goings on-part 2~ the food edition, mostly

Hey, remember I mentioned about eating more raw foods, well last night for dinner I had a collard wrap/roll and it was so good (similar to the raw kale wraps, but with salsa too). Really the hot weather just makes one crave for cool crunchy veggies, and sweet juicy fruits. So eating this way is definitely easier when the outside temps are in the nineties with unbearable humidity. Realistically though I know that I couldn't be a full time raw foodist because I like cooked food as well. I think it would be pretty tough to maintain a high raw diet in the winter, especially in a place that gets chilly-but like I said this is just me. I just love experimenting and I totally believe that you have to do what is right for your health, for yourself, and your loved ones, this is what I call liberation in eating!
Anyway while eating raw has been great for my dinners, we have been also clearing out our freezer because of our upcoming move. This clearing out included cooking up a turkey (a small one about ten pounds) that I had purchased about 2 years ago. I don't know if we are going to get that freezer all cleared out (alot of stuff is in there, hello-frozen apples from 2008?) so perhaps we will invite the college kids from our church over so they can have their pick of things-you know the college crew is always in need of food.
To tell the truth right at this moment in my life I feel a little overwhelmed. Our move is approaching fast, we are getting things packed, I want to make sure the kids are doing okay with everything as we get ready for the move, I want them to adjust well to their new environment, really I just want all of us to adjust well to our new home. I will also miss the wonderful friends I have made here in the Midwest. One friend (a friend I met through a fellow blogger) has been very special to me-I remember when her youngest was just a baby and now he's getting ready to turn three! Oh my, how I'm going to miss them. This will be the farthest that we have moved away from most of our extended family as well (we have usually been in driving distance to at least someone). Yet at the same time I am excited about moving to a new place and seeing the possibilities that await us there-prayerful and hopeful is were I'm at now days.

Well enough of this moving talk, lets get to the pictures-more foodie pictures (:

~berry flax smoothie (frozen raspberries, frozen fruit juice, fresh strawberries, ice, two tablespoons of milled flax and a squeeze of lemon-yum!)


~brewing sun tea

~visiting the Wednesday evening farmer's market


~milled flax


~a mango a day keeps everyone happy


have you had your mango today?

goings on

this mornings coffee, originally uploaded by *nichole*.

lets talk~

*summer is going fast isn't it? Can't believe its already August but it is.

*our community garden is at risk of being taken over by the weeds. The heat and humidity are making the weeds grow like gangbusters, we can't keep up. Our squash and cukes have also been victim to this little creature, love the life lessons of gardening.

*I've been experimenting with eating raw-just for my dinners, really summer is just the best time for such an adventure-last night I had kale rolls (raw kale with chopped cukes, tomatoes, garlic, avocado with a ginger dressing)-good stuff, lots of crunch.

*remember this post, I'm still keeping my activity level up-even if that means that running/walking 3 miles still takes me an hour, Rome wasn't built in a day right?

*we are cleaning out stuff, packing and gearing up for a move, again~nomads we are!

so this morning as I drink my coffee, many things occupy my mind (make a list, make a list!) but I'm just going to take this moment and enjoy doing nothing-just for a moment.

fast growing

radishes, originally uploaded by *nichole*.

My dear friend Kirsten and I went out and worked in our community garden plot today. We weeded, staked veggies, and harvested radishes. I think I'm going to pickle some of them (we already ate a couple of them for lunch). I love radishes because they grow super fast and give encouragement while the long growing veggies continue to mature.

Life needs more radishes I think!

~the full days of May

The month of May was hectic. We had family visiting for two weeks, the girls finished school at the end of May, we traveled to the West Coast, appointments here and there, music lessons, plus the daily keeping up with meals, cleaning, etc.(which at random moments I may have been just a little frazzled, just a little:)
Seems like we are just trying to find our summer rhythm and truthfully we are not there yet. We have some things coming up this summer which involve major purging of junk and lots of cleaning-but right now I'm not going to think about that too hard. Instead I'll share some photos I took today along with a small list of things I'm loving, okay?

~flowers in our garden box


~peas, so good raw


~today's lunch


~things I'm loving

*this water, totally refreshing, no calories-a win, win

*Jack Johnson's new album

*this oil for my face (it's a bit pricey, but a tiny bit goes a long, long way)

*these shoes-they are awesome, really (especially on the treadmill)

Have a Happy Wednesday!

hey there....

we've got some catching up to do.

May is exciting because....

I can shop the farmers market


~eggs purchased today from the farmer's market

to find one near you check out~
http://www.localharvest.org/

green smoothie Wednesday

Our green smoothie today-interesting combo but still very good, at least I thought so and so did my youngest-surprisingly! My oldest on other hand drank hers while closing her nose (this is shocking because it is my oldest that totally eats almost everything, veggies and all, while my youngest prefers barbecue chicken with a side of chocolate). Really I think its all about the texture-and the context,"ooh a smoothie is a cool juice like drink", the youngest thinks while the oldest says to herself, "wow this seems like a blended salad, I'll eat my salads whole, thank you very much."
Our smoothie included watercress, frozen peaches, an old apple (I bet you can tell I have lots of old apples around), a small piece of ginger, coconut oil, lemon juice, a splash of water, ice cubes, and a big squeeze of agave nectar. I loved how the ginger gave this smoothie some pizazz.

~in the blender


~let's drink!


(this afternoon I wanted to get some stretching in, so I decided to go to yoga. Stretching my goodness, I was sweating buckets in that class. Some of those positions were super tough, but you do what you can do, and drinking a green smoothie can only help :)