Hoopy 10th Birthday, Kieran James!

Yumm Bowl Night

Jazzy Yumm Bowl with Grilled Asain Chicken Tender

On Yumm! Bowl nights I make Cafe Yumm (of Eugene, Oregon)'s Jazzy Bowls. Which consists of:

Jasmine Rice

Original Yumm! Sauce

Organic Red Beans

Organic Salsa 

Tillamook Cheddar

Diced Tomato

Fresh Avocado slices

Sour Cream

Black Olives

Cilantro

If you're not able to get your hands on some of Cafe Yumm!'s Original Yumm! Sauce than I have a pretty good copy-cat recipe to follow. It's actually an amazing recipe, but I still love buying Yumm! Sauce everytime I'm in Oregon.

Wholesome, honest-to-god, real food. 70 calories per Tablespoon

When making Yumm! Bowls the time-consuming part is preparing the sauce. Here's my copy-cat recipe of Cafe Yumm!'s Original Yumm! Sauce:

Ingredients
1/2 cup filter water
1/2 cup fresh lemon juice
1/2 cup cold-pressed grape seed oil (or canola oil)
1/2 cup almond flour
1/3 cup nutritional yeast
1/2 cup chickpeas, drained and rinsed
1/3 cup silken tofu
4 cloves of garlic
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 1/2 teaspoon curry powder
1 teaspoon dried oregano
1 teaspoon dried cilantro

Put all ingredients in a blender, or food processor and mix until creamy. Viola!

When making Yumm! Bowls carefully weigh out, and measure the ingredients to ensure a proper serving.

After mastering Yumm! Sauce it's pretty easy to make your own version of Yumm! Bowls at home-- I prefer the Jazzy Bowl, but have been known to make different versions from breakfast Yumm! Bowls to other copy-cat ideas from Cafe Yumm!'s website. 

The perfect feel-better soon food. 

Don't forget rooster sauce, and Liquid Aminos!

The bowl with a chicken tender came to 515 calories, 28 carbs, and 22 grams of protein. If you want to learn more about MyFitnessPal, check out my Food Diary.

A good day on MyFitnessPal-- I've been using MFP for well over a year now. 

"Tell the pregnant bitches to wait. You gotta go to Oregon!"

So, here it is, the new year. And, a new moon. Huzzah! It's sad that the first time I've been sick in forever, has me down so hard. No matter! I refuse to let this illness have me down for too long. Even though I am kinda stuck in bed and drugged up on prescription steroids, and an inhaler I seemingly turn to a little too often-- not to mention the over-the-counter stuff, I am still going forward with my healthy choices. 

And, 2014, is going to be the best year yet. I deserve a great year, and I am choosing to have a beautiful, healthy, happy, hoop-full year.

To make this year my year, I am choosing to put into play 8 different steps I feel will help me make better choices for a healthier life, and taking responsibility for that healthy life.

First, I feel like I should wrap up 2013 with a picture of my ending calendar, and wrapping up last months goals:

I do my best to accurately record what I've done to track progress. This helps with motivation! 

I didn't reach all of my goals for December 2013, but some goals I exceeded!

I really love my Friends calendar I get every year from mum-mum. It makes for a fun place to track progress!

The beginning of this year's calendar

Anyways, the 8 steps I'm taking today to keep me on track for 2014, I am following from this Web MD Article. I am so grateful for so many of the steps I've already took to make all these things seem doable. I am glad I'm started when I started, and I am grateful-- so, so grateful that I have insurance, and the ability to see a doctor, and a dentist currently.  

Sadly, though, I am still sick. And, it has been tiresome and difficult to let my body rest. But, that's what it needs, and I am trying to pride myself in listening to my body's need. So, since I'm in bed for the day, I worked on next goals with Gabriel by my side, and for the very first time in my life, I also wrote down some New Year's Resolutions.

Gabriel, my wonder cat

I like to write down my monthly goals, and leave them around the house where I can see them

I want to add on run a 5k to my list of goals. It's the one thing I regret I didn't do last year!

In the meantime, to help keep my nutrition in check, I tried to sit down and write out a realistic menu plan, that's easy to follow, easily made gluten-free (in most cases), and is pretty healthy:

 I hope this helps keep things  a little more on the cheap for us and makes writing the weekly shopping list a little easier

Tonight was a Caprese Chicken recipe I made up, over quinoa, and steamed broccoli with a little butter. It was simple, delicious, and a super easy meal for two-- and I can see how someone could easily make this for a crowd as well.

Sari's Caprese Chicken over quinoa and a side of steamed broccoli-- this whole meal was 506 calories

Ingredients

4 Chicken Tenders

1 pint cherry tomatoes, halved

2 Tablespoons olive oil

2 thick slices mozzarella cheese, cut in half (length wise)

¼ cup fresh basil, chopped

Handful garlic cloves, minced

salt and pepper

2 Tablespoons balsamic vinegar

Directions

Salt and pepper chicken tenders, then broil, about six minutes on each side. Then put Mozzarella cheese on chicken and broil about two to four minutes, depending on how melted, or dark you want your cheese.

While the chicken is broiling warm the 2 Tablespoons of olive oil over medium heat, before oil is smoking, but nice and heated up add tomatoes, and garlic. Once the tomatoes have a nice caramelized color to it add the fresh basil on top at the first sign of wilting turn off heat, and give a good stir.

Serves 2
Per serving:
Calories 383
Carbs 24
Protein 19
Fiber 7
Calcium 22
Iron 5

Anyways, I hope in the near future I'll be working out. I really miss it. I really miss work. Anyways, I'm tired, and I really need to call it quits for the day.

I hope everyone has a blessed new year. 

He has the flu

Well, the very last week of 2013 officially sucks.

On Sunday our car broke down, then I was told that my store location is being shut down, and now I can't even work, because I have this mystery fever, sickness of doom. They weren't 100% on what I have, but I was sent home with steroids, and a new inhaler.

It's times like this, I am anxiously awaiting the new year, for a symbolic fresh start. I am also grateful for my insurance. Seriously, I wouldn't have even gone in if it weren't for the insurance.

And no message could have been any clearer: If you want to make a world a better place take a look at yourself and make a change

I've been putting off making this post for nearly five days-- I was just busy, and I never got around to posting pictures from Christmas, and naturally, during that wait time life happened.

It looks like the powers at be will be shutting down the Old Navy at the Gateway on January 26th. We were asked to wait until today to start publicly sharing the news. I love my store, and this news is heartbreaking to many of us associates, and leaders. I essentially have 4 weeks to get my shit together, and decide what I'm going to do, and where I may be going.

As always, I am blown away by the love, kindness, and care GAP, Inc is showing their employees, by helping us get new jobs, and new locations within the company. If anything, the horrid abuse I suffered during my stint with Landis Lifestyle Salon and the tyranny that Richard Surber created with that evil dictator, awful, sub-human, Staci Ditzer, has made me even more grateful for my team with Old Navy.

Tomorrow I will be talking with my store manager about staying on with the company, and maybe relocating to the Sugarhouse location.

In the meantime, I've been readying myself for 2014. This last year has had many blessings, and adventures; I was able to go home to Oregon twice, we visited Seatle for Marc's brother's wedding, I was able to continue on my journey towards a better, healthy life, I traveled to Santa Cruz for Hoopcamp 2013, and saw Monterey for the first time in ten years. However, this year brought on the very first time I've ever been fired from a position-- making it worse, because it was wrongful termination. This is the year of another miscarriage, and more heart-ache, and on December 29th I was told the most constant and steady thing I've had in my life the last couple years (ON at the Gateway) is going away.

In these heartaches, I have decided to be strong in 2014, and kick some ass on the year I turn 30.

And, as far as counting our blessing from 2013-- I think I felt the biggest blessing of all this Christmas season, in my boyfriend's nephew. As I keep struggling with having to leave my house having his weeness at family event's made it all the better.

Axel will be 3 months on January 7th (his uncle Jon's birthday)

It has felt lonely with the DiFrancesco's sans children, and it makes me so happy that Marc's big sister, Kathleen, and brother-in-law, Matthew, have fixed that by starting their happy little family.

Axel and I, December 28, 2013 at family pictures

Other than that, I'm grateful for Kieran, Liam, and Violet in 2013, and their continued roles they'll be playing in my life in 2014. Here's our Christmas in a nutshell:

Kieran, Violet, and Liam Walters on Christmas

Kieran James, age 9, December 25, 2013

Liam Cohen, age 7, December 25, 2013

Violet Quinn, age 4, December 25, 2013

The Walters Clan, December 25th

The kids, mid-orgy-of-greed

Anyways, before I end this blog entry I wanted to mention that due to some unexpected Christmas money, it looks like I might be able to make it to Hoopcamp 2014 this year. I can't wait to talk to Samantha once I re-activate my facebook to talk to her, and actually decide if that's what I want to do with the Christmas money, or if I want to put said money towards Healing Mountain Massage School Tuition.

To be continued...

Just cause it kills your liver doesn't mean it ain't medicine

There's nothing in the world as wonderful as snuggling with my kitty-meows on my couch with the slight euphoria from a small bowl from the comforts of my warm cottage-- makes me feel grateful.

Happy (early) Christmas. I just wanted to post a few pictures from Noni's house, and our Christmas Eve activities.

Chinese food feast

The kids appreciating their present haul

Broseph and children

Violet being Fennekin the fox

The crazy Walters clan

Dirty Girl Scouts

Passing out the gifts, and the orgy of greed commences

Anyways, as soon as the holidays are done and over, and I've posted all the pictures from the holidays-- I'll be getting busy with wrapping up December, and gearing up to tackle January's goals.

I hope everyone has a very happy Christmas.

--Sari