Saturday, April 6, 2013

Avocado and Almond Rice

I am in the process of cleaning out my kitchen. Since I will be moving out of my apartment at the beginning of May, I am refusing to buy any sort of canned food, easy meals, bread, pasta, rice you name it. I am buying fresh veggies and that's it. I am making my way through all of the food I already have in my kitchen. That's why today, I created Avocado and Almond Rice. 

This is a delicious way to fill up on a small portion of food, it also makes bucket loads (if you want) so you'll have lunch for the whole week! If you're following my Wellness Diet this will replace your normal oatmeal breakfast (you can have a smoothie or yogurt with fruit instead). It will fulfill your salt cravings, your creamy cravings and your crunchy cravings all in one! 


You will need:
Brown rice, avocado, green onions, garlic, chicken broth/stock/boullion, toasted almonds. 

I'm sure you can guess how to cook this, if not, here's the run down: Cook your rice in the chicken broth, when it's done, add chopped garlic, green onions and avocado, mix until the avocado is mushed and incorporated into the rice like a sauce, top with chopped, toasty almonds. I think this would also be great with some dried herbs mixed in (Herbs de Provance?) 

It's pure yumminess in a bowl and with tons of healthy stuff.
Enjoy! 

Friday, March 22, 2013

The Wellness Diet

To call this a 'diet' would be a shame. This is a lifestyle. Choosing overall wellness should be on top of everyone's to-do list. After lots of contemplating, researching and experimenting, I think I have discovered the simplest lifestyle change to bring on a pattern of health, mental clarity and physical well being. Not only will this system give you tons of wiggle room to eat what you want, it'll help you to be more creative in the kitchen, and make more wise food choices; all while sustaining plenty of energy for your daily activities. 

Guidelines: Oatmeal, Broth, Salad, Hydration, Choices, Balance

Oatmeal, Broth, Salad
For breakfast eat oatmeal. You can put anything in your oatmeal, whatever will make your heart content and your tummy satisfied. If you are in a chocolate mood, add some bittersweet chips. You could add dried fruits, fresh fruits, frozen fruits, a scoop of almond butter, a dash of brown sugar. 
You can cook your oatmeal over night in a crock pot, or with yogurt in the refrigerator. Do some experimenting and find what you like best, your options are endless. 
This is your carbohydrate base.

For lunch, eat broth. You can add anything you want to this broth, as long as it is within the healthy spectrum. Chicken, rice and vegetables with chicken base. Rice, beans and seasoning with veggie base. Zucchini, herbs and green tea with chicken base. Soup is such a versatile concept, you can make it anything you want! If you work 9-5, this is a do-ahead meal, however, don't be discouraged because soup is the easiest and fastest do ahead meal! It literally only takes 20 minutes to make a weeks worth of lunches. 
This is your second hydration and electrolyte base. 

For dinner eat salad. Salad, is of course, on par with the versatility of the other two options. Put steak, chicken or fish on it. Accessorize your salad with nuts, fruits and vegetables. Top it off with a simple home made dressing, or just a drizzle of olive oil. 
This is your vegetable base. 

Hydration
I'm sure you have read time and time again how important water is to your overall health. Thankfully, this diet adds a lot of hydration at lunch time, but it is important to also drink a ton of water throughout the day. 

Choices
You are what you eat. This diet will really show that. It might seem like you are limited in food choices, but considering the versatility of all of these bases, you can still eat the flavors you love, but must adapt it into a different, healthier form. The choices you make of what foods to add into these bases will make or break your success. For example: If you add chocolate syrup and chocolate chips to your oatmeal, a pound of pasta to your soup, and half a cup of thousand island dressing to your salad, you're not going to have very much success. 
Another important thing to remember about your choices is EVERYTHING IN MODERATION. This means limited sweets and carbs.
  • 1 dessert per week: Must be actual serving size, not your craving size. 
  • 3 alcoholic beverages per week: You can save these for Saturday night if you wish, but I would spread them out. Again, you choose whether or not you have a healthy beverage, if you want 3 pina coladas with chocolate syrup, go for it, but you won't see positive results. 
  • 3 coffees per week: Limit your Starbucks!! 
Balance
This diet will teach you how to balance your food groups. Don't worry about carbohydrates/grains, you are getting exactly what you need from the oatmeal. The main things you need to balance are meats and vegetables. Be sure to add a variety of meats and vegetables to your soups and salads. You can do this by creating a different theme for every week. For example, one week do Italian, the next try Mexican- this will make you a very well rounded cook, you'll use vegetables and spices from those regions, and you'll learn how to best work with those new ingredients through trial and error. 

Following this diet will not only help you lose weight, but will spark your creativity gene! Get to cooking, you have no excuse not to! 

Sunday, March 10, 2013

Spring Break Essentials

If you're a lucky gal like me, you've got some trips coming up! For spring break I will be visiting my brother, his wife and my friend Kati in California. Sunshine and warmth- finalmente! I will also be going on my yearly Cabo trip with my parents in May. Sadly, this might be my last Mexico trip for a while since I'll be in the big, grown up working world!

Vacations to warm places often propose a dilemma for those of us who live up North. We get two months of sunshine a year if we're lucky, and even then, we're lucky if it gets above 75, so it shouldn't come to much of a surprise that we lack real summer clothes! Well, honeys, don't you worry, Brit has got you covered. 

Spring Break 2013 


I'm loving this Nike suit. I'm a big fan of mixing and matching bikini tops and bottoms, it just creates such a unique and interesting look that you'll never get bored of. This one is (kind of) reasonably priced here.


For you one-piecers out there, I might have to join you. This is just too cute, it's like the pictures I set as my computer background when I want to feel happy! This one is also reasonably priced-- it's totally worth it!! You can find it here.

Shorts are a staple, printed shorts are more of a staple. I love these black and white chevron shorts from Charlotte Russe. Sadly, I was not able to obtain the picture from the website, soooo you'll just have to visit the website here and resist the temptation to buy everything. 


This tank is GORGEOUS!! Find it here it comes in a few different colors and is perfect to be paired with shorts, jeans or a skirt. The neckline and cut offer the perfect canvas for a statement necklace or a scarf. The side slit offers a unique twist to an otherwise very basic piece.


These puppies are the DV by Dolce Vita Archer sandal. I'm in love. They're so thin and simple and come in TONS of different colors and textures. What's amazing about these sandals, is that they would look perfect with skinny jeans, colored jeans in a contrasting color, a maxi/midi/mini skirt, dress or shorts. If you'll be walking around town, they have enough of a heel that you won't kill your feet. I want them in the acid yellow with metal detail, too bad I don't have the money. HERE!

Another one I couldn't get the picture for. It's a cute evening dress that is right for any time of year. Classy polka dots in in a timeless silhouette and cute keyhole back, perfect for a nice dinner on the beach or on the town. 

A beautiful statement necklace for your mixing and matching pleasure. I need to buy this. I love the teal color and simple shape. I would suggest pairing this with 1. white tshirt and cut off shorts with some nude sandals, 2. sheer red tank, black mini skirt and some nude mesh booties, which I bought, and love, a ridiculous amount. 

I hope this helps your spring break packing blues! Even if you are not traveling anywhere, you need new summer clothes to improve your mental health... am I right? yes. always. 

Happy shopping! 










Tuesday, March 5, 2013

'Gumba' Yourself Skinny

Have I got a treat for you! It's probably my easiest and tastiest recipe to date. You'll have TONS of leftovers, or maybe not- it's that good. But if you're like me, this will probably get you through 4 days eating it for breakfast, lunch and dinner. 

I'm calling this Gumba, not Gumbo, because it's not a traditional gumbo recipe, it's my healthy take on it, and it's also just a little bit different. Also, I'm just studying for my Spanish class, and replacing an 'o' with an 'a' to make something feminine just seemed appropriate. 

Not that is meal lacks masculinity. I bet if you fed this to your man, he would go out back and chop fire wood for the heating stove in the log cabin that you don't have. He would go build you a car from parts he found in a junk yard. He would go to the forest to chop down the tallest tree he could find, just to use a branch of it as next year's Christmas tree. He will forge you a wedding ring, then mine the diamonds, cut and polish them himself. He'll have to shave five times a day because of this overdose of masculinity. Ok, that last one is kind of gross, but you get the point. 

worst picture of the year award


Brit's 'Gumba'

What you'll need:
1 chicken breast
1 large carrot
1 large zucchini
1 can black beans
1 can fire roasted tomatoes
Chicken bouillon
rice
1/2 medium white onion
Tony's creole seasoning
Lawry's seasoning salt

Chop up the chicken, onion, zucchini, and carrots to bite size pieces. You want them kinda big, this is a hearty meal. Start your water to boil for the rice. Coat your chicken in some Lawry's and send it a-cooking. Once the rice is done, add some bouillon. Then add the veggies. Add the chicken, let it cook for a bit. Add the canned goods, raise the temperature. Add some Tony's and more Lawry's, depending on the amount of kick you want. 

So, I didn't do a calorie count on this, but it's chicken and vegetables and rice. It's gluten free! But seriously, there aren't too many carbs, but there are awesome amounts of protein. Yum!

Additional note: I use 'Better than Bouillon' because it's gluten-free. I don't think regular bouillon is. 


Monday, February 25, 2013

Monday Inspiration

As I draw nearer to my looming college graduation, I've gained a lot of motivation to find inspiration in everything. I'm trying to dress up for class more, I'm running again, yoga feels more rewarding, and the green tea just warms so much more than before. 

In light of this, I wanted to share a few tads that I hope will inspire you in this coming week. 


Simple silhouette and some bright yellow


Some fun neutrals


The mantra I'm choosing to live by this week, if only some other people would follow this. 


I'm keeping an eye out for the right pair of patterned skinnies.


love.


shorts, slouchy sweater and head scarf.


Zara.


I'm in love with these shorts. 


An almost perfect color combo, I would trade the purple shoes for orange or yellow. 


Perfect on every level. 

All photos from my pinterest board and the pinterest universe. 

I'm clearly dreaming of shorts weather!! Summer, come quick!!












Saturday, February 23, 2013

Seattle Dreaming

There are many things I miss about home. Some things I miss specifically about my parents' house. The food, the drinks, the wine maker's atmosphere, my dogs. Others are things I miss about the city, and also the free time of summer, which I would spend going for long bike rides, when it wasn't raining, of course.

I thought I would share of a piece of my Seattle sanctuary with you all. 


Having a full length mirror and a job that promotes fashion. 


Long bike rides on this sexy beast, and destroying my leggies with pain.


Kafe Neo and their amazing chicken souvlaki and to die for greek fries. 


This little love bug.


My mom's perfectly seasonal and healthy creations. Those amazing dinners that she whips up when she 'doesn't feel like cooking'. A random mix of fish ceviche and beet and feta salad. 


This gem.


Those bright but somehow still cloudy summer days that are oh-so Seattle. 



Aperol Spritz via my daddy. The perfect blend of blood orange liqueur, bitters and prosecco- I highly recommend it. 



My equally delicious (and colorful) 'day off' concoction- tequila, orange juice, cranberry juice, sparkling water and a touch of creme of coconut for some added sweetness. A great lunch time drink on a hot day, as long as you're not driving anywhere. 


The early evening dopio, they just don't seem as elegant here, sigh. 

What's keeping me on the arrow is the knowledge that I'll see all of these things (and then some) in a few weeks. Also, the thought of graduation, so near, yet so far. 



Monday, February 18, 2013

Gluten Free Dinner -Dos

Today's dinner was all Alex's idea, and it was a dang good one!

He made white cheddar burgers wrapped in lettuce and they were sooooo yummy! 


He always makes the best burgers. I don't know how he does it. I even do all of the seasonings for him when he has meat hands from mixing the ingredients, and I still could never make burgers as perfect as his. So I'll give you secret ingredients, but don't expect the same luscious results. 

Ground beef, garlic powder, onion powder, seasoning salt and Worcestershire sauce, all mixed together in Alex's super secret method, then cooked to perfect. Throw on some aged sharp white cheddar cheese, then when it's all done, wrap that baby up in a few layers of lettuce. 

You may need some moist towelettes after this one, they're so good, you'll feel dirty. 

But that's ok, some fat is good for you--- its the carbs that hurt.