Sautéed Kale & Quinoa

I am working hard to reduce the amount of meat and processed carbs my family consumes. I just bought a veggie spiralizer on Amazon to start making sweet potato and zucchini noodles! It should be on my front stoop today! As part of my meat and carb reduction, I was roasting up all the veggies in my house last week, and I thought to myself, why stop now?! I'll cook everything in my fridge! A little spur of the moment? Maybe. A lot of flavor? Definitely!

Kale and quinoa may be the two trendiest ingredients on Pinterest right now, but for good reason and they are a power house combo! Kale is one of the most nutrient dense foods out there full of calcium, magnesium, vitamin K, antioxidants, fiber out the wazoo... I mean the WORKS! For a vegetable that was once just a garnish for salad bar, it's a staple it in my family's dinner rotation. 

Now quinoa is one of my favorite foods EVER! It's so diverse and yummy. I make breakfasts with it, I make burritos with it, soup... You name it, I put quinoa in it. Sweet or savory. These delicious little pebbles are full of iron, b-vitamins, magnesium, calcium, potassium, vitamin e and has all the essential amino acids. And naturally gluten free if that's something you're concerned with. Did I mention toddler friendly too?

Organic Ingredients:

1 small yellow onion

4+ cloves of garlic

4 tbls olive oil (or coconut oil if you want the trendy trifecta!)

6 cups of ribbed curly kale torn into bite sized pieces

1 cup stock (I used chicken, but veggie stock is also great for the vegetarians & vegans)

1/2 cup rinsed quinoa

1/4-1/2 cup Parmesan cheese (or sprinkle on some "nooch" if you're vegan)

A few shakes of red pepper flakes - dependent on your heat preference

I chopped my onion, minced some garlic, and got that cooking in some olive oil. Once that was fragrant and the onions were translucent (about 5 minutes), I threw in about 6 cups of curly kale with 2 tablespoons of water and covered until the kale had wilted and was tender (12 minutes or so), stirring on the reg. 

While that was going, in a separate pot, I cooked up a half cup of quinoa-the perfect protein. To do that, get your stock boiling, dump in your quinoa, cover. Cook on LOW for 15 minutes or until the liquid is absorbed. 

Once the kale was tenderoni, I tossed in some red pepper flakes, some Parmesan cheese, the cooked quinoa and tossed it all together!  Perfect.

I took the leftovers for lunch the next day and it warmed up VERY nicely. I like to have leftovers like this for lunch because man is it easy for me to eat garbage at the office.  

ENJOY! 

Em

A hearty soup: My favorite soup of all time

I happened upon a hearty soup recipe this last fall and have since made it my own. I believe soups should be hearty and easy to make. They should freeze well and be delicious. They should taste scrumptious and have some flexibility... This delightful soup captures all of those criteria, and I think I would be doing a disservice to the world if I didn't share this soup with you. 

First things first. Chop your shit....  I hate when I come across a recipe that is like, do this, then immediately do this, and I am like, wait.... it's going to take me how long to chop up that butternut squash!? Then my onions burn instead of caramelize and I eat pizza instead of my delish organic soup. See what I am saying here?

This is a vegan soup. It is definitely flavorful enough on its own. If you are looking for some good for you vegan fats, add some perfectly ripe avocado and you'll be on cloud nine. 

Or, if you are fine with a little cheese, which I am on occasion, mozzarella and/or parmigiana cheese pairs quite nicely with this dish. Mozzarella would be my first choice. 

So let's get down to it.

Organic Ingredients:
1 small - medium butternut squash (or simplify your life and get the organic freezer pack of it).
1 medium sweet potato - or a yam... (yams have more fiber too)
1 small onion - diced
4 celery stalks (or so) - chopped
2-3 carrots - chopped
3 cloves of minced garlic (or more if you like)

1 sprig of fresh rosemary
1 can of garbanzo beans (chickpeas) - drained and rinsed
1 cup quinoa
1 can of diced tomatoes
2 cartons of vegetable stock
3 bay leaves
2 cups of kale - de-ribbed and torn into 1" pieces
2-4 tbsp olive oil
-

Warm 2-4 tbsp olive oil in the bottom of a soup pot - like a big soup pot. Throw in your diced onion, celery and carrots and let them cook for about 5 minutes, or until the onion is translucent. Stirring regularly. Add garlic and rosemary .

Throw in your cubed butternut squash and sweet potato, stir to coat the veggies, then cover for about 10 minutes, stirring occasionally so they don't stick to the bottom of your pot. 

Next, add your tomatoes (if they are in tomato juice, that's good - just dump the whole can in!) garbanzo beans, quinoa, bay leaves and stock. Let that simmer until your potatoes and squash are fork tender. 

Just when you are ready to serve, throw in your de-ribbed kale. It will wilt perfectly as you eat it. Serve with crusty bread or cheese! 

Also, make sure to share some with your friends! Everyone loves a good soup made with love! Garnish cute jar with rosemary. 

If you want to freeze this soup, put it in the freezing container, then let it cool completely before putting it in the freezer, otherwise you will certainly have what looks like freezer burn, but is really condensation burn... No one wants burn. Let it cool. 

Other options: my mom made a version of this soup recently too, and she roasted the sweet potato and butternut squash before adding it to the soup. I am not one to enjoy doing excess dishes, so I don't do that, but the sky is the limit with this dish. Do what you will with it! Make it your own! Do whatever feels right.  

Into 2016

In 2014 HB and I started training for the Ostrich Festival 5k, we created the @no.resolutions instagram account to keep us accountable. It worked. I was posting to it every day, looking forward to my runs and making some fun insta-ships! I made it about 4 weeks into training, crossing into the 2015 year of challenges, and then found out I was pregnant with youngest son. That put everything on hold. I kind of feel into a darkness. I felt like I had finally found something just for me. As a mom, that is a hard thing to come by. My pregnancy was a hard one. Physically and mentally. I ate like garbage (to my standards) but grew a ginormous, healthy baby. 

We moved 3 times in the Arizona summer.

Bought a great house for our family. 

Found my spirituality.

Reconnected with friends and family.

And ultimately, I started running again!

2016 will take all of those 2015 accomplishments and make them even better. 

My boys amaze me every day. 

My house is continuing to become a home. 

I am meditating on a regular basis.

I am training for a half marathon with my dad. 

Life is pretty great right now. 

Organic Power Bites!

Being lunch time runner, sometimes we need a little something before we start into our run. A heavy stomach does not make for a good run. These are also a healthier alternative to the 3 pm chocolate craving! 

POWER BITES*
1 cup oats
1/4 cup honey 
1/2 cup peanut butter 
1 tsp coconut oil
1/4 cup ground flax seeds 
1 tablespoon chia seeds 
1/4 cup chopped nuts 
1/4 cup chocolate covered cranberries (or chocolate morsels)  
*use organic ingredients

Combine all ingredients until the ingredients are evenly distributed and roll into small bite size balls. Place onto wax paper and refrigerate overnight. 

They are plenty sweet and definitely should get the job done to help power you through a run!

Osteoblasts!

Em: After having my son I have had a hard time keeping weight on. Being a nursing mom, I thought that may be the cause, but my doctor at the Mayo Clinic said it is most likely stress related, and because I am underweight, I am at risk for osteoporosis. Not something I want to hear at 29 years old. I have had my thyroid tested and physicals done. She said I need to start putting on weight and do an exercise of some sort, to help with bone strength and stress reduction. If I didn’t do something about it, the impact on my life and body could be detrimental.

Well, after doing a little research and reading my Experience Life magazine, I have discovered that running is an excellent weight-bearing exercise that helps to reduce my risk of osteoporosis (and yours too!). Activities that fight against gravity strengthen bones by stimulating bone-building cells called osteoblasts – which in itself sounds pretty awesome…. Osteoblasts! KABOOM! Every time you flex your muscles, your tendons pull on the bone which stimulates the bone to grow. The body is pretty freakin’ rad, don’t you think!?

On day three, every time my thigh was feeling the burn, I knew I was not only strengthening my bird legs, but also strengthening the bone that holds me upright. That made my best run to-date that much more satisfying. What keeps you going?

Couch To 5K

I can run five minutes straight! This may not seem like a big deal. Shoot, running a 5K (which is 3.1 miles) may not seem like a big deal. But for someone who is "not a runner," five minutes is a big deal. I owe my motivation to my wonderful coworker and friend, Emily, who began the C25K challenge with me four weeks ago. She is now doing a more amazing feat, growing a baby. But without her inspiration, I probably would have called it quits.

I'm glad I didn't give up because today I reached a major running milestone. I've heard so many people say that it gets easier, and eventually you can run forever, but i never believed them. I was the A-student who got a C in gym class for walking the track. I was perfectly okay with not being one of those crazy runners, too. You know, the ones with a different color head-to-toe matching spandex running outfit for every day of the week, sweat-bands, tennis-shoes, and all. The people you see on your drive to Starbucks in the wee hours of the morning running in the rain or wind. But when Emily told me about the Couch to 5k challenge, I thought, "even I can do that." The first week starts out with alternating 90 second walks and runs. Anyone can run 90 seconds, even if you're going slower than a fat goose. I'm talking 15 minute miles...

The Goose Won

Side-note: We are so lucky to be 'runners' in Arizona. Today was sunny and 75, like the country song. Kudos to those posting on Instagram running with snow on the ground. Brrr.

The weeks get progressively harder, but even for someone who never runs, the challenge is completely doable. I mean, there have been some curse words, but it's doable none-the-less. Week four is almost over and the longest consecutive run is 5 minutes. The hardest part of running for me has been breathing regularly. I got to a point where I stopped running short of the goal because I felt like I couldn't catch my breath. I've improved a little since then by being conscious of taking regular breaths every third stride, but it's not perfect yet. At the end of today's run though, I felt really good. Stronger, a little sore, and full of energy. And you know what? Those five minutes flew by.

XO,
-H

Let's Begin Again

Today I am five weeks pregnant. I am a week away from my ultrasound that will tell me if there is a heartbeat. I am nervous as all get out – but excited. I have no idea how we will handle a new addition to our family. It all seems insane – but there are a lot of people out there who do it. People who have more than 2 kids even! The truth is you just figure it out.

This pregnancy – well we were trying for it, but I decided to take up running with my friend/coworker, Heather four weeks before finding out. I was a little devastated to decide to quit running. My doctor said I could continue running, but because I am so new at it, I am very nervous to put too much strain on my body. The risk isn't worth it.

Heather and I had it in our plans to do the Couch to 5k program. Well, she is still doing it. We were recording our journey on Instagram (@no.resolutions). It kept me very motivated. I posted nearly every day. So, when I decided to take it easy and not run, I felt like I was letting a lot of people down. We have like 15 followers for crying out loud! I even watched Heather’s motivation begin to taper down. This was unacceptable to me. So, I told her we shall continue our journey – I will continue to walk with her during her weekday runs.

Today was a run day, a little off schedule I might add, but it was really nice to get out. It also remains very important to me that I continue to be active during this pregnancy. Heather has her motivation back, which is good because she has to run alone the next two days to catch up! 

Our weekday route is really nice. There are geese, ducks, herons and other birds I don’t recognize. As she is running laps around me, I notice the bushes rustling and hope a scorpion or snake doesn’t jump out at me… she’d be able to reach me in time to suck the poison out of my leg, I am sure.

Let this be the beginning of the journey of my fitness during pregnancy while cheering on my friend who started what we thought would be a dual victory! Once I am ready to share my news with everyone, I will start posting my journey along side Heather’s on IG! Stay tuned!

XO,

-E