Recovery and Working out...and Recovery

So I've been out of the loop for a while. Lil' Birdie had the flu, which aggravated her GERD. She'd been off of her GERD medication for two and half weeks before she got the flu and didn't stand a chance. It was horrible, and I didn't eat much of anything. The screaming reminded me of when she was just weeks old and we couldn't figure out what was wrong, ie prior to the GERD diagnosis. It's the most horrible thing in the world to not be able to help your baby. On to happier things...

Since her recovery, which took almost 2 weeks, we've (read I) been loving on tuna, brussels, sauteed onions, and avocados (mostly lil' birdie).

Here we have some mashed avocado (known as 'cado' in our house), oven baked chicken with sauteed onions, sauteed brussel sprouts, and steamed asparagus.

Tuna mixed with mayo and mustard, green onion, tomato topped with nutritional yeast on toasted Ezekiel Sprouted Bread with lettuce. This is my kind of open-faced sandwich. I'm not much for bread, but the occasional EB is okay.

I have also started working out again. I opted for a P90X/Insanity Hybrid. It's intense, but I need it because even if I slack it still kicks my butt. Here's my 'recovery' drink.

Kale, water, almond milk, maca powder, cacao powder, raw-farm-fresh egg, chia seeds, banana, pear, dehydrated unsweetened coconut, and raw honey. It was actually pretty good!

Brownies for Breakfast

One of my FAVORITE desserts is the humble brownie. I had to give up brownies for quite a while while nursing and because I'm trying to avoid dairy, processed sugar, and most gluten. Through my dabbling in raw food, I've found some fairly reliable 'dessert' substitutions you can eat without fear, as it's just fruit and nuts in various combinations. It's still dessert, but it's one of the healthiest kinds of desserts I know. I should mention that I do not fear dietary fat. I think everyone needs dietary fat, varying in amount from person to person, for everything from producing hormones, helping the body utilize certain vitamins, to being used as building blocks for cells, hair, etc. If you're looking for something 'low-fat', this recipe isn't for you. If you want something easy (minimal time, minimal ingredients, healthy, whole ingredients), then this is for you. This recipe doesn't use anything but nuts, fruit, cacao (unsweetened chocolate), and a little sea salt. The frosting is similar, minus the nuts. I like my brownies to taste like chocolate, so you may want to reduce your cacao if you don't like dark chocolate. The recipe is SO SIMPLE.

Soak 3/4 cup dates in water, and while you prepare the rest of the mixture. Place 1 cup raw walnuts with 1 teaspoon sea salt and 1 cup of cacao in the food processor. I don't soak my nuts, no comment BigDaddy, but if you'd like, I'm sure it wouldn't hurt. Pulse the ingredients until the nut particles are to your liking. I prefer a small particle, so I process at least a minute, if not more. Remove dates from soak water and place in the food processor. Process until a 'dough' ball forms in the processor container. Remove 'dough' and press into a glass dish of your choosing. I like thicker brownies, so I double the recipe and use a 9x13 glass dish. Place the brownies in the fridge for an hour or freezer for half an hour to set, remove, devour.

Now, I'm not big on the taste of dates, so the cacao hides it nicely. A small brownie is very satisfying. I get something sweet, chocolately, and with good fat, so it's satiating. I don't have the impulse to stand over the pan and eat 1/2 the pan, like I did with conventional brownies.

If you want frosting, you melt 1/2 cup of coconut oil and add 1/2 cup of cacao and stir. This is intense chocolate, so you can add date syrup/paste or some other form of sugar to cut the bitterness. The more 'solid' you add to the mixture, the better it handles conditions outside of the fridge, ie higher ratio of coconut oil equals runny mess.

Question of the Day: What's your favorite dessert?

Homemade Salsa

Well, I'm back to posting. Since I normally work full-time and miss a lot of time with my 10 month old I took the holidays off. It's not necessarily a wise choice as a blogger, but it was a wise choice as a mother.

So here we are. New Year's Eve some friends came over, and one of them brought homemade, raw salsa. It was DELICIOUS! Days later I was craving the salsa. My friend gave me the loose 'recipe' and I got to work with my food processor. In minutes I had amazing salsa.

Luckily, I save jars, so I re-purposed this old pickle jar to save the KEified homemade salsa.

All you do is put tomato, onion, garlic, cilantro, sweet bell pepper, salt, and pickled jalapenos in the food processor, blender, or chop by hand, the latter taking more than just a few minutes....maybe 10-15. Taste test. Devour.

Snow and Avocado Sandwiches

Yesterday started the first serious snowfall of NW Ohio, ie......the snow is still on the ground and the roads ride like they haven't been plowed. It's great, especially if you like wondering if you'll ever see your KElet again for a job you strongly dislike. Really.... I couldn't ask for more.

This weekend, I made my first American Chinese dish, Mongolian Beef. It was good. BigDaddy always critiques everything I make. It's handy when you want it and not handy when you don't. I need a neon sign that says 'Praise' or 'Honest Assessment' I can turn on as needed. Poor BigDaddy is just trying to be helpful, or so I keep telling myself. 'Tis the nature of the beast. The thing I sometimes loathe is what makes him great at everything else he does.

We also had the yearly reunion with my FIL's extended family. One of the benefits of being a mom was that I was blessed enough to have to give KElet a bottle and stay with her for her two hour nap while everyone else was downstairs. In 7 years, that was the best reunion ever. We were around enough to say 'hello' and have people remark how beautiful KElet's eyes are but short enough that a bunch of people weren't trying to horn in on my holding time. The weekend really is my biggest opportunity to snuggle with my babe.

To top off the weekend our first meaningful snowfall started yesterday morning right after BigDaddy left for a Detriot Lions game, and little KElet went out in the snow for the first time in her snowsuit later that evening. I try to get as many 'firsts' in as I can since I work all day and my MIL is lucky enough to be around to witness everything I cannot. Oh to one day be a homemaker. A serious dream. Those of you who are able, I know it comes at a sacrifice of many things, but I do envy you.

Anyway, I chronicled our 5 minute adventure in the backyard at 6pm, which equals pitch black...... I did not, however, capture the lack of joy KElet expressed in putting the appropriate snow-wear on to go outside. I was reminded of Ralphie's brother in The Christmas Story.

She was not impressed...

After we came in, KElet decided snow was pretty amazing as long as we were inside and NOT in a snowsuit.

So amazing....it should be eaten.

Upon finishing her second helping of the snowmeal --yes, I went out and grabbed another handful of clean snow for her-- I decided it was time for a real dinner. Steamed beets for both of us; rice noodles, Ezekiel toast with coconut oil, avocado, and a little kale to play with while eating for KElet. I also had a massaged kale salad --thank you Gena of choosingraw.com-- and an avocado sandwich with my steamed beets. It was actually the first time I'd had beets not as a part of something else (I used them in chili earlier this Fall.), and KElet hadn't EVER had beets, unless my MIL is sneaking them in, which I doubt.

Massaged Kale Salad....and the carrot I got tired of grating.
Avocado Sandwich with Dijon Mustard and a side of steamed beets.

Avocado Sandwich Recipe
1/2 Avocado
1/2 Pita Bread
2 slices Roma Tomato
Green Onion to taste
Dijon Mustard
Sprouts ( I had alfalfa on hand)

Slice avocado into 4-5 long strips depending on size of avocado. Place tomato and mustard in pita first. Then add green onion, avocado slices, and sprouts. I have yet to make a pita that doesn't pop. It could be my American sized appetite, but it's all veggies for cryin' out loud!

All in all, it was a good weekend filled with good food and mostly good people, except the one uncle who is the shame of the family, literally. He creeps me out something fierce.

KE

Kari Eats and Jabbers...Just like KElet.

I've decided........this is pretty much a food blog. I might touch on other subjects--no doubt loosely related to food, but as a whole, I just need to accept that this is another, more poorly crafted food blog. So if you're looking for a food blog that stands out from the others, this is it. I won't post as often. I won't post as many pictures. I probably won't respond to comments as quickly. Forget customizing, and I have a questionable sense of humor. If you want really good blogs, check out my blog-roll and like-minded people.

I suppose my first 'official' food blog entry should be something catchy, cr-eat-ive, inspiring, but I don't always have those moments. This is real life, and working full-time and taking care of my 10 month old is time consuming. BigDaddy works a lot and helps just about anyone who asks, so that leaves a lot of just me and KElet ..... Oh, and our almost 3 year old fluff ball, Tucker. Thanks be to Heather (HEAB) and her "let" addition to her HEAB to signify child/children. Hence....KElet. I'm sure you'll also see some adaptations of HEAB's recipes here from time to time as well.

Here's BigDaddy and KElet the day before Thanksgiving (she's so tired...).

After some sleep...

And now for the FOOD!

Introducing...... Avocado Blackbean Salad Pita.

Food. I love it, which is obvious if you know me, but there's been a major shift. Growing up, my family always ate dinners together. I remember one time --I'm sure there were numerous times I've just repressed-- when I would announce, "When I grow up, I'm going to eat McDonald's every day." while staring at a pressed meat patty called.......Salisbury Steak. I HATE Salisbury Steak to this day. I just gagged thinking about it. True to my word, about a year after I got married I started eating out at least 4 days a week. I had a new job in the city, and I'd packed lunch or went home for lunch almost every day since childhood. Almost 100 pounds later --50 pounds left, I started a journey back to health. From, "Oh, I'm fat because it's not organic!", to, "Maybe I need to eat less, even if it IS healthy."............. It's been quite the journey, and even though I do not like the fact I had to make the journey overweight --still journeying-- I'm in a place of understanding that one cannot grasp without actually being where I've been.

It's difficult in a lot of ways. There's no lack of mocking from family members on both sides, and even though it still bothers me, I decided that I'm doing what I'm doing because I'm willing to always be learning about health instead of just thinking what I'm doing is 'right'. I didn't think there was an issue with eating out all the time but learned from experience. There's a lot of.....hostility....towards people who are not considered 'normal' by Standard American Diet. That's okay. We all struggle with ego trying to make ourselves better than the person next to us. We try to manifest that ego boot however we can unless we reach a place where we realize that it's all just a sad game we play with ourselves and others, trying to encourage them to feel less than ourselves.. Whoa........ Where's the food talk? I think it's all intertwined. Hundreds of years ago, people could only understand the body as one unit and paid far more attention to spirit (soul). Now, thanks to modern medicine, we understand that we are made up of a bunch of little units....but forgotten that one little unit can change the course of the whole body, and who needs spirit when you have logic? It's not just the food you eat but your mind-set (are you speaking negatively of yourself and/others verbally or in your mind), exercise, spiritual awareness, and a whole host of things I don't even understand fully myself.

So this is the journey. I'm willing to travel where it takes me --don't remind me of that if I complain about something-- and would be glad to have you join me with your wisdom and experience. Some will go without the option, like BigDaddy, KElet, and Tucker. Please feel free to comment, as long as it's respectful and not some spam about Viagra made in Japan. I'm excited to hear from you, and I'm excited for all of you silent stalkers. You're out there...... I'm a silent blog-stalker too. Either way, I'm glad you're here. I have some fun stuff, or so I think.

Hold onto your butts!

Kari

P.S. Here is your question: What did you say you were going to do as a child that you did as an adult and ended up working out or turning into a catastrophe?