Kale chipies plus fruit overload

Happy Friday!

I am so happy for the weekend!! I'm planning on doing some blueberry picking with my mom and some of my aunts, some gardening, kitchie time, and just all around chillaxing! What's this weekend hold for you? In Canada it's a long weekend but I'm actually going to be working on the Monday in exchange for next Monday. My SIL wants to make a trip up to the Okanagan so we did a little switharoo with the holiday. Anywho, today I wanted to share with you my kale chips that I made the other day. You saw my kale forest, right? So, ya I've been on a mission to keep up with its crazy growing cycle! I don't have a dehydrator so I'm making them in my oven on the lowest setting with the door open. It works pretty good but ultimately I would love to have 9 trays all going at once:) I used two different recipes just to get a "feel" of the flavors. The first was Meghan Telpner's Spicy Thai Ginger Chips except I made them without the ginger because I forgot to pick some up and I used soy sauce(didn't have any tamari! Oh boy these were amazing..yum! I love the thicker almond butter coating that was on the chips..Mmm. Need to make more for sure!!!

Oh baby!! If you have a veggie-hating member of your family. Feed them these..they will beg for more!

I think kale chips are beautiful? Is that weird. It's something about them that reminds me of leaves in fall (which I LOVE)..sorry to say the "f" word already LOL!

For the second variety I went with a more basic recipe from Susan at Rawmazing which involved olive oil, garlic, and thyme. These were okay but I felt like the flavors weren't as strong as I would have liked them to be. If you like mild flavored chips, these are for you.

What are your go-to kale chip recipes? I have a ton of kale so I can't wait to try every variety of flavor possible! Except BBQ or ketchup, they don't turn my flavor crank:)

I did go picking raspberries yesterday! It was hot but oh so worth it. Are you sick and tired of hearing about my love affair with local fruit? I hope not because we are just getting more into tree fruit season. I mean berries touch my soul but peaches...oh man it's another level! So check out my stash that ended up at my house last night.

Of course I went with the standard rule....2 in the mouth, 1 in the bucket. Oh so yummy! This farm doesn't use any sprays so I was a happy camper:) These babies are going into my smoothies and into my freezer for the winter months. My freezer is slowly getting fuller..its almost time for one of those stand alone freezers. The hubby laughs when I say I need one for all the blueberries and other fruits I want to freeze...me? I'm quite serious!

Mom picked me up some of the biggest cherries I have ever seen! She is down to pick blueberries for herself and some of my family back home. Yes, the blueberry obsession is in the genes! I knew it!

It filled up the whole camera screen!!!

Last , but definitely not least, the beautiful, juicy...Mrs. Peach!! Oh how I have been waiting for you to visit:)

These are certified organic peaches!! So delicious:) Yes, I eat them with the "fuzz" on!

The whole gang! I picked all those raspberries (with my mom and aunt's help) and they came out to $16. Perfect! The peaches were $20 and the cherries $18. Considering they don't last long and I'm going to be preserving them for the winter, I think it's a great deal!

Have the most beautiful weekend everyone!!

PS The awesome Katie is having an amazing giveaway. Check out her blog. Especially if you are a lover of P90x and Insanity...she has quite the humorous tale to tell about these workouts!

Here's a fun song to get you in the mood for the weekend!

Garden picts!

Happy Thursday!



Hope you are all doing well! I'm still feeling a bit off so I'm not sure what's going on. I'm really trying to support my immune system so I'm taking oregano oil and an astragalus, reishi, & echinacea tincture. The fatigue is still getting to me but its better! I actually had a nap yesterday at 5:30...so not like me! If this carries on then my suspicions are on deficiency of some kind which I wouldn't be too proud about. Anywho..I finally got around to taking some pictures of my jungle...er..garden! Enjoy:)

The clay pot contains purslane:) I really should have just scattered the seeds in the garden as they seem to like to be free and easy..and not all couped up in a pot! Like my 2 foot tall basil plant? I see lots of pesto in my future!!!

This is the baby pen! LOL Those leafy greens area going to be collard greens. I plant in the center is a sunflower. You can barely see them, but the green spec on the edge of the picture on the right side is holy basil.

Some beautiful flower power!!! I love these purple petunias

These beauties were hiding!

I love this photo! This color is just so beautiful:) It just POPS.

The kale patch. I have three types of kale in there luciano, dinosaur, and curly.

HUGE!!!

The sunflowers. These are going to be beautiful..can't wait

My tomato plants are growing like crazy but I don't think they are getting pollinated because there are still a ton of blooms on there:( We shall wait and see.

In this section I have onions, beets, and you can just see the carrots

I'm so in love with these carrot greens!! What do you think the carrot color is?? look below:)

Beautiful purple carrot!

Carrot central! These are an orange heritage variety!









This is going to be a very massive head of lettuce-butter variety

Swiss chard with the kale forest!

A little cucumber!!!

Gorgeous zucch plants!













I'm loving gardening and eating out of my garden everyday! I'm even going to be giving some of my produce away which I love. How cool is it to share home-grown food. Also tomorrow I'm going to be making some KRAUT!!!! YAY! Have a great day I'm off to pick some raspberries:)

Sorry if the wording is not beside the right picture..in the preview it isn't but on this page it is:(

What does your juice do for you?

Happy Hump day!!!

I'm still feeling sluggish and I can feel the beginning effects of a cold coming on. I usually get sick in the summer which is weird but it's also when I am my busiest so there may be a connection there. It feels like I have a headache (I never get headaches), my throat hurts a bit, and I am pretty fatigued. I hope I can beat it with some good nutrition and herbs. I'm going to pick up some ginger and take some of my astragalus drops. Who likes to be sick when the sun in shining, not me!!!

My body must have known it was facing an invasion because I was craving a vegetable juice with some key power players. I made a celery, carrot, beet, and beet greens juice. Wish I had some ginger but it was still awesome.

I LOVE this color. My favorite color is pretty close to this (it's peach)

The swiss chard and kale forest are going to get you Muh Ha Ha

After making this juice I was curious as to what it was actually doing for my body. Yes, nerd alert, but don't you want to know too? I thought so! Here's a little breakdown:

Celery

Vitamin C- perfect to aid the immune system

Phthalides-cholesterol lowering

Coumarins - cancer prevention

Vitamin K - blood clot formation, makes essential bone proteins

Potassium - maintains a healty nervous system, maintain normal brain function, and promotes normal muscle growth!

A natural Diuretic

Contains calcium

Carrots

Source of antioxidents

Richest vegetable source of pro-vitamin A carotenes - protects vision

falcarinol - reduces risks of cancer

Rich in vitamins B, C, D, Eich in potassium

Excellent source of potassium, copper, folic acid, and magnesium

Beets

Their color comes from the pigment betacyanin which is a powerful cancer fighter

Rich in B vitamin folate- essential for normal tissue growth

High in vitamin A, B1, B2, B6, and C

Excellent source of calcium, iron, magnesium, copper, phosphorus, and sodium

Beet Greens

Higher iron content than spinach

Contain calcium, magnesium, and phosphorus

Good source of Vitamin A, B-complex, C, and K

Can your store bought juice compare? I think not. Ditch the overly sweetened fruit juices or those fruit/veggie combos and make a healthy juice at home! You don't need an expensive juicer, heck, you can even make the juice in your blender. Oh and PS...they are way more delicious when you make them yourself too:)

Have an awesome rest of your day! I was going to go pick some blueberries but I think I'm going to take a nap instead. Oh well, rest is good!

XOXO

Sleepy eyed and a blushing bride!

Hello everyone!!

What did I miss? lol! I'm back from my little vacation. It wasn't really a sleep-on-the-beach time, more like running around getting ready for a wedding time! But it was a blast and the wedding day was stunning!

Congratulations Kylee and Jason!!!

Here are a few picts from the day....

Jason, Kylee , and their beautiful daughter Charlee!

We went up to a tunnel and the rock faces inside were amazing!

You can't have an Okanagan wedding without the lake!

"The Men" LOL! I love this shot!

There's a picture of the dress!!

Funny story of the day

Kylee and I got ready at her Grandma's house and so we were the last to leave. We were almost at her parent's place where the wedding was to take place when she all of a sudden just cursed loudly. I pulled over right away and then she told me she forgot our flowers in the garage. Now, it's 10 minutes to 3pm and the wedding was to start at three. So, I punched it and drove as fast as I have ever driven on that road (which is very windy). We got to her Grandma's in record time, picked up the flowers and were off again. The only thing was it was roasting outside and I don't have AC so I punched it again and made it to the wedding in record time. We did a 40 minute trip in about 20..lol! Don't worry I was being safe:) So, then I get out of the car and I am soaked all the way down the back of the dress,not cool! So, it's nearly my time to walk out and I am the grossest looking person. So, I stood in the sun (ironic I know) and was waving around my dress like a mad woman. Someone who saw me must have questioned my sanity lol! Thank goodness there was a breeze and I walked out half as sweaty, with my flowers, and only a 1/2 hour late.

My surprise to the happy couple was a slideshow of both of them from a baby to now, plus them as a couple. I worked for a month on it and it was perfect. So, with some technical assistance, I set up the screen and its all hooked up ready to go...and boom the sound doesn't work. I was so bummed because that was the part that took me the longest but we just played some tunes from the laptop and the rest went well. Everyone loved seeing the photos and so I'm glad I went for it.

Don't call me a bad furry baby parent but we let Nemo out of his cage because he was just not content and was very agitated. So, guess where he decides to sit..on Ryan's lap:)

Isn't it so cute. Ryan is such a softy for Nemo!

I'll post more about the week tomorrow! Ryan and I got in after midnight last night so we are both a little zombie-esque today lol!

XOXOXO

Bloob picking and vacation time

Happy Monday everyone!

How was your weekend? Mine was busy, busy! On Saturday I got a workout in then I went grocery shopping to numerous stores, picked blueberries, and then had my sister-in-laws over for dinner and a movie! Ya, Let's just say I didn't quite make it through the movie before sleep got the better part of me:) It was a great day though because I LOVE to grocery shop and see what's fresh and in season!

What I love more is to pick bloobs! It's so much fun to be outside in the sunshine picking glorious blueberries. My picking philosophy is 2 in the mouth, 1 in the bucket. HAHA! I was so full by the time I had to go.. but I just couldn't help myself:) The farm that I pick it is literally 2 minutes from my work so I just stop in there on my way home, pick 5 lbs, and I've got dessert! I actually picked on Friday and Saturday..all those berries are gone! Ryan and I are addicts and then we shared a bunch with my SILs on Saturday night. I can't wait to make some fresh, raw dessert with them. I've been drawn to raw pies and tarts lately so I can't wait to try one of those out!

Oh the blueberry...such a marvelous fruit! How I have missed thee!

Mmmm..blueberry heaven!

My stash!

A nice close up!! Are you drooling yet? Or am I the only blueberry fanatic out there?

On Sunday we slept in and man that was nice! We then went to the mall and we did a bunch of shopping for upcoming wedding showers. It's the first time I've been shopping in forever...bummer it wasn't for me lol! I then went to my cousin's wedding shower and we had a good time chatting and playing some fun games! Ohh the memories:) Then I spent the evening stringing up my beans in the garden and working on my secret wedding project!

And some exciting news..well for me anyways..I'm on vacation as of tomorrow!! I'm heading back home to celebrate my best friend's wedding week! She is getting married on Saturday and I'm the maid of honour! I'm going by myself too (Ryan's staying behind until Friday to tend to my garden...and to work) so it's going to be a nice time with my BFF, my mom, and of course this little guy...

Yep, I'm taking Nemo with me because Ryan's schedule is all over the place and so this way he doesn't have to worry and Nemo can hang out with the ladies:) He's such a pro traveler now so we just put him in his cage and go!

I've got a million things to pack including five flats of raspberries and 10lbs of blueberries that my family back home have ordered! I hope my little car makes it!

And for a little bit of fashion...here is a pict of my dress! I'm actually going to pick it up today in its altered form! I had to take it in a little and I shortened it so that it sits above the knee. Since I'm on the shorter side, I find dresses that go beyond the knee make me look funny. So, I'm showing off a little more leg!! Ha!

I'm not sure if I'm going to be blogging at all the rest of the week as my mom doesn't have the Internet! I may go for an early session at a coffee house or something but I am going to soak up all the time I can because I don't get to see my bestie very often as she lives 10 hours north of me! So, you might see me you might not! If not, I will for sure have a MASSIVE post for you on Monday:)

Have a wonderful week everyone and remember that you are ALL AMAZING!!

Chow for now!!!

Living in the moment!

Happy Thursday beautiful people!

I'm doing one of my 24hour fasts (started at 8AM) and so I'm feeling super productive and reflective. Yes, that's what no food does to me:)....not bad, hey? I have around a week left of my 12 week transformation challenge with Craig's Turbulance Training. And I'm giving it all I've got!!! Then you get to see a picture of me in a bikini again...lol..oh the suspense!!!

Craig is so fantastic, he posts encouraging quotes every day on his facebook fanpage and on his members forum. They are oozing with inspiration, tough love, and reality checks! Seriously, they have kept me going when I doubted myself, was bathing is self pity, wanted to quit, diverted from my goals, felt like I wasn't enough etc etc.

Here is one that he posted recently that I think is so profound and something that I don't do enough of...living in the moment.

"The Secret of Health in both body and mind is not to mourn for the past, worry about the future, or anticipate troubles, but to live in the present moment wisely and earnestly." Buddha

I'm a worrier, plain and simple. But I have gotten 100 times better being with Ryan because he takes on this philosophy without even knowing it, and it has finally rubbed off on me!

Still I find that if I don't nip it in the bud, my mind and emotions wander and I start thinking about the future (and the past) - work, babies (not preggers), school, money, my body, what's for dinner on Friday nigh and on and on it could go! Yet, I have this precious day of which I do not cherish enough and am either trying to hurry time along or to reverse it. I'm not saying I won't set goals or have ambitions, I'm just going to focus more on what I can TODAY to get me there, versus worrying about tomorrow or a week from now (or what I could have done a week ago).

It's not going to be easy for me but I think this will greatly change my perspective and make me see how grand life really is:)

I recently started watching (haven't finished yet) The Age Of Stupid (watch the trailer here) and they featured a girl in Africa who had been devastatingly affected by the work of Shell. She so badly wanted to get out of Africa and move to America to wear "nice clothes" and get an education. Then she said something like If I lived in America I would never want to die. She was referring to the bounty of EVERYTHING we have here in the Americas. And she's right.

So then why do I worry? Because I'm not living in the moment and grateful for this amazing life.

So...RIGHT NOW I'm grateful for:

Coffee - I have access to amazing organic coffee (helping me get through my fast)

Craig Ballentyne - for being so dedicated to helping people succeed in fat loss and to just becoming a better person

Internet - I can literally get a degree from all the amazing information out there and it has benefited my life in extraordinary ways

My body - For being able to carry me through life so effortlessly - even when I torment it or don't love it unconditionally.

***I'm always grateful for my love, my family, my health..I'm just living in the moment and those are what came to me right then and there.

PS I have this spare room that is probably going to be vacant for awhile so I was thinking of loading the walls with inspirational quotes and pictures. It's going to be my vision WALL! What do you think?

PPS I thought I would finish this post with some beautiful sweet pea blossoms that I picked from my work garden. They are so vibrant and fragrant. The area around my desk smells so yummy:)

Have a wonderful day...and let's try to live in the moment:)

Weekend Fun plus a little poll

Hello lovelies!!

Hope you all had a fantastic weekend.I sure did!! I went to my home town and official tourist hot spot in BC. We have two lakes, a channel to float down, golf, wine....which basically equals lots and lots of tourists. Which was lots of fun as a teenager, but I've grown out of that stage a long time ago and prefer a less drinking, more sleeping,healthy eating, but still a good party, kind of weekend(Does that make sense?? LOL!)


Before we left on Friday I watered my garden as much as I could because there would be nobody to water it on Saturday and it was supposed to be scorching all weekend. That's when it hit me as to how much lettuce was ready and needed to be picked. So, I grabbed handfuls at a time and still it looked like I hadn't picked any at all.

Yumm!! A mixture of butter lettuce, romaine, and leaf lettuce:) If you live in the Fraser Valley and want some lettuce, message me and I will gladly give you some of mine!!

Then I just happened to see this lovely creature hanging out on my sunflower plant!

Thankfully when we left it wasn't so hot because that would be a little hard on Nemo. Yes, Nemo is loving the adventures!! He especially loves hanging out in Grandma's yard:) We made it there safe and sound. I count my blessings every trip because driving the highways in Summer aren't exactly the safest times. Friday night was a write off as were both crazy exhausted.

Saturday morning I did some intervals on the treadmill mixed in with some bodyweight exercises. What a great way to start the day!! For Breakie I had a green monster with frozen blueberries, a half a banana, cinnamon, and loads of greens. I ran out of Vega right before we left so for my added protein I had a piece of sprouted toast with almond butter..yum! After that we were off to the market! Boy oh boy it was busy and with more vendors than the last time I was there.

This is is the stash my mom and I picked up! Beautiful local produce! Everything from beets to chard to tomatoes to patty pan squash and mulberries

Mulberries look like a blackberry but are more gel-like and have a less sweet flavor. I really liked them. According to the lady selling them they are very good for your heart and your eyes.

Patty pan squash! One of my favorites!


Then we bought three different flavors of organic popcorn! Chipotle, lemon dil, and Masala! Yum! She even placed the ingredients on the bag so I will try to make it at home (for significantly cheaper I'm sure:) My fave was the masala flavor! Something else really cool about the bags is that they are compostable, even the label!!!

Check out all that seasoning goodness!!

There was this booth set up as well and I signed the petition to support Bill 474 to stop GM crops from further advancement! If you see this booth at your market sign up!! Canada is thinking about allowing GM wheat and alfalfa and we simply cannot allow that to happen.

I also found a new raw food stand which was a company selling bars and raw energy balls etc! When all of a sudden this guy asks me if I know who he is. It's one of the guys I graduated high school with AND he never spoke to me in high school so I was taken aback why he was doing so now. He was working with the folks at the raw food booth! He himself was a raw foodie. I was so shocked because this guy was in the "popular" crowd and was kind of arrogant and closed-in back in the day. Holy, what a change! He gave me a huge hug (and my mom too!) and told me that him and his coworkers are actually in the midst of opening a raw food restaurant in town. I could barely contain myself I was so excited!! I think they said September would be the opening so I am anxiously awaiting for that to happen:) In the meantime, we bought a little bag of chia crackers with a dip ( I'm thinking a raw hummus, I forgot to ask.

For $4 it was a little steep! So I won't be buying these again but I sure want to learn how to make them:)

When we got home from the market I made a quick lunch with some cooked quinoa, cucumbers, carrots, lettuce, dijon, and some salsa.

Such a refreshing salad!

It was then time for the beach!! My first beach trip is always fun because the water is usually a little on the cold side so I have to slowly inch myself in, about 1/2 hour later I will be swimming and will have forgotten why I was hyperventilating when I exposed my "sensitive" areas to the cold water lol!

Ahhh my favorite lake!! I was so relaxed sitting in the sun that I fell asleep (as did Ryan). Luckily I don't burn so I was alright, Ryan, on the other hand, wasn't so lucky. He got pretty red and so I've been on aloe duty every night lol!


Another view! Lots of sunbathing action happening, as well as seadooing and boating! In a couple of weeks there will be about a foot of space between you and your neighbor..jam-packed!

After the beach it was time for dinner and since my mom was dog sitting we went over to where she was taking care of a little cutie named Sandy! Plus two bunnies, but they were camera shy.

This is the dog of my old massager. She is THE best masseuse. I feel like I have a new body after she does her magic!

Her house has an amazing view of the valley. You can just see the lake where Ry and I were at:)

Her hubby is a architect so the house is full of very cool designs and unique furnishings.

I just love this sofa!



And this!! Have you ever gone in one of these contraptions before? Apparently its supposed to decompress your spine. Feels pretty cool, except the head rush isn't fun:)

My latest drink obsession is San Pallegrino sparkling spring water.

With a touch of lemon! Who needs beer?

Dinner was market fresh and so delicious!

Bread with olive oil and balsamic vinegar, onion, tomato, cucumber, vinegar, and S&P salad, chicken and salmon for the omnivores, cooked chard, quinoa salad roasted veggies, and watermelon.

Oh yum! onions, beets, potatoes, squash, zucchini, and peppers


patty pan anyone?


On Sunday mom and I went and picked 40lbs of cherries!! 30lbs of which were mine! I love being in the orchard picking fruit. It's something my mom and me have done since I was really young so its a special time:)

Then I bought a cherry pitter because I want to freeze some of them and possibly try to dry some too.

A pitted cherry outside in the sun!

So, I've been eating cherries non-stop (don't worry my stomach can handle it!) Yum! Plus I know Angela , Aimee, and Oh She Glow's Angela have some cherry recipes that I really want to try. If you have any cherry recipes that you love, let me know!

Now for a little fun! I've been running this blog since December and I want to know what you would like to see in the future. If you wouldn't mind taking a minute to vote on some of the topics, I would greatly appreciate it. The poll is on the side bar and I apologize for the light text in some areas. I don't know how to change it:( And if you have any other ideas please feel free to email me (its on the side bar now too!) or comment. Thank you!

Hope you have a wonderful day!! I'm busy getting ready for my best friend's wedding in a couple of weeks. My bridesmaid dress should be arriving shortly..wahoo! I am also organizing the stagette and I'm making them something for the big day but I have to keep it a secret!! Sorry Ky if you are reading this:)