morning miles, colorful meals and randomness

I hope everyone is having a wonderful week. Sorry this is a day behind. This week is literally crazy and I am doing my best. :)

First part..randomness theses grapes are crazy good! I've bough them for the last few weeks anticipating one week them to be blah, they have not disappointed! YUM!! 

Friday I was feeling awful. I don't know why. I woke up in the middle of the night with a terrible headache that never went away. It was so bad that while I was getting my sidekick ready for school I vomited..twice. yuck! After dropping her off I came home with intentions to lay down, but instead I rested a whole 2 minutes then got into the shower. Sometimes just telling myself I'm going to feel better helps me get out of my head and done with the pity party I might be having. After doing my Friday errands I went for a walk, the cool air is just what I needed, 

This tree is so bright red! It's beautiful.

Is it weird I'd like to pick leaves, I don't know what I want to do with them, they are just so pretty. :)

My favorite fall leaves..two toned.

Friday night I had no intention of cooking dinner even after getting groceries earlier. We went to "El Taco" ie the authentic Mexican restaurant that has awesome taco's! Then we went to Yogurt Yeti...delicious!! :) 

I worked all weekend..not much in regards to that, because it was a long and hard weekend. It was finished with a malibu and orange juice or two but who's counting. This cocktail is better with pineapple juice but oj will work! 

Monday morning....just gorgeous. I wanted to get a quick walk in before I had to buckle down and get some major errands done.  3 miles, and there was frost and deer and sunshine :)

Then I met my husband for lunch. That was an added bonus :) Panera (his first time ) I got my usual squash soup and 1/2 kale power salad) 12 WW pts. It did not disappoint. He was equally impressed my his lunch, bean soup and a southwest panini.

I stopped at Barnes and Nobles to just wonder around for about 20 mins. I then realized all the books I kept picking up I had in my amazon cart for 3/4 the price. I came home and bought 5 books. :)

I snacked on this and some tortilla chips. This is my favorite hummus. Made with simple ingredients like you would make at home if you had the extra time, which I don't. :)

Monday nights dinner, zucchini spaghetti. 4 organic zucchini's rinsed and scrubbed.

Then twisted in the veggetti makers. 

4 made (what I thought) was a lot of "noodles"

Into the pan to saute with coconut oil til tender. 

This time I drained. Then topped with spaghetti sauce. (I missed the final product picture..again..sorry) My husband liked it, my sidekick didn't and I ended up giving myself all the green peel which wasn't too appetizing.  It's a work in progress, just like everything in life! 

*Have you ever used a veggetti maker?

-If so do you make anything other then zucchini? I'd love more ideas!! :)

Have a wonderful day!

we are trying to eat very good this week and a double rainbow.

I made black bean burgers for the first time on Monday. They were a huge hit! My husband literally could not stop raving about it!

• 1 -15 oz. can of black beans

• ¼ cup chopped red onion

• 2 T. of chopped green chilies

• 1 T. fresh squeezed lime juice

• ¾ tsp. cumin

• 1 garlic clove

• ½ tsp. salt
• ¼ tsp. pepper

• ½ cup + 2 T. panko + ⅓ cup panko

Ingredients that are optional

• Cilantro (I omitted because I don't like Cilantro)
• Egg (for binding)

Instructions

1. Drain and rinse 1 -15 oz. can of black beans and pour the beans and the remaining ingredients into the food processor: ¼ cup chopped red onion and ¼ cup fresh chopped cilantro leaves, 1 T. fresh squeezed lime juice, 2 T. of chopped green chilies, 1 egg (optional), ¾ tsp. cumin, 1 garlic clove, ½ tsp. salt, ¼ tsp. pepper and ½ cup + 2 T. panko.
2. Turn on the food processor for 1 minute (scraping the sides halfway through) until you get a thick and consistent puree. If you are not using an egg, you may need to add a little extra panko or use an egg substitute, like a "flax egg"
3. Pour another ⅓ cup of panko on a large plate.
4. Grease your hands with some oil and shape a patty in the palm of your hand.
5. Coat the bottom and top of each patty with the extra panko and if you can, refrigerate them for a couple of hours to harden up.
6. To fry, heat up 2 T. of oil or butter in a heavy bottom pan on the stovetop. Cook on medium-high heat for about 2 minutes then flip them over for another 2 minutes. Keep on flipping them if you like them darker OR To bake, heat oven to 425 degrees and lay burgers on a greased cookie sheet. Bake them for at about 5 minutes each side.
7. Serve on a bun with your favorite burger toppings.

*Please try this and let me know! 

A new side dish was tried as well...also a huge hit

I then tried a new recipe, given to me by my husband. He like Chipolte. I've never ate there but he likes the veggie bowl. 

These were easy and YUMMY!! 

Lets start cookin'!  

Onions sauteed

Rice, pico, salsa, pinto beans, guacamole 

Lettuce

Layer it up! 

I mixed mine all up and warmed it through in the microwave. 

Ingredients:

• 1 cup of rice
• 1/2 cup pinto beans or black beans
• sauteed onions
• lettuce 
• pico de gallo (2 Tbsp)
• salsa ( 2 Tbsp)
• guacamole (2 Tbsp)

Then I made baked nacho's. These were also very delicious! 

White cheddar cheese, shredded.

Tortilla chips

Refried beans

I dolloped refried beans onto my chips.

Then topped it with pico de gallo.

Then topped it with chili all over and (on one side)black olives and jalapeno's for my husband

Then topped with cheese and popped it into a 350* oven for 20 mins or so

Then we enjoyed!! (side of salsa to dip in)

Then I saw this beauty on my way to work Tuesday! Double rainbow! :)

**Please always feel free to try any of these recipes but let me know what you think! :)

 

how do you handle halloween candy?

I ran across this post on Foodbabe.com. She is a really fascinating person and I love her passion. It maked me want to be a better person and mother! I buy candy because well i'm just handing it out. But it's not okay and after reading this I realize that. It's funny because I have a ton of food allergies and try to shield my sidekick from them but didn't think twice about getting her a bag of kit kat's and snickers a few weeks ago. NOT OKAY! I need to do a better job, for her. Because keeping her happy and healthy is my #1 mission!! 

Let me know your thought on this post. 

*Does this change your mind set about Halloween? Or the candy you buy?  

It’s time for us to rethink how we do Halloween and stop buying these “treats” that aren’t doing anyone any favors!

There’s a way to celebrate Halloween and still have a fun time without GMOs and controversial food additives. While these alternatives below aren’t all perfect and not something I recommend eating on a regular basis (it’s candy!)… these options are way, way better than conventional Halloween treats, and you can find them at many natural foods grocery stores or online here:

• Endangered Species Organic Chocolate “Bug Bites” 
• Nutiva O’Coconuts
• OCHO Minis 
• Justin’s Mini Milk Chocolate Peanut Butter Cups
• Unreal Candy Coated Milk Chocolates
• TruJoy Sweets Organic Fruit Chews
• TruJoy Sweets Organic Choco Chews
• Surf Sweets Sour Berry Bears
• YumEarth Organic Candy
• Alter Eco Salted Caramel Truffles
• Organic Fair-Trade Hot Cocoa Packets
• Jack-o-lantern Tangerines
• Crayons and Halloween coloring books (Michaels has a great assortment of non-candy items)
• Halloween Stickers
• Halloween Stamps
• Miniature Toys – like Slinkys and bouncy balls.
• Glow in the dark sticks (these can be as cheap as candy!)

Until we successfully vote with our dollars by choosing products like these instead, stores are going to continue stockpiling their shelves with “fun size” packets of sweet additive-laden GMOs for parents to hand out to children on Halloween night.

weekend work, monday sickness, and some pumpkin tossed in

This weekend I worked both Saturday and Sunday all day at my clinics urgent care. We are a 7 day a week practice and the weekends we don't see routine things. We saw everything from back issues to a hit by car (he's doing good despite what happened).

But I am getting a head of myself. Friday night I made a new gluten free pizza ( see Fridays blog for that) the end result look and tasted pretty darn good!

The sunrises have been beautiful. This was Saturday mornings sunrise on my way to work.

Then on the way home I stopped by the store because the Udi GF bread I really like was on sale so I stocked up. Other people's freezers look like this too...right?

And the sunset and the clouds looks pretty incredible.

Sunday morning I woke up early and got the ingredients around for pumpkin pancakes. I haven't made these since going gluten free back in December. I modified for a GF recipe. 

The eggs need to be separated and I have this cool little device (pampered chef) that does it for you..so cool. 

Pumpkin pancake batter.

End product. I used coconut oil instead of butter and powdered sugar instead of syrup which is not a change from the original recipe, its just a bit too sweet with syrup. (in my opinion).

Here is the recipe:

• 2 c. all-purpose flour
• 3/4 c sugar
• 1 heaping tsp baking powder
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 7.5 oz canned pumpkin
• 3/4 c milk
• 4 eggs separated

Stir together the flour, sugar, baking powder and salt in a large bowl. Combine the pumpkin, egg yolks and milk in another bowl. Make a well in the dry ingredients pour the wet ingredients into the well and mix until combined. 

To make GF:

• 2 c. GF flour instead of all-purpose. The rest is the same. (I like Pillsbury gluten free flour its rice flour that already has the Xanthan Gum in it, so no need to buy that separately)

This recipe make a ton of pancakes. like 12-14. They heat up really well for breakfast the next couple of days. :) YUM! 

*Tell me what you think about the pancakes, I'd love to hear. 

This morning was suppose to be a workout out after I dropped Peyton off at school, but my little sidekick is sick so between getting sick...we are camped out on the sofa. I hope she gets ton of rest so she is back to herself tomorrow. I am trying all the tricks in the book to get her better, mama's on a mission. :)

Have a wonderful and healthy day, I will be sedentary most of the day.