#SuperDogSunday

Hello Darlings!

If you’ve been following my blog you know that I am obsessed with my Samoyed, Tinkerbelle. If you’re new, well, welcome to a plethora of Tink pictures with guest appearances by Kiwi-my family’s Golden Retriever, Shade- the resident cranky cat, Bunny- my very old rabbit, and our four chickens. 

The Football-Themed Picture I Submitted of Tinkerbelle

Meatless Monday: Butternut Squash and Zucchini Pasta with Dilled Vodka Vinaigrette

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One of the (many) perks of having a mother who is in the process of getting certified as a Natural Health Practitioner is that I get to play with lots of fun kitchen toys. Vitamix anyone? So when I saw that this week’s ingredient for Better With Veggies Meatless Monday A-Z Challenge was vodka, my mind immediately flew to ‘spiralizer’ (I’m odd, I know). If you don't know, a spiralizer is a machine that slices ribbons from vegetables in a fluid motion, and turns out a product that, depending on the size of the blade, looks like spaghetti! Using this I created a deliciously vegan meal which is both super quick, and raw!

I.AM.YOU. Studio Detox To Retox Cleanse Review

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Detox to Retox Tea in my Favorite Dinosaur Mug

I love detoxing cleanses; they always make my body feel so much lighter and healthier. The green juice detox I tried at the beginning of the New Year had this effect, but left me chomping at the bit for it to end. I needed (well, craved) solid food. I.AM.YOU. Studio’s Detox to Retox program changed my perspective on liquid cleanses. The cleanse is tea and food based, making it incredibly sustainable; you don’t feel like you are sacrificing anything! To this end, the program is available in three-day, one-week, and full-month packages, a testament to participants’ ability to stay with the program long term!

The lovely Lauren, I.AM.YOU. Studio’s owner and visionary, sent me the three-day version to try. The three-day cleanse focuses on the liver, arguably one of the most important organs in the body, which filters toxins, stores vitamins, aids in the digestion of fats, and much more.

Hearty Organic Vegetable Soup

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Normally I am in the camp that soup on its own is not a meal. I am a texture girl-- something needs to crunch. And while soup is delicious, it is a little too liquid. But if you have been following me on Instagram you’ve seen that I have been following I.AM.YOU. Studio’s Detox to Retox program, which they so graciously sent me to try. (A post with a full review of the program will be coming soon!)  Yesterday’s meal plan called for veggie soup as part of lunch, so I threw together what I had in the refrigerator and the pantry and this super filling veggie soup was born. While more like a stew than a soup, it was beyond delicious, even without my beloved crunch!

Do It Yourself: Thank You Notes

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I am a huge fan of thank you notes. I love writing them, I love reading them, and I absolutely adore receiving them via snail mail. Over the years I have purchased bunches of different ‘thank you’ stationary. While I have liked the designs, I never found an illustration that was quintessentially ‘me.’ So I decided to create my own based on Tinkerbelle’s logo and thought I would share my process with you! 

Meatless Monday: Homemade Whole-Wheat Udon Noodles with Vegetable Stir-fry

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I love making my own pasta. So much so that I actually own a pasta machine and buy semolina in bulk. So when I saw that this week’s Better With Veggies’ Meatless Mondays A-Z challenge ingredient was udon noodles I, predictably, was excited. Then, while browsing udon recipes I noticed that almost every recipe called for some form of stomping on the dough-- I may have giggled. This was going to be fun.

All Organic Ingredients

The process of creating the noodles is simple, but time consuming and a bit of an arm workout. I based my recipe for udon on this one from Food.com but substituted half of the white flour for whole-wheat flour.

Fitness Goal and a Hike Through the Woods

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So far I’ve been pretty great about following my NewYear’s resolutions which, quite frankly, is a bit shocking, but exciting nevertheless. However, I’ve noticed that I am quite out of shape. I’ve been going to hot yoga three times a week and it is incredibly fun and challenging, and I’ve noticed the difference in my muscle tone, flexibility, and core strength already. 

But I come from an extremely athletic background; I played soccer for sixteen years and was a sprinter for as long as I can remember. I even ran track at Boston College, a NCAA Division I program my freshman year. When I quit (for academic reasons, I picked up a second major and a minor) I went cold turkey; it felt great not having to train six days a week year round. Now, I get winded running up my snowy backyard with Tinkerbelle—not exactly a healthy state for my body. 

So I’m writing it here because once it is published I have to follow through: I, Kait, will get back into (aerobic) shape by exercising at least twice a week at a minimum. There. Now you all have to hold me to it!

Snow Day with Musher’s Secret

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Yay! No Snow Balls!

Tinkerbelle and Kiwi love playing in the snow, but hate the balls of snows that form between the pads on their feed while doing so. Tink doesn’t have much of a problem being a sled dog breed, but Kiwi, a golden retriever, gets them quite severely. 

So when I saw an Instagram photo of Musher’s Secret by Green Dog Market I stopped by a few days ago to pick up a jar to try. I had the perfect opportunity for a test run yesterday as I woke up to a fresh blanket of snow. 

Musher’s Secret worked incredibly well. With just a thin coat of the all-natural wax on the dogs’ paws they played for ages and tromped through the woods in our backyard with no problems at all! If you live anywhere with snow I highly recommend Musher’s Secret for your furry friends.

The snow was so gorgeous that I couldn’t help but take lots of pictures- enjoy!

Broiled Pineapple with Mint

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Yes, I know: two food posts in a row. Whoops. However, it is pineapple season and you may have noticed that there has been a pineapple lurking in the background in many of my kitchen photos. I wanted to use it before it became overripe, and as I happen to be in the possession of a very large sweet tooth, dessert just seemed necessary.

Meatless Monday: Roasted Root Vegetables

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I am a big fan of making huge batches of things. For instance, I may have brought home a sixty-ear bag of sweet corn from the farm down the street this past summer. Twice.  

That being said, the following recipe will make a huge batch but is incredibly easy to halve, quarter, or divide by any other sized increment. It is also extremely customizable; you don’t like turnips? Not a problem- leave them out, or substitute something else you love. This recipe is all about what you like, and simple, natural flavor.

Do It Yourself: Shadowbox Jewelry Display

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I am a huge fan of DIY projects. I’ve loved working with my hands ever since I toddled around watching my father working on our house and my grandfather crafting wooden toys. So, when I saw these display cases I knew I had to figure out a way to create my own version, thus my shadow box jewelry displays came to life.

What you will need:

 Please note: I made two at once so what is shown here is double what you will need if only making one.

Meatless Monday: Whole Wheat Mushroom & Onion Pizza

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I really do believe that cheese should be its own food group. If I had to eat three types of food for the rest of my life they would be cheese, fruit, and bread, in that order. My one glaring exception: Swiss cheese. When I was very young my father told me the holes were made from hungry mice and I’ve been put off ever since. Silly, but true.

Grated Parmesan 

I figured that my first Meatless Monday post should revolve around cheese. A far cry from my Green Juice Detox, this dish isn’t phenomenally healthy but it is no takeout pizza, it is mostly organic, whole wheat, and much, much more delicious!

Disclaimer: When I’m in the kitchen I am the type of cook that follows whims; I’ll chuck lavender in my blueberry jam (tastes wonderful, by the way) and nutmeg (by far my favorite spice) on just about everything. So while I follow some recipes to the letter, most I tweak, but I will let you know when I do!

Backyard Pond Hockey

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My family adores hockey. It’s an obsession that is four generations strong on my father’s side, and encompasses every level of the game, from mini-mites to the Olympic team and everything in between. With the 2012-2013 National Hockey League lockout, however, our hockey consumption has been focused on the minor leagues. 

My younger (but very much so larger) brother has been playing in the Western States Hockey League (WSHL) for the Texas Brahmas. In my mind, my brother is still the three-year-old teetering around on his first pair of skates, not the hulking mass that can easily toss me over his shoulder, so it makes me a bit giddy that we can stream his games at home! And upholding tradition, one of my younger cousins is playing for the same high school team that my father and his four brothers played for way back when! Strangely enough though, no men’s league for the old folks this year, slackers.

Tinkerbelle Gets Microchipped and a Trip to Green Dog Market

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If you read my resolutions blog post, you may remember that number three on my 2013 resolutions list is to take an extended trip abroad. Tinkerbelle, of course, will definitely be coming along for the adventure. My preliminary plan for the trip is to study yoga in a quaint village in England, and with that thought in mind, I started figuring out how to bring Tink without having to go through the ordeal of quarantine. The answer: the UK’s Pet Travel Scheme (PETS).

Tinkerbelle Post Microchipping, Not A Care In The World!

Green Juice Detox

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Green Juice Final Product

To kick off my healthy New Year I decided to give my body a break and go on a three-day juice fast! I’m currently on day two and thought I would show you one of the green drinks I’ve concocted.

Inspired by my sister’s weight loss while following the Fat Sick and Nearly Dead plan last year, the juice, as the name would imply, is mostly vegetable. Carrots, spinach, lettuce, and cucumber make up the majority of the drink, but as I have a bit of a sweet-tooth (vast understatement) I added in a kiwi and half an apple for some sweetness.

As you can see in my ingredients picture below, I also add about a quarter teaspoon of Vitamineral Green into the finished drink. Called a ‘green superfood powder’ it is recommended for a holistic method of body detoxification. The powder contains ingredients like spirulina, wheatgrass, enzymes, and dulse (seaweed, yay!) that are known for their therapeutic properties. However, if you tend to have a sensitive nose you might want to skip this bit- it smells like garden weeds!

New Year, New Blog, New Resolutions

Hello Darlings,

It is 2013!

I have decided that 2013 is the year that everything is going to come together. Quite frankly, I need a new outlook on life. I’ve been a bit of wandering soul since I graduated college in May of 2010, so essentially this blog is going to chronicle me figuring out what on earth I want to do with my life. Well, that and little miss Tinkerbelle thought she needed to be shared with the blogosphere. She’s a bit of a brat.