Simplicity

"Simplicity is the ultimate sophistication" - Leonardo DaVinci

My goal this year has been to simplify and I'm learning to embrace it more and more each day. It's quite a beautiful thing, simplicity.

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Larabar Love

Let me start by saying I am a big fan of simplicity when it comes to what I put in my body. I like to know what is in my food, which is why I prefer to to make most of our meals at home. But lets be honest, on days I am working from 6am to 8:30pm, I need some easy snacks that I can throw in my bag and eat on the go (especially when I only have a minute between clients!).

I am generally a big fan of portable fruit like apples and bananas, but sometimes I need something more. Something that tastes like a treat, yet has a lot to offer nutritionally, which is why I am LOVING Larabars. They come in the most delicious flavors (lemon bar, chocolate coconut, apple pie and cinnamon roll) and yet, they're gluten free and only contain pure and simple ingredients.

Take the Peanut Butter Cookie for example, the only ingredients: prunes, peanuts, salt. And you would have no idea! It seriously tastes like a little baked treat!

Bottom line - you need to go get yourself some Larabars today! You'll thank me later!

image/abeautifulmess

Just What the Doctor Ordered

I've had a tough start to this week. But yesterday afternoon my husband and I sat outside, savored the sunshine and ate gelato. No worries, no stress. And sometimes, that's all a girl needs to feel better.

Simple Weekends

As much as I love fun, lively and activity-filled weekends, I also relish the simple ones. A few days of taking things as they come and leisurely breakfasts that include a full pot of coffee are always welcome in my book!

The only real plans we have for the weekend are to attend a Dinner Auction tomorrow night to help raise money for a youth missions trip to Mexico, which should be quite fun! And of course, there are always those early morning workouts. I know it sounds crazy, but weekend mornings have become my favorite sweat sessions. Not only are there no time constraints put on me, but my husband enjoys sleeping in so it works out nicely for both of us. By the time he is waking up, I have already started a yummy breakfast for the two of us. It's quite perfect, really!

Have a delightful weekend and enjoy the last few days of February!

Apple Hill and Roasted Tomatoes & Garlic

This weekend we took our much anticipated trip to Apple Hill! We decided to go without our pup this year. It turned out to be a wonderful 78 degree and very busy day! We made our way to our two favorite places and brought home 8lbs. of apples, Chris' all-time favorite apple juice (unpasteurized, of course), apple butter and their famous apple pie! We also purchased a Christmas ornament, a seemingly new tradition of ours:)

I am so stoked about the apples we picked out this year. As always, I got several Granny Smiths for baked apples (my favorite!), caramel apples and other baking needs, a few Gravenstein apples for homemade apple sauce and Chris threw in some other less known red varieties for snacking:)




Sunday night was incredibly relaxing for us. As usual, I was a busy little bee after church, getting the house put together, Chris watched football and then we went for a run together. For dinner I gave into a craving I've had for several days: roasted tomatoes and garlic! I simply tossed them into whole wheat linguini and added freshly grated parmigiano-reggiano. It was nothing short of delicious!



And Chris felt like celebrating, so we popped open a bottle of Chandon's Brut and paired with a delightful slice of warm apple pie!


Definitely a fabulous weekend!

In A Pinch

I like to believe I am a minimalist when it comes to food. Contrary to how I grew up, with a pantry always stocked beyond what we really needed for a family of three, I prefer to buy only what we need for the week. For one, it keeps the grocery bill down and gives me the ability to buy only the freshest and best quality ingredients. And secondly, it eliminates waste, which is a huge pet peeve of mine!

With that being said, I do believe in good sense and always attempt to have neccesities on hand (thanks, Mom!). For example, beans, canned tomatoes, tomato paste, pasta, oatmeal, etc. Basically, the things we always use and won't go bad.

On Sunday I went grocery shopping (my favorite chore) and bought everything we needed for the week, or so I thought. As I was pulling everything out last night to prepare the Turkey Sausage and Farro Soup I had planned, I realized I had just used the last can of diced tomatoes and forgot to put them on my "All Out Of" list. After all, why would I think to check the pantry when we always have several cans? Realizing I didn't really have time to go to the store before Chris got home, I rummaged through the pantry for a quick solution and to my relief found a box of Whole Foods brand Tomato Basil Soup I bought a few weeks ago "for one of those days". Phew! Thankfully, Tomato Basil Soup and Panini's is always a great substitute!

So the moral of the story here is that it's always a good idea to have simple go-to things like soup on hand!

Our dinner ended up being so yummy! And tonight I shall once again attempt the Turkey Sausage and Farro Soup:)

Delicious black forest ham, smoked gouda and roasted red pepper paninis!


BTW, this Tomato soup is fantastic!

Feeding the Tummy and the Mind

What happens when you combine two perfectly succulent salmon steaks with some Asian-inspired ingredients? You create a wonderfully simple and healthy meal, of course!

We were given this delicious salmon on Monday by Chris' grandpa who just got back from a fishing trip. Yep, he caught it himself!




For this oh-so-simple dinner I didn't fuss with complicated ingredients. I just used some pantry staples.

Preheat the oven at 400 degrees

In a medium bowl, combine the following ingredients~

4 tbsp low sodium soy sauce
2 tbsp rice vinegar
2 tsp sesame oil
2-3 gloves chopped garlic
2 tsp sesame seeds
a dash of crushed red pepper
a dribble of chile oil (optional)

Place steaks (4 oz. each) in an oven safe dish, then pour the mixture over the fish. Cover the dish with a lid (or aluminum foil in you don't have a lid). Place in the oven and cook for 15-20 minutes. Voila!

I served this with a side salad and couscous.

I tried to keep the rest of the meal simple since the main course had so much flavor and garlicky bite!

Lately, I have had so many books on my "to-read list", but I can never find the time to get them all read, let alone the concentration to finish one book before I begin another! My goal for the rest of the year is to get all of them read. We'll see:) I have currently just begun Blue Like Jazz (which I read a few years ago and really enjoyed). Also on my nightstand is The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People, a book I started several times in college but failed to finish. A few others on my list include: Those Who Save Us, Undomestic Goddess (which I am halfway through), Julia Childs autobiography and I would like to get in Redeeming Love this year (one of my all-time favorites that I like to read at least once a year). I would also like to track down A Severe Mercy because I have heard raving reviews about it from several friends. The list may seem hefty, but I have a plan...I'm trying the whole, read before I go to bed thing and it's been pretty successful so far:)

Got any other reading suggestions I can add to my constantly growing list?

Thai Lime Chicken

Well folks, Clean Eating does it again! I've quite possibly discovered the quickest, most simple meal yet! And the best thing is, I had EVERY ingredient on hand!

So here's to you on-the-go ladies (and gents) who can appreciate a quick and delicious meal:)

Thai Lime Chicken
*1/3 cup dry roasted peanuts
*1 1/2 tbsp garlic powder
*1 1/2 tsp ginger, ground
*1/2 lb boneless, skinless chicken breast
*1 lime

Preheat oven at 375 degrees. In a mini food processor, grind peanuts until fine, but not to paste. In a small bowl, combine peanuts, garlic powder and ginger. Place chicken on a cookie sheet and squeeze juice from lime overtop. Then roll chicken in peanut mixture until well-coated. Bake chicken in oven for 25 minutes or until no longer pink. Viola!

Along with this amazing chicken, we had a Summer Bean Salad (recipe also from Clean Eating) and brown rice. Btw, I may have made the best brown rice ever! I know rice is simple enough to make, but I've never quite gotten brown rice as fluffy and soft as I would like. While searching for brown rice tricks, I stumbled upon the Saveur website and was so pleased with the result of my findings! Here's the link to "perfect brown rice".


Have a lovely Wednesday!

Simplicity

I am a firm believer in the idea that, when it comes to food, simplicity is the best policy. If I could have it my way, I would have a whole garden of fresh fruits and vegetables that we could feast on and know exactly where they came from. Unfortunately, living in an apartment does not accomodate these desires. So, I go to the next best thing-shopping at a store who shares my ideals of fresh, wholesome and whenever possible, local ingredients. I am reffering to Whole Foods. I know that I might pay more for certain ingredients, but I feel that the few extra dollars are worth me having a clear conscience. Plus, it makes me aware of the things I buy so I only purchasing what we really need to sustain our bodies. After all, food is meant to be just that, fuel for these ever working machines.

I think this state of mind is catching on in our house:) Last night is a perfect example. I came home from the gym to a delicious, healthy and amazingly fresh tasting meal (prepared by my darling husband!). Chris had prepared a very simple dinner but it was exactly what I needed to recover from my workout. He made a Vita-Mix soup (a staple in our house) and grilled chicken with some spicy seasonings. I know it sounds silly, but I couldn't help but rave over this amazing meal! The soup was one we hadn't tried yet. It was a simple vegetable soup with fresh carrot, tomato, celery, pepper etc. Yum!

I was reminded last night (and again at lunch as I licked my bowl clean) how satisfying "real" food is and and wondered why more people don't realize this. I honestly believe our nation would be a much better and healthier place if we got back to the basics of food.

Wishing you good health always!