If there's anything that screams autumn, it's apple picking. After last weekend's failed attempt at visiting an orchard, yesterday was a successful afternoon of apple picking. My hubby and I journeyed to the town of Watsonville to check out Clearview Organic Orchards. Unfortunately we always seem to be a little late in the game when it comes to picking apples, and the trees were pretty picked over. We still found some good apples, and supplemented the rest of our bag with apples that had already been picked from the trees earlier. When the guy at Clearview Orchards told me that he "robs" the bee hives every week to get the raw local honey that they sell, I knew I'd want to nab a jar for myself. I put honey on everything lately! You may have already noticed this with my recent recipes - ... [Read More]
Archives for October 2013
New Scenery for My Practice: Be the Change Yoga & Wellness
In honor of National Yoga Month in September, The Yoga Health Foundation has been offering coupons for one free week of yoga at 2,000 participating studios nationwide. Even though I often practice yoga either on my own, through following DVD/YouTube videos, or with the recent addition of Fitness OnRequest at my gym, by choosing one of those classes, I had yet to go to a studio since moving to the Bay Area. After looking around at the options in my area, I decided to try out a place in San Jose called Be The Change Yoga & Wellness. After convincing my hubby that yoga may help improve his constant lower back pain, he has been joining me a bit for my at-home yoga sessions lately. He was interested in coming with me to try a class as well, so earlier this week, we had a mid-week date ... [Read More]
Marsala Wine Portobello & Tomato Pizza Pockets
To me, Sundays are the best for experimenting in the kitchen. Whether I wake up with a growling belly and a breakfast idea on my mind, have some time to leisurely play around in the afternoon, or spend part of my evening whipping up a dinner recipe, many of my Sundays involve the creation of a recipe or two. Last Sunday, dinnertime was my chance to get a little creative with food, and this is what I came up with... What is this doughy, cheesy ball of goodness you ask? It's a yummy recipe that was born out of my desire to make a pizza-like dinner, yet not exactly be typical pizza. I've deemed them Marsala Wine Portobello Mushroom & Tomato Pizza Pockets. It all started when I had a couple of mini portobello mushroom caps left over from a risotto dish I made the week before that I wanted ... [Read More]
WIAW: Still Loving Apples, Cashews & Lentils
Hi and Happy Wednesday, though most of your days have already come to an end! I feel like this week has been zipping by. Thanks to you ladies for your sweet comments on yesterday's post. Like a few of you mentioned, what matters most is how I feel in my own skin. Living healthily and happily is a constant balancing act, and I'm just trying to find that (almost) perfect balance that makes me feel best -- although I must add that I feel pretty happy and healthy already! With that being said, today I'm joining the Peas and Crayon linkup party for a What I Ate Wednesday post. It's actually all of my eats from yesterday, and includes a few of my recent food loves: apples, cashews and lentils. Breakfast: chopped apple sprinkled with cinnamon + almond butter + Kashi Go Lean! Crunch ... [Read More]
Autumn Slim Down to Find My Ideal Weight
Hi friends! Today's post is about a topic that a lot of people struggle with: finding, reaching, and staying at their "ideal" weight. It feels very personal for me to write about, but I'm doing it because I know a lot of other people have a hard time with it, and why be afraid to be honest and talk about my journey right? My Weight Story I'll spare you the sob story about how life isn't fair, but I've never been a person who can just be thin without eating right and exercising. The reason why I've never been heavy is because I've (thankfully) never eaten a standard American diet, and I've been active my entire life. I'm so blessed to have grown up in a household where healthy living was just a way of life, and I've carried that mentality with me as an adult. I've never been a ... [Read More]
A Perfect Autumn Day
To me, October marks the beginning of the holiday season. From now through the end of the year, I feel like there's so much festivity going on -- and I love it! A big part of my afternoon yesterday was spent attending a festive October event at the nearby Uesugi Farms. I was covering their 23rd Annual Giant Pumpkin Weigh-Off for the newspaper, and it was the first time I've seen pumpkins of that size in real life. Some of the pumpkins were not very attractive looking... ...while others were pretty: But all of them were definitely GIANT! I got the chance to speak with the grower of the pumpkin below, a Napa farmer who told me that he has a severely disabled daughter who watches him tend to his pumpkins on a daily basis. The sweetness of him talking about her totally made me root ... [Read More]