Sunday, April 17, 2011
A New Blog
I have decided to start a blog for healthy recipes. I am looking for people who want to be contributors. Let me know if you are interested. I already have a name reserved for this soon to be fabulous new blog! I will reveal it as soon as I get it up and going ;).
Hoppy Easter Week!
My Uncle Dave sent me a few more pictures from this event I thought I would throw on here. By the way the cake I am holding up in the picture is the Almond Pear Cake I mentioned in the previous post....and it was delish!
Yesterday we got the Utah Allen family crew (my moms side) together for an Eater egg hunt at our place. The kids went crazy when the hunt began. I think Becca and Brooklyn (the oldest kids in the group) had the monopoly on the eggs at the beginning, but it evened out in the end...I think? It was a lot of fun. We did a big pot luck lunch, talked and just enjoyed the beautiful day it thankfully turned out to be ( I was sure it was going to snow),
Rachel enjoyed her candy so much that at one point I found her with her mouth stuffed as full as it could be with her goodies. Needless to say she thew up last night sick from all that candy, candy, candy. A shout out to my wonderful Nathan for cleaning up the Ray Who's threw up.....I was fast asleep, totally wiped out from our fun filled day :).
The girls and I did an Easter craft this last week that I have pictures of. I also threw in a couple of pictures of Livy bug and my dad. He and my mom randomly showed up one day last week to come and hang out. The girls and I were so thrilled!!
P.S. Becca volunteered to sing a solo at church this next Sunday....She actually wanted to ask the bishop if she could sing in sacrament meeting, but we never got around to asking him, so she settled for singing in front of the primary instead. Brave little girl that one:) With the most sweetest singing voice in the whole world.
Becca with Brooklyn, my cousin Gretchen's little girl...Come to think of it every little person that came was a GIRL! :) 
This is Martha, she is our favorite.
Yesterday we got the Utah Allen family crew (my moms side) together for an Eater egg hunt at our place. The kids went crazy when the hunt began. I think Becca and Brooklyn (the oldest kids in the group) had the monopoly on the eggs at the beginning, but it evened out in the end...I think? It was a lot of fun. We did a big pot luck lunch, talked and just enjoyed the beautiful day it thankfully turned out to be ( I was sure it was going to snow),
Rachel enjoyed her candy so much that at one point I found her with her mouth stuffed as full as it could be with her goodies. Needless to say she thew up last night sick from all that candy, candy, candy. A shout out to my wonderful Nathan for cleaning up the Ray Who's threw up.....I was fast asleep, totally wiped out from our fun filled day :).
The girls and I did an Easter craft this last week that I have pictures of. I also threw in a couple of pictures of Livy bug and my dad. He and my mom randomly showed up one day last week to come and hang out. The girls and I were so thrilled!!
P.S. Becca volunteered to sing a solo at church this next Sunday....She actually wanted to ask the bishop if she could sing in sacrament meeting, but we never got around to asking him, so she settled for singing in front of the primary instead. Brave little girl that one:) With the most sweetest singing voice in the whole world.
My cousin Haley and her husband Lance in this picture with Becca frolicking.
Becca with Brooklyn, my cousin Gretchen's little girl...Come to think of it every little person that came was a GIRL! :) 
My cousin Brittney's adorable little girls, Ella and Kate.
My mom holding the Livy bug who finally woke from her nap to grace us with her presence :) She doesn't look to happy about that.
The cookies we made tonight after dinner. In case you can't tell they are bunnies and ducks.
Hoppy Easter week!!!!
Thursday, April 14, 2011
Soooooooo
Some of you may or may not know that I am a changed lady when it comes to the food I eat. Not that I was TOO unhealthy before, but now I have really changed my ways. It all started back in November...Yes don't ever try this right before the holidays (stupid stupid women). I decided I wanted to make a real change and go off some (a lot) of the foods I was eating. So I started a 6 week food allergy cleanse. After I completed the cleanse I just wanted to keep on going with it, and I have since last November.
I have had several people ask me what it is am, and am not eating, so to make matters more complicated I will write it out in columns.
Foods I avoid
refined sugar
bread, or anything containing gluten basically
dairy (with the exception of our yummy back yard eggs)
most processed foods
Foods I eat almost daily
- eggs
- quinoa
- fruit
- brussel sprouts (holy COW I am so in love with this delectable veggie)!!
- yams
- beef from our grass fed cow ( ok I eat this twice a week)
- chicken sausage at breakfast. If you have not tried Amylu's brand with Jalapeno & mango..... your really REALLY missing out.
- salad with balsamic vinegar and olive oil
- lots of nuts
- avocados (with my eggs every morning)
- olive oil
- stove top popcorn with real salt and coconut oil (every night, I get a case of the munchies)
Anyway you get the idea right? I will say this however regarding dairy.....I think dairy is very very good for you IF you can get it with out all the crap that usually comes with it. We buy unpasteurized cow's milk from a local dairy here in Utah. The cows they raise have a healthy lifestyle, there for the milk they produce is healthy and yes safe. So I occasionally have a glass of raw milk to get my calcium. I find it to be very expensive buying dairy products that are with out all the crap, so I have instead just gone with out for the most part. I substitute mostly using coconut milk, witch by the way when mixed with a little agave and cocoa powder makes a BEYOND heavenly ice-cream! Agave seems to be my sweetener of choice, I also like rapadura.
Anyway the awesome benefit to eating this way is of course weight loss, which I have very much befitted from, and continue to. Of course I did just have a baby so I had lots of pounds to spare. Your body just feels, and works so much better. Eating no sugar is or course always the best way to go, but when you get a sweet tooth I happen to have what you need...Oh yes yes I do! :) which brings me to....
Gluten Free Almond Pear Cake
Let me just tell you (before you turn your nose up), this cake is soooo moist and delicious, it's almost like a custard. I found this cake HERE however I made a few modifications.
Ingredients
4 ripe but firm pears– use divided
1 cups plus 2 teaspoons agave – use divided
1 tablespoon freshly squeezed orange juice
3¼ cups finely ground blanched almond meal
8 large eggs
1¼ teaspoons pure vanilla extract – use divided
1 tsp almond extract
1 tablespoon agave nectar or honey
1 tablespoon grapeseed (or other neutral tasting) oil .......I used olive oil
½ cup sliced almonds
1/2 tsp salt
Directions
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Lightly spray a 9x13 cake pan with gluten-free non-stick cooking spray (I used coconut oil).
Peel and core the pears. Chop three of the pears roughly and slice the fourth into about ¼ inch slices. Take the chopped pears and cook on the stove for 10 minutes with orange juice and the 2tsp agave over medium heat in a covered saucepan. Mash the pears into a coarse puree with a fork or wooden spoon. Let cool.
Put the almond meal salt, and 1 cup of agave in a food processor
and give it 4 or 5 long pulses. Add the eggs, 1 teaspoon of vanilla extract and the cooked pears and puree the mixture. Pour into the prepared pan.
In a small skillet, heat the agave or honey with the oil, stirring to mix until the mixture starts to bubble. Take off the heat and stir in the remaining ¼ teaspoon of vanilla. Add the pear slices and toss gently to coat.
Sprinkle the sliced almonds over the top of the cake. Add the pear slices in a spoke configuration and spoon the agave or honey/oil mixture over the top of the cake.
Bake for 45 – 55 minutes or until the cake is nicely browned and a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean. Check the cake after about 35 minutes, if it browning too much, place a piece of foil over the top.
Let the cake cool in the pan for about 30 minutes then remove the sides of the pan and transfer to a serving platter (removing the parchment is optional but recommended). The cake is best served slightly warm (total lie, so good cold out of the fridge) hmmmmmm.
MAKE THIS!! Seriously, it is amazing!
I have had several people ask me what it is am, and am not eating, so to make matters more complicated I will write it out in columns.
Foods I avoid
refined sugar
bread, or anything containing gluten basically
dairy (with the exception of our yummy back yard eggs)
most processed foods
Foods I eat almost daily
- eggs
- quinoa
- fruit
- brussel sprouts (holy COW I am so in love with this delectable veggie)!!
- yams
- beef from our grass fed cow ( ok I eat this twice a week)
- chicken sausage at breakfast. If you have not tried Amylu's brand with Jalapeno & mango..... your really REALLY missing out.
- salad with balsamic vinegar and olive oil
- lots of nuts
- avocados (with my eggs every morning)
- olive oil
- stove top popcorn with real salt and coconut oil (every night, I get a case of the munchies)
Anyway you get the idea right? I will say this however regarding dairy.....I think dairy is very very good for you IF you can get it with out all the crap that usually comes with it. We buy unpasteurized cow's milk from a local dairy here in Utah. The cows they raise have a healthy lifestyle, there for the milk they produce is healthy and yes safe. So I occasionally have a glass of raw milk to get my calcium. I find it to be very expensive buying dairy products that are with out all the crap, so I have instead just gone with out for the most part. I substitute mostly using coconut milk, witch by the way when mixed with a little agave and cocoa powder makes a BEYOND heavenly ice-cream! Agave seems to be my sweetener of choice, I also like rapadura.
Anyway the awesome benefit to eating this way is of course weight loss, which I have very much befitted from, and continue to. Of course I did just have a baby so I had lots of pounds to spare. Your body just feels, and works so much better. Eating no sugar is or course always the best way to go, but when you get a sweet tooth I happen to have what you need...Oh yes yes I do! :) which brings me to....
Gluten Free Almond Pear Cake
Let me just tell you (before you turn your nose up), this cake is soooo moist and delicious, it's almost like a custard. I found this cake HERE however I made a few modifications.
Ingredients
4 ripe but firm pears– use divided
1 cups plus 2 teaspoons agave – use divided
1 tablespoon freshly squeezed orange juice
3¼ cups finely ground blanched almond meal
8 large eggs
1¼ teaspoons pure vanilla extract – use divided
1 tsp almond extract
1 tablespoon agave nectar or honey
1 tablespoon grapeseed (or other neutral tasting) oil .......I used olive oil
½ cup sliced almonds
1/2 tsp salt
Directions
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Lightly spray a 9x13 cake pan with gluten-free non-stick cooking spray (I used coconut oil).
Peel and core the pears. Chop three of the pears roughly and slice the fourth into about ¼ inch slices. Take the chopped pears and cook on the stove for 10 minutes with orange juice and the 2tsp agave over medium heat in a covered saucepan. Mash the pears into a coarse puree with a fork or wooden spoon. Let cool.
Put the almond meal salt, and 1 cup of agave in a food processor
and give it 4 or 5 long pulses. Add the eggs, 1 teaspoon of vanilla extract and the cooked pears and puree the mixture. Pour into the prepared pan.In a small skillet, heat the agave or honey with the oil, stirring to mix until the mixture starts to bubble. Take off the heat and stir in the remaining ¼ teaspoon of vanilla. Add the pear slices and toss gently to coat.
Sprinkle the sliced almonds over the top of the cake. Add the pear slices in a spoke configuration and spoon the agave or honey/oil mixture over the top of the cake.
Bake for 45 – 55 minutes or until the cake is nicely browned and a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean. Check the cake after about 35 minutes, if it browning too much, place a piece of foil over the top.
Let the cake cool in the pan for about 30 minutes then remove the sides of the pan and transfer to a serving platter (removing the parchment is optional but recommended). The cake is best served slightly warm (total lie, so good cold out of the fridge) hmmmmmm.
MAKE THIS!! Seriously, it is amazing!
Sunday, April 10, 2011
A late night laugh...for me anyway
So Nathan at times comes home from work, only to work more, and some times into the late night owl hours. So here is a conversation we had from opposite ends of the house that I felt like sharing for some reason...Probably because it's late, and my brain is switched off. And I was laughing pretty hard from a combination of the two.
P.S. Words like sexy, and hot might be said during this conversation, so proceed with caution knowing you were warned.
Lauren
11:45 na night Hun Ey!
Nathan Lord
11:46 hey sweet and sexy stuff
Lauren
11:46 thats me!
Nathan Lord
11:46 real quick before you go to bed...
Lauren
11:46 yes...?
Nathan Lord
11:47 can you tell me like on a scale from 1 to 10 how hot I am?
and you can go over ten if you want
it's more like a guideline, really
Lauren
11:47 HAHA 10 baby!
100000000000
Nathan Lord
11:47 wow, that's just…flattering.
Oh stop
Nathan Lord
11:47 now you're just making everyone else jealous
Nathan Lord
11:48 ok. that's all.
just wanted to see what my ranking was
Lauren
11:50 Haha! lurve you
Nathan Lord
11:50
love. bye.
P.S. Words like sexy, and hot might be said during this conversation, so proceed with caution knowing you were warned.
Lauren
11:45 na night Hun Ey!
Nathan Lord
11:46 hey sweet and sexy stuff
Lauren
11:46 thats me!
Nathan Lord
11:46 real quick before you go to bed...
Lauren
11:46 yes...?
Nathan Lord
11:47 can you tell me like on a scale from 1 to 10 how hot I am?
and you can go over ten if you want
it's more like a guideline, really
Lauren
11:47 HAHA 10 baby!
100000000000
Nathan Lord
11:47 wow, that's just…flattering.
Oh stop
Nathan Lord
11:47 now you're just making everyone else jealous
Nathan Lord
11:48 ok. that's all.
just wanted to see what my ranking was
Lauren
11:50 Haha! lurve you
Nathan Lord
11:50
love. bye.
Monday, April 4, 2011
A few updates
A little update about the trio...:)
Becca
- Is really turning into a little girl these days. She LOVES school, loves to go to her Nana Lords house (preferably with out us:). She loves life, and is still very much into princesses, and anything pink.
- She will test you. As in if you say your going to take a way a privilege, or a time out is mentioned for her near future, you better follow through! With her it works though. She wants to express that she does or does not like what you have asked her to do, and might even say "NO" 9 out of 10 times (why she goes to time out usually) but in the end she most always ends up "making the right choice" as we like to say.
- The other day Nathan and I were discussing what to do with the younger more stubborn sister (Rachel). We are a little beside ourselves these days on how to discipline her fireball personality :). Nathan said something to the effect of..
Nathan- "I don't know what to do, I'm out of ideas...What should we do about Rachel"?
Becca piped in with- "I think she needs to go to jail".......... A little harsh I guess, but maybe it could
work? :)
- She is very cute with Olivia! She loves to be right up in her face giving her loves, and smiles. She is very good at keeping the little Ollie bug happy and smiling right back at her.
Rachel
- Ray...Oh there is much to be said, and it's a shame I don't write things down because I have forgotten so much of what I wanted to remember. She is as I mentioned above a total handful. Yet she can be the most loving, sweetest little girl you have ever met.
- She loves to tease her big sister...scratch that she LOVES to tease all of us! She will most always say the opposite of what she knows you want her to say just to get a rise out of you. And she will do it with a big smile on her face ;). And then out of the blue, will come up to give you hugs, and kisses and tell you how much she loves you.
- Loves to be in the kitchen with me. If I am making something she will go grab a chair and push it over to where I am so she can climb up and see, and be in on the action. Becca can be the same way.
- She loves to read stories and play games. She loves both of her sisters so much!
- Calls me "momma" these days. I am not sure where she got it from...but I seriously LOVE it!
Olivia
- Oh my goodness! She is the sweetest baby you will ever meet! This girl is all smiles and love. She lights up when she sees her big sisters, or Nathan and I. I am pretty sure Nathan has never been more smitten in his life. Livy has daddy and mommy completely wrapped around her cute chubby fingers ;).
- She loves to blow bubbles, and see where you are at all times. She is a champion sleeper! She loves her bottle and still turns her nose up at at solid foods (gags is more like it:).
- Has the brightest, most loving eyes...Oh my goodness my heart melts over our Livy Bug.
Becca
- Is really turning into a little girl these days. She LOVES school, loves to go to her Nana Lords house (preferably with out us:). She loves life, and is still very much into princesses, and anything pink.
- She will test you. As in if you say your going to take a way a privilege, or a time out is mentioned for her near future, you better follow through! With her it works though. She wants to express that she does or does not like what you have asked her to do, and might even say "NO" 9 out of 10 times (why she goes to time out usually) but in the end she most always ends up "making the right choice" as we like to say.
- The other day Nathan and I were discussing what to do with the younger more stubborn sister (Rachel). We are a little beside ourselves these days on how to discipline her fireball personality :). Nathan said something to the effect of..
Nathan- "I don't know what to do, I'm out of ideas...What should we do about Rachel"?
Becca piped in with- "I think she needs to go to jail".......... A little harsh I guess, but maybe it could
work? :)
- She is very cute with Olivia! She loves to be right up in her face giving her loves, and smiles. She is very good at keeping the little Ollie bug happy and smiling right back at her.
Rachel
- Ray...Oh there is much to be said, and it's a shame I don't write things down because I have forgotten so much of what I wanted to remember. She is as I mentioned above a total handful. Yet she can be the most loving, sweetest little girl you have ever met.
- She loves to tease her big sister...scratch that she LOVES to tease all of us! She will most always say the opposite of what she knows you want her to say just to get a rise out of you. And she will do it with a big smile on her face ;). And then out of the blue, will come up to give you hugs, and kisses and tell you how much she loves you.
- Loves to be in the kitchen with me. If I am making something she will go grab a chair and push it over to where I am so she can climb up and see, and be in on the action. Becca can be the same way.
- She loves to read stories and play games. She loves both of her sisters so much!
- Calls me "momma" these days. I am not sure where she got it from...but I seriously LOVE it!
Olivia
- Oh my goodness! She is the sweetest baby you will ever meet! This girl is all smiles and love. She lights up when she sees her big sisters, or Nathan and I. I am pretty sure Nathan has never been more smitten in his life. Livy has daddy and mommy completely wrapped around her cute chubby fingers ;).
- She loves to blow bubbles, and see where you are at all times. She is a champion sleeper! She loves her bottle and still turns her nose up at at solid foods (gags is more like it:).
- Has the brightest, most loving eyes...Oh my goodness my heart melts over our Livy Bug.
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