CARE: Japan

As I follow the news on the horrendous tragedies in Japan, I can not help but think of The Lorax, one of my favorite Dr. Seuss books (the other is Oh, the Places You'll Go!).  Though this is happening in a country far away, it affects us all.  We share ONE planet.

oxx Dion

Mango Coconut Lime Smoothie

This is for those bleary eyed mornings when you just want to dump a bunch of things in a blender and go.... but it has to be delicious of course!  Make sure you chop a banana and freeze it the night before to yield a super creamy smoothie.

mango coconut lime smoothie

time: 5 minutes or less

makes one large or two small smoothies

you will need:

*1 fresh mango

*1/2 can of lite coconut milk

*1 frozen banana

*1/2 block soft silken tofu

*1 lime

*1 to 2 tbs flax seed oil (if you want extra credit; optional)

*handful of ice

If you don't know much about how to choose and cut mangos check this out.

Although fresh mangos are now widely available in local supermarkets, about 1 cup of frozen mango can be substituted if fresh mango isn't found and just use a little extra coconut milk.

Lite coconut milk can be found in the Asian section of your supermarket.  You can freeze the unused milk in an ice cube tray for your next smoothie or recipe.  (I got this idea from my friend's lovely blog on healthy cooking, check it here)

I know what you're thinking... you don't like tofu.  Just go with me on this one.  The silken variety is completely different from regular tofu.  Get the soft silken kind and it is creamy, smooth and blends right into a smoothie undetected.  This will give you a shot of whole protein to fill you up.  While I don't promote consuming highly processed soy products (soy cheese, soy meats, soy milk) a bit of whole soy foods in the form of organic tofu, tempeh, or edamame is good for you on occasion.  

Chop the mango and add it to the blender along with the banana, coconut milk, tofu, and juice from half your lime.  Blend.  Taste and if you want a bit more lime taste, add the juice from the second lime half.  If you really love lime (DZ! ;o)) and it's still not limey enough, zest a bit of the rind into the blender.  Add a handful of ice and the flax seed oil if using and blend one more time to reach desired consistency.  Enjoy!

This didn't last long enough for me to take a picture of the finished product in our glasses.  Once my little dude and I saw this pretty color blending away we were so excited that we downed our shares in a single gulp.  

oxx Dion

Healthy Home Fry Happiness

Last week was a bit nuts.  I had a sick little man on my hands and internet issues to boot.  These are now remedied and I am back!  I was given a request to share some breakfast ideas (I love requests by the way, give me something to nest, capture, or create in the comments and I will gladly share or research it if I don't already know about it).  I created this dish with the goal of producing a whole food based, filling and nourishing meal. 

Meet my new favorite breakfast.  No seriously it's that good.  When I want something more substantial than me usual smoothie this will be my go-to.  I didn't think a healthy, hearty, completely unprocessed breakfast could actually taste this good.  While I'm cooking this, I enjoy some hot water with the juice of half a lemon.  Super simple and an amazing way to detox the body and stimulate the appetite.  Resist the urge to add sugar and savour the fresh lemon taste, you will grow to love it!

Healthy Home Fry Happiness

time: 20 minutes or less

serves 1 (multiply for additional people)

you will need:

1 small sweet potato

1 egg

1/4 to 1/2 of a small Haas avocado

 (any avo will do but the Haas variety have the best texture and smooth creamy taste)

1 tbs olive oil (extra virgin cold-pressed is best)

1/4 a bell pepper

1 green onion

Begin by heating the olive oil over medium heat in a medium pan.  

While the oil is heating, wash, peel, and chop the sweet potato into a small dice (about 1/2").  

Add potatoes to the pan and shake slightly so they are in a single layer. 

 Now leave them alone and let them do their thing for 4-5 minutes, no stirring.  You want them to start to brown on the bottom and form a bit of a crust, essentially like home fries.  Take this time to season the potatoes with salt and pepper.  Chop the bell pepper and green onion into small pieces.  

After those 4-5 minutes have gone by and the bottoms are browned, flip the potatoes with a spatula.  

Again leave them alone for several minutes.  

Add the bell peppers and onions next and stir the potatoes once more.  Through out this process if your pan seems too dry add a little more oil in small drizzles, but not too much we are going for healthy!  Also check your seasonings.. maybe a bit more pepper?  

Cook until the potatoes have reached the crispiness you desire and the other veg is cooked, another 3-5 minutes. 

Dump this goodness onto a plate and return pan to the burner.  Add a tiny bit more olive oil and cook an egg any way you desire, fried, sunny side up, over easy, scrambled; it's your breakfast.  I will say that a runny yolk is particularly good with this dish if you're into that sort of thing. 

Treat yourself right and buy cage-free, omega 3 fortified eggs... organic if possible.  For a dollar or two more than the regular ones it breaks down to pennies an egg.  Totally worth it for some high quality protein.

Place the egg on top of the potatoes and top with some ripe avocado slices.  Devour as is or add your favorite hot sauce or salsa!

 Do I even need to tell you about the benefits of avocados (loaded with vitamins, minerals, and monounsaturated fats that help lower bad cholesterol) and sweet potatoes (also packed with vitamins, minerals, and healthy dietary fiber)?  It is this ideal ratio of protein (egg), fiber (sweet potato) and healthy fats (avocado) that will fill you up without leaving you bloated or sluggish, and fuel you until lunch.  This recipe is flexible too of course... don't have bell peppers, use those mushrooms in your fridge.  This is a great base to add whatever sounds good to you.

I know it's cliche but breakfast is an amazing way to start the tone for the day.  Eat a healthy breakfast and you will be much more inclined to eat healthy for the rest of the day, promise.

oxx Dion

Accessorizing the nest

It's the little touches that really personalize a house and make it a home.  We have bi-fold doors on our pantry and on our laundry area.  I am not really a fan of them but I like to work with what I got, at least for now.  Finally I decided they could at least use a little sprucing up.

See pretty plain and a bit ugly really.

So I switched out the standard door pulls for some sweet ones I found on the cheap at World Market.  I've seen great ones at Hobby Lobby too if you're looking for some.

Here's another before shot....

and the after.  So sweet, right?!

I actually kinda like these doors now, what a difference a little tweak can make!

oxx Dion

tray bien

Last week I dropped off donations at my local Goodwill and decided to take a peak inside... boy am I glad I did.  I scored a lovely bamboo tray for a mere $1.99!  I pretty much love anything bamboo, and would love to own a vintage bamboo chandelier similar to this at some point.  I forgot to snap a before pic, but the tray was a light blonde color.  It needed some pizazz.

 So I spray painted it glossy orange and it became a super affordable chic piece to help further define our bar area.

These glasses are vintage and I heart them big time.  The decanter is actually a tequila bottle that was generously given to me on my NYC outing recently.  It is ridiculously solid and the stopper is handcrafted, no two being the same.  With the large "D" etched on the front it was destined to be mine.

Got to love breathing new life into cheap Goodwill pieces; REUSE!!

oxx Dion 

Build it

Over the weekend we also partook in some serious DIY.  Serious, by our standards at least.  We built a freakin' fence.  I'm pretty darn proud of my handy hubby... and his assistant.  In case your wondering what serious DIY looks like in these parts:

I'll share a shot of the final results soon.

oxx Dion

blogger's own photos

Beach

I mentioned here that I was making a pilgrimage to my Mecca over the weekend.  The destination was Perdido Key, Fl.  I had never been there before, but after three hours of driving I was graced with this:

Not too shabby.  Not the Caribbean, but still had powder white sand and clear blue water.

It was a little chilly but the sun was shinning and the sea air was as divine as always.

We spent the afternoon chasing seagulls and building castles.  This little guy is such a beach baby he was literally rolling in the sand making "sand angels" and even tried to take an impromptu swim.

A piece of my soul feels restored!

oxx Dion

blogger's own photos