Organic Surfer Girl

   Your skin is the largest organ in your body.  We often think about what we put IN our body and not what we put ON our body.   Wouldn't it make sense that the things we put on our skin also gets absorbed and into our blood stream?  So despite how clean your diet is and how you limit the toxins you consume. You are still exposing yourself to toxins through skincare.      My personal care and make up were one of the last things I converted over to a more natural, organic type of care.  I was very hesitant because who knows what was out there that I could use.  I needed it to work.  I need it to make me feel pretty.  I hated using my products because none of it ever worked.  It was annoying. Nothing ever felt good or made me feel pretty.  There is a reason there are so many brands out there right? So many products filled with chemicals.  One of them is bound to work with my skin right?  Ugh. Very often I thought that I should have paid more attention in chemistry!  I hate trying di

            I genuinely love cooking seasonal recipes.  It forces me to change up my diet.  I'm eating things I would not have eaten when I was little despite how Mom made them.  (Sorry Mom for being so picky!)  Now as a grown up, I love root vegetables like turnips and parsnips. Who would have thought? I actually like kale and mashed cauliflower.  These are all things I would not have dared to go near when I was little. The fall and winter call for root vegetables.  It calls for warm and hearty meals.  I grew up eating pasta during the winter.  Since I'm unable to eat pasta constantly due to being gluten free, I turned to other recipes that would give me the same type satisfaction. I'm now making recipes that I would have turned my nose up before I turned my diet around.  Now I wonder how I ever went without ever trying these types of food.        When people think of fall, they automatically think of apples or pumpkin.  Usually the first recipe that comes to mind is appl

              SO, I haven't blogged in many months.  Some of you may know already but I will share what's been going on.  I was in a very bad car accident in May.  I didn't really quite realize how bad it was until recently.  I'm still very banged up and am still at my mom's.  It's been over four months.  I'm still in pain.  I'm definitely better then I was before but nowhere where what I was before the accident.  It's not where I expected to be by now.  I basically spent the past four months taking off from life.  I have been going to physical therapy, chiropractors, doctors and so forth.  It's been frustrating.  I just want to run again.  I just want the pain to be gone.  I spend every day and night in pain.  It's unbelievably frustrating.  It's depressing.               I've gotten back into cooking.  I've started to implement the good habits again.  I've started to plan my meals out again.  I've noticed a difference w

        "Plan  your meals but always leave room for options."   Much easier said then done right?  I used to be one of those people who always said planning my meals is not meant for me.  I'd plan my meals and then decide that day, I didn't want it.  I'd end up eating something completely different and something completely horrible for me.  That all changed about six months ago.  I was working two jobs.  I had no time to cook.  I had to prep in advance.  I needed to do it this time around for my health.  My health finally became a priority for me.  I wanted to take care of myself bad enough to make this planning ahead work for me.           This was also around the time I did two things, I did a detox meal plan by Prescribe Nutrition.  They have done multiple rounds since the beginning of the year and continue to do so.  Definitely go check them out! What it is, is a variety of meals given to you by this creative team.  You have access to the two top people who a

     So getting back into blogging is not easy when I'm not really doing much fitness related due to foot injury.  I'm also not cooking due to the foot injury.  I'm currently at my mother's house where she is doing my cooking.  I am forced to stay in bed with my foot up.       I am however using this time to really focus on my diet and mental health.  I am trying to incorporate healthy habits that I can really continue even as I recover and heal from this injury. There's menu planning, tracking my food, selecting healthy choices, good night's sleep, staying positive, drinking lemon water in the morning, and so on.  I'll spend the next few weeks discussing healthy habits and how important they are to our overall health.    The first one I'm going to focus on today is drinking room temperature lemon water when you wake up.  This is something that I've seen all over.  It's been listed in holistic health books, blogs, and so on.  I figured, what&#

      My last post was about two and half months ago.  I actually had about three posts waiting to be published at certain times.  I will post them as I get back to regular scheduled postings. SO much as happened personally for me in the past few months.  I'm also hoping to make a new layout for my blog as well.  I'm realizing the blue on blue is not that easy to read.  Newbie blogger mistake!        Some of the delays were quite honestly, I didn't have the adapter to upload pictures into my new computer.  I felt awkward posting recipes without the pictures.  I learned this from blogging, pictures are ALWAYS helpful when it comes to recipe posts.  I wanted to do a new layout.  I just simply didn't have the time to make all these changes I wanted to do.  I was working two jobs.  I was working six days a week.  All I was doing was working and working out.         In the past month, my life has once again, dramatically changed.  Let me rewind to December. I had gotten a

I definitely enjoy certain foods now that I used to shy away from. I either A. thought it was too healthy, b. thought it was gross or c. I just plain old didn't know how to cook it. As I've embarked on this clean eating lifestyle, everything has changed. My taste palates have changed, my idea of what's healthy and tasty has changed and my confidence in the kitchen has grown. I eat and cook foods now that I never would have done a few years ago. I wouldn't have thought twice about buying Pillsbury cookies or having frozen dinners in my house as quick meal. Now, I much rather put in the work and have fresh homemade food. It's tastier, healthier and I can control what goes in my mouth. I can't go back to my old eating habits, even if I tried. Knowing what I know about where my food comes from has been the biggest game changer for me. It has helped bring me to this point in my life where I can honestly say I am the happiest I've ever

I've been sick the past few days. I even had to call in sick for work which I do not like to do. I simply do not have time to be sick! *note to whoever got me sick, I'm very mad at you! Although I honestly think it is the constant in and out of the cold weather at my morning job that is doing me in. It does wear on the body after awhile. So the past few days I've had a sore throat, cough, congestion and a fever. I don't really like taking medication because if I don't fill my body up with artificial coloring and chemicals. If I avoid that kind of stuff when I'm healthy then why would I do it when I'm sick? My eventual goal for 2013 is to have alternative medicine in my medicine cabinet instead of your typical Nyquil arsenal. Have you seen the ingredient list for that? It's full of food coloring and chemicals. I wish I saved the last bottle so I could list the ingredients for you. If you look it up online, it just lists the active ingr

The first time I made this meal was for Christmas dinner. I needed a vegetarian dish for my aunt. It ended up being a hit with everyone at the table. My 92 year old grandma took seconds and then said "if no one else is having anymore, I'll just take the rest home." That is definitely how you know it was a hit. The only thing that I wish I had more of, was the vegetables. So when I made it tonight, I doubled the vegetables and it came out perfect! What I love about this recipe is that it truly showcases winter root vegetables. Until I changed my diet, I always ate the vegetables I liked at anytime of the year. Now I focus on eating seasonally and local. This is exactly why I like this recipe. I also like this recipe because it's a vegetarian dish. I've significantly reduced my meat consumption. This dish fills you up without wanting more or missing anything. I won't keep you waiting any longer, here is the adapted recipe from Vegetar

It's been about two months since my last post and WOW a lot has happened. I truly apologize to my readers for the lack of new food recipes and posts. There was however magic in the kitchen. There just wasn't any time to sit and write the posts. However, Snowstorm Nemo has given me that time. Here is an update on my life. I cooked an amazing gluten free Christmas dinner. I made gluten free stuffed rolled pork loin, roasted winter vegetable vegetarian jambalaya and carrot soufflé. (My brother in law is allergic to gluten, dairy and eggs) Everything that I had made, he was able to eat, except the carrot soufflé. That was a request made by his wife, my sister. (Recipes will be posted shortly). During Christmas break, there was a lot of family illness and a death. A lot of family time, I'm ok with that. I have the type of the family that is always there for each other. This was a time where we needed each other. I also got to close a major chapter in my li