Yesterday I signed up to do the #YU30 challenge via YumUniverse. It is a plant powered challenge from February 1st to March 2nd. 30 Days of whole food yumminess! I’m particularly excited about it because in our household we have been cutting out the dairy, processed sugar, gluten, and meat. We have been able to go about 2 weeks or more without every one of those products but usually give in to a BBQ here and there. 

How does the #YU30 challenge work? It’s a way to work with others in the plant powered community to try something new, change your diet and even your life. To get started head over to the YumUniverse website and register. You will then be sent a starter pack that includes more information on how the challenge works, the prizes you could win, recipes, information on plant based diets, and so much more! It’s truly an incredible e-packet full of tons of useful every day information. And, IT’S FREE!

Why am I doing this? A plant powered diet is something we have been working towards for about 5 months now. While it is a process we have definitely seen some benefits in our household. More energy, clearer skin, fewer allergies, less farting (ha, yeah), and happier stomachs. We do still eat meat occasionally but when we do we spend a bit more on the grass-fed and organic products. It’s so much better than conventional meats. However, it is a rare occasion that we do consume meat. Cheese is consumed every so often, but again very rarely. We don’t have a full plant powered diet just yet, but it’s something we are working towards. I’m hoping #YU30 will speed us up to that point even more.

That being said! Follow along as I document and video all of our recipes, challenges and the changes we encounter. Nobody say’s it is going to be easy, but I would love it if you could join me and we can encourage one another! So head on over to the  YumUniverse website to get all the details and get registered! Let me know when you do by following me here on my blog, Facebook Page and Twitter.  

Cheers to Plant Powered Eating! 

Smoothies have become our everyday morning fuel. This morning was rather energizing and delicious! So I had to share what we put in it so that maybe it can spark your smoothie making recipes. 

2 cups Almond Milk
Tsp. of Chia Seeds
Tsp. Macca Powder
Tsp. Flax Seed
1 scoop of Green Energy
2 Celery Stalks
1 Banana
1 1/2 Cups of Frozen Berry Mix
1/2 Cup of Spinach
1/4 Cup of Orange juice to top it off

Blend thoroughly and enjoy!

Good Morning! Happy Tuesday! 

I always love 3-day weekends because it means I have an extra day with my husband. We had some good friends over for a Big Lebowski Bowling Tournament. Which was a blast! We all lost track of time and became rather competitive. Which ended up with us being at the bowling alley for 5.5hrs!! Yup, I definitely got some good nike fuel points in. 

With every get together means cleaning. That’s exactly what Sunday ended up being. But it was nice to be with our little family having a movie day. 

MLK day was spent watching a bit of the President’s inauguration, always a fun and historical event to watch. After we watched for a bit we went on a hike in the hills of Petaluma with Churro, our catahoula. It was really gorgeous out, so being outside was a must. Churro had a blast running all over the fields and going into superman mode. Which just means Churro going all out running everywhere. It’s pretty hilarious. The photo above is from our hike. 

Our weekend ended with dinner and a movie! We went to this really great italian restaurant called Rosso in Petaluma. The staff was incredibly friendly, the food was great and they had good wines. It made our night just that much better! So if you go, definitely get the garlic rolls. Yummm! After dinner we went and saw Django. So happy we finally got to see it because wow was it a great movie! Quentin Tarantino’s writing has become something so different and so great. Highly recommend it if you have not seen it yet. 

A great 3-day weekend! Couldn’t have asked for a better one. What did you do?!

Have a great week!

Hello! And welcome to Foodie Fridays! Today’s guest is the Raw Pumpkin Seed. This delicious seed can be enjoyed year round in foods like salads, cereals, smoothies and many more dishes for you creative chef types. 

The Raw Pumpkin seed is rich, not with money, but in protein, zinc, magnesium, iron and fiber. To make the pumpkin seed more attractive it also contains most of the B vitamins (yeah, your brain will love that) along with the lovely C, D, E and K vitamins. To add to this lovely seed’s list of qualities its also rich in amino acids. Suh-weet! 

Hey guys, check this out. The high zinc levels in pumpkin seeds is good for the prostate. Say adios to cancer!

The high levels of zinc in raw pumpkin seeds are ALSO great for your bones to protect against osteoporosis. Getting old never seemed so ridiculously great. But wait, there’s more! The high protein load can provide an awesome source of protein for both vegans and vegetarians. The cow’s say Thank-Moo (Too much?)

So, if you would like to add this lovely nutritious seed to your every day health, you can pick it up in the bulk section of your local health food store. Just make sure it reads raw pumpkin seeds, the baked seeds lose all their nutritional value! 

Happy Eating! 

First off, this post is in no way supportive of performance enhancing drugs. I never have been and never will be. 

But, why is it that we have to focus on the negative? His allegations of performance enhancement drugs happened 10 years ago. How is it that all of a sudden this has to pop up? Is it jealousy? Money? I’m pretty sure he wasn’t the only cyclist using performance enhancing drugs.

Yet, so many years later we have to attack a man who overcame cancer and inspired others who had cancer to be strong and battle on. A man who started an institution in which we all know that funds cancer research and again, inspires those who have cancer to “Livestrong”. 

I grew up watching Lance Armstrong actually shed light on the sport of cycling and The Tour de France. I read his books and felt inspired in my own ways to become stronger, to not feel sorry for myself and carry on in my own sport. Sure, it’s a bit disheartening to hear he did it. But, I’m not surprised nor do I really care.  

I do feel bad that he lost his sponsors but again, not surprising. Those companies can’t exactly support someone who used sports enhancing drugs. But why don’t we focus on what he accomplished as an every day guy, HE BEAT CANCER. That in my mind is bigger than anything else he has accomplished. And because of all those sponsorships he had previously he could start a very popular institution that funds cancer research and promotes a healthy lifestyle. A topic that should have the spotlight rather than something Lance did 10 years ago. 

Again, I don’t support performance enhancement drugs. I will wear my Livestrong sweatshirt as proudly as I ever have. I do praise someone who beats cancer and inspires others that they could too. Find some good in his story, negativity never helped anybody. 

This post is the start of many dream runs. I want to start researching beautiful places to go for a run so that we can all be inspired to travel outside our own areas to other gorgeous locations. 

First stop…Moab, Utah! Ever since my husband and I stopped at the Grand Canyon on our move across America I have wanted to explore more of what Utah and the Southwest has to offer. Gorgeous scenery and beautiful red rock.  And of course a lot of sunshine never hurt anybody! 

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