Lucky #13 and how biochemistry ruins lives...

YAY! I got my thirteenth follower. Thank you, bekthebest.yeah.
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Not much going on in my life except for SUMMER SCHOOL. I am taking Organic&BioChemistry and Sports Nutrition. Basically, organic chemistry is kicking my butt! I study for hours and hours and it still makes no sense! boo.

But this weekend I did get to take a break from school and go to the lake! It was only my second time to go to the lake this summer. (Where are my priorities?) I wake-boarded a bit with Ryan. He is actually really good at it. This is him on wake-surfing.

I will update soon with an actual interesting post regarding food. But I don't have anything for you right now except for carbon chains, alcohols, ether, and methyl groups. Yuck...lets end on a positive note. Here is the beautiful water from this weekend.

You can do it! 5-a-day!!!!

Did you know that we are supposed to eat 5 fruits and veggies a day? The preferred breakdown is 3 vegs and 2 fruits. However, only 25% of Americans eat the recommended 5 servings per day from the fruit and vegetable groups. WOAH!

When it comes to fruits and veggies, more is more!! There are a few reasons why people may not be getting their 5-a-day.

"I don't like the taste of vegetables!"

Alot of people have only been exposed to a few common fruits and veggies. Branch out! Keep your eyes open in the produce section, don't have tunnel vision for the same fruits&vegs you always buy. You might find that you like some unexpected things.

Nothing tastes as bad as being sick feels! Make yourself try something several times before you rule it out permanently. Experts say that sometimes you have to introduce a food 7 or 8 times to a child before they will eat it. Use that kind of persistence with yourself.

(Are you kidding me?! I wouldn't eat that either!!)

The above picture is why we overload on meat, cheese, and dairy. Eww. Learn how to prepare delicious fruits and vegetables. This is a huge key to eating 5-a-day. Fruits don't need as much help to be appealing, but invest some time in learning to make delicious veggies. You don't have to eat vegetables one type at a time, warmed up and sprinkled with salt. I have found so many amazing recipes online that call for all sorts of veggies partying together in one dish.

*Hot. Cold. Made into soups. Spicy. Stir fried. crunchy. creamy. baked.*

 The options are limitless. Once you find a few recipes you enjoy, you really won't mind eating a few more veggies. I find food blogs are my favorite recipe resources because they show you pictures and have great step-by-step instructions.

Eating too much of the other stuff...

Look at your plate. If it is completely covered in meat and cheese-covered-starch, and your broccoli looks like a charming little garnish then you aren't giving your body the nutrients it needs. We obviously don't have a problem getting our meat, dairy, and starches in! But the more we eat of these, the less we eat of fruits and veggies. MyPlate is an excellent resource for showing us how our meals should look.

You are going to eat what you have on hand so watch what you buy! Make it easy to succeed in getting your 5-a-day, surround yourself with healthy options.

something from nothing: the evolution of a yummy mess

I arrived back at my place today after a very long stretch of being gone. It was so nice to be home. The only problem with coming home is that coming home makes the house a mess (all the dirty laundry and stuff to unpack) AND there are no groceries! {Cause fresh food won't keep for 2 weeks!}

So out of seemingly nothing, I made a pretty good meal.

Behold:

I know it just looks like a hot mess of food...but that is what it was. But look at all that lovely color! And believe it or not,  it tasted great.

Here's what it is all about:

-half can of red beans leftover from another recipe
-full can of black beans from sweet little mom who thinks there is never
enough to eat at my house...maybe she's right...

-one can of Rotel

-2 handfuls of grape tomatoes that were getting a little too squishy
-a few pieces of spinach out of an old salad salad
-Some brown rice
-dash of lemon juice

-2 tbsp of powdered ranch and enchilada seasoning (I would have preferred taco, but I didn't have it.)

Warm it up, and there you have it. A very yummy, very filling, very healthy MESS.

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I have had some big family eating events in the last week.
*4th of July with my fam
*4th of July with Ryan's fam
*Sister's engagement dinner
*2 different family birthday dinners for Ry's birthday
This all means one thing. Animal protein! :)
But the good news is that meat and dairy in fact do not kill people and they taste pretty good. So I had a little here and there. I did miss the excessive veggie celebration I normally revel in...but the people who knew I was a plant eater included a few veggie options. {{Thanks you sweet hearts!}} And at the locations where my alternative eating was not yet known, I brought my own.

Here's some easy snackage that is good at a family get together:
The classic veggie tray. always nice.

Edamame.

 Pass the salt please. I even had some brave relatives try a few.

I have yet to figure out whether they were just being polite. hmmm.

McDonald's Asian Salad.

Gotta give the clown credit on this one.

 I just bought the ingredients at Kroger's (except for chicken)

 and it made a beautiful salad.

 Be sure to use Newman's own Asian slow-fat sesame ginger dressing.

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In closing: happy birthday to my sweet lil man Ryan. He is a big boy now.

I am dating someone in their 30's!!!!!!

Hello Loves!
I made some black bean hummus the other day to take to the fam hang out this weekend.

*1/2 can of black beans (rinsed 4X)
*1/2 can of chickpeas (rinsed 4X)
*1.5 TBSP of tahini
*lots of lemon juice (to taste)
*1 tsp of Cumin
*2 cloves of Garlic
*salt and pepper to taste
*2 TBSP of nutritional yeast (if you have it)
**Water if you need to thin it a bit
-Just put it in the blender till its nice and smooth.-

It tasted great!! Try it!! It is great for dipping raw veggie sticks and of course with chips. I put it in a wrap the other day.

I am about to be out for a few days celebrating the 4th of July with my family then Ry's. :) I will let you know if I find any good plant food while we are having fam potluck. I think it will go smooth with my fam, but we'll see with ryan's fam. They normally have lots of yummy meat and cheese based dishes. lol and I haven't seen them since I started eating differently, and I think Ryan has been too ashamed to mention it to them. Either way it will be great fun.
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Also, I went on a great friend date yesterday. We ate at zaza's which is so great. Not cheap, but it has alot of good plant food that is easily modified. I had a garden pizza with no cheese. ((and some red wine.)) :P It was a marvelous time with my friends Sandee and Trevor. Check it out!!

Thank you Sandee for such a marvelous dinner! I was truly blessed by ya'lls company.

Have a great weekend everybody!