Food, Languages, and More!

This year I cannot complain about the amount of ice/snow that has come down in the Blue Ridge. I mean, the frigid temperatures and windy days sometimes end in hot showers, fuzzy socks, and extra blankets on the couch. But I can’t complain because today… is a snow day! So even though I want to break out in my own rendition of “Where Are You Christmas?” and entitle it “Where Are You Spring?” I will instead get to rest, read, and remember the events of the week.

Since my last blog on our new menu, I am happy to say that we are on track to begin Week 4 of our real food challenge next week! I love being able to share this adventure through blogging and personal stories with friends. Here are two of my favorite meals we have made lately:


Greek Fajitas. With homemade tzatziki sauce (made from yogurt), tomatoes, cucumbers, chicken, and feta cheese on whole wheat pitas. Yum!

Whole wheat chicken and mushroom pizza! So delicious it beat takeout hands down.

In other non-food related news, Tyler and I decided to branch out and try a few new things this week:

#1- Enrolled in a conversational Spanish class that started Tuesday. I have not been a student in a classroom in two years, so my hands were sweating and my voice was shaking with the teacher asked me in Spanish what month my birthday was in. As I answered timidly, “Abril?” a spike of adrenaline shot through my body. Because it doesn’t matter your age or your prior experience, learning is fun. Tyler and I are working on how to introduce ourselves in front of the class for homework this week. I will let you know how it goes!

#2- Went to a Neighborhood Watch class. It was all I could do not to giggle through the whole thing. Because I thought to myself, man I feel like a grownup here! And also because our new neighborhood is about as safe as they can get. But I guess it is good to keep it that way :) I really do love the area we live in. The meeting was a good way to meet our neighbors as well!

Lately, we have really been missing our family and friends in far off places, too. Know that we love you all! And we do have a two bedroom place if anyone wants to come visit... hint hint.

Please feel free to post any comments/thoughts :)

Con mucho amor,

Amanda

A Whole New Menu

Happy Weekend to Everyone!

This week in the Harris home we embarked on a new adventure in life, part of our 2013 bucket list. And it started in the kitchen. Actually, it started with my husband’s monthly subscriptions to Runner’s World and an innate interest in nutrition and exercise.

Tyler has been interested in nutrition for as long as I have known him and even took a few classes during his Master’s program at Liberty University. I, on the other hand, have a slight addition to Dr. Pepper and peanut butter MnM’s. And until about a month ago, I didn’t plan on changing that. Then Tyler came across a website: www.100daysofrealfood.com. Lisa, (the owner of this site), along with her husband and two girls, decided to go for 100 days eating only whole, natural foods. Her pledge included eating whole-wheat products, taking trips to the farmer’s market, and cutting out processed foods. After reading Lisa’s story, for the first time in my life, I got excited about nutrition! Her plan didn’t include a diet to lose weight or giving up junk food (thank goodness!). It simply cut out processed foods. So with the help of Lisa’s meal plan and grocery list, we started our own real food pledge!

Last Saturday was day #1- preparation. The day began at the farmer’s market downtown where we purchased our fruits, vegetables, and homemade bread from the bakery.

I had been to the farmer’s market before, but never to grocery shop like this. I learned a few lessons in that first trip, like you need to bring a bag to put your food in or it may end up on the floor.  Then we finished grocery shopping at Kroger, where I got pretty well acquainted with the natural foods section.

Because we were babysitting for Super Bowl Sunday, we decided to begin our natural meal plan on Monday. And I am happy to say, we completed week 1! Here are some pictures from the meals that we made:

Tilapia with roasted sweet potatoes.

Fajitas! We wrapped these in whole-wheat homemade tortillas.

Jambalaya. Our first time and we liked it!

We also made whole-wheat chocolate chip cookies for a treat on Friday :)

More updates to come! Enjoy your Sunday night!

Mandi