Tuesday, April 17, 2012

Dash and I have been having fun at home together all day! Our walks have been long and sometimes take us to the unknown. (well at least for him) Here is some fun we had over our "spring break"

Hiking Provo Canyon



Sad Dash in his cone. Sleeping in my closet on my shoes. Silly dog!




Dash got his stitches out!




Dash Gets a Hair Cut!


Dash in his Sweater that Whit made him!


Dash is surprised by the massive amounts of snow gracing our lawn.


Dash hiding in the grass. Where is he?? :)


Dash playing at Utah Lake.




Dash driving in the car.


And sleeping and snuggling! Best spots in the house he says!



Needless to say we have had too much fun for our own good! Hope your break was a great as ours!



The Verdict Is In... Guilty Of Flexitarian Love!

We have been trying the flexitarian way of life for the past little while and have LOVED it! I love feeling not weighed down by over-processed food! I also love the freedom to have meat and dairy when we want. Like last night we had Ashlee's sister and her husband over last night for Omaha Steaks. I love me a good steak and these Filet Mignon were no exception. I did notice that a 4 oz steak was plenty of meat now for me. There was a time where an 8 oz steak seemed small. I also noticed that the sides were the as much the stars of the show as the meat. Everyone loved the artichoke appetizer. Then during dinner the side salad, grilled zucchini, almond green beans, and fresh fruit salad were a huge hit. For dessert we had ice cream. It was delicious and sure a fun treat to spend time with them!

I have started to compile recipes on Pinterest and through blogs that I follow. There are two sites that I follow everyday. My absolute favorite is Oh She Glows which is a vegan blog and her food is delicious. I love that her food is filling and tasty! When we think of dieting or changing to a healthier option usually flavor gets a back seat to health. She proves that healthy can taste fabulous! When I am in need of a treat that is also "heathified" I turn to Katie at Chocolate Covered Katie. She subs things like beans for flour and the results are delicious and healthy! yum! Today I made her breakfast cookies and they were delicious! I appreciate geniuses like Angela and Katie that make this transition easier!

I have also been making my own whole wheat bread and bagels. They are such a huge hit! I am so happy that they are so easy! I think I will always make my own bread from now on!

this is the wheat I buy from Wal-mart. I have loved it so far. Mom and I want to do a side by side though with it an d a few other kinds.


These are cheating a bit. These are not my wheat bagels but rather some cheesy onion ones I made for some sisters in our ward. They look similar though :)


I have been making for years these treats lovingly called "healthy wads" (referenced to the movie Accepted). I introduced them to my sister a couple of weeks ago and she fell in love with them and so we spent last weekend making some for her to give to her friends! I love to send people my wads :)

You make then by putting any seeds, nuts or fruit in a food processor and pulsing until it is chopped to the consistency you want. I tend to use Mejool dates because they add sweetness and bind it together well. I have also been know to use figs, dried apricots or prunes. Don't eat too many of the prune wads in one sitting though :) use a liquid like agave or maple syrup to help bind it together. Roll into a ball and freeze. Pull a few out when you are ready for a treat, thaw on the counter and enjoy!

This picture has 2 of the like 15 kinds I made. The dark ones are maple blueberry with almonds, pumpkin seeds and sunflower seeds. The other are butterscotch cashew. They are not as healthy being that they are covered in melted butterscotch chips :) Really the sky is the limit so be creative!



Another fun and nummy treat that I stumbled upon was this recipe for "Glitter Grapes". I always have them on hand now!

They are grapes rolled in jello. Just rinse your grapes in water and leave them damp. Pull off of the stem and roll on a plate with the dry jello spread out on it. Transfer to another plate or container and refrigerate for 1 hour. I like to have mine frozen so I just pop the container in the freezer and pull it out when I want a few.


I have another project that was in the making for too long, but is finally finished and I love the result!!! Thanks pinterest for helping me find all sorts of great ideas!



You will have to forgive me! All of these pictures are from my cell phone (except for the 2nd to last one) so the quality isn't that great, but I always forget to pull out my camera. Oh well! Until my next post! Happy eating!