Salt Tasting

This afternoon I enjoyed learning about all the salts that the Salt Boutique has to offer! Each day they have a tasting where you can try out the different salts from all around the world. The chef here at Salt restaurant makes these salts with infused flavors that you would never think to add to a salt!

This one below is a smoky salt, it was my least favorite. But it seems to be a favorite around here from everyone we meet!

While tasting the salts, you put them on bread with a little butter. This is how you get the full effect of the flavor. 

Some interesting ones were Bamboo Leaf and Cherry Plum salts!

The shop also has some wonderful salt cellars that are ocean inspired, along with Himalayan salt blocks that you cook on and lamps that clear the air of toxins.

Himalayan salt has huge health benefits. 

I am definitely going back tomorrow to choose my favorite salt to take home, I still cannot decide! 

Pool Day at the Ritz!

Today was a pool day! The pool here is lined with tons of Palm trees and is so pretty. I am also glad that the sun came out today!

I took a walk out to the beach and crossed over the dunes and saw this little fellow...

At the pool, there is an oceanfront grill. They serve you right at your pool lounge chair- that's my kind of service! 

For lunch I had a Taco Salad.

This afternoon I also got to check into the Ritz Spa. I am grateful to Suzanne for this lovely addition to my stay! Thank you :)

Today I soaked in the steamed whirlpool and relaxed with cucumbers on my eyes!

Tomorrow I am going to spend more time at the spa and use their beautiful pool area.  I'll be blogging more about the Spa tomorrow!

Salt

This afternoon my grandma and I arrived in Amelia Island. The drive was not so fun as it poured almost the whole way here!

This island is beautiful once you get to it, it is off the Florida east coast right before you hit the Georgia line. The actual island is such a quaint little place, lined with trees and beautiful homes. Sitting right on the ocean is The Ritz Carlton, where we will spend the rest of the week.

The hotel is sophisticated southern charm, that's the best way to explain it! Wooden oak, dark furniture, china cabinets and beautiful gift shops fill the lobby. 

Tonight we had reservations for their fine dining restaurant, Salt.

It was absolutely perfect! It's a true experience, as they give you nicely presented courses and little "gifts from the chef".

You begin with different types of breads that you are supposed to experiment with different Salts. Each salt is from a different region and they taste wonderful! Also very healthy for you!

The black one there in the middle is from Hawaii and is a charcoal salt that aids digestion. It was my favorite! 

Next they brought out a "gift" of Salmon Tartar. Yes, I ate it. Quickly but surely :

For my appetizer, I chose heirloom tomatoes with buffalo mozzarella.

My entree was seabass with pepper jelly and vegetable succotash with pesto.

We were recommended to try the banana foster soufflé. Yum! It had white chocolate gelato on the side.

They give you a lot of "gifts" here, they packaged up some of the salts we tried along with macaroons and painted truffles.

This was truly a beautiful, wonderful restaurant! 

Thankful For Clean Eating Chefs!

I have to thank Stephanie for sending me info about the personal chef I am about to blog about. If it weren't for you I would have never found her! Thank you Stephanie :)

Last week I got a message from a friend who knows a personal chef that delivers wonderful clean meals. I was so eager to learn more! Her business is called Collette's Clean Eats. She is a culinary school graduate and has been a personal chef in celebrity homes. I know when I used to nanny for one family, I LOVED their chef and the food! I can still taste some of those meals!

I contacted her and got more information on how it all works.
Each Wednesday she emails out the menu for the following week's meals. These meals consist of soups, salads, and entrees. You choose what you want from the menu, and then she delivers your prepared entrees on Mondays. Each item is priced separately and the entrees are for one person.

Today she delivered he following delicious meals to my home:
GF-Gluten Free  V-Vegetarian

Quinoa Salad- Quinoa, Tomatoes, Corn, Green Beans, and Zucchini with a Green Goddess Dressing (GF,V)

Tomato and Basil Soup- Organic Tomatoes, Fresh Basil, Onions, Garlic, House-made Vegetable Stock, Milk (GF,V)

Eggplant Parmesan- Local Organic Eggplant baked with seasoned bread crumbs. mozzarella, and house-made marinara 

Cucumber and Kimchi Noodle Bowl- Soba Noodles, Tamari, Raw Honey, Green Cabbage, Cucumbers, All Natural Kimchi Toasted Peanuts

Each entree comes with "a little something sweet" that consists of a one or two bite healthy dessert. This week's "something sweet" is Orange Coconut cookies! 

Tonight I had the Noodle Bowl and it was delicious! I cannot wait to try my other meals and I will definitely enjoy my new chef each week :) 
Check her out on Facebook, Collette's Clean Eats, and her website is http://www.collettescleaneats.com

Vegetable Frittata

I am on day four of sugar free, clean eating! A few nights ago I made a recipe from my Clean Eats book that I would like to share. This recipe is a Vegetable Frittata and is basically a quiche with no crust.
I added organic eggs, kale, spinach, onion, green pepper, and zucchini with some spices. It was so good! You can serve this warm or at room temp. I think next time, I will let it sit for at least 20 minutes in order for it to form a more firm texture.



On the side, I made yukon mini sauteed potatoes. I found these at Whole Foods and they are usually in store seasonally. Cut in half, boil potatoes, and then saute' with with onion, garlic, salt and pepper :)



I am down almost 3lbs as of today. I have gotten through the sugar withdrawals, feeling less hungry and do not feel the need to snack more than twice a day. It amazes me what sugar does to your system!

Sugar and Gluten-Free French Toast

Yesterday I went through a little withdraw phase. I could tell my body was craving sugar, as I had a headache and felt hungry and weak later in the day. Today, I don't have these feelings and am hoping the withdrawals are short lived!
Last night I made french toast and berries. Sounds like a fattening bad dinner, but mine was sugar and gluten free. I am testing out the gluten issue, and am going to see if it affects me in any way. If it does, then going gluten free will be what I'll have to do. If not, I will eat only a little bit of it and really be mindful about breads etc. I LOVE BREAD! So this one is a little hard for me. But I also know its not good for my body, and that makes me not want it. You hear so many things about gluten. Is it good or is it bad? For me, it works, and in Dr. Junger's Clean Eats book, he talks about how our bodies have to work extra hard to digest the gluten. I would just rather give my body a break for awhile!

For the French Toast I used Udi's gluten free multi-grain bread, organic eggs, nutmeg, cloves, allspice and cinnamon. Instead of using butter to cook, I used coconut oil. I added strawberries, raspberries and pure maple syrup for the topping. It was pretty good, but sure didn't taste like the 900 calorie french toast I had aboard Royal Caribbean! So, if you are looking to make a "healthy" french toast. Try this one! You can also substitute the gluten free bread for whole wheat organic bread and follow the same recipe!

French Toast

4 pasture-raised eggs

1/2 cup unsweetened coconut milk

2 tsp ground cinnamon

1/2 tsp ground allspice

1/4 tsp ground clove

1/2 tsp freshly ground nutmeg

Up to 1/4 cup coconut oil

2 to 3 slices gluten-free bread

Directions
Whisk together the eggs, coconut milk and spices in a large shallow dish.
Heat a large skillet or griddle over medium heat and melt a few tablespoons of coconut oil in it. While the skillet warms, transfer four slices of bread into the egg mixture and allow both sides to absorb a lot of the moisture.
Carefully transfer the bread slices onto the skillet and cook until golden brown.
Once cooked through, cut each slice of bread in half, top with fresh berries and drizzle with pure maple syrup.
 

A Clean Life

This weekend I stubbled across Dr. Alejandro Junger's Clean book. I am very familiar with Clean eating, and did it for almost 2 months awhile back, hence how I lost 20 lbs. I started eating sugar and white carbs again, and boom...on came 5 lbs in a matter of a few weeks. I'VE HAD ENOUGH!
Dr. Junger is also the only one I have found that knows anything about Fatty Liver, and has success stories of patients who were under his program.
Clean is a strict program in a way if you aren't used to what clean eating is all about. It's a lifestyle change in how you look at what you put into your body. Once you realize how terrible conventional processed foods are, you begin to not want them at all. This is what has happened to me. I go into now Publix and cringe at all the junk that fills the store.

I am starting Clean today. I prayed last night and this morning that temptation will not get in my way. I know I can, because I have done it, and I was successful. I have a goal of reaching another 20lb by the fall. I want to keep this blog as a journal of how this program is working. My trials, successes, and motivations will be posted here regularly, and if you are interested in the Clean eating lifestyle, I am always here to help :)

I will not lie and say that it is budget friendly! In the beginning, you will spend a lot on pantry necessities such as special spices, flours, etc. You will buy things you have never heard of and will have to go to specialty health food stores to find them. After you have these pantry staples, it won't be as bad. Instead of spending $3 on a big bag of all purpose flour, you will now spend $12 on a small bag of almond flour. Whole Foods has their own brand of many items, and that is how you can save money.

You will say goodbye to the following foods: sugar, white flour and wheat flour, gluten, and "bad for you oils". Instead, you will eat plant rich foods and healthy meats. It's as simple as that!

I look at it this way, I would rather be buy clean and be healthy, than buy cheap and be sick :)

"The problem is we are not eating food anymore, we are eating food-like products" Dr. Junger- Hungry For a Change Film

Here we go Day One...

 

Muffins with Mom

     Tomorrow morning is Muffins with Mom in my classroom. This little event is one of my favorites besides the annual Christmas breakfast I do with my families each year. Each year I have moms who tell me how much they love Muffins with Mom, because it is something special they can do with their child.
This year, I have many families who may not have a traditional Mother's Day celebration at home and I know that this will be extra special for them.

      Each year I go to Michael's Craft Store and get each of my students a project to make for their mothers. Last year we painted little jewelry boxes and made bracelets to put inside. This year, we made votive candle holders with lots of tissue and glitter! You have to have glitter!
I love seeing the children's faces when their mom opens their gift. It is a special time in Kindergarten!

May Excitement

It's been too long since I have posted here at my blog. I sure do miss it! The days are so busy and when I finally have time to relax, I usually fall asleep on the couch!

A lot has been going on lately, and I have a lot to process. God is doing big things. I know He is Faithful and that I can Trust He is leading me down the right path. It just all has come at once!
I have 4 more weeks until school is out for the summer! I can't believe this month is finally here. May is a wonderful month for a teacher, because it flies by and then we are DONE. Another year in the books and more student who flourished within our care, but it is also the busiest month of the year! So much to get ready for, like our Kindergarten graduation and parties. It will get done, it always does.

I am asking for prayer within the next few months. These are unspoken prayers. Nothing is wrong, but I have some decisions to make and for others to make. I pray that these decisions are made quickly. Thank you :)

Let Food Be Thy Medicine

I wanted to keep my blog updated with my new health journey. I posted awhile back that I was on an clean, mostly whole food, organic diet, and am very particular about the foods I eat now.

I am proud to say I am down 22 lbs in 5 1/2 weeks!! It amazes me every day that I have had these results in such a short amount of time. I am thankful that this is working the way it is for me.

People continue to ask what and how I am eating. So I thought I would share!

Here is a typical day:

*all organic ingredients*

Breakfast:

Egg muffins (egg and veggies scrambled together made in a muffin pan)

or 

Rudi's whole wheat honey bread with almond butter

or

Cereal (flax flakes with blueberries). Sometimes I add chia seeds :)

I also eat in moderation- whole wheat pancakes (homemade) with pure maple syrup and fruit

Lunch:

Amy's meals. Love her foods!

I get the Light and lean versions only

Dinner:

Baked chicken or Fish with lots of steamed veggies and Quinoa blend or some sort of brown rice blend. I rarely eat starch.

I stay away from all refined sugars, sweeteners, and anything white. Including potatoes.

So there ya go! I am loving this new me :)