Other things besides salad....and oh yeah, salad too

So I said that the next time I did an entry I would try to make it about something besides food and I'm holding true to my word....kind of.  

So I made this awesome spinach and strawberry salad with vegan jerk chicken which was amazing, and broccoli.  We've been doing a lot of broccoli lately and I'm not really sure what that's about other than we really like it and it seems to go with everything.  Lol  The salad was roasted almond slivers, red onions, strawberries and spinach leaves.  The dressing was sesame oil, cider vinegar, garlic, pomegranate juice, olive oil, salt and crushed red pepper.  So delicious!!!! 

Moving on to things OTHER than food.... Lol

I really shouldn't complain about the cold and snow here growing up in MN where it's really common to have below zero temperatures for a majority of the winter and multiple feet of snow all winter as well.  We've probably had 2 significant snow falls this winter and it's only been below zero maybe a good 2 or 3 times.  The weather has been pretty mild but me being me and the type of person that is FREEZING even when it's 70 degrees will complain anyway.  Lol

 I find my feet getting really cold just walking from the house to the car and I've decided that it's time to purchase boots.  I've never been much of a boot person other than dress boots but I got sooo tired of my feet being cold.  I surprised when I found these boots online that I absolutely LOVE!!!

 
I adore the little side pocket.  Lol

They're super comfortable and warm.  The downside is it was in the 60's a few weeks ago and much of the snow melted.  It snowed again and now here it is in the 60's again.  So I'm thinking the odds of me wearing them this winter are pretty slim.  First I'm complaining about snow and cold now I'm complaining about the lack of it because I want to wear my boots.  Never satisfied right.  Lol

Still sticking it out with my locs.  It had been just about a month so I scheduled an appointment with the stylist so she could re-twist and loc them for me.  The twisting wasn't too bad...I kind of knew what to expect after the first time but the loc-ing.  OH MY GOSH!!!!  I was practically in tears.  That mess hurt so bad and I was like 'PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE tell me it's not going to be like this every time.'  I don't know if I could bear it.  My head is hurting just recalling sitting in that chair going through the process.  I think I may just be traumatized.  Seriously!!!  Still rocking my head wrap which I'm sure I will be doing for quite some time.  I did purchase a few really cute wraps and really like that look.

Ok so that's it for me for now.  Wishing everyone and happy and productive week.  Peace and Blessings!!!

Yes....another one

Ok, so I know you all are probably tired of my salads right?  Come on, be honest... you can tell me.  Lol  Well guess what...I'm just getting started.  Thanks to MrsTDJ for the link to 10 ways to spruce up a salad, so you all know I'm going to get a little creative.  With the recently bought salad book and the link I'm going to be making salads for EVER!!!!  Kidding.  I should probably blog about something other than food though, right?  I mean theres more to life than food isn't there?  

This is the most recent salad I made:  Marinated Antipasto. 

 

I've come to realize that it's ALL ABOUT the dressing.  If the dressing is "eh" then it just about ruins the salad for me.  The dressing for this salad was amazing and it was actually pretty simple.  It just consisted of olive oil, garlic, balsamic vinegar, salt, pepper and sugar (substituted with blue agave honey).  Lettuce was topped with artichokes, cherry tomatoes, olives and was supposed to have mozzarella cheese...but you all know the cheese was left out right?  If I ate cheese I probably would have opted for feta.  

The detox is officially over.  Today was the last day... so it's back to regular eating...YEAY.  I'm still going to try and stay away from the bread and the sugar, which I really haven't done much of in quite some time.  Breads, pasta and sweets are probably my biggest challenge, although it's gotten a bit easier over the past few months.  I'm not even going to tell you all how much weight I've lost over the past 6 months or so just based on changing our eating habits.  I've got a few pounds left to go and I have no intentions of gaining ANY of it back.  I'm hoping if we continue to eat the way we have been that I'll maintain a healthy weight.  *Fingers crossed*  Once we can incorporate some regular exercise then I'll be set.  

Ok....so that's it for me people...maybe my next post will be about something other than food.  Lol 

Everyone have a great weekend.  Peace and Blessings!!!!!  

Yet another Salad

So we've been on a quest to find new salads so we don't get bored or burnt out over the next few weeks.  We were at Barnes and Noble the other day and found this Salad book with some pretty interesting and easy recipes in it.

We've been eating tuna salad but I didn't want to use the regular dressing (vinegar, olive oil, pepper and lemon) that we had been using because it didn't taste quite right to me.  I found a dressing recipe that was made with sesame oil, soy sauce, vinegar, honey and garlic.  I added ginger and a little pineapple juice and it was GREAT.  Kind of reminded me of an asian type sauce. So I decided to make it and add it to this salad with a tuna patty:

It was made with lettuce, avocado, cherry tomatoes, apples, shredded carrots and sesame seeds then topped with the tuna patty.  We had steamed broccoli and apples on the side.  Delicious!  The salad was ok, but the dressing is what really made it stand out.  I think that dressing is going to be my new marinade next time I make salmon.  YUMMY!!!

Still keeps going...

We don't dine out often; because of our eating habits we're kind of limited in places we can go. We did find this salad at Joes Crab Shack that we've gotten some what addicted to. It's called a Chipolte Crab Cake Salad.  Now since I HATE crab...ewww... we always substitute that for grilled salmon.  It's amazing.  We've gone back and had it frequently...ok weekly to be honest.  The manager came to our table the first time and asked us if it had been prepared correctly and how we enjoyed it.  LOVE HIM.  He's so awesome!   Anyway.  We like it so much that I was like 'let me see if I can somehow replicate this recipe.'  What I made tasted a bit different and since we're only doing salads for three weeks (we're on day 9 today.  YES!!!)  I guess it's kind of like a fiesta salad.   So now I'm trying to decide if I like this one more or the Spinach and Avocado Salad more.  We'll definitely be having this one again.

Ingredients:
Romaine 
Corn 
Black Beans
Mango Salsa
Pico di Gallo
Crushed Pineapple w/Agave

Raw foods....

Greetings People!!!

The Hubby and I decided that we were going to try our detox again that we tried a few months back since we never completed it. Why waste money right...we paid for it so to not use it completely....just doesn't sit well with me. So once again we forge ahead and low and behold we're on day 6. Yeay!!!!

We decided before we began to do a little more research because the detox requires for 3 weeks that you only consume raw foods. One of the recipes we located was this Spinach and Avocado Salad It was so simple to make and really delicious if you're an avocado fan like me. I was a little concerned about the cumin and thought that it would give it an overwhelming taste but it didn't. I'm going to use this dressing on other salads because I loved it. I added a cayenne for a little extra spice and alfalfa sprouts as well.

So yummy!!!

I don't know how long I'll be able to last and don't think I'm really cut out to do 100% raw foods, but I think (hope) I'll last the next few weeks. We've almost got one week down and although it's been difficult it's much easier than it's been last time. Wish me luck people!!!!

The Pie Experiment....

*EDIT* THE LINK FOR THE PIE AND FOR THE CRUST FOR THOSE THAT ASKED. DOUBLE THE CRUST RECIPE FOR TOP AND BOTTOM CRUST.

So I've never been much of a baker...well let me take that back I've never really had the desire to try my hand at baking with the exception of pre-made cookies and boxed cakes. I've made cookies from scratch and have become quite good at that but that's been the extent of my baking skills.

On our journey as we've begun to change our diet and our eating habits I think what I've missed most are desserts; My evil nemesis if you will and my downfall when it comes to maintaining a healthy weight...that and pasta and bread...Ok well food period, but that's another story. Smile!!!! I'm exaggerating a tad bit, but you all get my point right? I LOVE, ADORE, and have quite the love affair with food, desserts especially

So being almost Vegan (we still eat fish) it's been difficult..no down right impossible to find desserts without animal products in them. We had some pears in the kitchen that no one seemed to be eating and I thought to myself 'Hmmm....what kind of sweet treat can I make with these?' After searching sites online I came across a recipe for a pear pie. I decided I would try my hand at it and was So very surprised at the results. It was SO very good. I made the crust from scratch also and substituted the ingredients in the recipe. Instead of all purpose flour I used Spelt Flour, Earth Balance butter, and Agave honey to replace the sugar. I was a little disappointed because I didn't make quite enough crust for the top and bottom layers so I had to make due as best I could. I'm not really a crust person anyway. I added a little honey and cinnamon to the crust as well and the family loved it. I didn't get a picture of the finished product but I did get a picture of part of the process:



Then after the success with that pie I decided I'd try apple...and OH MY GOODNESS!!!! That one was just as good so now I'm thinking I'm a baking mad woman. Lol

The crust was brushed with a honey and butter mixture. I learned in this process that you shouldn't brush the crust until the baking has almost finished because the crust got a little darker than I would have liked. But hey that's just aesthetics because AGAIN let me remind you I'm not really a crust person...I like the soft crust underneath but that's about it.






The Apple pie was like heaven with this ice cream...YUM

The hair again....

Hello People!!!

So I decided that I am going to do locs. The downside is since I'm in Colorado there isn't really a wide selection of Nubian hair salons, not to mention ones that I feel comfortable to entrust with my hair. Yes, I know I'm picky but when you've had someone take care of your hair for yearsand they do an amazing job every single time you tend to get a little spoiled. When Lisa (my old stylist) retired she did my hair in her home for awhile but then eventually she gave that up. I did have an alternate,Clover,that worked out of the same salon who also always did a great job. Shortly after the move from MN happened and it was next to impossible for me to find someone that was able to do my hair even half as good as either of them.

I had a few experiences that made me decide I'd stop being lazy and do it myself. What I'd often end up doing is perming my hair because it's SO difficult for me to get it straight myself since my hair is so curly. Perming it made it a lot easier to straighten, more manageable and gave it a more finished look but my hair is SO much healthier without it. So this past summer you all know I chose to cut it all of and go natural. As we became more conscious about what we put IN our bodies we also became more conscious of the the products we use on our body and in our hair.

After I cut my hair I decided I was going to grow dreads. I don't know why I was under the impression that you HAD to start with short hair. Silly me...guess I should have done the research. Anyway, long story short...I found a loctician here 5 minutes from my house and last week I started the process to dread my hair. I'm not real fond of how they look while they're short, but I know the look I'm aiming toward so I'm excited. I'm hoping I can make it through the icky in between stages and not give up. Wish me luck everyone.

This is how I've been wearing my hair as of late since I'm not really feeling the length right now... I know I know...That's what I get for cutting it before really thinking through my plan..yeah yeah!!

Edit: Couldn't really get a good angle, but this is what they look like so far....