snacks with benefits.

| recipe for brussels fries here |

...complete this snack by pairing your faux fries with lite cayenne lemonade: omgosh. it's pretty simple. 

    

mix in a mason jar {yes, the mason jar matters because it's super darling}:

• 3 oz trader joe's low calorie lemonade, chilled 
• 2 dashes cayenne pepper
• top off the jar with chilled filtered water {add a few ice cubes, optional}

|tj's low calorie lemonade is made with organic lemon juice & no preservatives, sweetened with cane sugar & stevia. in moderation, what a great alternative to chemical laden pop & sugary juice. your cute little organs are already thanking you.|

cayenne pepper is one of those often forgotten natural food kickers that is packed with health benefits. not only are you getting vitamins a, e, b6, c & k, it also has a high concentration of capsicum |a substance that reduces internal inflammation, is a natural pain reducer, ulcer preventative, congestion reliever, and a heart-healthy metabolism booster {ahem, weight loss}; it's also being studied for its effect on nerve fiber disorders for people with pain associated with arthritis, psoriasis, and diabetic neuropathy {numb feet}|.

sip. 

enjoy your cool bev with a refreshing spicy-tart kick...not to mention the awesome health benefits of the cayenne & lemon {...and more about my love affair with lemons here}.

portland.

{pic by me in gramma ilene's backyard. damascus, oregon}.

it seems like i've been traveling somewhere every weekend since july! this is the first quiet saturday morning at home that i've spent in a long time. ahhhh.

in july, i traveled solo to our family reunion barbeque in mollala, oregon! jack stayed behind while he was studying during the 

worst month ever. 

poor thing. but...

i was sooo excited to see my family, so i couldn't resist escaping the torture for a few days!

i flew into portland and stayed the weekend with gramma ilene & grampa roy (my dad's parents).

 the first day, we played in gramma's yard, cooked, talked, ate a ton of food, and there may or may not have been a little vino drinking. heh heh. 

these two have the greenest thumbs in all the land. almost every meal we had came mostly from their garden!

gramma drying her basil.

 garden starts.

 hummingbird house & hydrangeas.

 are these even real? 

 my heart will always be in the pacific northwest.

 i mean, i sort of want to eat these.

...and this.

hehehe i painted this for gramma! makes a cute outdoor flower vase.

ok, so the official festivities began the next day...dad & di drove down from washington and we all headed over to renee & bryan's farm in molalla, oregon. renee is my dad's beautiful cousin!

here is a fantastic photo dump of our fun visit to the farm:

happiest sunflower ever. 

 men in the barn. 'merica.

 beans!

 chickens. the mama hatched a few eggs that morning!

 i looove this wheel.

  

 am i dead? is this heaven? do i have to ever leave?

 ok. cutest dad ever.

 renee leading us on our hike!

 my twin cousins, jenna & lexi.

 i looooved these cows!

 renee took us to her neighbor's house to check out her alpacas!

 every alpaca has a name and they are her babies.

 newborn.

 they are very cagey towards humans, but very close to each other.

 big poppa.

this one turned out to be one of my favorites. 

 renee got the kids a pinata! my cousin britton is trying to crack it open.

 bryan working his pinata skills behind the tree!

finally!

my daddy & grampa roy. heart.

dino feathers.

kale. 

people have been eating this superfood for over 2,000 years. 

it is packed with more than 100% of your daily requirement in vitamins A, K & C and is oozing with free-radical-neutralizing antioxidants {known as cancer-fighting properties}. also, kale's high fiber content aids in digestion and keeps inflammation at bay. yes, please!

so, sometimes it's hard for me to convince the hubster that eating kale is...super fun. 

enter: my fabulous recipe for dino feathers.

ingredients:

one bunch of rinsed, trimmed organic dinosaur kale

extra virgin olive oil

sea salt

pepper

1. preheat oven broiler {high}

2. cover cookie sheet with foil 

{if you are as lazy as me, this will make cleanup a breeze.}

3. lay each dino leaf in one layer on your cookie sheet.

4. brush each feather with olive oil

5. salt and pepper to taste

6. broil in the oven for 5 minutes. 

{each oven is different, so you may need to increase / decrease cook time and turn your feathers over mid-way if still not crispy. just keep an eye on 'em, as they burn quickly!}

7. enjoy as a side to a salad, fish, or well...by themselves! 

p.s.//when you eat these, you may want to nibble the tops and toss the ends. the bottoms tend to get a little tough. i didn't trim the ends because i think the feather presentation is kind of adorable. can kale be adorable? 

yes, yes it can.

Brussels Fries.

This time of year, since it's busy season, I'm L. A. Z. Y. in the kitchen. Which actually means I don't want to do the dishes. I don't mind the cooking part. Insert frozen pizza {here}.

So, can I convince myself to maybe muster up the energy to slice up two bags of Trader Joe's pre-washed  trimmed Brussels Sprouts? Ugh, fine. Three minutes later, they are in the big bowl and I decide that wasn't so bad. Must. Pre. Heat. Oven...my life is SO. HARD. Just kidding, if you can't tell, I'm being a drama queen.

Preheat oven to 400. Generously coat your sprouts with good quality olive oil {because you'll taste it}. Season with sea salt, pepper, and add a fun spice like cumin or paprika...or go out on a limb and be dangerous...add both.

Pour your bowl of seasoned sprouts on a foil lined cookie sheet {did I mention I was not in the mood for dishes?}. Turn all of their little faces up and put into the oven. Ignore & Bake for 45 minutes.

Unlike the frozen pizza I would have been eating, these little nuggets are packed with fiber, more than your daily dose of vitamins K & C, and contain DNA protective benefits. Read the entire nutritional profile here and feel fabulous about yourself while eating.

If you are even lazier than me and refuse to read the above, here is my recipe in short lazy cavewoman form:

Ingredients

2 bags trimmed & washed trader joe's brussels sprouts (or aprx 2 lbs)

olive oil (about 1/4 cup)

sea salt

pepper

optional: other seasonings (cumin, curry powder, paprika, etc)

preheat oven to 400 degrees. cut all sprouts in half and place in a large bowl. liberally pour three or four rounds of olive oil into bowl and stir. add seasonings to taste. stir again. pour onto foil covered cookie sheet. bake for 45 minutes. enjoy.

Sort of too good to be true that these taste exactly like french fries... I promise, they are not.