My Best Yes

I am not a New Year' resolution person, but if I do make a "resolution" it's usually a goal or something very reasonable to accomplish. 

This year, I decided that I need to read more books. I have books, love to go to book stores and browse and browse, but I never really read much. Unless you count life and style, US Weekly or People Magazine, I have not been very good about reading. 

While browsing Facebook one morning, I came across a blog that I love to follow, http://courtneydefeo.com/blog and saw some recommendations for books. It was all in perfect timing! Courtney is one of the moms in my class, and author of In this House We Will Giggle. I just love her giving and gracious heart! 

I looked over her book list and drove to Barnes and Noble to see which one I wanted to purchase for my first read of 2015. The Best Yes by Lysa Terkeurst was the winner. Something about the cover got me, and off I went with my new book in hand. 

I am just about finished with this eye opening book. It teaches us how to say no when our life is already full of obligations. It teaches us to give our Best Yes to the person or situation that needs us most, without expecting anything in return. Two chapters that really stood out for me:

"But what if I say no and they stop liking me?"

"A Best Yes is seen by those who choose to see"

I know I have had issues with these situations, just as most women have. I want to please, and I want everyone to like me. But you cannot please everyone, and not everyone is not going to like you. You have to accept that. 

After reading till almost the end of this book, and realizing that I have to give my Best Yes when I already have a full schedule of teaching, tutoring and soon to be taking  on another job of providing early intervention therapy, my plate is full! I get a text...

"Would you be interested in being one of our volunteers for Whipping Childhood Cancer?". Before I give you details of this, I want to backtrack and explain what this organization is. 

My friend began this organization with another mom who has a child with cancer. This was formed to help spread the word about pediatric cancers and raise awareness of the reality these children and families face daily. My friend Candice has a child who is battling leukemia. 

Now, I am reading about the Best Yes right when I received this text. The book talks about God putting things right in front of you when a Best Yes answer is needed. I believe this was one of those moments. A few of my favorite reminders from this book are:

Today's decisions will become tomorrow's circumstances

Saying no isn't an unnecessary rejection. It's a necessary protection of our Best Yes answers

The decisions you make determine the schedule you keep. The schedule you keep determines the life you live. And how you live your life determines how you spend your soul. 

And I replied to my friend...Yes! 

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.