Cabbage Salad

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I’ve been working late, and have had meetings after work-so by the time I get home I throw together whatever random concoction I can from what I have on hand (this is why I try to ensure at the start of every week, I have on-hand, things that I can use or be creative with, that are easy and quick). I got home last night around 7 and was craving a salad so much, but no lettuce. I did have shredded cabbage though, so I thought, well, let’s make a cabbage salad!

Cabbage Salad

  • 1/2 bag shredded cabbage
  • 1 apple
  • 2 avocados
  • 1/4 red onion
  • Olive oil
  • Kosher salt/pepp

I poured the cabbage in the bowl, cut 2 avocados (they add the best creaminess to salads, and a healthy fat!), diced 1 apple, and loosely chopped the red onion. Then I drizzled olive oil and sprinkled with kosher salt and pepper. It was fabulous! I love cabbage. I also love spicy red onion with sweet red apple.

Lessons learned here: things you wouldn’t normally throw together can actually be really tasty, thrown together 🙂 Yay for random simplicity!Cabbage SaladCabbage Salad 2

Thursday Thoughts

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When we honestly ask ourselves which person in our lives mean the most to us, we often find that it is those who, instead of giving advice, solutions, or cures, have chosen rather to share our pain and touch our wounds with a warm and tender hand. The friend who can be silent with us in a moment of despair or confusion, who can stay with us in an hour of grief and bereavement, who can tolerate not knowing, not curing, not healing and face with us the reality of our powerlessness, that is a friend who cares.

–Henri J.M. Nouwen

Elimination Station, right here!

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Phew! Things have been so busy that I’ve rarely been on the computer at all, and sometimes I just want to go home and hibernate (am I the only one that wants to do this? Go home and escape the rest of the world? I can’t be.). In addition to busy, I’m still really struggling with digestive issues, so I’m trying to work through those the best I can and still remain positive.

This last Monday I decided to get more strict for 30 days and see if it helps, so here’s what I’m doing:

  • No coffee
  • No alcohol
  • No dairy
  • No nuts
  • No eggs (SAD)
  • No artificial sweeteners (read: gum)

Coffee has been no big deal (much to my surprise). I think I like the idea of coffee more than the actual coffee itself. Alcohol, I miss my glass of wine, but it’s fine. Dairy, I’d already eliminated most anyway (except for occasional cheese or grass-fed butter), so not a big change there. No nuts has been fine. I miss a little almond butter in the morning with my banana, and I occasionally used nuts as an easy go-to snack or fat/protein, so maybe I miss the convenience more? Eggs. I miss them. I really do. I was eating a lot of them, and they’re my go-to protein on a late dinner night, for breakfast, etc. They go with everything and are fabulous. I miss chewing gum too…but I think that’s just a habit.

In addition to the eliminations, I’m eating less fruit (fructose can be hard to digest for some), more veggies and protein. I’m drinking my home-brewed kombucha regularly (I still can’t believe I’m continuously brewing my own kombucha!) and making a batch of bone broth weekly that I drink daily (it’s so good and comforting and warm). I’m also getting a lot more sleep, which is wonderful.

So far, my stomach has been better, but it’s only been 3 days. I remain cautiously optimistic 🙂

Taking all this into consideration, I still cook something everyday! I’ve been cooking pretty simple (but yummy!) things. Last night I sauteed onion, broccoli and cauliflower in some coconut oil with garlic, and then drizzled a little balsamic vinegar on it. I paired it with a turkey burger and some bacon.DSC_0674DSC_0678

Expanded Garden!

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If there is one thing I’ve made a focus in my life, it’s doing things I truly enjoy, because life really is short. For me, gardening is one of those things. It’s good to get your hands dirty, and it’s rewarding. Thanks to my parentals for this value.

I posted several times about my garden last year, in part because it was the most fruitful one I’d ever had. I planted extra tomato plants to ensure I’d have a decent yield, and by summer’s end I was giving away tomatoes left and right because all plants survived and thrived. Some of the plants did so well, they got to be about 7ft tall which meant Seth and I were out there almost weekly staking and re-staking. We vowed to have a different method this year, and to plant fewer plants (or I told Seth I would do things differently this year). Hee hee. Right.

I planted the same amount of tomato plants this year, 2 zucchini squash and 2 peppers. Then I said, uh oh! I haven’t even planted herbs or cucumbers (or anything else I might want to try?? I may or may not have a habit of going to a garden center and buying all sorts of stuff that “will be fun to see if I can grow this!” Thanks Mom.). So, my awesome hubs built me another raised bed, and a new deep herb planter box to sit in the raised bed perimeter, since nothing grows in that limestone unless you have an ice pick to dig with-except for this, my 2 1/2 year old out of control oregano bush:DSC_0666 Soon, we won’t have to mow, because our entire backyard will be varying degrees of gardens. Yay for urban gardening.

Before planting anything this year, we enriched the soil with organic blood meal, manure, worm castings, and chicken poo (FYI, dogs love to try to eat this when you look away).DSC_0671 We’re in the process of cleaning out all the weeds in our raised bed that runs the perimeter of our yard-which is super ugly and annoying, but not urgent. I was pulling some of the weeds last week so we could put the herb planter box in its place, and the silver lining to these weeds?? LADYBUGS! They’re everywhere. I was thrilled. So, I relocated a few to my veggie plants, and they’re still there!!!!!! YAY! 🙂DSC_0664

It is in the mid-90’s today in San Diego, which the veggies are soaking up (I’m personally not a fan). Of the veggies I have planted so far, less than 2 weeks ago, they’ve already grown about 1 1/2 feet. I have more to plant, so I’ll be making a trip to the garden center this weekend. We’ll see what I find.

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Oh, and Seth found some awesome rocks, we’ll do something fun with.

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Coconut Apple Cabbage

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Not sure what it is about the combination of these three ingredients that not only makes the entire house smell like butter, it tastes super buttery too. Not going to complain. I threw this together last week, with apples that weren’t crisp enough to eat alone, and I made it again last night. Super easy.

Coconut Apple Cabbage

That’s it. Melt the coconut oil in the pan, toss in the cabbage and diced/chopped apple, season with kosher salt/pepp if preferred. Eat alone, save for leftovers to bring to work, pair with some protein, whatever works!

SO BUTTERY.

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