably central to our most basic energy, metabolic, neurological and physiologic needs and by restricting its intake we foster a much less healthy and unnatural dependence upon dietary sources of sugar and starch. Nora Gedgaudas is the author of the critically acclaimed international best-selling book, Primal Body, Primal Mind. She maintains a private practice in Portland, Oregon as both a Board-Certified nutritional consultant and a Board-Certified clinical Neurofeedback Specialist.”
At the event, I had the opportunity to meet a couple other Portland paleo bloggers and it was awesome to finally put a face with the name in person! I’m referring, specifically, to Holly over at The Paleo Blog of Yay and Jennifer over at Paleo Dieting. Jason Seib, my mentor and author of the book, The Paleo Coach, was also there. I grabbed a seat and Jason told me to save the seat next to him. I still feel so fortunate to have him as a friend and mentor.
Nora’s talk was 90 minutes long and I was engaged every second of it. I took notes and could have taken a lot more, but was so enthralled by her at times, that all I could do is sit and listen. She is a wealth of knowledge, as well as a fantastic speaker and presenter. I am SO glad I went.
After the talk, I chit-chatted with some others and was able to meet Nora and have her sign my book, which was such a pleasure. I didn’t get a picture with Nora, but did take one of Jason and Nora together on my phone.
Nora and Jason. I actually borrowed Jason’s picture because the lighting was better in his than in mine. Still a phone picture none the less.
Here are a few highlights from Nora’s presentation that I wrote down (note, this is not everything I wrote down):
- Taking statins for high cholesterol levels is the equivalent to shooting the fireman at the fire.
- Cholesterol is an indicator, not a disease marker. To know what’s really going on, you have to look under the hood.
- The more we depend on fat, the longer we live.
- Cell membranes require 50% saturated fat for functioning and other parts of the body, including the heart, need it to function properly as well (she listed how other parts of the body use saturated fat, but this is the one I was able to jot down in time).
- Cholesterol functions as an antioxidant and acts as duct tape in our arteries.
- Cholesterol — not diamonds — is a girl’s best friend.
- Using ketones for fuel creates more ATP.
- The brain uses >20% of the body’s total energy demands.
- For human longevity, it’s best to keep protein around 25 grams per meal. (Note: this varies for some people with specific goals or needs, such as athletes or those trying to gain muscle).
- Special note: go watch Allan Savory’s TED talk titled, “How to green the desert and reverse climate change.” Jason made sure I wrote this down.
On a completely different note and just because I want to share, Jesse and I get married exactly two months from today!
Food Log Assignment Update
Nutrition (Photo credit: The Noun Project)
Remember my nutrition food log assignment I told you about? Well, it’s still going on and the rest of the assignment is due today. I ended up being partners with this fabulous 54-year old woman, who is familiar with the concept behind paleo and has similar beliefs as me regarding food. I admit, it would’ve been fun and entertaining to be partners with someone who doesn’t know about paleo and follows the SAD, but I guess it wasn’t meant to be this time around. Anyway, my partner was not flabbergasted by my food log, whereas most people following a SAD would be. In case you’re wondering, for my three days, my macros were about 55-56% fat (mostly saturated type), 25% protein and 20% carbs (all from veggies and some fruit).
Anyway, my partner used to weigh 300 lbs and lost 100 lbs eating a high-fat, low-carb diet. She said her primary care doctor (she also sees a naturopath) didn’t understand why her blood levels and everything were so great when she switched to eating this way (because of all the fat), but told her to keep it up since it was clearly working. She ate this way for four years, but now, eats a little bit of grains, but not much. She avoids gluten, nightshades (aggravates her RA) and most dairy, aside from pasture butter.
Part of the assignment included us writing a one-day meal plan for each other, based on goals, deficiencies (I wasn’t deficient in any vitamins or minerals…exceeded the RDI for every one!), around a certain event, etc. We could create it the way we wanted to. Anyway, she asked me to create a one-day paleo plan for her to support her activities. She’s a distance runner and for this whole year, she made the goal of running a half marathon every month, which she has done so far. There is one little caveat though, she doesn’t eat a lot of meat and wanted my paleo plan for her to be vegetarian-ish. I still put a little bit of meat and eggs on her plan because she does eat some, but had to be mindful of what and how much I chose. Her plan was paleo-inspired, but tweaked to meet her needs. Paleo can be tough for distance runners, but is doable if one really pays attention to their diet and stays on top of things. That means lots of high-quality carbs, like sweet potatoes, yams, winter squashes, pumpkin, etc. For the really intense crowd, Amy Kubal, a paleo RD on Robb Wolf’s team, says that things like skinless white potatoes, white rice and corn tortillas can be helpful, in addition to starchy veggies and fruit. In this case, there must not be any autoimmune issues though.
(Photo credit: Wikipedia)
To quote Jason Seib, from this week’s Everyday Paleo Lifestyle & Fitness podcast, “It’s hard to do complete paleo [with distance running] because distance running is a less than ideal situation.” Jason says that taking something like distance running, which is unnatural by nature, and mixing it with paleo, which is natural, can be tough.
On a side note, I’ll be curious to see the paleo plan my partner made for me. I told her to create it around a day of air travel and account for little activity that day, since it’d involve a lot of sitting. She liked the idea and said it made things easier for her. I’ll be sure to share her meal plan for me, so stay tuned!
Simple Supper Friday: Turkey Cabbage Stew with Multicolored Carrots
Turkey cabbage stew with roasted multicolored carrots.
Another week of school down (hooray!), and I must say, this week went by extremely fast. I’m okay with that too. As much as I’m trying to enjoy the process, I’m really ready for this term to be over. Being busy definitely helps the time fly by though. Full-time school, part-time fitness coaching, part-time freelance writing, blogging, treat making at the food cart, working on a project with Jason Seib, and life. I may even be taking on another project, which will be determined later today. I might be burning the candle at both ends a tad, but it’s awesome to be a busy little bee. I’m learning so much, especially about myself, and I feel ready for the next big thing.
Meanwhile, the sun is shining bright today and it’s a high of 60 degrees. I’ve already had a chance to enjoy the sunshine a little bit, but I’m hoping to get outside later for a walk. I have tons to do, but 60 and sunny is a great excuse to take a break.
Happy Friday all!
Ingredients:
- 1 lb ground turkey thighs
- 2 cloves garlic, minced
- 1/2 tsp fat of choice (I used grass-fed tallow)
- Sea salt and pepper to taste
- 1/2 head cabbage, chopped
- 1/4 tsp cardamom
- 1 tsp chili powder
- 2-4 Tbsp chicken broth
- 1/4 – 1/2 cup full-fat coconut milk
Directions:
- While your carrots are roasting (see instructions below), get started on the stew. In a large pan over medium heat, melt your fat of choice. Add the garlic and saute about 20-30 seconds, or until fragrant. Next, add the ground turkey and season to taste with sea salt and pepper. Be sure to break up the ground meat a bit with a spatula.
- After several minutes, when the meat is nearly done browning, add the cabbage, cardamom, chili powder, broth and coconut milk. Mix well and continue to simmer over medium-low heat for several minutes. Adjust seasonings and liquid as needed.
- Once done, serve into bowls and top with roasted carrots.
For the roasted carrots:
- 1 bunch multicolored carrots (about 5-7 carrots), chopped into 1/2″ pieces
- 1 Tbsp fat of choice, melted (I used a combo of grass-fed tallow and ghee)
- Sea salt and pepper to taste
- Preheat oven to 375. On a baking sheet, toss carrots with fat of choice, and season with sea salt and pepper. Roast for 30 minutes or until tender and slightly browned.
- Serve atop of turkey and cabbage mixture.
Yields: 3-4 servings
5 Paleo Breakfast Ideas
Paleo breakfast burrito from Spoonful of Sugar Free.
One of my dear friends recently requested that I post some paleo breakfast ideas. This week, she needs to make all of her breakfasts perfect paleo. She’s already been dabbling in paleo since summertime, so paleo is not foreign to her. Right now, things are just slowly being dialed in for her. This friend is also the one Jason Seib and I are working with for our little project. Anyway, she specifically needs recipes that are not sweetened or as stated in the book, It Starts With Food by Dallas and Melissa Hartwig, of the “sex with your pants on” nature.
I realize, I really don’t do breakfast posts very often, even though breakfast is my favorite meal of the day. I’m such a classic eggs, sausage, veggies and avocado girl that I rarely concoct an actual breakfast dish or recipe. This is a good reminder for me to work on some breakfast ideas. Regardless, there are a lot of awesome paleo breakfast ideas out there. Here are some I found that look delicious and don’t fall into the sweetened or “sex with your pants on” category. Most of these recipes can be made ahead of time and reheated or even eaten cold, so if you don’t have a lot of time in the morning, plan ahead!
If you get sick of eggs or cannot tolerate eggs, try dinner leftovers as an easy breakfast. If you usually don’t have leftovers, try making a larger quantity at dinner, so you do have leftovers. It’s not uncommon for me to eat leftover chicken soup, stew, etc. in the morning for breakfast, and it makes busy mornings really easy. Remember, breakfast doesn’t have to look like traditional breakfast.
I’ve done recipe roundups before, so maybe you already know the drill. If not, click on each photo to get to the recipe. Enjoy, and let me know if you try any of these recipes out!
Speckled egg wraps from The Cavery.
Quick paleo breakfast muffins from PaleoMunch.
Paleo breakfast casserole from Paleo Effect. Use squash instead of sweet potato for SCD.
Banana bacon scramble from katie did.
Weekend Recap and Highlights
Homework, writing and reading. That’s the summary of my weekend. In fact, I was so worn out on Saturday after being at it all day, that I missed out on girl’s night with some of my co-workers from Recreate and other great ladies that workout there. I just didn’t have the energy for it, and knew that I needed my focus to roll over into Sunday. Luckily, I did have some fun Friday night and got a lot done this weekend, which was critical.
On Friday, Jesse and I went out with an old college friend of mine from Michigan. We met when we were both 18 years old, attending Eastern Michigan University in the interior design program, which will be 10 years ago this August. Anyway, she was here visiting with her husband and asked if we wanted to get together. Naturally, I said yes. We met at the Mission Theater for drinks and then watched the newest episode of Portlandia, which the theater airs every Friday night. You may have seen this when I posted it on my Facebook page, but here’s one of my favorite clips from the new season called, fart patio. Part of why I think it’s so funny, is because as a former vegetarian and vegan, I can totally relate! I’ve even eaten at the cafe they’re at in the clip, which has a lot of unique things on their menu — all vegan, mostly raw and nearly all gluten-free. I don’t really go there anymore, but if I do, I get a fresh green juice. They have some really tasty ones to choose from.
After watching Portlandia, we walked across the street and ate Thai food and drank hot Thai tea at Sweet Basil Thai. I ordered a gluten-free red curry with chicken, no rice. It was delicious. It felt so good to get out, see an old friend and laugh. I hadn’t laughed that hard in a while. My two glasses of wine didn’t sit super well with me, even though I chose something dry, but I still had a great time and didn’t let it hold me back. It was the first drink I’ve had since New Year’s eve. I’m not much of a drinker — usually just at holidays and when I go out with friends.
On Sunday, I worked in the morning, then went to a coffee shop afterward to pump out some more work. Then, I came home and got some 24-hour yogurt started, along with a batch of bone broth. I also made a tasty, creamy beverage that I’m hoping to post later this week, so stay tuned! Meanwhile, this week’s chaos has already begun. I worked out at Recreate this morning, came home, am off to school shortly and then after school, I head out to Clackamas Physical Conditioning with my friend for our weekly appointment with Jason Seib. I get my advanced copy of Jason’s book today and am so excited to start digging in!
How was your weekend? Did you do anything fun or cook up anything delicious?
Things I’m Loving Right Now…
(Photo credit: nikilee30.wordpress.com)
It’s been a while since my first post about things I’m loving, so I thought it was time for another. As much as I enjoy doing food posts, it’s fun to switch things up too. Hopefully, it’s as enjoyable for you as it its for me.
- Still Alice by Lisa Genova: I’m reading this book for my fitness and aging class and holy moly, is it good. I started it Saturday morning, and by Saturday night, I was on page 133. It’s a fascinating story about a very bright woman, who is a renowned Harvard professor, that develops early onset Alzheimer’s. She gradually starts losing pieces from her memory, and feels like she’s literally losing her mind. It’s quite sad, of course, but so interesting at the same time. I highly recommend this book!
Cover of Still Alice
- My brand new dryer: My dryer stopped emitting heat shortly after I returned from Hawaii, and we were without a working dryer for about three weeks! Air drying isn’t so bad for some things, like delicates or technical fabrics, but for things like hooded sweatshirts, jeans, and so forth, it’s kind of a pain in the butt. Items like this take too long to dry and become stiff and crusty. I avoided washing towels during this time (luckily, we have a good supply) because they’d end up smelling mildewy. Anyway, our new dryer was approved and finally delivered last weekend. I don’t think I was ever so happy and excited to do laundry in my life! Not only that, but it dries clothes in half the amount of time as our old dryer. This is one modern convenience that I definitely appreciate, although I do like the smell of line-dried clothes in the summertime.
Amana dryer (Photo credit: shopping.com)
- Mentoring with Jason Seib: As you may recall from my post last Monday, I have a mentor-ship established with Jason Seib. We’ve met once since our initial meeting, and will continue to meet every Monday. We just started working on a project together, which he is leading and I am learning from. I get to be involved in every step along the way, which is really exciting. I’m hesitant to give too many details about this project, but it does involve a third person as well. She’s a dear friend of mine and former co-worker. She’s really excited too! You’re probably very curious now, aren’t you?
This is a recycled photo from September 2012, when Jesse and I attended Sarah Fragoso and Jason Seib’s Everyday Paleo Lifestyle and Fitness seminar.
- Primal Recess: This class is Jesse’s baby at Recreate and I love it! It consists of such things as primal/instinctual movements (squatting, crawling, etc.), body weight training, heavy carries, awkward carries, pulling, pushing, Clubbells, balance games, obstacle courses and FlowFit. It’s fun, playful and challenging, and Jesse’s creativity shines through. He’s a very talented guy.
- Creme de la Earl Grey tea: This tea is so good, it’s almost sinful. It’s rich, flavorful and has a lovely hint of vanilla creaminess. I buy a local brand from one of our co-ops, but there are other brands out there as well. Even the tea itself is beautiful, with hints of blue flowers. It tastes perfect straight up, but is extra delightful with a bit of full-fat coconut milk mixed in. Here is a link to the brand I buy locally.
Creme de la Earl Grey (Photo credit: teaandspice.com)
- Using my slow cooker as much as possible: I’ve been a fan of the slow cooker for quite some time now, but have an even greater appreciation for it now. Lately, I’ve been using it nearly every day because it’s a lifesaver with a busy schedule. My schedule continues to get busier, so I’ll be keeping my slow cooker close to my side! This is probably my number one kitchen tool that makes my life easier.
This is not my actual slow cooker, but a borrowed photo rather (Photo credit: Wikipedia)
- Knowing that I get to go home soon: I’m flying home to Michigan at the end of March, so the ladies of my family can throw me a proper wedding shower. I know it means a lot to my family to do so, and I want to go home anyway. This way, I can finalize or check into any specific details for our post-wedding party, relax a little (at least from school work, since it’ll be spring break), and enjoy the company of my family.
(Photo credit: advancedwildlifedesigns.com)
What are some little things (or big things) that you’re enjoying right now?
