Resolution Raincheck

 

So I know I had planned to list my last six resolutions (following these five) but I’m headed to bed in 30 minutes. I ended up on the phone with my bestie, and so for tonight, I’ll just leave you with two new recipes that Parrish and I tried last night. Two dynamite additions that a take meal from ‘meh to ‘mazing, using these ingredients:

Lime Marinated Onions and Avocado Cream Sauce

First, the onions. This is a recipe from my dear friends Amy and Mack (Macaroon) and is super simple.

All you need is a white onion, fresh lime juice, and a pinch of salt:

 

Simply slice the amount of onions you desire, and then soak in lime juice for one hour. I added a dash of water because I only had two limes. The result: tart slices of onion that pair perfectly with fish tacos, pulled pork tacos, or…in my opinion…anything!

To make the avocado cream sauce you’ll need one ripe avocado, 1/2 cup 0% fat Greek yogurt or sour cream, and the juice of one lime.

Cube to avocado and place into a large bowl with the Greek Yogurt and lime juice. Use an immersion blender and pulse until you get to the desired consistency. You could use a food processor to blend also, I just didn’t want to get it dirty for such a small job. And I guess you could use muscle power too…but I find it SO hard to mush avocado!

I left a few avocado hunks in our cream sauce, but you could whip it until it’s smooth and creamy. But when you’re serving it on bangin’ shrimp tacos

the hunks are good!

***********See you tomorrow for the last 6 resolutions!

Good Moods

 

Since we’ve added a new fur baby to our family, Hazel, we have completely changed our morning routine. Where before Parrish and I would wake up separately, we now get up together at 7am. You would think that the earlier wake up call would leave me grumpy, but it’s actually improved my mood. We get to take the pups on a mile walk every morning and it’s hard not to smile when Hazel and Max are around. Dogs are just plain funny.

But this morning in particular was a great morning! Nine hours of blissful sleep and the aforementioned puppy time helped, but the real star of the morning was this bowl of gluten free oats.

Bananas are back!

In the mix: 1/3 cup skim milk, 1/3 cup water, 1/3 cup Bob’s Red Mill gluten free rolled oats, 1/2 tbsp. chia powder, 1/2 banana whipped into submission; topped with a smudge of dark chocolate peanut butter and half of a Bora Bora bar

Whipping bananas in your oats makes a HUGE difference in the texture! Soft pillowy mounds of oats, perfection!

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Last night Parrish and I watched The Social Network. Yeah we’re a little behind. We definitely liked it, but I can’t see what all the hub bub is about. It was a great movie, but award winning? I dunno.

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Check back tonight for the final resolutions! Did you miss the first five? Catch up here.

You’ll be happy to know that I have kept up the flossing, but I can already tell it’s going to get boring fast!! Anyone have tips for sticking to it?

11 in 11

 

Well friends, I have FINALLY finished my list of New Year Resolutions. I know, I know, don’t judge…but I like to take my time. PLUS I don’t look at them so much as resolutions, but more as…new ideas to improve my quality of life.

And being the cornball that I am, I’m making my list “rhyme” in a way, so I’ve given myself 11 slots to fill.

When I finalized the list, I first read it to Parrish. It’s important for me to have support from him if I have any hopes of making any real changes. Approved!

And now I’m very excited to share them with you! But being the tease that I am, we’re going to cover the first 5 tonight and then the last 6 on Monday!

Here goes nothing

Number One: eat one new food a month

It can’t be PF Chang’s every night!

Being a foodie, I love trying new foods! Being gluten free, can often limit those choices, but it doesn’t eliminate them all. For example, I’ve never eaten quinoa. Shocking I know! Also, I’ve never eaten cottage cheese!! I wish this resolution could be once a week, but our food budget just won’t allow it. So once a month will have to do for now!

Number Two: comment on blogs

As silly as this sounds, I read A TON of blogs. And most of the time, I love each post! I often think comments to the blogger, but I rarely take the two minutes to click over and leave a comment. Which is silly, because as a blogger, I know how much comments mean! I LOVE comments. It makes this feel more like a dialogue and less like a monologue.

Number Three: run a 5k…again

You may not remember my first 5k (recap here) but I know that I do better! I was INCREDIBLY unprepared for that race, and while I had fun, I wasn’t breaking any records. So this year I would like to train properly, fuel properly, and give it my best!

Number Four: get exercise daily

Check! I’ve already started this resolution, but I intend to keep it!

Number Five: get a haircut regularly

This is the face of someone who gets her haircut once a year:

I know! It’s hard to believe?

In actuality, I don’t notice it very much. My ends don’t split very quickly because I rarely dry my hair. And I typically wear my hair up. But what I do notice is the WEIGHT of my hair. It is SO thick. So I want to start getting regular hair cuts. Nothing crazy…once every three months should do the trick.

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So there you have it! 5 down, 6 to go. And of course I gave you the easiest first. The last 6 are going to require SERIOUS dedication…and your help!

Back to Breakfast

 

While I know we all love to be on vacation (so fun right?) it can be nice to get back to the regular schedule. Which of course for me, means….

OATMEAL!

In the mix: 1/3 cup gluten free oats, 1/3 cup skim milk, 1/3 cup water, 1/2 tbsp. chia powder, and two strawberries; topped with one mini gluten free blueberry muffin

I love oats topped with cake. There’s just something about the texture that I can’t get enough of!

Yes. It’s good to be back

EPIC Sledding

 

Oh Vacation…

I miss you already.

I LOVE winter vacation. It makes the day after Christmas not seem so bad, honestly! I’m the type of person who loves anticipation! That’s why I hate surprises….well, and also because I’m pretty nosey. But it’s nice to have something to look forward to in between Christmas and my birthday.

Seriously, I LOVE winter vacation.

And sledding. I LOVE sledding.

Oh vacation.

We are super lucky, because my Mama Emily and my Papa Jeff have a condo on Beech Mountain, within walking distance of Ski Beech. It’s pretty sweet. We’ve been going up there for a few years, but this was the first year there was snow! (Go figure) So in between games of Monopoly

and Balderdash

we did what all the cool people are doing…

SLEDDING! And….

Icicle Fighting!

Can you believe those icicles?

But back to sledding!

It was epic. And FREE! We were going to all go tubing, but it was 20 bucks each! So we spent $30 total for 3 sleds and spent the day “grinding the slopes”.

It’s pretty amazing how EXHAUSTING sledding can be! And yes, I did squeal every single time I went down!

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Happy Birthday to my Bestie JOAN!!!

 

In case you need some ideas for your birthday wish:

1) You move to Durham

2) You move to Raleigh

3) We move somewhere really cool together

4) Parrish and I move in with you

5) Parrish and I move in beside you

LOVE YOU!

REALLY?!

 

The cashier at the grocery store asked me if gluten is fat.

Nope.

Gluten is not fat. Gluten free is not fat free.

Luckily she then asked me what gluten is. Much to the dismay of the person in line behind me, I laid it on her, GHM style!

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I’m back from vacation officially today! Back to work and back to blogging! So I’ll be back tonight with a full post, until then…a teaser!

Just the Essentials

 

Every winter, Parrish and I join a big group of our friends in the mountains for an after Christmas vacation. We plan ahead and split up meals, but this year it was a real challenge. With me being gluten free, one friend being vegan, and another vegetarian, we struggled at first with the menu. Luckily, we figured it out.

Aside from the meals though, we always remember the essentials.

Magazines from every genre!

GF Bisquick & Bagels; Coffee & Coozies

Wii fun

Fresh fruit and veggies for juicing

A keg for them

and Redbridge for me

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We’re off to check out the lodge slopes. High of 24 degrees today!!

One Smart Slice

 

I hate leaving town with a dirty kitchen. I know some bloggers like to clean out their fridge before going on a trip, but I have way to many condiments for that! Plus, the fridge doesn’t really bother me. What bothers me are the counters, and the stove top, and the sink. I HATE a dirty kitchen.

But I’m also practical. Parrish and I both work full time jobs, and have several part time jobs. PLUS, as I’m sure you guys know, we cook at home almost every single night. Our kitchen is in a constant cycle of clean and dirty.

So when I planned the menu for this week, I was smart! I planned an easy meal for the night before our big trip:

Virtually NO clean up! PLUS it gave me an excuse to buy this super expensive pizza that’s new to my Whole Foods: Against the Grain Gourmet Pizza. 

I was so excited when I saw this pizza in the freezer case, that I actually squealed…in the aisle….and the staff person giggled at me. But whatever! I LOVE Against the Grain!

Remember the baguette? OH THAT BAGUETTE

This pizza is ten times better.

Let’s start with the crust.

Flaky. Buttery. Creamy. Rich. zero aftertaste.

The sauce is tangy and flavorful. The cheese is salty and DELCIOUS. It is like a baguette had a baby with a croissant and it was a pizza!

So. Good. So. Expensive. ($10.99 eep!!) Totally worth it! PLUS it’s huge. It’s like 4 times the size of a Glutino’s.

Served alongside:

Sparkly bubbles!

I really wanted a cocktail, but since I was having pizza I decided to just have seltzer to skip the calories. Compromise

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I’m off to pack for a long weekend in the mountains and watch Modern Family!

TGI-Wednesday