Out of Nothing at All....

I've never claimed to be the best blogger in the world, hence the week I apparently took off. Trust me it was completely un-intentional. I have so many ideas rolling around in my crazy little brain to blog about. However, this morning you are getting none of those "good" ideas. Nope, I have decided to give you a re-cap of what I've been up to this week, because I know you are very, very interested. (OK, just go with it...)

First of all, I want to show you guys what I am so proud of....


I made scones!! These are "Vanilla Bean Mini Scones" from Sarah over at Peas and Thank You! They were so easy and so good! My two youngest helped and they ate 2 a piece as soon as they were cool! I have been a little afraid of baking in the past, but recently I have done more and more and have discovered its not as hard as it looks!

All day yesterday I was craving enchiladas big time! (Mexican food seems to be a staple in my diet) My friend Jana makes the best enchiladas and I've made her recipe many times, but didn't have all the ingredients on hand and was in no mood to go to the store! After standing in front of the pantry and fridge for what seemed like forever, I discovered the leftover Black Bean Soup that I froze a couple of days ago. As I thought of the ingredients, I realized they very closely mirrored the ingredients of the filling for Jana's enchiladas! That's when complete and total genius hit. (OK, maybe it was hunger) I thawed the soup, rinsed it in a colander, and threw it into the food processor,

Then I added one tablespoon plus one teaspoon of tomato paste.

Here's a quick little tip on tomato paste. Buy it in the tube form, if you can find it. Many recipes call for just a little and then you are stuck with over half a can and have nothing else to use it for. With the tube, you can measure out just what you need and then stick the rest in the fridge!

After adding the paste, I gave it a little whirl and came out with this:

Perfection!

Next up was the enchilada sauce. I know you can buy a can or jar of enchilada sauce that is very good. However, homemade is delicious, you know what is in it, and it is so very easy!

Easy Enchilada Sauce (makes 2.5 cups)
1 tablespoon Olive Oil
1 onion, minced fine
1/2 tsp. salt
3 tablespoons chili powder
3 garlic cloves, minced
2 teaspoons cumin
2 teaspoons sugar
2 (8 oz.) cans tomato sauce
1/2 c. water
pepper

Heat oil, add onion and salt and cook until onion is soft. Stir in next 4 ingredients, and cook for about 30 seconds. Stir in tomato sauce and water, simmer until thickened, around 5 minutes. Season with pepper to taste.

Easy, quick! I didn't have tomato sauce on hand so I subbed a can of diced tomatoes that I pureed in the food processor and omitted the water. A can of crushed tomatoes can be subbed as well, just be sure to leave out the water.

Here is the finished product!

Just so you know, your Hubby and kids may run into the kitchen while this is cooking because the smell will draw them in, neighbors may knock on the door and beg for a sample. It smells that good!

While the sauce was simmering, I took the pureed soup and spread it on tortillas, rolled them up and placed them seam side down in a baking dish I had coated with cooking spray. Then I spread a little sauce on top.

I topped them with shredded cheddar cheese (although you don't have to, but I was thinking I needed some extra protein in my diet, haha), placed them in the oven at 350 for about 15 minutes and they came out looking like this:

I can't tell you how good and easy these are and everyone in my family loves them! I only made 3 because Big Sister is at church camp (but will be home today, good thing because I miss her!) and The Golden Boy had a client dinner.
I was hankering for something sweet after I did a full on kung-fu punch on my enchilada.

Enter two cut up peaches, strawberries and Rainier cherries! I love cherry season! My favorite is the Bing, but I like the Rainier as well. Our local farm stand also had peaches and the smell was amazing and drew me in! They were so good and juicy!

This little guy thought so too and requested a bowl just like mine!


Just in case you were wondering (and you are probably not) here is my work-out re-cap for the week:

Saturday: 16 mile long run with Jennifer
Sunday: Off day that was needed ,fo sho!
Monday: 3 mile easy run (9 minute pace)
Tuesday: 30 minutes on the elliptical and lower body strength workout
Wednesday: 9 mile run
Thursday: 1 hour on the spin bike, 2 mi run at 8:24 pace
Today: Upper body workout only (a good friend that runs marathons (hello 3:20!) says that she does absolutely nothing on her lower body the day before a long run, so I'm taking that advice!)

Tomorrow is our long run and I'm doing 18 (yikes)! Hopefully I won't be in the hospital or dead and can come back here and let you know how it went!

Have a wonderful weekend! Remember, Sunday is the Lord's Day, so do yourself a favor and find a place of worship and fellowship with His own!

~Carie

Creature of Habit (or boring eater)

You know those diet/healthy living blogs where the blog author chronicles every single thing she/he eats in a day? I like those blogs, I really do. However, sometimes I get tired of seeing 20 pictures of their oatmeal every single morning. I do get a lot of ideas for meals from those blogs but I have a confession to make. You won't see that from me. Here is the main reason, and I am almost embarrassed to show you all this, but here goes. I am an extreme creature of habit.
I'll allow you to check the evidence and make a ruling on your own:


This is a salad with a cut up chicken burger (purchased at Sam's, they are sooo good). I have eaten this exact same salad at least 3 times this week.

Next up, we have something that looks like breakfast, and probably was on at least one occasion,

but I'm not too proud to eat eggs, toast and salad for lunch, two days in a row.

Even when I am with Jennifer, I usually can get her to eat the same thing,

Here we have our normal Country Club Grill lunch. A vegetarian Reuben, sweet potato fries and a Greek salad (shared of course). I think we've had this three times since the summer started!

I also eat lots of frozen yogurt! I ALWAYS get the tart flavors and load my cup with fruit.

And I am a little ashamed to admit that this has been my lunch (and lunch for my kids) on more than one occasion. (OK, maybe like 6 times...)

Here is a salad I tend to repeat like crazy.

Spinach, tomatoes, cottage cheese and tuna. I love it. It loves me.

Breakfast is so predictable,

This is a bowl of mixed up cereals. Kashi Heart to Heart, Natures Path Pumpkin Flax Granola and Grape Nuts. I pour vanilla almond milk on it. Its good. I eat it a lot. I know, boring.

A big bowl of veggies for lunch.

Is anyone still reading this post?

Yogurt pancakes.

I am totally in love with them. I could eat them daily. I have eaten them every day for a week before.

Here is a twist on scrambled eggs.

And it would be exciting except I probably ate this every morning for breakfast back in April because I was on my "Jana's best Salsa" kick. Oh, that sounds good, maybe I'll make some today!

Oh, wait, this is different,

No, just another bowl of veggies.

Question of the day:

Are you a creature of habit? If so, what foods/meals do you turn to often?
Yes, I am. The evidence speaks for itself, however, this proves that I am loyal! I eat eggs and salad, a lot!

Do you like eggs? What is your favorite way to eat them? Do you put anything on them? I love eggs, and I like to cook them any way possible. I love to top scrambled eggs with salsa.

Do you like frozen yogurt? What are your favorite flavors/toppings?
I adore it. My favorite flavors are the tart ones. Currently its Original Tart swirled with Pomegranate! I am a fan of our local yogurt place on Face book so I can see the menu daily, lets just say if they have Pomegranate that day I may or may not arrange my day to be somewhere near! My favorite toppings are fruit and granola. I am not a fan of candy as toppings nor am I a fan of frozen yogurt that tastes like ice cream!

Have a wonderful day. I have big plans. To lay out at the pool and read, ALL. BY. MYSELF.!

See Ya, Carie

Ch-Ch-Ch-Chia!

I spent 4 hours Wednesday in this outfit:

You guessed it! I have been invited to the Royal Wedding! You had no idea I had such connections, did you? Ha! Wouldn't that be fun though?

Seriously though, I was asked to be a model in a fashion show for a local charity that runs 2 thrift stores in our community. My job was to search these thrift stores looking for an outfit or costume to wear during the fashion shoe. The rules? Anything goes! There were models dressed in beach wear, there was a bride, a lady dressed in a beautiful evening gown (it truly was gorgeous). One model showed up in a trench coat, fedora, and dark sunglasses like she was some sort of secret agent! It was a lot of fun. I actually had 3 outfits picked out. The first was a pale yellow dress that looked just like the dress that Sandy wore to the prom in "Grease". I was worried I couldn't pull off the whole Sandy look with my hair! Then there was the gorgeous 1970's style bridal gown. I wanted it so bad! However, it was way too long for me and I would have had to pay an arm and a leg to have it shortened. (and I'm a little partial to my arms and legs) Then I saw the hat! I knew I wanted it! So I decided to find a dress that would look as if I was going to the Kentucky Derby! I found the pink dress above, a 1970's handmade bridesmaid dress! It was floor length and since I knew it would be a faux pas to wear a long dress to the Derby I had a friend shorten it! The event was so much fun and the models were able to raise $15,000 for this charity!

For the past month, I've been eating this for breakfast:

It's Chia cereal and its so good for you. You can make your own at home with the following recipe:

Super Chia Cereal

3/4 c. Chia seeds
1/2 c. Hemp seeds
1 c. chopped dates
1/2 c. chopped walnuts (or nut of your choice almonds, pecans, cashews)
1/4 c. sunflower seeds (or pepitas (shelled pumpkin seeds)
1/2 c. dried blueberries (or dried fruit or mixture of your choice)
2 tsp. cinnamon
1/4 tsp. sea salt.

Mix all your ingredients together and store in a sealed container in the refrigerator to keep ingredients fresh.


You should be able to get 10-12 servings from this. There are three ways to eat this one is to mix with an equal portion of non-fat yogurt and allow to sit for 10 minutes (this allow the chia to do its thang (more on this in a minute)). The next is the mix in 3/4 c. milk or non-dairy milk of your choice, let sit for 10 minutes, then enjoy. But my favorite way to eat it is to heat 3/4 c. vanilla almond milk in the microwave for 2 minutes.


I use my 2 cup Pyrex measure because the milk bubbles up and this size keeps it from boiling over and making a mess (cause Lord knows I've got plenty of messes around here!). Mix your hot milk into your cereal, cover,



let sit for 10 minutes and enjoy!


So, why would you want to eat chia cereal? Well, lets start with the chia seeds.

Chia seeds are yes, you guessed it, the same seeds used to make the imfamous Chia pets. But what you probably didn't know is that Chia Seeds have amazing nutritional value. They have a great deal of Omega 3 fatty acid (5 grams in 2 TBSP), and as we all know Omega 3's are known to reduce inflammation and help the body fight off some of the effects of aging. Chia seeds also hold about 10 times their weight in water (which is why you let them sit for 10 minutes before eating) which is great for keeping you hydrated! They also have a good amount of antioxidants, fiber, protein and calcium. So, don't let the relation to the cheesy chia pets keep you away from this super food.

Next up we have hemp. Okay, I know your first thoughts when I listed hemp was a brightly colored leaf and some old Birkenstock wearing hippy. Right? These days though, hemp is appearing in many forms such as milk, seeds, and protein powder. It has amazing nutritional stats. Hemp contains all 20 amino acids, including the 9 essential amino acids our bodies cannot produce. It contains simple proteins that make our immunity stronger and help fend off toxins. Tests have shown that eating hemp in any form could help people suffering from immune disorders. It is the highest botanical source of essential fatty acid, with more essential fatty acids than flax or any other nut seed oil. It contains both Omega 3 and Omega 6 which is great for cardiovascular health. Its a great source of protein for vegetarians, and last but not least it is a rich source of phytonutrients, which can help protect immunity, bloodstream, tissues, cells, skin, organs and mitochondria. Umm, I think maybe we should all be eating hemp seeds!

Well if you aren't bored to tears, hang on theres more! Now, we come to dates. Recently I have fallen in love with dates! They are super sweet and very versatile in recipes. Dates have been consumed for centuries. They are digested very easily and can supply quick energy. Dates have also been known to cure intestinal issues (we shall not speak of those here). Eating dates on a regular basis has been shown to help in the growth of friendly bacteria. Dates are rich in fiber and contain calcium, sulfur, iron, potassium, phosphorous, manganese, copper, and magnesium.

Walnuts are up next! Walnuts are known to be one of the best plant sources of protein. They are rich in fiber, B vitamins, magnesium, antioxidants and Vitamin E. They also contain high amounts of Omega 3 and Omega 6 fatty acids.

Sunflower seeds are one of those things most people don't think about. But sunflower seeds contain both B1 and B5 vitamins along with vitamin E and folate. Also present are copper, magnesium, selenium and phosphorous. If that weren't enough they also contain tryptophan which can help reduce stress, anxiety and depression. The happy seed?

Eating dried fruit is so good for you in general but I chose blueberries for their obvious nutritional superiority. Blueberries contain antioxidants and come out on top when it come to their capacity to destroy free radicals. Anthocyanins, the blue pigment found there, improve the integrity of support structures in veins and entire vascular system. Blueberries have also been shown to improve brain function and contain vitamin C, manganese, dietary fiber, and vitamin E.

Did you know that as well as giving flavor to this dish cinnamon has been shown to lower LDL cholesterol. On top of that studies have concluded that cinnamon may help people with type 2 diabetes regulate their blood sugar, and has an anti-clotting effect on blood. It could also aid in cognitive brain function and memory. Cinnamon contains manganese, fiber, iron and calcium!

Simple to prepare, and great to eat! Just don't sing that silly jingle (or paste on clay sculptures!)!

"Then God said, 'Behold, I have given you every plant yielding seed that is on the surface of all the earth, and every tree which has fruit yielding seed; it shall be food for you." Genesis 1:29

Carie