Those Things You Don't Think About...

Hey Ya'll,
So last week I chose what my fast for Lent was going to be and I put it out into the Universe. Well, the day I wrote my blog I was feeling slightly under the weather later that night I was full on sick. It's amazing all the products you want to use when you don't feel well just to cut down your prep time and make things as simple as possible for yourself. In my case I am the only cook in the home and send my daughter to school with a homemade lunch everyday. Well being sick and still having to go to work I could barely think straight let alone concoct complete meals for everyone in the house. I survived until the weekend and then everything crumbed around me. My daughter and husband were eating take out pretty much all week and I was eating soup from wherever I could get it until about Wednesday this week when I finally had the energy to go to the grocery store long enough to pick up some fruit and ingredients for some chicken soup. I made sure to turn on the crockpot and make the biggest batch of soup I could fit in there; that way even after eating all the solids I can use the remaining stock for other recipes. After my fever broke I stuck to my no processed foods much better. When you can barely see straight you're not exactly thinking "I really shouldn't eat this canned soup right now" you're more likely thinking "Please God let the soup go down with little pain and stay down long enough for me to begin to feel at least a little better."
Fortunately, the Creator I serve is forgiving and understanding so I know today is like a new day in this fast for me. Now all I need is some help cleaning up the mess that has accumulated at home and next week will be 10 times better than the past 9 days. Actually March is right around the corner, I think I will just gather the family to do some basic cleaning and then during spring break we might hire someone to do all the deep cleaning this year. We all have far too many things going on in our lives at the moment and I would much rather go do something fun with my family that torture everyone into deep cleaning the freezer or cleaning the base boards. What I am learning lately is, it's okay to not do/be everything for/to everyone. Sometimes in order to fit some of the fun things in between all of the important stuff we have to be willing to let go of and delegate (or outsource) some of the "should do" stuff.

What responsibility would you be willing to pass on to someone else so that you could enjoy life just a little more?
Namaste Ya'll

40 Days and 40 Nights

Prayer. Meditation. Fasting. Repentance. Forgiveness. Focus. Intention
For me this is what the Christian observance of Lent is all about. I know that a lot of people (even many Christians) do not observe this time and that it is often times seen as a strictly Catholic holiday, but I was raised a Baptist in the South and for as long as I can remember I have observed Lent. Even now when I have no affiliation to any church in particular (mostly because I am no happy with what is available around me) I still choose to observe. I feel that fasting during this time is like a full essence cleanse. So many people are quick to cleanse their livers, kidneys, and colons but they forget that their minds and overall spirits need to be focused on and realigned from time to time as well. And I mean this for everyone, regardless of your faith (or lack there of) we all need a point where we can just let go of the things that bind us to our Earthy selves and turn our attention inward.

With that said I would like to share my Lent experience here for 2013. This year I decided to relinquish processed foods. Of course on the surface this seems simple, right? No packaged cookies or sodas and that's that, right? Well, we've grown to lean so much on foods that are not really food anymore that we fail to fully adhere to the concept of what a processed food is. Think about it: dried pasta, canned foods, cereal, ice cream, marinades, frozen meals, boxed anything, all of this we use for convenience sake without thought to what is in it or what it takes to really make it. Now, I will be doing this with in reason; I mean I work full time, tote a kid across town for gymnastics, have philanthropy obligations, and a budget to stick to. I plan to allow pre-made dairy/dairy-like items such as plain yogurt and Almond milk. There will be lots of rice and grains of varying kinds. Foods that have been dried for me like seaweed and beans are also permitted. Milled flour and rolled oats are fine, but to deter myself from overly processed gluten products I will not be consuming dried pasta or shelf stable bread. If I want pasta it will need to be made fresh from scratch in my kitchen, the same goes for breads. This will of course bleed into my eating out patterns, which I believe will not be too difficult since I live in the wonderfully progressive culinary town of Austin.
I actually tested it out this past weekend when my husband surprised me with reservations to the Italian restaurant North.

Fresh Pesto Strozzapreti with Scallops

I was super excited because they make all of their pasta dishes from scratch. So the whole dish was simple, fresh, and amazingly delicious. I added scallops to it just because they were calling my name softly, sweetly, tenderly. And I am so glad that I did because they were sweet, salty, tender, seared perfection on a plate. They tasted as if they had been flown in that morning; which is terrible for their carbon footprint, but was wonderful on my palate. When it comes to food, I rarely find myself disappointed that I live where I do and lovely finds like this is one of the reasons. Though more often than not these finds tend to be located in much more unexpected places. 

Well today, being Ash Wednesday marks the official start of my fast and so far things have been simple. Fortunately for me I like to cook, but what will this look like 20 days in when I need to go grocery shopping, we don't get paid for another 5 days and I'm exhausted after a full day's work, working out, and wrangling kid puppy and hubby? What I do intend to do is share the new creations that I take part in so that I may satisfy my cravings that are so often made with convenience packaged foods. Maybe a few prayers and revelations will be shared here as well. We shall see what will remain sacred and what shown to me as needing to be shared with you here. 

Peace and Namaste Ya'll

What am I doing?

Hey Ya'll,
So I took a little time during the holiday season to make an attempt at figuring out what it is that I want to do with this Health Coach certification that I will have once I graduate IIN this year. And what I came up with is....I don't know. I'm serious, I think there are just SO many options to choose from and so many directions to take my career in that I am at a loss right now. What I decided to do is continue to just focus on using this education for my own improvement. And believe me there are so many Primary foods in my life that are unbalanced that I should be paying myself to go through a full 6-month program. But instead I'm paying IIN to guide me through my very own year long program. And right now I'm fine with that. I'm fine with saying that this program really is for me. It is for me to relearn how to agree to take care of me.

I did sort of hope to be able to do something along the lines of really guiding people through how food can be their medicine. Amazingly enough there is a new television show on the Cooking Channel that is touching on this very concept. This show originated in the UK (as most of the good health aware shows do, if not then they are from Canada) and just began to air in the USA this month. It's called The Food Hospital and features a Registered Dietitian, and General Physician, and a Consulting Surgeon who meet people with life altering ailments and help them work through the worst of it through changes in their diet and lifestyle. I have only seen one episode so far, but the episode I saw seemed to focus more on the generalizations of how foods can change very specific ailments, but not always a clear mapping out of how to compile these foods to make life normal for the patient. I am hoping that the show evolves more to show the US audience exactly what is meant by a "strict additive free diet", for example. Unfortunately this country has become so far removed from whole foods that many people no longer understand what might constitute an additive. I can absolutely see myself as part of a team like this....but for what demographic? I need a target market to focus on so that I can be as well versed in their needs as possible and give them the best assistance that I am capable of giving.

I really and truly believe that I have been placed on this earth to help heal God's children. But I think right now God is trying to get me to heal myself first and then he will reveal to me which of his children he has for me to help and heal. So one day at a time for me, fasting and praying periodically. I think this year's Lent will be eternally transforming and I welcome the changes with open arms. Now if I could just shake these allergy fevers and scratchy throat I can get back to my regularly scheduled workouts. Jillian Michael's is waiting for me Yay and Boo at the same time :-)
Namaste Ya'll

Time to Breathe

Hey Ya'll,
I know it's only been about  9 days since I last wrote, but for some reason it feels as though it's been so much longer. Maybe it's because my last post was short and more apologetic than forthcoming in nature. Life for me is taking some interesting turns these days; a lot of travel for both work and pleasure, plans for future travel, trying to stay on top of my classwork. Since my last full post I have been to Fort Lauderdale, Florida, Dallas, Texas three times over, and Waco, Texas twice over. To be honest I don't really mind traveling, in fact I love to see new places and experience new cultures. But work travel lately has me going back and forth to the same places and I don't think my personal vehicle is appreciative of the extra mileage. Hmm, maybe I will start renting a car to travel for work. Only trouble with that is even though I get reimbursed I still have to have the money before hand to actually rent the car at the time..... We shall see what I can workout for myself.

My husband and I have decided to make a family trip an annual priority for us. We are making the conscious effort to see new places together and I am so grateful to be blessed with a man who wants to simply make me happy. All my life I have just wanted to see the world and absorb all the culture available to be shared with me.With my personal travels recently I was able to visit the a coastal city that I never really thought much about outside of old "Spring Break" style movies. Fort Lauderdale, Florida actually turned out to be a very nice experience. Come to find out this city has a highly affluent residential population. There is even a segment of housing (if you can call it that) along the waterfront called "Millionaires Rowe". We did have a little difficulty finding local establishments to eat while we were there. But I feel as though that was mostly because we were without personal transportation to go exploring on our own. So we stayed closer to the beach and paid higher prices to eat tourist fare, but I won't deduct any points from the city for our inability to search effectively. 

Life has become exciting and I no longer feel as though I am drowning. I know that sounds melodramatic, but I feel it's the most I honest I can be with myself about how life was going for me for quite some time. I still have a lot of water to tread to get to comfortable, but at least my head is above water at this point. Hope continues to flood my heart and new ideas continue to arise. Even though I am not currently in the physical, professional, or financial status that I want to be in at this point in my journey with IIN, I am most definitely entering the frame of mind that is needed for a life long path to peace, stability, ability, and acceptance of my own life. I know that my deepening understanding of food will be the catalyst for the profession of my dreams. I know that I will never trap myself into a job that stifles my wandering spirit again. I know that I will love myself and my body enough to actively and enthusiastically take care of Me. I know that I will release anxiety and depression for good. I know that I will embrace love and my own sexuality to last my marriage until our very last days. I know that I will be able to breathe and center at will. I feel my zen approaching and I plan to "step into the light" and embrace it full on. 

If you like, feel free to join me in my exposed life's endeavors. These are the things that make me happy and I intend to pursue: Love, Travel, Food, Knowledge, Peace, Movement, Culture, Prayer, and all the ties that connect one to the other. Be happy. Be Loved.

Namaste Ya'll

To Be Continued....

Hey ya'll,
I'm just checking in to let you know I haven't forgotten about you out there. I have been traveling for both leisure and business over the past two weeks and now I am trying to keep from getting sick. Once I am feeling well enough to focus on a whole posting I will tell you all about my trip to Fort Lauderdale, with pictures!

Here's to calm tummies and sound sleep,
Namaste Ya'll

Pepitas!

Hey Ya'll,
I know everyone is finished carving pumpkins by now, but I wanted to share our pumpkin seed roasting success. I read a few different postings from other people on their techniques and found the common tone in successful roasted seeds was low and slow. So that's the route I took.
We managed to get about 3 cups of seeds from our 3 medium and 1 small pumpkins. The most tedious part of the entire process was separating the seeds from the pumpkin guts. It seemed to take forever and created a virtual sensory overload. The smell of wet grassy pumpkin, the feel of sticky slippery stringy pumpkin innards, using the fine motor skills needed to pull each little seed from the confines of the muck. But in the end it was actually fun.
I soaked the seeds in salted water overnight after making sure to carefully wash away any remaining pumpkin first. After soaking I dried the seeds out on a kitchen towel for a few hours tossed them in a bowl with about 2 tablespoons of oil, sea salt, and chili lime seasoning (I felt adventurous). Roasted in the oven at 300F for about 45 minutes, stirring the seeds every 15 minutes.
The seeds came out crisp enough to eat the whole seed instead of needing to shell them first. But what I did find was that some of my seeds were on the verge of being overly toasted on the inside (otherwise known as almost burned). So I think maybe next time my oven will be set to 275, it seems to run a little hot. My seasoning was nice, but my personal tastes would prefer more salt on the seeds. I also thought up more flavors to try, but I don't plan on gutting anymore pumpkins anytime soon.
If anyone knows of a way to Quickly and efficiently shell pumpkin seeds, I would love to know. Shelled pepitas are so versital and I have an idea for a breakfast treat while I have a bag full of seeds in the house now. Next time I'll be reporting back with tales from Florida vacation. Until then...
Namaste Ya'll

Trick or Treat

Hey Ya'll!
Happy Halloween/Feliz Día de los Muertos/Happy Fall Harvesting
I think those cover my primary basis. I took The Munchkin only partially around the neighborhood this year; mostly because she wanted to be home by dark. Yea I know, but my baby is still scared of the dark, so all the "Tricks" people pull on Halloween are not fun for her. To be honest I was absolutely fine with going home to pass out candy. Especially since the weather made a shift and now we're back to warm humidy air after a lovely week and a half of Fall worthy weather to tease me. (if you can't tell I'm a little bitter about the returning heat)
As you can see in the picture after hitting only a few houses, maybe 15-20, the kiddo collected a rather decent stash for herself. I think now that my generation are the candy passers the selection is getting better. I don't think I saw more than a couple pieces of no name hard candies in the pile. Which leads me to wonder did the candy passers of my youth simply give what they enjoyed as children? Or were they just cheap? As giggle at the thought of some woman saying to herself "why buy the good stuff for kids I don't even know?" I would like to know what you looked forward to finding in your treat bag. I had a small gang of Princesses Power Rangers express their excitment about my house passing out Milky Way candy bars. Without thought and debate about the ethics of the holiday it brings me so much pleasure to see the little ones having so much fun and feeling safe in their neighborhood. As I wrap this up I am contemplating having a Tootsie Pop for breakfast...But I won't, I'll behave.
Namaste Ya'll