Sweet potato fries! Turkey! No, it's not Thanksgiving.

A couple of really great articles that I happened to stumble upon:

Isn't it sweet of me to provide almost daily reading for you all? ;)




Kashi Cereal vs. the Incredible, Edible Egg
http://balancedbites.com/2010/10/kashi-cereal-vs-the-incredible-edible-egg-really.html


This article was actually linked to at the bottom of the first:

How to Keep Feces Out of Your Bloodstream (or Lose 10 Pounds in 14 Days)
http://www.fourhourworkweek.com/blog/2010/09/19/paleo-diet-solution/

I know, I know, I've been posting a lot of articles lately.. sometimes I consider taking a screenshot of my browser history for you all. I suppose I should just shut my mouth, but I've been devouring article after article about health and nutrition.

It's mind-boggling how these scientific facts and truths have been passed over for years and years, to the point where the average American knows nothing about how to fuel his or her body. And where do most people get their knowledge and information? From manufacturers' advertising and products or shows like Dr. Oz (who actually is a cardiologist, not even a nutritionist) who has their pockets padded by sponsorships from big corporations trying to, guess... sell their products!

Please start educating yourselves. And don't be scared of eggs. Or fat. Anyway, rant over for now.


Sweet Potato Fries!
On Facebook, I posted about my sweet potato fries yesterday evening... they were amazing. Fortunately I happened to take pictures as I went along... :)

These were the players. Your guess is as good as mine as far as amounts go. I think I've used my measuring spoons.. um, once or twice since I've had them? I like to live on the edge. ;)

The original recipe I followed didn't have the red pepper, but I like spicy things just as much as I like doing my own thing. Easy on that if you're the sensitive type.

Peelings on. 3 reasons:
1: I'm lazy.
2: Not sure where my peeler is. Or if I even have one. (Cooking newbie alert!)
3. The skin is usually where all the good stuff is!

Make sure they're coated! And then just align in a single row and pop it in a preheated 400* oven for about 20 minutes. Or charred to your level of liking. Mine were a little overdone. Can I blame Pinterest??

And remember my garlic turkey roast? Click here for the original post. Or just scroll down if you don't want to lose your place in this post.. I'm lazy like that. Actually, I usually just open up the link in a new tab to read for later. That's why I end up with 7+ tabs open at all times. Plus Pandora. Plus Photoshop and Bridge open. Plus my Quickbooks. Thank you, dual monitors. Thank you, fast computer. ;)

Anyway. I never took a picture of the final product. So, without further ado:

The best part is taking the netting off.

I take that back. The best part is actually cleaning up. ;)

Top 10 foods you thought were healthy: link

I suppose I should post more than just articles... but I came across this one: http://blog.metaboliceffect.com/2008/12/22/top-10-foods-you-thought-were-healthy/ ... and I actually agree with them all for once!

In other news, not a lot is happening.

The photog business is picking up pace a bit because of all the engaged couples looking for wedding photographers. I have a few consultations set up for this week already, and am excited to keep answering the inquiry emails as they roll in! I reeaallly need to get my rear in gear and get crackin' on some of the behind-the-scenes work that somehow keeps piling up in the business too. Sigh. I think I should find just one thing that I can outsource this year that would save me some time/stress.

Hubby was gone last week, so I'm super happy he's around now. :)

Pretty much it.

OH, and last week I got a 45-Olympic-bar Turkish Get Up for the first time. I did one each side and had help getting it down on my left side, which is my weakest. Here's a vid I found:

I love his grin after he gets it up... nothing like that feeling! I didn't have any extra weight on my bar like this guy, but .. it was fun anyway! And, if you've never done those and you're thinking that looks easy, try one or two get ups just holding a kettlebell above your head. Won't be laughing for long.. ;)

Good article!

This is a super good read... :)

http://www.t-nation.com/free_online_article/most_recent/the_fat_loss_hierarchy

New blog! Plus food. :)

Hey all!

This is my mom's new blog: http://naturallyinspiredcooking.blogspot.com/

She's going to be blogging about her amazing {mostly natural/alternative} cooking skills. She can take any recipe and create substitutions, get creative with additions, and make it taste even better. Talk about creativity!

All you foodies, please check it out and show some love. :)

Thanks!


Also, let me share my supper with you.

Except I devoured it in about 10 seconds flat, so there's definitely no sharing happening. Or after pics. *Urp.*

A little olive oil, lemon juice, lemon/pepper seasoning, and season salt. Easy peasy.

I popped it in the oven at 400* for 20 minutes. The fish was perfect, but I put the veggies back in on broil for a few minutes. These happened to be tilapia filets, which I got frozen. I can't wait to try the salmon and cod varieties also.

All good meals finish cooking with the smoke detector going off, right? ;)

My poor dog. Frightened easily, she's probably scarred for life by the beeping.

The seasonings were a little charred, but the veggies? Incredible. Perfection.

Talk about an easy meal... the hardest part was waiting to eat!

Required reading for all women

Wow.

This sums up how I feel about exercise... and is an excellent read. I think all women should start to grasp an understanding of this too...

http://www.crossfitsouthbay.com/2011/05/skinny-fat/

While I'm not actually a CrossFit member, my trainer has me do a CF-style WOD, or workout-of-the-day, nearly every day that's very similar to (or the same as) CrossFit's.

 Please take the time to read it... and let me know your thoughts. :)

Baked turkey roast with fresh garlic

I don't want to forget how I made this amazing delish turkey roast for supper this evening, so this is more of a note to self than anything. :)

I bought a 3-lb butterball turkey roast, with light and dark meat.

After it was thawed, I seasoned the turkey, top and bottom, with seasoning salt and onion powder and laid it on a bed of fresh garlic (5-6 cloves, cut up) and olive oil in a 8x8 glass baking dish. I drizzled some more olive oil on top, covered it with tinfoil, and put it in the oven at 325*. After an hour and a half at 325, the internal temp of the turkey was just about 170*, which I've read is standard for making sure it was done. After that, I took the tinfoil off, turned the oven up to 350, and left it in there another half hour.

The skin of the turkey got just a bit crispy, but the inside was still very moist and tender... perfect!

It honestly tasted like delicious fried chicken. Mmm.

The good thing was, we both chowed down (I believe we ate nearly half the 3-pound roast between the two of us!), so we both had stinky garlic breath. :)

Yum. Plenty of leftovers, too. I'll definitely be making that again! And then I'll take some pics too. hah.

Happy holidays!

Nothing says happy holidays like a couple snapshots, right?? :)

Call it busy, lazy, or just plain un-motivated, we didn't get around to having a professional session. For the shot of us, photo credit belongs to my lovely mother-in-law, and the card was designed by yours truly.

I sent these out yesterday, so this post might be a bit premature. Oh well.

Enjoy!

Oh man.

I need to make this.

http://tastykitchen.com/recipes/breakfastbrunch/pumpkin-breakfast-cake/

Chuckle.

I got a few laughs out of this today:

****** 20 ADULT TRUTHS ******

1. Sometimes I’ll look down at my watch 3 consecutive times and still not know what time it is.
2. Nothing sucks more than that moment during an argument when you realize you’re wrong.
3. I totally take back all those times I didn’t want to nap when I was younger.
4. There is great need for a sarcasm font.
5. How the heck are you supposed to fold a fitted sheet?
6. Was learning cursive really necessary?
7. Map Quest really needs to start their directions on #5. I’m pretty sure I know how to get out of my neighborhood.
8. I can’t remember the last time I wasn’t at least kind-of tired.
9. Bad decisions make good stories.
10. You never know when it will strike, but there comes a moment at work when you know that you just aren’t going to do anything productive for the rest of the day.
11. Can we all just agree to ignore whatever comes after Blue Ray? I don’t want to have to restart my collection…again.
12. I’m always slightly terrified when I exit out of Word and it asks me if I want to save any changes to my ten-page technical report that I swear I did not make any changes to.
13. I keep some people’s phone numbers in my phone just so I know not to answer when they call.
14. I think the freezer deserves a light as well.
15. I disagree with Kay Jewelers; I would bet on any given Friday or Saturday night more kisses begin with Miller Light than Kay.
16. I have a hard time deciphering the fine line between boredom and hunger.
17. How many times is it appropriate to say “What?” before you just nod and smile because you still didn’t hear or understand a word they said?
18. I love the sense of camaraderie when an entire line of cars team up to prevent a jerk from cutting in at the front. Stay strong, brothers and sisters!
19. Shirts get dirty. Underwear gets dirty. Pants? Pants never get dirty, and you can wear them forever.
20. Even under ideal conditions people have trouble locating their car keys in a pocket, finding their cell phone, and Pinning the Tail on the Donkey – but I’d bet everyone can find and push the snooze button from 3 feet away, in about 1.7 seconds, eyes closed, first time, every time.
    

Taken from this great new blog I found: Iowa Girl Eats (http://iowagirleats.com/2011/11/08/10-ways-to-deal-with-stress/)

If you decide to head over there, you are hereby warned: it IS possible to spend 2+ hours on her blog. :)

Interesting video...

 We're all on a nutritional journey, I understand that. We find thoughts and ideas that make sense to us, until we stumble upon something different that opens up new ideas and thoughts.

 Now some of you may have heard about the Paleo Diet, or the hunter-gatherer lifestyle, or primal-eating-something-or-other. I've been curiously delving into different websites, blogs, and Facebook pages of doctors, Cross Fit enthusiasts, and people who have turned to this lifestyle who have tried everything before landing on this.

I'm not sure yet where my stance is on everything, but it's exciting to research and learn about new things. I do seem to agree with many of the points, but think I'll just keep researching and reading for now.

With that being said, I might post some different links to articles or videos I find interesting, such as this one.

http://chriskresser.com/the-saturated-fat-myth-debunked-in-two-minutes-and-thirty-five-seconds

The concept that fat does NOT make you fat is still one I'm working my brain around. All the science makes sense, but we've been so ingrained to believe that the way to get healthy is to cut fat! We've also been so trained to believe that if you have high cholesterol, the last thing you want to do is eat fat.

This is another article about that very thing: http://www.thehealthyhomeeconomist.com/why-skim-milk-will-make-you-fat-and/

Anyway, this is all still very new to me, but hopefully you'll bear with me as I share some of the things that I come across! :)