Bean Salad

This bean salad is so good! I originally got the idea from a black eyed pea salad but decided to add some black beans as well and had fun with my own ingredients. It turned out so good with the roasted garlic and herbs. I ate half of it in one day!

Ingredients:

1 can black beans

1 can black eyed peas

1 small chopped green bell pepper

1/2 cup cherry tomatoes cut in fourths

4 tablespoons chopped flat leaf parsley 

4 tablespoons chopped basil

1 link Trader Joe's Andouille Sausage cut       in small pieces 

1 drop Young living essential oil

4 cloves garlic

2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil

Mix all ingredients together except garlic and olive oil. Place garlic and olive oil in pan on medium heat and cook for about minute. Usually if I can smell it that means it done. Pour the garlic and olive oil over mixture. Mix basil essential oil in. Salt and Pepper to taste. 

Laugh and Love

Christine 

 

Gratitude

Thankful for my life, the ups and downs, the good and bad.This quote is so true. 

Laugh and Love

Christine

Healthy Food Lately

Some healthy Food Lately! Sorry for the blurry pictures! Life is just not perfect :)

Salad with veggie,pickled soy sprouts,turkey and Taro Root. You can get Taro Root at an asian store. Most Regular grocery stores don't carry it.

Another salad with almonds,avocado and chia These are quick salads I put together when I am in a hurry or will be out all day and don't want to stop and eat bad food. The container this is in is from Costco's food court. It is their Caesar Salad container. I love these containers. I save them every time I go because they are perfect for storing and I love the way they stack.

Veggie Hummas Rolls and a tomato slad with basil,cucumbers and olive oil.

Shopping cart for the week. I shop Costco a lot. They have a lot of organic foods and the best deals.Trader Joes is always a must. The Costco insulated bags are awesome to keep in the back of your car in case your out for a while and don't want your cold food to spoil. I have one for the beach and one for my car.

Typical dinner. Rice,ground turkey with lemongrass,garlic and ginger. Pre-made kale and cabbage salad from Costco.

Wine and Fruit. Yess wine is healthy!!! As long as you don't drink the whole bottle. Which yes I do sometimes :)

Cookie Butter!!! Best thing ever besides Nutella!

Laugh,Love and Health

Christine

Boho Style

I haven't been blogging very much because I had my mom then my in laws visiting for the last 3 weeks. It sure was nice spending time with them. Wish it wasn't over. We had a lot of fun. Since I haven't blogged , here are a few of my outfits from then. Usually I would have put these separate but
since I took off they are all in one!.

I love bohemian fashion. It is definitely a part of me and my personality. I have always been a little hippie since I was a kid. I think everyone who knows me would say that. I will always pick being out in a forest or on the beach then in a fancy hotel by a pool.There is just something about being somewhere natural I just fall in love with. I think bohemian fashion just fits well with it that. I am always drawn to eccentric, weird colors or loose flowy looks. I love that boho style is the in thing because you can find it anywhere now. The Rue21 by my house has amazing pieces. It is exactly like a Forever 21 but the one close to me has more casual clothing. Check it out if your ever in Jacksonville. Their prices are ridiculous too!

1st Picture

Fedora-here

Crop Top-here

Rue 21 Fringe Shorts-similar-here

Gladiator Sandals-similar-here

Layered Necklace-similar-here

Turquoise Bracelet-similar-here

2nd Picture

Black Tank Top-here

Tribal Pants-similar-here

Sandals and Jewerly-Links above

Travel Diffuser

I shared my travel diffuser on my personal FB last week and wanted to share it here with you all! You all know how I love my oils. I seriously could never live without them. I Love diffusing them at home and whenever I am in the car always wanted to diffuse them. Akai my oldest son always gets car sick. I mean it was to the point where it drove me nuts. I felt so bad for him and the medicine we would give him always made him drowsy. He would fall asleep and feel tired all day never being able to enjoy the day feeling great. Now I can put some oils in, he won't get car sick and the car smells aaaaamazing! It also benefits my whole family. Especially myself with my migraines.
 I get migraines from time to time as some of you might already know and if I am traveling long distances the diffuser is a life saver. I have had a couple migraines the past month. I can always tell when a migraine is coming because I see the light. If you never had a migraine a lot of people see a light about 15 minutes before the pain kicks in. When I see the light I automatically know to get my oils. If I diffuse my oils and smell the oils or use topically within the 15 minutes I will get no pain. Yessss,no pain amazingly. I will still get tiredness of a migraine. But if you have had a migraine I am sure you will take the tiredness over the pain anyday! The oils are really kind of magical to me.

Here is the diffuser. I am going to place it top of my dashboard with some Velcro so it is up higher. That way the vents will circulate the diffused oil much better. 

For motion sickness and migraines I use Peppermint for both ailments. You can actually see I store my oils in my coin departments. A 15 ml bottle fits in my quarter slot perfectly. If it starts getting too hot or cold or you don't have a top to shut so it's dark I would recommend just leaving it in your purse.

Cheers to Holistic Health. If you are interested in the best quality oils you can Order Here. I don't know how many times I will say how important it is to get good quality oils. It really makes a difference in how well they work.

Lemon Ricotta Pancakes

These Lemon Ricotta Pancakes are to die for! I posted them on my social networks last week so you might have seen them but I wanted to share the recipe. I totally cheated and used pre-made pancake mix but who cares they were seriously so good! These don't even need syrup. Boomer and I shared three of them and I ate the side without syrup. I actually like them more by themselves. They taste like bread/muffin/cake goodness together. Seriously the best! The ricotta makes them so creamy too! I used a drop of essential oils in the batch also which gave it such a great lemon flavor. If you use lemon oil make sure you get a good quality that is edible. Not all oils are equaled the same. Here is the recipe.

Ingredients:

2 cups pancake mix
2 lemons, juice and zest from both
1 drop YL Essential Oils
2 eggs
1 cup milk
Real Butter

Mix all ingredients together except butter. Heat pan on med-low and add a slice of butter. When I make pancakes I do not cheat on the butter. It is what makes those sides super crispy and good tasting. Pou pancake mix on griddle/pan and flip when it starts to bubble. Serve with syrup if you like and some slice lemons. ENJOY!

Pineapple Seafood Soup

A few people asked for the recipe to the Pineapple Seafood Soup I posted on Instagram a week ago. Sorry it is taking so long to get up. My mom was staying with us and when someone stays with me it always takes me a few days to adjust back to my regular schedule, cleaning and getting the house in order.

This Pineapple soup my mom made is usually made with just fish. That is the traditional way the Vietnamese make it. Another name for it is Sweet and Sour Soup. When we went to the fish market to buy fish they had clams and I thought oohhh that would be yummy. So we decided to get some and then my mom thought of adding shrimp too. Of course I said sure! I love seafood not only for the taste but for the health benefits especially in fish. It has so much omega fatty acids that is so good for the development of the brain. Very crucial for growing children. If you don't like fish I always recommend taking fish supplements. My kids love Nordic Naturals. They are DHA supplements that are flavored my kids chew away. For adults any DHA/Omega supplements are great. On to the recipe.

Here is the soup. I ended up making some pineapple salsa with the leftover Pineapple.

Ingredients:

2 fish filets, catfish is preferred, we used one catfish and one red drum. Any kind of white fish

2 jalapenos

1 tablespoon tamarind paste

Dozen Clams
1 lb shrimp
Oil
2 garlic cloves diced(my mom doesn't use garlic but when I make it I do)
Half fresh Pineapple cut in chunks
2 cup Bean Sprouts
Fish sauce

Toppings:
Cilantro chopped
Green onions chopped
Fish Mint chopped
Basil chopped
Lemon wedges

1-2 packages Rice Vermicelli Noodles, picture here cooked

Place fish in 5 quart pot. Fill with water. Boil fish on low remove all of the foam.When all the foam is gone add jalapenos,tamarind paste. When fish is done take it out of the pot. In a pan drizzle with oil to cover pan and cook garlic until all sides are brown. You will think your burning it but this gives the soup the best flavor. When the garlic is brown add some broth to the pan of garlic then pour into the pot of soup.Add clams,shrimp and pineapple.Cook until done.Drizzle some fish sauce in. After a few minutes taste it to see is it is salty enough. You can also add some salt too.Turn off the stove then add bean sprouts. You want these to just wilt not cook. Serve over noodles and top with fresh herbs and lemon juice