The Cleanse

I came across this cleanse before my wedding last year and decided it may be time to start it up again. I followed this detox plan for 12 days a couple of weeks ago and I am continuing again starting today. As I prepare for yet another wedding season this helps me feel (and hopefully look) amazing. I am less bloated, tired and heavy feeling. I also love that it is all natural. Everything I eat is really good for me. It takes about a week to get used to planning every meal & snack you eat but it is worth it. You HAVE to plan ahead to keep on track! You will notice that you have a feeling of being full however you will most likely be craving certain foods. I keep clementines, apples and nuts on hand so I can snack if needed.

Here is the website:
http://www.womentowomen.com/detoxification/detoxdiet.aspx

I do modify this a bit. I allow myself one cup (grande size) coffee a day however I switched from adding cream and sweet-n-low to a bit of soy/almond/coconut milk and stevia. I actually like stevia better because it is a less powerful sweetener. The last time I did cut out dairy which I noticed made me feel even better. I think there is something to that idea of humans being lactose intolerant...
http://www.usatoday.com/tech/science/2009-08-30-lactose-intolerance_N.htm

One grain that I took advantage of eating was quinoa. I made a huge batch of this with onions, garlic and green onions and ate it with baked organic chicken breasts for most of my lunches.  For dinner one night I stuffed a poblano pepper with the quinoa and baked in the oven for 20 minutes (broil for the last 1 minute to crisp up the top).

I have also become addicted to Larabars. They are a yummy combo of fruit and nuts usually ranging from 3-7 ingredients and are very filling. They are also a Denver based company, yahoo!

http://www.larabar.com/

 Some other restaurants I was able to get a great meal from during the cleanse were TAG RAW BAR (Larimer Square, Denver) and Mod Market in Glendale. Both use fresh, local ingredients on their menus and are a great way to not get sick of the same old chicken & veggie meals.

TAG RAW BAR

Endive Salad

Walkway on Larimer Square

                     

Mod Market

www.modmarket.com

I recommend the Thai Coconut salad



Client #1

Client #1 for CdesignCo is also known as my friend, Emily N. who happens to be getting married in amazing Steamboat Springs, CO in August. She so graciously agreed to let me design her stationary for the wedding, what a brave little guinea pig! She was aware of every little detail of my wedding planning because she and  I worked 15ft away from each other. Our mornings were filled with planning updates, flower selections and americanos. Now she is getting married and the roles have switched and I recently finished designing and printing her STD (Save the Date).

Emily's color scheme includes bright fuschia, coral, champagne & taupe. Bridesmaids will be wearing long fuschia chiffon, tables will be draped with beautiful taupe linen, flowers will be vibrant with coral, fuschia and green and we all will be sitting on dark espresso chivari chairs. Classic and Vibrant are her STD's with Edwardian Script and High Tower Text as staple fonts. A beautiful fuschia color envelope (STARDREAM Azalea) encases the card.  

My favorite moment from the STD planning portion was the brides approval from the groom, "Todd, don't you think we need a touch of pink?"  This coming from the girl who loves pink more than a 4 year old little girl...I am pretty sure that when he put that ring on her finger, he envisioned pink. So, needless to say he approved.

 I can't wait to start her invitations...

PS: working on website for CdesignCo, more to come!

Surviving a SEVERE cold

The past 10 days I have had a horrible cold. I have learned what NOT to do (travel to higher elevation town of Vail and party with one of my best friends) and I learned what TO do to fight this nasty cold.

Was feeling like crap the first part of last week, then after not getting much sleep the full on sore throat, runny nose, cough hit me like a mack truck. I was supposed to leave for Vail to hang out with one of my friends at her Aunt's awesome ski house...how could I pass that up to stay at home in bed and be sick? I couldn't! So I drove up Thursday morning and it turns out my friend Brooke was sick as well. However unlike me Brooke lost her voice and was referred to as "the seventy year old woman who smokes a pack a day" by all the cab drivers in Vail. Me, Brooke and Joe started the day with a hot tub soak while drinking bud light under the fresh falling mountain snow. It was such a wonderful feeling being in the presence of a good girlfriend. Between that feeling and being in the mountains we were both giddy little school girls. We ate lunch, relaxed in the afternoon and then headed out to the bars for happy hour. Needless to say, the night ended at The Club...me as the back-up dancer to Johhny somebody playing the guitar and a guy name Peter following Brooke around like a little puppy. Ahh what a night.

 As the weekend went on I started to feel worse and worse. My congestion was so bad I literally felt as though I was going to sneeze and any point but couldn't. My right eye was contantly closing and watering, I was a freckled girl version of quasimodo. I was taking a cough/cold/decongestant along with ibuprofen while sucking on halls and eating soup and chugging vitamin water. Nothing was helping. This typically happens...I get a cold and then it settles in my sinuses. So, I knew that this would end up as a sinus infection before it was done with me. Sunday night I was so frustrated I went to Wal-greens and bought every nose clearing related item I could. After $45 dollars and a full medicine cabinet, I know have two items that I will never go without again.

1. Afrin severe congestion nasel spray

2. THE NETI POT!!

http://www.sinucleanse.com/netipotlanding.htm

Oh and maybe Puffs Vicks tissues...they were an awesome help from keeping my skin from not flaking off my face. But seriously, if you have allergies or bad sinuses...get the Neti Pot. It works wonders! So, along with my antibiotics and my plethora of (over-the-counter) drugs I am feeling much better, not 100% but I did manage to clean the whole house last night like a good house wife.

More smoothies, less coffee??

I have two problems in the morning...I am not hungry and I love/need coffee. However I have realized that sometime in my future I will not be able to have any coffee for 9 months (minor anxiety attack happening just mentioning it!!) So, in an effort to reduce my coffee intake, I have started making smoothies every morning.

Below is a the yummy recipe that I have been using for my morning smoothie packed with protein, fruit, and nutrients. This smoothie comes our ultra creamy and delicious!

1/2 cup coconut milk

2 tablespoons greek honey yogurt (i am obsessed with this stuff!)

1 banana

1 cup frozen fruit (mango and peaches are my favorites)

2 tablespoons whey protein powder

1 teaspoon flax seed oil

 Blend and enjoy!

Pampering the Chef

After the dinner, flowers and pedicure Chef J told me there was another surprise coming for Valentine's Day. I LOVE surprises and immediately my mind wandered....what magical vacation was he going to take me on. Could I pack for Europe in two days?? The reality was great too. He scheduled a couples massage for us on Sunday, our day off together. I should mention this was his FIRST EVER professional massage.

I talked him through all of the protocols of getting a massage...how the blanket "covers" correctly, why you need to drink lots of water after and so on. The massages were so amazing. Perfectly relaxing and stress relieving after such a busy week. Post massage was a different story. I was in a zen stage, calm and collected.  J was in his analyzing, can't stop brain from thinking of every little detail about the last hour of his life craziness stage. The questions continued for the next 10 minutes:
    "Do you think they do the same routine every time?"
    "Are they contract workers or do they work here?"
    "What kind of motions are they actually making with their hands?
He was even re-writing the informational form you fill out pre-massage:
    "They should really ask you how tall you are to make sure they can reach your whole back in one swift movement."

He swears this sort of behavior IS relaxing to him so I let him "relax." I guess this is why he makes a great Chef; always analyzing a situation, trying to understand every person involved, and most importantly how he can make the experience better. And I love him for that, just not after I just had a massage.

chef's wife fish tacos

The chef is at work tonight...what to make for dinner...hmmm. As I make my way through the aisles of Whole Foods promising that I will ONLY get items needed for dinner (this never stays true), it hits me! I will make my healthy, easy Fish Tacos! I think I could eat these every night as I love spicy food especially mexican.

I pick up some fresh alaskan cod, green chili tortillas, chipotle salsa, pico and a corn salsa. I am aiming for a 20 minute cook time to keep it simple. I season the cod with salt, pepper, chipotle cayenne pepper, garlic and onion and saute with oil. After a couple of minutes on each side, the cod starts to flake nicely and I break up the pieces as they fall naturally.

Now for my delicious, healthy sauce. It wouldn't be a meal (for me) without a healthy slathering of some sort of sauce. I'm saucy. I'll admit it.  I typically use chipotle salsa or chipotle peppers in the can (found in the mexican section). If you get the peppers just put about 1/3 of it in your food processor  to puree. Make sure you taste the salsa for the amount of spice you would like to have. Then mix the salsa with greek yogurt. I love Greek Gods honey yogurt, it adds a sweetness to the spice that balances the sauce great. Chill before serving. All that is left is assembly! I add cabbage, shredded cheese, pico or corn salsa...whatever I have around. Each time you make these can be a different rendition of an old favorite. Enjoy!

my pedicure, my valentine

Typically on Valentine's Day men shower women with roses, fancy dinner with expensive french wine,  maybe even diamonds but not a chef''s wife. A chef's wife is treated to dinner on February 12 or given the stuffed bear that was 50% off on February 15, but I secretly don't mind. I do whatever I feel is freeing and awesome for myself on a night when all other love birds are doting over each other. On my list every year? A pedicure. So, thank you hungry lovers...thank you for allowing me to pamper myself.

Being a chef's wife is really not that bad, not at all.