I started the Maximized Living Advanced Plan (no sugars, no grains for 28 days) yesterday! I am a part of a team with Dr. Jason Barker as my coach. I am hopeful that I can complete the challenge with the accountability!
I decided that to stay strong throughout the challenge, I will have to enjoy experimenting with new foods. This is a new recipe I decided to try for dinner last night. It was delicious!
http://www.draxe.com/recipe/coconut-curried-chicken/
What you'll need:
- 1 pack chicken (about 1 lb)
- 2/3 can of coconut milk
- 1/3 cup of white onion chopped
- 1 Tbsp curry powder
- 2 cloves garlic, minced
- 1/2 tsp of minced ginger
- 1/2 tsp of cinnamon
- 1 cup of broccoli (optional)
- 1/2 cup of water chestnuts (optional)
Notes from my kitchen:
- Shawn and I halved the recipe so we only had to use 1 pack of chicken. The original recipe calls for 2 lbs of chicken breasts, but we had enough for 3-4 servings by halving it
- The coconut milk got really thick after I added the spices, I may have let it simmer for too long. I started with half a can and then added some to make it a more sauce-y consistency. It turned out great!
- We didn't have broccoli or water chestnuts, so we just roasted some brussel sprouts with grapeseed oil, salt, and pepper in the oven to have on the side.
- Shawn also had a sweet potato because he is not participating in the Adv Plan challenge.
Enjoy!
Kristen
Tuesday, February 11, 2014
Wednesday, January 29, 2014
Dad is Fat
Shawn and I started a book club as an excuse to hang out with our friends and get to know them a little better. We reached out to our co-workers, volleyball teammates, high school/college friends and started our very own book club. Neither one of us are avid readers, but we value our friendships and thought this would be a great way to drive intentional discussion.
We met on Sunday evenings this fall and started with a light-hearted book, Dad is Fat by Jim Gaffigan.
This surprisingly opened the door to a lot of really cool discussions about childhood experiences and future family plans because Jim Gaffigan spends a lot of time sharing stories about his own family and life experiences. I was surprised to see how, beneath his sarcastic tone, Jim Gaffigan has a huge heart for his family. He does a great job with analogies and visuals to describe different experiences.
This was a light-hearted, entertaining read, which was perfect for our group. Because most people have crazy busy schedules, we only read 25-30 pages a week, so this study lasted about 2 months. We finished off this book with a social night on Sunday night and watched a little bit of Gaffigan's standup. If for nothing else, I would recommend the book for a good laugh or two.
I'm looking forward to our next book study, The Travelers Gift by Andy Andrews, because the tone is a little more serious. This book is a mix between historical fiction and tips for success in life/business, a little something for everyone! It will be cool to see people open up by sharing thoughts. I'll share more when we finish it!
Book clubs sound old and boring, but we've proven that they can be fun!
Happy reading!
Kristen
We met on Sunday evenings this fall and started with a light-hearted book, Dad is Fat by Jim Gaffigan.
This surprisingly opened the door to a lot of really cool discussions about childhood experiences and future family plans because Jim Gaffigan spends a lot of time sharing stories about his own family and life experiences. I was surprised to see how, beneath his sarcastic tone, Jim Gaffigan has a huge heart for his family. He does a great job with analogies and visuals to describe different experiences.
This was a light-hearted, entertaining read, which was perfect for our group. Because most people have crazy busy schedules, we only read 25-30 pages a week, so this study lasted about 2 months. We finished off this book with a social night on Sunday night and watched a little bit of Gaffigan's standup. If for nothing else, I would recommend the book for a good laugh or two.
I'm looking forward to our next book study, The Travelers Gift by Andy Andrews, because the tone is a little more serious. This book is a mix between historical fiction and tips for success in life/business, a little something for everyone! It will be cool to see people open up by sharing thoughts. I'll share more when we finish it!
Book clubs sound old and boring, but we've proven that they can be fun!
Happy reading!
Kristen
Pumpkin Spice/ Gingerbread Latte
Another great recipe tip from Detoxinista. I was craving a latte but with the roads being bad, and the health factor, I decided to try making my own!
What you'll need:
- 1 cup almond milk
- 1/3 cup brewed coffee
- few dashes of pumpkin pie spice (if you don't have this, you can mix together 3/4 tsp cinnamon, 1/8 tsp ground cloves, 1/4 tsp ground nutmeg, 1/4 tsp ground cardamom, 1/4 tsp ground ginger)
- 6-7 drops liquid stevia
** optional: dash of nutmeg for garnish
Notes from my kitchen:
- I did not add the black strap molasses, but if you want a more gingerbread flavor I would use this
- I like my coffee a little stronger, so I added a little more than 1/3 of a cup (Detoxinista suggests 1/4 of a cup), that's the beauty of making your own! You can modify it to your liking.
This was great on a snowy day!
Kristen
http://detoxinista.com/2011/11/sugar-free-gingerbread-latte/
What you'll need:
- 1 cup almond milk
- 1/3 cup brewed coffee
- few dashes of pumpkin pie spice (if you don't have this, you can mix together 3/4 tsp cinnamon, 1/8 tsp ground cloves, 1/4 tsp ground nutmeg, 1/4 tsp ground cardamom, 1/4 tsp ground ginger)
- 6-7 drops liquid stevia
** optional: dash of nutmeg for garnish
Notes from my kitchen:
- I did not add the black strap molasses, but if you want a more gingerbread flavor I would use this
- I like my coffee a little stronger, so I added a little more than 1/3 of a cup (Detoxinista suggests 1/4 of a cup), that's the beauty of making your own! You can modify it to your liking.
This was great on a snowy day!
Kristen
Semi-heatlhy Samoas
I made this recipe last night when I found out that WCPSS was canceling school again for snow! Baking during the cold weather is one of my favorite activities. Shawn's favorite girl scout cookies are Samoas, so these seemed like the obvious choice for dessert.
http://detoxinista.com/2012/02/grain-free-samoas-bars-girl-scout-cookies/
What you'll need (I always look at a recipe's ingredients first before I decide if I can make it or not based on what I have in my pantry/fridge):
1 cup almond flour
3 Tbsp + 2 tsp coconut oil
1 1/2 Tbsp honey
1/4 tsp + pinch of sea salt
4 oz dark chocolate (I used unsweetened Baker's chocolate and sweetened with liquid stevia)
3/4 cup + 1 Tbsp maple syrup
2 2/3 cups of unsweetened coconut (or 1 cup of coconut butter)
** you will need a food processor if you don't have coconut butter
2 (additional) cups unsweetened coconut
1 1/4 tsp vanilla
*optional:1/4 tsp. vanilla or almond extract
A few notes from my kitchen:
- I used Trader Joe's almond flour. I'm not sure how that affected the taste to be honest, because these bars are so rich! If you are going to only make the shortbread cookies I would go with Detoxinista's almond flour brand suggestion
- I did not have enough coconut (only about 3 cups) so I only processed 2 cups of the coconut to make butter, and stopped it a little before it was all of the way smooth. They still turned out great! I would use less maple syrup to make it a little less sweet and fix the ratio.
- I didn't have molasses on hand so I didn't use that for the macaroon topping.
- I melted the extra 1 oz of chocolate with a little coconut oil and liquid stevia and drizzled on top.
- We couldn't wait for them to be all of the way cooled so we ate them warm. They were so decadent! I can't wait to try them cooled though, they will probably taste more like the cookies.
Thanks Detoxinista for another great recipe!
Enjoy!
Kristen
What you'll need (I always look at a recipe's ingredients first before I decide if I can make it or not based on what I have in my pantry/fridge):
1 cup almond flour
3 Tbsp + 2 tsp coconut oil
1 1/2 Tbsp honey
1/4 tsp + pinch of sea salt
4 oz dark chocolate (I used unsweetened Baker's chocolate and sweetened with liquid stevia)
3/4 cup + 1 Tbsp maple syrup
2 2/3 cups of unsweetened coconut (or 1 cup of coconut butter)
** you will need a food processor if you don't have coconut butter
2 (additional) cups unsweetened coconut
1 1/4 tsp vanilla
*optional:1/4 tsp. vanilla or almond extract
A few notes from my kitchen:
- I used Trader Joe's almond flour. I'm not sure how that affected the taste to be honest, because these bars are so rich! If you are going to only make the shortbread cookies I would go with Detoxinista's almond flour brand suggestion
- I did not have enough coconut (only about 3 cups) so I only processed 2 cups of the coconut to make butter, and stopped it a little before it was all of the way smooth. They still turned out great! I would use less maple syrup to make it a little less sweet and fix the ratio.
- I didn't have molasses on hand so I didn't use that for the macaroon topping.
- I melted the extra 1 oz of chocolate with a little coconut oil and liquid stevia and drizzled on top.
- We couldn't wait for them to be all of the way cooled so we ate them warm. They were so decadent! I can't wait to try them cooled though, they will probably taste more like the cookies.
Thanks Detoxinista for another great recipe!
Enjoy!
Kristen
Saturday, January 18, 2014
Ginger glazed mahi mahi
Last night, Shawn and I had a spontaneous date night because I ended up not having to babysit like I had planned. It started off with a delicious dinner followed by a trip to the mall, and then we checked out Dave and Busters for some gaming.
I wanted to share the fish recipe because it was one of the best dishes I've ever made. I wish I had a picture! I adapted this recipe to make it clean.
Ginger glazed mahi mahi
http://allrecipes.com/recipe/ginger-glazed-mahi-mahi/
What you'll need:
- 3 Tbsp honey
- 3 Tbsp Bragg's liquid aminos
- 3 Tbsp balsamic vinegar
- 1 tsp ginger
- 1 clove crushed garlic
- 2 tsp + 1 Tbsp olive oil
- 4 (6 oz) mahi mahi filets
- salt and pepper to taste
A few notes from my kitchen:
- Instead of soy sauce, I used Bragg's liquid aminos, and instead of vegetable oil for frying, I used olive oil.
- We bought our fish frozen from Trader Joe's. I also let the fish marinade for a little longer than 20 minutes so that it was really flavorful.
- When you cook the fish, the sauce starts to thicken and turns into a glaze.
I served this with my go-to sweet potato fries recipe from Dr. Axe (http://www.draxe.com/recipe/sweet-potato-fries/) and some frozen french-style green beans. Both of these sides are relatively quick and easy!
I wanted to share the fish recipe because it was one of the best dishes I've ever made. I wish I had a picture! I adapted this recipe to make it clean.
Ginger glazed mahi mahi
http://allrecipes.com/recipe/ginger-glazed-mahi-mahi/
What you'll need:
- 3 Tbsp honey
- 3 Tbsp Bragg's liquid aminos
- 3 Tbsp balsamic vinegar
- 1 tsp ginger
- 1 clove crushed garlic
- 2 tsp + 1 Tbsp olive oil
- 4 (6 oz) mahi mahi filets
- salt and pepper to taste
A few notes from my kitchen:
- Instead of soy sauce, I used Bragg's liquid aminos, and instead of vegetable oil for frying, I used olive oil.
- We bought our fish frozen from Trader Joe's. I also let the fish marinade for a little longer than 20 minutes so that it was really flavorful.
- When you cook the fish, the sauce starts to thicken and turns into a glaze.
I served this with my go-to sweet potato fries recipe from Dr. Axe (http://www.draxe.com/recipe/sweet-potato-fries/) and some frozen french-style green beans. Both of these sides are relatively quick and easy!
Enjoy!
Kristen
Friday, January 17, 2014
New Year, New blog
What a lovely week. So much has happened! I finished another semester of teaching this week(2 and 1/2 years in!), and I started my blog. This is my first post! I am excited to use this blog as a place to share how my life has been transformed both spiritually and healthwise.
2013 was a HUGE year of change, I hope that 2014 is a year of HUGE growth.
One of the things Shawn and I did as we brought in the new year together was to sit down and make a list of goals to accomplish this year. We both value challenging ourselves to be better. We know we have a lot of learning and growing to do, so we wanted to set some things in writing.
Here are a few of my goals for 2014 :
- complete the Insanity fitness challenge (10 days in!)
- Take better care of my health. This includes:
- taking my vitamins every other day (saving money by stretching a 30-day supply over 60 days...#teacherProbs)
- laying on my Maximized Living homecare rolls every night (these are used to keep my spine in alignment to take care of my central nervous system)
- eating Maximized Living "advanced plan" one week/month. I am trying to eat natural/raw food all of the time, but there are cheat meals here and there :)
- drink more water!
- complete a triathlon
- read through the whole Bible (YouVersion bible app has a lot of great reading plans. Shawn and I are doing "Reading God's Story" together. It plans our daily readings in a chronological order.)
- date night with Shawn 1/week (we had dinner and went to a high school bball game last night!)
- spend more time catching up with family (talk to my sisters at least 1/week)
I am excited to share what I learn this year. The purpose of this blog is write down things that teach me about living a Christlike life and taking care of my health. I know the Lord is going to do amazing things! I hope you enjoy and benefit from this as well!
In His name,
Kristen
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