I’ve been trying to get more veg and fruit in my diet by way of smoothies. I wanted to change things up this morning so I decide to change what I put in my smoothie. My usual smoothie consists of peaches, strawberries, banana, spinach and a little watered down apple juice. Recently I’ve been adding kale to that but this morning I took it to a “whole ‘notha level”.
I wondered what apple, kale and ginger would be like. (I didn’t water down the apple juice this time though.) I don’t have a juicer (I use a Nutriblend), so I was aware the consistency would be a little weird. However, it was the green color that freaked me out! I didn’t even taste it… I went straight to the freezer, pulled out my frozen strawberries and added a banana and back on the blender it went!
Verdict? The ginger is a little strong (maybe too much?!) but after the first few sips being all weird I kept drinking and no longer wanted to gag a little. I don’t know if it’ll be a regular but I’m glad I took the step to try something different. Now I know I can change up my regular smoothie by adding and subtracting an ingredient each time.
While I was doing this, I filled a cup (probably the size of a venti drink at Starbucks) with water and added 3 slices of lemon for me to drink today and keep adding water as it goes down.
I’m trying… I need to detox all the sugar I’ve been uncontrollably consuming recently. I can’t even mess around. Bikini body is needed very soon so it’s time to buckle down! Pilates is today so I will give it my all.
I am sorry if I’ve been neglecting this blog. I feel like it’s doing OK on it’s own and I can devote a little more time to my other blog to get it on it’s feet. As usual I write when I feel inclined to share my views on something that is knocking on the door to my mind.
I am baffled by the fact that Bravo is doing a show on whether or not people will make it through the first year of marriage. The first year of marriage is so critical that I feel like they’re making a mockery of it. Furthermore, it’s supposed to be one of the happiest years! Yes there is some adjustment involved but I personally don’t think it’s something that people should sign up for if there are any doubts about their marriage. There are a few things that I know made mine lovely.
Therapy
I am Catholic and one of the requirements prior to getting married was therapy. There were several things about these sessions that have stuck with me to this day and also changed the way I approach my marriage. One of the most critical issues that was addressed during therapy was my husband’s career and the way it will affect our marriage. Luckily for us, we saw a therapist who saw a lot of couples married to people who work at Microsoft, Google and other tech companies in the area. In short, programmers and night owls, and when they’re in the zone, they are in the zone. They don’t know when to stop and leave home (if they’re working on something prior to attending a dinner or something). Basically, you have to know what you’re getting into. If you’re young, be aware of budding careers. Be aware that if you find yourself always concerned with work, when you aren’t working, to make sure you give your partner some attention and let them know how much you appreciate them. It will always be a work in progress and that is what marriage is – a work in progress.
Therapy is good throughout marriage as well. I have made it a point to try to play therapist within my marriage and go out on a limb and ask stuff or address issues that I think would go over with a third party present who has an unbiased opinion. I also let my husband know it’s a discussion so we will talk and respect each other’s decisions.
You get nothing resolved and your point is lost when there is a screaming match. Speak in calm tones and be reasonable. Listen to each other.
Get Away!
As hard as it was to be so far away from my family, being away from them was also critical to building a good foundation for my marriage. And it’s not only me! I also have two friends who said the same thing. Being away from all of the people giving their opinions about what you should or shouldn’t do, giving their opinions on a little quarrel you two might have had, is important. Piece of advice – IT’S YOUR MARRIAGE! THEY ARE NOT IN IT SO THEY DO NOT HAVE ANY INPUT IN ANYTHING!Your husband’s mother can’t tell you how you should’ve handled a situation because he is not in the same relationship with her as he is with you. My mother can’t tell him how to deal with something I did because I don’t respond the same way to her as I do to him. You get what I’m saying? Always welcome advice, but at the end of the day, make your final decisions based on the person you know as your partner, not what others think or have heard because there is always three sides to a story – your version, his version and the truth (don’t remember where I heard that but I’m not claiming it). If you can’t move too far away, keep your business to yourself. Having all of your business out there and everyone giving their two cents doesn’t make anything easier for you. Keep it between you and your partner. If you really need to share or offload, make sure you can trust that person and let them know up front if you’re just offloading or if you actually want their advice. Unwanted/unwelcomed advice is never a good thing. When all else fails…
Travel
We went on our honeymoon about 6 months after we got married and that made a huge difference for us. It was something we were looking forward to after winter and it was going to be an “adventure” for both of us. I’ve been pleading with my husband to return to Maui since. Not only because I loved it, it was somewhere we’d never been before and it was just us. Every trip we’ve been on since, we’ve known somewhere there. A getaway is major because it gives you that chance to go back to the beginning. Take at least 4 days to go somewhere away from everything, everyone, no phones (unless you need directions or food options/reviews) and just enjoy each other’s company. In other words, get time away to discuss any issues you’ve had/ are having (this seems to be handled better outside of the home) and get your groove back at the same time ;).
David and I at our hotel’s Luau – 2010
I could go on for the whole night but it’s getting late. I’ve just found those few to be very critical for my first year. I don’t know if I want to watch the show yet but from the trailers, I don’t feel good about it. What are your thoughts on getting through the first year of marriage? What about 5 years? I’d love to hear, I’m approaching 4 this year. I’d love to hear your views in general so please leave some below in the comments.
Since my omelette post was so well received, I’ve since done another dish that has a recipe that can be shared. I’m the kind of cook who throws things in the pot at the last minute or according to how I want things to taste, with that said, I do not really follow recipes. However, I do a few simple things that I can average and share a “recipe” with you. Today’s is… shit I didn’t think of a name. Ok, we’ll go with the title – Eat your veggies. After all I did this to force myself to eat veg.
1 cup shredded carrots
1 cup shredded cabbage
1 small bunch of broccoli chopped
4 brussel sprouts chopped
1 tsp unsalted butter
1/2 tsp paprika
1/4 tsp black pepper
(salt optional)
In a non stick pan, add all of the ingredients on a low heat (like the omelette) and stir occasionally so that everything is covered with the seasonings. Do not overcook your veg! When the broccoli and brussel sprouts become a bright green color it’s ready! The pic below is when I warmed this up today for lunch so it’s leftovers. I forgot to take a pic last night when it looked bright green lol. The paprika and red cabbage also add a reddish tinge to it.
I’m really trying to reduce my flour intake so I have to be creative with my vegetables as I can get bored of the taste very quickly. I tried brussel sprouts before and steamed is not the way for me. It’s actually the brussel sprouts that led me to do this, kind of disguise them in some other veg I don’t mind eating. Again, feel free to modify this as you see fit. Maybe add some red onions or green onions and tomato. I used unsalted butter because I don’t like how vegetables taste/look when you cook them in oil, even olive oil.
I cooked some chicken thighs with this as I did a quinoa pasta/veg dish for my husband and just the chicken and veg for me. I couldn’t dream of giving him veg alone, he’d be forever snacking on something because it wasn’t filling, so he got pasta. The good thing about this meal is that it could be done for a quick lunch (it warmed up nicely in my toaster oven today) as well and would be nice with fish. I’m going to add the same ingredients to a chicken stir-fry for myself tonight. I have the chicken boiling right now! I do that now – instead of putting the raw chicken into the pot and continuously adding seasonings, I boil the chicken breasts with onion, shred and then use accordingly. It helps get rid of some of the fat .My husband will be having chicken chow mein for dinner and I get chicken and veg.
I’m hoping to be bikini ready very soon. I’m trying out Pilates tomorrow and I have training today with my trainer – kind of excited. I love how I feel after working out but I hate doing it lol.
Anyway let me know if you try this or have a way of improving it. I winged this out so feel free to add more of something if it isn’t to your liking.
Just a Dash 