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....

Thirsty anyone....

For your viewing pleasure....This has been my diet for the past 6 days.

Wait....let me back up for just a moment if I may.

I have always loved vegetables... cooked, steamed, grilled and fresh...I am a vegetable lover. The only ones I can think of right now that I really don't care for are asparagus, carrots and rutabaga. UGH!!! My mom used to cook rutabaga on holidays and it was soooo disgusting to me, although I haven't tried it as an adult. I have, however discovered many foods that I detested growing up, I've actually come to love now that I'm older. For instance blue cheese (which I don't eat anymore since giving up meat and dairy, but yummy), cornbread, avocado, and certain beans; obviously not together. Lol So maybe I'll have to give them a try again but I'm not currently feeling the desire.

So the husband and I decided we were going to give detoxing a try. We purchased the program which requires you to take these herbs 6 times a day in capsule form, drink half our body weight in water and eat only raw fruits and vegetables for 21 days. Initially I thought, hmmmm.....this wont be bad because I'll actually be able to eat. I was excited since I love fruit and veggies and was pretty confident I'd make it though this with ease. Wrong!!!! Yall, I am so tired of salad. I never thought those words would come from my mouth. I don't want to see another salad as long as I live. I feel like a freaking rabbit or a cow grazing on grass all day. It's funny because we typically eat salad with almost every meal, but only being able to eat that....UGH!!! I've grown so tired of it in the past 6 days so I'm hoping that I have the motivation to continue because to not have food....it's getting rough. Lol

The smoothies though....haven't grown tired of those. I'm not sure why we haven't done more of these in the past, especially in the summer. We purchased a recipe book years ago and have a great juicer that we rarely use. I was so excited when we first got it (I have this odd fascination with kitchen appliances) and I planned on juicing and making smoothies on a regular until I found out what a pain in the A*% it was to clean that thing. So the juicer sits in the cabinet coming out for.... special occasions such as these. Lol

Ok, enough of my misery....here's what what breakfast has been since we've begun:

Day 1: Blackberries, raspberries, pineapple, almond milk and......banana.

Day 2: Apple, Pear and Ginger (this one was a little too think and...apple saucy. Is that a word?)

Day 3: Blackberries, Pineapple and Strawberries (drank it before realizing I didn't take a picture. Lol. It was delicious)

Day 4: Oranges, Pear and Ginger

Day 5: Strawberries, Pineapple and Banana (I could taste too much of the banana and didn't care for it)

Day 6: Raspberries, Pineapple, Strawberries and Oranges.

Needless to say.... breakfast has been the highlight of my day this past week. What I also haven't enjoyed is the frequency in which I've had to use the restroom. All the water I've been drinking, which I do enjoy and need, has me running to the bathroom like 5 times within an hour. I kid you not. So ridiculous. Stay tuned for more adventures of Detox in Denver. Lol

Peace and Blessings.....

EDIT: Since this has been written we decided stop detoxing on day 7. Since I just recently did a fast and don't do anything that's not vegan or really unhealthy it was decided that there really wasn't a reason to detox.. Needless to say I was happy to actually have some real food. Yeay for food. I'm hungry now. Lol

Deciding Right from Wrong.....

I saw an accident several days ago. More often than not you see a scene similar to this when you witness a car accident (if it's not a MAJOR one with injured parties). People standing outside or near there vehicles exchanging insurance information and waiting for police or whomever to show up. Simple enough? This obviously is NOT the actual scene I witnessed.

I had just picked my daughter up from her bus stop on this particular day and decided before going home we'd run to the bank which is just a few blocks from our home and to the store. So as I'm driving I come to an intersection and a white truck going east has the stop sign but proceeds into the intersection. A red truck going North then crashes into the white truck. I'm traveling South so I have to, if I continue on drive past the driver in the red truck. The driver of the red truck, a female stops, still in her car with her mouth open like "OH MY GOSH" pulls forward slowly. So I'm thinking she's pulling off??? I can see written all over her face that she's going to keep going. She actually stops and a few seconds later pulls off. I'm like NO SHE DIDN'T!!!

My daughter is in the car with me and I'm debating, should I go after her and get her license plates or should I mind my own business? My daughter is sitting there like "I can't believe I just saw what I saw." I don't have it in me to sit by and watch something like this happen so I decide I'm going to go after her. I didn't even consider that this could have been some crazy woman (she clearly was) not taking into consideration that my daughter is in the car and I could be bringing harm to her or myself.

There was no high speed chase in case you were envisioning that. By time I made a U-turn to try and follow her she was no longer in my sight. My daughter sees her, thank goodness for her 20/20 vision since I can't see for anything. Lol Side note: time for a new eye exam. She pulls out of the parking lot directly across from the apartment complex we live in and turns at the corner. I'm trying to get close enough to get the license plate, but guess what??? No license plate on the back. WOW!!! So I'm on my cell at this point calling the police and she pulls in another apartment complex up the street. She parks get's out the truck and looks at the damage. She starts walking away. I get out of the van, go to the front of the truck and STILL no license plate. So I'm wondering like did she still this car...what in the world!!! We weren't able to see where she went so I just give the police the location, make and model of the car, description of her, my info and go about my business.

In retrospect I begin to question, how wise was it to do this? Should I have minded my own business? I think to myself, what if this had been me or even worse my son since we travel this little road multiple times a day...what if the driver in the white truck is seriously injured...WHO JUST DRIVES OFF LIKE THAT having no regard for the other person or people.

As a mother I want to raise children with high moral standards, to be caring and considerate and to have compassion for others. I want them to make decisions that are in THEIR best interest and also care about the health and welfare of others. If they see someone being wronged and it's in their power to make it right they will intervene as long as it doesn't cause harm to them or someone else. So I decided that my decision was the correct decision. What would my daughter have thought of me as a mother or as a PERSON had I adopted the mindset that 'I'm not involved so I don't care..'?' I am an example to my children and what I do and how I respond or react to certain situations instills certain values and principals in them. Doing NOTHING is definitely not the attitude I want to raise them with. I'm comfortable with my decision and know in my heart, even though the woman got away, that I did the right thing. I'm confident that she'll get her justice at some point and hoping that the police were able to locate her.

Peace and Blessings......