My first gluten free meal, easy!

Hi! So I made my first gluten free meal, it was so easy and good. First off, I would like to state for the record that I have been vegetarian for a full 3 months which I have been very proud of. However, to go gluten free and maintain not eating meat will leave me short of food and nutrients so I have temporarily incorporated organic chicken back into my diet while being gluten free. So here it is: chicken, lentils, grilled veggies, and salad. The appetizer was artichoke olive oil spread on rice tortillas for me and on toasted bread for Phil. I cooked the chicken in the oven on 375 degrees for about 40 minutes. The lentils were from Trader Joes, just heat and serve, and they were very good. The rest was just grilled veggies: zucchini and carrots. The salad had gluten free greek dressing too. I was so proud!

I should have arranged the meal to look more presentable but I was in such a hurry to eat I just took a quick snap! ~~A~~

Gourmet Cook!

It can be hard sometimes if one person in a relationship is trying to adhear to a way of eating and the other person is not on board. That is my situation right now. I have been struggling with acne my entire life (pretty much) and I did some research about how gluten may affect it. I found many stories about people who went "gluten free" and their skin becoming clear. My friend Kristie DeStefano who is also my Arbonne Independent Consultant introduced me to this idea of trying to take out all toxins from the diet for 30 days and we're talking everything! The 30 day plan was too much for me so I just decided to try going gluten free only. For the most part it has not been too hard but a little bit frustrating from time to time. I will blog more about this whole thing later. Until then, my boyfriend Phil still likes traditional American food and/or kid food to satisfy him. He's my Shugy bear and I love to make him happy! This picture shows what a Gourmet Cook I can be....JK!!! ~~A~~

Superfood Berry Smoothie!

So yesterday I completley fell off the "superfood diet" and ate nothing but bread, bread, cheesecake, bread, cheesecake, cheesecake, bread. Hey, nobody is perfect. Apparently my body was craving some CARBS!!!! So this morning I tried to get back into my healthy routine by mixing up one of the smoothies. Here are the ingredients again (a little different from last time).

In order from left to right: chopper (a house warming gift from my sistert Amanda), organic frozen blueberries, organic frozen rasberries, coconut chips, 3 raw cacao beans (any more than that and I'll feel sick), "Brown cow" organic vanilla yogurt, Pom (pomegranate) juice, Naked Blue Machine juice, Acai superfood powder, chopped fresh organic strawberries! Red cutting board (gift from the mom) and chopper/scraper for lifting small crumbs (gift to myself from Ross).

Now I feel better! ~~A~~

Shugy-bear's Birthday! AKA Phil's Birthday!

On Phil's birthday I found out I was selected to be a contestant in a game show from 12pm-9pm so I had to squeeze as much fun as possible in before and after! (And please, don't ask about the results of the game show) I made him a large breakfast that consisted of 3 different kinds of mini quiches (not homemade, from Trader Joe's), bacon for him, veggie sausage for me, eggs with cheese, pancakes (which I found out he doesn't like), toast, cherries, orange juice, and coffee! He opened his gifts during breakfast and most of the stuff I bought him didn't fit; looks like I'll be doing some returns this week. But one thing that did fit was our Magic Mountain tickets that we will be using next Monday, hooray!!! I am not sure who is more excited, him or me?

So, fast forward thru 9 hours of sitting in a boring "holding" room at Sunset Gower Studios in Hollywood, when I came back he wanted me to do the usual: "Get in the kitchy" (kitchen). So I obliged because it was his birthday. I made exactly what he requested: chicken tortellini (filled with pesto, spinach, and cheese) alfredo, salad, garlic bread, and red wine. Everything came out delisous!

Last but not least I made him his cheesecake. I had to beg him to let me light candles and sing to him but it made us both happy in the end.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO MY SWEET SHUGY BEAR PHIL!!!!! ~~A~~

Superfood Frenzy

In the past I have actually been quite opposed to health foods including restaurants that specialize in the subject.
I recently watched the documentary Food Matters and it really meant a lot to me. If you have Netflix, it is an instant watch; if you don't please rent it anyways. As a general synopsis it exposes the reality behind how the foods we eat are more significant in our health (on the macro level) than most people realize. The foods and vitamins that we do or do not put in our body are directly related to the cause and treatment of cancer. After watching this movie I feel like there IS a cure for cancer but most doctors do not advocate these alternative ideas because they are not taught this in medical school and/or it is not bringing profits to pharmaceutical companies. I went to Whole Foods and bought some things that I will really have to make an effort towards keeping consistent in my diet. Some of the things I bought include: raw cacao beans, goji berries, organic acai juice, organic frozen blueberries, flax seed, organic milk and yogurt (unpasteurized)(only lasts for 7 days), prunes, coconut chips, wheatgrass juice, blueberry acai superfood cereal, acai powder mix, and lots of organic fruits and vegetables. Most importantly!!! I bought SUSHI!!! I have always hated sushi but after hearing about the cancer rates and life expectancy for the Asian countries I have decided that I must force myself to start eating sushi and drinking green tea.

If you are a normal person with normal desires in life it will be significantly hard to incorporate or completely change to eating only these superfoods. I am trying to take it slowly, one day at a time. I have become vegetarian and now I am slowly trying to add in these foods to my daily routine. I am also trying to drink 1-3 glasses of water (most likely 1) first thing in the morning before consuming anything else.

Today I started with one glass of water, then my usual coffee craving crept in so I had one gigantic cup with organic milk and splenda plus a Luna bar (I finally found the coconut one Larissa told me about!!!)! For lunch I had a smoothie made of organic acai juice, flax seed, organic blueberries, and organic yogurt. As a snack I had prunes. As a late afternoon snack I had 4 pieces of sushi. And for dinner (I splurged) and had spinach and chive alfredo pasta, garlic toast, salad, and white wine. See, I started off great, then I came back to planet earth. I ended the night with a happy balance: a few oreos and a cup of green tea : )

Next time one of my family members says to me, "Oh MY God Andrea you are soo skinny!!!" I hope they see that I am not starving myself but I am eating a healthy diet that will support me accomplishing my goal in life: living till I am 100. Who else is on board?! Sure it may not always be pleasant (the raw cacao beans almost made me puke; the goji berries stick in your teeth like taffy so you can't get the horrible dirt taste out of your mouth; the acai cereal is so heavy, only about a 1/4 a cup will suffice; prunes? really? need I say more; coconut chips, also mad me nauseous. Some of the other stuff I haven't even tried yet!

So if you are reading this, please feel free to commiserate, share, brag, question, or comment on this post. Hoping everyone can become healthy enough to live till they are 100. And while doing so, pray for world peace. Remember if we all think the same thing together, it will manifest!!!!!

Love,
Andrea
 

Aunt Tammy's Casserole

After going out with my boyfriend for a few months I asked him what his absolute favorite food was and he responded, "Aunt Tammy's Casserole". After a little bit of research I was able to find this recipe and make it for him. I've made it twice and so far every time he's eaten it faster than I can take a picture! (haha, JK, I just forgot).

Recipe: 1 lb. ground beef

small chopped onion

3-4 ounces cream cheese (or 8 ounces per my boyfriend's request)

1 can cream of mushroom soup

1 can corn with liquid (don't drain)

1 "soup can" milk  (this was confusing to me so I just assumed evaporated milk so that's what I used)

1 package egg noodles (nearly cooked)

Bring water to boil for noodles. Brown ground beef and onion. Salt and pepper to taste. Add cream cheese and mix up until cheese is mostly melted. Add soup, corn, and milk; stir together. Add egg noodles. Add more milk if needed to cvoer all noodles. Put in casserole dish. Bake at 350 degrees for 30 minutes.

Even though I dont' have a picture of Phil getting his Aunt Tammy's casserole, here is how he looked when I gave it to him. This picture below is a good example of what happens several times a day in our apartment :) Here he was getting the Oatmeal-coconut chocolate bar aka flapjack.

After I made it twice Phil told me that his Aunt Tammy didn't acutally bake it in a casserole dish that she just cooked and served it from a large crock-pot. I have really wanted a crock-pot for quite sometime so this may be the motivation I need to finally invest in one! And below is a picture of him getting one of his favorites: Ice cream-coffee milkshake (served in a wine glass).

"Dats a happy shugy"

Arbonne party

As a way to get to know some ladies in California I decided to throw a little makeup party with the help of an Arbonne consultant I met a few weeks ago at a boutique in Sherman Oaks called Roni B with Larissa. The Arbonne consultant named Kristie Destefano came over and presented all of her products; they are really great products and I am purchasing some interesting items to try out. I prepared by making some homemade treats that all turned out well. Everyone thought I was a really good cook~! I made the coconut flapjacks and mini quiches (that I have mentioned on previous blogs) as well as some apple gingerbread. I had a cheese and cracker platter, strawberries, hummus, pistachios, baguette, and wine. I am also pleased to say the whole feast was completley vegetarian : ) I really had fun and hope I can do it again sometime!

As you can see I need some more serving platters~! The plastic surfboard shaped plate my mom bought me for $0.10 cents at Big Lots came in handy! ~~A~~