Beautiful, Delicious, and Brutal

The blessings of this weekend were many. Saturday morning I arose to a gorgeous sunrise. Simply amazing to take in and so incredibly time sensitive. I caught a glimpse of the sky, ran around trying to find my camera taking apparatus, ran outside and it had already changed colors. I got this picture, went inside, put my camera away, and looked back out the window and it was completely different. God is so creative. 

I finally got some bubbly kombucha!

Breakfast delight: crusty bread, pesto, liverwurst,
farm fresh egg, & tomato!

I was having a fabulous morning drinking my bubbly kombucha, eating amazing breakfast sandwiches and doing some baking. Then I decided to make it outside to do the chores and realized that we have another issue with chickens being massacred. Except this time, it's not the whole flock all at once. This weekend both mornings I noticed just one dead chicken carcass in the pen. It appears that the deaths are happening in the early morning time, because when I get to them, the bodies are still pretty warm. This varmit is also leaving the carcass versus the massacres we've had in the past, they just take everything. I'm not sure what it is, but I'm thinking possibly a hawk? Just because the most of the carcass is still there and it's only getting one at a time. Any thoughts friends? 

Happy Earth Day!

Local everything: raw milk cheddar, free range eggs,
freshly harvested beet greens, spinach,  & epic sourdough!

This is how I start my Earth Day celebration! Actually I didn't even realize that it was earth day until I was reminded by my fabulous neighbor as I ventured over to bake an amazing loaf of bread in the wood fired oven. I am so thankful for this beauty of a earth that I get to inhabit and the beauty of people that we are put on this earth to commune with. Praise the Lord for His many blessings!

I have been without a levain, aka sourdough starter, for quite some time now after mine died last summer when my fridge crapped out on me while away for a week. With that being said, yesterday I managed to steal a bit of levain from the master of all great bread in Manhattan and was able to get together a loaf to bake this morning. I am definitely a little rusty on my skills since I honestly haven't made any artisan bread in over 6 months. I haven't really even eaten any great artisan bread in over 4 months. For a while I was attempting a gluten free diet but I have officially decided that artisan bread is way too amazing for me to go without. So crusty bread thank you for returning to my life!

Going into the magical oven!

This is the real deal folks!

Not too shabby, but certainly not ideal looking.

Hope you can enjoy this Earth Day 2012 and take in as many close encounters with the ground that we walk on in a special way today. Psalm 46:10 Be still, and know that I am God; I will be exalted among the nations, I will be exalted in the earth. 

Epic Brunch!

I really love working out in the morning for a number of reasons:

• It wakes me up.
• It gets my body and all its necessary functions going in the morning.
• It jump-starts my metabolism.
• It makes me extra hungry.
• It makes my breakfast sooooo much tastier.

Although my breakfast/brunch today didn't need any help making it tasty, the Billy Blank Tae-Bo workout I did before it made it taste even that much better. I love having a beautiful giant breakfast to start my day. This one is going to keep me satisfied for so long as well because it has plenty of protein with the carbohydrates and even some really great healthy fat! 

I dined on the most amazing sweet potato hash with fresh poached eggs and avocado! This was the first time I've ever made real poached eggs and they were so great! My favorite breakfast food growing up was definitely poached eggs on toast but we used one of those handy microwave poached egg contraptions that really just produces a  microwaved egg. Definitely not poached and ooey gooey runny yolk of a poached egg. We also used to make Velveeta cheese sauce to put on top. Gasp!

This right here is 10 billion times tastier and better for you. Yum Yum Yum.

Quality Breakfast

I've been trying to be intentional lately about eating an adequate amount of protein daily and staying away from gluten and excess grains in my diet. Most of this has stemmed from my reading a lot about the Paleo lifestyle. I've been reading a ton from this site, Wellness Mama. The more I read and the success stories that are told are simply blowing my mind. Although I feel like a giant Grain Science traitor contemplating giving up most grains, I've already found that decreasing my consumption of them has already contributed to my overall health. More of this discussion in the future.

Here's a beautiful picture of what I have been dining on for breakfast this week. It contains a great amount of protein and good fats to fuel my day!

Local, natural eggs with bright colored yolks

Quinoa

Garlic

Avocado

Spinach

Homemade salsa 

Hearty Breakfast

I've always been told that breakfast is the most important meal of the day and often preach that to others as well. This week I've been practicing what I preach by eating my largest meal of the day at breakfast. It comes at a pivotal time of the day immediately following my running and biking routines that have come daily this week. I've quite thankful for the free potatoes and eggs I've gotten from the farm to enjoy for my hearty breakfasts.

This particular feast includes: 

two farm fresh eggs scrambled with fresh basil, 

potatoes sauteed in a smidgen of olive oil with red onions, garlic, random spices

french bread slice with avocado

Beautiful Breakfast

I was going through my pictures and realized that I never posted this fabulous picture of my breakfast a week or so ago. It is simply too pretty to ignore any longer. I believe I had this the day after discussing with a friend how she liked to eat eggs with jam and toast. I went ahead and tried the eggs on the jam and toast just like Brie does. It was an excellent breakfast any way you eat it. 

Oh so Important Breakfast!

We've all been told that breakfast is the most important meal of the day. How many of you actually believe that and then consequently live that way? How many of you skip breakfast regularly because you don't have time? This makes me so sad. I simply cannot imagine NOT eating breakfast. It truly starts my day, gives me energy, and makes me happy in the morning. 

I will tell you a little secret though. I used to be a horrible breakfast eater. Basically my entire childhood breakfast eating consisted of pop-tarts and granola bars. I can't believe my mother let me out of the house with such a deprived breakfast. Truthfully, I was running out the door and grabbing a to-go bar was the only option. It may be easy to say this now, but I will not allow my children to eat like that. Studies definitely show that children with a healthful breakfast are able to concentrate better, they excel better in school, and they are less likely to over-eat the remainder of the day. That is true for all ages actually. Breakfast is so important!

Most recommendations include consuming about 25% of your daily calories for breakfast. This starts your metabolism and gives you the energy you need for the day. A good breakfast is also going to include more than just carbohydrates. We need protein and fiber in our breakfast to keep us satiated for a longer period. 

Recently I've been switching between a hearty bowl of oatmeal and sauted veggies with scrambled eggs. I like to make my oatmeal with milk and I always add some form of fruit and nuts. I've been eating lots of eggs because they come from right outside and are free! 

Oats with milk, frozen peaches, blueberries, pepitas(pumpkin seeds), and almonds.