five days of failure...

so.
remember that pitcher of iced green tea that i so proudly displayed for you in my last entry?

yeah.
well.
it's still sitting in my fridge.

i'm such an idiot for getting all excited my new 'invention'....as it's rotting in my fridge right now :) i did have the best of intentions, and i have made strides in my cosmetic choices.

i plan to watching a DVD i received from a little health birdie out in the mid-west! heather sent me a DVD to watch on how to make better choices at the supermarket and i'm VERY excited to watch it, as she's a nutrition professional and i'm taking all the free help i can get. THANK YOU HEATHER!

so yeah. when chad goes out of town, my health goes to hell in a hand basket. is that weird? i'm sorry, but i just do NOT do well grocery shopping with my 11mth old. nor do i feel like cooking dinner for...well...1 person. that's alot of effort for just myself. and so, if i'm honest, i ate an italian sub-ish sorta sandwich two days in a row, a McDonald's #2 (which was disgusting), two consecutive evenings of spaghetti (all organic!), and chinese takeout. i know. i disgust myself, truly. and i have no problem blaming my husband. i went 4 days in a row without breakfast and 3 of those 4 days without lunch. i just don't EAT when i'm alone. (nor do i clean, make the bed, or shower, and i LOVE it...but i digress...) HAAAALP!

i doubt i will be back on the wagon this week.
i only grocery shop on the weekends OR monday. so since tomorrow is tuesday, i'm sorta screwed. chad is traveling all day and HOW MANY TIMES CAN I OPEN MY FRIDGE DOOR, SIT DOWN and STARE AT ALL THAT I DON'T HAVE TO EAT?! do you do that, too? yesterday was BAD. i opened my pantry and leaned against the door for at LEAST a total of one hour, yesterday. lots of dried pastas. canned soups. stale cereals. unopened bag of tortilla chips. opened my fridge. pitcher of lame green tea. moldy cheddar cheese. shriveled blueberries. flat prosecco. UGH.

(lanier...i need to pimp out some of your recipes and pretend they're my own...so step forward whenever you feel it's appropriate...)

all in all, tomorrow is a new day.
i have contractors here at 10am, during isaac's naptime.
then i will attempt the grocery store. ::: golf claps :::

ENCOURAGE ME! pray for isaac! may God strike him with a spirit of grocery-store-passiveness, tomorrow. may he accept the positive experience of the shopping cart....PLEASE.



(huh? me soooo passive!)

i hate hot tea.

oh sorry....nothing to do with hot tea....



what? oh. my bad. DISTRACTIONS.....

ok, so i hate hot tea.
it all goes back to my days at the cafe in college when i was Fake Manager and decided to never show up again one day for work. i meeeaaaaan....

anyhooo. i had access to every fancy hot tea known to man and because i forced myself to drink it, in the greatest of efforts to 'acquire' the taste...i now dry heave when i see it. sometimes, people, it's just not meant to be! and then some. you can transform a mild aversion into a full on WAR if you force something that's not in the cards.

me = Hot Tea.

but i've been reading lately how wonderful green tea IS for you. antioxidants and stuff. health magazines have been swearing by it (trust me, i swear alot when hot tea is mentioned, too) for as long as i've been reading them. er. all of 3 weeks.

so since i feel enlightened regarding this information, i'm left with no option than to ingest it somehow, someway. so a few days ago, i boiled 8 cups of water and threw in 8 green tea bags and decided to refrigerate it. and add lots of Truvia (my first stab at a more natural sweetner, since i can't handle the taste of real sugar yet after decades of diet sodas and fake sweetner. nothing to do with the calories, more the taste....i'm ruined) and it ALMOST tastes like iced tea. but not. it's got a bitter, tarty, zing to it. but FAAAR more appealing in the cold version, than the hot.



and now green tea and i are on our way to a more stable relationship....

en plein air

this past saturday, we had the pleasure of enjoying a wholly organic meal, thanks to miss lanier. (lanier, get a blog already so i can link back to you!)

she invited us over for zucchini and goat cheese whole wheat pizza, turkey and muenster burgers with a side of succotash! sure, a bottle of prosecco accompanied it all, but that's ok on a beautiful summer evening. :) balance....right?

i do not have the recipe for the succotash but it was wonderfully fresh and tasty! lanier hit up the local farmers market and purchased organic succotash, green beans, corn, green and red peppers, jalapeños, tomatoes, parsley and basil!







The Turkey Burger Recipe:
1 1/2 lbs. ground turkey (preferably 93 percent lean)
1/2 C. finely grated Gruyere cheese
4 scallions, thinly sliced (I used chives -- which are essentially the same and easier to find)
1/4 C. dried breadcrumbs
1/4 C. Dijon mustard
1 garlic clove, minced (I used far more than one clove. Hee hee.)
Coarse salt and fresh ground pepper
Vegetable oil, for grates
4 hamburger buns (I like wheat buns or organic if you can find them!)

1. Heat the grill to high. In a medium bowl, use a fork to gently combine the turkey with the Gruyere, scallions, breadcrumbs, Dijon mustard, and garlic; season generously with salt and pepper. Dividing the mixture evenly, gently form the mixture into four 1-inch-thick patties. (Mom: this is why you've had a little trouble grilling with ground turkey. You need to do everything gently and not overmix/overwork in your hands.)

2. Lightly oil the grill. Place the patties on the hottest part of the grill; sear until browned, 1 to 2 minutes per side. Move the patties to the cooler part of the grill; continue grilling until cooked through, 5 to 10 minutes per side.

3. Toast buns!

4. Lanier's addition: I grilled onions alongside the burgers for the last 2 minutes or so. I also served sliced avocados to place on top of the burger. Once the burgers were done, even though they have cheese inside the patties, I shaved a few additional bits of gruyere on top (it is the single best melting cheese you can use -- it is perfect.)

Enjoy!!!







then! THEN! (this is a bit backwards because i'm announcing the appetizer last, but, wow, it was SPECTACULAR! so different and astounding!) i must comment on the Lemony Zucchini and Squash Goat Cheese Pizza! Here is the recipe! I WILL be making this myself soon!



Isaac certainly enjoys his dinner best en plein air!



all of the parts of this meal were simple normal recipes, converted to organic! and i must say -- lanier did a fabulous job! There's something about a breezy summer evening, eating with friends. i wish i could do it every day!

i'm back!

howdy folks.
i'm recovering well, thank you! outside of isaac's foot spurring my stomach, while he rides around on my hip, things are good.
well, then there are those moments in the morning that i stretch without thinking and wonder if my stomach muscles just ripped. otherwise we're golden!

given i had infinite amounts of time to spent happily drugged while surfing the web, i'd like to say i'm now going to eat my words. i hope they're organic.

remember back when i declared i'm only going organic with my FOOD?! well....strike that.

given my operation failed to find much WRONG with my system, i've been left to wonder what else could cause my irregular cycles and horrific periods. if it's not endometriosis, and if i don't have cysts or adhesions or scar tissue....then WHAT!?

one evening while drifting around in outter space (hola to the cat at the farm! this shout out will make no sense to 99.99% of you.) while drugged on my laptop, i stumbled across a blog written by a women who has PCOS. many of you are aware that i have PCOS and obviously it's impeding upon my cycle regularity more than i gave it credit for. (how soon we forget those wretched years of counting cycle days...)

nevertheless, this blog drew my attention to environmental factors that exacerbated her PCOS. i lingered on the website and was redirected to a site called The Cosmetic Database. wow. essentially, it's a site that analyzes over 30,000 skin care, cosmetic, hair care products and tells you exactly what ingredients are in each one, and rates it on a scale from 1-10 based on toxicity. apparently, and i had no idea, since skin care/hair care/cosmetics aren't ingested, the FDA cares very little about what goes into them. shocker. but there you go. then they proceed to tell you which ingredients are scientifically known to cause certain physical ailments. cancer. allergies. organ deficiency. reproductive toxicity. the list goes on. with my mouth hanging open, i slowly entered the Cover Girl powder that i've been using since i was 14 years old. i am astonished to tell you it ranked as a EIGHT on the 10-point toxicity spectrum.

this is what the webpage discloses about this particular cosmetic, click to enlarge:



cancer, check.
reproductive toxicity, check.
violations, check.

then they list the incriminating ingredients.


parabens, check.
lead, check.
ingredients outlawed in Europe, check.

wanna hear something worse?

i decided to brave the bad news, and enter in Vasoline Intensive Care Lotion with Aloe. i've sworn by this stuff for YEARS. i slather it ALL OVER my body on a daily basis. and isaac's. so it was imperative for me to know what it ranks.

are you ready?



NINE.
it ranks NIIIIINE.



again: cancer.
again: neurotoxicity.
again: reproductive toxicity.

i am truly in shock. appalled!

with all of this said, my point in this lies with overall health. why switch my diet to organic when i allow all of these toxic ingredients to penetrate my skin and thwart my efforts? why negate it all?

it's hard to apply makeup this week, knowing what i'm doing....

what's even CRAZIER is i went to Whole Foods and bought this lotion, thinking it was all-natural and organic. heh.

i come home and enter it into the database:
score of FIVE, based on the 'neurotoxicity evaluated in the fragrance."

if you can't get a true organic lotion at WHOLE FOODS, what gives?! and i paid far too much for it, to have me settle on a FIVE. i guess i'll print out the low toxicity list and drag it with me when i return to WF. it appears there are varying degrees of 'organic' and that's just annoying.

i'm still not on board with energy efficient light bulbs (HATE!) or canvas shopping bags (always forget them!) but i can now say i'm working to become organic is ways i least expected....

funny how life takes a turn when you recognize the small things that could have large negative effects on your baby....

this whole organic inspiration has really opened Pandoras Box......

** HIATUS **

i know, right?
that didn't take long. already got derailed but it's not my fault!
i had surgery on thursday, and since being bedridden, i can't really ask chad to run to whole foods and buy all my organic stuff like i'd love to do. besides. he's already declined that request before i even made it. boo.

SO, i'm coasting right along on the organic bounty i purchased last week...and making due the best i know how. i'm already out of my favorite juice, organic creamer, natural sweetener, and organic baby food. BUT, i'm being sustained by the leftovers of THREE wonderful meals that were provided for us via loving friends.

how do i feel?
eh, like a truck ran over my mid-section.
chad asked if i wanted to go with him to the pediatrician's office? ...no.
chad asked if i wanted to go with him to the pool today with isaac? ...no.
i asked myself if i wanted to shower for the first time in three days? ...no.

so it's quite a hoppin' Independence Day, lemme tell ya!
but oddly enough, i am loving the time to relax, even if it's forced by my circumstances.

have a happy 4th! ;)

non-organic, yet fun-infused dinner

welllllllll.
eating out is going to be interesting.
it's hard to even TRY to be good when you feel semi-deprived all day at home, and then they let you out of the house and it turns out a little crazier than you anticipated.

i had the best of intentions.
and it resulted in:
wine.
bread.
butter.
dips.
pasta.
cheese.
cheeeeeeeeeese.
more wine.

i'd say (with great honesty) that it was my first failure in five days. i can so live with that! i guess you do what you can....and i'm sure there were healthier options on the menu. (fish! salads!) and a little more will power would have gone far, but....eh. it was a night to exhale and relax....so we did just that.

you can always get back on the wagon tomorrow.
even though 'tomorrow' kinda hurts at 6am, after a late night out with the ladies. ;)



stay tuned! next week we have quite a few food experiments we will be attempting.
until then -- have a great weekend!

day #4...

soooo....my two hour traffic jam in georgetown yesterday stressed me out and sorta stole some time from my cooking schedule.

by the time i got home, threw isaac in his crib, and busted out the recipe, it was after 4pm. wheeeeeeee! i made a few rookie mistakes along the way, ....and realized rather quickly that you kinda need to have all your ingredients cut, minced, and portioned before you start sauteeing the first step. add what?! in 2 MINUTES?! it's still in the fridge! in the bag! haven't cut jack crap! ....

it was working in overdrive trying to have dinner SERVED by 7pm.
and lasagna's take a bit of time in the oven.

organic observations:
1) organic wheat noodles don't QUITE have the same consistency as normal, cheap-o ones. a few of them snapped in half, even after sitting in hot water for 20 minutes...?

2) all-natural turkey sausage (de-cased) is a FAR superior choice to regular ground turkey. the seasonings were FABULOUS!

3) organic mozzerella is to die for. no really. i consumed ALOT of it prior to putting the lasagna in the oven.

4) fresh herbs really do smell/taste SO much better than the dried ones that i have formally used from the shakers. duh.

5) organic parm cheese....eh? not necessarily worth the splurge. tastes just like the rest of 'em.

with all of that said -- COOKING REALLY TEARS UP YOUR KITCHEN! holy crap. i went through 4 pots, 4 spatulas, countless bowl, forks, knives. sauce everywhere. and i realized i didn't have the right sized oven dish, right as it was time to pull the whole thing together. boo.

BUT! but! but! but!
...it tasted stellar!!! i would highly recommend this recipe, but you need a few hours. i started dicing/cutting/mincing at 415....and had it in the oven with the kitchen spotless again by 630pm. not horrible, BUT.....not what i'd call an easy 2-minute meal.

i succeeded though. :)
it serves 6, realistically speaking...as opposed to 8, like they say.
and the recipe can be found HERE!







***
***

in other news, i had to meet some girlfriends for lunch...
at a pizza shop....
granted, it's a more 'natural' pizza shop, with whole wheat crusts, etc.
UGH, i was none too pleased to order water with my meal....WATER?! but, i did. with lime. not bad. and i ended up with a mozzerella, spinach, onion, tomato pizza, which was FAAABULOUS. especially since the whole 'yogurt & fruit' breakfast wasn't doing the trick anymore by 11am. (which left me in quite a quandary over what to eat! quandary resulted in 2 heaping spoonfulls of organic peanut butter and a large glass of milk. did the trick!)

tonight i'm headed here with some girlfriends....which should be also, interesting.
assuming leftover lasagna/salad will suffice as hubby's dinner...which...is kinda nice!

all in all....i'm feeling rather decent about my new organic life....
then again...we're only 4 days in :)