Weekend Haps

Howdy.
It's Monday.
I am finally feeling better, not coughing as much,
and am happy to say that after a very low key weekend (and even getting to sleep in until 7:30am this morning which is a small miracle in my house),
I think I am now rested and pretty much caught up on life after our fun weekends away.

The weather has been so nice and we have spent a lot of time outside.

One of them dressed themselves in this picture.  I'm gonna let you guess which one.


Mr. H worked all weekend, but we still squeezed in some fun.
Last night we threw some mahi steaks marinated in salt, pepper, garlic powder and soyaki on the grill for dinner.

 My parents called on their way down from Big Bear and said they had one of Blanca's pies.  So we said "Come over!" and they joined us for dinner.

We had mahi, grilled zuchinni, tri colored quinoa with some of our garden cilantro mixed in, and a green salad with goat cheese, beets, and a dressing we bought at Olivier in Napa.  It was so tasty.  And my first time using beets!  They came in my farm fresh box last time and I had to use them up.  I was so proud of myself for trying something new.  ;) 

After the girls were in bed, Mr. H and I watched The Descendants on netflix.  Even though it is a sad story (and I did cry) we both really really enjoyed it.  Great acting, and I love a movie that is just "real".   Or, as real as it can be considering it is a movie, ya know?

 

Today was warm when we woke up and got up to 89 degrees.

Yahoo, welcome summer.

 Throwin' in a cell phone wiww pic for ya.  ;) (tank- JCPenney, shorts- Kohl's, sweater- Target)

I took the girls to the park for a while this morning and then we headed to Old Navy.  I got the girls a bunch of t shirts that were all on clearance (yahoo) and got myself a cute sun dress.

Tonight for dinner Mr. H grilled salmon after I prepped it.

 I just drizzle it with olive oil, salt, pepper, and garlic powder, then squeeze a bunch of lemon juice on it.  Throw some dill (from our garden!) and sliced onions and a few more slices of lemon and wrap in foil.  It's so simple and so good.

I was also determined to find a way to cook the bok choy that I got in my farm fresh box.

That bok choy intimidated me for a second. 

It looked at me, and I looked at it,

scratched my head,

and then I said, "that's it bok choy I'm gonna grill you!"

So I googled how to grill bok choy, and found a tasty sounding marinate for it.  Simply slice in half, then I squeezed some of the lemon I had sliced over it, and then brushed it with this mixture of melted butter, salt, pepper, garlic powder, and paprika. 

Mr. H said it was the best smelling food he's ever put on the grill before.  So fresh, and let me tell you, it was delicious!

The leafy greens tasted a little bit like kale to us, but also had a cabbage flavor as well.  It was really good.

 So was the salmon.  And the leftover quinoa.

That's it from me tonight.
Happy Monday.

Cherimoyas, A recipe, & Sunday Funday

Monday Monday.
How was your Monday?
Mine was ok.
I ran errands.
Worked out.
Made breakfast, made lunch, made dinner.
Picked up messes.
Cleaned upstairs.
Sorted through my bathing suits and workout clothes.
So I guess Monday was productive at least.

 The girls have really been enjoying their sandbox lately.
I am glad.  When we got it I was so excited for them because I remember how much I loved my sandbox as a kid, and they were not too interested.  Now it is a different story.  They are in there all the time.  Makes me happy.

In a recent Rachel Ray magazine a recipe for toasted almond and coconut macaroons caught my eye.
I gave it a whirl, and not only were they so simple to make, they were delicious (if you like coconut).

 3 egg whites
1/4 tsp salt
1/4 c sugar (next time I might try them with stevia or truvia)
2 1/2 c shredded sweetened coconut (I chopped it pretty fine in my food processor)
1 c whole roasted almonds (I chopped these in food processor too)

*Whisk together egg whites and salt.  Gradually sprinkle in sugar, whisking until thick and fluffy (about 2 minutes). Fold in coconuts and nuts.  Drop rounded tablespoons onto parchment lined baking sheet.  Bake at 350 until golden, 18 to 20 minutes.  Makes about 20.

At the farmers market on Saturday I tried a fruit that I had never heard of in my life.  Cherimoya.  Prounounced (che-tti-moya)

Cherimoyas are originally from Peru and now some grow them in San Diego.

You do not eat the skin.

The insides have seeds, and they are soft and almost creamy textured.

The. best. fruit. I. have. ever. had. in. my. life.

So delicious!!!

And of course so expensive.

Because I always like the most expensive no matter what it is.

Ha.

On Sunday Mr. Hass was working again, and my Mom and the girls and I drove out to Anaheim to check out Mother's Market.

My parents went the weekend before and found all sorts of great stuff.

These are all cell phone pics.  No big camera with me on Sunday.

I really loved Mother's.

It is a health food store that sells all organic and locally grown (and BEA-U-tiful) produce and other healthy foods.  They have a neat little cafe inside with a juice bar (which I will try next time).

After shopping around we stopped for lunch at Corner Bakery.

And after lunch it was time to check out one more healthy market that my Mom had heard about.  

 It was huge.
And packed.
I thought it was a bit too much but I think my Mom loved it.
I bought Mr. H some fancy IPA's and another specialty beer.
They had all sorts of international foods in different sections.
We stopped at the Greek cafe to order Mr. Hass and my Dad a chicken schwarma.  We got to taste the chicken right off the rotisserie and man was it good.

We joked that we were like health food store "groupies", driving all over to check out new grocery markets. 

It was fun though.

Back at the ranch, er, I mean the grove, we decided to check out the new tetherball in the backyard and just hang out for a bit.

 After a few intense games of tetherball (I am the champion btw), and one or maybe two, alright fine three pieces of the best pie ever that my cousins Chad and Matt brought by on their way home from Blanca's up in Big Bear, we might have all hit a wall.

It was Sunday Funday.

And today, Monday not so fun day, I made more kale chips.

I bought the kale at the farmers market, and this time I used a bit less olive oil, less salt, and I also sprinkled this nutritional yeast over them. 

They were good.  But I'm unsure about the yeast.  I have read that it is a slightly cheesy flavor and this was not that.  Still good, with lots of health benefits, but lacking the cheesiness I thought it might have.  Maybe I bought the wrong yeast.  This was from Mother's Market.

I also bought about $15 worth of cherimoyas.

I told you they were expensive!
And woops, now Mr. Hass knows that too.

That's all I got.
I'm out.

Food, Food, Shopping, Cooking, & More Food

You might want to get yourself situated, get a snack, and get comfy, cause this post is not short and sweet.

Susanne recently left me a comment asking this:
"I have a question/request for you.  I love when you post the different healthy things you are eating/cooking.  Could you do a post where you list everything you plan to eat or cook for a few days or a week?  I'm trying to eat healthier but run out of ideas and/or get lazy."

Don't we all run out of ideas?!
Thanks so much for asking this Susanne because I have been holding back some of my food pictures thinking that others might get bored of seeing what we are eating or cooking.  And I know I'm no food blogger, so maybe it's best to leave it up to them. 

Well,
A while back after I saw Michael Pollan on an Oprah episode, I read his books Food Rules and The Omnivore's Dilemma.  I swear that Oprah, and his books are what made me want to learn more about where our food comes from.  We've been making slow and steady changes with our diet ever since.  I am currently reading this...

and last night, Mr. Hass and I finished watching the documentary Forks Over Knives.  Please watch it.  I know not everyone is a foodie, or thinks that they are better off not knowing stuff that may gross them out.  But FOK is the most informative and interesting food documentary I've seen yet.  We netflixed it.  I promise it will not be a waste of your time.

I am learning how to remove processed foods from our diet.
It is certainly taking some work, and time to read and research recipes and ideas, but it is worth it in the long run.  Mr. Hass and I have been eating 95% unprocessed foods for about a week and we both just feel so much better.  I've been trying a lot of recipes from pinterest, and have found a couple helpful blogs full of ideas too.  This blog has been so amazingly helpful with lots of great articles and tips.

So let's get to the food shall we?
Last week I tried these stuffed bell peppers one night...

They were good.  I might add a bit more spices to the sauce next time to jazz it up a bit.  recipe here.

We were all HUGE fans of this cauliflower pizza!!!

  So scrumptious and I must say not difficult at all.  I would like to get a "grown up" sized food processor eventually though.  I have a mini so that took me a little longer to rice the entire head of cauliflower but totally worth it for this healthy version of pizza!
My only advice; roll the cauliflower (or pat) it out thin enough.  A couple of my crusts were a bit smooshy in the center and they could have been thinner and crispier.  recipe here.

I found this breakfast cookie/snack recipe on pinterest and am so glad I did!! I have probably made this 5 or 6 times already. 

Mr. Hass and I have whipped em up together at night (it only takes a couple of minutes) and then we've taken em to work or eaten them at home reheated in the morning for a healthy and filling breakfast. recipe here.

Also from pinterest, yes I know hot dogs are "processed foods" but I used chicken dogs from Trader Joe's and stabbed them with whole wheat pasta noodles.

Simply boil until done and the girls got an absolute kick out of them.  I did not eat them.  ;)

In an effort to keep more fruits and veggies on hand for easy snacking, I thought I deserved to add this adorable fruit tier to my Target cart.

I love all the color that it adds to the kitchen.  Do you see my breadmaker on the counter in the background there?  I've been trying to perfect my bread makin' skills.

I tried this yogurt whole wheat loaf that was so unbelievably good.  I've made this recipe twice.  And a sweet reader Tonya shared her family's favorite recipe with me and thank you so much Tonya I cannot wait to try it!!!

These are chicken lasagna roll ups found on pinterest.

These were really easy, tasty, and the best part of all, both my girls ate every last drop on their plate!! I couldn't believe it.  I will definitely be making this one again.  It is easy to change up the flavors too with different sauces or meats, or cheese combinations.

recipe here.

I made pinto beans in the crockpot for the first time and they were gooooood!

The recipe called for 1/2 of a jalapeno but next time I think I'd use a whole one.  I set them up at 9am and they were ready to eat by 5.  recipe here.

To go with the crockpot refried beans, I tried this health(ier) version of nachos, also seen on pinterest.

You could essentially top them with anything you want.  I used freshly grated sharp cheddar cheese, black beans, tiny bit red onion, and after broiling, topped with fresh cilantro.

That's Mr. Hass squeezing a little lime on his quinoa (cooked in chicken stock).

recipe for nachos here.

With all of this cooking I've been doing, the amount of dishes I've also been doing is a little depressing...

so in an effort to keep the excitement going in the kitchen, Mr. Hass okay'd my trip to Sur La Table last weekend!  I love that store and could honestly spend hundreds and hundreds of dollars in there.  I didn't, but I could.  Here's what I got...

a yellow cuisinart immersion blender, cute pot holder on sale, cute oven mitt on sale, a rad garlic press that takes the smell off your hands, a cedar plank, fun cheese grater, cute polka dot tea towel, and that super cute reisenthel farmers market bag that was on clearance.  I can't wait to go to the market looking all stylish with my new bag.  ;)

Oh yeah, also got those dry measuring cups that I needed for my bread making.
And last night, I got to try out my immersion blender for the first time while making split pea soup.

It is fun.  I can't wait to use it to make smoothies and apple butter and all sorts of things.  Do you have an immersion blender??

I served my split pea soup with uncured bacon crumbles and a slice of fresh homemade yogurt wheat bread. 

recipe for split pea soup here.

Today while flipping through this book, I realized I had all the ingredients on hand to make granola bars, so I did!

They were so easy to make and very tasty and filling.

The girls and my nephew enjoyed them today.

Well that's that.

You still there?

See anything you might want to try?

Before I go, a couple of funnies for ya...

I saw this today on pinterest and laughed out loud at the fabulous truth of it

I sent it to Mr. Hass via text while he was at work and he had a good laugh too.  We decided to call our crazies midget gasoline thieves from now on. 

Also today, I received an email that I had a new pinterest follower...

J Lo.

Jenny from the block?

Could it be?

Signed up to follow ME on pinterest?

haha.  I am sure there are probably 3 million women named Jennifer Lopez that are on pinterest, but I'm pretty sure this is THE JLO following me.

Pretty sure.

That's all for now.

Gotta go.

Mr. Hass and I are having lobster tails for dinner!

what i wore wednesday... & some answers...

Hi again.

It's (almost) Wednesday, and I am linking up with Lindsey at The Pleated Poppy.

Sharing a couple outfits I have worn this last week.

Last Saturday- headed to a birthday party with my girls.

Claire refused to pose with us, but she was wearing the same thing Hannah had on.

On me: grey sweater- Converse @ Target

black long sleeved- Old Navy

skinnies- new! from Windsor Fashion

shoes- Toms

On Hannah: striped tunic- Target

leggings- Target

shoes- twinkle toes by sketcher Nordstrom

Sunday night (bad lighting it was dark)- movie date with Mr. Hass.

Don't know what's up with my grinchy smile and pose there. 

tunic- new! Windsor Fashion

leggings- LC Kohl's

boots- Steve Madden Nordie's

cape coat- Nordstrom Sale last July

Oh how I love my cape coat.

The most comfortable jacket ever.

Go get you one.  ;)

Tuesday- running errands with hubs to Home Depot.

You've probably seen this shirt before.

It's from F21.

Sorry no full length picture.

I did have on my favorite old pair of Hudson jeans.

They have a hole in them.

And I like it.

Bought some aqua paint today at HD.

Stay tuned to find out what's getting painted!

That's all I've got for wiww this week.

But don't go anywhere just yet!

I had lots of Questions in the comments section from my last post.

So instead of answering by individual emails, I decided I'd answer ya right here on my blog.

So here we go...

Jenny and Kerri mentioned that I should share my spaghetti recipe.

Ask and you shall receive.
I made this meal when I got to meet my blog friend Jenny for the first time.  She said they enjoyed it.  I hope she wasn't lying to me. ;)

Click here for step by step info on my Grandma Mac's spaghetti.
Side note, when I saute the onions, usually I will throw in a package of sliced fresh mushrooms.  If you don't like mushrooms, don't do that.  But we love them.

This recipe for weight watchers turkey chili is also a really good one.  I posted step by step pictures for this one and did not get a whole lot of feedback on this post.  But if you try it, I promise, it's good.  And healthy.  And easy.


Now moving on to yoga. 
Heather asked if I went to any yoga classes before starting to do it at home.

I did.  I think I first tried it at the gym.  And then when I was pregnant with Hannah I worked in a salon with a yoga studio a couple doors down, and a friend and I signed up for their prenatal yoga classes.  I think that is when I really fell in love with it.  Since having my girls, it is definitely harder to find time to go to a studio, and I feel guilty doing that because it isn't cheap and I already have a gym membership.  I have gone to the classes at the gym sporadically, my sister and I had a private yoga session on our cruise last May (so funny the instructor totally reminded us of the yoga instructor from the movie Couple's Retreat!), and about a year ago I discovered Jillian's yoga dvd.

This dvd has two different workouts to follow along with.  The first one is just 30 minutes, and the second one is about 35 mins.  It is a really great workout, but it is a bit different than yoga at the gym or in a studio.  Jillian incorporates a lot of body weight training to get your heart rate up, and power poses to hold for several seconds and work on sculpting your muscles.  The girl knows her stuff, because every time I do this dvd I am sore in all the right places.  But it hurts so good I tell you.  It really does!

Heather also asked if I notice a difference in my stress level after yoga.
Like I said before, I do feel very loose and stretched out afterwards, but as far as my stress level...
I don't know because 30 minutes after I finish the dvd I could be yelling at my kids for any number of reasons and so um yeah, stress is usually still there.  At least right now in my life.  ;)

Abby asked where I got my yoga outfit.

That top and bottoms were both from Old Navy last year.
I get most of my workout wear from Old Navy, Kohl's, and Target.

Although I do lust over some of the lulu lemon pieces.  But for now, I have to keep it pretty affordable.

And last but not least, several of you asked me about where I get my blog books printed.

I have printed four books.  One for 2008, one for 2008, and 2010 I split up into two different books.
My 2008 and 2009 books were both printed from www.blurb.com

Blurb is nice because you can edit every single page of your book, adjusting the layout of each post to the way you prefer it.  The quality of the pictures turned out really good.

The only thing is, it is not cheap.  And, it takes FOREVER to edit your entire year's worth of posts.  I mean months people.  For months and months I would have to sit down and work on it a little at a time.  How I managed two books like that I don't know. 

In 2009, I seemed to have even more posts for the year, so I looked into other websites and discovered www.blog2print.  I had a couple other blog friends use this site and they were happy so I gave it a whirl. 

It is much simpler to use blog2print.  You just type in the url of your blog, select the dates you want in the book, and boom it shoots it over into a book.  I had to break my year up into two books because they only allow a certain number of pages per book.  You can still personalize it (I chose hardback books but you can also select other options), add pictures to the front and back, and each posts appears as it does on your blog.
I will probably use www.blog2print again this year for my 2011 books.  And although it isn't cheap to have them printed, I figure the memories in these books are absolutely priceless to me and worth every penny. 

I have my books displayed in the living room, and it is fun to sit down and flip through them from time to time. 

I think  that about covers the questions I received.
Did I miss anything?
Do you have any other questions for me????????????????????