On My Mind

Joining in with Rhonda Jean today for another On My Mind Post. Today I am thinking about my diet and some changes that need to be made. I have had several days in the last few weeks with some bad stomach upset/pain, and I think I need to take a close look at my diet and what might be causing this.

I will be using these cookbooks a lot in the near future!

I am really at a loss as to what could be causing my discomfort. I do not have a history of troubles with certain foods in my family, and never have I had problems before. I have been eating out more than usual lately, so I am going to cut that out entirely and begin to start a food diary to see if I can pinpoint a certain food that is bothering me. I am going to stop eating anything that is not homemade or that I know all of the ingredients to and go from there.

Completely unrelated is a book I have placed on hold at the library. Nourishing Traditions. I realize that this book is completely against vegetarianism and promotes meat eating, but I am curious. I have read so many blog posts about this book (including over at Rhonda's), and I think that it is time I read it. No, I am not thinking about abandoning my vegetarianism, but I think it is imperative that I hear "both sides of the argument" in order to be fully educated in what I eat. I will let you know what I think when I have received and read it.

Have you ever had food intolerance concerns? What are your thoughts on your diet?

Brenna

On My Mind... Fresh Summer Produce!

Joining in with Rhonda at Down To Earth for an On My Mind Post.

Today, I am thinking about all of the lovely fresh produce we have in the house and what to make with it. I am currently roasting some corn on the cob in the oven for a nice light lunch. Yesterday I made use of some fresh lettuce and cucumber from the market and some tomatoes from our very own pots in this lovely salad:

I topped my delicious lunch with some leftover falafel patties and homemade tzatziki from a meal earlier this week. It was pure heaven. Recipes for falafel and tzatziki can be found here. 

Join in with our posts over at Rhonda's for some fun!

Have a lovely day,

Brenna

On My Mind...

Joining in with Rhonda today for an On My Mind Post.

Today we both had the day off, so that is on my mind. We went to lunch at this amazing Mexican restaurant downtown and then took a stroll and browsed through my favourite used book store. I bought three books, but one is for my new course that starts on Monday. The other two were for pure pleasure. If there is one thing I love to buy, it's books. I try not to buy too many per year, but that never quite works out. Plus who can turn down a five dollar book that has as much charm as this one?

In my all time favourite novel, The Thirteenth Tale by Diane Setterfield, there are several classic novels mentioned, a lot of them obscure and unheard of. Today, I stumbled upon one of those. The Woman in White. I am so excited to start this one! Here are my other finds:

What a wonderful way to spend our day off together! 

Brenna

On My Mind...

 Joining in with Rhonda Jean again this week for an installment of On My Mind. This week I have been thinking about yoga. I have recently started it again, but am getting a bit more serious about it and adventuresome with my poses. I have only dabbled at it in the past, and really enjoyed it, so I thought I would give it a whirl at home again.

                                             
                                                  not my mats, but I own one similar to the purple!

I am already feeling the difference in my body, especially with my balance! I never clued in to how unbalanced I really was (i.e falling or tipping when putting on shoes and socks), until starting this regime on an (almost) daily basis. I also am a lot more aware of my posture and my back and shoulders are hardly ever sore anymore. I have a desk job that really irks my shoulders, and the yoga has really reduced my pain, as well as stress level. I have only done at home routines and haven't ventured out to take an actual class (my current instructors consist of Wii Fit yoga instructors hehe). I don't think I will plan to take a class right away in an effort to be more frugal, and I am perfectly happy with doing it at home. Thank you for stopping by, please feel free to leave a comment to let me know you were here!

Brenna

On My Mind...

Joining in with Rhonda Jean again this week for On My Mind.

This week I have budgeting and cutting back on my mind, as I am considering going back to university to pursue a degree. I am currently not content in my job, and am feeling the urge to feed my brain and indulge academically for a while. In order to be able to afford that, I will need to dip into my savings a bit and make up a stricter budget. Taking courses means reducing my amount of time spent working, but keeping my job in order to pay my fixed costs and food. I already adhere to a fair budget, but there is a lot of room for improvement. If you check out Rhonda's blog, she has some truly amazing posts on budgeting and living on less, and they are so helpful and encouraging. I like the idea of getting into the habit of cutting back and living on less, because our future holds children and I would like to be accustomed to living this way so that I can stay home with the kids. But for now, this is a strictly selfish decision, but it is something that I am so excited for. I have a few more months before the summer semester starts, so I will be saving as much as possible before then, and looking into ways of reducing my spending. I researched how to make my own yogurt at home today, something that I will be attempting next week and will post about. I will gladly bring you along with me during this new adventure and I would love to hear some money saving tips from you!

xo Brenna

On My Mind...

Joining in with Rhonda Jean again today for another On My Mind Post.

My sweet little man is spending the night at the vet clinic tonight on IV fluids due to a recent bout of vomiting and inability to keep anything down. We had a bit of a scare when his bloodwork showed he was in liver failure (he's 2 years old), but we were relieved when it turned out that the machine had just malfunctioned. A second blood sample showed he is in perfect health. We will hopefully be bringing him home tomorrow sometime. Tonight lots of snuggles with his lonely brother are in store! 

PS- a side note, we do not normally don our cats in sweaters. He had a reaction to a recent vaccine which produced a lump that he was scratching at incessantly so he had to wear the sweater for about a week until he left it alone. He will never be vaccinated again due to this reaction, so we had to take some pictures of him wearing the sweater as he (hopefully) will never have to wear it again! Just thought I would add this so you don't think I am a crazy cat lady who dresses her cat!

xo Brenna

This Is On My Mind

Today I am joining in with Rhonda at Down To Earth for her Friday photo ritual. It is still Thursday here, but Rhonda is in Australia, so I will be making this my Thursday ritual. I truly admire Rhonda's blog and use it as a regular reference for green cleaning, home cooking, and just great advice and encouragement as I attempt to get into a routine and "green" way of life. She is also such a wonderful voice for homemakers, which I really think is wonderful, and I am so happy that such an intelligent and well spoken woman has decided to speak out and in favor of those women who are lucky and smart enough to be able to stay at home.

Well enough gushing, lets get to the photo!

Orange Cardamom Cookies

These cookies are absolutely to die for. I baked them to be used as a "decoy cookie" to hopefully distract certain members of the household from the Christmas baking (not naming any names). Ok, I admit that I require some distraction now and then.... :).  Well they are divine, and oh so light and refreshing, with a hint of spiciness that is pure heaven. I adapted the recipe from Martha Stewart's Cookies book. Originally the recipe is meant to make madeleines. Well I do not own a madeleine tin, and pretty much 100% of them are coated in Teflon, which I avoid like the plague, so I improvised and free formed them. They turned out fantastic! 

Orange Cardamom Cookies

For the batter:

4 tbsp butter

1 tbsp honey

1 tsp vanilla extract

3/4 cup all purpose flour

1 tsp baking powder

3/4 tsp ground cardamom

1/4 tsp salt

1/4 cup white sugar

2 large free range eggs

Melt butter over low heat. Remove from element, and add vanilla extract and honey. Let cool for 10 minutes. Meanwhile, mix together flour, baking powder, cardamom, and salt. Stir together sugar and eggs in a separate bowl, and fold in flour mixture until combined. Cover and refrigerate for 30 minutes.  Preheat oven to 325 F. Spoon heaping teaspoons of batter onto cookie sheet lined with parchment paper, leaving about 1 inch of space between cookies for spreading. Bake for 10-11 mins, until set and slightly golden. Let cool on wire rack.

For the Glaze:

3/4 cup icing sugar

1 tsp orange zest

2 tbsp fresh orange juice

Mix together all ingredients and dollop on cookies when cool. 

Enjoy!

Brenna