The One with all the Food

As you're about to see, I've been playing in the kitchen. Here are a few of my favorite foods and drinks!

DIY Salad Dressing

Are you a do-it-yourself sort of person? I am becoming one. The more I read ingredient lists on food labels, the more I want to cook from scratch. I can't pronounce half the ingredients so why not take the time to make my own food? 

Recently I made homemade salad dressing. It's not the first time I've made salad dressing. Previously I impressed Tony with homemade avocado dressing. This go around I made an orange vinaigrette. (I altered this recipe by adding olive oil.) It had an olive oil/vinegar base with a bit of orange juice concentrate to incorporate a nice citrus flavor. (I admit, that OJ concentrate part was cheating. :) It was a great-tasting dressing though!) 

We really enjoyed the dressing. I poured a moderate amount over a spring/spinach mix and topped it off with mandarin oranges. In the photo you can see I also added cheese -- I wouldn't recommend it. To me it was much better without the cheese.

Caffeine Fix, Please

Will and I have picked up a new hobby. We like to make drinks at home. 

Whether we go buy fresh coffee beans, grind them at home, and add a touch of creamer (like the top picture) or actually pull out the stovetop espresso maker to make lattes, we love our caffeine. 

If you are a Starbucks addict like me, you may be interested to know how easy it is to make your own drinks and save a ton of cash. If you're interested, I'd suggest buying a stovetop espresso maker, a stovetop milk frother, and a coffee bean grinder. (You don't have to grind your own beans, but it does improve the freshness.) 

My two favorite Starbucks drinks are the Cinnamon Dolce Latte and the Green Tea Latte. I've learned to make both!

Check out this recipe for cinnamon dolce syrup! It's amazing! When I have extra calories from bike riding or, well, any reason at all this is my favorite treat. I personally use a 1:2 ratio with espresso and frothed milk (some people use 1:3) then add syrup to taste. Just so you know, word on the street is that you should not froth skim milk. (We use 1% and it works like a charm.)

As for the green tea latte, it only takes two ingredients and five minutes. You froth a cup of milk then add a tablespoon of matcha (which is powdered green tea). Simple.

DIY Naked Juice

Will and I learned something very inspiring. Have you tried the Naked Blue Machine juice? It's wonderful! And expensive! We love to share a big bottle after a long bike ride, but who wants to pay $6 or $7 for one drink? We figured there had to be a way to make it at home to save money. 

We did a little investigating. The label showed us the smoothie included blueberries, apples, blackberries, and bananas. Well, we quickly omitted the blackberries, but we put all of the other fruit listed into the blender and let it go. 

*shakes head* Have you ever tried to make a smoothie with fresh apples? It's not a good idea -- which really shocked us. That whole smoothie was off, BUT we figured out how to fix it. 

Instead of using fresh apples use apple juice. After looking back at the Naked label, we realized that's what they were doing according to the ingredients list. After we made that substitution the smoothie turned out GREAT. In fact, we prefer our version now and save a ton of money making it at home. 

Recipe:

1 banana

1/2 cup blueberries

1 c. apple juice

Blend until smooth. 

TIP: If you find a deal on blueberries or bananas, take it. You can freeze both before they spoil and the frozen fruit makes the smoothie even better. 

Crock-Pot Easy 

I love a Crock-Pot. Recently my schedule has been NUTS so I decided to dust off that amazing kitchen gadget. (There's nothing like having a meal ready and waiting when you get home!) I seasoned a few boneless, skinless chicken breasts then laid halved potatoes on top of them with a few pieces of onion. I started the Crock-Pot during my lunch break, left it on low, and came home to a wonderful little feast. I made lima beans to round out the meal.

The Fish Feast

Will and I decided to catch up with one of my favorite friends recently - Stephen. He came over and we made a fish feast. 

Can you tell we each have our own way of eating fish? Stephen likes it plain. Will likes basil. I like cajun seasoning. Pretty funny.

We indulged in a little white rice and enjoyed black beans and squash on the side.

It has been fun to learn new recipes and continue growing in my ability to cook healthy meals. I'm not perfect, you see that. But who is? We all have to keep taking steps in the right direction.

I hope it's a great week for you!

The Heart of the Matter

Over the weekend, I paid a visit to a local legend we like to call The Healer.

Some might call him a witch doctor, as he looks at a person and sees or senses what's wrong with them physically. But he gives no credit to himself. He's a Christian, and he constantly points to God as the source of healing.

When Will and I decided to go, I had no idea what to expect. We waited in line for about 45 minutes to sit with him.

Once we were seated, he began by asking what made me come. Of course, I ran down a list of symptoms I had that I wish I didn't have. He listened to me, and he looked me over. Let me define 'looked me over.' He looked at me as if he could see through me and into my body.

Once I had spoken briefly, he began asking questions as he looked. Before long, he told me where my problems were physically rooted and that, as a side effect, I had 6 kidney stones in my left kidney.

Ok, you'd think that'd be the end of the story. He'd sell me an herbal supplement and send me home. (By the way, this man does not charge for consultations and does not force anyone to buy supplements from his store. It's all up to you. If you tip, you tip. If you buy supplements elsewhere, it's fine. I digress - but I thought that was very telling.)

Anyway, as I was saying, the session did not end there. He turned to me and said, "Ok, so that's all physical. But you're experiencing physical manifestations of a spiritual problem. You over-think things and you have trouble letting go. That's what's really causing this. Each of these kidney stones is a pearl of grief you've formed. You can take these remedies and treat the symptoms, but when you do I hope you'll pray about the things you need to let go of and trust God to handle those matters for you."

I was flattened. This man had spent a few minutes with me talking purely physical ailments, but he absolutely had me figured out.

So many times we just look at the symptoms, never the heart of the matter. Even with our lifestyles. We see that we're overweight, so we go on a diet or start exercising more. But we don't see the things that lead us to overeat or retreat into sedentary comforts. We don't reflect on what's really driving the behavior.

The more I think about it, the more I wonder if my inability to let go and my unhealthy desire to control situations is also behind my unhealthy habits. When I overeat or retreat into movies and other mindless (read: sedentary) activities to numb my worries, I am directly contributing to my problems. But what if I handled those things better? What if I chose to think and pray them through until I could put my faith in God and find perspective? And, let's face it, that's a daily task.

My meditation for the day is below. If you're like me and you're struggling with something at heart, I hope you'll seek peace. Sometimes our problems are symptoms of the real issue. Maybe it's time to have the courage to seek the issue out and let God fix it. We have to know it by name and lay it at His feet then live consciously in freedom -- knowing that it doesn't belong to us anymore, it's in the hands of the God who loves us and heals hearts.

I chose this meditation because I take comfort in how well God knows me, and how much thought He gives to the simplest details of my life. So many times we fall short on the words we need to express ourselves to even our closest friends and family members. But with God it's no an issue. He knows our thoughts, our hearts, all the things we are going through that words can't describe. So it stands to reason that He is the only one who can truly rescue us and lead us through our deepest struggles. We need help to find our way out. It's here.

Psalm 139

¹ 

You have searched me, Lord,

    and you know me.

² 

You know when I sit and when I rise;

    you perceive my thoughts from afar.

³ 

You discern my going out and my lying down;

    you are familiar with all my ways.

⁴ 

Before a word is on my tongue

    you, Lord, know it completely.

⁵ 

You hem me in behind and before,

    and you lay your hand upon me.

⁶ 

Such knowledge is too wonderful for me,

    too lofty for me to attain.

⁷ 

Where can I go from your Spirit?

    Where can I flee from your presence?

⁸ 

If I go up to the heavens, you are there;

    if I make my bed in the depths, you are there.

⁹ 

If I rise on the wings of the dawn,

    if I settle on the far side of the sea,

even there your hand will guide me,

    your right hand will hold me fast.

If I say, “Surely the darkness will hide me

    and the light become night around me,”

even the darkness will not be dark to you;

    the night will shine like the day,

    for darkness is as light to you.

For you created my inmost being;

    you knit me together in my mother’s womb.

I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made;

    your works are wonderful,

    I know that full well.

My frame was not hidden from you

    when I was made in the secret place,

    when I was woven together in the depths of the earth.

Your eyes saw my unformed body;

    all the days ordained for me were written in your book

    before one of them came to be.

How precious to me are your thoughts,^[a] God!

    How vast is the sum of them!

Were I to count them,

    they would outnumber the grains of sand—

    when I awake, I am still with you.

...

Search me, God, and know my heart;
    test me and know my anxious thoughts.
 See if there is any offensive way in me,
    and lead me in the way everlasting.

Start Somewhere

Having switched from running to cycling, I had to look back and compare the two.

Honestly I never wanted to become a runner, but Ally somehow managed to sweet talk me into trying it last year. I trained and ran my first 5K last November.

Ally and her sis Katie are behind me at the race's starting line.

Running is no joke. It takes a lot of mental and physical endurance.

Originally, I wanted to try biking. Training for the 5K undermined that plan, so it was delayed for a while. Then I started dating Will, who is an avid cyclist. So it finally seemed like the right time to buy a bike.

Here's Will helping me load up my bike. He's adorable and helpful. Love this man.

Biking has been a breath of fresh air for me. My knees felt a little creaky from jogging, but cycling took the pressure off my joints. I can get my heart rate up just as high and feel refreshed enough to work out longer. There's just something about being outside and the challenge of speeding around beautiful paths that motivates me!

As much as I prefer cycling, I wanted to look back and see how my workouts compare.

The hardest run I have on record and the hardest bike ride on record are compared below:

In my jogging days last fall, I could run for nearly 50 minutes. That burned nearly 400 calories and covered over 3 miles.

At my best as a cyclist, I can bike for almost 1 hour and 45 minutes. I cover just over 20 miles, and I burn 770 calories.

If enjoying cycling weren't enough, the amount of calories burned would be. My friends who are more advanced cyclists burn between 1,300-2,000 calories per ride. My friends who are good runners burn about 100 calories per mile. (Context: You need a calorie deficit of 3,500 calories to lose one pound.)

For me, there's no comparison. I know that cycling will get me in shape with much less pain and dread than running. It's quickly turning into my addiction. Eventually, I'll be good enough on a bike to burn over 1,000 calories per workout. There's no way I'm going to run the 10 miles it would take to burn that 1,000 calories. It's a bike or bust for me.

I want to encourage you to find a workout you don't hate. It may not be what everyone else is doing, but it will be the one that makes you want to move. And be kind to your body. We are not all cut out for the same workouts. You can find one that isn't hard on your joints like swimming or something that doesn't grate on your patience like Zumba, if you're a dancer.

One more thing, don't be discouraged if you have to build yourself up. I am still trying to get in shape. I have been trying for over a year. In fact, closer to two years. It just doesn't come quickly.

But you improve. Check this out:

When I started biking, I was so nervous! After having a minor accident my first time out, I wanted to take it slow and build up my confidence and endurance over time. For a while, going anywhere from 5-10 miles was really good for me.

Over time, I started to instinctively feel how my bike responded to bumps and turns until I grew confident I could handle it. I also built up strength. Now I can go 20 miles in a ride, and I'm disappointed if I am out for less than 15 miles.

I'm still learning and gaining speed and endurance. But you have to start somewhere.

Don't be embarrassed to try. We each have the responsibility to take care of ourselves. It gets easier the more we do it.

And you will encourage other people who are struggling. That surprised me, and touched me.

I have a hard time to climbing inclines on my bike. I probably look like a turtle that got stuck in peanut butter, ok, but I do it. I have to. Otherwise I'll never improve. So there I am, several times a week, red-faced and panting, slowly climbing bridges and hills. Without fail a sleek and fit road biker will fly by me. And I've accepted that. It's inspiring, really. I want to get there.

But you know what else happens? I see people like me, and some of them have to get off their bike and walk up the incline. It's tough! I get it. But when they see me coming -- fighting up that hill -- they smile. Because they see their own struggle in me. And some of them cheer. Some of them tell me to keep going. Some smile and assure me I'm going to make it. But every time I feel so proud to be out there trying with people.

We can encourage each other. Sometimes you're the one pushing your bike (so to speak), and you cheer someone on to the top of the hill. Sometimes you're the one creeping slowly up a hill, proving it can be done with patience.

It's not about how good you are, it's about your effort. If you have a long way to go (like me), you'd better get on your way and enjoy the journey. We can't waste daylight! :)