Valentine's Week

Valentine's Week in Review:

1. I made my Tandoor Carrot recipe again and made sure to have leftovers! See recipe here. And this time I had a lot of large carrots, so I cut them up smaller/thinner. It worked out nicely:)

 2. I found a cool mobile home for my husband and I to live in. HA! There are so many places I'd love to see, so what if I just turned this into a primal food truck in order to finance our travels while traveling?! Pretty good idea, huh? HUH?!

 3. We gave mostly healthy treats to each other on V-day (thank you Whole Foods) and other little presents. PLUS we scored a very nice, very cheap HP wireless printer from one of the closing RadioShack stores!

4. I got to wear my miaearrings necklace that I picked out and ordered for my husband to give to me on V-day...hahaha! It displays our tiny initials. So darling :)

5. I woke up to see I got a baby parsley sprout! Come on basil and chives...

6. Then I topped off the week by making one of my favorite soups! Tomato Basil. Recipe here.

I hope you all had a lovely Valentine's Day and showed some love to those around you!

Tomato Basil Soup

This is one of my all time favorites!

 I hope this soup not only makes your taste buds happy, but keeps you warm down to your piggy toes this winter :)

Tomato Basil Soup

1 large can diced tomatoes
1 cup heavy cream (whole/unpasteurized/etc.)
1 stick of butter (raw/hormone free/antibiotic fee/etc.)
15 fresh basil leaves
salt & pepper to taste

In a large pot pour in the large can of diced tomatoes (juice and all) and place on stovetop over medium heat. Once it starts to really bubble, turn it down to low/medium heat and let it simmer for 30 minutes stirring occasionally. 
Take off heat, add basil and puree or use a stick blender to blend until mostly blended (I like some clumps of tomato). Put back over low heat and stir in the heavy cream. Then add butter and stir until all melted without boiling the soup.
Serve and enjoy!

Avocado Mask

Pucker up for this yummy mask! 

I truly believe we should only put things on our skin which we would  or could eat! Our skin is our LARGEST body organ and will absorb everything you put on it. So, why would you treat your skin with harmful chemicals when you can find healthy and delicious ingredients around your house? Your skin will LOVE you!

Avocado for smooth skin {your skin wants FAT!} - 1Tbsp

Apple Cider Vinegar to reduce inflammation - 1/2tsp

Fresh Lemon Juice to brighten skin - 1/2tsp

Honey and Cinnamon because it's anti-bacterial - 2tsp / 1/8tsp 

Oatmeal as an exfoliant - 1tsp

WARNING: delicious recipe below...

"Tandoori Carrots with Vadouvan Spice and Yogurt"

Seriously, this recipe is to die for!

A couple of weeks ago I was flipping through the newest 'bon appetit' magazine and came across this recipe that I knew I HAD to try!

Vadouvan is a french-indian spice mixture of onion, shallots, and garlic added to a curry powder. But, I used a red thai curry powder mixed with garlic powder instead. You could also use a tandoori masala powder. So here is my spin on the recipe...

RECIPE:
1 Tbsp garlic powder
1 Tbsp red curry powder
2 garlic cloves, finely grated
1/2 cup plain greek yogurt
5 Tbsp olive oil
1 lb small carrots, scrubbed and tops trimmed
1/4 tsp ground turmeric
2 Tbsp fresh lemon juice 
course sea salt
ground pepper
cilantro, coarsely chopped for serving 

Preheat oven to 425 degrees. Mix garlic powder, red curry powder, half of the grated garlic, 1/4 cup of the yogurt, and 3 Tbsp of the olive oil in a LARGE bowl until smooth. Season with sea salt and pepper (I used a few dashes of each). Add carrots to bowl and mix to coat. Roast on a rimmed baking sheet and turn occasionally (I put mine on a rack placed over a baking sheet so that I did not have to turn the carrots...can you say LAZY?!) until tender and charred in some areas, about 25-30min. 

While the carrots are roasting, heat turmeric with remaining 2 Tbsp olive oil in a small skillet over medium-low heat, swirling mixture for a couple of minutes until fragrance releases. Remove from heat. 

Whisk lemon juice, remaining garlic, and remaining 1/4 cup yogurt in a small bowl. Season with sea salt and pepper. 

When carrots are done, place them on a platter. Drizzle yogurt mixture and turmeric oil on top. Sprinkle on cilantro and ENJOY!

7 day transformation

Do you follow me on instagram? I posted this EMBARRASSING picture of myself a few weeks ago about my 7 day transformation. 

After all the holiday indulgence, I became bloated, sick, and tired! The top 2 pictures are from the night before I started to eat primal/paleo by eliminating SUGARS, GRAINS, LEGUMES and PROCESSED FOODS. The bottom 2 pictures show 7 days later.

MIND BLOWN!

After the seven days, I lost some inches on my stomach {which is mostly water weight because for every 1 gram of glycogen (sugar) you need 3 grams of water!}, I felt more alert, energized, my skin cleared up, headaches were gone, and I no longer felt sick :) 

Imagine what 21 days can do!

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2 0 1 5

Is it too late to be writing about the new year, resolutions, and goals? Because that's all I have been thinking about these past couple of months... 

I came to the conclusion that it is more important to be happy and to spend time doing what you love rather than spending time doing those things that do not necessarily make you happy, even if that means sacrifice! I believe that if you are happy... then your family is happy, those around you are happy and you will be more successful!

I have been away from this blog for too long because I have been focused on things that do not necessarily make me happy. In turn this has made me exhausted, stressed out, emotional, and it has affected my family in a negative way. 

On New Year's Eve, I was talking to my sister-in-law with tears in my eyes about my unhappiness. She gave me insight and encouragement to change my course into the direction of my passions. 
Right before the ball dropped, I was overcome with happiness and a determination to do what makes me happy and to make things happen in 2015!

One of my ultimate passions is teaching others how to transform their bodies by eating and living primally. I find myself talking to complete strangers all the time about this way of life and I know when they leave our conversation excited to try this lifestyle it is because my countenance radiates my passion!

I love to teach, I love to help others, I love to make others happy, and I love to see transformations.

I hope to bring all of this to my blog more frequently by spending time doing what I LOVE because I deserve it and so do YOU :) and to reach more of you out there that are ready to transform your life.

Let's hear it for a HAPPY new year and to make things happen in 2015!