The Art and Life of Naomi Valdivia
Potato pancakes are kind of a big deal in many homes, and everyone has their own method. There’s a lot of speculation as to what goes into making a good pancake, and my guess is that’s because it’s easy to mess up such a seemingly simple dish. Too many eggs and your pancakes are rubbery; […]
Feeling stagnant? Feeling like your brain has been running on autopilot for a while? Time to wake it up! Do something creative, even if you’ve never done anything creative in your life. Creativity, and the act of creating, unlocks powerful levels in mind, body, heart, and spirit. It is most definitely a part of self care, self development, and self awareness. It creates a positive ripple effect within you that can ripple out toward others. Being creative can be healing.
Not sure how to be creative? Take a painting class, write a poem, watch some Bob Ross and experiment on your own, cut up pictures from magazines and put them back together in your own way and create a collage. Write a story. Look up a DIY project (Pinterest!), learn how to make jewelry or how to work with wood. Take your camera somewhere and start taking beautiful pictures. Learn how to play an instrument. Anything you’ve ever thought might be fun to try one day, try it now. Your inner child will thank you.
I will be creating some painting vids soon at The Drawlers channel so stay tuned!
I’ve tried food diaries in the past, but it’s too easy to sneak a few treats here and there, as well as forget to write it down after you eat it. Plus, you can twist the truth about portions and exact measurements. By taking pictures of everything that I consume throughout the day, there’s no lying! Trying out a new concept. I bet it will keep me from eating randomness throughout the day! Follow me at http://instagram.com/insta.food.diary or @insta.food.diary
Happy Monday everyone!
Is it just me or are fast food companies making their already disgusting choices even worse? Taco Bell’s new breakfast menu? Subway’s nasty Fritos enchilada sandwich thingie, or Dominoes and their chicken dish that looks like puke on a paper towel? I expect cheeseburgers with way too much meat and cheese, but these places are taking these menus to new, nasty heights. It’s almost like they all got together and decided to market the most unappetizing recipes they could come up with and see if they could get people to want to buy them. Well done, guys. To anyone reading this, whether you eat organically or not, just based on how gross the food looks-don’t fall for the marketing. Think about what you’re spending money on and will be shoving down your throat. I swear, every time I see one of those commercials, my stomach turns!
I completely forgot my Friday post again but for good reason. We stayed up working on signs for the March Against Monsanto that happened worldwide on Saturday. So many people don’t know what corporations are doing to over 90% of the food we buy, and the worst types of GMO foods are being marketed and fed to our children! I’m not trying to guilt people for not eating organic 100% of the time, but I am trying to help educate people so that they can make an informed decision about what they eat and feed their families, instead of blind consumerism. Check out the pics from our march here in Ventura, CA!
I did it again! I forgot to post about food on Friday! Sorry guys! It was for a good cause though. Had a much deserved date night with the hubby and we decided to take advantage of the hot weather and high tail it to the beach. It was great! But now for the food. See that picture of me with a bowling ball? Well, it’s actually a GIANT organic cabbage I got from the local Farmer’s Market! I decided to make Galumpkis. Here’s the recipe I used: http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/tyler-florence/stuffed-cabbage-rolls-galumpkis-recipe.html
They came out pretty good, but I already know what I’m going to do to improve it to my tastes for next time. I didn’t take pictures of the finished product, I’m waiting to remake them. But everyone gobbled them down, so I guess they liked them!
So I wasn’t able to post a foodie Friday post last Friday, but it was my birthday and I was vacationing with the family. Much needed! Anyway, I’m posting today with my first potato harvest! The picture above was what I pulled out of the orange laundry basket I used to plant potatoes. Didn’t take too long, about 6 weeks and I had lots of little potatoes. The orange basket negated any gophers getting at my papas. I had planted about 3 small organic potatoes, and these are the ones that grew-and very quickly! I also threw in 3 non organic potatoes. Those did NOT grow at all. They just took up real estate and rotted. They smelled awful! Like chemical rot and bad breath. From now on I am sticking to organic. I learned my lesson! I put some of the stalks back in the basket with more soil because there were a lot of little mini potatoes just starting to grow, so I’m looking forward to harvesting more potatoes in a few weeks. Not bad for my first potato experiment!
I’ve been doing the cucumber, lemon and mint detox water, but this fellow blogger has a few other ones I’d like to try!
Magical Detox and Digestive Water 🙂.
How pretty does this look (from her blog):
With a picky toddler, a nine year old boy, and a teenage girl, I need snacks around the house that are both healthy, filling, and inexpensive to make. Even using organic ingredients, this recipe is still very budget friendly-and it makes a lot! About 4 dozen cookies depending on how big you make them! When my toddler refuses to eat anything else in the house, he will never refuse one of these nutritious cookies.
Prep time: 30-45 minutes
Cook time: 10-12 minutes
Ingredients:
1 1/2 cups all purpose flour (I use organic)
1 cup of rolled oats
1/2 cup of flax meal
1/2 cup (or more if desired) chia seeds
1 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
1 tsp ground cinnamon
1 stick of unsalted butter, softened
3/4 cup granulated sugar
1/2 cup brown sugar
2 large eggs
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 cup dark chocolate chips
Directions;
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line baking sheets with parchment paper.
Whisk flour, oats, flaxseed, chia seeds, baking soda, salt, and cinnamon in a bowl.
Beat butter and sugars in a separate bowl with a mixer on medium high speed until fluffy, approximately 3-4 minutes. Beat in eggs one at a time. Add vanilla and beat well. Reduce mixing speed to low and add flour mixture gradually until just combined. Hand stir in chocolate chips. You may want to add nuts, too!
Drop heaping tablespoons full of the dough into your parchment lined cookie sheets about 2 inches apart. Bake 10-12 minutes. Let cookies cool 3 minutes on cookie sheets and transfer to a rack or separate plate to allow to cool. Enjoy!
After organic shopping at the farmer’s market, halal meat shopping from the Camarillo International Supermarket, and odds and ends from Trader Joe’s we came up with this:
Teriyaki chicken using Halal chicken boneless, skinless thigh meat, organic garlic, onion, potato and Trader Joe’s Soyaki sauce!
Organic baby bok choy sautéed in garlic, ginger and fish sauce
Super spicy wild Alaskan cod-fish from the frozen section at Trader Joe’s is amazing and very reasonably priced-even wild fish (which is the only fish we buy now after reading all the horrors of farmed fish), organic Thai peppers, garlic, ginger, onion and habaneros from our garden, sriracha, fish sauce, organic soy sauce, rice vinegar, organic tomatoes, and just a little bit of corn starch. AMAZING AND SUPER SPICY!!
Gyoza from Trader Joe’s (delicious and fast!)
And brown rice.
It was a feast! The kids left their plates completely empty!
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