Food Inspiration

Okay I polled several people and the vote was pretty unanimous that I should post my food stuff right on here instead of doing two different blogs.  It will also fill the void to when we start trying again, and we have decided that will be in December.  Work will have slowed down enough to let me breathe again then.

So I am going to attempt a 30 day blog challenge, now knowing me that might be unrealistic but I will do my best.  I thought I would start by sharing with you some of the inspiration for me.

First I would like to think that losing weight was my drive to learn how to cook, let alone cook healthier, but it wasn't.  Having a child was. You can lose weight on store bought prepared foods.  Trust me, I have done it.  My mom was amazing when we were growing up, working a bazillion hours to raise 3 kids and I think she did a pretty good job, but what that meant was that we didn't have time for things like cooking.  More specifically learning how to cook.  I could make a mean sandwich because I worked in her 7-11 deli over the summers but I am sorry there is not much that is healthy at a 7-11.  With that being said I will forever look fondly upon chili-cheese nachos and big-bite hot dogs.  Ahhhh... That store and my mom taught me something else entirely, work ethic.  But food savvy?  Nah.

My mom did the best she could with what she had and I thank her for it every day, whether she knows it or not.  I want to do the same for my children.  I am lucky enough (and I do believe there is some luck involved) to be a little bit better position than she was in with an amazing partner by my side.  And my best at this point in my life has got to be better than Taco Time and Domino's Pizza (no hating, I love them... that's the problem).  Now is the time when I don't actually have children yet to build this into my life pattern and learn so that it becomes part of my parenting habits.

Now the Warrior Princess can cook, and has done so for the majority of our 5 years together.  She can cook something fierce, it oozes out of her like it is part of her DNA.  Bam, three dozen cookies baked like that.  You want some amazing fish?  You bet!  Pot Roast?  Already in the oven. In a relationship there will always be role division and one person naturally will like to do some things more than others but this was one area where I just couldn't justify not being an substantial contributor when we had kids.  I needed to learn and so the journey has begun!  And I am LOVING it!!!!

Perfect Fall Day!

When the warrior princess must leave me to go save the world (the life of a superhero) I get to fill my time with those items that I don't get done when she is home and a couple of extra curriculars.  During the summer that usually entails garage sales and running.  But now that fall has set in the garage sales are far and few between and well... let's just say I have fallen off the running wagon... anywho this time I spent all day in the kitchen.  And with ZERO guilt, because even as I made all of these wonderful items nothing I "quality controlled" or ate was going to blow out my waist line.

Hopefully this time next year I will be complaining about running around and chasing a rug rat but  until then I get to come up with fun ways to prepare for that.  Every time I make something I think of how it will translate toddler in tow.

Today's was a great day cooking for me!

Look at these beautiful Yucca Chips!!  I have been trying to make yucca chips based on this original recipe I had but I keep burning them and then they are not all that edible.  I think I have made them 5 different times and FINALLY found the perfect balance.  If you have never had Yucca Chips they are great because they are light in flavor, heavy in texture and perfect for dipping in guacamole, pico de gallo or any other dip.

Something else I have been trying to perfect is a homemade Honey Dijon dressing and I think the one I made today might be the winner.  I LOVE Honey mustard but the warrior princess hates it.  In fact when I first moved in she told me my honey mustard would have to be in its own fridge out in the garage ha ha.  Guess where it is now :)

Just because it is natural, whole plant -based doesn't mean it isn't pure evil.  Case in point:  homemade Larabars.  This could be bad!!  I tried Pecan Pie flavored last week and they turned out GREAT!

But I wanted more!  So I looked up more recipes adapted them slightly and set off to make Lemon Larabars today.  I got most of the way through the first batch and was zesting the "lemon" and it was being incredibly difficult and it was kind of soft.  I couldn't understand what was going on, until I cut into it to juice it and TA DA, it was an orange LOL not a lemon.  I just went with it, used the orange juice and added a little cinnamon to make it a orange cinnamon bar.  The next batch I made sure I had a  lemon!   They are not as firm as the Pecan Pies ones so I might mess with the recipe a little bit but so so good!!

And finally for dinner tonight I made a Parsnip, Apple, Sweet Potato bake.  It was the perfect fall day dinner.  The apples were from the tree in our yard and I discovered we have an apple corer!  This whole time I have been doing it manually.  And I finally got to use the corningware I scored last summer at a sale.  The minute I opened the oven the sweetness of the apples, onions, parsnips and sweet potato reminded me of freshly baked pie.  The garlic and pepper added just enough spice and balance.  What a perfect family dinner (which means I will have leftovers for days!) 

Necessities

There are TWO tools that I could not do this without: olive oil sprayer and my laptop.  Thank God for other bloggers, youtube, and recipe websites.

Yummy Goodness

One the reasons I took time off from trying to get pregnant was because of work:  this is my busiest/craziest time of year and trying to get pregnant is stressful enough, the two together would be recipe for one crankalicous Junelle and the other is that timing wise I don't want to be on maternity leave during my busiest time next year... timing is everything!  

Anywho as mentioned earlier  I am taking advantage of this opportunity to learn how to cook plant-based whole foods.  Can I tell you, that I feel AMAZING!!!  I am a self-professed coffee addict and most days I would get an afternoon coffee and probably a pastry of some kind.  B-A-D.  I did this because I was crashing and needed more energy so I craved sugar.  Since I have started eating a majority of my calories and meals from plants I no longer crash in the afternoon, do not crave sugar, and am not hungry because I eat all the time.  In fact, both the Warrior Princess and I noticed we are having surges of energy throughout the day.  She was startled by it as a matter of fact. 

This has transformed me so much, that I am actually looking forward to cooking, heck I even bought an apron and rearranged my kitchen cabinets to make them more user friendly.  People, you need to understand how big of a deal this is:  My first apartment the stove was a desk, the next few places I lived with other people that cooked, then for 3 years I lived without a kitchen at all, finally when I bought my condo the kitchen had no doors or drawers and it barely affected me.  Today, I have a kitchen and well let's be honest, that's because it is the Warrior Princess's domain not mine. So for me to actually spend time in the kitchen and enjoy it?  Watch out people!!  

So, what kind of things am I making?  Here is a sampling of all that yummy goodness:

Kale Chips - Awesome Snack and awesome for you

Dayleen's favorite soup so far Bok Choy and Sweet Potato.  You must try this, Bok Choy has a light refreshing flavor but an amazingly meaty crunchy texture making this tasty soup extraordinarily filling and satisfying.  

Broccoli, Orange, Spinach salad with homemade vinaigrette and roasted harvest veggies

Look at those gorgeous veggies! Right before they were put through the juicer.

I can't wait to share more with you!  

Healthy Mother, Healthy Pregnancy

During my break I have decided to focus on making the most healthy me that I can, because the best way to have a healthy pregnancy is to have a healthy mother!!  I thought I would share this as well... I mean why not, it's all a part of this grand plan of mine to get pregnant and have a family.  Are you up for it?

Here goes!

My first order of business is to include more fruits, vegetables and whole foods in my diet.  Really what we hear all the time about how to improve our diets.... and promptly ignore. 

My problem?  I don't cook.  Seriously. My first apartment's oven was a desk that I stacked papers on.  I literally never used it. A dear friend of mine Linda Walker used to tell people that I went to the drive through and picked up two cheeseburgers... one for now and one for later.   I just never learned, I look at a cupboard and I do not see food, I see random items that might as well have japanese written all over them.  Once baby sitting when I was younger I screwed up hot dogs.. oh yes hot dogs.  KA BOOM, Ker SPLAT, however you would like to imagine what happens when you put hot dogs in the microwave for 5 minutes.  It's sad, but some how I have made it this far!

I am betting that I am not the only one like this and that's why this adventure is so neat, if I can do it, ANYONE can do it!  

With that in mind, you can see how adding a vegetables to a diet in a substantial manner could stump someone like me.  Vegetables = salad = rabbit food.  Boring.  

Well I am setting out to make it happen, to learn how to eat a whole foods based diet (majority of which is fruits and veggies), cook, and live a healthy lifestyle so that when I do eventually become pregnant and have a family of my own I can set my kids up for success.

I am excited to share this part with you too.  Look for more to come!

Patience is a virtue...

That I seem to be lacking!

I have discovered that trying to get pregnant is more like a marathon than a sprint. And when you train for a marathon you spend months calibrating and preparing your body for in my case what would be 5 hours of a grueling work out.

Even in training for a marathon you have rest days to let your body recover and so I think I am going to take a few months off to refocus and rejuvenite my emotional self. And then jump back in.

The next two months are my craziest at work so the timing works out well. I need to be in the best place possible when I get pregnant and taking a few months will help me do that. Thanks everyone for all your support so far! I will keep you updated on my adventures!

Off to see the wizard!

After not ovulating last month, I was starting to get worried that it was  going to happen again this month when I still did not have a positive OPK yesterday. But you know what they say...something about try try again! And today we finally have success!

This means I get to go in tomorrow and take a pregnancy test in two weeks.

Best friday ever!