Mr. Charming spends many weeknights going to school right now. I am so inspired by this man and all he is accomplishing and has yet to accomplish. He works so hard for our family all day and at night he goes to school as he works towards his ultimate goal of getting into dental school. While I work away at my dream as a writer/singer/nutritionist, I watch, awe-inspired by a man who dreams of helping others. He is smart, gentle, driven and capable and I fall in love with him constantly, over and over again. So, on this particular night, feeling positive and energized, I wanted to do something extra special for dinner. Only, at 4pm and on a writing deadline, I had zero ideas. After finishing my piece on exuberantly priced handbags for a new fashion blog (& pinning way to many expensive shoes in the process) I decided to head to the market, hoping for inspiration. The local gourmet market is down the street from our house and I always love to go there and peruse the aisles of beautiful floral arrangements, charming decor and decadent treats. As I grabbed some butterflied pork chops from the very kind butcher and headed to produce, I was inspired by some gorgeous carrots to make a delicious side dish to accompany my pork chops. Arn't they pretty? So, after I had made my way through the store, taking time to peruse the candied nuts (which are full of processed sugar, but it inspired me to make crockpot cinnamon nuts of my own for Christmas!) and Christmas decor (never too early, I say), I decided to not go home, and take myself on a mini-date. The weather right now is AMAZING and I visited some charming little boutiques. I even treated myself to a sweet little piece of jewelry. Who can resist little bows? Or rose gold? Now... onto our delicious dinner. The pork chops were simple. I baked them for an hour on 350 with Earth Balance Dairy-free, soy-free butter, garlic and sea salt. The carrots were the stars of the dinner. I made Vanilla-Honey Carrots, they were SUPER easy and SO delicious. We both wished I would have made more. The recipe to these sweet & savory little vegetable gems can be found here. It makes my heart beam when I can do something simple for someone I love and see that it brings them happiness. These are lifes sweetest moments.
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Thanksgiving is this month, and its traditionally the day you give thanks for those in your life that bring you happiness & joy. However, I don't believe we should only show our gratitude on ONE day. It needs to pour out from us 365 days a year. But, for the sake of this post, I'm going to ask who wants to take a little photo challenge journey with me for just 30 days? :) For thirty days in November I will be doing aGratitude Photo Challenge with some friends and family, and if you'd like to join along on Instagram, tag your photo of the day with #LetsBeGrateful. The list is below. Day One, to get started was FAVORITE FOOD. I adore avocados and will eat them on just about anything. Pasta, a salad, scrambled eggs, chili, in soup, mashed up in rice, used to make chocolate desserts. Seriously, I'm kind of love & dream of my own avocado tree. It's November 3rd, so you can do a few and catch up, or you can just start where we are. I look forward to seeing what you all are grateful for this season! Remember, to tag them #LetsBeGrateful!
So. October flew by. That was crazy fast. I know I was busy, I just can't pinpoint what I was busy doing. I don't know if that's a good sign or a bad one. It was quite a roller coaster of a month. It's been a little bit of a struggle for me this month. Been fighting through some hormonal/mood/digestion issues. So, maybe that's why part of this month has been a fog. It's been a battle of Hope Vs. Frustration. Although I know I've got an amazing God who always lets Hope prevail. So blessed He's on my side. And that He has blessed me with a husband who will lift me up out of my pit when I have no reason to be sad, but simply am. Frustrating I tell you. But I'll get through it... more importantly, we will get through it. However, as I am choosing to focus on the positive moments I wanted to share some October highlights..., Mr. Charming and I visited the fair. It was a very special day for me, breakthrough wise, because in 2011 I had so much going on that I could barely make it through the evening and the visit was a true low point on the health and wellness scale. It was empowering for us to share in that experience together. Halloween seemed to creep right up too! We had so much fun. Mr. Charming and I went to my sister and her fiancees' and took our two year old niece Trick Or Treating, and then hit a party with his side of the family. I was a pirate, and he was Michael Myers. This is his longstanding costume, he LOVES scaring kiddos, as we usually host a charity haunted house each year. Unfortunately a storm destroyed it two years ago and we are saving funds and resources to rebuild. Here are some photos of our evening and the cutest witch you'll ever see... well, in my opinion anyways... Hoping you all had a safe & happy Halloween! I can say it was my second Halloween completely candy-free, except for a part of an Enjoy Life chocolate bar. Here is to making healthy decisions all season long! Coming soon I will be sharing amazingly delicious, and healthy, holiday recipes to share at your holiday parties and on your Thanksgiving table!
Looking for healthy alternatives for the littles this Halloween? Click here to get a list of ten healthy options for this Halloween that are healthier, happier choices than sugary candy.
It's truly fall. I love being in the deep of fall and fall traditions. This past weekend I got together with my sister and along with Mr. Charming we took her and my adorable niece to the local pumpkin patch. We were also able to scout out some amazing locations for her engagement shoot at this adorable Pioneer Village not too far from our home. After we spent an hour finding the cutest mini pumpkins for Miss Peyton to color for her dad, petting horses and walking the grounds we worked up an appetite for something yummy, filling and warm. I had been craving a good stew and figured what better time to make a full crockpot of stew than when you have family coming over to share it with? Because I don't handle potatoes so well I had to change it up a bit and I used sweet potatoes. And since the beef broth, though they can be found gluten-free, still use yeast.. I opted to use chicken broth. I thought it may alter the taste too much with the chuck roast, but it came out amazing and I didn't even notice the change in broth selection. You could even use vegetable broth as well. This would be really easy to make vegan as well. It would cook MUCH quicker, just put a mix of your favorite veggies, potato of choice and broth and herbs in your slow cooker. We spent the rest of the evening pouring over bridal magazines and websites. So excited for this journey to watch my little sister marry the man of her dreams! Enjoy the stew and the season with your loved ones!
- Mandi I just woke up from one of those naps where you wake up in a panic thinking you are late for work, jolting out of your slumber only to discover its in fact 6:30 pm and the only thing you're late for is thawing the meat you were supposed to cook at seven. Yep. It's been that kind of week already. Hello, Monday. Mr. Charming and I will be finding some vegan take-out. On a happier note, I treated me & Mr. Charming to a little something. I know.
I had been wrestling with if I should buy this unnecessary toy that the world is so obsessed with, and I finally caved to the materialistic consumerism trend and got us one. I thought I would just dabble with it. Then I found the game Flow, and various board games, and a program where its like drawing on a chalkboard. And Netflix. Of course Netflix. And Pinterest is HUGE. and I wasted like, 6 hours of my life the next day when I got home from work. While I'm on this topic though, my bible study spoke about an interesting issue this week and it was the Tech Trap. How we get so caught up in technology that we don't take time to TALK to one another. Like, truly sit down and have deep, one on one conversations at dinner, at parties, even on dates with our spouses. It seems someone always has a game machine, a smartphone, or, as it sits on my lap.... an iPad. This past weekend as you read, Mr Charming and I took a weekend away to celebrate our anniversary. To ride horses. To cook elaborate meals. To read by the fire. To just be. I know for me, it's crucial to unplug and connect and to have these date weekends and date nights. Especially when my jobs are so technology driven. Sometimes the LAST thing I want to do is look at a screen of any kind. Make boundaries. Set limits. With your children, your spouse, or even just for YOU time. Make sure you disconnect, if even for a little while. Go for a walk, connect with nature, call a friend, or write a letter. On paper. It's therapeutic. Its real and pure. I promise you'll feel better. Then you can get back to level 65 on Candy Crush Saga. Which I refuse to download, because I think there is something addictive in that candy that I want no part of. This week I wanted to include a little printable that I think every girl should keep in her purse. There are so many dangerous chemicals in our beauty products and its hard to remember everything we read about scary toxins wrapped up in long words we can't pronounce, let alone remember to identify on a label when we find the best shade of lipstick. So I've included a little 2x3 card that you can print on card stock and keep in your wallet. It lists the top most harsh and toxic chemicals found in beauty products today. That way, when you're at the makeup counter you can know what to avoid and make better choices for your skin and for your body. It's been proven that the chemicals can penetrate deeply, and carry the same effects as if you ingested them. I don't know about you, but I don't want anything in my body I can not pronounce. Mr. Charming & I escaped for a little staycation and I share some of the DELICIOUS healthy recipes we cooked up as well as share an adventure of a NEW excursion I've always wanted to try. Read about it, and get access to an amazing pasta recipe, here.
All new content up tonight on the following pages below! I've missed you guys & gals. Mr. Charming and I took a little hiatus away from work to celebrate our two year anniversary and it was heavenly. Read all about that here.
Granola Mommies - I start to expose a little glimpse about the journey to our future littles. Sugar Shakers - We are delving into the introduction to our Sugar Shakers challenge in 2014! Click on over as I explain why I believe sugar is toxic to our systems. One of the ways that I intentionally work on our marriage is by "dating" my husband. By taking time to set aside "date nights" when we could easily slump down on the couch with dinner and a tv show, we show each other that we are still a major priority to each other. That fun and excitement is still part of who we are. It was when we first got together and its what keeps thing fun and interesting now, 7 years later, and 2 years into our marriage. Now, don't get me wrong, I adore nights when we cuddle up and just talk or watch endless marathon hours of Once Upon A Time or Big Bang Theory... but this was our two year anniversary, so it called for something extra special. I planned a surprise Get Away for Mr. Charming, and when he arrived home, waiting for him was a suitcase, GPS coordinates and a note. While he happily packing and heading to the resort, I prepared a healthy lunch for us. I whipped up some deviled eggs, a salad, cut up apples and grapes, and almonds... all served with dairy free dark chocolate. It was the perfect little combination for an in-room picnic. The room was gorgeous and it was too hot outside when he arrived for a picnic outside! He also stopped on the way and surprised me with roses. *swoon* I think I'll keep him. It was a weekend of romance, delicious food, (get the yummy pasta recipe pictured below here) and adventure! I wanted us to try something new together and so I set us up to go horseback riding at a local ranch and it was SO much fun! We also took the opportunity to hike a beautiful trail, swim and hit the gym.
All in all, a beautifully perfect way to celebrate my best friend, my husband. |
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aboutNosh & Nurture was born of this journey I am on to better the health of myself, my family and those around me. What started as a simple compilation of recipes has grown to a all-around lifestyle journal with ways to incorporate organic products into your home, pantry and beauty cabinet. I also include stories on pregnancy, new motherhood, travel, Proverbs 31 marriage, and spiritual health, as I am a Christian who couldn't do any of this without my Lord & Savior Jesus Christ. For more of my story you can click here.
All recipes are gluten-free and dairy-free with a lot of soy-free, grain-free, sugar-free options. |
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