Tuesday, May 31, 2011

toof removed, food and fun

I got my tooth out! Thank god. It was seriously painful, and having an unhealthy mouth can actually leech toxins into the rest of your body and bloodstream. No bueno, friends. I went to NIHA, a holistic medical center in Friendship Heights. They were amazing. Having a numb face really freaked me out at first, and I felt like I was going to swallow my tongue. The assistant/hygienist (not really sure of her title) sat down and talked to me until my panic passed. They even got me a blanket and tucked me in! The doctor, Dr. McClure was also great. Everyone was super friendly and the procedure wasn't painful (thanks to Novocaine). They also did not prescribe me antibiotics, but alternative homeopathic medicines to ensure I don't get infected, or bruise/swell too badly. They are working. I've also noticed that the lymph node on the left side of my neck (the side my tooth was on) that has been swollen for years, is becoming much less swollen. I absolutely recommend this place. Here is a picture of my stupid, swollen face:


I'm icing my swollen jowls. Not the happiest of campers.

After the procedure I was feeling pretty out of it, so I spent the rest of the day in bed. My buddy Mike brought me organic chicken noodle and butternut squash soup which was super nice of him. I made sure to drink lots of raw milk and dominate some raw yogurt and raw honey. When I was feeling well enough to chew, I was seriously craving pasta. I hadn't had any in a little while so I figured I'd make some. It was delicious.
-noods of choice
-onions
-butter
-garlic
-parsley
-tomatoes
-paprika
-cayenne
-pecorino romano

Saute the onions, garlic and tomatoes in butter. Lots of butter. Of course. At the end, add the parsley, paprika, cayenne and pecorino. Toss with the pasta.


Legitimately one of the best pastas I've ever made.


So, so good. And super simple. Simple food is the best food.

On Saturday we had a cookout and I went grocery shopping at Yes! Organic Market. I found the best deals, I was so stoked. Look at this!


3 avocados and jalapenos and an onion for 78 cents!


Peppers and tomaters for 51 cents!


More avocados, tomatoes and jalapenos. I must've bought like, 5 of these bags. I got so much produce. I chopped up all the veggies and threw 'em on the grill later that day. I made guac with all of the avocados.

The next morning I made breakfast for Ali, Mike and myself. Steak and eggs! Except Ali is weird and didn't want filet mignon. Not sure how anyone could pass that up.

Mike's plate:


My plate:


I cannot eat squash, but I did make some for him and Ali. I have no idea why, but is destroys my stomach. It just gives me awful stomach cramps. Like, terrible. It's weird.

On Sunday I went to Beaver Dam! Beaver Dam is a quarry that was filled. There are diving boards, jumps, and a huge rope swing. Super fun, and despite my several applications of sunblock, I of course got burned.

Quick breakfast Monday morning was eggs smothered in mushroom brie, and mushrooms on the side.


Been dominating mushrooms lately.


On Sunday Ali, Sara, Kait and I were supposed to see Bridesmaids, but since the theater was insanely crowded, we went to Mcginty's instead.


Sara.


Kait.


Ali. And her Mediterranean platter:


I had such a great weekend but I'm bummed that Ali heads back to Kentucky tomorrow. I'm glad I got to see her though and I'm stoked to be making her a meal plan. Anyway, have a great week and happy summertime!

Thursday, May 26, 2011

honey mustard salmon!

First things first, I had this for breakfast yesterday morning:


 
French toast! I also had eggs, but the French toast was way more exciting. And awesome. I used the maple syrup we got from the farm and it was freaking delicious.


My tooth is killing me! I woke up at 12:45 last night in pain. The pain was radiating through my head. It started at my tooth, went up into my cheek bone, throbbed in my temple, seared through the back of my head and ended on the left side of my  neck. There was no way I could sleep without more advil. I searched my house, asked the roommates and after determining there wasn't any in the house, I got dressed to make a late night run to 7-11. Thankfully, Kait was gearing up going to 7-11 for snacks! So she picked me up some. She also shared her mac and cheese (yeah, the Velveeta kind that is terrible for you) with me. I was so comfortable when I finally passed back out. Unfortunately I was tired as ballz this morning, and in more pain. Advil is no longer doing much. I called the dentist and at this point am waiting for the O.K. from my boss to switch my appointment from Wednesday, to tomorrow at 10am. I'm not stoked to have my tooth extracted, but I'm way more excited than any normal person should be about the removal of a mercury filling. I keep thinking things like, "Dude, this will improve my immune system so much!!" and "I'm going to use chlorella to get rid of all this effin mercury in my system and it's gonna be awesome!"

As for dinner, I made some honey mustard salmon. I used equal parts raw honey and mustard (I used the cheapy mustard, would def have been better with a dijon or something). I baked it in the over at 400 degrees and served it with a little salad, also dressed in honey mustard.


Limas!



Ignore where I gouged out the center to check if it was cooked through. Normally I'm not a fan of the sweet and savory dishes, but this was well balanced and not too sweet. It worked out really well, and was a nourishing dinner. I sort of don't feel like cooking tonight. I might hit up Elevation Burger or Chipotle...

Have a great day!

Wednesday, May 25, 2011

crossfit/artichokes/chicken and veggies/avocado salad

I really want to get into exercising more. I think I'm going to start doing CrossFit, you can read about it here if you're not familiar. Since it's in a group setting and I'll actually have to pay for it, I think it will definitely motivate me. From what I understand, a group of people go through a series of workouts. They all do the same workouts, but they are tailored to fit each person for their level. For example, if the workout we're supposed to do is squats, clearly I'll be squatting a lot less than the body builder next to me, or maybe more, depending on who I'll be working out with (though this is highly unlikely). I appreciate that it's a group setting and I'll have to get through a workout with people. Even though I know my first couple times doing this will probably be really intimidating.

As for dinner last night, I made an artichoke with hollandaise sauce!!!! All by myself!! I don't know why it seemed so daunting. Since I no longer have a steamer, I just boiled the artichoke while I cooked my other food. As for the other food, it was pretty awesome also:


-butter
-green pepper
-onion
-chicken
-spaghetti sauce
-garlic
-cayenne
-cheeses of choice (I used raw cheddar and pecorino)

Basically just sautee the veggies and chicken with garlic and cayenne, add the spaghetti sauce and let it simmer for a bit before topping it with cheese.


As for the hollandaise, I really didn't follow a recipe. I winged it, and it was awesome.
-4 T butter
-1 egg yolk
-clove of garlic
-a little fresh squeezed lemon juice

I separated the yolk and put it in a bowl. I melted the butter with a whole clove of garlic, for extra flavor. In small increments, I added the butter, stirring rapidly each time.


And for a salad of sorts:
-1 avocado
-cilantro
-lemon juice
-grape tomatoes


All together:


That artichoke was effing awesome. The center was sweet and went perfectly with my hollandaise sauce. Alright, I'm off to continue work. There are no windows in my office!! This genuinely makes me so sad. Hope you all have a great day!

Tuesday, May 24, 2011

dangers of mercury and flouride...and a burger recipe

I have a cracked tooth that is seriously painful right now. I got it filled with an amalgam filling when I was a kid, and the tooth/filling cracked a couple years ago. I haven't and still don't have dental insurance because it's just too pricey, and the dentists covered under the insurance I could get are not holistic dentists, so I definitely wouldn't go to them. Most dentists use highly toxic materials, the first of which I will discuss is mercury. Yes, the same mercury present in the fish that pregnant women avoid. At this point you might wonder why the mercury in fish is harmful, but the mercury filling dentists put in our mouths are not. Well, that ain't the case. Mercury fillings are highly toxic, and have caused brain, kidney and liver damage, cancer, neurological disorders, gastrointestinal problems, weak immune systems and a host of other issues. I've been wanting to get this mercury filling out of my mouth for years. Unfortunately the tooth will probably have to go with it, and that scares me. But I'll just have to suck it up. I'm genuinely concerned about how this mercury is affecting, and will affect me. A while ago I took chlorella tablets, which removes mercury from the body. I recently bought some more and plan on taking them for an extended period of time. Mercury is a seriously harmful substance. Studies are not inconclusive. We know mercury is bad for us, we know pregnant women should not consume it, so why should we put it directly into our mouths?


Flouride. Flouride was deemed safe in the 30's when a study conducted by one of the largest aluminum companies concluded that flouride prevented tooth decay. Flouride is a byproduct of copper, iron and aluminum. Flouride is a toxic substance, even more toxic than lead. Before it was used in household items (like toothpaste) and in our water, it was used as an insecticide and rat poison! Flouride has been linked to the development of cancer, Alzheimer's, lower IQ rates, infertiliy and even cavities! If this isn't enough to encourage you to stop using it, well, then I'd assume you just don't care about your overall health. You can buy flouride-free toothpaste, I usually buy Toms (though still not ideal, as it contains glycerin). The best option would be to make your own. I have done this using different combination of the following:
  • coconut oil
  • baking soda
  • tea tree oil
  • spearmint oil
  • orange oil
  • Dr. Bronner's soap in spearmint
  • probably other things I'm forgetting
For more info on the dangers of flouride, visit flouridealert.org.
Food.

Dinner last night came together in under 30 minutes. I've sort of been really into burgers lately, they're just so easy.

Spicy Herbed Burger:
-1 jalapeno
-1 lb grassfed beef
-1 egg
-cilanto
-parsley
-garlic
-worcestirshire

In my mini food processor I combined the garlic, herbs and jalapeno. In another bowl I combined the eggs, beef and worcestishire. I combined them and formed four patties. I topped the burgers with raw cheddar and served with my sauteed mushrooms, an avocado and grape tomatoes with sea salt.


Lots of food. Lots of fat. Lots of protein. Lots of veggies.


Lots of green in that burger, and I have leftovers for lunch. Score

This post is part of Monday Mania!



Monday, May 23, 2011

Crab Feast

This weekend was pretty awesome. It's so nice to have one of my best friends back in town. Friday when I got home from work I decided to make some pasta. I eat really well throughout the week and pretty much use the weekend to eat things I normally don't. And I figured that making my own pasta was way better than getting it at a restaurant.
Chicken and Broccoli Pasta:


-chicken
-chicken stock
-garlic
-broc
-butter
-whole wheat noods
-pecorino romano


Preeetty good.

On Friday night Kait and I headed out to a bar in Bethesda for my friend Robby's birthday. After that we met up with another friend at this awesome place by U st. Apparently it was some giant promotion for Vitamin Water. It was basically a giant warehouse with two floors of dancing, and a ton of art. There was graffiti everywhere and tons of awesome art upstairs. There were all the different rooms and different artists decorated them and displayed their stuff. It was amazing. We danced our faces off. Normally I don't enjoy the club type scene, but the guys were really respectful and did not try to grind (so annoying!) and there was a lot of spaces so it wasn't uncomfortably crowded, and they played really good music. Including old school motown stuff. How sick is that? The room we were dancing in was gigantic, and there was a floor to ceiling picture of a woman's face. My description really doesn't do the place justice. I didn't get a ton of pictures since it was so dark.




Some art.


Hit up the farmers market in downtown Silver Spring on Saturday morning with this guy:



He stuck his entire face in that water bowl, spilling most of it and then laying in it. And got a croissant, chocolate and pistachio:


On Saturday night Kait and I met up with Ali. We headed back to the U street area for dinner at some Spanish restaurant. We started out with a pitcher of strawberry 'ritas, too sweet for me.

Kait's food:


I got shrimp fajitas, and didn't eat the tortillas.


Ali got a steak burrrito:


After that we headed to Adams Morgan. We got some drinks and Madams Organ and people watched from the deck.



This dude was wearin' duck slippers. We quickly became friends.


I liked this place with the lights, I have no idea what it was, but there was an open rooftop deck. Figured I'd snap a picture.


While here, Ali took it upon herself to push me into a circle of dancing bridesmaids. That was fun.

On Sunday Ali and I headed to her dad's house for a crab feast. I love picking crabs, so stoked that it's crab pickin' season.



When our friend Sara saw this she said "What kind of poisonous salad dressing is your dad making??"

Friday, May 20, 2011

Random Eats and Ali!

Sorry for the lack of postage. There just hasn't been that many amazing eats for the past couple of days. On Wednesday, in lieu of actually making a big, intricate dinner I just sauteed some of Granny's cabbage and onions:
-chopped cabbage
-sliced onion
-butter
-little bit of chicken stock



And had that with the rest of these bad boys:


And then met up with my friend Hayter and some people to go bar hopping. This is not something I usually do on a Wednesday night, but Hayter is freshly back in town from 5 years of college, and will be starting law school this fall. Or at least that's how I justify going out on a Wednesday night. I was absolutely exhausted the next day, aka yesterday. So for dinner, I mosied on over to the new Chipotle that's about 5 feet away from my house!


-half chicken/half steak
-fajita veggies
-two scoops tomatoes
-guac
-lettuce
-little bit of cheese

I really like their corn and rice, but it's grain free for this girl.


And since I'm a hater of wasting food, I turned the leftover chipotle into breakfast this morning. Yes, I am pretty crafty.


Chipotle omelette!

Well, my only solid weekend plans are to hangout with my friend Ali who is in from Kentucky! Behold, Allison Grace:


Yes.


Amazing.



Wednesday, May 18, 2011

Unstuffed Quesadilla

I can never leave the grocery store without a few impulse buys. The important part about impulse buys, is checking the ingredients. Oftentimes I'll buy an Amy's frozen meal that I wasn't planning on, I usually get the organic/gluten free ones so the ingredient list is pretty safe. Last night, I saw hemp seed garlic mayo! I love mayo, and I love garlic. I checked the ingredients and they were pretty legit, so into the cart it went. Then I came across some smoked oysters in olive oil. I reminded myself how great oysters are for you, so I got those too. Then I saw a delicious pack of frozen quesadillas just really wanted it. But soy flour? No thanks, I put it back.

Upon my return home, I opened the hemp seed oil/garlic mayo and gave it a try. Not too bad. But upon re-checking the ingredients, what I had thought said grapeseed oil, actually said rapeseed oil, aka canola oil, aka toxic. I'm definitely not down with eating it, but I know others are not as opposed to canola oil as I am. If anyone would like the garlic mayo, just let me know and it's yours. I hate to waste food. The quesadillas inspired my Mexican themed dinner, but in the meantime I munched on these babies:


SO good! I really love oysters.


For dinner I decided to make veggie/chicken quesadillas, minus the tortillas. Unstuffed quesadillas?
-chicken
-butter
-chicken stock
-peppers
-onions
-tomato
-chili powder
-cumin
-cayenne
-chipotle

I sauteed the chicken in butter before adding the chicken stock, veggies and herbs. I let this cook for a bit until all the flavors were incorporated.


Since I love guacamole so much, I literally had it as a side dish. Sort of how a normal person would have mashed potatoes, or rice.


Since I was craving a quesadilla, I grated a whole bunch of cheddar on the chicken and veggies.


Hit. The. Spot.


For more recipes check out  The Healthy Home Economist!

And for dessert, since I was craving something sweet I had some raw yogurt with raw honey mixed in. I'm pretty proud of myself for completely staying away from grains yesterday. I feel a lot better when I do. There's a party at work today that will probably have lots of sweets so we'll see how that goes...Have a great day!