Shrimp and Okra...oh yeah!

Last weekend we took a stroll over to the farmer's market and I get super excited when I saw these okra.  We purchased a crate for $3 and here is the recipe for what I did with them:

Okra and Shrimp Creole

1 lb. Okra, sliced
1 lb. wild Shrimp
1 15oz. tomato sauce
1 15oz. diced tomatoes with green chiles
1/2 onion, diced
3 garlic cloves, diced
1/2 green pepper, diced
1 tsp chili powder
1/2 tsp cayenne pepper
1 tsp thyme
salt and pepper to taste

In a skillet, add1 tbsp olive oil, heat over a medium flame.  Add onions and green peppers and saute until onions are translucent.  Add garlic and stir until tender.  Add tomato sauce and diced tomatoes, stir.  Add chili powder, cayenne and thyme.  Add okra and simmer for  15-20 min.  Meanwhile, fill a small pot with water and bring to a boil.  Once boiling add shrimp and cook until shrimp begin turning pink.  Watch closely, they cook quickly.  Once they have began to turn color, remove them from pot and add them to the okra.  Turn temperature down to a low flame and allow stew to simmer and flavors to meld.  Make sure not to overcook though.  Once done, add salt and pepper to taste.  Serve over steamed rice.
 Enjoy!

How to chose the perfect melon

One thing I love about summer is the large variety of my favorite fruits, like melons.  It took me a while to learn how to pick them, but I have it down now and thought I'd share!


Cantaloupe
Color-should be tan-yellow, avoid the green ones
Firmness-should be slightly soft overall, avoid ones with soft spots
Smell-smell where the stem would have been, it should smell like cantaloupe

Honeydew
Color-Light green-yellow
Firmness-should be slightly soft overall, avoid ones with soft spots
Smell-When you smell at the stem area, it should smell like honeydew

Watermelon
Color-Green, with a yellow spot (that's where it has been lying on the ground during the growing phase)
Firmness-should be firm and sound hollow when you knock on its rind
Smell-I haven't noticed a significant smell

Also, if they're really ripe, they can almost smell like they've gone bad, but will be super sweet.  Once you've chosen your perfect melon its time to cut it up.  Here's my method:

If you go to the store and there aren't any ripe melons, you can still get one and let it ripen on your counter for a few days!

Enjoy!

Going Natural

Growing up my parents encouraged healthy eating and living habits.  We didn't have a television until I was 7 or 8, we ate things like bulgar wheat burgers and whole wheat donuts and my mother practiced yoga. Throughout my teen years, I completely rebelled against that life style.  I would spend my money on bad chinese take-out and pizza.  As a young adult, thankfully I never fell into the Ramen noodle pit, but I was barely a step above! Its funny how things always go full circle, because now I am trying to have as many healthy and natural foods, gardening, cleaning and beauty/hygiene supplies as possible.

I decided to make these changes for a variety of reasons.  First, my son has really bad seasonal allergies and asthma. He has a reaction (itchy throat and ears) whenever he eats certain fruits and vegetables like apples, pears, carrots, celery, kiwi, etc., unless they are cooked.  As you can imagine our produce bill is ridiculous in the winter.  Since many of the other fruits fall on the Dirty Dozen, I am trying to buy organic.  I feel like everything is so contaminated and is a cause of a lot of the ailments that we have.  In addition, I think that in our attempts at trying to get germ free and have convenience, we are killing off some of the things that are helpful to our bodies.  Things like bees, which hurt when they sting, but also make honey, which has good vitamins and minerals and helps in building immunities through its anti-oxident properties.  We are destroying good bacteria and creating a lot of free-radicals which are recking havoc in our bodies.  There appears to be an increase in the number of cases of cancer, adhd/autism, heart disease and neurological problems, like Parkinsons.   I am not saying that going natural will completely eliminate these things but I do believe that it helps in decreasing the numbers and the severity.

This is a large undertaking for me, so I am doing it in baby steps.  I think lifestyle changes are better absorbed and become a part of your routine when you gradually make changes instead of eliminating everything at one time.  So instead, each time I run out of a product, be it food, cleaning or hygiene/beauty product, I am replacing it with its natural counterpart.  Since we will be trying out new products I thought it would be cool to do a review after.

To start things off, we tried out Jason Pure Natural Deodorant Stick  in Soothing Aloe Vera.

It costs around $5.99.  The smell was pleasant and fresh.  It felt wet when it was applied but I fanned it and went about my day.  Shortly after I noticed that I felt sticky or tacky is probably a better descriptive.  It felt like I had glue in my armpits!  Within 3 hours I didn't feel so fresh.  I tried it for a few more days and had the same results, so needless to say, I am back to using Dove until I find something better. There are a few more that I want to try and also some DIY's I've heard about, so I will keep you posted.

Do you or have you tried natural deodorant before and if so, did it work?  Which brand?

Baby Weight Loss

During my first pregnancy I gained 50 lbs.  I was nervous this go round that losing weight would prove to be very difficult since I am 10 years older and haven't worked out in quite a while!  I tried to watch what I was eating during the pregnancy and walk as much as possible.  I still ended up gaining 45 lbs. by delivery day.  I didn't really think about it after delivery because you aren't supposed to diet while breastfeeding.  I decided I would just go shopping for some larger sizes and roll with it until I finished nursing.  To my surprise the weight just started rolling off.  Technically, you are supposed to eat 500 more calories then normal per day while breastfeeding.  I am not good about counting calories, so I just eat and drink when I am hungry.  I try to eat whole foods and drink water so that my caloric intake is worthwhile.  That's not to say that I never indulge, because I have definitely inherited my grandfather's sweet tooth and I truly believe in everything in moderation.

So far, I am proud to say I have lost 50 lbs.  Yay!!!  Over 3 years prior to getting pregnant I had slowly gained 15 lbs., so I have been able to put a  5 lb. dent in that also.  I am super excited. 

A regular day's meal plan for me includes:

Breakfast- oatmeal with raisins or 2 eggs ( and yes, I eat the yolks,) toast (sprouted whole grain bread,) and fruit
Lunch- turkey wrap or soup, or pasta with marinara sauce and fruit
Dinner-chicken or fish-usually grilled, sauteed/roasted veggies or salad and baked yams/roasted potatoes or jasmine rice
Snacks-0 % Fage Greek yogurt, cheese and Ak-mak crackers or cottage cheese and fruit, and sweet potatoes

Breastfeeding burns 500 calories per day according to WebMD, so when I finish nursing, I am going to have to have a workout routine in place to maintain the loss.  I have decided to do a mud run this summer ( which we'll discuss later), and signing up for a race has made me start working out in the past, so we'll see what happens.  For now, I'm just going to enjoy my current triumph!