Our Home // And Baby Makes Three

Not long ago, I shared a little tbt (throwback Thursday for those that don't know) of our first little "home" together in Pasadena where I started this blog. While we don't own a home because that doesn't fit our lifestyle/careers just yet, we try our best to make whatever space we live in feel like a home. Hence the name of this blog, A Home Beautiful. A beautiful home definitely goes beyond what you put in it, but it sure is fun to create your own unique spaces, isn't it? 

We actually moved to this space quite a while ago now...when we were growing our little family. Right near the end of my pregnancy actually. A great time to move, right? In the urgency to find a place, relocate for my husband's job, and get settled before baby made three we found this typical carpet/tile, vinyl shades, everything is off-white SoCal townhouse but a mile from the beach. To be near the beach in a dog and kid friendly neighborhood...this pregnant mama was sold. In fact, I took the place on the spot.

Fast forward to now...we have surfaced from babyville and have entered toddlerhood where I actually have a moment to myself once in a while (which means finally getting back to blogging!) However, that doesn't mean I haven't been busy working on this little homestead. Oh no, in fact some things have changed a few times over and I probably wasn't mindful enough to take pictures of it all. But, I do want to share with you the progress I have made so far in making our current town house a town home. To do so, I thought I'd start at the beginning. The very beginning. Here it is::

((PS:: I'll be sharing some transformations of these spaces soon so be sure to check them out!))

Good Eats // A Fruity Way to Enjoy Brussel Sprouts

I did it! During our recent Healthy Start 7 eating challenge, I conquered brussel sprouts for our family. I made them, well, de-licious. Yay! (I wanted to do a cartwheel after cooking these, I was that excited.) And, as always with my favorite recipes, they were super simple to make.

Ingredients::
1/2 pound brussel sprouts (fresh)
4 Tbsp olive oil
1 tsp sea salt
1 tsp black ground pepper
1/4 C chopped pecans
About 12 grapes, halved or quartered

How to make it::
1. Core your brussel sprouts. This is not the easiest part, but once you get the hang of it, it does go rather quickly.  First, it helps to slice off the hard stem. It also helps to think of these as baby cabbages for me. Then take a look at the hard white center inside. What you want to do is carve that out. It's bitter and the main reason, I believe, people don't eat this tasty veggie more often. The leaves of the brussel sprout (baby cabbage) are awesome and good for you. So give it a shot. Core those suckers.
2. Once cored, peel the leaves. You don't have to be gentle here and do them one by one...that would take too long. Just peel off the outer leaves however they come off is fine, ripped, whole, whatever. Toss them in a bowl. When you get down to leaves that have no green and are only hard and white. Discard them. If it isn't green, it's most likely bitter. If it's some green, it's probably good. Use your own judgement.
3. Take all your baby cabbage leaves (I mean brussel sprouts) and toss them in the olive oil and generous sea salt and black pepper to your taste (the measurements above are suggestions).
4. Add tossed leaves to a pan on medium heat. You don't want to burn them, just sauté them so don't get it too hot. Cook until they just before they wilt a bit.
5. Add pecans and grapes and cook until the grapes are warmed, 1-2 minutes more. Serve.

Enjoy these with a Chili Lime Sweet Potato as a vegetarian meal or alongside your favorite chicken, beef, or other protein.

Good Eats // Chili Lime Sweet Potatoes

As promised a few days ago, here is the recipe for Chili Lime Sweet Potatoes. I got inspired for this Chili Lime sauce while on our Healthy Start 7 eating challenge earlier this month. If you missed out on our journey you can read all bout how we jumped off the New Year with a solid week of healthy eating here (just make sure you start at the beginning).

Ingredients::
4 sweet potatoes
3 Tbsp soy sauce
1 Tbsp chili-garlic sauce (found in the international food aisle)
1 Tbsp raw honey
Generous squeeze of fresh lime juice (about 1 lime worth - I like it limey)

How to make it::
1. Bake your sweet potatoes. I do 425 for about 20 minutes, until a fork goes in easily. Tip: I use a BBQ skewer through them long way to make sure the centers cook all the way. And they cook faster too.
2. Meanwhile, mix the rest of the ingredients in a bowl.
3. Slice your sweet potato and cover with a spoonful of the sauce on each side.

These go great with my tasty (even-my-husband-likes-them) brussel sprouts I'll be sharing tomorrow. We ate these taters and brussel sprouts alongside my moms delicious and not quite as healthy meatloaf after our healthy eating challenge was over. It went really well together.

Enjoy!

What would you serve this tasty spud with?  We enjoyed this with a fruity twist on an unlikely vegetable. Check out the post tomorrow.

Healthy Start 7 // Day 7

We did it! We completed a whole week of healthy eating of the Healthy Start 7 meal plan. It was an adventure, and at times trying to our old eating habits (especially wanting to just do something easy and order take out!). But we made it through the week and cleansed ourselves of same icky eating for seven whole days. It felt amazing to dedicate our bodies to God during this time and submit to eating nutrient rich whole foods and eliminating the things we may enjoy but also know provide little to no nourishment to our bodies. When we nourish our bodies with good food our bodies can perform, grow, heal and thrive the way they are intended (all good things our Father wants to bless us with) and are at less risk for disease, sickness and complications.

While this whole eating healthy journey this week was part of a resolution (my resolution #3 and 1/2, this year), but it wasn't just that. It was a chance to make a true change and renew our minds about food. When you do something intense like this with dedication and live it out successfully, even in a short spurt, something good is going to stick. That's the point! Put in the short-term, hard effort and take out a major, long-term benefit. I say that's a great deal.

So what did we take out of this? 

1. Well, as I've mentioned - it may seem trivial to those who already enjoy it but quinoa has found a major place in my pantry. I always just saw it as an occasional alternative when I got tired of eating rice (my husband's favorite as I mentioned). I learned how versatile it really is and new ways to cook it and I really enjoy it now.
2. Sugar and junk just really take a back seat in my daily eating routine now. I learned how much I don't need them (or want them) when I'm feeding myself good, whole foods. Do I still eat sugar? Yes, I still know how to have fun! Am I obnoxiously avoiding white sugar and trying to eat healthier sugars where I can at every opportunity? Yes. 
3. I've found a new level of "no shame to my game" when it comes to avoiding things I don't want to eat, because at the end of the day it's about the body God gave -me- to maintain. Have you ever had those thoughts in your head about food like, "But my mom made this special for me," or "Everyone else is really enjoying this," or "It's just one slice..." Yeah, yeah...you've heard all those sugar-craving mantras before, have you? Well, here's a replacement for all of that. I only get one body, it is mine to maintain, so I will decide what goes in it. Period. No shame. No hurting anyone's feelings. Seriously, they'll get over it. However, depending what you're eating...you might not.

If you have a resolution to eat well this year or if you just want to take your eating habits to another level, check out Healthy Start 7 over at Total Life Pursuit blog.  And if you don't know what Total Life Pursuit is:  read all about it here.

Healthy Start 7 // Day 6

Today was a special day for our eating adventure and the day I got bold enough to make my own quinoa recipe totally from scratch. I was so excited I already posted it before I even shared Day 1 here on the blog (also see days 2, 3, 4, & 5). I won't go into all the exciting details again but check out the link to my tasty quinoa pancakes below.

::Breakfast::

So Day 6 fell on Saturday for us leaving me some extra time in the kitchen in the morning to get adventurous and come up with these tasty Lemon Blueberry Quinoa Pancakes. Delicious! I really went out on a limb making these having no idea if they would be good or not and I could NOT believe how good they were. Go check out the recipe and try them yourself, you'll be amazed!

::Dinner::

Dinner today was a tasty spinach salad. After a hearty quinoa breakfast a light salad for dinner was great. Stay tuned for my own spinach salad recipe from Day 1 coming up on the blog.

Healthy Start 7 // Day 5

I'm not going to lie, I've probably never eaten this much quinoa before this week...like in total ever. Okay, maybe that's a bit of an exaggeration. But by day 5, it has truly earned a huge boost in my pantry - as in it has made it's way to regular staple now right up there with rice. If you knew me better, you'd understand I could feed my husband tacos and rice (pretty much any kind of rice and any way you want to make it - but mainly sticky white Japanese rice) and his stomach would be incredibly satisfied.

If you've been following for the past few days (1, 2, 3 & 4), roughly 7 or 8 meals have involved quinoa for us so far this week. The reason in quinoa is such a powerful source of food for Healthy Start 7 eating plan is because quinoa sort of imitates a grain the way it is cooked, it's texture and how it is used in dishes. But nutritionally it is a complete protein containing all the 9 essential amino acids our bodies need, it is a high source of fiber, calcium and it is gluten-free and easy to digest. It makes a great basic food and eating it at this intensity for one week really opened my eyes at how to adopt this wonderful food into our regular eating habits.

::Breakfast::

Wonderful world of leftovers and embracing a new way of eating dinner for breakfast (instead of our favorite breakfast for dinner). Just simply put eggs in it. Today I had the leftover Quinoa Stir-Fry with scrambled eggs and a healthy pick-me up dose of Siracha to top it off. That'll wake you up in the morning! If I were eating this without restrictions, I'd throw it in a tasty wrap and make a morning burrito out of it.

::Dinner::

Dinner today was Healthy Start 7 Veggie Stir-Fry. This recipe brought back garlic-chile sauce to my kitchen in a fierce way. It's such an easy way to season veggies and make a quick and healthy meal packed with flavor without any sugar or other icky ingredients we've been trying to avoid. Yum!

Healthy Start 7 // Day 4

Half way through our Healthy Start 7 eating plan, Day 4 was an easy day. Lots of leftovers to choose from and an easy and delicious dinner that took no effort to enhance flavors to our preference. We loved it! Check out Days 1, 2 and 3 while you're here.

::Breakfast::

Leftover quinoa chili with a twist...scrambled eggs. This was soooo good. Like so good I want to eat it now talking about it good. The light and fluffy, no frills scramblers added such a great texture to this already tasty dish. I say no frills because my husband usually cooks eggs around here...(side note: he makes the best eggs I've ever eaten. In. My. Life.  Including every amazing hotel breakfast bar with super pro chef omelets and stuff. Yep, his are the best, ev-ah...ever? ever? Yes!) However, his have cheese, which we weren't eating so hence, no frills. Being married to the best egg maker ever has it's perks, like he taught me his light and fluffy secrets. So maybe, one day, I'll divulge them here. To you. And then you can impress your other halves too.

PS: Little one was into this dish the first time, but put some of dad's fluffy eggs in it. No stopping him. He tried to eat half my breakfast at the park this day. He's so a future foodie like his mama.

::Dinner::

Tonight we tried the Healthy Start 7 Lentil Bean Soup recipe. Spot on! This recipe is perfectly delicious and is going to have a long life in our home. We both already want to eat it again soon. It makes a good amount too. Not so much that you get tired of eating the leftovers, but enough that you get to enjoy it a few times. Little one's verdict here? He was obsessed with this soup. Which was great for me because it was packed with healthy food and getting him to eat veggies these days isn't always the easiest. Win all around!

Note: I tried this recipe both as is and partially blended as it suggested and we preferred it partially blended.

Aren't beans bright and beautiful before they're cooked? What are your favorite lentil dishes?