Some things....

Well the past two weeks have been busy. Between work, housing two different people and just the business of life, it has been nice to just relax this weekend. I have a friend who is heading to Italy next week which has brought my memories back to our Italy trip earlier this summer.

I'm about to encounter week 4 of no sugar.  And I am certainly feeling it!  I love fruit so much so it has been hard not to eat any.  I also love baked goods even more, I'm just itching to do some baking.

Here are some things I have been thinking about this week....

-What's on the menu for dinner tonight.
-Bon Appetit's July grilling issue has been a great read.
-I'm about to purchase a one-piece bathing suit, thinking of this one or this.
-We have a dessert party at our house tomorrow, I'm thinking about making this treat.

Have a great week!

Almond Meal

As I mentioned in a previous post, a benefit from making almond milk at home is that you get almond meal!  When I make the almond milk, I purchase one cup of blanched almonds from the bulk section (around two dollars), which not only produces almond milk, but I also get about 3/4 cup of almond meal.  It is actually pretty economical!

To make the almond meal, you will take the strained pulp from the milk and put on a baking tray. Bake in the oven at 250 degrees for a few hours, until the meal dries out.  Once it dries out (it will start to look toasted) take out of the oven and let cool. Once cool, run meal in the food processor for a food minutes and you are all set!

Chocolate Coconut Granola

We are about to start week three of no sugar....as the book that we are following says, the doubt will begin to creep in.  And oh my it has.  Late afternoon, I have been dying for something sweet, which is why we are doing this!  The Newman's have been sugar addicts.

This granola recipe has helped me get my sweet fix in the afternoon, and it is packed with protein so I get full easily.  I made an alteration to this recipe which the book provides.  Add two cups of oats, 1/2 cup of cocoa powder and a little bit more oil.  I also used small pieces of coconut because I could not find unsweetened coconut flakes.  Enjoy!

Homemade Almond Milk

Towards the end of college, I babysat for a family pretty regularly. This was the year I became a vegan, and was so lovingly given a sweet nickname from these kids...."Meeeeeghan the Veeeeegan" (that has to be pronounced so that Meghan rhymes with vegan).  Get it?  Knowing I was a weird vegan, the kids asked me all sorts of hilarious inquiries.  On this particular day, I was asked "how is almond milk made?".
Obviously, I made up an extravagant answer describing how each almond is squeezed until one little drop of milk comes out.  Clearly it takes a big batch of almonds to make one container.  If memory serves me right, they believed me :)

Truth:  Making homemade almond milk feels a bit like my answer.

Truth II: It is totally worth the work.

Well, it is officially day two of no sugar and I feel pretty good.  The hard part starts this weekend when we head to the beach and will be surrounded by all sorts of goodies that I will sadly turn down.

What have I eaten so far?  Lots of avocados, a few hashes, quinoa salads, homemade granola and lots of chia seeds.  However, making the almond milk has been my favorite activity so far.  The greatest part about making almond milk is that you get almond meal out of it!  That is when I felt as thought I squeezed a thousand individual almonds....

I Quit Sugar

Yes, this is really happening, the Newmans are about the quit sugar! Starting tomorrow, we will embark on a dreadful, yet exciting (?), cleanse.  I'm going to post some of our weekly meals and snacks so you can see what our life is like during the next eight weeks.  I can't speak for Andrew, but I am a sugar addict and it is time to go on a bit of a cleanse...

Sarah Wilson, an Australian blogger, journalist and food nut has written an incredibly informative and scientific book about the need for more fat in our diet and less sugar. Well fructose to be exact.  Not only is there a great deal of food science in this book, but there are also recipes, beautiful pictures, drawings and a specific 8 week plan to follow. We are ready to get healthy again.  

Click to find out more about Sarah Wilson and I Quit Sugar.

Italy Part 2

Italy Part 2- these are some of the mobile pictures when the big camera didn't make the cut....

 

Italy Part 1

Wow, I've taken a little vacation from the blog!  Andrew and I just got from Italy with my family and it was and incredible trip.  Even though we got back two weeks ago, we are still feeling jet lagged...is that possible?

We spent most of our time in Florence, where my parents had rented an apartment right in the city center, located between the Duomo and the Uffizi Museum- we were perfectly located in the city.  One day we went on a wine tour.  There we toured the vineyard, and ate a five course meal where they paired a flight of wine with each course.  It was fantastic!

We headed to Venice for one night and met up with Andrew's Aunt and Grandmother.  His Aunt Melanie lives in Vicenza and teaches art on a military base and his Grandmother had been visiting.  It was so sweet to spend time with them in Italy!  On the way home from Venice we stopped in Vicenza to see where Melanie lives.  Now we have some context where we hear her talk about life in Vicenza.  On our final night we headed to Fiesole, a little town on the mountain that overlooks Florence.  We had a delicious meal with and an unreal view, it was a perfect way to end our tip.

The Duomo di Firenze

Santa Croce, Florence

The Ponte Vecchio, Firenze

Fiesole.  The joke of the trip was that Greg somehow ended up in the background of almost all of our couple pictures. #photobomb

The view from Fiesole

Greg's arm to the right....