Friday, January 31, 2014

Healthy "Smoothie" Day...or is it a "Snoozie?"


I see Smoothies as little treats that get me through the week.  A smoothie satisfies like a milkshake minus the guilty conscience afteward.

Make it a "snoozie" (aka: add rum!) and you'll really feel happy for the rest of the day!

Healthy "Snoozie" Recipe
A handful of frozen strawberries (add frozen banana if you'd like)
tablespoon of lemon or lime juice (add more to taste)
Ice
Teaspoon of honey or sweetener to taste
Shot of Rum! (We used dark Antiguan rum from Kacey's wedding!)

Blend away!

Kacey and I made these smoothies (with the added rum to make it special) last fall.  It was a gorgeous day in Hermosa Beach, so we took our smoothies to go on a walk by the beach.  There's no time like the present to make one of these puppies, though!  More smoothie recipes to come...Billy and I have been tweaking lots of our favorites lately...

Happy Friday!
Kate







Wednesday, January 15, 2014

The Secret To Life....Daily Inspiration...

In my morning blog surfing I came across this statement by Dr. Stephan Cowan, a 25 year veteran pediatrician.

The secret of life is letting go. 

I was instantly intrigued, instantly drawn in by this statement.  I’ve been focusing a lot on change, and how we can accept the constant inconsistence in our lives with more grace and beauty.  And I loved looking at life this way.  He goes on to say:

"Life is a process of constantly giving way. Things pushed past their prime transform into something else. Just as spring gives way to summer, so is each stage of development a process of letting go. Crawling gives way to walking. Babbling gives way to speaking. Childhood gives way to adolescence. By breathing in, you breathe out. By eating, you poop." :)

 I just loved this!  Dr. Cowan is obviously focusing more on life after our child is born, but it’s great food for thought today. 

…the secret to life is letting go…

What do you need to let go of today?

(Fire Child Water Child, Dr. Stephan Cowan)


Tuesday, January 14, 2014

Sausage and Quinoa Stuffed Bell Peppers!

It's a NEW YEAR!!

Which means I make all sorts of resolutions, set intentions, dream bunches of new dreams...

One was to branch out and try new recipes of course!  I've decided to try and have a kitchen well stocked enough that I can spontaneously come up with some dinner ideas simply from what I have.  My trick is to see what ingredients are in the fridge, get inspired, and come up with my own recipe that night!  It's fun, it's challenging, and I love it!

This week's recipe was stuffed bell peppers.  I had 3 gorgeous peppers that needed to be eaten...so this is what I came up with:

2 cups cooked Quinoa
3 bell peppers
1/2-1 lb of spicy italian sausage
1/2 red onion
3 TBS cilantro
2 cups Tomato Sauce
1/2 cup shredded Mexican Cheese
Tony Chacharie, garlic salt, pepper to taste


STEP ONE:
Find cute hubby to cook up the Italian sausage:) Add in onion and saute with sausage until cooked through.



STEP TWO:
In a mixing bowl, combine cooked quinoa, cooked sausage and onion, cheese, tomato sauce, cilantro (and you could add some sweet corn, black beans, what ever you have in your pantry!)

Add in spices until desired taste

STEP THREE:
Cut off top of pepper, clean out inside, and stuff with the quinoa mixture!  Top with a little extra tomato sauce and sprinkle some cheese.





STEP FOUR:

Cook for 25-30 minutes at 350 degrees until warmed all the way through. 

And....VOILA!!


Pure, healthy, TASTY Yumminess!!!


Enjoy friends!!

Love and laughter,
Kacey