Take More Shots

While this is usually my go to bar motto, today I am not referring to my predilection for brightly colored, tasty alcoholic beverages that come in cute, midget sized glassware.

Instead, I am once again pulling a metaphor for my life from basketball. I often have revelations about myself after a game and even occasionally in the midst of game. The game itself is actually very serene - there is this natural ebb and flow of movement and energy out on the court, and it allows my mind to disengage from the outside world. While playing, I can't really think about much else. It's just basketball. Stutter step, breathe, pivot, fake, follow through, swoosh, exhale. Last nights game was no exception.

With only 5 players, we have no subs, so we are all running the whole game. My revelation was actually brought on by my teammate, Sarah. I liked Sarah the moment I met her. She has a wonderful energy, is always upbeat, and there is something about her that just reminds me of my best friend Alice, who passed away 6 years ago. She talks like Alice did, plays likes Alice did, its hard to pinpoint what exactly it is - she simply has a very Alice-ish quality about her. During the first half, I was playing well, but playing reserved - not calling for the ball and passing instead of shooting. Sarah was having a stellar game and everything she put up fell in, so it felt right to keep feeding her the ball. She was practically a sure thing. At the half, she came right up to me, and was like "Look, I really appreciate all the assists, but you need to take those shots. You are our best shooter, but you're not shooting -- we need those points from you." I thought about it a second, and realized, I had only taken 2 or 3 shots during the first half. Hmmm. The second half started and our point passed me the ball. Dribble. Shoot. Swish. It felt right. As we're running back on defense, Sarah said, "Nice! I get credit for that assist!" She was right - she completely gave me a verbal assist, AND boosted my confidence at the same time.

I find that I often feel this way in life, not just out on the court. I am all too often content to build up the people around me, and just keep the status quo in my own life, not pushing the envelope. While I enjoy supporting those people around, I realized I definitely need those verbal assists from people too. Actually, to be more honest with myself, I need to believe the verbal assists I already get. I know that I sell myself short, and when people compliment me, I tend to just brush it off, like "oh, they are just saying that to be nice." In discounting the compliment, I am just beating myself up from the inside out. Which is completely counterproductive to what I am trying to achieve. Just a few weeks ago, I was out with some friends, and one guy in particular kept commenting about how cute I was. It was just platonic flirting, and a nice compliment. Instead of saying thanks and accepting the nice words, I was determined to say they weren't true. Eventually he was like, "Just deal, its a fact." That ended my rebuttals. But, why was I so persistent in disagreeing with him? I am my own worst enemy at times.

I DO have things I am good at, I AM a successful person, I AM cute; I just need to keep taking shots, and know that I can make it. Believing that is perhaps my biggest, and most imposing, hurdle. You can't stop shooting just because you're afraid to miss, after all...

You miss 100% of the shots you don't take. Life is like a game of basketball, at the end of it, you hope you took every open shot you had, passed the ball of when you could, and left it all out there on the court.

To be (organic) or not be?

As I was standing in line at PCC the other day, patiently waiting buy my usual pint of salad, I took a moment to survey the crowd lining up in the bustling little deli. The variety of people intrigued and astounded me. Yes, there were the stereotypical 'granola-y' type crowd wearing hemp, Birkenstocks, and the requisite Bob Marley tee, but also businessmen in pinstriped suits, SAHM's with their kiddos, young women rocking their Seven jeans and stilettos as well as elderly couples doing their routine grocery shopping. Just across the street, a new (bigger) organic market is currently being constructed. Obviously, this organic, healthy eating is not just a trend for the vegans, vegetarians, and food conscious epicureans of the world.

I have mentioned the steep cost of buying organic in a previous post, but I often wonder how important it really is to buy organic. There are so many variations of "organic" on labels these days - USDA Organic, Certified Organic, Contains Organic Ingredients, Made with Organic Ingredients - how's a gal to know whats what?! You practically need to bring your decoder ring to the grocery store. Moreso, what IS the main difference in organic versus non organic, anyway? Amount of chemicals and pesticides? If so, are there things that don't normally get pesticides anyway? Its hard to know what things are crucial to buy organic and what's not.

I found this nifty little chart online that helped me sort it out... kind of. Dairy products are one thing that I will always buy organic, and not flinch at all at the price tag. Have you seen what that growth hormone does to those cows udders... yeesh. Only rbst-hormone free milk for me, thankyouverymuch.

When it comes to the fruits and veggies, though, when is it important to spend the extra cash and buy organic?

I had never heard of the dirty dozen until my mom printed me out a list. Apparently, you should ALWAYS go organic when purchasing the following fruits and veggies. They have the highest "pesticide load" of all other veggies, and are listed in order of most contaminated to least.

1. Peaches
2. Apples

3. Sweet Bell Peppers

4. Celery

5. Nectarines

6. Strawberries

7. Cherries

8. Lettuce (does this include kale, chard, and other leafy greens? Hmmm....)

9. Grapes

10. Pears

11. Spinach

12. Potatoes

So, now you know. Knowledge is power! The list also mentioned those fruits and veggies that are 'safe' to buy non-organic all the time. No use wasting money on organic if you don't need to right? Buy the following freely, and don't waste time getting organic: eggplant, broccoli, cabbage, bananas, asparagus, sweet peas, mangoes, sweet corn, pineapples, avocado and onion.

Happy Shopping! Or, in my case, Happy Organic Growing!

Embracing the farm gal within.

Weeding builds character. Or so my dad always reminded me.

As a child, I loathed spending precious play time in the garden. I hated the monotony of sitting still, pulling weeds, tending to spindly little plants. It didn't seem to matter how much or often I pulled weeds, there were always weeds the following day. It was a thankless, tiresome job, but someone had to do it. Plus, it built character. I am now lucky enough to be full of character, among other things...

Fast forward to today, and I get frustrated when I don't get time with my plants. Outdoor living space, room for pots, a garden, all of these things are major must haves for any home I live in. Time spent in the garden in crucial for my mind, body and soul. Who knew that the much hated, character building chore of my youth would morph into a lifelong passion and hobby?

I recently built a garden at the house. I use the term 'built' lightly, because this garden adventure was like a chemistry experiment. We had a recipe for creating an environment that happily grew 10+ foot tall tomato plants. Envisioning a garden brimming with rosy ripened tomatoes, I knew I had to give it a try. I am a huge advocate of growing your own vegetables, if you can. Yes, it's pricey to start, but there is a certain satisfaction I cannot quite name in plucking fresh basil from your own plant, and selecting only the most robust tomatoes for your salad. Mostly, its sweat equity, and you get out if it what you put in. the more time and care you take, the better all the veggies are going to turn out. Plus, its never been easier to be organic. Feed the plants good stuff and love them, and bam! you've practically got an local, organic produce market right outside your front door. I started most of my seeds inside about a month ago. As they got stronger, I'd transplant to larger containers to give them more room to grow. I bought some starts from a local nursery as well. Plus, it took two loads of topsoil and compost to build this baby. If I don't get pretty vegetables, I may cry.

The groundwork:

We chose an area of the yard between alder trees, backed by a rock wall as the perfect location for the garden. It was in the front yard, got full sun most of the day, and was protected by the aforementioned trees. After bordering the area with round poles, we began the construction. I wish I had taken pictures of this process, but I forgot. Step 1 - cover exposed ground with plastic. Step 2 - Layer newspaper 20 sheets thick over plastic. Sprinkle with bone meal and wet down. Step 3 - Layer 12" deep of alfalfa. Sprinkle with bone meal and wet down. Step 4 - Layer strae 8"-12" thick. Sprinkle with bone meal and wet down. Step 5 - Add topsoil or compost.

Voila! Done!

Supposedly, the alfalfa and straw create a matrix that is nutrient rich, and also holds a lot of water, so the plants are less likely to die of thirst. Well, that's REALLY unlikely here anyway. I think with all the rain lately, I'll never have to water that bed.

It looks as thought my labeling didn't come through that well, but in th garden, we planted cucumbers, red onions, cilantro, parsley, snap peas, peas, kale, collard greens, chard, sweet peppers, strawberries, and of course, tomatoes (heirloom, cherry, yellow).

We strung up fishing line between the two trees to give the peas something to climb up. The kale has been planted in stages, so we will always have something to pick. I am really excited to see how the collard greens and chard grow. I can't wait to post more garden photos this summer and keep you all up to date with the growth!

I'll leave you all with a picture from the pot on our deck - I love coming home to this bright vibrant flowers! If you have gardens, share your secrets! I'd love to know what everyone else out there is planting!

Balance. Or something like it.

Balance stalks my day to day activities. And yet, at the end of the day, I find I am searching for that elusive state of being that can be called balanced. When I ride, I focus on sitting tall and deep in the saddle, keeping 'balanced' and 'with' my horse, riding as one. When I coach basketball, I teach my girls that the singular most important thing in basketball is balance. Same can be said for life. But they'll learn that as they get older, thats a bit deep for 6 year olds.

Though I partake in this perpetual hunt for balance, that's not to say that I am unbalanced, but there is definitely a sense of general catawampus-ness in my life at the current moment. Everything seems just a bit off, and yet oddly, it feels as though things are finally starting to settle into their proper place. It's funny how a person can be feel both extremes at the same time. As new things grasp my attention, I tend to lose focus on the other areas in my life. Those things that once commanded all of my energy suddenly become like the blurred edges in photographs, there is a vague shadow of a form, and while you know that something lies beneath the fuzz you can't tear yourself away from the focus of photo to let your eyes adjust and see the unfocused bits for what they really are - an absolutely integral part of the entire shot.

Those absolutely integral parts are what I'm writing about today. How if you have one big thing in your life, its good to have a lot of other little things to balance it out. Otherwise, chaos ensues. Perhaps not immediately, but eventually, the main focus may start to fade, and you find yourself relying on those blurred edges to get you through. I think there is a cyclic cycle that creates a natural ebb and flow in your focus. It's probably a good thing, because you wouldn't want to get burned out on the things you love. A funny thing, though I have felt like my Starfisher-y has been lacking in the past few weeks and the guilt for not being up at 4:30 am to hit the gym has been plaguing me, I am still maintaining the 20 pound loss I have had since the new year. Granted, I haven't lost more weight, but I haven't gained either. I've been out to dinner, consumed large amounts of wine in single sittings, indulged at family Easter, and generally returned to my old ways. Even snacking on M & M's at work. I cut myself some slack because I thought I could handle it and not be as strict as when I was on the Elimination Diet. I thought that being that strict was too... hmm, what's the word, oh yes... constricting. Though I am happy with the weight maintenance, I am not happy with how I feel. I need to find that crucial balance between being so rigid with myself and allowing myself a free pass here and there. It's funny how I could not cheat once during the 28 day diet, but the day it was over I was back to some of my original unhealthy habits. This is my goal in the upcoming month, find a natural rhythm in which I don't feel as though I am restricting myself excessively (honestly, no coffee, alcohol, meat, dairy or processed sugars?! How in the world did I think I was going to keep that up?!?). I may need to negotiate with myself - which did you miss the most? Coffee? Wine? Meat? And make some healthy allowances such as these:

• Drink more green tea and less coffee, but feel free to have an Americano
  every now and then if I must
• Instead of eating beef, chicken and pork, just eat out of the freezer and
  find new ways to prepare the halibut, salmon, cod and sea bass my dad has
  supplied me with
• When it comes to sugar, I would so much rather be able to have a nice
  glass (just one though!) of red wine at the end of the day than be able to snack
  on M & M's at work. Its one or the other, and the choice should ALWAYS
  be the vino... Be unrelenting on this one... My tummy (spare tire,
  really) doesn't need that extra sugar
• If I'm riding or playing basketball that day, its not the end of the
  world that I don't hit the gym, but I do need to commit to 1 1/2 of gym
  time at least four days a week - If I can't get there during the week, I will
  give up my weekend free time

I think living by these "rules" will create a nice balance and compromise between such rigidity and a complete lack of structure. Here's hoping!

And now, on to the other things that are currently consuming me mind, body and soul. I guess you could call them obsessions.... Okay, yes I am obsessed AND unbalanced. What can I say? Nobody's perfect. Please note how beautiful the weather has been here lately... this definitely has something to do with the reason all my passions keep me outside!!

My house
I love this cute little house. It looks right out of a story book. I am currently working on creating a vegetable garden (pics to come soon!), and beautifying the flower beds. Yard work is so rewarding and creates such a wonderful thing to come home to. I bought kale and chard starts, as well as planted tomatoes, snap peas, red kale, and lots of sunflowers! We have fuschias and cascading petunias to put in hanging baskets... its going to be an oasis!

Thomas

This handsome devil is the new love of my life. I am riding him 2 or 3 times a week and just started jumping him! It such a treat to ride such an amazing animal! He has got a personality bigger than he is (he's huge at 17.2 hands), and is just a total character. I love this horse more than I like most people. :o)

Denali

I am still riding this young mare a few days a week. She is a total sweet pea, and such a willing girl. She has her 'own' blog here: Green 'n Green - you can read about her horsey adventures!

What's keeps you balanced? Or for that matter, what keeps you from being more balanced? Can you make some compromises with yourself to even the scales a bit?

One last little note:

Sometimes this blog gets pushed to the back burner, and I forget that there are a couple of wonderful souls out there in the universe that do read this, and they both have been gently (and not so gently) prodding us for more reading material. So this blog is thanks to my Mudgetfish and the Meandering Bohemian. Its nice to know that people read what we write and want more. I'll try not to let you both down in the future.

Healthy Balls Recipe!

The best part about the 28 day elimination diet thus far has been the balls. I am a fan of the nut ball. Big fan. Big. Huge.

Now, if you are like me, you are giggling at the memory of Alec Bladwin doing his "Schweddy Balls" sketch on SNL. Its become a household joke. Can you grab me a nut ball while you're in the kitchen... These gals can't wait for some Schweddy Balls... Classic.


Anyhoo. Back to the balls. These babies are the best. They are naturally sweet, and are the perfect fix for an afternoon snack. I make a batch Sunday and eat them all week long. I adapted this recipe from my whole life nutrition cookbook. Get yours here. Best $23 I have ever spent.


Nut Balls (Raw Energy Balls)
1 cup Raw Almonds
1/2 cup pitted dates
1/4 cup raisins
2 tsp cinnamon
1 tsp cardamom
Sea salt
1/2 cup Almond Butter
Shredded unsweetened coconut


Toss the almonds into your food processor and process until they are smooth. There will still be some larger pieces -- thats okay. Add raisins, dates, cinnamon, cardamom and sea salt. Continue to blend until smooth. I had to do this part bit by bit to ensure everything got sufficiently mixed. Transfer the mixture to a large bowl. Add almond butter. Using a wooden spoon, thoroughly stir the almond butter into the mixture until everything is gooey and yummy. Use your hands to form the mixture into small, bite sized balls. Roll the balls in the coconut. Store in the fridge for up to a week.

Photo Tour of my Fridge

While on this elimination diet, many people have asked what I eat, how I make it work when I can't eat meat, dairy, wheat, refined sugars... Really, what CAN I eat? So, I thought I would take you all on a little photo tour of my refridgerator, and showcase its contents this week.

Our fridge is adorned with lots o' stuff - its the center of info for our house. We plaster the fridge with dog and horse photos, quotes, old cards, funny sayings, and leave notes for each other here. Its more than just a place to store food. Its a constantly changing being.

My cousin's boyfriend lives with us and though he supports our Elimination diet, the no drinking, no sweets and no caffeine bit, he doesn't want to partake. Plus he is allergic to lots of things that we love to eat. This is his shelf (with the exception of my left over smoothie).

We try to premake our foods for the week over the weekend so we aren't rushed for time. I find I am more likely to eat unhealthy if I have no time, and am scrambling to get out the door. This way, everything is ready to go - quick and easy! Here are more examples of the foods we premake: this week we did Black Bean Chili and Lemon & Lentil Soup (look for this on tomorrow Tasty Tuesday!). We always make some sort of raw nut/date ball for quick nutritous snacks that satisfy our sweet tooths! Also, our veggie drawers have never been so jam packed. We buy obscene amounts of kale, chard, and collard greens each week for smoothies and salads.

Lastly, 100% Black Cherry and Blueberry Juice for when I just can't drink more water, carrots, and mint for smoothies.

What's in your fridge?

All this produce is making me poor.

I seriously think I am singlehandedly contributing to the success of the Kirkland PCC Natural Market. Who knew that VEGETABLES could cost so much money. I try to live by a food budget of $50/week, and I am having a very hard time while on this elimination diet. Healthy foods break the bank. For example, check out a reciept from Friday, February 26th:

I bought broccoli, collards greens, chard, carrots, kale, romaine, green onions, and bulk rice and lentils. $42.30?!?!?! Are you kidding me? Plus, Jenn spent about that buying apples, pears, lemons, limes, and avocados from Costco. I think she definitely got more for her money. Because today, less than ONE WEEK later, the only vegetables that remain in the crisper are the broccoli and carrots. But I am making broccoli soup tonight, so I can kiss that goodbye. At least we still have an abundance of fruit hanging in the basket... Oi vey.

I cannot wait for spring and summer. I am joining a local Community Sustained Agriculture this summer. I can't not at this point. Its just $30.66 a week to buy a share, and you commit to do this June - October. It works out to about $650 for the 5 months. A share size a familyof 2-6 people depending on their eating habits. They have a schedule that gives you an idea of what you'll get each week. Also -- and this is my favorite part -- each week you can go pick herbs from the garden, herbs from the field, FLOWERS!, and greens... hello sunny flowers in the house, lots of kale & chard, and fragrant herbs.

Until June rolls around, I need to find a way to keep the cost down. A few of the more specialized things I will still need to buy at PCC or a natural food store, but I am thinking I can get the produce cheaper somewhere. I am going to stop in at Fred Meyer on my way home and see.

Where do you guys shop? Any suggestions on grocery shopping to save some money? If so, please enlighten me!

Tasty Tuesday ~ Emerald City Salad

Its been really tough while doing this elimination diet to eat any food that was not prepared by my own two hands. I love to cook, and thoroughly enjoy learning new recipes and tweaking them to suit me, but life is anything but predictable, and sometimes I am unable to walk out the door at 5:30 in the morning with my Elimination Diet-friendly lunch in hand. On these days, I pop up to PCC for a bag of carrots, a head of broccoli and some dried fruit. While I know I can't partake, I always peruse the deli counter to see what tasty delights they have that day.

A few days ago, a co-worker offered my some of his "Emerald City Salad" - a PCC staple and crowd favorite. I had to turn it down because of the red bell peppers, but it got me to thinking... I could recreate the salad at home and still be on track! Its a basic salad, but packs a flavorful punch, AND offers a great base for mixing things up - I can't think of anything that wouldn't be good on this salad. I changed it up to meet Phase 2 requirements, and will continue to add more as I can incorporate more into my diet. This recipe makes a big bowl, I usually just put it in smaller tupperwares and pack it for lunches throughout my week.

Emerald City Salad

1 cup uncooked wild rice

1/2 cup olive oil

1/2 cup lemon juice

1 tsp minced garlic

1 tsp salt

1/2 black pepper

1/2 bunch kale

1/2 bunch Chard

2 red chard leaves

1/2 fennel bulb, thinly sliced

1 bunch green onions

1/2 cup chopped parsley

Optional Additions

Diced red or yellow bell peppers

Diced red onion

Diced cucumber

Grape tomatoes

Sunflower seeds

Avocados

Dried cherries or cranberries

Bring 3 cups of water to boil, add rice. Bring rice to boil, cover, reduce heat to simmer and for about 60 minutes (when all the water is absorbed, remove rice from heat and let cool).

Whisk together the olive oil, lemon, garlic, salt and pepper for the dressing. Once rice has cooled, toss the dressing with the rice.

Remove stems and ribs from the green and chiffonade. Combine greens with fennel and green onion (add any other veggies at this point if you choose to do so).

Just before serving, toss greens with the rice/dressing mixture.

Enjoy!

I heart lemons and limes.

Before I get into how awesome citrus fruits are, I wanted to thank Ali from The Whole Life Nutrition Kitchen for mentioning us in a recent post. I am currently on day 15 of their 28 day Elimination Diet. Check it out and find some great new recipes!

Back to lemons and limes. Pretty much, they are the fruit of the gods. Absolutely divine. Being able to eat lemons and limes for the past few days has almost been as good as Christmas and Easter combined. I am finally in Phase 2 of this Elimination Diet I am tackling. I had lemon water last night... so refreshing. I sat down with chamomile tea (with lemon!) this morning to look over my cookbook bible for dressings and sauces I can have now that I can incorporate some citrus. Over the weekend, Jenn made a delicious Lemon and Lentil soup that finally gave us the feeling that we were eating "real" food. As difficult as this trek has been at times, I know that my body loves it. I don't know if its the absence of alcohol, caffeine, processed sugar, wheat or what, but my skin has never looked this good, and I don't think I have ever slept this good in my life.

Prior to this adventure, I would classify myself as a crappy sleeper. It would take me hours to fall asleep at night (too much caffeine perhaps?!) and it was so difficult to get my booty out of bed in the morning. I always felt like I was in a fog, would wake up feeling like arthritis had attacked my hands, and perpetually had dark circles under my eyes. 15 days into this elimination diet and my skin is glowing, the dark circle are gone, I fall asleep moments after my head hits the pillow and able in a great mood in the morning. I don't know if this is all attributed to the change in my diet, but I am experiencing such great results, I am hesitant to go back to my usual ways.

I think that one of the best thing to come of this entire process thus far is I finally know my own strength. My work is littered with junk food. They stock the cupboard with Pop Tarts, chocolate chip cookies, cheese, fun sized candy bars, and my own personal Achilles Heel: peanut M & M's. Even back when I was on track and eating healthy, I was still unable able to resist a handful or two a day. I would rationalize that I ate less calories that day so it was okay. Or I logged an hour on the treadmill rather than my usual 45 minutes. This is all bullshit. An excuses. I was weak. I couldn't say no. I couldn't stop. While on this 28 day journey, I swore to myself I would follow it to the 'T.' No cheating anywhere. I am amazed at how easy it is to bypass the candy.

I have decided that even as this elimination diet runs it course, I am going to stick with a lot of it. I am going to view snacking on candy as cheating - not just cheating my diet, but cheating myself. I am better than that. I am going to limit my alcohol consumption... I think allowing myself a day a week to have some wine or go out and live it up is good. That's enough. I honestly cannot afford to do more than that - monetarily or health-wise. I am going to stick to the tea, maybe allowing myself an Americano every now and then, but by no means will I go back to my 6 or 7 cup a day habit. I am going to try to be dairy free. I am going to incorporate seafood back into my diet, but continue to avoid red meats, chicken and pork.

I am going to change my way of life. This elimination diet has opened my eyes to the way things could be. And they could be pretty damn good.

Are there any changes you could make today that will make life better? Try changing it -- its easier than you think. You may just surprise yourself. I did.

I herd cats, wrassle ponies, and toss flying discs. Its what keeps me going.

Everyone at work this week has commented about my strong resolve for sticking to this Elimination Diet. I'm not going to lie, its been hard. Today has been especially difficult -- someone brought in delicious looking cinnamon rolls this morning... oh, they smelled decadent. I avoided the kitchen and told myself my collard green smoothie was better. Yeah. Right. To top it all off, someone polled the office for lunch and everyone got teriyaki. And I ate raw veggies wrapped in nori.

I feel like I am being tested by the food and weight loss gods. Its terrible! On day two of the smoothie cleanse, the 2 boxes of girl scout cookies I had orded from my boss's daughter arrived. Self control made me place them in the back of a cabinet I never open and put them out of my mind. Well. Until n0w. Hmmm.... Samoas. Tagalongs... But oddly enough, its not really sugar I am craving, which is unusual for me. I can satisfy my sweet tooth with dates rolled in unsweetened coconut. But, smells are the worst for me. I can pass up doughnuts, I can pass up the candy bowl that brims with Butterfingers and Twix's on the front desk, but I am a little girl when it comes to delicious savory smells. My cousin and I were at a schooling show last weekend and actually had to leave the show because everyone around us was eating chili, we simply couldn't stand it any more.

So, I thought I would write a little blog about what keeps me going through the day. Other than the obvious goal of dropping the poundage. Though that is a great goal -- its a very intrinsic motivator. Its my goal, and I WILL get there, but on the way, I need some help from extrinsic motivators... distractions - things I love to do and that will keep me busy and active.

1. Herding Cats

So, obviously I don't herd cute little kittens around with my cunning Border Collie or anything like that. Its oh so much worse. I coach basketball to a team of 6 and 7 year old girls. Yup. I think I would rather herd cats any day. In all seriousness, I have a great group of girls I get to work with a couple times a week. Most days it tries my patience, and I swear to myself that I will never have children, but its so these kidlets. They keep me going. I have to run around after them in practice, and often get involved in a raucous game of Sharks and Minnows or Queen of the Court. They love it when I get involved. One of them yesterday challenged me to a game of one on one. Seeing the game through their eyes has made me love it even more (if that was possible). Its inspired me to put together an adult team and start playing in a womens league. I am so excited. I hope enough individuals are interested to we'll have enough women to form a decent sized team. Anyhoo... back to my team of cats. They are some cute kids - and its refreshing to take a step back twice a week and look at the world from the perspective of a 6 year old. Who wouldn't get a kick out of these munchkins?!

2. Pony Wrasslin'

I am fortunate enough to get to work with a sweet young off the track Thoroughbred named Denali. She's a doll. I make a concentrated effort to get to the barn 5 nights a week for some time in the saddle. Its a great whole body workout, but more importantly, its therapy for my soul. It revives me. I need it. I think I would slowly waste away without it. Horses are hugely important in my life and always will be. Hopefully, I get some video of me riding up here soon! For now, here's a picture of my little sweetpea - I am so excited to go to the barn tonight!

3. The Handsomest, Smartest Pup Ever

If I haven't mentioned my dog before in this blog, I am sorry. He totally deserves mention. The pup is my best pal, my partner in crime, and probably the one living thing I spend the most time with. I can't explain how cool he is, you would have to meet him to get it. I know a number of people who would take him off my hands in a heart beat (as if I'd ever give him up!). In fact, I like him better than a lot of people I meet in my life.

There is no way a person can rest with this kind of dog. He requires constant activity, whether it be chasing down a flying disc - his most favorite activity EVER - or just taking a walk. He likes to be out doing stuff, not just relaxing in the house. On a nice day, I have to get outside and get moving with him, otherwise I feel like a bad dog mom. Just the other day, my cousin and I took our dogs up to Bellingham with us, and hiked all over Larabee State Park with them - such a fun afternoon spent enjoying the wind, playing in the rocks and finding secret trails.

What about you? What extrinsic motivators help you get through the day??

Tasty Tuesday - Nori Rolls

Today's recipe has quickly become an Elimination Diet favorite for both my cousin and myself, and I suspect we will both continue making them for the rest of our lives. I love sushi - it is practically a food group in my eyes, and even though I have to make a few concessions on the elimination diet... no ahi, no salmon, no crab, no anything that is traditionally involved in a great sushi roll. Well, other than seaweed and rice. I love these rolls because you can pretty much put anything inside of them. I am currently rolling them with a homemade pesto garlic sauce, carrots, avocado, green onions, red cabbage, celery and cucumber. If you have the rice all cooked up, these babies are a breeze to throw together and wrap up nicely to be taken as lunch the following day. In fact, I will be enjoying a roll today for lunch.

I got this recipe from the Whole Life Nutrition Kitchen blog - I love their cookbook, their blog, I'd even like to get my shit together enough to go listen to one of their seminars/classes up in Bellingham. Plus, the site is a terrific resource for anyone with food allergies. They have link to other blogs that are vegan, gluten-free, egg-free, dairy-free and raw food only. Its such a fantastic resource, I whole heartedly recommend spending some time perusing their site.

Okay, on to the recipe. Please note, I made my rolls with sweet brown rice, but they can also be made with quinoa if you choose to do so. You will need nori sheets (these can be purchased at almost any grocery store, I got mine at PCC Natural Markets), sweet brown rice, and fresh veggies. You will also want to purchase a sushi rolling mat - these can also be found at the grocery or World Market has some great one for $4.00.

We'll start with the sauces:

Garlicky Pesto Sauce

1 cup pine nuts

Basil Leaves (I used 2-3 bunches)

5 garlic cloves

1/4 water

1/4 EVOO

Put all ingredients in food processor and blend until smooth.

Ginger Plum Sauce

1 tbsp kuzu (found in the international foods area of grocery store)

1/2 cup water

4 plums, pitted

1 cup 100% apple juice

1 - 2 inch piece of ginger
1 tsp sea salt

Place plums, apple juice, ginger and sea salt in blender and blend until smooth. Dissolve kuzu and water in small pan (not on heat yet). Whisk blended plum concoction into the pan with the kuzu. Turn heat to medium high and let simmer for 10 - 15 minutes.

Nori Rolls

1 cup sweet brown rice

2 1/2 cups water

pinch of sea salt

Nori sheets

Avocado, thinly sliced

Cucumber, julienned

Carrots, julienned

Red Cabbage, thinly sliced

Green onions, thinly sliced

First, bring water, rice and salt to a boil in a medium sized pot. Cover, reduce heat to simmer and let cook for 45 - 50 minutes, or until all water is gone. Set rice aside. Lay a Nori sheet out on your bamboo mat. Spread rice over the nori, leaving a a two inch portion at bottom without rice. Spread pesto sauce on rice at the top, arrange vegetables on sauce. Tightly roll the sushi up starting at the vegetable end. You can 'seal' the nori to itself with a by running a little bit of water on the edge.

I am super excited for Phase 3 and getting to add salmon to these babies. But for now, I will just have to settle for vegan Nori's. They're still delicious!

What's YOUR favorite type of sushi?

Do you have any rolls you make at home?