April Challenge

Click the Link and check it out! I'll be doing this during April.

http://peak313.com/featured/the-try-it-challenge-intro-and-vlog/


Something is wrong with her button...this is the link FIXED

Dinner Tonight: Fish Tacos

Tonight I went for a more elaborate dinner than usual ( by elaborate I mean several elements) and did Fish Tacos!

Elements:
Corn Tortilla
Veggie "medley"
Homemade Creole Mayonnaise
Red Rice
Fried Tilapia Strips


Recipes:
Corn Tortilla - Simple enough. I did sear them in a small pan with coconut oil (they had a funky texture otherwise).
Veggie "medley" - I chopped onion and yellow bell pepper and sauteed it in a pan until it was firm, but no longer crunchy. I then added frozen corn and cooked until the corn was hot. I added a few dashes of salt, pepper, garlic powder, and chili powder.
Homemade Creole Mayonnaise - Slightly adapted from Sally Fallon's Nourishing Traditions

 2 egg yolks at room temp

2 tblsp lemon juice

1 tsp Dijon mustard

1/2 tsp salt

1/2 tsp dried thyme

1/2 tsp dried basil

1/2 tsp dried oregano

1/4 tsp paprika

1/8 tsp cayenne pepper

2/3 c extra virgin olive oil

Place all ingredients except olive oil into blender and blend thoroughly. Add olive oil slowly while constantly blending. Check for seasonings. You may want to add more lemon juice or salt. It will keep about 2 weeks in the fridge.
Red Rice - Cooked sort of per instructions (I messed up and did it covered like white rice...it turned out okay in the end)
Fried Tilapia Strips - I put them in a store bought spicy fish fry and let it sit for a few minutes (long enough for the oil to heat up) and then dredged them in egg/milk and flour with salt and garlic powder. I fried them in coconut oil until cooked through.

To Assemble:
Corn Tortilla
Spread Mayo
Spoon on some Veggies
Spoon on Rice
Lay Tilapia
You can add more Mayo if you want.

A few informative links:
Coconut Oil
Red Rice

My Boys Are So Loved

I know that this post might touch a nerve with some people...but I need to post this so I kind of don't care...

Divorce is ugly. No matter the reasons for it or if it's "mutual" it's always ugly. There are always "casualties" and it's usually the children and, eventually, grandchildren. There's usually resentment and hurt feelings and that can bleed into future relationships.

I'm a child of divorced parents. It sucked then and it sucks now. I'm a child of parents (ALL of my parents) with deep hurts from the past that did bleed over into our relationship, and left me with a few deep hurts of my own. I'm determined to break the cycle and not let it affect my relationships! By the grace of God I will have healthy relationships.

That being said, my boys are loved by all of their family members. Great-Grandparents and Grandparents alike. These little boys are showered in so much love whenever family is around! I do consider them truly blessed. So what if those people can't get along? As long as, in the end, the boys feel loved it doesn't matter.

So, I'm sharing photos of my boys with family members for this post. I'm not going to label the photos. I'm not going to mention names anywhere in the post. All my readers need to know is that my sons are loved. Because that's all that matters to me.

Sorry about the quality. I took a photo of a photo because I no longer have a scanner.

Vacation Thoughts

We were on vacation all this past week! I didn't announce it because I've heard stories about people announcing vacations on their blogs and then getting robbed...I'm sure you're all nice people and everything, but I'd rather be safe.

We went to Arizona to let the boys visit their great grandparents. It was fun. I have lots of photos to put up. (Don't worry, rest of the family, your visit is coming. This one was a HUGE trip so we had to plan it out way in advance.)

I had some thoughts while on vacation I wanted to share:

• It's interesting to drive next to the boarder (between the US and Mexico) and see the vast difference in living on either side.
• While I was irritated at having to slow down for Boarder Patrol to check cars (the baby started screaming when the car stopped moving) I am glad that they're checking cars...
• At night, when you're exhausted, walking into the hotel without shoes is a fine idea. However, walking OUT with no shoes the next day feels like a walk of shame.
• Every mall should have a kids play area. Even just a little one.
• Now I want a dog.
• You know you're in the middle of NOWHERE when you push "seek" on the radio and it just keeps spinning...
• I need to stock and carry a first aid kid...
• Now I know why parents give kids Nyquil before long trips.
• If you're driving in West Texas and come to a gas station you should stop and get gas...even if  you "think you can make it." We were down to a gallon before we found somewhere to stop. Some families weren't as lucky.

Comment Love Day

A simple link up!

Raw Chocolate Milk

Another Link Up!




I'm sharing my husband's recipe for RAW chocolate milk.

- 2c raw milk
- 2Tblsp raw cacao powder
- large dollop of raw honey
- 1 egg (raw lol)
- 1 banana
- dash each: ginger, cinnamon, nutmeg, salt

Run through a blender until smooth.

You get LOTS of protein with this (milk, egg, cacao powder) as well as healthy sugars (honey!). The milk and egg also supply good fats. Stefan does this first thing in the morning and it keeps him full until lunch. It's an awesome "on the go" breakfast.

Head on over to For The Love Of Blogs (click the button above) and share a drink recipe!

Full of Fail

I'm linking up today!



So this week I've been full of fail as far as my diet is concerned. I'm back on sugar and been eating a LOT of junk food! I also haven't exercised much...FAIL.

I will say that I have future blogs planned for my sugar fiasco. There's no coincidence that my scalp is irritated and Jonathan and I have thrush since I've gone back on processed sugar. ugh. It's horrible. I also swear I've put on 10lbs this week. I'm all bloated.

Something I did do: I bought some of those Trim Step Fitness Shoes from Target. I didn't buy them because they make exercise easy! Honestly, I have really high arches so it's tough to find shoes that support my feet properly. I end up having to put inserts in every pair of shoes...except these! They have arch support. I've worn them several days now (and done plenty of walking) and I can feel that they actually work. I've always been skeptical but I'm sold. I wake up each day with my butt and legs a bit sore from the day before. Bonus: They're on sale at Target right now!

Starting next week I'm back off of processed sugar (just honey, stevia, and maple syrup here!) and I'm going to make it a point to do SOMETHING every day. Hopefully I'll be able to do yoga and something else (an ab workout for example). I also try to play with my toddler when the baby naps and it's usually something active like dancing. A friend asked if I do anything for strength: I don't do anything official. However, I have a baby (almost 15lbs) and a toddler (almost 30lbs) and I hold them frequently so I think that counts for something!

Mostly, I could care less about numbers (I'm an eating disorder survivor so I don't ever really know what the numbers are...) I mostly want to be in better shape! I'd like to eventually take up jogging (when Jonathan gets old enough to leave with Daddy!)

What's in store?

Blogs my brain is working on:

- Profanity (this one should be interesting)
- My son turning 2
- Being a mom of two small kids
- Being a wife
- Recipes and cooking thoughts
- More Link-Ups

Getting Fit Link Up

I'm participating in the  Fitness Friday/Fab Friends Friday link up going on at For The Love Of Blogs! Today we're sharing our fitness plans and goals.

Right now breastfeeding is burning a ton of my calories. However, burning calories alone doesn't help with, well, anything fitness related...all it does is facilitate weight loss. I can't lose more than a pound a week or I'll hurt my supply AND I rarely get more than 20mins by myself during the day so my exercise plans are sort of limited.

There's an app that I need to re-download for my phone that's a short Abdominal Workout. It's a 5 minute (I think) series of non stop ab exercises designed to target your entire abdominal area. (Because crunches alone isn't enough. There are a lot of different muscles in that area!)

I also searched for "yoga" on Hulu and there's an entire channel devoted to it. Each video is a different length and there are varying levels of exercise. The other day I did 20 of Yoga Basics. Yoga is awesome because it's a full body sort of thing. It's not just about stretching! It also tones your muscles! (Don't believe me? Try the video I did by clinking on the link.) If you don't have Hulu access you can search in YouTube and find short exercises.


My goal is to do SOMETHING every day. Even if that's just dance around with my toddler for 10 minutes. I'd like to do abs a few times a week (that's the area most affected after my pregnancy) and yoga daily...but there isn't always time.

Care to share some of your fitness goals? It's not too late to get a start on doing something extra this Lent!

Blog Hop

Click the button and explore some blogs!