The Good and The Bad

The good or the bad first? I'm going to go with the bad, just to get it out of the way. Jake left today (Monday) which was a day earlier than scheduled. Bummer. I survived the last time he was gone so I know I can do it. And thanks to the good later on in this post, I will be a very busy girl. Since this was the last weekend Jake was in town, you would think we would spend it doing fun things together. Not exactly. Even though we had a fun evening of fiestaing (I made my famous enchiladas) and playing games with friends, Jake had the work the rest of the weekend. Double bummer.

On Saturday night we had a date night. We haven't had a nice date in awhile, so we went to a semi-fancy restaurant right on the water called the Sea Garden. The restaurant was beautiful and it had such a fun atmosphere. We got there just in time for a beautiful sunset. We got a grilled chicken salad, the best cheese fondue of all time, and delicious California rolls. Other than it being a bit cold sitting outside, it was a fun evening.

On Sunday I was able to have lunch with a friend at a cute cafe before she left for the States(yep, jealous). It was a beautiful day and we were able to sit outside with a beautiful view of the bay while eating super yummy food! I had a bowl of cheese-topped chicken curry. It was different than regular curry and it was pretty darn good!

After lunch, we sat outside on my deck talking. It was a bit cold, still boot weather, but warm enough to sit outside with a blanket. It was fun to be outside and to catch up! I can't wait to use our backyard all of the time this summer!

Jake was able to make it home in time for a beach walk and grilling out.  We sure are going to miss our Sunday night beach walks together. 

Sick of beach pictures yet??

And now for the good. On Friday and on twitter I had been hinting about some exciting things going on. I needed some time to process, but now I am ready to share the exciting thing going on in my real life. If you thought I was going to announce a pregnancy, you were way off, sorry. Last week I was offered a full time subbing job at the school on base here. As of March 10th, I will have my very own 3rd grade classroom. I am so excited to finally have my own class! It will have it's challenges, especially coming in in the middle of the year, but I know that I will learn so much and it will be a great experience. It is the next step in my journey of teaching. I am going to be super busy, lesson planning, arranging my classroom, etc., but I really can't wait! 

The exciting things in my blogging life will hopefully be shared towards the end of the week! So stay tuned!

Linking up with Monday Morning Gossip and Funday Monday

High Five For Friday 2/21

This week flew by thanks to the lovely 3 day weekend! Monday was quite an adventure and if you follow on twitter you may been able to guess what happened.

{one}

We finally made it to the steak house near our base we have been hearing about. We had been wanting to go for lunch since it was half the price as dinner, so a day off was the perfect time. The steakhouses here are the typical Japanese steak house you find in the states. They cook the food in front of you on a large grill. The only difference is that the food is 10 times better. Jake and I both got the steak set. It came with soup, salad, rice, and vegetables. It has turned into our new favorite restaurant! 

{two}

So on twitter I had posted a picture of our little mishap the other day. Jake loves to off-road, like I have said before. He is always looking for trails to take his car on. The other day we were walking on the beach and he saw tire tracks. He decided it was a good idea to drive his car around on the beach. Everything was going great, until we were getting ready to leave and we heard a loud noise. Sure enough, Jake's tire had popped. We had a spare, but the car is a 98', so the lug nuts were rusted on. Thanks to help from the friends we were with, they were able to get the tire changed. Lesson learned? I don't think so. 

{three}

And here are some pictures of our fun Monday before the tire fiasco happened 

{four}

And this is what we ate this week

Sunday: Hotdogs and s'mores (give us a break, we were camping)

Monday: Pork Loin, mashed cauliflower, carrots

Tuesday: Salmon and grilled cabbage

Wednesday: Grilled chicken and mac and cheese quinoa

Thursday: pork chop quinoa pasta (aka random things thrown in a pot)

{five}

I tweeted that there are some exciting things happening over this way in my real life and my blogging life. I don't mean to be a tease, but I will share soon enough!!

Linking up with Lauren, Darci, Rebecca, Casey, and Jennie

eating clean vs. eating healthy

I always thought I ate fairly healthy. I made sure to get balanced meals, with a grain, protein, and veggies. I used light dressings on my salads and low fat cheese where ever cheese was used (which is everywhere in my case). I fell for all the products that advertised all natural, sugar free, low calorie, etc. Yes, I loved an occasional indulgent meal, like pizza or Qdoba, but overall I ate "healthy."

We as a culture are obsessed with diets. We always want to be on the latest fad diet or eating new diet products on the market. We think we are doing our bodies a favor by putting all of these products into our system or depriving ourselves of food in order to lose weight. There are so many products that promise to help us lose weight or curb our appetite, and we eat it right up, literally. Can you say gullible??

Within the past year, I started doing a lot of research, reading articles and watching documentaries, like Hungry for Change. I began to really think about what I was putting in my body and what the food I was eating is actually made of. I learned that my diet wasn't as "healthy" as I thought it was. Many foods that claim to be diet foods, low calorie, low sugar, fat free, etc., are really not doing us any favors with the extras, additives and chemicals that are put in them to make them seem healthier. For example, I had been eating Yoplait light for years because they are so low in calories and taste great. I finally looked at the label and discovered that they contain aspartame, an artificial sweetener that is linked to weight gain and other medical problems.

So I got a bit crazy, looking at the labels of everything I had been consuming. I found that I was putting a lot of things into my body that I could not even pronounce or sounded completely unnatural.  I looked into the side effects of many of these chemicals and preservatives just to find out that most of them were linked to weight gain and other health problems as well. I learned that products that advertise low in fat or calories often have other things added in return to make them still taste great. Sugar free items are often high in carbohydrates. Low fat items often have tons of sugar added. Labels are misleading for a purpose, to make you think what you are putting into your body is going to help it. I also learned that the FDA has very low standards of what can bear the label "All Natural." Many people mistake foods with these labels as organic or lacking any sort of chemical, which is not the case. So in the end, what we think is helping us lose weight or stay healthy, is actually harming us.

Ever since I learned about the food I put into my body, I have completely changed the way I eat. I have cut out almost all processed foods. I always read the ingredients of a product before I buy it. I try to eat products with the least amount of ingredients and with ingredients I can pronounce and know what they are. I stick to the perimeter of the store and eat a lot of fruits and veggies. I have to make a lot of things from scratch. For example, I no longer buy jars of spaghetti sauce and instead use fresh tomatoes to make the sauce. I even shred my own cheese, as bagged cheese has additives to keep it fresh. I am constantly shocked by what I am finding out about products I once used.

Yes, eating like this can be exhausting, and that is why there are "diet foods" out there to help us cut corners. But if you are trying to lose weight and get healthy, the absolute best way to do it is through a clean diet. I have felt so much healthier and have had so much more energy since I have started to eat clean. And I have lost the few pounds I had always been trying to shake with what I thought was "healthy" eating. I am not perfect and I haven't been able to cut out every negative thing from my diet, but I really do enjoy eating clean. It has also helped that eating clean is not a diet, but a lifestyle. Diets seem so demanding and harsh and often have negative associations in our minds, where as a lifestyle fits more flawlessly into the way we live. When you eat clean, you are not depriving yourself of anything your body needs to function.

So I challenge you, even if you think you eat healthy, look at your labels. Think about what it is you are eating. Have you even heard of some of the stuff in your foods? Take it one step at a time. First, start incorporating more fresh fruits and veggies. Then, start cutting out processed food from your daily meals. You will notice how much better you feel and how you feel less restricted than any "diet" you have tried.

Visit this post to see what I eat on an average day.

High Five For Friday 01/17

{one}

I had my first full week of subbing. I absolutely LOVE it. I loved being back in the classroom, but I also like having a job. I thought that I was enjoying my free time and being a stay at home wife, but I think I was made to be a working woman, at least until we have children. I like the routine of waking up, getting dressed, going out and doing something productive, then coming home at night. During my time as stay-at-home wife, I wondered how working people ever get things done, but I think I got more done in this week than I have in a long time. I think the busier you are, the more you take advantage of every free minute. I'm going to miss having free time to explore the island and lay in bed watching netflix doing projects, but there is nothing better than feeling like a productive member of society. 

{two}

I made quinoa pasta greek yogurt chicken mac and cheese this week and it has topped the list of best healthy comfort meals. I love finding ways to eat healthy without having to sacrifice taste. And sometimes, you just need mac and cheese. I will share the recipe soon!

{three}

Every time I am on my way home from the English class I teach, I pass the cutest little bakery that I have been wanting to check out. Thursday I had a bit of time to spare before my class so I stopped at the bakery. Come to find out, it is macaroons and gelato! It was the cutest little place and the best macaroons I've ever eaten. It will be hard not to stop there every Thursday when I am on my way to my class. 

{four}

A lady at the Japanese school I work at gave me a couple of bags of homemade mochi. The Japanese eat lots of mochi during January to celebrate the new year. It was such a nice gesture to share some with me! It has such an interesting texture and doesn't taste like much. It has almost a medicine-like taste/smell. I love learning about the Japanese culture.

{five}

I found a website on pinterest that allows you to type in all of the items on your grocery list and then gives you coupons for those items. So convenient and time saving! I feel like such a nerd/grown-up that I get excited about coupons. When did this happen?? The sight is lovo.com.

I don't know about you, but I am so excited for the long weekend!

Linking up with Lauren, Darci, Rebecca, Casey, and Jennie

Lemon Orzo Chicken Soup

This is one of my go-to soups. I love to make soups and stews because you can make large pots and freeze it for later. I had this soup at a cafe with my mom one time and decided to recreate it. I have been trying to perfect it ever since, and I think I've got it. 

Lemon Orzo Chicken Soup:

1 cup orzo

64 ounces chicken broth

2 large cooked chicken breasts (cubed or shredded)

1 bunch green onion

Zest and juice of 1 lemon (1/4 cups juice)

3/4 teaspoon garlic salt

salt and pepper to taste

feta cheese

1. Cook the orzo and drain

2. Fill a large pot (I use my dutch oven) with the chicken stock

3. Add cooked chicken (I cook mine in a crock pot on high for 4 hours in a bit of chicken stock and salt and peppered then shred it)

3. Add green onions, lemon, garlic salt, salt and pepper

4. Bring to a boil and then let simmer for 30-40 minutes with the lid on

5. Serve with a sprinkle of feta cheese

Makes 6-8 servings

This is a soup that gets better as it sits, but over time the orzo will absorb the liquid 

Enjoy!

Christmas Celebration

We celebrated our Christmas Friday evening since we will be gone on actual Christmas day. This didn't seem out of the ordinary as we have a hard time keeping secrets anyways so the presents under the tree might not have lasted much longer.

Every year my family eats fondue or clam chowder on Christmas eve, depending on what side of the family it is. My grandma sent us a package of cheese fondue, so we decided to have that for our little Christmas eve. We ate fondue and opened presents and then let Lexie have her presents. What kind of dog parents would we be if we didn't get her some stuff?

We eat at the coffee table, a lot. 

Lexie was under the impression that this was her present

Lexie's new bed

For our "Christmas Morning" we woke up and I made this awesome breakfast casserole I pinned from Chelsea's blog, Anchors Aweigh.  It was so good!

The rest of the day was spent packing, making last minute arrangements, and running last minute errands. Jake spent the entire day relaxing as he did not feel good. My theory is that his body realized he was finally on vacation and gave out after going non-stop for the past few months. This vacation came just in time!

And that was the extent of Christmas cheer over here. We are not sure what we will do actual Christmas day, maybe just hang out on the beach. We are excited to see what Christmas day in another country has to offer!

Happy Holidays

How To Liven Up Your Salad

I personally love salads. I sometimes specifically go out just to get a salad. More often than not I order a salad at a restaurant because it sounds good, not just because I am trying to eat healthy. But when it comes to eating salad at home, I am not always as excited about it. Restaurants seem to know how to give that extra pizazz that makes me want to eat the salad. At home my salads seem to be boring and not as desirable. Over time I have learned how to liven up drab at home salads.

Add grilled veggies

Veggies are no stranger to salads, but when you grill them first, it gives something extra. The juxtaposition between the cool, crispy lettuce and the warm, soft veggies makes a salad a bit more fun to eat. 

Favorite grilled veggies: eggplant, onion, zucchini, squash

Quinoa

Quinoa is incredible on salads. It gives a salad a little bit extra crunch and a protein boost. Add the quinoa while warm for extra excitement.

Goat Cheese

Cheese is probably one of my biggest weaknesses, but I think in moderation it is ok. Any cheese is great on salads, but the creaminess of goat cheese is perfect. It is also one of the healthiest cheeses you can eat.

Fruit/Nuts

I am not a fan of this, but many people love fruit on their salad. Tangerines, strawberries, pears, just to name a few. Pecans, walnuts, and almonds are also great.

Over-easy Egg

Many people put hardboiled eggs on their salad, which is great. I like to put an over easy egg, because when the yolk breaks it mixes with dressing and makes the salad interesting. This idea isn't for everyone, but give it a try!

Beans

Beans are great on salads and also add extra protein. Put some black beans, corn, avocado, and salsa and you have yourself a southwestern salad.

Other favorite add-ins

mushrooms, feta, olives, avocado, corn, salsa verde, greek yogurt dressing, cucumbers, cherry tomatoes, shredded carrots

What do you like to put on your at-home salads to liven them up?

The Best Green Chile Chicken Enchiladas You Will Ever Eat

But seriously, these will not only be the best enchiladas you have ever eaten, but the best thing you have ever put in your mouth. If I ever had to have a "last meal," this would without a doubt be it. I debated sharing this recipe because it is so special to me. It is the first recipe I remember making with my mom. She was kind of famous for these and it made me think she was the best cook in existence(which she is). I finally decided that they were too good not to share, so I hope you enjoy them as much as my family does!

Ingredients:

1 TBS Olive Oil

3-4 chicken breasts

1 medium onion

1/4 TSP cumin 

1/4 TSP ground red pepper

1/4 TSP Lawrys garlic salt

1/4 TSP paprika

1/4 TSP salt

3 12 oz. (or 1 30 oz.) cans of green chile enchilada sauce (Las Palmas brand is best)

1 4.5 oz. can of mild chopped green chiles

1 1/2 cups of sour cream

1 tub cream cheese

14-15 corn tortillas

1 cup vegetable oil

1 1/2 bags of shredded Monterey Jack cheese

Directions:

preheat oven to 425 degrees

1. Heat olive oil in large skillet

2. Cut chicken and onion into small pieces and saute in olive oil

3. Add all seasonings and cook until golden brown

4. Combine enchilada sauce, green chiles, and sour cream in a large sauce pan and warm on medium heat, stirring occasionally

5. Heat vegetable oil in a small skillet

6. When slightly bubbling, add tortillas one at a time, cooking 3-4 seconds. Do not overcook tortillas, they should still be soft

 7. After cooking slightly, fill each tortilla with 1 TSP cream cheese and 1 TBS chicken mixture. Roll the tortilla and place it in a glass, rectangular baking dish.

8.Repeat until the entire baking dish is full

9. Cover entire baking dish with the enchilada sauce mixture

10. Sprinkle the shredded cheese on top

11. Cook enchiladas for 30 minutes or until golden brown. Let stand 15 minutes before serving

This isn't the easiest or the healthiest recipe you will ever make, but they are SO worth it. I actually enjoy the process of making these. It is fun to make a fiesta out of it. 

Also, these enchiladas are best the second day. We always fight over the leftovers in our house! 

ENJOY