Saturday, February 23, 2013

You set me free

So, I have a favorite on American Idol this season...her name is Angela Miller. I'm pretty sure she blew just about everyone away including the judges with her performance a couple of weeks ago. She wrote a song called "You set me free" which is about being set free from baggage and the weight that you carry from hard times. I think she is definitely going to go far this season, if not win Idol 2013. Love this song, and wish I could purchase the full track! Who knows, if she wins, maybe they will let her first single be her original song, You set me free!

http://youtu.be/X_NhisWuq9o

 

You set me free-Angela Miller

You find me here alone
I hear a voice that’s so unknown
It strikes courage up my backbone
Strengthen my heart
A life set apart
I see that’s what you are
You come, you come with open arms
And you say “I love you for who you are”
When I was haunted and alone
With this baggage on my back dragging me down
You set me free
You set me free
You set me free

Friday, February 22, 2013

When I was your man

http://youtu.be/-8sYPCAf_1o

As I was about to get out of my car yesterday to walk into Publix I heard this song I had never heard come on the radio. First of all, I'm a sucker for anything piano, and I love hearing new, fresh, songs.... so naturally I stuck it out in my car for about 2 and half more minutes. I might be a little behind the ball on this one, but I'm loving "When I was your man" by Bruno Mars. I love the heartache and regret in the song and the piano music....oh there's just something so beautiful about the sound of the black and white keys... (did I mention I'm a sucker for depressing-heartbrake songs too?) I've never gone through a break up but I've experienced heartache and I love hearing the confessions of what he would have done to have her back in his life.

 

When I was your man by Bruno Mars

Same bed but it feels just a little bit bigger now
Our song on the radio but it don't sound the same
When our friends talk about you, all it does is just tear me down
'Cause my heart breaks a little when I hear your name

It all just sounds like ooh, ooh ooh hoo hoo
Mm, too young, too dumb to realize
That I should have bought you flowers
And held your hand
Should have gave you all my hours
When I had the chance
Take you to every party 'cause all you wanted to do was dance

Now my baby's dancing
But she's dancing with another man

My pride, my ego, my needs, and my selfish ways
Caused a good strong woman like you to walk out my life
Now I never, never get to clean up the mess I made, oh
And it haunts me every time I close my eyes

It all just sounds like ooh, ooh ooh hoo hoo
Mm, too young, too dumb to realize
That I should have bought you flowers
And held your hand
Should have gave you all my hours
When I had the chance
Take you to every party 'cause all you wanted to do was dance

Now my baby's dancing
But she's dancing with another man

Although it hurts
I'll be the first to say that I was wrong
Oh, I know I'm probably much too late
To try and apologize for my mistakes
But I just want you to know

I hope he buys you flowers
I hope he holds your hand
Give you all his hours
When he has the chance
Take you to every party
'Cause I remember how much you loved to dance
Do all the things I should have done
When I was your man
Do all the things I should have done
When I was your man

Saturday, February 9, 2013

Almond Joy Oatmeal

Mmmm...Mmmmm....Mmmmm! This morning I made myself a yummy bowl of Almond Joy Oatmeal. It's perfect for chocolate lovers who want that "sweet tooth" morning pick me up! This is one of my favorite ways to make oatmeal and it's so easy and fast!

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Almond Joy Oatmeal

1/2 cup of old fashioned oats

2 tbsp coconut flakes

2 tbsp chocolate chips (or more depending on your sweet cravings)

12 almonds

Cook Oatmeal accordingly then top with coconut flakes, chocolate chips, and almonds. Enjoy!

Thursday, February 7, 2013

Cauliflower Pizza

I LOVE cauliflower pizza! Make this for a light dinner or lunch! I topped mine with onions, goat cheese, spinach, but any topping will work. Enjoy!

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Cauliflower Pizza

Ingredients:
- 1 head Cauliflower

- 1 block skim mozzarella cheese (*1/2 for crust and set 1/2 for topping pizzas)
- 2 eggs
- dash of pepper

- 1 tsp oregano

- 1 TBSP ground flax seed
- olive oil ( just enough to spread dough)

-1 can tomato paste

-1 can tomato sauce

1. Grate cauliflower into bowl, and heat in microwave until soft. Next,  combine 1/2 block grated cheese, eggs, ground flax seed, pepper, and oregano into bowl with cauliflower and mix together until it becomes moist.

2.  Pre-heat the oven to 425 degrees.  Line 2 cookie sheets with parchment paper (do not use aluminium foil as it will stick!)  Divide cauliflower mixture into 4 piles.  Take a spatula and pour a little olive oil and spread the cauliflower mixture as thin as possible without making holes in crust.

4. Mix together tomato paste and tomato sauce and add the sauce toppings and cheese and place in oven at 350 degrees until cheese is melted and brown bubbles appear.  Remove to cutting board and cut slices and serve. Enjoy!

Wednesday, February 6, 2013

Black bean brownies!

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I've been wanting to try black bean brownies for a while now but have been a little Leary about making them. Well, I jumped the gun and made them! They exceeded my expectations and they did not taste much different from a regular brownie at all. I'm a lover of sweets but I always eat wayyyyyy too many when I should only be eating one serving. These brownies have no flour, and are just a little over 100 calories! I highly recommend making these! I followed a recipie I found on Chocolate Covered Katie's website and the only 2 modifications I made was instead of vegan chocolate chips I used milk chocolate chips and I added 1/4 cup flax seed. Here's the recipie if you want to make it!

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Black Bean Brownies

1 1/2 cups black beans (1 15-oz can, drained and rinsed very well) (250g after draining)
2 tbsp cocoa powder- dutch or regular (10g) (add a little extra if desired)
1/2 cup quick oats (40g) (See nutrition facts link below for all substitution notes.)
1/4 tsp salt
1/3 cup pure maple syrup or agave (Honey will work, but not for strict vegans.) (75g)
2 nunaturals stevia packs or 2 tbsp sugar (or omit and increase maple syrup to 1/2 cup)
1/4 cup coconut or vegetable oil (40g) (See “nutrition facts” link for all substitution notes.)
2 tsp pure vanilla extract
1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 cup to 2/3 cup chocolate chips (115-140g) (Not optional. Omit at your own risk.)
optional: more chips, for presentation
1/4 cup ground flax seed

Preheat oven to 350 F. Combine all ingredients except chips in a good food processor, and blend until completely smooth. Really blend well. (A blender can work if you absolutely must, but the texture—and even the taste—will be much better in a food processor.) Stir in the chips, then pour into a greased 8×8 pan. Optional: sprinkle extra chocolate chips over the top. Cook 15-18 minutes, then let cool at least 10 minutes before trying to cut. Makes 9-12 brownies.

Sunday, February 3, 2013

Curry Chicken with Rice

I have been craving curry chicken ever since I ate at this fantastic Thai restaurant in Vancouver in September. Tonight I attempted my first Curry Chicken recipe and it turned out great!

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I found this recipie, however I did make a couple modifications. To make vegan, leave out chicken.

2 tablespoons peanut oil

1 onion-chopped

1 tablespoon thai red curry paste

2 garlic cloves, minced

1 cup coconut milk

1 cup vegetable stock

2 tablespoons soy sauce

the juice of half of a lime

2 tablespoons flour

the juice of half a lemon

fresh parsley leaves

1 tablespoon brown sugar

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 cup of mushrooms, sliced

1 red pepper, chopped

1 cup rice

2 chicken breasts

Heat the oil in a large saucepan over medium heat, add in onions. After 5 mins, add the curry paste and garlic and stir for one minute. Add the coconut milk, soy sauce, lime juice, sugar, and salt, and bring to a boil. Add the red pepper and mushrooms, and cover with lid for 12 minutes, turn to medium heat and simmer. While curry is simmering, begin cooking rice.  Add the chicken to the curry, cover with lid and simmer for 8 minutes. Next, add the flour and stir, making sure it does not clump together. Add the lemon juice, and stir. Saturate curry paste on top of rice and top with fresh parsley and enjoy!

 

 

 

to be vegan..

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Over the past week  I've become very interested and fascinated with the vegan lifestyle. I was talking to a co-worker who has been a vegan for one year. She was converted when she took a nutrition and mental illness class at Rollins College. One of her assignments was  for 3 weeks she had to choose a diet of only juicing fruits and vegetables or a vegan diet. She chose vegan. She gave me some titles of some of the videos she watched in her classroom and though I haven't done an intense or deep study on veganism, from what I watched and from what I have read online vegan makes sense for me.

The reason why I'm choosing to "try out" the vegan diet is because I have suffered with digestive issues, anxiety, and nerve problems and I am hopeful that this will help reduce those health issues. I also want to improve my diet and overall health and believe this will be a good track for me to follow.

One of the things that stood out to me the most was how the protein we consume from animals has a tremendous effect on the growth of cancer cells living in the body.  Not only that, but when you are not consuming dairy many vegan dieters experience more energy, less anxiety, and they are also lowering the risk of heart disease. (Just to name a few benifits of being vegan).

A lot of people have a distorted view of veganism. It's for hippies, all vegans are snobby, they eat like birds, "girly" diet, don't consume enough protein or calcium. While none of this is true, many people don't realize that there is more than enough protein and calcium consumed through a plant based diet than in most american diets. Many americans consume so many empty calories in their daily diet, while lacking nutrient based food, they are robbing their bodies of the vitamins, nutrients, and good calories our body needs to function properly.  

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Spinach, kale, broccoli, tofu, soybeans, almonds and molasses, to name a few) offer more calcium per calorie than milk.

It's not easy to switch to this lifestyle, especially if you are used to eating the common "staples" of the american diet. I've been trying to make a better effort to stay away from dairy products. I've been told to wing myself off slowly. My co-worker did it cold turkey and had no problem. I LOVE cheese, I LOVE ice cream, I LOVE dairy, period.  This will be a great challenge, but I'm looking forward to it!

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