I installed my blogging program and site designer onto my iPhone, so this is my first official iPhone blog post. I thought it would give me the chance to connect when I'm out and about, at expos, or traveling and I don't want to wait to upload all my goodies on the computer when I get back to my office or hotel room.

However, this post isn't just about my newfound updating capabilities, it's about trying new things in general. Things we long to do, want to do, need to do, but don't necessarily know just how to do them. It's something I am trying to learn how to do.

The courtyard view from my doctors office today is gorgeous and relaxing. It makes me miss the water. The sound of the ocean waves crashing against the shore has always been such a safe, serene sound to my soul. I've been thinking a lot lately about what makes me uniquely me and authentically happy. I feel like I haven't truly tapped into and connected with her in a while. And maybe that's just inevitable when we get older. When we get busier. When we take on all sorts of responsibilities, and the line starts to blur between what we have to be doing and what we want to be doing. I personally need some more of the latter in my life.

Dance was something that was so much a part of me growing up. I took jazz and hip hop almost every day, and if you saw my bedroom when I was five, you'd bet I'd grow up to be a ballerina. Well puberty happened. And hips happened. And boobs happened. And I transitioned out of the life of a ballerina and fell in love with hip hop dance and pop music.

I haven't danced in a while so I thought, since I'm set on trying new things I am thinking of getting my toes wet with a ballet class I found. Pun slightly intended. *smirk*

It sounds fun, and scary, and challenging and new. It sounds like exactly what I need.

I will keep you posted and I'd love for you all to share and comment what new things you've tried. Things that exhilarated you, got you outside your comfort zone and, my personal favorite, something that taught you something about yourself or changed you. I love that this blog can be a place to not only share my stories and hopefully inspire others, but in turn be inspired by your stories and connect to other women on this journey we call life as an adult. ;)

I love, and am so thankful for, productive days.  Days when His power and strength allow me to have the energy I need to get work done, work on our home and cook healthy foods that will heal and help our bodies.

I even started prepping our preparedness kit!  I had mentioned it as a goal a while back, because you just never know, and we're grown ups now (when did THAT happen) and so, I got it going.  I set up a page here to show how we are compiling ours and I'd love to hear your ideas. My sister in law has hers growing more and more and its so inspiring.  

I currently have another batch of bone broth cooking in the slow cooker, this time chicken, and the house is smelling amazing. Apple pork chops are also baking in the oven and I am just so thankful.  I hung some new adorable art in our kitchen tonight, this chalkboard obsession could be going to far, but I'm loving it.  And it's words are so true.  I am trying to put inspiring art and photographs throughout our home that can remind us daily of joy and hope, love and happiness.  

Speaking of eating ice cream.  Being a dairy-free eater doesn't mean you have to be denied the joys of ice cream.  Though I am including treats such as this less and less in my diet, as they aren't raw, pure foods, every once in a while it's fun to indulge with a rich vanilla or a smooth chocolaty coconut ice cream (I get the sugar free kind by So Delicious, that also doesn't include any artificial sweeteners.)  

Sprouts also started carrying a gluten-free sugar cone.  I realized that the potato starch bothers me a little if I have these too often, but like I said, as an occasional treat it's fun to do ice cream with my honey on a movie date night or at a party.  This is the brand we bought.  They are scrumptious.  The company also makes gluten-free sprinkles, I am unsure of the other ingredients though.  Just in case you wanted to get fancy with your ice cream.  I added Enjoy Life chocolate chips on top of mine for some crunch. 

On another sweet note, Mr. Charming has been surprising me lately.  He's good at that.  We've been together 8 years tomorrow and he will continually sweep me off my feet and charm me in his special little ways.  He's jumped into doing regular yoga with me, and it's been just as exciting seeing how it's helping and strengthening him as it is me. He also had us start a life goal list together.  As God is moving in my life, there are so many things I want to jump in and do with my life as I let go of the fears that are lies.  Because we CAN do all things through Christ who strengthens us! Amen! 

Moral of my little ice cream social blog gathering here today... Live your happiness, and do so with a scoop or two. ;) 

We now have a super nifty search engine!  As we add more and more recipes, even with our tags, it can be hard to find what you're looking for if you're referring back to a favorite.  Using the search bar at the top of the screen you can type in "brownies" if you've got a chocolaty sweet tooth for some gluten-free dessert goodness and voila... sweet potato brownies will be at your fingertips!  You can also type in phrases such as gluten free or dairy free if you have a specific restriction.

Happy hunting & thanks for stopping by :) 

So, I have to be honest.  The thought of making bone broth intimidated me to no end. 

I know, I know, some bones, some liquid, veggies and a slow cooker.  How can that be intimidating to someone who cooks all their own food?

I don't know.  It was just one of my weird things.  The idea of cooking bones just seemed odd to me.  The one time I tried to get bones from a local farmer, he said they "run out before the farmers market even starts", which left me defeated and not wanting to revisit the idea. Thanks, farmer man. 

But alas, my doctor and all the books and blogs I read, tout that it's amazingly helpful for healing the gut, and in that process, the brain, so I thought i'd venture back to the farmers market and give it another go this past weekend.

This time I was very successful!  I found a new farm with an amazingly nice farmer who had 3 packages of grass-fed beef bones left and I picked some up and threw them in the crockpot when we got home! Along with the carrots, onion, celery and bay leaves I had in the kitchen.  I have to give credit to Kelly over at Primally Inspired for her recipe for the bone broth, because like I said before, cooking bones, wasn't going to just happen on my own. 

I will say it turned out super yummy.  I may have needed a couple more bones, or some more spices or herbs because it did taste a little weak and watery.  But the color was beautiful and it made my house smell super-delicious.  And, as an added bonus, you can use it in so many dishes or sip it on a cool, chilly evening like I did when I was writing the other night.  I even saved the veggies and ate them with some nitrate free lunch meat the next day for lunch. 

Congratulations to the Winners of Nosh & Nurture's Giveaway for FREE tickets to the GFAF Expo in Phoenix this weekend!

We're happy to announce the winners of the Phoenix GFAF Expo winners!*







The winners are as follows...
Shauna B.
Rhonda L. 
Douglas P.
Kym N. 
and
Rosemarie S. 

Thank you for the continued support of Nosh & Nurture! If you were not a winner this time and would like to attend, or if you have friends that would like to attend, they can receive 35% off ticket prices by using the promo code BLOGPHX at checkout when purchasing tickets on GFAFExpo.com! 

Please contact me with any questions you may have! See you at the expo!

Nosh & Nurture has FREE one-day tickets to giveaway to five lucky winners!  Want to attend for free & get all kinds of valuable information and yummy treats? It's simple...

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Lastly, join the newsletter by using the subscribe button to the right so I can know who you are and let you know if you've won! 

And if you aren't one of the five chosen you can still save 35% on tickets by visiting the official site and using the promo code BLOGPHX. 

Nosh & Nurture has been chosen as an official blog of the Gluten & Allergen Free Expo in Phoenix this weekend! *proud mama moment for my little blog.*

Mr. Charming and I were visiting the Anthem Farmer's Market last weekend and I stumbled upon fliers for this expo.  I love any chance to visit expo's that get what my lifestyle is all about, meet like minded healthy foodies and stock up on coupons all while sampling lovely treats that are safe! And when I was chosen to be an official blogger for it? Over. The. Moon. 

SO many of my favorite brands and vendors will be attending this year like Earth Balance, Enjoy Life, and Green Living Magazine along with new vendors I am so excited to meet such as Home Free, Delight Magazine, & Raw Revolution snacks, just to name a few.  With over 100 vendors I know I am going to be overwhelmed by gluten-free awesomeness.

& I have even more awesome news.  Awesome is my Tuesday word-of-the-day today apparently... my blog readers receive 35% off ticket prices by visitingwww.GFAFExpo.com and using the promocode: BLOGPHX when buying your tickets!

And this evening I will be launching a GIVEAWAY to giveaway FREE TICKETS! I know, crazyawesome right?